59. Michelle Sagara, Cast in Ruin (Chronicles of Elantra #7) -- probably my favorite in the series to date (because all the dragons!), even though the writing still really, really annoys me. ( Spoilers )
Because I had assumed the series was just doing the usual thing of protracting the love triangle for the sake of love triangles
Hee. I have read enough Sagara/West to know that romance is Not A Thing She Does (except, sort of, in her debut series The Sundered), so I have never really thought of the thing with Nightshade and Severn as a love triangle so much as a very tiny background element. I would put money on the series ending without Kaylin ever hooking up with either of them, and not just because I am Team Kaylin/Teela4ever!!! (Note: I don't really expect them to hook up either.) I am always a little bemused by how seriously some fans seem to take the Team Severn/Team Nightshade thing, though I guess I can see how her being published by Luna would set certain expectations!
In my case, it was definitely the Luna imprint that made me think of it in terms of romance genre conventions, because there is precious little of it in the actual books.
I mostly find Severn too perfect to be at all interesting, while Kaylin's dynamics with Nightshade do occasionally appeal to me, so I'm sort of Team Nightshade by default... but nothing really strikes me as plausible romantic (except, apparently, characters I like/the sentient magical ~objects they own/are owned by :P).
On the other hand, I'm something like a third along in Peril (put on hold because lovely people supplied me with Foxglove Summer), and with the hot tubbing and pillow fights and soul-baring conversations, there is a whole lot of Kaylin/Teela in this book!
Haha, when doing this write-up, I was actually thinking that the dragons may be relevant to your interests. I cannot unequivocally recommend these books because the writing really bugs me (but that might just be me?), and not all in the series are dragon heavy, but they may be fun enough to give a shot?
Cast in Shadow is the first one (and this is a series worth reading in order), and that gives a good feel for the dragons, though it's not the most dragon-heavy. From my experience, it is possible to enjoy the series pretty much on the strength of the dragons alone, but there is also some other interesting worldbuilding and (as may be relevant to a fellow Brust fan's interests) psycho !Elves who are pretty cool.
Comments 7
Reply
Reply
Hee. I have read enough Sagara/West to know that romance is Not A Thing She Does (except, sort of, in her debut series The Sundered), so I have never really thought of the thing with Nightshade and Severn as a love triangle so much as a very tiny background element. I would put money on the series ending without Kaylin ever hooking up with either of them, and not just because I am Team Kaylin/Teela4ever!!! (Note: I don't really expect them to hook up either.) I am always a little bemused by how seriously some fans seem to take the Team Severn/Team Nightshade thing, though I guess I can see how her being published by Luna would set certain expectations!
Reply
I mostly find Severn too perfect to be at all interesting, while Kaylin's dynamics with Nightshade do occasionally appeal to me, so I'm sort of Team Nightshade by default... but nothing really strikes me as plausible romantic (except, apparently, characters I like/the sentient magical ~objects they own/are owned by :P).
On the other hand, I'm something like a third along in Peril (put on hold because lovely people supplied me with Foxglove Summer), and with the hot tubbing and pillow fights and soul-baring conversations, there is a whole lot of Kaylin/Teela in this book!
Reply
...I am envious of your Foxglove Summer!
Reply
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
Cast in Shadow is the first one (and this is a series worth reading in order), and that gives a good feel for the dragons, though it's not the most dragon-heavy. From my experience, it is possible to enjoy the series pretty much on the strength of the dragons alone, but there is also some other interesting worldbuilding and (as may be relevant to a fellow Brust fan's interests) psycho !Elves who are pretty cool.
Reply
Leave a comment