The Hollow (Sign of Seven Trilogy, Book 2)
by Nora Roberts
|
List Price: Our Price: $2.65 You Save: $5.34 (67%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of The Hollow (Sign of Seven Trilogy, Book 2)
Book Review: Series Seeing Improvement
Summary: 3 Stars
Nora Roberts' latest trilogy hits its stride the second time out. While the first in this series felt a lot like a retread of books we've read before, this story seems to have a little more individuality going for it. In "Blood Brothers," the new circle of six is introduced, and Cal and Quinn were paired off. This book is about the love that forms between Fox and Layla, while the six continue to prepare for the upcoming battle with the Big Evil that plagues the small Maryland town of Hawkins Hollow.
Layla came to Hawkins Hollow seemingly on a whim, leaving her job and apartment in New York behind to head for a place she had never been. Almost immediately upon her arrival, strange things begin to happen, and as a result Layla makes friends with Quinn, who had come to town to write about the bizarre happenings every seven years. Layla winds up leaving her job in New York and taking on the temporary position of Fox's office manager, but it doesn't seem as if their relationship will remain professional. Not when they feel such a connection. Fox is ready for Layla to leave everything behind and build a life with him, but Layla isn't so sure she wants him making all her decisions for her. Besides, with what's about to come in July, she fears there soon may not even be a Hawkins Hollow in which to build a life. The six friends have a battle on their hands against the demon who would destroy the picturesque town, and his antics are escalating. From the moment Layla set foot in Hawkins Hollow, she has had visions and dreams. As time approaches the Seven, the week in July when all hell breaks loose, the demon seems to be gaining more power than ever before, and his tricks become even more dangerous. The six friends find that to beat him at his own game, they must risk performing a dark ritual of their own that could destroy them all.
While generally not offended by books of this type, I didn't realize until now how much Sunday school stuck with me, because it really bugs me that God does not seem to exist to a single character in this book, yet they continually use God and Jesus as epithets in their speech. It amuses me, though, that these six characters are so sure of the power they possess amongst themselves that they feel capable of taking on a "demon from hell" without any supernatural assistance, whether from God and angels, or even from witchcraft. They've got such a powerful thing going, it defies all religions and beliefs. To quote the cover blurb, "only friendship and family, promise and passion can stop it..." That's an incredibly silly concept from any spiritual standpoint, and sounds more like platitudes you'd read in a teen magazine. Oddly, though, the silliness of it all made the book more palatable to me.
Though my least favorite, and the least original, of all Nora Roberts' trilogies, as other readers have said, Nora on a bad day is better than most other writers on a good one. This book was better than the first in this series, and I'm hoping that the third will be a further improvement and round it out nicely in the end.
Book Review: A good sequel
Summary: 4 Stars
Here's a brief background of THE BLOOD BROTHERS, first book in the Sign of Seven Trilogy: Evil has befallen Hawkins Hollow where all hell breaks loose on every seven years, on the seventh day of the seventh month. All because innocently - Caleb, Fox, and Gage - on their tenth birthday, cut their wrist, mixed their blood and made an oath at the Pagan Stone. With that, they have unleashed something evil as well as good. Circumstances also bring three women together: Quinn, Layla, and Cybil. Together they form an important team, with absolute determination to end the recurring problem once and for all. The first book romantically hooks Caleb and Quinn together, and in this instalment, we see Fox and Layla together.
In book two, the nightmare is about to begin. Here Nora Roberts builds on the suspense from the first book. Fox O'Dell practices small-town law with an ability to read minds. Coincidentally, Layla shares the same ability. That explains why she is able to relate and anticipate what her customers fancy at the boutique in New York (before arriving at Hawkins Hollow), but she didn't think much of it at that time. Together, Fox and Layla will be able to use their ability to connect and fight evil. It is not that easy though. Fox is not trusting and Layla is not accepting her gift. Will they overcome the barrier they set for themselves? To win the battle, they know they have to.
Along the way, the group found the journal of Ann Hawkins, an important discovery to unlock the mystery of what is happening to the town. Ann was the lover of Giles Dent and they were the three men's ancestors. Dent was the person responsible for locking evil in its place before it was accidentally released by the boys many years back. The closer they are to solving the problem, the more vicious evil become. This time, it's going at them all at the same time.
I am happy with the book but not crazy about it. This is one of the weaker trilogies in Nora's work but nonetheless, still enjoyable. As usual, humour, romance and thrill maketh a good read, and it's definitely visible in this instalment. Nora succeeds in developing a good plot that encourages me to continue reading to see how the men and women in the story overcome their dilemmas, problems and together, achieve their goal in battling evil. This series does not affect me emotionally like the previous ones, for example the Key Trilogy or the Three Sisters Island Trilogy, but still satisfying. I am waiting in anticipation for the final episode in The Pagan Stone, coming in December 2008.
