#Marie Graßhoff

[reni-reads]

Okay so here is a review of a book that I didn't liveblog. It's a German cover, because the book didn't get an international release.

Title: Die Schöpfer der Wolken

Author: Marie Graßhoff

Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Cyberpunk

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Summary

Ciara can read other people's dreams like a book. Her oldest brother Koba, a renowned author, is the only person who knows about her ability. However, upon his unexpected death, everything changes for Ciara. Following her brother's last wish, she travels to Shanghai to get his last manuscript to a shady publisher. Upon arrival, she suddenly meets people who are like her - people with special abilities.

When earthquakes shake up the world, clocks begin to go crazy, and strange dimensions begin to creep out of mirrors, the group has to band together and search for reason behind it all - behind their strange talents, and the reason for the world's downfall. And maybe, they can even try to stop it.

The Story

sounded very interesting to me, as I'm a huge sucker for "people with superpowers have to band together and save the world"-stories (I'm even currently writing my own story like that)! Sadly however, there was a huge disconnect between the story and the plot.

On a story-level, we were following a group of young adults with superpowers trying to prevent the apocalypse while trying to find out where their powers come from in the first place.

On a plot-level, we were observing each of them get to Shanghai to get together. After that, they split up because they are chased by an evil organization. Then they find each other again. Then they are chased by another evil organization. And then they save the world in a really contrived manner. The end. There just was a lot to be desired - I would have liked to actually see the group interact as a whole unit.

The Worldbuilding

was quite interesting, but a lot of potential was sadly missed! The setting was our world, but our reality is divided into several dimensions, namely: Time, Space, Dreams, Darkness, Mirrors, Elements and Death.

Not too surprising, the protagonists all have superpowers relating to one of these dimensions, as they all carry a piece of it with them. How exactly this happened was sadly not really explained, so I'm guessing it was just by accident.

The idea itself was super cool to me, and the way their powers were introduced was interesting too, because there was some overlap between certain dimensions and thus their powers, but ultimately a lot of them were underutilized or used for a deus-ex-machina resolution, which was pretty frustrating.

The Characters

Since I didn't blog about the book, I will introduce the characters here quickly, as we have quite a lot of them!

Ciara: An Australian girl tied to the dimension of Dreams, making her able to see other people's dreams. She's devastated by the loss of her older brother, but all the more determined to prevent the apocalypse, as she suspects her brother to be a part of the big plan.

Koba: Ciara's older brother and a known eccentric. He's a beloved and famous author, whose death is worldwide news. He's tied to the dimension of Time which gave him the ability to predict the apocalypse and the means to prevent it.

Xia: A Chinese university student tied to the dimension of Mirrors, making her able to see when other people will die. She's headstrong and brave, though she also feels responsible for a lot of things and doubts herself quite often. She played a huge role for a big part of the book and then she was benched for the ending, which was unfortunate.

Brandon: An Irish hermit tied to the dimension of Darkness, which gives him the power to talk to animals. He's very introverted and doesn't talk much, but he could have been the group dad. I say could have been, because he disappears pretty early on and doesn't show up until the end, which was honestly irritating and disappointing.

Wesley: An American entrepeneur tied to the dimension of Space, which gives him the ability to always be in the right place at the right time (sounds weird at first, but this ability made him a millionaire, so good for him!). He's the comic relief character, with witty one-liners that hide his deeper thoughts.

Andrew: The most elusive character of them all - he didn't even give them his real name (which would have saved a lot of lives and hassle, honestly). He's originally from Switzerland and tied to the Dimension of Death and can kill people just by touching them. He acted as their leader, but ultimately his involvement became unclear after a certain point.

Naku: A man from West Africa who's tied to the dimension of the Elements, which lets him reign over them. He shows up pretty late to save the day, so there really isn't much to say about him.

Honestly, I really wish I would have seen them interact more! A lot of them got sidelined for big parts of the book and it was so unfortunate. Some of them had good chemistry (Xia x Ciara, Xia x Andrew, Xia x Wesley, Andrew x Koba, Ciara x Brandon) but it all doesn't go anywhere. Maybe it was a case of "too much of a good thing", because none of them got the attention they deserved. As such, I also didn't really bond with anyone.

Final Thoughts

So yeah, I didn't hate the book at all, but did I love it? No. Did it scratch my "superpower found family" itch? Also no. It's just okay, I guess. The author really had great ideas that remained underdeveloped, which made the book a drag sometimes.

