Customer Reviews:
Characterization superb.......2007-07-20
Minette Walters has long been one of my favorite authors and I have never graded her lower than four stars. This is a strange novel in several senses: (1) The structure, like several other of her books, alternates between pseudo-documentary and story, (2) There is no hero or even leading character - just a host of interesting people with intertwinigng lives, (3) the action occurs over an extremely short time frame and (2) the resolution is rather weak and indeed, logically a letdown.
Once again, we are given a cast of interesting, realistic people caught in situations both gritty and pitiful. The best thing about Walters's characters is their dialogue - they talk like people in real life and not in books. There are two plotlines. The first concerns the disappearance of a young girl in a bad part of town - Acid Row. Investigations leades to ominous revelations. The second concerns Melanie, a welfare mom trying to overcome a host of issues. A social worker, frustrated at her sloth and bad habits, blurts out (illegally) that a pedophile is in the neighbothood and her daughter is in danger.
Melanie and her mom organize a march that quickly turns deadly as criminals, dopeheads and binge drinkers unite to "get the perverts". Another social worker, a doctor, happens to be at the house targeted by the crowd and discovers that the father and son have dark secrets that put her own life in danger. All the while, the police continue their investigation of the background of all those who had contact with the girl and discover a bag of terrible secrets. Walters excels at showing that just beneath the surface of citility and social calm lies an almost animal instinct and sometimes, like a beast of prey, we smell blook and it excites us.
Exciting and interesting.......2003-07-15
This is the second book I have read by Minette Walters, and I think it is even better than the other book I have read. At the same time as the author is presenting an exciting story, she explains a lot about how people live and think. She shows how dangerous it is when information is spread in the wrong way. A slip of the tongue and a social worker tells a worried mum that a pedophile has moved into the neighbourhood. She does not say who, but the mother has her suspicions. The trouble starts when innocent people get tangeled up in the drama, and when people who are more interested in causing mayhem than to shelter the children, get involved.
Pedophiles in Our Mist.......2003-07-13
The book dealt with the issue of pedophiles and whether or not they have civil rights once discovered that they are living in a particular community. This book brought the issue out by including a missing child from the area at the same time the story of the known pedophile is in the area which adds fuel to the flame when the poor residents of Acid Row deceide to host a
march against the pedophiles. The march becomes violent and several people get killed ...
Average customer rating:
- Gritty and Raw
- One of the finest by a modern master of suspense
- Anatomy of a riot...
- A mish-mash of characters and events
- Suspenseful
|
Acid Row
Minette Walters
Manufacturer: Putnam Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 British
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
| 18th Century
| 19th Century
| 20th Century
| Classics
| Contemporary
| General
| Historical
| Humor
| Letters & Correspondence
| Middle
| Old
| Poetry
| Renaissance
| Shakespeare
| Short Stories
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Literary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Thrillers
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
Walters, Minette
| ( W )
| Authors, A-Z
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
The Scold's Bridle: A Novel
-
The Echo
-
The Dark Room
-
The Sculptress: A Novel (Sculptress)
-
The Breaker
ASIN: 0399148620
Release Date: 2002-06-27 |
Book Description
A writer of unquestioned talent and power, Minette Walters has electrified readers around the globe with her fiercely compelling and utterly riveting thrillers that have earned her comparisons to Ruth Rendell and P. D. James. In Acid Row, she takes us to a place that is all the more frightening because it is so real.
Acid Row. The name beleaguered inhabitants give their crime-riddled, decaying housing project. It's a no-man's land of single mothers and fatherless children, where angry, alienated youths control the streets.
Into this battleground comes Sophie Morrison, a young doctor visiting a patient there-and unaware that she is entering the home of a known pedophile. With reports circulating that a child has disappeared into this bedlam, the vigilantes are out in force. Sophie is trapped at the center of this terrifying siege, wth a man who can and will harm her . . . and the mob is out for blood.
