Harry Dresden, that is.
So a while ago the first seven Harry Dresden books were on sale on Kindle, so I bought them all. I'd heard good things about them from everyone who had read them, and the author seems to be a good guy. I'd even enjoyed a short story or two with Dresden as the main character.
I've read the first two and am not quite sure how I feel about them. I can see the appeal: a sarcastic loner hero who has supernatural adventures and improbably comes out on top. They're very fast moving: I think the first 2 stories have both taken place within the span of a week each (they're set about 6 months apart).
They're fun. Butcher has learned the rule that you get the hero out of trouble only by making it worse. I'd recommend them to aspiring authors for that reason. And - also important - that you can just drop hints about things (his mentor, the White Council, the Nevernever). You don't have to stop and explain in full detail when you first mention them.
But there are things that are so off. Susan, for example, a reporter for the Arcane. I'd like to know who's paying her, because no reporter that I've ever met makes a living wage. I worked as a "Lifestyle Editor" back in '99 and only made $13.000 a year. Maybe if you wrote for the New York Times or the Chicago Tribune... maybe. Some small supernatural rag is not going to be able to pay that much. It would be a labor of love, not something to earn a living wage. Not only that, but she's conventionally gorgeous. I don't buy that for a second. She couldn't afford the clothes she's described as wearing. Maybe she's a heiress? Also, if she's that pretty and into news, why isn't she on TV? And wearing heels? Nope, not if she's a serious, on the street reporter. I need a lot more information about her.
I'm also put off by Harry's attitude towards women. This seems to be setting up as something he needs to learn (there's a time and a place for chauvinism?) but in the interim it makes me want to shake him. He wants to protect people, which is admirable - he just needs to learn how. So this is obviously coming - but is it coming quickly enough for me to want to continue reading?
Butcher has planted enough tidbits to make readers curious, and ensure that they'll keep reading (in the second book, the implication that Harry's parents' deaths were not natural, that his mother had some dark secrets, that someone is trying to kill him). The major plot points of the books are answered, which is nice - he just sets up a lingering mystery.
I do like that he had active women characters - I'd just like to know more about them.
I would guess that these are books that are plotted out beforehand. I'd be curious to know how many he plotted at once. I'm sure I could find that out if I dug - I'm not certain that I feel like digging.
Saturday, April 8, 2017
Sunday, July 7, 2013
The 'Geisters
Author: David Nickle
Published: June 15, 2013
POV: Ann LeSage, 3rd person limited
So. I read an interview with the author on John Scalzi's "Whatever" blog and the concept tickled me so much that I went out and bought the book (http://whatever.scalzi.com/2013/06/26/the-big-idea-david-nickle).
From the blurb: When Ann LeSage was a little girl, she had an invisible friend, a poltergeist, that spoke to her with flying knives and howling winds. She called it the Insect, and with professional help, she contained it...As Ann grew from girl to woman, the Insect grew with her... Now Ann believes that she has the Insect under control. But there are others vying to take that control away from her. They may not know exactly what they're dealing with, but they know they want it. They are the 'Geisters.
The 'Geisters are a group of men that marry women with poltergeists so they can have sex with the ghosts. They keep the women under their control (sometimes locked away) so they can easily access the ghost. Ann falls in love with, and marries, one of their group, not realizing that is why he is interested in her.
Very interesting concept, right? And sadly, all too relevant (the author said he was proofing the galley when the news broke about the man in Cleveland, Ohio, who had kidnapped three women and kept them as sexual slaves for 10 years).
Now, I love a good ghost story, and I was interested to see what Nickle would do with such a setup.
I have to say, I just didn't get it. Ann would move between her present story (courtship and marriage to Michael Voors) and her past (childhood and the rise of the Insect). The back story was well-handled and spaced throughout the book. There was a nice sense of creeping dread - we know Michael and his friend Ian Rickhardt are not quite what they seem - we just don't know when or how we'll find out what they are. We can tell (even if Ann can't) that something is not quite right.
