Re: Will I be able to stick this all in one comment..... o_Oms_geeketteDecember 11 2013, 16:45:02 UTC
I wouldn't call College of Magics as charming as the Cecelia and Kate collaboration they did, but it has quite a bit of magic school stuff, IIRC, but not as epic as Harry Potter or anything (for one thing, these books are much shorter and there aren't as many). The Jenny Nimmo series kinda seemed Harry Potter-ish from the description, so you might like that one, I dunno.
I think if I was forced to pick a Simon R. Green series, I'd go with the Secret Histories one, mainly just b/c apparently I can stand his "I'm a Drood" more than his Nightside tic, I dunno. XD It's sort of frustrating when there's an author who has gobs of books on a topic that you like, but you're just not that into them. But in this case, I will not say it's me...it's HIM, lol. If he had a ruthless "evil" (i.e. someone that actually did their job) editor I think he'd be more popular that he is. Although I guess he's popular enough.
The Felix Castor thing mainly came from people who just haaaated Dresden Files, thought the writing sucked (and that Jim is a misogynistic a-hole). Clearly I don't agree, since I'm still reading the series (just am behind a bit), but then I don't really like nitpick stuff that much unless it's egregious, b/c it's exhausting. Yes, if you did a close-reading of most books, you could probably find something problematic, and when it comes to UF/fantasy, I don't think anyone is mainly reading it for carefully crafted prose. XD (For example, some people love to rave about Cat Valente and I just cannot read her stuff. It is a morass of words to me. D-:) But some people live for the sporking crap, though - at this point, about the only thing I enjoy sporking on a regular basis is GoT, but even sometimes I get tired of it.
But anyway, I haven't read any Felix Castor either, but if it's supposed to be *miles* better than Dresden (I sort of am skeptical, since I think he'd be mentioned more/be more popular), just thought I'd add it to the rec vomit. XD But from the description of the first book, here's the gist: "Felix Castor is a freelance exorcist, and London is his stamping ground." Although when I was looking for the name of this series ('cause it was on the tip of my tongue), some people were accusing it of being a Dresden ripoff, so I dunno.
Re: Will I be able to stick this all in one comment..... o_OhamsterwomanDecember 11 2013, 20:19:21 UTC
It's sort of frustrating when there's an author who has gobs of books on a topic that you like, but you're just not that into them.
Oh, I hear you on this! This is my tragedy with Seanan McGuire (compounded by the fact that I really like her writing when it's just her blog, so clearly she can write in a way that appeals to me, just... apparently that's not how she writes her books XD) -- she is super-prolific and has several series that sound entirely up my alley -- UF/mystery with fairies set in San Francisco! badass families and cryptids and magic mice! UF set around the fairy tale trope index! -- and, well, I haven't read the last one (because I want to live in hope, albeit faint, that it will work better for me) but I read the Toby Daye books with the background resentment of how much more I should be enjoying UF/mystery with fairies set in SF, and I couldn't finish Discount Armageddon at all... (I've heard awesome things about Seanan-as-Mira-Grant's Feed books, and maybe the trick will be to read the series that doesn't appeal to me in premise at all -- zombies, meh -- but I'm in that once bitten twice shy space with her writing...)
people who just haaaated Dresden Files, thought the writing sucked (and that Jim is a misogynistic a-hole). Clearly I don't agree, since I'm still reading the series (just am behind a bit),
Oh, up through which book are you? (so I can be sure not to spoil you inadvertently). I've seen no evidence that Jim is a miogynistic asshole, but there are a couple of things he does with his female characters that I really wish he wouldn't, or at least not so consistently. Like Molly's stupid crush persisting, and mind-whammying Murphy (mostly in short stories; maybe he should just not write short stories -- I don't think they are his forte), or Georgia constantly needing rescue, and gratuitously scantily clad females now and again. Other than that, and some of the world-building stuff he's been building up to lately, I really have nbo complaints about his writing or books.
some people love to rave about Cat Valente and I just cannot read her stuff. It is a morass of words to me. D-:
Oh my god, yes! I find her stuff gratuitously purple and self-indulgent and kinda impenetrable, so whatever magic it holds for the very many people I know who love her stuff, clearly doesn't for me. (I've read a couple of stories that I don't think required the embellishment she brought to them (although I did like this one), and I ran out of steam about a third of the way through The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland, and haven't even wanted to try her more serious novels after skimming a couple of pages. Just Not For Me, I guess.