The language was really poetic though, and there were some comic pages that I really liked. There were some references to popculture like Spongebob and ATLA (Wesley jokingly calls Naku the Avatar) that sometimes were fun and sometimes were a bit cringey, but overall the style and tone of the book was good.

I wouldn't recommend it to just everyone, but it was good enough that it's worth a read for some!

[the-pixel-x]

tag people you want to catch up with/get to know better

tagged by: @norah-tortuga

last song: "First Light" by Hozier

last film: Uhhhh it's been forever since I last watched a proper movie,,, might've been Treasure Planet?? I've got no clue, it's been Too Long

current/last read: "Spicy Noodles" by Marie Graßhoff. It's a German book from a series called Food Universe, where characters get super powers by eating certain foods. Weird premise, but they're really good books!

currently watching: Uhh, do video essays count? Because I'm watching so many video essays atm

current obsessions: TTRPG things, specifically the DnD & Blades in the Dark game I'm in atm. Really good stuff, but I can barely talk abt it with people who aren't in these games lol

tagging: @redesign-your-ranboo @mossy-covered-bones @emeralddgraves

don't feel pressured to do this lol

[cleopatras-library]

23 in 2023 Wrap-Up

So I made a list at the beginning of 2023, and did actually try to read most of the books on it! Results were mixed, but I did read a lot of books I'd been meaning to get to for some time, and made peace with many others. I won't be doing the same for this year because I genuinely don't have that many books I plan on reading. So here they all are:

Books that didn't come out this year:

Alecto the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir - I was very optimistic, but there was not in fact an official release date and there is not one now. I did read the new short story though, and it was very good!

Books I didn't start:

De Profundis, Oscar Wilde - Too stressed for something so soul-searching. Maybe this year?

Lord of the Flies, William Golding - I decided I wasn't going to put myself through this one again and let go of all my guilt about it.

War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy - Similarly, I finally came to terms with the fact that I'm not particularly interested in reading War and Peace right now.

Books I didn't finish:

Once & Future, A.R. Capetta & Cory McCarthy - Very YA, the humour was clearly targeted at a younger audience than me.

Cinnamon Toast and the End of the World, Janet E. Cameron - NOT in fact the lighthearted read its cover makes it out to be.

Beirut Hellfire Society, Rawi Hage - Not as interesting as the title.

The Personal Librarian, Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray - Might have the prose I liked least all year. The authors were telling everything, which made it very heavy-handed.

Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel - Too dark for me :) I regret starting this book. The prose was also a bit heavy-handed.

Books I finished that were Bad:

After the Victorians, A. N. Wilson - Written in 2005, and you can tell, because Wilson's opinions are stale as fuck. I can't really trust much of what he wrote because of that, though the chapter on crosswords was interesting.

Der Dunkle Schwarm, Marie Graßhoff - Dystopia with weak worldbuilding, and I found myself noticing plot holes, which isn't something I typically do.

Books I finished that were mediocre:

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald - 200 pages of Nick feeling uncomfortable and also some commentary on the american dream that has become common knowledge in the intervening century. This book is for someone else.

Ships of the ‘45, John S. Gibson - Exactly what it says on the cover.

Company Town, Madeline Ashby - Interesting worldbuilding, dull mystery plot (why is it that so much interesting fantasy/sci fi gets saddled with the dullest of imaginable mystery plots?)

Books I finished that were good:

Blood Like Fate, Liselle Sambury - I liked this a bit less than the first book, but it was still interesting and unique YA sci fi! The romance was also well-written.

Legendborn, Tracy Deonn - Honestly I was mostly reading this for the (enjoyably) messy love triangle, and I would continue the series if it looked like my preferred pairing was going to become canon.

Worlds of Ink and Shadow, Lena Coakley - Wittier than I remember it being!

Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Truman Capote - Different, but just as good as the movie.

Love After the End, edited by Joshua Whitehead - An interesting short story collection. My thoughts were very much provoked.

The Sentence, Louise Erdrich - Literary fiction I found satisfactory upon reading that has somehow stuck with me over the last few months.

Books I finished that left me Changed:

Nona the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir - AAAAAHHH (highly recommend, this literally changed everything)

The Secret History, Donna Tartt - This book makes me think maybe I should be reading more thrillers? Or at the very least more dark academia, regardless of how cliche it seems for the rest of my personality.

Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club, Megan Gail Coles - The best literary fiction I read this year.

In conclusion, go read The Locked Tomb.

[laxeros]

Here are some more for my fanfic:

Just some comfort sketches I made of #Luver (Luke+Flover and Gerta of course) from Neon Birds by Marie Grasshoff

[ceinyx]

Marshall

inspired by Neon Birds by Marie Graßhoff

[folding-corners]

Currently reading!

[redleavesinthewind]

this has taken me so long but i was tagged by the lovely @kafkaguy to name 9 books i wanna read in 2023! some of these have been on my list for ages, i should really get to it

radio silence by alice oseman / his dark materials by philip pullman / treasure island by robert louis stevenson / hard liquor by marie graßhoff / interview with the vampire by anne rice / piranesi by susanna clarke / bitter by akwaeke emezi / ace voices by eris young / noughts & crosses by malorie blackman

i am tagging @honeykept @hauntedpearl and @tyrannicidegirl (no pressure <3)

[liebe-ist-musik]

TAG NINE PEOPLE YOU WANT TO GET TO KNOW BETTER !

fav color: Purple and Black

currently reading: Beta Hearts-Marie Graßhoff / Wachen! Wachen! -Terry Pratchett (audiobook)

last song: Frühling in Paris - Rammstein

last movie: Only Lovers Left Alive

sweet/spicy/savory: Sweet/Savory

currently working on: Next Rammstein Fanfiction

I tag: all of my followers, please feel free to join. I don't have an overview of who has already been tagged xD

Thank you for tagging me: @missflamingo97 @frostlikeashes and @reeshyz (under raxablue)

[milui87]

Beloved

This is my pic for pride month!   In the center I have night and day and my two favo ships at the moment. Of course my dear erasermic and the other two are Flover Nakamura and Luke Bible from the Neon Birds Book series. Flover Nakamura and Luke Bible: I loved the books and the two characters... I was looking for references for the two couples and found a pic with an old VW bus and... after finally reading the final book of the series I could see the both of them repairing an old one and driving through the world together. Oh an the chicken! I loved the chicken. it's name is Greta and really really great. You should check it out: Neon Birds, Cyber Trips and Beta Hearts from Marie Graßhoff. Erasermic: Back to Erasermic - no secret I love this ship. So I thought of a quiet moment for the two pro heros at work. Can be before the have to go to work or they both came just home and... need a moment to just breath. I like it   __

Two my little pride flag hearts - the first row are my beloved ships of my series, books and animes. The second row below... is a tribut to the communities of the ships. I don't ship those paitings but I love the artworks: all your pics, comics and storys - I have so much fun with it - so pleeeease keep it up 

1st row: red: Albus Dumbledore X Gellert Grindelwald | grindeldore | Wizarding World orange: Shoyo Hinata X Tobio Kageyama | kagehina | Haikyuu! yellow: Haruka Tenno X Michiru Kaiou | HaruMichi | Sailor Moon green: Haruki Nakayama X Akihiko Kaji | AkiHaru | Given blue: Victor Nikiforov X Yuuri Katsuki | victuuri | Yuri!!! on Ice purple: Alec Lightwood X Magnus Bane | Malec | Shadowhunters 2nd row: red: Tetsurō Kuroo X Kenma Kozume | kuroken | Haikyuu! orange: Hawks X Endevor | EndHawks | Boku no Hero Academia yellow: Shoto Todoroki X Katsuki Bakugou | TodoBaku | Boku no Hero Academia green: Sanji Vinsmoke X Lorenor Zorro | ZoSan | One Piece blue: Rouge Cheney X Sting Eucliffe | Stingue | Fairy Tail purple: Tamaki Amajiki X Mirio Togata | MiriTama | Boku no Hero Academia Hope you like it - Happy pride month!

https://www.deviantart.com/milui87/art/Beloved-883361066?ga_submit_new=10%3A1624309616&ga_type=edit&ga_changes=1

[kleinesevilein]

Kernstaub - Über den Staub an Schmetterlingsflügeln - Marie Graßhoff

Kernstaub – Über den Staub an Schmetterlingsflügeln – Marie Graßhoff

Vielen Dank an den Verlag für das Rezensionsexemplar*!   Erscheinungsdatum: 01.06.2016 Seitenanzahl: 980 Seiten Verlag: Drachemond Erhältlich als: Taschenbuch: 19,90 Euro eBook: 4,99 Euro Hier erhältlich: Verlag, Amazon**   Zur Autorin: Marie Graßhoff wurde kurz vor Weihnachten 1990 an einem verschneiten Tag im märchenhaften Harz geboren. Bereits im Grundschulalter erkannte sie, dass die Welten…

