Rapid Fire (ha!) Reviews
Four up today. All told, I have read 13 books so far, and I'm in the 17th week of the year. So, assuming I'm okay with not having a buffer, I'm about two weeks behind. I look forward to remedying this soon. Yay summer break!
Tangled Webs, Anne Bishop
I've already done a micro-review here, but it's really just me squeeing over how much I love Anne Bishop. This book also reminds me how much I love the Black Jewels setting.
Tangled Webs this takes place after the events in the trilogy and "Kaeleer's Heart" from Dreams Made Flesh. It focuses mostly on Surreal (always a good decision), with a few chapters from Daemon and Lucivar's perspective, and a few scattered paragraphs from Papa Saetan's. Again, it ignores Jaenelle as a POV character, which I think is an excellent idea. For one thing, canonically, Jaenelle is Witch, Dreams Made Flesh. She is kindred, but not kind. Part of her allure is that the people in her life cannot truly understand her, or know her completely. She will always remain a bit of a mystery to them, because of the sheer number and complexity of the dreams that made her. Can the Blood really understand the kindred and vice verse? No, only Jaenelle can, and that makes her different. Giving readers chapters from her POV would ruin that mystery for us. I don't want to know what she's thinking when her summer-sky eyes change to midnight. I want to be as surprised and confused as everyone else is later.
Also, Jaenelle's pretty much the textbook definition of a Mary Sue. Super-speshul, ultra-powerful, all the good guys love her, eyes that (sort of) change color, blah blah blah. I mean, did you read her description--she's dreams made flesh. That's one helluva moniker. Bishop does an excellent job making you forget just how Sueish Jaenelle really is, but if we were reading chapters from her POV, I think that distinction would be lost.
So bonus craft points to Anne Bishop.
Anyway, as I said earlier before I got sidetracked, Surreal is the main POV character for the book. This is a Good Thing, as Surreal is my favorite character trope: sassy, ballsy assassin who (used to) moonlight as a whore on the side to make it easier to get close to the men she's going to kill. Of course, by this time, she's given up both careers, as in Kaeleer a) she doesn't need to do either, and b) the menfolks in her family would be quite put out is she continued. And while she certainly doesn't want to continue working in Red Moon houses, their overbearing protectiveness gives her something to snipe and grumble about. It's cute. And it's downright hilarious to see her face-to-face with evil, and her most pressing concern is "Man, if I survive this, Lucivar is going to KILL me for being this stupid. If I don't survive this, Papa Saetan [the High Lord of Hell, btw] is going to kill me AGAIN for being this stupid."
This book has all the humorous character interaction that I loved in the previous books. I think, more than anything else, that's why I love the Black Jewels series better than any of the others that she's written. The characterization is fan-frickin-tastic, and she blends, anger, humor, love, pain, and betrayal together quite nicely. Families hurt each other, and that's not something that she shrinks away from. Her relationships are realistic, but manage to stay fun. Tangled Webs also gives more screen time to Ranier, the gay dancing master from Jaenelle's Second Circle. Of course, now that the Court of Ebon Askavi is gone, Jaenelle doesn't technically have Circles for him to be a part of, but when has that ever stopped anyone? He's a Warlord Prince, which means he's just as touchy as the rest of her males, (he's a dark-Opal, but I have no idea what makes the difference between a light-Opal and a dark), and he's pretty much become Surreal's best friend outside of the family. It makes for good character interaction there, too, because sex doesn't get in the way. They're friends and that's it. I liked what little we saw of him in "Kaeleer's Heart" and I'm glad he's getting some more focus.
Also a little closer to the spotlight are the landens. The premise of the book is that a landen author has been writing murder mysteries about the Blood and getting everything wrong. To amuse children, Jaenelle sets up a haunted house for the landen children nearby that showcases the most tawdry of the cliches the author uses. The author, filled with more vainglory than is healthy in a man dealing with the SaDiablos, sets up another house and tries to lure Daemon, Lucivar, and Surreal inside where it has been filled with all kinds of nasty tricks. I'm not certain how that would have worked, as he'd then be trying to contain a Black and Ebon-gray Jeweled Warlord Prince, a Gray Jeweled witch, and had three out of the four people Jaenelle cares about most locked in a trap, but that's speculation for another day. Let's just say that this was an ill-conceived plan and leave it there, shall we?
