Note: This book has not been published in other languages than Dutch as of me writing this.
I love this certain Dutch amusement park called the Efteling. I've been there many times and enjoy their rides a lot! So when this book detailing the story behind one of their rides was released, I always wanted to read it, though I never got to obtain the book. Until now. Spoilers ahead!
In Baron 1898, we meet two teenagers from a little Dutch town in the late 1800s. Their town is in uproar when a greedy baron named Hooghmoed starts to build a mine on the nearby moors, which are said to be haunted by Witte Wieven, mysterious white spirits.
I honestly quite enjoyed this read, but there's also some major flaws I have with it. First of all, our main two characters were simply too bland. Jochem has no interesting character to him whatsoever, and the only thing I got out of Doortje is that she's a slight tomboy, but that's really where her interesting characterization stops. The only character out of the main three I really ended up enjoying because they had a clear personality was the baron. Yes, he's greedy beyond belief, but at least he has something to him.
Then there's the romance between Doortje and Jochem. Which I simply don't buy. The book clearly builds up (and even directly states) that they see one another as a brother and sister, but in the end they still somehow have to get together. Why, I wouldn't know. It feels forced and just goes against how their bond was established. There's also this uncomfortable bit where Hooghmoed, who is in his 30s-40s at the moment, starts hitting on 17-18 years old Doortje. Just, yikes.
The book did come with some nice illustrations (usually concept art for the Baron 1898 rollercoaster, but also others) and it was kind of cool to see some pages being black with white print rather than vice versa.
The climax wasn't all that intense, but I honestly quite liked it. I also liked the environments of the village and the nearby nature. The Witte Wieven were an interesting antagonistic force, too.
Not the best, but I quite enjoyed it overall.
Rating: 3.5/5
I honestly quite enjoyed this read, but there's also some major flaws I have with it. First of all, our main two characters were simply too bland. Jochem has no interesting character to him whatsoever, and the only thing I got out of Doortje is that she's a slight tomboy, but that's really where her interesting characterization stops. The only character out of the main three I really ended up enjoying because they had a clear personality was the baron. Yes, he's greedy beyond belief, but at least he has something to him.
Then there's the romance between Doortje and Jochem. Which I simply don't buy. The book clearly builds up (and even directly states) that they see one another as a brother and sister, but in the end they still somehow have to get together. Why, I wouldn't know. It feels forced and just goes against how their bond was established. There's also this uncomfortable bit where Hooghmoed, who is in his 30s-40s at the moment, starts hitting on 17-18 years old Doortje. Just, yikes.
The book did come with some nice illustrations (usually concept art for the Baron 1898 rollercoaster, but also others) and it was kind of cool to see some pages being black with white print rather than vice versa.
The climax wasn't all that intense, but I honestly quite liked it. I also liked the environments of the village and the nearby nature. The Witte Wieven were an interesting antagonistic force, too.
Not the best, but I quite enjoyed it overall.
Rating: 3.5/5
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