Reading roundup

[hamsterwoman]

Wow, it's been a while since my last one of these...

4. Sergei Lukyanenko, Last Watch -- yeah, Twilight Watch is definitely my favorite of the four. Last Watch was fairly disappointing actually, coming as it did after TW, even though on its own merits I think it was probably better than Day Watch. The three stories didn't feel as connected, and

Comments

[etrangere]

I'm averting my eyes from the spoilers, but do you reccomend the Sarah Rees Brennan's books?

[hamsterwoman]

Yes! Or at least I enjoyed them very much. I didn't think much of the worldbuilding, but that probably had more to do with it being focused on demons, whom I find boring, and not going as deep or broad as I like, but the characters are pretty great, and I loved the difficult and unusual and deeply explored sibling relationships. And I enjoyed the fun banter. Definitely not without their flaws, but I thought the first one was a very neat read (especially if you are unspoiled), and the other two a good way to get to know the characters better.

(These might fall under "lighter" fantasy that I enjoy more than you do, judging by your opinion on Dresden Files, Temeraire, Locke Lamora, et al, but there is deeper/darker stuff there too that hopefully would make them appeal more than those others. Also, they're definitely written as YA, but not in any way that interfered with my enjoyment of them.)

I don't even know if my answer was at all helpful. Uh, I liked them a lot? XD

[ambyr]

I am glad you liked Surrender more than I did, although admittedly this is, uhh, not difficult :-).

Working my way through Crucible of Gold now, although since and I do the series as a read-aloud it may take a while. I'll be interested in your thoughts on God's War--I adore it, but I think I can see ways in which you'd like it rather less.

Have you read Jennifer Fallon's Second Sons trilogy? Speaking of compulsive liar/chessmaster characters.

[hamsterwoman]

Yeah, I read your review of Surrender after I read Covenant but before I read Surrender myself, but even being sensitized to it the things that bothered you -- which I agree didn't make any sense, and I would've been happy (happier) if nobody had ended up with anybody either -- didn't bother me as much. Mostly because I like Alan and Sin as characters, and once I like the characters I find it a lot easier to forgive, well, most things. I do think it was the weakest of the three in the series

[ambyr]

The first book is Lion of Senet. They're not great literature, but they are very entertainingly plotted. I'm never really sure whether to classify them as sci-fi or fantasy. They're in the "forgotten colony" subgenre, kind of like Pern and Coldfire and Darkover--a distant world whose inhabitants have no real knowledge of their Earth (Russian, to be specific) origins and exist at a Renaissance level of technology. Unlike other books in the subgenre, they never discovery their history or reunite with Earth or anything; it's just blink-and-you'll-miss-it background. And there's no magic, just scheming, warring kingdoms and a religious cult whose powers are founded on psychoactive drugs and a good sense of showmanship.

The main character happens to be the long-lost son of a deposed king, but it's his superior abilities at mathematics that actually make the various factions interested in him, a twist I appreciate.

[hamsterwoman]

Hmmm.... I shall have to keep that in mind. Russian-origins fantasy and sci-fi tends to be hit or miss for me, and I have a hard time predicting which is going to work how... but the superior math abilities thing does sound very intriguing, along with the general scheming!

[lunasariel]

Vetinari has definitely been a bit different in the last couple of books, in a way that I have a hard time fitting in my mental construct of Vetinari.
I guess this could be read as Vetinari just getting older (he must be at least in his mid-50s by now; probably even more, since I seem to recall him walking with a cane), but you're right, an emotive Vetinari, for whatever reason, is an...odd Vetinari.

I was expecting it to be more prominent in the book, but it was pretty funny for a throwaway gag.
Me, too. Given how much Jane Austen material there is to be used, and how applicable it all is to this kind of book, I was expecting more than just a one-off joke, but for what it was, I enjoyed it!

And I note Wee Mad Arthur is back from his sabbatical, all Feeglified but back with the Watch.
Hee! Vimes seems to be getting about these days, so I wouldn't be totally adverse to a full on Tiffany/Watch crossover, especially because the idea of the Feegles in Ankh-Morpork would kind of horrify him.

Young Sam was both adorable and bright and

[hamsterwoman]

especially because the idea of the Feegles in Ankh-Morpork would kind of horrify him.

And rightly so! I guess we did get a bit of that in I Shall Wear Midnight, after they trashed and then put back again the King's Head, but I would not be at all averse to seeing more. Kind of an "unstoppable force meets immovable object" scenario :P

Vetinari does seem to be showing his age lately... but that's just not right! (Make it stop.... :(

[lunasariel]

I guess we did get a bit of that in I Shall Wear Midnight, after they trashed and then put back again the King's Head
Oooh, I'd forgotten about that! I burned right through ISWM (definitely time for a re-read), but, yeah, more of Feegles + Watch would be lovely. Especially because Vimes would officially be very, very against their, er, Feeglishness, but secretly, he applauds their "nae king, nae quin, nae laird, nae master" philosophy.

Vetinari does seem to be showing his age lately... but that's just not right!
Watching the Discworld main characters age is an interesting, but also kind of depressing concept. Aging seems to be a constant theme in the Witches books, but watching people like Sam Vimes and Vetinari realize that they can no longer go all night working out how to solve a crime, and then engage in a rooftop chase across half the city at dawn is just a little sad. But then, of course, they damn well do so anyway, which is why I love them. XD

[hamsterwoman]

but secretly, he applauds their "nae king, nae quin, nae laird, nae master" philosophy.

Ah, true! He does recognize the rule of law, of course, which the Feegles emphatically do not, but it definitely would be an interesting combination.

I found myself very much OK with Vimes showing his age and not being able to brawl or run or whatever as he had done when younger. Vetinari acquiring visible emotions with age still just seems Wrong though... Ah well, I will deal.

[sephystabbity]

Yes, Tiara’s friendship with Petra was one of my favourite things too. But I get what you mean about the narrative not entirely treating Petra fairly. I …sorta felt like, and maybe I’m interpreting this wrong, but I sorta felt like the narrative didn’t really respect her on the same level as the other characters? That because she’s dumb I guess she can’t feel as strongly or have as heartbreaking motivations or something? Maybe I’m getting this vibe because I actually ‘read’ most of this story as an audiobook narrated by Libba Bray. It was a great audiobook actually, because you could tell Bray was having fun doing all the different voices and accents and so on. But like, at the start of every disc, it was introduced by Tiara with some joke riffing on how dumb she is, and idk, I felt that overall the narrative didn’t respect her or her feelings on the same level as other human beings

[hamsterwoman]

Oh, interesting, I had no idea Libba Bray did her own audiobook of this! It sounds like it should be a fun one, with the different narrators and commercials and all that stuff