Re: Will I be able to stick this all in one comment..... o_Oms_geeketteDecember 12 2013, 17:19:00 UTC
Seanan is a crazy person. I'd have to think there's something out of her insane voluminous output that you would like. Have you tried her Discount Armageddon series? I haven't read that one, either, yet, but it seems some folks don't like it as much, I dunno. Never mind. Indexing looks like it would be fun. Since she wrote it a bit differently (I assume) than her other books, it might come across unlike her other work, perhaps.
I'd have to look to see if I'm just one or possibly two books behind with Dresden. I think at this point I don't really care about spoilers with this series, so no worries. And yeah, Jim has some issues (yes let's fridge underdeveloped Susan, blah, blah blah), but I don't really see Molly's crush being extremely crazy, since I've seen some women who are old enough to be over teenage crushes to gush over things like One Direction, for example (no, I don't get it). Molly's not even 20 yet, is she?
I'm surprised more people haven't sporked Cat Valente, b/c her writing is just so sporkable. XD I don't mind "purple prose" in poetry, but pages upon pages of it, aieee! I will rec her to people who are looking for more "literary" genre stuff (I tend to think a lot of those folks are snooty and have a stick up their butt, but whatever), but when even her fans say stuff like "I loved what I read of it, but I ultimately had to set it aside. It was too beautiful" and "I found Palimpsest to be somewhat weighed down by its own poetic language -- it was so heavy with imagery that I kept losing the thread of the plot" (both of these comments came from me reccing Cat to someone specifically in a comm) I sort of roflmao to myself a bit. I was curious to try her Fairyland books (I've only attempted one of the Orphan Tales), just out a perverse fascination of how she attempted to write for a younger crowd. Maybe, (like Henry James, apparently), she's only good for short stories.
Re: Will I be able to stick this all in one comment..... o_OhamsterwomanDecember 12 2013, 21:04:39 UTC
I'd have to think there's something out of her insane voluminous output that you would like
I'm hoping! (she really is crazy prolific! I would like to be able to benefit from that XP)
Jim has some issues (yes let's fridge underdeveloped Susan, blah, blah blah), but I don't really see Molly's crush being extremely crazy, since I've seen some women who are old enough to be over teenage crushes to gush over things like One Direction, for example
LOL! I guess it's less that I object to Molly having a crush on Harry still, as a character, because it's unrealistic and more that I think it's bad writing -- it adds nothing to her character, IMO, and its only purpose seems to be to show that Harry is highly desirable to a nubile young woman and simultaneously give him the opportunity to continuously nobly reject her, but worst of all, I think it undermines the relationship between them that's actually important and interesting to me, that of teacher/student and that of Harry acting in loco parentis now that Michael has hung up his sword. And the way both Susan and Murphy were all, "oh yeah, she's into you, what are you blind, Harry" in Changes -- now that struck me as totally unbelievable.
And, yeah, I think he mismanaged Susan, too, but I didn't really care about that, because Susan never appealed to me as a character -- she felt like such a stock "intrepid girl reporter" cliche, and after she went away I didn't believe in her as the great White-Court-repelling love of Harry's life, either.
And I'm a bit apprhensive about what he's planning to do with Murphy, too...
I sort of roflmao to myself a bit
LOL, yes. Since I firmly believe the purpose of a book is to, you know, tell a story, I think this is kind of a problem.
I sort of roflmao to myself a bit
I haven't, but they sound charming! I love stories about families, especially crazy, quirky families, and since I enjoy non-paranormal mysteries, too, this sounds like something I should try -- thanks for the rec!
Re: Will I be able to stick this all in one comment..... o_Oms_geeketteDecember 13 2013, 02:41:09 UTC
its only purpose seems to be to show that Harry is highly desirable to a nubile young woman and simultaneously give him the opportunity to continuously nobly reject her
Well, men as the lead in paranormal romance (which, I'm not really a big fan of - I'm more likely to read a paranormal chick-lit, where I might get some humor over poorly written sex scenes...woohoo, fat pink mast! XD) is sort of not a common thing, I don't think. Really, the only guy that I can think of that has written anything that approaches that subset is Daniel Abraham, and even then, he did it under a pseudonym (MLN Hanover) - plus the lead is female, I believe. Of course, Jim might be secretly writing some of his wife's books...who knows. XD
Men have fantasies, too, and what you described with Molly is sort of one of them (maybe not the rejection part). Most relationships with a romance component with them (in any book, really) kinda falls into wish-fulfillment. Since romance is the #1 selling genre, women tend to get a whole lot of wish-fulfillment. (ETA: Heterosexual) men - not so much. Of course "lad lit" is a thing, and I've seen a few guys who write books that would probably get shelved under chick-lit/women's fiction, but it's not a lot.
