Posted by
Conservative Swordfighters Club on Friday, August 22, 2008 2:36:33 AM
this excellent 2008 fantasy novel is slightly marred in only a few places by political correctness.
the short (213 page) novel, narrated in the first person by high school senior miguel schreiber, begins when twin beauties miguel's age, Lainey and Em, arrive in town from australia. miguel falls in love with Lainey, while Johnny, the school bully, falls in love with Em.
but then the girls reveal to their new boyfriends that they are actually were-dingoes (like werewolves except that they turn into australian wild dogs instead of wolves) on the run from their father, the Tallyman, a more powerful were-dingo who is working for an even more powerful being called the Dingo (because he is supposedly the original dingo).
a couple examples of political correctness:
When the girls tell miguel and johnny that they are in fear for their lives from their father the Tallyman, johnny quite reasonably advocates shooting him:
"...that's all the more reason we should just pop your old man," [Johnny] tells Lainey. "You know -- get rid of at least one piece of trash."
"That would make us no better than him," Lainey says.
Johnny shrugs.
--page 103
johnny just shrugs, ey? that shows that author de lint doesn't know how to write a conservative character.
what johnny should have said is, "No, that would NOT make us 'no better than him.' We are normal teenagers just trying to live our lives and he is a supernatural monster who would sacrifice his own children in the service of a demon. why not kill him first before he eventually succeeds?"
but unfortunately, johnny doesn't say that and his point of view is overruled by the others: they will figure out a way to defeat their more powerful enemies without resorting to violence.
when the girls end up captured by the Dingo, miguel consults with the girls' father stephen and stephen comes up with a plan to trick the Dingo into releasing the girls:
"I know Lainey and Em's lives are at stake," I say, "but this doesn't seem like a very honorable way to rescue them."
"The point is that their lives are at stake," Stephen says. "So unless you can come up with a better plan...?"
"No, I just..."
--page 156
miguel continues to object:
"But does that mean we should be like him?"
"If it's to save my girls," Stephen says, "then yes. Absolutely."
--page 157
again, not to put too fine a point on it, but were I writing the novel, I would've had stephen say, "Listen: We're not 'being like the Dingo.' He is evil; we are not. He attacks us; we are just defending ourselves. What is this moral relativism crap?"
but these politically correct flaws are easy to overlook; they don't stop me from strongly recommending this book. de lint is an excellent storyteller, one of the contemporary masters of fantasy.
-- Swordfish