2009 Reading #73: Moon Called

[snurri]

Books 1-10.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
Books 31-40.
Books 41-50.
Books 51-60.
Books 61-70.
71. The Elephant's Secret Sense by Caitlin O'Connell.
72. Bloom County Babylon: Five Years of Basic Naughtiness by Berke Breathed.

73. Moon Called by Patricia Briggs. I'm trying to grok the contemporary urban fantasy phenomenon, which seems to be on the verge of taking over the genre, at least in terms of sales. I don't know that this book helped much. I like Mercy as a character pretty well, but she too often feels like a minor player in her own book, and there's a lack of urgency to the story despite the kidnappings and near-deaths. I can't decide if I'll be trying more urban fantasy soon or not, though I'm open to recommendations. (Preferably books without werewolves and/or vampires, if possible. I particularly don't grok the appeal of the werewolf thing.)

Comments

[rsheslin.livejournal.com]

I've liked the two Mercy books I've read because Mercy actually talks to people. There is (relatively speaking) very little "I'm going to go battle this Big Bad on my own!" -- even if she does do that, for the most part, she makes sure she's left messages and notes telling people what she's up to and why. She's big on involving allies in general, which is good.

And yes, the Jim Butcher books are awesome. Even though werewolves and vampires make the occasional appearance, it's a very different take than the "romantic" angsty stuff that seems to be flooding the field.

[snurri.livejournal.com]

I agree that Mercy is good at asking for help/communicating; interestingly, though, I don't think this book passed the Bechdel test, which I found odd. I was also bothered by the fact that for most of the book there was a sixteen-year-old girl kidnapped and missing, and no one--including her father--seemed to have any particular emotional response to that.