So, the trap manages to catch only Surreal and Ranier, as well as a handful of landen children. These children embody everything I hate about children protagonists, which is why I'm not particularly sorry when they start getting killed off by their own brash stupidity. Surreal gives it to them straight, "You were told there is danger, you were told someone is trying to hurt all of us, and you were told to stay away from that door. But you had to play 'Who's got the biggest balls?' and you dared your friend to open the door. So listen up, sugar. That little fool shouldn't have disobeyed me. Have you got that?" And they still keep dying! It's nice to see people reaping the whirlwind of their stupid, even if they are stupid because they are children.
And the book continues on, as Surreal and Rabier attempt to get out of the house, and Daemon and Jaenelle attempt to figure out how to get in. Also in the book: Kaelas gets scared and Tersa gets angry.
Fun, a great read, and interesting premise, and it's slowly shedding light on the parts of Kaeleer that exist beyond Jaenelle's shadow. A new villain (which just goes to show that while Jaenelle may have carved out the corrupted blood, there's no way to stomp out the darker side of human nature), and surprisingly little sex.
4.5 stars
Jane Austen's Guide to Good Manners, Josephine Ross
This is just a short read, going over some of the finer points of manners in Regency England. Austen was a big stickler for manners; both her lampooning of socially inept characters and personal letters bear testimony to that. This book goes over some of the more important points of etiquette: how to pay and receive calls, how to behave at a ball, how to refuse a proposal of marriage, stuff of that nature. It doesn't go in-depth, of course, (for example, it gives no information on how to address individuals according to rank) but it's a cute little pocket guide. The Cliff Note's version of Emily Post, one could say, written as if it really were meant ot be read by young ladies of the early 19th century.
It didn't really tell me anything I didn't already know, etiquette-wise, but it did make me go back and appreciate the books a bit more. Jane Austen's Guide to Good Manners used lots of examples taken from Austen's own works and letters to illustrate its points, which then made me go back and think about what Austen was doing with the characters and why. That is, I think, the real reason behind the book. Not so that you'll be able to pour tea correctly on the off-chance you're taken back in time, but as another way to view Austen's characters. Wonderfully done.
Speaking of illustration, Henrietta Webb provided a lot of very pretty watercolor paintings for the book. At first glance, you can see that she's very talented. At second glance, you can see all the little sly jokes she hid in the pages, and you can tell she's smart and funny, too. The illustrations match the light and entertaining tone of the book to a T.
4 stars
False Colours, Georgette Heyer
Georgette Heyer is a famous historical novelist. I'd never heard of her, and I picked up False Colours on a whim. I'm glad I did;
So, the premise of the book is that Kit Fancot comes home to London one night because he has an inkling something is wrong with his twin brother, Evelyn. Upon coming home, he finds out from his mother that Evelyn had vanished several days before he was supposed to meet his betrothed's family; and, due to their mother's unthinking extravagance, there's a lot riding on this betrothal, like personal honor and family fortune. What can be done other than have Kit pretend to be his brother for an evening to meet the family? Reluctantly, he agrees to impersonate his brother, and, surprisingly enough, things don't go smoothly and he's forced to continue the impersonation later. He and the heiress fall in love, and then his brother shows up, and the best laid plans of mice and men blow up in everyone's faces.
This is a cute, flufftastic story. It also holds up well over time; the first printing of the book was in 1963, but it has a very timeless quality to it. I had thought that it'd been written within the last few years until I saw that Heyer had died in 1974. There are many more recent books that show their age more than this one does. It's just trying to tell a simple love story and does so well. Cressy, the heroine, has both brains and a spine, Kit is long-suffering without being angsty about it, his mother is simultaneously scatterbrained and devious, and Cressy's imperious grandmother is played by Dame Judy Dench. No surprises, no deep characterization, this book basically says, "Hi. I'm a bouncy romance. Let's be friends." It doesn't aspire to anything more than that, which is refreshing. You can tell Heyer didn't sit down deciding to write Literature, but just a fun story.
