Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

It's been five years since Laurell K. Hamilton last gave us a story about Merry Gentry and her magic boytoys. So did she use that time to craft a better book? In a word: no. In several words: despite having five years to craft a magical political thriller, Hamilton has managed to craft an entire book out of almost nothing but tepid filler. Sadly, "A Shiver of Light" is less like an actual narrative, and more like a series of slow-moving vignettes where people stand around having long conversations about things that either aren't interesting or are already obvious. There are brief flashes of what could have made an interesting book -- Taranis' regained power, Doyle attacking his friends -- but they quickly sink back into the sludgy mire. Merry finds out that she's actually pregnant with triplets instead of twins, which her doctors managed to not notice until she was in her final trimester. When she starts crying for no reason, she goes into labor... and delivers her children offpage. Yes, producing three children is summed up in a single sentence, while every sexual act gets a thrust-by-thrust description. Their names are Gwenwyfar, Alistair (which Hamilton seems to think means "star") and Bryluen, all abominations of nature with two biological dads apiece and 150% genetic material. Everybody is hugely happy and delighted that Merry has had her babies, but she's worried because Taranis is convinced the babies are his, and Andais wants to see them. Even worse, Taranis has regained some of his old power and may rape her in her dreams. I know that sounds exciting, but it takes up little time in the actual story. Much of the story is about people floating around the hospital and Maeve's McMansion, having long bickering conversations about nothing. Merry also considers doing a reality show, hoping that Taranis (who is insane) would try to avoid looking bad on TV. Not kidding. Clearly Hamilton does not know anything about reality TV or realize that it's all scripted and filled with fake feuds and crises. There is also weight-lifting. And evil tall thin blondes for us to despise. And oral sex. And paparazzi lightly annoying them. And talking to Andais through the mirror. And Merry playing Jesus in the desert. And Merry crying for no reason. And a major monarch being deposed somewhere else. And sitting around in a hospital talking. And talking. And talking. And talking. Occasionally a wisp of plot shines through. But most of "A Shiver of Light" isn't even really a narrative -- it's a sequence of vignettes, where people talk about the same subjects over and over. Sometimes Merry just sits and THINKS about huge chunks of backstory, before settling into another chapter-long conversation about how Taranis is insane or Andais is a meaniepants. The saddest thing is that there are some moments that are genuinely tense, mostly Taranis invading Merry's dreams. But the crises are solved in a few pages, and the characters just seem bored and indifferent afterwards -- even after a major character is unceremoniously bumped off, it feels lifeless and slow. There's no tension! And that applies to almost all of Hamilton's writing here -- bored and indifferent. Her formal, ye-olde-style language tends to be awkward and hilariously pompous, and it's littered with bad dialogue ("Come to me, Meredith, but take my hand, and we can step out of this dream"). And Hamilton constantly hammers us with her Wiccan beliefs (it practically qualifies as religious fiction) and fortune-cookie nuggets of "wisdom" ("It is not where you begin, or what gifts you begin with, but what you do with them that matters in the end"). As always, Merry is tediously perfect in everything, but has no actual personality of her own except a few bitter jibes and a lot of whining. In fact, she does little here but worry, cry and bestow condescending blessings. Most of the men around her are pretty forgettable, and only the scenes with Sholto feel like there's any real affection or passion there -- we're told that she has "true love" with Frost and Doyle, but none of that actually comes off the page. And not only is she an obvious Mary Sue (she actually has people PRAY to her!), but we're repeatedly informed that the way to effortlessly challenge and overturn two vast ancient magical kingdoms is... love. Love. Love and sunshine and puppies and flowers and all things Disney. It's actually kind of nauseating. "A Shiver of Light" is a hideously disappointing addition to the Merry Gentry series. Aalmost all authors could craft a decent book if given five years to work on it, but Laurell K. Hamilton churns out a giant, oozing lump of concentrated filler.