Molly Cochran (1) (1949–)

I can't say I overly enjoyed this book, but it wasn't bad either. It was the mention of Saladin that peaked my interest in the beginning, and really it was this character that held my interest throughout the book. I did not really grow attached to any of the other characters, even though they were the supposed protagonists. In addition, as the book progressed, things became less and less explained or believable.I very much liked the idea and story of the cup, of Kaana, and of Saladin. show more However, when Merlin's story was introduced, complete with his fledgling telepathic abilities and the awesome power hidden deep within, that was a little much. There is certainly a place in fantasy for wizards and druids, but in this book it felt out of place, almost as if it was added in an afterthought.Perhaps that sensation comes from the difference in the explanation; while the cup and its powers, while definitely supernatural, were limited and well explained, powers of Merlin or even Nimue were wholly "strange" and no attempt was made to explain them. I could wholly believe that a cup like that could exist in our world. I suppose the distinction lies in that had the cup been the only supernatural element in the book, I wouldn't hesitate to classify the book as sci-fi, while the addition of Merlin and Arthur and all that mess created some mean mixture of sci-fi and fantasy that did not work for me.Things got even worse with the addition of Arthur and Galahad being reborn, Camelot appearing on the site of its ruins, knights riding out and delivering the "heroes" from certain demise, and the dubious result of the match between Hal and Saladin. There was no cohesion there at all, it was just a collection of random bits that did not in any way fit together.Had the authors contented themselves with the story of the cup and left all the familiar and worn-out Arthurian elements in peace, I feel the book would have been much better. It would give a different and fresh perspective on the Holy Grail, which would have been welcome. As it is, the latter part of the book is not worth the paper it's printed on. show less

One of those rare books about which I was enthused at first but then slowly fell out of love with as I went on. By the last sixty pages or so, I had to force myself to carry on to the end. The idea is that King Arthur has been reborn as a ten- year-old boy in contemporary times; Galahad is a washed-up FBI agent. Merlin is flitting about (I won't spoil plot points here), and a villain known to them all from the Middle Ages is plotting plots. The Holy Grail is involved. I was intrigued at show more first and really enjoying seeing how Cochran and Murphy were slotting things together. But by the time things started to come to a head, the intrigue had fallen out of the bottom of the thing. This is possibly partly due to the habit (common among thriller writers, I find, and that's fine) of the writers dwelling on and wallowing in the gruesome details of violence and death, especially of characters who have been made interesting to you just a paragraph before only in order to then be killed horribly. I despise this. /tangent about my idiosyncratic personal preferences in fiction. The more compelling reason I probably stopped caring about the story so much was that it stopped feeling relevant to a better, fuller, or more entertaining understanding of the Arthur legends. While the first half of the book felt invested in reinventing and retelling Arthuriana, by the end the bits felt a little tacked on. There also wasn't much in the way of exploring what it would mean to be King Arthur in the twentieth century, which is what I was most excited about seeing. Ah well. show less

Review originally posted on My Urban Fantasies

There were a few things I was worried about before reading Poison. Thankfully my fears were unfounded. The whole boarding school with magical students has become a little cliché. I was pleasantly surprised to find that most of the book takes place outside the school. I was also worried about the Darkness coming back. I was afraid that there were going to be harbingers again and blah, blah, blah. That doesn't happen.

My biggest fear was the show more Arthurian influence. The story of King Arthur has been told so many times that I was worried it would overpower the story. What Molly Cochran wrote is simply amazing. This is not the same overused reference to King Arthur and the Round Table. Cochran approaches King Arthur's story from a completely different angle. The genius of her writing though is that she takes all that Arthurian influence and subtly layers it into the Legacy world. Cochran makes it fit beautifully and the Arthurian influence ends up enhancing Poison instead of taking away from it.

Poison takes place a couple of months after Legacy. Katy and Peter are still together. They do not get to spend as much time together as either one would like. This strains their relationship a little and does not bode well for Katy's abandonment issues. I was happy to see that Katy is now friends with Becca Fowler, especially after what happened in Legacy.

I've completely given up on Katy and her dad's relationship. I'm sure somewhere inside him he loves Katy, but his behavior in Poison was ridiculous. The man needs to grow a pair and be smacked upside the head. Seriously. What kind of man lets anyone convince him that a steak and a piece of ass is more important than helping his daughter? It's called priorities. Rescuing your daughter is always on top moron.

I did not like Hattie as much in Poison. The woman was all kinds of mean towards Katy. And, do not even get me started on Verity. I did not think it was possible to like her even less than I did before. Surprise. I was wrong, again. How Verity does not understand such a simple concept as loyalty is beyond me. I have no idea why Katy remains friends with her.

Katy is such a strong character is Poison. She goes through a multitude of trials. It must have been horrible to feel that completely alone. As a result of these trials Katy goes through an amazing transformation, and I'm not just talking about her powers. She starts out looking at the world through teenage goggles. It's about how everything affects her. As the book continues Katy's outlook slowly shifts. The goggles slowly come off and she sees the world from a completely different view. Example: At first she is upset with Peter because he is spending so much time with his uncle. From the goggle point of view the only thing Katy sees is the time Peter is spending with him, is time he could be spending with her. Over time she realizes that Peter needs the job with his uncle to get into Harvard. He needs a career where he can take care of Eric if something happens to Hattie. Katy realizes that just because they love each other, does not mean they need to spend every waking moment together. It was an amazing journey to watch.

My absolute favorite part of Poison is the end. For obvious reasons I cannot tell you why, but we're talking about crocodile tears here people. I am impatiently waiting for the next book in the series. show less

Mireillle grew up in the French countryside during the Nazi occupation. After her father passes, life becomes difficult and she lives a Cinderella-like existence with a jealous stepmother and her abusive boyfriend. Mireille narrowly escapes the cruelty of her home life to find solace with a childhood friend, Stefan. They become lovers and Mireille believes she has found happiness. Stefan dies as part of the Resistance and Mireille is left pregnant and poor. She finds herself penniless in show more Paris and difficult to find work with a new baby, Stephanie. Just as her luck has seemed to run out, Mireille meets a rich man who will pay her for an hour of her time and the use of her body. He refers Mireille to Madam Renee’s where she is transformed into l’Ange, the most sought after prostitute in Paris. Mireille’s new profession allows her to care for her daughter and send her to school in Switzerland. It also introduces her to several Hollywood movie producers which gives Mireille a chance to leave behind prostitution for acting. Her new life seems glamorous, but the choices Mireille has made affected her daughter and Mireille will have to choose her own path.

Mireille kept me entertained and enchanted throughout its almost 600 pages. Mireille’s journey is almost like a fairytale where she rises from an abused country girl to high class prostitute to movie-starlet, except we get to see that it is not all glamour and perfection. There are plenty of cliché’s throughout the story, but Mireille's character is intriguing and never boring. Her struggle, rise and fall and her determination to protect her daughter and remember Stephan are what kept me reading. You do have to be ok with a lot of sex, language, rape and drug abuse to be able to enjoy this book. Mireille also took me through a lot of history and around the world, from the end of World War II in France to high class prostitution in Paris to the making of Spaghetti Westerns in Rome and the Golden Age of Hollywood. My favorite part of the story was the very beginning where Mireille was with Stephan, I also think she was bravest after he died. It was interesting to see the parallels between Mireille’s life as a prostitute and her life as an actress. Overall, a sweeping story of survival, overcoming obstacles and remembering your purpose in life.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. show less