David Hoffman (3)

This is a tough book for me to review. I loved the first part of the book which reminded me of the stories of George MacDonald; of fairy markets transported to the human world and fairy princes enrapturing humans. And I liked that the rules of fairy were present:

1. Never give your real name
2. Never eat or drink anything in the world of fey
3. The fey folk are hurt by iron

I was enchanted and, at first, I couldn't put the book down.

But the book covers a lot of time since the market comes only once a century. And eventually the tale switches from fantasy to scifi. I am a fan of fantasy and fairy tales, less so of scifi. In fairness, there are hints of this in the first part of the book but, when the transition occurs, it is jarring to say the least. The juxtaposition of the two didn't always work, at least for me. I also found the whole 'woman scorned' thing somewhat annoying, especially on the grand scale it takes in this book.

Also, there were so many questions left unanswered that I felt a bit unsatisfied. I realize this is the first in a series but the questions weren't the kind to be left to a sequel unless it is to rehash some of the same ground. I won't go into those questions because I liked the story enough to recommend it with this caveat: most readers of scifi and/or fantasy have a preference and, frankly, the two genres don't always play well together so it is good to know this ahead of time.

Still, the story remained interesting enough to keep me reading, if not quite as invested in the story. And the third part of the the tale where author David Hoffman marries the two genres together completely brought some of the excitement of the story back. At the end, I found I quite enjoyed the book.

The story is certainly original and, despite the jarring marriage of genres, very well written and more than a little entertaining. For the parts I really enjoyed, I would have given a high 4 stars, for those I didn't, a low 3 so I compromised - 31/2 stars it is.… (plus d'informations)

THE MARKET
MIDSUMMER'S DAY, OBERTON VILLAGE
MYSTERIES, WONDERS, AND DREAMS

So reads the sign that seventeen-year-old Ellie MacReady encounters on her way into the village one day in the summer of 1726. A thing of legend, the Market appears only once every century.   Ellie grew up hearing her father's stories about the Market, but nothing he told her prepared Ellie for what she was to encounter there.

Reading rel="nofollow" target="_top">The Seven Markets was a bit of a rollercoaster ride for me. I went from thinking "oooh, this is good" to regretfully telling Russell that I was going to hate the book (more on why below). I then moved on to cautious optimism, which later morphed into delight. There followed some bewilderment (ditto), but I ended the novel on a good note.

The Seven Markets is described as a science fiction fairy tale. I've always disliked the fact that science fiction and fantasy are nearly always lumped together in non-specialty bookstores.1 The creation of this single category further degrades two genres that are already marginalized as "genre fiction" (as opposed to "real" fiction) by reducing them to subgenres. While I am by no means an expert on either genre, I grew up with a man who did the majority of his book-shopping in that department.2 While there is cross-over between the two genres, I think that's the exception rather than the rule and that their real commonality is their reader.
In any case, The Seven Markets is the rare book that belongs in the science fiction and fantasy department because it is a cross-over that has significant elements from both genres.

From this blog's tag cloud, it is obvious that I read (and post about) more fantasy than scifi. While the gap is actually significantly wider than the tags would have you believe, I do appreciate both genres. I am, however, a particularly picky reader of the two genres, mostly because I become overwhelmed by the heaviest versions of either. The bewilderment mentioned above is a result of that tendency of mine, while the possible hatred relates to a particular fantasy trope3 for which I usually have no patience.

The Seven Markets is like nothing I've read before. The novel, like the Market itself, is full of endless wonders, but it is also tightly constructed. As a reader you never know what will happen next. I'm loathe to go into too much detail on the plot because much of the novel's magic--and what makes it such a compelling read--is in how and how much it reveals itself. I'd just caution readers not to be put off by the (intentionally) jarring transitions between the first few chapters. While those types of transitions continue to move the narrative along, you do become accustomed to them.

Full review, with footnotes, available at morsie reads: The Seven Markets by David Hoffman… (plus d'informations)