As even a quick glance at my blog will probably show, I’m interested mostly in mysteries and video games. But I love fantasy as well! (Perhaps not so surprising, since it’s the genre of many video games, especially RPGs.) The reason I don’t read much fantasy, however, is because, while I like fantasy, I like mystery more. So whenever I would buy a fantasy book, I ask myself… why not buy a mystery instead? And that's what I end up doing.
But HOEAB was gifted to me by a friend, and so bypassed that entire ordeal. Plus it features a murder, so it’s not entirely off-brand?
When I showed HOEAB to another friend (most of the books I read are in Japanese and on my Kindle, so I don’t have many chances to physically show off my books), their reaction was “Isn’t that the fairy porn author?” And, having finished the book, the answer is… yes, yes it is. There is a trashy vampire TV drama in the book that the characters refer to as “Fangs and Bangs,” so I think there is a degree of self-awareness. But we’ll get to that.
To me, the draw of HOEAB is the world, and it’s difficult to discuss the plot or characters without first establishing the setting. It’s fantasy, and has all the typical trappings of fantasy, but takes place in a modern city. And I don’t mean the real world with a magical underbelly (like Harry Potter or Artemis Fowl), but a fantasy world that has entered the modern age. There’s cars and TV and cell phones, and magic and witches and sprites.
While the fantasy elements are pretty standard (albeit with some unique terminology—vampyrs and fae instead of vampires and elves, for instance), it’s the blending of those elements with a modern setting that creates a unique world. With urban modernity baked into the setting, there is also consideration for how that would actually play out in a fantasy world, such as buildings in the clouds for angels or an entire underwater district for merfolk.
Unfortunately, it isn't all roses. Bryce is a pretty, young woman, and the book hammers home how careful she needs to be to avoid being targeted by a Vanir (anything that isn’t human) male. Which makes sense. Vanir are magic and several times more powerful than humans, at a minimum. We already know what happens to women in our world where there are only mundane physical differences between men and women; now imagine how it would be if every man had the power of Superman.
On a less-depressing note, the modern elements also influence the character writing. In other words, there’s tons of profanity. While profanity has certainly existed forever, it historically hasn’t been featured in literature much, with modern media integrating more profanity as it has become more socially acceptable in order to seem more raw and authentic. Fantasy, especially, has an image of grace and chivalry, of well-spoken characters who speak with authority and conviction. But everyone in HOEAB is nothing more than a person with an agenda, and people curse, so the characters in HOEAB do too.
Crescent City’s aesthetic also clearly draws inspiration from classic Rome, which is something I always enjoy. For instance, epithets and titles are in Latin, and the rulers of the world govern from a city with seven hills. And that is enough for me to consider the book thematically connected to the publishing date of this review.
Anyway, as established, Bryce Quinlan loves her life. She runs the showroom in an antiquities shop, and lives with her best friend Danika, heir to the wolf shifters in Crescent City. (“Shifters” being Vanir that can shift between the form of a human and a certain animal. So wolf shifters are basically the closest HOEAB gets to werewolves.) But then Danika and her pack are brutally murdered in their apartment.
I’m being flippant for the sake of brevity, but Maas does a great job at writing characters—or rather, at presenting the relationships between them. Even though the first part of the book is not long, we get a wonderful portrait of Bryce and Danika’s relationship. Which is important, because nearly the entire plot rests on Bryce’s determination to avenge Danika.
Anyway, after Danika’s death Bryce’s entire world is essentially ripped away from her and she becomes a shell of a person. Danika’s death is pinned on a recently freed human rebel who had a grudge against her. (The world is ruled by a council of godlike Vanir known as the Asteri, and humans are generally oppressed and subjugated by Vanir.) Two years later, similar murders start again. Due to some plot-convenient politicking, the governor of Crescent City tasks Bryce with discovering the truth of Danika’s death, and assigns his person assassin, Athalar Hunt, to assist and watch over her.
The arc of the plot from here is pretty standard. Bryce and Hunt are each on the case for their own reasons and resent being forced to work with the other. (Hunt is an angel who has been enslaved for his part in a rebellion two hundred years ago, and is essentially promised freedom if he can solve the case.) But as they work together they learn they are more similar than they first thought (they each have a dark, tragic backstory) and form mutual respect that blossoms into love. Meanwhile, they investigate leads on the case, hitting dead end after dead end until they finally strike upon the right path that culminates with a full evil confession-monologue from the culprit.
