As I mentioned previously, I was reading The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein. I fully intend to finish it one day, but couldn't renew it because someone placed a hold on it... and so I had to return it to the library, unfinished. Just as it was getting good!
I had a discussion with my dad about it, since he's the one who recommended the book to me in the first place. The way the story starts is my cup of tea- just jumping right in. Apparently that's how Heinlein rolls, so I'm sure I'll get to Stranger in a Strange Land eventually, too. Like I said before, though, reading about computers in books written in the 60's is weird to me.
But then the characters begin their discussion about the philosophy of revolution. How a subversive movement could or should work. It's amazing, brilliant.
That's what Heinlein does, my dad says. Wraps these crazy ideas up in a story for you, gives them some context. Wait until they talk about how to create a government, he told me.
Current favorite author Steven Brust just wrote a blog post about an important subject for me, on the whole business of making the reader work. Basically... yes. Readers, don't complain when there's not enough information. You should be able to fill the gaps in with your own imagination. That's kind of how I see it, anyway.
Also, apparently Hawk will be coming out within the next year, estimated. Can't wait!
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Pern and Other Worlds
Girls and dragons. Why can't we get enough of that combination?
I've read the first two books of the Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey and a few books in the Dragon Keeper Chronicles written by Donita K. Paul. They're all about girls. With dragons. The second book in each series is titled DragonQuest, and I read each of them at about the same time, one right after the other.
I actually read a separate trilogy by Paul before now, which takes place on the other side of the planet from Amara; the Chiril Chronicles. They were unchallenging and nearly boring and I almost lost hope after a few pages of the young, girly protagonist basically not doing much. But then other characters evolved around her, two of which shared a few zingy one-liners and very clever witticisms. So I kept on.
But the Dragon Keeper books are, irritatingly, fluffy Christian fantasy filed under the Sci-fi section for some reason. I've read one or two other people's reviews that say 'you don't have to be a Christian to like these books,' but yes, you do. No, it's not about "God" and "Jesus," but it is about "Wulder" and "Paladin." Close enough, right?
There isn't actually a lot of Jesus allusion, but the principles of Wulder basically take everything over. There's also anticlimactic climaxes, barely any in-group tension, and watered-down fight descriptions. And everyone loves Wulder except for the poor sods who don't.
The Pern series so far is a bit darker than I expected. It's weird transitioning from modern-day writing to something published decades ago. I also find myself asking, when reading a fantasy book, about the characters' religions- religion is such a prevalent aspect of so many lives. Paul's books address this issue with all the subtlety of a blunt axe. McCaffrey's approach is much more light-handed.
There's no 'religion' on Pern that I could discern. No one worships or leaves offerings for a deity. No one seems to pray. But they do have an overarching, constant battle with Thread. And this, this is their religion. It's easy for the dragon keepers- they are the ones battling Thread, they see it all the time, they exist to uphold traditions to be ready for the next wave of it. Those that live simple lives in holds forget about Thread when it is not imminent. It's very interesting politically.
So what have I been reading lately that doesn't have to do with girls and their dragons? Oh, a few things. I read Dies the Fire by S. M. Stirling, which took me a while to get sucked into. It's about the end of the world as we know it. Electricity stops working for no known reason and society dissolves into chaos.
Also I read the latest by Seanan McGuire, Ashes of Honor. Remember October Daye? Spoiler alert: she finally bangs Tybalt. There. Now you do't have to read the book.
This whole series aggravates me because it is so rich in detail, so well-researched and beautifully sewn into our own mundane world, and yet what does this entire thing turn into but ridiculous amounts of violence and a forever-long will-they, won't-they between two people who should never, ever have even considered getting together with each other. I'm also tired of the Luidaeg pulling magical solutions to everything out of her ass.
In the first October Daye book, there were taboos. When October gets an idea to call the night-haunts, it was terrifying. You don't call the night-haunts. You just don't. It's absolutely unheard of. But she did anyway. It was crazy.
Now, nothing is taboo. Oh, sure, we can jump between lost worlds, whatever. Here, take this candle/bauble/rose/thing, it'll see you from point A to point B. Take care now, and try to watch out for men, they always seem to want to confess their love to you and you just don't have time for that, all right?
Anyway.
