Books: sci-fi, fantasy, and unexpected porn
Am v. behind.
Argh, I wish I hadn't put off reviewing The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass until now, as I originally had intelligent things to say. These books are truly excellent, and I hope the series becomes the classic that it deserves to be. I think I like the setting of the first one better (England + snow), but, of course, the series doesn't really come into its own until TAS. The philosophy is stunning, and I love that there is a positive, responsible alternative to organized/fundamental religion being posited. I ached for Will and Lyra. I cried so many times reading this series. The only issue I had was with Marisa--I don't think her (drastic) change of character really clicked with me, though it may take having my own children before it becomes believable. But other than that I love these books, and I will definitely pass them on to my children.
The Tombs of Atuan was really interesting. A fascinating world, ancient and mysterious--rather terrifying, in that young girls are taken from their homes to be priestesses. I think the psychological/spiritual awakening of Tenar/Arha was very well done. I didn't like it as much as the first one, but I'm definitely going on to read the last part of the trilogy. Hopefully I can find it in the same 1975 edition as the other two.
Lady of the Forest is a retelling of the Robin Hood Legend, a "fictional interpretation of imaginary events leading to the more familiar adventures" basically, how Robin comes to be an outlaw, gets his band together, and wins the heart of Marian. I like it because it attempts to set the story in the now-standard Third Crusade era, and there are realistic attempts to handle political and social issues, along with decent descriptions of dress, architecture, etc. Except. Roberson gets these ideas and runs with them, sometimes totally blowing things out of proportion. There was so much about female purity and the importance of guarding virginity until marriage, and yes, but no. It seemed like it was coming from some sort of post-Victorian perspective, like she was researching from books written in the 1930s that still took everything literally. Also, she tried to deal with the whole Anglo-Saxon/French social mixing going on at the time, yet Marian is both apparently part of the Anglo-Saxon aristocracy and described a zillion times as having "Celtic" looks. Maybe Anglo-Saxon does not mean what she thinks it means? And also, did people at the time use "Norman" or "French"? Roberson uses "Norman" almost exclusively which again, yes, but no (Angevins, anyone?) Mostly, it was a big, semi-historically aware hurt/comfort version of Robin Hood, fun for Christmas Break but probably unable to stand re-readings.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is the basis for Blade Runner. It made a lot of things in the film make a lot more sense--things that probably also would have made more sense if I'd stayed awake through the Director's Cut, but, quibbling. Both the book and film seem very dated to their period. I wonder if part of the reason so much of classic sci-fi turns me off is that literature of the 50s and 60s generally grates on me--which means I also have a hard time with classic authors like Vonnegut as well. I'm not sure what it is, other than a vague "aesthetic sensibility"--nothing in these books is beautiful, and I think that's what I look for, either in the scene described, the language chosen, the style, etc. Not that they're bad, just that they're hard for me to enjoy. So. I liked this, but I think I liked the movie better, and it was really interesting to see how they'd changed the story. There were lots of things that just wouldn't translate to the screen, leaving essentially two different stories, both thought-provoking in their own right.
I hope that title was forced on her by her publisher, because it makes no sense at all. Anyways. This is post-colonial fantasy. Yes. Post-colonial fantasy. I have been dying for fantasy that broke the mold, and here it is (additionally, the climax is a plague which is cool, er, in the mold-breaking sense). It is strongly reminiscent of nineteenth-century America--a nation expanding over plains, pushing out the native (nomadic) peoples, and I think that makes it even better. Nevare's culture is highly-structured; he is to become a soldier because he is a second son. The world building is fairly good; the most annoying thing is that Hobb repeats herself too much and occasionally contradicts herself a bit. The plot wasn't particularly exciting, nor the writing style fantastic, but I couldn't put this down. I was scared at the climax and delighted that it ended how it did. And I can't say too much more because I've already read the next book, which will be in my next book post . . . Anyways, if you like fantasy, read this.
Oh, and I tried to read an Anne Rice book that I picked up at the 25¢ (i.e. stolen) book stand on the corner of the road. I picked it up because it was Anne Rice, and I'd liked most of the Vampire Chronicles in high school. This turned out to be about BDSM--except it was boring. Of all the things I'd expected from a book about BDSM, "boring" was not one of them. So I made it about halfway through and chucked it in the recycling.