I guess, when it comes down to it, I don't begrudge Jim his wish-fulfillment with Molly. Of course, I want to see all female characters written well, but if the author is not going to do it/doesn't do it, that's sort of what fanfic is for. I've seen some Dresden fanfic, but since I'm not really a big fanfic person, I don't know if someone has done anything extensive with Molly or not.
Re: Will I be able to stick this all in one comment..... o_OhamsterwomanDecember 13 2013, 16:59:22 UTC
Yeah, I agree it's fantasy fulfillment and I don't begrudge Jim / his straight male readers the fantasy, but this bugs me because I think Molly is actually a really cool character -- I love how she's grown over the last handful of books, and I love that edge of darkness in her -- and instead of spending the page time doing interesting things with her, we get the Nth iteration of her reminding Harry she's hot for him and Harry thinking/talking about how she's a beautiful woman but he's known her since she wore a training bra. :P
the only guy that I can think of that has written anything that approaches that subset is Daniel Abraham, and even then, he did it under a pseudonym (MLN Hanover) - plus the lead is female
That's interesting, I didn't realize he was writing under another pseudonym (though I can understand why if it's paranormal romance, given that his other stuff is Serious SFF; also, if the protagonist is female that could be another reason for the pen name -- Tim Pratt wrote the Marla Mason books I mentioned somewhere around here as T.A.Pratt because his publishes said readers are less likely to pig up a female-led book by a male author). But, yeah, I can't think of a male author writing paranormal romance with a male protagonist either. On the other hand, Dresden is more adventure than romance anyway, and, like, Aaronovitch has some romantic lines in his male-led series, too, which I think he's handled better so far. Of course, that's only 4 books to over a dozen, so there's still plenty of room for him to screw up :P
Of course, Jim might be secretly writing some of his wife's books...who knows. XD
I think I read one short story by her, and it was kind of awful, but then I don't think Butcher's short stories are that great, either. Supposedly she'd helped him write the Death masks sex scene, I've heard? Which could explain why I found it excruciating and it made me go from simply not caring about Susan to outright never wanting to see her show up again.
I've seen some Dresden fanfic, but since I'm not really a big fanfic person, I don't know if someone has done anything extensive with Molly or not.
I haven't seen anything Molly-centric, maybe a few short Carlos/Molly fics (cute). Most of the fic-writing fandom seems to be Harry/Marcone (it used to be Harry/Murphy, from what I remember, but I think all those authors have given up and moved on to something else), and the show fans of course are all about Harry/Bob XD
Re: Will I be able to stick this all in one comment..... o_Oms_geeketteDecember 13 2013, 22:20:07 UTC
I was trying to think of a series where there was only one lead character but with a really great fleshed-out supporting cast. Dresden does a lot better than most (we've gotten stuff from Murphy's, Molly's, and Thomas' POVs, at least...still holding out for my epic Butters story, since I don't think he's gotten one yet), but I kinda feel a lot of times authors just use supporting characters as a means to an end to further their main character, unless they spin them off into another series. And yeah, if all Jim is doing with the Molly/Dresden relationship these days is UST, that's boring, I agree.
Maybe you just need to find a series with a female protag that you just like a lot? Sounds like Toby Daye isn't cutting it...might want to bump up the Ilona Andrews books, then. (Haven't read those either.)
And hah, Daniel Abraham is just nom-de-plume-errific. I know he has at least two, but since I've only read one of the James S.A. Corey books, I'm kinda out of the loop with him. It's sort of interesting with the Tim Pratt thing (the Marla Mason books have also been on my list for a while), since it's usually female authors that do the initials trick (usually to be taken more seriously).
