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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Overall summary: Very, very disappointing.
I really wanted to love this book. I like the concept, I love visiting the Smokies so the setting was a definite plus, and I quite like several bits and pieces in this book. But in the end... that's nearly all it was: a concept, a setting, and a few bits and pieces, mostly feeling random and not very interconnected.
The plot - well, there really wasn't much. Bronwyn Hyatt returns an injured war hero to her home clan; but beyond a few 'her? she's not a hero' comments from her nearest and dearest, and using the injuries as an excuse to re-evaluate her life some... this didn't really feature. It was pretty much entirely unnecessary to the rest of the story, which seemed to be meant to be about half revealed local politics in which Bronwyn has some part - but beyond a couple of half-hearted inferences, nothing ever came of that, either.
The characters - well, again, there really wasn't much here. Bronywyn was a little all over the place, but okay, she's just returned home after a traumatic experience (and I include the 'hero' aftermath as part of that trauma), I can cut her a little slack. She's having difficult integrating who she used to be to who she is - and deciding who she wants to be - today. This could have been an interesting piece of character development but instead it just felt like muddled characterisation, with the character forced by the plot, instead of the plot driven by the character. The villain was a one-note asshole which was annoying, but could have been made to work if you'd seen less into his mind and he'd been allowed to be a little less totally ineffective. But my biggest pet peeve in characterisation here is Bronwyn's mother, Chloe: there is a total lack of consistent characterisation here, which made the relationship between Bronwyn and Chloe - a key part of the story - a complete pain to read. How are Bronwyn and her family meant to come to any kind of believable resolution when her mother's basic characteristics change according to what Bledsoe thinks the plot needs at any give point, and not according to any kind of consistent internal coherence? She's not a character, she's a plot device for a plot that doesn't even really exist. For a character who spends so much time onscreen, so to speak, this is really unforgiveable.
There are also several subplots and strands that go nowhere -- I'm guessing the side-story with the reporter was meant to help introduce us to the Tufa, but it's pretty much tangential to the whole thing, and we don't learn anything with Swayback that we haven't learnt elsewhere. The state trooper - bad caricature, and unnecessary. (Also thoroughly dislikeable.)
But what bugged me most of all: I like the idea of the Tufa. I've no objection to an amount of mystery around a central culture of a story. But I want to feel as though the author, at least, has some direction on it... and beyond a few clumsy pointers that the Tufa equate to the Tuatha de Danaan, I don't think Bledsoe has a clue himself what comes here. It leaves me feeling as though he may already have written himself into a corner on it, despite not having really committed to anything yet, and that's just not conducive to a good story.
I really wanted to love this book. I like the concept, I love visiting the Smokies so the setting was a definite plus, and I quite like several bits and pieces in this book. But in the end... that's nearly all it was: a concept, a setting, and a few bits and pieces, mostly feeling random and not very interconnected.
The plot - well, there really wasn't much. Bronwyn Hyatt returns an injured war hero to her home clan; but beyond a few 'her? she's not a hero' comments from her nearest and dearest, and using the injuries as an excuse to re-evaluate her life some... this didn't really feature. It was pretty much entirely unnecessary to the rest of the story, which seemed to be meant to be about half revealed local politics in which Bronwyn has some part - but beyond a couple of half-hearted inferences, nothing ever came of that, either.
The characters - well, again, there really wasn't much here. Bronywyn was a little all over the place, but okay, she's just returned home after a traumatic experience (and I include the 'hero' aftermath as part of that trauma), I can cut her a little slack. She's having difficult integrating who she used to be to who she is - and deciding who she wants to be - today. This could have been an interesting piece of character development but instead it just felt like muddled characterisation, with the character forced by the plot, instead of the plot driven by the character. The villain was a one-note asshole which was annoying, but could have been made to work if you'd seen less into his mind and he'd been allowed to be a little less totally ineffective. But my biggest pet peeve in characterisation here is Bronwyn's mother, Chloe: there is a total lack of consistent characterisation here, which made the relationship between Bronwyn and Chloe - a key part of the story - a complete pain to read. How are Bronwyn and her family meant to come to any kind of believable resolution when her mother's basic characteristics change according to what Bledsoe thinks the plot needs at any give point, and not according to any kind of consistent internal coherence? She's not a character, she's a plot device for a plot that doesn't even really exist. For a character who spends so much time onscreen, so to speak, this is really unforgiveable.
There are also several subplots and strands that go nowhere -- I'm guessing the side-story with the reporter was meant to help introduce us to the Tufa, but it's pretty much tangential to the whole thing, and we don't learn anything with Swayback that we haven't learnt elsewhere. The state trooper - bad caricature, and unnecessary. (Also thoroughly dislikeable.)
But what bugged me most of all: I like the idea of the Tufa. I've no objection to an amount of mystery around a central culture of a story. But I want to feel as though the author, at least, has some direction on it... and beyond a few clumsy pointers that the Tufa equate to the Tuatha de Danaan, I don't think Bledsoe has a clue himself what comes here. It leaves me feeling as though he may already have written himself into a corner on it, despite not having really committed to anything yet, and that's just not conducive to a good story.
via http://www.tor.com/stories/2011/09/the-hum-and-the-shiver-extended-excerpt
Entertaining and a fast read, but a lot of the open threads never go anywhere, and the ending was out of left field.
