1. Premise 6
2. Prose 4
3.
Plot 6
4.
Characters
5
5. Overall 5
Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)
Shallow. That’s the word that comes to mind regarding almost every aspect of this novel. The characters are shallow, responding to the events of the story in the most sophomoric ways, even to the point of making very dubious and unprofessional decisions in order to take the plot in the direction the author wants to take it. The prose is shallow; reminding me of the gossipy chattiness of bored housewives, and full of incomplete sentences apparently aimed at imitating natural speech patterns in an attempt to create relatability for a shallow readership. Maybe I’m spoiled to really smart writing – but this isn’t it. “Shar had told her to dig, so she did. Also asked Thelia and Diane to help her. More background on Haven Dietz. Nothing there she didn’t already know. Phone calls to Dietz’s former friends and colleagues.” This is a stylistic device that can occasionally create tension; not a trademark writing style to be used on every page. Are there readers who respond to this kind of writing? Sure, but don’t try to have a meaningful conversation with one of them. A question that comes to mind is: Does this shallowness necessarily mean that the author herself is that shallow? Or is she “writing down” in order to sell books? And what does it reveal about the general readership if we conclude that the author really can’t do better but has a successful career as a novelist despite her limitations? I have to stop; I’m creeping myself out!
Here’s the
September line-up!
“Bloody
Bones,” by Laurell K. Hamilton [9-3]
“Naked
Empire,” by Terry Goodkind [9-10]
“Death of
a Witch,” by M. C. Beaton [9-17]
“The Aeronaut's Windlass,” by Jim Butcher [9-24]
(As always, if there are any
books you’d like to recommend for next month, please do so. Also, if you have already read one on our previous
lists, you are invited to send your ratings and or comments for that book!)
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