Tuesday, December 08, 2009

[Lisa's Take] Wolfskin - Juliet Marillier

Warning: this isn’t really a review. I read the first 2/3 of Wolfskin, then lost interest and let other things distract me. This is a rarity – usually I either hate a book and suffer through 100 pages out of obligation before putting it down, or I enjoy it enough not to keep reading to the end, faults aside. The premise was kind of boring to me (young Viking boy wants to be a Big Strong Fighter! Follow him as he grows up, meets a grey/scheming counterpart, then sails across to Greenland and meets the people there). Nothing about the book hooked me, and I only kept reading as long as I did because I was trapped on a plane with it.

Now. I see Juliet Marillier’s name ALL OVER the place. She publishes like a mofo and has a bunch of books out there. I know for sure that I have a couple of other books in my stack that were written by her. So – can one of you other fantasy lovers tell me if any of her books are more worthwhile? Unless I get a vote of confidence, I’m probably going to prune her out of my stack and move on. It just seems a shame to dismiss a prolific author who has at least a little promise without getting a second opinion.

Thoughts?

2 comments:

Rachel Dryden said...

I haven't read Wolfskin yet, though I did pick up a remaindered copy for a couple bucks and it's in my (very long) TBR pile.

But the reason I bought it was on the strength of the one book of hers I have read: Daughter of the Forest. Now that's a book I would recommend to friends, and have and do. From what I understand, the second and third books have very good romance relationships, but I can't personally vouch for that due to not having read them yet. They are only loosely connected to the first book from what I understand.

Don't know if you've ever read Robin McKinley's Deerskin, (one of my faves) but to me both books share that dark fairy tale motif, both getting quite bleak in parts, but having some really beautiful moments in there that make it all worth it.

LisaBit said...

Thanks for the info Rachel - I think Daughter of the Forest might be the other book by her in my stack, so maybe I'll leave it in and give it another chance :]