Book 13. Territory by Emma Bull
Title: Territory
Author: Emma Bull
Genre: Fantasy, Book club
Pages: 415
Read before? No
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
Next book: Tracing the Shadow by Sarah Ash
Summary: When tough-minded widow Mildred Benjamin and drifter Jesse Fox realize that dark magic is manipulating people for a sorcerer's selfish ends, they must decide what they can and should do about it, in the process discovering who they truly are. Mixing fantasy with Old West lore is risky, but Bull takes time to make the place and the people real before undeniably supernatural forces appear.
Why I am reading this. For my book club.
My thoughts. This was a unique idea and concept be Emma Bull. Most people have heard of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday, even if they don’t know the full story of what happened at the OK Corral. The biggest problem to me is that book never really knew what it wanted to be. Sometimes it felt like a western. Sometimes it felt like a mystery. Sometimes it felt like a love story. And every once in a while it felt like a fantasy novel. Because of that it felt disjointed from time to time.
Mildred and Jesse were interesting, but their characters never really grew that much. It did not really hurt the book too much, but they really could have been flushed out more.
This was supposed to be a story that lead up to what actually happened in history and it felt real. I did enjoy the old west feel of the book and just how tough it could be. Wyatt Earp was a bastard, and it showed in this book. He would use anyone, for anything…and did not feel bad about doing so. That kind of belief in what you are doing can be a little scary at times.
The magic in world was less subtle than in most fantasy novels, and that really worked here. If it would have been unfortunate if they went over the top with it and it drown out the period for which the story took place.
The ending was interesting depending on how much you know of the story. It wrapped up quickly and did not give the resolution that some people would love to see. I liked it, but there was at least one person in my book club that really did not.
Overall an enjoyable read that did have a few flaws. But the magic in the time period along with decent writing made this a better than average read.
Best thing about book. The tie-in to history.
Worst thing about book. Did not know what type of novel it wanted to be.