Havemercy

by Jaida Jones, Danielle Bennett

book data

137 ratings, 3.74 average rating, 41 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		27%
4		39%
3		19%
2		8%
1		5%

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published

June 24th 2008 by Spectra

binding

Hardcover, 400 pages

isbn

0553806963 (isbn13: 9780553806960)

description

This stunning epic fantasy debut introduces two exciting new authors—and a world brimming with natural and man-made wonders, extraordinary events, and...more

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06/24/08

Sarah rated it:

bookshelves: fantasy, fiction

Okay. Here it goes. I wanted to care for this book. I really did. But it turned out to be a big disappointment.

First of all, I could not stand "the society's" (Volstov's) view of women. Granted, I've read what Jaida and Danielle had to say about this and what they've said makes sense. The book is told from a patriarchal perspective and four MALE characters. None of them have the need to comment on the role of women. But it bothered me SO MUCH. Simply, I just did not, could ...more Okay. Here it goes. I wanted to care for this book. I really did. But it turned out to be a big disappointment.

First of all, I could not stand "the society's" (Volstov's) view of women. Granted, I've read what Jaida and Danielle had to say about this and what they've said makes sense. The book is told from a patriarchal perspective and four MALE characters. None of them have the need to comment on the role of women. But it bothered me SO MUCH. Simply, I just did not, could not, enjoy reading about a society where women were portrayed as cows, whores or shrill, overbearing mothers.

Although my biggest problem was that I never got the sense that the Ke-Han were actually a real threat. Ever. Sure, Volstov and their dragon riders were fighting the Ke-Han but...it never felt like anything was really at stake.
The final battle was cool though. But that's the thing! There were no real action or tension anywhere. Not that a good book requires action scenes. Quite the contrary sometimes. But what was missing from this book was SUSPENCE. I just didn't care if Volstov lived or died. I never came to love the world that had been created in this book. That, with any fantasy book, is a big problem.

Now for the characters. I have to admit some of the Royston/Hal scenes... just get ON WITH STORY. PLEASE. Some of it, particularly when they were walking in the park, felt like badly written fan fiction. But their relationship was cute. Whatever. I still don't care about Volstov. Rook was badass (but all the cursing did grate on my nerves a lot). I liked him at times. Other times I wanted to punch him in the mouth. Or the balls. I liked all the characters, I guess...but never grew to love them.

That being said, the dragon riders were awesome but NEVER used to their full potential. The metals dragons were what saved me from giving this book two stars. Their brotherhood and what they were capable could have been explored so much more. I think if we'd been given some quality time with the dragon riders as opposed to Thom's inner angst, I would have enjoyed this book a lot more. The problem there is that the narrative style of Havemercy doesn't facilitate that - unless Rook was the one narrating. The dragons and their riders were so cool but the main focus was on Thom. Meh.

Also, the title of the book is Havemercy. Havemercy herself was only in four scenes.

There were moments that got me to laugh out loud however. Rook screaming that they had to "haul ass" to the palace made me laugh.

I wanted to care about this book. But it feels like what could have potentially been great material was handled in the wrong way. I wish whoever edited this book had told these two brilliant young writers what was missing.(less)

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07/01/08

Jin rated it:

bookshelves: gay-romance, sci-fi-fantasy

Read in July, 2008

The book description is misleading. If you're looking for something action-filled and exciting, you're going to be disappointed. There are only two or three action scenes in total, and none of them are anything special. Neither is there any sort of adventuring going on.

The book title is misleading as well. The magical mechanical dragon whose name it is only appears in about three scenes, and doesn't play all that big of a role even in those. The other dragons are only mentioned in pa...more

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12/04/08

Clay rated it:

Read in July, 2008

“Havemercy” (Bantam Spectra, $22, 388 pages) is puzzling from the title to the conclusion – so puzzling, in fact, that I had trouble deciding if I liked it. On reflection, I didn’t, because in the end co-authors Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett spent too much time on one problematic, improbable relationship that they resolve with a deus ex machina.

