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[bryant]

Robin McKinley's Sunshine is much like a Laurell Hamilton book, except that it's suitable for people with good taste. The territory is familiar: more or less modern day, except there are creepy-crawlies (including vampires) running around and everybody knows it. Sunshine is set right after the war that occurred when that particular fact became public knowledge, I think -- the timing is never made clear. There's a young spunky heroine, there's a vampire, there's romance (not necessarily with the vampire), and so on.

The good: the prose is solid and Sunshine, the eponymous protagonist, is a fairly good character. Also good: the background doesn't get drawn into place with a straight-edge. You have to pick up on what happened by paying attention, and I like a book that makes me think a bit.

The bad: weakish plotting in which characters don't have to make choices. Inchoate ending, somewhat anticlimactic. It feels as though McKinley came up with an awesome setting concept and then wrote a documentary about it.

I liked it. The good is pretty good and the bad is forgivable.

Comments

[jeregenest.livejournal.com]

Its a good book, from a writer who has grown in interesting ways along with her audence. I'd rea more if it ended up being a series.

[bryant]

So would I. She doesn't have another book planned, which is a pity.

[tayefeth.livejournal.com]

Sigh... I wonder if this means I'll need to rename my Sunshine. (The character's name is Sunshine, not the story.)

[bryant]

Hm. It's a pretty high profile book, so maybe so. Hopefully your Sunshine isn't a baker.

[tayefeth.livejournal.com]

Nope, she's a healer.

[agrimony.livejournal.com]

From what I've read on her website, McKinley is very much a 'can't write until the story writes itself' kind of authors. Now, that said, I've loved just about everything I've ever read by her, but I think that's where some of the weakness comes from. She has a very organic approach to writing that doesn't seem to involve a lot of pre-plotting. Since my house is made entirely of sparkling, fragile glass, I'm not actually throwing any stones here. :)

[bryant]

I would agree completely.

[peaseblossom.livejournal.com]

I liked it because of all the baking stuff (although what I really wanted was a recipe for the cinnamon rolls), but I really didn't like the lack of an ending. But I always really hate endings, unless they're really good, because most authors just can't or won't do endings, because they all hate me.