Sunshine

Rating:
Summary: Stop whining people
Review: I'm astounded by the whining about this book. People don't like the heroine, they consider the book rambling and can't cope with an ending that doesn't tie up every possible loose end. Perhaps you should all go read Star Trek novels where there'll be no surprises for you and everything will be nicely solved at the end.

What I loved about this book is that McKinley takes on the hoary cliche of human/vampire encounter and made it fresh and interesting. I loved the everyday tied into the fantastic. Rae is both extraordinary *and* ordinary at the same time and having a hell of a time adjusting. I loved the importance of the cinnamon buns in her life and spent a great deal of my reading time (I read it in one night, unable to put it down) craving really good baked goods. I loved that it is and isn't a romance. I loved that a bigger world emerged between the lines of this novel. I loved that I closed the book satisfied and wanting more. Sequels would be fabulous but not getting them won't kill me either.

I've never read McKinley before but I'll be looking out for her books now.

Rating:
Summary: Not the best introduction to McKinley's work
Review: I consider myself a fairly dedicated McKinley fan, so I have been quite happy to be catching her new books as they appear in hardcover. Unfortunately, I was actually disappointed with this one.

I am a great fan of McKinley's writing style, such as in Hero, Beauty, and Spindle's End. I am also a fan of how McKinley often writes about magic as if she were an artist drawing negative space. When magic happens it is often described in a subtle manner. She is also great at capturing the undercurrents of mob mentality as when she describes court reactions to either Aerin in Hero or Lissar in Deerskin. None of the things I savor in McKinley's previous works were present for very long, if at all, in Sunshine.

The language in Sunshine often feels as if someone other than McKinley was fleshing out the story from McKinley's notes without really being a fan of McKinley's style. Most jarring would be the sudden vulgarity as the main character, Rae, comments on a relationship with either of the two men in her life. Using words such as "dick" or "hard-on" don't bother me, ever, but the uneven way in which the character would drop into using these words was completely unenjoyable to read.

McKinley is usually a master at weaving in the history of a place and time into the plot of the story. Too often in Sunshine I felt that the history of the place took center stage to the detriment of moving the plot anywhere. I have reread the book several times and I always am amazed at how short a period of time is actually covered in some parts of the book because the history that had to be covered in this alternate universe made me feel as if years had passed for these characters. Perhaps setting this story in an "urban fantasy" setting made doing what McKinley usually does so well more problematic.

I wish that Sunshine had been pared down in places. I could have done without the government X-files-like organization. Too much time was given to these people while not enough time was given to Mel, a character who clearly had lead quite an interesting life but was left on the backburner except when Sunshine needed a burly boyfriend to step in. Both the characters of Mel and Constantine were interesting to me, much in the same way the characters of Tor and Luthe were interesting to me in Hero and the Crown. In Hero and the Crown, the characters of Aerin, Tor, and Luthe are handled well, and in the end it is possible to believe that Aerin will be able to have both of those loves in her life. In the interactions between Rae, Mel, and Constantine, I could never understand why Mel had stuck with Rae for so long, and didn't particularly feel like Rae deserved to have either man drop into her life.

Rae is the first main character I haven't really cared for or been able to identify with in some way. I don't know if this is because she is a reluctant hero so much as she wasn't that likeable.

I would be interested in learning more about Rae's magical family and the Voodoo Wars leading up to the setting of this story. This novel felt as if it was only in the beginning stages of the editing process. Whoever edited this book probably ought to be soundly scolded. I think with better revision it could have been a much more satisfying read. My greatest fear is that readers new to Robin McKinley will pick this book first and not get any further. I hope that the quality of Sunshine is just a fluke, and Robin McKinley hasn't gone the way of Mercedes Lackey.

Give Robin McKinley a try. Just don't try this first.

Rating:
Summary: Insultingly boring
Review: I was wandering in the bookstore the other day wondering when Robin McKinley would have another book out, and I nearly jumped with surprise when I looked down at the table I was standing next to, and there was "Sunshine" right in front of me.

Too bad that initial joy was the best part of the whole experience!

