Books I read recently
Sep. 24th, 2020 10:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
schneefinkThe Magicians, The Magician King, The Magician's Land – Lev Grossmann
I wonder how I would have enjoyed these if I hadn't watched the show first. Even though they're very different – different characters, different plot etc – I found it hard to keep them separate in my head. I kept reading scenes and thinking of how they were adapted in the show, especially since some were plopped into different places (like Quentin and that card game) or much expanded on (Janet/Margo and her axes.) I also found it hard to like Poppy, for example, because I didn't like her much in the show (and therefore I was initially disappointed when she became a queen in the books), and I was predisposed to liking Quentin and wondered why so many people hate him in the books, at least until it became very clear after Alice slept with Penny and Quentin was a huge ass about it.
In general I did like the books when I was reading them, though I didn't find the first two very compelling and often didn't pick them up again for days after taking a break. The third one was definitely my favorite, I really enjoyed the characters and their relationships and the worldbuilding and the ending. I also enjoyed the writing style and humor.
Also, as much as I would have loved to get Quentin/Eliot in the show, I was surprised how much I enjoyed getting an explicitly aro character in book!Eliot, who still clearly cared so very much for Quentin (so much! I did not expect that much in the books tbh.)
Peace Talks – Dresden Files #16, Jim Butcher
It's been six years since "Skin Game" and in the meantime I've lost some of my enthusiasm for the series, and thus I was surprised just how much I enjoyed returning to this world. This was very clearly the first part of a two-parter, and how much I ultimately like it will depend heavily on "Battle Grounds" because several things were set up that did not pay off yet. Big battles and conflicts, but also minor stuff like the "conjuritis" thing that just seems weird and pointless so far.
I liked Marcone's role in pulling everyone together against the new threat, and I hope we'll see more of how e.g. the Paranet organizes in the next book.
I was very happy to see Thomas again, he's one of my favorites, and then was less happy to find out that he will probably be out of action for a while. He should at least be present in the narrative as Harry finds out what the hell happened.
I was excited when McCoy finally found out about Thomas being Harry's brother. As expected he didn't take it very well, and the fight wasn't a surprise either (though the only way I can explain McCoy accidentally "killing" Harry is that Harry would have been able to defend himself against that if it hadn't been a construct.)
At first I didn't like the idea of Harry being "starborn", I'm generally very skeptical of "born special" storylines. But on second thought, Harry is playing in leagues now where him having a chance against his opponents can only be explained by him being either very very lucky many many times, or him being special, and I think I prefer the latter.
Redemption's Blade – Adrian Tchaikovsky
"What happens after the BBEG and his Evil Legions are defeated?" is an interesting premise, and this book did some interesting things with it. However, a difficulty with the entire concept was that as a whole it presented a nuanced depiction of good and evil in the aftermath of a great war - except for the Kinslayer, who was Pure Evil and did evil things solely for the sake of doing evil things, which was such a contrast that in the end I was starting to become suspicious of that very convenient narrative.
I really liked Celestaine's adventuring party! I wish we'd gotten to see more of the early days of her, Heno, and Nedlam and their relationships. Celestaine and Heno being lovers kiiinda worked as a shortcut to explain their closeness to some degree, but I wanted more. I also really enjoyed Ralas the immortal bard, and Kul and Ned's friendship.
I enjoyed this but didn't love it. Overall it reminded me a lot of "Spiderlight" by the same author.
Middlegame – Seanan McGuire
This was fascinating. I found it interesting from the start, but it took me quite a while to emotionally connect to the main characters, which made the book very slow in the beginning but then I really enjoyed it. Fun with timelines! And the alchemy was cool.
I don't think I started to actually find the characters personally engaging until Book V, more than halfway through. I can't even put my finger on why. Better late than never though.
I was disappointed that we didn't find out what Asphodel was actually planning, because that is still very odd and was built up to be an interesting/potentially plot-twist reveal that never came; or, less importantly, what Roger told Erin to remember.
There is barely any fic, but I really enjoyed this collection of short post-canon stories: Cuckoo Nest, by![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
NevillesGran.
Driftwood – Marie Brennan
Another book by an author I remember enjoying on a Worldcon panel. Very nice short stories, connected very well, fun worlds-building. I do like stories about immortals, though the outsider PoV meant that getting an arc was difficult. (The author did her best.)
