SunHi Mistwalker

This Review contains spoilers.

In the interest of full disclosure I just want to let everyone know that I started to skim the last two or three chapters because I couldn't handle reading too closely anymore. Needless to say I did not end up enjoying this book in the slightest. This is really disappointing to me since I usually have such an easy time getting into (post)apocalyptic settings and the synopsis sucked me in with a dystopian world struggling with an economic crash on top of a young show more girl and disillusioned cop teaming up. Recipe for success as far as I'm concerned. Unfortunately the story was poorly executed.

My first major problem with the book is that the author chooses to tell rather than show when it comes to storytelling. The first chapter is essentially a couple of paragraphs blandly talking about the economic collapse, rather than showing the effects and history through setting and characters. Her characters share a similar fate in which we're simply told they have certain characteristics or are feeling a certain way rather than it be portrayed through their actions (which are at times extremely contrary). Characters also change suddenly without any proper development an example being Tony, the 'disillusioned' cop. The author tells us from the get-go that Tony is pretty much the only good cop on the force. However a few scenes later he's faced with finding out that nearly the entire force knew about his daughter being pimped out from under his nose. His response is to repeatedly punch his partner( and apparent best friend of 15 years) in the face repeatedly after he informed Tony. His actions there are forgivable, but by the end of the novel by-the-book Tony out of nowhere actually makes the main character, the one he swore to protect, kill her own puppy in order to show her that lying is bad. What's more the author, and the main character still treat him as if he is worthy of respect and that his actions were completely rational.

The main character, Sunni, stays static throughout the novel as she is victimized again and again by everyone around her and even invites it on some occassions. She doesn't seem to develop in the slightest in spite of what the synopsis will have you believe. The author tells us that Sunni is a girl who trusts no one and yet she is shown easily trusting the very people she shouldn't. Her love interest Jin is a prime example as she openly trusts him even though he hangs out in her pimps circle, he is shown to violently abuse girls, and even threatens and abuses Sunni herself. Now this could be seen as a tragic character flaw if played right, however as with Tony, Jin is written in such a way that it's obvious that the author wants us to sympathize with Jin and see him as a good guy.

The writing style itself also irritated me, dialogue was repetitive and circular. Tony and Sunni's conversations follow a constant "blah blah" "stop lying" "I'm not lying" "yes you are" pattern that offers little to no growth or progression to the story. The 3rd person omniscient point of view is also quite confusing to read at times since the author tries to convey several characters thoughts and emotions simultaneously. This style of writing left very little to the imagination and took away most of the suspense the story might have had to offer. Not only that but due to this omniscient, multi-character P.O.V. it made it quite hard for me to keep track of character relationships, and who was feel what when.

There were also a few gaping plot holes in the story along with questions that were never answered. For one reason or another it is hinted that Sunni is inexplicably valuable or special to the gangsters that are perusing her. Something that seems to make her important enough to stick their necks out for -- but this is never addressed. The gangsters also seemed to have had trouble locating Sunni in spite of the fact that everyone knew she was staying with Toni, and snatching her would've been quite easy to accomplish seeing as she was left in his trailer alone, quite often. This situation is made even more unbelievable by the fact that Sunni also starts attending the same school some of the gangsters (including the one that pimped her out) attend. Those same gangsters eventually barged into Sunni's classroom and was harassed and openly threatened by them WHILE THE TEACH CHOSE TO KEEP TEACHING THE CLASS. The teacher failed to acknowledge anything was even going on when they forced her from the classroom.

In short, this novel has a myriad of issues and at some points failed to make any sort of sense at all! Reading this book was very much like watching a horrific train wreck. As I said before I started to skim during the last two or three chapters because I could not handle anymore. I do know for a fact however that in the end -- nothing gets resolved and there isn't any satisfying character development from any of the characters either. Sunni ends the novel in the same position she started in except with more dead bodies.

Rating: 1/10 stars (see my review policy @ http://fictioholic.blogspot.ca/ for star rating details) show less

Wow! This was a short story I was able to read during lunch time… I was so engrossed in this reading, my lunch got cold and I suddenly wasn’t very hungry at all. I wished this reading had gone on to a novel length book; mainly because it was that good. I could see all the characters, smell the urine and unwashed people, feel their sadness and hope for them too. I closed my story with a silent prayer for a little girl who wanted to be a ballerina that isn’t even a real person. This show more writing reached out and pulled me in and too soon it was over. Bravo! show less

Calcane City is a harsh, dispirited place; it is also the setting for a tense and interesting start to what looks to be an engaging read. The idea of making a serial out of the story should keep readers coming back for more, I for one, will continue to read it as it kinda grabs you by the shirt tails and drags you

After The Darkness: Episode One is the first instalment of a serialized novel by SunHi Mistwalker.

As I started reading this, what jumped out the most at me was how the author attempted to use language. I say attempted, because rather than coming off atmospheric and moody, it came off as overly pedantic and like Mistwalker made heavy use of the thesaurus. While this did let up a bit after the first 10 or so pages, it is still extremely persistent, so much so that it completely overshadowed show more the story that she was trying to create.

The story itself was alright, but it felt a little muddled due to the aforementioned word usage. It was slow to pick up, with not enough scene setting to allow the reader to really connect with the world.

Nadia's character is confused, she tries to sacrifice her sister to save herself, but then a few pages later, she's screaming for her sister and wanting to save her. It didn't feel true, like somebody confused by a situation, rather it felt like the author was confused while writing the story. show less