Books read recently
18 May 2009 11:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
salineaI've been reading a little bit more. Woot!
Wheel of the Infinite by Martha Wells
Maskelle is a cursed and outcast priestess, who used to have the rather important post of Voice of the Adversary, the Ancestor who hunts and kills demon. Shortly after she rescues Rian, a foreign bodyguard outcast, from bandits slavers; she's called back to the capital city, as the important Hundred Year rite of the Wheel of the Infinite is nearing, and weird things are happening disturbing the ritual.
As usually with Martha Wells one of the thing that shines most in this book is the utter awesomeness of the main character. She's tough, sarcastic and ruthless bitca. In this particular case she's also middle aged and thus joins the small club of Jenny, Ista, and Catelyn of female middle aged protagonist in fantasy books yay! There needs more of them. Rian shines a bit less as a character, he's your average dry-witted easy going warrior guy, but he's nice enough. The other thing I liked in the book were the metaphysics and magic system, which was pretty interesting, with the Ancestors who all used to have had an incarnation, except for the Adversary, who, itself, is not a nice or fuzzy kind of god, but a very useful one nonetheless. I thought the plot was a bit badly paced and confusing at times, but it works okay.
I believe most of the cast were characters of colour, although, honestly, I didn't even notice that in the descriptions (and I knew before hand >_>;). That might just be Wells' style of not being overly descriptive of characters. I mean I remember loving Tremaine's personality, I don't remember what she was supposed to look like.
Anyway, a solid, entertaining fantasy one shot story.
The Day Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko
Sequel to the Night Watch, this time focussing more on personalities of Dark Ones, and what that means, with their emphasis on freedom and selfishness.
Like the previous novel, this was pretty entertaining with solid plotting, however I found myself liking it a bit less. Like previously it's made of three relatively independent stories, and I found the first one pretty frustrating in terms of writing and set up. The second one had more promise but again I found the ending lacking. Only the third was more satisfying, and tie up threads from the two previous ones in clever ways, but was a little bit short. I think my frustration might have to do with how each story focussed on different characters this time instead of following one character throughout. Still was pretty fun overall.
Powers by Ursula K Leguin
Third in the series after Gifts and Voices, also the one of the three I liked most. Moreover it makes me retroactively like the other two even more with how it ties thematically everything in terms of dealing with issues of what role magic/the supernatural may play in society, the thematics of slavery and power differentials and the role of storytelling and books in it as well.
Gavir is a young slave boy growing up in a society extremely similar to ancient Greece or the Roman Republic; who's always had two powers, he sometimes "remembers" events in the future, and he has an excellent memory of everything he reads.
There are three parts - almost three lives - in the book and each are in themselves great studies of exploitation and power differential that may happen in societies. The story is of course with Leguin exquisitely told, the characters vivid and very humane, and the story rendered in compelling and immersive way. I especially loved what was done in terms of addressing issues related to women, and how comparable and not comparable is their status to slaves, and how slave women had it worst. Especially interesting in the society of runaway slaves, where the women were still not as free as the men. An excellent read.
Oh, and most of the cast of character is dark skinned; which is gotten across more than in Wells' book.
Old Tin Sorrow by Glen Cook
This is part of a series of pseudo-noir meets fantasy books by Cook. I haven't read any other, and I probably won't because this one sucked. It was almost more Gothic with some vague noir stereotypes thrown in along, and suffered from a utterly predictable plot and crime resolution and some really uninteresting characters.
I'll end up thinking only the Black Compagny's worth checking out by Glen Cook.
Deliverer by CJ Cherryh
You know last year when I started reading the Atevi novels I sort of planned to make one big review when I would finish the series. That was, I believe, before I realised quite how many books there were in it, nor that there were more still to come. Deliverer is the 9th novel in the series started by Foreigner, and there's still two books after it which were more recently released, and I can't exactly review it without reviewing the whole series.