However, as I mentioned above, it is flawed. The most egregious flaw that really threw me out of the story was its overuse of Regency slang. Don't get me wrong, I know (more than) my fair share of slang but it just got used, then overused, and then just got to the point where it became frustrating. While it is true, people probably use slang everytime they speak, especially amongst friends and family, that doesn't mean that it needs to be shone in the book. It's sort of like how fifteen year olds wank and whine, but that doesn't mean I want to read 500+ pages of it (why, yes, that was a deliberate dig at you, Ms. Rowling.) Some slang was easy to figure out (the petticoat line probably refers to the demimonde) but others weren't quite as easy to figure out. I don't want to take time out of reading a story to puzzle through what they're actually saying. That's why I have Shakespeare, thanks.
Also, while the book was fun, it wasn't anything surprising or spectacular. As I said before, it doesn't aspire to anything, and that cuts both ways. It escapes pretentiousness, but doesn't escape predictability. From reading the back of the book, I could predict almost exactly what would happen. This isn't exactly unexpected, but there were several points where I was thinking "she could totally set convention on its ear right here". It still wouldn't have turned the book into great Literature or anything, but it would have added an extra textual depth to it. I guess what I'm saying is that there were several missed opportunities that I noted. It's like missing extra credit--it's not exactly a loss, since it isn't detracting from anything, but it does inhibit the book from its full potential.
However, it is a fun book, something to read when your brain is tired but the idea of watching TV makes you cry. No real thinking involved (except for translating all of that stupid slang), and, if you're a fan of Austen or other Regency novels, definitely pick this one up. I've purchased another one by Heyer; it'll be interesting to see where she goes with that one.
3 stars
Small Favor, Jim Butcher
And, last up, we have a book that actually appeared on my original 50 Books list, waaaay back in January. I think this is the fifth book that can claim that dubious privilege. It's the most recent of the Harry Dresden novels, and, shockingly enough, Harry ends up right in the middle of an even bigger mess of trouble than last time.
The Harry Dresden books are formulaic; I was in the room when Jim Butcher admitted that. And, you know what, its a damn good formula. The only time it gets frustrating is when I look at what Harry's got to go up against in each book. Like a Bruckheimer sequel, the odds are always slimmer, the consequences slightly more disastrous, the explosions just a wee bit bigger. In this book, Harry's up against agents of the Summer Court, the Winter Court (to a slightly lesser extent), and a horde of Fallen Angels. Sounds like a party, no?
What saves the Dresden books from devolving into the literary equivalent of two jocks duking it out over sports is that Harry, and by extension Jim, is smart. Harry is always outnumbered and outgunned, and he knows it. He's learned from past mistakes, and he puts those lessons into practice with the next group of baddies that lurch out of the Nevernever. He also always gets hurt--there's never a feeling that light and happiness won the day with no casualties--innocent people die and get hurt, and Harry usually ends up limping away from fights that should have killed him, instead of striding blithely away. So the danger feels more real, and more organic. It's not just that he gets BIG injuries, either--sure, he's got guys with semiautomatics shooting at him, but his nose is also broken and causing him a lot of pain, and he's nearly got hypothermia. When Jim sends Harry into the (metaphorical) jungle to battle King Kong, he makes sure to mention just how much the mosquitos suck this year. And that adds a level to the Dresden files that keeps them human, even as he he steps in front of another unconquerable-foe-that-he-just-manages-to-conquer.
This is another series with good secondary and tertiary characters, and we get to see a lot of them: Thomas, his White Court vampire half-brother, Michael and Sanya, two Knights of God, Murphy, a police officer who takes her oath to protect and serve damn seriously, and Ivy, the twelve-year-old girl who also happens to be the font of all recorded knowledge. They're all highly individualized, which can be tough when you have a cast of characters the size that Butcher does. And he really makes sure that Chicago, both the mundane world and the Nevernever really come alive, too.
That being said, the actual plot behind the book didn't particularly grab me (Gentleman Johnny Marcone gets kidnapped, Mab makes Harry go find him for reasons of her own, the Denarians get involved and what you think is happening turns out to only be a distraction) but the story itself did. The characters were all spot-on, and the action, while intense, was also interesting--and there were some parts that kept me on my toes. The book was fun, and what it lacked in plot-grabbing it more than made up for with everything else.
