![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Murder in the Trembling Lands (Ben January #21)
Working on belatedly writing up some books I've read lately.
A new Ben January book came out in July, and I had tremendous fun with it! This is one of the books in the series where Hambly goes Full Pulp with the plot, and she is delightful at it - buried treasure, pirates, abandoned houses crumbling in the swamp, identity shenanigans, long-lost relatives ...
Including some previously unmentioned relatives of Ben's. DAGOBERT JANVIER WHOMST?? On the one hand, I can't believe we're getting a whole bunch of never previously mentioned (sort of) relatives in book TWENTY-ONE. On the other hand, Dagobert is an absolute scene stealer. You can see why Ben generally has as little to do with this guy as possible - even apart from the obvious complications of Dagobert being the white legitimate son and heir of the guy who bought (and freed) his mom - because Dagobert has the common sense of a spoon. (The scene where Ben is cheerfully lying through his teeth to Dagobert while a flabbergasted prostitute who has witnessed none of the things he's talking about but can still clearly tell that he's lying is hilarious. Ben, in English: Please nod, Madame. The man is an imbecile.) Also the running ... joke? sort of? with people repeatedly calling Dagobert his cousin and Ben just exasperatedly correcting them like WE'RE NOT RELATED, STOP IT. But in his internal narration he frequently calls Dagobert his "relative" - having no other real way to describe the complexity of whatever it is that they do have, and Dagobert is genuinely a sweet person and it's honestly very cute watching Ben slowly acknowledge that (as much as he would never have gotten involved in this in the first place if Dagobert wasn't paying him) he's got a protective streak for the guy a mile wide.
I also enjoyed the other Janvier relatives, particularly St-Denis's mom (Dagobert's grandmother), and her unexpectedly respectful and affectionate rapport with Ben. I would really enjoy seeing the Janviers again in future books!
I guessed the main identity plot twist completely wrong - I was convinced that the clearly shady damsel in distress who is the exact image of Dagobert's lost love would turn out to be her own half-sister by her plantation owner father's mistress/placee, Melusine. (We know Melusine had at least one daughter who is supposedly dead, and the book had already had a white character accused of being mixed-race and passing for white as part of an assassination plot, so it seemed like good setup for someone who actually was ....) But she's not; maybe that would be one identity shenanigan too many for a plot that already had a lot of them.
Other highlights: Hannibal saving the day with his forgery skills! It's always nice when that talent becomes plot-relevant again. I am utterly charmed that Ben invited Shaw to his niece's wedding. And he came! And he had fun! (Ben notes that it's the first time he's ever seen Shaw completely relaxed.)
The back half of the series has been hit or miss for me, but this was definitely one of the hits; I had a great time.
A new Ben January book came out in July, and I had tremendous fun with it! This is one of the books in the series where Hambly goes Full Pulp with the plot, and she is delightful at it - buried treasure, pirates, abandoned houses crumbling in the swamp, identity shenanigans, long-lost relatives ...
Including some previously unmentioned relatives of Ben's. DAGOBERT JANVIER WHOMST?? On the one hand, I can't believe we're getting a whole bunch of never previously mentioned (sort of) relatives in book TWENTY-ONE. On the other hand, Dagobert is an absolute scene stealer. You can see why Ben generally has as little to do with this guy as possible - even apart from the obvious complications of Dagobert being the white legitimate son and heir of the guy who bought (and freed) his mom - because Dagobert has the common sense of a spoon. (The scene where Ben is cheerfully lying through his teeth to Dagobert while a flabbergasted prostitute who has witnessed none of the things he's talking about but can still clearly tell that he's lying is hilarious. Ben, in English: Please nod, Madame. The man is an imbecile.) Also the running ... joke? sort of? with people repeatedly calling Dagobert his cousin and Ben just exasperatedly correcting them like WE'RE NOT RELATED, STOP IT. But in his internal narration he frequently calls Dagobert his "relative" - having no other real way to describe the complexity of whatever it is that they do have, and Dagobert is genuinely a sweet person and it's honestly very cute watching Ben slowly acknowledge that (as much as he would never have gotten involved in this in the first place if Dagobert wasn't paying him) he's got a protective streak for the guy a mile wide.
I also enjoyed the other Janvier relatives, particularly St-Denis's mom (Dagobert's grandmother), and her unexpectedly respectful and affectionate rapport with Ben. I would really enjoy seeing the Janviers again in future books!
I guessed the main identity plot twist completely wrong - I was convinced that the clearly shady damsel in distress who is the exact image of Dagobert's lost love would turn out to be her own half-sister by her plantation owner father's mistress/placee, Melusine. (We know Melusine had at least one daughter who is supposedly dead, and the book had already had a white character accused of being mixed-race and passing for white as part of an assassination plot, so it seemed like good setup for someone who actually was ....) But she's not; maybe that would be one identity shenanigan too many for a plot that already had a lot of them.
Other highlights: Hannibal saving the day with his forgery skills! It's always nice when that talent becomes plot-relevant again. I am utterly charmed that Ben invited Shaw to his niece's wedding. And he came! And he had fun! (Ben notes that it's the first time he's ever seen Shaw completely relaxed.)
The back half of the series has been hit or miss for me, but this was definitely one of the hits; I had a great time.
no subject
no subject
no subject
This scene sounds delightful :D
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject