A review by spryfrog
The Adept by Katherine Kurtz, Deborah Turner Harris
2.0
My initial impression of the book and the characters hasn’t changed much. They’re both serviceable, but aren’t amazing. Peregrine and Adam remain rather flat and unengaging. Peregrine hangs on Adam’s every word and is always surprised, only occasionally mustering up the will to make declarative statements. He’s a big, dumb, puppy. Adam’s take on the Bruce Wayne character –rich man with a butler who knows everything and has many secrets- comes off as bland and shallow simply because he rarely, if ever, struggles with anything. I’m not a fan of how the magic system works, but that’s just personal preference. The fact that most of it is left in mystery sure doesn’t help.
Around page 200, 210, the book started to drag and I wished we could just get everything over with. Instead, I had to read about the crew changing into weather-appropriate clothes, the butler packing the suitcases, scenes of eating lunch, and the phrase, “We’ve done enough for today. Let’s get some rest so we’re fresh for tomorrow,” and similar variations too many times to stay sane.
All of this magic, Scottish lore, the Faerie court, and psychological/spiritual mumbo jumbo for what? For a story about stealing some damn treasure. Could the end goal of the bad guys be less compelling? They’re going to perform black magic rites and necromancy for TREASURE?? C’mon! Okay, fine. The bad guys are also looking for a spell book. They’re going to do…something…with it? Bad things? Evil spells? It’s not made clear what their exact goal is other than to have it. And in the end, the bad guys have it for about two seconds before they’re torn limb from limb, so…
Another reason the plot failed to produce suspense or a feeling of urgency is that Adam, Peregrine, and McLeod are so far behind the culprits that they only manage to face danger near the end of the novel. Most of the pursuit is Peregrine and Adam looking at things: old castles, microfilm, newspapers, etc. and then Adam whipping up a magical solution to point them in the right direction.
The most interesting part of the novel comes, of course, at the end. The storm conjured up by angry faeries adds a little bit of the missing danger and suspense element. The trio’s trek to the bad guys’ castle was my favorite part and the part where the prose shines the most. I mean, it’s not really shining, per say, the rest of the time, but you get it.
Let’s take a look at the female characters. Um. What female characters? We have an elderly Lady Laura who’s Peregrine’s grandmotherly/maternal influence who kicks the bucket, a young lady Peregrine’s instantly drawn to who subsequently falls off the face of the earth, Adam’s friend who’s married to his other friend and life’s mission is to set him up with girls, and a couple of other old ladies scattered about. The only reason I’m okay with this sad lack of representation is that it kills the potential for any sickeningly annoying romance to gum up the plot. Apparently Adam’s standards for a girlfriend are so “exacting” that’s he’s been all alone all of his 40 years. *cue a single tear*
Overall, the book would've been much improved if it were 50-100 pages shorter or a just a different book altogether.
Around page 200, 210, the book started to drag and I wished we could just get everything over with. Instead, I had to read about the crew changing into weather-appropriate clothes, the butler packing the suitcases, scenes of eating lunch, and the phrase, “We’ve done enough for today. Let’s get some rest so we’re fresh for tomorrow,” and similar variations too many times to stay sane.
All of this magic, Scottish lore, the Faerie court, and psychological/spiritual mumbo jumbo for what? For a story about stealing some damn treasure. Could the end goal of the bad guys be less compelling? They’re going to perform black magic rites and necromancy for TREASURE?? C’mon! Okay, fine. The bad guys are also looking for a spell book. They’re going to do…something…with it? Bad things? Evil spells? It’s not made clear what their exact goal is other than to have it. And in the end, the bad guys have it for about two seconds before they’re torn limb from limb, so…
Another reason the plot failed to produce suspense or a feeling of urgency is that Adam, Peregrine, and McLeod are so far behind the culprits that they only manage to face danger near the end of the novel. Most of the pursuit is Peregrine and Adam looking at things: old castles, microfilm, newspapers, etc. and then Adam whipping up a magical solution to point them in the right direction.
The most interesting part of the novel comes, of course, at the end. The storm conjured up by angry faeries adds a little bit of the missing danger and suspense element. The trio’s trek to the bad guys’ castle was my favorite part and the part where the prose shines the most. I mean, it’s not really shining, per say, the rest of the time, but you get it.
Let’s take a look at the female characters. Um. What female characters? We have an elderly Lady Laura who’s Peregrine’s grandmotherly/maternal influence who kicks the bucket, a young lady Peregrine’s instantly drawn to who subsequently falls off the face of the earth, Adam’s friend who’s married to his other friend and life’s mission is to set him up with girls, and a couple of other old ladies scattered about. The only reason I’m okay with this sad lack of representation is that it kills the potential for any sickeningly annoying romance to gum up the plot. Apparently Adam’s standards for a girlfriend are so “exacting” that’s he’s been all alone all of his 40 years. *cue a single tear*
Overall, the book would've been much improved if it were 50-100 pages shorter or a just a different book altogether.