paperclippy (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
paperclippy) wrote2007-10-26 03:52 pm
paperclippy) wrote2007-10-26 03:52 pm
Entry tags:
books
So I'm in the middle of reading a book by an author I hadn't read before (Sarah Monette's Melusine) which I'm enjoying. I know she's written at least a sequel to this book, so I figure I'll add it to my amazon wish list since I've had a lot of trouble finding authors I like. While perusing her other works, I came across a book (A Companion to Wolves) unrelated to the one I'm reading. I read the editorial, skim the first couple reviews, and am uncertain about whether or not it's the kind of book I'd like. Then I come across a 4-star review with the title "somewhere between good and horrifying" and that title is enough for me to add it to my wish list (after verifying that by "horrifying" they mean the content, not the writing). I think that says something about my taste in books.
Then again, I tried reading the first book of George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series (A Game of Thrones) because I'd heard it fell into that category, and some of its content was a bit too far on the horrifying side and without enough on the good side for me to pick up the sequel.
Other recent book reviews (no spoilers)...
The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
I expected great things from this book since it is generally so well regarded. I was sorely disappointed and found it only mediocre fantasy. As Randy Jackson would say, it was just aight. For those of you who've never heard of it or read it, it's basically an Arthurian legend, from the perspective of mostly the women involved in it, which focuses on the conflict between Druidic religion and the emergence of Christianity in Britain. The religion aspect was probably the best part. I found many of the characters shallow and grating, and kept putting the book down because Gwenhwyvar was frankly a moron. Overall if I had to review this book in one word it would be "decent." It was okay (unlike the last book I read, which I ranted about here). I guess my threshold question for books to determine if I'd call them "good" is, "Would I read this book again?" For The Mists of Avalon, the answer is no.
Kushiel's Justice (Jacqueline Carey, second book in the Imriel trilogy)
Far better than Mists of Avalon, IMO. Nowhere near as good as Kushiel's Dart was though (honestly, none of the other books in her series have measured up to that one). Brief plot summary (not much I can say without spoiling anything): after various romantic wheelings and dealings, Imriel must track a man across several countries to kill him for something terrible that he did, administering the title, Kushiel's justice. Jacqueline Carey's strongest points IMO are her philosophical and religious musings and her detailed descriptions of different countries and cultures. Both of those are strong points in this book too. We get to go all the way to her alternate Russia in this one, which is pretty cool.
I still don't like Imriel as much as I liked Phedre, and Phedre and Joscelin are kind of annoying in all the Imriel books. The sex scenes in this one are kind of overkill -- I am no longer a hopeless romantic, and honestly anything that involves "OMG we just met and we are so in love and will be together forever as evidenced by our amazing sex" kind of grates on me. Some examples of the couples together doing something OTHER than having sex would be nice. Plus Imriel didn't end up with the girl *I* wanted him to end up with, so that was kind of a disappointment even though I saw it coming.
That said, the supporting characters are great, the plot is sufficiently dramatic, and there are lots of interesting philosophical-y points. (Obviously, since I use words like philosophical-y, I will never be a professional book reviewer.) I haven't reread Kushiel's Scion yet, but both that one and this one are likely candidates for rereading in the future (maybe when the third book comes out if I've forgotten what happened by then).
The book I'm reading now (Melusine) feels kind of like a mix of the Kushiel series and Lynn Flewelling's Nightrunner series. Actually to be honest the first thing that came to me on reading the description and first few pages of the book was how much it reminded me of something![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
quartertosix and I were writing many years ago and never finished (which is something I have always regretted, even though probably if I went back and reread it I'd think it sucked). quartertosix, if you ever pick it up you'll have to let me know if it reminds you of that too.
Then again, I tried reading the first book of George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series (A Game of Thrones) because I'd heard it fell into that category, and some of its content was a bit too far on the horrifying side and without enough on the good side for me to pick up the sequel.
Other recent book reviews (no spoilers)...
The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
I expected great things from this book since it is generally so well regarded. I was sorely disappointed and found it only mediocre fantasy. As Randy Jackson would say, it was just aight. For those of you who've never heard of it or read it, it's basically an Arthurian legend, from the perspective of mostly the women involved in it, which focuses on the conflict between Druidic religion and the emergence of Christianity in Britain. The religion aspect was probably the best part. I found many of the characters shallow and grating, and kept putting the book down because Gwenhwyvar was frankly a moron. Overall if I had to review this book in one word it would be "decent." It was okay (unlike the last book I read, which I ranted about here). I guess my threshold question for books to determine if I'd call them "good" is, "Would I read this book again?" For The Mists of Avalon, the answer is no.
Kushiel's Justice (Jacqueline Carey, second book in the Imriel trilogy)
Far better than Mists of Avalon, IMO. Nowhere near as good as Kushiel's Dart was though (honestly, none of the other books in her series have measured up to that one). Brief plot summary (not much I can say without spoiling anything): after various romantic wheelings and dealings, Imriel must track a man across several countries to kill him for something terrible that he did, administering the title, Kushiel's justice. Jacqueline Carey's strongest points IMO are her philosophical and religious musings and her detailed descriptions of different countries and cultures. Both of those are strong points in this book too. We get to go all the way to her alternate Russia in this one, which is pretty cool.
I still don't like Imriel as much as I liked Phedre, and Phedre and Joscelin are kind of annoying in all the Imriel books. The sex scenes in this one are kind of overkill -- I am no longer a hopeless romantic, and honestly anything that involves "OMG we just met and we are so in love and will be together forever as evidenced by our amazing sex" kind of grates on me. Some examples of the couples together doing something OTHER than having sex would be nice. Plus Imriel didn't end up with the girl *I* wanted him to end up with, so that was kind of a disappointment even though I saw it coming.
That said, the supporting characters are great, the plot is sufficiently dramatic, and there are lots of interesting philosophical-y points. (Obviously, since I use words like philosophical-y, I will never be a professional book reviewer.) I haven't reread Kushiel's Scion yet, but both that one and this one are likely candidates for rereading in the future (maybe when the third book comes out if I've forgotten what happened by then).
The book I'm reading now (Melusine) feels kind of like a mix of the Kushiel series and Lynn Flewelling's Nightrunner series. Actually to be honest the first thing that came to me on reading the description and first few pages of the book was how much it reminded me of something
quartertosix and I were writing many years ago and never finished (which is something I have always regretted, even though probably if I went back and reread it I'd think it sucked). quartertosix, if you ever pick it up you'll have to let me know if it reminds you of that too.