David Gillon (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
davidgillon) wrote2015-05-27 11:57 pm
davidgillon) wrote2015-05-27 11:57 pm
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Currently Reading - 27-May-2015
Late Eclipses, Toby Daye Book 4, Seanan McGuire
The fourth Toby Daye novel opens with our hero, and she's starting to get used to thinking of herself in those terms, summoned before the Queen of San Francisco's fairy kingdom, and unexpectedly elevated to the peerage. There are reasons that make her a logical choice, but all Toby's friends are adamant: it's a trap, and the hammer is going to fall at some point. We do actually find out why Toby and the Queen are at odds here, something that has previously been unresolved back story, but I'm uncomfortable with a large part of it coming down to the Queen being 'mad' - we've had no more precise description.
And then Toby's friends start falling ill, deathly ill, in a way that suggests poison, while a prophetic dream courtesy of her 12yo oneiromancer niece suggests precisely which legendary fairy poisoner it might be - though the past history between Oleander de Merelands and Toby, she was there when Toby was turned into a fish (which it took her 14 years to get back from), means that wasn't exactly a difficult guess. Things get worse still when Toby tries to turn to her powerful allies for help and finds them neutralised, and then Toby starts to doubt herself, just as Rayseline Torquill, the other person who hates Toby (because she didn't rescue Rayseline on account of being unavoidably a fish) siezes her chance to make a move against Toby, a move that's all the more devastating for everything she says being true.
I said last time that I'm finding the Toby Daye books unexpectedly dark, but this one takes it to a new level, with major characters hovering on the edge of death and Toby paralysed by self-doubt. People pull together in the end, most of them, but some of them, including Toby, will never be the same again.
All of which makes Late Eclipses an occasionally uncomfortable read, but still a compelling one. Which is not to say it's a perfect one, I thought the neutralisation of the Luidaeg, Toby's most powerful ally, was decidedly clumsy. Toby's other allies are neutralised by various ramifications of the plot, the Luidaeg just snarls 'I'm busy,' down the phone and tells Toby to fix it herself for once. Which possibly needed saying, ringing her was getting to be a habit, and giving your heroes overly powerful allies is a lurking problem for plot development and logic (c.f. the various internet solutions to getting the Ring to Mount Doom using the eagles), but still, this felt clumsy. Hopefully we'll have it turn into a plot point in one of the later books, which is entirely possibile - (King of the local Cait Sidhe) Tybalt has been hinting for a couple of books now that there is a major lie around something related to Toby and this time we get to find out what it is. We also get Tybalt-Toby kissage, which is something we've been dancing around ever since Tybalt first strutted into the plot in book one, not unexpectedly this is rapidly followed by Tybalt-Toby slappage. And to add to everything else that's going on there's a most unexpected development involving Toby's fetch cum identical twin May.
Dark and uncomfortable these may be, but I'm having to ration myself to one a week. OTOH this isn't the place to start the series, do yourself a favour and start at the beginning (and even that comes with a considerable amount of background baggage).
Also on the Go:
The Truth, Terry Pratchett
Printing and newspapers come to the Discworld, but I've really barely started this, more next time.
The fourth Toby Daye novel opens with our hero, and she's starting to get used to thinking of herself in those terms, summoned before the Queen of San Francisco's fairy kingdom, and unexpectedly elevated to the peerage. There are reasons that make her a logical choice, but all Toby's friends are adamant: it's a trap, and the hammer is going to fall at some point. We do actually find out why Toby and the Queen are at odds here, something that has previously been unresolved back story, but I'm uncomfortable with a large part of it coming down to the Queen being 'mad' - we've had no more precise description.
And then Toby's friends start falling ill, deathly ill, in a way that suggests poison, while a prophetic dream courtesy of her 12yo oneiromancer niece suggests precisely which legendary fairy poisoner it might be - though the past history between Oleander de Merelands and Toby, she was there when Toby was turned into a fish (which it took her 14 years to get back from), means that wasn't exactly a difficult guess. Things get worse still when Toby tries to turn to her powerful allies for help and finds them neutralised, and then Toby starts to doubt herself, just as Rayseline Torquill, the other person who hates Toby (because she didn't rescue Rayseline on account of being unavoidably a fish) siezes her chance to make a move against Toby, a move that's all the more devastating for everything she says being true.
I said last time that I'm finding the Toby Daye books unexpectedly dark, but this one takes it to a new level, with major characters hovering on the edge of death and Toby paralysed by self-doubt. People pull together in the end, most of them, but some of them, including Toby, will never be the same again.
All of which makes Late Eclipses an occasionally uncomfortable read, but still a compelling one. Which is not to say it's a perfect one, I thought the neutralisation of the Luidaeg, Toby's most powerful ally, was decidedly clumsy. Toby's other allies are neutralised by various ramifications of the plot, the Luidaeg just snarls 'I'm busy,' down the phone and tells Toby to fix it herself for once. Which possibly needed saying, ringing her was getting to be a habit, and giving your heroes overly powerful allies is a lurking problem for plot development and logic (c.f. the various internet solutions to getting the Ring to Mount Doom using the eagles), but still, this felt clumsy. Hopefully we'll have it turn into a plot point in one of the later books, which is entirely possibile - (King of the local Cait Sidhe) Tybalt has been hinting for a couple of books now that there is a major lie around something related to Toby and this time we get to find out what it is. We also get Tybalt-Toby kissage, which is something we've been dancing around ever since Tybalt first strutted into the plot in book one, not unexpectedly this is rapidly followed by Tybalt-Toby slappage. And to add to everything else that's going on there's a most unexpected development involving Toby's fetch cum identical twin May.
Dark and uncomfortable these may be, but I'm having to ration myself to one a week. OTOH this isn't the place to start the series, do yourself a favour and start at the beginning (and even that comes with a considerable amount of background baggage).
Also on the Go:
The Truth, Terry Pratchett
Printing and newspapers come to the Discworld, but I've really barely started this, more next time.