Chimera

Chimera

Written by Rob Thurman

Published by ROC

So, it’s been a while. I took a little time off of reviewing over the holidays to catch up on reading. I’m back now, with a review of Chimera, the sci-fi thriller by Rob Thurman. Set in the present day, Chimera focuses on Stefan Korsak, a body guard for the Russian Mafia, and his search for his missing brother, Lukas. Stefan has spent every spare moment of his life searching for his little brother, who was stolen when both were children. Even Stefan’s father has given up on ever seeing Lukas again, but Stefan won’t let his brother go. When he finds Lukas, though, his brother is not who, or what, he used to be.

Normally, I just look at the Writer’s Trinity of plot, character, and setting. And I will be looking at those. This time, though, I am going to add a new category, THEME.

PLOT
The plot is exciting and fairly believable. As with any science-fiction novel, a certain amount of suspension of belief is necessary. The book mentions such subjects as cloning and genetic engineering, but there is little to no pseudo-science to wade through. Despite some of the concepts introduced, the story itself is fairly basic and easy to follow. It’s about a man willing to do anything to save his kid brother, and that driving need pushes the plot through and takes the reader along for the ride. The pacing is smooth, with moments of frantic action neatly interspersed between breaks for character development and some honestly amusing moments of humor. There are a few incidents that feel almost tagged on to extend the story, but they do contribute to the overall theme. It helps that these incidents are short. The tone of the novel is consistent throughout. The switches between action and travel don’t feel jarring.

CHARACTER
The point of view character, Stefan, is a surprisingly likable character for a Mafia thug. His obsession with finding his brother is believable and makes him easy to sympathize with. His voice is consistent throughout the book, and he seems to be a mostly reliable narrator.

Stefan’s brother, Lukas, is called Michael for most of the book, because he doesn’t remember being Lukas. Despite the unusual circumstances surrounding Lukas and his rather taciturn nature, it’s as easy to sympathize with Lukas as it is Stefan. You never quite know what he’s thinking, but you can understand why he does what he does.

The brothers are realistic and sympathetic characters. Their problems feel genuine, and it is genuinely satisfying when they overcome the multitude of challenges they face. The villain, a scientist only called Jericho, is a shadowy threat throughout the novel. His presence is chilling and genuinely intimidating. He holds all the cards, and the brothers know it.

It is interesting to note that the Mafia is not glorified in this book, despite the main character being in the Mafia and his father being a Mob boss. They are criminals, and Stefan is well aware of the fact. Still, the Mafia characters are also people he has known for his entire life, and that is reflected as well. They feel like people, not movie stereotypes. I found that refreshing.

SETTING
The setting of Chimera is not as central as it is in many books. The brothers are traveling for most of the novel, on the run from Jericho and his men. The locations they stop at, from seedy hotels to a Mafia Boss’s lavish retirement home, are vividly described. Rob Thurman presents a solid, believable world for his characters to inhabit. The mundane realities of life on the run nicely balance the unreality of Lukas’ secrets and Jericho’s plans.

THEME
The theme of Chimera is trust.

The main expression of the theme is the slowly building trust between the brothers. Lukas does not remember Stefan. His big brother is a total stranger, and a frightening one at that. Stefan does not understand what Lukas has become, and he must learn to trust that no matter what had happened to him, Lukas is the same person inside, and that person will not kill him in his sleep.

Several times, Stefan’s trust is broken. People he thought he could trust betray him. He is shaken and devastated as the foundations on which he had built his life crumble under him. Yet he still reaches out, still trusts; often because he has no other choice. Sometimes, his trust is unfounded and lands the brothers in deeper trouble. Sometimes, though, that trust is returned with lifesaving support.

The theme of trust is interwoven through the plot seamlessly. At no point does the book feel as though it is preaching to the reader. Trust and broken trust push the events along. It matters whether Stefan trusts other characters, and whether Lukas trusts Stefan. Trust drives the plot, and makes the ending that much more satisfying, the way the theme should.

I recommend Chimera. It’s a fast read, with likable characters and exciting action sequences. The ending is satisfying, but leaves room for further expansion of the story.

