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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Kind of a hot mess, August 23, 2010
This review is from: The Sixth Surrender: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)
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The Sixth Surrender is a book that, on many occasions, prompted me to read far, far later into the night than was advisable for the mother of two young children. If this sounds like a ringing endorsement of the book, well, there is a catch to it. For as much as this book could sometimes grab me and pull me in, it also confused me to the point where, when I finished it, my first thought was, "Huh?" I somehow doubt this is what the author was aiming for when she wrote the book.
The biggest minus to this work, for me, was the character of Guérin, and what I found to be his very implausible romance with Juliana. Guérin's past is as convoluted and full of tragedy as any good soap opera character, but I felt like this was done to make his present behavior excusable; however, in my opinion, his behavior was anything but excusable. It's a fine line to walk to create a "bad boy" type who is ultimately redeemable, and I think Norton's toe strayed to the far side of the line here. I didn't find much redeemable about Guérin, which was a shame because I really, really wanted to like him and root for him. As for the romance, aside from the fact that there was absolutely no discernable chemistry between Guérin and Juliana, his reprehensible treatment of her alone would be enough to destroy any modicum of romance. I have a problem stomaching any sort of "romance" that involves a character falling madly in love with the one who heaps abuse upon them.
Another aspect of the novel that annoyed me was the way every character tried their best to keep Juliana as in the dark as possible. It was ultimately difficult for me to work out whether they were doing this for her protection or for their own but, regardless, her being kept in ignorance led to all manner of faux pas on her part. I kept wondering why the other characters simply didn't clue her in, rather than allowing her to continue to act in ways that were completely inept, all due to her ignorance.
What really sealed the book's fate, though, was that it is a rather large mess. Despite the intrigue that hooked me and demanded that I keep reading, and despite some really good writing, the book is undone by its own tangled--and sometimes unintelligible--plotting. There are so many plot threads, so many characters (some of them with multiple names or nicknames, many of them also titled) that I was utterly confused for nearly the entire book. There were also some really unnatural transitions that created a confusing lack of explanation as to why the character was where she or he was and how they had arrived there.
This book has been saved from a one-star rating by my belief that this author does have some potential and that, with some good editing, her writing could mature. Had this story been tighter, had some of the confusing plot threads been cleaned up, this would have been a much, much better and more satisfying novel.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Medieval Mayhem!, July 20, 2010
This review is from: The Sixth Surrender: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
"The Sixth Surrender" was a very exciting read to me. Set during the last years of Alienor of Aquitaine, the novel starts with an unconventional marital match set by the duchess between two people who couldn't be any more different. Juliana was a novice that wanted to regain her ancestral home of Tillieres and the only way she could do that is if she got married so her husband can hold the property. Guerin de Lasalle , a mercenary of renown who fought alongside Richard the Lion Heart, was put upon to marry her and the obvious reason he agreed was because of the same property. But for reasons known only to him, he refused to consummate the marriage and was pushing to annul it.
The plot is quite complex but written very well that I couldn't put it down. The story keeps making me ask why? There were clues and foreshadowing but until I was almost at the end, I had to keep guessing. Excellent narrative and delicious details. The characters were so alive for me and they stayed true, all of them. Ms. Norton is very talented and I look forward to her upcoming novels.
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Oh, boy (review may contain spoilers), July 9, 2010
This review is from: The Sixth Surrender: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)
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Oh, man. This is another one of those "I really wanted to like this book, but..." kinds of books. Set between the years of 1200 and 1204, when King John disputed with Arthur of Brittany over the crown. Although the struggle is the backdrop of the story, it's not the focus; instead the story centers around one Juliana de Charnais, a wealthy young woman who starts out as a novice but must marry in order to keep her inheritance. In comes Guerin de Lasalle, who's just as eager as she is to end the marriage.
At first it seems as though the plot of the novel is going to be one of those battle of the sexes things, where the hero and heroine eventually will end up with a happily ever after. I'll give the author credit for taking the plot of the novel in a direction I never expected it to go in. however, the way in which she did it wasn't particularly skilled. It kind of reminds me of that Jim Carrey movie, The Truman Show, where everyone but the main character knows that his life is a reality TV show but him. Here, everyone but Juliana seems to know all the secrets of the book... except her. There are so many plot twists to this book that I could keep them all straight after a while. It's almost as though the author said," what's the most shocking thing I can make happen here?" and then wrote it in. Some of the plot twists were so incredible that I found myself rolling my eyes in many places, even laughing out loud at some of them (there's a scene in a tunnel which is particularly funny, but confusing because it's never completely explained how Juliana got out of the tunnel in the first place).
Character development, something I actively look for in a good novel, is missing here. Guerin is pretty much your stereotypical bad guy, willing to remove anyone or anything that gets in his path. Juliana wasn't particularly bright (for all her book learning), and the real people in the story (Eleanor of Aquitaine, John, etc) aren't well developed. The villains of the piece are also rather cardboard-ish. I didn't even really buy the romance between Juliana and Guerin, which seems forced (he keeps saying, starting around the middle of the book, that he loves her, but there's really no chemistry between them). The only really interesting character here is Anne!
I guess what I really mean to say is that I was disappointed in this novel. I expected a straight historical, and got a mixed up combination of historical romance and adventure. Like other readers, I guess I've been spoiled by reading Sharon Kay Penman and Elizabeth, authors whose novels are much more sophisticated than this one.
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