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The reflection that looked back at her from the mirror wasn’t her own. Its hair was cut short and ragged like the stubble in a cornfield. Its eye make-up was smudged and the eyes themselves were red-veined and puffy. She hasn’t been crying, but oh, she’d been drinking …
I really liked the opening chapter of this book. De Lint creates a wonderful picture of Jacky Rowan. Recently dumped for being too uninteresting she has spent the night drinking her sorrows away. But on her way home she comes across a strange scene; a gang of bikers hunting down a little man. But when she investigates further there is no trace of it ever having happened, apart from the man’s red cap that she discovered on the ground.
This red cap is more than a head covering it. When she wears it Jacky discovers that she can see into a different world. The world of faerie, where hobgoblins and bogans live. Where the Wild Hunt are at the eck and call of the unseelie court and the seelie court are almost gone.
As I said, I really enjoyed the opening chapter of this. It was really well written and totally captured the character of Jacky. But for the most part the rest of this book seemed to move too quickly. All of a sudden Jacky is part of this other world. And suddenly she’s a hero. Part of the reason for this is probably the fact that the book is a version of a fairy tale, where Jack, all of a sudden, finds himself with a magic beanstalk and a giant to do battle with. But I prefer a little bit more development in my books. Everything seemed to happen in great leaps forward. There was very little development here.
Still, it was an entertaining enough read. Even when de Lint isn’t on the top of his game he is still very readable. It is a fun, easy to read book. But not one I’d really see myself rereading.
Other reviews: A fondness for reading ; Veronica’s book blog.
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