“After reading this book I sat down and seriously considered why someone would want to emulate Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series (besides the popularity) with the rampant use of Sues with wangsty pasts and intelligent horses it seems to be an overused concept by now. In fact, the only way to do anything different would be to have main characters who are handicapped in some way... something that Valdemar suspiciously lacks.
However, I found myself liking Bishop's world better than Lackey's. Perhaps it is because of the lack of major magic wielding, the use of only one Sue (who doesn't appear too powerful), and the lack of speaking intelligence on the horse's part and the whole mess of choosing their own rider. I found the breeding discussions very interesting and handled in a more realistic way then I expected. The horses were more... horse-ish with more intelligence, sure, and wings but generally still horses. The fact that the bondmates were chosen FOR the horses and sentenced to a life of celibacy was also refreshing and a nicely political way of handling things.
Alright, but onto the meat of things. Lark. Oh, lawdy, Lark. A blatant, terrible Canon Sue with enough sparkly perfectness to drown her horse. She has no parents and has a rather wangsty past because of it despite the fact she was raised with love and tender care from her brothers. But, of course, she cannot feel totally included because she's a 'girl'. Sporting violet eyes, black curly hair, and apparently being rather pretty she is naturally chosen by the gods to have a forbidden animal. A winged horse falls into her lap and lo and behold he is a 'special' horse and different from all the others.
Okay, so I could forgive all that. Her looks are not drooled over by every person she meets; her winged horse causes political upheaval, trouble for her family, and is considered a threat to the bloodlines. But, and it is a big one, but she knows instinctively how to fly bareback. I lost all hope for her when she demonstrated that peculiar trait especially considering she's never ridden a horse in her life nor seen one until the mare dropped into her lap. That's stretching my belief a liiiittle bit too far.
The other characters I was surprised to discover were well fleshed, if a little stereotypical, and I quite enjoyed William (despite the sudden, more perverted outlook in the second book). To be perfectly honest, I liked the second book much better... but that's for a different review.
The plot occasionally meandered, especially the main one, but otherwise stayed its course quite well. The small plots tended to pile up on one another and overwhelm, not helped by the sudden changes in narration. I found myself more interested in what other people were doing, instead of the irritating Lark as she mostly angsted, worried, panicked, and was stupid, headstrong, and generally boring. Bishop does have a good sense of suspense and I found it hard to put the book down even though the content and characters became grating after a while.
All in all, Airs Beneath The Moon is a good read, not spectacular or life-changing in any way but a nice romp while it lasts. Just not something I'd pick up and read again. ”
BarkingPup wrote this review Friday, August 21, 2009.
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