| Subcategories |
 |
Science Fiction & Fantasy |
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
The Literacy Bridge - Large Print - Hawksong (The Literacy Bridge - Large Print)
written by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Studio : Thorndike Press
by Thorndike Press
Publisher : Thorndike Press
Released : 2005-01-10
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9780786271795
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 1 review)
List Price : $21.95
Our Price : $21.89
|
|
| |
|
Product Description |
|
The Kiesha'ra: Volume One An ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers Danica is an avian shapeshifter, and her golden hawk's form in the sky is as natural to her as her human one on land. The only thing more familiar to her is war: It has raged between her people and the serpiente for so long, no one can remember how it began. All they know is hatred, fear and bloodshed. And Danica is tired of it. Available only in The Literacy Bridge 5. |
| |
|
| |
|
Doesn't fly |
Amelia Atwater-Rhodes at her best is mediocre, and "Hawksong" is probably her best book thus far. Having temporarily abandoned her melodramatic vampires, Atwater-Rhodes draws on the most popular works of Shakespeare and Laurell K. Hamilton. The result flies as well as a snake.
Danica Shardae is the heir of the avian (bird) shapeshifter throne, which is at war with the serpiente (snake) race, and has been for many generations. After the death of one of the serpiente heirs, his sister Irene Cobriana appears at the Hawk's Keep to ask for peace talks in the land of the Mistari (tigers). Reluctantly, Danica's mother accepts.
But when they arrive, the heir Zane Cobriana makes a strange offer to Danica: Peace can be achieved if they are married. (Or, as Atwater-Rhodes puts it, he chooses her as his naga and she chooses him as her alistair) Reluctantly, Danica agrees -- but her mother does not. As they plot secretly to wed when both are declared rulers of their people, strange assassins lurk in the shadows to somehow stop their marriage.
It's never a good sign when a book has a glaring flaw on the first page. In this case, it's the use of the masculine name "Alasdair" -- the Celtic form of Alistair -- for a female character. Not a great way to start. And it's not the first flaw -- if not linguistically, then certainly plotwise.
While Atwater-Rhodes has smoothed out some of the flaws of her earlier writing -- such as zooming fast to the finish -- it's still too self-conscious, too formulaic, and too lacking in real emotion. The revelations about the assassins (who act like four-year-olds) are awkward and stilted, as if she merely got tired of writing and wanted to finish quickly.
"Hawksong" has a lot of the problems her previous books have: Supporting characters are paper-thin (the bodyguards, fussy in-laws, and flaky seamstress most notably). Everyone is gorgeous. Every nonhuman has some outstanding characteristic like weird eyes. Nobody falls in love because they want to, just because she feels the need to include a love story. All attractive men give off a sexy-danger vibe and move gracefully. And she spends a lot more time thinking about cool names for different stuff than she does making the characters worthwhile. (It wouldn't have detracted from the book if she hadn't fussed so much with all the different terms for a spouse)
While Danica is thankfully not the tough-girl caricatures present in Atwater-Rhodes' last three books, she's pretty dull. She doesn't have much motivation to suddenly take mercy on Zane's brother, supposedly the defining moment of her characte; she never acts, only reacts. And Atwater-Rhodes doesn't let readers see into Zane's head, because he has no depth. He smolders and sizzles a lot, then turns into a tender, sensitive, ineffective wuss, much like the male leads of her prior books.
While this stands above the prior books of Atwater-Rhodes, that's still shooting pretty low. "Hawksong" isn't so much an annoying mess as a flat, featureless, flavorless mass. |
| |
|
|
|
