nevernight the nevernight chronicle book 1 jay kristoff

I can think of dozens upon dozens of literary fiction novels that can’t hold a candle to Nevernight in terms of prose. I’ve read so many amazing fantasy novels that disprove that theory, and this is undoubtedly one of those. There are a good many readers out there who tend to look down on genre fiction, like fantasy, because they believe it to be inferior in craftsmanship. In large part, I’ve gravitated more and more toward literary fiction because I just deeply appreciate good writing.

I’ve come to love literary fiction over the past few years, though it still tends to be a hit-or-miss genre for me. The storm begs no forgiveness of the drowned.” Not in terms of story or even style, but in the lyrical confidence of the author. All of this to say that I found the prose nearly infallible, and was reminded of one of my very favorite books, The Name of the Wind, while reading it.

There’s also a surprising humor that balances out the poetry perfectly, ensuring that the tone is never too heavy. I found myself reading very slowly, and going back and rereading entire paragraphs, because the writing was just so gorgeous. There’s a lyricism to the structure that resonated deeply with me, making me feel more like a bard was telling me the story than that I was reading it with my own eyes. I loved that series, and so was expecting a pretty good deal from this book. The only other books I’ve read by him were actually the Illuminae Files, which were coauthored. I’ve already gushed over how exquisite I found the prose, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the almost eerie musicality to Kristoff’s writing. I can see it in you, sure as I see it in me. And just as we mark our places in the pages, those pages leave their marks on us. There’s something oddly beautiful about how Kristoff tied these two acts together through certain repetitions in the prose. The first chapter is broken up into sections, each alternating with and mirroring its predecessor, half telling the tale of a girl ridding herself of her virginity and the other half describing a girl’s first kill. Within the first ten pages, I was stunned by the artistry of the writing. “Never flinch” A cold whisper in her ear. I was utterly captivated by this bloody, beautiful, snarky story and the equally bloody, beautiful, snarky cast. Whatever the case may be, I’m incredibly glad I finally decided to read Nevernight, and that it turned into a blog wide reading/rereading/rehashing event. The only thing young adult about this book is the fact that young adults serve as the main characters. This might be in part due to the fact that it’s labeled, quite wrongly in my opinion, as young adult. I can’t quite figure out why I waited so long to read this book.

Nevernight the nevernight chronicle book 1 jay kristoff