I read a couple of Anne McCaffrey's Pern books years ago and wasn't hooked, like, at all. With the Crystal Singer books I don't think it's even a feminism issue but one of being true to life: I don't mind arrogant, inconsiderate, rude characters, but I can't be expected to believe that such behavior would have no repercussions or that everyone would sit down and take it because the character is so ~*~sparkly special~*~.
I agree. I do love books with antagonistic characters, especially main characters. However, they nearly always feature another character that keeps them in check or there are consequences to ones attitude and actions. There are neither in Killashandra's world.
I don't know much about those shows (I watched, like, the first episode of Sherlock and two half-episodes of House), but aren't both the titular characters considered to be brilliant but lacking in social graces and, in the case of Sherlock, a borderline sociopath? It seems like they're tolerated for their usefulness or grudgingly liked for the small kernels of humanity underneath it all.
But it is an interesting point. Maybe the audience is more likely to tolerate this sort of boorishness from male thane female characters, which wouldn't surprise me at all. It may also be my very brief exposure to Anne McCaffrey books speaking, since I don't trust her ability to accurately portray these kinds of nuances. Of course I could be wrong, since I haven't read either the Crystal Singer or Killashandra.
I liked the Pern books when I was too young to read them with much criticism.
I think I read Crystal Singer way back when, but it left so little impression on me that I remember literally nothing about it. (It involved... crystals?)
Because she couldn't be the bestest singer in the whole universe Mary-Sue walks out on 10 years hard work at music school and shags the first interesting man she meets.. all because she refuses to be in the chorus! I've met some prima donna wannabes who would do exactly that. They're just too special for chorus work.
You folks don't know what your talking about.ext_2415833February 5 2014, 04:22:29 UTC
Upon reading your comments on Anne McCaffrey's works, including the Crystal Singer series, all I can say is that you didn't read them close enough. I've now finished the Crystal Singer series for the fifth or sixth time and enjoyed it tremendously. Best to read it without a lot of emotional and feminist baggage. You might just enjoy it a hell of a lot more.
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But it is an interesting point. Maybe the audience is more likely to tolerate this sort of boorishness from male thane female characters, which wouldn't surprise me at all. It may also be my very brief exposure to Anne McCaffrey books speaking, since I don't trust her ability to accurately portray these kinds of nuances. Of course I could be wrong, since I haven't read either the Crystal Singer or Killashandra.
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I think I read Crystal Singer way back when, but it left so little impression on me that I remember literally nothing about it. (It involved... crystals?)
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I've met some prima donna wannabes who would do exactly that. They're just too special for chorus work.
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