Masques

I mentioned during my Twilight review that I had read the debut novels for most of my favorite authors, except for Patricia Briggs. The reason for this is simple: the debut novel in question, Masques has been out of print since 1995. Copies of Masques sold on Amazon and Ebay for over a hundred dollars. The author and her husband kindly set up a web ring to loan out copies of their own, but as they had only two available and the waiting list was over a year long, it never seemed likely that I'd get a chance to read it.

However, this year Ace Fantasy was kind enough to finally offer a reprint, and later in the year the sequel, Wolfsbane, will be printed for the first time. Technically, this version of Masques is not a true debut novel. Patricia Briggs was offered the chance to reedit the novel with over ten years of writing experience behind her. Naturally, she took that offer so the current printing of Masques is a more polished narrative. However, the original storyline and writing is largely intact.

So, I will now happily give you a review of Masques by Patricia Briggs.

Cover Art by: Melanie Delon.

So. The first question anyone reading this will ask: Is this book worth over a hundred dollars?

As usual, I'll refer to the writer's trinity, Setting, Plot, and Character.

Setting:

This novel first presents the world which reappears in the later novels When Demon's Walk and Steal the Dragon. The world is interesting and well worth being revisited. Several countries are mentioned, such as the kingdom of Reth which supposedly was founded by escaped slaves and Sianim, which fields an army of mercenaries.

The world is somewhat simplistic in this novel. We only see the mercenaries and Reth, with mentions of a few others as side notes. The places that are developed are intricate and interesting, which is all anyone can ask for. The setting doesn't quite have that quality of almost being a character itself the way some places in her later books do.

Character


As usual, this is where Patricia Briggs shines. The protagonists, a mercenary woman named Aralorn and her companion, rather obviously called Wolf, are interesting and their interactions are fun to read. It is a little too easy to guess Wolf's true identity, though.

The villain is nicely chilling. You can see in him the precursor to Briggs' later charming, utterly evil villains such as King Jakoven in the Hurog novels. His defeat seems a mite underwhelming, but then the preview for the sequel gives hints that maybe it wasn't as complete a victory for the good guys as it might appear on the surface.

Plot


The plot is a little standard, but still fascinating. A charismatic magic user has taken over the kingdom of Reth from its rightful ruler, the prince Myr. Our heroes Aralorn and Wolf, each for reasons of their own, agree to help him take it back. And that's where the standard part ends.

The interesting twists to the plot come from the reactions of the characters. The sorcerer Geoffrey is not a hated tyrant. People love him. In point of fact, Aralorn is attacked at one point by one of her friends for speaking ill of the mage! It is interesting to see how an evil, twisted man could take control of an otherwise shining kingdom. The villain's charisma and powers of persuasion make it clear why people would follow him and obey his dark whims.

So, would I have paid over a hundred dollars to read this?

I'm not sure, honestly. I enjoyed reading it. I haunted my local bookstore until this reprint came out. If I'd had the money to buy the original off of Amazon I most probably would have done so. Then again, I would have done so purely to say I owned every book by one of my favorite authors, rather than for the merits of the book itself. 

If you're a fan of fantasy and adventure, of books with strong heroes and great twists, pick up Masques. If you're not a fan, pick it up anyway and you might well become one.

The Good, The Bad, and the Uncanny

Today I'm going to review Simon R. Green's The Good, The Bad, and The Uncanny: A Novel of the Nightside.

Wow that title is a mouthful. This is the tenth Nightside novel, and the series hasn't bothered to slow down one little bit. If you've never picked up a Nightside novel, go buy all ten. You will NOT regret it.

Shameless plug aside, time for the review.

Firstly: Writer's Trinity.

You thought I was done harping on that, didn't you? Nope. Never. I feel that if a book can't stand up against the "plot, character, setting" model there's no reason to read it. Yes, there are some "literary" stories out there that lack parts of this... but I have no use for "literary" work. I love STORIES. Not pompous examples of artistic expression. If you're too good to write an enjoyable story, then I'm too good to waste my time reading it.

Rant over, review continuing.

Plot:
Excellent. I'll give a brief overview. This is one of those stories for which spoilers don't matter. It's the experience that's important, not any individual plot point. Don't worry, I won't give anything too juicy away. I want you to read the book.

