A review by catevari
The Shirt on His Back by Barbara Hambly
4.0
I always have so little to say about Hambly's books...largely because they're always such an abiding and deep pleasure to read. It's easy for me to get lost in the worlds she creates and dwell inside them for their duration like a princess in a spell.
With her last book I talked about the pleasure of "seeing" old faces; characters that populate the background through most of the series. With Shirt on His Back, we are outside of New Orleans, outside of those comfort zones and among an entirely new cast of characters...and yet they aren't any less detailed or vivid than those friends we've visited before.
If I have any complaint, it's that, after the promise of something delving deeper into the character of Abishag Shaw, I feel we only know him very slightly better than before. The book's blurb seems to offer a greater glimpse than what we got...and yet, it's a nitpick, such a minor complaint compared to what's been offered in return. I always recommend the Benjamin January series to anyone I think might be in the least interested and I'm so glad that Severn House has allowed Hambly to keep writing and sharing his adventures.
With her last book I talked about the pleasure of "seeing" old faces; characters that populate the background through most of the series. With Shirt on His Back, we are outside of New Orleans, outside of those comfort zones and among an entirely new cast of characters...and yet they aren't any less detailed or vivid than those friends we've visited before.
If I have any complaint, it's that, after the promise of something delving deeper into the character of Abishag Shaw, I feel we only know him very slightly better than before. The book's blurb seems to offer a greater glimpse than what we got...and yet, it's a nitpick, such a minor complaint compared to what's been offered in return. I always recommend the Benjamin January series to anyone I think might be in the least interested and I'm so glad that Severn House has allowed Hambly to keep writing and sharing his adventures.