Book Review: Of all that is written, I love only what a person has written with his own blood. - Friedrich Nietzsche
Summary: 5 Stars
When they were ten years old 3 best friends set out on a camping adventure and inadvertently unleashed a demon. Since that time, every 7 years on July 7th and for 7 days, that demon wreaks havoc on their small town; creating chaos, madness and destruction. When those 7 days are done, not everyone comes out alive.
Gage, Fox and Cal have spent those periods trying to help the town, save lives, restore order, in anyway they can. Now they are joined by 3 women, Layla, Cybil and Quinn. The six are linked by love, bloodlines, friendships and now the common goal; to see the final destruction of the demon on this July 7th.
I was slightly disappointed in the first book of this series, Blood Brothers (Sign of Seven Trilogy, Book 1), this one more than made up for that. Where Blood Brothers lacked character development and moved a little slowly for me, this one was the opposite. The characters really stand out. Although this is Fox and Layla's story, I got a huge sense of Gage and Cybil, and even felt like I got to know Cal and Quinn a little better. I now feel invested in the characters and their stories.
In this second book, the six have figured out a lot about the past and what happened at the Pagan Stone way back when. They know a little more about their ancestors and are now developing a plan to fight back and put the demon to rest, for good.
There are some terrifying moments as the demon preys on their fears and weaknesses in some very chilling ways. I have to admit when the demon decides to show his face as that that creepy little boy, it gives me the willies. I will probably have nightmares about that little freak tonight, possibly for the next couple of nights.
This was a fast paced and thrilling second installment. It gave plenty of background and insight into the past, while they plan for the future. Highly emotional and cover to cover entertainment; just what I love about a Nora book. I am as antsy as can be and filled to the brim in impatience as I eagerly await Gage and Cybil's story in The Pagan Stone (The Sign of Seven Trilogy).
Cherise Everhard, May 2008
Book Review: Wonderful blend of genres
Summary: 5 Stars
While Blood Brothers focused on Quinn and Cal's connection and the initial steps in researching the phenomenon, The Hollow takes on Fox and Layla's attraction to each other. The six friends dig deeper in the course of their research, finding out more about their ancestors and about Giles Dent's plan for them.
It's a riot getting to meet and interact with Fox's "hippie" family. Each of his family members is incredibly memorable in their own way. I particularly enjoyed, as a reader, the relationship between Fox and Layla for its unusual nature. Layla's struggling with coming to grips with what's happening. Of all the six, she's the one who was least prepared. She's a practical, organized person who's never encountered the supernatural before the events of Blood Brothers. It's interesting watching her deal with these changes, learn to turn her skills to work for their cause, deal with her own unusual abilities, and come to terms with Fox's equally strong personality. They're both very compassionate people, but they're also both determined individualists. I love that they [...] heads without reducing themselves to the usual romance cliche of fiery overreaction and temper tantrums.
The demon has stepped up its campaign of terror against the group, and has moved to actively trying to harm them. This steps up the tension and level of action from the first book---no second-novel drop-off for this trilogy! There's just as much humor, entertainment value, and quotable lines as well. Quinn and Cal definitely don't drop off the face of the earth even though they're no longer the focus characters, so if you're looking for more material on them I don't think you'll be too disappointed. Finally, while the books in this trilogy aren't stand-alone stories but rather parts of a whole, Nora Roberts has a talent for weaving enough information into her books that they never feel incomplete. If you don't remember every detail of book one when you get around to book two, that should hardly be a problem.
Book Review: Pointless ritual and mindless superstition
Summary: 2 Stars
I didn't much like the first book in this trilogy and said so in an Amazon review. So why did I bother to read the second volume? Because I hoped it would be better, because I know that Ms. Roberts is capable of better. Or perhaps I'm a glutton for dumbness.
The story is lame and unconvincing. Six supposedly educated and supposedly rational adult yuppies see blood, giant slugs, ghosts, destruction, snakes coming out of shower drains, millions of spiders, a laughing imp, fires that aren't fires, etc. etc. And they react and talk seriously and at excruciating length about these paranormal events. There are but two explanations: (1) They have lost their collective sanity and need to go to the funny farm or; (2) They have all had too much wine and are experiencing the DTs.
The setting isn't any better or clearer. The story is ludicrous, e.g., divining the location of the lost jourals in the side of a stone shed. The characters are one dimensional--a writer, a lawyer, a gambler.... The dialogue is stiff and unconvincing. The writing cried out for a good editor. "Prune, Ernest, prune," as Gertrude Stein said to Hemingway. Nora Roberts has done better.
Paranormal stories can be fun, but the premise doesn't work here, not at all. Robets has used witches and ghosts before in much better novels. I enjoyed the movie "Betelgeuse" and the cumputer game, "Myst." Harry Potter books use demons and witches, but in a light vein that works. Anne Rice vampire books are engaging. Ditto for Bram Stoker, some of Stephen King, and others. However, "The Blair Witch Project" was downright stupid and insulting, and the current Nora Roberts trilogy is but a slight cut above that.
A wise man said that the two things that separate mankind from the beasts are pointless ritual and mindless superstition. I would add to that, endless, boring talk.