Dragonfly
I met Fred Durbin at last year's World Fantasy Convention. I had the pleasure of hanging out with him for most of the con. He and I had never been to the convention before and didn't know anybody else. Fred's a great guy. I liked him so much that when he gave me a review copy of his book, I was terrified that I might not enjoy it.
I needn't have worried. Not only did I greatly enjoy Dragonfly, I'm in awe of Fred's writing ability. The novel is not merely an author coming up with a neat twist on an old idea. It's a literary piece of art, and it's clear that Fred is in love with the English language. He creates metaphors and weaves adjectives in such a beautiful fashion that it's almost distracting, as someone who respects the English language, to read Fred in action. He spins gold out every sentence...he's that good.
Dragonfly is about the encroachment of a Halloween town of nightmare-eaters on the real world. These beings, led by Sam Hain (look closely, you'll get it), include vampires, werewolves, witches and the walking dead. They're everything a child worries lurks under the bed or in the closet or behind a mirror. And truth be told, the bad guys really are that bad; child snatching, soul-stealing monsters who are unabashedly evil.
Our heroine, ten-year-old Dragonfly, visits her Uncle Henry's house only to discover that there's someone digging their way up from the basement. Henry summons an old ally named Mothkin and before long all three are embroiled in a struggle of live, love, death, and dreams.
Make no mistake: Fred's not pulling any punches. The bad guys do horrible things. People die. Our ten-year-old heroine suffers love and loss. Most refreshingly, Fred never portrays adults as complete morons who turn up their noses at superstitions. Every character has a life of his or her own and they fight to defend it, good and bad, with every breath.
It's a wonder that the book isn't more successful. Dragonfly is a novel waiting to be turned into a movie in this day and age of tween stories that are read by adults. My suspicion is there are two problems hindering the book: 1) The cover. The cover, while evocative, is busy. The owl in the top left seems more important than the two tiny figures in the middle, and the crazy plants to either side are a distraction. While this is technically an accurate depiction of the novel (the moon is especially important), it's simply not very enticing to a reader looking for spooky thrills. 2) I have no idea why this book is titled Dragonfly. When I think of dragonflies, I do not think of little girls battling the forces of nightmare. And truth be told, I never quite got why the main character is named Dragonfly. Perhaps it's just me and I missed why the protagonist is named Dragonfly...but nevertheless, the title of the book should never have been "Dragonfly." How about "Night of the Harvest Moon" with a scarier cover?
Don't let the title or the cover turn you off to this magnificent work. Fred's writing is on the level of Mervyn Peake's, only more approachable and less depressing. Any self-respecting fan of Halloween should give Dragonfly a chance.
I needn't have worried. Not only did I greatly enjoy Dragonfly, I'm in awe of Fred's writing ability. The novel is not merely an author coming up with a neat twist on an old idea. It's a literary piece of art, and it's clear that Fred is in love with the English language. He creates metaphors and weaves adjectives in such a beautiful fashion that it's almost distracting, as someone who respects the English language, to read Fred in action. He spins gold out every sentence...he's that good.
Dragonfly is about the encroachment of a Halloween town of nightmare-eaters on the real world. These beings, led by Sam Hain (look closely, you'll get it), include vampires, werewolves, witches and the walking dead. They're everything a child worries lurks under the bed or in the closet or behind a mirror. And truth be told, the bad guys really are that bad; child snatching, soul-stealing monsters who are unabashedly evil.
Our heroine, ten-year-old Dragonfly, visits her Uncle Henry's house only to discover that there's someone digging their way up from the basement. Henry summons an old ally named Mothkin and before long all three are embroiled in a struggle of live, love, death, and dreams.
Make no mistake: Fred's not pulling any punches. The bad guys do horrible things. People die. Our ten-year-old heroine suffers love and loss. Most refreshingly, Fred never portrays adults as complete morons who turn up their noses at superstitions. Every character has a life of his or her own and they fight to defend it, good and bad, with every breath.
It's a wonder that the book isn't more successful. Dragonfly is a novel waiting to be turned into a movie in this day and age of tween stories that are read by adults. My suspicion is there are two problems hindering the book: 1) The cover. The cover, while evocative, is busy. The owl in the top left seems more important than the two tiny figures in the middle, and the crazy plants to either side are a distraction. While this is technically an accurate depiction of the novel (the moon is especially important), it's simply not very enticing to a reader looking for spooky thrills. 2) I have no idea why this book is titled Dragonfly. When I think of dragonflies, I do not think of little girls battling the forces of nightmare. And truth be told, I never quite got why the main character is named Dragonfly. Perhaps it's just me and I missed why the protagonist is named Dragonfly...but nevertheless, the title of the book should never have been "Dragonfly." How about "Night of the Harvest Moon" with a scarier cover?
Don't let the title or the cover turn you off to this magnificent work. Fred's writing is on the level of Mervyn Peake's, only more approachable and less depressing. Any self-respecting fan of Halloween should give Dragonfly a chance.
posted by talien | 7:36 PM
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