When I got to the end of this book I was incredible torn. I actually didn’t want to include anything positive in this review and yet that would have been quite unfair - there is merit in this book.
I am a sucker for characterisation and the characters crafted by Shaw are, actually, winsome: fallible and yet charming. It’s possible, of course, that because most of the characters are not human the reader is able to forgive their mistakes and inconsistencies (and occasionally a stumble on the writer’s part) more easily.
What I found REALLY clumsy was the dialogue. The novel is set in London and the characters are English (or have lived in Britain for long enough to adopt the lingo) and yet their speech is peppered with Americanisms. I haven’t been to London for a while but I’m sure they have not adopted the use of ‘Goddam’ as their standby expression of annoyance or frustration - fairly sure it’s still ‘bloody’. The dialogue also had lots of pop-culture expressions and quips which were incredibly irritating and, cynically, I think it’s to generate an easy sell to generation Y. For those with a more finely tuned ear, it doesn’t ring true for characters who are from the upper middle classes, one of whom is supposed to have a ‘cut-glass’ accent. As a fantasy novel no-one is looking for absolute realism but some level of plausibility has to be achieved to lift it out of the children’s section and, in the end, the dialogue became teeth-gnashingly annoying.
The plot is acceptable with it’s general sense of adventure, although it’s bit of a Cinderella story. It’s so disappointing to still see female characters, however worthy of it, getting dragged out of a sooty hearth by a dashing nobleman. But then, gender stereotypes are pretty much adhered to in this book: the men do the action and the woman does the caring. The characters, however, are saved from a decline into a total conventionality by being beautifully outré.
There are some notions and ideas that I admired -it’s inclusive and quite jolly. However, there is an amoral aspect to certain conclusions or rendered in certain characters that I find fairly cowardly or, more generously, naive. The text isn’t weighty enough to subjugate historical tropes well enough to be convincing. Generally, it’s these inconsistencies in continuity that ultimately undermined the credibility of the writer’s craft.
What I found REALLY clumsy was the dialogue. The novel is set in London and the characters are English (or have lived in Britain for long enough to adopt the lingo) and yet their speech is peppered with Americanisms. I haven’t been to London for a while but I’m sure they have not adopted the use of ‘Goddam’ as their standby expression of annoyance or frustration - fairly sure it’s still ‘bloody’. The dialogue also had lots of pop-culture expressions and quips which were incredibly irritating and, cynically, I think it’s to generate an easy sell to generation Y. For those with a more finely tuned ear, it doesn’t ring true for characters who are from the upper middle classes, one of whom is supposed to have a ‘cut-glass’ accent. As a fantasy novel no-one is looking for absolute realism but some level of plausibility has to be achieved to lift it out of the children’s section and, in the end, the dialogue became teeth-gnashingly annoying.
The plot is acceptable with it’s general sense of adventure, although it’s bit of a Cinderella story. It’s so disappointing to still see female characters, however worthy of it, getting dragged out of a sooty hearth by a dashing nobleman. But then, gender stereotypes are pretty much adhered to in this book: the men do the action and the woman does the caring. The characters, however, are saved from a decline into a total conventionality by being beautifully outré.
There are some notions and ideas that I admired -it’s inclusive and quite jolly. However, there is an amoral aspect to certain conclusions or rendered in certain characters that I find fairly cowardly or, more generously, naive. The text isn’t weighty enough to subjugate historical tropes well enough to be convincing. Generally, it’s these inconsistencies in continuity that ultimately undermined the credibility of the writer’s craft.
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I would really welcome constructive comments or perhaps even some inspiration. To be honest , I would settle for some encouragement.