(rant on)
I'm reading THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UNDEAD by Kim Harrison, and for the most part I'm enjoying the book. However, there's a flaw that started out as a minor irritation that is now really annoying me, much like a small bit of gravel in your shoe grows into a major pain.
For those who haven't read the series, it's set in an alternate version of Cincinnati, where humans and magical creatures (vampires, witches, weres, etc.) live in an uneasy coexistence.
A fair chunk of the plot involves a rich and powerful businessman's efforts to hire an expert in ley line magic. Each person he approaches is being systematically killed, and now he's running out of potential candidates. Part of me is enjoying the mystery, but then my brain stalls as I find myself wondering "Why doesn't he pick up the phone and call someone in Chicago, Detroit or Los Angeles?"
The author has done great worldbuilding in creating the magical city of Cincinnati, but that's as far as she goes. The city is treated as if it is a fantasy kingdom, and beyond the borders there is nothing.
I'm hoping that as she keeps writing the series this will change. She's doing so much else right that I'm willing to forgive this flaw for now, but it's going to grow old if it continues through the next book.
Laurell Hamilton's Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series had a similar issue with St. Louis, where St. Louis was the center of this world and everything must have happened there first because there was no sense that anyone called their colleagues in Chicago, London, Paris, etc., to find out how they dealt with similar problems. As the series progressed she expanded beyond the confines of St. Louis to open up a richer world, and I think this made the books stronger.
(rant off)
I'm reading THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UNDEAD by Kim Harrison, and for the most part I'm enjoying the book. However, there's a flaw that started out as a minor irritation that is now really annoying me, much like a small bit of gravel in your shoe grows into a major pain.
For those who haven't read the series, it's set in an alternate version of Cincinnati, where humans and magical creatures (vampires, witches, weres, etc.) live in an uneasy coexistence.
A fair chunk of the plot involves a rich and powerful businessman's efforts to hire an expert in ley line magic. Each person he approaches is being systematically killed, and now he's running out of potential candidates. Part of me is enjoying the mystery, but then my brain stalls as I find myself wondering "Why doesn't he pick up the phone and call someone in Chicago, Detroit or Los Angeles?"
The author has done great worldbuilding in creating the magical city of Cincinnati, but that's as far as she goes. The city is treated as if it is a fantasy kingdom, and beyond the borders there is nothing.
I'm hoping that as she keeps writing the series this will change. She's doing so much else right that I'm willing to forgive this flaw for now, but it's going to grow old if it continues through the next book.
Laurell Hamilton's Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series had a similar issue with St. Louis, where St. Louis was the center of this world and everything must have happened there first because there was no sense that anyone called their colleagues in Chicago, London, Paris, etc., to find out how they dealt with similar problems. As the series progressed she expanded beyond the confines of St. Louis to open up a richer world, and I think this made the books stronger.
(rant off)