Daughter Of Hounds (Paperback)

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Key Phrases: Odd Willie, Madam Terpsichore, Saben White (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft's tales of legendary monsters running amok under the streets of New England, Kiernan's fifth novel (after Low Red Moon) to feature psychic sensitive Deacon Silvey and his supernaturally scarred family and friends is a hell-raising dark fantasy replete with ghouls, changelings and eerie intimations of a macabre otherworld. The story develops along two converging lines sketched in alternating chapters. In one, Deacon's adolescent daughter, Emmie, finds herself increasingly subject to weird presentiments and uncanny encounters that suggest she's more fey than mortal. In the other, a hard-boiled female demon-killer, Soldier, cuts a swath through Rhode Island's ghoul-infested underground on a vaguely defined mission that eventually brings her and Emmie together as partners. The complex plot springs abundant surprises involving forgotten cradle exchanges, mistaken identities and unexpected betrayals on its juggernaut roll to a memorable finale. Though more talky than Kiernan's usual, the story still manages an effective mix of atmosphere and action and resolves most of the major subplots. (Dec.)
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From Booklist

The changeling Children of the Cuckoo have been stolen from their homes and raised by ghouls. Contact with humans is forbidden them, and they even hear a terrifying cautionary tale of a girl who tried to flaunt this interdiction. Yellow-eyed eight-year-old Emmy Silvey is about to cross paths with one of the ghouls' children, the woman named Soldier, a killer for the Bailiff, who works mostly with the Hounds of Cain (i.e., the ghouls). In a yellow house in Providence, Emmy and Soldier are doomed to learn the terrible truths about their lives. For Emmy, discovery begins when, on the train to visit her stepmother in New York, a strange woman tattooed with the seal of Solomon warns her to avoid horses. Soldier's enlightenment commences when she nearly dies in an attempted betrayal by her partner and starts getting really nasty jobs and partners who aren't particularly safe to work with. Kiernan's storytelling is stellar, and the misunderstandings and lies of stories within the main story evoke a satisfying tension in the characters. Regina Schroeder
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Roc Trade (January 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451461258
• ISBN-13: 978-0451461254
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #885,313 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars not kiernan's best by a long shot..., June 30, 2007

By	Constant Reader (Gloucester MA) - See all my reviews

I am a huge fan of Caitlin Kiernan's work, but this may be her weakest novel; she says in her introduction that she's never struggled with a book the way she did with this one, and unfortunately it shows. The story tells of the intersecting paths of Soldier, a woman who has forgotten her past and is slaughtering her way around New England on errands for the ghouls, and Emmie, a stubborn 8-year-old who is only now (for no clear reason) being hunted by forces who need her power. There is a *lot* of talking in this book, and much of it is repetitive and off the point. Emmie in particular spends most of the book insisting, constantly, repeatedly, that everything happening to her is all a dream and just stupid; this gets a bit exhausting by page 300, and makes her dialogue remarkably repetitive. Soldier's amnesia means that her character is not grounded in the way that Kiernan's characters usually are, by their past or other ties. The truly creepy sequences that Kiernan produced in Threshold and Low Red Moon are missing here, traded for less-than-subtle action or drawn-out dialogue, and instead of the vulnerability of a Chance Matthews or Deacon Silver we are left with Soldier and Emmie, both of whom are resistant to the reader-- Soldier because of her ur-competence, and Emmie because she simply doesn't want to be in the book. The reasons for Soldier's and Emmie's experiences, and the timing of them, are never resolved, nor does the end make much sense. Altho' readers of the first two books in this series will probably read this just to find out what happens next, anyone looking for an introduction to Kiernan will find much better work by her in her other novels.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunningly Beautiful, January 14, 2007

By	sleepycyan (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews

Daughter of Hounds is a finely crafted novel that contains stories within stories, and it's beautifully and skillfully written. Objects and places that would normally be considered mundane become the pillars of an intricate mythology that can instill feelings of both wonder and revulsion. It's the kind of writing that works all of the emotions at once and plants itself deep within the reader so that Kiernan's mythology quickly becomes your own.

I'm reluctant to categorize the novel, because Caitlin R. Kiernan is an author that defies the constraints of genre. The best that I can do is to call this a mesmerizing fairytale that is both dark and light, ugly and beautiful, classical and modern, and all the things in between and beyond. If you're looking for intelligent fantasy, please do yourself a favor and purchase this book.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars CRK continues her unparalleled reign as my favorite author EVER., January 9, 2007

By	Anne G. "Quietly disarming" (N.VA, USA) - See all my reviews

I first fell in love with Caitlin, her words and her worlds, with Silk (my paperback copy of which is now sadly tattered and much-loved; I first heard of it via Poppy Z. Brite's The Crow: Lazarus Heart). Daughter of Hounds continues her legacy, and hasn't disappointed me yet--nor do I expect it to.

Daughter of Hounds has changelings, hounds, demons, beings that may or may not be ghosts, and magick. Time goes in its circular motion--not backwards and forwards as most believe; different options--different realities--occur at the same instant. As with Threshold, Daughter of Hounds doesn't stay in one time or in one reality. It endeavors, at the least, to expand your understanding of time and reality, and the wormholes therein. CRK's worlds, as in reality, don't always make sense or have answers.

If, at the last page, you're expecting everything to be resolved, neatly labeled and boxed, then you're mistaken and obviously haven't read CRK's works. One thing I love about her is that her stories don't necessarily have endings--or if they do, they're very open-ended and not necessarily good ones.

She makes you think, instead of solving the puzzle for you all at once. And she does it so beautifully. Every book of hers that I read changes me indefinitely, opening my mind up to other worlds.

"Words are magick", indeed, Caitlin. You, above all others, have taught me that. I am forever in your debt.