John Taylor is a private detective in a place called the Nightside, which is... well. It's the Nightside. It's where legends go to die, or be reborn. It's a hive of scum and villainy. It's a sanctuary for the lost. It's an experiment in how well Good and Evil can survive living side by side. I'll go into it more when I get to "setting".

John Taylor is extremely good at his job because he has certain advantages, mostly inherited from his mother... who I am not naming, sorry. He uses these advantages to do whatever is necessary to help his clients. He's the good guy... mostly. He tries to be. He's fought wars (at least two) and prevented many more. He may one day destroy the world. His favorite weapon is a handful of black pepper.

In this installment, John is first hired to help an elf cross the Nightside. This simple task of course spirals all out of control, and introduces the reader to such colorful characters as Ms. Fate, a genuine super hero; Dr. Fell, a terrible fallen vicar; and most dangerous of all Walker... the Authorities' Man, charged with maintaining the status quo of the Nightside.

This novel focuses mainly on Walker, and something revealed about him in the ninth novel. It is a twisting, tightly constructed plot that leaves you guessing until the last page. Which leaves you hoping book eleven will hurry up and get published. This does feel like a "transitional" plot, shifting the Nightside and John Taylor from what they were to what they will be. That's not to say it isn't wonderfully written. It just feels like the author wants to whet our appetites before the real fun begins.

Character


I mentioned John Taylor. He's a brilliant character, complex enough to stay interesting through ten novels but still predictable enough that the reader feels they know him. He's powerful, but in subtle ways. It's easy to relate to him, sympathize with his problems, and cheer at his successes.

Some supporting characters include Walker, who is sometimes a supporter and more often an antagonist. In this one... I can't even begin to classify him. His job is to maintain the status quo, and he does it. With a vengeance. He's utterly ruthless, willing to sacrifice anything to do his job. He's chilling, capable of gutting his best friend, wiping off the knife, and politely asking for the time.

Susie Shooter is John's girlfriend, and a bounty hunter. She is awesome. She doesn't appear much in this book, as she has her own interests and jobs to be doing and can't always be babysitting John. I only mentioned her because she's pretty much my favorite character in this series and I'm glad that she can be shown to change and grow without diminishing from what she started out as.

Lord Screech is the elf who hires John in the beginning of the novel. He's untrustworthy, snarky, a skilled fighter and of course deceiving everyone. He also keeps his word... oddly enough. He shows cruelty and compassion in equal wide strokes. I hope his character returns.

I could fill up a blog with these characters, but I won't. One great thing about the Nightside novels is the feeling that you're only getting the tip of the iceburg. Every single character is a character, not a set piece. Everyone has a story, everyone's going someplace or been everywhere. We see it all through John's eyes... and he's barely scratched the surface.

Setting


Wow. Where do I start?

I've mentioned that the best settings are almost characters in and of themselves. Nightside is definitely one of the best settings I've ever read. It's gritty, it's vast, and it never sits still. I don't think I'd like to visit this place in real life, but a part of me likes to imagine such a place could exist, somewhere just a step to the side of everyday reality. But then, I love the idea that the old legends could be true, even the terrible ones... because they mean the world is a bigger place than we think and isn't that a wonderful notion?

Nightside has so much I won't even bother trying to list it all. I'll say that this book focuses on the Street of the Gods, where various gods, demigods, and wanna-be objects of worship thrive. It also focuses on the only "real" church of the Nightside, Saint Jude's. In point of fact, the climatic encounter of this novel happens there.

So, writer's trinity?

The Good, The Bad, and The Uncanny passes with flying colors on all three.

Now, I will have to add a few qualifications to this statement.

It's set in Britain, sort of, so it's a very British novel. That's not a bad thing, at all. I'm just pointing out that some terminology and humor may be difficult to follow for my fellow American readers. It's also "epic", normally a major flaw to any story in my opinion. However, Simon R. Green has the singular ability to tell an epic, universe spanning tale and yet never once lose sight of the characters who make the story matter.

This is the latest in a long running series, so I can't recommend just picking this one up and reading it. I think you'll still enjoy it, but I can't be sure because I have read all of the others. I think if you do read it, you will be finding and buying the rest. It isn't a "stand alone" novel, it's definitely part of a bigger story.

