Unshapely Things

Unshapely Things (2007) Mark del Franco

Connor Grey is a druid who has lost most of his powers. An attack by radical environmentalist elf has left him crippled–not physically, but magically. So in addition to his disability payments, he takes occasionally jobs helping the Boston police department in attacks involving the fey.

What I found interesting about this story is that we don’t see the attack that ruins Connor’s ability and leaves him crippled (so to speak). We start with him after the attack and after his recovery, when he is living the life he has built after his accident. We don’t see him before the attack, we only see what he as become, and we learn about his former life as he slowly discovers the person he was before.

The characters in this story were particularly good. I really liked Connor. He was struggling through difficult changes, but he didn’t become morose and sorry for himself–he did his work and what he felt to be right. And the supporting characters were also interesting and had depth. Both Stinkwort and Murdock were distinct (and interesting) personalities. There is also a good deal of development of Connor’s character. He slowly discovers who he was and who he is become, and slowly comes to terms with his limited abilities and what he can accomplish with them.

As far as mysteries go, this one wasn’t too bad. There were several confusing spots, but all in all it was pretty well done. Lots of twists and turns, but everything came together.

Additionally, there was no boinking. Well, okay, there was off screen boinking, and discussion of boinking, but we didn’t have to read the details. Which is perfectly fine with me, since I’d rather read more about the mystery and character development.

Although the end contained an obvious set-up for a second book in the series, the story arc was completed in this book. It’s not my favorite thing when a book ends with a teaser for a future book, but this teaser was such that I didn’t mind too much.

The world building in this story was pretty good as well. The world is similar to, but not quite the same as, ours. But the descriptions of the Weird were interesting, and we slowly discover the differences between that world and our own.

The tone of the writing is a cross between fantasy and hard boiled mystery, with lots of sardonic comments and mental asides by the main character. There were also some interesting points made.

He stared intently at me. “Let me ask you something, Connor. If you met me here first and found out what I do at night, would you think of me as a charity volunteer who occasionally gets paid to satisfy someone’s sexual needs or would you think of my simply as a prostitute?”

I shrugged. “Fine. You’re more than a prostitute. I get the point.”

“No, you don’t.”

… He did have a point. People who operate on the fringes of society do get perceived as nothing more than what they do.

But what I liked best about this book was that it worked well as a whole. The characters were strong and interesting, the plot kept me reading and made the book hard to put down, and the story came together very well. I am looking forward to more books by Mark del Franco and more stories about Connor Grey.
Rating: 8/10

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