(messing with layout currently; sorry if it is eye-burning)
Argh, I wish I hadn't put off reviewing The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass until now, as I originally had intelligent things to say. These books are truly excellent, and I hope the series becomes the classic that it deserves to be. I think I like the setting of the first one better (England + snow), but, of course, the series doesn't really come into its own until TAS. The philosophy is stunning, and I love that there is a positive, responsible alternative to organized/fundamental religion being posited. I ached for Will and Lyra. I cried so many times reading this series. The only issue I had was with Marisa--I don't think her (drastic) change of character really clicked with me, though it may take having my own children before it becomes believable. But other than that I love these books, and I will definitely pass them on to my children.
The Tombs of Atuan was really interesting. A fascinating world, ancient and mysterious--rather terrifying, in that young girls are taken from their homes to be priestesses. I think the psychological/spiritual awakening of Tenar/Arha was very well done. I didn't like it as much as the first one, but I'm definitely going on to read the last part of the trilogy. Hopefully I can find it in the same 1975 edition as the other two.
Lady of the Forest is a retelling of the Robin Hood Legend, a "fictional interpretation of imaginary events leading to the more familiar adventures" basically, how Robin comes to be an outlaw, gets his band together, and wins the heart of Marian. I like it because it attempts to set the story in the now-standard Third Crusade era, and there are realistic attempts to handle political and social issues, along with decent descriptions of dress, architecture, etc. Except. Roberson gets these ideas and runs with them, sometimes totally blowing things out of proportion. There was so much about female purity and the importance of guarding virginity until marriage, and yes, but no. It seemed like it was coming from some sort of post-Victorian perspective, like she was researching from books written in the 1930s that still took everything literally. Also, she tried to deal with the whole Anglo-Saxon/French social mixing going on at the time, yet Marian is both apparently part of the Anglo-Saxon aristocracy and described a zillion times as having "Celtic" looks. Maybe Anglo-Saxon does not mean what she thinks it means? And also, did people at the time use "Norman" or "French"? Roberson uses "Norman" almost exclusively which again, yes, but no (Angevins, anyone?) Mostly, it was a big, semi-historically aware hurt/comfort version of Robin Hood, fun for Christmas Break but probably unable to stand re-readings.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is the basis for Blade Runner. It made a lot of things in the film make a lot more sense--things that probably also would have made more sense if I'd stayed awake through the Director's Cut, but, quibbling. Both the book and film seem very dated to their period. I wonder if part of the reason so much of classic sci-fi turns me off is that literature of the 50s and 60s generally grates on me--which means I also have a hard time with classic authors like Vonnegut as well. I'm not sure what it is, other than a vague "aesthetic sensibility"--nothing in these books is beautiful, and I think that's what I look for, either in the scene described, the language chosen, the style, etc. Not that they're bad, just that they're hard for me to enjoy. So. I liked this, but I think I liked the movie better, and it was really interesting to see how they'd changed the story. There were lots of things that just wouldn't translate to the screen, leaving essentially two different stories, both thought-provoking in their own right.
I hope that title was forced on her by her publisher, because it makes no sense at all. Anyways. This is post-colonial fantasy. Yes. Post-colonial fantasy. I have been dying for fantasy that broke the mold, and here it is (additionally, the climax is a plague which is cool, er, in the mold-breaking sense). It is strongly reminiscent of nineteenth-century America--a nation expanding over plains, pushing out the native (nomadic) peoples, and I think that makes it even better. Nevare's culture is highly-structured; he is to become a soldier because he is a second son. The world building is fairly good; the most annoying thing is that Hobb repeats herself too much and occasionally contradicts herself a bit. The plot wasn't particularly exciting, nor the writing style fantastic, but I couldn't put this down. I was scared at the climax and delighted that it ended how it did. And I can't say too much more because I've already read the next book, which will be in my next book post . . . Anyways, if you like fantasy, read this.
Oh, and I tried to read an Anne Rice book that I picked up at the 25¢ (i.e. stolen) book stand on the corner of the road. I picked it up because it was Anne Rice, and I'd liked most of the Vampire Chronicles in high school. This turned out to be about BDSM--except it was boring. Of all the things I'd expected from a book about BDSM, "boring" was not one of them. So I made it about halfway through and chucked it in the recycling.
(messing with layout currently; sorry if it is eye-burning)