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#61: Black Wine
Candas Jane Dorsey
Library book. Read this on the recommendation of a friend. It's hard to summarize; sort of a tale of several women all intermingled. Maybe it would make more sense on a second read, though I don't know if I'd make it through again. The prose is very literary. There's very little world-building, and while there are reasons characters go unnamed or change names, it gets very confusing at times. It's really quite a marvel at how the book is written and put together, but, as a whole, I don't get it. But then, I've never been one for extensive metaphors and having to fill in things that aren't there or catch a single sentence or word that changes the whole meaning of a piece. It won a Tiptree, and some other award, and she's a good writer, but this book just isn't for me.
But, for a more erudite appraisal, read Jo Walton's review on Tor.com.
#62: Sea of Trolls
Nancy Farmer
Audiobook. Boy and his sister get kidnapped by Beserkers, and boy has to go on a Quest for the Magical Object to spare his sister's life.
This one is . . . eh. It's largely based on Norse mythology. Lots of Trolls and Odin and Thor and Yggdrasil. Though Beowulf is thrown in there, which confused me for a while because I couldn't get a grip on what kind of a world this was supposed to be. And the boy is a bit passive; doesn't do anything to earn the tutelage from a bard (magic user) except be nice and totatlly misunderstood by his parents. He shows some spunk later on, but the darn quest just keeps going and going and going. I dunno. I did start listening to it in the car, then had to take it back to the library, and checked it out again so I could finish it. So there's something keeping me listening. And the boy's companion on the quest, Thorgil, is fairly original.
And every time I see the title, I keep thinking of Hamlet's speech, and "to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing, end them." Overall, it's okay, but not something I'd read or listen to again.
Candas Jane Dorsey
Library book. Read this on the recommendation of a friend. It's hard to summarize; sort of a tale of several women all intermingled. Maybe it would make more sense on a second read, though I don't know if I'd make it through again. The prose is very literary. There's very little world-building, and while there are reasons characters go unnamed or change names, it gets very confusing at times. It's really quite a marvel at how the book is written and put together, but, as a whole, I don't get it. But then, I've never been one for extensive metaphors and having to fill in things that aren't there or catch a single sentence or word that changes the whole meaning of a piece. It won a Tiptree, and some other award, and she's a good writer, but this book just isn't for me.
But, for a more erudite appraisal, read Jo Walton's review on Tor.com.
#62: Sea of Trolls
Nancy Farmer
Audiobook. Boy and his sister get kidnapped by Beserkers, and boy has to go on a Quest for the Magical Object to spare his sister's life.
This one is . . . eh. It's largely based on Norse mythology. Lots of Trolls and Odin and Thor and Yggdrasil. Though Beowulf is thrown in there, which confused me for a while because I couldn't get a grip on what kind of a world this was supposed to be. And the boy is a bit passive; doesn't do anything to earn the tutelage from a bard (magic user) except be nice and totatlly misunderstood by his parents. He shows some spunk later on, but the darn quest just keeps going and going and going. I dunno. I did start listening to it in the car, then had to take it back to the library, and checked it out again so I could finish it. So there's something keeping me listening. And the boy's companion on the quest, Thorgil, is fairly original.
And every time I see the title, I keep thinking of Hamlet's speech, and "to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing, end them." Overall, it's okay, but not something I'd read or listen to again.