Antonia

Good concept, but a chore

Revisado: 11-25-23

Wanted a book to reas for spooky season, and.. well, let's start with what I liked about it :

1. Dash, the golden retriever and easily the best character, makes it out unscathed. In fact, two of the three stars I gave this book are due to the fact that he is never put in any real danger, which was a pleasant surprise to me, as the authors used every other cliché out there that I wouldn't have put it past them to use the dog for cheap emotional hits like horror media tends to do. Seriously, kudos for that!

2. The narrators did a good job. Sasha's voice in Harry's chapters was a little grating, but every other voice was fine and distinct, so I won't hold it against the guy.

3. The concept of a land spirit that shifts form with the season is interesting in theory -- the execution fell short, but the idea itself is a solidly interesting one.

Ok, now for the stuff I didn't like (hoo boy, here we go) :

This book is WORK to get through. By the time I got down to the last *45 minutes* I had to force myself to ride it out. So much of the writing is repetitive and so many of the descriptions drag on needlessly, and each time it happened it became more and more grating. For example, there was one point towards the end where the dialog was :

"I can see them."
"Can you see them, Sash'?"

I'm not kidding, that is the exact exchange. There are paragraphs explaining how the windows of the house are breaking, only to switch to the other character's POV and be fed MORE paragraphs about how the windows of the house are breaking. I understand that we are getting the story from two different characters but that does not mean that we, the reader, need to hear them describe or explain things over again. Especially when it adds nothing to the story and is often word-for-word.

The two main characters are the most uninteresting, two-dimensional leads I have read in a story for a long time. They somehow manage to be both bland and frustrating at the same time. Harry is like Toxic Masculinity Ken(TM), and Sasha is just his Ride-Along Cheerleader Barbie(TM) who occasionally swears, just to add a little ~spice~.

Now for the actual ghost story. While the concept of a shifting spirit was interesting at first, the manifestations were very consistent, and the characters were -- very literally -- handed am instruction guide. This means that, after their first encounter, everything just became routine for them, which means it also became routine for us. There was no real deviation in the behavior in the haunting, so there were no surprises and hardly any stakes. After a while, reading about them dealing with the spirit had about the same excitement as reading about them taking out the trash, or raking the leaves.

There were big chunks of the book dedicated to describing in detail things like grouse hunting, how Harry built his gun, various missions from his time in the military -- none of which had any bearing on the story. I get that his PTSD and military background are a huge part of his character (honestly, it's one quarter of the sum of his entire character : military background, PTSD, asshole and GOD I LOVE MY WIFE!!!! is about all he has to him), however we do not need to be painstakingly reminded of it every other chapter. I imagine that the intention of these segments were to help us relate to the characters more, but they ended up being grueling to listen to, and Harry and Sasha still felt flat. We do not need to be told step-by-step HOW Sasha mounts a horse, whe can just be told that she mounts a horse and move on. I did not want to read a book on war stories or -- as much as I appreciate Dash -- a guide on how to train a bird dog. I came for a ghost story, and would have appreciated this time being used towards building up suspense or actually making me care whether or not these people survived at all.

Finally, we get a heave dose of White Savior and Ethnic Magician tropes in this story, and thar is just corny and stale. The one Indigenous character only shows up when necessary to give our White Savior Power Couple mytical guidence and wise council, and then vanishes back into the ether. Quite frankly, the fact that the author expects us to buy that generations of Indigenous people living for generations untold on this cursed land couldn't figure out the very simple and anticlimactic way to banish this spirit, but good ol' Harry and Sasha could do it in a year is absurd. Especially considering that they were told exactly how to banish the spirit, pretty much word for word, by that same "Magical Indian" character in the first place. Cutting out the Indigenous plot line altogether would have avoided an old and tired cliché AND streamlined the story. No representation is better than bad representation.

Was this book the worst I have ever read? No. I was able to finish it, albeit barely and through gritted teeth. Not leaning so heavy on old, tired tropes, trimming some of the fat, investing more into the characters, getting more creative with the concept, heavily editing the dialog and, you know, making your horror story even just a little bit scary would have made this a very compelling read. As is, it's a waste of spooky season reading time as well as a credit.

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One of my favorite childhood books brought to life

Revisado: 08-16-20

I love this book so much. I have probably read my printed copy over a hundred times in my life, and listened to this audio at least ten times. Ms. Sterlin does an excellent job -- the narration never sounds jarring, and all the emotion is there. I will probably never take it off my phone.

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A perfect blend of the modern and traditional

Revisado: 11-01-19

Coyote Tales puts a fresh, modern twist on the traditional Diné stories I grew up with, while at the same time giving them the proper respect they deserve. It never comes across as cheesy. The voice acting was perfect. I only wish there were more books like this from this author.

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A solid followup to Wake of Vultures

Revisado: 10-19-16

Conspiracy of Ravens seemlessly picks right up where the first book in the series, Wake of Vultures, left off.

Nettie, now Rhett, continues his quest as both the mysterious Shadow and a Durango Ranger: "killing what needs to die." This time, he crosses paths with a cantankerous Irishman, the mysterious "Buck," and an unspeakably ruthless railroad proprietor with a talent for alchemy and torture.

Rhett's journey is one of justice and revenge, but it is also one of personal discovery, as he learns more about who -- and what -- he is, and what he wants. Like in Wake of Vultures, Lila Bowen gives us a story with plenty of diversity and depth, and a core group of good, solid characters who remain endearing and tenacious, even among the unsavory folk of Durango.

I was very excited to see that Robin Miles returned to narrate this book. Once again, she completely kills it.

I'll be looking forward to the next book!

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This is everything I want in a book

Revisado: 11-26-15

Firstly, it's a fantasy set in the Old West, which is a subgenre that is woefully untapped. Think Buffy The Vampire Slayer meets Unforgiven and you'll be pretty close. Nettie is an organic, layered character with a grit that made me instantly love her.

Aside from the fantastic story and writing, which stands well on its own, I also have to applaud the author for writing a protagonist who is diverse in not only race, but also gender identity and sexuality. As a person who is also a mixed Black and Native -- and thus shares Nettie's heritage and feelings of 'otherness' -- I'm glad to see Lila Bowen step away from the Cookie Cutter White Fantasy Protagonist and write someone whom I could have identified with as a teen (and still do). We need more diversity in fantasy, and A Wake of Vultures is very welcomed.

Robin Miles did an outstanding job narrating the story. Her acting and pacing were perfect, and I hope she continues to narrate the rest of the series. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

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