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fullygoldy) wrote2007-07-08 01:45 pm
Saturday!
Wow! I spend one Saturday reading actual books with paper pages, and my flist explodes with the SGA Kissing squee, LOL. Lots of tasty morsels over there, yes indeedy.
Since I read two whole books though, I figure I ought to review them.
The Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner was on my WisCon reading list. I hadn't intended to read it first, but I was in Borders with the kids on the 4th, and it was the only thing on my list I could remember well enough to find (although I suspect the majority of my WisCon list cannot be picked up at will at Borders). It's a YA Fantasy story, with a 15-16 yr-old girl as the central character. She learns to be a swordsman at her Uncle-the-Mad-Duke's whim, and she learns alot of other stuff too. Unfortunately, while I did lightly enjoy this read, because it is fun and engaging, I was also annoyed a lot of the time. It's set in a time when women are property and the rules of society are everything (and nothing simultaneously - as long as you have wealth and/or power). And the women are all trained from birth to help perpetuate the situation. So the semi-endless prattle about dresses and parties and catching a man just grated on me. The cool thing about the story is that the Mad Duke is completely in love with his former swordsman, and since he can't or won't let himself have that relationship, he runs around the city in a perpetual state of debauchery with both men and women. So our proper young Lady Katherine gets quite an eyeful of beautiful young men in various stages of undress, and actually engages in a bit of voyeurism near the end - so fun for any slashers reading along.
Next up, I picked up Mavis's latest as soon as she finished it. Sarah Dessen's, the truth about forever. Another YA, since Mavis is actually in that age group. It's about a girl's summer between Jr and Sr year. She'd lost her dad 18 mos before, and is still trying to come to grips with the loss. Her boyfriend is charming /sarcasm, but she manages to figure it out with the help of a bunch of new friends. See, she ends up working for a catering company run by an unorganized woman, her two nephews, and two other neighbor girls who may have been related as well. This wacky group of people are entirely unlike her normal crowd, and they're a little more realistic about surviving life in the real world. She learns something from them, and she's able to help her mom learn a little of it too. It's a sweet and hopeful story, with realistic depictions of what teenagers get up to during the summer months, minus the sex. ::g::
Rupert also got a book that day - the one missing from a series he was reading, and gobbled it down. He was happy to have some holes plugged, but it's not something I'm going to be reading.
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I liked Privilege a lot. Ellen Kushner, during her Riverside talk at WisCon, did express uncertainty about writing this old-school world for modern readers, perhaps concerned that younger women wouldn't be able to relate to it or something (it's being marketed as YA and in the SF/F section). But I really enjoyed it--it was like Jane Austen except way more accessible and fun. I also like the fact that Katherine, at first, is really a typical product of her culture and accepts her role in it. She's forced to reevaluate by the Duke and by her circumstances. The same could also be said of Artemisia, who at first is kind of unlikeable, but turns out to be pretty cool. (You may already know this--Swordspoint and The Fall of the Kings are set in this same city, with some of the same characters.)
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oh I don't know - I think the 18ish Wes, who was so "perfect" and "extraordinary" (direct quotes) was not too realistic. ::g:: But there are men I've met who have those qualities, so I guess it's not doing Mavis a disservice - implying that she can find those guys and should wait for them. I just don't think they'll be 18 or 20 when she finally meets them.
Privilege was fun. I'm just annoyed these days with too many forms of societal crap. It was cool that Katherine finally decided to do away with the stuff she didn't agree with, but I was annoyed that it took so long for her to get there. And Artemisia, sheesh. I couldn't figure out why those two thought they were such good friends when they'd only seen each other for 2 minutes, and the next meeting didn't go well at all. But, I think it would be fun to check in on them in 5-10 yrs. Does it become fashionable for ladies to have their own swordsmen? Or do ladies have female swordsmen only? Or do ladies start taking up fencing all over the city? Does Katherine start a Uni for women? or at least a fencing academy? Does she marry Marcus, crossing class lines, or decide that as Duchess, she doesn't require marriage, even to procreate? Or does she "marry" Artemisia? I think it would happen not in the carnal way, but to help her friend fulfill the societal norms in the completely MAD way that has come to be associated with Campion/Tremontaine. ::snicker:: Is Katherine able to convince Artemisia that sex isn't always the horrible-dreadful thing she experienced?
I think the mark of a good story is that further reflection generates lots of questions, and leaves you wanting more.
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In "The Fall of the Kings", Katherine is a background character, a strong no-nonsense Duchess, although I don't think there's a lot of info in there about her. Marcus does make an appearance though. The main story is about the Mad Duke's son, Theron, and Theron's lover, Prof. Basil St. Cloud. Basil is unraveling the history of the kings and their wizards, getting them both embroiled in it.
"Swordspoint" takes place maybe 20 years before Privilege, and is about Alec (the future Mad Duke) and his swordsman Richard. They cause a lot of trouble. I had a little harder time understanding what was going on in this one, but that means I should probably read it again sometime. Both of these books are kind of slashy! (Is that a word?)
:)
no subject
I'd been thinking of reading the others, but they'll have to go to the end of the list ;)