The thing I didn't get - and what threw me out of the book - was how the men had sex with the poltergeists. I did not understand that at all. The Insect manages to convey to Ann that Michael is raping her in the bathroom of the plane on which they're flying back from their honeymoon. The plane crashes, and Michael ends up dying - so it would appear that the Insect really was not a willing participant. But then you would think that the Insect (or any of the ghosts) had to be willing to make intercourse happen. The men do get off on terror - but also are obviously engaged in the act with something invisible. Maybe I skimmed past it, but I never did get an explanation of why or how the men had control over the poltergeists - at least not one that I believed or understood.
There is a scene, late in the book, where they are trying to inaugurate Ann's brother Philip into their cult, as he also has a link to the Insect. This inauguration seems like a religious service, and there is an implication that they are worshiping the Insect. In a plot twist that you can see coming a mile away, Ann's childhood shrink is exposed as one of their members. He has worked very hard to make sure that Ann sees the Insect as Other, not as a component of herself, and this split is what makes the exploitation possible. I tremendously enjoyed the moment Ann realized that this split existed and moved to accept the Insect - and to wreak havoc on those who would use them.
I'm still trying to figure out what I think of The 'Geisters. I thought the concept was great, and really enjoyed the way the author wrote (I thought he was very skilled with showing the interior work Ann did to keep the Insect contained). This was a quick read, and I had to keep reading to find out what happened next.
All that being said, I never quite got into the book. Ann remained a bit distant, and she was a character I feel I could have quite liked - an architect who used to play D&D. For all that we were in Ann's head, we never were really made to feel for her. I think things were rushed - we were always jumping from one scene/event to the next, without time to really absorb (which is probably why I feel I missed learning how, exactly, the men consorted with the ghosts). I wish Nickle had done another draft - I feel it would have been a much better book, and easily one of my favorites. As it is, not so much.
Published: June 15, 2013
POV: Ann LeSage, 3rd person limited
So. I read an interview with the author on John Scalzi's "Whatever" blog and the concept tickled me so much that I went out and bought the book (http://whatever.scalzi.com/2013/06/26/the-big-idea-david-nickle).
From the blurb: When Ann LeSage was a little girl, she had an invisible friend, a poltergeist, that spoke to her with flying knives and howling winds. She called it the Insect, and with professional help, she contained it...As Ann grew from girl to woman, the Insect grew with her... Now Ann believes that she has the Insect under control. But there are others vying to take that control away from her. They may not know exactly what they're dealing with, but they know they want it. They are the 'Geisters.
The 'Geisters are a group of men that marry women with poltergeists so they can have sex with the ghosts. They keep the women under their control (sometimes locked away) so they can easily access the ghost. Ann falls in love with, and marries, one of their group, not realizing that is why he is interested in her.
Very interesting concept, right? And sadly, all too relevant (the author said he was proofing the galley when the news broke about the man in Cleveland, Ohio, who had kidnapped three women and kept them as sexual slaves for 10 years).
Now, I love a good ghost story, and I was interested to see what Nickle would do with such a setup.
I have to say, I just didn't get it. Ann would move between her present story (courtship and marriage to Michael Voors) and her past (childhood and the rise of the Insect). The back story was well-handled and spaced throughout the book. There was a nice sense of creeping dread - we know Michael and his friend Ian Rickhardt are not quite what they seem - we just don't know when or how we'll find out what they are. We can tell (even if Ann can't) that something is not quite right.
The thing I didn't get - and what threw me out of the book - was how the men had sex with the poltergeists. I did not understand that at all. The Insect manages to convey to Ann that Michael is raping her in the bathroom of the plane on which they're flying back from their honeymoon. The plane crashes, and Michael ends up dying - so it would appear that the Insect really was not a willing participant. But then you would think that the Insect (or any of the ghosts) had to be willing to make intercourse happen. The men do get off on terror - but also are obviously engaged in the act with something invisible. Maybe I skimmed past it, but I never did get an explanation of why or how the men had control over the poltergeists - at least not one that I believed or understood.
There is a scene, late in the book, where they are trying to inaugurate Ann's brother Philip into their cult, as he also has a link to the Insect. This inauguration seems like a religious service, and there is an implication that they are worshiping the Insect. In a plot twist that you can see coming a mile away, Ann's childhood shrink is exposed as one of their members. He has worked very hard to make sure that Ann sees the Insect as Other, not as a component of herself, and this split is what makes the exploitation possible. I tremendously enjoyed the moment Ann realized that this split existed and moved to accept the Insect - and to wreak havoc on those who would use them.
