Ravings of a Textual Deviant

Wen Spencer’s Tinker reads a lot like the Borderlands novels by Emma Bull or Will Shetterly, in that we have a mix of elven magic and human technology messing up someone’s life. Tinker is a very ambitious novel, in that it packs a lot into what might be only 1/3 of a Robert Jordan or Terry Goodkind novel. Now, normally, I think that a book should go for as long as it takes to tell the story, and no longer, but in this case, it has the feel of a movie in which a lot was left out of the screen version, with the intent of adding it to the special-edition DVD. The characters tend to come off as shallow, while the plot seems to jerk us hither, thither, and yon. In short, it lacks depth, despite the intricacies of the setting. It’s OK, but I don’t think it’s as good as Spencer’s Ukiah Oregon series, and I didn’t enjoy it as much. If you’re looking for something light to take to the beach, Tinker fits the bill. If you’re looking for urban fantasy with teeth, go get War for the Oaks or anything by Charles de Lint.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 31st, 2003 at 9:31 am and is filed under Off the Shelf. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.