There is something about 1990s fantasy that I noticed it while reading some Sharon Green and the Aggar book while I was in England last month. Descriptive transfer and info dumping seems much more permissible and there is something else about the style of the writing that dates these books. I wish I were more of a literary academic to be able to analyze what exactly it is. Perhaps there are blog posts out there I could read? Or perhaps you, Gentle Reader, can better articulate what I am trying to get at. Think back on some of my other well loved Lackey’s (like By the Sword) she epitomizes they style I am trying to articulate.
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| My little stack of much beloved Lackey, many of them from the 90s. |
So, on we go to Children of the Night.
With my critical hat in place I noticed flaws in this book that I never had before, and flaws that as a reader, I compensated for or forgave. This was a tough read for me because of this and I’m not certain I want to pick one of my old old favorites for the book group again, because it almost hurt to have to dissect this book. Like looking realistically at a summer romance, or going back to a favorite dish only to find it no longer satisfies.
One of the things I realized is that I simply do not read any of the secondary POV passages. Whenever Lackey is writing anyone but Di, I either skim it for pertinent plot information, or avoid that section altogether. Partly this is personal preference, I’m rarely interested in those parts of a book when you are inside the villain’s head (even if he’s a anti-hero villain). Yawn. Partly this is because Di is the character who interests me. I know this makes me a bad reader, but perhaps I enjoy the book that much more because I usually reread it as a novella length mystery that Di is investigating than a more complex novel.
Anyway, I still adore Andre. I still like the concept of the psychic vampires. And I’m still sad we never got more Diana books.
Please let me know what you thought in the comments or join the Goodreads discussion.
Next up I’m choosing a newer author Robin LaFevers. Her first book Grave Mercy starts off her YA His Fair Assassin Trilogy.
GAIL’S DAILY DOSE
Your Moment of Parasol . . .
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| 1900 Ensemble 1900 The Kyoto Costume Institute |
Your Infusion of Cute . . .
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| Good source of silly names. |
Your Tisane of Smart . . .
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| Genius lifehack use! |
Your Writerly Tinctures . . .
Remember the Reader
Book News:
Lake’s Book Reviews says of The Finishing School series: “I recommend this series highly since there is paranormal, adventures, and has girls learning about espionage. …I just think that most would enjoy since there is a little bit of everything for everyone.”
Quote of the Day:
“He was a Frenchman, a melancholy-looking man. He had the appearance of one who has searched for the leak in life’s gas-pipe with a lighted candle.”
~ P.G. Wodehouse