Liu, Marjorie M. - In the Dark of Dreams

[oyceter]

Jenny Jameson found a silver boy with a tail on the beach the summer she was twelve, and she's never forgotten him. Ever since then, she's been on the hunt for supernatural beings for her family's corporation, and finally, Perrin resurfaces. Unfortunately, this only complicates matters, as Jenny's family is none other than the evil Consortium that has been the long-running villain through the Dirk & Steele series.

Adventure, narrow escapes, angst, UST, betrayal, and plot twists ensue. Alas, I read this almost two months ago, and of course I have forgotten everything.

Most of what I can recall is that I was a bit disappointed that there aren't more POC showing up in the Dirk & Steele series. I think there's about the same number throughout the series, since there aren't any intra-POC relationships AFAIK, and while I don't read the gargoyles and mermaids and shapeshifters and etc. as white, I am not sure if I should be reading them as POC either.

I'm never sure if I'm disappointed in the direction D&S is going or not. On the one hand, I love that the universe continues to expand and that we're not just limited to the usual sequel bait. On the other hand, I actually liked some of the D&S characters and have been waiting for their books for a while (EDDIE!). So... YMMV? I do wish the mythology were a bit more coherent, but then again, the everything-and-the-kitchen approach is also part of the series' charm.

Not one of the best D&S books for me, though I liked getting more of a look into the Consortium and the enemies of D&S, but not one of the worst either.

Comments

[daedala]

I read it too, and I've also forgotten it!

I don't read the gargoyles, etc. as POC either. They...hmm. They have to deal with hiding/passing, etc., but they mostly seem to operate in the world from a Place of Reasonable Privilege, if that makes sense? Even whosname in this one, despite the very borderline life he had on land, was very privileged as a krackeni or whatever.

[ithiliana]

*nods*

I like Liu's other books I've read (just found her stuff recently, so am probably missing a lot of the earlier ones), but I could not get through this one. I just got....bored somehow partway through and couldn't be bothered to finish.

[oyceter]

Yeah... I think Liu puts in some things about hiding and passing, and then there's some bits about multi-species-ness with the shapeshifters (I think?), but I actually like that they aren't treated as POC to avoid the vampires/monsters/aliens = POC thing you get a lot in SFF. (Also helps having Actual POC (TM) to counter that!!)

[oyceter]

Yeah.... her latest D&S ones haven't really caught me much, though I did like The Wild Road just because it has amnesia, heh. I never thought I'd say it, but I actually miss the core D&S team.

[daedala]

I like it a lot! But it bothers me a little in that the magical beings seem to share in the unmarked state? I am not articulating well.

...I kind of want to go back to school in English and develop a critical theory on the locus of privilege, assuming that hasn't already been done, which it probably has.

[oyceter]

No, I think I get what you mean re: unmarked state. I have been trying to not assume they are POC or not-POC, because while I think metaphor in SFF has its benefits, sometimes the alien is just a being from a different planet. I can't remember if there's stuff about race within the shapeshifter or mermaid or witch or gargoyle cultures, though that would be interesting!

[(Anonymous)]

An original Avon release, right? The land of wallpaper historicals and bland paranormals (basically, the books that will have the widest appeal without rocking any boats) isn't going to allow Liu to continue to write her genre-pushing books populated with POC like the smaller and more experimental Dorchester.

- Gigi

[oyceter]

Yeah, I've been much less enthusiastic about the later D&S books (though I do like the heroine from Fire King). I really hope Liu gets to do more of what she wants to, and that her comics career helps give her leverage....