Catherine Jinks

I began reading this last year and forgot about it, so I picked it up again a few days ago and managed to finish it this time. This is a funny novel. I mean, it's odd. I really wish I'd read it when it came out, in the 90s. I recognise many of the settings, and when this was published, I was of an age with many of the young characters: early 20s, having my eyes opened to great art, classical music, essentially 'The Western Canon'. But this book is a little confused, to me. I think it was meant to be a portrait of a charismatic person and the byzantine social machinations in his orbit. But there was something sneaky about the way one of the storylines ended up being about stalking, and consent. And it was left rather unresolved. So this gets 3 stars for reminding me of my youth, but really 2 and a 1/2 because it didn't end properly.… (altro)

I listened to the audiobook version of Evil Genius. It was almost halfway through this long book before things got to be really interesting to me. Were I doing a regular read, I'm not sure I would have stuck it through that long. I say that by way of encouraging others to keep on plugging.
The whole book seemed to be built on a premise like "what if Harry Potter had a much more ambiguous moral compass?" I did find myself frequently thinking, "would I really want young teens reading this?" It wasn't a question of sex or inappropriate language (there is none). Rather, it was just the fairly casual way that the lead character accepted and/or participated in hurtful, illegal actions with almost no qualms or reflection. When he does eventually come around to the "good" side, it isn't because of any great moral conviction but rather out of pique at his erstwhile companions. Not exactly the sort of reinforcement one hopes that young readers are receiving.
I will say that I appreciated the fact that the ending wasn't exactly a complete success for Cadel. Real life rarely has a neat wrap-up, and this story reflects that fact.… (altro)