DNF Review – Propero Lost (Prospero’s Daughter, Book 1) by L. Jagi Lamplighter (3/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 352 pages
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: August 4, 2009
ISBN-13: 978-0765319296
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Prospero’s Daughter series
Source: Swapped through Paperbackswap.com
Rating: 3/5 stars
“More than four hundred years after the events of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, the sorcerer Prospero, his daughter Miranda, and his other children have attained everlasting life. Miranda is the head of her family’s business, Prospero Inc., which secretly has used its magic for good around the world. One day, Miranda receives a warning from her father: “Beware of the Three Shadowed Ones.” When Miranda goes to her father for an explanation, he is nowhere to be found.
Miranda sets out to find her father and reunite with her estranged siblings, each of which holds a staff of power and secrets about Miranda’s sometimes-foggy past. Her journey through the past, present and future will take her to Venice, Chicago, the Caribbean, Washington, D.C., and the North Pole. To aid her, Miranda brings along Mab, an aerie being who acts like a hard-boiled detective, and Mephistopheles, her mentally-unbalanced brother. Together, they must ward off the Shadowed Ones and other ancient demons who want Prospero’s power for their own….”
I have had this book on my TBR pile for a long time. I was initially drawn to the beautiful cover and then intrigued by the synopsis. This one was a DNF for me. I read the first hundred pages of this book and just didn’t connect with the story or the characters.
The story is slow to start and the writing style is awkward. The dialogue is especially tough to read and doesn’t sound at all natural. The idea behind Miranda is interesting but she comes across as very cold, distant, and ends up being hard to engage with.
I didn’t necessarily hate this book but I wasn’t enjoying reading it either. I’ve been trying to be stricter with myself about reading a book just to read it; if i am not enjoying it after the first 100 pages I try to stop reading it. I have so many books to read that I don’t have time to read ones that are a struggle for me; especially if they are a struggle and I am not really gaining anything else from the book (knowledge, insight…something).
Overall this was an okay read, but was plagued by awkward writing and indifferent characters. It just wasn’t for me. Those who enjoy retellings/extensions of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” might find this intriguing.
This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Goodreads Reading Challenge
– Mount TBR Reading Challenge
