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A review by sindri_inn_arsaeli
Beowulf for Cretins: A Love Story by Ann McMan
3.0
Solid "meh". I specifically picked this up because of Beowulf in the title, and there was precious little about him. The poem got a few nice mentions, and the dog's name is Grendel. Anyone else excited about Beowulf, that's all we get. No further subtle links to the epic tale. You want a good one, read Grendel's Guide to Love and War by Kaplan. That was fantastic.
As far as Beowulf for Cretins, the characters felt like archetypes instead of real people. Everyone fit nearly in some tight little category. The smart characters were eternally verbose and witty, even when they were "distracted". Banter is fine, but no one is thinking of rare four syllable words when they want immediate sex. Oh, and the sex.... clearly "amazing", but good luck figuring out why. It's one thing to be fade to black, it's another to not even describe the foreplay behond "she was going to collapse if her lover 'kept this up' ". Even beyond the sex scenes, there was a LOT of telling the reader what was happening, and not a lot of showing. If a character is talking, tell us what they say, not how the rest of the room perceives their wit.
And the final nail, for me, was the apparent disdain for the students. The main cast are all college professors, and sure, college freshmen are finding their way in every way, including intellectually. But, damn, every actual teacher moment was marred with an internal groan from the professor about having to put up with her students, in her chosen profession. To me, a teacher that doesn't like students is a red flag for a Bad Teacher.
I got to the end, and I'm happy for Grace and Abbie and all, but honestly I only kept it up hoping for some extra Beowulf action. I won't seek out any more by this author.
As far as Beowulf for Cretins, the characters felt like archetypes instead of real people. Everyone fit nearly in some tight little category. The smart characters were eternally verbose and witty, even when they were "distracted". Banter is fine, but no one is thinking of rare four syllable words when they want immediate sex. Oh, and the sex.... clearly "amazing", but good luck figuring out why. It's one thing to be fade to black, it's another to not even describe the foreplay behond "she was going to collapse if her lover 'kept this up' ". Even beyond the sex scenes, there was a LOT of telling the reader what was happening, and not a lot of showing. If a character is talking, tell us what they say, not how the rest of the room perceives their wit.
And the final nail, for me, was the apparent disdain for the students. The main cast are all college professors, and sure, college freshmen are finding their way in every way, including intellectually. But, damn, every actual teacher moment was marred with an internal groan from the professor about having to put up with her students, in her chosen profession. To me, a teacher that doesn't like students is a red flag for a Bad Teacher.
I got to the end, and I'm happy for Grace and Abbie and all, but honestly I only kept it up hoping for some extra Beowulf action. I won't seek out any more by this author.