Deep Question of Great World Significance

[ase]

So far this month: amnesiac with uncanny psychic powers explores the City of the Gods; Marine officer in training, Afghanistan, and Iraq; Soviet biowarfare scientist defects from Russia c.1991; black lesbian feminist poet reweaves her experiences of childhood and coming of age.

[Poll #1354477]

ETA: Yes, I'm going to read both; I am asking which one fits the Secret February Theme, and should be read first.

Comments

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

I chose Jo Walton because I read all three of those.

And. Really good.

[ase.livejournal.com]

It's Walton and I know what she's riffing off of; it will not suck.

[meril.livejournal.com]

The Bujold was about half meh. I'd like to discuss it with you once you eventually read it as I think we have a lot of the same thoughts about the series, except for me liking the romance/saga aspects more than you do.

But the Walton seems like a better fit for the reading mood you're in based on the rest of the list.

[ase.livejournal.com]

Half a Crown probably fits better, but I've read more of the Horizon sample chapters. Ask back after this weekend for reactions.

[rwl.livejournal.com]

No disrespect to the authors, but neither of those appeals to me.

[ase.livejournal.com]

Why not?

[bibliotrope.livejournal.com]

You're going to read them both, of course! You know you will.

I picked Jo's first though because it's more a political thriller and not nearly as cozy as your synopsis implies. And it fits in better with the Soviet thing you mentioned as having read recently. Which is kind of what meril said.

But Lois' book was not "half meh"! So read that too.

[ase.livejournal.com]

Given how I've felt about the first three, I doubt I'll be too thrilled with Horizon, but I expect to be somewhat entertained, if only by the post-book conversation.

[trolleypup.livejournal.com]

I liked the Sharing Knife more that you, so of course I would take that excuse to put them in a stack and read them as one ginormous book.

[ase.livejournal.com]

I think they would irritate me much less as a single novel, not as four standalones.

[loup_noir]

I think I'm the only person who didn't like Walton's series.

[ase.livejournal.com]

What didn't you like about it?

(Also, watch three people pop out of the woodwork to agree with you.)

[loup_noir]

I will confess to reading only the first book. Now, I have to admit that three or four years as a FictionAlley mod has tainted my opinion of many possibly fine pieces of fiction. It read like fanfic. Everyone was gay and everyone's relationships was teh angsty. I figured most of what was happening out in the first third of the book. I'd hoped for nifty alternate history and got fanfic.

[ase.livejournal.com]

That might be part of why I read, but didn't reread the series: I recognize the tropes. And it would explain how I managed a book with significant epistolary content, which is usually a big hurdle to my novel-reading pleasure. I don't think Walton set out to write a novel that way, but a lot of her novels are in response to something: Arthurian mythos, Victorian novels, etc.

What would you say is the difference(s) between alt history and fanfic? Scope, focus, incluing, something I'm not even beginning to broach? I don't consider myself an alt history junkie, so I'm not sure what a novel similar to Farthing, but written as alt history, would look like.

[sraun]

Until it was 'which of these better fits the Secret February Theme', I was going for the Bujold. Afterwards - I had to pick the Walton.

[ase.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I think Half a Crown fits better, but Horizon fell in my hands first.