Review: Dark, Disturbing, but a very well told story
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 10, 2014
WOW! This was an intense book to read. I was so taken aback by the emotion and pain from the story, but also how well the author put all of it onto paper. I am blown away by this story.Tristis Manor is a story about a young girl, living in a manor with her mother, while her father is away on business. Margaret has a lot of emotional issues spawned from her mother's lack of care for her but also more that the story alludes to and in the end right out and says it -- but I will leave that for when you read it.Right away I have to say that is was a 4 out of 5 star book. Tristis Manor is a novella in The Never Chronicles series, and I have read book one and it was great, but I am not sure how this will play into it, thus the 4 star rating versus 5. It tells the story of Margaret and her pain and suffering and it was not an easy book to read in terms of there being mental and physical abuse, as well as a good amount of violence all around.The author does a spectacular job with his descriptions, in the beginning of the book you learn that Margaret has a coping strategy of running her fingers over splinted wood, and the detail that he goes into to describe these motions and feelings made me both cringe and assess the state of my fingertips.Also impressive is the overall storytelling, Wagner is a wonderful fantasy writer, and this was no exception. He builds the Manor, the characters, and the emotion around this one little girl that has you feel for her as if you know her. She is strong but also weak and deals with so much more than a child should.I am interested to see where his character is added into the Never Chronicles or how these stories merge. If you have the opportunity though, and a strong stomach, you can pick up this novella without any knowledge of the first book in the series.