"Raybearer" is getting its own post because it's late.
I wonder how I would have enjoyed these if I hadn't watched the show first. Even though they're very different – different characters, different plot etc – I found it hard to keep them separate in my head. I kept reading scenes and thinking of how they were adapted in the show, especially since some were plopped into different places (like Quentin and that card game) or much expanded on (Janet/Margo and her axes.) I also found it hard to like Poppy, for example, because I didn't like her much in the show (and therefore I was initially disappointed when she became a queen in the books), and I was predisposed to liking Quentin and wondered why so many people hate him in the books, at least until it became very clear after Alice slept with Penny and Quentin was a huge ass about it.
In general I did like the books when I was reading them, though I didn't find the first two very compelling and often didn't pick them up again for days after taking a break. The third one was definitely my favorite, I really enjoyed the characters and their relationships and the worldbuilding and the ending. I also enjoyed the writing style and humor.
Also, as much as I would have loved to get Quentin/Eliot in the show, I was surprised how much I enjoyed getting an explicitly aro character in book!Eliot, who still clearly cared so very much for Quentin (so much! I did not expect that much in the books tbh.)
Peace Talks – Dresden Files #16, Jim Butcher
It's been six years since "Skin Game" and in the meantime I've lost some of my enthusiasm for the series, and thus I was surprised just how much I enjoyed returning to this world. This was very clearly the first part of a two-parter, and how much I ultimately like it will depend heavily on "Battle Grounds" because several things were set up that did not pay off yet. Big battles and conflicts, but also minor stuff like the "conjuritis" thing that just seems weird and pointless so far.
I liked Marcone's role in pulling everyone together against the new threat, and I hope we'll see more of how e.g. the Paranet organizes in the next book.
I was very happy to see Thomas again, he's one of my favorites, and then was less happy to find out that he will probably be out of action for a while. He should at least be present in the narrative as Harry finds out what the hell happened.
I was excited when McCoy finally found out about Thomas being Harry's brother. As expected he didn't take it very well, and the fight wasn't a surprise either (though the only way I can explain McCoy accidentally "killing" Harry is that Harry would have been able to defend himself against that if it hadn't been a construct.)
At first I didn't like the idea of Harry being "starborn", I'm generally very skeptical of "born special" storylines. But on second thought, Harry is playing in leagues now where him having a chance against his opponents can only be explained by him being either very very lucky many many times, or him being special, and I think I prefer the latter.
Redemption's Blade – Adrian Tchaikovsky
"What happens after the BBEG and his Evil Legions are defeated?" is an interesting premise, and this book did some interesting things with it. However, a difficulty with the entire concept was that as a whole it presented a nuanced depiction of good and evil in the aftermath of a great war - except for the Kinslayer, who was Pure Evil and did evil things solely for the sake of doing evil things, which was such a contrast that in the end I was starting to become suspicious of that very convenient narrative.
I really liked Celestaine's adventuring party! I wish we'd gotten to see more of the early days of her, Heno, and Nedlam and their relationships. Celestaine and Heno being lovers kiiinda worked as a shortcut to explain their closeness to some degree, but I wanted more. I also really enjoyed Ralas the immortal bard, and Kul and Ned's friendship.
I enjoyed this but didn't love it. Overall it reminded me a lot of "Spiderlight" by the same author.
Middlegame – Seanan McGuire
This was fascinating. I found it interesting from the start, but it took me quite a while to emotionally connect to the main characters, which made the book very slow in the beginning but then I really enjoyed it. Fun with timelines! And the alchemy was cool.
I don't think I started to actually find the characters personally engaging until Book V, more than halfway through. I can't even put my finger on why. Better late than never though.
I was disappointed that we didn't find out what Asphodel was actually planning, because that is still very odd and was built up to be an interesting/potentially plot-twist reveal that never came; or, less importantly, what Roger told Erin to remember.
There is barely any fic, but I really enjoyed this collection of short post-canon stories: Cuckoo Nest, by
Driftwood – Marie Brennan
Another book by an author I remember enjoying on a Worldcon panel. Very nice short stories, connected very well, fun worlds-building. I do like stories about immortals, though the outsider PoV meant that getting an arc was difficult. (The author did her best.)
"Raybearer" is getting its own post because it's late.
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Date: 2020-09-25 12:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-09-25 08:21 pm (UTC)