this was a solid book. i wasn’t sure what to expect, but i was pleasantly surprised by what i got.

ivory madison balances on a fine line writing the huntress; often times, when a strong female character is written, the writer either resorts to a distorted caricature of a feminist, or otherwise ignores the character’s gender outright, to the detriment of the story. this is not the case here – helena feels like a real, strong, woman. the storytelling feel intense without being overly melodramatic. a very well done book, which seemed to have every chance to fall apart.

the art is ok – no real problems. but i wish this book had a little bit more style, as the general look of this book is a bit generic. if the art and design had a more noir-tinged theme to it (thinking someone in the lark vein), i think it would have been much more appropriate to the story, reinforcing the tone in a way this art doesn’t. of course, i’d like almost any book better if lark drew it…

anyways, a surprisingly nice read. sets the stage well for #2.