I'm still trying to figure out what I think of The 'Geisters. I thought the concept was great, and really enjoyed the way the author wrote (I thought he was very skilled with showing the interior work Ann did to keep the Insect contained). This was a quick read, and I had to keep reading to find out what happened next.
All that being said, I never quite got into the book. Ann remained a bit distant, and she was a character I feel I could have quite liked - an architect who used to play D&D. For all that we were in Ann's head, we never were really made to feel for her. I think things were rushed - we were always jumping from one scene/event to the next, without time to really absorb (which is probably why I feel I missed learning how, exactly, the men consorted with the ghosts). I wish Nickle had done another draft - I feel it would have been a much better book, and easily one of my favorites. As it is, not so much.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Digger
Digger by Ursula Vernon (www.diggercomic.com) (I'd love to copy an image, but I'm not sure how legal that is. You'll just have to go and see for yourself... but clear out some time, because you will keep reading).
You've probably heard of this recently, because it just won a Hugo for best graphic novel. It's online (and currently free to read). I probably wouldn't have read it even then, except that The Mary Sue (http://www.themarysue.com) recommended it as the one thing to definitely read in their recap of the awards. I sauntered over to take a look - and came up for air some hours later. I've read it in bits and pieces over the last week.
The artwork is delightful, and Ms. Vernon could have easily made some money off of me if some of these images were on tee-shirts or coffee mugs or something. Magnets. Magnets would be good. The entire series is done in black and white, and is very artistic.
The tagline for the series is "A wombat. A dead god. A very peculiar epic." Digger of Convoluted Ways is the main character. While digging a tunnel, she runs into some bad air and surfaces in a temple to Ganesh. Being a wombat, she believes in geology - not gods. All she wants to do is get back home - but it turns out someone has magicked her tunnel, so she can't go back the way she came.
Of course she has adventures, and runs into some delightful characters. I'm particularly fond of Mother Boneclaw (a hyena elder), Lady Surka (a shrew working as a troll on the side), Ed, and Digger herself. There are prophesying slugs, bandersnatch, and vampiric squash. If you don't want to read it by this point, I'm not sure we should continue to be friends.
I have to confess, one reason I do love Digger has nothing to do whatsoever with the story, and everything to do with how improbable the story is. Can you imagine how quickly you'd be shot down if you were a writer pitching this story to an editor? The look of horror you'd get? Who would ever read such a thing? This is, I think, the very definition of labor of love: the story even overtook the author (who confessed that she didn't plan to do more than five panels). Digger is exactly why you should do your own thing, tell your own stories in your own way. I'm glad the internet allowed Digger to find an audience - and an audience to find Digger (now conventionally published by the awesomely-named Sofawolf Press).
The series is, sadly, over. I plan to follow Ms. Vernon, however, as she appears to have a great sense of humor and artistry (her LiveJournal blog is titled "Bark Like a Fish, Damnit!").
Obviously I highly recommend this, and will now annoy all my friends by telling them they must read this. So if you know me personally, just save yourself some nagging and start reading already.
You've probably heard of this recently, because it just won a Hugo for best graphic novel. It's online (and currently free to read). I probably wouldn't have read it even then, except that The Mary Sue (http://www.themarysue.com) recommended it as the one thing to definitely read in their recap of the awards. I sauntered over to take a look - and came up for air some hours later. I've read it in bits and pieces over the last week.
The artwork is delightful, and Ms. Vernon could have easily made some money off of me if some of these images were on tee-shirts or coffee mugs or something. Magnets. Magnets would be good. The entire series is done in black and white, and is very artistic.
The tagline for the series is "A wombat. A dead god. A very peculiar epic." Digger of Convoluted Ways is the main character. While digging a tunnel, she runs into some bad air and surfaces in a temple to Ganesh. Being a wombat, she believes in geology - not gods. All she wants to do is get back home - but it turns out someone has magicked her tunnel, so she can't go back the way she came.
