Neverwhere

Avon

Neverwhere
Neil Gaiman
1998

The Summary
"Richard Mayhew is a young man with a good heart and an ordinary life, which is changed forever when he stops to help a girl he finds bleeding on a London sidewalk.  His small act of kindness propels him into a world he never dreamed existed.  There are people who fall through the cracks, and Richard has become one of them.  And he must learn to survive in this city of shadows and darkness, monsters and saints, murderers and angels, if he is ever to return to the London that he knew."

The Good
Door is endearing and (most of the time) sweet, if only a little scary.  De Carabas is unusual, possibly dangerous, but always interesting.  And Richard Mayhew - well, you simply feel sorry for the poor sot who gets mixed up in all the madness.  Together, they have a very intriguing dynamic and an interesting story to weave.

All told, I enjoyed Neverwhere.  It has an intriguing blend of myth and urban legend, human error and horror, and a good versus evil dynamic - or, more accurately, an epic struggle for survival between good and evil, between survival and oblivion - that kept me coming back time and again.

Islington, the angel, was particularly interesting:  I wanted to know who he (or, more accurately, it) was and what he was planning and where he fit into the whole grand scheme of things.  He's an intriguing and intimidating character, and I was constantly curious to see where he would lead.

The Bad
Neverwhere was highly unusual.

Not a bad thing for the most part, but I wasn't quite sure what to make of it.  Laced with urban legends, myths, religious detritus, and horrors that can only come from the most terrifying nightmares, Neverwhere is a story that has no clear resolution.  It simply is what it is - and there's certainly more to it, but I'm just not sure what.

The Ugly
There is death involved, which is gruesome and disheartening on its own, but coupled with Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar, it's downright bloody.  Moreover, I found the world under London to be incredibly frightening.  There's something inherently terrifying about the notion of an invisible world existing beneath our own, of getting sucked into it and being completely, utterly forgotten.

Total obscurity is a frightening thing.

The Rosie Project

Simon & Schuster

The Rosie Project
Graeme Simsion
2013

The Summary
"The art of love is never a science:  Meet Don Tillman, a brilliant yet socially inept professor of genetics, who's decided it's time he found a wife.  In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which Don approaches all things, he designs the Wife Project to find his perfect partner:  a sixteen-page, scientifically valid survey to filter out the drinkers, the smokers, the late arrivers.

"Rosie Jarman possesses all these qualities.  Don easily disqualifies her as a candidate for The Wife Project (even if she is "quite intelligent for a barmaid").  But Don is intrigued by Rosie's own quest to identify her biological father.  When an unlikely relationship develops as they collaborate on The Father Project, Don is forced to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie - and the realization that, despite your best scientific efforts, you don't find love, it finds you."

The Good
The Rosie Project is an unexpectedly adorable romantic-comedy with endearing characters and hilarious situations that left me laughing.  Don is a wonderful narrator.  Socially awkward, but incredibly bright, Don weaves an intelligent and thoughtful story about the concept of friendship, family, and love.

Don is brilliant, an absolute genius, and he's such a quirky lovable character that his faults, such as they are, become part and parcel of who he is.  Moreover, he's candid, thoughtful, and oblivious to the obvious, but he's a stickler for the rules.

Until he meets Rosie.

I absolutely loved the dynamic between them - how they interact, how they manage to make the other laugh - and I loved that Rosie was able to coax Don out of his shell, that they were able to grow together in a relationship.  Don, in particular, undergoes a startling change in his efforts to help Rosie:  he's willing to break the rules and put social convention aside just for her.

It's romantic, it's sweet.  And, as they proceed with Rosie's Father Project, it's an epic adventure of comical proportions.  They get into some crazy situations (even going so far as to fly to New York City!), and they make mistakes; however, they develop and learn and discover - and, more importantly, they fall in love.

The Bad
Truthfully, I have no complaints.  Don is sometimes difficult to understand, seeing as how his IQ is rather astronomical and he's still learning "social protocols," but he's a wonderful character and an excellent narrator nonetheless.

The Ugly
Some aspects of Rosie's search are incredibly sad, such as the fate of her mother and Geoffrey Case. Similarly, Don's quest (i.e. his wife project) is silly, but sad at the same time.  Like Rosie, he's searching for a sense of belonging, a feeling of community and closeness - and love - that he's never quite felt.

It's a little heartbreaking.

Bonus: Laiden's Daughter

CreateSpace Independent

Laiden's Daughter
Suzan Tisdale
2012

The Summary
Raised by a tyrannical stepfather and harassed by her cruel half-brothers, Aishlinn has grown up believing men are scoundrels.  Her opinion is only confirmed when she is attacked by her employer, the Earl of Penrith, and must fight him off - and, subsequently, leaves him for dead.  Fearing for her life, Aishlinn flees to the Scottish Highlands in search of safety.

Injured, starved, and alone, Aishlinn is unexpectedly rescued by a group of warriors led by a man named Duncan McEwan, future leader of the Clan MacDougall.  They vow to help her and protect her from retribution from the Earl of Penrith (for they have no fondness for him), and Aishlinn must learn that there are indeed good men in the world.

The Good
I enjoyed the development of Laiden's Daughter.  The first few chapters were fairly engrossing, fast-paced with a heroine who was willing to protect herself at all costs.  Aishlinn endures a terrible childhood (her current situation isn't much better at the beginning of the book), but she has the potential to mature into a strong, thoughtful, self-sufficient individual.

The Bad
I'll be honest, I really disliked this book.  I was intrigued by the first few chapters, even if they were punctuated by grammatical mistakes and substandard storytelling, but I quickly lost interest as circumstances started to fall into place (conveniently and messily) and slogged through the rest of the book for closure.

Starting out, I rather liked Aishlinn.  She had the groundwork to become a strong, dynamic heroine, which I like in my historical-romance, but Tisdale really let me down with her character development.  After a while, her protests that she was no beauty felt like she was fishing for compliments and her decision-making skills were sorely lacking by the end of the book.

Furthermore, she seemed to waver between a headstrong, self-sufficient woman who learned how to farm, fight, and otherwise fend for herself and a demure, timid kitchen girl.  Considering the abuse she endures at the hands of her stepfather, half-brothers, and her employer, I couldn't understand why she was so naive.

I mean, she stabs a man within the very first chapter, flees from the castle in the dead of night (even with extensive injuries), and manages to escape the country; moreover, she understands hard work, she knows how to ride a horse, and she can string a bow.  She has the makings to be something great - and yet she becomes a damsel in distress waiting for her white knight to ride in on his horse and rescue her from certain danger.

I am unimpressed.

Besides which, I feel like I should point out that the story is set in 1343 in England (and Scotland, too).  Historically speaking, the English and the Scottish haven't had the most stable relationship.  If it wasn't Scotland inciting riots in a bid for independence, then it was England invading in an attempt to place a new monarch on the Scottish throne.

Not exactly the most peaceful relationship, right?

Right.  So, one would think this chaotic political and social climate might influence Laiden's Daughter, correct?  Wrong.  There are no major reprisals, no political ramifications after Aishlinn stabs one of the gentry and flees to Scotland.  I mean, even if no one actually liked the Earl of Penrith, wouldn't someone in significant power have decided it was a breach of political etiquette and reacted, even if for self-serving reasons?

Maybe, I'm nit-picking; maybe, I'm right.  Either way, I would never read Laiden's Daughter again and I would hesitate to recommend it to anyone else.

The Ugly
Don't even get me started.