But, again, the draw of HOEAB is the world. While we might’ve seen this plot dozens of times before, we haven’t seen it here. The juxtaposition between fantasy and raw modernity is enthralling, and while the plot might be standard, that doesn’t mean it’s poorly executed. This is also a long book (perhaps too long, if you don't end up enjoying the slow burn of progress on the investigation and development of Bryce and Hunt's relationship), giving Maas plenty of time to show off her character writing. Even though Maas is obvious in what she’s doing, as she gives us glimpses into Bryce’s and Hunt’s minds, as their feelings towards each other take root, as their flaws get in the way of their clearly destined relationship, she does it well. While the mystery plot is more of a procedural than a puzzle plot that won’t win any fair-play awards, in the fantasy plot Maas does a fantastic job of loading and emptying Chekhov’s Gun.
There are four other main points I want to discuss.
The first is Bryce. She is an absurd character and I am here for her. You don’t realize it when the book starts out, but pretty much everyone she knows is Somebody. Everyone. She constantly pulls the most ridiculous reveals and connections from nowhere, and just when you think you’ve seen it all, she does it again. To provide an example that readers of my blog might be able to relate to, imagine if Apollo Justice’s backstory was all in one game, and then tripled. Bryce is also headstrong and sassy. In a certain sense it feels contrived—Bryce only always has a witty retort and gets away with her shenanigans because Maas wills it. But it’s entertaining, so I give her a pass. If I read more YA fiction (HOEAB is clear and proud in what it is) and was exposed to this kind of writing more often perhaps I wouldn't have found her as enthralling, but she's a refreshing change of pace from the typical detective protagonist. (That being said, even I found a few bits repetitive. As a "fun" drinking game, take a shot every time the phrase "alpha-hole" is used.)
Second, everyone in Crescent City is beautiful. Nearly every male character gets a description of how hot and buff they are. (Descriptions of female beauty are mostly reserved for Bryce.) And it’s not that I have a problem with the book constantly sidetracking to discuss how hot and buff the guys are in itself, it's that it detracts from the worldbuilding for me. I can easily believe that all Vanir are hot and buff by our standards, but if everyone was hot and buff I don’t think everyone would be acknowledged as hot and buff, I think beauty standards would rise. If everyone is hot and buff, no one is. Or something.
Third, the age issue. Vanir are extremely long-lived, with lifespans several centuries wrong, but the way it works is that they are mortal and age normally until they make “the Drop” into their power, at which point their magical abilities fully awaken and their aging process either stops or massively slows. Bryce has an older half-brother, and their dynamic is as if they were only a few years apart, but he is more than half a century Bryce’s senior. Hunt is literally ten times Bryce’s age. They all look and act like young adults, but in reality there are massive age gaps between them. Sure, Bryce is an adult herself, but there’s still something weird about someone in their mid-20s getting with someone in their mid-200s.
Last, as promised, the sex scenes. Or lack thereof. There are some sexually explicit passages, but there’s no actual sex in the book, and it feels a bit weird to go there if you’re not going to actually go there. Apparently Maas has an “audience” that would perhaps get upset if they were not satisfied, but if you're going to have this type of content, is it really worth doing half-baked? There’s one sex scene (which is the closest they get to full intercourse) where one character has a giant gaping wound, but that just makes it gross. The final “sex” scene also feels tonally dissonant and out of place. The climax (pun not intended) of HOEAB is about belief, perseverance, sacrifice, and deep, platonic love. It’s powerful and moving. And then in the next, closing chapter Bryce grinds against Hunt’s engorged cock. While the message of the book is about love and emotion, for some reason it chooses to conclude on lust and sex.
Despite those grumbles, as should be clear, I really liked House of Earth and Blood. Most elements range from good to great, and the merging of classic fantasy with an urban setting is unique and interesting. While HOEAB mostly sticks to well-worn paths, it does so with style and skill. I’m curious about what happens to Bryce and Hunt, but the books are long, and apparently the sequel starts crossing over with Maas’ other series, and I’m not sure if I want to get invested in all that, so maybe I’ll just read a summary online in a few years. For what it’s worth I enjoyed my time in the House of Earth and Blood, and can easily recommend it if you find the urban fantasy setting interesting.
No comments:
Post a Comment