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mackle13's review against another edition
2.0
It took me forever to read this book. In fairness, it was my work-out read which means it only got, roughly, 20-30 minutes 3 times a week - but, usually, after awhile I bump up my work-out read to my main read, but I never had any real desire to be bothered.
Now, I like the premise - setting the story in Ireland during the Troubles, and Leicht seemed to really capture the air of the time period.
But it's also one of those books where the protagonist doesn't really know what's going on, even though everyone else around him does, but they're not telling him to protect him, but not telling him is what ends up hurting him, and I really freaking hate those kinds of books. It's always so frustrating, for me, to read them and I know shit like this happens in real life but, come on!
More than that, though, there's the fact that it just all felt kind of flat. Liam is beaten and tortured and just abused to excess, but the emotional impact never really feels fully explored. I mean, there were a few times where I was horrified or saddened by what happened, but it never really hit with that gut-punching sort of feeling that it should've had.
And the ending was sort of sudden and anti-climactic. It was like it was setting up the story until the last few chapters and then, bam, it's over.
Also, since it focused mostly on Liam, and since things were never really explained to him, the whole aspect of the Fae vs the Fallen vs the Church wasn't explored as much as it could've been.
I would have hopes for the next in the series, since it does show some potential, but the ending kind of left me flat about even that because it seems like Liam still needs most of the next book to get his head sorted out and, honestly, I don't think I'm interested in going along with him.
Now, I like the premise - setting the story in Ireland during the Troubles, and Leicht seemed to really capture the air of the time period.
But it's also one of those books where the protagonist doesn't really know what's going on, even though everyone else around him does, but they're not telling him to protect him, but not telling him is what ends up hurting him, and I really freaking hate those kinds of books. It's always so frustrating, for me, to read them and I know shit like this happens in real life but, come on!
More than that, though, there's the fact that it just all felt kind of flat. Liam is beaten and tortured and just abused to excess, but the emotional impact never really feels fully explored. I mean, there were a few times where I was horrified or saddened by what happened, but it never really hit with that gut-punching sort of feeling that it should've had.
And the ending was sort of sudden and anti-climactic. It was like it was setting up the story until the last few chapters and then, bam, it's over.
Also, since it focused mostly on Liam, and since things were never really explained to him, the whole aspect of the Fae vs the Fallen vs the Church wasn't explored as much as it could've been.
I would have hopes for the next in the series, since it does show some potential, but the ending kind of left me flat about even that because it seems like Liam still needs most of the next book to get his head sorted out and, honestly, I don't think I'm interested in going along with him.
nwhyte's review against another edition
4.0
Set in Northern Ireland during the 1970s; at the same time as the human conflict unfolding on the streets of Belfast and Derry, there is a supernatural conflict being waged between the Church and the Otherworld. It would be very easy to do this badly, but Leicht has avoided almost all the obvious pitfalls; the two plots reinforce each other rather than seeking clunky parallels. Her viewpoint character, Liam Kelly, is swept by circumstance into the IRA and co-opted by his supernatural paternity into the less visible war, and both he and the grim circumstances of 1970s Ulster are memorably portrayed.
The author kindly sent me a manuscript to review for the Northern Irish equivalent of Brit-picking, but unfortunately I wasn't able to respond in time for her deadline. Considering that she apparently has never been to Ireland, there are surprisingly few points that I would have flagged up - I am a bit sceptical about the use of "BA" rather than "Brit", but there is good authority for this from Tim Pat Coogan; I wouldn't have called a fictional detention centre near Belfast "Malone"; and there were a couple of points of ecclesiastical detail (use of first names for priests, church attitude to abortion) that rang slightly false. Just goes to show that if you bother to do the research rather than resort to cliche, you will reap the rewards.
Flicking through other reviews, I see a couple of Americans making the point that by getting inside the head of a Christian English-speaker who is involved with the IRA, Leicht has got them to reflect a bit more deeply and critically on the current "war on terror". More power to her if so.
The author kindly sent me a manuscript to review for the Northern Irish equivalent of Brit-picking, but unfortunately I wasn't able to respond in time for her deadline. Considering that she apparently has never been to Ireland, there are surprisingly few points that I would have flagged up - I am a bit sceptical about the use of "BA" rather than "Brit", but there is good authority for this from Tim Pat Coogan; I wouldn't have called a fictional detention centre near Belfast "Malone"; and there were a couple of points of ecclesiastical detail (use of first names for priests, church attitude to abortion) that rang slightly false. Just goes to show that if you bother to do the research rather than resort to cliche, you will reap the rewards.
Flicking through other reviews, I see a couple of Americans making the point that by getting inside the head of a Christian English-speaker who is involved with the IRA, Leicht has got them to reflect a bit more deeply and critically on the current "war on terror". More power to her if so.
dieslaughing's review against another edition
2.0
More like two and a half stars, I think. I finished the last half of this book - which I have been trying to get through for the past week - this evening and... Well. It's not a badly written book, but I can't say I enjoyed it all that much.
The idea of an urban fantasy set during the Troubles is intriguing, but the oversimplification of the conflict was a constant shadow looming over proceedings. I couldn't help feeling that the author's grasp of her setting (Northern Ireland and its politics) was tenuous at best and, in a few places, downright cringe-worthy. I don't think this was at all malicious on her part but the final chapters really brought all of my problems into clear focus. And that's aside from the fey/Fallen element being frustratingly underdeveloped and left (mostly) out of focus.
And what is it about urban fantasy (and paranormal fantasy) that requires protagonists to endure an insane amount of physical trauma? I'm at the point where I'm so numb to horrific injuries that I just get bored and wonder where the character is supposed to be under all of the broken bones, burns, and general battery.
