Rating: 
Summary: difficult to put down
Review: I liked this book a great deal. Ms Griffith's literary style brought me to such lovely places with her metaphors and ability to feel the scene rather than dance around the descriptive words. Her main character, Aud, lives in all of us .I'm looking forward to reading her again.
Rating: 
Summary: kind of a dud
Review: I love Amazon for offering the ability to see other readers' opinions of a book, but now I'm going to think twice before believing everything I read here. I feel a little like I was tricked into buying this book by the numerous positive reviews, so now I'm taking the time to warn other hopeful searchers: turn back while you still can - it wasn't that great. After reading the book, I was far from impressed. In a word, it was: underdeveloped. The characters had little or no depth, the plot was overall pretty boring, and the writing very basic. It didn't take me anywhere, and I couldn't even care one wit about the ending or what happened to the characters. When trying to relate to the narrator and/or her story, I only ever felt like I was reading some anti-climactic manifestation/fantasy of the author's own identity. And about the "steam" factor, suspense, or sexual tension: Griffith must've left it with the rest of the character/plot development. It's like the author can't quite bring herself to fall into the romance of the world/characters she's created (like she doesn't want it to be another cliche lesbian romance novel with the usual stereotype characters) so instead, her book suffers from technical hang-ups, a cheesy array of writing techniques, and two-dimensional characters that, ironically enough, all lend themselves to exactly what she's trying to avoid. In the beginning, I was really looking forward to liking the main character and wanting to read the sequel, but by the end I found myself wondering what all the hype was about and wishing I'd never spent the money in the first place. If you're looking for anything as remotely interesting as, say, a Sarah Waters or Jeanette Winterson or even a John Irving or Stephen King novel, look elsewhere. I've read worse (hence the 2 star rating), but I've also read far far better, so I just HAD to speak up and say that the book was not nearly as good as its reviews suggest. Even some of the truly cliche, predictable xena/gabrielle-type romances I've read (see: Lucifer Rising) were eons more satisfying than this.
Rating: 
Summary: Great language, spotty plot
Review: I loved Griffith's _Ammonite_... beautiful rich characters, detailed setting and intricate plot. I was hoping for an equal treatment of the detective novel format. Griffith's language in _The Blue Place_ is still incredible, especially the first time Julia and Aud spar <purrr>. However, the plot development is significantly weaker, with many logical gaps and hanging threads. For example, near the beginning, she references Aud's 60-year-old handmade quilt, which no one else has ever seen. It would have been nice to at least mention it near then end as a point of loss. The bad guy (I won't mention who) isn't a clear picture, despite his importance in Aud's life. It's a good read, tho! Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: basically good plot but lacks spark
Review: I normally like stories like this one but unfortunately I found this book lacking spark. Parts of the book are really good but unfortunately those moments never last very long. The main characters are into martial arts, and I guess that practitioners might appreciate the lengthy descriptions about it but it gets a bit dull for the rest of us. Aud is a complex character and the plot is basically good even though it could have used some more work. The fact that Aud wouldn't really care about the crime and its investigation if it hadn't been for Julia makes the read a bit tedious.
Rating: 
Summary: Marvelous, Exciting, Complete
Review: I read on and on into the night wanting to get to the end and yet knowing I would regret it's ending. I found this book to be exhilarating and moving. Aud was the ultimate "butch", strong and sexy. Her character was intelligent as well as open to suggestion. Having visited Altanta several times, it was interesting to walk through Atlanta one more time from the eyes of a woman such as Aud as well as explore the ice of Norway. Women struggle with feelings of inadequacy most of their lives. I applaud Griffith for confidently putting the characters, Aud and Julia down on paper in such a self-assured way. I must admit to finding some of the book lacking as the male characters seemed quite flat, but I attributed them to the pronounced quality of Aud Torvingen. Ms. Griffith's use of metaphor and carefully placed descriptions of biological functions were accurate as well as interesting. My hat's off to Nicola Griffith for putting together a book that should inspire many lesbian writers, women writers, to allow for the possibility of women as successful not throughly dependent on a man to survive. I enjoyed it very much and have recommended it to my friends.
Rating:
Summary: Hardboiled
Review: I wasn't really crazy about this book but I couldn't trash it because it's not badly written. The problem is that it has everything needed for a hardboiled mystery and I'm not real fond of hardboiled mysteries, ... Disaffected former police detective working privately-- check; beautiful woman with a case-- check; Detective is a womanizer-- check; Detective really good at martial arts-- check. Add betrayal and mix well. The story breaks with the trend because the detective isn't even an ex-alcoholic. The pool table seduction scene was definitely over the top though-- way too self conscious and mannered. So, if you like hardboiled detective stories then you might like this book.
Rating:
Summary: Hardboiled
Review: I wasn't really crazy about this book but I couldn't trash it because it's not badly written. The problem is that it has everything needed for a hardboiled mystery and I'm not real fond of hardboiled mysteries, ... Disaffected former police detective working privately-- check; beautiful woman with a case-- check; Detective is a womanizer-- check; Detective really good at martial arts-- check. Add betrayal and mix well. The story breaks with the trend because the detective isn't even an ex-alcoholic. The pool table seduction scene was definitely over the top though-- way too self conscious and mannered. So, if you like hardboiled detective stories then you might like this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Where's the character development?
