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09/08/2005 Entry: "MELUSINE by Sarah Monette -- Eh (Preeti)"

Short version: I thought MELUSINE was a good story that didn't work with my reader ticks. I'm impatient--I felt like I was waiting forever for the story to really get going--and I wanted more to have been resolved in the ending. I'm not panting to read the sequel.

I read Sarah Monette's MELUSINE after seeing Suzanne's and others' take on it. It started off great. I particularly enjoyed the tour of MELUSINE through the lens of Mildmay the thief's daily life. And Mildmay himself is a charmer, really lovable. Felix, the courtier who started life on the streets, and the other viewpoint character in the book, was only initially interesting.

I think my interest in the book sharply decreased around the halfway point. I wanted more to happen, faster. By then, I didn't care any more about Felix's crappy, out-of-his-own-control life, which feels terribly cold to write considering the brutality to which he is subjected. But enough already. Felix was such a passive character in this book.

And I wanted Mildmay to move more into the center of the huge power struggles in his society. Was this too much of a "set up for really exciting future events" type of book? Because my thought upon skimming to the end was, "This is it?"

So, there were things I liked: some of the snapshots of secondary characters, the melusine episode, Mildmay's kindness and honor, attempts at tricky reveals after deflections (e.g. like hair colors, murders, probably the fraternal relationship, etc.)

I'd be interested to know what happens to Felix and Mildmay, particularly Mildmay, but the way I'm feeling right now, reading about it in a spoilery review of THE VIRTU might do me just fine.--Preeti

P.S. - I love that green-toned cover. It's like a fantasy novel analogue of a Fabio romance novel cover.

--MELUSINE at Amazon (Book 1)