Title: The Gravedigger’s Son
Author: Darynda Jones
Series: Charley Davidson #13.6
Not what I expected but loved it in general
Thank you to Darynda Jones for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review, and big thanks to the friendly Dana Crawford for providing me with the ARC.
Amber and Quentin have always been some of my favorite people in the Grave books, so when I received a wonderful surprise email containing the ARC for their story, I sat down and devoured it. It’s a novella, so it only took a couple hours, but there was definitely enough material for a full-length novel; why couldn’t it have been longer!?! Lol. I loved this little Amber-Quentin story. I loved the writing, I loved Amber, I loved the plot, I loved the secondary characters—Kyle, Dora, Rune, even Sarah.
The only thing I didn’t love was Quentin’s personal narrative. I like Quentin himself, but not what Jones decided to do with him for the last several story-years. I didn’t love that, of all the conceited Reyes-esque moves to pull, he ghosted Amber to “protect” her—and out of shame. I didn’t love that he and Amber were separated for five years, didn’t love that he apparently spent a lot of time in bars and had lots of meaningless sex with other women. I really thought he was above that. Didn’t love that he made really stupid choices and decided to lone-wolf it, which only got him into deeper shit. Rune grew on me, but I still resent them for causing this mess.
Quentin, sweetheart, tell me something. Of all the people on Earth who could have helped you with the problem, who do you think would have been best able to handle it? That’s right, Char—
Wait. When was this novella in the timeline? Back in Thirteen, Quentin was sixteen and Amber was thirteen. If Quentin’s problem began in his second semester of college, that was, presumably, approximately three years after Thirteen; he would have been nineteen, Amber would have been sixteen. And this novella takes place five years later, so he should be approximately twenty-four, Amber about twenty-one. Although, I think she’s supposed to be done with college, which should have been four years since she went to Vassar, so maybe she’s twenty-two. Except she graduated high school a semester early, so maybe she is only twenty-one.
Anyway, if Quentin’s problem began only three years after Thirteen, Charley and Reyes would still have been in the form of the Cheyes Haven, so I suppose Quentin couldn’t go to them for help. Osh was off turning savage in Hell or something, so he wasn’t available, either. There was still Uncle Bob, who had to have had some helpful knowledge, and maybe Garrett, too, but I don’t know how much they could have done for Quentin.
No, you know what, I’m still not buying it. If Charley could search the universe for Osh and Beep while in the form of the Cheyes Haven, she could check on Quentin at college, no sweat. I’m sure she’d have been monitoring all her loved ones. I mean, what else did she have to do? I don’t believe that she would have remained ignorant to Quentin’s problem for long. Even if she didn’t learn of it from observing him, she could have learned of his breaking up with Amber by observing her or her mom or Uncle Bob. And even if there was nothing she could do while in the form of Cheyes Haven, or if for some reason she remained ignorant of Quentin’s problem until the Cheyes Haven was dismantled, that was about two to three years before the events of this novella. I’m supposed to believe that once she returned to human form, she didn’t take roll call, discover Quentin was MIA under mysterious circumstances, go find him, find out about his problem, and help him fix it? Nah. Not possible.
So yeah, I’m not buying nor liking his backstory for the last eight story-years. And while I do still love him as a character, I did really miss the sweet, shy young man he used to be. He was such a welcome contrast to the arrogant, high-handed, testosterone-laden male characters like Reyes and Garrett. But now he’s pretty similar to them, hardened and world-weary. Just glares at everyone and everything. RIP OG Quentin.
I know it sounds like I’m hating on Quentin, but I swear I’m not. I love him, he’s a multi-faceted character. I loved the Deaf perspective, and if there’s a non-Deaf person I trust to convey that culture and experience respectfully and as accurately as possible, it’s Darynda Jones. I just . . . I’m pretty disappointed in him, I guess. I hope I regain respect for him during Beep’s trilogy.
There’s not much to say about Amber. She was Amber: sweet, kind, strong. I admit I don’t understand the “traveler” deal, though. I don’t think it was explained; did it have something to do with her mind/memory reading? I imagine it will come into play in Beep’s trilogy, but it would have been nice to get more of an explanation here, since it came up so often.
Also, Quentin still has his problem. Will he always? Will that be like, his superpower in the fight against Satan? Interesting.
So, overall, I’m disappointed in how things worked out for Quentin, and Charley’s lack of involvement in his life is unbelievable–but I loved everything else about this novella, which is why it’s only knocked one star.
