2007 Book Log #7: Sunshine, by Robin McKinley

[annathepiper]

Well, that was quite a bit of fun. Definitely a switch from earlier works of McKinley's I've read, both in general tone and concept, though it was a pleasure to see that her writing is still very solid. In this novel especially she shows an impressive range, swinging from sublime to profane and back again. Reviews I've seen keep calling it "Buffyesque", and that's an apt comparison; Buffy fans will definitely see echos of Buffy and Angel in Sunshine and Constantine, and Whedon's influence in the deaths of several vampire characters throughout the story. However, McKinley gives it all her own unique take as well, and the end result is something entirely her own.

The story's not without its problems. As a narrator, Sunshine does have a habit of going on and on with explanatory backstory when you really want her to just get on with it and tell you what's going to happen next. There's also at least a mild level of "oh for fuck's sake" as we get introduced to Sunshine's powers and exactly why she's capable of taking out vampires, and the obligatory whining of "but I don't WANT TO" when she starts cluing in that she may be humanity's last hope. The tone switch into the profane in one particular scene--anyone who's read the novel will know where I mean--is quite jarring, since it's not like McKinley's usual style at all.

But I was quite willing to forgive the book these issues, just because the story is quite solid, and McKinley's writing continues to please. And as every single person I've heard comment on the book has said, it'll do quite a bit to make you crave some cinnamon rolls. Four stars.

Comments

[casirafics.livejournal.com]

The thing with Sunshine is that if you strip out the floridity (is that a word? can we leave it in for the sake of irony?), the backstory, and Sunshine's inner musings, it would be a short story. The thing that's kind of remarkable about the book is that I don't care.

What I do wish is that the copy editors had been a wee bit more attentive. On a reread I caught several cases of British English -- windscreens, lead instead of leash, etc. -- which are predictable enough for McKinley but don't seem to fit for Sunshine. I'm possibly overly nitpicky about these sorts of things, though. ;)

[annathepiper]

Floridity is in fact a word!

And yeah, I have seen other people say that they thought that McKinley's editor was too lenient on her. I can see why. There's certainly a lot in the story that could have used a good hard paring--a lot of Sunshine's rambling on about bits of backstory, for example.

And I'm absolutely with you that the amazing part is that by and large I didn't mind. A lesser writer would have driven me nuts with it. :)