June Book Review, Part 1
Jul. 21st, 2010 02:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadydaveCarpe Jugulum, by Terry Pratchett
It's 8th period. Three ninth-grade girls gather in a classroom, waiting for Western Civ to start. They discover they've all brought the same book to read in their spare time, and start reading in unison for the lulz. Their teacher, intrigued by the identical covers, asks if it's assigned reading, and is greeted by giggles.
In the book, a thoroughly modern vampire who shuns the ways of his bloodthirsty ancestors pursues an awkward misfit. His family disapproves, but he's fascinated with the fact that he can't read her mind. Will she join the vampires, or stay with the humans?
1. That book? Carpe Jugulum. Unlike Twilight's Bella Swan, Agnes is a fully realized character (two, if you count Perdita) with flaws and strengths, whose personal plot doesn't just revolve around her potential vampire boyfriend, but also her job, her friends, and her country. She struggles to live up to the legacy of the women around her (aka, the BAMFiest BAMFs who ever BAMFed), even as she tries to be her own person. And when those vampires start acting up, she helps fight them herself.
2. When I was a teenager, I was obsessed with the Discworld books and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Turns out it IS possible to have good taste re: vampires at that age! I thus reserve the right to point and laugh at anyone who thinks Stephanie Meyer is legitimately good.
3. Pterry is so awesome he can parody your books before you even write them.
The Demon's Covenant, by Sarah Rees Brennan
Sequel to The Demon's Lexicon (which has a better title, IMO), aka British SPooN (But Not On Purpose): With Way Fewer Issues and More Swords!.
The good news: since this book was from Mae's POV, I got a much better handle on her character, and liked her much more! One of my initial problems with her in the first book was that she came off as "generic spunky girl", but when you have access to all her motivations and thought processes, she becomes much more clearly defined (and awesome). Plus, a snarky interior monologue goes a long way in endearing me to someone.
The bad news: since this book was from Mae's POV, it's kind of weird that the main plot and emotional arc still focus on Nick and Alan. And neither of them are really the sharing and caring type (::cough::UNDERSTATEMENT::cough::), so it's not even a case of them dragging Mae in to their drama. She's naturally nosy (and concerned for her friends), so it makes sense she'd involve herself to a certain extent, but the fact that she just happens to be around for so many of their developing issues ends up feeling narratively voyeuristic. Plus it ends up taking precedence over stuff that's technically more relevant to Mae's story -- especially her and Jamie's relationship with their mother, which I thought was really interesting and underused.
Some more nitpicks: ok, I'm all for epic, non-lame descriptions of magic, but SRB reeeeaaaaaally likes describing it in terms of shiny reflections and flashing lights and no useful information. There were SEVERAL big developments that I didn't even realize had happened until someone mentioned them specifically several paragraphs later. Also, I haaaaaaaaate love polygons, which made about half the book kind of an unfortunate read for me. I know it's YA, but when you can replace people with carbon and hydrogen and end up building a caffeine molecule out of the various relationships, I start to feel pretty justified about shouting "FOR THE LOVE OF PETE JUST PICK SOMEONE ALREADY".
(My biggest issue is actually an ongoing one with the series: namely, why is Nick so funny? Because being that amusingly snarky is HARD: you have to understand how another person is feeling so you can turn that on its head, you have to be adept enough with words to convey maximum hilarity with maximum pithiness, and you have to think of all that QUICKLY. Yet these are the very things we are repeatedly told Nick sucks at. DOES NOT COMPUTE.)
Nitpicks aside, I really enjoyed the plot, and it provided an exciting set-up for the next book without it being obnoxiously cliff-hangery. And even if I don't care who's dating who, all the characters are pretty awesome and I'm looking forward to finish reading about them, so the next book should come out NOW, plz.
Gwenhwyfar: the White Spirit, by Mercedes Lackey
I picked this up on a whim: I don't expect too much from Mercedes Lackey, but it's based on Welsh Arthuriana (which is often neglected) and stars badass Guinevere/Gwenhwyfar (an interpretation I fully support). And then I was pleasantly surprised! Sure, Lackey features some lolarious interpretations of history and mythology, but that's practically a feature of the genre, and she's improved a lot of the issues I had with her writing in the last stuff I read of hers.
THE AWESOME:
1. Even though Lackey is a disciple of Marion Zimmer Bradley, she not only avoided taking sides in the Arthurian Christianity vs. Paganism feud, but provided awesome characters for either religion, AND showed the dark side of each way of life.
2. The scene where Arthur confronts Gwenhwyfar about her affair with Lancelot is a thing of beauty and joy, especially if you've ever had to read the Victorians and their "OH, THE PERFIDY OF WOMEN!!!!! LOOK, JUST ONE OF THEM BROUGHT DOWN AN ENTIRE COUNTRY AND ENDED A GOLDEN AGE AND DOOMED US ALL TO SUB-PAR AWESOMENESS!!1!3.14159265!cos(0)!" rants.
ARTHUR: >:(
GWENHWYFAR: ::bitchslap::
ARTHUR: o.O
GWENHWYFAR: HOW DARE YOU GET ALL JUDGEY WITH ME, I WAS KIDNAPPED BY YOUR INCESTUOUS BASTARD AND REPLACED BY MY EVILTWIN YOUNGER SISTER AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE!
ARTHUR: ...
WIN.
3. How awesome is Gwenhwyfar? Two words: BUCKET NINJA.
Really, the only thing I didn't like were some character interpretations. Gwenhwyfach, the aforementioned eviltwin younger sister, was your standard "bad seed grows into bad person" villain, and I think the story could have benefited if the sisters' relationship was more complicated than "I always hated you". More criminally, Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table were not awesome -- even Lancelot was basically a desirable cardboard cut-out -- and I definitely do not approve. It's entirely possible to deconstruct a character's status while still having them retain the qualities that made them popular in the first place! And no, telling the audience they've done awesome stuff while showing them act like douches doesn't count. Dissing them to elevate your focus character is SO fourteenth-century.
