(no subject)
I just finished Michelle West's Sea of Sorrows; four books in, the series continues to focus amazingly on the ways in which women hold power, which is a thing I continue to really appreciate!
The first half of the book was a bit scattered - the Ospreys are doing some stuff here! and the Voyani are doing some other stuff there! and Jewel's gang are over here! and the demons are doing some stuff too! and here's Valedan! and here's Kiriel the angstiest eighty-page fight scene known to man! and and - and it all felt a bit like getting pieces in place for the next book, but I kind of loved the second half, aka Diora and Teresa and Jewel and Avandar and Margret and Elena and Kallandras and a magic elf and a magic stag and bunch of Voyani GO ON A FIELD TRIP. Uh, more specifically, I really liked the focus on the relationship between Diora and Margret as they learn to appreciate each other and the different-but-not-bad rules for being powerful women in their cultures - and by the way, dude, you can't tell me I am not supposed to be shipping them. Margret spends about 50% of her time thinking about how beautiful Diora is, and Diora keeps going on about how much Margret reminds her of one of her tragically dead wives, and the amount of time they spend musing on the texture of each other's skin whenever they have to take hands for whatever reason is - well, it's a lot of time! And then at the end Margret is like "STAY WITH ME YOU DON'T REALLY WANT TO GO MARRY THAT RANDOM PRINCE YOU WILL NEVER BE HAAAPPY" and Diora is like "yes but it is my duty :( but maybe I can come visit sometimes maybe? After the war?" and Margret is like "bitch please, the war will go on forever, you are coming back way sooner than that!" and then they make out! Well. Exchange cheek-kisses. Same difference.
I am also finding Avandar and Jewel more hilarious than I should, I think. I have this suspicion that underneath all his stoic alpha super-powerful ~otherness~ Avandar is secretly a bit bemused. He is following all the rules for Supernatural Alpha Romance! Check it!
1. tall, dark, handsome, insanely powerful and unreadable
2. ~secret supernatural identity~
3. epic backstory angst involving him being an enormous dick to lots of people, and also personal tragedy, and HE KNOWS NO ONE CAN UNDERSTAND THE THINGS HE'S DONE
4. surprise accidental claiming the girl as his consort and therefore one of his possessions! but for good reasons, really!
5. SURPRISE TELEPATHIC BOND involving the girl SEEING HIS ANGSTY DREAMS
And yet, instead of falling into his manly arms, Jewel continues to go "DO NOT WANT DO NOT WANT DO NOT WANT," which is a much more sensible reaction. And all her friends are like "I think . . . that might be bad news," and Jewel is like, "yeah, I know, but I'm stuck with him. SIGH." I mean, I sort of ruefully suspect that eventually there is going to be Jewel/Avandar anyways, just because the tropes pointing so much in that direction, but for now I am enjoying Jewel's sanity! I am also entertained by how well the cover image sums it up nicely: Avandar strikes a dramatic pose, and Jewel looks disgruntled.
I also laughed at Elena's rescue by the Perkiest Demon. I mean, he's not actually perky in any way really, but compared to all the rest of them he is practically a font of skipping hearts and flowers and sunshine! "THE WORLD IS SO PRETTY GUYS!" And Isladar basically seems to consider him something akin to an excitable fifteen-year-old, as far as demons go.
I am intrigued by Isladar's pet human baby also. And I am looking forward to Adam-and-the-Den! And Diora and Teresa and Yollana's FIELD TRIP north. Never enough field trips! And also I guess some plot stuff happened with the Voyani and the cities rising too, whatever.
My glee, however, was a little bit harshed when I went to Amazon to link to the book and stumbled over this review:
Anybody picking up a book by a female fantasy writer knows not to expect much. As a rule anything on the physical world will tend to be sketchy. Anything to do with war and combat will be flat, with pretty colors. On the upside, female fantasy authors will generally have interesting characters, set in interesting cultures. Too, they will devote some attention to their writing style.
