Fair to middlin', Paul. Dalnewt, I think my only comment can be, that I hope you enjoy it. There were a lot of things that had to happen in Crossed because it was Rachel's swan song and I needed something to force Eric to wake up and be proactive. Or, to quote Bill Cosby, "I had to tell you that story so I could tell you this one."
paulgoatallen wrote:
JFLewis wrote:
Obviously I like this one.That's a shocker. Do you also think the author is insanely intelligent and handsome?
Here are my thoughts on Burned...
The weird thing about all of these Void City novels, at least to me, is that – like Marcus Pelegrimas' Skinners novels – the immersion factor is initially tough. It takes me a while to really "get into" these books. But generally, about halfway through, I find myself totally hooked and along for the ride. Just interesting to me becaise I love both the Void City and Skinners sagas but find myself struggling to get into them every single time.
Does anyone else have this problem?
paulgoatallen wrote:
Does anyone else have this problem?
Yup, there are a handful of series that I just love, but for some reason I will put off reading the new releases or it takes me several chapters to hit that This-Is-The-Best-Series-Ever feeling that you have when finishing each book. This series is definitely one of those for me. I haven't read Burned yet, but I know that Void City is one of my favorite series and J.F. Lewis is one of my favorite authors. An underappreciated series that is highly recommendable, but that I am currently underappreciating (wish that was a legitimate word).
paulgoatallen wrote:
dalnewt wrote:I LOVE Greta--she's so innocent and evil at the same time.
Maybe that is why so many female readers identify with her! (That was aimed at my wife!!!)
Hey Paul, you love Greta too--doesn't mean you identify with her.
Greta is unique and singular. IMO, no one (outside an asylum) could genuinely identify with Greta.
This book works for me because it kept me guessing and entertained. I didn't know exactly what The Plan entailed and that was a good thing--it kept me interested. Plus, the foreseen and unforeseen problems Eric encounters while trying to implement The Plan were very amusing; and, Eric's honesty was appealing despite his very twisted and (let's be honest) completely self-centered morality. And, I was TOTALLY entertained by Greta. She made the book for me! I also loved the supernatural elements, especially the chupacabras and Eric's noggin detachable 'Nukekubi' of a second cousin named Evelyn. Although a bit chaotic, the final showdown is explosive and involves a bit of awesome transformation by Greta. When the book ends, a lot of questions have been answered but some remain giving the series somewhere to go.
(Ehhh, Marilyn is appealing, but not as interesting/amusing as the other lead characters. I mean she's ruthless, honest and loyal, but, IMO, not eccentric enough given the company she keeps.)
Here's three of my favorite lines/quotes from the book:
(p. 269) Greta -- "I will say this, though. Erections make damn good hand warners."
(p 261) Greta -- "I have no accord with Geneva, I've never met anybody named Miranda, and "due process' is a misspelled discussion topic for why grass is wet in the morning." 
(p. 249) Greta answering her new deputy Evelyn
"So," Evelyn said, making me jump, "what do we call this then? A tail job or a skank wank?"
"A Bill Clinton,' I said, "'cause it's not technically sex,a but is sooo totally counts."
Paul, I've wondered if part of it is caused by the multiple first person POVs. Obviously I like using them, but I also fear they can cause an initial stutter. It's usually chapters 1-3 from Eric's POV (because I always feel like Eric should get the firts word in) and then a jump to Tabitha, Rachel, Greta (in book five it's Magbidion) for a counterpoint or something vital Eric isn't seeing, but the reader needs to know so I can avoid a "gotcha" moment later. It is also possible that it's Eric himself. He can be a little abrasive a first until we see him interact with the people he cares about and remember there is a nice guy buried in there somewhere. And lastly, it might be the recap info whch has to be there to remind folks about what happened before, though I think that gets a bit more interesting in later books as how Eric remembers events begins to shift with time. For example, by Burned, unless Eric is being Haunted, he really doesn't remember exactly what happened to Roger and I don't think Eric remembers who Kyle was at all.
paulgoatallen wrote:
The weird thing about all of these Void City novels, at least to me, is that – like Marcus Pelegrimas' Skinners novels – the immersion factor is initially tough. It takes me a while to really "get into" these books. But generally, about halfway through, I find myself totally hooked and along for the ride. Just interesting to me becaise I love both the Void City and Skinners sagas but find myself struggling to get into them every single time.
Does anyone else have this problem?
Originally The Plan wasn't the only mystery. I'd also concealed that Eric was a vampire by day and a true immortal by night, leaving hints for the reader to figure it out as we went through the book and giving it away just before the big reveal of The Plan. My editor felt that made the book way too frustrating and based on reader reactions, I think she was right. Though I'll admit it was awefully hard to make sure Id gotten all those older references out of the final draft when revising it.
I'm especially gald you liked Evelyn. When Eric ripped her head off in STAKED, I knew we'd see her again (which I why Talbot went out of his way to make sure the reader knew she was a Courtney), I just didn't know it would take until book four for her to get a little payback.
