(no subject)
So, I spent my birthday rewriting the words to 'The British Grenadiers' and 'Song of the Western Men' so they were Maelstrom-worthy, which produced a surprisingly nice result on the first one and less so on the second, but it still works, just. Then I sat and wrote around 7000 words of a sort of sci fi novel with a silly premise but an execution that works surprisingly well, and I don't think it's half bad. I set things on fire twice the other day because it was getting boring, and I just got to write about the 'firefight', which was thrilling and exciting (not a literal firefight...almost the opposite, in fact). I like my characters, though the supporting characters aren't fleshed out enough, and feel that I could sit and have a conversation with these people, they're that real. I should probably also mention that I've been effectively alone in the house since seven this morning (my mum at work, my dad up in the study except when he emerged for a cup of tea), which might be why I'm entertaining such outlandish notions. O_O
'First and Only' - so yes, now I'm into Warhammer 40k novels. Imperial Guard ones. Blame Robin. *fangirl* Ibram Gaunt. Tall, blond, commanding, inspiring, sympathetic, damaged...sigh. Um, but yes, all the war and the fighting and stuff. Very good, yes. Please continue with the fighting. It is very full of...war. And hammers.
Seriously though, I've so far got halfway through the first books of: Gaunt's Ghosts, Eisenhorn and Caiaphus Caine. I started 'First and Only' from the beginning yesterday on the train and the remainder of it is decreasing at a depressing rate. First time I read it, I found certain bits of characterisation and phrasing really annoying, to the point of spoiling my enjoyment of the book. Now I just breeze past them eager for the next piece of heroic daring or dastardly plotting. Though the bit about the grenades and stolen fruit still annoys the hell out of me. The thing is: it gets better! The bad characterisation of the generals at the beginning is for a reason, not just because they're stupid generals and must therefore be stupid. OK, it's clumsy, but it's also better than their later actions, some of which are quite shocking, having no basis in earlier portrayals. And I haven't come across any other bits of phrasing that have annoyed me as much as that initial bit: in fact, I love Dan Abnett's portrayal of action scenes. It's simultaneously snappy, heroic and evocative. It's easy to visualise Gaunt kicking people in the teeth and Bragg exploding things with rocket launchers. It's not for people who know nothing about Warhammer but it's accessible enough for people like me who get Eldar but have no idea what an autocannon is beyond a big gun.
'First and Only' - so yes, now I'm into Warhammer 40k novels. Imperial Guard ones. Blame Robin. *fangirl* Ibram Gaunt. Tall, blond, commanding, inspiring, sympathetic, damaged...sigh. Um, but yes, all the war and the fighting and stuff. Very good, yes. Please continue with the fighting. It is very full of...war. And hammers.
Seriously though, I've so far got halfway through the first books of: Gaunt's Ghosts, Eisenhorn and Caiaphus Caine. I started 'First and Only' from the beginning yesterday on the train and the remainder of it is decreasing at a depressing rate. First time I read it, I found certain bits of characterisation and phrasing really annoying, to the point of spoiling my enjoyment of the book. Now I just breeze past them eager for the next piece of heroic daring or dastardly plotting. Though the bit about the grenades and stolen fruit still annoys the hell out of me. The thing is: it gets better! The bad characterisation of the generals at the beginning is for a reason, not just because they're stupid generals and must therefore be stupid. OK, it's clumsy, but it's also better than their later actions, some of which are quite shocking, having no basis in earlier portrayals. And I haven't come across any other bits of phrasing that have annoyed me as much as that initial bit: in fact, I love Dan Abnett's portrayal of action scenes. It's simultaneously snappy, heroic and evocative. It's easy to visualise Gaunt kicking people in the teeth and Bragg exploding things with rocket launchers. It's not for people who know nothing about Warhammer but it's accessible enough for people like me who get Eldar but have no idea what an autocannon is beyond a big gun.