The Language of Bees

The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Hmm, this is making me think about series structure.

Translation: I actually read this book in late April/early May, which is not so long ago as the crow lives, but which is roughly twenty years in law school finals time. So I forgot most of the things I actually thought about the book. Shut up.

This is book nine of a series, and part one of an inset duology. And the thing is, I love series fiction. My absolute favorite books are actually favorite series, because there’s just so much more room to make a universe I want to devote brainspace to. And when you read as fast as I do (hint: like a jackrabbit) a series can be like a long, perfect road when you know you won’t stop if you don’t have to, and thank God there’s lots, so you don’t.

So I love development and momentum and nonlinear series orders and series with a plan. This series, as a general body, has all those things.

This book, though. It’s really good, actually, all conspiracies and uncertain loyalties, and a subtly running thread about Russell trusting her instincts. But if I had read it a year ago when it came out, without the direct sequel in hand? *shakes head*. It’s not the cliffhanger, though there is one. It’s that it’s only half a story in the spiritual sense on top of the literal. I got to the end of this book, and thought, “yeah, cliffhanger, whatever, but why do I feel like I was going hand-over-hand along a rope that suddenly got cut?”

I think it was because this book is only half the story, thematically. There’s some beautiful work done here on the back of the surrealist art movement, talking about madness and sanity, but it doesn’t really connect up until you read the sequel. This is a book about madness, that is a book about – well, about a kind of sanity. And if I’d waited a year, I’d be rating both books much lower because I remember a lot of things, but I wouldn’t have remembered my exact place in this pattern.

So a clever, unusual series structure, potentially defeated by publishing schedules. News at 11.

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The God of the Hive

The God of the Hive by Laurie R. King


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Second half of an inset duology, where Sherlock Holmes and wife face the threat lurking behind recent familial turmoil.

A disappointment. Look, I enjoy these books as transformative works, and as mysteries (which is rare for me). This installment was not a mystery, it was a thriller, with all expected stupid POV tricks and general limpness. There was actually one of those awful sections where we’re supposed to believe Russell is unknowingly knocking on the villain’s door with a dramatic chapter break and switch to villain POV, only to discover pages and pages later that they were at separate addresses. I mean, really? This is not what I read about Sherlock Holmes for, thanks.

This book also shuffled the emotionally engaging plot thread – Irene Adler’s son – almost entirely offstage and replaced him with your standard issue cardboard creepy villain POV while our heroes wander around trying to figure out who he is. Yawn. I don’t read thrillers for many reasons, and this book demonstrates about seven of them.

Positive: Russell contemplating imminent arrest and wondering if they let you have books in prison. Oh Russell, I love you.

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