yet again I return
Aug. 23rd, 2008 08:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meretriculathis time from the wastelands of Maine. hurrah! I am not as out of mind as usual after my yearly rest holiday, because we only went for two weeks this time, and also my older brother's iPhone turned out to have very shaky internet access at the lake house, so I didn't go into total web withdrawal.
I did a lot of reading! (this is what one does in Maine if one is not so outdoorsy and crazy as to want to go swimming and berrying and hiking and so forth.) my impressions are as follows:
Cotillion (Georgette Heyer) is the new book to beat for Regency romance. it sort of... transcends Regency romance, and yet is at the same time exactly the epitome of what Regency romance should be. overlooking the occasional anti-Semitic remark because... yeah, I don't want to deal with that little aspect of history today. but! the characters are so... British! so... idiotically aristocratic! and, yes, I'm going there, so goddamn stupid. but that's the point! they're all terribly dim. it's the hero's main selling point: sweet, surprisingly sensible, and not too bright. it's nice to see a male (and female, for that matter) lead just stumbling from situation to situation, trying to do his best within the constraints of propriety. also, his name is Freddy and he's a fashion whore. I love him a lot. and the heroine's smackdown of the man she originally set out to win is awesome. it basically goes: you're very attractive, and I do appreciate that and probably always will even though I think you're a terrible person, but taking it all under consideration... no, I'm not interested. sorry!
werewolf trilogy by Patricia Briggs... I have mixed feelings. the ending made me very uncomfortable, as did the fact that this otherwise perfectly sensible and strong female character spent three goddamn books waffling over whether she loved her jealous and controlling roommate-slash-ex-boyfriend or her jealous and controlling next-door neighbor more. um... lady! you can also pick C - none of the above! just tell them both that you are an independent woman, don't need a man telling you what to do, and please to fuck off! I liked the vampire better, anyway. at least he wasn't jealous and controlling. "I am a werewolf" is not a blanket excuse for being an abusive asshole. on the other hand, if the entire trilogy had been about Kyle and Warren being cute together, I would have been extremely happy. and, uh, if Adam and Sam had wanted to work out their dominance issues in bed, I would have been all over that.
Ever (Gail Carson Levine) was kind of a let-down after Fairest. I mean, props to the author for venturing outside her comfort zone and picking a Sumerian/Egyptian/Mesopotamian/whatever myth instead of a more traditional fairy tale, but... oh well. I like traditional fairy tales, what can I say. also, reading level a bit too low for me, even stooping.
Breaking Dawn was long and sort of heinous. the things that make me uncomfortable about the Twilight books have been articulated by other, smarter women than I here and, even more hilariously, here, but Breaking Dawn was, even after the previous three books, a disappointment. it was too "and then they lived happily ever after. forever after. because immortal vampires who will outlive all mortals for whom they feel any affection and must wrestle daily with the ethical and moral implications of being natural predators of humans while continuing to live amongst them always live happily ever after!" there was no real conflict. it's sort of a hallmark of a not-very-good fantasy novel that at the end, when the plot has been wrapped up, everybody just falls into the arms of the nearest person of the opposite sex and is suddenly deliriously in love. the adrenaline may very well make you want to drag that person into the bushes for hot, hot, uncomfortably prickly sex, but it is not going to make you like him or her any better when you wake up on the muddy forest floor in the morning and go "OH DEAR GOD WHAT HAVE I DONE." plus, Jacob Black was pretty much the only thing I liked about that series, before he got completely shafted the third book, and it makes me mad to have him reduced to the dog in Buttons & Mindy. come on, Stephenie Meyer. please. (also, Stephenie Meyer? please cut down on the purple prose, and as a friendly note from a city where there are actual live gay men, unlike Mormon Central USA, when a man sparkles in the sunlight, I do not think it means what you think it means.)
These Old Shades (Georgette Heyer again) was a bit... okay. pet peeve time. can we have a spitfire heroine who is not a redhead? just this once? and I was a bit saddened by how generic the plot was compared to Cotillion. innocent young girl, taken in by wicked older man, convinces him to reform by the healing power of her love. yawn. the dialogue was sweet, it was funny, I liked the Duke of Avon, but... it lacked a certain spark of originality.
Banewreaker (Jacqueline Carey) is, uh, not as bad as the Kushiel books? I don't know. I like the idea of an epic fantasy story told from the side of the bad guys. I'm not so sure about the execution. nobody is really likable in this series. maybe Tanaros, and he strangled his wife. I guess I have to finish the series and see what I think then.
The Masqueraders (another Heyer!) redeemed the grand dame in my eyes. crossdressing! so much love! the heroine is placid and sensible and tall! her brother is teensy and high-strung and compulsively rescues ladies, even while wearing dresses! I love, love, love how the men and women in Heyer romances can have believable flaws and foibles and still be compelling. totally called the ending, though.
