July Booklog
Aug. 1st, 2014 01:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
netgirl_y2kThe Republic of Thieves - Scott Lynch
God's War - Kameron Hurley
The Miseducation of Cameron Post - Emily M Danforth
An Untamed State - Roxane Gay
The Queen of the Tearling - Erica Johansen
The Goblin Emperor - Katherine Addison
We Were Liars - E Lockheart
I was so so on the first Gentlemen Bastards book, freaking adored the second, but perhaps I was just blinded by the lady pirates, because The Republic of Thieves met with a resounding "meh" from me.
On the plus side, we finally get to meet the oft spoken of Sabetha, and there are some neat feminist bits on Sabetha's feelings about being the only girl Gentleman Bastard, and always being in Locke's shadow; there were lots of funny, charming, witty sections; say what you like about Scott Lynch, but the man can turn a phrase. On the minus, neither the current plot (Locke and Jean competing with Sabetha to rig an election) or the flashback section (the young Gentlemen Bastards stage a play; ostensibly to teach them to grift and work as a team, but really they just put on a play, and not a very good one, at that) ever really get going, and the pacing felt clunky as hell.
The city-destroying bondsmagi, which I'd though were fascinating when viewed from afar in The Lies of Locke Lamora, turned out to be much less interesting up close; where they seem to mostly bicker internally and interfere in local politics. Then there was the end, which took a sudden, awkward turn from shenanigans to grimdark, and a reveal about Locke's "mysterious origins". And my feeling on protagonists with "mysterious origins" can be summed up thusly: please keep them to yourself.
I wanted to like God's War more than I did. It's set in a matriarchal society because all the men automatically get drafted into a holy war that's been fought for so long that it's origins have basically been forgotten; there's a delightfully bizarre insect based magic/technology system. But. But, it's low on description, so it's hard to envisage the world, and what should be pretty significant world-building points, like the fact that there are shape-shifters, only merit a throwaway mention. The plot was occasionally hard to follow; it's fast paced and exciting, but often in a sort of: wait, wait, what happened? who are they? what's going on? type way. Then there were the characters; now I don't think that characters always have to be nice, but all the characters here were so viscerally unpleasant that I couldn't imagine willingly spending any more time with them.
I'm intermittently annoyed that everything seems to be a series these days, even sometimes things that would be better off as stand-alones; but that's the Gentlemen Bastards and Bel Dame Apocrypha that I don't feel like I have to keep up with.
The Miseducation of Cameron Post is about a girl coming out in Montana in the early-mid 90s, and I couldn't put it down for two days. You know when a book just speaks to you--? Not the parts about making out with cowgirls, or being shipped away to pray away the gay camp parts, obviously.
My experiences ran more along the lines of being felt up in the sixth form art room, and coming out to my parents to such a thunderous lack of reaction that to this day I'm honestly not sure they actually heard me.
But about how things were in the days in before the internet (there's a great quote that's been floating around tumblr about how if you think the internet is making us lonelier then you were never lonely before 1995) and how desperate you can be to see yourself reflected somewhere. Cameron endlessly rewinds that one scene from Personal Best; at least I had Xena when I was doing my own teenaged coming out a few years later. Representation matters, etc. But at least kids coming out now have youtube and netflix and tumblr gifsets, and thank goodness they do.
An Untamed State was another one that I couldn't put down. It's about a Haitian American woman who's kidnapped for ransom while visiting her family in Haiti. Everything horrible that you worry might happen to a woman kidnapped by a group of men happens, but it's exactly as horrible as it needs to be, and not at all titillating. (This is my residual GoT S4 feelings speaking; I now consider a rape scene not being sexualised to be a selling point.) It's awful, and harrowing, and compelling, and recovery isn't easy or neat, but it's possible. If you think the sexual violence wouldn't upset you too much, then I highly recommend it.
First things first about The Queen of the Tearling, when I rule the world all books that are the first in a trilogy will be forced to declare so, on the first page, in bold print. It's about a queen who was raised in exile, and comes into her throne to undo some of the mistakes of her mother's rule. She has a circle of loyal guards, and the antagonist is an evil queen sorcerous type.
So far so much typical fantasy fare with a kind of Arthurian twist. But the thing that makes it a bit different is that apparently this is a post apocalyptic world, "post-crossing" they say in the book. So I think the answers to the questions posed by that (why does the post apocalyptic world look like feudal Eurpoe? Where did the magic come from? How did the people get here; the book says they sailed but that must have been metaphorical sailing, right?) will either lift it above the mediocre or make it crash and burn. Yeah, not bad, but too "first book-y" to really say much about it.
The Goblin Emperor is about the despised half-goblin son of the emperor of the Elflands who unexpectedly comes into the throne when his father and older brothers are killed. I'd sort of been side-eying this because... elves, golblins, boy characters. But it was brilliant, completely and totally brilliant! Totally immersive world-building, and sucked me into elven court intrigue, to the point where I finished it and came out blinking into the light, going, where will I find another book that good?