So. There's my review of Simon R. Green's latest Nightside novel. It's another wonderful novel from a brilliant writer. I will now be stalking Hastings to find out when book eleven comes out.

Until next time!

Sunshine

This time around, I'm reviewing Robin McKinley's Sunshine.

Firstly: This is NOT a kid's book. I make this notation because previously, I'd only ever read young adult or children's novels from this author. Primarily beautifully retold fairy tales. This is no fairy tale.

That does not mean that Sunshine is not a good book. Quite the opposite. It's wonderful. Just not for kids, and it was a little startling to read something by someone I thought of as a children's author that is definitely adult.

I'd normally break the book down into "plot, setting, character" but 1) that might get boring for people to read and 2) I would have a very hard time breaking this book down into those categories. For instance, there are "wards" and charms in the book that are almost self-aware, or spoken of as if they were. Do I count them as characters? Part of the setting? Plot devices? You can see the difficulty.

I will say that Sunshine does hold up to the "writers' trinity" that I'm always harping about. The characters are sympathetic and believable. The setting is well realized. The plot is complex and engrossing. Everything a good novel should have and more.

Now, I'm trying to avoid mentioning Twilight too much in my reviews. But I have to here, because it is somewhat relevant. Sunshine, like Twilight, is in fact a "vampire novel" if not precisely a vampire romance. Whether there is romance between the titular character and her... comrade? (That's the best way I can describe their relationship, another reader might disagree) the vampire Con, is open to interpretation. Sunshine spends more time describing the blood-curdling horror the main character experiences in the presence of even a mostly friendly vampire than describing the beauty of said blood-sucker's eyes.

So beyond there being vampires, there really aren't any similarities to that other novel. However, I could say if I was feeling catty, which I may be just a bit, this book is what Twilight could be. It's written in first person. There's vampires. There's romance. There's blood and danger and an actual enjoyable plot.

Why isn't THIS a movie?

Now I hate posting gushing reviews, even about my favorite novels. So, flaws. Well, Sunshine (it's a nickname) does whine some. It can be grating, but it's also justified. I'd be whiny and blubbery too if I'd been through HALF of what she goes through in the first couple of chapters. So okay. The book is a slow read. I started reading it the day I posted my last blog entry. It never takes me that long to read ANYTHING outside of maybe a textbook or Tolkien. That's about it.

I won't say too much more about the book. It's complex and fascinating and trying to summarize it  would almost be an insult. So would picking it apart to analyze it critically. Some books are just like that. You just read them, and enjoy them. I recommend doing that.

Dragon Bones

Now to review a GOOD book.

Dragon Bones by Patricia Briggs, published by Ace Fantasy.

Find it, read it. You will NOT regret it. There is also a sequel, Dragon Blood. I'll give that one its own review later. It's every bit as good. I tend to think of them as one story, honestly, because of how well they flow together, but they are separate novels and thus get separate reviews.

Now, I have read almost every published novel by Patricia Briggs. I haven't gotten my hands on Masques yet, but I hope to at the end of the season, because it's supposed to be reprinted at LONG last. I have never once been disappointed by her work. She is one of my three all time favorite authors, surpassed in my opinion only by Mercedes Lackey and Andre Norton. 

So, when I say that Dragon Bones is my favorite not only of Patricia Briggs' novels, but of pretty much any novel, you'll know how high that opinion is. I have read it at least a dozen times, probably more. I'm about to wear out my copy, actually. 

Now that I've gone on about how much I love this book, I should explain why.

I could write for a long, long time about how well written and exciting this book is. But I've found that completely positive, gushing reviews are just as dull to read as completely negative ones. So, I'll go back to the writer's trinity and let the book stand on its considerable merits.

Setting

I will grant that the setting is the weakest part of this novel. Not that it doesn't have a vibrant, believable world. It does. It's just not as well realized as some of Patricia Briggs' later worlds. 

Hurog keep is brilliantly and lovingly described. You can feel the main character's love of his home and his bone deep grief as he is forced to leave. A good setting is as much a moving force in a well written story as the characters. That is definitely true of Hurog keep. 

