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Originally Posted by pdurrant
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A page-turning story, and interesting characters. But I hate it.
The worst kind of Christian fiction. People's prayers are answered, even to the extent of an Angel recruiting a 21st century hitman by direct revelation to restore his faith, and sending him back in time to sort things out. When the main problem could have been sorted by preventing a case of appendicitis in the first place. Incoherent, wishful thinking of the highest order, and implicitly saying that if bad things have happened to you it's because you didn't pray sincerely or hard enough.
I also hate it for one particular phrase. The time-travel bit is set in 13th Century Norwich. One character is taken to a room "high in the strongest tower of the castle". Norwich Castle keep was built in the 12th century, and to describe it as "the strongest tower" is weird. It's the only tower, but it's not a tower, it's a keep, set on the top of a man-made mound, and is 96 feet by 92 feet by 76 feet high. "high in the strongest tower" makes Norwich Castle sound like a Disney castle, not a real Norman Castle.
But it's mainly the incoherent world view I hate. I find Anne Rice has taken to writing Christian Fiction. I'm certainly not going to be reading or buying any more of it.
Next:
Swords Against Death by Fritz Leiber.
The second in his Fafhrd ('Faf-erd') and the Grey Mouser series, that I bought back in December 2009. The first was interesting, and the second is also shaping up that way.
There are many references to this series in other fantasy books, especially "The Colour of Magic" by Tery Pratchett (which manages to refer an amazing number of other fantasies).