Short, Kind of Minnesotan Month: October Books
Books under cuts have big honking spoilers and lots of direct quotes. You've been warned.
Teckla, Steven Brust: Reread, because I was irrationally stressed, and because I haven’t reread Teckla since my first time though a couple years ago. Still relatively grinding for a Vlad story, other than a very few scenes. Kept me occupied while waiting for other books to show up.
Paladin of Souls, Lois McMaster Bujold:
"And the Bastard grant us . . . "-dy Cabon’s voice, fallen into the soothing singsong of ceremony, stumbled for the first time, slowing - "in our direst need, the smallest gifts: the nail of the horseshoe, the pin of the axle, the feather at the pivot point, the pebble at the mountain’s peak, the kiss in despair, the one right word. In darkness, understanding." -Paladin of Souls pg 44
Lois writes a new book. The fangirl cashes in her Border’s gift card.
A lot has been said elsewhere about Paladin - how it's a coming of age novel for a middle aged woman, similarities to Lois' other novels, the theological setup - most of it better than I could say it. Since I seem to have been robbed of anything clever to say, I'm going to find some favorite quotes and explain why I like them.
I've liked dy Cabon’s prayer to the Bastard (quoted above) since I heard Lois read it at Worldcon two years ago. The concept that the right action, at the right time, can have significant impacts on the story (or in real life) is something that resonates way too much with me.
"I believe", Lord Ilvin said in a thin voice, "that I am going mad."
"Well," said Ista dryly, "do you desire an experienced conductor on that road? If so, I am your woman."
-Paladin of Souls pg 216
That isn't another installment on the road of life metaphor at all. O no precious.
More seriously, the metaphor may not be "the road" but the pilgrimage Ista pretends to be engaged on to escape her constricting life in her dead mother’s household. Pilgrimages generally have a firm purpose and destination, a striking contrast to Ista’s "anywhere but here" dash from Valenda.
You’ve got to love the people the Bastard scoops up. An illegitimate scion of nobility in Rauma, a dowager Royina in Paladin... does the Bastard like his saints to be nobility (and noble relations), or is this mere chance?
"A tangled mess of violet lines of light abruptly appeared throughout the room, flared, and vanished. Foix jumped. A moment later, so did everyone else, as vessels of tea or wine or wash water tipped or cracked or shattered. Ilvin's clay cup cleaved in his hand as he was lifting it to his lips, and he danced backward to avoid the splash down his gray-and-gold tabard.
"Joen's sorecers are now in place, it seems," said Ista flatly.
-Paladin pg 344
Is this an early use of major sorcery in battle? If there aren't established protocols, more sorcerers could appear on future Chalionese battlefields. If Joen could find a way to harness multiple demons to her will, others probably can as well. Nasty thought.
"Welcome to my gates, Ista dy Chalion. I am the Mother of Jokona." . . .
"Welcome to mine, Joen of Jokona. I am the Mouth of Hell."
-Paladin pg 407
Ista compares Joen to her iron-willed mother, the Dowager Provincara of Valenda, but Joen and Ista aren't without parallels as well. Both noble women have had misfortune thrust on them - Joen's demon, the Curse on the House of Chalion - and have spent their lives under other people's control. Obviously, how they react to this is different: Joen clings to her corrosive demon until it's sucked back into the Bastard's Hell, taking it with her, while Ista opens her soul to become a gateway for a God. In the Chalionverse, to be a saint of a god, or host a god's miracle, one must open one's soul, expand it. And Joen is repeatedly described as "small". Constrast much?
(To be a saint of the Gods, one must be their doorway, their hands in the world of matter, and let them work through you. Kind of feminine or not? Discuss.)
The final Ista - Joen showdown is rather a lot of fun, I think. Sorcery! Drama! A Devious Plan! And some cute sappy moments between Ista and dy Ilvin afterward.
Speaking of romance, Cattilara needs to grow up. This is all.
I am unduly amused by the horse that possessed a demon. "It explains a lot about that horse." "Grant you, it appears to be a small, unformed, stupid one." "That explains yet more."
