A review by ulrikedg
Blood of the Earth by Faith Hunter
1.0
I was pretty sure this was a spin-off when I started listening, so I was prepared to miss some nuance from the world and for a bit of exposition to set the stage. Instead of giving readers the necessary information and moving on, the author goes on and on and on about what happened before the book started. Very little of it seems NECESSARY. The conversation between Nell and Rick covered most of the important bits, throw in a bit of internal dialog, and it's all covered. Or it should have been.
On top of the excruciatingly slow start, the lack of research is jarring. The author refers to "red deer" on the land (there are five deer species in North America: white-tailed deer, mule deer, caribou, elk, and moose). Any red deer in Tennessee are escapees from farms, a fact worth noting (imagine reading about hyena or kangaroos running wild in the US without any explanation).
Nell talks about being taught to shoot, and then uses the most abysmal and unsafe methods imaginable! I know tiny 12 year olds who learned to shoot shotguns. One was so light he literally slid back along the bench he was seated on the first time he fired. It didn't leave him with a "shoulder so bruised" he "couldn't use the arm for two weeks." Anyone familiar with a shotgun would know this! If you're that bruised, it's because you weren't holding the gun properly (pull it snuggly into your shoulder, don't give it extra room to "smack" into you). If it knocked you down, you need to lean into it. If you're worried about dislocating your shoulder, you definitely shouldn't brace your back against something solid! A 3" shell will recoil more than a 2.5" shell, but there's no indication the character is abnormally tiny, and no reason she shouldn't be able to shoot a shotgun if someone who knew anything about guns taught her.
Then there's the idea that a horny dude would over look a .32 S&W revolver in her bib overalls pocket when exposing her breasts. It weighs over a pound!
At the end of chapter 3, Nell decides to sleep with the .32 S&W in her pocket, and I realized she was TSTL. DNF
On top of the excruciatingly slow start, the lack of research is jarring. The author refers to "red deer" on the land (there are five deer species in North America: white-tailed deer, mule deer, caribou, elk, and moose). Any red deer in Tennessee are escapees from farms, a fact worth noting (imagine reading about hyena or kangaroos running wild in the US without any explanation).
Nell talks about being taught to shoot, and then uses the most abysmal and unsafe methods imaginable! I know tiny 12 year olds who learned to shoot shotguns. One was so light he literally slid back along the bench he was seated on the first time he fired. It didn't leave him with a "shoulder so bruised" he "couldn't use the arm for two weeks." Anyone familiar with a shotgun would know this! If you're that bruised, it's because you weren't holding the gun properly (pull it snuggly into your shoulder, don't give it extra room to "smack" into you). If it knocked you down, you need to lean into it. If you're worried about dislocating your shoulder, you definitely shouldn't brace your back against something solid! A 3" shell will recoil more than a 2.5" shell, but there's no indication the character is abnormally tiny, and no reason she shouldn't be able to shoot a shotgun if someone who knew anything about guns taught her.
Then there's the idea that a horny dude would over look a .32 S&W revolver in her bib overalls pocket when exposing her breasts. It weighs over a pound!
At the end of chapter 3, Nell decides to sleep with the .32 S&W in her pocket, and I realized she was TSTL. DNF