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darkelf105Haven't posted about books in awhile, mostly because I've been reading technical, scholarly stuff about Aliciabes and Athenian citizenship, as well as the relationship between the private and the public in Athenian urban life, so needless to say, nothing exciting to anyone but me.
However, I did finish some short and sweet stuff. Nothing to crow about, but not bad either.
House of the Stag, Kage Baker.
Kage Baker is a fantastic writer. I love the whimsy of her prose and how it just inexorably leads you onwards. It has this lovely just so quality that makes it seem like a fairy tale, but at the same time, there were long, really well-done passages that reminded me of epics like the Aeneid or Odyssey in the way that story information was portrayed.
That being said, the book was only okay. It was charming, and it was silly. It played with the idea of the "dark lord" in epic fantasy and in that respect was quite awesome. Gard was an okay protagonist. He could be funny. His interactions with the demons were the best parts of the book. Even though it was very obvious where the story was going, it was fun being led there.
That being said, the parts with Saint/Child, were also very, very good. She was a very awesome, well-written mystic character, which says something because I never like the mystical hippie tree-hugger healer chicks. The parts with her and Gard were very, very funny, except:
SPOILERS:
She and Gard get married because Gard rapes her. It is not glossed over. Gard knows what he has done and he is sorry for it. Really and truly sorry. He asks the Saint to marry him because he knows she is with child. He does this because he knows he has acted like the scum of the earth and it is the only way he can think of to ammend, that and he is smitten by his rape victim, which is just a tad squicky. The Saint accepts, not because she is smitten, but as very, very political decision of her own free will. These parts are written in tone similar to the way rape scenes are written in Odyssey or Iliad, in that they aren't really dwelt on, they're just part of the narrative. I have no idea of what I feel about this, which is part of why I'm not raving about what for the most part was a really charming, very whimsical book.
The other problem I had was pacing. The book felt like it should have been longer. I would like to have seen more of how Gard became the Dark Lord and more of he and the Saint interracting in their marriage. I definitely would have liked more of page time given to them raising their kids.
This is a prequel to Anvil of the World, but I don't think the same characters are in it. It's a shame because I would have liked a novel about Gard and the Saint's kids.
Black Butler, Yana Toboso.
Okay, despite all the problems I have with it, namely that I don't much care for Ciel and his servants don't get nearly enough page time, I still like it.
Mainly because sexy butlers really do it for me.
Also, the porn. Yes, that's right, the porn. As in the sweets porn. I cannot get enough of the delicious Sebastian making delicious, tasty sweets.
Does anyone know the gender of the gardner? I would have sworn she was she, but Yen Press has it translated as he. I don't really care, but would like to know for informational purposes.
However, I did finish some short and sweet stuff. Nothing to crow about, but not bad either.
House of the Stag, Kage Baker.
Kage Baker is a fantastic writer. I love the whimsy of her prose and how it just inexorably leads you onwards. It has this lovely just so quality that makes it seem like a fairy tale, but at the same time, there were long, really well-done passages that reminded me of epics like the Aeneid or Odyssey in the way that story information was portrayed.
That being said, the book was only okay. It was charming, and it was silly. It played with the idea of the "dark lord" in epic fantasy and in that respect was quite awesome. Gard was an okay protagonist. He could be funny. His interactions with the demons were the best parts of the book. Even though it was very obvious where the story was going, it was fun being led there.
That being said, the parts with Saint/Child, were also very, very good. She was a very awesome, well-written mystic character, which says something because I never like the mystical hippie tree-hugger healer chicks. The parts with her and Gard were very, very funny, except:
SPOILERS:
She and Gard get married because Gard rapes her. It is not glossed over. Gard knows what he has done and he is sorry for it. Really and truly sorry. He asks the Saint to marry him because he knows she is with child. He does this because he knows he has acted like the scum of the earth and it is the only way he can think of to ammend, that and he is smitten by his rape victim, which is just a tad squicky. The Saint accepts, not because she is smitten, but as very, very political decision of her own free will. These parts are written in tone similar to the way rape scenes are written in Odyssey or Iliad, in that they aren't really dwelt on, they're just part of the narrative. I have no idea of what I feel about this, which is part of why I'm not raving about what for the most part was a really charming, very whimsical book.
The other problem I had was pacing. The book felt like it should have been longer. I would like to have seen more of how Gard became the Dark Lord and more of he and the Saint interracting in their marriage. I definitely would have liked more of page time given to them raising their kids.
This is a prequel to Anvil of the World, but I don't think the same characters are in it. It's a shame because I would have liked a novel about Gard and the Saint's kids.
Black Butler, Yana Toboso.
Okay, despite all the problems I have with it, namely that I don't much care for Ciel and his servants don't get nearly enough page time, I still like it.
Mainly because sexy butlers really do it for me.
Also, the porn. Yes, that's right, the porn. As in the sweets porn. I cannot get enough of the delicious Sebastian making delicious, tasty sweets.
Does anyone know the gender of the gardner? I would have sworn she was she, but Yen Press has it translated as he. I don't really care, but would like to know for informational purposes.