Review of 'The Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn: A Tor.Com Original' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
Son of a family that has moved from Pakistan to the USA listens to tales of his grandfather. When his grandfather dies, evidence comes to light that all of those tales may not have been fiction.
The story begins with grandad's fairytales, which are, frankly speaking, not particularly enchanting. The story really picks up speed after the grandfather dies and mythology starts to mix in with the reality. This doesn't last, though: in the end the story switches to a new gear and the fantasm morphs, in places, into word sallad. It's not too bothersome, though.
The focus is really on the main character: his girlfriend is left paper thin, and the same goes for his parents. Even his grandfather could use a bit of depth.
In the end, we have a story that has a hesitant start and a strong middle stretch. It mixes mythology with reality and even …
Son of a family that has moved from Pakistan to the USA listens to tales of his grandfather. When his grandfather dies, evidence comes to light that all of those tales may not have been fiction.
The story begins with grandad's fairytales, which are, frankly speaking, not particularly enchanting. The story really picks up speed after the grandfather dies and mythology starts to mix in with the reality. This doesn't last, though: in the end the story switches to a new gear and the fantasm morphs, in places, into word sallad. It's not too bothersome, though.
The focus is really on the main character: his girlfriend is left paper thin, and the same goes for his parents. Even his grandfather could use a bit of depth.
In the end, we have a story that has a hesitant start and a strong middle stretch. It mixes mythology with reality and even uses a pencil or two out of science fiction set of colors, but in the end, it falls flat with a predictable, although emotional ending.