Books read in the last couple of weeks
Nov. 7th, 2019 05:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ladyofastolatYes, yes, I know I said I'd try to write something every day in November (except when I was away) but then A Certain Someone remembered that he needed 75 hand-sewn favours to be produced within a week, so I've been spending much of my evenings sewing instead. They only take about 10 to 15 minutes each, but that does add up. But, assuming the pack of crescent moon charms turns up tomorrow (it was due today), I'm now confident that I'll finish them in time, so am taking an hour or two off sewing for book write-ups.
Between mid-August and a couple of weeks ago, I was reading my way through the entire Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold. I'll put that in a separate post, but here are the books I've read since then.
An Orc on the Wild Side by Tom Holt
I've tried Tom Holt a couple of times before and found that his books just don't quite work for me. On paper, they really ought to – hence me trying several times – but although I often chuckle at the humour, I find that they don't engage my emotions enough for me to care what happens to any of the characters. But An Orc on the Wild Side looked fun, so I thought I'd give him another go.
The target of the humour here is classic high fantasy, especially Tolkien. There are many characters and plot threads, including the new Dark Lord who's trying to modernise Evil – "New Evil: Tough on Good. Tough on Causes of Good" – a Wraith who dreams of being a fashion model, and several middle class couples from London who have moved to fantasyland, drawn by the cheap property prices. Why, for the price of a poky box in London, you can get an entire underground stronghold in fantasyland! Shame about the annoying doom-doom-doom sounds from the deep – the pipes, obviously - but that's nothing a decent plumber can't solve.
Once again, some parts made me chuckle – I especially liked the brief appearance of the Aragorn style plumber, bearer of the Spanner That Was Broken – but I never really cared. Diana Wynne Jones did something similar in The Dark Lord of Derkholm, but did it so much better.
The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone by Jaclyn Moriarty
Children's fantasy. I love Jaclyn Moriarty's lighthearted contemporary YA novels, so was thrilled to come across this foray into fantasy for a slightly younger audience. The standalone story centres on ten year old Bronte, who learns that the parents she has never met have been killed by pirates. In their will, they charge her with setting off on a journey to take gifts to each of her ten aunts. The instructions are sealed with fairy cross-stitch, meaning that they simply must be obeyed or dreadful things will happen. Bronte duly sets off, travelling from aunt to aunt, who include a dragon vet, an organiser of magical conventions, and a star drummer who has gone on to become queen of a minor kingdom. At first, it seems as if each aunt brings an entirely self-contained adventure, but as the journey proceeds, it becomes clear that everything is linked, and Bronte herself has a major role to play in magical happenings that could change her world.
I found this quite delightful, and read it in one sitting. Pellinor really liked it, too. It has quite a Diana Wynne Jones feel to it – and that, for me, is the highest praise.
Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell
YA. In Fangirl, Rainbow Rowell told the story of a fanfic writer, a huge fan of the Simon Snow series – very obviously similar to Harry Potter. In Carry On, she essentially wrote a Simon Snow fanfic herself – a "how should the series end" fanfic, with added slash. So far, so meta. Wayward Son is the sequel to that fanfic, dealing with how the "chosen one" deals with carrying on with a normal life after their great destiny – arguably the entire point of their existence - has been fulfilled. It wasn't bad, but I'm sure I'd have enjoyed it more had I not mostly forgotten what happened in the earlier book.
We are Blood and Thunder by Kesia Lupo
YA fantasy set in a city which for several years has been shrouded in a magical storm cloud that has brought pestilence and death. Mages have always been feared in the city, but since the storm, they have been hunted to death, blamed for the storm. The book centres on two young women – outcast Lena, who has been accused of magecraft and is desperate to flee the city, and duke's daughter Constance, who is trying to return to it after several years of exile. As Constance contends with internal politics within the city, Lena travels to the royal capital where mages are welcome, and tries to understand her powers.
