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Review: Greg van Eekhout, Dragon Coast
Sep. 15th, 2015 07:35 amI am going to a Taco Tuesday signing tonight: Greg van Eekhout, a San Diego writer whose latest series I quite like (and won the third in a drawing, so now I have something for him to sign); Seanan McGuire, whose InCryptid series I enjoy but haven't felt the need to buy, and whose urban fantasy series I threw against the wall when the second book had a "Deus ex Stupida" plot.* Also a third writer from the same publisher whose name I can't recall, as I didn't recognize it. In any case, the publisher is providing tacos and Tecate beer. Plus I'm a sponsor, so the bookstore should be reserving a seat for me.
* My term for a plot driven by character or, in this case, characters acting so stupid that it's beyond credulity. Even the clever ones don't see the 20-ton plot truck barrelling down on them. It's too big to ignore and the author needed to at least acknowledge it, or (preferably) rewrite so it wasn't quite so glaring. I finished the book but could never go back to the series.
Here follows my Dragon Coast review, since I finished the book this weekend and it comes out today.
Disclosure: I received a free ARC from the publisher via a Goodreads drawing.
The first book in the series was a caper novel; the second investigated and revealed relationships; and the third brings the two full circle. Daniel has to impersonate his dead brother/golem Paul while stealing a priceless treasure - to restore Sam, who he realizes is now family to him. This while dealing with revelations about Paul's own family interactions. Sam has to wade through his own internal minefield of what it means to be the dead Hierarch's golem.
Not as fresh and fun as the first novel in the series, but more witty and better-paced than the second. I thoroughly enjoyed it. This closed enough of the story threads that it could be the final novel in a trilogy, but I'd be happy to return to this universe.
* My term for a plot driven by character or, in this case, characters acting so stupid that it's beyond credulity. Even the clever ones don't see the 20-ton plot truck barrelling down on them. It's too big to ignore and the author needed to at least acknowledge it, or (preferably) rewrite so it wasn't quite so glaring. I finished the book but could never go back to the series.
Here follows my Dragon Coast review, since I finished the book this weekend and it comes out today.
Disclosure: I received a free ARC from the publisher via a Goodreads drawing.
The first book in the series was a caper novel; the second investigated and revealed relationships; and the third brings the two full circle. Daniel has to impersonate his dead brother/golem Paul while stealing a priceless treasure - to restore Sam, who he realizes is now family to him. This while dealing with revelations about Paul's own family interactions. Sam has to wade through his own internal minefield of what it means to be the dead Hierarch's golem.
Not as fresh and fun as the first novel in the series, but more witty and better-paced than the second. I thoroughly enjoyed it. This closed enough of the story threads that it could be the final novel in a trilogy, but I'd be happy to return to this universe.
