Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Jacqueline Carey has written a beautiful novel that is hollow at the center. The main flaw is her central character, Phedre, who spends most of her time reacting (submitting?) to events as they happen, rather than risking more to overcome increasingly negative events. In summary, a typical scene is as follows: Phedre goes to a patron, gets tied up and flagellated, has rough sex, then collects information which is used to further the plot (such as it is). Now as this is a fairly quiet novel and primarily a character study, we need to see inner conflict, hopefully manifested as outward events that are directly influenced by the character. Other than acknowledging Phedre's inherent conflict between pleasure and pain, and realizing that both drive her, we don't really learn much else about her, nor do we care. For some readers, the BDSM angle will seem "new, daring, pushing the boundaries," etc. and that's great -- if you're looking for literature that echoes your own inner thoughts or fantasies. It's just not enough to drive a character, though, and while I give Carey plus points for using beautiful language to describe what some readers might find disturbing, it's not enough to sustain a novel-length work. On the plus side, the pseudo-Europe is well-researched, crafted, and described in beautiful detail; for me it's one of the more memorable fantasy worlds to come into print recently. But a travelogue can hold attention for only so long, then readers need to see something more. For those of you on the bubble as to buying this book, I'd suggest borrowing it from your local library or waiting for the paperback, then deciding whether to spring for the hardcover. Interestingly, there seems to be a cadre of seven or eight Carey fans who downgrade any review of less than four stars, and uptick only the five-star ones. If nothing else, this should be a caution sign that you should consider carefully the bad reviews along with the good before you make your buying and reading decision.