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derekjohnston's review
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
kazen's review
3.0
Mixed feelings here. I like that this is a continuation of the non-sparkly, non-romance-y vampire tale from book one and the first half was promising. But then this other vampire appears. He's old, mad old, and is from Japan.
It makes sense - if you're going to make someone over a thousand years old there are only so many cultures to choose from. And if you go the European route it ends up being dark, not to mention that the reader probably already knows the history. May as well go with the exotic.
My problem is that I know this flavor of "exotic" really really well - I was a Japanese major in college, I live in one of the locations she uses, and I married one of the locals. So no thrill of discovery or the "other" here.
To give Baker credit she makes a great effort to get the facts right. I still have my nitpicks (the geography is especially confused) but whatever, it felt like I was in Japanese History 301 all over again.
Too bad I hated that class.
I will be the first to admit that I'm the wrong person to objectively review this book, but I think the story would have been stronger if the characters stuck closer to home.
It makes sense - if you're going to make someone over a thousand years old there are only so many cultures to choose from. And if you go the European route it ends up being dark, not to mention that the reader probably already knows the history. May as well go with the exotic.
My problem is that I know this flavor of "exotic" really really well - I was a Japanese major in college, I live in one of the locations she uses, and I married one of the locals. So no thrill of discovery or the "other" here.
To give Baker credit she makes a great effort to get the facts right. I still have my nitpicks (the geography is especially confused) but whatever, it felt like I was in Japanese History 301 all over again.
Too bad I hated that class.
I will be the first to admit that I'm the wrong person to objectively review this book, but I think the story would have been stronger if the characters stuck closer to home.
sadpear's review
4.0
I think I liked this even more than the first novel, for the way it focused intensely on the relationships between the main characters rather than some action or external enemy. It was a quiet book, but brimming with feeling.
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