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A review by lienemcs
Chasing the Dragon by Justina Robson
3.0
Chasing the Dragon kicks up the frenetic pace that has continued to build throughout the series, but the feeling is like someone trying to race across a rickety rope bridge before the entire thing collapses.
Perhaps this is intentional, attempting to instill in the reader a better sense of Lila's mental stability as she races from one mad set of actions to another, trying to ignore the gaping holes in her life and her semi-acknowledged unwillingness to confront her feelings about them.
Otherwise, the effect is starting to look a little sloppy, as the narrative jumps and skips in places, with some events apparently just happening at random, unexplained and unexamined.
In regard to theme, there didn't seem to be much - other than if you're both lucky and happen to have supernatural friends and super-powered accoutrement, then one can get by with slap-dash, off-the-cuff solutions to problems with a minimum of discomfort, thought, or sacrifice involved. Particularly after the previous installment, where serious sacrifices were being made - sacrifices made all the more horrifying and dear because they weren't Lila's, but her friends' sacrifices on her behalf - Chasing the Dragon, and Lila, came off as pretty shallow.
Not the best book in the series so far, but we'll see how the next turns out.
http://www.valejorian.net/sffreviews/AllReviews.html
Perhaps this is intentional, attempting to instill in the reader a better sense of Lila's mental stability as she races from one mad set of actions to another, trying to ignore the gaping holes in her life and her semi-acknowledged unwillingness to confront her feelings about them.
Otherwise, the effect is starting to look a little sloppy, as the narrative jumps and skips in places, with some events apparently just happening at random, unexplained and unexamined.
In regard to theme, there didn't seem to be much - other than if you're both lucky and happen to have supernatural friends and super-powered accoutrement, then one can get by with slap-dash, off-the-cuff solutions to problems with a minimum of discomfort, thought, or sacrifice involved. Particularly after the previous installment, where serious sacrifices were being made - sacrifices made all the more horrifying and dear because they weren't Lila's, but her friends' sacrifices on her behalf - Chasing the Dragon, and Lila, came off as pretty shallow.
Not the best book in the series so far, but we'll see how the next turns out.
http://www.valejorian.net/sffreviews/AllReviews.html