Customer Reviews

Curse the Dark (Retrievers, Book 2)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Last year, "Staying Dead" got a 5-star rating. I thought it was an excellent fantasy novel with an interesting romance angle thrown in. In her second book, Laura Ann Gilman isn't making either the fantasy or the romance angles work that well for me.

The concept: Wren is a Retriever. Basically, she goes and steals back items that are taken by others. Sergei is her manager/partner. He's in his 40's, about 20 years older than she. They're in love, though neither is actively acknowledging it til this novel.

"Curse the Dark" sends the two of them after stolen Catholic Church relics. We get a better explanation than the initial one about the 'CosaNostradamus' the organization that controls mages and the 'Silence' the organization that makes sure the 'Cosa' is on the up-and-up.

"Curse the Dark" crosses a few more barriers than "Staying Dead" by introducing a mystery line--just what are the relics, what do they mean, and why are they protected so strongly against mages? And, finally, who but a mage could steal them? Gilman's good at setting up mystery, but her explanations are somewhat muddy.

"Curse" answers a few of the questions I had from "Staying Dead" but doesn't leave me looking forward to the sequel or as excited about new-author Gilman as I previously was.

I'm not sure I will read #3 next year. Will definitely have to sit down and make sure I can get through the first chapter or two before I commit to it. Feels as though Gilman is trying to please too many audiences at once and not doing very well at any of it.

I just happened to find this book at my local book store and what a great read. I could'nt find the first book of this series,but Laura blended both books so well together that I felt that I diddn't miss anything. Sergie and Wren are so great together that it was a joy just to see their reactions together. Also enjoyed how the electric current worked so well with the magic. Will have to someday pick up Staying Dead,but eagerly awaiting the next Retriever Novel. I highly recommend this series if you enjoy Jim Butcher,and Laurell K.Hamilton. Enjoyed it Laura,hurry up and finish the next book.

Curse the Dark is the second of the Retriever novels. The is the review of the trade paperback. Wren and Sergei are trying to figure out their personnel and professional lives. Since their last job, work has been falling off. Wren esp. needs some cash, so they jump at a chance to go to Italy and investigate the disappearance of an artifact for the mysterious Silence organization. The trip to Italy is short, a bit of a shame. However, the artifact and the guardians of the artifact are engaging. The political wrangling within the Silence is interesting as well. In chapter 15, the book starts to unravel or at least I started to loose interest. Here are two reasons:

1) On page 271, the author has a character say something that is completely against everything the character has done in the first book and the first 270 pages of this book for a little cheep complex. I but the book down and didn't pick it back up for a week. It completely turned me off to the story. I always feel a little betrayed when authors do this. Like we won't notice!

2)*****Possible Spoiler****The author also wastes a character that I hadn't formed an attachment to yet. So, the death, which is treated as pivotal, didn't mean much because I hadn't become involved with them.

Yes, there is a lovely romance intertwined throughout, but this is a book for those who love SciFi. I'm not surprised the romance reviewers are at a loss.

The character development is of a Talent(magical skill) nature. If you love SciFi then you'll understand the development. If you are a romantic junkie then you'll miss it.

I adore the progress this series is making. I hope this author doesn't give up based on the Romance opinion. The potential is there for many years of SciFi enjoyment.

I really enjoyed "Staying Dead." "Curse the Dark" was much more fractured and confusing. The story isn't nearly as intense, and the actions of the characters didn't make as much sense. It seems as though not much really happened until the end of the story.

"Staying Dead" grabbed me from the first pages. "Curse the Dark" felt like an obligatory read. I had read the first one, therefore, I had to read the second. It wasn't from enjoyment that I finished it. There wasn't any true "whodunit" that had to be solved, and the climax wasn't satisfying to me.

I enjoy Laura Anne Gilman's writing style, and so will look for the third story. I know this author can write a really good story, since she's proven it in the debut novel. I hope she finds that same spark for the third in the series.

Wren Valere's jobs as a Retriever have begun to disappear due to the Council's subtle but effective whisper campaign against her. As a lonejack, Wren is used to working on her own and flying under the Council's radar. She has been very successful at stealing artifacts back due to her use of both conventional and magical means, but this is not a career that welcomes attention. The only thing keeping her financially afloat at this time is the retainer from the Silence, and now the Silence wants her to do a Retrieval of an ancient but deadly manuscript. Meanwhile, the unrest between the various magical factions is reaching a boiling point and Wren is stuck in the middle. Wren and her partner, Sergei Didier, discover just how unprepared they are for this latest Retrieval as they will have to risk everything if they hope to succeed.

CURSE THE DARK is the second book in the Retrievers series. The first book, STAYING DEAD, sets up the relationship between Wren and Sergei and introduces the need for their agreement with the Silence. However, CURSE THE DARK can be read as a stand alone as Laura Anne Gilman provides readers with enough of the back history to follow along. In fact, I enjoyed CURSE THE DARK better than the first book as I thought the pace was a bit smoother.

