Customer Reviews

Death's Daughter (A Calliope Reaper-Jones Novel)

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(25)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

This book embodies the worst characterizations of the current genre. The main character is an airhead who has no sense of focus (who the heck starts letting their attention wander while being STRANGLED?), whines incessently, and is breaking down in tears every other page. She doesn't do ANYTHING right, and yet somehow things turn out ok - through the intervention of others. Even the puppy is more effective at accomplishing tasks.

I honestly felt that the author was simply throwing in random events to make the story more interesting, but did not succeed in distracting from the extreme shallowness of the main character. It defies belief to say that after only 3 years of a forgetting charm and "normal" life (which was much more shallow than a normal life imho) she was that ignorant about her supernatural roots...especially when she claimed to excel at English - which would give her more exposure to literature and basic mythology.

I also did not understand why she was so attracted to every male she encountered. It was inexplicable when she hated a guy one moment and then was wildly attracted and hoping he'd kiss her (even while thinking he was a a**hole) the next. She then goes on to explain that the reason is that society has two opposing ideas of women not being TOO easy, yet not being a prude, so she can't make up her mind. Talk about rationalization.

The story seemed to hop around quite a bit, and the heroine is simply NOT likeable. She's less endearingly persistent and more stupidly stubborn in the pursuit of her goals. She seems to be proud of being the shallow ignoramus that she is, and yet is offended when no one takes her seriously. On top of that, she doesn't actually accomplish anything - it's all done by someone else. There is no build up to the discovery of the villain, and I really felt that it was lacking in development altogether - both story and character. I just don't see any appeal in this story, and was close to throwing it in frustration. This one is going straight to the "donate" pile.

I passed by this book a few times before actually picking it up, and I have to say that if I'd continued right past it, I wouldn't have missed much.
The story itself is good, it has a nice plotline, the problem is the very poor delivery.

I know it's possibly intended for a YA crowd but I'd like to point out that it was shelved in the Sci-Fi section, not Teen or Young Adult.

A few things that really bothered me:

"like" "and like" "I mean like"
Calliope is supposed to be a twenty-something year old immortal but she talks more like a valley girl.

"after crying for twenty minutes" "I felt like crying so I did" "Thats how Clio found me, holding a pillow and crying" "I couldn't stop the tears flowing down my cheeks"
It's like holy crap no wonder people don't think she shouldn't take over Death Inc., the girl can't go five minutes without turning on the waterworks. It got to the point of silly when every chapter she has at least once crying bout. The worst part is the rest of the time she tries to act all tough and brave and smartass but that kind of shows hollow once she starts crying yet again.


The crazy sexual overtones.
I've noticed this with a the other Benson books (The Ghost Of Albion series with Chris Golden). The sex scenes are way over done, there is sexual tension with any and every male that comes onto the page. With the exception of Callie's blind date, she wants to screw every male she meets. The sexual tension isn't believable because it is so overdone. Add to that, overall it's a bit awkwardly done. Like Benson wanted to add sexual scenes but they weren't really needed so she just forced them in anyway.


But all that pales in what bothered me the most:
Every other word was italicized!!!!
That drove me crazy!
Every single last page had at least one italicized word if not more.
(since I can't figure out how to italicize in a review, I'll use the capitalized letters here to represent the italicized words)
pg.208

"'It was no more than three feet long, but slim and pliable in his hands. The length of it had been made from combining two pieces of bone- I was pretty sure they had been some REALLY tall guy's femurs in another life. I wasn't like I was a small arms EXPERT or anything. As far a *I* knew, metal was the ONLY medium of choice when you wanted to decapitate someone special, so what was THIS stuff?"

or on pg. 220
'Clio was right...the whole thing WAS major weird, and what REALLY freaked me out was how in the dark I was about everything. I mean, I didn't even know if it was OKAY that Sea Foam was taking up residence in my bloodstream. And assuming THAT part was cool, how the heck was I supposed to show the board I had POSSESSION of the stupid stuff? It wasn't like I could trot it out like Runt- thank God, at least SHE was on a leash."

It's very, very jarring, annoying and amateur. It feels like reading a note that a thirteen year old girl wrote to her friend in class- 'And then Bobby like, TOTALLY asked me OUT! Isn't it like, MAJOR crazy? I just can't BELIEVE it!"



