Unsettling, but I found it difficult to find a spot to stop for the evening and try to get some sleep.
In ‘The Curator’, the novel’s city was, of course, fictional yet I seemed to take away some of its grime on my hands, odors settling into my clothing. The characters were wretched yet bold, brave but broken, and they often drew my fondness only for their actions to be sometimes questionable.
To summarize the story - power struggles, magic, politics, doomed relationships, a ghost ship, cats, cholera - would seem impossible to this reviewer. I’ve tried to convey an emotionally wrenching dream in which the description of the images and feelings laid out for others seemed silly with the handful of words that I used. To attempt to do so for ‘The Curator’ would fall flat and not do it the service it deserves.
Inventive and imaginative, I would recommend ‘The Curator’ to those who aren’t frightened off by an author who makes ballsy choices.

I had high hopes for this one - I love fantasy novels and the description sounded quirky, a little confusing, and intricate. As a huge fan of The Locked Tomb series, 'quirky, confusing and intricate' is my JAM. Unfortunately, as I swiftly discovered, my interest in solving literary puzzles dies when the characters at the center of the puzzles are bland. This book, in tone, is the polar opposite of my kind of fantasy. Jay Kristoff fans may enjoy it? I don't know. If you like grimdark, edgelord fantasy that switches characters with abandon while really developing none of them because they're just in service to the larger plot, then you may like this. The misogyny was too much for me; the female characters were just barely *characters*, and I didn't like anyone. Don't get me started on the confusing worldbuilding. I learned after the fact that this was a short story that had been expanded, and while Owen King isn't a *bad* writer - he has some wonderful, witty turns of phrase - it definitely feels like more meat might have been added to these bones.

This novel was interesting, but was far too convoluted to be enjoyable. I found the execution of the great idea presented here to be messy and unable to stick the landing.

The premise seemed promising to this avid SF/Fantasy reader. But I found that the book did not rise to the occasion. While the book was very well written I felt that the story fell flat, the characters did not engage my interest, and I just cannot recommend this book.

Owen King's The Curator

I give it 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️s

Was given a eARC from NetGalley for an honest review!

What do you get when you mix history and fantasy and uprising of never never existed.

Owen King's The Curator is full of the weird and the unexplained.
A slight of hand, an upside down cake of feline prowess 🙀
A Bizarro world indeed!!

A woman searches for the Truth and is fearless!
Mystery & Curiosity
Conspiracy and

The Magic unleashes in Kings wonderful prose!

Very different yet ,very nineteenth century appeal and memorable!

So first off- I confess I adore Owen king but I thought when I requested this it was a Joe Hill- I don’t know why. So- I was shocked about the fantastical premise of this book and was going to just hand it back when I realized, this was a cute idea and I enjoyed it and I WILL add this author to my list and I am not even Joe King. Ugh bad joke.

For fans of V.E. Schwab and Alexis Schaitkin, The Curator is terrifyingly delicious. Venture into a world full of magic, museums, and godlike kittens -- it will keep you entranced to the very last page.

This one was tough for me to get through as the length made it a chore. I loved the premise, and he's a good writer, but I don't think huge fantasies are for me.

Thank you Owen King, Simon & Schuster, Scribner, and Netgalley for this free ARC in exchange for a review. I wanted to like this so badly given the author, but I struggled so much with following the story. I was only get to 25% before I called it quits. Maybe I will try it again but for now, I am putting it down.

This was a long one and unfortunately I couldn't get into it much. I had a hard time grabbing onto the plot and understanding what was going on, so Iost interest.

What a vivid, magical, lovely and FANTASTICAL book. Superb, sublime, and really really pretty! Loved this.

owen king writing a fantastical horror novel about cats, religion, thieves, and and revolutions was absolutely not on my bingo board. but my god was this fantastic! king perfectly blends a fanatical conspiracy with eerie worldbuilding and it’s so compelling. dora is such an awesome main character and i didn’t feel bored once within the 450+ pages. anyone that was a fan of sleeping beauties and double feature is sure to like this one!

A creative concept, part fantasy and part speculative fiction – I’m getting London/New York-ish vibes, circa 1880? The story was wall written and deftly plotted, with all of the seemingly disparate elements cleverly woven together in the final confrontation at the end. Each chapter kept building on the one before it, so even though this wasn’t necessarily a read I zoomed through, I do feel like the pacing kept me moving forward to see what would happen next. I appreciated the cat worship, but not so much the multiple instances of cat killing. I’m still not entirely sure what they had to do with the plot, and even though cats are heavily involved in the final denouement, I still don’t really know why. Or perhaps that’s the point – can one ever know the mind of a cat?

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC of this book!

Really interesting concept. This is actually my first Own King and I really did enjoy in general, but not sure I loved it. The characters were compelling, though not really likeable (which is fine, I don't need to like them). Well written, and I could easily visualize what's going on. Not sure I really liked the ending, but that's more of a personal preference! Thank you so much!!

The Curator is a creative longer version of Owen King's short story of the same name. The world-building is phenomenal. The premise is clever. You'll never look at your cat the same. Highly recommended!

I don't know if I should applaud the author's cunning and cerebral writing style, or if I should pan this book as unnecessarily difficult and lacking in direction.

On one hand, it seems to be just messy characterization and plotless plot twists. But on the other hand, it seems like the puzzle is possibly the author's intended purpose.

"There was a game her brother invented called Stray Cats."

Dickensian cats. Escher's mad dreams.

"Quiet and small was not the same as invisible, but it was nearly so."

"What was the fun if the characters never had a chance?"

I like the premise. And, yes, I'm a cat parent, and maybe parents are more likely to enjoy this one (?). Anyway, turning a short story into a book is risky, and it generally worked here. But did seem a bit forced at times. So, I enjoyed this overall, and look forward to King''s future work.

Thanks very much for the free ARC for review!!

I'm not sure about Dickensian - or, frankly, that's anyone would want that label because of the serious expectations it carries with it... I really struggled to engage with the story or the characters. I just couldn't find my way in, this one wasn't for me.

Excellent world-building and a great storyline. I look forward to more books from this author. It's difficult not to draw comparisons between the author and his father, but hey, greatness is greatness.

This book was described as "Dickensian" and that hits the nail on the head. The main character is strong and engaging, but I can't say the book was my cup of tea. As social commentary it was a bit of a "so what?" And as dystopian/fantasy, it left me a little cold. I'm sure there are readers who will like this book, I'm just not one of htem.