A review by mindsplinters
Traveling with the Dead by Barbara Hambly
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I adore the complexity that Hambly gives both vampires and mortals. Not to mention the research she's obviously put in to recreate the world of 1908 - Paris, Vienna, Constantinople - all of it lush and layered and approached with equanimity. The judgements of the locales and people come from the characters themselves, not the author. What a cast of characters, too! We have the return of James Asher and Don Simon, of course, but we also get much more time with Lydia and more vampires than you can shake a stick at - including some familar faces.
Along with the main plot which delves back into Asher's old Spy Game and the politics among the vampires themselves, Hambly layers extra side tales and allows characters to have their say. One of the things that I noticed was that, for a book with an awful lot of death and static immortality, there are an awful lot of views and takes on love. Different sides, different nuances. The inhuman who do something kind and the human who do something barbaric. What are the reasons and are they justified? It's a lot to work through and my heart broke at the end even as I reminded myself that, well, they are MURDERERS.
Good work, Hambly, you have left me a conflicted mess. LOL Though, PS, can we please start working on overriding Lydia's ingrained low self esteem from a denigrating father and society conventions? Poor thing.
Along with the main plot which delves back into Asher's old Spy Game and the politics among the vampires themselves, Hambly layers extra side tales and allows characters to have their say. One of the things that I noticed was that, for a book with an awful lot of death and static immortality, there are an awful lot of views and takes on love. Different sides, different nuances. The inhuman who do something kind and the human who do something barbaric. What are the reasons and are they justified? It's a lot to work through and my heart broke at the end even as I reminded myself that, well, they are MURDERERS.
Good work, Hambly, you have left me a conflicted mess. LOL Though, PS, can we please start working on overriding Lydia's ingrained low self esteem from a denigrating father and society conventions? Poor thing.