book post #x+1
Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon (Beyond the Kingdom of Xia #1)
Not sure of the series title, but it'll do. The book came to my attention with the whitewashing of its cover. The author also commissioned pretty art of it (which shimizu_hitomi might've linked to), and pretty art seduces me easily. I think Silver Phoenix and Zhong Ye look like the hotter couple, lol. Also, it's non-Euro-centric fantasy, so yay. Also, the love-interest is mixed-race.
First of all, it's a debut novel and it shows. It's not bad, but the writing workshopper in me was mentally purple (I don't do red) penning the 90% of the novel. It was also pointed out by a blogger that a lot of the chapters open/end with going to sleep, which is kinda true. One of the common tropes when writing about Asia is how put-down the women/girls are. There's that here, but it never quite works for me, nor does Ai Ling's sudden desire to leave home. I guess it can be summed up as Ai Ling's conflict of self-interest and community/family-interest didn't get for me.
The Silver Phoenix/Zhong Ye took me by surprise, but I could roll with it, because that's the kind of stuff that gets revealed in the end of manga/anime/K-dramas. I really rather see more of Silver Phoenix/Zhong Ye epic hate sex than Ai Ling/Chen Yong. Oh, opening was the time honored Baby Swap, and I definitely lol'd at it (Mistress of the Eagles came to mind quite sadly). Was also in disbelief that Younger Brother died, and was the resolution of Zombify-ing him didn't quite work.
There's a sequel, but I won't be reading it. However, I will be on the look out for the next series she writes. In that sense, my feelings about Pon's debut novel are similar to how I felt about Lo's debut novel, Ash.
Modelland by Tyra Banks (Modelland #1)
When Tyra came out with her TV show, everyone thought it'd be crap. It's probably accurate to say the same of the book. But I loved the Tyra Banks show, even with its faults, and I actually like this book.
The book came to my attention because Tyra was making the rounds on the Nate Berkus Show (hey, shut it, I watch it with my mom). I started hashing out my opinions on ontd_literature a while back, so some of this might be familiar.
Modelland is like crackfic. Or, more accurately, what happens in the book might get eye-rolls from the lit community, but if it happened in an animated show/film, there'd be no eye-rolls. That is to say, there's a fantastical, absurd, whimsical, way-larger-than-life quality to the world Tyra's created here.
The book's biggest flaw I think is its length. It's ~600pgs long, which I think is rather long for a first time novelist. I suspect her fame might have to do with the extra length. She also has ~4pgs of acknowledgements which is rather odd; I skimmed them out of morbid curiosity, and discovered the original manuscript was around 1000pgs. So ok, I understand the editor must've done some serious chopping, but I wanted more to get chopped. 600pgs of this fantastical writing style was pushing it a bit (although I didn't not get tired of it), and in the first half of the book I was trying to figure out what the point of each chapter was to figure out if it should get cut.
My other quibble is that knowing what I do of Tyra, I recognize quite a few of her quirks in Tookie. It made me uncomfortable, but not to the point of self-insertion?
Was rather surprised Ci~L was the swapped baby, since so much of the book centered on the question of Tookie's birth.
So the bottom line is it's a solid debut novel (didn't have the purple pen problem I had with Pon)
The Gaslight Dogs by Karin Lowachee (Untitled Trilogy #1)
Pleasantly surprised to learn Lowachee is of color, and very surprised by how young she looks in her photo. I thought she'd be older considering her initial trilogy came out awhile back. Also Orbit put up some of the preliminary cover art. I love the second one where her shadow's on the ice. I actually like the sketches better than the final art. Speaking of Orbit, Orbit is the same publisher as NK Jemisin's Inheritance Trilogy. Both series deal with colony/empire and I'm curious if that's just a trait of Orbit. If so, good for them!
The prose isn't spectacular, but it gets the job done. And it tells a very...interesting, but morally grey story. Fans of ASOIAF's moral ambiguity will probably like this, although the stakes arguably aren't as high (pick your poison: End of Known World or colonization?).
Sjenn garners the most sympathy, followed by Keeley (a main character, but not followed by the 3rd person narrator), and then our co-star Jarrett. We can see Sjenn's motivations easily since we are with her before and after the Call to Adventure (in Joseph Campbell terms). Keeley's are pretty clear by implication and through the err spoilery bits I'll get to. He does, however, represent himself differently to Sjenn than Jarett, whichI really liked. Jarett, on the other hand, we encounter him already in conflict with his father, and that relationship isn't quite developed for me. Whether that's a flaw of the author, or just where we've started following Jarrett chronologically I don't know. For me, it came across as a teenage disdain/hate of a parent, but the guy's twenty-nine, a well-worn soldier, and it just doesn't roll for me.
Jarett's also (almost) unlikable in a way that's not common to books. Almost similar to That One Jerk from Bishop's Black Jewels books with Cassidy.