We Were Liars was not that book. There's a huge (over-rated, to my mind) twist at the end, so I won't say much about it. The experience of reading it reminded me most of Lev Grossman's The Magicians, not because the plots are at all alike, no, but because they were both books that came highly recommended and that I read going I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR WANKY PRETENTIOUS RICH KID PROBLEMS, FUCK'S SAKE.
Okay, it's possible I have some, ahem, class-related issues.
Anyway, now I'm dipping in and out of the Discworld, because I couldn't find a good follow-on to The Goblin Emperor, and I panicked.
God's War - Kameron Hurley
The Miseducation of Cameron Post - Emily M Danforth
An Untamed State - Roxane Gay
The Queen of the Tearling - Erica Johansen
The Goblin Emperor - Katherine Addison
We Were Liars - E Lockheart
I was so so on the first Gentlemen Bastards book, freaking adored the second, but perhaps I was just blinded by the lady pirates, because The Republic of Thieves met with a resounding "meh" from me.
On the plus side, we finally get to meet the oft spoken of Sabetha, and there are some neat feminist bits on Sabetha's feelings about being the only girl Gentleman Bastard, and always being in Locke's shadow; there were lots of funny, charming, witty sections; say what you like about Scott Lynch, but the man can turn a phrase. On the minus, neither the current plot (Locke and Jean competing with Sabetha to rig an election) or the flashback section (the young Gentlemen Bastards stage a play; ostensibly to teach them to grift and work as a team, but really they just put on a play, and not a very good one, at that) ever really get going, and the pacing felt clunky as hell.
The city-destroying bondsmagi, which I'd though were fascinating when viewed from afar in The Lies of Locke Lamora, turned out to be much less interesting up close; where they seem to mostly bicker internally and interfere in local politics. Then there was the end, which took a sudden, awkward turn from shenanigans to grimdark, and a reveal about Locke's "mysterious origins". And my feeling on protagonists with "mysterious origins" can be summed up thusly: please keep them to yourself.
I wanted to like God's War more than I did. It's set in a matriarchal society because all the men automatically get drafted into a holy war that's been fought for so long that it's origins have basically been forgotten; there's a delightfully bizarre insect based magic/technology system. But. But, it's low on description, so it's hard to envisage the world, and what should be pretty significant world-building points, like the fact that there are shape-shifters, only merit a throwaway mention. The plot was occasionally hard to follow; it's fast paced and exciting, but often in a sort of: wait, wait, what happened? who are they? what's going on? type way. Then there were the characters; now I don't think that characters always have to be nice, but all the characters here were so viscerally unpleasant that I couldn't imagine willingly spending any more time with them.
I'm intermittently annoyed that everything seems to be a series these days, even sometimes things that would be better off as stand-alones; but that's the Gentlemen Bastards and Bel Dame Apocrypha that I don't feel like I have to keep up with.
The Miseducation of Cameron Post is about a girl coming out in Montana in the early-mid 90s, and I couldn't put it down for two days. You know when a book just speaks to you--? Not the parts about making out with cowgirls, or being shipped away to pray away the gay camp parts, obviously.
My experiences ran more along the lines of being felt up in the sixth form art room, and coming out to my parents to such a thunderous lack of reaction that to this day I'm honestly not sure they actually heard me.
But about how things were in the days in before the internet (there's a great quote that's been floating around tumblr about how if you think the internet is making us lonelier then you were never lonely before 1995) and how desperate you can be to see yourself reflected somewhere. Cameron endlessly rewinds that one scene from Personal Best; at least I had Xena when I was doing my own teenaged coming out a few years later. Representation matters, etc. But at least kids coming out now have youtube and netflix and tumblr gifsets, and thank goodness they do.
An Untamed State was another one that I couldn't put down. It's about a Haitian American woman who's kidnapped for ransom while visiting her family in Haiti. Everything horrible that you worry might happen to a woman kidnapped by a group of men happens, but it's exactly as horrible as it needs to be, and not at all titillating. (This is my residual GoT S4 feelings speaking; I now consider a rape scene not being sexualised to be a selling point.) It's awful, and harrowing, and compelling, and recovery isn't easy or neat, but it's possible. If you think the sexual violence wouldn't upset you too much, then I highly recommend it.
First things first about The Queen of the Tearling, when I rule the world all books that are the first in a trilogy will be forced to declare so, on the first page, in bold print. It's about a queen who was raised in exile, and comes into her throne to undo some of the mistakes of her mother's rule. She has a circle of loyal guards, and the antagonist is an evil queen sorcerous type.
