I really like this for most of the book, but then it seemed to lose some of the magic that seemed to be in the setup. By the end of the book, I was ready for it to be over. I'm not sure why the ending was so disappointing, but it left me not caring about the characters of the outcome of the plot. The writing was of very good quality and I would be inclined to try another of his books. ( )

DNF. I made it all the way to Part Two, about a third of the way in, but my will to continue petered out. This is more me than this novel; my interest in fantasy as been on the wane for many years. Ah well. It's an interesting world, I just haven't connected with any of the characters. ( )

The Troupe is a bold imaginative and gripping adventure, part magical realism, part horror, part Southern gothic. At its heart, the novel is George's coming of age story -- George abandons his vaudeville group to join a troupe led by Heironomo "Harry" Silenus, whom he believes to be his father. Most, but not all of the characters are interesting and complex: a Persian princess who sings and dances, a puppeteer whose puppets appear to speak and move on their own, a strongwoman whose great strength seem to belie her slight size, a mute assistant, and protagonist, George, a young and talented pianist. The back story for each character revolves around the mysterious leader, Silenus.

There is a song that was lost when man and Earth was created (the First Song), and the mission of Silenus has been to reassemble it to save the world from dark forces. Each town they stop in becomes just a little bit better when the troupe sings this haunting song. It is a beautifully written work of art, but I found the ending to be pretty disappointing given the talent revealed in the basic story. ( )

Bennett is a wildly talented writer. He can place you in the most unexpected of times and places and make you feel as if he has seen them himself. The book begins solidly and slowly, then unleashes around the halfway mark. The creature descriptions and world building are magnificent. ( )

There were a lot of interesting details in this story. The characters all had moving back stories which made the reader care even more about them, even when their character seemed dubious. In fact one of my favorite characters was one of the bad guys. I really would have loved to delve deeper into the many stories that were presented but we were on George's journey, not theirs. And that was probably my only criticism of the book, there were so many interesting ideas and stories that after a beginning that dragged a little until they were revealed, we were propelled towards the conclusion with so many intriguing aspects to the world that we did not have the time to explore. Overall, it was an interesting book in a magical world that was both dark and intriguing. ( )