The setup is interesting: It’s an unnamed world populated by humans living along what is pretty recognizably the border between ...more

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09/02/08

Wealhtheow rated it:

bookshelves: fantasy, mannerpunk, queer-characters, urban-fantasy

Read in August, 2008

This is an unholy cross between Sorcery and Cecilia and The Mirador, with little of the charm of either. The metal dragons of Volstov are on the cusp of victory in the generations long battle against the Ke-Han. During a lull in the war, the magician Royston is exciled to his family's country estates, where he falls in love with the young tutor there. Their slow building romance was quite sweet, and I actually cared about it. Not so with the relationship between Rook, a dragon jockey, and ...more

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08/17/08

Chelle rated it:

Read in August, 2008

recommends it for: steampunk/fantasy lovers, gay romance, dragon enthusiasts

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

I've been waiting for a book like this for years now. Blindly I groped, searching through page after page of cliche fantasy only to find myself disappointed. I will admit to being a very picky reader with strange tastes, and Havemercy almost nailed it. Warning, spoilers present :)

Jaida Jones is well known in the online artist community for working on a collaborative illustration/book series called Pie-IX and I will admit to being a fan. I highly enjoyed her writing skills of the firs...more I've been waiting for a book like this for years now. Blindly I groped, searching through page after page of cliche fantasy only to find myself disappointed. I will admit to being a very picky reader with strange tastes, and Havemercy almost nailed it. Warning, spoilers present :)

Jaida Jones is well known in the online artist community for working on a collaborative illustration/book series called Pie-IX and I will admit to being a fan. I highly enjoyed her writing skills of the first installation and I am still waiting for the next installment later on this year. So it would be only natural that I heard about her collaborative work with Danielle Bennett on Havemercy the day it got taken in by Bantam; I didn't hear much about it but other than it was steampunk (a personal favorite sub-genre of mine ) and about metal dragons (as I had seen the front cover). I was sold.

To be perfectly honest--whether out of personal bias or just out of pure love for homoeroticism present--I loved this book. The characters were engaging and intriguing and I'll keep a special place in my heart for every one of them. However, when I first started reading and switched viewpoints for the second time (from Royston to Rook to Hal), I started to feel a little nervous, that too much was going on for me to take in properly. By the time I reached Thom I was nearly having a panic attack. So many names in so little pages, how was I to remember them all? Four main characters, all seemingly little to have to do with one another (save Rook and Thom).

From the beginning I knew Royston and Hal would become lovers. Perhaps it's from Ms. Jones' previous work with Pie-IX, but it seemed rather obvious from page one that Royston had loved and lost and would find love again. I knew that to be with none other than the naive, brilliant country boy, Hal. Hal was an adorable character, almost too adorable. Their growing relationship at Castle Nevers was what really kept me going for the first fourth of the book, while I would skip greedily ahead during Thom and Rook's parts to see when Royston or Hal would next speak. To be honest, I didn't like Rook in the beginning. Sure, he's gorgeous and loud and obnoxious; what's not to love, right? I had a real issue with the way he treated women, but as the story trudged forward, my sympathy for him really strengthened. I didn't skip through pages to see when Hal or Royston spoke after a while because each character became interesting (and very important) in their own way. I enjoyed the voice of each character and the way they spoke, and I can only wonder about how Ms. Jones and Ms. Bennett split up their parts. The action parts were interesting and well written; I do wish there had been more of them. I also wish there had been more at the final battle, for most of it took place off-screen. It frustrated me a little that the entire novel was working up to this final push to make things right, and it was skirted around and left for the characters to explain in aftermath.

I hadn't expected Rook and Thom to be brothers (for all I knew I thought they'd end up as lovers as well, seeing no female main character come to the surface!) but I guess I should have expected as much. Rule number one about character deaths: if the surmised death of a character is not seen, then they might as well still be alive. I should have seen this yet I didn't. I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered it along with Thom, and his struggle to divulge it to his newly discovered brother, Rook. Rook's reaction was fantastic, real, sympathetic.

Other than this fact I didn't find much of the book surprising. I knew there would be obvious import to the story Hal read in the beginning and pieced the puzzle together far before Hal did. That's not to say I found the book incredibly predictable and boring. On the contrary, the relationships woven between these characters were fabulous; I am a much more character driven writer myself, as opposed to plot driven, so this was right up my alley. I'm a huge sucker for gay romance, especially between such lovable characters as Royston and Hal.

This book was a breath of fresh air for me. It provided me with joy and inspiration, which is more than I can say for most of the books I've been reading recently. I will say that Antoinette was a shining gem in this book and I do expect her to be in any planned installations of Havemercy. Such a very limited part for played, and yet she made my heart glow.

This book is not for everyone and the demographic is a bit confusing to me (as well as to other readers, as I can see). However, I think it fits nicely into the young adult category; I've read much edgier young adult than this. Much edgier. If you are not particularly fond of homosexual romance I would steer clear as well, for it's a difficult thing to avoid when it's being told by two of the main characters.

