Book 106.5, 2022
Dec. 23rd, 2022 11:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chez_jaeWhile searching for another holiday story on my Kindle today, I came across Silver and Salt, an anthology written by Rob Thurman, which included a short story in the "Cal Leandros" verse. I took the time to read it, just because I'm missing Cal. The story was "A Grain of Salt", and it featured a 14-year old Cal living in Chicago and encountering a human monster.
When Cal sees a man talking up a little girl in the park he walks by each day, he warns the girl, Melanie, to stay away from the man. Cal didn't anticipate the predator would find out where Melanie lived, take her, and murder her. Cal is no hero, but there's a part of him that won't tolerate a kid killer in his territory. When Cal dangles himself as bait, the man takes the lure, and Cal teaches him a lesson. Days later, the killer is back and following Cal, seemingly intent on revenge for what Cal did to him. Cal is done playing, but in order to deal with this problem permanently, he'll need Niko's help. The trick is getting Nik's assistance without letting him in on what's really happening.
Let's get the complaint out of the way first: Once upon a time, Thurman seemed to indicate in this series that Niko was five years older than Cal. Eventually, she settled on Nik being four years older. Okay, whatever. When Cal was taken to Tumulus and returned two days later, he was, at best guess, two years older. Okay, so for the rest of the series, Niko was two years older than Cal. I was fine with that. However, in this story, Cal is said to be 14, yet he is thinking ahead to when Niko will be 18, which will be next year. That means in this story (which took place before Cal was snatched up by the Auphe) that there were three years between them. Guh. Get your shit together, Thurman.
That being said, this was an interesting tale and an intriguing look into young Cal's life on the run. Throughout the entire series, Cal has had a soft spot for little girls, although he'd deny it with his dying breath. This story contained an incredible twist that was very satisfying. I wish we'd seen more of Niko, but he helped in his own way, although he never knew it. Hee!
Favorite line: I'd tried to shove one extremely loud kid out of a bus window. It sucked that he was chunky and didn't fit.
Good enough to earn 4 stars for this story, but now I must live with knowing I'll never have any new Cal Leandros to read because Rob Thurman is an enormous gaping asshole.
Banner found on Pinterest; will credit artist if I find out who it is
When Cal sees a man talking up a little girl in the park he walks by each day, he warns the girl, Melanie, to stay away from the man. Cal didn't anticipate the predator would find out where Melanie lived, take her, and murder her. Cal is no hero, but there's a part of him that won't tolerate a kid killer in his territory. When Cal dangles himself as bait, the man takes the lure, and Cal teaches him a lesson. Days later, the killer is back and following Cal, seemingly intent on revenge for what Cal did to him. Cal is done playing, but in order to deal with this problem permanently, he'll need Niko's help. The trick is getting Nik's assistance without letting him in on what's really happening.
Let's get the complaint out of the way first: Once upon a time, Thurman seemed to indicate in this series that Niko was five years older than Cal. Eventually, she settled on Nik being four years older. Okay, whatever. When Cal was taken to Tumulus and returned two days later, he was, at best guess, two years older. Okay, so for the rest of the series, Niko was two years older than Cal. I was fine with that. However, in this story, Cal is said to be 14, yet he is thinking ahead to when Niko will be 18, which will be next year. That means in this story (which took place before Cal was snatched up by the Auphe) that there were three years between them. Guh. Get your shit together, Thurman.
That being said, this was an interesting tale and an intriguing look into young Cal's life on the run. Throughout the entire series, Cal has had a soft spot for little girls, although he'd deny it with his dying breath. This story contained an incredible twist that was very satisfying. I wish we'd seen more of Niko, but he helped in his own way, although he never knew it. Hee!
Favorite line: I'd tried to shove one extremely loud kid out of a bus window. It sucked that he was chunky and didn't fit.
Good enough to earn 4 stars for this story, but now I must live with knowing I'll never have any new Cal Leandros to read because Rob Thurman is an enormous gaping asshole.
Banner found on Pinterest; will credit artist if I find out who it is
