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The Quick (2014)

by Lauren Owen(Favorite Author)

3.31 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0812993276 (ISBN13: 9780812993271)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Random House

review 1: So, a vampire book set in the 1890s in London? It might as well have had "for Rhonda" on the cover. One of the reviews on the back cover, calls it "unputdownable." I bought it last summer and read about 200 pages and then set it down and left it for months, literally. I picked it up again a few weeks ago and finished it out of sheer stubbornness -- so much for unputtdownable. I've a whole laundry list of complaints, but the main one is the plethora of narrative voices -- some first, some third. My second one is closely related -- the shift of focus. At the start, I was very interested in the developing relationship between James and Christopher. Of course, then the narrative shifted to someone else and continued to shift until the very end (which happens abruptly an... mored leaves much unresolved). I often write on student papers "this starts and ends in different places." That is certainly the case here. Is it a story of friendship? Romantic Love? Family relations? The power of the elite? The willingness of humans to dehumanized themselves? Whatever.
review 2: Wish I could give it 2.5 stars. This book was entertaining and touching at times, but in my opinion there was far too much going on. There were many side story lines and perspectives that could have been developed, and rather than come together neatly, they complicated the story unnecessarily and left many things unresolved. I don't need everything wrapped up, but I do think the book would have been better if it focused more on fewer details. Many references to names and places weren't needed unless you know every side street of (historic) London. Also, sometimes the pacing seemed a bit off, with a lot of lead-up to comparably short action sequences. On the positive side though, I liked the importance placed on the love between siblings, as well as some of the romantic relationships. I also stayed up late reading, so at the very least it is entertaining. The ending is a bit of a doozy, and I can't decide if it is an interesting twist or kind of depressing. less

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