The rest of the world, which consists (as far as we are told) of five countries all uneasily united under one king, is vivid if somewhat small. But given the time frame of the story, it's easy to excuse the lack of an epic scope. While it seems unrealistically easy to move from one end of the five kingdoms to the other, it doesn't break the reader's suspension of disbelief. The pacing and plot easily manage to explain any sense of spatial disorientation, and there is a handy little map printed on the first page of my copy that helps keep all the exotic place names in order.

Plot

The plot of Dragon Bones is wonderful. It's complex without being so complicated as to annoy the reader. It is very much a character driven plot, with very little of the "great destiny" trope that plagues so much of fantasy writing. There are vague hints of some kind of prophetic dream, but those only serve to explain the presence of an interesting and well utilized side character. They also nicely foreshadow the climax. I generally balk at the word "prophetic" but it was handled so well I didn't even blink.

Like any well written story, it follows the "introduction, build up, climax" pattern with no sense of following a formula. The first chapters introduce our hero, Ward, and his home, Hurog. These chapters also hint of the deep corrupting rot that has seeped into the very bones of the land thanks to an ancient crime. As Ward moves out into the wider world in order to reclaim his home, we learn more of just how wide ranging that corruption is and how vastly important it is that that rot be cleared away.

Over the "corruption" plot is a stronger, more prosaic plot about Ward going off to war in order to prove himself competent to rule his holding. It weaves into the corruption plot seamlessly. There is also a sub-plot starring Ward's cousins and the king's favorite, who must deal with conflicting loyalties and a frankly insane king. All the threads of the plot weave together into the final climax, which offers a mostly satisfying ending while still leaving just enough wiggle room for the sequel to slide into the mythology smoothly.

Some would say the final ending is just a little too... happy. I don't. I see it as a skilled author finding a neat if somewhat deus ex machina way to keep a fascinating character around for subsequent books. It takes nothing away from the grimly triumphant climax and even knowing how it will really end doesn't leech any of that emotion from Ward's final choice for me each and every time I read it.

Character

This is where Patricia Briggs, and Dragon Bones in particular, shines.

The book is told in first person, from several points of view. This allows a complete story to be told that doesn't leave out important plot points simply because one particular character didn't see everything that happened. It does, however, make it slightly difficult to categorize the characters simply as protagonists, antagonists, and supporting characters. Instead, I'll list the point of view characters, the main antagonists, and a few of the non-focal characters. If I wrote about EVERY great character in this book, this post would be three times as long as it already is.

Ward: Called Ward, Wardrick of Hurog is the protagonist. The bulk, at least three fourths, of the story is told from his viewpoint. He's a large man, with brown "cow eyes" (his own words) and a habit of speaking very slowly. His size and looks make him seem like a fool, and this is an impression he goes to great lengths to foster in his abusive father and everyone around him. The truth is, Ward is a very swift man. He's highly intelligent, and a great fighter. He's also incredibly protective of his family and his few friends. It isn't his heroic qualities that make him interesting and drive the story, though. It is his flaws. Specifically, his mistrust. Because of his father's abuse, Ward trusts very, very few people. Beyond that, Ward has some interesting identity issues. He feels that he plays his various roles so well that he's forgotten who he really is.

Erdrick and Beckram: These are Ward's twin cousins. They tend to share their chapters. Beckram is the more outgoing, Erdrick the quieter of the two. They start out as very mildly antagonistic towards Ward, but as they learn the truth about him, they come to admire him. Their characters aren't as developed as Ward's but they are interesting. Their chapters largely deal with introducing the treacherous King Jakoven and showing how life in the central court of the Five Kingdoms works.

Garranon: The king's "favorite", and one of the more conflicted characters in this book. He could be seen as an antagonist, as it is his actions which start the sequence of events that lead to Ward's exile. However, Ward never sees him as such and the reader is led to see him as a sympathetic character. Much of his character growth is shown in the sequel.

Kariarn: The main antagonist of Dragon Bones. Kariarn is a young ruler, in some ways a foil to Ward. He invades Oranstone, the southernmost of the Five Kingdoms, in an attempt to gain magical artifacts from which he can draw power. There, he learns a secret about Hurog... and sets himself to claim it. Power, both political and magical, is his driving obsession. As a villain he's more interesting than chilling. You can almost sympathize with his motives, if not his means.