The series starts when a huge colonisation space ship lost its way during a jump; after which the civilian part of the ship's crew decided to make an emergency landing on the closest inhabitable planet, which of course was already inhabited by the Atevi which were much less technologically developed at that point than the humans; while the rest of the ship's crew prefers making space stations farther away. Fast forward a few hundred of years and one war between atevi and humans which the humans lost, when to their uneasy cohabitation rests on a treaty which has the humans living on one rich island, their technological knowledge being handed away slowly and with consideration from both sides to the atevi which at this point are about at mid-20th century technological level. The keystone of this treaty is the paidhi, a human translator and diplomat which much serves as a neutral go-between both sides. Bren Cameron has recently become the new paidhi, when things start getting more complicated...
Political intrigue and action associated with very smart linguistic and sociological concerns make this series one of the best that Space Opera (Planet Opera?) has to offer. The Atevi look very human like in term of biology, but their society - and their language - is very different in subtle ways which had deep consequences. They have no concept of "liking" or "loving" people, instead social cohesion works along the lines of man'chi a near instinctual sense of vertical loyalty. There are much more subtleties than that, and the care taken to similarities and slight differences in Atevi societies makes them one of the best designed (from a PoV of Social SF) alien species I've ever seen. It's clever, coherent, original and fascinating. Moreover, this is a great effort in telling a story of meeting the Other where the paradigm is neither that of imperialism nor of invasion. The subtle balance of power between atevi and human societies is always delicate and in constant renegotiation (and Bren must always thrives for peaceful resolution against the occasional idiocy of members of both people) but is definitely not unequal in a skeevy way.
The pacing of each stories is relentless, making them pretty compelling. In terms of characters I find Bren a little bit lacklustre, but several Atevi characters are fascinating - Jago and Banichi Bren's bodyguards (well much more than that, but that goes with the specificity of atevi society) and especially Ilisidi, the grandmother of the current leader of the Atevi, and a big power in her own right. If you think Olenna Tyrell is the best thing ever in ASOIAF you will adore Ilisidi, she's the stern, sharp tongued, dangerously clever and bad ass old lady that you do not want to get on the bad side of.
Wheel of the Infinite by Martha Wells
Maskelle is a cursed and outcast priestess, who used to have the rather important post of Voice of the Adversary, the Ancestor who hunts and kills demon. Shortly after she rescues Rian, a foreign bodyguard outcast, from bandits slavers; she's called back to the capital city, as the important Hundred Year rite of the Wheel of the Infinite is nearing, and weird things are happening disturbing the ritual.
As usually with Martha Wells one of the thing that shines most in this book is the utter awesomeness of the main character. She's tough, sarcastic and ruthless bitca. In this particular case she's also middle aged and thus joins the small club of Jenny, Ista, and Catelyn of female middle aged protagonist in fantasy books yay! There needs more of them. Rian shines a bit less as a character, he's your average dry-witted easy going warrior guy, but he's nice enough. The other thing I liked in the book were the metaphysics and magic system, which was pretty interesting, with the Ancestors who all used to have had an incarnation, except for the Adversary, who, itself, is not a nice or fuzzy kind of god, but a very useful one nonetheless. I thought the plot was a bit badly paced and confusing at times, but it works okay.
I believe most of the cast were characters of colour, although, honestly, I didn't even notice that in the descriptions (and I knew before hand >_>;). That might just be Wells' style of not being overly descriptive of characters. I mean I remember loving Tremaine's personality, I don't remember what she was supposed to look like.
Anyway, a solid, entertaining fantasy one shot story.
The Day Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko
Sequel to the Night Watch, this time focussing more on personalities of Dark Ones, and what that means, with their emphasis on freedom and selfishness.
Like the previous novel, this was pretty entertaining with solid plotting, however I found myself liking it a bit less. Like previously it's made of three relatively independent stories, and I found the first one pretty frustrating in terms of writing and set up. The second one had more promise but again I found the ending lacking. Only the third was more satisfying, and tie up threads from the two previous ones in clever ways, but was a little bit short. I think my frustration might have to do with how each story focussed on different characters this time instead of following one character throughout. Still was pretty fun overall.
Powers by Ursula K Leguin
Third in the series after Gifts and Voices, also the one of the three I liked most. Moreover it makes me retroactively like the other two even more with how it ties thematically everything in terms of dealing with issues of what role magic/the supernatural may play in society, the thematics of slavery and power differentials and the role of storytelling and books in it as well.
