Magnus Bane watches the once-glamorous Hotel Dumort become something else altogether in 1970s New York City.
Fifty years after the Jazz Age rise of the Hotel Dumort, immortal warlock Magnus Bane knows the Manhattan landmark is on the decline. The once-beautiful Hotel Dumort has fallen into a decayed thing, a ruin, as dead as a place can be. But the vampires don’t mind…
The Hotel Dumort and vampires have played a major role in the past three installments of The Bane Chronicles. It seems to have come to an end, at least for a while. Now, we have Magnus Bane in 1970s New York, a more liberating setting than it was in Saving Raphael Santiago. The city is more dangerous, and the culture has become a thriving force for drugs. Bane knows the effects of drugs and addiction and has no problem staying away from them. Unfortunately, the vampires aren’t taking the same precaution. Vampires are already dangerous, but when they’re high on drugs? Well, that’s a whole new monster to deal with. And of course, Bane is the one who reluctantly steps up to save the day.
The Fall of the Hotel Dumort is my least favorite of the series so far. For one thing, its narrator, Cecil Baldwin, sounded so robotic. His voice didn’t carry the right tones and lacked the Magnus Bane charm. He sounded at times like those generic movie trailer voiceovers. It was distracting.
Another thing was that this felt like a huge anti-drug PSA. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t endorse drug use or disregard drug addiction at all. But at times, it didn’t fit organically with the story. Bane would stop to re-tell us the importance of not using drugs, which was annoying because the story should speak for itself.
Finally, the plot didn’t immediately capture my interest like the other Bane Chronicles novellas had. It took me awhile to become interested, and even once I did, it was touch and go throughout its 88 minute time length.
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Is this one to skip? Normally, I would say no, but the ending actually makes it okay to skip. I mean if Magnus Bane didn’t even want to remember it, why should we?
Rating: 3/10
The Fall of the Hotel Dumort by Cassandra Clare and Maureen Johnson is now available wherever ebooks and Digital Audio are sold.
Book Info:
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Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio (October 2013)
Length: Approx. 1 hour, 28 minutes
Series: The Bane Chronicles #7
Source: Unabridged Audio Download (Provided by publisher)
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Drug Abuse
Completed: October 2013
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