1) There are like 12
different made-up words for different types of people (mot, cove, doxie, gixie,
spintry, rusher, cuddy, mumper, etc). I
constantly had to stop and translate or just ignore them, because I couldn't
remember exactly what they meant, and I hadn't discovered the glossary in the
back. The ones like dog (for cop), puppy
(new cop), rat (criminal) and birdie (informant) are great. They're good imagery and easy to understand
and lend nice flavor. Even with the
other words, I understand the style choice, and sort of admire it, I just
didn't enjoy it. Maybe if there were
only 2-3 invented words for people...
2) I liked and
understood how the dogs (cops) worked, but I was REALLY fuzzy on who the
"Rogue" was and what his place was in the hierarchy. Something like a mob boss, I think, who holds
the criminals to a sort of criminal code, and keeps things from getting too out
of hand...but I was never really sure.
With all the explanation of other things, I think a little time could
have been spent on this.
3) The journal
format. Just a personal preference, but
I don't like novels in journal form.
Never have. From reading reviews,
I'm not alone. It's just so hard to
suspend my disbelief. Beka's always
talking about how dead tired she is after a long and eventful shift, yet she
has time and energy to write pages and pages of diary, and it all sounds like a
final draft, not the rough draft my own journal entries always are. But again, this is just personal
preference.
4) Length: I think it could have been streamlined a
little to cut out some of the repetition.
Things I LIKE:
1) Beka's voice is
great. Very skillful writing. With the exception of all the troublesome
terms for people, most of the made-up words are completely understandable in
context.
2) I like Beka's
character and her doggedness. I also
really like Tunstall and Goodwin and some of the other characters.
3) Pounce. Best cat ever.
Especially in one scene where he brings Kora and Aniki some cute gifts.
4) I like the idea of
the pigeons carrying the ghosts of the dead, and how Beka can hear them. I do sort of wonder if someone with so
powerful a gift should be risking her life daily on the streets.
5) It's not a
romance. Romance is fine, but it's so refreshing
to find a book that isn't. Various
characters do hop in bed, and there are other references to such behaviors, but
the main character is more concerned with fighting crime than finding a man.
6) The awesome
world-building around the life of a dog (cop).
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