Review: Beautiful prose with a chilling plot!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 16, 2012
[...]The Basics: I'm a Victorian junkie. Oscar Wilde is my hero. I worship Jane Austen. Dostoyevsky (okay, he's not Victorian; shh) is my god. I miss that style of writing: elaborate, ornate, precise. Katriel writes like he was born in 1820, but with a clearness that makes him understandable for any modern reader. His prose is just beautiful. The first half, especially, is exquisite. The second half of good, though the plot loses some fire once we depart from Helena's point of view and becomes a little convoluted. Still, a chilling, gorgeous read. Reminds me so much of my beloved Wilde, I could swear Katriel was inspired by some ghostly apparition of the author. I have no doubt that Katriel's career will be a strong one.Plot (3/5): The first half was quick and intriguing. I paged through it very quickly, and had to go back to admire the prose again, because I was too eager to find out what would happen! When we switch from Helena's point of view to Gabriel's, I got a little lost. The history of the Salazars is long and twisted; I had a hard time keeping it straight. Still, the actual goings-on (the investigation, the deaths) were really interesting and kept me reading.Concept (5/5): Very Victorian, in the best of ways. Alatiel is one of the "decorative poor" (a fabulous phrase) briefly worshipped, then forgotten, by Helena's friends. But she doesn't forget them. The idea of a consuming muse is awesome! The witchly family is a pretty cool connection too.Characters (5/5): Need I invoke Dorian Gray? There was so much of Lord Henry in the characters, especially Helena's friends. Basically, they're hysterical dandies full of frivolous humor, silly sayings, and total nonchalance. Dandies. They made me laugh. Helena's voice was really strong. I felt I knew her from a few pages in. I didn't feel as close to Gabriel; for me, he was more a window into the story.Style (6/5): You'll note that I rated this a six. I don't have enough punctuation to express my love of Katriel's style. Many authors focus on plot and forget that how you say it can be just as important. Not here. Katriel's phrases grabbed me from the get-go. They're ornate and Victorian, but don't worry--this won't confuse you like all those books you read in high school English. It's pretty, but very understandable. I love him for it. I want to hug this prose. Literally.Mechanics (5/5): A few typos here and there, but it was hardly noticeable. The only confusing part was moving from Helena's diary to Gabriel's normal narrative. I liked the diary bit more.Take Home Message: A flower of a book, with gorgeous prose and a chilling plot.