Though it really could have had more of Marcone in it. I love that guy.
3 stars
Tangled Webs, Anne Bishop
I've already done a micro-review here, but it's really just me squeeing over how much I love Anne Bishop. This book also reminds me how much I love the Black Jewels setting.
Tangled Webs this takes place after the events in the trilogy and "Kaeleer's Heart" from Dreams Made Flesh. It focuses mostly on Surreal (always a good decision), with a few chapters from Daemon and Lucivar's perspective, and a few scattered paragraphs from Papa Saetan's. Again, it ignores Jaenelle as a POV character, which I think is an excellent idea. For one thing, canonically, Jaenelle is Witch, Dreams Made Flesh. She is kindred, but not kind. Part of her allure is that the people in her life cannot truly understand her, or know her completely. She will always remain a bit of a mystery to them, because of the sheer number and complexity of the dreams that made her. Can the Blood really understand the kindred and vice verse? No, only Jaenelle can, and that makes her different. Giving readers chapters from her POV would ruin that mystery for us. I don't want to know what she's thinking when her summer-sky eyes change to midnight. I want to be as surprised and confused as everyone else is later.
Also, Jaenelle's pretty much the textbook definition of a Mary Sue. Super-speshul, ultra-powerful, all the good guys love her, eyes that (sort of) change color, blah blah blah. I mean, did you read her description--she's dreams made flesh. That's one helluva moniker. Bishop does an excellent job making you forget just how Sueish Jaenelle really is, but if we were reading chapters from her POV, I think that distinction would be lost.
So bonus craft points to Anne Bishop.
Anyway, as I said earlier before I got sidetracked, Surreal is the main POV character for the book. This is a Good Thing, as Surreal is my favorite character trope: sassy, ballsy assassin who (used to) moonlight as a whore on the side to make it easier to get close to the men she's going to kill. Of course, by this time, she's given up both careers, as in Kaeleer a) she doesn't need to do either, and b) the menfolks in her family would be quite put out is she continued. And while she certainly doesn't want to continue working in Red Moon houses, their overbearing protectiveness gives her something to snipe and grumble about. It's cute. And it's downright hilarious to see her face-to-face with evil, and her most pressing concern is "Man, if I survive this, Lucivar is going to KILL me for being this stupid. If I don't survive this, Papa Saetan [the High Lord of Hell, btw] is going to kill me AGAIN for being this stupid."
This book has all the humorous character interaction that I loved in the previous books. I think, more than anything else, that's why I love the Black Jewels series better than any of the others that she's written. The characterization is fan-frickin-tastic, and she blends, anger, humor, love, pain, and betrayal together quite nicely. Families hurt each other, and that's not something that she shrinks away from. Her relationships are realistic, but manage to stay fun. Tangled Webs also gives more screen time to Ranier, the gay dancing master from Jaenelle's Second Circle. Of course, now that the Court of Ebon Askavi is gone, Jaenelle doesn't technically have Circles for him to be a part of, but when has that ever stopped anyone? He's a Warlord Prince, which means he's just as touchy as the rest of her males, (he's a dark-Opal, but I have no idea what makes the difference between a light-Opal and a dark), and he's pretty much become Surreal's best friend outside of the family. It makes for good character interaction there, too, because sex doesn't get in the way. They're friends and that's it. I liked what little we saw of him in "Kaeleer's Heart" and I'm glad he's getting some more focus.
Also a little closer to the spotlight are the landens. The premise of the book is that a landen author has been writing murder mysteries about the Blood and getting everything wrong. To amuse children, Jaenelle sets up a haunted house for the landen children nearby that showcases the most tawdry of the cliches the author uses. The author, filled with more vainglory than is healthy in a man dealing with the SaDiablos, sets up another house and tries to lure Daemon, Lucivar, and Surreal inside where it has been filled with all kinds of nasty tricks. I'm not certain how that would have worked, as he'd then be trying to contain a Black and Ebon-gray Jeweled Warlord Prince, a Gray Jeweled witch, and had three out of the four people Jaenelle cares about most locked in a trap, but that's speculation for another day. Let's just say that this was an ill-conceived plan and leave it there, shall we?
