A review by stephxsu
Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente

3.0

I wanted to be dazzled, baptized, converted. Instead I was mostly befuddled. This is one of those unusual cases where I felt like the author's careful attention to the cadences of the prose actually detracted from the story. I was so busy nodding my head along to the rhythms of the words that I felt like characterization and plot slipped past me. Contrast this with my readings of [a:Juliet Marillier|8649|Juliet Marillier|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1373081365p2/8649.jpg]'s works, in which I am sucked so thoroughly into the lives of the characters that everything else--world-building, prose, plot--only added to the thrill of my emotional investment. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm realizing now how essential my attachment to the characters are to my enjoyment of a story, and that sometimes pretty words aren't going to cut it.