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Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Review: Flight of the Golden Harpy by Susan Klaus

Flight of the Golden Harpy 
Pages: 400
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Fantasy/Sci-fi elements; Romance
Hardcover
GOODREADS
Kari, a young woman, returns to her jungle planet of Dora after ten years in Earth’s schools and is determined to unravel the mysteries surrounding the harpies, a feral species half-bird, half-mortal. The residences of Dora believe the harpies are dangerous game animals and hunt them for their trophy wings, but Kari thinks they are intelligent and not just wild animals. A rare golden harpy, a teenage blond male with yellow wings rescued Kari as a child from the jaws of a water monster. Upon returning home, she learns the harpies are facing extinction with the over-hunting and she sets out to save them, all the time wondering if the golden male is still alive.

Flight of the Golden Harpy is a fantasy, but also a mystery, thriller, and a love story that leaves a reader questioning our humanity

Review

I have mixed feelings about this book. So much so that I don't believe I can put a star rating on it because my emotions while reading would often completely change from one chapter to the next. I will say that upon finishing it I was happy with the book, and I felt compelled to keep reading pretty much the entire time (except for the very beginning.)

I think the biggest issue for me with Flight of the Golden Harpy is the author's writing itself. I've general found that if the reader is aware they're reading words on a page instead of completely transfixed with the story, there's something wrong with the writing that usually manifests itself through overdone syntax and/or jarring word choice (both of which I think this book is guilty of). The writing wasn't horrible, but it came off as stunted and even a little fanfiction-y at times when it came to descriptions of people. (If you've ever read mediocre fanfiction, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.) Especially in the beginning, the dialogue was incredibly dry, and I'll admit I wasn't too interested in the protagonist, Kari and her reclusive nature. However, I think a lot of this might've been the result of the author rushing herself to get to the good part. Things happen quickly, and once I got a few chapters in, I fell into the groove of her writing and didn't notice it as much. It could just be that I got used to it, but I also think the author really started enjoying her own story once Kari landed on Dora and things could really start happening.

Romance is usually one of my favorite aspects of novels (I'm a sucker, I know!) and I think if they're in the story, they have to be good or else why waste my time. I quite liked the chemistry between Kari and Shail, although I'll admit it's mostly because I loved Shail so much. Hands down my favorite character in the entire book because i'm kinda in love with him it's no big deal he was just so electric. Honestly, I feel like it was more his story than Kari's because of the journey he went on and how much he changed. Not gonna lie, I wouldn't mind a harpy boyfriend.

This novel wasn't one I immediately latched onto, but I did get into it as I kept reading. I feel like that will be the case with most people. If you start this book and think you're not going to like it, I urge you to keep going. Finishing the book was gratifying for me, and I'm usually the kind of person who stops reading quite early on if I think it's not my thing. Give it a chance, because Susan Klaus did an amazing job with worldbuilding and creating a vibrant setting in the novel. Honestly, reading a novel about harpies was incredibly refreshing because it's not a creature I've seen done before and it allowed my mind freedom to imagine as I read instead of having a preconceived notion. I loved how the harpies were written, and Klaus's attention to detail in their animal/human hybrid behavior was a nice touch. To digress a bit from world building, I think Susan Klaus also did quite a good job at character building. While not all the characters flourished for me (mostly side characters like Ted), the ones that were important did. Kari's father is a notable one--I thought I would loathe him but I ended up loving him. And of course, Shail. Beautiful Shail. *dreamy sigh* 

IMPORTANT NOTES: 1) This book does have several descriptive sex scenes, which I personally had no problem with (honestly I was hoping they'd be more detailed, lol.) But that is something to be aware of. I'm not really one for censorship but I think this book is best left out of the hands of young teens. Maybe 15 and up. I say if you can get behind the wheel of a car, you can read a few naughty words on a page.

2) Major trigger warning: there are two very detailed rape scenes, which I was not okay with because there was no indication anywhere that this book would be as violent as that. Speaking of violence, there's quite a bit of that as well. If you're someone that can be triggered by rape or violence, I think it's best to stay away from this book.

You see how I keep flipping back and forth between what I liked and didn't? It's hard to pin down my overall reactions, because I felt so strongly either good or bad about specific things.

This book isn't specifically sci-fi or fantasy, but more a meshing together of both, so I don't know who to recommend it to. I do think fans of fantasy will enjoy it, as I myself love fantasy and am only partial to sci-fi.

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