Comments | hamsterwoman: Reading roundup

hamsterwoman

Reading roundup

Aug 21, 2011 13:50

So, it's been awhile since I've done a reading roundup, apparently...

40. Brenna Yovanoff, The Replacement -- an interesting and unusual take on the "urban fantasy with fairies" genre I really enjoy. This one's even darker than the Tithe and Wicked Lovely universes, although it does get a sort of happy ending after the darkness. ( MAJOR SPOILERS )

osc, ya, grrm, kushiel, a: scott westerfeld, leguin, ebear, a: orson scott card, a: ursula vernon, a: ursula leguin, a: naomi novik, a: caissie st onge, a: elizabeth bear, a: brenna yovanoff, temeraire, short stories, kidlit, a: jacqueline carey, reading, a: holly black

Comments 4

angerfish August 21 2011, 21:09:39 UTC

Before we got to Vralia, I also enjoyed Moirin's time with the Tatars, Batu's family, especially the Imperial Princess grandmother from Ch'in, Erdene (Bao's Tatar princess wife), the archer who rescues her in Vralia. I liked the Tatars' insistence that Moirin must have some Tatar ancestors to be able to shoot so well, and in general how domestic and vivid their lives were -- cooking and childbirth and drinking and shooting competitions -- they felt fun and well-rounded, the first time I thought we'd encountered a well-rounded culture in the Moirin books. Yeah, man! I was pleasantly surprised by not!Mongolia. Maybe it's just because the Dothraki are so terribly one note/stereotypical that I cheer every time I encounter a more well-rounded version of fantasy Mongolia ( ... )

hamsterwoman August 21 2011, 22:09:55 UTC

You might be right about the Dothraki setting the bar so low, that anything less one-dimensional and savage seems like a win... but, yeah, I thought they were pretty well done in general. And FUN! There was not a lot of that in the Moirin books since she left Alba, really ( ... )

ambyr September 7 2011, 16:09:32 UTC

(wandering over from westerosorting)

I was frustrated with how Erdene's role played out; I didn't buy that she would so easily let Bao go, especially since I don't think her culture has much place for, essentially, divorced wives. Besides, they're a culture that practices polygamy. I was really pulling for an Erdene/Bao/Moirin marriage--even if it had eventually broken up to let Moirin and Bao wander the world, I at least would have understood Erdene's about-face better if it came after she spent a lot of time watching how strong Bao and Moirin's bond was up close and personal.

hamsterwoman September 7 2011, 17:50:35 UTC

Hi! :)

Yeah, Erdene's about-face really felt more like JC saying, "OK, time for Moirin to move on to !India" than any kind of plausible, organic resolution. Which, I do feel like plausible, organic resolutions are generally thin on the ground in the Moirin books, but it was annoying, because I quite liked Erdene and would've liked her to get some believable closure.

I hadn't thought about it, but an Erdene/Bao/Moirin marriage would've been a really neat addition! And I would've liked to see more (natural) Moirin and Erdene interaction.