Reading roundup: Lady Trent, Kings Rising, graphic novels

[hamsterwoman]

4. Smoke and Shadow, part 1 (AtLA comics) -- OK, this one actually sort of begins to redeem the Ursa storyline that so disappointed me in The Search.

Comments

[etrangere]

I didn' tmind the pacing as such (although some transitions are pretty abrupt but I think that has always been part of the style of the writing) I did think some of the plot mechanics were ridiculous (the kingsmeet piece especially and the final could have been handled a bit more elegantly)

I assume the "????" of the happy ending is why she's planning a few short stories to complete it.

[hamsterwoman]

You might be right about the transition problems not being new. I think I didn't notice it in book 2 because I was just skating along from fun trope to fun trope, while here my enjoyment of the tropaliciousness was less uniformly positive.

The ridiculous plot mechanics, combined with Damen being a total dolt, really annoyed me :(

ikel89 mentioned the follow-on short stories, too, including a post-Kings Rising one, but... IDK, that feels really like something that should've been in THIS book. It is part of the arc, and splitting it into a short story as if it were a side element or something extraneous doesn't feel right to me.

Also, SAGA! One of these days I will actually read all of it, and maybe even manage to keep track of what happens when despite my crazy reading order. But it's so good!

[belleweather]

Oooh, I didn't know that. I was also a little WTFy about how exactly they're going to rule together. I can just see Damen trying so hard to actually do Kingship and Laurent being all *facepalm* and "No, seriously. Stop trying to help me."

[etrangere]

... Damen is hardly incompetent at ruling. He's not good about intrigue and can be impulsive and naive, but he's great at leadership, military tactics and managing people. Remember how much help he was to Laurent in book 2.

[hamsterwoman]

I think one of my problems with Damen in book 3 is that it really felt like a lot of the competence we saw in book 2 felt eroded when it should've been STRENGTHENED -- he was on home turf now! and not trying to navigate the viper pit at Vere, but dealing (in large part) with his own people. I do understand that the book needed to show Laurent winning over the Akielons, but I wish it had felt a bit more like Damen knowingly letting him do that as good strategy, and not like Laurent having to be the one to do it because Damen was too busy jumping to conclusions and alienating his own commanders... He has reasons and I don't necessarily disbelieve them -- except for the stuff at the Kingsmeet, that I do not buy -- but as an authorial choice, I wish he'd gotten to show off his strengths a bit more here (past the battle at Charcy in chapter 1, that is), because the book feels rather skewed.

[ikel89]

Yes to this point! And actually, as cyan was reading the book and letting me know her impressions, there was an astute observation that everything makes sense if you read cp3 as an au where cp2 didn't happen :P

[hamsterwoman]

if you read cp3 as an au where cp2 didn't happen :P

*considers this* *blinks slowly* You know... it actually does work like that. Huh.

[belleweather]

Damon generally goes for the straightest line to what he wants. He understands people and managing them, and tactics, but subtlety and subterfuge appear to be really hard for him -- he literally never sees the ways that Laurent solves problems coming. I really don't think he'd be great at ruling; Damen is the kind of guy you want to have taking castles and holding your line in battle... he reminds me of a lot of Marines I know. Who are, don't get me wrong, absolutely awesome at what they do, but would not generally be awesome heads of state.

[hamsterwoman]

I still wish we'd gotten to see all that as part of this book rather than some future short story/novella... it seems like a key part of what needs to be addressed