6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Return of the "Kin", February 8, 2005
This review is from: Close Kin: Book II -- The Hollow Kingdom Trilogy (Hardcover)
Clare B. Dunkle returns to the world of "The Hollow Kingdom" with "Close Kin," a romantic adventure that stretches the boundaries of her invented world. Though this book is a bit too rushed, Dunkle's mix of humor and suspense carry the story smoothly as we find out a bit more about the mysterious elves.
Seylin the elf-goblin has been Emily's friend ever since she came to live with the goblins, and he has now fallen in love with her. When she absentmindedly rejects him, the brokenhearted Seylin decides to go find other elves. He manages to track down a camp of them -- but he finds that they have little in common.
The band leader is a brutal thug, the elves live in poverty, and the women are treated as scum... and all elf women die horribly in childbirth. Meanwhile, determined to find Seylin, Emily sets out accompanied by a crabby loremaster. Both she and Seylin discover the tragic joint past of the elves and goblins, and the terrible secret that is driving the elves toward extinction.
"Close Kin" takes a darker tone than its predecessor. Sure, "Hollow Kingdom" wasn't light and fluffy, but "Close Kin" explores the terrible aftermath of wars and misunderstandings. One scene even has an elf woman mutilating her face so no one will marry her. Yep, it gets that heavy, although Dunkle lightens up somewhat after the "kidnapping" of the elf brides.
It does rush past the romance a bit more quickly than you'd expect, and the elf women adjust to the feared goblins in way too little time. However, most of the plot moves at a fast clip, giving us plenty of looks at the grimy elf camp and the bloody history between the two races. There's certainly enough backstory to provide plenty of prequels, if Ms. Dunkle chose to write them.
Seylin gets plenty of dimension and angst to go along with his interesting elf-cat-goblin shapeshifting. Emily doesn't get much personal growth, sadly. But Dunkle also populates "Close Kin" with plenty of other interesting characters, such as a ditzy elf, a crabby priest, a little girl with her head full of fairy-tales, and a goblin street urchin (who is, incidentally, the most entertaining character in the whole book).
The final chapter of "Close Kin" seems to hint at the third book of the Hollow Kingdom Trilogy, and it sounds like the third venture into the kingdom of the goblins will be winner.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
14 year-old reviewer, March 31, 2005
This review is from: Close Kin: Book II -- The Hollow Kingdom Trilogy (Hardcover)
After reading the first book to the Hollow Kingdom Trilogy I was somewhat dissapointed by this one. Don't get me wrong, it is a good read through and through but holding it up to the first one and you'll find it's a star lacking. Since I'm not the type to tell you it's lacking and not the reason why, I'll explain myself. The dark ending to Close Kin showed way to much into the third book. Dunkle really should have waited to put that last chapter in there. It showed way to much, it was like the beginning of a book instead of the end. Emily's character needed abit more developing. She seemed way too immature to be getting married and that put me off abit. Seylin was brilliant! The best character of all. Dunkle really poured her heart into him. Not only was his character filled out and expanded from the first book but she added new insights to his personality that were simply delightful. The elves also were a special treat. Dunkle made their history so hauntingly sad, and their current state was almost pitiful, yet through it all they still retained a sense of themselves. Kate and Marak were the same, happily so, I couldn't have stood it had Dunkle changed them an atom from what they were before. I especially loved her addition of the goblin child Emily finds in England. That was very fun! The only thing good about Dunkle's foreshadowing ending was that it portrayed Catspaws personality in such a good way. I really think the third book is going to top everything off. Overall I recommend Close Kin strongly, albeit it has a few minor flaws.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not Enough to be worthy of being Book Two, February 16, 2006
This review is from: Close Kin: Book II -- The Hollow Kingdom Trilogy (Hardcover)
This book didn't really need to be one. The short tale told in book two of the Hollow Kingdom trilogy could have easily been shared in either book one or three. Close Kin is simply serving a bridge between the span of years of Marak's reign to Catspaw's reign with some fluff. The conflict for this tale was weak and not strong enough in my opinion to carry as its own book.
Close Kin was still enjoyable and was useful for readers to grasp all that happens in book three In the Coils of the Snake. Giving Emily (Kate's sister from The Hollow Kingdom) her own story was a smart idea, but the struggle that Dunkle was striving for seemed too small and unworthy of being declared Book II of the Kingdom trilogy.
Had the plot been given as deep a meaning as the first book, it would have succeeded my expectations, but this did fall a little short of the mark. For readers who may pick up on this series, you have to read it in order. You also don't want to skip this book because this book is lengthy enough to bridge the gaps that would occur between the first and final book of the trilogy.
Three stars for an appeasing read but fell short of fulfilling the glory it could have had.
Other recommendations are The Raging Quiet by Sherryl Jordan
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