Valente, Catherynne M.: Silently and Very Fast

[calico_reaction]

Comments

[inverarity]

Elsewhere I've seen her prose described as "word bling."

I picked this up at the CapCon where Valente was GOH. I was going to have her sign it, then looked inside and saw "Oh, duh, they're limited editions signed already." So I had her sign my copy of The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making instead.

I will be reading S&VF soon.

[calico_reaction]

Elsewhere I've seen her prose described as "word bling."

That's awesome.

This is my first, no wait, I had her sign Labyrinth at Context one year, so this is my second book signed by her.

[phoenixfalls]

*Ahem* Valente considers The Habitation of the Blessed science fiction. . . here.

;D

Will be reading this after the holidays -- very much looking forward to it!

[calico_reaction]

Thanks for that link. I vaguely remember her calling it that, and then reading the book and dismissing it out of hand as SF. Now that I can read that post and see where she's coming from, I think that's fine and dandy. But I still don't consider SF. :) That's not to diminish what she's doing with the story or her themes either. Neither Fantasy nor Science Fiction is better than the other - they're all part of the same family and often explore similar themes through different approaches.

Looking forward to your thoughts on Silently and Very Fast!

[phoenixfalls]

LOL, yeah, I don't agree with her either, because I always define science fiction and fantasy by their tropes (gods and monsters in this case) rather than by the type of story they're telling (first contact, in her words). But I figured I should provide the link in case you hadn't seen it back when she posted it. Though, come to think of it, I was aware that you read Scalzi's blog, so I suppose I *could* have assumed that you had seen it too. ;)

[calico_reaction]

No, I'm glad you provided the link. When Big Idea articles go up, usually skim them, and skip them entirely if it's something I know I'm going to read. :)

[calico_reaction]

It's utterly compelling, isn't it?

[ext_261460]

I read my first Valente about a year ago, and along with you, I'll read anything she writes. Everything she touches turns to gold (or perhaps quicksilver? as it's shiny and slippery and metaphors made true?).

now i've got another Valente that I can't wait to get my hands on.

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or perhaps quicksilver? as it's shiny and slippery and metaphors made true?).

Great description!

What was the first Valente you read?

[stfg]

WOW. WOW. WOW. That was totally amazing. I know she has not done much science fiction, but I love how her gorgeous language and background in mythology allow her to take a familiar trope of an AI gaining consciousness and make it into something utterly new. She gives the AI story mythic resonance, which I find wonderful.

It takes time and energy to read Valente's works, which means they often languish in my TBR pile. I'm grateful that the Hugos gave me the push to read this.

[calico_reaction]

It takes time and energy to read Valente's works

Oh yes. I've got at least two in my TBR pile right now! :)