Magic Street, with minimal spoilers
I just finished Orson Scott Card's latest novel, Magic Street. It was okay, but rather disappointing.
The majority of the book was written in a rather distant voice, so I never felt like I was solidly in the head of the main character, Mack Street. Consequently, I found that I didn't really care about him, or whether things turned out the way he wanted.
The pacing seemed a bit off as well. The first two-thirds of the book was a long, slow setup that covered seventeen years. Then, Mack suddenly finds out what is going on, the good guys make their plans, and the last third of the book was a flurry of activity covering maybe 24 hours.
Mack was a pretty passive character. I never really felt in touch with what he wanted, his deepest desires. This may have been deliberate, given who and what Mack turns out to be. Still, it would have been nice if he had at least noticed how he didn't have any desires and wondered about it.
I'm really glad that Word found redemption, and didn't turn out like Reverend Thrower in the Alvin Maker series.
This was an entertaining read, but unfortunately not particularly special. Here's hoping that Card recovers his spark for the next novel.
The majority of the book was written in a rather distant voice, so I never felt like I was solidly in the head of the main character, Mack Street. Consequently, I found that I didn't really care about him, or whether things turned out the way he wanted.
The pacing seemed a bit off as well. The first two-thirds of the book was a long, slow setup that covered seventeen years. Then, Mack suddenly finds out what is going on, the good guys make their plans, and the last third of the book was a flurry of activity covering maybe 24 hours.
Mack was a pretty passive character. I never really felt in touch with what he wanted, his deepest desires. This may have been deliberate, given who and what Mack turns out to be. Still, it would have been nice if he had at least noticed how he didn't have any desires and wondered about it.
I'm really glad that Word found redemption, and didn't turn out like Reverend Thrower in the Alvin Maker series.
This was an entertaining read, but unfortunately not particularly special. Here's hoping that Card recovers his spark for the next novel.
posted by Mel, Foxtail Farm | 1:12 PM
3 Comments:
Excellent review. I think I liked the book a little better than you did, but had many of the same issues with it, and I think you expressed them better. Nice job.
I certainly don't feel like it was a waste of time to read it, but it's not something I'm itching to re-read, either.
I'm a little bit worried, because Card's characters are starting to really run together. For example, there were points in Magic Street when Yolanda sounded just like Theresa Wiggin. And Mack sounded a lot like Arthur Stuart and Alvin both. I kind of get the feeling that when he thinks up something clever, he can't help but have a character say it. I think that's why they are all starting to sound so similar.
Yeah, I won't reread it for a while, though I'm glad that I did read it.
I have definitely noticed that Card's characters are beginning to sound a lot alike. When I reached the point of the book where Mack was about 13, I said, "Oh, no. Another story about a precocious/unusually gifted child. Is this the only trick he knows how to do well?" Obviously, it's not. He's a technically superb writer. But the characters are starting to run together for me, at least in their "voice." Mary Robinette and I discussed that some too when she was here, though it didn't seem to bother her as much (but that was before Magic Street.) One thing I am very impressed by is his ability to capture another culture and its way of thinking -- oriental culture in the continuation of Ender's story, and American middle-class Black culture in Magic Street. I'm definitely envious of that.
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