Books read in 2014: No. 44 -- Sidnye (Queen of the Universe)

by Scott Fitzgerald Gray

Started: Sept. 16
Finished: Sept. 19

Notes: A fellow member of the Monumental Works Group, Scott has never let me down as a writer. Since it's been a while since I've read anything of his, I thought it was time to get back on the saddle.

Mini review: Scott does this amazing thing with his writing that makes me jealous. He creates a mixture of characterization with story events and even background that melds together so well it's difficult to tell where one ends and the others begin. Even flashbacks don't feel like flashbacks. I've seen a handful of authors who can pull this off, such as Stephen King (when in top form), Mario Puzo (though he didn't always use such a strategy in his writing), Joe Hill (sometimes), Anne Rice (on occasion), and Chuck Palahniuk (though in his own unique, quirky way ... as he does everything). I really, really, really, really, really, really like this book. But. Isn't there always a "but?" Well, maybe not always, but often enough there is, and there's a "but" here for me. After all of this amazing story, I felt the payoff fell short. It's not a bad ending, and it's not messy, but ... there's that "but" ... for me, I felt like there was too much left unsaid. There were certain details I felt were necessary to end this novel, and they're not there. A young lady living as an orphan in a school has odd things going on around the edges of her life (think sci-fi, not supernatural ... I think), and while much is eventually shown, I felt the explanation was not there, which left me feeling a little cheated as a reader. It's kind of like watching an episode of the TV show "Lost." You're left wanting more, which is a good thing, but you also feel as if a little more should have been given in that particular episode. Bah. I'm whining. This is a damn good book, but be prepared to feel the need to read more to find out the whys and the whats. This is a minimum 4.5 stars book, and in my opinion would have been a full 5 stars if only a paragraph or two had been included to offer a little explanation of a few things. Perfect plotting, fantastic characters. If only every novel was written this well, including my own.