Customer Reviews:
Gritty and Raw.......2007-02-06
Acid Row is what the residents of Bassindale Estate call the place they live. It's a council housing estate of sub-standard properties, where society's most deprived people live. The streets are patrolled by dealers, drunks and youth gangs. The residents are unwed mothers, the jobless, ex-cons and ailing pensioners.
Added to his mix, the authorities house a convicted pedophile on the estate and word quickly spreads. Then a young girl goes missing?
Residents decide to take the law into their own hands and stage a protest, but fueled by drink and drugs, it quickly turns ugly and now the residents are in danger. And so is Dr. Sophie Morrison. She has been called out on an emergency visit to the pedophile's home and is taken prisoner by him and his violent father. They have been getting threats and see Sophie as some kind of insurance against whatever bad is coming their way.
And sure enough, the ugly crowd finds it's way to the pedophile's door and they are rioting. Many residents are trampled and crushed, while inside Sophie faces acts of violence and abject terror as her captors refuse to let her go.
There is a lot of violence in this book, but I didn't think it took away from the story. The suspense is always high, the story is gritty and probably more true to life than most of us would like to admit. And though this was my first novel by Minette Walters, it certainly won't be my last. I highly recommend it.
One of the finest by a modern master of suspense.......2004-03-04
Minette Walters has put together a body of work over the last ten years that has rarely been equaled. THE ICE HOUSE is considered one of the 100 favorite mysteries of the century by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association. Books like THE SCULPTRESS are unforgettable in the power of the depiction of the title character. She now comes out with one of her best novels in years.
Bassindale Estates is a decrepit housing project in England. A sign off the road was vandalized and reads "Welcome to Assi d Row" Hence, the title of the book. Acid Row is "A place of deprivation where literacy was poor, drugs endemic and fights commonplace." Into this volatile mix is placed a pedophile. After a young girl disappears, angry residents hear of this and they organize a protest. Unfortunately, the protest quickly turns into mob rule with the possibility of violence and rioting just under the surface. By juxtaposing points of view, the reader is given access to all parts of this event. Sophie Morrison, a young physician from the local health clinic is unknowingly enters the apartment of the pedophile and is placed into the center of the maelstrom. The local police are helpless and must solicit aid from local residents. The individuals who try to help must become surprising heroes. While this event escalates, the police continue to work the case of the missing child.
Minette Walters examines the psyche of an unruly mob. Once she sets the stage for the confrontation, she does not let go of the thread of suspense. She ensures the reader's unwavering attention by use of a gripping narrative and skillful characterizations. There are several times that Ms. Walters loses some focus but these times are rare. ACID ROW is an excellent example of why Minette Walters is considered a modern master of the genre. This is a very worthy nominee of the CWA Gold Dagger Awards.
Anatomy of a riot..........2003-03-03
She's back!!! I thought "Shape of Snakes" was a good book, but I hadn't much passion for the characters. In "Acid Row", the characters are even harder to love (exceedingly so), and yet we do. If I only had a phrase to describe this book, it would be "Anatomy of a Riot" because that is exactly what it is. But before you say "ugh", please give this some consideration. It is so carefully plotted and so meticulously described in terms of sequence and motivation...this alone should be enough, but then Walters layers on the most memorable characters. So why should we care about a riot in a tenement involving people who bear no resemblance to us or our friends? Because that's the fallacy...they are not so removed from us and their frustration is palpable. And they are driven by so many of the same fears and desires. They are no more or less than shadowy reflections of ourselves.
A mish-mash of characters and events.......2002-12-15
As an avid reader of the mystery thriller genre, particularly British, I was ready for a good time. Unfortunately, this was one of the most confusing, frustrating books I've read. The characters are cartoonish and poorly developed and the riot, (central to the "plot"), seems contrived and totally unbelievable. Also, the outrage one character evidences when her colleague spills the beans regarding the whereabouts of the pedophile is almost offensive. Who wouldn't want to know that a pedophile is living in a neighborhood with children? A mess of a mystery.
