Kim Harrison is a popular novelist. She has plenty of fans, bestselling books, an apparent sense of humor and she’s even won some praise from critics. More power to her. I wish her all the best. I just hope I don’t see any more of her books.
Ever After is Harrison’s most recent fantasy from The Hollows series about a character named Rachel Morgan who is some kind of magic demon or other. I didn’t quite get that straight, or maybe I just couldn’t keep my eyes open long enough to find out. Yes, this is one of those books. The kind that appeals to very few beyond the teenage crowd trying to hold over their thirst for romantic fantasy until Stephenie Meyer throws the world a new bone.
Harrison has won kudos for writing with humor and self consciousness, but there is little evidence of that here. Her characters are teenagers inhabiting the roles of magical creatures, and their thoughts are not much deeper than that notion. In fact, it was hard to ever find much real emotion in Ever After. It was all very sophomoric when it came to the inner workings of Harrison’s characters and plot. And isn’t the point of art to find entertainment and real human experience in absolutely everything, even if it involves pixies and magic?
Speaking of fantasy, this is another aspect of the novel that surprisingly fails. Despite Harrison having an existing world at her disposal to wow her readers with, there was very little wowing involved. In fact, many fantastic elements in the novel feel dry and uninteresting. It’s a disappointment since that is the one place that this novel should have succeeded.
And now to you three readers still sticking it out, I know what you’re thinking: But, Mr. Leeman, what is this novel about? Well, let me tell you: I haven’t the faintest clue. Something about our main character having to team up with a snotty magic guy named Trent to save her friends or the universe or another universe called the ever after. I don’t know. It was all quite confusing. Let it also be said that anyone unfamiliar with the preceding novels in this series will be incredibly lost because the author does little to help bridge that confusion.
Perhaps I just didn’t get it. Many people seem to. This review will not impact the success of Ever After because I don’t think teenage girls read this site as often as the average Twilight fan page. Good luck to them and this fantasy author. Next time, I think I’ll sit out while they all have their fun.
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