That appreciative snicker isn't coming from me at all. How could you think such a thing?
(Side note: Cordelia meets horses, anyone? Discuss.)
Paladin is, in some ways, a subtle book - the humor is embedded at the level of sentences and paragraphs, the reader is not hit over the head with a Big Important Theme, the story wanders and jerks across the landscape, tangling and untangling itself. Lois' characterization and are on nice display in the novel, I think.
The Lord of Castle Black, Steven Brust:
Heat of fangirl passion has melted my faculties and is in dire danger of setting my checkbook alight with the flames of a hardcover purchase. Until said flames have been beaten out (or tLocB comes out in paperback), I offer a list of quotes to evoke why I want this book on my shelf:
"Pel! But, was it you who launched that attack upon us?"
"I?" said Pel. "Not the least in the world. My attack is coming from that direction, and will be much more severe."
-Tazendra and Pel, tLoCB pg 119
"The circumstances are so grim as to be nearly hopeless. It is a joy to me."
-Tazendra, tLoCB pg 149
At this, Sethra did laugh, albeit only briefly. "I do not believe, my dear liege lord, that you wish to duel with me. Besides, I am armed, as you see, only with a knife."
"Bah. You must have a sword about the place."
-Sethra and Morrolan, tLoCB pg 187. "Only" a knife. Uh-huh.
"From the way you attack your consonants as if they were enemy swordsmen and swallow your vowels as if they were a light snack, I would say you are from the East."
-Setha, tLoCB pg 189
"The Enchantress tells me that the Lord Morrolan is engaged with Kâna’s forces, even as we speak. If you have seen a battle-"
"I have."
"Then, no doubt, that is what it is."
"Very well, but-"
"Yes?"
"Who is Lord Morrolan?"
"Oh, as to that-"
"Well?"
"I have not the least idea in the world, I assure you."
-Zerika and Khaavren, tLoCB pg 251
"My dear Viscount, are you well? It seems you are suddenly flushing."
"Perhaps," Röaana observed naively, "he has a touch of the same illness Ibronka has, and which we have already demonstrated is no cause for unease."
Ibronka took Röaana’s arm and whispered fiercely in her ear, "Why do you do this to me? I tell you it is not the act of a friend!"
Röaana, in her turn, whispered, "It is exactly the act of a friend. Why do you not let him know what you are feeling?"
"Oh, I would rather die!"
-Krytraan, Röaana and Ibronka, tLoCB pg 289
...Clari, setting down the glasses, begged leave to run water out to the soldiers who were setting up camp.
"That is a good plan," observed Ibronka. "You should bring them water, lest they become overly dry in among the streams leading down from Dzur Mountain."
-tLoCB pg 316
"Would you like to share my pomegranate?"
"I should like nothing better."
-Clari and a Dragonlord, tLoCB pg 321. Not at all reminiscent of certain conversations on the Bujold list.
Beautiful unreliable narration. Lovely funny "book review" included in the back by someone who’s name, unsmeared from "Ilen", might be pronounced "Gaiman."
Brust - or Paarfi, depending on how you argue the line between author, author, and character(s) - seems to be on a cross-Houses romance kick in The Viscount of Adrilankha. The first book introduces the reader to Shant and Lewchin, of the Houses of the Dzur and Issola respectively, very early on. Tazendra shocks Pel in The Lord of Castle Black when she declares the only man she'd consider marrying is Aerich, "but he is not of my house, so the matter is completely impossible" (pg 234). Then Piro and Ibronka declare themselves Passionately In Twu Wuv, much to Khaavren’s dismay. (And of course there’s Zerika’s affair with Laszló, which might shock Dragaerans even more. Good for Zerika; sometimes Dragaerans can be the most racist - anyway.) I'm looking forward to seeing where this is going, and really looking forward to seeing what happens to Our Heroes now that half of them have run off to be bandits, for no good or apparent reason.
Orca, Steven Brust: Another reread. It's like the pringles commercial: you can't stop with just one. Inspired to reread because of certain authorial narrative tricks Brust used in Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille one of my September reads. Orca holds up surprisingly well to second and third passes.
