I found the underlying core of What Lies in the Dark to be utterly fascinating, and it sparked a desire to be consumed in a conflagration of serial kiI found the underlying core of What Lies in the Dark to be utterly fascinating, and it sparked a desire to be consumed in a conflagration of serial killer intensity. C.M. Thompson throws herself at the reader as if on the attack, writing back and forth between present tense and present perfect tense, driving the immediacy of the even-numbered murders and all the peripheral damage they cause deep into our guts. It is a powerful choice, yet its power cannot last, so that by the time we are heading towards the inexorable denouement Thompson has lost our allegiance.
What Lies in the Dark is a book that makes me long for the days of strong, talented editors, and as an author who detests editors messing with my work that takes some doing, yet What Lies in the Dark needed direction, and Thompson needed additional drafts to find that direction. There are too many gaps that Thompson imagines are artistic and "challenging," but which turn out to be nothing other than obtuse and opaque.
For instance, who's side are we on? Thompson spends most of the novel setting up the idea that sides don't matter, and that wherever we come into the story -- killer, victim, cops -- we are not to be isolated or alienated, but then she ends it with a number of scenes that belie that underlying premise.
What I wouldn't give to write a stage adaptation of this book. It has some brilliant moments, it has a compelling core, and I feel a different approach could make the story fly. As a prose fiction, however, What Lies in the Dark is mostly middling. Regardless, C.M. Thompson shows real promise, and I will keep my eyes peeled for more books by the author in years to come....more
Poison Study was a pleasant surprise, presenting us with a sort of fantasy-communism in the nation of Ixia, leFire Study is a serious disappointment.
Poison Study was a pleasant surprise, presenting us with a sort of fantasy-communism in the nation of Ixia, led by a (view spoiler)[sort of fantasy-trans gendered, (hide spoiler)] benevolent dictator. It was unique and made me want to read more. Magic Study was only slightly less interesting. It moved from the fascinating world of Ixia, to the less well drawn but more familiar terrain of Sitia, a nation of magic and the perpetual enemy of Ixia. Once there, it was fun to see the heroine, Yelena, learn the depth of her magic, and it kept me wanting to read more.
Fire Study has put a halt to my interest. It is bad. Really, really bad.
Many of the fantasy elements -- particularly the magical elements -- which were interesting in the first two books have become silly (with some of the most ham-fisted heaven -purgatory - hell allusions I have ever seen). The progressiveness I imagined surrounding the books gender inclusiveness has been undermined. The world building, which looked so promising with the Ixian nation, has become unconvincing. And Yelena, as heroine, is entirely unbelievable now. She is too powerful, has too much influence, is not interesting in the least.
It is a sad decline for a book series I was thrilled to have discovered with my daughter, a series that was once full of promise but ended up lying to us. Such a shame, but I shouldn't be surprised because when a character appears in the second book named, "Moon Man," the third book is bound to blow goats. I should have known better. ...more
I don't want to be dismissive in any way because I really enjoy these books, but I worry that my praise will feel a bit two edged. Whatever, here goesI don't want to be dismissive in any way because I really enjoy these books, but I worry that my praise will feel a bit two edged. Whatever, here goes:
Yelena -- she's the increasingly mega-powerful protagonist of Maria V Snyder's Study books, and I have a soft space in my heart for her. The entire story is told in her voice, and she is really very likeable. And I believe in her relationships and the way she reacts to all those folks in her life. I find that sort of emotional integrity difficult to attain for fantasy authors, especially when writing in first person, but Snyder pulls it off in Yelena. But there are problems (here's that other edge) and they are all in Yelena's power. She begins this second book as a bad ass fighter, second only to the greatest assassin in the book's two nations (who just happens to be Valek, the man who loves her). She is an award winning gymnast/tumbler, and her magical powers are just beginning to take hold. By the end of magic study, however, she is all those things, and now she is an accomplished Soul Finder, the toughest and scariest of all potential magic users. And then the book ends with a promise that Yelena will return, and she will become more powerful still. That is a lot of power. Too much. Yet I still dig it.
It's a page turner -- I burn through these books when I read them. I take them in the shower. I read them while doing the dishes. I read them while cutting vegetables. I read them on the beach. Where/whenever. Who doesn't want to read a book that pushes you on at hyperspeed? But by the time I reach the end I feel like I filled up on chicken fried rice, and within an hour I am hungry again, but I am not hungry for more chicken fried rice. I need some hearty calories rather than the hollow ones (see ... second edge again).
Supporting Cast -- Janco, Ari, Leif, Cahil, Irys, Dax, the Commander, even Valek (he wasn't supporting the first time around), they're a pretty likeable supporting cast, but then there are a couple who don't quite ring as true as most. Perl, Yelena's Mama, is pretty damn annoying (at least to me), and Roze, the First Magician of Sitia, is about as ham fisted in her disdain of Yelena as an antagonist can be. Yet these two are rarely around, so again it feels almost too petty to mention them.
So when it comes down to it, I really enjoyed Magic Study. My daughter's reading it now, so I am sure we will go on to the next book in the series. It's all a matter of when. ...more
My feelings about Forever in an easy list of ten. No particular order,
1. Not only should Forever never appear on a banned book list, it should be reqMy feelings about Forever in an easy list of ten. No particular order,
1. Not only should Forever never appear on a banned book list, it should be required reading in all junior high schools (middle schools) as part of sex ed. More importantly, it should be read and written on by every single boy.
2. And speaking of boys, there is a need for a book about this subject written with all the skill of Judy Bloom but targeted at boys. The boys perspective on first love and losing one's virginity is desperately needed. If it is out there already, please point me in that direction.
3. Katherine, or Kath as she's mostly called, seems a little younger than 18 to me. About three or four years younger. Her actions, her job, her grade, her concerns for her university, they all match her age, but there is something in the way she behaves that just seems too damn young to me.
4. The infantilization of our children and prolonging of childhood is one of the most despicable changes I have witnessed in our society over the course of my life, but reading something like Forever makes me wonder how long the trend has actually been happening.
5. I wish that Blume had told us more about Artie's story. I feel an opportunity was truly missed there.
6. The handling of Sybil (view spoiler)[and her pregnancy (hide spoiler)] is another situation where I craved expansion, but I was pleased and impressed that Sybil was never shamed by the author or our narrator.
7. For a book that I liked so well, I am surprised that I didn't like the main characters, Kath and Michael, very well at all.
8. The honest language, the honest discussions, the actual sex, they made me long for more bravery from authors and publishing companies, and more tolerance and understanding from parents.
9. Relationships end in this book, as relationships are wont to do, and the way they did was realistic and refreshing.
10. So glad I got to read this with my daughter. The discussions have been amazing. ...more
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