REVIEW: Faefever

Karen Marie Moning
Faefever (Fever #3)
Delacorte Press
ISBN-13: 978-0385341639
Dark/urban fantasy
September 16, 2008

Yeah, spoilers.…

I’ve been pimping this book here on la blog for several months. Excitement has bubbled and roiled over from the previous two, Darkfever and Bloodfever, and reached a fever pitch (sorry, too easy to resist) around here a long time ago. I want to emphasize that that excitement has come purely from the books, not from my imagination; I’m not in the habit of revving my own perception up to the point that I’m unrealistic about expectations. That being said, my expectations were sorely unmet in this third Fever book by Moning.

For those not familiar with the series, a recap: MacKayla Lane is a genuine Southern bell, or so she seems, being raised in Georgia. Pretty clothes, parties and boys are all she thinks about…until the death of her sister. Alina was studying abroad in Dublin, and when she’s killed, nothing is ever the same for Mac again. Unsatisfied with the lack of commitment from the Garda, the Irish police, Mac goes to Dublin against her parents’ wishes to solve the mystery herself. There she uncovers just enough to know that Alina’s murder is anything but normal in terms of how and why she died. Something else is alive in the rich and old city of Dublin, something we’ve only ever dreamed about as children…things that don’t belong in our world but want it anyway.

There she meets Jericho Barrons, a reclusive and infuriating bookshop owner who aids Mac in discovering who and what she and Alina are – sidhe seers, women who can sense and see the fae. But who exactly – and what – is Jericho Barrons? What is his stake in what is quickly becoming a race to save the world from the evil fae, the Unseelie? And can she trust the Seelie prince, V’Lane, who’s insinuated himself into her life too? Most importantly, can she trust either man? Mac can detect ancient fae relics and it’s this talent that makes her indispensable in finding a special book, the Sinsar Dubh, that many want and are willing to kill for. As the walls between the mortals and fae grow thinner, Mac is running out of time to find Alina’s killer and to stop the Unseelie from unleashing a reign of terror.

I really love this series. It’s got a tour de force heroine in Mac, one I’m very happy to have watched grow and strengthen throughout the last two books. At first she seems like a typical, carefree girl, intent on going about a very normal and, well, average life. As the books progress, she becomes just dark enough and yet still positive enough that there’s a sense of balance in her when the rest of the world is going to hell. In essence, she is the beacon when all else is going wrong. I think she has truly come to represent the hope that I’ve come to have while reading these books; that no matter how ugly it may still get, there will be something that happens that redeems those darker reading hours. And Mac will be its deliverance.

Too, I’ve always loved Moning’s worldbuilding. She took the lighter, almost benign aspects of her fae lore in her highlander romance series and took it up several notches for the dark fantasy Fever books. Where it was almost sweet and definitely romantic before, now Moning’s fae details are downright chilling and scary. I’ve always applauded her for going in a different direction, especially when it’s paid off so well. No longer the toned down version we used to read, these fae are out for blood, human blood. They’re hunters of sidhe seers, possessors of human bodies, eaters of physical beauty and bringers of strife and pain. They know nothing of human emotions and in fact are so alien as to step completely out of our realm of logic, laws and ethics.

Faefever presents a little bit of new information, but honestly not much else. If you’re familiar wit the first two books, scenes in Fefever will read and feel very similar. Too similar. As in repetitive. Mac’s still carrying around her flashlights and the Spear of Destiny, a Seelie Hollow, everywhere she goes (although she does invent a new light infused weapon in a scene that was one of the only truly illuminating in the book). The shades, and her large, almost nemesis one that perks up at seeing her every time, are still pressing as close to the back of the bookshop as they can…waiting. Rowena, head of the sidhe-seers, is still a raging bitch but some of her minions do come out of the closet long enough to engage Mac and later form a tentative truce. V’Lane is actually, surprisingly, helpful in a few parts of the book. Barrons is off doing his usual mysterious whatever, although there are a few interactions between him and Mac, but nothing we haven’t really seen before. It’s the usual smart alec comment exchange (which I actually like and would miss should it stop) and occasional show of force on Barrons’ part to scare some sense into Mac and to “help” her prepare for all the evil to come. I admit I’m getting a bit tired of him sicking himself on Mac like a rabid attack dog, but it seems it’s his fae boot camp specialty. And too, of course, he is not forthcoming at all with Mac and shares no information with her. Mac is as in the dark as ever when it comes to Barrons, but this time it really costs her. And I kept wondering why nothing really happens in this book to advance the character development or plot.

The author includes a note opposite the last page of the book, where we’re left with probably the worst cliffhanger I’ve ever had the displeasure of reading. Warning, this is a huge spoiler, but I have to address it. Mac is raped by three, and then a fourth, Unseelie “prince”. Moning claims that she “foreshadowed this moment” and what we’ll read later. Um, yeah, caught that – thanks. It however doesn’t make the ending any less frustrating or the book as a whole less disappointing. I also know that some readers and Moning herself feel this absolutely had to happen to Mac in order for the story to progress as it needed to. Since we’re still not clued into any concrete whys in the series, I honestly DO know that it’s possible I will “understand” why it is so essential to have a character raped, I firmly disagree with the logic used behind it sometimes. Yes, rape is a reality, and I certainly haven’t ever had to stand in those shoes – but I don’t think a person has to to be able to address it either. I find it nauseating  that it is sometimes purported to be this great, character-building plot device, that it will make the character/victim a stronger person, that she/he will learn from it and come out better for it in the end. I have no doubt either that this couldn’t be the case, but I simply get sick when I see it approved of in this fashion for the sake of character growth or plot development. In Mac’s case, she was always this strong person that managed to resist attempts to turn her Pri-ya (addicted to fae sex). And then, after all she’s struggled with and what it did to her sister, I am sorely disappointed that it was used on Mac. And just sad to see it used in the manner it is at the very.damn.end.of.the.book.

In closing on that sore subject, the part in the book where it’s foreshadowed (a scene with Barrons in which she all but accuses him of rape) was very obvious and just did not jive with the rest of the story. It stuck out like a sore thumb and I’m really surprised because I’ve never before felt Moning deliberately manipulated the story as opposed to letting it all flow naturally.

I’ve been reading other reviews and run across a few that have felt this book would’ve made more sense tacked onto Bloodfever or Dreamfever, the upcoming fourth book. I have to say I agree. What we have in Faefever is a bit more information. There is absolutely no plot advancement or movement till the last chapter and even then only in it’s last three to four pages. At under 20 chapters (19 to be exact), I knew I’d be getting a short, quick read, but I truly expected (and I think readers deserved) to see more than just a little more information on the fae. Now, what we did get I liked and have no doubt it will make more sense in the next book…or maybe not till the last one. I firmly feel though that in order to justify this book as part of the series it needed to be able to stand somewhat on it’s own, at least through closure of some details that we’ve been rehashing over and over. That did not happen though, the closure, on any level and the book leaves off with a big WTF and absolutely no satisfaction terms of overall development.

I am a fan of this series. I get it. And I am unhappy with this recent installment. It doesn’t mean, however, that I have no business going on with the series and I will be doing so. I have to decide though if the next will be worth the wait, or if it will be better to get and read it when the fifth and final installment is available as well. Considering the obvious lack in this one, it feels like the best solution. For those wondering if they want to read Faefever now or wait, I can only say I wished I had waited till Dreamfever was released. Faefever feels very much like a new prologue in what is clearly meant to be the big second half of the series. But who wants just the prologue?

Rating: Two and a half scoops