Booklog: The Demon's Lexicon (Brennan)

[nebroadwe]

The Demon's Lexicon (Sara Rees Brennan)

Ever since magicians killed their father, Nick and his older brother Alan have protected their half-mad mother, hunted from pillar to post all over the UK. It would be easier to hide if Alan weren't such a soft touch, but not even Nick can stop him from trying to help a pretty girl and her demon-haunted younger brother. And it would be easier to survive helping them if Alan didn't have his own secrets to hide ... First novel from a writer making the jump from fandom to original fiction, and it shows: the characters are reasonably engaging and the plot machinery holds together, but the dialogue's a bit precious and the narrative needs more falling action than it gets. (Also, for a species characterized by suspicion of and/or infacility with language, the demons are awfully fluent in English.) Room is left for a sequel; I won't seek it out, but I'll probably read it if it crosses my path.

Comments

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Hmmmmmm....

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

kanja177 tells me that I missed the handwave where the magic that allows humans to contact demons also translates across the language barrier. I still think they should speak in clichés, though, particularly [spoiler], who's halfway there already with his cheesey pick-up lines.

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Heee.

I need to go find some YA stories to read again, now that I've finished reading The Dresden Files....

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

My goddaughter recommends the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, which she commends for having very amusing chapter titles.

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Great, I'm flashbacking to the Myth!Adventures! stories with their quotable chapter headings.

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

Heh. These are more like Howl's Moving Castle, I think. Not sure -- I haven't read the books yet, but I suspect I'm about to. :-)

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Good luck. :D