Review: Not Much Fight in This One
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 12 10, 2012
Many years ago, when the TV show "Dallas" was all the rage, I would sit in the living room with my parents nearly every Friday evening and tune in to a prime-time soap opera that featured such characters as the conniving, villianous J.R. Ewing; his morally upright brother, Bobby; J.R.'s long-suffering mother, Miss Elly; and Cliff Barnes, J.R.'s mortal arch-enemy and provocateur extraordinaire to the Ewing clan.For those of you who either do not remember the series or only watched it on a casual basis, "Dallas" revolved around the oil business and its various magnates. The Ewings were usually at the apex of the Texas cartel; everyone else, such as the Barneses, the Wentworths and the Driscolls served as the foil, depending upon the storyline's progression and the inevitable cliffhanger at the show's hourly conclusion.Every season there would be two major social events that were the talk of the Lone Star State: the annual Oil Baron's Ball and the Ewing barbecue. These were fun as all get-out to watch because, invariably, there would be a verbal confrontation between J.R. and Cliff, followed by the inevitable brawl.Good clean fun, I always say. (Ahem.)In Sandra Ross's "The Yielding: Wild Cats Part 4," the aforementioned Ewing-Barnes feud is a parallel backdrop to the confrontation between Nickolas and Chezaro Foreone. Nickolas and Chezaro are both shapeshifting panthers whose mutual longstanding hatred erupts into a full-scale donnybrook outside the ballroom bathroom, complete with the prerequisite snarkiness and physical foreboding as exemplified by Chezaro's goons, who seem to appear from out of nowhere.Ross is a natural raconteur. Her ability to tell a good story is evidenced by her prolific writing skills, in addition to her strong writing style. She creates characters who gradually become more complex and epitomize the human experience---totally imperfect; emotionally stunted at times; covetous of other people and things that they may not necessarily be able to have.Nevertheless, this latest installment in the "Wild Cats" series left me a bit cold.I like a good story as much as anyone else who enjoys reading. "Wild Cats" has been an enjoyable series due in part to the author's ability to create and maintain the numerous plots and sub-plots that branch off of one another. The storyline is fairly well-developed, but the characters seemed a bit rushed and almost came across as stock stereotypes straight out of Central Casting 101---black-suited bodyguards. Dark hair tied back into a ponytail. Surnames ending in a vowel. Do all nefarious types have to be reminiscent of La Cosa Nostra?One of the greatest challenges an author faces is character development---how will said protagonist/antagonist relate to their world? What is the conflict? How much foreshadowing should be used? Will there be a resolution, or will any issues carry over into a sequel? How much should the reader know of the character(s) at the beginning?Chezaro Foreone starts out to be interesting. He is certainly an ominous presence and it is obvious that he scares the bejeezus out of Iliana. Having an exotic partner such as Markella for his sidekick is a nice touch, as her speaking style lacks the informality so prevalent in American society.But Chezaro's physical attributes are a bit confusing, as shown in Chapter One when he is introduced to the reader after Nickolas and Iliana emerge from the restroom: "A man stood by her side, much shorter than her. . .Mid-thirties, chubby, with dark hair already thinning. . .Long narrow face with small round black eyes and pointy nose" (Ch. 1). I don't know about you, but most heavy-set individuals whom I have met in life tend to have rather round faces to go along with their ectomorphic build. Having a long, narrow face seems more apropos for someone in need of a good meal or two.Additionally, there were several punctuation and grammar errors sprinkled throughout "Yielding," which was quite distracting. In the interest of full disclosure, I am a former English teacher, and I tend to cringe whenever said errors jump out at me as I am reading. I would expect that certain people (not necessarily the author) would have taken the time and the effort to ensure an error-free product. If the quality is there, then the effort and time put into its production will speak for itself. Rhetorically speaking, would you want to purchase something that was rushed to market, only to have it recalled not long afterwards? Think Chinese dry-wall. Or the Ford Pinto.But I digress."Yielding" is really a decent read despite the occasional character confusion. The love shared between Nickolas and Iliana is nicely tested when it is revealed that he is a murderer, and the subsequent horror and confusion felt by Iliana is both palpable and understandable. Iliana is a conflicted soul, torn between her love for this man and the fact that justice must be avenged because a cold, brutal killing happened.Ross may have stumbled a bit in this instance, but "Yielding" recovers quite nicely overall.