(no subject)

[erastes]

Ah well, it was bound to happen...

I finally got a four star review on Amazon. The reviewer did love the book, though but - and this is interesting (for me) - she thought that the pacing was slow in parts. I've had many other reviews that said the pace was "breakneck" and "breathless" so it just goes to show that people will always take different things from one's work.

I'm only joking though, I'm still pleased.

Final note about Privilege of the Sword: I finished it last night and like a complete WUSS spent about five minutes literally sobbing. It was probably relief for the ending but it did leave me wondering and I'd like to know what others thought: Do you think that Alec decided that he was going to be the power behind the city's reforms from a very early age? Did he go (and subsequently leave) University for that reason - having gained some informants there, and then moved on to Riverside proper? I hope I'm not reading him as being a character with far more depth than he really was supposed to be, and I can't really ask the author, I sent her an email thanking her for the book, so if I write again (specially as she didn't reply) I'll look like some mad stalker. But overall, I didn't like the book itself. I think that she tried to hard to introduce too many threads, and for me it all didn't mesh in the same dark and delicious way that Swordspoint did. I ended up loathing Katherine for the reasons I gave yesterday - she's a Mary Sue and there's no away around it. If I hadn't been convinced by "I've been learning the sword for six months and now I'm a flegging genius" then I certainly was in the Coda when she makes fashion statements that are NEVER WRONG. Such a Sue trait. Anyway, yes, readable and enjoyable but simply less than before.

It led me to think about book series' in general - does anyone know of a book series that doesn't degrade in quality? I can't really think of one. Heinlein's Future History comes close (for me) but even that slid into mush with the last couple of books.

Comments

star rating

[lilian-cho.livejournal.com]

It might be that the reviewer's one of those nitpicky people who only give 5 out of 5 if it's one of her top ten books or smth ^^;;

*coughs* Like me. If you give me an option of 10 out of 10, even if I love it most of my answers will be 9 out of 10. To me, 10 = 100%. Whereas I guess most people treat 10 more like 90-95%? *shrugs*

I guess if it's possible to give 4.5 out of 5 I'd do that.

Re: star rating

[erastes.livejournal.com]

oh I'm still thrilled, I knew that someone would mark it down, because I think it's probably a four anyway!! :)

[fiona-glass.livejournal.com]

Book series that don't degrade - the first three books of Storm Constantine's Wraeththu series come pretty close. I've never read the later books in the series but have heard they're not as good, but they do seem to have been bolted on as an afterthought. The first three are complete in themselves and the last is every bit as brilliant and original (if rather untidy!) as the first.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Again, it's strange how people's views on things differ - I tried the first Wraeththu book on someone's recommendation and although the first section (him leaving home and travelling across the desert) was interesting, once it got all mystical and sexual with flowery metaphors I just couldn't cope with it. !!! Perhaps I should have tried harder.

[fiona-glass.livejournal.com]

They're books that you either love or hate, I think. The writing is brilliant but very untidy, as though her head was full of all these ideas and she simply threw them at the page and left them there. ;)

[lareinenoire.livejournal.com]

Actually, Ellen Kushner is on LJ -- ellen_kushner, and she's lovely. I'm sure she'd be happy to answer questions, though it may take awhile.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Oh I know, I friended her, it was through LJ I contacted her, actually. I don't ever expect authors to reply, although it is nice when they do, which is why I always try my best to do it.

[fiona-glass.livejournal.com]

But... but... but *you're* an author... :P

[semioticwarrior.livejournal.com]

Sharan Newman's Catherine Levendeur mysteries seem to get better and better, at least in my opinion.

I started Privilege of the Sword, but the tone seemed so mean-spirited I didn't get far with it. Although I did love Fall of the Kings and cried like a baby at the end.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I shall be making a note of these recs! Did you try Swordspoint?

[maximvanziel.livejournal.com]

>she thought that the pacing was slow in parts
Strange. It's quite opposite impression from mine.

