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A Quick Note

The Leeth Dossier is a sci-fi/fantasy series about an unusual girl, set in our world about 50 years from now: and 25 years after magic unexpectedly returns. It opens with the book Wild Thing (2015), and continues with Harsh Lessons (2016), Shadow Hunt (2017); then (Violent Causes) (2019), Lost Girl (2020?)....
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Thursday 31 August 2017

Author review: Wild Thing (from the outside)

(This is a companion article to my Author view: Wild Thing (from the inside))

Apologies for the long gap in writing. I took a break, and also got sick with a very annoying coughing thing for 6-7 weeks, then just goofed off for a while, allowing myself a rest.

By a review from the outside, I mean, reviewing my book as if it was written by someone else, relying only on what’s on the page.   I’m doubtful it’s possible for an author to do this, but Lathalia, of the Marrickville Writers Corner suggested I do it (an idea seconded by CateM), to clearly state what the book’s about, since it treads some very dark ground, driven by a central relationship that turns badly abusive. But that bald statement actually gives a false impression of the book, hence Lathalia's suggestion...

I do try hard to be be honest and objective when I look at my own work, so maybe I have a slim chance of pulling it off.  In any case, I thought it sounded like a good idea, a challenge, and an interesting psychological exercise, to consciously try to look at my own book from the outside.

I’ll just mention an odd coincidence, too: Kesha’s song “Praying” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-Dur3uXXCQ) is currently in the charts, and the lyrics could have been written specifically for Leeth, about Harmon.   I think it's sadly clear that male abuse of women is still an issue to this day.  The overarching theme of the Leeth Dossier, though, is an exploration of the power and importance of emotions. Anyway…

First impression

On the surface at least the book seems of good quality: an attractive cover, and the blurb provides a good idea of the setting, without being too “explainy”.  The text inside is laid out following normal conventions, and with a very readable font. The novel seems a good length, though perhaps too long?  Divided into four Parts, it starts with a Prologue, which is also normally a warning sign.  But the opening sentence is fine, and the first page reads smoothly, sketching a picture that’s an intriguing mix of low and high tech.   We quickly learn a very young child is to be exiled from this odd commune or tribe because of a prophetic vision in which she will kill; more than once.  And, because something terrible will happen if the parents go with her, she’ll be sent away on her own.

We only see “Sara” briefly in this scene, right at the end, but her innocence comes across well. It’s quite moving. For people who are very spoiler-sensitive, I’ll next move straight to…

Overall assessment

By the end of the book, the overall impression I feel is that Leeth, although deeply flawed and badly abused, is more than equal to the daunting challenges facing her.  She demonstrates that with enough spirit, you can withstand and find your way past (or straight through!) any challenge.  She seems to me a unique character, too, mixing unworldly innocence and deadly strength.  She does and says things that made me laugh out loud – and cry, too.  She has a long journey ahead of her though, starting as she does from a belief that it's fine (even good) to kill people, and working as a government assassin while still tangled up with her ‘Uncle’.

But Leeth never gives in, demonstrating an almost archetypal ability to escape control.   Leeth is irrepressible. The book is aptly titled.

Detailed impressions and vague synopsis

Part I opens with the slightly creepy Dr Harmon acquiring the eight-year-old Sara for adoption, but really, to be the experimental subject for his research, at the Institute for Paranormal Dysfunction.  We learn snippets of world history and watch Sara over several years, raised pretty much at Harmon’s sole whim.  He wants to force magic to develop in Sara, and believes stress is a key element in this happening.  Sara comes across as happy, energetic, and trusting.  She makes friends with Faith, a cyborg ‘wardog’ that helps guard the Institute, and Faith’s owner, Mr Shanahan.  She also manages to penetrate the security to visit ‘Godsson’, a mad inmate who is perhaps the most powerful mage on the planet.  Her intervention, aged 9, to help Godsson was both touching and dramatic.

Part II: Years pass, Harmon continues his manipulations, and it seems the imaginary creatures Sara ‘hunts’ in the grounds may be real, and outside anyone’s expectations.  The Godsson situation – his annual ‘attacks’ – also continue, slowly worsening, though only Sara believes them to be real.  While across the country, something terrible changes a murderer into something even more chilling.  Sara’s stubborn determination to ‘help’ during Godsson’s annual attacks become a serious source of tension.

Part III: Sara is now seventeen, and beginning to break free of her Uncle’s influence. Determined to overcome her growing resistance, refusing to allow his experiment to fail, Harmon resorts to drugs.  At this point, things get very dark indeed.   Harmon’s abuse of his position worsens, going deeply into the category of criminal behaviour.  He gets his wish: Sara Unfolds, though not as he had expected, when he realises he’s never told her it’s wrong to kill.  On an outing soon after, Sara kills, unaware the warped killer, magically drawn to her, is at her heels.  Sara – now rechristened ‘Leeth’ – escapes arrest only when a DNA match fails, due to behind-the-scenes plotting by some shadowy figures.

In Part IV, the situation with Godsson comes to an explosive crisis, with Leeth demonstrating both her spirit and her foolhardiness.   Harmon finally realises he has a tiger by the tail, and the book moves to a dramatic climax.  And then continues, apparently calming down… except, as Harmon takes things to a new level, the shadowy figures finally step into the light, in an intervention that changes everything.

(In my next blog article, I’ll review the novel from the inside: why I wrote the book as I did.)