Customer Reviews

The Bright and The Dark

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4 star:		(2)
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Amazon no longer has a link where authors can post comments, so I have to do it this way. This puts me in the odd position of having to rate my own book; I just gave it a rating that would maintain the current average.

In response to the reviewer who felt she was being set up for a sequel -- in a way, she was. THE BRIGHT AND THE DARK functions as a bridge between CONFIDENCE GAME and the third title in the series, CHASING FIRE, which is scheduled for publication in fall 2005. Unfortunately, due to the delay in finalizing the sale of CHASING FIRE, there is no annoucement or preview material in the back of THE BRIGHT AND THE DARK. However, details are available on my website: www.sff.net/people/mmwelch. Thanks for reading -- mmw

I picked up this novel free at the World Science Fiction convention this year and was quickly entranced by the rich and diverse world Welch created. I eargerly devoured the pages but as I neared the end I worried - "There isn't enough room in the book to resolve all the plot!" I fretted. I thought we were being set up for a sequel. That would have been preferable to the rushed conclusion where too many plots resolved with too little detail.

This author shows a lot of potential with a good imagination and excellent narrative skills. I think perhaps what she needs is a good editor - or another 50 pages.

Rarely do I have to set a book aside without finishing it, but that was the case here. Too many characters to keep track of, too many plots begun and then left as we turn to another character and subplot, and slow, ponderous writing throughout. The book had some original ideas, but a quarter of the way in I still didn't understand what was going on or what the subplots had to do with each other, so I gave up. An entertaining book should hit the ground running. This one didn't.