Suspenseful.......2002-12-13
I picked this book up on a lark. I finished reading it the next day. While it falls into the crime genre, it is neither a detective novel, nor a courtroom/legal story. It kept me on the edge. After finishing this, I felt that I had found a new author (to me) that I would truly enjoy reading. Sadly, none of the other three I have read since this has been as exciting. Nevertheless, this one was so good that I recommended it to several people, something I rarely do.
Average customer rating:
- Gritty and Full of Suspense
- Nothing worth reading
- A Dark Look at Life on a Council Estate
- Typical
- Meltdown in the Projects
|
Acid Row
Minette Walters
Manufacturer: Jove
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
General
| Mystery
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Thrillers
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
Walters, Minette
| ( W )
| Authors, A-Z
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
( W )
| Authors, A-Z
| Mystery & Thrillers
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Mystery & Thrillers
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Mystery
| Mystery & Thrillers
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Thrillers
| Mystery & Thrillers
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
All 4-for-3 Deals
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Disordered Minds
-
Fox Evil
-
The Shape of Snakes
-
The Sculptress: A Novel (Sculptress)
-
The Dark Room
ASIN: 0515135828
Release Date: 2003-04-29 |
Book Description
Acid Row is a crime-infested housing project that exists by its own laws. When news comes that a child has been kidnapped, the frustration and anger that has been seething on the streets of Acid Row is ignited. And no one will be safe.
Customer Reviews:
Gritty and Full of Suspense.......2007-02-06
Acid Row is what the residents of Bassindale Estate call the place they live. It's a council housing estate of sub-standard properties, where society's most deprived people live. The streets are patrolled by dealers, drunks and youth gangs. The residents are unwed mothers, the jobless, ex-cons and ailing pensioners.
Added to his mix, the authorities house a convicted pedophile on the estate and word quickly spreads. Then a young girl goes missing?
Residents decide to take the law into their own hands and stage a protest, but fueled by drink and drugs, it quickly turns ugly and now the residents are in danger. And so is Dr. Sophie Morrison. She has been called out on an emergency visit to the pedophile's home and is taken prisoner by him and his violent father. They have been getting threats and see Sophie as some kind of insurance against whatever bad is coming their way.
And sure enough, the ugly crowd finds it's way to the pedophile's door and they are rioting. Many residents are trampled and crushed, while inside Sophie faces acts of violence and abject terror as her captors refuse to let her go.
There is a lot of violence in this book, but I didn't think it took away from the story. The suspense is always high, the story is gritty and probably more true to life than most of us would like to admit. And though this was my first novel by Minette Walters, it certainly won't be my last. I highly recommend it.
Nothing worth reading.......2004-05-26
This was my first book by Minette Walters, and one of the most annoying books Ive ever read. Maybe the basic plot is decent, but beyond that it amazes me that Walters has ever been published. This book stands as nothing more than a symbol of the ease at which most people are entertained, picking this book up thinking its doing them more good than watching tv, when its actually got worse writing than a bad tv movie. The picture of Walters on the back cover provided a few laughs though.Oh, and my apologies for my own poor writing in this review, but I've only done this in the hopes that would be buyers spend their money elsewhere, spending much time and effort on this would have been a complete waste, and I've already wasted enough time on this garbage.
A Dark Look at Life on a Council Estate.......2004-03-17
Bassindale Estate, known as Acid Row by the people that live there, is a bleak, rundown council estate. Nobody living there works and most of the residents are single mothers or layabouts. Youth gangs control the streets, roaming at will wherever they please, doing whatever they want, often terrorizing the residents. And if all that isn't bad enough, Acid Row is a place the cops prefer to stay clear of.