I've only really seen Harry/Marcone fic, but then I don't really search out fanfic that much. If people are frustrated with Molly, she might get some more stuff in the future...or you can be sneaky and request it at places like yuletide or something. ;-)
Re: Will I be able to stick this all in one comment..... o_OhamsterwomanDecember 13 2013, 23:49:13 UTC
a series where there was only one lead character but with a really great fleshed-out supporting cast. Dresden does a lot better than most
Definitely, and that's a big reason that I keep reading (I love Thomas, and like Murphy and Molly more than I like Harry, actually). And, god, yes, I want the epic Butters story, too!
if all Jim is doing with the Molly/Dresden relationship these days is UST, that's boring, I agree.
I wouldn't say that's the only thing he is doing, but I feel like the UST undermines all the other things also going on with them, because it sits so weirdly with the more paternal vibes.
Maybe you just need to find a series with a female protag that you just like a lot? Sounds like Toby Daye isn't cutting it...might want to bump up the Ilona Andrews books, then
I don't think I really care what gender the protagonist is so long as the female characters are treated decently (Aaronovitch does a good job of this I think, at least so far, and with a very tricky situation, at that). But, yeah, I haven't found a female UF protagonist I really love, not counting Astrid in Rampant (the Killer Unicorns thing), and even there book 2 really took a nosedive for me. But, as you say, I've heard really good things about the Ilona Andrews books in this context, so I've been on the lookout for the first one. And maybe the Mercy Thompson ones, too?
It's sort of interesting with the Tim Pratt thing (the Marla Mason books have also been on my list for a while), since it's usually female authors that do the initials trick
Yep, that's why I was so puzzled by the fact that a male author was doing it (and the About the Author blurb in the back and the dedication, IIRC, were also doing this non-gender-specific language thing, talking about "partner" and "spouse" (Tim Pratt's wife) that puzzled me. And then he popped into my LJ and explained it, which was a little O.o but also cool.
I would happily read some Thomas/Molly fic, or Carlos/Molly fic, but it's not a fandom where I'm so desperate for fic, because Butcher is pretty prolific/regular. Any desperate-for-fic actions would definitely be directed towards Vlad Taltos or Rivers of London at this point :)
Re: Will I be able to stick this all in one comment..... o_Oms_geeketteDecember 15 2013, 16:26:02 UTC
Yes, MOAR BUTTERS! <3
And then he popped into my LJ and explained it, which was a little O.o but also cool.
Ha, that's sort of weird. I guess he did an LJ search of his name or something? I have to admit that Ben Aaronovitch has made me a bit dubious with the way he handled a fan that didn't like a part in one of his latest books. (Not sure if it was a "Googling myself" thing, or if a fan brought it to his attention.) It's cool that authors want to interact with their readers, but it can go bad *really* quickly.
Re: Will I be able to stick this all in one comment..... o_OhamsterwomanDecember 15 2013, 23:26:04 UTC
The Aaronovitch thing made me a little sad -- I don't think he stepped over the line, and I am willing to believe he was engaging in good faith, but the right thing to do was clearly to take the hint and stop talking in that venue.
(But I, personally, as a fan of the series, found it very cool to read the background things he brought into the discussion which other people would have very little way of knowing -- i.e. that the protagonist had originally been conceived as female, and some other tidbits. I realize not everybody cares about that, death of the author and all, but stuff like that is more likely to come out in discussion, and I would be sorry to miss out on that...)
So I think overall I am more in support of Aaronovitch than the bloggers on that one, though the harassment from the author-defenders brigade is, of course, unconscionable -- but it's also not a thing I feel an author can be held responsible for.
Re: Will I be able to stick this all in one comment..... o_Oms_geeketteDecember 12 2013, 20:17:30 UTC
background resentment of how much more I should be enjoying UF/mystery with fairies set in SF
And this isn't UF at all, but considering it's set in the SF area, have you read Lisa Lutz's Spellman Files series? Those books are more of a study of a family more than anything. They are PIs, but the "cases" are completely secondary. I like them a lot (and my dad does too), but since I'm starved for humorous books, you can take my rec skeptically. XD
I think if I was forced to pick a Simon R. Green series, I'd go with the Secret Histories one, mainly just b/c apparently I can stand his "I'm a Drood" more than his Nightside tic, I dunno. XD It's sort of frustrating when there's an author who has gobs of books on a topic that you like, but you're just not that into them. But in this case, I will not say it's me...it's HIM, lol. If he had a ruthless "evil" (i.e. someone that actually did their job) editor I think he'd be more popular that he is. Although I guess he's popular enough.
