reading list
Book #1 The Messenger of Magnolia Street by River Jordan, 248pp.
One line summary: Three childhood friends reunite to fight an evil presence that is insidiously destroying their tiny little Southern town.
My initial impression of this book which bore itself out over the entire story was that it was a loose take on an episode of Angel--mostly for its supernatural storyline superimposed on modern day characters. One of the main characters, Nehemiah Trust, is a staffer for a powerful Senator in Washington DC. Nehemiah has left his home town of Shibboleth and made a life in DC for unknown, yet clearly tortured reasons. Left behind are his older brother Billy (the muscle in this story) and their mutual childhood friend Trice (a girl of unknown origins, with a sixth sense of some sort). An evil is sucking the town dry, and these three must unite and remember who they are and what they can do to save the town. To me a good story, but too much is left undeveloped and it all works out too neatly. As an adult, I've come to expect that there is a great price to triumph over great evil--but everyone makes it through unscarred in this story. Jordan's writing is lovely prose, but in all the description I feel like there is substance missing. When a black Lincoln Town Car glides into town carrying one of the Senators cronies I had flashbacks to Wolfram and Hart of Angel. It doesn't work out that way--but the vibe is there. I rate this book a B-.
One line summary: Three childhood friends reunite to fight an evil presence that is insidiously destroying their tiny little Southern town.
My initial impression of this book which bore itself out over the entire story was that it was a loose take on an episode of Angel--mostly for its supernatural storyline superimposed on modern day characters. One of the main characters, Nehemiah Trust, is a staffer for a powerful Senator in Washington DC. Nehemiah has left his home town of Shibboleth and made a life in DC for unknown, yet clearly tortured reasons. Left behind are his older brother Billy (the muscle in this story) and their mutual childhood friend Trice (a girl of unknown origins, with a sixth sense of some sort). An evil is sucking the town dry, and these three must unite and remember who they are and what they can do to save the town. To me a good story, but too much is left undeveloped and it all works out too neatly. As an adult, I've come to expect that there is a great price to triumph over great evil--but everyone makes it through unscarred in this story. Jordan's writing is lovely prose, but in all the description I feel like there is substance missing. When a black Lincoln Town Car glides into town carrying one of the Senators cronies I had flashbacks to Wolfram and Hart of Angel. It doesn't work out that way--but the vibe is there. I rate this book a B-.