Flat and Rereads (June Books)
Jul. 19th, 2008 10:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
asePossibly I am less than enthusiastic about this writeup because I read all of these, oh, weeks and even months ago. I feel like I'm forgetting a novel or two, but I think there's several I started last month, but abandoned, or finished in July. Oh! The late-month reading time got sucked up by trip planning. Yes, that was it! (Ha.)
Phyllida and the Brotherhood of Philander(Ann Herendeen): a novel by the grace of having a page one and a page last, rather than any redeeming plot, enjoyable romantic tropes, compelling characterization, or thoughtful worldbuilding. (The worldbuilding could be best described as third-generation photocopied Regency, with some liquid paper touch-ups.) It's like the writer took her NaNo draft straight to the press, with very few stops for editing. Disappointing; I saw "guy/guy/girl romance" and said, "Hey! Where is the bad?" Now I know: bisexual romance with no threesome action. And it started off with such a promisingly dubious premise and bad prose! All the fun bits were done in the first hundred pages! Editor machete, please!
Deep Wizardry and High Wizardry (Diane Duane): Rereads; second and third in the Young Wizards trilogy. I like this most when I try not to think about the deep worldbuilding too much, because I get as far as "so how do, say, African or Bangladeshi wizards find the leisure time to be wizards?", try to integrate Hinduism and Tao into a magical philosopy strongly rooted in the European monotheistic tradition, and then my head explodes. Also, the older I get, the less I parse Tom and Carl as BFFs and the more I think they need to run away to Massachussetts and have a big gay wedding. Amazing how ten or 15 years will change your perspective.
Gentlemen of the Road: A Tale of Adventure (Michael Chabon): Amran and Zelikman, two wayward Jews, in 10th century Khazaria. It's like Fafrd and the Grey Mouser meets historical swashbuckling. With elephants. The afterward, where Chabon essentially says, "I'm proud of my 90's work [which was Serious Lit], and now I'm having an adventure" endears Chabon to me. Deep? No. Fun? Yes.
Pride of Baghdad (Brian K. Vaughan & Niko Henrichon (art)): Graphic novel; the lions of the Baghdad Zoo during and after the American invasion. Vaughan, Henrichon, your political leanings are subtle like a missile strike.
Prince Caspian (C. S. Lewis): Reread. Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy return to Narnia. My absolute favorite image in the book is Caspian escaping his uncle's castle as celebratory fireworks burst over the sky.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (C. S. Lewis): Reread. "There was a boy named Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he nearly deserved it." My favorite of the series.
Phyllida and the Brotherhood of Philander(Ann Herendeen): a novel by the grace of having a page one and a page last, rather than any redeeming plot, enjoyable romantic tropes, compelling characterization, or thoughtful worldbuilding. (The worldbuilding could be best described as third-generation photocopied Regency, with some liquid paper touch-ups.) It's like the writer took her NaNo draft straight to the press, with very few stops for editing. Disappointing; I saw "guy/guy/girl romance" and said, "Hey! Where is the bad?" Now I know: bisexual romance with no threesome action. And it started off with such a promisingly dubious premise and bad prose! All the fun bits were done in the first hundred pages! Editor machete, please!
Deep Wizardry and High Wizardry (Diane Duane): Rereads; second and third in the Young Wizards trilogy. I like this most when I try not to think about the deep worldbuilding too much, because I get as far as "so how do, say, African or Bangladeshi wizards find the leisure time to be wizards?", try to integrate Hinduism and Tao into a magical philosopy strongly rooted in the European monotheistic tradition, and then my head explodes. Also, the older I get, the less I parse Tom and Carl as BFFs and the more I think they need to run away to Massachussetts and have a big gay wedding. Amazing how ten or 15 years will change your perspective.
Gentlemen of the Road: A Tale of Adventure (Michael Chabon): Amran and Zelikman, two wayward Jews, in 10th century Khazaria. It's like Fafrd and the Grey Mouser meets historical swashbuckling. With elephants. The afterward, where Chabon essentially says, "I'm proud of my 90's work [which was Serious Lit], and now I'm having an adventure" endears Chabon to me. Deep? No. Fun? Yes.
Pride of Baghdad (Brian K. Vaughan & Niko Henrichon (art)): Graphic novel; the lions of the Baghdad Zoo during and after the American invasion. Vaughan, Henrichon, your political leanings are subtle like a missile strike.
Prince Caspian (C. S. Lewis): Reread. Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy return to Narnia. My absolute favorite image in the book is Caspian escaping his uncle's castle as celebratory fireworks burst over the sky.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (C. S. Lewis): Reread. "There was a boy named Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he nearly deserved it." My favorite of the series.
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(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-20 04:10 am (UTC)(no subject)
From:(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-20 10:18 pm (UTC)I was impressed with the author's ability to create the milieu for her characters. She had a lot of words and phrases and actions that were very of-that-time, which too many books that purport to be of that time don't have. Too bad she didn't focus a little more energy on the plot, which seems to be as simple as any Harlequin, with a third Object Of Lust added in.
One of my favorite websites reviewed this book when it came out as a self-published novel. I think their grade of C+ was very fair. http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/weblog/comments/phyllida_and_the_brotherhood_of_philander_a_bisexual_regency_romance/
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-21 03:31 pm (UTC)Wizards: You don't think Duane meant them to be totally gay? I do, though since she hasn't given any overt clues I like the interpretation that they are Totally BFF's (mostly because I have the outlook of a seventh grader and I like the concept that two friends could live together long-term without sex being involved, although to be fair I don't imagine that happens very often... and now that I think about it I'm imagining Carl going out with floozies every Saturday night... so I reckon it's better if they ARE gay. Never mind! Your point exactly about thinking about things too much, and the difference between a seventh grader and a more-or-less adult...).
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