I am -- or was -- a huge Robin McKinley fan and have been since I read "Beauty" at the age of thirteen. I was really looking forward to seeing what she would come up with next, but now I wish I'd just let this one go by and continued in my blissful fandom. The narrative style is unintelligible (jargon-laden stream-of-consciousness), the obsession with baking -- detailed unto death -- not only detracts from the story but actually stops it dead in its tracks on a few occasions, and the whiny, surly "heroine" fails to engage on any level.

I give this book one star only because I can't give it no stars. This is not only the worst Robin McKinley book I've read, it's also one of the worst books I've ever read, period. Get it out of the library if you must satisfy your curiosity, but for Heaven's sake save your mone and don't buy it.

Rating:
Summary: Best book I've read all year!
Review: Rae "Sunshine" Seddon lead a normal but happy life as a baker in a coffeehouse until one night she gets kidnaped by vampires. She's held captive as a perspective meal for another vampire captive but he refuses to kill her. In her attempts to escape, Sunshine discovers more about herself and her past than she ever wanted to know and she's afraid she may loose her normal life forever.

Robin McKinley is my favorite author and when I found out she was writing a book about one of my favorite subjects (vampires) I was ecstatic. But I didn't even have a clue this book would be so good. I'm not exaggerating a bit when I say that out of the eighty or so books I've read this year, this one is my favorite. McKinley has created a very interesting and original world that's equally fantasy and horror. The main character was also really great. She managed to be strong with out being one of those overly tough female characters that seem to be so popular in vampire books these days. I also really loved the not quite romance between the main characters. Anyway, this book is well worth the hardcover price so go get it now.

Rating:
Summary: Burn the Money
Review: This was my first crack at a Robin McKinley novel, so I'm a virgin here. I'd heard all the hype about the writer and how she's the second coming of YA Christ, so I was expecting major, smooth fiction.

This book is basically Robin McKinley trying to cash in on Laurell K. Hamilton by cloning Anita Blake but doing so in a nice, church lady semi-YA format. She fumbles like a fifteen year old at his first drive-thru and most of the time, she loses what grip she has on the story.

I can tell you on what page she starts fumbling: twelve, when she begins an onerous infodump about her alternate universe Earth, where vamps and all kinds of nasties are real and there's even been a war with them. Pay attention, because the baddies are whisked on and off so fast you'll miss them if you blink. As for her universe, no follow-through. You could call it Boring Vamp Universe and By God you're going to hear every detail of anything but the good stuff in it. Huge mistake and she repeats it throughout the book.

The premise: Sunshine is a baker with a lousy job, a quirky family, and (of course) a latent talent. She gets caught by a group of scary vamps who chain her in an abandoned house within arm's reach of an uber-scary, starved vampire (also held hostage) and leave her there to be kibble and bits. Sounds great, right? How could you screw this up? Let Robin McKinley write the book, that's how.

Sunshine is the worst kind of Hamilton imitator, because McKinley is afraid of everything: violence, gore, sex, and her own much-lauded talent. So she avoids them as much as possible, and as a result the prose drags, the characters are laughably 2-D and the action is slower than a tortoise with a hangover. Of particular offense, the (count 'em) two possible sex scenes are so ruined by the author that I have vowed never to waste another buck on this uptight woman.

Bend the Reads recommends you burn the $23.95 it would cost to buy this book, because that's the only way you'll get anything out of it.

Rating:
Summary: I just can't get excited about cinnamon buns
Review: I have never cared much for Robin McKinley's books, finding her style a bit ponderous for my taste. At first I thought I was going to enjoy this book more than the others, but soon found myself getting bored. The plot is just too slow-moving, nothing happens for ages and ages. Most of the time the heroine is thinking, or talking about her job in a coffe shop bakery, dwelling at great length on her speciality, cinnamon buns. I read more about cinnamon buns in the first 100 or so pages of this book than I ever wish to read in a lifetime. And when she isn't brooding on her cinnamon buns it's muffins or something. And the vampire, who I assume is going to be the hero, is there for a while and then he dissapears and isn't seen again for ages, he hadn't turned up again by the time I gave up on the book. He's a boring vampire anyway. If you want to read a fun vampire story try Tanya Huff's Blood series, or Susan Sizemore, this book is tedious.

