Broken Harbour (+ a bit about Teen Wolf)

[ninety6tears]

So I totally finished this a while ago and then never talked about it?

She can't write a book I won't love, and this one was supposed to be such a hard sell for me too. It had a couple issues for me and is probably my least favorite of the series (even as I find it difficult to rank her novels because they all feel so different from each other) but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I got invested in it. Scorcher is such a difficult character to like I don't think I would have gotten past the first couple pages if I wasn't already Tana-initiated, but by the end, regardless of how much I liked the guy, I felt for him a lot and I actually think it's the most complicated characterization she's pulled off since the first book. I find it hilarious that Frank Mackey's more long-winded and much funnier explanation for the nickname is somewhat contradicted by Scorcher himself, either out of pride or because he never realized the joke at his expense - I could see it being either way. (However Scorcher did not say "Goal!" even once during the novel, and I can easily believe that Frank is prone to exaggeration.)

The beauty of this novel, for me, was that we had an opportunity to see how Tana can develop a relationship as it's beginning, in all the little subtle ways; in In the Woods we only get a few pages of Rob and Cassie's blossoming friendship before it skips to them having known each other a couple years, in The Likeness you almost couldn't imagine there was a time when the grad student group had barely known each other, but she does just as well of making the potential for companionship a very poignant thing. Richie was an essential character because he added a more human dimension to Scorcher; I really liked how he took care of Richie balking out of the post-mortem, and I liked how Richie could take Scorcher's occasional macho b.s. and still come back sharing sandwiches and breath mints and not letting other people at the office talk crap about him.

I'm beginning to realize that if I objectively consider which of French's novels are the most tragic, that doesn't really add up to the ones I find to be the most sad; Mackey has a very, very bad week in FP but by the end I thought it was her most hopeful book. This case on the surface doesn't break into the main character's personal life as much as a couple of the other ones, and yet this novel manages, I think pretty deftly, to be about the very precise destruction of a person's way of coping with the world, and that is a very daunting and heartbreaking thing to convincingly accomplish. And I felt that there was far less closure at the end than with her other novels; he hopes, but has no idea, whether he'll find a way to feel safe again. The almost-partnership crushed me pretty hard - that kid broke his fucking heart, for real - though there was at least some closure there: I think it was mostly out of bitterness that he was willing to tell Richie that yes, they would have been great together as partners, but at least he said it.

A few complaints:

-The assortment of quirk in this one was just a little overdone for me? I mean for the most part she writes such realistic characters that it makes sticking in a character like Cooper work for some effective dark humor; but here we had a larger dose of Cooper's snobbery on top of the flamboyantly hardboiled forensics tech, "Kemosabe," the stoner wildlife dude, etc. The computer guy can stay, though, since I got a kick out of Richie trying not to laugh at Scorcher for saying, "You da man."

-I don't know if I can believe the whole element of madness that led to the murders, and by that I honestly mean I don't know. I feel like it was when the daughter started thinking she saw the animal that it had gone a little too far? I know for a lot of people the plot element with the thing in the attic was way too drawn out and they got sick of reading Pat's stuff on the message boards; I actually found it to be at first really intriguing and suspenseful, even when I knew the creature probably wasn't real, and even though the second scene involving his internet drama was a lot more tedious to me I still didn't feel like it should have been cut out.

-The whole thematic motif of the book, the "following the rules" and "they did everything they were supposed to do" thing, was SO HEAVY-HANDED, it was too much like the characters were being fed lines that were like "THIS IS RELATED TO THE BIG PICTURE" in neon signs. It got to the point that I'm wondering if there's some sort of cultural element to it that I'm missing, like this is such a strong idea of what is considered the "right" thing to do in Irish society that I just don't recognize it as the way the dialogue would realistically play out. (Interestingly, there's that conversation among the Whitethorn House kids in The Likeness that touches on it in much the same way, with the idea that there's a wrong and right way to try to build your life with little regard to what is actually practical.) Anyway, it just surprised me, because it seems like most of the time French is a lot more subtle.

