Guardian of the Dead (Trade Paperback)
by:
Karen Healey (author)
Format: paperback
ISBN:
9781741758801
Publish date: 2010
Publisher: Allen and Unwin
Pages no: 348
Edition language: English
Another earnest novel, but with enough plot (and thoughtful characterization) to balance out its more lecturey moments. The writing occasionally rose above serviceable to reach something numinous, particularly in the descriptions of how the world looked to those who could see myth overlaid on realit...
If you don't live in a very small, part of the world that - on the whole - consumes mass culture rather than produces it, you have no idea the pleasure of simply reading a book that speaks with your own accent. That uses local words for local things. That knows what it's like getting out of bed ever...
It's a bit like the author looked at everything she disliked in fantasty/horror and wrote against it, successfully. This is a creepy book with great characters and good pacing. Looking forward to her next book, due out this year.
Well, this might as well have been written for me. Boarding school, Maori mythology, evil fairies and a production of a Midsummer Night's Dream. I enjoyed every bit of it, including the uncommon heroine.
2.5 starsI really appreciated how different it was, being set in New Zealand, using the Maori mythology, etc.It made for a very interesting read that maintained my interest, but sadly I did not really connect with any of the characters. They were real enough, I just did not know them. They were not ...
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 by Karen Healey, now listed on BookLikes)