Burning Bridges (Retrievers, Book 4) [Paperback]

Laura Anne Gilman (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

At the start of Gilman's convoluted but diverting fourth Retrievers fantasy (after 2006's Bring It On), set in a near-future Manhattan, Wren Valere, a professional thief with magical "Talent," and her demon sidekick, P.B., discover the brutalized corpse of an angel. The gutted angel, or winged nonhuman "fatae," turns out to be just one casualty in a heated conflict between Nulls (humans without Talent) and the powerful human Talents, along with the fatae. Not only are bigoted human vigilantes going after supernaturals, but it appears the Silence, a covert organization that used to employee Wren's partner and lover, Sergei Didier, has become corrupted from within. Several Silence Talent operatives have gone missing, and Sergei is drawn back into the group's politics as a new truce falls apart. Though newcomers to the series might find the plot and multiple cabals a little confusing—with the spy stuff a little too derivative of TV's Alias and not enough fey—Wren's can-do magic is highly appealing. (June)
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Review

". . . fast-paced action, wisecracking dialog, and a pair of strong, appealing heroes." -- Library Journal on Curse the Dark

"Gilman delivers an exciting, fast-paced, unpredictable story that never lets up until the very end." -- SF Site

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Luna; Original edition (June 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373802749
• ISBN-13: 978-0373802746
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #593,727 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not so successful cross of urban fantasy with political thriller, June 20, 2007

By 

R. Kyle (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Burning Bridges (Retrievers, Book 4) (Paperback)

In the opening, an angel dies. They're not that easy to kill--but somehow the Nulls (humans without magic) have managed to do this. Throughout the book, more and more fatae (demons, angels, etc) are killed. It's different than the past times, though. Fatae have aligned themselves with the Talented humans and together they are willing to fight.

Politics come into play when we realize that the Silence, a balance-keeping force when Wren's lover and partner Sergei used to work for them, has now in some part gone rogue. The Cosa, short for Cosa Nostradamus who represent the mages, is in for a fight with them.

The problem arises that the fight is so near the end of the book, you could almost miss it you're so tired of the constant planning, the relationship strife between protagonist Wren Valare and Sergei, and the sheer pages waiting for something to happen.

In the end, we don't have much of a resolution, which I suppose is Ms. Gilman's and the publisher's attempt to drag readers into buying the next book in the series.

If you are starting this series, do not start here. You will have no idea of who the players and history are.

The problem as I see it with "Bridges" is the setup is far too long and the convoluted relationships are not well enough explained unless you have a solid grounding in the previous works and pay a lot of attention. I preferred these series when they moved faster and we saw more of Wren's work. I realize that politics in the inner circle of mages seems to be a popular trend--but Jim Butcher can pull this type of storyline off without a hitch and Laura Ann Gilman cannot.

I am not sure I will be reading the next Retrievers' novel. I will definitely have to sit down with the book at a store and read enough of it to make sure that it will hold my interest.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, June 21, 2007

By 

K. Shaw "kshaw75" (MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Burning Bridges (Retrievers, Book 4) (Paperback)

I've been a fan of this series since book one. Normally you'd think it would be the sophmore slump that would be the let down in a series, but unfortunately it was this book. The almost teenage angst between Wren and Sergei was more than a little annoying. But I think my biggest complaint was that nothing seemed to flow properly, it was almost as if some of the chapters were disjointed.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the next in the series will make up for this one.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as engrossing as the previous books, August 16, 2007

By 

T&B, etc "Tea and Books, etc" (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Burning Bridges (Retrievers, Book 4) (Paperback)

This 4th book in the Retrievers series isn't terrible but it isn't very interesting, either. Mostly, it seems to serve as a bridge (no pun intended) between the previous book and the next.

As other reviewers have commented, the main reason for the serviceable read is due to the concentration of the story arc on the politics among the "major" players in the series, namely the Fatae, Lonejacks, Cosa, and Silence, and the increasing tension due to the escalation of attacks by Nulls against anyone who has, or who appears to have, magic. To be fair, this political situation does have a key role to play in the plot as it also drives what's happening; the problem is that rather than making the information succinct, the various unproductive political meetings take up too much of the story. The various factions don't get very far in their dealings, and neither do we, as the reader.

The situation between Wren and Sergei, played up on in the book's synopsis, doesn't really have much twists and turns as was hinted, until the end of the book, just like the intriguing prologue. A hint of a connection to the prologue appears but it's so subtle that it might as well not be there. In any case, by that point, one has either forgotten about the prologue or one has torn one's hair out wondering what role it plays in the story.

In essence, there's a lot of exposition but not much action.