Franz Joseph Gonzales Joseph Gonzales itibaren Kryukovo, Rostovskaya oblast', Krievija, 346951
(Copy of novel was received as part of First Reads.) When I read books set in my hometown of Melbourne, I often turn into a rubbernecker. 'Ooh, William St', 'Oh, I used to live near St. Georges Road', 'Ha! I've eaten there too!'. I guess this sort of recognition adds to the intimacy of the novel. This was the main reason I decided to read this book. This novel is set very loosely in Melbourne in some unknown future where the city is divided into Zones and illegals are known as Undocs. There are mentions of various landmarks (including the now defunct Observation Wheel) and popular culture figures. I did find this setting quite bleak but quite convincing. There are four narratives and Milk, the 'mood tuner', was by far the most interesting character. I think the style of the novel suited the Milk character as a solitary figure working in back rooms and unleashing his potions onto unsuspecting crowds. The story of the sisters seemed to lack empathy as we never get any insights into the girls' lives before the explosion that separates them. The Damon character was very dull. In the end, the narratives came together quite suddenly and unconvincingly.
I was not interested. I wanted it to be over. STORY BRIEF: Sir John Corwin preaches about the evils of magickers (witches). He leads the movement for torturing and killing them. Beckett is one of his followers and kills people for him. Corwin doesn’t know that Beckett is secretly a magicker. Raven is one of the most powerful magickers. She is engaged to marry Gareth, another powerful magicker. They plan to have powerfully magick children to be leaders of their kind. But Raven is having an affair with Malcolm. They can’t resist their passion and lust for each other. They are in love. He wants to marry her. Malcolm is a regular human and does not know that she is a magicker. The main conflict through the story is Raven being with Malcolm but telling him this cannot last. She must marry Gareth. She cares for Gareth but has no lust for him. The secondary story is someone killing magickers and others. The magickers are trying to solve the mystery. Malcolm helps. REVIEWER’S OPINION: I managed to read the whole thing, but I didn’t enjoy it. I wanted it to be over. I’m not sure I can explain what was wrong, probably the following. The characters weren’t developed. No interesting personalities. Not enough development of the bad guys. Why and how murders were being committed wasn’t shown very well. In the beginning, Corwin told Beckett he was searching for a powerful magick book. But nothing happened regarding that. There were several sex scenes that were somewhat hot, but not a reason to get the book. DATA: Story length: 291 pages (double spaced). Swearing language: mild, including religious swear words. Sexual language: strong. Number of sex scenes: 7. Estimated number of sex scene pages: 22. Setting: 1882 England. Copyright: 2008. Genre: erotic fantasy romance.
1925 Newbery Medal Winner