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meganbmooreWhen Valerie learns that her mother is sleeping with Val’s boyfriend, she cuts off all of her hair and runs away to NYC. As one does. There, she falls in with a group of other runaway teens who live in the labyrinthine subway system, and soon learns that they work for Ravus, a troll who has them deliver a fairy dust that’s safe for other fae, but works as a drug on humans. There’s also someone apparently using Ravus’s goods to poison the fae.
I liked Val more than I did Kaye, mostly because she was more proactive, and because her plotarc didn’t involve her, by necessity, turning a blind eye to some of the things fae do to humans. I also like that, this time, the Designated Lost Interest didn’t take over the plot, and I think the focus on runaways and underground tunnels and outcasts works better for Black’s take on the fae than Tithe’s plot did. I was pretty “meh” on the Val/Ravus romance for the most part, but I’m fond of the mythic tropes used there near the end. On the other hand, the gay best friend screws up again, sexuality of Women Not The Heroine is bad, and everything is the mean faery lady’s fault again. I’m also not big on the use of drugs here (I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a narrative perception that it was more ok because it wasn’t “real” drugs) or the really skeevy sexual antics.
Still, I like Black’s world, and find her take of the fae interesting, and I think her characters have potential, even though none have really grabbed me yet.
I liked Val more than I did Kaye, mostly because she was more proactive, and because her plotarc didn’t involve her, by necessity, turning a blind eye to some of the things fae do to humans. I also like that, this time, the Designated Lost Interest didn’t take over the plot, and I think the focus on runaways and underground tunnels and outcasts works better for Black’s take on the fae than Tithe’s plot did. I was pretty “meh” on the Val/Ravus romance for the most part, but I’m fond of the mythic tropes used there near the end. On the other hand, the gay best friend screws up again, sexuality of Women Not The Heroine is bad, and everything is the mean faery lady’s fault again. I’m also not big on the use of drugs here (I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a narrative perception that it was more ok because it wasn’t “real” drugs) or the really skeevy sexual antics.
Still, I like Black’s world, and find her take of the fae interesting, and I think her characters have potential, even though none have really grabbed me yet.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-15 11:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-15 11:15 pm (UTC)