This was a buddy read, and as often happens with those, I'm kind of talked out/"thinked out" about the book by review time.
The Necessary Beggar is a kThis was a buddy read, and as often happens with those, I'm kind of talked out/"thinked out" about the book by review time.
The Necessary Beggar is a kind of hybrid SF or magical realism, though leaning more toward the latter. Its central family come from another dimension and are exiled to the U.S.--near Reno, Nevada specifically. They quickly have to come to terms with its culture in whatever way they can. They also have to deal with a couple of ghosts who came with them from their home country.
The story has a lot to say about America's cold cruelty when it comes to refugees or the homeless or others who haven't "pulled themselves up by their bootstraps." The characters are a believable mix of sweethearts and people with terrible flaws who cause pain and havoc for those who love them....more
As of its third volume, the Chronicles of Elantra has fallen into a sort of groove for me. The beginning is always interesting, the end is great, and As of its third volume, the Chronicles of Elantra has fallen into a sort of groove for me. The beginning is always interesting, the end is great, and the middle is very much a mixed bag.
Cast in Secret largely deals with the telepathic Th'alani and the element of water (view spoiler)[and their deep-rooted connection with each other (hide spoiler)]. I love the worldbuilding and descriptions in these books, especially when magic comes into play. The elemental grove behind Evanton's shop is a fascinating place, and the "basement" of Nightshade's castle was fun, too. New power is dangled in front of Kaylin, and because she is who she is, she tries to deny it rather than grabbing it with both hands, as most people would.
I've become more accepting of Severn's role in these novels. He might act all Wolf-y and draw his weapon now and then, but what he's really there for is to be Kaylin's bulwark, to be her backup wherever she goes. The reader has to put up with a lot of "Severn said nothing" along the way. It'd be nice if he asserted himself beyond being a silent presence now and then.
On the whole, these aren't action-packed books, though, and things have mellowed considerably since the first one, when characters--who are fairly docile now--literally threatened to kill one another almost as a matter of greeting. This one's almost on the cozy side, despite the epic-fantasy style world-threatening enemy (view spoiler)[who is dispatched offstage at the end of the book (hide spoiler)].
It was tempting to give this volume, and the previous one, better ratings because of their endings, both of which were moving and well-done. But I don't because of what I perceive as lackluster editing that lets so many repetitions of very tired phrases slip by. Don't create a drinking game around "He raised a brow" or somebody stomping on Kaylin's foot to get her to shut up....
My attraction to this series, and my frustrations with it, continue. It has a unique vibe that I'll certainly be back to enjoy more of, and I'll try to be strong and not throw the next book against the wall when somebody raises their brow for the millionth damn time, or when the worldbuilding through dialogue goes on and on and on....more
This trilogy continues the story of Los Nefilim that began in the series of novellas with that title. Diago is in pursuit of the Key, a sort of musicaThis trilogy continues the story of Los Nefilim that began in the series of novellas with that title. Diago is in pursuit of the Key, a sort of musical word of power. It turns out his missing Stradivarius is in the hands of a family who live in an isolated mansion in Germany. With Guillermo's blessing, he heads out there alone to retrieve the instrument and perhaps find more hints about the Key.
Anyone who's read the novellas will know that Diago has a habit of getting himself into trouble when he goes in search of his past. This story is no exception!
The Los Nefilim series is an interesting combination of dark fantasy, urban fantasy, and historical fiction. The movements and conflicts of the angels, daimons, and nefilim are inevitably intertwined with the wars and political movements of humans. In the latter half of the novel, there's a hint of the gothic, and even some (view spoiler)[weird science (hide spoiler)]. Throughout, there's a vivid sense of time and place, from tobacconist shops at railway stations, to a rainy night at a worn-down manse.
One thing that I have never been entirely clear about while reading these stories is the hierarchy of angels and nefilim, and why some supernatural beings can move freely on earth (i.e. Juanita), and others can't. I'm torn between wanting more background detail, and appreciating that we don't get walls of text explaining every little thing.
However, while that information is relevant to the story, it more of a backdrop for the interpersonal conflicts between the characters. As is true in the novellas, details about Diago's past, various artifacts associated with it, and the loves and hates between the characters over time, are the most interesting--and sometimes moving--things about Where Oblivion Lives.
The central family of Diago, Miquel and Rafael continues to be my favorite part of these stories. Diago spends the majority of the novel on his own as he journeys to the Grier home where he hopes to retrieve his violin, but his family is a constant source of inspiration and strength for him. Diago has felt isolated and lonely at the Los Nefilim compound, and by the end of this installment, has found a greater sense of belonging there, thanks to (view spoiler)[Guillermo and the music they can make together (hide spoiler)]. As little as I believe in reincarnation myself, I enjoy stories about it, enjoy seeing these characters striving to become their best selves over the centuries, both for themselves and for those they love and want to protect.