It's 8th period. Three ninth-grade girls gather in a classroom, waiting for Western Civ to start. They discover they've all brought the same book to read in their spare time, and start reading in unison for the lulz. Their teacher, intrigued by the identical covers, asks if it's assigned reading, and is greeted by giggles.
In the book, a thoroughly modern vampire who shuns the ways of his bloodthirsty ancestors pursues an awkward misfit. His family disapproves, but he's fascinated with the fact that he can't read her mind. Will she join the vampires, or stay with the humans?
1. That book? Carpe Jugulum. Unlike Twilight's Bella Swan, Agnes is a fully realized character (two, if you count Perdita) with flaws and strengths, whose personal plot doesn't just revolve around her potential vampire boyfriend, but also her job, her friends, and her country. She struggles to live up to the legacy of the women around her (aka, the BAMFiest BAMFs who ever BAMFed), even as she tries to be her own person. And when those vampires start acting up, she helps fight them herself.
2. When I was a teenager, I was obsessed with the Discworld books and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Turns out it IS possible to have good taste re: vampires at that age! I thus reserve the right to point and laugh at anyone who thinks Stephanie Meyer is legitimately good.
3. Pterry is so awesome he can parody your books before you even write them.
The Demon's Covenant, by Sarah Rees Brennan
Sequel to The Demon's Lexicon (which has a better title, IMO), aka British SPooN (But Not On Purpose): With Way Fewer Issues and More Swords!.
The good news: since this book was from Mae's POV, I got a much better handle on her character, and liked her much more! One of my initial problems with her in the first book was that she came off as "generic spunky girl", but when you have access to all her motivations and thought processes, she becomes much more clearly defined (and awesome). Plus, a snarky interior monologue goes a long way in endearing me to someone.
The bad news: since this book was from Mae's POV, it's kind of weird that the main plot and emotional arc still focus on Nick and Alan. And neither of them are really the sharing and caring type (::cough::UNDERSTATEMENT::cough::), so it's not even a case of them dragging Mae in to their drama. She's naturally nosy (and concerned for her friends), so it makes sense she'd involve herself to a certain extent, but the fact that she just happens to be around for so many of their developing issues ends up feeling narratively voyeuristic. Plus it ends up taking precedence over stuff that's technically more relevant to Mae's story -- especially her and Jamie's relationship with their mother, which I thought was really interesting and underused.
Some more nitpicks: ok, I'm all for epic, non-lame descriptions of magic, but SRB reeeeaaaaaally likes describing it in terms of shiny reflections and flashing lights and no useful information. There were SEVERAL big developments that I didn't even realize had happened until someone mentioned them specifically several paragraphs later. Also, I haaaaaaaaate love polygons, which made about half the book kind of an unfortunate read for me. I know it's YA, but when you can replace people with carbon and hydrogen and end up building a caffeine molecule out of the various relationships, I start to feel pretty justified about shouting "FOR THE LOVE OF PETE JUST PICK SOMEONE ALREADY".
(My biggest issue is actually an ongoing one with the series: namely, why is Nick so funny? Because being that amusingly snarky is HARD: you have to understand how another person is feeling so you can turn that on its head, you have to be adept enough with words to convey maximum hilarity with maximum pithiness, and you have to think of all that QUICKLY. Yet these are the very things we are repeatedly told Nick sucks at. DOES NOT COMPUTE.)
Nitpicks aside, I really enjoyed the plot, and it provided an exciting set-up for the next book without it being obnoxiously cliff-hangery. And even if I don't care who's dating who, all the characters are pretty awesome and I'm looking forward to finish reading about them, so the next book should come out NOW, plz.
Gwenhwyfar: the White Spirit, by Mercedes Lackey
I picked this up on a whim: I don't expect too much from Mercedes Lackey, but it's based on Welsh Arthuriana (which is often neglected) and stars badass Guinevere/Gwenhwyfar (an interpretation I fully support). And then I was pleasantly surprised! Sure, Lackey features some lolarious interpretations of history and mythology, but that's practically a feature of the genre, and she's improved a lot of the issues I had with her writing in the last stuff I read of hers.
THE AWESOME:
1. Even though Lackey is a disciple of Marion Zimmer Bradley, she not only avoided taking sides in the Arthurian Christianity vs. Paganism feud, but provided awesome characters for either religion, AND showed the dark side of each way of life.
2. The scene where Arthur confronts Gwenhwyfar about her affair with Lancelot is a thing of beauty and joy, especially if you've ever had to read the Victorians and their "OH, THE PERFIDY OF WOMEN!!!!! LOOK, JUST ONE OF THEM BROUGHT DOWN AN ENTIRE COUNTRY AND ENDED A GOLDEN AGE AND DOOMED US ALL TO SUB-PAR AWESOMENESS!!1!3.14159265!cos(0)!" rants.
ARTHUR: >:(
GWENHWYFAR: ::bitchslap::
ARTHUR: o.O
GWENHWYFAR: HOW DARE YOU GET ALL JUDGEY WITH ME, I WAS KIDNAPPED BY YOUR INCESTUOUS BASTARD AND REPLACED BY MY EVIL
ARTHUR: ...
WIN.
3. How awesome is Gwenhwyfar? Two words: BUCKET NINJA.
Really, the only thing I didn't like were some character interpretations. Gwenhwyfach, the aforementioned evil