Book Review of the Day - S. L. Viehl

Few authors can affect me as emotionally as S.L. Viehl does. That is her strength, and my frustration.

As I believe I said in an earlier post, she is the only author who has managed to make me angry, irrationally angry, after reading one of her books because of something a character had done to another. It took me several days of biting people's heads off and just feeling internally mad before I figured out the source. And I praise her for that ability. My anger was her desired result. Still, until the next book in the series came out, I got to be frustrated with her for it.

CRYSTAL HEALER is the ninth book in the STARDOC series. It's a great read, full of action, drama, and a good dose of romance. She manages to interweave characters we haven't seen for awhile with great skill, reminding us, and the other characters in the story, who they were a little at a time until we have the big picture.

But, she's done it again. She leaves the story on such an emotionally powerful note that I'm thinking about one of the characters for days after I've finished the novel. I'm sad for him. Ironically, it's the same character I was furious with earlier in the series. He's gone through so much, grown as a person. I won't give spoilers here, but I hope Viehl will make everything all right for this character in the next book, because he doesn't deserve what has been done to him now. And I know my feelings are exactly her intention. To make me this concerned for a fictional character is an amazing talent.