Review: A too long review of a very good book...
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 23, 2011
This is the review I posted on Goodreads and my Bitchfactor 10 blog:My word! I loved this book. I had no idea what I was getting into when I "borrowed" Space Junque and Spiderwork. I certainly wasn't prepared for Bleeder, the third installment in tLK Rigel's Postapocapunk (love that name!) series.Ok, if you follow my reviews, you know I don't spend any time retelling the story, but try to get right to my likes and dislikes about a work.Let me start with what I didn't like...I didn't like that Bleeder did not immediately follow the action of Spiderwork (Postapocapunk #2). But that's not saying much, because I was disappointed when Spiderwork didn't immediately follow the action of Space Junque. This is a petty quibble, I know. See, I'm very invested in apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic storytelling. In my dreams (and nightmares), I frequently find myself having to deal with The End-- and I feel stories of this sort are somehow preparing me to face those challenges when the times comes, by throwing every imaginable scenario at me so I can learn what to do (and not do). Yeah, I should probably lay off the burritos just before bedtime!Ok, so my first dislike is rather petty. Are there other issues? Only other petty ones. There were many times in this story where I was a bit lost-- my olden brain can't always keep with so many characters and factions in such a (mostly) fast-moving tale. I can say, though, that by the end, I was able to keep up-- but a family tree and a glossary of terms in the end would have been most helpful.Oh, there's just one more small thing. Ok, maybe it's really a big thing. For the longest time in this story, I was not pro-Mal(lory)! I couldn't be! I just couldn't. Mal could not help the circumstances of her birth nor her upbringing. But I still found myself judging her. Take her blithe acceptance of her role as a bleeder and a chalice, once she was in the Red City. Well, that's not a 21st Century feminist perspective (which is a really amusing objection from me since I don't really consider *myself* a 21st Century feminist...hehehe). But that Mal, and her journey, grew on me. And while I wistfully longed that she would have gotten a greater sense of agency earlier in the story, I am satisfied with how she, and her story turned out.So, what did I like about this story?Just about everything else! I particularly love that the research of Nikola Tesla prominently figures into the futuristic developments in Bleeder and the two previous novellas. I thought that the story of Char's sister, Skye would ever remain a mystery to us. We get an idea of what happened to Skye and the Tesla project-- though I still want to know more details about Skye's life underground and what that life might tell us about Tesla's work and the goddess Asherah's doings. Hopefully, we'll be filled in on those aspects in the future (sequels,????)Ah, the romance! There was a sweet, sweet romance building in Bleeder, in spite of the prohibitions of the Chalice-life that Bleeders (menstruating, potential-childbearers) lead in this story. I love the world-building in terms of establishing the Chalice "hubs", as well as the princely class. The Chalices are highly sexualized, and have hardly any sentimental, romantic ideas (about men or babies... is that where our own age is leading us where sex, love and motherhood are concerned?). The commodification of female wombs and sexuality-- there's enough there to fuel book club debates for many weeks to come! So, with all that going on, how does this become a love story? You've got to read it to find out-- and it isn't as simple as you would think.The stratification of the peoples. Now that's another topic that generates a lot of thought. At the beginning of Bleeder I was disappointed that the survivors of 21st century had reassembled under such medieval ideas. They left behind the warring environmental and religious terrorists of their apocalypse and settled for kingdoms and fiefdoms? *shaking my head* Huh? Even the most benevolent royals (Edmund and Harold, for instance) are paternalistic in their rule, and are as subject to the rules of the society as monarchs from ages past. I guess I had high hopes that if there was a World War III dustup that we'd come out more egalitarian in the process(though I think that having power over technology, as two of the cities do in this story, means POWER in a post-apocalyptic world). The author doesn't fill in all the dots from the apocalypse of Space Junque to Mal's age, so we don't know exactly why things have turned out this way-- but we know the meddling of goddess Asherah and the Chalice Sisters has a great deal to do with it.Other delectable, debatable subjects in this story? How about the existence of the soul-- and spirit. What makes us "human," and what part does having a soul play in defining our humanity (or inhumanity, in some cases). What are angels? Who and/or what is god or God? Or even gods, as the case may be.The villain. You have to have a villain, right? I'm always attracted to the bad boys-- even when they are most dastardly! Garrick did not disappoint (well, until the very end...). Up to a point, he seemed a bit more complex than most villains in the paranormal romance/urban fantasy genre. I don't want to give too much away, but "crazy" isn't usually enough of an explanation for me.Ok, this review is almost as long as the novella Space Junque, that got this all started. Quickly, the various characters really appealed to me-- the "hubbies," the Counselors and KP's, the Pala Clan, the Empani (how creepy are they, eh?) The settings were vivid and it was a little reassuring that some of the places of our time (perhaps in name or landmarks, only) have survived.Enough already! I could rave rave rave on about this book. One caveat, though-- read Space Junque and Spiderwork before this one-- though those books throw a lot of world-building at you in a short time. You'll appreciate the brilliance of Bleeder all the more for having started from the beginning of... The End.