Rating:
Summary: I am not sure I liked this book BUT .....
Review: .... I gave it 5 stars because it pulled me into the story from the first page to the last, the world constructed by McKinley is extremely interesting, I have no regrets about buying the novel in hardcover(instead of waiting for paperback),if there is ever a sequel I will be buying it asap and I would recommend this novel to friends.
McKinley constructs a fascinating world inhabited by a eclectic mix of fantasy creatures of both pure blood and mixed blood. The world these creatures and the humans inhabit is our world - just a few degrees off. And the vampires who are the 'evil menace' of the story bear no resemblance to the nice vamps who have come to inhabit all to much of todays vampire fiction.
The very reluctant heroine of the story is Sunshine, who turns out to be very much her fathers daughter after years of her mother (and herself) trying to avoid or ignore that part of her heritage. After years of normal behaviour, the magic in her genes begins to break out. This leads her into a spot of vampire trouble from which she escapes only through her magic. The result is that she has entered into a conflict with a 'Master Vampire'; is allied with another vampire (in a world where all vampires are considered 'the enemy'-to be killed by the authorities); her own abilities are gaining strength and she has come to the attention of the authorities charged with dealing with the "Others".
The story follows all these conflicting aspects as they pivot around (over, through) Sunshine. What could have been a terrible mess is held together and driven along the storyline by McKinley's excellent writing.
As I said I am not sure I 'liked' this book, but I sure could not stop reading it. If you are looking for a great fantasy world construct, an intersting 'heroine' (say central character), not nice vampires, other interesting characters and a very different storyline - all held together by the authors ability to tell the tale ... Then this book is for you. Let me conclude by saying the ending was open enough to allow the author to visit with 'Sunshine' again and I would be glad to go back again myself.

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous!
Review: This is, without a doubt, the most marvelous book I've read in years. Everything about it is just right, so much so that I'm afraid McKinley will blow it in a sequel. However, I'm willing to take the chance. It's been a long time since I've read something so totally mesmerizing -- when I finished it I just sat there hugging it, hoping some of the magic would seep into me.
Utterly fabulous!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Not perfect, but kept me turning the pages...
Review: Set in an eerie future world where magic and monsters co-exist with reality as we know it (more or less), Sunshine by Robin McKinley is the tale of Rae Seddon, a.k.a. Sunshine, baker extraordinaire at Charlie's Coffeehouse. Her predictable life changes forever when one night she abandons her family's popcorn night for a drive to the lake where she spent time as a child. She ends up being captured by vampires and left as the main meal for powerful vampire, Constantine, who has also been captured and is in shackles. His choice not to feed on Sunshine leads her to make the choice of saving his life come daybreak. Their mutual choices create an unlikely bond between them that together makes them stronger and able to take on the enemy who would destroy them both.

The book is fascinating, if not perfect. Far too much time is spent on Sunshine's ruminations at the cost of a pace better suited to the last 60 or so pages of the book. At first, the time spent in Sunshine's head was interesting; after a while it got tedious and I often thought, "Get on with it!" But if you're into atmosphere and funky visions of the future and what might be hiding in the shadows, Sunshine might be up your alley.

Rating:
Summary: Mediocre
Review: "Sunshine" by Robin McKinley is somewhat of a disappointment. While she's very adept at creating scenes and scenery that resonates deeply, her characters leave something to be desired. In "Sunshine," the main character, nicknamed--what else?--Sunshine, has a tendency to disperse long, rambling, narratives that tend to lull the reader to sleep. Somewhat stream-of-consciousness, the narratives don't serve to move the story forward very quickly, but are more like roadside distractions one sees along the way. There is little action in this novel outside the main character's head, a difficult task even in the best of hands. In "Sunshine," the payoff was far too long in coming with little or no tension created beforehand to draw the reader along. I loved McKinley's previous works, but don't count this one as one of her better ones.