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2.96 AVERAGE
2.96 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The book was a great continuation of Pride & Prejudice representing the characters as genuinely as Jane Austen.
I'm really torn about this book. One of my favorite mystery writers meets one of my favorite stories; it's gotta be good, right? And it is good. But it's not great, and I was hoping for great.
I shy away from a lot of the Pride and Prejudice follow ons--fan fiction legitimized by a publisher, and sometimes not nearly as good as amateur fan fiction. But this I was eager to read. And I will say, it held my interest. James does a good job of capturing the spirit and even language of Austen, not perfectly, but definitely nothing to cringe at.
But there were missteps, in my opinion. First, too much time and ink was spent essentially retelling the story of Pride and Prejudice and not enough time building on it. There were long passages throughout the book that just recapped the original story. Granted, not every one of James' readers will have read P&P, but I'd venture most of us will have. That's why we picked this up to begin with. Trust your readers a bit. And if they haven't read it, give them an excuse to, instead of just giving them a recap so they don't have to.
Unfortunately, retelling the original was not the only time James strayed from the "show, don't tell" rule. There was also a lot of exposition done through long monologues by different characters. Indeed, the mystery itself was weak and not very satisfying--which pains me to say because this is P. D. James after all.
Finally, and perhaps most disappointing of all, there simply wasn't enough interaction between Elizabeth and Darcy. They seemed to be each pursuing different activities through most of the book. Let's face it, part of the joy of returning to them post P&P is getting back to the delicious sexual tension that Austen crafted. I wanted them to be less intellect and more passion. But here again it was told, not shown.
Maybe I expected too much; maybe it's an impossible task to try to capture characters who are in many was so deeply personal to their fans. This was James' vision, not mine. Still, I did enjoy the book. So if you're an Austen fan or a P. D. James fan, don't miss it.
I shy away from a lot of the Pride and Prejudice follow ons--fan fiction legitimized by a publisher, and sometimes not nearly as good as amateur fan fiction. But this I was eager to read. And I will say, it held my interest. James does a good job of capturing the spirit and even language of Austen, not perfectly, but definitely nothing to cringe at.
But there were missteps, in my opinion. First, too much time and ink was spent essentially retelling the story of Pride and Prejudice and not enough time building on it. There were long passages throughout the book that just recapped the original story. Granted, not every one of James' readers will have read P&P, but I'd venture most of us will have. That's why we picked this up to begin with. Trust your readers a bit. And if they haven't read it, give them an excuse to, instead of just giving them a recap so they don't have to.
Unfortunately, retelling the original was not the only time James strayed from the "show, don't tell" rule. There was also a lot of exposition done through long monologues by different characters. Indeed, the mystery itself was weak and not very satisfying--which pains me to say because this is P. D. James after all.
Finally, and perhaps most disappointing of all, there simply wasn't enough interaction between Elizabeth and Darcy. They seemed to be each pursuing different activities through most of the book. Let's face it, part of the joy of returning to them post P&P is getting back to the delicious sexual tension that Austen crafted. I wanted them to be less intellect and more passion. But here again it was told, not shown.
Maybe I expected too much; maybe it's an impossible task to try to capture characters who are in many was so deeply personal to their fans. This was James' vision, not mine. Still, I did enjoy the book. So if you're an Austen fan or a P. D. James fan, don't miss it.
I know Austen purists might not like this switch from her social commentary and wit to a straight-forward mystery, but I enjoyed what James did with the characters and the mystery. It was nice to be reunited with Elizabeth, Darcy et al. but I'm glad they weren't dealing with zombies this time. :)
I found the ending a little too contrived (Mrs. Knightly to the rescue, really?) and the whole thing was overly long and repetitive. Meh.
Rated 2.5
Good for: fans of Pride and Prejudice (though if you’re anything like me, it’ll just make you antsy for it to be over so you can go read Pride and Prejudice) … Continue reading →
Not loving this one, and from the reviews it doesn't seem like it gets better. Might be destined for abandonment.
The premise is great. Execution, not so much. James' struggles to capture Austen's style and syntax, and some of the descriptions just seem ridiculously modern, as when Georgina's beau has his little feminist rant at Darcy.
God this was so boring. There is no reason for this to even exist. P.D. James is so much better than this pointless, plotless nonsense.