kerravonsen | Book reviewish thing (Reply)

Finished reading "The Tribune" by Patrick Larkin today. All up, I found it less than satisfying. When I realized when it was set, I kept on waiting for it to fast-forward to the "exciting" bit, but it never did; so I guess part of my dissatisfaction lay in my wrong expectations. If it hadn't been set when it was, I would probably have been less distracted, and appreciated it more. Certainly, on the good side, you have a plot that is twisty enough to be worthy of the name "thriller", where our sympathetic hero keeps on having to choose between honour and self-preservation (not just of life, but of career and reputation) in a web of deception which just gets thicker and more tangled. There are also a few interesting reflections on the culture clash between Romans and Jews. But I think that's the best I can say for it. The ending was too sudden, the epilogue was out of the blue (and implausible when I think about it), the tiny romance bit was lust-at-first-sight. It wasn't satisfying. The more I think about it, the less I want to keep it.

No, I still haven't read "Ravyn's Flight" yet, and may not for a while; "Warchild" arrived today. I hope it proves to be something with good characterisation and plot, with a sympathetic protagonist, and maybe some interesting aliens or some exciting war/spy stuff. With a hopeful ending. Which doesn't end on a cliffhanger.