More book reports

[stillsostrange]

First, my final thoughts on Kim Harrison's Dead Witch Walking.

Alas, this one gets a big thumbs down. At least Hamilton can actually plot (the last Merry book aside). Witch isn't a full-blown idiot plot, but a lot of the conflict could have been avoided if the characters had used a little common sense or thought ahead--and since the reader is informed over and over the Hot Vampire Chick is a rabid planner, there's no excuse for her silliness. The contract on the main character's life that drives the first half of the book is totally random, explained only by the fact that the second-string antag is just Really Mean. The purpose this serves is to drive the heroine to stupid actions that involve her in the Real Plot.

Harrison tosses inter-party conflict about liberally, perhaps in an effort to maintain tension when the Real Plot falters. She raises questions about HVC's motives, and those of the heroine's Romantic Interest, but answers none of them by the end. Maybe she's going for a sense of lingering doubt to keep the readers coming back for a second book, but to me it just feels like she dropped the ball with some sub-plots.

After reading this, my own plotting skills seem suddenly deft and intricate. :)

But if you're looking for a good witch and vampire book, be not discouraged. Instead, go read Robin McKinley's Sunshine. While the world in this story is very similar to LKH, Harrison, and Charlaine Harris, McKinley's prose blows them all out of the water. Her characters are real--even her walk-ons are richer than Hamilton's surfacy and often comic-bookish extras--engaging and sympathetic. And her vampires are creepy-sexy, and very inhuman, which I love.

The climax felt a little rushed, and was a bit of a let down, but the overall story was strong enough that I forgive it. I also would have liked a bit more resolution between Rae and Constantine (read: Amanda wanted vampire smut). But this book is still that rarest of beasts, a Good Vampire Book. And it will make you crave cinnamon rolls like nothing else.

The third review of the day is Poppy Z. Brite's Liquor. But no, this is not a vampire trifecta. For those not paying attention, Brite has moved away horror. While she's received a lot of flack from the babybats over this, I for one am pleased with the result. She clearly enjoys writing restaurant books, and that enjoyment spills over onto the page.

Liquor is fun and fast and will make you very hungry. Poppy's prose is as pretty as ever (though less purple these days), and these characters have a maturity that makes them much more engaging. I enjoyed Lost Souls when I was 15, and Drawing Blood when I was 19, but if I try to read them these days I choke on teen-aged angst and want to beat Zach and Nothing with sticks.

The only criticism I would give is that some of the POVs aren't strictly necessary, and there is a certain distance and tellingness about parts of the narrative. This is mostly a stylistic squick on my part, as I'm fond of very tight & deep POVs. In the end, it didn't lessen my enjoyment of the book.

I'm in the middle of another vampire book right now, so soon I'll complete my vampire review trifecta.

Comments

[everyonesakitty.livejournal.com]

oooh book reviews! *claps hands madly*

Will check out Sunshine and Liquor. (that's an odd sentence)

Thx for the tips!!!

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

Harrison tosses inter-party conflict about liberally thank dog I'm not the only one who finds manufactured intra-party conflict boooring.

Real conflict? People with conflicting goals? Fine.

That Joss Whedon shit? Makes me suspect the writer didn't know what he was doing with the actual, you know, story.

[everyonesakitty.livejournal.com]

aaaa! *winces at nagativity thrown towards Whedon*

I do so love his stuff.

*flips through previous novel, X-ing through all plagiarism of whedon*

Is there further explanation of what sucks about him, so I can be sure not to copy that part of his work? I like how he turns good characters evil and evil good. I will admit many of the characters, however, have no real, actual motivation. Is this what you're talking about? (I could mention character names but I fear it would make me a geek.)

:)

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

Don't get me wrong: I'm a fan of quite a lot of his work. (Several seasons of Buffy and the first season of Angel, specificly). But he *will* recycle the same old character angst and pointless drama over and over and over again.

And over. And over. And over again. (How many times to we need to see Xander edge up on the realization that he actually is useful and smart, and then next week, he seems to have forgotten all about it? How many times can Buffy *possibly* realize that she doesn't need a man in her life to be a complete person? Argh!)

[everyonesakitty.livejournal.com]

ahhh yes. I see what you mean. He does rehash. Those are good examples.

I am forever enamored with whedon, however, for letting a character attempt to rape the woman he loved then use that as a reason to seek a transformation. That's complexity.

Of course, that conflict was also rehashed quite a bit. Yikes.

[mitsubachi.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I will go pick up Sunshine. I have been in a rut. No new books out to read and I don't know what to do!

[pjthompson]

I love Charlaine Harris, but the last two Sookie Stackhouse books have been rather disappointing to me. She wrote a big fight scene in Dead To the World that read totally flat, like a first draft or a detailed outline. Very disappointing. The first part of the book was loads of fun, though, and the ending sort of okay.

I used to love the Nancy A. Collins Sonya Blue novels for dark and inhuman vampire content. A good deal of smut, too, some of it quite dark.

[stillsostrange.livejournal.com]

I used to like Collins a lot, too. Sunglasses After Dark is still great, but as the series went on I became less and less interested. I stopped reading Darkest Heart after a couple chapters and haven't picked it up since.

I was a sucker for LKH until her last two books. Now it just seems like the smut has taken over, at the cost of plot and all her carefully built characterization. I hope she snaps of out if, for the sake of the series.

[pjthompson]

I stopped reading Darkest Heart after a couple chapters and haven't picked it up since.

I didn't even get that far. I got stopped somewhere in Paint It Black and never got back on track. But I loved the first two.

I was a sucker for LKH until her last two books. Now it just seems like the smut has taken over, at the cost of plot and all her carefully built characterization.

Yeah, what you said. Although I know what to expect from LKH these days and sometimes just lie back and let the smut slime me. But I do miss the story-ness and characterization of those middle books.

Barbara Hambly wrote a couple of really good vampire books, but she doesn't seem interested in writing more.

[stillsostrange.livejournal.com]

Yes, the James Asher books rock. From what I understand, she does want to write another book in that series someday, but has other projects ahead in the line. It also seems like she's had trouble getting certain books green-lighted (green-lit?) by her editors, though I'm not sure if that's the case with this series.