Reading List 2010: #10-17
Feb. 11th, 2010 12:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jedibuttercupEight books since my last report, three weeks ago. (Wow; it took me 'til the second week of April to reach this total last year). A very mixed bag again this time: one horror, two Austen adaptions, three fantasy, one space opera, and one historical fiction.
10. World War Z by Max Brooks. Paperback, 342pp. I don't often read anything sold in the Horror category, but this one was worth the hype. (And totally explained where the zombie mythology used in Pride & Prejudice & Zombies was lifted from, which had puzzled me before). The interview style of the narrative worked much better than I'd been expecting. What got to me wasn't the blood and gore and disaster of the individual storylets; it was the accreted picture of human failures and triumphs that led to the zombiepocalypse in the first place, and then its eventual resolution. I don't see how they could possibly ever make a movie of this and still convey the scope of it all properly.
11. Old Friends and New Fancies by Sybil G. Brinton. Paperback, 377pp. This one bills itself as the first Jane Austen sequel ever published, and it's unique among ones I've read in that it draws characters together from all six of her novels and uses them to fulfill Austen's reported predictions for her Pride & Prejudice characters' futures. It didn't quite live up to JA, and many of the plot developments were very predictable, but it was closer to JA's style than most fanfic manage and a fun read, regardless. Keeping this one.
12. The Unexpected Apprentice by Jody Lynn Nye. Paperback, 451pp. Not, on the other hand, keeping this one, or reading its sequel. I started out optimistic: a Tolkienesque fantasy series with mostly-female questors, how neat is that! But the author often digressed into lengthy descriptive passages at the expense of plot mood and motion, some of the developments were a little too Tolkien (which is why I can't read Dennis McKiernan's Mithgar books), and though the author did at least develop a unique magic structure, it got less and less believable as the story rolled onward. All the distractions kept popping me out of the storyline-- which is a pity, because the author is objectively a better writer than many whose books I've enjoyed far more.
13. The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen Beckett. Paperback, 498pp. A Regency-esque book with added magic and gothic elements: I've never read anything quite like it before, and will be eager to see the sequel when it's published. The world felt very Jane Austen by way of misty ghost-haunted moors, in an alternate world very like a magical England. I had one major quibble with it: the heroine, the Mrs. Quent of the title, while very delightful herself, is unfortunately the only female in the storyline with any real agency-- the others tend to fall into the period cliches of helpless young things and bitter old maids, which is not quite made up for by the suspense of the mystery and the variety of interesting male characters.
14. Miles, Mystery & Mayhem by Lois McMaster Bujold. Paperback, 552pp. Part of the Vorkosigan series. Ripped my way through this one: Miles was as entertainingly Miles as I'd expected, the social structure of Cetaganda was fascinating, and the Ethan of Athos storyline made an interesting counterpoint to it. The only "um..." moment came in the capping novella, "Labyrinth"; why'd Taura have to be so young? I was kind of squicked by the consent issues there.
15. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen; adapted by Nancy Butler & Hugo Petrus. Graphic novel, 120pp. An even more abbreviated version of Jane Austen's best-known novel than the 2005 movie adaption, but pretty faithful for all of that; all of the most essential dialogue is there, and the drawing is excellent, particularly the faces. Loved it.
16. Sharpe's Eagle by Bernard Cornwell. Paperback, 267pp. Part of a series. Ah, Sharpe; a very human, very detailed, very realistic ground-level picture of a segment of the Napoleonic Wars, peopled with engaging characters. A very gritty series, but I love it for all that, and this entry was no exception.
17. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. Paperback, 375pp. 1st of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I picked this up because I'm 99% sure someone will drag me to see the movie adaption in the next couple of weeks, and I wanted to know what to expect first. Well, it was a fun, quick read, the "explanations" for dyslexia and ADHD were entertaining, and the involvement of the Greek gods is a different take on the usual magical themes, but otherwise it unfortunately follows the Harry Potter-esque tradition of preteens outfighting and outsmarting very powerful adults of varying allegiances while under a collection of artificial limitations. Not very deep, required extreme suspension of disbelief in places, and the Prophecy of Doom trope gets less interesting every time I encounter it in a story-- but the character of Perseus Jackson is likeable and marginally less tragic than HP, so I may eventually pick up the other four of these.
