UF/Horror Challenge - Dragon Wytch

[naomi_jay]

 

I'd sworn off the Otherworld/Sisters of the Moon series after Darkling, not because I didn't enjoy it, but because I couldn't face the thought of another book narrated by Camille. She's a pretty obvious Mary Sue, and I didn't think I could deal with yet another book where all the men drool over her boobs and she waxes lyrical about her wardrobe and how sexy she is. If the series only focused on Menolly and Delilah, I'd be sold on it, but Camille is the fly in the ointment. And then I read Night Myst, and although I think it suffers from a lot of the same issues as the Otherworld books, it was a fun read. So I decided to take a chance on Dragon Wytch.

It's been a good year or so since I read Darkling, so I'd forgotten a lot of the political back-and-forths going on in the novel. The brewing demon threat, the war in Otherworld, the problem facing the sisters on Earth... It was all a bit of a mess to me. That's not a critique of the writing but my admission that I probably missed a lot of things because of the gap between books. A lot of the names confused me as well; I was nearly done with the book before I'd straightened out all the elfin queens from the places they lived. And then it turned out there was a glossary at the back of the book, so I could have just read that and been fine.

Anyway. Camille's Mary Sueness is actually toned down in this book as the stakes go up. The sisters are struggling to fight off threats on every side, and they doubt their abilities to fight alone. Luckily their list of allies grows in this book - unicorns, pixies, fae queens... they're all lining up to join the fight. Camille binds herself to lovers Morio the fox-demon and Smoky the dragon to boost her magic, and gains a valuable gift from the Crown Prince of the Unicorns to help further. Despite that, the book is grim in places and there are no promises of a happy ending in this volume. So from a story-telling point of view, this was a good book: plenty of twists, lots of danger. Great!

That said, Camille is still my least favourite sister. Menolly is far more interesting, and Delilah is more sympathetic. Camille may be the leader of the sisters, as the eldest, but she's the least likeable as far as I'm concerned. A woman who decides it's fine if her sister's boyfriend flirts with her because "it's safe," is a dubious one to me. I don't hate her or anything, but every time I finish an Otherworld book, the thought of reading the next kind of makes me go "ugh," because I'm going to have to read about Camille and how fabulous she looks and how strong she is and how sexy she is and how insatiable she is and how big her boobs are and it's quite tiresome.

So, it's a fine book but it's not a keeper. If I come across the rest of the series at a discount or something, I'd probably pick them up, but I'm not really sold on the series.

 

2 / 24 words. 8% done!

Comments

[dwg.livejournal.com]

Is it irrational or knee-jerky that I immediately start twitching over the use of "wytch" in the title? Because, no. Please don't. I'm good with oldtimey spellings in moderation, but this is not one of them.

[naomi-jay.livejournal.com]

God no! One of the reasons I've been leery about Galenorn's books is the whole "y instead of i" thing, since she does it a lot and it just hurts my head. I find it incredibly pretentious.

[tezmilleroz.livejournal.com]

Same here!

I think I read Darkling in full, and tried to read the first two, but ach! Camille is annoying, and the focus on her boobs leads me to believe that she has no personality, so the fact that she's in a poly relationship leads me to believe that the guys are only in it for the boobs. Or is this a massive oversimplification? ;-)

Also don't like how patronising Camille & Menolly are to Delilah. Or maybe that changed later in the series, so I didn't read them treating her like an adult.

[naomi-jay.livejournal.com]

No, that's pretty much it. I can't fathom any particular reasons everyone fancies Camille so much beyond her physical appearance. She's a bossy nag, which I'm sure suits some men, but surely not all of them?

And yep, they're still patronising Delilah.

[craving-vintage.livejournal.com]

She's a pretty obvious Mary Sue, and I didn't think I could deal with yet another book where all the men drool over her boobs and she waxes lyrical about her wardrobe and how sexy she is

I read a short story on the three sisters and that's the exact reason why I didn't bother starting the series.

A woman who decides it's fine if her sister's boyfriend flirts with her because "it's safe," is a dubious one to me

Seriously? shakes head

[naomi-jay.livejournal.com]

I know! I can't imagine my friends' partners flirting with me and me deciding, "well, better me than some stranger, right?"