I liked Beka a lot. Her backstory is fascinating. She's strong enough to jump out a window and tackle someone, but her fear of public speaking is real and she struggles when she has to testify in court. She knows she's lucky that she has magic powers, but sometimes the responsibility of hearing the dead is too much for her. She's plucky and independent, but far from perfect. I think Pierce's characterization of Beka is pretty great.
But, boy was this book every dull, particularly the last third. It's nearing 600 pages and it did not have to be that long!!! I like the world building, the magic, and the characters. I really liked it when Beka was hanging out with her friends having breakfast. The actual mystery and procedural plot? Snoozefest, especially since there weren't all that man suspects introduced. Why did it take so many endless pages to solve it?
I'm also a bit at a loss as to whether or not reading about law enforcement and police brutality, even in a fictional fantasy world, is something I should be doing for entertainment purposes. The police are the good guys in this book, but you know that the people of Lower City have a tense relationship with the "Dogs" because, you know, power corrupts and being thrown to the ground to be confined is not awesome.
Anyway, I can see why this series has fans, but I'm not one of them. Beka is awesome. Pounce is awesomer. But I'm not going to dive in anymore in the world of Tortall.
3/5 stars
Yes, I have to agree that the Beka books dragged more than other Pierce books, though I too liked Beka and Pounce! What it made me think of was a scene in a Douglas Adams book where a character is talking about a hugely bestselling author and how he's clearly not getting edited anymore, since they know the books will sell anyway, and no one wants to tell him to cut all of chapter 13 and everything about the goat. Not a direct quote, obviously, but you get the point!
ReplyDeleteI've heard that same complaint about editors no longer doing their jobs for many authors, but I think it most notably applies to Stephen King. LOL. I do think it's a shame that these books are so long because the characters are pretty great, but I don't think they're for me.
DeleteWell, that's too bad because it sounds like there's a lot of great things about this book. But I agree- 600 pages is too long to slog through if the story isn't strong.
ReplyDeleteIt felt interminable. I could have shaved off 200 pages if I'd been in charge!
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