Sophie Morrison is a young doctor who refuses to give up on the people in Acid Row. They are her patients, her friends and she goes out of her way to lend them a helping hand whenever she gets the chance. Unfortunately for Sophie, trouble is brewing.
When Melanie Patterson, who is a young mother, hears that the authorities have moved a convicted pedophile onto the estate, word spreads and the residents are furious and determined to find out where this man is living. Then a young child goes missing and suspicion immediately falls on two men who have recently moved next door to Melanie. Deciding to take matters into their own hands, the residents hold a protest march around the estate to demand these men be moved out.
Sophie is finishing a house call, when she gets called to see a man in the throws of an asthma attack. She helps the man, then is prevented from leaving. One of these men is the suspected pedophile and they decide to hold her as insurance against the protesters, who are now outside their door.
Sophie suffers horribly as she fights for her life inside the house, while the crowd outside is drinking and getting violent. Firebombs are thrown and the crowd starts crying for blood.
This book has a great ending with a nice twist and it's a good suspenseful read, though it's a thriller, not the mystery I expected. However, that made no difference, because it's such a powerful story.
Typical.......2004-03-15
In typical middle-class fashion, Minette Walters depicts the lower classes as vulgar dolts.
Meltdown in the Projects.......2004-02-07
Society breaks down in a housing project and a peaceful demonstration gets completely out of hand, as we follow the fate of a young woman doctor trapped inside a house with its inhabitants and a little girl who is missing.
While this was not exactly what I was expecting, once I got into it, I couldn't put it down. Walters is a master of character and suspense, which is a powerful combination that keeps the pages turning as if they had a mind of their own. There are multiple story lines, each as spellbinding as the last.
I do love Minette Walters other books, specifically Ice House, The Sculptress and Shape of Snakes. While this is not my favorite of the Walters book, I give it four out of five stars. If you haven't read any other of Walters' books, you may want to start with one of the other three, I just mentioned.
Average customer rating:
|
Acid Row
Minette Walters
Manufacturer: Macmillan Audio Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
Walters, Minette
| ( W )
| Authors, A-Z
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
Action & Adventure
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Mystery & Thrillers
| Books on CD
| Audiobooks
| Formats
| Books
General
| Books on CD
| Audiobooks
| Formats
| Books
ASIN: 0333989252 |
Book Description
Acid Row. The name the beleaguered inhabitants give to the place they live. A no-man's land of single mothers and fatherless children where angry, alienated teenagers control the streets. Into this battleground comes Sophie Morrison, a young doctor visiting a patient in Acid Row. Little does she know she that is entering the home of a known paedophile. And with reports circulating that a tormented child called Amy has disappeared, the vigilantes are out in force. Soon Sophie is trapped at the centre of a terrifying siege, with a man she has come to despise. Whipped to a frenzy by unsubstaniated rumour, the mob unleashes its hatred. Against authority, the law, and the pervert. "Protecting Amy" becomes the catch-all defence for the terrible events that follow. And if murder is part of it, then so be it....
Book Description
Acid Row. The name the beleaguered inhabitants give to the place they live. A no-man's land of single mothers and fatherless children where angry, alienated teenagers control the streets. Into this battleground comes Sophie Morrison, a young doctor visiting a patient in Acid Row. Little does she know she that is entering the home of a known paedophile. And with reports circulating that a tormented child called Amy has disappeared, the vigilantes are out in force. Soon Sophie is trapped at the centre of a terrifying siege, with a man she has come to despise. Whipped to a frenzy by unsubstaniated rumour, the mob unleashes its hatred. Against authority, the law, and the pervert. "Protecting Amy" becomes the catch-all defence for the terrible events that follow. And if murder is part of it, then so be it....
Customer Reviews:
A Gritty and Suspense Filled Story.......2004-03-18
Acid Row is what the residents of Bassindale Estate call the place they live. It's a council housing estate of sub-standard properties, where society's most deprived people live. The streets are patrolled by dealers, drunks and youth gangs. The residents are unwed mothers, the jobless, ex-cons and ailing pensioners.
