Books and Characters
Aug. 31st, 2008 12:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skull_bearerI've already ranted about 'The Man With The Iron Heart', so here are my thoughts on the other books I've been reading recently, and most importantly, the characters.
Victory of Eagles.
I love Temeraire, which is why the book was a horrible shock because I'm afraid we've been here before. The characters are fine, still, but the plot seems to be coming unpicked at the edges. Things are introduced for no reasons, and small plot points have been left dangling. New plots are introduced with little foreshadowing and thus feel rushed. Also, it is beginning to feel drawn out. How long is this series going to last? Sending Temeraire off again at the end seemed a poor attempt to cram in another book. I'm seeing sighs of decay in this series I last saw in Harry Potter, and the thought that Temeraire might go the same way is awful.
Also, I am really not happy with Laurence's character development. It's good, I don't deny it, and still IC, and having him killing so many people does work, but the resolution doesn't, not for me. So he stops and refuses to go on following orders, and all is forgiven? I'm sorry, but the 'only following orders' excuse leaves a really bad fucking taste in my mouth, for obvious reasons. What he was doing was murder, pure and simple, and even he admitted it, and it's okay to forgive him as long as he's sorry. Laurence dear, I know you're under a lot of shit at the moment, but sailing away to Austrailia does not erase the fact you've been behaving like an early member of the Einzatsgruppen, with dragons.
Nothing against Novik's writing, you're still IC, I just don't think I like you any more. You should just leave all the important decisions to Temeraire in future, since it's obvious he's the only one between you with half a frigging conscience. Although still, Temeraire dude, what were you thinking? You did a lot of growing up in this book, but you have a lot more to do. What you and Laurence did was miles over the line. I know you were occupied and everything, but dude, boundries. The fact that it could have been done without entirely really doesn' help matters.
And to Ms Novik. Please, take longer with your books, they are getting more and more rushed and I'm no longer sure what I'm supposed to be thinking here. Sending aurence and Temeraire to Australia is not going to help matters.
The Village of a Million Spirits.
Okay, bear in mind that I did like this books for what it was, and admire the author for what he did. Setting a story in Treblinka is going to be the tough shit from the get-go, and following historical events from the pov of fictional characters is even harder. I admire him for more what he didn't do than what he did though. The characters were good, human and even likable, the setting was... accurate, and realistic, and the events were true to life. They even managed to make the whole think believable, for which I solemly doff my hat.
The only problem was that the whole story proved without a doubt something I realised while working on Past Tense; that the Holocaust as a setting is utterly boring. As soon as the horror wears off it's just incredibly mundane; the characters get up, go to work, either die or survive mostly through sheer blind luck, and go to sleep. Repeat from 1942-1945. There was a reason Past Tense is written in flashbacks. Village of a Million Spirits is a good and skillfully written book, but unless you have my kind of interest in the Holocaust, don't bother.
Currently reading the original Dracula and thoroughly enjoying it, so it's not all bad.
Victory of Eagles.
I love Temeraire, which is why the book was a horrible shock because I'm afraid we've been here before. The characters are fine, still, but the plot seems to be coming unpicked at the edges. Things are introduced for no reasons, and small plot points have been left dangling. New plots are introduced with little foreshadowing and thus feel rushed. Also, it is beginning to feel drawn out. How long is this series going to last? Sending Temeraire off again at the end seemed a poor attempt to cram in another book. I'm seeing sighs of decay in this series I last saw in Harry Potter, and the thought that Temeraire might go the same way is awful.
Also, I am really not happy with Laurence's character development. It's good, I don't deny it, and still IC, and having him killing so many people does work, but the resolution doesn't, not for me. So he stops and refuses to go on following orders, and all is forgiven? I'm sorry, but the 'only following orders' excuse leaves a really bad fucking taste in my mouth, for obvious reasons. What he was doing was murder, pure and simple, and even he admitted it, and it's okay to forgive him as long as he's sorry. Laurence dear, I know you're under a lot of shit at the moment, but sailing away to Austrailia does not erase the fact you've been behaving like an early member of the Einzatsgruppen, with dragons.
Nothing against Novik's writing, you're still IC, I just don't think I like you any more. You should just leave all the important decisions to Temeraire in future, since it's obvious he's the only one between you with half a frigging conscience. Although still, Temeraire dude, what were you thinking? You did a lot of growing up in this book, but you have a lot more to do. What you and Laurence did was miles over the line. I know you were occupied and everything, but dude, boundries. The fact that it could have been done without entirely really doesn' help matters.
And to Ms Novik. Please, take longer with your books, they are getting more and more rushed and I'm no longer sure what I'm supposed to be thinking here. Sending aurence and Temeraire to Australia is not going to help matters.
The Village of a Million Spirits.
Okay, bear in mind that I did like this books for what it was, and admire the author for what he did. Setting a story in Treblinka is going to be the tough shit from the get-go, and following historical events from the pov of fictional characters is even harder. I admire him for more what he didn't do than what he did though. The characters were good, human and even likable, the setting was... accurate, and realistic, and the events were true to life. They even managed to make the whole think believable, for which I solemly doff my hat.
The only problem was that the whole story proved without a doubt something I realised while working on Past Tense; that the Holocaust as a setting is utterly boring. As soon as the horror wears off it's just incredibly mundane; the characters get up, go to work, either die or survive mostly through sheer blind luck, and go to sleep. Repeat from 1942-1945. There was a reason Past Tense is written in flashbacks. Village of a Million Spirits is a good and skillfully written book, but unless you have my kind of interest in the Holocaust, don't bother.
Currently reading the original Dracula and thoroughly enjoying it, so it's not all bad.