I finished Kim Harrison's The Outlaw Demon Wails last night, including the bonus short story at the back of the book. I was sad to see the book end, and I craved more, which is ironic considering my earlier post about how I felt there was too much story packed in. The closer I got to the end of the novel, the more that feeling of "too much" faded and the more I simply wanted more.
As always, Harrison left me in awe: awe that she can fit so much story in each of her novels. Even thinking about the systems she must use to keep it all straight from novel to novel leaves me in wonder. It also reminds me to pack a lot of story into my novels, because, as long as I have the appropriate breathers, all people really want is story, and lots of it. The reason I fell in love with Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake novels--the early ones--was because there was so much story in each one. (In the later ones, there's still a lot of story, but the novel only progresses 24 hours or some ridiculously short amount of time that causes my suspension of disbelief to be stretched uncomfortably thin.)
All in all, I loved the book (and feel a bit hypocritical saying that given my earlier post).
A side note: There are often certain phrases or sentences in each book that catch me off-guard and evoke an unexpected visual. These lines usually end up being my favorite lines from the novel, even if they aren't always lines that, say, resonate with me. I think it's the surprise of the visual that I enjoy. Anyway, here's my favorite line from The Outlaw Demon Wails:
"Living a lie tore at one's being and leaked out in the oddest of places."
No comments:
Post a Comment