BOOK REVIEW: Book of Night by Holly Black
Everyone lies and has secrets, but whose are worse?
Hmmmmm…I’m really not sure where to start, as I’m not really sure what my final thoughts are on this one. After having read Holly Black’s The Folk in the Air series, I was excited to read her first foray into adult fantasy, and I feel that it just didn’t quite live up to my expectations.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the book and the premise of the story. The idea of shadow magic and how the conflict stems from the selfishness that arises from experimenting with shadows and the potential power of one. This is where the book gets me. I absolutely loved this. The development around shadows and gloamists was intriguing and engaging but that’s about where the excitement ended for me. The darkness, the underworld of it all, the one-upping of those around you as tactics I love in books.
But, when it comes to fantasy, world building is critical, and maybe since this book takes place in a normal everyday city that the focus didn’t need to be placed in world building, but everything still felt a little disjointed. I was shocked because the development and imagery used in developing Elfhame was magical. Here, it was just mediocre. I wasn’t connected to the setting, but it also didn’t really impact the story very much. The events that unfold could take place anywhere.
The characters weren’t horrible. I enjoyed Charlie’s underdog, nothing to lose demeanor, but she didn’t move me to root for her. The flashbacks to the past and her childhood definitely helped to build her character and explain how she became who she is in the main storyline, but that’s really it. I enjoyed her sister Posey and even her boyfriend Vince more than I enjoyed Charlie. All that Charlie really had going for her was her distrust, desperation and acceptance of her lot in life. These were traits that were reinforced over and over again.
With that said, it really is through Charlie’s interactions with the events occurring around her, her love for her sister and her desperation to try to turn her life around that everything falls into place. I appreciated that, as an adult fantasy, Black didn’t sugarcoat anything. It was full of dark magic, bad decisions, and scandalous characters. But, there was also so much thrown at the reader in the first several chapters that it was really hard to keep the who, what, when, where and why straight.
The seemingly irrelevant characters and interactions turned into some of the biggest twists of the book. Several things occurred throughout the book that caught me off guard. There was just no way to see it coming. I love that in a book, I love the unpredictability of the ever changing course of events. But, it still lacked a gusto even in these revelations that should have felt more intense.
“I wish I could say I was sorry, that I wanted to be honest the whole time, but I didn't. I never wanted to be honest. I just wanted what I told you to be the truth.”
Ok, so basically the book finds Charlie Hull on a mission to find the Book of Night, which is a highly sought after book that has some critical information regarding shadow magic. More specially, magic dealing with shadows having the ability to exist away from the person in which they are attached. Sound fun? It is. There are elements of mystery in trying to uncover the location while figuring out clues and different characters connected to it, just without the connectivity to the reader.
One area, that I feel could have been developed more is the suspense and urgency surrounding the threats that the ‘bad guy’ puts on Charlie, or even the feeling surrounding the deaths and murders that occur in the story. The tone and mood, for whatever reason, just didn’t push me or had me eager to turn the page.
I don’t even want to talk about my feelings regarding the ending. There was so much potential here to be jaw dropping, but I was left with an anti-climatic sadness. As much as I was disappointed in it, I do feel it aligned with Charlie’s life. I feel that Charlie never really believed that she could amount to anything other than what she was at that moment and what she was raised to be and do. I, personally, am so anti-settling, and I feel a lot of the characters settle even when there are indications that they want more.
Where does this land on my bookshelf?
While I feel that this has been a slightly negative review and maybe even a little all over the place, I would still place this on my middle shelf. I honestly feel that it doesn’t hold a candle to Cruel Prince, The Wicked King, or Queen of Nothing. I’m not sure if it was just because this was an “adult” book when I’m used to her “YA” voice, but I was just a little let down when I was finished. Now, I’m still a Holly Black fan and will continue to read her books, but this one just left me wanting more. I almost felt each time I turned the page, I hoped she’d give just a little more. Everything felt like skating on the surface and all I wanted to do was break through the ice because I couldn’t see clearly what was underneath. It was there, but I just couldn’t get to it.
With all that, I still enjoyed the concept, the story, the magic. I love things that highlight the dark and gritty. So, if you are a fan of Black’s previous work, I would still encourage you to put this on your TBR list! Besides, there was always that wonderful nod to Hans Christian Anderson!
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