Darkborn: a book review

[bonny_kate]

Wow. I haven't done a book review in ages. Well, to start off, I like politics in fantasy. I like it complicated to the point where it is almost ridiculously hard to follow (not because of names, though, *coughAnneMcCaffreycough*), where things are all tangled up and interesting. It figures, because I like those Russian novels (Anna Karenina and Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov, particularly) and Tolkien, and practically anything that really explores the fascinating and complicated way in which people relate to one another. So, I had hopes for Darkborn when I started it, because it really is a fantasy novel about intrigue. Add to that a rather new take on the vampire story, and I quite enjoyed the book. For the first half or so. The Darkborn are humans to whom light is fatal (with a few exceptions, such as light from fires); they step outside in the daylight, they burn up. Literally. But, to make up for this, they have a sort of sonar. Now they city all this is set in is also populated by the Lightborn, to whom darkness is fatal, and who are magicians, of a sort. The Darkborn, on the other hand, are all about technology and from on magic. The two worlds exist side by side, but with very little interaction. So far, fascinating, and some clever world building. But somehow, somewhere around the middle of the book, everything begins to be simplified, and (without giving away huge chunks of plot) it becomes more of an action adventure instead of an intrigue. And I was really liking it as an intrigue, and hoping for more complexity than I was given. It comes down to simple motives, and fairly clearly drawn lines. I don't mind that in my fantasy, but I like a good intrigue, and after such a promising start, I was hopeful. I don't think I'll be picking up the next book.

Comments

[reading-angel.livejournal.com]

How disappointing, that does sound like a very intriguing world...

I wonder if you would like The City & The City by China Mieville... It's very much about complicated interactions, I loved it. Very complicated book that hurt my brain in the beginning when I was trying to get a grasp on the world(in a good way, though, hurt my brain trying to understand the complications which are so masterfully pulled off).

[bonny-kathryn.livejournal.com]

Interesting . . . I'll have to give it a try.