Of course she has adventures, and runs into some delightful characters. I'm particularly fond of Mother Boneclaw (a hyena elder), Lady Surka (a shrew working as a troll on the side), Ed, and Digger herself. There are prophesying slugs, bandersnatch, and vampiric squash. If you don't want to read it by this point, I'm not sure we should continue to be friends.
I have to confess, one reason I do love Digger has nothing to do whatsoever with the story, and everything to do with how improbable the story is. Can you imagine how quickly you'd be shot down if you were a writer pitching this story to an editor? The look of horror you'd get? Who would ever read such a thing? This is, I think, the very definition of labor of love: the story even overtook the author (who confessed that she didn't plan to do more than five panels). Digger is exactly why you should do your own thing, tell your own stories in your own way. I'm glad the internet allowed Digger to find an audience - and an audience to find Digger (now conventionally published by the awesomely-named Sofawolf Press).
The series is, sadly, over. I plan to follow Ms. Vernon, however, as she appears to have a great sense of humor and artistry (her LiveJournal blog is titled "Bark Like a Fish, Damnit!").
Obviously I highly recommend this, and will now annoy all my friends by telling them they must read this. So if you know me personally, just save yourself some nagging and start reading already.
The Prague Cemetery
Disclosure. I haven't read this book. I haven't even looked at it. Not a clue what it's about. I'm just noting Holly's take on it. "I'm two chapters in and I'm already bored with this book. It's talking about the French - blah, blah, blah. Who gives a fuck? When does it mention Prague?"
Enough said, I think.
Also, a side note: I can never spell cemetery right the first time.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
A Reminder of the Power of Story
Sunday was a lazy day.
Me? I often feel lazy, but apparently I'm not, at least by other people's definition. I always try to do something (in fact, I tried to learn knitting just so I could be doing something constructive when watching TV - I'm somewhat successful, in that I can knit a blanket and a hat). Yeah.
So Sunday was notable in that I did nothing but watch TV all day. My partner and I had rented The Hunger Games to watch with a friend on Saturday - a movie I hadn't seen in the theatre, nor have I yet read the book (I do own it - I've merely been waiting for a chance to read it as I feel I will gobble it up, as well as the rest of the trilogy). We watched the movie again. We started it with a pretense of studying the costumes - ha! I never watch movies twice in a row. After that we found some 'haunted town' documentaries, and then got engulfed in True Blood.
I've only read one of the Sookie books, and haven't seen any of the prior seasons. But I am now addicted. I so want to find out what happens next! (And I think the finale is this Sunday - something we'll watch and record on the DVR.) At some point I need to go back and watch the other seasons. If I may diverge (and really, are you going to stop me? Ha! I think not!), I think one of the reasons that the series is so addictive is because the stories come from the characters. Things happen because of what characters have done, what they wish they'd done, or what they want to do. Characters find themselves in sticky situations because of who they are. You root for some and hate others. You start to care what happens to them.
When I was a kid, I'd read a book in a day. Now, I'm a fast reader, which helped a lot. Apparently, though, story is catnip to me. I absolutely had to know what happened. There are some books where that's still true - I will stay up to finish them (and yes, I read all of the Harry Potters - at least for the first time - in as quick a time as I could manage: with the last few books I did have to take a break and catch some sleep).
It's so easy to forget how rejuvenating experiencing a story can be. I often feel I should be productive (no idea where that came from, but I wish it would stop). Perhaps I've had to be practical often enough that I forget at my core I'm an artist.
No resolutions to try to watch more TV, or see more movies, or read more - for one thing, making a resolution is like making a plan: way too practical. Instead, I acknowledge that I will be more open to experiencing Story in whatever guise she may choose and go on my merry way.
Me? I often feel lazy, but apparently I'm not, at least by other people's definition. I always try to do something (in fact, I tried to learn knitting just so I could be doing something constructive when watching TV - I'm somewhat successful, in that I can knit a blanket and a hat). Yeah.