Here's what I was hoping for when urban fantasy exploded a decade or so ago. Alex Bledsoe writes beautifully, creating characters that simply breath with life. The first Tufa novel shows us a dark haired, dark skinned group of close-lipped country people in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee that have been living there for ages--some say the first white settlers came and found the Tufa already established. The Tufa are musical, insular, and aloof. Legend has it they aren't even human, perhaps fey.
Bledsoe does't hit the reader over the head with exposition. We learn about the Tufa organically, in bits and dribbles that feel natural. The book's protagonist Bronwyn has returned from the war a changed woman. Always the dark horse of the Hyatt family, she returns to omens of death and a mixed reception as a "war hero", odd since the Tufa traditionally never go to war. She must deal with her own physical and psychological loss, as well as the loss of her music--something particularly important to all Tufa.
Bledsoe's first Tufa novel feels real. He gives us a look at quiet mountain people, showing us much more than cliched caricatures of country folk. I found the novel enchanting, wistful, and a true delight. This is what I want from urban fantasy! No leather clad heroines tossing off witty one-liners while suffering more than any 10 people could ever survive. No, we have a fantasy with characters we might believe actually exist. Halfway through the novel I was sure I'd give it 5 stars, though I did deduct one star for the somewhat too neat and tidy ending. It felt a bit too easy and unnatural compared to the rest of the book.
If you are an urban fantasy fan and love tons of action, loads of magic, and a slew of magical critters, you will need to get your fix somewhere else. If you are weary of the predictability of mainstream urban fantasy and want a skilled writer with a different take, by all means, give The Hum and the Shiver a shot.
Bledsoe does't hit the reader over the head with exposition. We learn about the Tufa organically, in bits and dribbles that feel natural. The book's protagonist Bronwyn has returned from the war a changed woman. Always the dark horse of the Hyatt family, she returns to omens of death and a mixed reception as a "war hero", odd since the Tufa traditionally never go to war. She must deal with her own physical and psychological loss, as well as the loss of her music--something particularly important to all Tufa.
Bledsoe's first Tufa novel feels real. He gives us a look at quiet mountain people, showing us much more than cliched caricatures of country folk. I found the novel enchanting, wistful, and a true delight. This is what I want from urban fantasy! No leather clad heroines tossing off witty one-liners while suffering more than any 10 people could ever survive. No, we have a fantasy with characters we might believe actually exist. Halfway through the novel I was sure I'd give it 5 stars, though I did deduct one star for the somewhat too neat and tidy ending. It felt a bit too easy and unnatural compared to the rest of the book.
If you are an urban fantasy fan and love tons of action, loads of magic, and a slew of magical critters, you will need to get your fix somewhere else. If you are weary of the predictability of mainstream urban fantasy and want a skilled writer with a different take, by all means, give The Hum and the Shiver a shot.
Since I missed book club discussion on this book I wrote down my thoughts. Now the whole world can read these thoughts. Aren't you lucky!
1. The book kept me guessing throughout. What was the plot? Just when I thought I stumbled across it, it wasn’t it.
2. The Bronwynator sounds an awful lot like my wife's nickname "The Stacinator." This made the book even more entertaining than it would have been.
3. The story was so refreshingly different from anything I’ve read. (Gasp—a book I liked with 0 spaceships in it?!)
4. The characters were so...real. They were frank, honest, relatable, intriguing, and at the same time all mysterious.
5. I kept waiting for some big monologue about who the Tufa really were. But never got it. Absolutely enjoyed the alternative unraveling of this mystery one detail at a time.
6. There are two passages that gave me pause. One bothered me, and the other made me laugh out loud. Here's the one that made me go hmmm.
Here's the one that made me laugh out loud:
I accept the first quote as a personal challenge to not be a Christian who is mud stuck. I accept the second as a personal challenge to hold on to my teenage 40s as long as possible.
1. The book kept me guessing throughout. What was the plot? Just when I thought I stumbled across it, it wasn’t it.
2. The Bronwynator sounds an awful lot like my wife's nickname "The Stacinator." This made the book even more entertaining than it would have been.
3. The story was so refreshingly different from anything I’ve read. (Gasp—a book I liked with 0 spaceships in it?!)
4. The characters were so...real. They were frank, honest, relatable, intriguing, and at the same time all mysterious.
5. I kept waiting for some big monologue about who the Tufa really were. But never got it. Absolutely enjoyed the alternative unraveling of this mystery one detail at a time.
6. There are two passages that gave me pause. One bothered me, and the other made me laugh out loud. Here's the one that made me go hmmm.
This is exactly the kind of crap that made me want to leave in the first place. Just because we're ancient doesn't mean we can't make new ways. Are we mud-stuck like the Christians or the Jews? Do we have to take our instructions from a book written for a culture that died two thousand years ago? Or do we write our own songs?