But generally I liked it a lot and I'm pumped to read what she comes out with next.


Aaand I finally finished S2 of Teen Wolf. It's still such a huge guilty pleasure and I'm crossing my fingers that there's oodles of fics that are better than the show, LOL. I really thought that the last third of S1/the first third or so of S2 was the best it had going; I was really more intrigued with the parts of season 2 when I had no fucking clue what was going on.

Stiles and his dad, though. They're always making me want to cry.

And I'm not really seeing anybody talk about it, but Colton Haynes apparently probably won't be back for S2? That sucks a lot. Gettin real sick of actors dropping out of shows for fuck sakes.

Comments

[afallenseraphim.livejournal.com]

My God has that show got to be the guiltiest guilty pleasure I have. It's so heinously bad at times, but it's MTV so I'm totally grading on a curve already, but I just can't not watch it now. (If only so I now have context for all the Stiles/Derek slash fic and art - and that one tumblr page- my friend used against me to get me to watch it. On that note, I can assure you that there is quite a number of very good fic for this fandom, even if I could really only recommend any for that particular pairing.)

Oh Stiles. I would watch it just for his pretty, pretty eyes. So adorkable, he needs that very specific broody and damaged an Alpha to tap that and tap it fast.

Also, I can appreciate this show on a level that I actually appreciate Supernatural on, too, which is that the writers are actually very in tune with the fanbase on a 'we are aware of fanfiction, and slash, and use it in casual conversation at conventions. Also, we love fanart. We have it on the wall in the brainstorming room' sort of way. Basically, I'm saying that fanservice humor and self-awareness on part of the writing team in a show like this is totally a bonus point in my book. Also, Sterek gets brought up a lot at conventions, and this could be rumor but the creator I think has even said he's not against the idea somewhere down the road? Yeah. Guilty pleasure that I'm slowly losing the guilt over because, hell, you may not be the best but you're not the worst, and the kids sure do love you, so pave the way Teen Wolf. Pave the way. Because Kirk/Spock and Dean/Cas need that green light like whoa.

[ninety6tears.livejournal.com]

I know that the creator has confirmed that Stiles is definitely bicurious if not bisexual (which I thought was made fairly obvious with some of the bits with Danny, but you never know when the writers are going to claim that it's just pseudo-flirting played for laughs or whatever), so you never know where they might go with that. I don't feel like I ship Derek/Stiles yet but some authors I really like have written it so I'm probably screwed, LOL.

[scifishipper.livejournal.com]

I agree with much of what you said about Broken Harbour. It all fell apart for me in the third act because I found the crime and the psychological underpinnings to be so exceedingly rare and unrealistic that I rolled my eyes and simply gave up. I really did like Scorcher's disillusionment and his need to resign. That was excellent and in keeping with his obsessive need to be at the top of his game and on the RIGHT side of morality. He was so right in thinking, he'd just do it again. He would. Once you cross that line, you're crossed. That I really enjoyed. Poor Richie, he was a great character who made a rookie mistake. Poor guy. I liked the addition of Scorcher's sister and his shame about her and unwillingness to let anyone in on his personal life. If he had, the whole problem might not have occurred.

Overall, my least favorite of her works, but still a lovely read and, like you, I'll read anything by her. :)

[ninety6tears.livejournal.com]

He was so right in thinking, he'd just do it again. He would. Once you cross that line, you're crossed. Yeah, I remember sort of predicting towards the end that he would end up quitting, because so much of what the job meant for him was falling apart. And the sad thing is that planting the evidence was all about trying to save somebody's life, and it's hard to see anything dirty about that, but he knew it wouldn't be the last time and that just couldn't be who he was. And I found it really interesting that he and Richie end up on opposite sides of this issue that's about doing your job right regardless of what the consequences are later on, but when it comes down to it, he was just as willing to break the rules once he felt he had to, he just had more clarity about what it meant within the profession.

