Dark Visions by L.J. Smith

3.5 stars -- I sort of like this

I picked this one up off the express shelf in the library because I liked the cover. Check it out!

This book, Dark Visions is a bind-up of L.J. Smith's trilogy of the same name. Remember when I said I liked the cover? Check out the originals: The Strange Power, The Possessed, and Passion. How cover treatments change in just 15 years!

I was a bit worried about this bind-up. I know that sometimes books are bound together when the originals didn't have sales as high as initially projected. They can also be bound up if the author is really popular and the bind-up will appeal to the author's fans. They can also do bind-ups of books that are extremely popular (Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia). And finally, they can do a bind-up to boost sales by giving the books a new look and feel. I assumed this book was the first option, but now (looking at those covers *shudder*), I'm guessing it might be the last one instead.

I really like the first book in the series (or in my case, in the bind-up). The Strange Power introduces the characters and their powers, has the start of a good love story, has some really evil characters, etc. It was a decent book on its own, but it was clearly written with a sequel in mind.

However, in the second book, The Possessed, I started to lose interest... or perhaps things were getting just a bit too far-fetched. Which, when it comes to mental powers, really how far-fetched is too far-fetched? Well, survivors of Atlantis, I think, is a bit too far-fetched. Plus, I really didn't like seeing the nice love story turning all love-triangly. Granted, the back-ad assures the reader beforehand that that's how it's going to go, and really, the initial love story is just a bit sickenly sweet, but still...

And finally, the third book, Passion, just loses me completely. Our main character, Kait (she of the love triangle, corner #3), attempts to get all bad-ass and fails miserably. Corner #2 of the love triangle is this back-and-forth of love and hate, miserable self-loathing and surperiority, etc. A man of mixed signals is what I would call him. Corner #1 is clueless and helpless (but overwhelmingly GOOD and GOLD and LIGHT) and mostly not in the story at all.

The ending, I think, is what lost me. Everything is just tied up too nicely. Corner #1 gets another girl (which the author kindly hinted at throughout the third story so it wouldn't be a surprise when it happens... I found this too convenient and contrived to be believable). Corner #2 gets Kait, because they are a better match as they are not so GOOD and GOLD and LIGHT as corner #1 (he gets the girl who is WISE and PATIENT and UNDERSTANDING [and the caps are because that is how these two people are described in the books over and over and over and over again so that I can't think of them but in all caps]).

Really, though, I was pleasantly surprised with the books. They're not terrible, and I wouldn't tell you not to read them. They're just not good, so I wouldn't actually go around recommending them either. (Unlike this book, which is amazing and has a sequel coming out soon. READ IT. And I put up the kindle link, because the old cover was amazing and the new cover is NOT.)