Review: A light read.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 8, 2014
Review by Nic's wife:So, I've read a few of Sonya Dodd's other books, and have had some pet peeves with her work in the past. I'm happy to say that she's smoothed a lot of them out in The Root of All Evil. The writing flows much better, on a technical level, and there's much more subtlety to the characterizations. There's still some flaws: aspects of the story don't make sense, the PoV switch halfway through is jarring, some American characters still use UK speech patterns, and some of the subplots upset the pacing and are unnecessary to the overall plot. To be honest, that's editor me talking here.Reader me is really happy with how much more polished this was, and plowed through it quickly. It's a fun reading experience, when plot-doctor me is confined in the background to howl in the background, only. And we all know fiction is all about the suspense of disbelief. So while I, personally, was bugged by aspects of the plot, most people wouldn't notice them any more than they notice the gaps in a Vin Diesel movie plot. I'm really pleased how much Dodd's writing has come along, though I think she's got a bit to go in the details.Considering the breadth of the plot arc, I'm surprised how quickly the thing reads. I finished it in probably four hours, about half the time I'd estimated it would take to read it. At any rate, kudos to Dodd for her dedication, and the marked improvement.