Two Lines by Melissa Marr

[Maria]

Oh, I was pretty sure she'd have to off D in the end. I couldn't see any way that the story could properly end with him getting killed & it just seemed that she'd have to be the one to do it. Well, that was my opinion after I realized he wasn't going to be a reform-and-romance type anyway.

And since I was really, really hoping she wouldn't end the story as a full glaisting, I just guessed she'd manage to avoid the sex somehow.

[Tiger]

Oh, I was pretty sure she'd have to off D in the end. I couldn't see any way that the story could properly end with him getting killed & it just seemed that she'd have to be the one to do it. Well, that was my opinion after I realized he wasn't going to be a reform-and-romance type anyway.

True, there are some crimes that paint a character as being the kind who's not going to be reformed. An assassin, say, could be reformed, but a guy who drugs girls and sells them into slavery? Yup, that's just not going to happen. Or at least, I don't want it to happen.

[Maria]

*nod* Yeah, I don't want to see that reform. It would feel way too fake. It's odd, isn't it? Murder, torture, assault... we assume these things can be reformed. But selling sex slaves, no.

Which is not to say that we should expect folks who do what he did to be fixable, but that it's odd that murderers get more leave.

I think part of it is that some assassins (for example) have simply managed to cut themslf off from basic human emotions: pain, grief, etc. But Daniel... wasn't cut off. He enjoyed it. & that is a whole different level of ick.

[Tiger]

*nod* Yeah, I don't want to see that reform. It would feel way too fake. It's odd, isn't it? Murder, torture, assault... we assume these things can be reformed. But selling sex slaves, no.

Which is not to say that we should expect folks who do what he did to be fixable, but that it's odd that murderers get more leave.

I think part of it is that some assassins (for example) have simply managed to cut themslf off from basic human emotions: pain, grief, etc. But Daniel... wasn't cut off. He enjoyed it. & that is a whole different level of ick.

True, enjoyment of evil is a whole different ballgame. Also, as you point out, for some reason most readers seem very understanding of violent crimes but not understanding at all of sexual crimes. I personally feel this way when reading fiction, and it's a strange view but seems natural in some ways. In some situations and some stories, there's a good reason for a character to be violent. Perhaps they're enacting justice or something by offing only the baddest of the bad, etc, so there's a number of perfectly viable excuses for violence of different types. Not so for sexual crimes--not in my view.

[MRW]

OK, so I'm way late to the ballgame, but I LOVED this story.  I agree with those who said that Eve is compelling enough that I'd follow her in her own series, but that the ending was also a good place to leave her.

I thought that her struggle to stay human, to avoid being a "monster" was drawn so much better than I've seen it with similar characters.  It was obvious that this was a struggle for her, that she really was trying hard, and succeeding as best she could.

The ending was interesting as well, I really didn't know what choice she was going to make in the end.  She could have chosen either sex or murder and stayed human, or she could have just given in.  I'm glad she didn't just give in, but it would have been a legitimate choice.  I was rather expecting it to be sex that she chose in the end, since murder is the easier of the two to avoid.  But there's no way anyone else could have killed Daniel.  And he needed to die.

I also find it interesting that she has sort of accepted that she needs to occasionally keep killing in order to not go so close to the line again.  I suppose this leaves her free to be a vigilante of sorts, which seems to suit her rebellious personality.  I find the greyness of this really interesting, because it sort of underscores how one can be a "monster" but perhaps not evil (like the vampire chick whose name I can't remember since the book isn't with me at the moment).

And, non-hetero FMC!  *cheers*  There aren't enough of those in UF.

[shady89]

My one problem with this story was that I didn't understand why she abstained from both sex and death. I would have abstained from death, that is generally pretty easy to do, and had some fun . And in the end she chose the attribute which by definition takes away one's humanity... It was interesting.

[RedRaindrops66]

I think it was because death was necessary. Sex is pleasure. But in her life, the death of another person was necessary.

[MRW]

Yep, I think Shannon's right. 

I also think she abstained from both because she didn't know which one she'd eventually need more.  Given the way things ended up, it's a good thing she didn't choose sex, because killing what's-his-name would have turned her into a glastig.  Living in the supernatural world where things are dangerous, death is something she was bound to face eventually.  But she didn't want to hasten it, so she abstained from both until a choice was inevitable.

[Juliet Inc.]

And, non-hetero FMC!  *cheers*  There aren't enough of those in UF.

What did people think of Muriel and Eve's relationship? Of Muriel in general?

[MRW]

Muriel was awesome!  I loved her relationship with Eve.  They had this awesome relationship that seemed completely unique to them.  It was an interesting mix of best friend/family/lover.

Plus, Muriel's a vampire, and not the angsty self-loathing kind, which I love.

[Juliet Inc.]

I second everything you just said, Meg. Their relationship was . . .odd, but it totally worked and I loved how devoted they were to each other.

And her general lack of angst was refreshing -- she was a vampire, she knew it and she used it.

[MRW]

IMO, those are the best kind.

[Aine]

My one problem with this story was that I didn't understand why she abstained from both sex and death. I would have abstained from death, that is generally pretty easy to do, and had some fun . And in the end she chose the attribute which by definition takes away one's humanity... It was interesting.

I agree somewhat. Why abstain from both?

But...

She was worried that she would kill someone, whether purposeful or accidental. She felt she had to abstain from sex because she knew she wouldn't accidentally have sex with someone. So if she accidentally caused someone's death after having sex... she'd change.

[Maria]

I agree, Aine. I think also... once you go half the way, it is a lot harder to resist the other half than it is to resist the entire thing. It's like how alcoholics are more able to resist drinking at all than they are able to resist the second drink.