Posts Tagged ‘elfs and other pointy ears’

Elves. We’ve all read about them. A pansy race of limp-wristed long-haired girly men with an obsession for long words ending in lannanon and the like. Plenty of hippy environmentalism and the use of bows. What else? Beautiful skin and the grace of dancers. Pretty things with pretty tongues and squeaky clean. Yes. We’ve all read about elves.
But it seems Mister Barclay has read about them too. And he didn’t quite like what he read. Or, at the very least, he saw room for improvement. And improve he did. Mister Barclay’s elves are homicidal, ruthless, and seem about as environmentally friendly as a styrofoam cup.

The finale is worth waiting for, but I am a little disappointed by the blurring of the characters in this book. Where Isak was the obvious focus of the first novel, he pretty much gets backgrounded for most of the novel and his character is fast becoming a little too “Rand” for me (in a bad sense) – with all his friends being focussed on making sure he’s got a “heart” and can “smile sometimes.” The powerful figure of the first novel is forgotten as he seems to be more a man who can sometimes whip out the goods to get stuff done, but isn’t anywhere near as thrillingly unpredictable and freakishly psychopathic as the first book. He’s turned over a new leaf and is too fast becoming a nice guy you might want to sit around and have a beer with.

While the plot is sound, and the idea admirable, I can only trail off this review by saying the execution was a bit wincing. It’s a book which serves to remind just how important style is when writing prose. How it can make or break a good idea. It’s hard to say where blame should lie on this one, though, considering it’s been translated. It makes me wish I could read German. Just to know if Mister Heitz should be criticised or his translator…