Overall, fantastic job, ladies. I look forward to the next one!(less)

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11/17/08

Tortla rated it:

bookshelves: dragons, dragony-dragons

Read in November, 2008

It definitely wasn't my favorite book (the whole switching narrations took a while to get used to, and the language sometimes offended my delicate sensibilities, and it often felt like the characterization was playing up stereotypes/typical masculine and feminine roles too much). All that aside, though, it was really amusing. And it definitely made me chortle to myself a few times and had me for quite a long time assuming something about the plot which later turned out to make me feel quite gros...more

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06/10/08

Liviu rated it:

bookshelves: 2008_release_read, full_review_fbc, genre-fantasy

Read in June, 2008

While it was not quite the book I was expecting, I enjoyed it a lot, maybe more than if it were a standard human/dragon book. Despite being a 400 page book, it's a very fast read and I almost did not put it down.

This book is much closer to Sarah Monette's Mirador series, though it's not as dark and explicit, and there are four main characters, rather than two, but there are similar kind of emotional undercurrents, and ultimately this is where the book succeeds very well - in the rela...more

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02/23/09

Anneshirley06 rated it:

bookshelves: 2009-books-

Read in January, 2009

What impressed me the most was Jaida and Danielle's ability to move flawlessly between characters. Each personality was beautifully developed. Watching the subtle similarities between the character pairs develop added so much to the plot and story development. I will forever be in love with Royston and Hal, and wishing for more of their relationship. Thom's anguish over the situation with Rook broke my heart every time.

My one criticism is that I was about halfway through the book befor...more

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05/17/09

Becky rated it:

Read in May, 2009

I couldn't quite decide whether to give this four or five stars, but I think it gets all five for so completely captivating me.

I picked up Havemercy because one of its coauthors also cowrote The Shoebox Project, a hilarious, poignant coming-of-age novel that happens to be Harry Potter fan fiction. She is scandalously talented, and her first published novel did not disappoint!

This was a beautiful, compelling pageturner of a novel, largely because of the fantastic character...more

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08/20/08

Baco rated it:

bookshelves: airships, glbt, magic

Read in October, 2008

Well-written, unusual, and entertaining, with a really well-fleshed out world and some really neat POVs and writing styles. On occasion the writing style sort of ran away with itseld, but overall this was really well done.

I have an issue the lack of female characters, and I found the big gap between the two main storylines kind of perplexing. They just seemed really disconnected, and never quite meshed the way I thought they should.

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04/30/09

Joan rated it:

Read in May, 2009

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

So, metal dragons. This is told from four different character's point of views and the chapter divisions bugged for some reason. Anyway, the characters were immensely likable, from the Dragon Corps. airmen to the bookish lads Thom and Hal. Royston is magnificently introduced as a disgraced magician who nearly caused a scandal/war due to... ahem, relations with a prince. His and Hal's relationship is sweet and touching, though at times maddening because how many pages can you go on and on about w...more

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02/24/09

Emmy rated it:

Read in March, 2009

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Havemercy (one word) is the joint effort of debut authors Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett. Normally, this would be really cool, but the execution left something to be desired. The book opens with four different points of view: Royston, Rook, Hal, and Thom. Royston is a Margrave, a title never explained but presumed to have something to do with being a magician, and his scene opens on the eve of his banishment from the bustling city of Thremedon after a lukewarm scandal sends ripples of anger...more

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02/16/09

Merrin rated it:

bookshelves: came-recommended, sciencefiction

Read in February, 2009

So. This book has a fascinating concept. I love the idea of metal dragons, even though the mechanics of them flying the way that dragons do and not, say, planes makes me slightly crazy. Still an awesome idea, and a very original world, even if the war with the neighboring country is a tried and true formula, I don't necessarily find that problematic.

What IS problematic is the manner they chose to tell the story in. First person pov isn't my favorite, but I'll deal if the story is a...more

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07/20/08

Kerri rated it:

Read in July, 2008

This book would have had two more stars without the distraction of a gay romance threaded throughout. Not my cup of tea, but the idea of this book's world is cool. The dragons were cool too, but there wasn't much action with them, considering how one is on the cover...

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11/25/08

Joseph rated it:

Read in December, 2008

recommended to Joseph by: Tropes

eBook

With the exception of Tolkien, I haven't read a fantasy novel in a long time, but they used to form the core of my reading materials. So I was expecting a bit of nostalgia to infect my reading of Havemercy.

