BevL(QB)’s review of Servant: The Awakening by L.L. Foster
Paranormal thriller/urban fantasy published 2 Oct 07 by Berkley
No, you’re not seeing double. Alicia HAS already reviewed this book and, as she admitted, this is not a genre she would normally read. But since L.L. Foster, writing as Lori Foster, is a very popular contemporary romance author, it would make sense that some of her romance fans would wonder if they will like her work in this new venture. So the TGTBTU team decided it made sense for Alicia– romance fan, but not an urban fantasy fan– to review this book. Alicia, however (cause she’s just so gosh darn nice), was concerned that she would sell the book short just because it wasn’t a genre she was familiar with.
Now, I’m a long time Urban Fantasy/Paranormal fan, in fact they make up probably 80% of the books I read. So, once I read that excerpt in Alicia’s review (you know, the one that made her nauseous *g*), I jumped in and said “Oh YEAH! I REALLY wanna read this!” Since this is a book that’s been talked about for months, we decided that it was important enough to review from a second, completely different POV.
BevL(QB)’s summary of Servant: The Awakening by L.L. Foster
When the summoning comes, it is accompanied by excruciating pain that will not cease until the evil that triggered it is slaughtered without mercy. For God’s paladin, Gabrielle Cody, the summoning also brings heightened psychic awareness, inhuman physical prowess, and a bleak, solitary life.But for the first time in her 21 years, Gaby has people who care about her, despite her attempts to drive them away for their own safety. Her landlord, Morty, insists on taking care of her. And why does the touch of Luther Cross, the police detective with a pure aura, lesson the pain from the summoning?
Can Gaby rid the world of deranged, cancer ridden, senior citizens and still protect the only friends she‘s ever had? Can she identify and stop the psychotic doctor who used torturous experimentation to enhance the innate evil of the geriatric minions?
If you just skimmed through that blurb without reading it, please give it another go. I‘ll wait. And YEP, that’s it. I kept waiting for something more. But, NOPE, the Big Bad here is nasty old people who serve as minions to the doctor that tortures them while giving them brain cancer. Got it? uh… yeah… that was my reaction, too. And it’s amazing how much slicing and dicing Gaby has to do to kill Ye Evil Olde Pharts.
The first third (at least) of this book is devoted to ensuring that the reader understands what Gaby’s life is like. Okay, we get it– she’s always been alone in this world, she has no hope for the future, she doesn’t want anyone in her life, everything is bleak and depressing and oh so darkity-dark, yadda yadda yadda. No, really, we get it, can we just move on?
I’ve read thousands of books over my lifetime, so I’d like to give a piece of advice to writers (cause I know you’ve all been waiting for the Yoda-like pronouncements of someone who was born without the creative writing gene). Please think of your thesaurus as only an occasional necessity. It should NOT be used to search for multi syllabic replacements for every adverb and adjective in your entire book! If you know you have a serious thesaurus addiction, then uninstall it from your computer and bury your print copies in the back yard. That way you will have to carefully consider whether it is worth your time and trouble to replace “her shadowy surroundings” with “her tenebrous surroundings” or “nictitating illumination” when “winking”, “blinking” or even “intermittent” would have worked just fine. And couldn’t someone be “crying out in excitement and panic” instead of “vociferating in excitement and panic?” The entire book was riddled with this pretentiousness. And here’s another tip, free of charge- if a word is so obscure (exempting slang) that your word processor doesn’t recognize it, it might not be the best choice for a mass market fiction book. Just sayin’.
Now, I just KNOW that someone is right now asking, “So, you’re saying the book was too cerebral for you, Bev? Would hand puppets help?” As entertaining as I’m sure that would be, nuh-uh, that’s NOT it at all. What I’m saying is that there is a difference between writing intelligent prose and writing to impress the reader with your intelligence. The only impression the latter makes is that you’re trying too hard to impress me by being– wait, let me grab my thesaurus– lexiphanic (lÄ•ks`Ä`făn´Äk) a. 1. Using, or interlarded with, pretentious words; bombastic; as, a lexiphanic writer or speaker; lexiphanic writing.
Ignoring a couple of glaring inconsistencies, let’s move on to what I LIKED about the book. The first couple of pages were so intensely horrific that even I wasn’t sure if I would be able to continue reading (unlike Alicia, that was the only scene that made me flinch, though). I think the IDEA for Gaby’s character was interesting, and I think the budding relationship between Gaby and Luther is kind of… well… CUTE. I trust that their apparent psychic connection WILL be explored in a later book. The change in Monty by the end was also intriguing.
I fully expected to enjoy this book. The basic character and world building were there, it’s just… cancer ridden senior citizens as the evil minions?! Maybe next time Gaby could face a less unpropitious more worthy adversary.
