Daughter of Hounds: Caitlin R. Kiernan [**Revised**]

[April 11, 2007] Editor-in-Chief's Note: We've had a response (complaint) from a visitor regarding this review, taking umbrage with a) grammatical and improper English used in the original review, and b) basically throwing the literary equivalent of a hissy fit because he/she didn't like the review -- even going so far as to request another reviewer take it on. I'm assuming this is just to make sure we gave this book a fair shake...that we really delved into the heart of the book and took a good look around.

In the spirit of good debate, EvilPoet has graciously revised her review. Even ran it through Spell-check and checked for grammatical errors (which came back with a clean bill of health.) Enjoy.

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Sparrow Spooner opens her eyes again when the man from Above begins to scream and pray to the Catholic god he abandoned more than half a lifetime ago. She isn't sure how long she's been huddled there, alone in this muddy, dark corner of the chamber, naked and shivering beyond the candlelight. Madam Mnemosyne laid her down here when they'd finished taking two fingers from her left hand, and she told Sparrow not to move a muscle and to keep her eyes tightly shut and her mouth shut tighter still, unless she wanted worse than she'd already gotten.

[New Review]

Our tale would begin by the birth of a curiously yellow-eyed girl on Halloween but it does not. The cliché stops there thankfully since the midnight hour was not given as the birth time nor were there any sort of supernatural eclipses or passing of the planets mentioned. On the contrary the story begins with a reverse initiation of sorts, a punishing of a young child that has nothing to do with the rest of the piece. It is a pity that the vibrance and glorious plot at the beginning of the story, ends there with no explanation as to where it was going in the first place.

Later on we find that the story is a homecoming of sorts between an unruly bitch of a female who hasn't exactly grown up and a young child whose innocence is quickly shattered by the maturity of the supernatural being thrusted upon her. The two could have very well been sisters however not by blood. A curious tale of a prince and pauper meshed with a typical search and destroy of the rightful daughter is tossed around with a pinch of time-bound fight scenes. In the end who will get the 'key' to world domination?

The blood daughter finally comes to terms with her imaginary friend and by a curious twist of fate, makes it to her sister right on cue to save the day meanwhile a touch of confusing political intrigue offers the elders and guardians a means to destroy themselves.

The use of vulgarities in the story is overdone and unnecessary. Kiernan shows us that she has the potential to explain evil and unjust means by using more descriptive words but fails to exploit that talent, giving into the easy four letter words.

Kiernan also continues in this mistake by showing us that she knows exactly how to convey a good battle scene. She is able to keep the pages turning and the mind active until the very end where it just all falls to pieces. There is no hint of where the battle has gone, if it has taken place at all or if the deaths are real. The use of time-bound powers are not explained until three-quarters of the book are finished, the same mistake is made by not having the first main character introduced until the middle of the book!

All in all this book was an okay read however it could have been done countless times better. I found myself pointing out things that I would have changed to make this single book turn into a series. I only pity Kiernan for this unfortunate talent that she has refused to stretch into something great. Hopefully her next title will give a bigger taste of the potential that she does have.

[Original Review]
On a dreary all Hollow’s eve a curiously yellow-eyed girl was born. A cliché of ultimate proportions it seems but thankfully, her birth was did not happen at midnight or during an eclipse. This is a tale of young and old, a parody between one who has lost her youth and innocence and another who has yet to achieve any sort of adulthood. If one would wish to study the imagery of the novel they would find good versus evil, light versus dark, old versus young, imagination versus reality and so on.

The use of vulgarities throughout the chapters convey a lack of language skills from Kiernan however in times, I did find myself having to look up one or two words from the sheer unusual ways that they were being used as in the text. I found the cursing overdone because by knowing mere body language, a person would be able to be conveyed as a foul being.

All in all I find that Kiernan has a superb hand in writing detailed and extremely heart-pounding fight scenes and I admit to not being able to stop the pages from turning. The descriptions of the areas in which the characters found themselves in were astounding and the meticulous bits of flavor given to the simplest of tasks were mind-bending.

However nearing the end of most of the battle scenes, it became quite apparent that Kiernan lacks the ability to have her characters finish a scene without allowing the chapter to simply drop off into a whirlwind of confusion. We find that instead of the usual ending blow, fast forwarding is used and sometimes is meshed with flash backs in the same line! Brains will hurt while the reader tries desperately to understand what just happened, if it did indeed happen, if the character is dead or alive and what, if any, plot there is to this novel.

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Publisher: Roc Trade (January 2, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0451461258
ISBN-13: 978-0451461254
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