Review: Oathbound

Oathbound by Tracy Deonn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book, the third in the young-adult Legendborn Cycle, succumbs to what could be called "creeping-pageism." That is, each successive book veers more and more into Brandon Sanderson-style brickbat territory, since this book is a whopping 642 pages.

Unfortunately, I don't think the ever-expanding length does the story any favors. The pacing is my major issue with this book, as so many of the scenes and conversations meander on and on for pages and don't need to. If you're invested in the characters, as I suppose I still am, you can give the book a bit of a side-eye and overlook this, but I can also envison a newbie to this series putting the book down in frustration. (Not to mention that you absolutely should not start the series with this book; it sorely needs a "the story so far" prologue. I don't know why series authors are so resistant to this.) It's not till the last quarter of the book that the story really gets going, and it took me several days to work my way through the previous three-quarters.

Which is too bad, as both the main protagonists Bree Matthews and Nick Davis go through some nice character development, and another main character, Selwyn Kane, becomes at the very least an anti-hero and possibly an all-out villain, due to a...rather frustrating plot twist in the book's final pages. The secret Arthurian society that rejected Bree, the reborn Arthur Pendragon, as their ruler, still has their racist and misogynist head up their ass, as they will not accept a young Black woman as their leader. This all seems to be setting up an explosive fourth book, but I really wish this one hadn't dragged so much to get there.

All of which is a roundabout way of saying that I didn't like this book nearly as much as the first two. I hope the series isn't getting into diminishing-returns territory, as the first book in particular was very affecting. We shall see.



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Review: Snake-Eater

Snake-Eater by T. Kingfisher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

T. Kingfisher regularly writes whimsical fantasies (when she's not venturing into gut-churning horror) with mature protagonists and dogs that don't die. This is another one of those, as close to a "cozy" fantasy as we're ever likely to see from her. (It's also got a terrific cover, depicting a roadrunner, a nasty miniature dinosaur that does in fact regularly hunt and kill rattlesnakes.)

This time around, our protagonist is Selena, a woman who comes across as somewhere on the autism spectrum or at least neurodivergent, who flees an emotionally abusive relationship to visit her aunt Amelia, who lives in Quartz Creek, a tiny, isolated Southwestern town. She uses nearly the last of her money to get there, only to find that her aunt died the year before. She does not know what to do, but a couple of the people she meets in town urge her to stay at least the night in her aunt's empty house (including her closest neighbor, Grandma Billy, who is an unmitigated delight). Selena stays the one night, which gradually morphs into more and more nights as she meets and makes friends with more people in Quartz Creek. (She does not want to return to her former partner Walter, who we don't meet until nearly the end of the book, where he turns out to be a patronizing, gaslighting SOB who Selena is well rid of.) Selena had contemplated moving on after she found out about her aunt's death, but as the days slowly slide by and she settles in despite herself, she begins to imagine making a life in Quartz Creek.

Of course, it isn't that easy. She gradually discovers there are spirits in the desert, including a little "squash god" caring for the garden she plants in the back yard. There is also a rather more malevolent spirit, the titular Snake-Eater, a roadrunner god who we discover manifested in physical form and had a relationship with her aunt. Snake-Eater thinks Selena has come to take her aunt's place, and the storyline turns into her struggle to be free of him.

Throughout, the author exhibits a sense of droll humor about all this that had me laughing out loud several times. For instance:

"He's a god," said Grandma reasonably. "Or nearly one, anyway. I've never been clear on the difference. Maybe a spirit instead, though I call him a god to be polite."

"You're saying...there's a god...in my garden." Selena hoped the words did not sound as mad out loud as in her head.

"Nothing to worry about. It's not like he's gonna be peeping at you in the shower. And if he likes you, you'll get a better crop than you might otherwise."

As the story progresses, Snake-Eater becomes more obsessed with Selena, leading to a confrontation in another world with the roadrunner god, Selena, Grandma Billy, and Father Aguirre (another delightful character, who turns out to be a were-javelina). Selena ends up shooting Snake-Eater and weakening him to the point where he won't be a bother to her or anyone else during her lifetime. She returns to Quartz Creek, looks at the home and friends she has made, and decides to stay.

There isn't any romance in this one (and may I say that I really like the author's understated, slow burn, mature romances) because it isn't necessary. Selena's entire character arc is learning to trust herself and the friends she makes in Quartz Creek, and stepping out from under Walter's--and ultimately Snake-Eater's--shadow. These are relatively small stakes, but they're no less important to the characters and the story. This is a delightful little book, highly recommended.



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