Review of Dagger's Destiny
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- Latest Review: Dagger's Destiny by Linnea Tanner
Review of Dagger's Destiny
[Following is a volunteer review of "Dagger's Destiny" by Linnea Tanner.]
Dagger’s Curse by Linnea Tanner is an adult fantasy novel that takes several liberties with the Celtic Pagan religion. If you are a follower of the Celtic Pagan faith, this is not a book you will enjoy. This novel depicts rape, dubious consent, adult language, sexual encounters between adults, and a human thinking sexually about an animal. A character in this book is comfortable with drugging their partner, saying ‘they’ll drink anything if they think it's wine. I rate everything out of five stars, which includes: characters, prose, plot, world-building, and the overall message of a book.
Characters: 1.5/5
Prose: ⅖
Plot: ⅖
World Building: ⅖
Message: 2.5/5
I decided to read the sequel to Apollo’s Raven due to a sense of curiosity; I truly wanted to know if the author’s depiction of real-world religions improved. I will come out now and say that the depiction of the Celtic Pagan faith has not improved. Catrin feels no anger towards her father for using a magical roofie on her mother to get her pregnant. I want these characters to feel real emotions for real reasons. I still want to know why Catrin loves Marcellus, and this series simply refuses to give me a straight answer. I need these characters to interact with each other the same way actual people would. I want Catrin to treat Ferrex like the ‘I assault women and am a bad person’ kind of man he is. Ferrex does not treat Catrin kindly, but the text doesn't treat him like he's a bad person for this behavior. I need the author to put women's needs first and sex second. I don't feel like this novel holds women up; it only seems to tear them down for the “drama”.
The prose flowed very awkwardly, compared to the previous novel. I took note of a few instances in which the way the sentences were structured was just confusing. For example, “Hoping his wolf companions were within earshot range…” Simply saying ‘within range’ or ‘within earshot’ makes more sense. Putting range after earshot sounds more redundant than anything, as if someone said ‘walking forward ahead’.
I would have had a lot of fun with the plot of this book if it weren't so sexual. In every other chapter, sex is brought up. If a man is being insulted, his manhood has to be mentioned, while a woman is always a whore. If a ritual takes place, it has to be an allusion to sex. A fertility marital ritual takes place in the book that, of course, is sexual, which I can find absolutely no mention of in Celtic Pagan tradition. The only fertility celebration I found was the festival of Beltane: “The Celts used to light two bonfires because they believed it would purify themselves, as well as increase their fertility. They would pass cattle between the two fires, with the belief that it would purify the cattle, and ensure the fertility of the herd.” I used the website www.bpl.org to find my information regarding the celebration of Beltane. I will admit that I did not undergo a full, in-depth look into Celtic Pagan fertility practices and could very well be in the wrong here. I only implore readers to do their own research. I am not a practitioner of the Celtic Pagan faith, nor am I an expert on the subject; my words should not be taken as gospel.
This world is only paper; there is no color to its sky and no wind to make its trees dance. If a world never grows beyond words on a page, then a reader can never form a true attachment to it. This is a real country that exists in a fictional setting, but it's all so empty. The plot only takes us between a few set locations, which we rarely ever go beyond. Dagger’s Curse does introduce us, however, temporarily, to a few new locations, which I did enjoy. Britannia of Linnea Taylor’s imagination, I have known you so briefly, but now it's time for me to depart your shores.
While this book doesn't outright insult women, it does little to place them as important within their own lives. Catrin does not exist outside of her love for Marcellus, nor does she resent her father for his actions towards the women in his family. Ferrex is never put in the wrong for his aggressive actions towards Catrin. A society that is stated as putting women on par with men still treats women as second-class citizens. I remain ignorant of how women were actually treated in ancient Britannia, during the time period Dagger’s Curse takes place in, so perhaps this treatment is historically accurate.
I come away from this book unhappier than I was after reading Apollo’s Raven. I would recommend this book out of a sense of curiosity rather than out of deep enjoyment. Overall, I rate this book a 2.5/5.
