Wow.
I'm not sure I've ever totally lost respect for a person I previously thought was rational, if someone with whom I disagreed, in the course of reading one comment thread. (The problem may have been my initial assessment, however.) I gotta say, by comparison to the general blogosphere, the parts of LJ/DW where I hang out are filled with rainbows and puppies. And respectful if sometimes sharp dialogue. So, you know, thanks!
Patricia Briggs, Wolfsbane: Long-unpublished sequel to Briggs’ first published novel Masques, featuring a mage/spy and her lover who spends most of his public time in wolf form. She goes home because her father dies-except there’s a lot more involved. Palace intrigue outside the palace, and a muted romance that is about learning to love more deeply rather than falling in love. Definitely an earlier work. Drop me a line if you want my copy.
Blake Crouch, Run: Short thriller of the Stephen King variety: a bad thing happens to the world, and a nuclear family (mother having an affair and, usefully, working as a doctor; father undefined at the beginning; resentful teen daughter; traumatized young son) has to survive. Something has changed many of the residents of the United States so that they organize to kill anyone who isn’t like them-a little on the nose there, even if a chunk of Mexico and part of Canada are included in the effect. The mechanics are a little wobbly-sometimes the affected group seems to enjoy torture (including, it’s strongly suggested, rape) but sometimes they just seem to want to kill the unaffected efficiently. There’s a more significant plot hole related to who’s affected that would be spoilery, and the ideas espoused by one character at the end about the point of the whole thing are absolutely appalling; it would have been smarter to follow King and really leave matters unexplained, or offer a bunch of competing ideas. But the thrill of the book is in the flight from the affected and the fight against the elements (and each other) as the family struggles to survive with only themselves-and, initially, their expensive and well-kited-out camping equipment-to rely on.
comments on DW | reply there. I have invites or you can use OpenID.
Patricia Briggs, Wolfsbane: Long-unpublished sequel to Briggs’ first published novel Masques, featuring a mage/spy and her lover who spends most of his public time in wolf form. She goes home because her father dies-except there’s a lot more involved. Palace intrigue outside the palace, and a muted romance that is about learning to love more deeply rather than falling in love. Definitely an earlier work. Drop me a line if you want my copy.
Blake Crouch, Run: Short thriller of the Stephen King variety: a bad thing happens to the world, and a nuclear family (mother having an affair and, usefully, working as a doctor; father undefined at the beginning; resentful teen daughter; traumatized young son) has to survive. Something has changed many of the residents of the United States so that they organize to kill anyone who isn’t like them-a little on the nose there, even if a chunk of Mexico and part of Canada are included in the effect. The mechanics are a little wobbly-sometimes the affected group seems to enjoy torture (including, it’s strongly suggested, rape) but sometimes they just seem to want to kill the unaffected efficiently. There’s a more significant plot hole related to who’s affected that would be spoilery, and the ideas espoused by one character at the end about the point of the whole thing are absolutely appalling; it would have been smarter to follow King and really leave matters unexplained, or offer a bunch of competing ideas. But the thrill of the book is in the flight from the affected and the fight against the elements (and each other) as the family struggles to survive with only themselves-and, initially, their expensive and well-kited-out camping equipment-to rely on.
comments on DW | reply there. I have invites or you can use OpenID.