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One of the things that has frustrated me about the previous Hexworld books is that, because the characters are part of the MWP (Metropolitan Witch Police), there's clearly a lot of really questionable (read: AWFUL) behavior regarding familiars that doesn't or can't get addressed at all, because it is the job of the police to enforce the status quo. Bringing Nick, Rook's brother and a staunch feral defender, in as a main character really lets Hawk take a more active look at human-witch-familiar relations.
I very much like that Hawk doesn't use feral oppression as a substitute for other kinds of oppression. Racism and sexism and sexual preference bigotry, etc. are all still present, the issues of witches and familiar just creates another axis of intersection. It's non-lazy writing, and I appreciate both that she makes the effort and that she understands the importance of making the effort. Ditto when she writes about the struggles Jamie goes through as a disabled man. Not internal struggles, or brow-clutching about his lost leg (Jamie has refreshingly come to terms with his new life/self) but the ongoing external struggle to be seen and treated as a whole, thinking and capable person by people outside of himself. It's part of the story, but it's not THE story and it's not the point of the story.
I also really liked the growth that Nick and Jamie had to go through and how that was represented. Their attraction to each other, their chemistry is never at question. It's a given and they both know it exists, in themselves and in the other. But whether that attraction and chemistry can become more and what that 'more' will look like is at stake and answering that question is far more interesting to me than "Does he like me?" Because really, 'like' or 'attraction' are the much easier parts of the equation. I liked how much Jamie was willing to give, understanding Nick's skittishness, and that Jamie's growth was less about Nick and more about how much he had to learn, the naivete he had to leave behind to be the right person for Nick.
And then finally, Hawk's just a good writer; I know full well she always serves up an HEA, but I still stayed up way too late, eyes wide and heart beating, hoping it would all work out, and scared that it wouldn't.
I very much like that Hawk doesn't use feral oppression as a substitute for other kinds of oppression. Racism and sexism and sexual preference bigotry, etc. are all still present, the issues of witches and familiar just creates another axis of intersection. It's non-lazy writing, and I appreciate both that she makes the effort and that she understands the importance of making the effort. Ditto when she writes about the struggles Jamie goes through as a disabled man. Not internal struggles, or brow-clutching about his lost leg (Jamie has refreshingly come to terms with his new life/self) but the ongoing external struggle to be seen and treated as a whole, thinking and capable person by people outside of himself. It's part of the story, but it's not THE story and it's not the point of the story.
I also really liked the growth that Nick and Jamie had to go through and how that was represented. Their attraction to each other, their chemistry is never at question. It's a given and they both know it exists, in themselves and in the other. But whether that attraction and chemistry can become more and what that 'more' will look like is at stake and answering that question is far more interesting to me than "Does he like me?" Because really, 'like' or 'attraction' are the much easier parts of the equation. I liked how much Jamie was willing to give, understanding Nick's skittishness, and that Jamie's growth was less about Nick and more about how much he had to learn, the naivete he had to leave behind to be the right person for Nick.
And then finally, Hawk's just a good writer; I know full well she always serves up an HEA, but I still stayed up way too late, eyes wide and heart beating, hoping it would all work out, and scared that it wouldn't.