Have y ever felt like you and your favorite author don’t match anymore? I’ve been a big fan of Cassandra Clare, author of the Shadowhunter chronicles since 2013, her books were really important to me during my teenage years; but now I’m reading Sword Catcher, her “adult fantasy” debut and also her first individual book published outside the Shadowhunter world, and I’m just not feeling it.
Despite being marketed as adult, Sword Catcher doesn’t feel more mature than her previous books, aside from some occasional sexual comments. I’ve been noticing some things that bother me about her writing that just got more pronounced with this book, or maybe I’m just not interested enough in the story to just give them a pass. Also (and this is just a pet peeve of mine) it feels kinda weird that the main female character is a “petite green eyed redhead” that’s the exact description of arguably her most famous female mc!
I don’t know, it’s just kinda sad that your go to author is not delivering as they used to. I read “Chain of thorns” also by her earlier this year and despite its flaws I just kept trying to convince myself that it was okay, but I can’t seem to connect with Sword Catcher which was one of my most anticipated reads this years.
As a side note, I’m only halfway through the book, so there’s still hope for it to turn around, but this is my impression as of now. Now tell me, has this ever happened to you?
Don’t apologize for growing. It’s a good thing. Not your fault the author didn’t grow while you did.
I love authors where you can start with their early work and watch them mature as artists. Barbara Kingsolver is a great example of that. Bean Trees is an amazing novel and it will always have a place on my bookshelf, but her later books like Unsheltered have so much more depth and substance.
Ooo I didn’t realize she had more books out I haven’t read.
The Poisonwood Bible is hands down one of the most well-written books I’ve ever read. Wasn’t as impressed with the others but haven’t read Unsheltered.
I think Unsheltered and Prodigal Summer are her best. I’m one of the few people who didn’t like Demon Copperhead or the Lacuna. Idk, maybe I don’t like the ones where she writes in a male voice, but DC drove me nuts and the Lacuna bored me.