Heart of Stone by CE Murphy
Dec. 29th, 2007 01:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snugglekittyI love it when fantasy authors start a second series. Why? A few reasons - first, the first book in a series is quite often the best of the bunch. Second, it can give you more of a sense of what themes the author is really interested in. Third, some authors get better over time, and their subsequent series are better than their initial series (though this is hardly true of everyone). A second series can give you an idea if an author will become a favorite author, lose your affection, or simply continue to be someone that you like to read books by.
The beginning of this second series by Murphy definitely uses some similar themes to those she chose in The Walker Papers - characters of mixed ethnicity, uneasy relationships between different parts of the supernatural realms, troubled romances, the pursuit of belonging, and a quest for balance. (Joanne tries to balance her spiritual side by working with cars, Margrit tries to balance her very mental job by jogging.) Ultimately, though, I think it will be a stronger series. The main character accepts what is happening to her and takes steps to deal with it. She sometimes secondguesses herself, but not to the point of absurdity. Overall, I found her a more likeable character, and the book in general shows more maturity, in my opinion.
I thought that Heart of Stone was great. It is definitely accessible even if you have not read anything by Murphy before. It has a strong sense of place, which I enjoyed. The settings seem very real compared with her other books. I really liked that the main character is a lawyer, and spends a lot of her time playing to her strengths (ie, trying to negotiate rather than fight). It is so much more interesting than just another book with a female private investigator/police officer/librarian/bookstore owner... you know what I mean. The book is fast-paced and will keep you guessing up to the end. Murphy left a lot of room for a sequel, and I know I'm looking forward to it. Four stars.
A quick note about books in the New Year - I am instituting new tags to make my journal easier to search. In the future, in addition to "books" and "books 20XX," you will also get to benefit from tags that say "fiction," "nonfiction," and "five star."
The beginning of this second series by Murphy definitely uses some similar themes to those she chose in The Walker Papers - characters of mixed ethnicity, uneasy relationships between different parts of the supernatural realms, troubled romances, the pursuit of belonging, and a quest for balance. (Joanne tries to balance her spiritual side by working with cars, Margrit tries to balance her very mental job by jogging.) Ultimately, though, I think it will be a stronger series. The main character accepts what is happening to her and takes steps to deal with it. She sometimes secondguesses herself, but not to the point of absurdity. Overall, I found her a more likeable character, and the book in general shows more maturity, in my opinion.
I thought that Heart of Stone was great. It is definitely accessible even if you have not read anything by Murphy before. It has a strong sense of place, which I enjoyed. The settings seem very real compared with her other books. I really liked that the main character is a lawyer, and spends a lot of her time playing to her strengths (ie, trying to negotiate rather than fight). It is so much more interesting than just another book with a female private investigator/police officer/librarian/bookstore owner... you know what I mean. The book is fast-paced and will keep you guessing up to the end. Murphy left a lot of room for a sequel, and I know I'm looking forward to it. Four stars.
A quick note about books in the New Year - I am instituting new tags to make my journal easier to search. In the future, in addition to "books" and "books 20XX," you will also get to benefit from tags that say "fiction," "nonfiction," and "five star."