Tuesday 11 March 2014

Light of the World

 
I want to record my disappointment with this novel. I've followed the exploits of Dave Robicheaux for many years and enjoyed the telling of the tales, party at least because I've been to New Orleans many times and New Iberia several times. This one is set in Montana, where, if I remember rightly, Mr Burke lectured on the subject of writing. This novel reads like it was written as a textbook. A good storyline is ruined by endless, mind-numbing warnings about the evil men do and spectacularly florid descriptions of the landscape. The title seems pointless and unrelated to the story as well. Oh, and the arrows. There is an arrow in this story, but just one which is a modern arrow with very sharp metal; bits designed to hurt or kill, but just one. The Indian arrows shown on the cover are surplus to requirements and possibly designed to attract purchasers who are swayed by Indian arrows. As you can see, it's a library book and I'm really glad I didn't pay for it.