I've been a fan of your fanfic for years, so it was kind of strange seeing your name attached to a review of The Mirador on LT---blurring the lines between different parts of my life.
I really hope that Bujold dumps the sex scenes when she goes back to the Vorkosigan or Chalion series. To me they just felt awkward and too revealing, somehow. Of course, it didn't help that I loathed the way the characters in TSK talked, so the fact that there was dialogue during the sex scenes was probably part of what made them such uncomfortable reading for me.
I love The Mirador and its prequels so very, very much. I find it odd how many people have a problem with her pacing, since her characters are so interesting that most of the time I couldn't care less whether the plot is going anywhere.
but then I never had trouble tolerating him even when he was crazy and seeing animal-headed people all the time
I actually liked him better when he was crazy. I love what Sarah Monette did with him---creating this character who arouses your sympathy because he's powerless, abused or ignored by everyone, and then you find out that when he's sane, he spends a lot of time being unkind and abusive. I think she did a marvellous job with Felix's characterization: he has so many seriously unattractive qualities, but it's still 100% clear why Mildmay cares about him so much---without Felix or Mildmay ever justifying or excusing Felix's darker behaviour.
Yes, the longer I'm in fandom, the more the threads seem to intertwine. I really like LT, and not just because we actually use Library of Congress labels to shelve our books.
I'm not sure how I feel about the explicitness trend. Mostly it just surprises me the first time an author whose work I know well adds in an explicit sex scene. I kind of wish there were more labels, the way fanfic usually has. The dialogue was not a problem for me; it was just that I wasn't as interested in these characters as in the Vors -- which I guess may have made me indifferent to what was revealed.
On Monette, I noticed the pacing when I was writing up the review, but I agree with you -- these folks are interesting enough that I just want to learn more about them. But I do think it was a good decision to end the way she did, clearing the decks for new adventures and new palace intrigue. Though I hope she lets Mildmay improve physically, or he's going to be immobile! I'm not sure I felt sympathy for Felix, because he was so alienating, in his crazy world -- also the initial glimpses of pre-crazy Felix we got were not particularly flattering. But I liked him; he was interesting as a character. And the Felix/Mildmay relationship is so rich!
I find, with good authors, that if they don't usually include explicit sex in their books, it's for a good reason---generally because such a scene would be unnecessary, obtrusive, or just wouldn't fit the tone of the book. I'm really not happy with the idea that publishers would request/demand explicit sex scenes from authors who don't usually provide them.
That said, although I found the sex scenes between Dag and Fawn entirely unsexy, my biggest problem with TSK was that I had zero interest in any of the characters; most of them, including Dag and Fawn, both bored and annoyed me. I couldn't drum up any enthusiasm for the plot, either. Weird, because LMB is one of my favourite authors, and her plots and characters are the two things I love best about her other work. I guess TSK and I are fundamentally incompatible.
Yes, I think Felix and Mildmay's relationship is one of the most interesting I've ever read (just as they, individually, are two of the most fascinating fictional characters I know.) It provides the kind of satisfaction I usually only get from fanfic. And I liked the way The Mirador ended, too: not actually a cliffhanger, but it'll definitely keep me guessing about what will come next until the fourth book is released.
I really hope that Bujold dumps the sex scenes when she goes back to the Vorkosigan or Chalion series. To me they just felt awkward and too revealing, somehow. Of course, it didn't help that I loathed the way the characters in TSK talked, so the fact that there was dialogue during the sex scenes was probably part of what made them such uncomfortable reading for me.
I love The Mirador and its prequels so very, very much. I find it odd how many people have a problem with her pacing, since her characters are so interesting that most of the time I couldn't care less whether the plot is going anywhere.
but then I never had trouble tolerating him even when he was crazy and seeing animal-headed people all the time
I actually liked him better when he was crazy. I love what Sarah Monette did with him---creating this character who arouses your sympathy because he's powerless, abused or ignored by everyone, and then you find out that when he's sane, he spends a lot of time being unkind and abusive. I think she did a marvellous job with Felix's characterization: he has so many seriously unattractive qualities, but it's still 100% clear why Mildmay cares about him so much---without Felix or Mildmay ever justifying or excusing Felix's darker behaviour.
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I'm not sure how I feel about the explicitness trend. Mostly it just surprises me the first time an author whose work I know well adds in an explicit sex scene. I kind of wish there were more labels, the way fanfic usually has. The dialogue was not a problem for me; it was just that I wasn't as interested in these characters as in the Vors -- which I guess may have made me indifferent to what was revealed.
On Monette, I noticed the pacing when I was writing up the review, but I agree with you -- these folks are interesting enough that I just want to learn more about them. But I do think it was a good decision to end the way she did, clearing the decks for new adventures and new palace intrigue. Though I hope she lets Mildmay improve physically, or he's going to be immobile! I'm not sure I felt sympathy for Felix, because he was so alienating, in his crazy world -- also the initial glimpses of pre-crazy Felix we got were not particularly flattering. But I liked him; he was interesting as a character. And the Felix/Mildmay relationship is so rich!
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That said, although I found the sex scenes between Dag and Fawn entirely unsexy, my biggest problem with TSK was that I had zero interest in any of the characters; most of them, including Dag and Fawn, both bored and annoyed me. I couldn't drum up any enthusiasm for the plot, either. Weird, because LMB is one of my favourite authors, and her plots and characters are the two things I love best about her other work. I guess TSK and I are fundamentally incompatible.
Yes, I think Felix and Mildmay's relationship is one of the most interesting I've ever read (just as they, individually, are two of the most fascinating fictional characters I know.) It provides the kind of satisfaction I usually only get from fanfic. And I liked the way The Mirador ended, too: not actually a cliffhanger, but it'll definitely keep me guessing about what will come next until the fourth book is released.
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