Witch`s Canyon review
Nov. 5th, 2007 09:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
astri13Thoughts on the second SPN novel: Witch`s Canyon
- The plot worked well enough for me and the ending was a lot more climatic and suspenseful than in "Nevermore" where I sadly felt the intriguing Poe-story fell flat in the end.
Characterization-wise it was a bit weird.
- Sam`s POV struck me as downright anti-canonical sometimes. He thought about hunting as a calling? A mission as in mission of revenge I could get but the show could hardly have made it any more clear that Sam didn`t feel hunting was his calling. I felt that in Season 2 he mellowed out on his former "only non-persons do it" stance and saw value in it but to resign yourself to never being able to have what you see as your "calling" aka a normal life and therefore trying to embrace what you apparently seem destined to do is very, very different from seeing it as a calling.
And he sees Dean as all soldier and businesslike? That kinda reminded me of that one ep review where it went "seeing the usually somber Dean crack a smile". I think Sam is aware that compared to Dean he is the fun-police. :)
Then there was the weird reference from Sam to Dean possibly not even thinking about saving people first. Except when he gave you the big honkin speech on it, dipshit. The saving-people-mantra has been a part of Dean since the beginning. That doesn`t preclude him wanting to be where the action is. Job entails both if it`s well done.
He also feels he needs to boss Dean around because Dean thrives on orders. Okay, strike one: the seeing Dean as a soldier-drone to that amount belongs in the first half of Season 1. Secondly when has Sam ever bossed Dean around? To me they mostly worked as equals and if anything Sam`s resentments would go in the him being bossed around by Dean-category. See also Crossroads words.
And the weird thing was Sam`s apparent bossing around extended to "lets turn in for the night" or "lets go eat something" or some nagging. Like those are the big leadership decisions. Boy, have I bossed people around then.
I kinda felt like I had stumbled into a BDSM fanfic on occassion with Sam being all grabby hands with Dean and forever pushing and pulling at him. Uhm no? There was an improv by Jared in the Pilot, Raggedy-Andy of Faith, the wall-slam of Salvation and the recent thing in "Sin City." Apart from that Sam has always been hands-off. He hardly initiates physical touching. Ever. See the manlove metas for it. Dean is the herding sheep-dog. So nope, don`t buy it.
And the biggest and baddest mistake of them all, Sam wanted to EAT something. I mean, has the author even watched the show? Our little Sammy is anorexic. :-p
Other stuff was rather sweet and in-character so the WTF-moments stood out even more. And this being Season 2 shouldn`t Sam be in general all worried and self-loathing with the "oh my, will I or won`t I go evil?" Instead of being kinda full of it?
- Dean`s POV was better, even though I don`t believe even our resident king of guilt would feel that if he hadn`t gotten Sam, Jessica would have lived. I`m pretty sure he assigns blame fairly where it goes there: the yellow-eyed son-of-a-bitch.
Though there was much less running commentary from Dean on Sam. Kinda shame. Some insight would have been nice. The most we got really was Dean musing on Sam`s face and the family resemblance. Admittedly I don`t have siblings but after twenty years would you just randomely go and think "hm, his face looks like that and mine looks like this..."? Odd.
And he was a bit too much with the "but why...and how...and when...you got an idea, Sam?" First, Dean has usually gut instincts as well and secondly even if he has nothing he wouldn`t turn to Sam all the time for answers. He`d bluster at the very least.
- the OCs were nicely executed though there was a bit much on them
- too much needless exposition - and then there was the fire where bla bla happened which led to bla bla
Either find a way to fit it in in an exciting way or leave it out.
- on the matter of needlessness, what was up with the gratutious flashbacks of Marine!John the mini bootcamp abuse? Now I`m not saying stuff like that didn`t happen but to that extent? And what was the purpose of those scenes? They didn`t have anything to do with the case at hand, didn`t tie into anything.
So, in my typical manner that read like I hated it again, I guess. :-p I didn`t. I felt it was okay, in some ways better, in some ways worse than Nevermore. In any way not doing it for me like fanfic.
- The plot worked well enough for me and the ending was a lot more climatic and suspenseful than in "Nevermore" where I sadly felt the intriguing Poe-story fell flat in the end.
