Customer Reviews

Hunting the Corrigans Blood

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

 

 

With HUNTING THE CORRIGAN'S BLOOD, acclaimed fantasy novelist Holly Lisle makes her first foray into the treacherous waters of science fiction. And in this novel, those waters are treacherous indeed.

As is common is Ms. Lisle's books, we feel that there is much more to the setting than just the glimpses we are getting as Cadence Drake speeds through them in search of the missing ship, Corrigan's Blood. Her world-building has always provided Lisle's work with a sense of depth that makes it almost impossible for the reader NOT to suspend their disbelief. But in CORRIGAN'S BLOOD, the background feels even deeper than in her Arhel novels, and the reader has the sense that the author is not yet finished with this setting.

Yet in many ways this novel, despite the trappings of hard SF, is more of a thriller. It has the headlong pace, compulsive readability, and enormous stakes that characterize the best of thrillers. Lisle's novels have always had their dark side, but HUNTING THE CORRIGAN'S BLOOD doesn't seem to have any other side. Her prose is leaner, cut closer to the bone than is her usual wont, and yet perfectly appropriate in a novel that hurtles towards the denouement at a pace that would require an origami drive to achieve. I found myself literally unable to put the book down, walking into things as I read on my way from room to room.

Though the almost-inevitable ending of this first volume was less than perfectly satisfying, if Lisle can bring the same emotional intensity and driving pace to future works in this milieu, one can hardly imagine that Cadence Drake's future adventures would fail to meet with increasing success.

It's a crime to see a book this good go out of print so quickly, but this one is well worth the time and effort to hunt down a copy -- you will not be disappointed. One can only hope that Ms. Lisle's new publisher will take an interest in Cadence Drake's escapades, and give them a better home than Baen did.

This is an outstanding piece of writing, especially for somebody who has never written SciFi before. The technology is plausible, the world-building excellent (and there's a lot of it too), and the characters seem like a logical extension of their environment.

Although this book starts off in the 'hard-boiled detective' genre, it quickly escalates into a compelling and hard-driving story that really defies conventions until the end which is logical and well-written but not quite as creative as the rest of the story.

I hope that Ms. Lisle continues to write SciFi because she's already very good and I'm sure she will become even better with time.

Cadence Drake and Badger are a brilliant duo in a universe not quite what it seems. This stand-alone novel has rich characters and universe, brutality and terrifying moments, and subtle emotional tugs that make it one of my 100 favorites in any genre. I wish Holly Lisle would write another one in this setting.

I'd never read anything by Holly Lisle alone before, only collaborations (The Rose Sea, Serrated Edge books), and I wasn't sure what to expect. I was blown away - this book is terrific! I have to read more of her stuff. Since I read Laurell K. Hamilton's Nightseer, I particularly think this book should appeal to her many readers: it's fast-paced, funny, and scary as hell.

______________________________________________
"Blood" starts out as a standard tough-girl action-adventure (which
is the expectation from the vapid Baen cover). PI Cadence Drake is
hired to recover a stolen spaceship. After being beaten nearly to death
and stuffed in a closet with a corpse, Cadence is rescued by her
partner/employee/once-and-future lover, Badger. They hare off across
the galaxy , and it doesn't take them long to realize that Things Are
Not as they Seem. They encounter powerful foes, dark conspiracies,
and serious gore. The resolution is surprising and effective.

I can't be more specific without spoiling some of the fun, but it's a
satisfying book, altho darker than you'd think.

I believe this is Ms. Lisle's first SF novel - she has previously written
fantasies, many as collaborations. I've read and enjoyed "Sympathy for
the Devil", wherein the Hellspawn tempt contemporary North
Carolinians, with amusing results. An "A+" book, well-written,
light. witty and very funny. Highly recommended. "The Devil and
Dan Cooley", the sequel, is entertaining but weaker.

Review copyright 1997 by Peter D. Tillman

This book was really good however you need to read it over a couple of times to get everything straight. A couple of times I had to go back and re-read parts because it moved so quick you missed things. It is well worth the read however and the ending is very good. Hope to see a sequel to it sometime in the future.