Teckla, Steven Brust: Reread, because I was irrationally stressed, and because I haven’t reread Teckla since my first time though a couple years ago. Still relatively grinding for a Vlad story, other than a very few scenes. Kept me occupied while waiting for other books to show up.
Paladin of Souls, Lois McMaster Bujold:
"And the Bastard grant us . . . "-dy Cabon’s voice, fallen into the soothing singsong of ceremony, stumbled for the first time, slowing - "in our direst need, the smallest gifts: the nail of the horseshoe, the pin of the axle, the feather at the pivot point, the pebble at the mountain’s peak, the kiss in despair, the one right word. In darkness, understanding." -Paladin of Souls pg 44
Lois writes a new book. The fangirl cashes in her Border’s gift card.
A lot has been said elsewhere about Paladin - how it's a coming of age novel for a middle aged woman, similarities to Lois' other novels, the theological setup - most of it better than I could say it. Since I seem to have been robbed of anything clever to say, I'm going to find some favorite quotes and explain why I like them.
I've liked dy Cabon’s prayer to the Bastard (quoted above) since I heard Lois read it at Worldcon two years ago. The concept that the right action, at the right time, can have significant impacts on the story (or in real life) is something that resonates way too much with me.
"I believe", Lord Ilvin said in a thin voice, "that I am going mad."
"Well," said Ista dryly, "do you desire an experienced conductor on that road? If so, I am your woman."
-Paladin of Souls pg 216
That isn't another installment on the road of life metaphor at all. O no precious.
More seriously, the metaphor may not be "the road" but the pilgrimage Ista pretends to be engaged on to escape her constricting life in her dead mother’s household. Pilgrimages generally have a firm purpose and destination, a striking contrast to Ista’s "anywhere but here" dash from Valenda.
You’ve got to love the people the Bastard scoops up. An illegitimate scion of nobility in Rauma, a dowager Royina in Paladin... does the Bastard like his saints to be nobility (and noble relations), or is this mere chance?
"A tangled mess of violet lines of light abruptly appeared throughout the room, flared, and vanished. Foix jumped. A moment later, so did everyone else, as vessels of tea or wine or wash water tipped or cracked or shattered. Ilvin's clay cup cleaved in his hand as he was lifting it to his lips, and he danced backward to avoid the splash down his gray-and-gold tabard.
"Joen's sorecers are now in place, it seems," said Ista flatly.
-Paladin pg 344
Is this an early use of major sorcery in battle? If there aren't established protocols, more sorcerers could appear on future Chalionese battlefields. If Joen could find a way to harness multiple demons to her will, others probably can as well. Nasty thought.
"Welcome to my gates, Ista dy Chalion. I am the Mother of Jokona." . . .
"Welcome to mine, Joen of Jokona. I am the Mouth of Hell."
-Paladin pg 407
Ista compares Joen to her iron-willed mother, the Dowager Provincara of Valenda, but Joen and Ista aren't without parallels as well. Both noble women have had misfortune thrust on them - Joen's demon, the Curse on the House of Chalion - and have spent their lives under other people's control. Obviously, how they react to this is different: Joen clings to her corrosive demon until it's sucked back into the Bastard's Hell, taking it with her, while Ista opens her soul to become a gateway for a God. In the Chalionverse, to be a saint of a god, or host a god's miracle, one must open one's soul, expand it. And Joen is repeatedly described as "small". Constrast much?
(To be a saint of the Gods, one must be their doorway, their hands in the world of matter, and let them work through you. Kind of feminine or not? Discuss.)
The final Ista - Joen showdown is rather a lot of fun, I think. Sorcery! Drama! A Devious Plan! And some cute sappy moments between Ista and dy Ilvin afterward.
Speaking of romance, Cattilara needs to grow up. This is all.
I am unduly amused by the horse that possessed a demon. "It explains a lot about that horse." "Grant you, it appears to be a small, unformed, stupid one." "That explains yet more."
That appreciative snicker isn't coming from me at all. How could you think such a thing?
