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spinnerroweok 's review for:
The Exile Kiss
by George Alec Effinger
No, no, no, no, no! This book started so well. This series was so good. And the first 2/3rds of this book was so good. Then, it all just fell apart. The book starts out with the protagonist, Marid, being exiled along with his "boss." They are abandoned in the Rub Al Khali Desert. This part is great. But then, he returns to civilization, and the story takes on an almost dreamlike quality. New subplots come and go out of nowhere. Characters start acting out of character. The story seem to lose its focus on the whole exile plot that it began with. There is some potential here as the story seems to be about Marid becoming a Michael Corleone figure, but even that seems to go nowhere.
And then there is "the gun."
***SPOILER IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH***
For me, the most unforgivable plot point in the story is the gun. Marid's boss gives him a gun used in the murder for which Marid and his boss were framed. The boss tells Marid that he cannot tell him anything about the gun, like where he got it from. This would have saved Marid a lot of work, but it seems the author wants to maintain suspense with the gimmick of "I can't tell you that, nor will I give you a reason why." But this is not the worst part. Later, the owner of the gun seems to miraculously have it back in his possession as he tries to use it to kill Marid. Finally, Marid has magically repossessed the gun for the climax of the story that was really overly simplified and had the feel of an all night term paper that had to be quickly finished an hour before class.
***END SPOILER***
To be fair, I did some research, and it seems Effinger, the writer, had health, financial, and leagal issues. This may have been the source of his wandering plot. It's a shame because I really loved the first two books and would continue reading this series, but this work seems to come at the end of his writing career.
While I don't recommend this book, I do recommend the first two books in the series. If you like them, you can give this one a try. It does have its merits, but in the end, it was a disappointment.
And then there is "the gun."
***SPOILER IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH***
For me, the most unforgivable plot point in the story is the gun. Marid's boss gives him a gun used in the murder for which Marid and his boss were framed. The boss tells Marid that he cannot tell him anything about the gun, like where he got it from. This would have saved Marid a lot of work, but it seems the author wants to maintain suspense with the gimmick of "I can't tell you that, nor will I give you a reason why." But this is not the worst part. Later, the owner of the gun seems to miraculously have it back in his possession as he tries to use it to kill Marid. Finally, Marid has magically repossessed the gun for the climax of the story that was really overly simplified and had the feel of an all night term paper that had to be quickly finished an hour before class.
***END SPOILER***
To be fair, I did some research, and it seems Effinger, the writer, had health, financial, and leagal issues. This may have been the source of his wandering plot. It's a shame because I really loved the first two books and would continue reading this series, but this work seems to come at the end of his writing career.
While I don't recommend this book, I do recommend the first two books in the series. If you like them, you can give this one a try. It does have its merits, but in the end, it was a disappointment.