The situation in CURSE THE DARK gets complicated quickly. There is a main plot involving the actual Retrieval but there are numerous undercurrents occurring simultaneously. There is a romance developing between Wren and Sergei and both are trying to adapt to the changes in their relationship. Meanwhile, the conflicts within the magical community are exploding and these tensions are beginning to have a direct impact on Wren. Laura Anne Gilman does an excellent job at maintaining the individual threads. While the plot is complex, it is never confusing.

The character development in CURSE THE DARK is superb and adds more depth to the storyline. Laura Anne Gilman has created such an interesting cast of characters that even the secondary characters are fully developed and interesting. Wren and Sergei are of course the primary characters and their strengths and flaws make them likeable and realistic. The intrigue surrounding Silence Handler, Andre Felhim, adds an atmosphere of secrecy to the already mysterious task of locating the manuscript that makes readers simply disappear. P.B. and Tree-Taller also play pivotal roles in this exciting story and who can't help but love P.B?

CURSE THE DARK is an action packed story that cleverly weaves together numerous plotlines. Laura Anne Gilman has crafted an entertaining world that has only improved with this installment. I rarely re-read books, but CURSE THE DARK was well worth my second reading of the story as I thoroughly enjoyed it and am looking forward to delving into the next two installments in the series.

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

In a world where most people don't believe in magic, there is a group of practitioners, humans who have talent to use the current from electricity to perform magic. Wren is a Retriever, a lonejack (a Talent not affiliated with the Mage Council); a person who finds and returns missing objects to the client. Her partner Sergei convinces her to take a contract from the Silence an organization who keeps the world from imploding.

Their first assignment is to retrieve a manuscript that was stolen from the House of Legend a church in Sienna, Italy. When they arrive there, they learn that the church is not wired for electricity because the monks, unknowingly are guarding the library which contains malevolent manuscripts, texts and books. These guardians know that whoever reads the manuscript disappeared. Information sends them back to New York where the book is now in the hands of a private library that they are unable to gain access to due to spells. If they don't find a way to return the book to the Silence, the tome will wreck havoc on the city and then the country and if not unchecked, the world.

CURSE THE DARK is a great romantic fantasy that will appeal to readers of Laurell K. Hamilton. The heroine is blacklisted by the Mage Council, is trying to keep the lonejacks from battling the council and is trying to adjust to the consummation of her relationship with Sergei. She also wants the fatae (the non-human magical creatures) protected by Talents who see them as an unfavorable species. Laura Anne Gilman is a master at characterizations, a great world builder and a gifted storyteller.

Harriet Klausner

Lonejack 'Wren' Valere uses her thieving skills plus her magic talent as a specialist in retrieval. Although the Council is cracking down on lonejacks in general and on Wren in particular, there's always a demand for someone who can track down and retrieve the truly valuable, or highly dangerous. What isn't completely clear is which category this latest job falls into.

Together with her partner, Sergei (Sergei is a business partner but there is also a strong chemistry that just might explode at any moment) Wren heads to Italy where a mysterious document has vanished. The document is especially mysterious because no one has ever read it. No one, that is, who's survived to tell of the experince. In Italy, Wren and Sergei learn that their employers for the job, The Silence, doesn't have a clue what they sent them into.

Back in New York, Wren and Sergei explore their relationship and confront both human and non-human magic. Someone, or something, is stirring things up.

Author Laura Anne Gilman creates an interesting take on the urban fantasy. Magic is related to electricity and Wren's love/hate with all things electric is one of the most clever and amusing parts of the story. The Sergei/Wren relationship works, with plentyof chemistry and lots of deep-seated issues. I thougt Gilman fell a bit short on the actual adventure. Wren reacted through the entire story rather than really grabbing control. Surely, once she knew the manuscript was in the library, she should have acted rather than waited for it to grow stronger. Gilman ends the novel with a preview that plenty more danger and possibly romance is in store for our daring duo.

I read Laura Anne Gilman's "Staying Dead", the first book in the Retriever series, and wasn't very impressed. Laura Anne Gilman tried to create a new world of magic, but she made it way too complicated. There was so much time spent just trying to describe and explain the many different intricacies of her characters' world, that the flow of the book suffered. It was a difficult read. I went ahead and started "Curse the Dark", because I was hoping that, having gotten most of the explanations and descriptions of her world out of the way in the first book, she could settle down to concentrate on plot. It was actually a more difficult read than the first book, and, I'm sorry to say, I could not bring myself to finish the second book. It was more work than enjoyment to read.

Since it's introduction LUNA has had some really awesome authors write some really AWFUL books. However, Curse the Dark is a really excellent sequel to Staying Dead that I couldn't put down. The attitudes of the characters virtually leap off the page.

You might argue that it needs certain things tweeked (though I like it the way it is, and feel no need to critique a book I really enjoyed), but everyone must admit that it's 1. Better developed than the first, and 2. Hella funny.