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Review - Runemarks
Mar. 21st, 2010 03:57 pmRunemarks (Joanne Harris)
I'm not sure why this is marketed mostly as a children's/young adult book, because I don't really agree that that's its main appeal. It's probably largely because it's fantasy. Anyway, it's definitely not a children's book, though I can see the appeal for and the reasoning for marketing it to young adults, especially since the protagonist is still a relatively young girl, especially at the beginning of the story. It's an interesting use of Norse mythology, set after Ragnarok, which gives Joanne Harris plenty of room to play. If you know anything about Norse mythology, a lot of the early reveals are really, really unsurprising -- 'One-Eye' and 'Lucky' are not precisely subtle names. If you're not familiar with Norse mythology, though, you might find it a bit more difficult to follow, so there's a bit of a trade-off there, I guess.
There's more depth given to some of the characters than others, Maddy/Modi, Odin and Loki being the main ones, really. I really enjoyed this portrayal of Loki, in particular -- a Trickster, yeah, and out to save number one, and yet at the same time sympathetic. Your mileage will vary on this one, though. I did enjoy Freyja's petulance and the reluctant courage of Sugar-and-Sack, too, and the little pieces that made up everyone's characterisations.
It's not the kind of book I ever expected to read by Joanne Harris, with the magic naked and unashamed and a distinctively different setting/time-period. It was a refreshing change. Her writing didn't suffer for it: there's something about her writing that I always find more-ish, like a chocolate digestive biscuit or something.
I'm not sure why this is marketed mostly as a children's/young adult book, because I don't really agree that that's its main appeal. It's probably largely because it's fantasy. Anyway, it's definitely not a children's book, though I can see the appeal for and the reasoning for marketing it to young adults, especially since the protagonist is still a relatively young girl, especially at the beginning of the story. It's an interesting use of Norse mythology, set after Ragnarok, which gives Joanne Harris plenty of room to play. If you know anything about Norse mythology, a lot of the early reveals are really, really unsurprising -- 'One-Eye' and 'Lucky' are not precisely subtle names. If you're not familiar with Norse mythology, though, you might find it a bit more difficult to follow, so there's a bit of a trade-off there, I guess.
There's more depth given to some of the characters than others, Maddy/Modi, Odin and Loki being the main ones, really. I really enjoyed this portrayal of Loki, in particular -- a Trickster, yeah, and out to save number one, and yet at the same time sympathetic. Your mileage will vary on this one, though. I did enjoy Freyja's petulance and the reluctant courage of Sugar-and-Sack, too, and the little pieces that made up everyone's characterisations.
It's not the kind of book I ever expected to read by Joanne Harris, with the magic naked and unashamed and a distinctively different setting/time-period. It was a refreshing change. Her writing didn't suffer for it: there's something about her writing that I always find more-ish, like a chocolate digestive biscuit or something.
