The Ten Thousand Doors of January

On rare occasions, a book speaks to your heart as well as your intellect, ‘The Ten Thousand Doors of January’ is just such a book. Its author, Alix E. Harrow is a “wordworker” of note. Not only does she write in beautifully poetic language, but also creates characters who invade your life and remain in memory long after your reading is over. A memorable fantasy writer must build a credible alternate world with words. This author certainly achieves that, (in fact - many worlds). Not since finishing J. R. R. Tolkien’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and ‘The Old Kingdom’ series by Garth Nix have I been so totally immersed in a fantasy story. But in addition, the author of Ten Thousand Doors writes with authority on social issues such as racial and sexual discrimination, male dominance and colonial power struggles; subjects she weaves into the fabric of her story without ever becoming preachy or condescending. This story is a fantasy, a quest, a mystery, a coming-of-age story, a love story and a social commentary, all rolled into one sensational book. January Scaller, daughter of Ade and Yule Ian, is raised to be an obedient, polite girl in the privileged home of rich Mr.Locke, her guardian. Her mother is missing, presumed dead; her father employed by Mr. Locke as a traveling gatherer of rare collectible items. But January, true to her heritage, retains a wild, wandering streak, which no amount of discipline is able to suppress. When she discovers that she possesses the power to open portals to other worlds, like her mother before her, the drama builds into a wild ride. The reader of this story is swept along with January, her faithful dog Sinbad (Bad), and her friends, Samuel and Jane, on a journey to worlds beyond the veil of the dark threshold. Haven’t we all wished on occasions in our youth to open a Door into another magical world? Haven’t we wanted to kick over the traces of convention and run free? If you still dream of magic, read this story. I wanted to start re-reading this story as soon as I had finished. I found this clever, whimsical book totally captivating. 5 Golden stars🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I found this book largely by accident — a bit ironic given the ending. The sample chapter provided didn't intrigue me as much as I thought it would, but something drew me into buying it anyway. To start, the storytelling is certainly unique. I enjoyed the mystery of the novel within a novel and very much enjoyed how it played it. And the various revelations throughout the story served to keep the plot moving and engaging. January's tale was well told for the most part. I'm generally not a huge fan of young main characters as I find it hard to wrap my head around more irrational decisions. But they worked well for the characterization of January. It was exciting to see her slowly push against the gilded cage of her youth. The mistakes and consequences seemed very real and worked well to help her grow. Outside of January, the supporting cast was equally interesting. One quirk Harrow did in the beginning was to sew doubt about the way the world worked, and once the fantasy aspects came into full play, those side characters became much more complex and threatening. There were still parts I didn't like as much in the story. The narration, or January's writing, gets a bit flowery and wordy at times. It was interesting in an overdramatic sort of way in the beginning, but later on started to feel a bit cumbersome. Additionally, it did feel like she failed one too many times whenever she did try to be more independent and brave. Perhaps that was the point, but it started to get a bit frustrating near the end. The final sequences in the story were more fast paced. Arcadia did feel a touch unnecessary, even last minute. I get the purpose it served, but its residents seemed far less interesting or developed due to how little time January spends there. Then barreling through to the end, the villains seemed a bit too quick to be dispatched. While the story did end in a satisfying manner, I wished the final confrontation was a bit more impactful. Overall, this was a very enjoyable read that really captures the spirit of fantasy and the wonders of storytelling. I've certainly learned a lot from it and hope to apply some of those lessons in my own writing.

This book was not what I expected, but I still loved it. To be clear, this is not a whirling trip through ten thousand fantastic and alien worlds. You will visit perhaps three or four, and hear of a few more, but the book is more concerned with it's characters and theming. To be clear, it works. The themes are strong and wonderfully sweet, and the characters are the same. The book shares a strength with the best Disney films - it makes you want desperately for our main characters to be happy, and cheer for them to reach their far-off goal. Watching January grow into a force to be reckoned with is a true pleasure, and both the supporting cast and villains are excellent. The writing style is, to my mind, perhaps the best part of the book. First person and self-aware, mixing elegantly between different viewpoints through the two in-universe texts that the final novel is composed of. Unraveling the narrators, and their intended audience, is a delight (if not terribly difficult). Anyway, this book is charming and clever and well worth your time.

Las hojas no vienen bien cortadas y es mucho más notorio desde la parte de abajo. Aún no lo leo, pero esta edición me dejó decepcionada.

Great book

I'm 69 and a physical scientist and normally go for Jason Bourne / Jack Reacher class thrillers, but mainly Science Fiction. I also love Lord of the Rings! The BookBub blurb for '1000 Doors' caught my eye so I looked at the 3* reviews. These were intriguing enough to read the Kindle sample ... and I was hooked. Its a fantasy, but not the traditional elves/dwarves/GoT/LotR/Pern type. There is no magic per se - but the Doors (not doors) and the way they are manipulated to travel between worlds is definitely not Science but also not Magic. January's story is slowly but fully developed starting when she is 7 years old and discovers her ability to use 'Doors', jumping several years until she is old enough to break free and begin to control her own destiny. The development of the world(s) she lives in and explores is handled well with enough revealed to keep you hooked but neither overwhelmed nor bewildered nor feeling that the author is stuffing info down your throat. Character development is handles at an appropriate rate so that the characters' behaviours work for the worlds and stage of their journeys they find themselves in. The rate of the story development, similarly, makes sense - giving good hints about where we are being lead without spoiling the 'reveals' and twists and turns. The characters are accessible and though in no way perfect are worthy of your interest and support, Rarely seen in modern books, but welcome, is that the baddies are really bad, but believable within their own view of what they are doing. Though I couldn't empathise, nor agree, with their ethos and behaviour, I could see where they were coming from; a sign of a good Baddy is that you can see why they think that they are a Goody! The authors writing and craft skills are excellent, and somewhat to my surprise I quickly got caught up in January's and Samuel's and Adelaide's quests. Another nice thing nowadays is that the story is complete, and not the start of an interminable sequence of 'adventures' This is a story that is worth risking Much to my surprise

Ein Buch was überrascht. Die Geschichte ist durchgehend spannend und die Charaktere sehr lebhaft und glaubwürdig. Es ist ein schöner fließender und bildlicher Schreibstil. Egal, welches Genre man bevorzugt, ich würde dieses Buch jeden leidenschaftlichen Leser empfehlen. Eine Geschichte, die mich sehr berührt hat.

This is a beautifully written, wonderful book. A cornucopia of marvels. It is Beauty. It is Elegance. If Cate Blanchett were a book, this is the book it would be. Our heroine is January, her best friend is Bad.