Smashing....simply smashing

Apr 02, 2006 19:39

We just got it here in the States last week, and I plowed through it in...hmmm...three days? I fell in LOVE with this story, this altered world Ms Novik has imagined. I've read a bit of alternate history stories, and maybe a couple of things with dragons in them...but I'm really a fan of strong characterization and of settings that are well-researched or thought-out. And particularly of writing that truly transports you to another realm so entirely. Thusly:

I could feel the wind ripping through my shaggy hair as the dragons swooped and dived through the skies; my nostrils were assaulted by warm, sweaty body smells, and the harsh bite of spent gunpowder, and the sting of sea salt. I could almost taste the bile in my throat as I endured another and another stomach-wrenching mid-air turn, hundreds of feet up in the air. The kinship and the fast-growing bond of love between Temeraire and Laurence, and the camarderie hard-earned from their fellow Aviators, warmed my heart. The death of one character and the social distancing of another sickened me with grief. Damn, I actually FELT those emotions--though I suppose they were all the more palpable because I have recently experienced both in my personal life.

And I strongly identified with recurring themes of duty, and isolation, and readjustment, and of the wonder and joy and chagrin of each new discovery. And when a work so moves me, I embrace it wholeheartedly.

I am glad there are others who feel the same. Whether it's Pearl Jam, or Le Guin, or Firefly, or chocolate and coffee, or brisk autumn winds, or realizing there are pathways to inner peace...bless 'em all.

Add Temeraire to the shining stars in my evening sky. Brilliant. Beautiful.
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