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Wormwood
 
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Wormwood [Paperback]

G Taylor (Author)
1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

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From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up –G.P. Taylor's gothic fantasy (Putnam, 2004) is skillfully narrated by Davina Porter. Porter's lyrical voice is in perfect balance with the dark and gruesome tale that takes place in 18th-century London. A comet destined for the city has pulled Earth out of its orbit and plunged the world into darkness. Dr. Blake, a scientist, hopes that he can save the world with the knowledge he gains from reading a magical book. But he quickly learns that the comet is just a small part of the problem: a fallen angel, Hezrin, needs a new human body in order to survive and has selected Blake's housemaid, Agetta, as her host. The complicated plot, with its human, angelic, and grotesque monsters, meanders along to the fateful night when all events and people are in alignment. Porter deftly handles the potentially frightening acts of violence and brutality with just the right amount of suspense, not too sinister but with an edge to her voice. Agetta is portrayed with an innocence and naiveté that reflects her role as a pawn. Porter's precise diction and pacing keep the story moving for listeners in spite of the many plot twists and turns.–Wendy Woodfill, Hennepin County Library, Minnetonka, MN
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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1.0 out of 5 stars Wormeaten, Sep 22 2005
By 
E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME)    (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Wormwood (Paperback)
G.P. Taylor struck out with his much-hyped debut, the tepid religious fantasy "Shadowmancer." And the follow-up, "Wormwood," is even less engaging than "Shadowmancer" was -- while it's fairly well written, it's loosely strung together with dull characters and a plodding plot.

In the mid 1700s, London is gripped by panic -- somehow the earth is overspinning, and suddenly stops so that London is plunged into permanent night. A young servant girl, Agetta, is terrified of what is going to happen, especially because her master, Kabbalah master and scientist Dr Sabian Blake, is predicting that a comet called Wormwood will strike the earth.

This information comes from the mysterious book, Nemorensis, that Blake was given by a stranger. The Nemorensis supposedly contains all the secrets of the universe. Unfortunately, the book also exerts a sinister influence over Agetta. But in an attic is Tegatus, an angelic being who might just be the savior London needs...

Religious fantasy, or fantasy with religious undertones, is not a bad thing -- J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and others allowed their religions to influence their life's work. But G.P. Taylor not only has the subtlety of a battering ram -- he's also quite boring. The story plods along in a string of little plot-related scenes, without building up much momentum.

One of the biggest problems is the way Taylor handles the fantastical elements of his book. Okay, there are weird creatures. Most fantasy books have those. But his seem to just be thrown into the mix for no apparent reason. His handling of superstition and science in the 1700s is sketchy at best, no matter how brilliant a scientist Blake is meant to be.

Taylor has a decent enough writing style, and he has a certain flair for description and atmosphere. But his style is also very repetitive and over-the-top -- where are the editors when you need them? What's worse, his idea of creating a fantasy world seems to be to just toss in a few weird elements that have nothing to do with the plot. The actual fantasy plot is just more of Taylor's lukewarm, generic Christian sentiments.

The characters are as thin as the pages. There are a lot of characters for a relatively slim fantasy book, and many of them are left underdeveloped. Blake and Agetta are the only ones who receive any character development, and that isn't saying much. Agetta in particular seems almost manic, considering how fast her moods swing. Tegatus is just freakin' boring.

G.P. Taylor strikes out again with "Wormwood," another dull religious fantasy that leaves a sour taste in the mouth. Boring, messy, and not worth the effort it takes to wade through.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com: 3.0 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars Worm-eaten, Sep 25 2005
By E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Wormwood (Paperback)
G.P. Taylor struck out with his much-hyped debut, the tepid religious fantasy "Shadowmancer." And the follow-up, "Wormwood," is even less engaging than "Shadowmancer" was -- while it's fairly well written, it's loosely strung together with dull characters and a plodding plot.

In the mid 1700s, London is gripped by panic -- somehow the earth is overspinning, and suddenly stops so that London is plunged into permanent night. A young servant girl, Agetta, is terrified of what is going to happen, especially because her master, Kabbalah master and scientist Dr Sabian Blake, is predicting that a comet called Wormwood will strike the earth.