Thank you for your incisive generalizations, mystery Amazon reviewer! Yes, I am sure every single book written by a female fantasy author does conform to your rules. EVERY ONE.
The first half of the book was a bit scattered - the Ospreys are doing some stuff here! and the Voyani are doing some other stuff there! and Jewel's gang are over here! and the demons are doing some stuff too! and here's Valedan! and here's Kiriel the angstiest eighty-page fight scene known to man! and and - and it all felt a bit like getting pieces in place for the next book, but I kind of loved the second half, aka Diora and Teresa and Jewel and Avandar and Margret and Elena and Kallandras and a magic elf and a magic stag and bunch of Voyani GO ON A FIELD TRIP. Uh, more specifically, I really liked the focus on the relationship between Diora and Margret as they learn to appreciate each other and the different-but-not-bad rules for being powerful women in their cultures - and by the way, dude, you can't tell me I am not supposed to be shipping them. Margret spends about 50% of her time thinking about how beautiful Diora is, and Diora keeps going on about how much Margret reminds her of one of her tragically dead wives, and the amount of time they spend musing on the texture of each other's skin whenever they have to take hands for whatever reason is - well, it's a lot of time! And then at the end Margret is like "STAY WITH ME YOU DON'T REALLY WANT TO GO MARRY THAT RANDOM PRINCE YOU WILL NEVER BE HAAAPPY" and Diora is like "yes but it is my duty :( but maybe I can come visit sometimes maybe? After the war?" and Margret is like "bitch please, the war will go on forever, you are coming back way sooner than that!" and then they make out! Well. Exchange cheek-kisses. Same difference.
I am also finding Avandar and Jewel more hilarious than I should, I think. I have this suspicion that underneath all his stoic alpha super-powerful ~otherness~ Avandar is secretly a bit bemused. He is following all the rules for Supernatural Alpha Romance! Check it!
1. tall, dark, handsome, insanely powerful and unreadable
2. ~secret supernatural identity~
3. epic backstory angst involving him being an enormous dick to lots of people, and also personal tragedy, and HE KNOWS NO ONE CAN UNDERSTAND THE THINGS HE'S DONE
4. surprise accidental claiming the girl as his consort and therefore one of his possessions! but for good reasons, really!
5. SURPRISE TELEPATHIC BOND involving the girl SEEING HIS ANGSTY DREAMS
And yet, instead of falling into his manly arms, Jewel continues to go "DO NOT WANT DO NOT WANT DO NOT WANT," which is a much more sensible reaction. And all her friends are like "I think . . . that might be bad news," and Jewel is like, "yeah, I know, but I'm stuck with him. SIGH." I mean, I sort of ruefully suspect that eventually there is going to be Jewel/Avandar anyways, just because the tropes pointing so much in that direction, but for now I am enjoying Jewel's sanity! I am also entertained by how well the cover image sums it up nicely: Avandar strikes a dramatic pose, and Jewel looks disgruntled.
I also laughed at Elena's rescue by the Perkiest Demon. I mean, he's not actually perky in any way really, but compared to all the rest of them he is practically a font of skipping hearts and flowers and sunshine! "THE WORLD IS SO PRETTY GUYS!" And Isladar basically seems to consider him something akin to an excitable fifteen-year-old, as far as demons go.
I am intrigued by Isladar's pet human baby also. And I am looking forward to Adam-and-the-Den! And Diora and Teresa and Yollana's FIELD TRIP north. Never enough field trips! And also I guess some plot stuff happened with the Voyani and the cities rising too, whatever.
My glee, however, was a little bit harshed when I went to Amazon to link to the book and stumbled over this review:
Anybody picking up a book by a female fantasy writer knows not to expect much. As a rule anything on the physical world will tend to be sketchy. Anything to do with war and combat will be flat, with pretty colors. On the upside, female fantasy authors will generally have interesting characters, set in interesting cultures. Too, they will devote some attention to their writing style.
Thank you for your incisive generalizations, mystery Amazon reviewer! Yes, I am sure every single book written by a female fantasy author does conform to your rules. EVERY ONE.