Some Recent Reads

[checkers65477]

Reaper Man:  Another fabulous Discworld book.  It was good throughout and the end was better than fabulous.  How does Terry Pratchett write books that are funny and clever, then suddenly they are profound and touching and very wise?

Melusine by Sarah Monette:  I liked it.  It reminds me very much of Lynn Flewelling's Nightrunner books.  Hunky, tortured heroes, lots of action, evil magicians.  I've started The Virtu, the second book in the series.  My one complaint has to do with the language.  The setting is an exotic fantasy one and the author uses lots of made-up words to mean dates and periods of time.  The terms are never defined by our standards, which is fine.  It was kind of fun to try to figure out what they meant.  But Mildmay speaks in a lower-class vernacular, with lots of swearing and that got repetitious after awhile.  He uses phrases that seemed jarring to me, "barbecue sauce" and "numbnuts" are two that  come to mind.  Those are minor things, though, and I especially liked the way the narration went back and forth between the two men.  It kept things interesting.

The Folk Keeper by Franny Billingsley:  This one really wasn't my thing.  Something about the heroine put me off.  The book reminded me very much of the movie "The Village" with the same sort of menacing, unseen evil always there, waiting to pounce.  It was beautifully written, however, and the main character's voice was unusual and well done.

Comments

[emmaco.livejournal.com]

*snuggles signed copy of Reaper man* That mix of funny and insightful is what I like about Pratchett too.

Hurrah! I just ordered Melusine! Is the swearing real or is it made up too? When people run around saying poot (for example) it is funny rather than jarring :)

I didn't get on with The folk keeper either. I felt like I should have liked it but kept forgetting to read it.

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

Wow! Signed copy! How cool is that??

No, the swearing is the f-word--and various others--over and over and over.But I think you'll like Melusine a lot since you liked the Nightrunner books.

[emmaco.livejournal.com]

Actually, I tend to blank out swearing in books, so I'm extra likely to enjoy it! And I just got the notification of a parcel in the post today! Hurrah! Only dilemma now is whether to save it for my upcoming holiday in a fortnight, or read it straight away...

Re Pratchett signing, it was my first author signing when I was about 17 or 18. I got to the front of the line, was stricken dumb with awe and could only GIGGLE AT HIM. Sigh.

[philia-fan.livejournal.com]

Ack! How sad. I love Folk Keeper. I love the voice and how Corinna tells you one thing but you can see that the subtext is the opposite. Also I found it riveting. Not perfect, maybe, but I loved it.

[philia-fan.livejournal.com]

I think another reason I loved Folk Keeper is the nebulous setting, sort of England but not really England, unclear time period, undefined magic -- and I'm sure that lots of people would find that very thing irritating! The setting is more of a mood than an actual place, and that works for me. My critique group is always bugging me about the setting in my current book -- "Where are we? Is it Afghanistan? Eastern Europe? What's the time period? Is there magic? If there isn't magic, how can you call it a fantasy?" They seem completely unable to cope with the idea that the setting is a nonexistent place that may remind you of some real ones but isn't. And they want details, details, details, and history, and dates -- but I don't. So maybe I'm drawn to Billingsley's work because she's on my wavelength and she seems to get away with it!

I agree about the wisdom of Terry Pratchett. Without that, I think one would tire of his smart-alecky humor, but instead his humor is all bound up with wisdom and understanding of human nature.

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

Exactly right about Pratchett. Without that depth the books could come across as silly but just when you're riding along on the chaos of the story some big truth subtly hits you.

I liked the setting of The Folk Keeper. That was probably what I liked best about the book, in the same way I liked the almost-England setting of Keturah and Lord Death. The creepiness was done well, too. But, like Emma, when I put it down I had a hard time picking it back up.

[philia-fan.livejournal.com]

Okay, well, I have no explanation for that. Myself, I reread the book a few months ago and couldn't put it down at all, even though I knew perfectly well what was going to happen!

[emerald-happy.livejournal.com]

*hearts Reaper Man*

lol. *must remember to say barbecue sauce in chatzy from now on*

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

The "barbecue sauce" comment was so random that it'd probably go in Chatzy quite well.

[jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com]

Terry Pratchett in a nutshell, ladies and...more ladies. :-b I heart him so much. I need to read one of his books this break.

Hm, Nightrunner? I'll have to check that one out. I enjoyed Melusine and Virtu too, aside from some very large, glaring plotholes. And my overall hatred of Felix. Hate hate hate hate. ...HATE.

The other book sounds kinda interesting, ish. And re: Philia--I like pseudo-settings! I want to write a story set in one like that. Where it doesn't really matter where it is, it's just got a society kinda like *insert place* without really being *insert place* but if you know *insert place* then you'll be able to catch on pretty quick. (Yes, I am lazy. But if I could do it well...)

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

I think you'd like the Nightrunner books. Luck in the Shadows is the first one.

Why on earth do you hate hate hate hate Felix?

[jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com]

*makes a note*

well, it's partly because I love love love Mildmay. And Felix treats Mildmay like crap crap crap. To put it mild(ha)ly. And I love love love Mildmay. Love. <3

I wrote an LJ post about it...let me link you! (It's written in response to a specific review, but I think it covers all the bases.)

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

Awesome, thanks. Are there spoilers for the second book? Maybe I should finish it first?

[jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com]

Nope, it only mentions a couple things that happen within I believe the first fifty pages...all the stuff that REALLY angered me from Virtu is not mentioned. :-b

[rosaleeluann.livejournal.com]

Where do I start with Terry Prachett? I know there was a discussion about it in Chatzy awhile back, but I wouldn't know where/how to look for it... suggestions?

[philia-fan.livejournal.com]

I'd start with The Wee Free Men. Maybe that's just because it was the first Pratchett I read myself, but it's also maybe my favorite so far. I'm sure everyone else will disagree.

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

I disagree! :)

But to be fair, I disagree with Ro, too. I say start with the first book, The Color of Magic, then The Light Fantastic. Then skip to Mort, my favorite. Ro didn't care much for the first two books, but I liked them a lot.

Really, no matter where you start, you'll like them. Most can be read independently of the others.

[jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com]

Seconding Checkers here! Her Pratchett reading patterns have been a lot like mine. Go through the first two, then the Death books, and then I'd recommend Guards! Guards! and the ones that follow it. I've never really given Granny Weatherwax a fair trial...and today I picked up Carpe Jungulum at the library (and I think those guys show up again in The Fifth Elephant which is part of the Vimes books...man, I have so much catching up to do. *g*).

[philia-fan.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm with Ro. I liked The Color of Magic okay, but thought it got rambly, whereas the Tiffany books are more tightly plotted. Also, The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents is Wildcat's favorite book, so you could start there!