The ThreadThat Binds The Bones by Nina Kiriki Hoffman

This is the first book by Nina Kiriki Hoffman that I have read. For those who don't know, it deals with a family (the Boltes) who have magical powers. The family has a very edgy relationship with the inhabitants of the nearby town - they have a tendency to "fetch" people into the Hollow to be their slaves.

Anyway, all is not well in the Family - fertility is a major problem and the future of the Boltes is in peril. Enter Tom - someone unconnected with the family with very strong magical abilities.

There were things I liked very much about the book - the way Tom interacts with Peregrine (one of the Boltes' "Presences") is really good. I also enjoyed the magic and the exploration of the abusive way much of the Family use their powers.

I can't say I loved the book though. I didn't get a really strong feeling of the characters as people. This may just be me, of course, but I felt that Tom and Laura were just too good to be true. And things just seemed to go right for them all the time with very little effort (until the climax of the book, that is).

My other major stumbling block was that much of the book concerns a character called Carroll. This guy has basically abducted, held prisoner, raped and abused another character (Maggie) over a series of years. Somehow we are supposed to care that Carroll might want to learn to be a better person and change. I realise this is an interesting idea but I just felt that I didn't care and there were other characters who could have been given more attention rather that this nasty guy.

So, I can't say I loved it or that I will be rushing to read another of Hoffman's books. But there was definitely lots to like in the magic system and the unusual world of "The Hollow."