In
her defense, every reader is different, and some readers seem fine reading
stories whose actors are as flat as cardboard cutouts, or with a plotline that steamrolls
the cast. In fact, who knows? Maybe this novel is ideal for you, provided the
last thing you want is living, breathing characters reflecting the human
condition.
As
to the magic in this world, I’ve said it before elsewhere. I can generally spot
the agnostics writing fantasy fiction. Their stuff best translates into satire.
No consequence for wielding such power applies. Magic is never a metaphor for
anything, and certainly never associated with the subtle, the mysterious, or
the supernatural. The magic in any number of classic legends of antiquity would
steal this novel’s lunch money on the bus ride to school.
I
don’t mean to harp on this, but magic in most modern fantasy fiction novels,
including Mrs. Durst’s affair, is reduced to props purchased at a novelty shop.
Trick cards, holed quarters, ropes with false knots, and stage knives have
little to no bearing on the plot or its cast. Only its world-building element.
Which is just as indifferent to solid prose and memorable characters as the
author is to her craft.
Years
ago, I read a forward to one of Stephen R. Donaldson’s books of short stories
in which he wrote about his characters, “I’m the only god they’ve got.” If
you’ve read Donaldson, you know he takes this responsibility seriously. If
every fiction writer assumed this attitude, characters in novels would stand a
better chance of advancing the primary purpose of fiction – to evoke emotion
in the audience. Regrettably, such a concept is as foreign to Mrs. Durst as her
alternate world is to us. One out of five stars. Rated PG-13
The
Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, Howard Pyle (1883). Set aside all animated,
abridged, annotated, and otherwise corrupted versions of this classic. Film adaptations,
picture book imitations – it’s all the equivalent of a man in a gorilla
costume. This is the original tale by the original author, and it was a blast
to read. A novel of sheer pleasure. I grinned throughout, and I laughed with
abandon. I even cared about the cast.
Pyle
does everything right. The writing is superb. The narrative practically frolics
along the page. The archaic dialogue is both stellar and character driven, as archaic
dialogue should be. Each chapter is full of adventure, as well as insight into
human nature and universal truths. My only regret is having waited this long to
finally read it. A literary treat. Rated PG. Five out of five stars.
