About the book
The Hallows. Ancient artifacts imbued with a primal
and deadly power. But are they protectors of this world, or the keys to its
destruction?
A gruesome murder in London reveals a sinister plot to uncover a two-thousand-year-old secret.
For decades, the Keepers guarded these Hallows, keeping them safe and hidden and apart from each other. But now the Keepers are being brutally murdered, their prizes stolen, the ancient objects bathed in their blood. Now, only a few remain.
With her dying breath, one of the Keepers convinces Sarah Miller, a practical stranger, to deliver her Hallow—a broken sword with devastating powers—to her American nephew, Owen. The duo quickly become suspects in a series of murders as they are chased by both the police and the sadistic Dark Man and his nubile mistress.
As Sarah and Owen search for the surviving Keepers, they unravel the deadly secret the Keepers were charged to protect. The mystery leads Sarah and Owen on a cat-and-mouse chase through England and Wales, and history itself, as they discover that the sword may be the only thing standing between the world… and a horror beyond imagining.
416
pages (hardcover)
Published
on: December 6, 2011
Published
by: Tor
Thanks to Tor for sending me a copy of this book to review.
-----
I
don’t generally read urban fantasy, but this one looked too good to ignore. Thirteen Hallows is an incredibly dark,
urban, mystery/suspense novel based on the legend of the thirteen hallows,
which I had never heard about before I read this book. The hallows themselves
fill the book with an interesting and appealing history which could cause
readers to do research on various points of history and legend this book
touches on.
Thirteen Hallows is told with multiple
points of view and while some of these perspectives are done better than
others, switching perspectives helps keep this fast paced book fresh without
making the reader overly exhausted with the nearly constant action. That being
said, Thirteen Hallows is almost
overflowing with bad guys, who are so purely evil that their chapters are
almost unbelievable. Furthermore, this overflow of evil gives the book an
overall hopeless feel that good could ever triumph as the evil has limitless
resources to further their goals.
Thirteen Hallows doesn’t focus intensely
on characterization. Instead, it seems to focus more on plot and action. The
characters always seem to be running and rarely are there any confrontations.
The nearly constant chases made it hard for me to feel rooted in time and
place. While the English setting could have been very interesting and
revitalizing to the book, it whirled by so quickly I rarely had time to enjoy
or absorb it.
Characterization,
as I mentioned above, does seem to be lacking. While the two main protagonists,
Owen and Sarah are enjoyable to follow, they spend so much time focused on
running that the readers really don’t get a feel of who they are without all
the drama surrounding them. Thus, they seem to have no history, just their
present situation. Furthermore, as I mentioned above, the evil characters seem
to be so incredibly evil they are almost completely unbelievable.
One
common complaint in reviews on this book is regarding how inept the police are.
This is a complaint I feel I should point out, as well. There were numerous
situations where the police could have lifted fingerprints or taken other
evidence and discredited their suspicions, but they almost never did. Instead
they assumed almost everything and acted on those assumptions. It got to be
exhausting to read about their inept police procedures when simple
fingerprinting or more research into the situation would have cleared up nearly
everything and could have cut the overall drama which filled the book in half.
The
plot is relentless, almost exhausting because it is so breakneck and
suspenseful. Thirteen Hallows is
filled with plenty of blood and torture as well as sex. While the sex isn’t
graphic, the violence often times is and readers should be aware of that. The
book builds into a quick, yet satisfying end which clearly sets up the reader
for the second book in the series.
Thirteen Hallows is the start of a new
dark urban fantasy series. While it did have problems, there is plenty here for
readers to enjoy. Thirteen Hallows is
filled with plenty of history, a unique English setting, two protagonists who
are easy to follow through their adventures. The plot is breakneck and
absolutely relentless and will probably leave readers on the edge of their seat
gasping for breath. For readers who are more plot focused and not afraid of incredibly
dark books, Thirteen Hallows could be
quite a hit.
3/5 stars
--- GIVEAWAY ---
I am
giving away the book Tor sent me to review. Normally I keep review books, but
with a baby I just don’t have the room anymore so I’m sharing the wealth. I
have read this book once, and I am VERY easy on books. I doubt you’d be able to
tell it was read. It’s also hard cover. The giveaway is open until Thursday, December 15 at midnight
mountain standard time and is open worldwide.
To
enter, send me an email at bookwormblues
(at) live (dot) com with “THIRTEEN HALLOWS” in the subject. I will email
the winner and announce who won on my blog on Friday, December 16.
Good
luck to all who enter!
I was contacted recently to be part of a book tour for this one, and I'm really looking forward to it after seeing the reviews that are starting to pop up online. For all its flaws, I think I'm going to end up enjoying it.
ReplyDeleteI adore some good research rooted mythology in a fantasy, especially urban, which are actually my favs. That's weird what you say about the running. My characters run away a lot. They have further goals, but avoid conflict in all but a few of my novels. In my line, this allows a lot more time for character development as they end up stuffed into cars together or laying low together.
ReplyDeleteWhich is the break in why I may not read this novel. I'm a character girl. I don't care so much if the plot is simple or occasionally even faulty--world the same. If the characters are dull, I tend to come to a dead halt. All else springs from character for me. The plot turns on each decision the characters make and where it takes them. The world must be built around the characters.