Reading roundup: RoL GN #4 + Philosopher's Flight

[hamsterwoman]

1. Ben Aaronovitch, Detective Stories (RoL comic #4) -- also the last currently-out thing in terms of in-universe chronology, the only one taking place after The Hanging Tree. Unlike the first three books, it's a collection of short stories (four individual ones) linked by the framing narrative of Peter's final interview in the process of getting

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[ms_geekette]

Oooh, there's going to be a sequel! I am very excited! :-D

Although, I feel some things have been spoiled with his chapter headings about Robert participating in future Cups. I hope he doesn't kill Essie in order to give Robert some man pain. One thing that I didn't mention in my review was Miller's dedication where he talked about writing male protagonists all the time. Having a male protagonist with a lot of female secondary characters is not quite the same thing as writing a female protagonist. That kinda rubbed me the wrong way. I still liked the book a lot, though. As I mentioned to you, it was one of my favorites for last year.

[hamsterwoman]

His publisher page mentions "The Philosopher's War", which I assume is a sequel.

Having a male protagonist with a lot of female secondary characters is not quite the same thing as writing a female protagonist.

Definitely not the same! But I actually liked the dynamic of the book as it is, the male protagonist surrounded mostly by very cool female secondary characters. And there are few enough female protagonists written by male writers I enjoy that I'm not sure a female-protagonist book would've worked as well for me in this case.

Thanks again for introducing me to this book -- I had a ton of fun with it, as you can tell :)

[ms_geekette]

Hmm, if you click on the book, it has July 2019 listed for the audiobook, which could mean nothing. The only way I could see him making that date is if he already had the book written or mostly written, since I doubt the publisher would rush the book like GRRM's publisher does.

You're right about the book not having the same impact if it was a female protagonist, but I dunno, it sounded like Miller thought he'd earned a gold star or something for throwing in some female characters. XD I did like his female characters a lot, so I'd like to see what he'd do with a female protagonist.

And I'm glad I finally recced a book that you read and liked! Ha

[hamsterwoman]

It wouldn't surprise me if he did have the next part written, and the publisher just decided to break it into two books (or even three books, since I'm guessing there's a post-war thing, too, which deals with the erosion of philosopher rights)

it sounded like Miller thought he'd earned a gold star or something for throwing in some female characters. XDI see what you mean from the dedication, yeah -- based on that I would've kind of expected a female-protagonist story, too. But since I actually liked the story he wrote, I can't say the dedication bothered me much, personally

[ms_geekette]

Hmm, I can't think of any male authors whose sole female POVs that I've found better than ok/good. I actually can't think of any that I've read other than Greg Rucka. Although looking at my Goodreads, I enjoyed what Val Emmich did with The Reminders. And I forgot about Jasper Fforde (although I remember you didn't like The Eyre Affair). I guess most of the sole female protagonists I read are by women. Most of the books I do read are by women. So maybe I shouldn't be hoping for Miller's take on a female protagonist. Maybe the dedication was just him acknowledging that this is as close as he can come. Hopefully his next dedication won't be as controversial for me. ;-)

[hamsterwoman]

I guess most of the sole female protagonists I read are by women.

Same for me (and it's also true that most of the books I read are by women, at least since I've started keeping tack). Haven't read Rucka or Val Emmich, and Fforde's prose just generally didn't win me over, though I can't recall whether any of it had to do with Thursday's POV specifically -- probably not?

Hopefully his next dedication won't be as controversial for me. ;-)

:))

[ms_geekette]

Haven't read Rucka or Val Emmich, and Fforde's prose just generally didn't win me over, though I can't recall whether any of it had to do with Thursday's POV specifically -- probably not?

Rucka almost exclusively writes action heroines, so there's usually more about the action rather than the heroine themselves. I've been reading Batwoman and he does get into her childhood and off-time, though. Val Emmich is a musician and his female protagonist has a similar condition to what Marilu Henner has where she can remember specific days, so his female protagonist came across a bit precious since he was writing about a kid. I still liked it a lot, though. Probably what I like most about Jasper Fforde is his worldbuilding rather than his characters. So, I guess Tom Miller came across the right combo of worldbuilding and character for me. I have a feeling I won't like The Philosopher's War as much because the newness will have worn off a bit.

[hamsterwoman]

I have a feeling I won't like The Philosopher's War as much because the newness will have worn off a bit.

I worry about that a little bit, too, but hoping I will continue to be sufficiently geeked by the minutiae of the world, and the fun characters, that I'll continue to enjoy it a lot.

[ms_geekette]

I came across this cover for The Philospher's War. It was mislabeled as another edition of The Philospher's Flight, so I don't know if it's the final cover.