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4.48 AVERAGE
4.48 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Robin goes undercover to infiltrate a church/Cult. That was enough to look forward to the book release. 1000+ pages of high quality writing. The build up to the event of her getting in is itself crafted well. The plot build up is nice and slow. Of course as expected there are too many characters either appearing or mentioned who jump in and out of the storyline at different timelines. It's all a bit much to take care of but that's the highlight of this series.
The wrap up is a little underwhelming but fine to still merit a 5 star review.
The wrap up is a little underwhelming but fine to still merit a 5 star review.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Let me preface this review by saying I do not support JK Rowling and have been profoundly disappointed by her statements and actions these last few years. I acknowledge my own biases, but I try to approach these books with an open mind. I have continued to read the Strike mysteries, either buying them used or borrowing from the library, in order to form my own opinions.
The Running Grave was frustrating and disappointing. There is no doubt it is a page turner, but there are several key reasons I struggled to enjoy this book.
* The length. Over 1000 pages long with way too many side characters that are hard to keep track of. Many are 2D characters which make it even harder. This problem is not new and has been a recurring issue in the last couple of books in this series.
* The fundamental unlikability of Cormoran and Robin. Cormoran, after seven books, can be defined in one word: grumpy. I cannot point to any character development. Robin remains bland and a Mary Sue even in a book that centers around her daring. Her main character trait, after seven books, appears to be taking risks and putting herself in danger to imitate her detective partner. Frankly, their dynamic reminds me of the 12th Doctor and Clara in series 9 of Doctor Who - which did it better, in my opinion.
* The lack of chemistry between Cormoran and Robin is noteworthy. I’m not sure why we have continued this will they/won’t they dynamic. They’re both irritating and it’s ridiculous we’ve now spent more time on their burgeoning relationship than Ron and Hermione, Rowling’s other famous will they/won’t they relationship.
* Finally, I have to address the very premise of this mystery which is the investigation into the Universal Humanitarian Church. While cults often do indeed masquerade as benevolent causes, I cannot separate the art from this artist here, and I see Rowling’s politics infect her work. The UHC is, for lack of a better word, a “woke” cult. Literally, Cormoran and Robin are rescuing someone’s son from the woke mind virus. The latter even disguises herself as a blue haired liberal to infiltrate the cult! I do not find it subtle at all.
Quotes like “you can’t just invalidate the experiences of people who’ve been harmed … you’re perpetuating and propping up the same damn systems of control that some of us are trying to escape” (350) sound like a TERF’s impression of a leftist.
Quotes like “Too many people, even intelligent ones - no, especially intelligence ones - presume innocence when they meet weirdness. ‘Bit odd but I mustn’t let my prejudices cloud my judgement.’ Then they over-correct, and what d’you get?” (937) sound like a direct rebuke of political correctness (e.g. treating people with kindness).
Like I said, not subtle. And disappointing. Perhaps I’m over analyzing this book. But, I cannot separate the art from the artist, so I have to view this book with the lens of Rowling’s politics.
I will not deny The Running Grave is a page turner. However, it is a fundamentally disappointing one.
May add more thoughts in the comments as I continue to reflect on this book.
The Running Grave was frustrating and disappointing. There is no doubt it is a page turner, but there are several key reasons I struggled to enjoy this book.
* The length. Over 1000 pages long with way too many side characters that are hard to keep track of. Many are 2D characters which make it even harder. This problem is not new and has been a recurring issue in the last couple of books in this series.
* The fundamental unlikability of Cormoran and Robin. Cormoran, after seven books, can be defined in one word: grumpy. I cannot point to any character development. Robin remains bland and a Mary Sue even in a book that centers around her daring. Her main character trait, after seven books, appears to be taking risks and putting herself in danger to imitate her detective partner. Frankly, their dynamic reminds me of the 12th Doctor and Clara in series 9 of Doctor Who - which did it better, in my opinion.
* The lack of chemistry between Cormoran and Robin is noteworthy. I’m not sure why we have continued this will they/won’t they dynamic. They’re both irritating and it’s ridiculous we’ve now spent more time on their burgeoning relationship than Ron and Hermione, Rowling’s other famous will they/won’t they relationship.
* Finally, I have to address the very premise of this mystery which is the investigation into the Universal Humanitarian Church. While cults often do indeed masquerade as benevolent causes, I cannot separate the art from this artist here, and I see Rowling’s politics infect her work. The UHC is, for lack of a better word, a “woke” cult. Literally, Cormoran and Robin are rescuing someone’s son from the woke mind virus. The latter even disguises herself as a blue haired liberal to infiltrate the cult! I do not find it subtle at all.
Quotes like “you can’t just invalidate the experiences of people who’ve been harmed … you’re perpetuating and propping up the same damn systems of control that some of us are trying to escape” (350) sound like a TERF’s impression of a leftist.
Quotes like “Too many people, even intelligent ones - no, especially intelligence ones - presume innocence when they meet weirdness. ‘Bit odd but I mustn’t let my prejudices cloud my judgement.’ Then they over-correct, and what d’you get?” (937) sound like a direct rebuke of political correctness (e.g. treating people with kindness).
Like I said, not subtle. And disappointing. Perhaps I’m over analyzing this book. But, I cannot separate the art from the artist, so I have to view this book with the lens of Rowling’s politics.
I will not deny The Running Grave is a page turner. However, it is a fundamentally disappointing one.
May add more thoughts in the comments as I continue to reflect on this book.
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual content, Murder
Moderate: Rape, Trafficking
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This has been quite an insane story… this time uncovering a church cult while Robin decides to go undercover and get in the cult… there were a lot of moments when I was pissed with her not getting out but… happy ending as always! And speaking about the ending… did Cormoran finally profess his love to Robin ???? At the fuxking end??? I need the next book now just to have them finally together!