Review - The Seventh Swan
Oct. 6th, 2009 03:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wilderthanThis book had an interesting idea. The story of the seven swans, and one at the end who still has a swan's arm... I can't remember any origin or location for this story, originally, but it's interesting that this version seems to be set in Scotland. It's odd, though, because there's a very feudal system, with clan wars and sieges and so on, but as well as swords there are guns... It seems a little anachronistic, although, heh -- I never got on well with history, certainly not with the little details like this.
Alasdair is intriguing at first, since you don't really understand what's wrong with him, but he gets wearing a little later on, with his whining and his constant complaints about his wing. It's understandable characterisation, but it doesn't make good reading.
Also, Fenella's little plot -- and the way everyone treat him -- as if he's supposed to think that people won't mind the fact that he has a wing. Come on, be realistic. People mind. You don't have to have something as strange as that to be made into a pariah. His own behaviour doesn't help, of course, but...
The idea was more enchanting that the execution. The characters could have been interesting -- like Ewen, in particular -- but he was so mercurial and strange at first that I had no idea how he felt, whether he really cared about Alasdair or not. The idea kept my attention rather better than any of the other components of the book.
Alasdair is intriguing at first, since you don't really understand what's wrong with him, but he gets wearing a little later on, with his whining and his constant complaints about his wing. It's understandable characterisation, but it doesn't make good reading.
Also, Fenella's little plot -- and the way everyone treat him -- as if he's supposed to think that people won't mind the fact that he has a wing. Come on, be realistic. People mind. You don't have to have something as strange as that to be made into a pariah. His own behaviour doesn't help, of course, but...
The idea was more enchanting that the execution. The characters could have been interesting -- like Ewen, in particular -- but he was so mercurial and strange at first that I had no idea how he felt, whether he really cared about Alasdair or not. The idea kept my attention rather better than any of the other components of the book.
