Oh, me too. I've hardly touched any non-children's fantasy for years. Then when I moved in here I suddenly got my interest in fantasy back. There's a lot of rubbish out there, but there's also a lot of what I think of as likeable fantasy - not too demanding, but fun with likeable characters rather than angst-bunnies.
I liked The Summoner, though I'm not sure why. Mindless and comfortable, and I liked Tris, who manages to work with ghosts without hating himself. HDM starts well and then gets overly didactic. I like Glenda Larke at the moment for populist fantasy - nice politics with a Roman base rather than the usual Disney medieval splodge.
*nods gloomily* That's all I want, really. Likeable characters. They can build their floating tower of magical glass as high as they like if it's inhabited by a whiny git - I don't wanna read it.
I picked up The Summoner because I missed Garth Nix and thought the thread of that looked rather similar ... how incredibly encouraging to hear about the 'not hating himself' part (the next self-hating protagonist to arrive on my plate will leave it in pieces, I swear). Shame about Dark Materials though - allegory drives me up the wall. Might read it last.
Hmm, and I haven't seen any books by a Glenda Larke in stores here, but I'll keep an eye out!
Oh, I'll definitely give him a try, but I really do hope the allegory's very low-key. I'm completely allergic. Whether the underlying theme's pro- or anti-Christian belief system, I just don't like being beaten over the head with someone else's polemic when I'm trying to play with dragons. CS Lewis ticks me off for exactly the same reason - I just can't read those books any more without my hackles rising ...
Odd. She's definitely an Australian author. I've just found out she used to write as Glenda Noramly, which is nice because I loved the book she wrote under that name and always regretted not being able to find more. She's good at putting interesting characters into unusual settings - the Isles of Glory trilogy are set on a tropicalish archipelago, Havenstar has islands of medieval society in the midst of chaotic, shapeshifting lands and the Mirage Makers series is loosely based on Rome and its African colonies.
I've a vague feeling Tris had some family woes in The Summoner so there may be some self-pity but it was likeable enough that the sequel is sitting on my to-read heap.
The Australian fantasy PR machine is a hopeless basket case. We don't hear about anything unless it's very successful overseas first. Even the main Australian fantasy magazine (of which I believe there are two in total) isn't terribly comprehensive in its local reviews.
Plus there's probably the fact that Australian fantasy readers remember Sara Douglass/Tony Shillitoe with fear and loathing XD
Eh, I don't mind woes/self-pity in the course of a book. It'd be pretty unnatural not to have them at all. I just hate it when they're the focus of the entire character areyoulisteningMrSalvatorethankyou.
I liked The Summoner, though I'm not sure why. Mindless and comfortable, and I liked Tris, who manages to work with ghosts without hating himself. HDM starts well and then gets overly didactic. I like Glenda Larke at the moment for populist fantasy - nice politics with a Roman base rather than the usual Disney medieval splodge.
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I picked up The Summoner because I missed Garth Nix and thought the thread of that looked rather similar ... how incredibly encouraging to hear about the 'not hating himself' part (the next self-hating protagonist to arrive on my plate will leave it in pieces, I swear). Shame about Dark Materials though - allegory drives me up the wall. Might read it last.
Hmm, and I haven't seen any books by a Glenda Larke in stores here, but I'll keep an eye out!
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Alternate worlds sounds spiffy :D
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I've a vague feeling Tris had some family woes in The Summoner so there may be some self-pity but it was likeable enough that the sequel is sitting on my to-read heap.
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Plus there's probably the fact that Australian fantasy readers remember Sara Douglass/Tony Shillitoe with fear and loathing XD
Eh, I don't mind woes/self-pity in the course of a book. It'd be pretty unnatural not to have them at all. I just hate it when they're the focus of the entire character areyoulisteningMrSalvatorethankyou.
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