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Not for the first time, one of the Charmed Ones is feeling left out. We've had this on television a few times, most often with Phoebe in the first three seasons and then with Paige, particularly early in season four. Of course, Paige was still adjusting to her new-found sisters then, and as GARDEN OF EVIL is set during the first half of the season, it's not as though her feeling out was inconceivable. However, when coupled with that old CHARMED novels' plot of one of the sisters falling for a handsome stranger who turns out to be evil, it's hardly bodes well. And sadly, the misgivings I had about the samey nature of the plot were justified, with GARDEN OF EVIL turning out to be amongst the worst novels in the range so far. It's not as though there's anything intrinsically awful about GARDEN OF EVIL, it's just that we've seen it all before. Paige feels left out of things by her sisters, especially since they also have Leo and Cole to fit into their lives, while she's still single. Single, and ripe for exploitation by the too-good-to-be-true Micah Grant, who's not only handsome and a millionaire but kind to orphans too. Shame he's got a girlfriend when the girls first meet him in the course of their duty. Of course, she's soon out of the way, leaving the way open for our very own Paige Matthews. Quite conveniently after a great date, she's summoned back the Manor, has a row with Piper and Phoebe, storms out and doesn't return the next morning. Whatever could have happened to her? Well, she's either been shagging Micah all-night or the option favoured by Piper and Phoebe. You know, the one where their sister's new boyfriend is evil. (Okay, so they've been helped by one of Phoebe's visions and - to an extent - by the Book of Shadows, so it's not just their suspicious natures.) But there's a hitch. Paige might be captive, but her sisters are unable to rescue her. Meanwhile, despite her earlier feelings, she seems to be falling for Micah once more. About from the familiar plot elements, what annoyed me most about GARDEN OF EVIL was that the eventual solution seemed obvious a mile out, yet the girls don't seem to think of it until the last minute. And why does everything on CHARMED seem to require some sort of Power of Three spell - surely that sort of thing should only be rolled out for the greatest evil, not the sort of run of the mill demons the girls meet every week? I would like to say that GARDEN OF EVIL was disappointing, but to be honest, the CHARMED novels haven't really been going anywhere for a long time now. Pocket Books really need to be giving us some different plots and upping the novels' target age range (although despite the simplistic plot, the language isn't always suitable for younger readers, with "pissed" and "bastard" cropping up). BACK TO THE TOP |
GARDEN
OF EVIL |
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