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Book Review: Blood Oranges by Caítlin R. Kiernan writing as Kathleen Tierney
Title: Blood Oranges
Author: Caítlin R. Kiernan writing as Kathleen Tierney /![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
greygirlbeast
Published: New York: Roc, 2013
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 253
Total Page Count: 130,063
Text Number: 380
Read Because: fan of the author, purchased new from Powell's Books
Review: Siobhan Quinn is a monster hunter, if you believe the hype—accidentally, incidentally, but at least it allows her to support her heroin habit. But when Quinn is bitten by a werewolf and a vampire in a single evening, she's cured of her addiction—and stranded neck-deep in a whole new world of trouble. Blood Oranges is an utterly successful parody-cum-commentary of the urban fantasy/paranormal romance genre, but not necessarily the book that I wanted to read. Quinn's voice leaps from the page, abrasive and compelling; it drives the book, gritty but not grimdark, humorous without levity, suffused with unscripted energy. Rather than inverting urban fantasy's standard tropes, this cuts through them: a merciless mockery of their limitations that's overlaid with a desire for something as simple as convention. Blood Oranges makes apt use of a pseudonym, because this is a departure for Kiernan: it's fast, hard, and angry, plot-driven, looking outward with an eye for parody. Kiernan is one of my favorite authors; Tierney has a different focus, and it's not one that particularly interests me. Blood Oranges is utterly successful in what it sets out to do, and I recommend it and appreciate it intellectually, but I took no particular enjoyment in the book.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
Author: Caítlin R. Kiernan writing as Kathleen Tierney /
greygirlbeastPublished: New York: Roc, 2013
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 253
Total Page Count: 130,063
Text Number: 380
Read Because: fan of the author, purchased new from Powell's Books
Review: Siobhan Quinn is a monster hunter, if you believe the hype—accidentally, incidentally, but at least it allows her to support her heroin habit. But when Quinn is bitten by a werewolf and a vampire in a single evening, she's cured of her addiction—and stranded neck-deep in a whole new world of trouble. Blood Oranges is an utterly successful parody-cum-commentary of the urban fantasy/paranormal romance genre, but not necessarily the book that I wanted to read. Quinn's voice leaps from the page, abrasive and compelling; it drives the book, gritty but not grimdark, humorous without levity, suffused with unscripted energy. Rather than inverting urban fantasy's standard tropes, this cuts through them: a merciless mockery of their limitations that's overlaid with a desire for something as simple as convention. Blood Oranges makes apt use of a pseudonym, because this is a departure for Kiernan: it's fast, hard, and angry, plot-driven, looking outward with an eye for parody. Kiernan is one of my favorite authors; Tierney has a different focus, and it's not one that particularly interests me. Blood Oranges is utterly successful in what it sets out to do, and I recommend it and appreciate it intellectually, but I took no particular enjoyment in the book.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.