The Felix Castor thing mainly came from people who just haaaated Dresden Files, thought the writing sucked (and that Jim is a misogynistic a-hole). Clearly I don't agree, since I'm still reading the series (just am behind a bit), but then I don't really like nitpick stuff that much unless it's egregious, b/c it's exhausting. Yes, if you did a close-reading of most books, you could probably find something problematic, and when it comes to UF/fantasy, I don't think anyone is mainly reading it for carefully crafted prose. XD (For example, some people love to rave about Cat Valente and I just cannot read her stuff. It is a morass of words to me. D-:) But some people live for the sporking crap, though - at this point, about the only thing I enjoy sporking on a regular basis is GoT, but even sometimes I get tired of it.
But anyway, I haven't read any Felix Castor either, but if it's supposed to be *miles* better than Dresden (I sort of am skeptical, since I think he'd be mentioned more/be more popular), just thought I'd add it to the rec vomit. XD But from the description of the first book, here's the gist: "Felix Castor is a freelance exorcist, and London is his stamping ground." Although when I was looking for the name of this series ('cause it was on the tip of my tongue), some people were accusing it of being a Dresden ripoff, so I dunno.
*collapses* XD
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Oh, I hear you on this! This is my tragedy with Seanan McGuire (compounded by the fact that I really like her writing when it's just her blog, so clearly she can write in a way that appeals to me, just... apparently that's not how she writes her books XD) -- she is super-prolific and has several series that sound entirely up my alley -- UF/mystery with fairies set in San Francisco! badass families and cryptids and magic mice! UF set around the fairy tale trope index! -- and, well, I haven't read the last one (because I want to live in hope, albeit faint, that it will work better for me) but I read the Toby Daye books with the background resentment of how much more I should be enjoying UF/mystery with fairies set in SF, and I couldn't finish Discount Armageddon at all... (I've heard awesome things about Seanan-as-Mira-Grant's Feed books, and maybe the trick will be to read the series that doesn't appeal to me in premise at all -- zombies, meh -- but I'm in that once bitten twice shy space with her writing...)
people who just haaaated Dresden Files, thought the writing sucked (and that Jim is a misogynistic a-hole). Clearly I don't agree, since I'm still reading the series (just am behind a bit),
Oh, up through which book are you? (so I can be sure not to spoil you inadvertently). I've seen no evidence that Jim is a miogynistic asshole, but there are a couple of things he does with his female characters that I really wish he wouldn't, or at least not so consistently. Like Molly's stupid crush persisting, and mind-whammying Murphy (mostly in short stories; maybe he should just not write short stories -- I don't think they are his forte), or Georgia constantly needing rescue, and gratuitously scantily clad females now and again. Other than that, and some of the world-building stuff he's been building up to lately, I really have nbo complaints about his writing or books.
some people love to rave about Cat Valente and I just cannot read her stuff. It is a morass of words to me. D-:
Oh my god, yes! I find her stuff gratuitously purple and self-indulgent and kinda impenetrable, so whatever magic it holds for the very many people I know who love her stuff, clearly doesn't for me. (I've read a couple of stories that I don't think required the embellishment she brought to them (although I did like this one), and I ran out of steam about a third of the way through The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland, and haven't even wanted to try her more serious novels after skimming a couple of pages. Just Not For Me, I guess.
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I'd have to look to see if I'm just one or possibly two books behind with Dresden. I think at this point I don't really care about spoilers with this series, so no worries. And yeah, Jim has some issues (yes let's fridge underdeveloped Susan, blah, blah blah), but I don't really see Molly's crush being extremely crazy, since I've seen some women who are old enough to be over teenage crushes to gush over things like One Direction, for example (no, I don't get it). Molly's not even 20 yet, is she?
I'm surprised more people haven't sporked Cat Valente, b/c her writing is just so sporkable. XD I don't mind "purple prose" in poetry, but pages upon pages of it, aieee! I will rec her to people who are looking for more "literary" genre stuff (I tend to think a lot of those folks are snooty and have a stick up their butt, but whatever), but when even her fans say stuff like "I loved what I read of it, but I ultimately had to set it aside. It was too beautiful" and "I found Palimpsest to be somewhat weighed down by its own poetic language -- it was so heavy with imagery that I kept losing the thread of the plot" (both of these comments came from me reccing Cat to someone specifically in a comm) I sort of roflmao to myself a bit. I was curious to try her Fairyland books (I've only attempted one of the Orphan Tales), just out a perverse fascination of how she attempted to write for a younger crowd. Maybe, (like Henry James, apparently), she's only good for short stories.