On top of all that, some paragraphs are written in a very convoluted way that makes it hard to understand exactly what she's trying to say...sort of like if one were to say
"The box, which I had stacked on top of another box, which was also brown, had writing on the side from the sharpie that I had borrowed and then returned to Becky."
It leaves you blinking and saying 'What is happening here?'



Anyway, long story short, I have many reasons for not being a fan of this book, I think young readers might like it, I love the inclusion of Kali but hate the way she's presented like a bad girl teenager who shoplifts from the mall and not like the Goddess of Destruction she's supposed to be.


Feel free to disagree, but I figured I'd get my opinion out there.

This lightweight urban fantasy from actor/director/novelist Amber Benson is a fun way to spend an afternoon. You won't get deep motivations or a rich backstory, but you will get a fun romp through the afterlife with Death's daughter Calliope Reaper-Jones, who is doing her best to avoid the family business by forgetting all about it (literally) and working as an intern in NYC with an eye toward breaking into the fashion world.

But when her family (and the entire Board of Directors) is kidnapped, Calliope must take on the mantle of Death to keep the position in the family so she can rescue her father and go back to her "normal" life. She has trials to pass, though, and she must race against Satan's (incredibly hot) Protege and the person/people/beings who stand in her way.

Calliope is fun to follow, written in a chick-lit style with fantasy elements that's much breezier than her Albion books written with Christopher Golden. Definitely worth a read.

"DEATH" is a corporation and Calliope-Reaper Jones wants no part of it. Her dream job involves Prada bags, Dior shades and sleek ensembles fit for runways and awards shows. Not, to her chagrin, googling organic Dim Sum for her boss, the VP of Sales at House and Yard Inc., who is desperately trying to keep up with the Joneses. (No relation) Thanks to a faun named Jarvis and an enchanted cupcake, a "forget spell" is broken and Callie hears her unwanted destiny calling. The Grim Reaper, AKA Callie's father, has mysteriously disappeared and her entire family is facing certain doom. Callie is persuaded to `temporarily' accept the one job she had spent years happily avoiding: stepping into her father's shoes as President and CEO of DEATH Inc. But, as with most things in life, being the Reaper isn't as easy as it seems. There's a Board of Directors to appease by way of completing three virtually impossible tasks and, among other obstacles, a hunky protégé of the Devil hot on her not-so-stylish heels.

What follows is an extraordinary journey into a mystical/magical universe filled with a rich cast of characters pulled from Mythology, Religion and the author's vivid and endearingly goofy imagination. While the premise is -somewhat- familiar, especially to fans of Joss Whedon's, "BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER", this urban fantasy clearly illustrates Benson's own unique, witty perspective on the trials and tribulations of one ordinary girl's typical hopes and dreams getting hijacked by this crazy thing called life -or in Callie's case- death.

Amber Benson is no stranger to the world of developing original fantasy adventures. Partnering with author, Christopher Golden, the duo created an award winning web animation series for the BBCi titled, "GHOSTS OF ALBION", and novelized the series for Del Ray books. Like Calliope, Benson has been given three tasks, novels in this case, to prove her worthiness as a solo author. The protagonist and her ever growing posse of misfits are sure to capture hearts and imaginations (as it has mine) and leave readers anxious to devour the complete "Thrill-ogy". Hopefully, this highly entertaining chick lit series will continue well beyond its initial three novels. To the author: Mission accomplished in one go!

Perhaps "The Crying Death".

Based on most of the other reviews, I am in a minority but I have to believe that I am not the desired audience that this book was written to attract as a reader. SO I am writting this for the Men out there. Take heed and be warned!

That said,

PROS: I really enjoyed the description of Cerberus and his pup, Giselda aka Runt.

CONS: Calliope NEVER stops crying or whining during the entire story. Not even the direct intervention of God stops the "poor me" rant in this womans head.

Not to mention she was raised in the Supernatural world of Immortals and she believes every word someone like the Devil says to her without even questioning whether or not he has motive to lie. This is after the Devil threatens her with eternal slavery if she doesn't submit. Wow. No wonder Fashion is the most important motivation in this charactor's life.

