Ether has me feeling very conflicted.  I enjoyed it for what it is, but, ultimately, it left me wanting for so much more.

The story proceeds exactly as billed: Daniel Harper, a recently-discharged Air Force doctor, returns home to find his favourite (and rather eccentric) uncle dead.  His uncle has left him everything: a farm Daniel spent his summers growing up on, and a house full of oddities his Uncle Frank collected during his travels.  During his first night at the house, Daniel notices a key on his uncle’s keyring, and when he tries it in a particular door, he steps through and finds himself in the street of another world, in the path of an oncoming steam-powered car.  And, worse, the key he needs to get home again is still hanging on the other side of that now-closed door.

In the early chapters, Ether‘s narrative prose is gorgeous.  When I first encountered it, I wasn’t in the mood for a long, slow narrative, but within a few paragraphs, it had completely captured my attention.  The writing was rich and textured, with an almost palpable sense of sleeping magic, particularly when it followed Daniel around as he looked over the house, his memories of childhood set off by objects in his uncle’s collection. 

Later on, the world of Ether itself is pleasantly fantastic: it’s a world of airships, and tall cities, and forests of giant trees.  There’s a king, too, and he may have murdered his father to take the throne.  It’s all fun, interesting scenery, and definitely an asset.

Ultimately, though, Ether doesn’t give that beautiful narrative voice, and that fantastic world, a chance.  I almost can’t believe I’m saying this, but the pacing is much too quick.  And, as a result, the characterization suffers, and the plot seems far too convenient. 

The story is never tense, not even for a second.  Everything happens easily.  When Daniel arrives in Ether, he’s whisked off to the local police station, where the Sheriff is quick to believe and help him.  Later, on his journeys, he is in many dangerous situations, but they all resolve quickly and without apparent effort.  Everyone he meets is helpful.  And while there are lots of conversations between Daniel and the other characters, I never got a sense of real people behind the voices.  Everybody talks in complete, easy sentences that say exactly what the plot needs them to—no more, no less.  Daniel’s emotions never quite seem to fully materialize in any of the scenes.  He feels two-dimensional, like an actor on a stage saying lines he doesn’t believe.

All of this made the story feel like it went by too quickly—so quickly, that I couldn’t get a good look at it.  And that’s really too bad, because I’d love to look at it for a good long while.

I don’t know if I’ll be reading any more of Ether.  I just finished chapter 6 (the most recent, at the time of this review), and I want more—but the "more" I want is the stuff between the words that were written, and without them, I’m not sure it’s enough.

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