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Vellum

by Hal Duncan

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: The Book of All Hours (1)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
1,2684615,008 (3.35)40
It's 2017 and the end days are coming, beings that were once human are gathering to fight in one last great war for control of the Vellum - the vast realm of eternity on which our world is just a scratch. But to a draft-dodging Irish angel and a trailer-trash tomboy called Phreedom, it's about to become brutally clear that there's no great divine or diabolic plan at play here, just a vicious battle between the hawks of Heaven and Hell, with humanity stuck in the middle, and where the easy rhetoric of Good and Evil, Order versus Chaos just doesn't apply. Here there are no heroes, no darlings of destiny struggling to save the day, and there are no villains, no dark lords of evil out to destroy the world. Or at least if there are, it's not quite clear which is which. Here, the most ancient gods and the most modern humans are equally fate's fools, victims of their own hubris, struggling to save their own skins, their own souls, but sometimes, just sometimes, sacrificing everything in the name of humanity.… (more)
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» See also 40 mentions

English (44)  French (1)  German (1)  All languages (46)
Showing 1-5 of 44 (next | show all)
This was me the entire time I was reading this:



I mean seriously, ask me anything about this book and I'll be like "I don't know".

Who was the main character? I don't know. What was the plot? I don't know. How did it end? I don't know. What is the Book of all hours? I don't know. Why did the author switch between three different fonts? I DON'T KNOW.

Okay, it's my fault, torturing myself, because I could tell almost from the start I wouldn't like the book, but I kept reading because I do not leave books unfinished (DAMN YOU, ELL). The narrative is just ALL over the fucking place, jumping back and forth in time ALL THE TIME and I'm sure some people like that but it was just too much for me.

And also, switching between three different fonts? WHY!? Switching between first and third person!? NO! Switching WHO THE FIRST PERSON NARRATIVE WAS WITH NO EXPLANATION!? NO NO NO NO OH MY FUCKING GODS.

I don't know, there were gods and like fifteen different stories and they all seemed cool but not a single one of them was told, not one was concluded, and in the end I feel as if I've read fifteen first chapters or outlines for stories that went nowhere.

I don't know what the story was, I don't even know what the fucking the epilogue was about and that was the only part of the entire book where the story was told straight-forward, every paragraph directly referencing the one before it and that was of course refreshing as fuck after the rest of the book, but I STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON.

And what the fuck is an eclogue??? Like shut up it's fucking red...

Honestly, we're at a point where I honestly cannot tell if this was written ironically or not: "He has my Mark I Curzon-Youngblood in his hands - was probably using it to form the psychic link - so I take it off him, flick the safety off. The chi energy flows into it and I can feel the power in my hand, that mystic orgone life-force of the universe. Never mind the bollocks; here's the real sex pistol. And you can analyze that however you want."

What does it even mean!? Is it ironic??? Are we playing it straight - I have no idea!!! I could write a book longer than this one about all the things I did not understand about it.

No, I did not like this book. I only decided to read it because the cover was orange. Not falling for that one again. ( )
1 vote upontheforemostship | Feb 22, 2023 |
Wow. This book was really freaky but I enjoyed it a lot. Partly because I'm a sucker for mythology, I think. It's very experimental, structurally, although I'm not sure how one would write nonlinear time as a linear narrative. ( )
  villyard | Dec 6, 2022 |
Started off well, but ended in quite a mess. ( )
  jenkinbun | Jan 1, 2021 |
What an odd book... it took me almost the whole thing to break my mind from trying to read it as fragmented pieces of linear arcs (cross-referencing and influencing one another). Rather, it reads as a flow of implications; the story changing--literally, at the structural level--as characters and events influence the interpretations of what has gone before.

Ridiculously confusing, and I really do feel the ideas escaped from the author at times, but then, given the intention of the formal / plot invention, is that actually a flaw?

Still, I'll take a break before the sequel (which merely means I'll have to *re-learn* this same lesson!) ( )
  Loryndalar | Mar 19, 2020 |
I was just not in the mood for this one - twisted reality and a gaggle of boys and one girl/goddess on a motorcycle. It just kept going around in circles and I got bored. ( )
  cindywho | May 27, 2019 |
Showing 1-5 of 44 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (2 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Hal Duncanprimary authorall editionscalculated
Dolisi, FlorenceTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Miller, EdwardCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Saikkonen, NinaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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Prologue: Eine brennende Landkarte.
Text: Das Ewige Stundenbuch, so nannten es die Benediktiner im Mittelalter.
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Wikipedia in English (2)

It's 2017 and the end days are coming, beings that were once human are gathering to fight in one last great war for control of the Vellum - the vast realm of eternity on which our world is just a scratch. But to a draft-dodging Irish angel and a trailer-trash tomboy called Phreedom, it's about to become brutally clear that there's no great divine or diabolic plan at play here, just a vicious battle between the hawks of Heaven and Hell, with humanity stuck in the middle, and where the easy rhetoric of Good and Evil, Order versus Chaos just doesn't apply. Here there are no heroes, no darlings of destiny struggling to save the day, and there are no villains, no dark lords of evil out to destroy the world. Or at least if there are, it's not quite clear which is which. Here, the most ancient gods and the most modern humans are equally fate's fools, victims of their own hubris, struggling to save their own skins, their own souls, but sometimes, just sometimes, sacrificing everything in the name of humanity.

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Average: (3.35)
0.5 7
1 26
1.5 3
2 34
2.5 6
3 44
3.5 19
4 68
4.5 16
5 53

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