Robins, Lane

views updated

Robins, Lane

PERSONAL:

Education: Obtained bachelor's degree.

ADDRESSES:

Home—KS.

CAREER:

Writer.

WRITINGS:

Maledicte (novel), Del Rey (New York, NY), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Lane Robins is a writer based in Kansas. Growing up, Robins frequently wrote stories. She invented new quests for her favorite Star Wars characters as an eight-year-old, wrote her first novella by age twelve, and wrote fiction throughout high school in a notebook she always carried with her. She was also mindful of her career direction from an early age, going through numerous job preferences, including marine biologist, teacher, veterinarian, and witch. By the time Robins got through college, she discovered what she knew all along; she wanted to be a writer.

Robins published her first novel, Maledicte, in 2007. Miranda loses Janus, her lover, when his father, the Earl of Last, kidnaps him. Miranda enlists the help of Black-Winged Ani, the goddess of vengeance and love, to help her get Janus back and kill his father. Miranda dresses as a boy to better gain access to Janus in the courts, but even though she succeeds in rescuing him, she is overcome by the strength of the goddess and her quest for vengeance. Miranda goes on a murderous rampage before realizing that she may never get what she originally wanted.

Reviews for Robins's debut novel were mostly positive. A contributor to Kirkus Reviews called the novel ‘a strong-willed debut whose painstakingly developed characters and tortuous plots exert an undeniably intense, if grim, fascination.’ Jackie Cassada, writing in Library Journal, ‘highly recommended’ the story, highlighting that it is ‘sensual and seductive in its prose and its imagery.’ A contributor to Publishers Weekly called Miranda's transformation into Maledicte ‘fascinating,’ calling the author ‘a fantasist with a future’ for creating this ‘darkly original world of doubted gods and declining civilization.’ Jeff VanderMeer, writing on SciFi.com, described the story as ‘a spirited, complex melodrama’ and ‘a promising secondary world fantasy by a new talent.’ VanderMeer was not all praise, however, noting that ‘where Maledicte falters is in its last third, where the killings and intrigue begin to become slightly farcical.’ VanderMeer continued, commenting that ‘the focus is very much on the action and the characters, with less attention paid to describing the world, which may leave some readers wishing they had a few more details.’ Although, he wrote that ‘the approach generally works,’ allowing the characters ‘to breathe, unencumbered by too much baggage.’ In a Booklist review, Frieda Murray concluded that ‘anyone who likes well-paced adventure and arresting characters should tumble for it."