>people will always take different things from one's work
Yes, that is. As well as image of characters.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Nod nod, interesting, isn't it?

[lee-rowan.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that first so-so review sucks, doesn't it? But few things are so utterly superior or so totally bland that somebody won't go "meh." Cheer up--if you get enough 5-star ones, it will bring the average back up.

Dependable series?

Historical
Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin

Historical-Mystery
Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody books (also he Jacqueline Kirby stories,
though there are only 4 of them. I don't care for her other series much)
Martha Grimes' Richard Jury mysteries
Anything by Anne Perry

Contemporary mystery--both these guys write men with long-term relationships who like and respect the women they're involved with--a rarity.
Robert Parker's Spenser series
Aaron Elkins' Gideon Oliver mysteries

Mystery-humor
Charlotte MacLeod's series, though her two final books don't hold up well--her health was failing, I think. She also wrote as Alisa Craig.

Fantasy
JRR Tolkien
Lois McMasters Bujold's Chalion series,
(tho I prefer her sci-fi Barrayar series)

Terry Pratchett, of course, who defies categories.

STORY IS PROCEEDING NICELY, btw! Back to work!

additional FYI, if folks haven't seen thee before

[nagasvoice.livejournal.com]

Great list, here!

I like James Doss' Charlie Moon series as an example of mystery where the guy likes and respects his spouse, and for good reasons, though I don't always like each book I've read.

I don't know that Dick Francis' mysteries exactly count as series work, since only a few have ongoing heroes, but they're pretty consistent in quality. In later books you can see side characters who are amusing side-glimpses of heroes from his other books, which is fun, and they're always connected to horse racing in some way. RE: tips on the craft, he's usually describing a foreign environment and building understanding in the same way that a historical or science fiction writer has to do. I love his economy of descriptions. He's masterly at transitions in quite a different way than Rex Stout was.

I also really like Tony Hillerman's Navajo series for many of the same reasons, and he gives you such a beautiful all-senses image for the desert that only works better when you actually know what wet sagebrush smells like.

Eliot Pattison did four mysteries set in Tibet. The Skull Mantra won the Edgar Award. Beautiful, low-key tone in quite an alien world, and a direct unblinking look at how the lamas have been treated by the Chinese. I understand he's written some others, including a historical American mystery that I look forward to seeing.

Re: additional FYI, if folks haven't seen thee before

[lee-rowan.livejournal.com]

Hillerman, Stout, Francis... yes! Those others were off the top of my head. I'll have to look up Pattison--that sounds very interesting.

Re: additional FYI, if folks haven't seen thee before

[nagasvoice.livejournal.com]

I should warn you that Pattison's first one, Skull Mantra, will angst you to outright tears.
I'll be interested to see what he does with the French and Indian wars!

Re: additional FYI, if folks haven't seen thee before

[erastes.livejournal.com]

And Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden series too, of course! How could I forget that? Thanks hun!

[erastes.livejournal.com]

and Hornblower!

Thanks for these, I'll have to try some. And GOOD - get on with it!

:)

[lee-rowan.livejournal.com]

I woudn't say Forrester. Great sea stories, weak characterizations except for HH, Bush, and Lady Babs. I kept reading the damned books to see if the character ever grew, or changed, or got over himself--and it was basically just the same story over and over: Hornblower triumphs militarily, screws up his personal life, people die, HH hates self some more... great naval detail but not up to O'Brian's standard for fully-drawn characters. I wouldn't give CSF four stars, that's for sure!

[ctrl-issue.livejournal.com]

One of my all time favorite series is a trilogy of books by Chris Claremont and George Lucas, and is actually (very much like) published fanfiction, as it is the sequal to Willow. "Shadow Moon", "Shadow Dawn", and "Shadow Star". They're het fantasy, but I haven't come across too many books that aren't het. Personally, I -really- like the way that Chris Claremont writes women, whether in comic book format or in storybook, and in this series, all three/four of the main female characters are warriors. However, not all of them start out that way. This is actually one of the series that I re-read a lot.