Here's the one that made me laugh out loud:
Bronwyn ran into her room, the first time in months she'd moved that quickly. She fell halfway onto the bed and began sobbing, clenching her teetch against the sound. She didn't want to wake either of her brothers, and she sure didn't want her father to know she'd seen anything. My God, what were they thinking, carrying on like teenagers? They were both in their forties.
I accept the first quote as a personal challenge to not be a Christian who is mud stuck. I accept the second as a personal challenge to hold on to my teenage 40s as long as possible.
decent book. one of the more 'pure' fantasy books where the magic isn't explained very much. I tend to like knowing more about the systems behind the magic, so it was kind of annoying that so little got explained. but I won't hold it against the book at all made consistent sense to me
I did find the constant sex references a bit tiresome. like I get that sex happens but every encounter I have does not revolve around sex, and it's annoying when that happens in books. again though, not a deal breaker.
the characters were all interesting and the drama was not sitcom levels of stupid. I knew the twist was going to be one of the children dying (unless some random member was added just to bs fulfill the prophecy), but was still interesting to see how it would play out.
I think more time could have been spent with Kell, the scene didn't have as much of an impact because he was only in like two previous scenes.
I did find the constant sex references a bit tiresome. like I get that sex happens but every encounter I have does not revolve around sex, and it's annoying when that happens in books. again though, not a deal breaker.
the characters were all interesting and the drama was not sitcom levels of stupid. I knew the twist was going to be one of the children dying (unless some random member was added just to bs fulfill the prophecy), but was still interesting to see how it would play out.
I think more time could have been spent with Kell, the scene didn't have as much of an impact because he was only in like two previous scenes.
This urban fantasy is set in Appalachia Tennessee. My parents (and all my recent ancestors) are from that region, so the story intrigued me. The main character, Private Bronwyn Hyatt, becomes a national war hero when she is dramatically rescued from her captors in Iraq. She returns home to the strange “tribe” she belongs to, the Tufa. They are enigmatic, all share similar looks, and have an affinity for music and the wind. (They are definitely not a Native American Indian tribe, however.) They also heal quickly and have mysterious and sometimes contentious internal politics. They mostly keep to themselves, and those who leave the area, like Bronwyn, regret it.
The book is well enough written, but it didn’t resonate with me. I didn’t like Bronwyn at all, which didn’t help. Her own mother calls her an asshole. (p. 247) The book is also a little too crude for me. For example, at one point the 20-year-old Bronwyn is turned on by a teenaged boy, and her father points out that her nipples are erect. What he actually says is, “Your high beams are on.” (p. 110) I cannot in a million years imagine my father saying that to anyone, much less one of his five daughters. It seemed pretty creepy to me.
The Tufa also have some sort of private sign language which appeared a few times but never really amounted to anything. The Hum and the Shiver has been on my "to read" a list a long time, so I’m not sorry I read it. However, I will not be continuing with the other books in the series (which appear to be about different characters, not the ones in this book). I can imagine there are readers that would enjoy this series, especially those with a strong interest in the power of song.
The book is well enough written, but it didn’t resonate with me. I didn’t like Bronwyn at all, which didn’t help. Her own mother calls her an asshole. (p. 247) The book is also a little too crude for me. For example, at one point the 20-year-old Bronwyn is turned on by a teenaged boy, and her father points out that her nipples are erect. What he actually says is, “Your high beams are on.” (p. 110) I cannot in a million years imagine my father saying that to anyone, much less one of his five daughters. It seemed pretty creepy to me.
The Tufa also have some sort of private sign language which appeared a few times but never really amounted to anything. The Hum and the Shiver has been on my "to read" a list a long time, so I’m not sorry I read it. However, I will not be continuing with the other books in the series (which appear to be about different characters, not the ones in this book). I can imagine there are readers that would enjoy this series, especially those with a strong interest in the power of song.
Great name and the bones of the Tufa folklore were intriguing, but overall this was a complete mess.
Lacked character depth/exploration/introspection. Every character was drawn with broad strokes, one note and heavily stereotypical.
Plot is non-existent, the characters wander through hurling possible plot lines at the page and then meandering right by them into another potential arc, none of them ever finding fulfillment or conclusion.
Several of the sexual scenes are ham-fisted, borderline repulsive - the stuff(and quality) of teenage male masturbatory fantasy.
It felt racially uncomfortable. The oversexed, ready to rumble, communing with nature felt a little too on the nose in a stereotypical literary expression of Native Americans kind of way.
The writing is repetitive and free of nuance. It also could have used another run through editing.
With all the things I heard, I expected to enjoy this book. I very much did not.
Lacked character depth/exploration/introspection. Every character was drawn with broad strokes, one note and heavily stereotypical.
Plot is non-existent, the characters wander through hurling possible plot lines at the page and then meandering right by them into another potential arc, none of them ever finding fulfillment or conclusion.
Several of the sexual scenes are ham-fisted, borderline repulsive - the stuff(and quality) of teenage male masturbatory fantasy.
It felt racially uncomfortable. The oversexed, ready to rumble, communing with nature felt a little too on the nose in a stereotypical literary expression of Native Americans kind of way.
The writing is repetitive and free of nuance. It also could have used another run through editing.
With all the things I heard, I expected to enjoy this book. I very much did not.