[reni-reads]

My Reviews - Overview

December

Kingdoms of Smoke 1 - Die Verschwörung von Brigant by Sally Green

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

January

So This Is Ever After by F. T. Lukens

Rating: ⭐️

Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare

Rating: ⭐️⭐️

DallerGut Dream Department Store by Miye Lee

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Simon VS The Homosapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

February

Die Schöpfer der Wolken by Marie Graßhoff

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Otameshi to wa Ie, Suki Sugiru/Love on Trial by Chitose Yu

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Murder Game by Tom Hindle

Rating: ⭐️

[vanessasbuecherecke-blog]

Kurz gesagt #4

(more…)

[cleopatras-library]

23 books I want to read in 2023

Thanks @maddiesbookshelves for tagging me! These are mostly books I own and want to read before moving, books in series I know I'm continuing, recommendations, or books that have 0 checkouts at my library (the librarian showed me some stats!).

Nona the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir

Alecto the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir

Blood Like Fate, Liselle Sambury

Legendborn, Tracy Deonn

Once & Future, A.R. Capetta & Cory McCarthy

Worlds of Ink and Shadow, Lena Coakley (reread)

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

De Profundis, Oscar Wilde

Lord of the Flies, William Golding (I tried reading it years ago)

Breakfast at Tiffany's, Truman Capote

The Secret History, Donna Tartt

Ships of the '45, John S. Gibson (I bought this as a joke)

After the Victorians, A. N. Wilson

Beirut Hellfire Society, Rawi Hage

Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club, Megan Gail Coles

Cinnamon Toast and the End of the World, Janet E. Cameron

The Personal Librarian, Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray

Love After the End, edited by Joshua Whitehead

The Sentence, Louise Erdrich

Company Town, Madeline Ashby

Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel

Der Dunkle Schwarm, Marie Graßhoff

War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy (optimistic but it fills both the longest and oldest books on my TBR prompts from maddie's book bingo, so I guess it's happening!)

[lunethien]

»Ich bin Kernstaub, nehme einen Teil der Weltasche und warte auf das Nebelecho.«

- Marie Graßhoff, Kernstaub

Probably no one on this site knows about this book but I still wanted to leave this fan art here.

[thoronris]

[Rezension] Marie Graßhoff - Der dunkle Schwarm

[Rezension] Marie Graßhoff – Der dunkle Schwarm

Im Jahr 2100 verbinden die Menschen ihr Bewusstsein über Implantate zu sogenannten „Hive-Minds“. Die junge Atlas profitiert davon gleich doppelt: Tagsüber arbeitet sie als Programmiererin für den größten Hive-Entwickler. Nachts betreibt sie unter dem Decknamen Oracle einen lukrativen Handel mit Erinnerungen, die sie aus Hive-Implantaten stiehlt. Eines Nachts berichtet ihr ein Kunde namens Noah…

[surejaya]

Neon Birds (Neon Birds, #1)

Download : Neon Birds (Neon Birds, #1) More Book at: Zaqist Book

Neon Birds (Neon Birds, #1) by Marie Graßhoff

Ein Supersoldat, der seine glorreichen Tage hinter sich hat.Ein Träumer mit einem düsteren Geheimnis.Ein Untergrundkämpfer mit Todeswunsch.Eine Jägerin mit Verbindung zu einer dunklen Macht.Es ist das Jahr 2101. Ein außer Kontrolle geratener technischer Virus verwandelt Menschen in hyperfunktionale Cyborgs, die dem Willen der künstlichen Intelligenz KAMI gehorchen. In Sperrzonen eingepfercht, werden sie von Supersoldaten bekämpft, die man weltweit als Stars feiert. Doch die Mauern beginnen zu bröckeln. Sekten beten KAMI als Maschinengott an. Und während der Kampf zwischen Menschlichkeit und Technologie hin und her wogt, versuchen vier junge Erwachsene, den Untergang ihrer Zivilisation zu verhindern.

Download : Neon Birds (Neon Birds, #1) More Book at: Zaqist Book