Real-world history has an important role to play, as well. For various reasons, I'd rather not read a novel where Hitler becomes a central figure, but since this one is set in western Europe between the world wars, it's almost inevitable he'd show up. He's in the background, and his political views are reflected in one or two of the minor characters. Other historical figures such as Sanjurjo and Franco are in the background, as well.
The search for the Stradivarius comes to a conclusion in this book, but the end of the battle that features it, the angel Frauja, and a nefil named Jordi, by no means ends the war. I'm looking forward to seeing where Diago's music, and the waves of history, take him and Los Nefilim next....more
Night's Master's story is told in the form of three sets of interleaved short stories, each of those three mostly unconnected with each other aside frNight's Master's story is told in the form of three sets of interleaved short stories, each of those three mostly unconnected with each other aside from the setting and the titular character, Azhrarn. The writing style is dreamlike, and the stories read like fairy tales.
But don't expect virginal heroines marrying their heroes after defeating the wicked queen, a la Disney. The fairy tales called back to are more like the old oral stories or our own urban legends, full of sex (often coercive or non-consensual, as a warning), bloody violence, and death. Over and above that, Azhrarn punishes all equally: the virtuous and the wicked, those who fall under his spell and those who resist it.
This seemingly bleak fantasia is counterbalanced by lush decadence. Scenery is full of flowers, fruit, gemstones, and precious metals. All the main characters are gorgeous, whether innocent or totally-not-innocent. Another, somewhat unexpected counterbalance is humor. Every now and then there's some absurdity or silliness to leaven the mood.
Much of present-day fantasy feels very pedestrian in comparison to this. It's so prettily written that it's easy to fall into this weird world full of dizzy feeling that follows its own alien rules, where beauty and horror lie side-by-side on earth, with Underearth's wondrous palaces, and the waters of Lethe, beneath it....more
Od Magic starts off appealingly as the titular Od, a mysterious and magical giantess surrounded by animals, appears before an isolated young man namedOd Magic starts off appealingly as the titular Od, a mysterious and magical giantess surrounded by animals, appears before an isolated young man named Brenden to recruit him to be the gardener at the magic school in the royal city of Kelior. There Brenden finds a weird plant in the greenhouse that no one else can figure out, either. And so the story begins.
Many of the descriptions in this book are just gorgeous. Tyramin's traveling carnival, the mysteries of the snowy north, and Od herself, are fascinating and absorbing. There's a strain of feminism running throughout that's both striking and refreshing in its unobtrusiveness.
Unfortunately, it's all downhill from there. There are a couple of interesting personalities in the very large cast of characters, but quite a few of them are hard to differentiate from each other because we aren't given a lot of room to get to know them in the crowd. On top of that, aside from Od and Mistral, we don't get a good idea of what they look like--"dark hair" isn't enough for the reader to distinguish one woman from another when almost every woman has dark hair. For this reason, sometimes I lost track of who had met whom, or where we'd left them in their last scene.
There's a capital-T Theme running through the book, and every single major character's motivation centers around it. Princess Sulys with her buttons-and-threads magic, Tyramin's daughter Mistral, Brenden the Gardener, Yar the wizard, Valoren the king's counselor... everyone. Even some of the scenery is a metaphor for it. One of the characters spells out the Theme in a speech to cap things off at the end of the book, just in case you missed the point.
Aside from the aforementioned absorbing descriptions, the whole thing felt stiff, passionless, and over-considered to me, and as a result it was a slow, slow haul. Let's not even get into the romance in the book, which was so lightly sketched that it was almost invisible. The pedantic ending was just a miserable way to ice a mostly-flavorless cake.
This was my first McKillip. Despite my lukewarm response to Od Magic, I'm looking forward to reading more of her work. There was promise of better things here that I would be genuinely happy to see fulfilled in another book. 2 1/2 stars, rounded up 'cause it's Friday.
Buddy read with Mimi. We've had a pretty good record so far, this is the first one that missed the mark......more
In this second book of the Chronicles of Elantra, limited third-person main character Kaylin heals a scion of the casteleader of the Barrani High CourIn this second book of the Chronicles of Elantra, limited third-person main character Kaylin heals a scion of the casteleader of the Barrani High Court, and as a result is invited to the Court for his elder brother's succession ceremony. Before the ceremony happens, she is involved in a mystery that could threaten the succession. Kaylin saves the day--with some help--and along the way we get some details about the Barrani royals, Lord Nightshade, and the bigger world around, and underneath, the city.
