Recent Reading: Hild (Griffith)
Sep. 3rd, 2014 12:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aseHild (Nicola Griffith) (2013): Historical fiction in 6th C Anglo-Saxon territory, where textile production is both integral to the worldbuilding, and does extra duty as a recurring metaphor for the politics the protagonist is involved with. It's a wonderfully dense novel, both in the plot and the sense of immersion in Hild's perspective. Griffith balances the warmaking and politics of territory with policies of taxation, the good and bad harvests, economic strategies, and Hild's interactions with her family and household. Tight third PoV narrative voice us all this with an undertow of Hild-ness in the midst of sheep and war.
Hild's awareness that she plays the game of thrones, combined with her sense of isolation and tight kin bonds, may be familiar to Cherryh fans. Definitely recommended for readers jonesing for a story where thought and the occasional manipulation of other characters play a significant role. The major caveat: the novel rewards close attention. This is a rare case where I wanted more family trees in the frontispiece.
A few plot and thematic elements also reminded me of Jo Walton's The King's Peace / The King's Name duology. KP/KN is set a few universes over from ours, in a British Isles analog in fragmented disarray following the withdrawal of a Roman-like "civilizing" force. The novels are the memoirs of one of the unifying king's fighters. (There's a prequel, The Prize in the Game, that hasn't floated to the top of my to-read stack yet.) In sharp contrast to Hild, in KP/KM the gods are real, manifest in miracles and face to face interactions as well as some prophecy or destiny stuff. This does not stop people from manipulating religion for secular ends. Hild and KP/KN share the spread of a unifying monotheistic Christian or Christ-like religion, the often bloody attempt to unify an island nation, and a particular attention to women's roles and relationships. Walton is inventive in building a world a little to the left of ours, Griffith in meticulously evoking a plausible secret history. They converge in the sense of verisimilitude the novels evoke. So it was The King's Name I wanted to reread after finishing Hild, rather than, say, Cyteen.
(Tangentially, Hild and Ari are on the "never allowed to hang out together" list. Even if they get along, the gamesmanship would be ridiculous. And if they didn't get along, they'd probably rend the political fabric of the known universe.)
Currently slogging through Life After Life, a mainstream novel executing a flavor of the Groundhog Day trope.
Hild's awareness that she plays the game of thrones, combined with her sense of isolation and tight kin bonds, may be familiar to Cherryh fans. Definitely recommended for readers jonesing for a story where thought and the occasional manipulation of other characters play a significant role. The major caveat: the novel rewards close attention. This is a rare case where I wanted more family trees in the frontispiece.
A few plot and thematic elements also reminded me of Jo Walton's The King's Peace / The King's Name duology. KP/KN is set a few universes over from ours, in a British Isles analog in fragmented disarray following the withdrawal of a Roman-like "civilizing" force. The novels are the memoirs of one of the unifying king's fighters. (There's a prequel, The Prize in the Game, that hasn't floated to the top of my to-read stack yet.) In sharp contrast to Hild, in KP/KM the gods are real, manifest in miracles and face to face interactions as well as some prophecy or destiny stuff. This does not stop people from manipulating religion for secular ends. Hild and KP/KN share the spread of a unifying monotheistic Christian or Christ-like religion, the often bloody attempt to unify an island nation, and a particular attention to women's roles and relationships. Walton is inventive in building a world a little to the left of ours, Griffith in meticulously evoking a plausible secret history. They converge in the sense of verisimilitude the novels evoke. So it was The King's Name I wanted to reread after finishing Hild, rather than, say, Cyteen.
(Tangentially, Hild and Ari are on the "never allowed to hang out together" list. Even if they get along, the gamesmanship would be ridiculous. And if they didn't get along, they'd probably rend the political fabric of the known universe.)
Currently slogging through Life After Life, a mainstream novel executing a flavor of the Groundhog Day trope.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-09-04 03:09 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-09-04 04:29 am (UTC)KP and Chalion might be an interesting paired read! There's some theology overlap, but they engage with the temporal components trailing the divine with very different foci. KP engages with the Matter of Britain, which isn't part of the Spanish history Chalion mines.
You know my feelings on a Quadrene novel. :-) I think Bujold's not interested in developing that interpretation of the Bastard, at the moment, alas, but I would be very interested to see it done.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-09-04 02:17 pm (UTC)Yes, I had never thought of a Quadrene novel before you mentioned it, and now I want one like burning!