Added to his mix, the authorities house a convicted pedophile on the estate and word quickly spreads. Then a young girl goes missing?
Residents decide to take the law into their own hands and stage a protest, but fueled by drink and drugs, it quickly turns ugly and now the residents are in danger. And so is Dr. Sophie Morrison. She has been called out on an emergency visit to the pedophile's home and is taken prisoner by him and his violent father. They have been getting threats and see Sophie as some kind of insurance against whatever bad is coming their way.
And sure enough, the ugly crowd finds it's way to the pedophile's door and they are rioting. Many residents are trampled and crushed, while inside Sophie faces acts of violence and abject terror as her captors refuse to let her go.
There is a lot of violence in this book, but I didn't think it took away from the story. The suspense is always high, the story is gritty and probably more true to life than most of us would like to admit. And though this was my first novel by Minette Walters, it certainly won't be my last. I highly recommend it.
Brilliant book! Pace never slows!.......2003-04-24
Walters is a truly fantastic writer. This book treats the themes of poverty, prejudice, and the inevitable assumptions we make about each others actions and motivations. It deals with all of this through a non-stop, action - filled plot in which the search for a missing ten year old girl is juxtaposed with a deadly riot. I am amazed by the way in which Walters can create characters and settings that are so real and so rich. The only way to describe this book is 'compelling'. I was quite literally on the edge of my seat while I was reading. The subject matter is dark and unpleasant, but once you pick up this book, you will have a hard time putting it down.
Average customer rating:
|
Acid Row
Minette Walters
Manufacturer: Thorndike Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
British
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
| 18th Century
| 19th Century
| 20th Century
| Classics
| Contemporary
| General
| Historical
| Humor
| Letters & Correspondence
| Middle
| Old
| Poetry
| Renaissance
| Shakespeare
| Short Stories
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Thrillers
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
Spy Stories & Tales of Intrigue
| Thrillers
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
Walters, Minette
| ( W )
| Authors, A-Z
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
Literature & Fiction
| Large Print
| Formats
| Books
Mystery & Thrillers
| Large Print
| Formats
| Books
Children's Books
| Large Print
| Formats
| Books
ASIN: 0786246359 |
Average customer rating:
|
Acid Row
Manufacturer: Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
Action & Adventure
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0333907493 |
Average customer rating:
|
Acid Row
Manufacturer: Allen and Unwin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 1865086282 |
Average customer rating:
|
Acid Row
Minette Walters
Manufacturer: Recorded Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
General
| Literature & Fiction
| Books on Cassette
| Audiobooks
| Formats
| Books
Unabridged
| Literature & Fiction
| Books on Cassette
| Audiobooks
| Formats
| Books
General
| Books on Cassette
| Audiobooks
| Formats
| Books
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 140252482X |
Customer Reviews:
Amazing!.......2003-04-02
This is the first book I've ever read by Minette Walters, but now I'm going to read every single other book she's written. I loved the book,, which really surprised me, as I don't generally like crime novels. The plot was fast-paced, and I couldn't put the book down. I really got caught up in the lives of the characters, and have to admit that the book challenged many of my prejudices. I would recommend it to anyone.
Book Description
In the fourth novel of this popular tetralogy, Marjorie B. Kellogg brings together the four elemental dragons and their human companions in a desperate quest to free Air from her as-yet-undiscovered prison-and stop Fire before his devastating reign destroys the world.
Customer Reviews:
If you were disappointed before, you will be again........2005-11-08
I began to have high, romantic hopes from book 1, The Book of Earth, but they were dashed by this last book. If you are hoping that this book will have a satisfying ending, think again.
In her typical style, Marjorie B. Kellogg builds up what the reader believes to be a satisfying conclusion of events, but then dashes our hopes in the last moments. This book is a painful anxiety-creating experience.
