2 Quotes, 1 Visual #11

Todays' opinion is on 'Shaded Vision', Yasmine Galenorns' eleventh book in the Otherworld series.  The Otherworld series features three sisters: Camille, Menolly, & Delilah. This book is from Delilahs' POV, & involves a wedding, coyote shifters, drugs, & a demon lord. This is one of my all-time favorite series, & I have all of the books.  Galelorn has not only created but maintained a world within our world, stocked with characters so well developed one could expect to see them walking down a street.

Quote #1: "She gave me a pensive look. "I trust her to do what she can.  But I learned the hard way that even she can't control the world, and can't always stop evil when it rises.  But she can comfort.  The gods are not omnipotent nor omniscient."   (page 156, paragraph 3)
     One of the things that make this book, as well as the series, ring true for me is all of the shades of grey found in the social mores of this world of words.  No rose-coloured glasses, there is bloodshed amid the smiles, & fighting amidst the sex.

Quote #2: "I do...I'm just..."He paused, then shrugged. "What the hell, I'm going to have a long life unless I get murdered or do something stupid.  I might as well learn how to be adventurous."   (page 264,paragraph 3)
     One hallmark of a long-lived series is the ongoing development the returning characters go through.  It is a personal enjoyment to read (& watch, for I can see the action as I read the words) the steps familiar characters walk, whether I agree with the direction or not.

1 Visual: "A wreath of burning maple encircled his head, and around his neck, he wore a golden cord from which hung a skull, small and human-looking.  His boots--dark leather with stacked heels, left a trail of frost in their wake with every step he took.  Hi'ran was seven feet tall, and the Elemental Lord's eyes glimmered, a whirl of stars against the blackness."   (page 61, paragraph 5)  
     For those who have read Delilahs' books (Otherworld is written in sets of three...alternating the three sisters' POVs), this description adds another layer to Hi'rans' appearance.  Never going overboard with endless adjectives, Galenorns' characters develop at their own pace.