Gavir is a young slave boy growing up in a society extremely similar to ancient Greece or the Roman Republic; who's always had two powers, he sometimes "remembers" events in the future, and he has an excellent memory of everything he reads.
There are three parts - almost three lives - in the book and each are in themselves great studies of exploitation and power differential that may happen in societies. The story is of course with Leguin exquisitely told, the characters vivid and very humane, and the story rendered in compelling and immersive way. I especially loved what was done in terms of addressing issues related to women, and how comparable and not comparable is their status to slaves, and how slave women had it worst. Especially interesting in the society of runaway slaves, where the women were still not as free as the men. An excellent read.
Oh, and most of the cast of character is dark skinned; which is gotten across more than in Wells' book.
Old Tin Sorrow by Glen Cook
This is part of a series of pseudo-noir meets fantasy books by Cook. I haven't read any other, and I probably won't because this one sucked. It was almost more Gothic with some vague noir stereotypes thrown in along, and suffered from a utterly predictable plot and crime resolution and some really uninteresting characters.
I'll end up thinking only the Black Compagny's worth checking out by Glen Cook.
Deliverer by CJ Cherryh
You know last year when I started reading the Atevi novels I sort of planned to make one big review when I would finish the series. That was, I believe, before I realised quite how many books there were in it, nor that there were more still to come. Deliverer is the 9th novel in the series started by Foreigner, and there's still two books after it which were more recently released, and I can't exactly review it without reviewing the whole series.
The series starts when a huge colonisation space ship lost its way during a jump; after which the civilian part of the ship's crew decided to make an emergency landing on the closest inhabitable planet, which of course was already inhabited by the Atevi which were much less technologically developed at that point than the humans; while the rest of the ship's crew prefers making space stations farther away. Fast forward a few hundred of years and one war between atevi and humans which the humans lost, when to their uneasy cohabitation rests on a treaty which has the humans living on one rich island, their technological knowledge being handed away slowly and with consideration from both sides to the atevi which at this point are about at mid-20th century technological level. The keystone of this treaty is the paidhi, a human translator and diplomat which much serves as a neutral go-between both sides. Bren Cameron has recently become the new paidhi, when things start getting more complicated...
Political intrigue and action associated with very smart linguistic and sociological concerns make this series one of the best that Space Opera (Planet Opera?) has to offer. The Atevi look very human like in term of biology, but their society - and their language - is very different in subtle ways which had deep consequences. They have no concept of "liking" or "loving" people, instead social cohesion works along the lines of man'chi a near instinctual sense of vertical loyalty. There are much more subtleties than that, and the care taken to similarities and slight differences in Atevi societies makes them one of the best designed (from a PoV of Social SF) alien species I've ever seen. It's clever, coherent, original and fascinating. Moreover, this is a great effort in telling a story of meeting the Other where the paradigm is neither that of imperialism nor of invasion. The subtle balance of power between atevi and human societies is always delicate and in constant renegotiation (and Bren must always thrives for peaceful resolution against the occasional idiocy of members of both people) but is definitely not unequal in a skeevy way.
The pacing of each stories is relentless, making them pretty compelling. In terms of characters I find Bren a little bit lacklustre, but several Atevi characters are fascinating - Jago and Banichi Bren's bodyguards (well much more than that, but that goes with the specificity of atevi society) and especially Ilisidi, the grandmother of the current leader of the Atevi, and a big power in her own right. If you think Olenna Tyrell is the best thing ever in ASOIAF you will adore Ilisidi, she's the stern, sharp tongued, dangerously clever and bad ass old lady that you do not want to get on the bad side of.
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Date: 19 May 2009 01:28 am (UTC)I have just finished reading one of Wrede's other books, set in the same world as Crystal, in which one (and only one) character, who has all of two lines, is described as "dark-skinned." I am now contemplating what sort of fanfiction epic could be written for that character, which strikes me as in some ways a more productive response to Mammothfail than not reading, although maybe that is just me. But I am lazy, and so unlikely to get beyond the plotting stage.