King Jakoven: He's an antagonistic force in this novel, though he's more clearly dealt with in the sequel. Mostly it is his name and the threat of his ire that feature in this novel, barring one specific instance.

Oreg: Oreg is the main supporting character, and a pivotal character in the climax. He's bound to Ward's service by an ancient, magical spell. He's also more or less insane. His motivations are constantly a mystery, though what he really wants is quite obvious if you pay attention.

Other important supporting characters
Tosten is Ward's brother, a musician who most of the family thought long dead.
Uncle Duraugh is Erdrick and Beckram's father. He's steward of Hurog until Ward turns 21.
Stala: Ward's aunt, and armsmaster of Hurog. She should really feature more in the books, but she suffers I think from being a little too awesome. She'd overpower the other characters.
Ciarra: Ward's sister. She's mute from birth. She's the only character Oreg shows any real affection for. She is a relatively skilled fighter and travels with her brother to help him regain his home.
Axiel: Part of Ward's fighting force, used to be his father's valet.
Penrod: Part of Ward's fighting force, used to be the stable master.
Bastilla: A mage and an escaped slave who travels as part of Ward's fighting force.

Overall, the characters are fascinating. I could easily write an entire blog about every single one I've listed above. Don't worry, I won't actually do that.

So, in summary: Read this book. I can go on for pages about how well written it is, how solid the pacing is, how great the characters are. That won't do anyone any good. You have to read these things for yourself, and this one is definitely worth the investment of time it might take to find it. It's still in print, so it shouldn't be too hard.

Find Dragon Bones, read it, enjoy it. 

Twilight, Part Two

Well. I finished reading all 498 pages of Twilight.

Yeah.

I've already spent one post talking about this book. I'll try not to repeat myself. I'll also try not to be too harsh, as I am aware some people love these books. I... do not.

Two hundred pages in, I was willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. It is, after all, a debut novel. Those can be rough. Everyone starts somewhere, right?

Right.

I have read the debut novels for Andre Norton, Mercedes Lackey, Tanya Huff, Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, and several others. And they are... rough. But good. Good stories, good characters, good writing. In every one, there is something to show the reader that there is a reason to put up with the rough spots. There is a reason to pick up this author's next work. Not with this novel. Honestly, if I was not making an effort to be fair and not hypocritical I'd have stopped reading somewhere around the first three chapters. There is NOTHING in this book that makes me want to read the next one, let alone all four.

Okay. I'm going to calm down now, and rationally explain my disdain for this book.

I could go on for pages about how boring Bella is. But I won't. I understand that Bella is a cardboard cut-out designed to be replaced in the imaginations of pre-teen girls by, well, themselves. I get that. I admit I spent a fair amount of time envisioning myself in her place, discovering what happens when you kick a sparkling vampire in the man-bits.

I will take a moment to say I absolutely abhor passive main characters. Just because a character is blank doesn't mean they have to be passive. Look at Dears, Chobits, Love Hina... pretty much any "harem" style anime. The main guy is generally boring and average and replaceable. He is not usually PASSIVE.

I think I hinted at my dislike for Edward. Moving on.

No, I'm going to focus on Twilight from a storytelling perspective. Because frankly, I am only the latest in a long, long list of reviewers who've expressed dislike for the main characters.

As I was taught in every writing class I ever took, there are three elements to a story: plot, character, and setting. There are other things, of course, but these three are ALWAYS important. So how does Twilight fare in these three fields?

I like to start with the positive, so I'll start with setting.

Twilight has beautiful setting descriptions. This is, honestly, where the book shines. Even when Bella is describing something she despises, which would be the entire town apparently, she does it in a nearly poetic fashion that makes it possible for the reader to almost see what the character sees. That's great. I wish I could do it.

The forests, the school, Bella's childhood home and the house she shares with her father are all lovingly depicted. The description of the meadow where Edward reveals the reason vampires do not go out in sunlight is worth a read, even two.

I could do with a few LESS descriptions of how beautiful Edward is... especially the eyes... but I do understand that this is a romance. Even so. I got it 200 pages in, after 498 I was ready to poke something in the eye if I had to read one more description of his.

Moving on. To the PLOT!

It had a plot?

Okay, that was catty and I apologize.