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I'm hoping! (she really is crazy prolific! I would like to be able to benefit from that XP)
Jim has some issues (yes let's fridge underdeveloped Susan, blah, blah blah), but I don't really see Molly's crush being extremely crazy, since I've seen some women who are old enough to be over teenage crushes to gush over things like One Direction, for example
LOL! I guess it's less that I object to Molly having a crush on Harry still, as a character, because it's unrealistic and more that I think it's bad writing -- it adds nothing to her character, IMO, and its only purpose seems to be to show that Harry is highly desirable to a nubile young woman and simultaneously give him the opportunity to continuously nobly reject her, but worst of all, I think it undermines the relationship between them that's actually important and interesting to me, that of teacher/student and that of Harry acting in loco parentis now that Michael has hung up his sword. And the way both Susan and Murphy were all, "oh yeah, she's into you, what are you blind, Harry" in Changes -- now that struck me as totally unbelievable.
And, yeah, I think he mismanaged Susan, too, but I didn't really care about that, because Susan never appealed to me as a character -- she felt like such a stock "intrepid girl reporter" cliche, and after she went away I didn't believe in her as the great White-Court-repelling love of Harry's life, either.
And I'm a bit apprhensive about what he's planning to do with Murphy, too...
I sort of roflmao to myself a bit
LOL, yes. Since I firmly believe the purpose of a book is to, you know, tell a story, I think this is kind of a problem.
I sort of roflmao to myself a bit
I haven't, but they sound charming! I love stories about families, especially crazy, quirky families, and since I enjoy non-paranormal mysteries, too, this sounds like something I should try -- thanks for the rec!
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Well, men as the lead in paranormal romance (which, I'm not really a big fan of - I'm more likely to read a paranormal chick-lit, where I might get some humor over poorly written sex scenes...woohoo, fat pink mast! XD) is sort of not a common thing, I don't think. Really, the only guy that I can think of that has written anything that approaches that subset is Daniel Abraham, and even then, he did it under a pseudonym (MLN Hanover) - plus the lead is female, I believe. Of course, Jim might be secretly writing some of his wife's books...who knows. XD
Men have fantasies, too, and what you described with Molly is sort of one of them (maybe not the rejection part). Most relationships with a romance component with them (in any book, really) kinda falls into wish-fulfillment. Since romance is the #1 selling genre, women tend to get a whole lot of wish-fulfillment. (ETA: Heterosexual) men - not so much. Of course "lad lit" is a thing, and I've seen a few guys who write books that would probably get shelved under chick-lit/women's fiction, but it's not a lot.
I guess, when it comes down to it, I don't begrudge Jim his wish-fulfillment with Molly. Of course, I want to see all female characters written well, but if the author is not going to do it/doesn't do it, that's sort of what fanfic is for. I've seen some Dresden fanfic, but since I'm not really a big fanfic person, I don't know if someone has done anything extensive with Molly or not.
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the only guy that I can think of that has written anything that approaches that subset is Daniel Abraham, and even then, he did it under a pseudonym (MLN Hanover) - plus the lead is female
That's interesting, I didn't realize he was writing under another pseudonym (though I can understand why if it's paranormal romance, given that his other stuff is Serious SFF; also, if the protagonist is female that could be another reason for the pen name -- Tim Pratt wrote the Marla Mason books I mentioned somewhere around here as T.A.Pratt because his publishes said readers are less likely to pig up a female-led book by a male author). But, yeah, I can't think of a male author writing paranormal romance with a male protagonist either. On the other hand, Dresden is more adventure than romance anyway, and, like, Aaronovitch has some romantic lines in his male-led series, too, which I think he's handled better so far. Of course, that's only 4 books to over a dozen, so there's still plenty of room for him to screw up :P
Of course, Jim might be secretly writing some of his wife's books...who knows. XD
I think I read one short story by her, and it was kind of awful, but then I don't think Butcher's short stories are that great, either. Supposedly she'd helped him write the Death masks sex scene, I've heard? Which could explain why I found it excruciating and it made me go from simply not caring about Susan to outright never wanting to see her show up again.
