It's hard to keep the ideas flowing. Regardless of how talented you are as a writer, or how unique your touches are, authors are going to step on toes and unintentionally recycle plot points. It's how it works. I take that knowledge with me into every single book I pick up from this genre. What excites me, though, is when an author makes no pretense about their work, when they know this is not the most original, but it will be one hell of a ride, so sit back and enjoy it. This is what I love. It's tantamount to a Bruce Campbell flick - it won't win an Oscar or critical praise, but it's fun and makes no bones about what it is.
There are many authors who get the genre and write gloriously (I've famously described my love-hate, now hate-hate relationship with Laurell K. Hamilton and my overwhelming adoration for Marjorie Liu). Kelley Armstrong is one of the good ones. Scratch that, she's one of the great ones.
I began reading Kelley Armstrong a few years back as nothing more than "filler fluff". I didn't offer a whole lot of credo to her Otherworld books, and that may have been my first mistake. "Bitten" was fun. I loved the protagonist, Elena, and really loved this "world" (our towns and city, just darker shadows) that she'd created. I picked up a few more and saw the protagonists shift - Elena, Paige, Eve, Jaime, Hope and Lucas. This keeps this particular series fresh.
In the 11th book of the series - Waking the Witch (set to release on July 27th) - Kelley shifts once again to new protagonist, Savannah Levine. Readers of the series will know Savannah. Now she's the star. And what a star she is! Savannah, now an adult at 21, and she's eager for a PI case to call her own. She gets her wish and is plunged into murder investigation in the Pacific Northwest. Three girls are dead (two were notorious for their "bad decisions"; the other, not so much) and there's not much to go on. Savannah gets into the nitty-gritty and uncovers uncooperative cops, shady double-crosses, an odd combine, magical spells, and Girl Scout cookies. Well, not Girl Scouts, per se, but addicting cookies nonetheless. See? A lot of elements we've seen before.
What's Good: Kelley Armstrong's writing, for starters. She has the ability to capture the mood in every scene so flawlessly that the reader is at once taken into the pages. The voice of Savannah is pitch-perfect - the angst and confusion of being 21, as well as the pomp of overconfidence - without getting into the annoying realm (i.e.: Abby von Normal from Christopher Moore's "Bite Me" and "You Suck").
It's also good to see vampires missing for a change. Obvious allusions to the supernatural are made...they kind of have to be. But, this is a straight up mystery with supernatural elements. Which leads me to the next point:
It's a solid mystery. The pacing is there, as are the players. The characters that need to be fleshed out are, and the secondary ones aren't. There are a few red herrings here and there. All and all, it's a mystery that's worthy to sit next to Elmore Leonard and James Ellroy. Obviously, with paranormal elements.
What's Not So Good: Not a lot. My biggest complaint was endowing Savannah's half-demon character with the powers she's embued with. A few of the "talents" throw a few kinks in the story arch and create an anticlimactic feel. It's hard to feel the frantic frenzy of Savannah getting caught when you know she can just launch a "cover" spell.
Verdict? Buy it! If you've not read any of the other Otherworld books this is still a good one. You're dealing with a new protagonist, and there are the obvious references to past books. However, none of those references really impact the story at hand. And, if you've not read any of these in the series, snag this one and Bitten.
If you are a reader of the series, you'll be happy to know that this is my favorite, thus.
Click the link below to get the new book at a 40% discount!
5 out of 5
0 comments:
Post a Comment