The basic elements ARE there. There's an introduction, wherein Bella describes herself, her situation, her town, and of course, Edward's eyes. Then there's some build up, with a few decent scenes. Then there's the, ah, climax... which I guess has to be where Bella confronts the rather underwhelming villain of the book because the final climatic battle is NEVER SEEN. I felt cheated, honestly. Yes, I understand that Bella was somewhat unconscious, and the book WAS in first person... but still. There were ways the author could have managed that confrontation with Bella conscious. We spend 470 some odd pages hearing how dangerous and powerful these vampires are supposed to be... but we never once see it. Yes, we have the "bad" vampire, whose goal of murdering Bella I fully sympathize with, but his attack on the girl is nothing an adult human with sufficient training couldn't accomplish.

So, the plot lacks a true, vivid climax. Well, mostly. I guess as a fan of action I just feel cheated of the big fight. That's fine. Every book doesn't have to end with an epic battle.

I think my main complaint with the plot is the pacing. Things that I felt could have been lingered over, such as Bella's interactions with Edward's "family" are skimmed over in a handful of pages. Things that did not feel all that important were lingered over far too long. Edward's eyes come to mind. Also the love... um... triangle? Involving Bella, the perfectly decent guys at her school who want to get to know her, and the vampire. It was a foregone conclusion she's pick tall dark and brooding, so why was there so much attention paid to it?

Now for character. Hold on to your hats, this may be brutal.

The protagonist: Bella Swan. Boring, passive, empty headed and clumsy. I am only sorry that we don't get to see her as the world's clumsiest Nosferatu, because that'd be hilarious. Imagine her tripping over her own feet at the speeds these vampires are capable of running and try not to smile. I dare you.
The male lead: Edward Cullen. Well. He's apparently very pretty and very dangerous, but we get absolutely no proof of the second and far, far too much proof of the first. He comes off as a jerk to me. But then I like my guys with a sense of humor and a pulse.
The villain: James? Honestly, while the idea of a vampire with tracking powers is nicely chilling, the villain himself is just underwhelming. He's a set piece, yet another threat for Edward to daringly rescue Bella from.
The rest of the cast: There's some good ones here. I'd have liked to read more about Alice, the precognitive vampire. Hey, a blood-sucker who can see the future? Now THAT is dangerous. The "father" of the vampire family seems kind of interesting, too. I mean, how many times has he gone through medical school? How did he handle going from a witch-hunter's son to being one of the undead? These characters are sadly underdeveloped. I'll give Stephenie Meyers credit, though. It's entirely plausible that the side characters are expanded upon in the three later novels. I won't be reading them to find out.

So, in summary, how does Twilight hold up to the writer's trinity? Not so well. Setting? Great. It's a vivid, believable world where sparkly (snerk) vampires walk among normal people. Okay. Plot? Not so much. The pacing is off kilter and the climax is disappointing. Characters? Don't get me started. I don't think I can get past the two dimensional blank space that is the point of view character. You're supposed to be able to SYMPATHIZE with the main character, usually.

There is one more thing I'd like to rant about. I'm not really sure if anyone else even noticed this line, and I might be reading it out of context intended and if so I apologize. Well, no, I don't because this is my opinion.

After Bella is made to understand that the vampire James has decided to stalk and kill her, she reasonably enough asks "Why? Why me?". This is the question ANYONE would ask in that situation I think. Well, that or "So do crosses and garlic work? How about stakes?" But anyway.

What is our intrepid and beautiful Edward's response?

I quote: "It is partially your fault.' His voice was wry. 'If you didn't smell so appallingly luscious, he might not have bothered." (Stephanie Meyers, Twilight).

Wow.

Just wow.

I am sorry, but I could not forgive that line. I couldn't. To imply, even "wryly", that the victim of ANY kind of physical assault or the threat thereof somehow DESERVED it is... appalling.

This is the kind of attitude that blames a woman for being raped. "Well she was dressed provocatively." "Well she was so beautiful." "Well she led him on."

That it was a WOMAN who wrote that line, KNOWING that young girls would read it... I don't have words.
Writers, even the writers of fantasy, have the responsibility to THINK about what we are saying. Because, as Leonardo DiCaprio's character in Inception put so well, the most dangerous thing in the world is an idea. It is impossible to kill an idea. And it makes me mildly sick to think that so many little girls now have THAT idea somewhere deep in their minds.