I've seen some Dresden fanfic, but since I'm not really a big fanfic person, I don't know if someone has done anything extensive with Molly or not.
I haven't seen anything Molly-centric, maybe a few short Carlos/Molly fics (cute). Most of the fic-writing fandom seems to be Harry/Marcone (it used to be Harry/Murphy, from what I remember, but I think all those authors have given up and moved on to something else), and the show fans of course are all about Harry/Bob XD
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Maybe you just need to find a series with a female protag that you just like a lot? Sounds like Toby Daye isn't cutting it...might want to bump up the Ilona Andrews books, then. (Haven't read those either.)
And hah, Daniel Abraham is just nom-de-plume-errific. I know he has at least two, but since I've only read one of the James S.A. Corey books, I'm kinda out of the loop with him. It's sort of interesting with the Tim Pratt thing (the Marla Mason books have also been on my list for a while), since it's usually female authors that do the initials trick (usually to be taken more seriously).
I've only really seen Harry/Marcone fic, but then I don't really search out fanfic that much. If people are frustrated with Molly, she might get some more stuff in the future...or you can be sneaky and request it at places like yuletide or something. ;-)
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Definitely, and that's a big reason that I keep reading (I love Thomas, and like Murphy and Molly more than I like Harry, actually). And, god, yes, I want the epic Butters story, too!
if all Jim is doing with the Molly/Dresden relationship these days is UST, that's boring, I agree.
I wouldn't say that's the only thing he is doing, but I feel like the UST undermines all the other things also going on with them, because it sits so weirdly with the more paternal vibes.
Maybe you just need to find a series with a female protag that you just like a lot? Sounds like Toby Daye isn't cutting it...might want to bump up the Ilona Andrews books, then
I don't think I really care what gender the protagonist is so long as the female characters are treated decently (Aaronovitch does a good job of this I think, at least so far, and with a very tricky situation, at that). But, yeah, I haven't found a female UF protagonist I really love, not counting Astrid in Rampant (the Killer Unicorns thing), and even there book 2 really took a nosedive for me. But, as you say, I've heard really good things about the Ilona Andrews books in this context, so I've been on the lookout for the first one. And maybe the Mercy Thompson ones, too?
It's sort of interesting with the Tim Pratt thing (the Marla Mason books have also been on my list for a while), since it's usually female authors that do the initials trick
Yep, that's why I was so puzzled by the fact that a male author was doing it (and the About the Author blurb in the back and the dedication, IIRC, were also doing this non-gender-specific language thing, talking about "partner" and "spouse" (Tim Pratt's wife) that puzzled me. And then he popped into my LJ and explained it, which was a little O.o but also cool.
I would happily read some Thomas/Molly fic, or Carlos/Molly fic, but it's not a fandom where I'm so desperate for fic, because Butcher is pretty prolific/regular. Any desperate-for-fic actions would definitely be directed towards Vlad Taltos or Rivers of London at this point :)
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And then he popped into my LJ and explained it, which was a little O.o but also cool.
Ha, that's sort of weird. I guess he did an LJ search of his name or something? I have to admit that Ben Aaronovitch has made me a bit dubious with the way he handled a fan that didn't like a part in one of his latest books. (Not sure if it was a "Googling myself" thing, or if a fan brought it to his attention.) It's cool that authors want to interact with their readers, but it can go bad *really* quickly.
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(But I, personally, as a fan of the series, found it very cool to read the background things he brought into the discussion which other people would have very little way of knowing -- i.e. that the protagonist had originally been conceived as female, and some other tidbits. I realize not everybody cares about that, death of the author and all, but stuff like that is more likely to come out in discussion, and I would be sorry to miss out on that...)
So I think overall I am more in support of Aaronovitch than the bloggers on that one, though the harassment from the author-defenders brigade is, of course, unconscionable -- but it's also not a thing I feel an author can be held responsible for.
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And this isn't UF at all, but considering it's set in the SF area, have you read Lisa Lutz's Spellman Files series? Those books are more of a study of a family more than anything. They are PIs, but the "cases" are completely secondary. I like them a lot (and my dad does too), but since I'm starved for humorous books, you can take my rec skeptically. XD
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