(Side note: Cordelia meets horses, anyone? Discuss.)
Paladin is, in some ways, a subtle book - the humor is embedded at the level of sentences and paragraphs, the reader is not hit over the head with a Big Important Theme, the story wanders and jerks across the landscape, tangling and untangling itself. Lois' characterization and are on nice display in the novel, I think.
The Lord of Castle Black, Steven Brust:
Heat of fangirl passion has melted my faculties and is in dire danger of setting my checkbook alight with the flames of a hardcover purchase. Until said flames have been beaten out (or tLocB comes out in paperback), I offer a list of quotes to evoke why I want this book on my shelf:
"Pel! But, was it you who launched that attack upon us?"
"I?" said Pel. "Not the least in the world. My attack is coming from that direction, and will be much more severe."
-Tazendra and Pel, tLoCB pg 119
"The circumstances are so grim as to be nearly hopeless. It is a joy to me."
-Tazendra, tLoCB pg 149
At this, Sethra did laugh, albeit only briefly. "I do not believe, my dear liege lord, that you wish to duel with me. Besides, I am armed, as you see, only with a knife."
"Bah. You must have a sword about the place."
-Sethra and Morrolan, tLoCB pg 187. "Only" a knife. Uh-huh.
"From the way you attack your consonants as if they were enemy swordsmen and swallow your vowels as if they were a light snack, I would say you are from the East."
-Setha, tLoCB pg 189
"The Enchantress tells me that the Lord Morrolan is engaged with Kâna’s forces, even as we speak. If you have seen a battle-"
"I have."
"Then, no doubt, that is what it is."
"Very well, but-"
"Yes?"
"Who is Lord Morrolan?"
"Oh, as to that-"
"Well?"
"I have not the least idea in the world, I assure you."
-Zerika and Khaavren, tLoCB pg 251
"My dear Viscount, are you well? It seems you are suddenly flushing."
"Perhaps," Röaana observed naively, "he has a touch of the same illness Ibronka has, and which we have already demonstrated is no cause for unease."
Ibronka took Röaana’s arm and whispered fiercely in her ear, "Why do you do this to me? I tell you it is not the act of a friend!"
Röaana, in her turn, whispered, "It is exactly the act of a friend. Why do you not let him know what you are feeling?"
"Oh, I would rather die!"
-Krytraan, Röaana and Ibronka, tLoCB pg 289
...Clari, setting down the glasses, begged leave to run water out to the soldiers who were setting up camp.
"That is a good plan," observed Ibronka. "You should bring them water, lest they become overly dry in among the streams leading down from Dzur Mountain."
-tLoCB pg 316
"Would you like to share my pomegranate?"
"I should like nothing better."
-Clari and a Dragonlord, tLoCB pg 321. Not at all reminiscent of certain conversations on the Bujold list.
Beautiful unreliable narration. Lovely funny "book review" included in the back by someone who’s name, unsmeared from "Ilen", might be pronounced "Gaiman."
Brust - or Paarfi, depending on how you argue the line between author, author, and character(s) - seems to be on a cross-Houses romance kick in The Viscount of Adrilankha. The first book introduces the reader to Shant and Lewchin, of the Houses of the Dzur and Issola respectively, very early on. Tazendra shocks Pel in The Lord of Castle Black when she declares the only man she'd consider marrying is Aerich, "but he is not of my house, so the matter is completely impossible" (pg 234). Then Piro and Ibronka declare themselves Passionately In Twu Wuv, much to Khaavren’s dismay. (And of course there’s Zerika’s affair with Laszló, which might shock Dragaerans even more. Good for Zerika; sometimes Dragaerans can be the most racist - anyway.) I'm looking forward to seeing where this is going, and really looking forward to seeing what happens to Our Heroes now that half of them have run off to be bandits, for no good or apparent reason.
Orca, Steven Brust: Another reread. It's like the pringles commercial: you can't stop with just one. Inspired to reread because of certain authorial narrative tricks Brust used in Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille one of my September reads. Orca holds up surprisingly well to second and third passes.