Nina Kiriki Hoffman

A Fistful of Sky & Fall of Light — (2002,2009) Publisher: Gypsum LaZelle is the middle child in a gifted family of witches and warlocks. But unlike her siblings, she has no gift to call her own. Until she wakes from a fever—and discovers that she possesses a strange and frightening power.

A Fistful of Sky

A Fistful of Sky is the story of Gypsum LaZelle, who comes from a magical family. Each child goes through transition in their early teens and receives the ability to do magic. However, Gypsum doesn’t go through transition. After several years of adjusting to her life as the mundane member of her family, she unexpectedly goes through transition, and receives the power of cursing. The only magic she can do is to perform curses, and if she doesn’t use her power regularly, it turns inward and attacks her own body.

A Fistful of Sky is an interesting story. The siblings, parents, and assorted relatives of the LaZelle clan form a cast of colorful characters that form a web of conflicting allegiances around Gypsum as she struggles to learn how to cope with her new powers. The relationship between Gypsum and her mother was a source of tension throughout the novel, and irritatingly, there wasn’t a resolution to the sustained conflict between the two characters. There was also a mystical encounter with a presence in the ocean that was never explained or linked to the plot in a meaningful way. The lack of resolution to these two elements left the ending of the book feeling incomplete.

Another problem is that the novel suffers from a lack of identity. The material in the book is too mature for it to be considered a YA novel, but the characterization lacks the depth and maturity for it to be an adult fantasy. This uneasy dualism also undermines the main character. She is supposed to be in her early twenties, but talks and acts like she is in her mid-teens. Her ongoing angst about her new power left the pace of the book feeling a little slow.

A Fistful of Sky was an intriguing novel because I was always interested in what Gypsum would do with her power. But the problems with the characterization and tone left me feeling detached from the characters and action.  —Ruth   Comments

Fall of Light

(Note: Fall of Light is a "sideways sequel" to A Fistful of Sky. It refers back to some of the things that happened in A Fistful of Sky, but you could read Fall of Light on its own without any problem.)

Opal LaZelle (sister to Gypsum LaZelle of A Fistful of Sky) is a Hollywood makeup artist who specializes in making monsters for horror movies. What no one else realizes is that she can also do magic, and uses her talent to help in her work. On one movie however, the Dark God mask she makes for the leading actor, who she has fallen in love with, actually comes with a surprise: the Dark God himself possesses the actor. Now it’s up to Opal to figure out how to save the movie, and the man she loves, from this unwelcome guest.

Nina Kiriki Hoffman is a talented writer. She manages to create intriguing characters who the reader can empathize with. She deftly handles serious issues, especially the effect of dysfunctional parenting on children. Hoffman also has a gift for descriptive writing. I could easily see all the scenes in my mind as I was reading.

Unfortunately, the problem with writing a book that takes place in a cheesy horror movie is that your book reads like a cheesy horror movie. Opal knows the actor is possessed by an unknown power that has shown he is capable of hurting and manipulating people, yet she decides to sleep with him anyway. I felt like yelling, “Don’t go into the basement alone!” All the stupid things that people do in bad horror movies showed up here.

Another source of irritation was the excessive amount of extraneous background detail; it felt like Hoffman was trying to prove that she had done her research rather than creating a believable world. In addition, the pace was awkward. After the big showdown at the end of the book, I felt like echoing one of the main characters: “That’s it?” The menacing presence Opal had imbued into her Dark God throughout the entire book wasn’t found in the climax and, along with a major plot line not being resolved, makes me wonder if there is supposed to be a sequel to Fall of Light.

Readers who enjoy sexy dark god characters and quasi-vampire relationships may enjoy Fall of Light more than I did, but I would not recommend this book to a general audience. I felt like I was watching a bad Sci-Fi Channel original movie. —Ruth   Comments