Sunshine

Rating:
Summary: "Sunshine" is dim
Review: Robin McKinley's latest book reads like she was on a crash diet while she wrote it. Food, food, food, and more food; the lead character lives and breathes foods. Robin McKinley is an able writer, and it's intriguing to see her shift from monsters and spirits to vampires. But unfortunately the execution leaves something to be desired.

Rae Sneddon (known to everyone as "Sunshine"), who makes cinnamon rolls at her stepfather's bakery, is kidnapped by a gang of vampires one night when she goes out to an old lakeside cabin. She's stuffed into an evening gown and chained in a decrepit ballroom, near a hungry vampire who is also trapped there. But he doesn't eat her. Instead, Con sticks it out, asking her to tell him stories and anecdotes, and she tries to oblige.

Sunshine draw on her own magic to help herself and Con escape during the day. After he vanishes, she tries to go back to her old life. But a mysterious wound, suspicious SOF officers, and the revelation of impending global doom (because of vampires) draws her back to Con, when both of them are threatened by the vampire who chained them together in the first place...

McKinley shifts her territory here. Instead of more generic medieval fantasy, she goes in for contemporary vampire/fantasy; she has the skill to make any scene at night absolutely bloodcurdling. The problem is, between the spellbinding stretches of intriguing, dark, sensuous material, there are much longer stretches of baking, whining, historical infodumping, un-erotic semi-sexual interludes with Con and Mel, and thinking about the personal quirks of customers.

The backdrop is intriguing, if underused; the rather poorly-defined world of vampires, werewolves, demons, and other "Others" is given a fresh twist, and the possibility of them taking over human civilization is genuinely chilling. Rae's blossoming magic (fuelled by sunlight) is an unusual twist, and one that I wish had been explored further.

Rae isn't a particularly engaging heroine; she seems more like a dissatisfied middle-aged woman than a young, inexperienced one. There really isn't anything likable about her. Con is intriguing, an enigmatic walking corpse, but McKinley doesn't let us in his head. Many of the promising characters (like Rae's mom or her biker boyfriend Mel) aren't explored in full; they're both extremely interesting, but left on the backburner in favor of even more baked goods.

"Sunshine" is an interesting read, but not a very fulfilling one. Enough loose threads are left dangling for a sequel, but hopefully one that's tighter and sharper than this one.

Rating:
Summary: Weak effort, whiny heroine
Review: The book is 400 pages long and aboug 250 of them are devoted to whining and generalized angst on the part of the heroine. I am so indifferent to her fate that the last 30 pages have been sitting unread on the table for over 3 weeks. The whole book has a forced feel, without the fluid characterization and plot advancement that were the hallmarks of McKinley's earlier books. Also, if there's going to be sex (fine with me), then let there be sex. Given the large number of dangling issues amongst the side characteris and subplots still present so close to the end, I assume there is another book coming.

Rating:
Summary: Riveting Tale
Review: This book was beautifully written. It is full of emotion and visual imagery. I feel like Robin really wanted people to identify with Sunshine's character and her emotions. Robin Mckinley writes this story so that the fantasy is believable because it is written with real world raw emotions.I really enjoyed this book, and I think that people who enjoy fantasy and vampires will be riveted by this raw and bold tale.

Rating:
Summary: Living with Heroism
Review: I was interested to see a negative review here for "Sunshine", calling it leaden and underexplained, and complaining impatiently about Sunshine's reluctance to take up her power.

I'm sorry, but nothing pleases more than a book which, as "Sunshine" so spectacularly does, allows the reader enough information to build a magnificent and fascinating world, without spoon-feeding tedious and unnecessary detail. And what's wrong with a hero who enjoys being human rather than the prospect of flashing power about? This isn't one of the less interesting superhero comics, where it's all flash-bam-pow, feature ability of the week. This is about the price and responsibility of power, the challenge of fighting evil at the risk of being touched by it. And it's lovely.

"Sunshine" for me, was one of those pick it up and read until it's over novels (which came to 4am). And even more rarely, I then went and re-read parts of it straight away. It is clever and beautiful and painful and raw. It explores not only heroism, but the question of personality, and it fascinates with the possibilities of its world.