Characterization-wise it was a bit weird.
- Sam`s POV struck me as downright anti-canonical sometimes. He thought about hunting as a calling? A mission as in mission of revenge I could get but the show could hardly have made it any more clear that Sam didn`t feel hunting was his calling. I felt that in Season 2 he mellowed out on his former "only non-persons do it" stance and saw value in it but to resign yourself to never being able to have what you see as your "calling" aka a normal life and therefore trying to embrace what you apparently seem destined to do is very, very different from seeing it as a calling.
And he sees Dean as all soldier and businesslike? That kinda reminded me of that one ep review where it went "seeing the usually somber Dean crack a smile". I think Sam is aware that compared to Dean he is the fun-police. :)
Then there was the weird reference from Sam to Dean possibly not even thinking about saving people first. Except when he gave you the big honkin speech on it, dipshit. The saving-people-mantra has been a part of Dean since the beginning. That doesn`t preclude him wanting to be where the action is. Job entails both if it`s well done.
He also feels he needs to boss Dean around because Dean thrives on orders. Okay, strike one: the seeing Dean as a soldier-drone to that amount belongs in the first half of Season 1. Secondly when has Sam ever bossed Dean around? To me they mostly worked as equals and if anything Sam`s resentments would go in the him being bossed around by Dean-category. See also Crossroads words.
And the weird thing was Sam`s apparent bossing around extended to "lets turn in for the night" or "lets go eat something" or some nagging. Like those are the big leadership decisions. Boy, have I bossed people around then.
I kinda felt like I had stumbled into a BDSM fanfic on occassion with Sam being all grabby hands with Dean and forever pushing and pulling at him. Uhm no? There was an improv by Jared in the Pilot, Raggedy-Andy of Faith, the wall-slam of Salvation and the recent thing in "Sin City." Apart from that Sam has always been hands-off. He hardly initiates physical touching. Ever. See the manlove metas for it. Dean is the herding sheep-dog. So nope, don`t buy it.
And the biggest and baddest mistake of them all, Sam wanted to EAT something. I mean, has the author even watched the show? Our little Sammy is anorexic. :-p
Other stuff was rather sweet and in-character so the WTF-moments stood out even more. And this being Season 2 shouldn`t Sam be in general all worried and self-loathing with the "oh my, will I or won`t I go evil?" Instead of being kinda full of it?
- Dean`s POV was better, even though I don`t believe even our resident king of guilt would feel that if he hadn`t gotten Sam, Jessica would have lived. I`m pretty sure he assigns blame fairly where it goes there: the yellow-eyed son-of-a-bitch.
Though there was much less running commentary from Dean on Sam. Kinda shame. Some insight would have been nice. The most we got really was Dean musing on Sam`s face and the family resemblance. Admittedly I don`t have siblings but after twenty years would you just randomely go and think "hm, his face looks like that and mine looks like this..."? Odd.
And he was a bit too much with the "but why...and how...and when...you got an idea, Sam?" First, Dean has usually gut instincts as well and secondly even if he has nothing he wouldn`t turn to Sam all the time for answers. He`d bluster at the very least.
- the OCs were nicely executed though there was a bit much on them
- too much needless exposition - and then there was the fire where bla bla happened which led to bla bla
Either find a way to fit it in in an exciting way or leave it out.
- on the matter of needlessness, what was up with the gratutious flashbacks of Marine!John the mini bootcamp abuse? Now I`m not saying stuff like that didn`t happen but to that extent? And what was the purpose of those scenes? They didn`t have anything to do with the case at hand, didn`t tie into anything.
So, in my typical manner that read like I hated it again, I guess. :-p I didn`t. I felt it was okay, in some ways better, in some ways worse than Nevermore. In any way not doing it for me like fanfic.
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(no subject)
Date: 2007-11-10 02:26 am (UTC)How hard is it to Google the boys?
Haha! Wasn't it, though? I got the message the first time. I live near San Francisco. Anyone near any major city knows this. Anybody who drives knows this.
All I have to say is: BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Much amusement. Snickers. *snort*
It was like he threw those scenes in to appear like there was some emotional continuity with the show. Which pissed me off.