I found this book to be an enjoyable, light read. Initially, I had trouble relating to the main character, Callie, the typical materialistic urban-gal who whines about her pathetic job and even more pathetic love life. But we soon discover Callie is anything but typical. After eating an enchanted cupcake, the memory spell she cast on herself two years before is broken and she suddenly remembers who she really is... the daughter of Death. She discovers that Daddy Death has been kidnapped, along with her older sister, and it's up to her to save the family business, Death, Inc. Thrust back into a world that she had left behind, Callie becomes the reluctant heroine as she faces the challenges of filling her father's gargantuan shoes. This is what I felt made this story work. Callie is the prodigal child in this family. She chose to walk away and live a "normal" life - crappy job, love life and all. But circumstances have forced her to return to save her family's business and their very immortality. Everyone, including herself, expects her to fail. This alone makes me root for her. The main issue I had with this character's journey is that I didn't really feel like she was in any immediate peril since she was immortal and couldn't die. Yes, her immortality was at stake if she didn't succeed in her quests, but I never felt any sense of life or death. But this journey is about her facing her fear of failure, not death. I mean, she IS Death, so within the context of the story it makes sense. But I think the stakes would have been higher had Callie been mortal. What I enjoyed most was the various characters that inhabit Callie's supernatural world - specifically Jarvis, her father's loyal Executive Assistant; Daniel, her rival and potential love interest and Clio, her little sister who just rocks. I also liked how Amber Benson created a supernatural world that incorportes all the various belief systems that exist, or ever existed, in the world - Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Greek Mythology, etc. So all in all, not a bad way to spend a Sunday, especially if you enjoy Mythology (like I do) or Fantasy.

I know that a lot of folks have written that they disliked this book because the main character, who's head we live in (as it is written in the first person), is kind of annoying. I must admit, I liked that about Calliope. She's flawed, and silly, and she whines about bad situations, and has a crush on just about every boy she meets. And this makes her immensely human in my eyes- ironic, considering said book places an emphasis on her non-humanness. It has occurred to me while reading it, that was perhaps Miss Benson's very intention. That for all Calliope's lack of humanity, for all that she is Death's Daughter and being faced with seemingly insurmountable tasks she must complete, even as she walks casually through Hell and discusses favors and payment with everyone from Cerberus to Gods she is still, in every moment, just a person: a flawed, silly person, who makes mistakes and sticks her foot places it doesn't belong while trying her very best in a bad situation. How can one not relate?

That said, I enjoyed this book immensely. Honestly, more than I expected to (I have to admit, I'm skeptical of actors who take up writing). It's a fun read, and while for the most part what one would call fluff, it had some deeper undertones that struck a chord in me. Moments where the greatness of the mythology involved and the story being told (usually masked behind Calliope's urban sarcasm, and silliness) peeks out at you and says something profound that you weren't expecting.

The only small critique I might send the author's way is that she seems a most up-front kind of individual and the story might benefit from a bit of subterfuge...it's told in a very straight-forward style, leaving little to the reader's imagination, and while Miss Benson's engaging speaking style comes through and makes the effect fairly pleasant (like hearing a story related by an old friend), I think the tale might have more impact in some places if some details were left to the reader's imagination.

A solidly enjoyable read, that I certainly recommend. I have Cat's Claw to get started on next, so more reviews to come.

I hope I don't get flog for this, but this book is pretty boring. The heroine is a spoil brat who keeps whining throughout the book. For someone who grew up in a magical environment, she knows next to nothing about it, and then acts bitchy when someone does try to give her some help. I just can't sympathize with her. The plot is pretty tangle up, where sometimes the heroine just run around like a chicken with her head cut off. But the most confusing is the author incorporating several mythologies together, hindu and greek and who knows what else, to create this confusing world.

I don't recommend this book. I'm done with this series and with this author. I made the mistake of buying it new. Borrow from the library if you can because I'm donating my copy to my library.

I really enjoyed Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality series On a Pale Horse (Incarnations of Immortality, Bk. 1) so I was very interested in reading this novel. And to be fair, there were a few things that were done well. For example the hellhound Runt. However, the main character, Calliope Reaper-Jones (fantastic character name) whined so much that I'd have to put the book down after reading for about 20 minutes.

I liked the first person point of view, but the writing was almost too clever. No one speaks in that many cliches.

For the first few chapters I really questioned whether I should bother to continue. The book reads like a young adult book targeted at teenage girls. The writing is in the voice of a teenage girl (yes, the first-person character is in her early twenties, but her voice is that of a teenager), and can be somewhat annoying.

Once you get past the writing style, the story is actually quite compelling and the characters interesting. The mystery was easy, I figured out who was behind the abductions early on, but that didn't affect my enjoyment of the book.