So far so much typical fantasy fare with a kind of Arthurian twist. But the thing that makes it a bit different is that apparently this is a post apocalyptic world, "post-crossing" they say in the book. So I think the answers to the questions posed by that (why does the post apocalyptic world look like feudal Eurpoe? Where did the magic come from? How did the people get here; the book says they sailed but that must have been metaphorical sailing, right?) will either lift it above the mediocre or make it crash and burn. Yeah, not bad, but too "first book-y" to really say much about it.
The Goblin Emperor is about the despised half-goblin son of the emperor of the Elflands who unexpectedly comes into the throne when his father and older brothers are killed. I'd sort of been side-eying this because... elves, golblins, boy characters. But it was brilliant, completely and totally brilliant! Totally immersive world-building, and sucked me into elven court intrigue, to the point where I finished it and came out blinking into the light, going, where will I find another book that good?
We Were Liars was not that book. There's a huge (over-rated, to my mind) twist at the end, so I won't say much about it. The experience of reading it reminded me most of Lev Grossman's The Magicians, not because the plots are at all alike, no, but because they were both books that came highly recommended and that I read going I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR WANKY PRETENTIOUS RICH KID PROBLEMS, FUCK'S SAKE.
Okay, it's possible I have some, ahem, class-related issues.
Anyway, now I'm dipping in and out of the Discworld, because I couldn't find a good follow-on to The Goblin Emperor, and I panicked.
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Date: 2014-08-01 12:22 pm (UTC)Ha, that's brilliant. I couldn't have come out to my parents before then because until I got online I didn't actually know lesbians were a real thing. Or that any other girls liked comics.
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Date: 2014-08-01 01:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-08-01 01:16 pm (UTC)BUT GOBLIN EMPEROR YEAH! I loved that. Now that's a book I wish wasn't a stand alone. I was supersad to see on her blog that she doesn't intend to write any direct sequels.
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Date: 2014-08-01 01:34 pm (UTC)On the other hand it was basically perfect as a stand alone. And SFF is plagued by authors and publishers who will flog the horse to death given half a chance.
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Date: 2014-08-01 09:37 pm (UTC)What Discworld are you reading then? I finally read Raising Steam and enjoyed it quite a bit, though I ended up thinking there was actually no reason for it to be a Moist book and was pretty irritated about that.
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Date: 2014-08-02 11:41 am (UTC)Yeah, Raising Steam was... fine. But the industrial Discworld books have never been among my favourites, I also found the writing oddly stilted, which I suppose is due to Pratchett dictating them now. I'm rereading Feet of Clay because the early Watch books were my gateway into the Discworld, and so I will always be unreasonably fond of them.
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Date: 2014-08-02 11:30 pm (UTC)And I have not read any of the books in your main post, but I added three to my Amazon wishlist. (The Scott Lynch book mainly out of a sense of completism -- at some point I'll be in the mood to revisit the Gentleman Bastards and reread the first two before going on to the third.)
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Date: 2014-08-03 08:55 am (UTC)Though I don't think I'd reread Feet of Clay, and now Men at Arms since I first read them many years ago (prior rereads have inexplicably skipped from Gurds! Guards! to Jingo) so I am getting much joy out of them.
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Date: 2014-08-05 04:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-08-03 02:17 am (UTC)I also have to say that I picked up The Girl With All the Gifts the other day and I can barely put it down. I'm loving it! And I don't even like zombies. It's so great to see Carey do something with more female POV characters. I'm curious as to why he doesn't seem to want this associated with the Felix Castor series though.
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Date: 2014-08-03 09:12 am (UTC)Yay! I'm not sure how far through The Girl With All the Gifts you are, but the ending knocked me completely for six. I not sure about the name thing either. I get where an author writes in two totally different styles (like Madeline Whickham writing as Sophie Kinsella) but it's not like zombies are too far removed from Carey's Felix Castor or comics stuff.
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Date: 2014-08-04 06:57 pm (UTC)I just finished Girl with all the Gifts last night- the ending was great. I had a sense it was going to involve the kids so it didn't come as a total surprise. But the way it ended with Justineau teaching the hungry kids was perfect. And I love Melanie as the Pandora of the post-apocalyptic world. Though honestly I still don't like zombie apocalypse as a genre because I find it depressing. :( Which is hilarious because I'm all about the dark and depressing tv---I just can't do zombies.
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Date: 2014-08-05 03:02 pm (UTC)So true. (And I love that quote.) I remember standing in front of the bookshelf at the library after finding Annie on my Mind, wondering "How do I even go about finding another one of these?" M.
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Date: 2014-08-05 05:01 pm (UTC)I remember being incredibly resentful in my youth about how the gay and lesbian section of the biggest bookshop in Glasgow (the only one that even had a gay and lesbian section) was one shameful wee corner tucked in the back. And about how books about lesbians were mixed in amongst, and tbh kind of drowned out by, books about gay men. And how novels and coming out stories were mixed in with erotica that I was really too young for.
At the time I didn't understand why all this made me so angry, but it was certainly formative rage...