Review: I'm going to break the trend of reviews here - I did not find this book as ground-breaking as it is being made out. I personally found it lacking in a major area: the relationship and character development of and between Lore and the art dealer. As I am an avid fan of police thrillers, The Blue Place picqued my interest at the start, but it didn't maintain the promise or momentum at all. I found it getting progressively flatter the further it went on. There was insight into Lore's inner makeup but I found her POV superficial and peppered with braggish female machoism, which for me is a turn off. The focus on what suit she wore, or the beer she drank, is like describing the colour of kitchen tiles - this doesn't make for a good story; or how cool Lore is in times of crisis and the continual obsession with how easy it would be to kill everyone - maybe it's just me but this gets tedious after a while? At times I wasn't sure if I were the recipient of a self-defence lecture or reading a travel guide. The narrative style kept changing. It was as if the author was trying to prove how worldly, historically savvy, and philosophically in touch her haunted character was. In some cases adding these ingredients can work but this author didn't handle it that well and the character ended up coming across as fashionable rather than realistic. Towards the end of the book, when the two characters arrived in Norway, Lore stumbled on the notion that she was in love with the art dealer (can't remember her name). It was a bit of a 'what? huh' moment for me, because there is little evidence of feelings or emotional development between the two leading up to this realisation. I understand only too well how life's cold realities can psychologically impact on a person and while there are moments when this character and the story really hit home, overall, it starts repeating the same old stuff that I've read in dozens of other books. In the beginning of the book there was a scene between the two characters centred on a martial art routine. I'm sure watching this is very stunning but the translation from one's personal experience into words didn't work for a reader who doesn't know this particular martial art style. Maybe the author could have modified this scene in the gym? I certainly give my thumbs up for the descriptive language used to bring Atlanta to life on the page. I can align with tropical heat and cities, so it really worked! I recommend getting the book out of your library first before you think about buying it.
Rating:
Summary: Where's the character development?
Review: I'm going to break the trend of reviews here - I did not find this book as ground-breaking as it is being made out. I personally found it lacking in a major area: the relationship and character development of and between Lore and the art dealer. As I am an avid fan of police thrillers, The Blue Place picqued my interest at the start, but it didn't maintain the promise or momentum at all. I found it getting progressively flatter the further it went on. There was insight into Lore's inner makeup but I found her POV superficial and peppered with braggish female machoism, which for me is a turn off. The focus on what suit she wore, or the beer she drank, is like describing the colour of kitchen tiles - this doesn't make for a good story; or how cool Lore is in times of crisis and the continual obsession with how easy it would be to kill everyone - maybe it's just me but this gets tedious after a while? At times I wasn't sure if I were the recipient of a self-defence lecture or reading a travel guide. The narrative style kept changing. It was as if the author was trying to prove how worldly, historically savvy, and philosophically in touch her haunted character was. In some cases adding these ingredients can work but this author didn't handle it that well and the character ended up coming across as fashionable rather than realistic. Towards the end of the book, when the two characters arrived in Norway, Lore stumbled on the notion that she was in love with the art dealer (can't remember her name). It was a bit of a 'what? huh' moment for me, because there is little evidence of feelings or emotional development between the two leading up to this realisation. I understand only too well how life's cold realities can psychologically impact on a person and while there are moments when this character and the story really hit home, overall, it starts repeating the same old stuff that I've read in dozens of other books. In the beginning of the book there was a scene between the two characters centred on a martial art routine. I'm sure watching this is very stunning but the translation from one's personal experience into words didn't work for a reader who doesn't know this particular martial art style. Maybe the author could have modified this scene in the gym? I certainly give my thumbs up for the descriptive language used to bring Atlanta to life on the page. I can align with tropical heat and cities, so it really worked! I recommend getting the book out of your library first before you think about buying it.
Rating:
Summary: New Genre, New Success
Review: I'm mostly a science fiction reader, though I also love a good literary mystery. I first discovered Nicola Griffith when she won the Nebula Award last year. It turns out that every book she touches wins one or another award. Her anthologies as well as her novels have been multiple award-winners. I recommend them all. Griffith's SF is very traditional relative to the genre (though it deals with non-traditional themes). In contrast, The Blue Place is quite genre-bending. Its mystery is not very mysterious; its thrills seem more flash than fire. And yet it has plenty of style, and plenty of substance. I like it a lot, and I recommend it to you, too. Aud Torvingen is the heart and soul of the Blue Place. Her attention and genius is all external, which means her point of view offers up a rich stream of information about her world (which is a big part of the pleasure of the book). Her experience of her interiority is either blocked or attenuated. Her relationship with violence is constantly startling, and the true love she experiences in this book takes her completely by surprise. It's these interior blind spots that drive the suspense in the novel for me. I found myself completely carried away by the startling contrasts between Aud's hyper-competance and her closedness. Write the next novel quickly, Nicola! I can hardly wait to find out what happens to poor Aud.
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