I was surprised, however, to find that this book, despite so many of the trappings of a fantasy novel (dragons, magic, adventure in imaginary lands, etc.), had little in common with the fantasy books of my youth. The book could more accurately be described as a r...more

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02/04/09

Jennn rated it:

bookshelves: 2009, fiction

Read in February, 2009

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

My complaints are not different from the many reviews I've already read when I was half-way through the book (I was thinking, "Is it just me?" - turns out that it's not).

There were a few good scenes, but it's like someone had this good idea, but it never quite developed. The characters didn't evolve much, nor interact all that much with their surroundings or the supporting characters. They were in a war that I never fully understood the reasons for, with a people that were...more My complaints are not different from the many reviews I've already read when I was half-way through the book (I was thinking, "Is it just me?" - turns out that it's not).

There were a few good scenes, but it's like someone had this good idea, but it never quite developed. The characters didn't evolve much, nor interact all that much with their surroundings or the supporting characters. They were in a war that I never fully understood the reasons for, with a people that were never really described. In fact, much of the book felt like a murky haze with some defining moments, but the rest was described quickly without much thought, like the pages were swept over with a drying brush.

The romantic couple were two homosexuals, which wouldn't affect me much except for the fact that their relationship was boring, weepy, and (in my opinion) not worth the effort of writing.

And, despite being written by two women, there was a distinct, sharp slap of the blatant lack of female characters. Seriously, there were hardly any and the ones that were mentioned, their introductions were brief and the characters unmemorable!

The metal (mechanical) dragons, and the highlight of the book, were barely explored, which was almost painful. The way they looked, the details of their personality were thrown out once in a while, but the depth was lacking. I was disappointed.

The writing in an of itself wasn't terrible and could become much better with practice and experience. The execution and plot, however, were very weak and I'm surprised their editor didn't try to help them with that crucial point of writing. Unfortunately, it was probably given the treatment of "well, it's got gay in it, the fangirls will go crazy regardless of writing and things like plot." That's a sad and wrong assessment.

The scene where Rook denied his brother - that was a good scene. It had depth and emotion. That was good, they needed more of that. The book was longer enough that it should have had more moments like that.

And a little pet peeve: At the end, one of the characters was drinking a cappuccino...It threw me off. Ok, so there are advancements in their society pertaining to construction, like the dragons. But the dragons are powered by magic, so this leads me to believe that the cappuccino machine was powered by magic (?). Maybe I'm wrong since I don't know that much about fantasy or the history of the time era they were borrowing from (I'd say around medieval), but I couldn't wrap my head around cappuccino. Did knights slurp up home-brewed cappuccino after a war? It didn't sit right with me.(less)

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12/27/08

Tia rated it:

The way this book was written made me want to read every word. At no point while reading did I just jump from dialogue to dialogue without first taking in what was in between. I really felt that the authors treated each sentence and each word with care and thought. I can really respect that. I will agree with some by saying that the portrayal of the society and country as a whole could have used a bit more elaboration, but I didn't mind that those aspects were secondary to the fact that this was...more

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09/28/08

Rachel rated it:

Read in September, 2008

recommended to Rachel by: Katie once again, who lent it.
recommends it for: lovers of fantasy, especially dragons, fans of queer lit

A great fantasy! I loved it! Sometimes it was predictable, but I still loved it! Well-written, interesting, with just enough of a world created that it felt full without overwhelming me with foreign words and details I'd never needed to know in the first place. What could be better than talking mechanical dragons, sweet spring/autumn romance, awkward university students and studly war heroes?
Well, I could have asked for one thing--a little (or even a lot) less derogatory language abo...more

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09/10/08

Heather rated it:

It didn't suck, and from me, that's kind of high praise. I'm giving it four stars mainly in contrast to Naomi Novik's similar efforts -- which had enormous potential but sucked terribly. These authors don't make the same mistakes she did -- their characters aren't awesomely perfect, even when they're saving the day -- but the ending's a little abrupt and seems to neglect some pretty major loose ends, and not in a sequel way.

One thing that's pretty obvious, and not necessarily bad, ...more

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08/21/08

penny rated it:

Read in August, 2008

I picked this book up more because Jones is a Barnard Alumna ('08) than for any other reason.

I enjoy dragon stories, but the mechanical yet magical-ness of the dragons did not catch and hold me to this story, and thus it fails to earn it's fifth star.

It does earn four however for the following reasons:
the pace, the language, and the relationships of the story, while not perfect, kept and held me until I had devoured this book. I thought about the world in which i...more