But, oh right, the politics. This is a universe quite similar to ours. Rather like Pullman's His Dark Materials. The country's names are different, and the history/culture too, but we know what countries are which. Here we have what equates to America at war with England while also conquering America and warring with the Native population. There's also the boarding schools and the sexual exploitation (not of the boarding schools) is implied (both of which occurred in the actual conquest of America).
The book is divided into what seems like chapters, but range in length from chapter-length to part-length. Just FYI in case you're like me and on Chapter 2 and go "WTF THIS GOES ON FOR 80pgs"
The ending. AHAHAHA. From Jarett going bat-shit to the end of the novel, that section totally shined brilliantly. I love how Keeley suddenly drops the big reveal. This is definitely a case where the big reveal works and isn't just wtf worthy. I also read a review that descriped Qoyotariz's assault on Jarett as sexual. That stayed in my mind as I read, and I definitely read...UST for lack of better word between the two. There's a strained, tense, intimacy between the two.
"Only this warrior who didn't recoil at his laughter or his tears, who had followed him like one did a fixed star in the midst of being lost" (335).
"But then the attention slid when Qoyotariz reached across the gap of space between his horse and Jarrett's and spread a hand at the back of his neck. The fingers were rough and warm, and struck five lines up into his hair. They held on" (340).
At first I was wondering if Sjenn and Jarett would eventually have an odd romance, but as it is, I'm more interested in how circumstances force people (Sjenn, Jarett, and Keeley) into alliances.
I'm also fascinated by this portion, because this is where the world really came alive to me: the General's eugenics/breeding, Keeley's allegiance, Jarett's allegiance to the Soreganee. In the last, what ineterests me is how Jarett's utter loathing of his father forces him to overcome his hate of the Natives (in this case the Soreganee) and join them to get back at his father.
The Soreganee! Super fascinated by this. Expecting them to not be revealed as bad. And Jarett to go totally completely morally grey. While I can see Jarett's time will have him mentored by Quoyotariz (oh that's also interesting; that due to Sjenn's inability to war (her core desire to protect), she can't teach him but Quoyotariz can), I'm curious where Sjenn's journey is going.
Although, if Lowachee's other trilogy is any indication, we'll be following an entirely new set of characters next novel. That'll be interesting.
I would read the sequel. The story being told greatly interests me. As Beyond Victorian (IIRC) pointed out, this is a really odd take on the "going Native" trope.
List of books I'm trying to cram in to the remains of my break:
Go Tell It On The Mountain by James Baldwin
All Men of Genius by Lev Rosen
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner (maybe)
Ok, Fringe is on now. YES.
Not sure of the series title, but it'll do. The book came to my attention with the whitewashing of its cover. The author also commissioned pretty art of it (which shimizu_hitomi might've linked to), and pretty art seduces me easily. I think Silver Phoenix and Zhong Ye look like the hotter couple, lol. Also, it's non-Euro-centric fantasy, so yay. Also, the love-interest is mixed-race.
First of all, it's a debut novel and it shows. It's not bad, but the writing workshopper in me was mentally purple (I don't do red) penning the 90% of the novel. It was also pointed out by a blogger that a lot of the chapters open/end with going to sleep, which is kinda true. One of the common tropes when writing about Asia is how put-down the women/girls are. There's that here, but it never quite works for me, nor does Ai Ling's sudden desire to leave home. I guess it can be summed up as Ai Ling's conflict of self-interest and community/family-interest didn't get for me.
The Silver Phoenix/Zhong Ye took me by surprise, but I could roll with it, because that's the kind of stuff that gets revealed in the end of manga/anime/K-dramas. I really rather see more of Silver Phoenix/Zhong Ye epic hate sex than Ai Ling/Chen Yong. Oh, opening was the time honored Baby Swap, and I definitely lol'd at it (Mistress of the Eagles came to mind quite sadly). Was also in disbelief that Younger Brother died, and was the resolution of Zombify-ing him didn't quite work.
There's a sequel, but I won't be reading it. However, I will be on the look out for the next series she writes. In that sense, my feelings about Pon's debut novel are similar to how I felt about Lo's debut novel, Ash.
Modelland by Tyra Banks (Modelland #1)
When Tyra came out with her TV show, everyone thought it'd be crap. It's probably accurate to say the same of the book. But I loved the Tyra Banks show, even with its faults, and I actually like this book.
The book came to my attention because Tyra was making the rounds on the Nate Berkus Show (hey, shut it, I watch it with my mom). I started hashing out my opinions on ontd_literature a while back, so some of this might be familiar.
Modelland is like crackfic. Or, more accurately, what happens in the book might get eye-rolls from the lit community, but if it happened in an animated show/film, there'd be no eye-rolls. That is to say, there's a fantastical, absurd, whimsical, way-larger-than-life quality to the world Tyra's created here.
