Race & Sexual Orientation in The Demon's Surrender: A Review

[spiderstars]

I just finished Sarah Rees Brennan's The Demon's Surrender. It is the final book in her Demon's Lexicon trilogy and, honestly? There are some issues.

I'm not a die-hard SJer, and god knows I like some really problematic media. There's nothing wrong with liking problematic media, but there is something wrong with not acknowledging your media is

Comments

[sparkindarkness]

One of the forms of -ism I have found many authors have pulled in their books is, frankly, to just make their minority characters LESS than their chosen protags. Their chosen protag isn't a bigot! It's just that the black people around them are horrible to them! (Charlaine Harris, that would be you). The protag isn't a homophobe, that gay guy is weak and crying and fragile and needs protecting

[spiderstars]

The thing that frustrates me the most about this is that I see this particular author praised for her diversity. I honestly see nothing but praise and I find it frustrating that I have yet to find any intelligent discussion on the problematic elements in the series.

And I did screw up a bit: the lesbians didn't sell their voices; they were stolen by their adoptive son on accident.

[soujiokita]

that's really a shame. i don't have anything deep to say, just to warn you. i always pictured sin as hispanic for some reason... i can't believe that whole thing with mae happened. i always found her incredibly annoying. i think the only characters i really latched on to were jamie and sin, but i can't remember if i liked/disliked nick...

sorry that was convoluted and weird. i'm really hungry and still jet-lagged...

[spiderstars]

Sin is mixed race. If I recall correctly her father is islander and her mom is just white, and she IDs, as far as I can tell, as black.

I ... I feel bad, because 1. I usually love pretty much any YA heroine indiscriminately and 2. the author clearly likes Mae a whole lot, but by the end of Surrender I couldn't stand her.

I adore sin. The book is worth the read if only for her. She's ten kinds of amazing despite the narrative holding her down. I ... used to like Nick? But in this book and in Covenant he just seemed like a bad-boy douchecanoe. Alan is my number one and always will be but. Yeah. Surrender is worth the read, I think, and you might like it! A lot of my issues were personal taste/discomfort with social issues.

Also, if you are back we should hang out soon. 8)

[soujiokita]

i like reading your posts about this stuff, though, because i might feel uncomfortable with stuff, but i'd never be able to pinpoint why...

and i'm going to read it just like i read the last harry potter even though i'd stopped really adoring the series at book five. even if it turns out to not be the best, i'll still have read it and i won't have to wonder about it at night, ha ha ha.

and yes! i am back! please let's hang out! i've got johnny on saturday and yellow springs on sunday but after that i'm totes free! :D

[aeirol]

I am getting a copy of this book somehow, without buying it, and as soon as I do I will add my voice to this in whatever way I see. But, for now, I'd say your case is very solid, and I am very very angry with this author for the screwed up job she has done.

[spiderstars]

Go to the library here next time you come to visit. We have plenty of copies.

Here, have some RAEGyaka.

[akai_senshi]

TBH, I wasn't expecting much from this book by the title. It sounds like the title of a REALLY BAD FANFIC.

Though it's interesting how this can show off an author's unconscious prejudices...

[spiderstars]

I-I am not sure what the marketing folks were thinking with the title (or the covers), and I would have honestly probably not have picked the series if I hadn't been familiar with the author's pre-publication work. This particular title sounds like a porny paranormal romance. I made my GF ask at the front counter for it when I was planning on buying it because I was too embarrassed to do it myself.

[tommyrotter]

While I have yet to read the book myself and feel I ought to before adding much else to this discussion, it completely floors me that almost no one is talking about this, and that it seems the discussion never even came up when the author had her peer reviews, editor, etc. look at her manuscript.

I'll be back to add more in a few days, but for now--don't apologize, this is very fair and intelligent discourse. You even raised points that I hadn't considered before (mainly that Sin, in raising her siblings, ought to be well versed in monetary concerns, but is inexplicably not compared to white, rich Mae). And from what I gather from your post, the narrative presents these but does not criticize any amount of it. I'm incredibly disappointed, and am shocked no one is talking about it, so thank you for opening the dialogue.

[spiderstars]

I'm not sure I'm opening much of anything since hardly anyone reads my journal, but thanks. 8)

And I agree about the peer reviews. I can't believe no one saw the Unfortunate Implications.

[tommyrotter]

of possible interest