Fearless #27: Shock

Rating:
Summary: Was this ghost-written?
Review: I'm a bit disappointed in this book. This is a terrific series, and I highly recommend reading books 1 through 24. There is a natural end to the story a few chapters before the end of book 24, but regrettably everything after that feels artificial, like a publisher's after thought of "why quit now?"

In particular, this book reads as if it were ghost-written. There are a few annoying inconsistencies with the prior storyline, and the characters just don't feel true to themselves anymore.

For example, an avid reader of the series knows that Gaia is a fearless, trained, highly-skilled fighter. We know her emotional state, and we know her intellect. We know how she reacts, both physically and mentally, when she fights with general street-toughs, muggers and criminals, and we know how she reacts during a life-and-death fight with a trained, professional killer. She has standards, and she doesn't back down. She'll sometimes let a little fish go when she feels it's not worth her effort. She fights with her hands and her feet, and with her head; she loathes weapons, and she loathes using more force than is absolutely necessary. Through twenty-some books, we have learned what it takes to make Gaia run away, and IT IS A LOT MORE than two of three street-toughs.

Toward the end of book 27 ("Shock"), there is a fight scene between Gaia and two muggers. The scene is written in solidly in the third-person, as if someone were calling a football game. This dramatic change in writing style from one chapter to the next is enough to remind you that you are reading a book and not listening to Gaia's thoughts. It is as disjointing as if you were engrossed in a movie and then see the microphone swing in from the top of the screen. But beyond the change in writing style is the change in Gaia's fighting style. After a few paragraphs of abstract fighting, Gaia runs. She has been fighting two unskilled muggers (that's nothing for Gaia) and all of a sudden, she doesn't want to stick around and find out how many other guys might be nearby because she isn't sure how many she could disable before they overpowered her. Huh? Talk about an out-of-character response! Now she's fighting three guys, so what does she do? Swings a crowbar she found on the fire-escape. Again, out-of-character. But wait, it doesn't stop there. They're on the run from her, and Gaia thinks this is "too much fun" and decides to chase them and "cause more damage." Did Francine Pascal really write this, or just pen her name on the book? Because this isn't the Gaia we know and love, this is a poor facsimile.

The book was *mostly* true to character, but it was definitely a bit inconsistent in writing style and in the essence of the characters, and it fell short of my high expectations. (sigh)

Rating:
Summary: Was this book ghost-written?
Review: I'm a bit disappointed in this book. This is a terrific series, and I highly recommend reading books 1 through 24. There is a natural end to the story a few chapters before the end of book 24, but regrettably everything after that feels artificial, like a publisher's after thought of "why quit now?"
In particular, this book reads as if it were ghost-written. There are a few annoying inconsistencies with the prior storyline, and the characters just don't feel true to themselves anymore.

For example, an avid reader of the series knows that Gaia is a fearless, trained, highly-skilled fighter. We know her emotional state, and we know her intellect. We know how she reacts, both physically and mentally, when she fights with general street-toughs, muggers and criminals, and we know how she reacts during a life-and-death fight with a trained, professional killer. She has standards, and she doesn't back down. She'll sometimes let a little fish go when she feels it's not worth her effort. She fights with her hands and her feet, and with her head; she loathes weapons, and she loathes using more force than is absolutely necessary. Through twenty-some books, we have learned what it takes to make Gaia run away, and IT IS A LOT MORE than two of three street-toughs.

Toward the end of book 27 ("Shock"), there is a fight scene between Gaia and two muggers. The scene is written in solidly in the third-person, as if someone were calling a football game. This dramatic change in writing style from one chapter to the next is enough to remind you that you are reading a book and not listening to Gaia's thoughts. It is as disjointing as if you were engrossed in a movie and then see the microphone swing in from the top of the screen. But beyond the change in writing style is the change in Gaia's fighting style. After a few paragraphs of abstract fighting, Gaia runs. She has been fighting two unskilled muggers (that's nothing for Gaia) and all of a sudden, she doesn't want to stick around and find out how many other guys might be nearby because she isn't sure how many she could disable before they overpowered her. Huh? Talk about an out-of-character response! Now she's fighting three guys, so what does she do? Swings a crowbar she found on the fire-escape. Again, out-of-character. But wait, it doesn't stop there. They're on the run from her, and Gaia thinks this is "too much fun" and decides to chase them and "cause more damage." Did Francine Pascal really write this, or just pen her name on the book? Because this isn't the Gaia we know and love, this is a poor facsimile.

The book was *mostly* true to character, but it was definitely a bit inconsistent in writing style and in the essence of the characters, and it fell short of my high expectations. (sigh)