The book's biggest flaw I think is its length. It's ~600pgs long, which I think is rather long for a first time novelist. I suspect her fame might have to do with the extra length. She also has ~4pgs of acknowledgements which is rather odd; I skimmed them out of morbid curiosity, and discovered the original manuscript was around 1000pgs. So ok, I understand the editor must've done some serious chopping, but I wanted more to get chopped. 600pgs of this fantastical writing style was pushing it a bit (although I didn't not get tired of it), and in the first half of the book I was trying to figure out what the point of each chapter was to figure out if it should get cut.
My other quibble is that knowing what I do of Tyra, I recognize quite a few of her quirks in Tookie. It made me uncomfortable, but not to the point of self-insertion?
Was rather surprised Ci~L was the swapped baby, since so much of the book centered on the question of Tookie's birth.
So the bottom line is it's a solid debut novel (didn't have the purple pen problem I had with Pon)
The Gaslight Dogs by Karin Lowachee (Untitled Trilogy #1)
Pleasantly surprised to learn Lowachee is of color, and very surprised by how young she looks in her photo. I thought she'd be older considering her initial trilogy came out awhile back. Also Orbit put up some of the preliminary cover art. I love the second one where her shadow's on the ice. I actually like the sketches better than the final art. Speaking of Orbit, Orbit is the same publisher as NK Jemisin's Inheritance Trilogy. Both series deal with colony/empire and I'm curious if that's just a trait of Orbit. If so, good for them!
The prose isn't spectacular, but it gets the job done. And it tells a very...interesting, but morally grey story. Fans of ASOIAF's moral ambiguity will probably like this, although the stakes arguably aren't as high (pick your poison: End of Known World or colonization?).
Sjenn garners the most sympathy, followed by Keeley (a main character, but not followed by the 3rd person narrator), and then our co-star Jarrett. We can see Sjenn's motivations easily since we are with her before and after the Call to Adventure (in Joseph Campbell terms). Keeley's are pretty clear by implication and through the err spoilery bits I'll get to. He does, however, represent himself differently to Sjenn than Jarett, whichI really liked. Jarett, on the other hand, we encounter him already in conflict with his father, and that relationship isn't quite developed for me. Whether that's a flaw of the author, or just where we've started following Jarrett chronologically I don't know. For me, it came across as a teenage disdain/hate of a parent, but the guy's twenty-nine, a well-worn soldier, and it just doesn't roll for me.
Jarett's also (almost) unlikable in a way that's not common to books. Almost similar to That One Jerk from Bishop's Black Jewels books with Cassidy.
But, oh right, the politics. This is a universe quite similar to ours. Rather like Pullman's His Dark Materials. The country's names are different, and the history/culture too, but we know what countries are which. Here we have what equates to America at war with England while also conquering America and warring with the Native population. There's also the boarding schools and the sexual exploitation (not of the boarding schools) is implied (both of which occurred in the actual conquest of America).
The book is divided into what seems like chapters, but range in length from chapter-length to part-length. Just FYI in case you're like me and on Chapter 2 and go "WTF THIS GOES ON FOR 80pgs"
The ending. AHAHAHA. From Jarett going bat-shit to the end of the novel, that section totally shined brilliantly. I love how Keeley suddenly drops the big reveal. This is definitely a case where the big reveal works and isn't just wtf worthy. I also read a review that descriped Qoyotariz's assault on Jarett as sexual. That stayed in my mind as I read, and I definitely read...UST for lack of better word between the two. There's a strained, tense, intimacy between the two.
"Only this warrior who didn't recoil at his laughter or his tears, who had followed him like one did a fixed star in the midst of being lost" (335).
"But then the attention slid when Qoyotariz reached across the gap of space between his horse and Jarrett's and spread a hand at the back of his neck. The fingers were rough and warm, and struck five lines up into his hair. They held on" (340).
At first I was wondering if Sjenn and Jarett would eventually have an odd romance, but as it is, I'm more interested in how circumstances force people (Sjenn, Jarett, and Keeley) into alliances.
I'm also fascinated by this portion, because this is where the world really came alive to me: the General's eugenics/breeding, Keeley's allegiance, Jarett's allegiance to the Soreganee. In the last, what ineterests me is how Jarett's utter loathing of his father forces him to overcome his hate of the Natives (in this case the Soreganee) and join them to get back at his father.
The Soreganee! Super fascinated by this. Expecting them to not be revealed as bad. And Jarett to go totally completely morally grey. While I can see Jarett's time will have him mentored by Quoyotariz (oh that's also interesting; that due to Sjenn's inability to war (her core desire to protect), she can't teach him but Quoyotariz can), I'm curious where Sjenn's journey is going.
Although, if Lowachee's other trilogy is any indication, we'll be following an entirely new set of characters next novel. That'll be interesting.
I would read the sequel. The story being told greatly interests me. As Beyond Victorian (IIRC) pointed out, this is a really odd take on the "going Native" trope.
List of books I'm trying to cram in to the remains of my break:
Go Tell It On The Mountain by James Baldwin
All Men of Genius by Lev Rosen
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner (maybe)
Ok, Fringe is on now. YES.