The author takes the easy way out in ending her most villainous characters. The confrontations between good and evil that the reader comes to expect never happen, leaving the reader (at least in my case) feeling cheated and as though the author gave up in the end. I feel that she chose the easy way out and wasted her time creating dynamic characters, only to dash our hopes of a good read in the end.
I wasted my time on this entire series, and I do not recommend this novel to anyone with romantic notions, nor hopes for the futures of the characters!
A much different novel than Dragon Quartet fans expected.......2004-09-04
The Book of Air is the fourth and final novel in Marjorie B. Kellogg's wonderful Dragon Quartet, and while the ending to this saga may not delight all readers, I found it a fitting end that somewhat defied my expectations (and that is almost always a good thing). Readers had to wait three years between the third and fourth novels, and the buildup of expectation this caused is a factor, I feel, in the disappointment some fans seem to feel with this concluding volume. Certainly, things did not really go the way I wanted them to, a couple of plot points seemed a tad clumsy, and the dragon Air defied the very idea of dragonhood on a primal level, but this shows the courage of the writer. Kellogg let this novel go where the story led her, and while readers are of course the very business of writers (successful ones, anyway), I feel it is more important to place your trust in the story and not in reader expectations. Thus, what some see as the weaknesses in the novel strike me as strengths.
This whole story started long ago - at the very creation of the world, in fact. Four elemental dragons (Earth, Water, Fire, and Air) were brought into being in order to create the world; their job complete, they went to ground to wait for the end of that world. Something has gone wrong, however, and the dragons have awoken early. Separated by centuries, responding to a summons they can not identify, called to a quest they do not understand, and seeking to find each other as the process of remembering begins, they locate their dragon guides and head toward a shared fate that will determine not only the future of mankind but the past as well. Each book formally introduces us to a new dragon, and now we finally get to meet Air, the most important of the dragons, the one who can supposedly answer all of the questions the other dragons (and we the readers) have about their all-encompassing purpose.
Earth awoke in the Germanies of 913, where he met up with 14-year-old Erde as she escaped the castle of her baron father and false charges of witchcraft by an evil, powerful priest; Water appeared on the coast of Africa in 2013 and bonded with N'Doch, a rather troublesome young man with big dreams and a talent for singing; Fire resides in 2213, where he reigns as a god, installing his dragon guide Paia as his high priestess; and Air is missing, reportedly imprisoned by Lord Fire. Fire, you see, wants nothing to do with this big quest his younger siblings are following. He is in rebellion against his fellow siblings, and this sets the stage for the exciting action of The Book of Air. The reader eventually finds himself in a future world that is both real and unreal, but the story comes back full circle to where it all began. The fate of each character and of the earth itself is a mystery until the very end, and while the ending did not satisfy my own personal desires, it works quite well in my opinion.
The real strength of this novel is the wonderful characterization Kellogg brings to the fore. I am especially fond of young Erde, with whom we have journeyed since the start of the first book, but even the minor players in this grand drama have a real force and personality that comes shining (or burning, in some cases) through the pages. The different gifts of each dragon make them - well, three of them, anyway, for Air is unlike any dragon you would ever imagine, a fact which seems to bother some fans of the series - incredibly distinct and oftentimes amazingly human characters in their own right. The Book of Air represents the end of an ambitious series, and I think Kellogg pulled it off quite well - even managing to throw in a pretty big twist I was not expecting at the very end.
The theme of environmentalism runs strongly through all four of these novels, particularly this final one. Nature has gone haywire in each of the respective time periods, and the future has revealed an earth burning up and dying as a result of man's failure to serve as nature's caretaker. Those with a passion for environmentalism have an extra incentive to read The Book of Air and its three predecessors.
What a great gift!.......2004-06-12
What a great gift! I just received all four books in the Dragon Quartet for my birthday and couldn't put them down until I had completed the series. The first chapter of each book is online. Do yourself - or your friend - a favor and get all 4 books.
