Why does anyone even have car alarms anymore???
No one even pays attention to them. They're pretty much a nuisance.
Anyway, I've read a couple of books lately. Poor-quality reviews under here.
So after getting a recommendation for Melanie Rawn about 8 billion years ago, I finally read Dragon Prince. I have kind of conflicting emotions about it. Ms. Rawn writes wonderful characters all around. After just reading the Amber Chronicles, it was nice to have heroes who were, well, heroic.
In Dragon Prince, Ms. Rawn apparently wanted you to get extremely attached to said characters just so she could do horrible things to them and put them in totally shit-ass situations. I was a bit uncomfortable at times. Oh, and there was a bit at the end there where the message seemed to be "Having babies is the most important thing in the world, and it doesn't matter who you've got to harm to do it." That was a bit weird. Maybe I'm just reading into it wrong.
And speaking of horrible things, Ms. Rawn totally avoids the trope of Rape is OK when it is Female on Male, instead having this be the traumatic experience it really is. Though really, I like my fantasy novels sans-rape, honestly.
For those keeping track at home, Dragon Prince was released the same year as Arrow's Fall. 1988 was bumper crop for disturbing rape scenes in otherwise flowery fantasy novels.
I liked it enough to order the 2nd book, though.
ANYWAY.
I also recently read Edgar Rice Burroughs' "A Princess of Mars". Mr. Burroughs is a great storyteller. Not quite REH, but still really good. And while I greatly enjoyed this book for what is was (a light sci-fi adventure novel), Mr. Burroughs has a history of writing white male race fantasies. I mean, his two most popular characters are basically white males who are integrated into other "primitive" cultures and end up leading them because they are Awesome White Dudes. John Carter does this on Mars, and, well, Tarzan.
It's honestly a bit harder to get over these drawbacks than it is in REH's work. It might be REH's brevity or maybe Burroughs just isn't as good a storyteller. I dunno.
Still, I'll read at least the next book in the series. We'll see where it goes from there.
Finally, I am in Celebrity Love with M.I.A. Much like my other Celebrity Love, Shakira, she is currently engaged. Le sigh.
Anyway, I've read a couple of books lately. Poor-quality reviews under here.
So after getting a recommendation for Melanie Rawn about 8 billion years ago, I finally read Dragon Prince. I have kind of conflicting emotions about it. Ms. Rawn writes wonderful characters all around. After just reading the Amber Chronicles, it was nice to have heroes who were, well, heroic.
In Dragon Prince, Ms. Rawn apparently wanted you to get extremely attached to said characters just so she could do horrible things to them and put them in totally shit-ass situations. I was a bit uncomfortable at times. Oh, and there was a bit at the end there where the message seemed to be "Having babies is the most important thing in the world, and it doesn't matter who you've got to harm to do it." That was a bit weird. Maybe I'm just reading into it wrong.
And speaking of horrible things, Ms. Rawn totally avoids the trope of Rape is OK when it is Female on Male, instead having this be the traumatic experience it really is. Though really, I like my fantasy novels sans-rape, honestly.
For those keeping track at home, Dragon Prince was released the same year as Arrow's Fall. 1988 was bumper crop for disturbing rape scenes in otherwise flowery fantasy novels.
I liked it enough to order the 2nd book, though.
ANYWAY.
I also recently read Edgar Rice Burroughs' "A Princess of Mars". Mr. Burroughs is a great storyteller. Not quite REH, but still really good. And while I greatly enjoyed this book for what is was (a light sci-fi adventure novel), Mr. Burroughs has a history of writing white male race fantasies. I mean, his two most popular characters are basically white males who are integrated into other "primitive" cultures and end up leading them because they are Awesome White Dudes. John Carter does this on Mars, and, well, Tarzan.
It's honestly a bit harder to get over these drawbacks than it is in REH's work. It might be REH's brevity or maybe Burroughs just isn't as good a storyteller. I dunno.
Still, I'll read at least the next book in the series. We'll see where it goes from there.
Finally, I am in Celebrity Love with M.I.A. Much like my other Celebrity Love, Shakira, she is currently engaged. Le sigh.