I'm over half-way done with The Mask of Apollo. I always forget how interesting Mary Renault's prose is. also, since it is Mary Renault, there are always delightful romances that are an important part of the story and yet do not actually drive the plot. The Mask of Apollo, in addition to being about Greece (I would probably know more Greek history if I'd read all of Mary Renault's books instead of my Greek history textbook) is about being an artist, and the conflict between art for art's sake and living in the real world. I agree with the protagonist (who disagrees with Plato) that art, in his case the theater, is just as noble and necessary as politics. maybe more so.
I have rambled quite a bit! and so, now I shall shut up.
I did a lot of reading! (this is what one does in Maine if one is not so outdoorsy and crazy as to want to go swimming and berrying and hiking and so forth.) my impressions are as follows:
Cotillion (Georgette Heyer) is the new book to beat for Regency romance. it sort of... transcends Regency romance, and yet is at the same time exactly the epitome of what Regency romance should be. overlooking the occasional anti-Semitic remark because... yeah, I don't want to deal with that little aspect of history today. but! the characters are so... British! so... idiotically aristocratic! and, yes, I'm going there, so goddamn stupid. but that's the point! they're all terribly dim. it's the hero's main selling point: sweet, surprisingly sensible, and not too bright. it's nice to see a male (and female, for that matter) lead just stumbling from situation to situation, trying to do his best within the constraints of propriety. also, his name is Freddy and he's a fashion whore. I love him a lot. and the heroine's smackdown of the man she originally set out to win is awesome. it basically goes: you're very attractive, and I do appreciate that and probably always will even though I think you're a terrible person, but taking it all under consideration... no, I'm not interested. sorry!
werewolf trilogy by Patricia Briggs... I have mixed feelings. the ending made me very uncomfortable, as did the fact that this otherwise perfectly sensible and strong female character spent three goddamn books waffling over whether she loved her jealous and controlling roommate-slash-ex-boyfriend or her jealous and controlling next-door neighbor more. um... lady! you can also pick C - none of the above! just tell them both that you are an independent woman, don't need a man telling you what to do, and please to fuck off! I liked the vampire better, anyway. at least he wasn't jealous and controlling. "I am a werewolf" is not a blanket excuse for being an abusive asshole. on the other hand, if the entire trilogy had been about Kyle and Warren being cute together, I would have been extremely happy. and, uh, if Adam and Sam had wanted to work out their dominance issues in bed, I would have been all over that.
Ever (Gail Carson Levine) was kind of a let-down after Fairest. I mean, props to the author for venturing outside her comfort zone and picking a Sumerian/Egyptian/Mesopotamian/whatever myth instead of a more traditional fairy tale, but... oh well. I like traditional fairy tales, what can I say. also, reading level a bit too low for me, even stooping.
Breaking Dawn was long and sort of heinous. the things that make me uncomfortable about the Twilight books have been articulated by other, smarter women than I here and, even more hilariously, here, but Breaking Dawn was, even after the previous three books, a disappointment. it was too "and then they lived happily ever after. forever after. because immortal vampires who will outlive all mortals for whom they feel any affection and must wrestle daily with the ethical and moral implications of being natural predators of humans while continuing to live amongst them always live happily ever after!" there was no real conflict. it's sort of a hallmark of a not-very-good fantasy novel that at the end, when the plot has been wrapped up, everybody just falls into the arms of the nearest person of the opposite sex and is suddenly deliriously in love. the adrenaline may very well make you want to drag that person into the bushes for hot, hot, uncomfortably prickly sex, but it is not going to make you like him or her any better when you wake up on the muddy forest floor in the morning and go "OH DEAR GOD WHAT HAVE I DONE." plus, Jacob Black was pretty much the only thing I liked about that series, before he got completely shafted the third book, and it makes me mad to have him reduced to the dog in Buttons & Mindy. come on, Stephenie Meyer. please. (also, Stephenie Meyer? please cut down on the purple prose, and as a friendly note from a city where there are actual live gay men, unlike Mormon Central USA, when a man sparkles in the sunlight, I do not think it means what you think it means.)
These Old Shades (Georgette Heyer again) was a bit... okay. pet peeve time. can we have a spitfire heroine who is not a redhead? just this once? and I was a bit saddened by how generic the plot was compared to Cotillion. innocent young girl, taken in by wicked older man, convinces him to reform by the healing power of her love. yawn. the dialogue was sweet, it was funny, I liked the Duke of Avon, but... it lacked a certain spark of originality.
Banewreaker (Jacqueline Carey) is, uh, not as bad as the Kushiel books? I don't know. I like the idea of an epic fantasy story told from the side of the bad guys. I'm not so sure about the execution. nobody is really likable in this series. maybe Tanaros, and he strangled his wife. I guess I have to finish the series and see what I think then.
The Masqueraders (another Heyer!) redeemed the grand dame in my eyes. crossdressing! so much love! the heroine is placid and sensible and tall! her brother is teensy and high-strung and compulsively rescues ladies, even while wearing dresses! I love, love, love how the men and women in Heyer romances can have believable flaws and foibles and still be compelling. totally called the ending, though.
