Broken (Kelley Armstrong)

I quite enjoy Armstrong's series of fantasy/horror books, set in a world where witches, vampires and werewolves live undercover among humans. Broken is a book set in the werewolf family we've met before. I really like Elena and the pack of werewolves, and Elena's pregnancy storyline runs concurrently with a little problem of a time hole and Jack the Ripper. I wasn't heavily involved with what was probably intended to be the main storyline, involving a rogue wizard, but I really enjoyed Elena's storyline - I love her relationship with Clay. A fun read.

Widdershins (Charles de Lint)

I really love the world de Lint creates, but sometimes I find that I don't connect with his characters. I'm not sure why. He's brought to life such a magical, crazy city in Newford, I find it kind of frustrating that I don't get completely involved with his characters. For example, in Widdershins, one character dies, while another falls down screaming next to his remains. Instead of being stunned and shocked like I am while reading other novels, I just kept going, thinking, "Eh, I'm sure something'll happen to fix it all up," and lo and behold, it does.

Perhaps that's the problem - death never really seems final in these books. And so because I don't believe anything really bad can happen to the characters - they always manage to avert all problems - I can't be truly involved in their lives either.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Widdershins - but it wasn't the visceral delight that Talyn was, for example. And yes, they're very different stories, but I should be as deeply involved in every book as I was in Talyn, and I just wasn't with Widdershins. But I did really enjoy my time in it - de Lint really makes me want to find a way into the Otherworld, or at least into Newford where you might run into an ancient fairy at the supermarket. So, kind of reluctantly, 3.5 stars. I'll probably enjoy it more on a re-read - I find that de Lint's heavily populated novels (and this one was no exception, with characters coming out of its metaphorical ears) often are more absorbing when I read them a second time. And I enjoyed the resolution that Widdershins brought us for Geordie and Jilly (although I think I might have liked them better when they were tormented. Are tormented characters sometimes just more fun?)

American Gods (Neil Gaiman)

American Gods is one of Neil Gaiman's later novels, published in 2001. Like much of his work, it's contemporary dark urban fantasy, weaving mainly Norse mythology into the modern world.

If you've never read any Gaiman - when I say dark, I mean dark. The world he writes about is often filled with betrayal and horror, but it's terribly beautiful and fascinating as well.

This is a well-crafted story, with a fascinating plot - what you expect from Gaiman. However, it's also stuffed with details - almost too many details for me, as I enjoyed it much more when I read it the second time. But enjoying something more the second time is not a terrible flaw, and I like this book very much. It doesn't sizzle with sheer brilliance, but it's a great read.