Grade: D
Drop by my personal blog, Cubie’s Confections. It’s the often bawdy, and not always work safe, musings of a pervy old broad with opinions about books, chocolate, and eye candy (you know– the important stuff), and who is convinced that hot flashes burn away brain cells.
I’m sorry, I’d like to comment something profound and witty here, but I just can’t get past cancer ridden senior citizens as the evil minions.
Excuse me while I snicker at my desk.
GUFFAW
Sorry. Sorry. I meant:
CACCHINNATION
LOL! I didn’t quite come at it from that perspective. I did spend a good part of the book in shock, so that’s my excuse. The really weird relationship between her and Luther makes me want to read the next one, still. The guy is a definite masochist.
Poor Luther does like the abuse Gabby gives him! Poor guy must be running around with black eyes and bruises.
And of course he has to watch out for those crazy old cancer demons!
“CACCHINNATION” You’re just replete with a surfeit of risibilty, ain’t ya, Gwen?
And I swear, you guys, I kept thinking there had to be more to the old geezers and the doctor. Like they were puppets of some evil demon or something, because that just COULDN’T be all there was to it- she sensed the evil menace throughout the whole book and I just KNEW there was more- it was just too ridiculous to imagine there wasn’t. When I finished the book and realized that was really all there was to it, I just sat there and went “That’s IT?! Old people with cancer and a bug-fucked nuts doctor??! WTF?”
BTW, that’s not a spoiler. All this is revealed right at the beginning, so the only real mystery was the one I created when I expected it to be something more.
Oh dear,
I did have this on my wishlist, despite Amazon UK saying it isn’t released til Jan 2008.
I was 50/50 after reading the excerpt on the website, I thought the language was a little flowery. But if the whole book is like that, I think I’ll pass on this one.
Why, whatever could you signify, Bev? I adumbrate is that this issuance of bombastic logorrhea will languish in the omnibus and periodical purveyor establishments.
Bummer, I like Lori Foster, assumed this would be good too. I got it from the library….maybe I’ll just pass all together….
I somehow missed the fact that this is by Lori Foster. I think the thing with the big words would drive me insane.
The only context in which I’ve ever seen the word nictating had to do with snakes’ eyes, which are covered by nictating membranes…I think.
Wow. And I thought I was addicted to Roget’s. Good lesson here. Thanks.
If I have manumitted one person from the maxillae of lexiphanicism, then I will consider my elucubration far from nugatory.
In other words, if it gets someone to put down their thesaurus, I’m glad I took one for the team.
This book devastated me, I was soo looking forward to it. And what a disappointment!
How come none of the reviews really mention the heroine being a psychopath? And not in a good Shelly Laurenston kind of way. I mean she is an instrument of god going around killing people almost because of the inner voices?
Found it all a bit creepy and unbelievable.
Actually, in my review I said, “If you like horror with gore in your romance and don’t mind if the heroine is creepily like a psychopathic murderer, then this book is a must read.” It bothered me. I tied to set it aside as much as I could since I knew I was outside of my comfort zone, anyway. I tried to look for the positive aspects, but her whole character creeped me out, big time. There’s a link to my review at the beginning of this one.
Eddie, I have to admit that there were a couple of spots in the book where I DID wonder if she was just a whacko hearing voices in her head. But, IIRC, the fact that her “spidey-sense” unerringly led her to where the evil old minions were, made me think otherwise. There were probably a couple of other reasons too, but it’s been too long to remember them.
So, to borrow Alicia’s phrase, I guess you could say she IS “a psychopathic murderer” only, since she’s “under orders” it’s sanctioned. Not the first time we’ve heard of butchering on a Higher Power’s behalf, is it?
Sorry didn’t see your review Alicia, will have to have a look see, this is my usual comfort zone, but it freaked me out, I don’t know what that says..
Bev, I think even the fact that she was lead to it by her “spidey-sense” worked against it for me, the heroine just seemed to mindlessly follow it. Maybe it is also from me not being a religious person, I can accept fantasy’s light vs dark, better than god made me do it. Or since I was expecting a paranormal/fantasy type of title, found it hard to accept in the ‘normal’ world setting given.
For all her swearing, killing, the heroine kinda seemed characterless, and unbelievable which is probably the base of my problem with the book. believability.. (is that a word?)
But many thanks for giving me the chance to have a little mini rant. I was so disappointed with the book, ranting to my fellow reader for several hours, was not enough. (blush)
Sorry Eddie, it blows when a book you were looking forward too isn’t at all what you like in a book.
And I am sorry you missed Alicia’s review since it is what you needed. I may have to give and agree with Bev that the links need to stand out more.
If you scroll up to this review the first link has a link to Alicia’s, if you are interested in seeing it. After the fact and all…
Finally a sincere review. I absolutely hated this book.
BWHAHAHAHA!
Lena, I’m taking that as one of the highest compliments a reviewer can receive! Thank you!