I'm over half-way done with The Mask of Apollo. I always forget how interesting Mary Renault's prose is. also, since it is Mary Renault, there are always delightful romances that are an important part of the story and yet do not actually drive the plot. The Mask of Apollo, in addition to being about Greece (I would probably know more Greek history if I'd read all of Mary Renault's books instead of my Greek history textbook) is about being an artist, and the conflict between art for art's sake and living in the real world. I agree with the protagonist (who disagrees with Plato) that art, in his case the theater, is just as noble and necessary as politics. maybe more so.
I have rambled quite a bit! and so, now I shall shut up.
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no subject
Date: 2008-08-24 01:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-24 01:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-24 01:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-24 02:52 am (UTC)BELLA: La! I am Bella Swan! I am clumsy and unattractive, which is of course why I am surrounded by male suitors! Ahahaha stop poking holes in my logic, it makes my brain (my supposedly clever brain, because I read lots of tragic Shakespeare!) hurt!
EDWARD: La! I am a dark, broody vampire! Bella Swan smells so delicious! Must... resist... temptation... to... bite! OH NOES I LOVE HER. MUST AVOID! MUST PROTECT! MUST BE OVERPROTECTIVE ABUSIVE ASSHOLE!
BELLA: I am overcome with the vapors and the passions due to your dark broody Byronic assholishness! TAKE ME NOW, MY IMMORTAL VAMPIRE STALLION.
EDWARD: My virtue! Unhand me, vile seducer! Uh, ~cough~ I mean I am in fear for your immortal soul?
PLOT: ~kind of sort of happens. not really important, though.~
EDWARD: I HAVE FAILED YOU. YOU HAVE BEEN INJURED AND IT IS ALL MY FAULT EVERYTHING IS ALL MY FAULT I MUST LEAVE YOU AND SINK INTO AN EMO PIT OF GLOOM. ALL THE WHILE LOOKING FABULOUS AND DRIVING MY SHINY FERRARI.
BELLA: I have lost all will to live. Sweet death, please take me now?
SWEET DEATH: I ain't touching you with a ten-foot pole, lady! You've probably got the vampire syph!
JACOB: Behold - ME! All grown up and strangely attractive in a boyishly handsome way! Don't I make you want to live and love again?
BELLA: Maybe. Kind of. But - my immortal vampire love! Alas, we can never be! Let's be friends, and go motorcycling and bungee-jumping and prevent you from ever getting over me and getting yourself a normal non-emo girfriend.
EDWARD: ~almost gets idiot self killed by court of Ann Rice wannabes in Italy~
BELLA: I must save my immortal vampire love! By my, um, impressive magical powers. Which include being an idiot overly influenced by Wuthering Heights and tripping all over myself. Yes, this is a brilliant plan.
PLAN: ~against all reasonable expectation, succeeds~
I: ~am slightly tired so will summarize other two books later~
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Date: 2008-08-24 02:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-24 03:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-24 02:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-24 02:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-24 02:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-24 02:57 am (UTC)PS-- bit of a spoiler for the Briggs books...
Date: 2008-08-25 08:24 pm (UTC)I like Mercy. Lots and lots. (and double props for driving a VW Rabbit-- a distinction shared by Jacob in the Stephanie Meyers verse.)But here's some things I don't like. Sam, was it? Asshole who wants to TOTALLY redefine May/December Romance and use the nice girl for breeding purposes? This on TOP of being super controlling !?!?!?
Also, rape. I hate rape. Especially considering the fact that A hugely disproportionate number of my friends are suvivors of such atrocities. So I REALLY wasn't on board with that becoming a plot point in my mind-candy books.
Re: PS-- bit of a spoiler for the Briggs books...
Date: 2008-08-25 09:49 pm (UTC)but, okay, the model boyfriend showing up in a lot of popular teen fantasy? is a DICK. and it really bothers me, both in the Mercy trilogy and the Twilight books. and it's not just that they're assholes - they are clearly displaying warning signs of future abusers, and the author just waves a hand and pretends it's a sign of how much they love the girl. if you love someone, you don't show it by demanding that you be the only person in her life! Edward doesn't want to let Bella see Jacob, so he lets the gas out of her car and sends his sister to spy on her when he can't be there himself. He keeps buying her expensive presents (like a car, after he sabotages the one she has), even though he knows she doesn't like them - it's like he wants to own her. and Sam and Adam spend two and a half books emotionally blackmailing Mercy because she wants them both to be a part of her life. it's not okay! and it is really not okay to offer this as a picture of a good relationship to impressionable young girls.
The rape plotline freaked me out, but more than that, I was really freaked out by where it went in the book. She gets raped with maybe fifty pages left to wrap up the book. And then, what, twenty pages of Mercy hiding under the bed, Adam shows up and suddenly hey presto, everything's fine? Way to showcase your strong, can-do heroine. Yeah.