Andrew K. (kuligowskiandrewt) -
White Heat is the first book in a series about Inuit (well, 50%) hunter, guide, and teacher Edie Kiglatuk. In brief, I found the book to be mediocre (and I searched the online thesaurus in an attempt to find a better word). The setting in and around Ellesmere Island (in the Canadian arctic territory of Nunavut), with a side trip to Greenland was exquisite, with excellent and vivid descriptions provided by the author. The plot and its pacing were fair to good, perhaps even better than that. It took a little longer than usual for the novel to hook me in to WANT to continue rather than being patient and seeing where this thing is going.
My biggest issue with the book was its characters I never really developed a liking for any of them. This includes our protagonist Edie Kiglatuk and especially applies to local police presence Derek Pallister. I can appreciate that a well-rounded character should have some flaws, but there should be enough positive to allow the reader to LIKE them, at least a little. Ms. McGrath seemed to devote more energy to describing the chararacters weaknesses than in what we could or should find good in them.
I enjoyed this book enough that I will add the second book in this series, The Boy in the Snow, to my To Be Read list. However, I do not do this with the enthusiasm that tempts me to move it to the top of the list; rather, it is in the mundane Ill get to it sooner or later category. (I confess that I was in what appears to be a minority who did not like Henning Mankells first Wallander book but have grown to appreciate and even love the series more with subsequent offerings.)
RATING: 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 stars where appropriate.
My biggest issue with the book was its characters I never really developed a liking for any of them. This includes our protagonist Edie Kiglatuk and especially applies to local police presence Derek Pallister. I can appreciate that a well-rounded character should have some flaws, but there should be enough positive to allow the reader to LIKE them, at least a little. Ms. McGrath seemed to devote more energy to describing the chararacters weaknesses than in what we could or should find good in them.
I enjoyed this book enough that I will add the second book in this series, The Boy in the Snow, to my To Be Read list. However, I do not do this with the enthusiasm that tempts me to move it to the top of the list; rather, it is in the mundane Ill get to it sooner or later category. (I confess that I was in what appears to be a minority who did not like Henning Mankells first Wallander book but have grown to appreciate and even love the series more with subsequent offerings.)
RATING: 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 stars where appropriate.