That all being said, I wish I'd liked the book more because there are a few interesting ideas floating about amidst the rubble.
The idea of an urban fantasy set during the Troubles is intriguing, but the oversimplification of the conflict was a constant shadow looming over proceedings. I couldn't help feeling that the author's grasp of her setting (Northern Ireland and its politics) was tenuous at best and, in a few places, downright cringe-worthy. I don't think this was at all malicious on her part but the final chapters really brought all of my problems into clear focus. And that's aside from the fey/Fallen element being frustratingly underdeveloped and left (mostly) out of focus.
And what is it about urban fantasy (and paranormal fantasy) that requires protagonists to endure an insane amount of physical trauma? I'm at the point where I'm so numb to horrific injuries that I just get bored and wonder where the character is supposed to be under all of the broken bones, burns, and general battery.
That all being said, I wish I'd liked the book more because there are a few interesting ideas floating about amidst the rubble.
thiefofcamorr's review against another edition
4.0
Slightly confused as to what to think of this now I'm at the end. Quite a wobbly way from start to finish. While I'm sure I liked it (though sometimes it was more like three stars rather than four), I can't seem to form a cohesive sentence about it.
It's very different to what I expected, and I don't think I've read anything similar before.
It's very different to what I expected, and I don't think I've read anything similar before.
jennyreadsalot's review against another edition
4.0
While it was far from perfect I found this to be a really enjoyable urban fantasy. I hope in the second book the world of the fey gets explained a little more because if I had one major criticism it is that I would have liked to have seen more of that world than what we got. Enjoyable all the same though
survivalisinsufficient's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this a lot more than I expected to - it ties together a bunch of diverse stuff (the IRA, faeries, etc.) and does so really well. Looking forward to the next one.
archergal's review against another edition
2.0
I really didn't care for the whole basic premise here. The blending of the Irish/British troubles with the Fey/Fallen conflict AND the Church vs. the Fey/Fallen was all a little too much. And using the conflict in Ireland as the backdrop for an urban fantasy seemed wrong to me.
It was an innovative idea for a setting, but I didn't like it.
It was an innovative idea for a setting, but I didn't like it.
ersandoval's review against another edition
5.0
I picked this up because the author was nominated for the Campbell award, and I couldn't put it down. The supernatural is woven seamlessly in with the everyday, all against the explosive backdrop of 1970s Ireland. The story feels real in a way that few urban fantasies (or even historical fantasies) do, and the characters are complex and fully-fleshed.
minsies's review against another edition
2.0
I couldn't even remember that I'd read this book based on its title - I don't think it fits the story well at all.
Another thing: if you put all the bad fey (or the fallen, whatever) on the side of the paramilitaries and the good fed on the side of the republicans, you are making a political statement, whether or not you intended that statement or not. (It is not clear whether the author did intend to do so and that is strange. It is OK not to have a side, or to have a very conflicted view, but to take that and mash it together with the fallen on one side and the fey on the other is weird.)
I guess I felt sorry for Liam. I guess. He's not very sympathetic, though, and the book doesn't really have any characters you'd actually want to stand behind. (Also? Liam's a bit of an idiot, what with "the illness" of his wife and what happens there.)
I won't be reading any further into this series.
Another thing: if you put all the bad fey (or the fallen, whatever) on the side of the paramilitaries and the good fed on the side of the republicans, you are making a political statement, whether or not you intended that statement or not. (It is not clear whether the author did intend to do so and that is strange. It is OK not to have a side, or to have a very conflicted view, but to take that and mash it together with the fallen on one side and the fey on the other is weird.)
I guess I felt sorry for Liam. I guess. He's not very sympathetic, though, and the book doesn't really have any characters you'd actually want to stand behind. (Also? Liam's a bit of an idiot, what with "the illness" of his wife and what happens there.)
I won't be reading any further into this series.
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review against another edition
4.0
The Troubles. Here, in America, it is not too uncommon to find people who don't even know where Ireland is on a map. Truly. It's funny watching people read Swift's Modest Propsal and seeing that they believe Swift was serious. Honestly, it makes me want to yell at them; and I'm not even Irish! I just like U2, the Corrs, the Wildes, all those fair folk, Ballykissangel, The Hanging Gale (ah, the McGanns) and so on.
And Guiness. But I love Guiness, so that'a different story.
Anyway. This book takes place during the 1970s, during the troubles. Our hero, Liam, isn't sure who his father is. In fact, he might be a protestant. Liam just wants to KNOW Mary Kate. Sadly, the English are worse for boys on the make than fathers.
Yeah, I'm making light, but from that simple permise comes a wonderful story. The Troubles are mirrored by a similar war between the fey, priests, and the Fallen. Liam finds himself trying to figure out who or what he is extactly while trying to live a life under occupation. He is occupied not only by the English but by his heritage. It almost seems like this book shouldn't work, but it does. Largely, because Leicht has done her homework, but because there is a sense of place. A prime example is the detail taken to language.
This a wonderful book. Can't wait until the next.
And Guiness. But I love Guiness, so that'a different story.
Anyway. This book takes place during the 1970s, during the troubles. Our hero, Liam, isn't sure who his father is. In fact, he might be a protestant. Liam just wants to KNOW Mary Kate. Sadly, the English are worse for boys on the make than fathers.
Yeah, I'm making light, but from that simple permise comes a wonderful story. The Troubles are mirrored by a similar war between the fey, priests, and the Fallen. Liam finds himself trying to figure out who or what he is extactly while trying to live a life under occupation. He is occupied not only by the English but by his heritage. It almost seems like this book shouldn't work, but it does. Largely, because Leicht has done her homework, but because there is a sense of place. A prime example is the detail taken to language.
This a wonderful book. Can't wait until the next.