Finder: A Novel of the Borderlands

I can imagine that for those who read the Borderlands books growing up, this might've been a vivid exploration of a beloved terrain, but as a newcomer, I found it mostly boring. The worldbuilding is more quirky-small-town-with-elves than richly textured urban fantasy. The protagonist reads like a middle-aged woman instead of a man in his early twenties. And once I realized Sunny Rico looked rather strikingly like the author, it was impossible to ignore the potential self-insertion.

But while all that would've earned a two- or three-star rating, I bumped this one down even further because I am really, really, really tired of reading books where the author kills off the most interesting character so the protagonist has a reason to show more grow/fight/act crazy/get revenge/whatever else the plot might require. That this book's protagonist, himself, is almost excruciatingly uninteresting in spite of his ability and hard-luck past just adds insult to injury. show less

This is one of my comfort books, one that I read despite knowing the bad things that will happen to these characters that I love. I'm not telling you anything specific because I want you to open the book; I want you to fall into this world as I did.
I will say that you'll remember this - you'll remember that time when you were neither fish nor fowl, teetering between worlds, and it will tug at you. That memory, that sensation, has happened to us all.
I had never known of the Borderlands before now, so I read backwards - first FINDER, then Will Shetterly's two novels, and then the anthologies. Read them in whatever way you like. Perhaps you'll feel as I did. Perhaps you'll want to find B-town yourself.

Perhaps you'll find yourself show more addicted to Emma Bull's work too... show less

Ah, Bordertown, how I've missed you. I love the tales of this strange place on the border between Faerie and The World, and this was no exception. This one is about Orient, a man with a gift for finding things who gets tangled up in the search for the creators of a drug that turns humans into elves - then kills them. I really liked the characters, even if I didn't entirely buy the chemistry between the two leads, and I did cry a bit at the end. This book takes place after the events of Elsewhere and Nevernever by Will Shetterly but I don't think you need to have read them to follow this story. Rereading my reviews of those two books is interesting, as I wasn't actually all that impressed by them. I definitely enjoyed this one, though.

Cool characters solving a mystery in a Bordertown here humans and fey mingle. Nice focus on people trying to do the right thing and maybe a little bit of romance. Cool urban fantasy setting. Lead character, Orient, has an unusual magical knack of finding things.

Argh.
How to rate, what to do...
Emma Bull is an excellent writer, and that's why I own a paper copy of this. For years I've been distracted by others and let this collect dust, but since I'm now culling my paper books with full intent, I picked this up. Unfortunately, I did so on a trip, and was so busy I could only read little bits at a time in between other books. (The story could be much longer, never mind.)

This is a book that is better read immersively. Go to Borderlands and spend time there, don't just stick your nose in along the periphery. Better yet, read the earlier Borderlands books, or at least some of them, before reading this... it's not necessary, but it would help. I did not realize this is book 6 in a multiple-author show more series.

I do highly recommend it if you want to read early urban fantasy. I do recommend it to teens who want to believe in the fey, and in chants and charms. My husband gave it four stars, probably for the cops and for the motorcycles, as it's a bit like a mystery-thriller. If I had read it with the focus that it deserves and in series order, I imagine I would have given it four stars.

But I'm not sure... and yet I don't believe I want to start over and have another go at it, as there are so very many other books on my to-read lists. So, not rating. And letting the paper book go. :sigh: show less

Reminds me a bit of Keeping It Real by Justina Robson in the clash between elf/human culture, and the mix of tech/realism and magic.

I like the story and the char development in Finder. In Sunny Rico's manner I couldn't help being reminded of Law and Order SVU's Olivia Benson. Tough, all-business, hot-chick in-charge, while the male narrator Orient - who's likable enough - is more the touchy feely emo love-prone char. Nice switch up of what would otherwise be standard stereotypical fare if the genders were reversed. I did feel wanting for a bit more exploration of the Bordertown world and back-story, I have a lot of gaps in my mind's eye of who inhabits Bordertown (like more backstory on Wolf Boy), and "where" it is relative to the World show more (what they call the real world) and the Elflands. So much was left undeveloped or just assumed, and I wanted more!

Emma Bull lays out an engaging story thread - I liked where the story went - including both the unexpected turns and the bread crumbs. show less

Take a shared-world fantasy setting (the Bordertown stories), throw in a detective story with a dash of elfpunk, and add some engaging characters and you have an enjoyable book to read. I expected the hard edge that lurks behind the Bordertown short stories and, to be honest, I missed it a bit. I think the book would have been better if it could have kept that brittleness.

That being said, I found Ms. Bull's writing up to the task, she brought the characters alive for me without tilting into cliché, and made me care about what happened to them.

Is this a young adult book? I'm not sure; it could go either way.