I just finished another book by Patricia A. McKillip, titled Ombria in Shadow.
Now, this was a book.
At first I was put off by the flowery descriptions and confusing writing. But what I do like about McKillip is that she seems to skip excessive exposition and jump right into Where Things Begin. In this book, the prince of Ombria has just died. His mistress, nephew, and son must cope with that all while dealing with one Domina Pearl, a sharply evil yet ambiguously human regent bent on... I'm still not even sure. Subverting the city, I think. Well, she's the bad guy.
Ombria has an interesting split personality of 'reality' and shadow, mixing mundane with magic. Basically, don't go out at night.
I could see myself writing a paper for English class on this. The themes of hidden identities and lost innocence are displayed in motifs of mirrors, shoes, masks, jewels, and charcoal... I could go on, but I won't. Maybe another time.
And now I'm trying to muscle through The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. I don't know what it is, I have a hard time getting through stories written in the mid twentieth century about computers.
I've read the first two books of the Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey and a few books in the Dragon Keeper Chronicles written by Donita K. Paul. They're all about girls. With dragons. The second book in each series is titled DragonQuest, and I read each of them at about the same time, one right after the other.
I actually read a separate trilogy by Paul before now, which takes place on the other side of the planet from Amara; the Chiril Chronicles. They were unchallenging and nearly boring and I almost lost hope after a few pages of the young, girly protagonist basically not doing much. But then other characters evolved around her, two of which shared a few zingy one-liners and very clever witticisms. So I kept on.
But the Dragon Keeper books are, irritatingly, fluffy Christian fantasy filed under the Sci-fi section for some reason. I've read one or two other people's reviews that say 'you don't have to be a Christian to like these books,' but yes, you do. No, it's not about "God" and "Jesus," but it is about "Wulder" and "Paladin." Close enough, right?
There isn't actually a lot of Jesus allusion, but the principles of Wulder basically take everything over. There's also anticlimactic climaxes, barely any in-group tension, and watered-down fight descriptions. And everyone loves Wulder except for the poor sods who don't.
The Pern series so far is a bit darker than I expected. It's weird transitioning from modern-day writing to something published decades ago. I also find myself asking, when reading a fantasy book, about the characters' religions- religion is such a prevalent aspect of so many lives. Paul's books address this issue with all the subtlety of a blunt axe. McCaffrey's approach is much more light-handed.
There's no 'religion' on Pern that I could discern. No one worships or leaves offerings for a deity. No one seems to pray. But they do have an overarching, constant battle with Thread. And this, this is their religion. It's easy for the dragon keepers- they are the ones battling Thread, they see it all the time, they exist to uphold traditions to be ready for the next wave of it. Those that live simple lives in holds forget about Thread when it is not imminent. It's very interesting politically.
So what have I been reading lately that doesn't have to do with girls and their dragons? Oh, a few things. I read Dies the Fire by S. M. Stirling, which took me a while to get sucked into. It's about the end of the world as we know it. Electricity stops working for no known reason and society dissolves into chaos.
Also I read the latest by Seanan McGuire, Ashes of Honor. Remember October Daye? Spoiler alert: she finally bangs Tybalt. There. Now you do't have to read the book.
This whole series aggravates me because it is so rich in detail, so well-researched and beautifully sewn into our own mundane world, and yet what does this entire thing turn into but ridiculous amounts of violence and a forever-long will-they, won't-they between two people who should never, ever have even considered getting together with each other. I'm also tired of the Luidaeg pulling magical solutions to everything out of her ass.
In the first October Daye book, there were taboos. When October gets an idea to call the night-haunts, it was terrifying. You don't call the night-haunts. You just don't. It's absolutely unheard of. But she did anyway. It was crazy.
Now, nothing is taboo. Oh, sure, we can jump between lost worlds, whatever. Here, take this candle/bauble/rose/thing, it'll see you from point A to point B. Take care now, and try to watch out for men, they always seem to want to confess their love to you and you just don't have time for that, all right?
Anyway.
I just finished another book by Patricia A. McKillip, titled Ombria in Shadow.
Now, this was a book.
