I’m sorry to say that this is a series I will no longer recommend to my friends, at least until I read the third book. I had been telling everyone to read it. Perhaps the third book will make up for it. Is the third book the last one? Please say yes. I’m really getting annoyed with four and five book series. Three is a good number. Anyway,  I really hope the series ends well. I have not lost hope for you yet Bree DeSpain.

My only complaint would be the brief connections between Lisbeth and Mikael, since I was always hoping they would hook up. However, since they never actually hook up it only makes me want it more so I feel that was a well placed plot decision. Questions raised in the first book are answered here which provides a nice sense of continuity. The novels are not super deep thinkers, but they are a great alternative to beach trash if you are looking for a good time. There is language, sex, violence, sexual violence, etc. so enter at your own risk.

I noticed the author sometimes over explained and spoon fed clues, but that is a common problem in the mystery/suspense genre. I hated Flavia. She is precocious to the point of nausea and in no way reads as an 11 year old girl. She reads like what an adult would love to imagine a precocious 11 year old would be. The ending was trite and disappointing. After constantly being told how bright and exceptional Flavia is, I was surprised when Flavia couldn’t get herself out of trouble and the author had to write in a rescue for her. I was turned off of the book even before I started it by the invitation to join the Flavia de Luce fan club on the dust jacket. I’m ecstatic the author has a deal to write four or five more. I would recommend this book to young adults looking for a clean murder mystery with a victorian feel. The book contains no language, sex or violence.

I last read this book sometime in the late nineties and thought it was time to revisit it. I enjoyed it, but felt after 10+ years I was seeing it with a different perspective. I still love Anne Rice’s writing. The pacing suffered slightly from a little too much inner dialog and the frequent movement between the present and past, but I find her characters, descriptions and writing style beautiful, expressive, and darkly sensual.

My memories that had remained were of strong characters, a well developed and intricate world, and the struggle between humanity and vampire depravation without conscience. However, this time through I saw it less as a book about vampires, and more as a book about how the questions raised and answered apply to everyone. We all feel loss, we all long for something more, and we all constantly fight to balance our desires and compulsions against who we would like to be. We all have complicated relationships. We all choose the people in our lives, then start, continue and end relationships with them for complicated reasons. Sometimes we know our motivations, and sometimes we struggle to find our own explanations. Placing all these questions and emotions in the context of eternal life with interesting and tragically tortured vampires just makes the journey more fun. (Except when you realize Louis has lived over 200 years and is still struggling. I guess time doesn’t heal all wounds, ha ha.)

I remember enjoying the second book in the series more and will probably get to it soon. I also can’t get enough of her decadent description of New Orleans, they are a real treat. I wouldn’t call this book scary, but there are darker themes, hinted sexuality, and depictions of violence and killing.

All slight sarcasm aside I actually liked this book. It was well written, well paced, and draws an interesting and complex new world. I felt the author did a great job of thinking the plot through and eliminating any large plot holes. (A pet peeve of mine with some science fiction.) I enjoyed the character portrayals, most of them torn between love and duty, and driven by love, fear, loyalty, and hate. I found it interesting the powerful women characters in the book were not wives and liked the way that was portrayed. Some of the most interesting plot lines in the book revolved around the planet itself. On a planet with such small amounts of available water it was very interesting to imagine the incredible importance of it and the ways in which your life would revolve around acquiring, retaining and reusing that precious resource. I have been trying to branch out and get my feet wet in science fiction and only wish I had read Dune at the beginning of my foray, and not towards the end as I’m starting to burn out. Did I love it? Not really, but it is the best science fiction book I’ve read in the last five years (I think) and I will get the next one in the series. I said before I read it I would be done science fiction after Dune, but now I guess I have to find out what happens next. Good heavens, what have I done, I think there are about a million and one books in this series. Ahkk, maybe i’m becoming a fan, ha ha. I’m also a little apprehensive to watch the 1984 film by David Lynch (but how can I not?).

As a side note, I noticed on Wikipedia that (unnamed) ‘scholars’ have compared Dune to Edward Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Ummmmm, Wikipedia said the same thing about Foundation by Isaac Asimov. So I’m beginning to think I just need to read Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire and imagine it in space.

Is the concept original? Um, no. Was the romance good? Yes, in a young adult sort of way. The writing is great, the characters are fine, and the pacing is crisp. There is plenty of action and enough soul searching and moral dilemmas to keep it interesting past the surface. My main problem with the book is the author’s view of the future, especially surrounding the politics and government in the book’s post apocalyptic time and place. I know it is a work of imaginative science fiction, I just felt it lacked substance and credibility. (As a pet peeve there was one part right near the beginning where Katniss puts on her boots, and then pulls on her pants. ??? How often do you put your shoes on before getting dressed? Sorry to point this out; I don’t know why I noticed this.) Also, you don’t have to give everyone funky names because your book is set in the future. Most names in circulation today predate the bible. Now that I’m done complaining, feel free to check it out. I found it very entertaining and the end will leave you wanting more.