Quickie Book Reviews: The Corinthian | Arabella | The Flowers of Vashnoi
I've read a few books without writing anything about them, so it's time for some quickie reviews.
The Corinthian, by Georgette Heyer: This one relies too much on coincidence and the romance is FAIL, but I nonetheless enjoyed it a fair bit. It's a fun romp sort of thing, with the female protagonist dragging the male protagonist into all kinds of scrapes, which he negotiates with aplomb. And he clearly needed someone to drag him out of his rut. It makes a charming buddy comedy. As a romance, it's gross because the female protagonist acts like a kid and the male acts like a parental figure for the entire book. I am utterly unconvinced that these two will make a good married couple. SHUDDER. But, like most Heyer books, the reader can ignore the romance and just enjoy the ride, because romance is not a big part of the story. I'll give it a 7.
Arabella, by Georgette Heyer: This is the first Heyer book I just plain didn't like. I dragged my way to the finish but lord, I detested the male protagonist. He is introduced in a way designed to make the female protagonist reader dislike him, and he doesn't noticeably change over the course of the book. Just yuck from beginning to end. The ridiculous schemes of the female protagonist didn't help the book any, but I minded her less. Most Heyer books are saved from lackluster protagonists by amusing side characters or other absurdities, but this one really didn't have any fun going on. MEH. It's like a 5.
The Flowers of Vashnoi, by Lois McMaster Bujold: A novella in the Vorkosigan universe, centered on Ekaterin. Like most of Bujold's writing, I enjoyed it. It's a story about the efforts of scientists to clean up the damage done during a long-past war, and the problems they run into in doing so. SFF that deals with healing and mending things is pretty much my jam. A solid 8.
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The Corinthian, by Georgette Heyer: This one relies too much on coincidence and the romance is FAIL, but I nonetheless enjoyed it a fair bit. It's a fun romp sort of thing, with the female protagonist dragging the male protagonist into all kinds of scrapes, which he negotiates with aplomb. And he clearly needed someone to drag him out of his rut. It makes a charming buddy comedy. As a romance, it's gross because the female protagonist acts like a kid and the male acts like a parental figure for the entire book. I am utterly unconvinced that these two will make a good married couple. SHUDDER. But, like most Heyer books, the reader can ignore the romance and just enjoy the ride, because romance is not a big part of the story. I'll give it a 7.
Arabella, by Georgette Heyer: This is the first Heyer book I just plain didn't like. I dragged my way to the finish but lord, I detested the male protagonist. He is introduced in a way designed to make the female protagonist reader dislike him, and he doesn't noticeably change over the course of the book. Just yuck from beginning to end. The ridiculous schemes of the female protagonist didn't help the book any, but I minded her less. Most Heyer books are saved from lackluster protagonists by amusing side characters or other absurdities, but this one really didn't have any fun going on. MEH. It's like a 5.
The Flowers of Vashnoi, by Lois McMaster Bujold: A novella in the Vorkosigan universe, centered on Ekaterin. Like most of Bujold's writing, I enjoyed it. It's a story about the efforts of scientists to clean up the damage done during a long-past war, and the problems they run into in doing so. SFF that deals with healing and mending things is pretty much my jam. A solid 8.
This entry was originally posted at https://rowyn.dreamwidth.org/632436.html. Please comment there using OpenID.