A Real Let Down.......2004-06-09
I didn't come across this series until all four books were out (unlike some series I might mention -- Robert Jordon, are you listening??)so I didn't have to wait for years. This was good because I could read all the books one right after another, no lines no waiting. It was bad because it made for some serious comparisons which are not kind to this book which was a huge let-down for the otherwise good series. (OK, I have admit that I DID find the "dialect" of the tinkers really irritating, too!)
The first three books really built up the Purpose of the dragons and constantly reminded everyone that the dragon Air was the most powerful, smart, essential dragon of them all. The Purpose could not be accomplished without Air so their first mission was to rescue her. OK, sounded good. The plot was a little used and abused but the writing was good and there were some interesting twists. But the fourth book sure didn't live up to its billing.
Supposedly Fire had trapped Air so the four dragons could not complete their mission. How he managed to do this was never explained or even hinted at. The actual "release" of Air was a huge disappointment! And Air herself was an even bigger disappointment!! After all this build up of how important she was to the Purpose, she never even shows up in "person" so to speak, and all she contributes to the goal is "hurry, hurry!" which got real old real fast. Garresch -- who was the best thing happening in the whole book -- wondered if Air was even sane anymore. That gave a nice, forbidding shiver -- imagine an insane dragon! -- but Air never amounted to anything. Why did they even bother with her? She was completely unnecessary and, for that matter, not at all developed as a charactor. The Deep Moor dogs had more personality!! What a waste!
The whole book was full of annoying loose ends. Where did the nanomechs come from? What was the purpose of the nano-city? Why couldn't Air leave it under nano-power? Why couldn't she communicate? And all the personalities that had been carefully developed over the previous three books, were made 2 dimensional. Paia and Fire had the "hots" (pun intended) for each other and that was that. Erde and Earth were irritatingly serious and formal. Water didn't play any kind of a role and D'Noch reverted back to being annoying. The secondary charactors, Hal, Kothen, the tinkers, and the Deep Moor women, were given "lines" of dialog like a comic book might have. Some charactors weren't even mentioned. Where did the personalities go??
All in all it was a major disappointment. It seemed like Ms. Kellogg was trying to hurry, hurry! with the final book because she left it hang too long and readers were getting mad. If a writer can't finish a book in a decent amount of time, why start? It's better not to start something than to finish it slap-dash and poorly. It's too bad because I had some real expectations for this final book.
After waiting three years - this is it?.......2003-12-29
While the other three books in this quartet are beautifully written and engaging, this book is a major let down. The character development for the Dragon, Air, was not only lacking, it was annoying. In addition, the way the author dealt with the Dragon, Fire's transformation was disappointing. This book lacked the magic and power of her other books. After loyally waiting for eight years for this series, I guess I expected more.I highly recommend all of Marjorie Kellogg's books, except this one.
Books:
- Adjusting Sights
- Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned
- And No Birds Sing: A True Ecological Thriller Set in a Tropical Paradise
- Angels on Toast
- Artists Sketchbook (Quarto Book)
- Best Lesbian Erotica 2001 (Best Lesbian Erotica Series)
- Blood: The Last Vampire 2002
- Bob Greene's Total Body Makeover: An Accelerated Program of Exercise and Nutrition for Maximum Results in Minimum Time
- Bridges to Cuba / Puentes a Cuba
- By the Light of a Thousand Stars
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Wolves of the Calla
- Spin Control
- Outcast of Redwall
- Murder in the Casbah and Other Mysteries: New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
- Photography
- Principles of Modern Chemistry
- The Accidental Investment Banker: Inside the Decade that Transformed Wall Street
- Skira Dictionary of Modern Decorative Arts: 1851-1942
- Nature's Extremes: Eight Seasons Shape a Southwestern Land
- Nobody's Warriors
Corrupts Absolutely
The Ice House: A Novel
Small g: A Summer Idyll