At first I was put off by the flowery descriptions and confusing writing. But what I do like about McKillip is that she seems to skip excessive exposition and jump right into Where Things Begin. In this book, the prince of Ombria has just died. His mistress, nephew, and son must cope with that all while dealing with one Domina Pearl, a sharply evil yet ambiguously human regent bent on... I'm still not even sure. Subverting the city, I think. Well, she's the bad guy.
Ombria has an interesting split personality of 'reality' and shadow, mixing mundane with magic. Basically, don't go out at night.
I could see myself writing a paper for English class on this. The themes of hidden identities and lost innocence are displayed in motifs of mirrors, shoes, masks, jewels, and charcoal... I could go on, but I won't. Maybe another time.
And now I'm trying to muscle through The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. I don't know what it is, I have a hard time getting through stories written in the mid twentieth century about computers.
Monday, April 15, 2013
McKillip, Catch 22, Other Things
Yes, I'm still reading. I'm actually just now itching to start picking up new, random books once more. I'm not entirely sure why, but I needed a hiatus. Perhaps I was focusing more on the craptastic story I'm writing myself- for fun, you know, something I might enjoy reading but I wouldn't necessarily expect anyone else to. I wish I could remember the exact quote, but you know, 'books are for writing, not for reading,' said someone once. And I firmly believe in that. Yes.
Anyway, what have I read in the past few months? Actually I was feeling in need of inspiration recently, since I am really officially starting my photography business, and so I grabbed one my my college books from my shelf and read through it a couple times: Why People Photograph by Robert Adams. It's an interesting look into, well, why people take up a camera and point it where they do, and click the shutter when they choose. It's more of a compilation of philosophical essays and musings concerning personal motivation and also what you are communicating.
It helped.
I was also recently handed a small book titled The Changeling Sea by Patricia McKillip, which was really beautifully written, but that didn't prevent my from rolling my eyes at the three grown men tripping over themselves for the 'unattractive' fifteen-year-old protagonist. The person who gave it to me to read said McKillip seems to have a theme in a lot of her books where the protagonist is dealing with death in some way, which I think is interesting, because that can be a fascinating tunnel to explore- the way the death of your father, mother, friend, or maybe even king can affect one's mind.
The protagonist of The Changeling Sea is Peri, whose fisherman father has recently drowned in the sea, and she must come to terms with it. There might be a fairy-tale ending that Peri has done absolutely nothing to deserve, but somehow it's still a sweet story with characters that are simultaneously one-dimensional yet also realistic.
You know what else, I tried to read Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, and have deemed myself intellectually unworthy. I think I'm at a weird point in my life where I can't deviate too far from thinking about myself, which is how I can get through bits of fluff like the story above, or books about photography, but something like Catch-22 makes me go WHOA whoa whoa, guys, where the HELL am I right now??! But that's probably good for me. Maybe I'll try again sometime.
Anyway, what have I read in the past few months? Actually I was feeling in need of inspiration recently, since I am really officially starting my photography business, and so I grabbed one my my college books from my shelf and read through it a couple times: Why People Photograph by Robert Adams. It's an interesting look into, well, why people take up a camera and point it where they do, and click the shutter when they choose. It's more of a compilation of philosophical essays and musings concerning personal motivation and also what you are communicating.
It helped.
I was also recently handed a small book titled The Changeling Sea by Patricia McKillip, which was really beautifully written, but that didn't prevent my from rolling my eyes at the three grown men tripping over themselves for the 'unattractive' fifteen-year-old protagonist. The person who gave it to me to read said McKillip seems to have a theme in a lot of her books where the protagonist is dealing with death in some way, which I think is interesting, because that can be a fascinating tunnel to explore- the way the death of your father, mother, friend, or maybe even king can affect one's mind.
The protagonist of The Changeling Sea is Peri, whose fisherman father has recently drowned in the sea, and she must come to terms with it. There might be a fairy-tale ending that Peri has done absolutely nothing to deserve, but somehow it's still a sweet story with characters that are simultaneously one-dimensional yet also realistic.
You know what else, I tried to read Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, and have deemed myself intellectually unworthy. I think I'm at a weird point in my life where I can't deviate too far from thinking about myself, which is how I can get through bits of fluff like the story above, or books about photography, but something like Catch-22 makes me go WHOA whoa whoa, guys, where the HELL am I right now??! But that's probably good for me. Maybe I'll try again sometime.
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