Customer Reviews

Close Kin: Book II -- The Hollow Kingdom Trilogy

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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

This was an excellent fantasy novel. Dunkle has a very fresh voice and presents a wonderful view of goblins. I recommended The Hollow Kingdom to my students when it came out and I will recommend this one as well. The only flaw was the foreshadowing of the third book. It didn't need to be in there for the story, and seemed very rushed. Dunkle should have waited for the third book to write the third book.

I was a little disappointed in this one since it was not as "put together" as the first one. The story picks up about six year later, which is when Emily has come of age to marry. Seylin has also found himself in absolute love of her and has been trying to find a way to ask her. When he does, she misunderstands his meaning and ends up arguing with him instead. Seylin knows he is not the only one who is after Emily's hand in marrage and when he suggested for her to marry the other in the heat of a fight, she readily agrees. Devastated after the fight, Seylin decides to leave the Goblins to find his own people, the elves. When Emily realizes what she had done, she sets out to find him and bring him back. Each, in the months outside the Hollow Kingdom, have their own adventures and learn something about themselves, as well as the world around them.

What I found lacking in this book was the focal point of the story. The author kept switching around on us. At first it was about Emily and Seylin, then it was about the elf, Sable. Then she switches to Rose. Then there was Richard and his problem. And before the book was over, she switches again to Til and Catspaw--another nine years in the future. It was almost like she was having a hard time finding a story, so she through in a whole bunch together in a mix-match.

First, a disclaimer, I have know Clare since I was a wee little child and have been enthralled by her imagination for (mumble) years.

On to the review:

I just finished reading her newest book a few nights ago and can hardly wait for the next installment. I love the premise that both Seylin and Emily go on a quest, even though Emily doesn't quite realize that she is on a quest when she first leaves to find Seylin. As with her last book, Clare keeps turning our usual conventions of the heroes/heroines being the beautiful people upside down and inside out, hammering home the idea that physical beauty has nothing to do with what is inside.

I thought this book was great, it's my favorite in the series actually. The characters are so well developed, they all deepen from the first book, the story line is interesting, and I loved how everything came together so smoothly. As I've said about the first book, I wouldn't recommended this series for younger readers or for sensitive people, but if you don't mind a bit of darkness (an elf girl slashes her face at the beginning of the book to make her unwanted to her fiance because all elven woman die in childbirth and there is some cruelty to woman in the book) I would highly recommended this series.

American buyers, DO NOT expect to find this book in any of our stores. second hand, or brand name. But do buy it! I've read hundreds of books, played many video games, watched a lot of movies and Dunkle sky rocketed to the top 10 in my list of storytellers.

Close Kin was very good. I originally thought it would be heavily following Seylin and Emily and I didn't know what to expect. But this time Dunkle gave us several characters to love and hate while still weaving an understanable story.

I've read many books with complicated storylines that dance all over the place, and Dunkle's trilogy found a place in my heart because they're so simple. She doesn't need a thousand plot twists and such to weave her tales. Great books to just relax with.

We met the sisters Kate and Emily in the first book, Hollow Kingdom. Their life since the joining Goblin society has been "uneventful." They both have their jobs to do, although those jobs would seem strange to most humans, and have made a place for themselves in the underground kingdom. However, Emily is getting older, and as a human woman, the Goblin King is not so patiently waiting to see which of his subjects she will choose to marry. Everything goes a little crazy when Seylin, a friend Emily made in the first book, proposes and Emily doesn't even realize it! Completely offended and heartbroken, Seylin leaves the kingdom to try and find his ancestors, the elves. Once Emily realizes that Seylin has left and what she did to him, she sets off to find him and bring him back.

I still love Emily's character and I really wish we had seen more of her in this book. From the description, I thought it would be about half about her and half about Seylin. While Seylin was very heavily featured, Emily really lagged behind in coverage. Seylin is a very interesting character, but I didn't see him really grow or develop much here. I'm afraid that the second book in The Hollow Kingdom just isn't quite as good as the first, which is a trait I find quite often in series. I'm still going to try and read the third, but it will have to wait until I get some extra spending money.

3/5

(this is the second book in the hollow kingdom trilogy, so spoilers for the first book - the hollow kingdom - are unavoidable really...)


in a sentence or so: Seylin finally bucks up the courage to awkwardly propose to Emily, only to be inadvertently turned down which triggers the heartbroken Seylin to head out and find his elvish ancestors. when Emily realizes what's happened, she too sets on a quest to find Seylin, and set things right...whatever that may be.

Emily and Seylin's tale begins in the hollow kingdom about five years after the conclusion of the previous book. Emily continues to spend time with the goblin children, while nearing the end of her education and nearing the inevitable marriage age. her long time friend Seylin has been acting weird lately, and it doesn't even dawn on her that his awkward behavior and even more awkward conversation about marriage are because of and for her. heartbroken at his rejection, Seylin requests permission to leave the kingdom and find out if there really are elves out in the world, and hopes he will find acceptance with them where he didn't find it with his true love.

the writing alternates between Seylin's search for the elves, Emily's search of Seylin, and life back in the goblin kingdom. the whole book takes place over a few days, which is exciting and holds the reader's interest. the author also sprinkles in some additional folklore of the elves intermittently, which helps the reader explore the past while discovering the future.

i knew to expect good things from "close kin", as i really liked the "hollow kingdom". what i didn't expect, however, were the issues of domestic abuse, prejudice, use of gifts and talents, healthy and unhealthy relationships, change, disappointment, and growing up. the outer shell of the story is Seylin and Emily's love story...but we discover so much more about goblins, elves, and human nature in the process.

i adore the folklore created by Dunkle, the creativity in plot and the rooted characters. i will certainly be finishing off the trilogy by reading "in the coils of the snake" sometime in the not too distant future.

fave quote: "Emily stood up from behind a rock. She was pale and grubby, and she had circles under her eyes. Seylin had never seen a sight more beautiful." (141)

fix er up: maybe it's because i was already familiar with the folklore and mythology, but "close kin" just didn't hold the same excitement as "hollow kingdom".