a rare stumble, slight but still evident
Nov. 4th, 2006 10:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
violaceaI finally read Valley of Silence tonight - it will tell you something that I've had it in my purse since Tuesday, but didn't feel compelled to start it until we got home. Normally, any Nora Roberts book is devoured within hours of purchase.
Actually, this one was the strongest of the trilogy - Moira and Cian were, as I suspected, the most compelling pairing in the trilogy. They had the most conflict; not much of it was in this book, true, but the setup in the previous two books made this one resonate more. Overall, the trilogy ended predictably, but the final battle scene was satisfying. A lot of times, a pure battle scene will make me skim pages until it's over - this one, I read every word of.
In the end, though, I consider this trilogy one of Nora's very rare missteps. The worldbuilding necessary for this kind of story isn't her strength - her strength is, and always will be, the characters. Details, nuances, relationships, conflicts; that's where she shines. Her attempt to create an entire fantasy mythology and communicate it to readers shoved her greatest strength onto the backburner. I couldn't lose myself in the romances - she didn't have enough time to make me love them like real people - and I couldn't lose myself in the world, because she kept having to break off immersion into the setting to deal with the romances. She tried to do too much, and the whole thing fell flat.
Anyway. I spent the whole night reading, and not writing. Whoops. The group will be getting my submission WAY late.
Actually, this one was the strongest of the trilogy - Moira and Cian were, as I suspected, the most compelling pairing in the trilogy. They had the most conflict; not much of it was in this book, true, but the setup in the previous two books made this one resonate more. Overall, the trilogy ended predictably, but the final battle scene was satisfying. A lot of times, a pure battle scene will make me skim pages until it's over - this one, I read every word of.
In the end, though, I consider this trilogy one of Nora's very rare missteps. The worldbuilding necessary for this kind of story isn't her strength - her strength is, and always will be, the characters. Details, nuances, relationships, conflicts; that's where she shines. Her attempt to create an entire fantasy mythology and communicate it to readers shoved her greatest strength onto the backburner. I couldn't lose myself in the romances - she didn't have enough time to make me love them like real people - and I couldn't lose myself in the world, because she kept having to break off immersion into the setting to deal with the romances. She tried to do too much, and the whole thing fell flat.
Anyway. I spent the whole night reading, and not writing. Whoops. The group will be getting my submission WAY late.