[cosetteferaud.livejournal.com]

Ah well, pretty much the same feelings! It’s without a doubt a good novel, but as I told you before, it’s my least favorite (I have no problems ranking them ;): In the Woods ≥ The Likeness > Faithful Place > Broken Harbor. Though I think her best book, objectively, is Faithful Place). I think the reason I didn’t like it as much as the previous ones has nothing to do with the mystery and the overall plot (At this point I am pretty much OK with anything she comes up with as far as cases are concerned –they are never the point). But the protagonist, on the other hand… I sympathized with Scorcher and rooted for him, yes, but he’s a character that l just can’t love completely. I haven’t given him as much thought as I gave to Rob, Cass or even Frank, but there were a couple of things characterization-wise that felt a bit off. I was ok with him deciding to quit the force in the end, because he had crossed that line and that was the only thing he could do to not end up despising himself, but I don’t quite get why that case and that family in particular, being Mick such an experienced detective, hit him full force. Why he was almost blinded by the idea of protecting the Spains’ reputation. Yeah, THEY ALWAYS DID THE RIGHT THING (lol), and Mick was not in a good place, with his sister and memories of his childhood, but still, I felt it didn’t ring quite true, for someone who had been capable of functioning by his force of will for so many years, the way he lost it.

Predictably, my favorite aspect of the book was the “love” story between Mick and Richie. Some of the best passages, for me, centered around their interactions and Mick’s longing for a partner. And the interesting thing is that we actually get it, we get what he craves, not only because of the way Mick describes it but because we remember a partnership that was almost magical, between Cassie and Rob. So the way things ended between Mick and Richie left me pretty much devastated. And I feel Richie’s fate has to be the most unfair and saddest in the series :/ (I wonder if she will bring him back someday).

I struggled with the murders a lot, but the last third of the book convinced me. I mean, I am not exactly sure how, clinically, two fairly well-adjusted people like Jenny and Pat could get to a point of such extreme psychosis. It’s not very realistic, and I guess I have a fair idea about that. But the way Tana finally got there… the way Jenny explained it, I don’t know, it was long-winded I guess, but it worked for me on a basic emotional level I suppose. Besides, I am always willing to suspend my disbelief a little with Tana, and there also was that hint of a malevolent presence in that place that preyed on those in a fragile state of mind.

Also, this is the book that made respect O’Kelly. And really hate Quigley, heh. (I find him kind of cartoonish honestly, but it doesn’t bother me unless she decides to give him a book, lol).

All in all, despite the flaws, a good read. Tana is one of my favorite writers and I am totally hooked on this series –the fifth installment looks promising! Fraaaank (and Stephen), yay!

[ninety6tears.livejournal.com]

When I'm going with my gut I think I would rank the books the same way you do, but when I was rereading TL I found it even better the second time around...and I do really like Faithful Place and can see why you would see it as objectively the best, so aside from feeling the most nostalgic about certain characters it's hard to pick a favorite for me and I change my mind a lot.

Predictably, my favorite aspect of the book was the “love” story between Mick and Richie. Some of the best passages, for me, centered around their interactions and Mick’s longing for a partner. I know, and it made me so so sad that in all his years of being a detective he never once had a partner partner, and apparently he never will have had one (I couldn't help imagining that he'd seen Cassie and Rob around a couple times and been a little jealous of the connection they had). I really didn't know going in that the book would hit me that hard, but the whole final talk between Scorcher and Richie was like Owwwww.

[cosetteferaud.livejournal.com]

Interestingly, I found both ITW and TL even better when I reread them. But ITW remains my personal favorite, I guess, because of the beauty that was Cassie and Rob's partnership -that alone makes all the difference for me. I haven't reread Faithful Place, and I really feel I should do it. Maybe when I am done with all this annoying stuff that keeps me busy these days!