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OKI like Jack Reacher style characters regardless of setting. Put them in outer space, in modern America, in a military setting, on an alien planet... no worries. Book has non moralistic vigilante-justice? Sign me up! (oh, I read urban fantasy, soft and hard sci-fi, trashy vampire and zombie novels too)
I bought this audiobook because it was in the sci/fi fantasy category. The write up claims it has "a dash of time travel" - and that's all it has in the way of fantasy/time travel - a dash.
Time travel is used as a way to launch a HISTORICAL ROMANCE. And, ultimately, this is exactly what it is: a very detailed romance novel set in 18th century Scotland.
Keeping that in mind: it is VERY well done. The narration is terrific and the story engaging (though I did use the fast forward several times to get through the long descriptions of clan family lines, or details of the clothing/housing/etc of the time).
I don't like romances and I don't like historical fiction so I thought the two together would mean I had wasted my credit. Not so. Even though it's as far from my usual listening choices (sci/fi or cop/detective stuff) as it could be, the story flew by: I caught myself smiling at events in the story pretty regularly.
Assuming a starting point of 3 stars for an average story, I added one star for the narration (which brings the story to life) and a second star for making me smile in public. I took off a half star for requiring me to fast forward some of the descriptions = 4.5 star story. So I give it 5 stars because 4.5 is not possible. (I did buy the next book in the series too.)
Remember though, this is a romantic novel with some/lots of sex (though having made it through the sex scenes in Altered Carbon, this is pretty "romantic" sex) - so if you're looking for sci/fi or fantasy, you will be disappointed in this.
Otherwise... if you're not the romantic type but, like me, stumble onto this story by accident only to find that you like it - don't worry, we won't tell anyone...
It is a decent addition to this genre: kick-butt heroine with a troubled past and a difficult "career". Gin doesn't even spend time whining about stuff, which is (pleasantly) out of the ordinary in this genre.
Are there problems? Sure... Gin is supposedly a high-calibre assassin and yet there are several scenes where she is nearly defeated because she behaved in ways an expert assassin wouldn't. The "angst" between her and Caine is based exclusively on a misunderstanding... we're given a reason as to why Gin doesn't clarify things with Caine, but this reason changes as the book progresses and neither of the reasons provided seem very believable.
But, of course, this angst is what allows them to have some quick sex but not get saddled in a relationship with each other. There are many more references to sex than actual sex scenes (only one) and I think there could have been a bit more sex, and maybe a bit less angst, but anyway, it was decently handled. The narration was excellent.
Overall, I liked the characters and the world they live in. And I'll be starting the next one immediately. Oh, and while the settings are quite different, Richelle Mead's Succubus series has a similar feel to this one.
Hearne got back on track with a story that is directly about Atticus after his mythological tangent of book three. This was as good a story as book two was so if you liked the earlier books in this series, you'll like this one just as much. (And if you haven't read the other books, I'd suggest reading them first, in order.)
This installment sees Atticus setting up his new life after upsetting all the gods in book three. It features a lot of Coyote, and the mythology explored this time is Native American. It didn't feel as "educational" as the last book but it wasn't as light-humored as the first books either. There is some humor in it, mostly involving Oberon, but the story itself is a bit serious.
There was a nice little... hiccup... in the story involving Leif and Oberon and Atticus' past actions which I'm thinking will lead up to events to be covered in the next book, well, I'm hoping it will anyway, because I like Leif and kinda hope that thread gets sorted out
All in all, I like the series quite a bit and am looking forward to the next installment when it comes out. The narration is as excellent as it has been in the other books.
Tell us about yourself!
Rachel Morgan is back and Marguerite Gavin does her usual great job in pulling us through yet another Hollows episode. Kim Harrison is one of the few modern authors who strive to make this niche genre that is Urban Fantasy so much better with each novel she puts out. While this is novel is certainly a big step above the norm of Urban Fantasy it is not the best novel in this series by far.
Rachel Morgan has in the previous seven novels established herself as a powerful entity in the Hollows universe, she has overcome trial after trial refusing to join any of the factions but rather sticking to her small band of friends including Ivy the vampire and Jenks the pixie. But this independence comes at a cost, she has been shunned by the witches, Trent the elf hates her and the vampires demand results on her research. In short she cannot continue to stand out so prominently in society and still keep disregarding politics.
Rachel spends this entire novel playing catch up jumping from location to location trying to fix this, she is summoned left and right and faces both assassins and corrupt witches and I can't help but think that Harrison uses this novel more to solve existing plotlines rather than have Rachel do a proper "run". Still, I wait with baited breath for the next novel in the series. I have a feeling the series could take an exciting turn once all the factions again are satisfied and Rachel can continue to do what she does best. Kicking ass and taking names