******
Dagger's Destiny
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Dagger’s Curse by Linnea Tanner is an adult fantasy novel that takes several liberties with the Celtic Pagan religion. If you are a follower of the Celtic Pagan faith, this is not a book you will enjoy. This novel depicts rape, dubious consent, adult language, sexual encounters between adults, and a human thinking sexually about an animal. A character in this book is comfortable with drugging their partner, saying ‘they’ll drink anything if they think it's wine. I rate everything out of five stars, which includes: characters, prose, plot, world-building, and the overall message of a book.
Characters: 1.5/5
Prose: ⅖
Plot: ⅖
World Building: ⅖
Message: 2.5/5
I decided to read the sequel to Apollo’s Raven due to a sense of curiosity; I truly wanted to know if the author’s depiction of real-world religions improved. I will come out now and say that the depiction of the Celtic Pagan faith has not improved. Catrin feels no anger towards her father for using a magical roofie on her mother to get her pregnant. I want these characters to feel real emotions for real reasons. I still want to know why Catrin loves Marcellus, and this series simply refuses to give me a straight answer. I need these characters to interact with each other the same way actual people would. I want Catrin to treat Ferrex like the ‘I assault women and am a bad person’ kind of man he is. Ferrex does not treat Catrin kindly, but the text doesn't treat him like he's a bad person for this behavior. I need the author to put women's needs first and sex second. I don't feel like this novel holds women up; it only seems to tear them down for the “drama”.
The prose flowed very awkwardly, compared to the previous novel. I took note of a few instances in which the way the sentences were structured was just confusing. For example, “Hoping his wolf companions were within earshot range…” Simply saying ‘within range’ or ‘within earshot’ makes more sense. Putting range after earshot sounds more redundant than anything, as if someone said ‘walking forward ahead’.
I would have had a lot of fun with the plot of this book if it weren't so sexual. In every other chapter, sex is brought up. If a man is being insulted, his manhood has to be mentioned, while a woman is always a whore. If a ritual takes place, it has to be an allusion to sex. A fertility marital ritual takes place in the book that, of course, is sexual, which I can find absolutely no mention of in Celtic Pagan tradition. The only fertility celebration I found was the festival of Beltane: “The Celts used to light two bonfires because they believed it would purify themselves, as well as increase their fertility. They would pass cattle between the two fires, with the belief that it would purify the cattle, and ensure the fertility of the herd.” I used the website www.bpl.org to find my information regarding the celebration of Beltane. I will admit that I did not undergo a full, in-depth look into Celtic Pagan fertility practices and could very well be in the wrong here. I only implore readers to do their own research. I am not a practitioner of the Celtic Pagan faith, nor am I an expert on the subject; my words should not be taken as gospel.
This world is only paper; there is no color to its sky and no wind to make its trees dance. If a world never grows beyond words on a page, then a reader can never form a true attachment to it. This is a real country that exists in a fictional setting, but it's all so empty. The plot only takes us between a few set locations, which we rarely ever go beyond. Dagger’s Curse does introduce us, however, temporarily, to a few new locations, which I did enjoy. Britannia of Linnea Taylor’s imagination, I have known you so briefly, but now it's time for me to depart your shores.
While this book doesn't outright insult women, it does little to place them as important within their own lives. Catrin does not exist outside of her love for Marcellus, nor does she resent her father for his actions towards the women in his family. Ferrex is never put in the wrong for his aggressive actions towards Catrin. A society that is stated as putting women on par with men still treats women as second-class citizens. I remain ignorant of how women were actually treated in ancient Britannia, during the time period Dagger’s Curse takes place in, so perhaps this treatment is historically accurate.
I come away from this book unhappier than I was after reading Apollo’s Raven. I would recommend this book out of a sense of curiosity rather than out of deep enjoyment. Overall, I rate this book a 2.5/5.
******
Dagger's Destiny
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Latest Review: Dagger's Destiny by Linnea Tanner