There were some interesting ideas in this story, but I found that it all just moved too fast. It really could have done with a timescale of months, rather than little more than a week. "If I hadn't done X," Lena thought near the end, "then I wouldn't have travelled so far and seen so much and learnt so much," (or words to that effect). "IT'S BEEN A WEEK!" I shouted.
Between mid-August and a couple of weeks ago, I was reading my way through the entire Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold. I'll put that in a separate post, but here are the books I've read since then.
An Orc on the Wild Side by Tom Holt
I've tried Tom Holt a couple of times before and found that his books just don't quite work for me. On paper, they really ought to – hence me trying several times – but although I often chuckle at the humour, I find that they don't engage my emotions enough for me to care what happens to any of the characters. But An Orc on the Wild Side looked fun, so I thought I'd give him another go.
The target of the humour here is classic high fantasy, especially Tolkien. There are many characters and plot threads, including the new Dark Lord who's trying to modernise Evil – "New Evil: Tough on Good. Tough on Causes of Good" – a Wraith who dreams of being a fashion model, and several middle class couples from London who have moved to fantasyland, drawn by the cheap property prices. Why, for the price of a poky box in London, you can get an entire underground stronghold in fantasyland! Shame about the annoying doom-doom-doom sounds from the deep – the pipes, obviously - but that's nothing a decent plumber can't solve.
Once again, some parts made me chuckle – I especially liked the brief appearance of the Aragorn style plumber, bearer of the Spanner That Was Broken – but I never really cared. Diana Wynne Jones did something similar in The Dark Lord of Derkholm, but did it so much better.
The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone by Jaclyn Moriarty
Children's fantasy. I love Jaclyn Moriarty's lighthearted contemporary YA novels, so was thrilled to come across this foray into fantasy for a slightly younger audience. The standalone story centres on ten year old Bronte, who learns that the parents she has never met have been killed by pirates. In their will, they charge her with setting off on a journey to take gifts to each of her ten aunts. The instructions are sealed with fairy cross-stitch, meaning that they simply must be obeyed or dreadful things will happen. Bronte duly sets off, travelling from aunt to aunt, who include a dragon vet, an organiser of magical conventions, and a star drummer who has gone on to become queen of a minor kingdom. At first, it seems as if each aunt brings an entirely self-contained adventure, but as the journey proceeds, it becomes clear that everything is linked, and Bronte herself has a major role to play in magical happenings that could change her world.
I found this quite delightful, and read it in one sitting. Pellinor really liked it, too. It has quite a Diana Wynne Jones feel to it – and that, for me, is the highest praise.
Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell
YA. In Fangirl, Rainbow Rowell told the story of a fanfic writer, a huge fan of the Simon Snow series – very obviously similar to Harry Potter. In Carry On, she essentially wrote a Simon Snow fanfic herself – a "how should the series end" fanfic, with added slash. So far, so meta. Wayward Son is the sequel to that fanfic, dealing with how the "chosen one" deals with carrying on with a normal life after their great destiny – arguably the entire point of their existence - has been fulfilled. It wasn't bad, but I'm sure I'd have enjoyed it more had I not mostly forgotten what happened in the earlier book.
We are Blood and Thunder by Kesia Lupo
YA fantasy set in a city which for several years has been shrouded in a magical storm cloud that has brought pestilence and death. Mages have always been feared in the city, but since the storm, they have been hunted to death, blamed for the storm. The book centres on two young women – outcast Lena, who has been accused of magecraft and is desperate to flee the city, and duke's daughter Constance, who is trying to return to it after several years of exile. As Constance contends with internal politics within the city, Lena travels to the royal capital where mages are welcome, and tries to understand her powers.
There were some interesting ideas in this story, but I found that it all just moved too fast. It really could have done with a timescale of months, rather than little more than a week. "If I hadn't done X," Lena thought near the end, "then I wouldn't have travelled so far and seen so much and learnt so much," (or words to that effect). "IT'S BEEN A WEEK!" I shouted.
