saunteringvaguelydownward's review
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
azagee's review against another edition
3.0
CW: ABUSE, RAPE, VIOLENCE, WAR
Mercedes Lackey is the Queen of expansive fantasy worlds told through several interconnected series. Each book is only a small slice of the universe, and each narrative only uses the last for its foundation to build new and relevant lore. For example, a multitude of books set in her Valdemar series have necessary and entertaining crossovers, but there is never an ounce of irrelevant rehash. Lackey and (often) Dixon never show signs of being too in love with their own world building when said world contains literal centuries of on-page lore.
The world of Born to Run was the couple's second attempt to create such a world, and the work suffers for it. The plot is stretched too thin over several characters and factions, with something like seven or eight POVs, circulating with no discernible pattern. Some lasted for chapters, while some lasted for only a paragraph or two, never really letting the reader get to know any of the characters. At one point, two minor characters are killed, something treated as a huge, war inspiring event. I... what? This may not be the first book in the universe, but if you're trying to launch a new series, give your readers more than one chapter to get attached to doomed characters.
Then again, the lack of character development is the least of the book's failings, the first being the plot itself. SERRAted Edge is a series about elves who race cars and are basically the Sidhe. But Born to Run is a book about, uh, fighting evil elves for the lives of child prostitutes? At least half of it is. The other half is recruiting an old scientist as a PR move. Two plots that have very, very little do with each other. The plot turns over from a corporation political drama to an examination on the proliferation of pedophilia in 1980's sex work with NO WARNING.
It's not even a plot that the book does well. Don't get me wrong, I don't think they book is wrong politically-- Fifteen year old girls should not be sex workers. However, there are better ways to go about this than showing us Tania, a girl whose trauma is so whitewashed that she is on the streets and turning tricks because.... her parents don't let her read fantasy novels. Now, parental abuse can come in the form of overly strict rules, yes, but this simple, trauma-free backstory seems ridiculous when compared to the fact that her two best friends are here because they were abused and raped.
I would almost accept that they simply didn't want to go that dark, but, while not being explicitly graphic, this book does include a POV that spends nearly a chapter describing all the scenarios in the snuff porn she makes, sometimes including real human deaths. The book shies from literally no other aspect of darkness, even choosing to discuss AIDs, an epidemic of the 80s that plagued both the LGBT community and sex workers.
Actually, I have a problem with the way they talked about AIDs, too. They have the audacity to bring it up, but then? Treat the people who actually have it like shit? Jamie, the male prostitute they think might have AIDs but doesn't, is actually straight-- The only ones who are implied to have it are the three prostitutes that Tania, Jamie, and Lauren share an apartment with. Two of them are gay men, who are in a romantic relationship and are physically abusive to each other. The other is a trans woman, described in really disgusting ways. All three of them are described as lazy, greedy, drug addicts. These three aren't characters: They're obstacles.
Fucking hell.
So why three stars? Honestly, because I don't know if my problems with the book have anything to do with what Lackey and Dixon were trying to achieve here. When reading, it's easy to forget the issues and take it for what it is: a 90's deconstructi9n of 80's fantasy tropes. It's a very Good deconstruction, one that is perhaps even more relevant now than it was when it was written. After all, nostalgia is running rampant.
Looking at you, Ready Player One.
It's not a very good book. So I stopped looking at it like a book, and started looking at it like a detailed plan for a handful of episodes in the middle of a tv show.
And you know what? Not a bad tv show, honestly.
Mercedes Lackey is the Queen of expansive fantasy worlds told through several interconnected series. Each book is only a small slice of the universe, and each narrative only uses the last for its foundation to build new and relevant lore. For example, a multitude of books set in her Valdemar series have necessary and entertaining crossovers, but there is never an ounce of irrelevant rehash. Lackey and (often) Dixon never show signs of being too in love with their own world building when said world contains literal centuries of on-page lore.
The world of Born to Run was the couple's second attempt to create such a world, and the work suffers for it. The plot is stretched too thin over several characters and factions, with something like seven or eight POVs, circulating with no discernible pattern. Some lasted for chapters, while some lasted for only a paragraph or two, never really letting the reader get to know any of the characters. At one point, two minor characters are killed, something treated as a huge, war inspiring event. I... what? This may not be the first book in the universe, but if you're trying to launch a new series, give your readers more than one chapter to get attached to doomed characters.
Then again, the lack of character development is the least of the book's failings, the first being the plot itself. SERRAted Edge is a series about elves who race cars and are basically the Sidhe. But Born to Run is a book about, uh, fighting evil elves for the lives of child prostitutes? At least half of it is. The other half is recruiting an old scientist as a PR move. Two plots that have very, very little do with each other. The plot turns over from a corporation political drama to an examination on the proliferation of pedophilia in 1980's sex work with NO WARNING.
It's not even a plot that the book does well. Don't get me wrong, I don't think they book is wrong politically-- Fifteen year old girls should not be sex workers. However, there are better ways to go about this than showing us Tania, a girl whose trauma is so whitewashed that she is on the streets and turning tricks because.... her parents don't let her read fantasy novels. Now, parental abuse can come in the form of overly strict rules, yes, but this simple, trauma-free backstory seems ridiculous when compared to the fact that her two best friends are here because they were abused and raped.
I would almost accept that they simply didn't want to go that dark, but, while not being explicitly graphic, this book does include a POV that spends nearly a chapter describing all the scenarios in the snuff porn she makes, sometimes including real human deaths. The book shies from literally no other aspect of darkness, even choosing to discuss AIDs, an epidemic of the 80s that plagued both the LGBT community and sex workers.
Actually, I have a problem with the way they talked about AIDs, too. They have the audacity to bring it up, but then? Treat the people who actually have it like shit? Jamie, the male prostitute they think might have AIDs but doesn't, is actually straight-- The only ones who are implied to have it are the three prostitutes that Tania, Jamie, and Lauren share an apartment with. Two of them are gay men, who are in a romantic relationship and are physically abusive to each other. The other is a trans woman, described in really disgusting ways. All three of them are described as lazy, greedy, drug addicts. These three aren't characters: They're obstacles.
Fucking hell.
So why three stars? Honestly, because I don't know if my problems with the book have anything to do with what Lackey and Dixon were trying to achieve here. When reading, it's easy to forget the issues and take it for what it is: a 90's deconstructi9n of 80's fantasy tropes. It's a very Good deconstruction, one that is perhaps even more relevant now than it was when it was written. After all, nostalgia is running rampant.
Looking at you, Ready Player One.
It's not a very good book. So I stopped looking at it like a book, and started looking at it like a detailed plan for a handful of episodes in the middle of a tv show.
And you know what? Not a bad tv show, honestly.
mallorn's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Trafficking, and Violence
urchin's review
4.0
This book was rather difficult for me to get through as the subject matter is so heavy. I don't recommend the series to anyone who doesn't want to read about child abuse, neglect, or rape. Though the series approaches the subjects with the intent to inform and shock, the graphic nature may be too difficult for some.
All in all, the fantasy aspect helps the story get told. I was also rather impressed with the information in the final pages of the book, after the tale was told, about where people could call or go to get help should they be experiencing like situations.
All in all, the fantasy aspect helps the story get told. I was also rather impressed with the information in the final pages of the book, after the tale was told, about where people could call or go to get help should they be experiencing like situations.
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