13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
New Genre: Fantasy Romance, May 8, 2007
This review is from: Thief With No Shadow (Mass Market Paperback)
I'm going to warn you right now - I do not include plot spoilers in this review, but I do mention character-based facts (such as the identity of the main couple; not that it should come as a surprise, as the man is basically the only viable option for the girl) repeatedly throughout. I do not believe these constitute real spoilers, to me at any rate, but I thought I ought to mention it all the same.
Now, the review:
This is a good book. Not surprising in any way (I saw all the 'twists' in the narrative coming), but still a GOOD book. It's a romance novel done up in fantasy novel trappings - the heroine and her love interest are established from the beginning, with the typical angsty, hate-at-first-sight attached. And, as is typical in romance novels, no matter how justified (or not) the love interest is in his distrust or hatred of the female lead, he is so pigheaded about it that he loses all of the readers' sympathy.
At first, Bastian was so aggressive and arrogant that I truly wished him nothing but ill. (He's one of the main reasons I gave this book four stars instead of five, as I truly believe his character could have been handled much better.) By the end of the book, I still thoroughly disliked him, but it did not tarnish my enjoyment of the story nearly as much as I expected it to. I would not invite him to tea, nor do I understand Melke's eventual feelings towards him, but that's pretty typical of a romance novel, as I understand it. I've yet to meet a romance novel leading man who wasn't arrogant, aggressive, and an insult to the males of the world who try to engage their brains and emotions other than anger when dealing with people. If this is other women's ideal man, then I'm a tad ashamed of my gender.
That said (and with tongue firmly in cheek, mind; I wasn't being serious) Melke is a compelling leading lady; she has issues, and honor, and she tries to do the right thing even at great personal risk. She wasn't my favorite character (and I do find her leading man a grave injustice to men everywhere, which slightly lessens my understanding of her), but I still love her dearly.
In fact, my favorite characters were the side characters - Melke's brother Hantje and Bastian's sister Liana. They're well-drawn and interesting; and Hantje's presence alone was a relief from Bastian's overbearing masculinity. If there was any issue I had with them, it's a scene over halfway through the book, where Liana is thinking about her brother, how kind he is, how honorable, etc. I found myself thinking 'and what? We're just supposed to believe you?' Because nothing up to then had shown Bastian being any of those things. It's her word against ours, and I always trust myself over a fictional character.
It was a symptom of a larger problem - I could see where the author was leading the story, what tricks were used. Bastian's dog Endal is another example of this. When Bastian can't see Melke as anything other than scum, Endal (who speaks with perfect English in Bastian's head, and can tell when people are lying - a trait discovered through the course of the book, presumably because no one had ever lied in front of the dog before) is the one to tell Bastian all her good qualities. A nice way to get around a main character who's so stubborn; he won't believe his sister (he idolizes her, but not enough to value her opinion), but he'll believe his dog.
I still really liked Endal, however. But then, I'm a dog lover. I really liked the side character puppy, too.
And for those who care about such things (I certainly do), the writing here is quite good. It's quick reading, not dense or flowery, but it fits the story well.
I would not recommend this book to lovers of epic fantasy, such as diehard Tolkien fans. There are no elves, no dwarves, no huge magic battles; instead of the fate of the world hanging in the balance, it was the fate of one long-suffering family. I rather enjoyed the switch. It wasn't about kings or glory or war; it was about people. People who suffered, and sacrificed, and loved. I may not have liked all of them, but I certainly enjoyed their tale.
If you are familiar with romance, you're unlikely to be surprised by anything in this novel - but even if you aren't surprised, if you like character driven stories, dogs (hard to be a fan of this book if you hate them, I'd think, but honestly; who hates *dogs*?), and a few scenes of disturbing, heart-wrenching pain, you'll love this book. My sister did. And, despite the problems I know I've gone on at length about, so did I.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Evocative writing, great characters, February 16, 2008
This review is from: Thief With No Shadow (Mass Market Paperback)
I loved the character development in this book. Emily Gee takes us right into the characters' minds and shows us who they are with all their imperfections. As an added plus, the writing is beautiful. We get all the right details, and it doesn't fall into the trap of being overly spare.
The story and the romance worked for me. The romance wasn't the primary focus, which I was glad of, but it felt natural when it came into play. You have to get around one small unbelievability toward the beginning, an action Bastian (the male main character) could have taken to prevent most of the trouble that followed, but if you can just skip over that the rest of the tale works and is enjoyable. However, the characters and writing are the reason I'll reread this book.
Easily the best book I read in 2007.
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