I think it was used as a way to a. show dominance (or attempted dominance) by Tim, which is something we know Mercy always fights. BTW, has anyone noticed how many similarities there between Mercy and Sookie Stackhouse — fiercely independent young woman with slight magical ability attracts hordes of magical creatures with problems only she can solve/help with because of her unique abilities. I found that scene overwrought too, and perhaps a little patronizing as well.It’s not just a case of being true to Mercy’s character, I think for the story to be believable it’s necessary to be true to Tim’s character as well. It is invasive, much like a physic attack on a persons’ mind.The problem that I have with this review is that Briggs did not use the rape scene in any way, shape or form as quoted in this review. I am not sure if it is because it was poorly done, but it just made me cringe, and I happen to be a 21 year old male. to me it was kinda obvious that Samuel would be put to the side walk because Mercy, after she left the marrock pack, stopped loving samuel in that way. The trope even has its own name: Rape and Revenge.See this is where we differ, Jia. I hope so.A truly savvy character, such as how I perceived Mercy up till those last 50 pages, I…don’t believe would put herself into such a helpless scene. I was raped by someone I knew at age seventeen, and I didn’t have the reaction that you had to the last third of the book. I admit I don’t particularly care for the Fae when it comes to urban fantasy, or any fantasy for that matter. It’s a fine line for me, that varies from author to author, book to book. It’s just that I expected something more out of a resolution. Bad taste in my mouth.I thought Mercy made a choice, actually. What you’re saying is that fantasy authors always resort to rape as the most hideous thing a woman can endure and we all know that’s not necessarily true but why would I want to see Mercy maimed? Such invasive attacks such as rape, can not be resolved easily.I am young so I could just not have understood all that much but Mrs. Briggs did this scene for a good reason not to just make a quick ending. Most women are not going to leap into the arms of a new lover six days later, and Mercy is already too close to “perfect” for my taste. this scene and the folowing showed me that there is always some one who will be there for you no matter what.According to Ms. Briggs’ website the next book will start where this one ends and I have confidence that the small things I did not like about this book will be explained in the next. She said she couldn’t help it, but a writer is not just helpless flotsam, recording the views as the river sends her along.Is rape really the only bad thing that can happen to a woman?
That rang true with my own experience. That fits Tim perfectly. C.L. I too have a strong distaste for rape as “entertainment,” and have abandoned many books, movies, and favorite TV series because of a poorly handled rape scene. He was a weak man, and to his way of thinking Mercy had found him lacking. She gets raped! Not to dismiss anyone’s experience, but look at the statistics others have mentioned. That’s the beauty of books and why there’s room for all of us.I love these books and will definitely keep reading them, but the ending of this one annoyed me. She could lose a hand. Maybe it’s used because people see that as the ultimate act of harm against a woman? That’s what it feels like.That was what Mercy did at the end of the book. I respect that. Need to give the heroine an angsty backstory that makes her vulnerable? Mercy immediately deduces from the fact that she is blind and smells like fae that Dr. Altman is Nemane. After making herself hot chocolate Mercy and the other two discuss what Mercy found in O'Donnells' house and Mercy asks Mike if O'Donnell took any fae artifacts, how many fae on the reservation can turn into a raven and how many have the strength to rip off a mans' head.
I get that Whatsisname must have been raped himself at some point (There’s a raped male character for you, Jia!) But then, I’m a sucker for her relationship in particular with Adam.Wow. Need to explain why the heroine fights crime? That's the trope I'm questioning.The more I ponder the last 50 pages of that novel, the more impressed I am by Briggs’s writing.But I don’t think it’s a case of taking a nice girl and having her raped – which I agree would be reprehensible.We are in Mercy’s POV, so we know the thought processes behind her visits to Tim, and we know that Mercy is not malicious in her intent. She gets raped! Fantasy, as a genre, stretches back for a long time, so it has a body of work and for much of that body of work, the genre was dominated by male authors and male characters.