Review: The God of the Hive by Laurie R. King

The God of the Hive: Well, it began much more promisingly than the last couple Mary Russel novels that I read. In fact, I was so discouraged by the last one I tried to read (The Moor) that I actually just put it down and never finished it -- putting me some three or four novels behind when reading this one.

That gap didn't make a huge difference. There are some fairly new characters who might have appeared in earlier, in-between novels that I haven't read -- or might not. It didn't effect my read. But what DID effect it is the fact that this one, as I said, began much more promisingly. It starts out with Mary on the run from the police with a mysterious child -- Sherlock also on the run with a wounded young man -- while the untouchable Mycroft has been taken in for questioning. Sounds great? It is great. It is a great beginning. It made me want to keep reading... which I did.

Like the other Mary Russell novels, there are some mystical underpinnings to this novel. Didn't bother me. But the one thing that DID bother me was that the author switches back and forth almost constantly between first person and third person. I've mentioned before that this is one of my pet-peeves with modern authors -- and that the last four or five new mysteries I tried used this device. It makes the book hard to follow and uneven. Oh, it's not unreadable by any means... but I simply prefer an author to pick ONE PERSON, be it first or third, and stick to it. I mean, it doesn't even work with the premise that we've accepted up until this point -- that Laurie King found a trunk full of manuscripts written by Mary Russel. So Mary decided to write half of this book as if she didn't actually write it?

That's enough of sounding like I'm complaining about the book, even though I'm really not. It was all right. One of the better Mary Russel novels that I've read in a while, because it started right in the middle of the action -- and normally that's my issue with the books (i.e. that it takes a while for things to start happening... Oh, and Mary's endless "How dare you hold the door open for me, I Am A Strong Woman and can open doors for myself" type comments. But that's a whole other issue, besides being not quite as big a thing in this novel... because there was another character created to do that).

So, in the end, what I have to say is this: give it a try. If you enjoyed the other Mary Russel novels, you're BOUND to like this one. -- Mrs. Hall