So, the trap manages to catch only Surreal and Ranier, as well as a handful of landen children. These children embody everything I hate about children protagonists, which is why I'm not particularly sorry when they start getting killed off by their own brash stupidity. Surreal gives it to them straight, "You were told there is danger, you were told someone is trying to hurt all of us, and you were told to stay away from that door. But you had to play 'Who's got the biggest balls?' and you dared your friend to open the door. So listen up, sugar. That little fool shouldn't have disobeyed me. Have you got that?" And they still keep dying! It's nice to see people reaping the whirlwind of their stupid, even if they are stupid because they are children.
And the book continues on, as Surreal and Rabier attempt to get out of the house, and Daemon and Jaenelle attempt to figure out how to get in. Also in the book: Kaelas gets scared and Tersa gets angry.
Fun, a great read, and interesting premise, and it's slowly shedding light on the parts of Kaeleer that exist beyond Jaenelle's shadow. A new villain (which just goes to show that while Jaenelle may have carved out the corrupted blood, there's no way to stomp out the darker side of human nature), and surprisingly little sex.
4.5 stars
Jane Austen's Guide to Good Manners, Josephine Ross
This is just a short read, going over some of the finer points of manners in Regency England. Austen was a big stickler for manners; both her lampooning of socially inept characters and personal letters bear testimony to that. This book goes over some of the more important points of etiquette: how to pay and receive calls, how to behave at a ball, how to refuse a proposal of marriage, stuff of that nature. It doesn't go in-depth, of course, (for example, it gives no information on how to address individuals according to rank) but it's a cute little pocket guide. The Cliff Note's version of Emily Post, one could say, written as if it really were meant ot be read by young ladies of the early 19th century.
It didn't really tell me anything I didn't already know, etiquette-wise, but it did make me go back and appreciate the books a bit more. Jane Austen's Guide to Good Manners used lots of examples taken from Austen's own works and letters to illustrate its points, which then made me go back and think about what Austen was doing with the characters and why. That is, I think, the real reason behind the book. Not so that you'll be able to pour tea correctly on the off-chance you're taken back in time, but as another way to view Austen's characters. Wonderfully done.
Speaking of illustration, Henrietta Webb provided a lot of very pretty watercolor paintings for the book. At first glance, you can see that she's very talented. At second glance, you can see all the little sly jokes she hid in the pages, and you can tell she's smart and funny, too. The illustrations match the light and entertaining tone of the book to a T.
4 stars
False Colours, Georgette Heyer
Georgette Heyer is a famous historical novelist. I'd never heard of her, and I picked up False Colours on a whim. I'm glad I did;
So, the premise of the book is that Kit Fancot comes home to London one night because he has an inkling something is wrong with his twin brother, Evelyn. Upon coming home, he finds out from his mother that Evelyn had vanished several days before he was supposed to meet his betrothed's family; and, due to their mother's unthinking extravagance, there's a lot riding on this betrothal, like personal honor and family fortune. What can be done other than have Kit pretend to be his brother for an evening to meet the family? Reluctantly, he agrees to impersonate his brother, and, surprisingly enough, things don't go smoothly and he's forced to continue the impersonation later. He and the heiress fall in love, and then his brother shows up, and the best laid plans of mice and men blow up in everyone's faces.
This is a cute, flufftastic story. It also holds up well over time; the first printing of the book was in 1963, but it has a very timeless quality to it. I had thought that it'd been written within the last few years until I saw that Heyer had died in 1974. There are many more recent books that show their age more than this one does. It's just trying to tell a simple love story and does so well. Cressy, the heroine, has both brains and a spine, Kit is long-suffering without being angsty about it, his mother is simultaneously scatterbrained and devious, and Cressy's imperious grandmother is played by Dame Judy Dench. No surprises, no deep characterization, this book basically says, "Hi. I'm a bouncy romance. Let's be friends." It doesn't aspire to anything more than that, which is refreshing. You can tell Heyer didn't sit down deciding to write Literature, but just a fun story.
