The Pain Merchants - Janice Hardy
The Pain Merchants - Janice Hardy
Everyone knows the saying that we “mustn’t judge a book by its cover” - usually applying it to excellent books almost ignored due to their bland, boring or bright pink jackets. Unfortunately the saying could just as easily be applied to the intriguing title and interesting cover design of The Pain Merchants. In many ways this is an undeniably good book – some of the ideas are enjoyably original, the main characters develop naturally throughout the story, and the world they live in is engaging. The only real problem is that, while enjoyable, a lot of it seems a bit familiar. Anyone who has read a young adult fantasy novel will recognise various motifs and even settings, many of which are similar to those found in Mark Robson’s Imperial Series or the Stravaganza books by Mary Hoffman.
There’s nothing wrong with the plot of The Pain Merchants; streetwise orphan Nya is a Taker – she can take pain from others but, unlike other Takers, she cannot release that pain into enchanted pynvium metal, she can only move it from person to person. This creates all sorts of problems for Nya as she is living in a city crippled by a recent war defeat where Takers – particularly unusual Takers- are rapidly disappearing. This unique idea of Takers is exciting and provides much promise for a sequel but some of the other ideas are less well developed. While Nya and her sister Tali are described in relative depth, minor characters such as Nya’s friend Aylin are slightly overlooked and the ‘baddies’ of the story are sometimes a little flat.
While it’s not an irresistible page-turner (I was able to put it down without too much difficulty) and has a slightly predictable ending, it is definitely a good read and I would recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy novels.
Amy
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