This information comes from the mysterious book, Nemorensis, that Blake was given by a stranger. The Nemorensis supposedly contains all the secrets of the universe. Unfortunately, the book also exerts a sinister influence over Agetta. But in an attic is Tegatus, an angelic being who might just be the savior London needs...

Religious fantasy, or fantasy with religious undertones, is not a bad thing -- J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and others allowed their religions to influence their life's work. But G.P. Taylor not only has the subtlety of a battering ram -- he's also quite boring. The story plods along in a string of little plot-related scenes, without building up much momentum.

One of the biggest problems is the way Taylor handles the fantastical elements of his book. Okay, there are weird creatures. Most fantasy books have those. But his seem to just be thrown into the mix for no apparent reason. His handling of superstition and science in the 1700s is sketchy at best, no matter how brilliant a scientist Blake is meant to be.

Taylor has a decent enough writing style, and he has a certain flair for description and atmosphere. But his style is also very repetitive and over-the-top -- where are the editors when you need them? What's worse, his idea of creating a fantasy world seems to be to just toss in a few weird elements that have nothing to do with the plot. The actual fantasy plot is just more of Taylor's lukewarm, generic Christian sentiments.

The characters are as thin as the pages. There are a lot of characters for a relatively slim fantasy book, and many of them are left underdeveloped. Blake and Agetta are the only ones who receive any character development, and that isn't saying much. Agetta in particular seems almost manic, considering how fast her moods swing. Tegatus is just freakin' boring.

G.P. Taylor strikes out again with "Wormwood," another dull religious fantasy that leaves a sour taste in the mouth. Boring, messy, and not worth the effort it takes to wade through.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars longest 259 pages in a long while, Feb 4 2008
By J. D. Estrada "Jokersurfer" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Wormwood (Paperback)
Ok so I see this book in a bargain bin for 3 or 4 dollars and had actually seen it recommended to me because of some other titles I've read. So I bite and one day I say, what the heck, it's a short book, should be done with it in four days time. 3 weeks later I finally finish the book. A previous reviewer was spot on with their review, the book feels forced, the pacing is weird, the characters aren't compelling, and the plot has twists that make no point. To make matters worse, you get the promise of a following book, which you would need to be a little mental to read. As also mentioned in the one star review, fantastic characters are put into the book for no apparent reason and no one really gets any development. My main gripe with the story is that even though I'd never read some of the things GP Taylor wrote about, nothing seemed new or fresh or even original. Nothing blew me away and true, that's a personal opinion but when you finish a book because, well you already started it, that's not saying much.

To me Wormwood just really drags on horridly and the villanously villanous villains get slaughtered way before their particular passings, well those who didn't make it. And come on, what's a book without at least one villain dead.

As for character development, Agetta is all over the place and to be quite honest, the names annoyed me to a certain degree because it's almost as if many authors need to put ludicrously obscure names to their characters. Again, personal take on things but it just gets to a point where it doesn't feel as if names really mean anything at least to GP Taylor and I may be totally out of line because you can see he was trying his damndest to make a compelling read and to describe things as well as he could envision but though some phrases were actually quite good, many descriptions feel forced.

In a nuthsell, unlike the Nemorensis, Wormwood does not possess its readers to finish it. It has no spell binding intrigue, I doubt it will have a cult following and at the very best, the only magical thing about this book is the ability to cast a Sleep Charm on you before you finish a chapter.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Ok Book, Oct 18 2006
By Green Fire "Green Fire" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Wormwood (Paperback)
I especially liked the story because it showed an alternative fictional version of the events the Bible perdicts. Mind you, the story could have been better because a lot of the book takes place in isolated event that do not come together until at the latest possible moment.

Wormwood is the comet the Bible speaks of that will dry out most of the oceans when it hits the Earth. But you have would have to know Biblical prophecy to understand some of what Taylor relates.

Yet, when I started reading the book, I was confused by some of the thing that were happening and it wasn't until halfway through that the book picked up. The characters were kind of watery and not really defined.

However, it is a very descriptive book and it did a good job of capturing some of the panic happening. Yet, there was still some mystery left that culd have been solved. And it does not end satisfactorily. It's not a page turner but it is an interesting read though that could have been put together more effectively.

I will not say don't read it but it is a book that you can read during your lunch hour.
› Go to Amazon.com to see all 7 reviews  3.0 out of 5 stars 
 
 
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