However, as I mentioned above, it is flawed. The most egregious flaw that really threw me out of the story was its overuse of Regency slang. Don't get me wrong, I know (more than) my fair share of slang but it just got used, then overused, and then just got to the point where it became frustrating. While it is true, people probably use slang everytime they speak, especially amongst friends and family, that doesn't mean that it needs to be shone in the book. It's sort of like how fifteen year olds wank and whine, but that doesn't mean I want to read 500+ pages of it (why, yes, that was a deliberate dig at you, Ms. Rowling.) Some slang was easy to figure out (the petticoat line probably refers to the demimonde) but others weren't quite as easy to figure out. I don't want to take time out of reading a story to puzzle through what they're actually saying. That's why I have Shakespeare, thanks.
Also, while the book was fun, it wasn't anything surprising or spectacular. As I said before, it doesn't aspire to anything, and that cuts both ways. It escapes pretentiousness, but doesn't escape predictability. From reading the back of the book, I could predict almost exactly what would happen. This isn't exactly unexpected, but there were several points where I was thinking "she could totally set convention on its ear right here". It still wouldn't have turned the book into great Literature or anything, but it would have added an extra textual depth to it. I guess what I'm saying is that there were several missed opportunities that I noted. It's like missing extra credit--it's not exactly a loss, since it isn't detracting from anything, but it does inhibit the book from its full potential.
However, it is a fun book, something to read when your brain is tired but the idea of watching TV makes you cry. No real thinking involved (except for translating all of that stupid slang), and, if you're a fan of Austen or other Regency novels, definitely pick this one up. I've purchased another one by Heyer; it'll be interesting to see where she goes with that one.
3 stars
Small Favor, Jim Butcher
And, last up, we have a book that actually appeared on my original 50 Books list, waaaay back in January. I think this is the fifth book that can claim that dubious privilege. It's the most recent of the Harry Dresden novels, and, shockingly enough, Harry ends up right in the middle of an even bigger mess of trouble than last time.
The Harry Dresden books are formulaic; I was in the room when Jim Butcher admitted that. And, you know what, its a damn good formula. The only time it gets frustrating is when I look at what Harry's got to go up against in each book. Like a Bruckheimer sequel, the odds are always slimmer, the consequences slightly more disastrous, the explosions just a wee bit bigger. In this book, Harry's up against agents of the Summer Court, the Winter Court (to a slightly lesser extent), and a horde of Fallen Angels. Sounds like a party, no?
What saves the Dresden books from devolving into the literary equivalent of two jocks duking it out over sports is that Harry, and by extension Jim, is smart. Harry is always outnumbered and outgunned, and he knows it. He's learned from past mistakes, and he puts those lessons into practice with the next group of baddies that lurch out of the Nevernever. He also always gets hurt--there's never a feeling that light and happiness won the day with no casualties--innocent people die and get hurt, and Harry usually ends up limping away from fights that should have killed him, instead of striding blithely away. So the danger feels more real, and more organic. It's not just that he gets BIG injuries, either--sure, he's got guys with semiautomatics shooting at him, but his nose is also broken and causing him a lot of pain, and he's nearly got hypothermia. When Jim sends Harry into the (metaphorical) jungle to battle King Kong, he makes sure to mention just how much the mosquitos suck this year. And that adds a level to the Dresden files that keeps them human, even as he he steps in front of another unconquerable-foe-that-he-just-manages-to-conquer.
This is another series with good secondary and tertiary characters, and we get to see a lot of them: Thomas, his White Court vampire half-brother, Michael and Sanya, two Knights of God, Murphy, a police officer who takes her oath to protect and serve damn seriously, and Ivy, the twelve-year-old girl who also happens to be the font of all recorded knowledge. They're all highly individualized, which can be tough when you have a cast of characters the size that Butcher does. And he really makes sure that Chicago, both the mundane world and the Nevernever really come alive, too.
That being said, the actual plot behind the book didn't particularly grab me (Gentleman Johnny Marcone gets kidnapped, Mab makes Harry go find him for reasons of her own, the Denarians get involved and what you think is happening turns out to only be a distraction) but the story itself did. The characters were all spot-on, and the action, while intense, was also interesting--and there were some parts that kept me on my toes. The book was fun, and what it lacked in plot-grabbing it more than made up for with everything else.
Though it really could have had more of Marcone in it. I love that guy.
3 stars