Without a doubt, this is my favorite read so far this year!Seriously guys, not since The Final Empire and A Game of Thrones has my heart beat this way over a book!! I began to think it would never happen, but The Barbed Coil blew me out of the water!Quick synopsis, since I know this isn't a very well known book (shame! Everyone needs to read this!): Tessa McCamfrey lives in modern-day San Diego. At the outset, Tessa's going through life with little enthusiasm, attaching herself to nothing and no one, having no meaningful relationships, no purpose, and on top of that she's struggling against a medical issue. Through a seemingly random series of events, Tessa finds herself in the middle of a crime scene, where she finds a tiny ring shaped like a barbed coil. And when she puts it on, she gets transported to a completely different world. The story takes off from there, taking you through this world and eventually, we find out how Tessa gets there and why she's there.Okay, I'll admit that synopsis doesn't say much. But I don't want to give away too much details, because it's best to go into this novel with as little as possible. It makes the discovery much more worth it.What makes this book a must-read?- JV Jones's writing style is amazing! She juggles different POV's with their separate storylines SO well! Each POV character is distinct, and their plotlines are all clear despite their complexity.- The magic system is really cool. It involves painting. Old-style painting, with crushed pigments, powders, and different types of surfaces. It's detailed, but very interesting.- Violence. If you love a good, violent epic fantasy, this is for you!!!- The characters are all so compelling. JV Jones made me fall utterly in love with so many characters, only to take them to take them to literal hell and breaking my heart in the process. Seriously. This woman pushes the boundaries of what is acceptable to do to someone's heart.- It's really dark. There were many moments throughout the book where I had to pause because things were just so twisted.- It's a standalone novel, and it's fast-paced! Need I say more than that?The only criticism I make with this book is that the ending wrapped everything together too nicely. I kind of wanted it to be as raw and bittersweet as the rest of the book, but it's totally okay. It is a one-volume fantasy, so ultimately maybe giving closure was the better way to go.I love, freaking love, this book. It's everything I love in a fantasy book. I feel like I'll definitely re-read this book for years to come.
I'm not one that easily gives four and five star reviews, but this book definitely deserves it. The writing is excellent, and even though there are a lot of descriptive parts in the book, it's not boring, tedious, or too wordy, which are pet peeves of mine with heavy description. The story itself flows well, and the characters are very well developed and deepened throughout the book, keeping the reader not only interested in the story but the players as well. What I'm most impressed with is the fact that the author manages to juggle many converging story arcs without getting tangled up or leaving lose ends, which really makes this novel stand out. I've read this book a handful of times over the years and I keep coming back to it for these reasons.The fact this this is a complete, stand alone fantasy novel is just icing on the cake. I've found it quite hard to find single books that don't fall flat or fall into the 'easy read' category. This is a book that keeps your attention, and keeps you guessing as well. This book's story is like a long thread that you pull forth little by little, totally engrossed with the section you are looking at right in the moment. It holds your attention so fully that you don't have time to think about what will happen next - you just turn the page and are drawn forward into the next section with nary a bump in the road. If you haven't read this book - go pick it up now. You won't regret in the least!
What do You think about The Barbed Coil (1999)?
This was story was mighty fine. Reminded me a lot of Tigana, but it wasn't because of the story. The aura, I guess?One thing, though. I am a bit disappointed that there are no sexytimes going on in this. Throughout the story, the protagonists only share a kiss. I mean, why? Whhyyy? 3.5 stars
—Jennifer Lim
Okely dokely... skipped the I's as there was only one... and it was the second in a set... I did try to get started, but character building had already been done and I felt left out muchly... sooo... Not sure where I picked up this one, but must have been at a book sale or charity shop... don't even remember choosing it, which is odd, so I'm guessing one of the book sales... heh... I was hooked lined and sinkered as soon as I got to the acknowledgements... "On matters of illuminated manuscripts..." ...and then as the story begins... very engrossing by the third page... I'll let you know how it goes.Very nice fantasy. Thoroughly intrigued by the concept of magic in illuminated manuscripts... the "old" patterns to be specific. Nice correlation to Lindesfarne... both the place and the books... lots of good research done on manuscript making... and on top of that characters that you cared about and wanted to see happy at the end...which she did... but... I would have liked to hear more of Angeline's story, and was slightly dismayed at how rapidly the whole thing was wrapped up at the end. Will most definitely look to to add more of her work to my library! Five out of five for J.V. Jones!
—April
I read this book before, many years ago, so I knew vaguely what was going to happen. It was more dull than I remembered. It starts off exciting, and then draws into a lull where not very much happens, and then ends with a surprisingly explosive climax. I found the scenes with Tessa drawing the illuminations very tedious. But, I loved the Harras, and I adored Izgard (I'm a sucker for lunatics, I think I've mentioned that before...) but I didn't like Tessa or Ravis very much. Tessa not fitting in with the other characters I can sort of forgive since she was from another world, but Ravis felt so out of place amongst the other characters. Camron and the others slotted together nicely with their culture. Maybe it is because I have a hard time separating the medieval theme from the nautical theme that accompanies Ravis being that he seems to spend a lot of time at sea. The battle scenes were a lot of fun, it's a shame there weren't more of them, and Izgard's perverse relationship with Ederius was perfection. I became very fond of Angeline and Snowy, and was quite surprised at the resulting ending for their line of the plot. Overall, it was an okay book, if I hadn't been enjoying it I never would have finished it so I guess that's something. Still not as good as some of her other books. On top of that, I learned a great deal about the drawing and painting of illuminations, so that was interesting. I'd say it's a book worth reading if you like fantasy but don't want to dedicate yourself to a 5+ book series.
—Nem
