Henry Rios Mysteries Challenge #6: The Burning Plain

[Johanna]

Here we can discuss The Burning Plain by Michael Nava for our challenge. Feel free to post as soon as you've read the book. :-)

[Johanna]

I finished listening to this yesterday. I feel like the series is getting better and better book by book, but at the same time also tougher (emotionally) to read. Sometimes I wish Nava would have chosen the easier, smoother road for the story and for Henry. His writing is excellent and the narrator of the audio books is absolutely perfect for the series, but I'm starting the last book with mixed feelings and bit scared — I really don't know what to expect.

[Sandra]

Yes, it's an emotionally wrenching series, but so well written!

[Calathea]

I'm almost through this one. It's quite a bit longer than the other ones. At the moment I think that "The Death of Friends" touched me more emotionally (kind of understandable). The mystery in this one, though, is keeping me on my toes. It's very gripping and I just can't stop to listen.

[Antonella]

A bit too gripping for me apparently: I started reading it seriously and then I jumped forward to see what was happening...

I was in awe already at the Dante Alighieri's quote at the beginning. Although I have to say that Nava could have been better at quotations: he quotes Dante's Inferno, but he doesn't indicate the chant, so one doesn't notice immediately that Dante is talking about homosexuals: it's Inferno, XIV, 19-24.

You'll find the whole Divine comedy here, but the translation adopted by Nava is the one by John Ciardi, see ''his'' chant XIV here, which is important because the immediately following verses in this translation mention the ''plain'' of the title of Nava's book, the other translation doesn't mention it.

[Calathea]

I thought he did quote the verses (not in the first quote but in some later chapter)?

I have to dig out my copy of The Divine Comedy. It's been ages since I read it. I always thought the first circle of hell would be a nice place to be. I would like to meet all the ancient philosophers. ;-)

[Antonella]

Calathea wrote: "I thought he did quote the verses (not in the first quote but in some later chapter)?"

Probably. But IMO you don't quote Dante without quoting chant and verse, or at least chant.

[Calathea]

Antonella wrote: "Calathea wrote: "I thought he did quote the verses (not in the first quote but in some later chapter)?"

Probably. But IMO you don't quote Dante without quoting chant and verse, or at least chant."

Do you think? ;-)

To me it feels strange when somebody (in fictional literature) in normal conversation quotes something with this detailed information like chant and verse. Unless, of course, the character is supposed to be an expert in this field.

[Antonella]

Noo! I meant only the first quote, the one before the actual book starts!

[Calathea]

Aaah, I didn't know. But, yes, the exact source would be nice in that place.

[KC]

Thank you, Antonella, for the exact quote place, i agree he should've added that for the quote at the beginning.

This is the only book in the series that left me feeling upset. Maybe i was just tired at this point but it felt too long and too much, especially the part at the end with the boy. It didn't seem in character with the other books, too graphic, too violent, too cruel.

[Antonella]

KC wrote: "This is the only book in the series that left me feeling upset. Maybe i was just tired at this point but it felt too long and too much, especially the part at the end with the boy. It didn't seem in character with the other books, too graphic, too violent, too cruel."

It left me unsettled, it took me a while to fall asleep yesterday after having finished it. But it is graphic, violent and cruel in the same measure as real life is graphic, violent and cruel.

Concerning your other point: I've just written in my review that I appreciate that Nava didn't go the easy way with the boy's story.

[KC]

Antonella wrote: "KC wrote: "This is the only book in the series that left me feeling upset. Maybe i was just tired at this point but it felt too long and too much, especially the part at the end with the boy. It di..."

What bothered me was not that he didn't go the easy way with the boy's story (once it started i didn't really expect the boy to be saved at the last minute, etc.), but rather that he went there in the first place. It just felt sensationalist to me. Unnecessary for this particular story. Since we already knew enough about this cruel/mean character, it was as if the author wanted to wring another shock of emotion out of the reader. Anyway, that's just the way it felt to me.

[Antonella]

Oh, now I see what you meant. Still, I didn't feel this way.

[Jordan]

Just finished this one last night.

The beginning was disturbing, what with seeing Josh in Alex and calling him Josh during sex. That creeped me out.

The ending had me horrified when Mr. Evil did what he did to Rod. That, I wasn't expecting. And yet, I can see Evil doing that to get back at him. He wasn't Evil for nothing!

I'm debating reading the next book in the series right away or reading something else first. We'll see what I end up going with in a little bit, I guess. It might involve flipping a coin. Lol.