So Sunday was notable in that I did nothing but watch TV all day. My partner and I had rented The Hunger Games to watch with a friend on Saturday - a movie I hadn't seen in the theatre, nor have I yet read the book (I do own it - I've merely been waiting for a chance to read it as I feel I will gobble it up, as well as the rest of the trilogy). We watched the movie again. We started it with a pretense of studying the costumes - ha! I never watch movies twice in a row. After that we found some 'haunted town' documentaries, and then got engulfed in True Blood.
I've only read one of the Sookie books, and haven't seen any of the prior seasons. But I am now addicted. I so want to find out what happens next! (And I think the finale is this Sunday - something we'll watch and record on the DVR.) At some point I need to go back and watch the other seasons. If I may diverge (and really, are you going to stop me? Ha! I think not!), I think one of the reasons that the series is so addictive is because the stories come from the characters. Things happen because of what characters have done, what they wish they'd done, or what they want to do. Characters find themselves in sticky situations because of who they are. You root for some and hate others. You start to care what happens to them.
When I was a kid, I'd read a book in a day. Now, I'm a fast reader, which helped a lot. Apparently, though, story is catnip to me. I absolutely had to know what happened. There are some books where that's still true - I will stay up to finish them (and yes, I read all of the Harry Potters - at least for the first time - in as quick a time as I could manage: with the last few books I did have to take a break and catch some sleep).
It's so easy to forget how rejuvenating experiencing a story can be. I often feel I should be productive (no idea where that came from, but I wish it would stop). Perhaps I've had to be practical often enough that I forget at my core I'm an artist.
No resolutions to try to watch more TV, or see more movies, or read more - for one thing, making a resolution is like making a plan: way too practical. Instead, I acknowledge that I will be more open to experiencing Story in whatever guise she may choose and go on my merry way.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Mysterious paper sculptures - Central Station Blog post
Mysterious paper sculptures - Central Station Blog post
The sculptures are fabulous, as is the story.
Things like this give me hope.
The sculptures are fabulous, as is the story.
Things like this give me hope.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert
So, I finished reading this and thought, hell yeah! I want to be paid to write a book about traveling. Especially if I get to stuff myself with Italian food.
Gilbert conceives of her year-long journey (four months each in Italy, India, and Indonesia) after her divorce and an on-again, off-again relationship that’s taking an emotional and mental toll. She knows she needs to leave and gain some perspective.
I suspect this book is so popular because a lot of people would love to travel, and Gilbert is forthcoming: you feel like you’re chatting with a good friend. She confesses to not doing scads of research, but rather letting aspects of the country she’s in capture her attention.
By her own account, she’s a successful traveler because she’s friendly. I would be so doomed. I seem to have a perpetual disdainful look on my face, whatever my mood, and I find people petrifying, so I freeze up and they assume I’m judging them. I tend to be solitary anyhow – not one of Gilbert’s complaints. She’s taking this trip to learn how to be by herself. She’s always had a guy (or two) in her life: for that reason, she decides to forgo sex for a a year.
One reason I appreciated this book was because she debated the merits of having children. I am childfree by choice, and enjoyed seeing someone else discuss what it is like.
I suspect this book was so popular because Gilbert is so refreshingly direct.
So, I finished reading this and thought, hell yeah! I want to be paid to write a book about traveling. Especially if I get to stuff myself with Italian food.
Gilbert conceives of her year-long journey (four months each in Italy, India, and Indonesia) after her divorce and an on-again, off-again relationship that’s taking an emotional and mental toll. She knows she needs to leave and gain some perspective.
I suspect this book is so popular because a lot of people would love to travel, and Gilbert is forthcoming: you feel like you’re chatting with a good friend. She confesses to not doing scads of research, but rather letting aspects of the country she’s in capture her attention.
By her own account, she’s a successful traveler because she’s friendly. I would be so doomed. I seem to have a perpetual disdainful look on my face, whatever my mood, and I find people petrifying, so I freeze up and they assume I’m judging them. I tend to be solitary anyhow – not one of Gilbert’s complaints. She’s taking this trip to learn how to be by herself. She’s always had a guy (or two) in her life: for that reason, she decides to forgo sex for a a year.
One reason I appreciated this book was because she debated the merits of having children. I am childfree by choice, and enjoyed seeing someone else discuss what it is like.
I suspect this book was so popular because Gilbert is so refreshingly direct.
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