I read maybe 3/4 of Fisher's Relic Master series and thought it was all right, but clearly not so much that I had to finish it. I really did like the way you could piece together the history of a terraforming project gone wrong while the current characters are ascribing mystical Clarke's Law qualities to their terraforming efforts, though. I think the big problem was that it suffered from Bland Main Character Syndrome: all the supporting characters were interesting, but I can't even remember the main character's name.
By the way, I plowed through Cinder in one sitting. Loved it. Especially the fact that there is an EVIL QUEEN OF THE MOON, which is just so deliciously Golden Agey. (Also, for once, it actually answered a question I've always had about those tongue-tied plain main characters that the prince seems to be attracted to despite how goddamn awkward all their encounters are. The prince's advisor points out that the prince is acting like a "lovesick teenager," and I was like, "Oh, right! Princes can get irrational love-blind crushes too!" and now I feel less bugged for enjoying that trope.) But damn--CYBORG CINDERELLA. How awesome is THAT?
Huh, that may also be a problem with Incarceron. I mean, I'm enjoying it well enough, but the main characters are kind of bland. I think it's that I like the ideas behind the writing, and I like several of the secondary characters well enough, and that's what is keeping me reading.
Oh, Cinder. It takes a lot of things that have been done before and makes them work so damn well together that you forget how big of a cliche some of this stuff is. (Also, it's not like plain main characters are ever ACTUALLY plain... I mean, we can at least rely on them to have symmetrical features, and symmetry is sexy!)
I am glad you liked Cinder! You're the second person I've recommended it to who has liked it, so I'm starting to trust that my judgment was less "oh my gosh it hits so many of my narrative kinks" flail and more "hey this is actually a pretty good book".
Well, the big thing with tropes is that a lot of writers don't seem to be able to make them WORK. They feel like they're shoved in because the author has seen them work elsewhere without quite grasping WHY. Here the tropes fit. It's a fairy tale story! We all know how those go! But Cinder puts it together so well!
One character in the Relic Master series seems like he's ALMOST interesting, but I dunno, something about him holds him back from being truly cool. The rest are ... yeah, it's more about the world than the characters, I think.
And, as you said, there's an evil queen of the moon!
EVIL. QUEEN. OF. THE. MOON.
Who manages to be evil while still having something going on with her where you're wondering if she might actually be a sympathetic character if she weren't so EVIL.
By the way, I plowed through Cinder in one sitting. Loved it. Especially the fact that there is an EVIL QUEEN OF THE MOON, which is just so deliciously Golden Agey. (Also, for once, it actually answered a question I've always had about those tongue-tied plain main characters that the prince seems to be attracted to despite how goddamn awkward all their encounters are. The prince's advisor points out that the prince is acting like a "lovesick teenager," and I was like, "Oh, right! Princes can get irrational love-blind crushes too!" and now I feel less bugged for enjoying that trope.) But damn--CYBORG CINDERELLA. How awesome is THAT?
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Oh, Cinder. It takes a lot of things that have been done before and makes them work so damn well together that you forget how big of a cliche some of this stuff is. (Also, it's not like plain main characters are ever ACTUALLY plain... I mean, we can at least rely on them to have symmetrical features, and symmetry is sexy!)
I am glad you liked Cinder! You're the second person I've recommended it to who has liked it, so I'm starting to trust that my judgment was less "oh my gosh it hits so many of my narrative kinks" flail and more "hey this is actually a pretty good book".
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One character in the Relic Master series seems like he's ALMOST interesting, but I dunno, something about him holds him back from being truly cool. The rest are ... yeah, it's more about the world than the characters, I think.
Reply
EVIL. QUEEN. OF. THE. MOON.
Who manages to be evil while still having something going on with her where you're wondering if she might actually be a sympathetic character if she weren't so EVIL.
Reply
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