I love urban settings in secondary fantasy worlds, and Elantra is an absorbing setting all on its own. Returning to places like the Halls of Law and the Fiefs grounded me as a reader, while new ones expanded my view and made me want to learn more. The descriptions are just great, from dream sequences to palaces to an underground puzzle dungeon.
Kaylin and Severn's relationship is filled out a bit in this volume, too. I had no patience with Severn in Cast in Shadow; here, Kaylin comes to understand how his (view spoiler)[murder of Jade and Steffi (hide spoiler)] affected him, and they come to a partial reconciliation that I found quite moving. The epilogue came very close to being a tear-jerker! But otherwise, Severn is all but dead weight. Or an almost literal prop, even, as he spends a lot of time in the Barrani palace tucking Kaylin into bed, holding her hand, providing other kinds of moral support, and saying next to nothing for himself.
As you might suspect from the previous paragraph, there's an ongoing feeling of Kaylin being not very convincing as a 20-year-old. She's better than she was in the first book--she isn't a temperamental child here, and sometimes even controls herself rather than constantly needing to be swatted down by parental figures. And there are actually a couple of places where Kaylin acknowledges her own shortcomings. Progress!
But she still feels not terribly self-sufficient for somebody who spent several years on the streets and is now a Hawk; she frequently acts in ways that cause those around her to reassure and indulge her. She's also still an ignoramus and a terrible student, so that means she gets a lot of lectures about her own world's workings from various characters throughout the story. After a half-dozen of these, I started losing track of who was delivering the current lecture because it literally didn't matter. I skimmed to get the gist, and moved along.
There's some evidence of lackluster editing here. Sometimes the text works too hard to not use common turns of phrase or sentence structures, making things hard to parse. The maddening "characters talk around the subject to the point the reader has no idea what they're trying to say to each other" from the first book isn't as much in evidence this time, thank goodness.
Grouching about the cover: (view spoiler)[The covers on these books are so bad. Kaylin is supposed to have dark skin and hair--what's with this white blonde? And the dress Kaylin wore was green, had long sleeves that obscured her runes, and had about 50 buttons on the back. It wasn't an off-the-rack from W*l-mart with a zipper, for goodness' sake. And the runes themselves look like they were scribbled onto the image with MS Paint at the last second. Just get the figure off of there and leave the cityscape, and the cover would probably be fine! (hide spoiler)]
This series could very easily become a personal favorite if it weren't for a few persistent irritations. It isn't boring, it isn't offensive, it's girl-friendly (in more than one sense--get your book boyfriend here!), there are plenty of interesting characters, the setting is great, and the cozy "found family" feeling is quite heartwarming even for a grumpy ol' cynic like me. It pushes some of my "happy buttons" that very few other fantasies do, and that's just the sort of thing I would want from a long-term series.
I'll keep on with Elantra--I'm developing a bristly fondness for it that I'd like to explore further--but can't confidently recommend it because it seems like one of those things that if you aren't on the same wavelength with it, its flaws and eccentricities could drive you away....more
The Cloud Roads has a lot going for it. Its world is lush and fascinating, with several different races--none human by our standards--butting up againThe Cloud Roads has a lot going for it. Its world is lush and fascinating, with several different races--none human by our standards--butting up against each other in trade, diplomacy, and battle. It's fun and suspenseful to watch over the shoulders of the main Raksura characters as they struggle to preserve their colony after an attack by the warlike Fell, and negotiate their relationships after the perhaps-not-coincidental arrival of wandering loner Moon. The Raksura are a matriarchy, which is evident in relationships on all levels of their beehive-like breeding and social structure. Very cool!
On the other side of the coin, the story is cliched, and the prose is clear but rather bland, doing little to distinguish itself beyond the absorbing descriptions of various settings. There's a whole raft of characters outside the central half-dozen or so that are just names and little else, which made me prone to skim sections that had a lot of second-stringers. These aliens also don't feel terribly alien, despite their appearance. Gestures in particular feel very Anglo-contemporary: shrugs, nods, and so forth. More strangeness would have made recognizable interactions--like Moon's with Raksura fledglings, or with a new lover--even more striking, though some of them were quite affecting as-is.
There's a lot of potential for this series to overcome my sadly tepid response to its first installment. (Trust me, I'm much more disappointed about that than anyone else could be.) This novel felt more like a prologue than a story in its own right, which makes me interested in seeing where Wells takes these characters next. More court intrigue and less good-vs.-evil existential threat, I hope!...more
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