The novel does leave you wanting more. I can only hope that McKinley is given a chance to take us back post-Voodoo Wars.

Rating:
Summary: Sunshine
Review: This book is about vampires, SOFs, and more vampires, with cinnamon rolls in the mix. It ends with Rae and/or Sunshine and Con beating Bo. Ahhh, how cute.

Rating:
Summary: I want more!
Review: The greatest problem with Robin McKinley's books has always been their limited number. This book does nothing to disabuse me of that notion. Sunshine is a departure from McKinley's more traditional fairy-tale settings, but in style and tone it is still clearly McKinley. If you like her other books, you'll like this one...unless you are totally opposed to trading a magic sword for a pocket knife (ok, so that's a teaser, but it does make sense, eventually). Unfortunately this book is crying out for a sequel. There is so much more to learn about Sunshine and her world. The understated worldbuilding is intriguing, encouraging me to pay attention and milk the story for all it's worth. But there is a fine sense of an entire world out there, far too much to learn in just one novel. I desperately hope there will be others! (although since we've only had two Damar novels and a few short stories in many, many years, I don't know that my hopes are terribly well-founded)

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book
Review: This book is a wonderful adult novel that brings to mind the world of Charles de Lint were magic exists in a very urban locale. The story of Sunshine is exceptional and the landscape well thought out. If you read this book expecting references to a more traditional fantasy world it would be a disappointment. For me, the only disappointment will be if Robin McKinley does not to write a sequel to this novel which is called for throughout the story.

Rating:
Summary: Great Read
Review: I really enjoyed the novel...in fact, when I finished it, I opened it up and read it again! Of course tastes differ, but I totally disagree with the reviewer that said the book was slow and leaden. One great thing about this book is how well-written is: alot of fun fantasy romps just don't have much depth. Robin McKinley is a great writer, and it shows in the book.

Rating:
Summary: A welcome change for McKinley
Review: It seems as if almost everyone who is a McKinley fan hates this book. Maybe everyone is expecting more characters like Aerin or Harry from her Damar series, or the flowery prose in her fairy tale retellings. Frankly, I'm happy to find neither of these in "Sunshine." Don't get me wrong, I love McKinley. I think she's a fabulous writer who creates great characters and great settings. Many people have argued that "Sunshine" has neither. I feel it has both, but in a manner completely different that what we're used to from the author.

This book grabbed my attention as soon as I saw it. McKinley + vampires = pure heaven for me, and so I snatched it right up, not caring what it might be about. I was completely shocked to find a book set in a "normal" setting. The lead character, Rae, makes no pretense of being special; right from the start she informs the readers that she barely graduated high school, and she has no passion in life for anything besides baking. Her boyfriend is more of an afterthought in her daily life, and she has no career aspirations. I actually enjoyed reading a story where the lead character wasn't anyone special. In fact, when Rae finds out she has powers, she actively denies trying to use them if she doesn't have to simply because she enjoys her normal, ordinary life. For me, it was much easier to relate to a character just floundering through life, going day to day rather than living on a grand, epic scale.

I found the combination of everyday life and the unexplained supernatural fascinating. Many things aren't explained thoroughly, but I enjoyed this treatment as it a) leaves room for sequels (which I'd like to see) and b) kept me more interested in reading the whole way through. I don't mind the "X-Files" tone of the SOF, and I don't mind the fact that the heroine is by all means NOT a hero. And honestly, what I REALLY enjoyed was the significant lack of the overwraught prose McKinley sometimes brings to her books. (I felt the language in "Rose Daughter" bogged down the story so much that it took me over a year to read it completely.)

If you're looking for the same epic fantasies that McKinley has crafted in books prior to "Sunshine," then this isn't the book for you. But if you're looking for something different, and if you're looking for a protagonist who acts more like a human rather than a hero, and if you're looking for a story with a dark, creepy underbelly, then this very well may be right up your alley.

Rating:
Summary: What a wonderful book.
Review: SUNSHINE is one of the most interesting books I've read this year. I've never read McKinley before, so I brought no preconceptions to the experience. Though I would have changed a couple of things about SUNSHINE (the too-sudden revelation that Rae's world is not our world, the competely absentee but all-too-often discussed mother), I thought the premise and writing were completely engaging. I'd love to read another book about these characters.