Another is the X-wing series, but those were written by different authors, and the last of the books kind of sucks. *shrugs*

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Willow sequels? squee!! Any Mad Martigan?

[ctrl-issue.livejournal.com]

How much do you want to be spoiled?

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Not! I'll have to check them out.

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

Ellen is actually very kind to mad stalkers! She was even charmed when I rather shamefacedly admitted that eternaleponine had been unable to rest with the fate of a minor character in Fall of the Kings, so we'd borrowed him and transplanted him into a universe we wrote together, and provided him with a lover who looked after him and cosseted him. She said, "Well, somebody ought to!"

I'm fairly sure that Alec first went to University out of a combination of academic curiosity and the sure knowledge that it would annoy his relatives, since it wasn't a pursuit for the nobles, but for the striving lower-middle. Slumming around Riverside as a student was the daring thing to do, and also put him in the way of people who were dangerous when provoked, and he was good at provoking them and depressed enough to want to court his own death -- compare his speech about "could a firework kill you?" with Holden Caulfield's musing about "next time they have a war, I'm gonna volunteer to just sit on top of the goddamn atomic bomb." I suspect that wanting to reform the City came after, after he'd come to care about what became not only of Richard, but of some of the other Riversiders.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Oh thank you for discussing - I don't know anyone in real life who's read them, and gehayi hasn't either. And I'm all fired up with the books and want to TALK about them with someone!

I just love Alec, there are so many reasons for doing so - I love Richard's comment about Alec's hatred of the country "Thats because you can't annoy it." I love the GOOD he does without anyone but the people he does it to knowing, whilst not dropping one inch of his arrogant, debauched behaviour. I love the way he said to the Rose that she was stupid if she thought that the things he'd done to improve matters had been done with nice methods. He's a little like Vetinari in some ways, except without the getting up early, little fluffy dogs, an aunt he liked and a plain sense of clothing.

:)

I want everyone I know to read these books, and god, I cried so hard last night - how soppy am I. How can two characters delve so DEEP into my heart that I cried because they sailed off into the sunset together? I haven't felt this visceral about 2 characters since BBM, and if I can make ONE person feel about my work one day the way I feel about Richard and Alec, just one person, then I'll consider myself a success.

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

Richard and Alec DO that to people. Me, I fell in love with Richard, not Alec, lo these many years ago... his patience with Alec, his calm acceptance of his likely fate, his determination, his quiet courtesy... all over a core of rage that he'd so painfully learned to master.

I told you, I had to put the book down for ten minutes just to absorb the reprise of "I've brought us some fish."

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Oh yes. Richard too. Tremendously in love with Richard from the first, it's taken me a while to come to Alec (ok - a week!)

And I was prepared for the fish thing, but it still made my stomach go all flippy.

And the blind thing. That made me just. .. clutch the book in despair.

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

She did such a good portrayal of macular degeneration, too. I used to work in the herbs and supplements department of a natural foods store, and there was one regular customer with macular degeneration and she probably had more vision remaining than Richard but not MUCH, and unless you knew, you might not have guessed.

Alec is a BRAT. I love him anyway, but he is utterly and totally a brat.

I was in love with the CLOTHES and the FURNITURE (fussy delicate stuff the mode now, heavy pieces in dark fabrics when Ferris' mother was a bride) and the little cups of bitter chocolate and crisp triangles of toast and the bath agreeably scented with clove and rose petals and the books at Felman's and the Swordsman's Tragedy and the theater which was SO OBVIOUSLY the one at the coaching-inn where Shakespeare's plays were performed and and and.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I'm with you with the details. Enough - but not too much, which I've been banging on about in the historical fiction market for a while. Just enough to tease, cups of exquisitely thin china, the heaviness of velvet, all that sort of thing.

On that subject I didn't equate the cover illustrations with the reality either. they were far too gauzy and ethereal considering most of the 2 books were set in the steamy end of town.

And yes, he's an UTTER brat. I loved the reprise of "kill him" in POTS and of course, Katherine doesn't.