I finished Touch the Dark today and was seriously underwhelmed. The plot was confusing and the author has this bad habit of name-dropping just about all of her vampires - it's not enough that this vampire here is hundreds of years old, he has to be someone of historical significance: Rasputin the Mad Monk, or the man behind William Shakespeare (who was just an actor portraying the vampire bard's public persona), or the inspiration for the Man in the Iron Mask. And even the practically-obligatory sex scene between the incredibly handsome vampire and the human woman protagonist caught up in the supernatural goings-on was protracted to a ridiculous level, spanning several chapters. A sex scene kind of fails to work when the reader's reaction is, "Oh, for Pete's sake, let's just get on with it already, this is boring!" Add to all this the fact that the whole novel seems like a setup for a continuing series and I think I've found another author I'm dropping from my list.
Fortunately, in anticipation of another business trip (which I just found out today has been canceled), I stocked up on some books I know ahead of time I'll enjoy. (I don't mind taking chances on new authors I haven't read before when at home, but when away on a business trip I prefer to hedge my bets and make sure my primary form of entertainment won't fall through on me.) So today I started book two in Dean Koontz's "Jane Hawk" series, The Whispering Room. I enjoyed the first one so much I have no worries about this one at all. Plus, Dean has an excellent track record: I've probably read about 50 of his books over the years and he's only failed me twice. I'll take those odds.
Johnathan
Fortunately, in anticipation of another business trip (which I just found out today has been canceled), I stocked up on some books I know ahead of time I'll enjoy. (I don't mind taking chances on new authors I haven't read before when at home, but when away on a business trip I prefer to hedge my bets and make sure my primary form of entertainment won't fall through on me.) So today I started book two in Dean Koontz's "Jane Hawk" series, The Whispering Room. I enjoyed the first one so much I have no worries about this one at all. Plus, Dean has an excellent track record: I've probably read about 50 of his books over the years and he's only failed me twice. I'll take those odds.
Johnathan