Helpful Score: 4
A shame that this was one of the last or the last Sunfire in the series, because it has been one of the best I've read so far. The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 is a fascinating natural disaster in a world history full of them, and the description of the sea surge and storm was well done by Shura. Some gruesome events are addressed, like the unfortunate effect of flying and falling debris on the fleeing populace. The post-storm descriptions are gritty, and the determination to pick up and rebuild fit in well with Darcy's personal situation.
This Sunfire was interesting in that the romance conflict wasn't artificially kept alive so that the heroine could ping-pong back and forth between two men (Schurfranz, I'm looking at you). One half of her conflict easily became more of a comment on strict society and convention, and the stubborn adherence to them when all around becomes chaos and change is demanded. It was an effective device and Shura handled it well. The Yankee Michael was also one of the more genuinely likable heroes in the series and his character was as well-drawn as Darcy's. In fact, the entire supporting cast was excellently characterized and instead of standing in as cliches, they had minds and points of view and things to do that didn't seem like it was ticking off a list.
An immensely enjoyable book and it's a shame that it was one of the short ones!
This Sunfire was interesting in that the romance conflict wasn't artificially kept alive so that the heroine could ping-pong back and forth between two men (Schurfranz, I'm looking at you). One half of her conflict easily became more of a comment on strict society and convention, and the stubborn adherence to them when all around becomes chaos and change is demanded. It was an effective device and Shura handled it well. The Yankee Michael was also one of the more genuinely likable heroes in the series and his character was as well-drawn as Darcy's. In fact, the entire supporting cast was excellently characterized and instead of standing in as cliches, they had minds and points of view and things to do that didn't seem like it was ticking off a list.
An immensely enjoyable book and it's a shame that it was one of the short ones!
