Smith, Jeff, and Charles Vess - Rose
Sun, Jul. 25th, 2004 10:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceterI picked this up because it's apparently the prequel to Smith's Bone, which a coworker at the store recommends. Unfortunately, it has rather put me off picking up Bone.
It was a rather tedious medieval fantasy bit, with origin story and origin of evil enemy story, combined with the brave princess (Rose) who Does Something. I could also guess who the enemy was and what the ultimate sacrifice was from about the second page into the story. Lots of fantasy anvils.
I mean, honestly. Two sisters, named Briar and Rose. Rose is talented at "dreaming" or whatever it's called; she's vivacious and out-going and unproperly feisty. Briar is resentful that Rose has "the Dreaming Eye." I feel that is all I need to say. I think Smith could have made it interesting and focused on Briar and her feeling of inadequacy and made something out of that, but instead, she goes evil, blah blah, Rose is forced to have to kill her sister, blah blah. The only thing that surprised me was when Rose killed her dog instead of her sister.
They have a Gaiman quote in the back, touting the book as "a beautifully painted meditation on magic, on the mistakes of youth and the little personal tragedies that grow to decide the fate of nations." I personally think it's rather hackneyed and uses cliches in no way new to the fantasy world.
Maybe it takes on added depth if one has read Bone first.
It was a rather tedious medieval fantasy bit, with origin story and origin of evil enemy story, combined with the brave princess (Rose) who Does Something. I could also guess who the enemy was and what the ultimate sacrifice was from about the second page into the story. Lots of fantasy anvils.
I mean, honestly. Two sisters, named Briar and Rose. Rose is talented at "dreaming" or whatever it's called; she's vivacious and out-going and unproperly feisty. Briar is resentful that Rose has "the Dreaming Eye." I feel that is all I need to say. I think Smith could have made it interesting and focused on Briar and her feeling of inadequacy and made something out of that, but instead, she goes evil, blah blah, Rose is forced to have to kill her sister, blah blah. The only thing that surprised me was when Rose killed her dog instead of her sister.
They have a Gaiman quote in the back, touting the book as "a beautifully painted meditation on magic, on the mistakes of youth and the little personal tragedies that grow to decide the fate of nations." I personally think it's rather hackneyed and uses cliches in no way new to the fantasy world.
Maybe it takes on added depth if one has read Bone first.