Well, that's it for my review of Twilight.
Thank you for your patience in reading this. I hope I entertained you at least a little. That is, after all, what I'm here to do.
Next time, I'll put up a review of a book I ENJOY, so that you can see the difference. I may even reread Dragon Bones for a palate cleanser.

Twilight

I will preface this post by explaining WHY I am reading Twilight.

A few years ago, the big rage was Harry Potter. And at the same time, there was some controversy over those books, because of elements of "witchcraft" that some people found objectionable. I am not one of those people, despite being a Christian. I quite enjoyed those books, and it annoyed me greatly that so many people condemned them without ever once reading the novels for themselves.

So now Twilight is the big thing. And I am so vastly annoyed by it that I tend to rant on the subject to anyone who will listen. But I haven't read any of the novels, or seen any of the movies.

The word for that, children, is hypocrite.

So, I am biting the bullet and READING the first Twilight novel. I am honestly trying to keep an open mind. I mean, I like vampire novels. Dracula was fun to read, if hard to get through. Tanya Huff's Blood novels are wonderful. So what if these vampires sparkle? They're still vampires.

Yeah.

As of this post, I've read the first, oh, two hundred some odd pages.

My opinion... has not vastly changed. But I'm trying to be fair. So I'm going to record my first impressions, pretending that I had never heard about Twilight or Stephenie Meyers.

First off, I have to say I do not like Bella. She's... boring. As a writer, I spend a lot of time forming my characters. I think characters, not events, are what drive a story. I know things about my characters that will never be read in a story, simply because they are inconsequential. I know how their grandparents met. I know their favorite flavor of ice cream. I know their dreams, their ambitions, their secret fears. These character traits may only be mentioned in passing, if at all, but they are there. Bella has very few definable tastes. Her favorite color? Who knows? Her dreams? Apparently they involve a sullen, rude vampire. She is shown to be an advanced, intelligent student. Yet only ONCE in two hundred pages is there any mention of her future plans. She mentions possibly being offered a scholarship to a college someplace sunny, somewhere around page 70 of my copy.

Why does that bother me? I mean, college doesn't have to be the focus of her life just because she's smart, right?

It's because it is passive. She doesn't talk about applying for colleges, she talks about being offered a scholarship. So if no one offers her one, she won't go? I suppose she might have trouble affording school if she doesn't get a scholarship, but then her family is not shown to be especially poor. In point of fact her father is well enough off that he can purchase a truck, albeit an older one, for her. Surely he can manage a parent loan.

She has no hobbies beyond reading and mooning over Edward. She has no job, no close friends, nothing that might distract her from the very, very slowly building... is this supposed to be a romance?

Now, I'm not a fan of romance, in general. But there is a certain satisfaction in seeing two characters who have fought hard to be together finally get the chance to rest in each other's arms and enjoy the sunset. Anne Bishop, Patricia Briggs, Mercedes Lackey and Tanya Huff all include romantic elements in their stories and I always love reading the resolution. But then, those authors make their characters EARN their happily ever after. Anne Bishop's Daemon survived over a thousand years as a slave waiting to MEET his beloved Queen. Patricia Brigg's Ward of Hurog survived a war and a rebellion and laid his secret heart bare to earn Tisala. I can go on.

What, exactly, has either Bella or Edward done? They sit together in Biology... Edward did save Bella's life once or twice. And yet there was no excitement, no tension. Perhaps that comes later? I admit I haven't read the entire thing. So far the only thing they've done together is eat and talk. Bella pesters Edward for the truth... and is oddly accepting of that truth when she gets it. Edward is openly rude to Bella, and then... kind of cold, in my opinion.

Okay, I'm not being fair. I've listed the negatives. I should list the positives. The book does have some.

It reads very quickly. I got the book from the library yesterday and I'm already 200 pages in. The descriptions of the town, school and surrounding environment are vivid and enjoyable. I could do with a few less descriptions of Edward's eyes. I get it. He's pretty. Anyway.

I'll admit, so far it isn't a terrible book. It's just that I still don't understand the hype. And I honestly think I never will.