50 in '10: #19

[sakon76]

Title: The Black Swan
Author: Mercedes Lackey
Length: 376 pages

This is the last Mercedes Lackey novel for a while, I swear. I just ended up checking eight books out of the library at once and half of 'em were Lackey... pretty much just grabbed everything the branch had that I hadn't read before because I am so behind on my reading quota and I'd like to actually complete this challenge for once.

I spent the first third of this book hating it. It was a very narrow thing that made me pick up and keep reading it, and that was the decision to start mentally referring to Odile as Kraehe. (see: Princess Tutu) Fortunately, it started getting better after that point. The asshole Prince Sebastian improved, and so did Odile. This ended up as something of a women's lib/rights statement by the author (thank GOD Odile learned to think for herself) but it did so a bit painfully on the nose. It also (of course, and as expected given the author's predelictions) changed the story from a tragedy to a happy one. This, unfortunately, made the ending feel a bit weak to me. Though I did like the Odile/Benno storyline, which was handled with grace and subtlety.

Verdict: recommended, but be aware that it takes a while for ANY of the characters to become likeable.

Comments

[aishuu.livejournal.com]

Another of my not recommended Lackey books. ^^;

[http://users.livejournal.com/_sabriel/]

I read it before and thought it terribly boring. I liked 'The Firebird' much better, and thought her 'The Elemental Masters' series that are also loosely fairytale based more interesting.