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juushikaTitle: Sins & Shadows (Shadow Inquiries Book 1)
Author: Lane Robins writing as Lyn Benedict /![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lanerobins
Published: New York: Ace Books, 2009
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 357
Total Page Count: 133,087
Text Number: 390
Read Because: fan of the author, borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Sylvie has had enough of the dangerous and morally compromising life of a private investigator into the paranormal, but on the eve of her retirement she accepts one more job—because when a newly minted god of justice gives you a case, you can't turn it down. Sins & Shadows is by-the-book urban fantasy but surprisingly robust, engaging most of the tropes I'd expect from the genre but refusing to rely on convention. Sylvie is as prickly and strong as genre demands, but both these traits are put under direct scrutiny and have distinct, often negative, fallout. The plot is episodic and leaves room for the required sequels, but it's expansive, due largely to the memorable worldbuilding: the routine supernatural—werewolves and witches—exists, but the paranormal reaches as far as the divine with vivid apocalyptic results. There's something cinematic in both the plot and the landscape, but Sylvie's struggles drag it back down to earth. All told, a strong showing—unfortunately, none of this changes the fact that I don't care about urban fantasy. This is well-realized example of the genre's tropes, but it's still faithful to them and they're tropes which do nothing for me. I enjoyed Sins & Shadows, and recommend it to fans of the genre, but I won't pick up the sequels.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
Author: Lane Robins writing as Lyn Benedict /
lanerobinsPublished: New York: Ace Books, 2009
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 357
Total Page Count: 133,087
Text Number: 390
Read Because: fan of the author, borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Sylvie has had enough of the dangerous and morally compromising life of a private investigator into the paranormal, but on the eve of her retirement she accepts one more job—because when a newly minted god of justice gives you a case, you can't turn it down. Sins & Shadows is by-the-book urban fantasy but surprisingly robust, engaging most of the tropes I'd expect from the genre but refusing to rely on convention. Sylvie is as prickly and strong as genre demands, but both these traits are put under direct scrutiny and have distinct, often negative, fallout. The plot is episodic and leaves room for the required sequels, but it's expansive, due largely to the memorable worldbuilding: the routine supernatural—werewolves and witches—exists, but the paranormal reaches as far as the divine with vivid apocalyptic results. There's something cinematic in both the plot and the landscape, but Sylvie's struggles drag it back down to earth. All told, a strong showing—unfortunately, none of this changes the fact that I don't care about urban fantasy. This is well-realized example of the genre's tropes, but it's still faithful to them and they're tropes which do nothing for me. I enjoyed Sins & Shadows, and recommend it to fans of the genre, but I won't pick up the sequels.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