Next: Still keep meaning to go back to the Trekverse; maybe next month? (I have a new novella-sized Trek-fic to attempt, due by April 1). In the meantime, though, I've started the fourth chapter of the adventures of Alex Benedict, far-future archaeologist: The Devil's Eye, by Jack McDevitt.
~
10. World War Z by Max Brooks. Paperback, 342pp. I don't often read anything sold in the Horror category, but this one was worth the hype. (And totally explained where the zombie mythology used in Pride & Prejudice & Zombies was lifted from, which had puzzled me before). The interview style of the narrative worked much better than I'd been expecting. What got to me wasn't the blood and gore and disaster of the individual storylets; it was the accreted picture of human failures and triumphs that led to the zombiepocalypse in the first place, and then its eventual resolution. I don't see how they could possibly ever make a movie of this and still convey the scope of it all properly.
11. Old Friends and New Fancies by Sybil G. Brinton. Paperback, 377pp. This one bills itself as the first Jane Austen sequel ever published, and it's unique among ones I've read in that it draws characters together from all six of her novels and uses them to fulfill Austen's reported predictions for her Pride & Prejudice characters' futures. It didn't quite live up to JA, and many of the plot developments were very predictable, but it was closer to JA's style than most fanfic manage and a fun read, regardless. Keeping this one.
12. The Unexpected Apprentice by Jody Lynn Nye. Paperback, 451pp. Not, on the other hand, keeping this one, or reading its sequel. I started out optimistic: a Tolkienesque fantasy series with mostly-female questors, how neat is that! But the author often digressed into lengthy descriptive passages at the expense of plot mood and motion, some of the developments were a little too Tolkien (which is why I can't read Dennis McKiernan's Mithgar books), and though the author did at least develop a unique magic structure, it got less and less believable as the story rolled onward. All the distractions kept popping me out of the storyline-- which is a pity, because the author is objectively a better writer than many whose books I've enjoyed far more.
13. The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen Beckett. Paperback, 498pp. A Regency-esque book with added magic and gothic elements: I've never read anything quite like it before, and will be eager to see the sequel when it's published. The world felt very Jane Austen by way of misty ghost-haunted moors, in an alternate world very like a magical England. I had one major quibble with it: the heroine, the Mrs. Quent of the title, while very delightful herself, is unfortunately the only female in the storyline with any real agency-- the others tend to fall into the period cliches of helpless young things and bitter old maids, which is not quite made up for by the suspense of the mystery and the variety of interesting male characters.
14. Miles, Mystery & Mayhem by Lois McMaster Bujold. Paperback, 552pp. Part of the Vorkosigan series. Ripped my way through this one: Miles was as entertainingly Miles as I'd expected, the social structure of Cetaganda was fascinating, and the Ethan of Athos storyline made an interesting counterpoint to it. The only "um..." moment came in the capping novella, "Labyrinth"; why'd Taura have to be so young? I was kind of squicked by the consent issues there.
15. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen; adapted by Nancy Butler & Hugo Petrus. Graphic novel, 120pp. An even more abbreviated version of Jane Austen's best-known novel than the 2005 movie adaption, but pretty faithful for all of that; all of the most essential dialogue is there, and the drawing is excellent, particularly the faces. Loved it.
16. Sharpe's Eagle by Bernard Cornwell. Paperback, 267pp. Part of a series. Ah, Sharpe; a very human, very detailed, very realistic ground-level picture of a segment of the Napoleonic Wars, peopled with engaging characters. A very gritty series, but I love it for all that, and this entry was no exception.
17. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. Paperback, 375pp. 1st of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I picked this up because I'm 99% sure someone will drag me to see the movie adaption in the next couple of weeks, and I wanted to know what to expect first. Well, it was a fun, quick read, the "explanations" for dyslexia and ADHD were entertaining, and the involvement of the Greek gods is a different take on the usual magical themes, but otherwise it unfortunately follows the Harry Potter-esque tradition of preteens outfighting and outsmarting very powerful adults of varying allegiances while under a collection of artificial limitations. Not very deep, required extreme suspension of disbelief in places, and the Prophecy of Doom trope gets less interesting every time I encounter it in a story-- but the character of Perseus Jackson is likeable and marginally less tragic than HP, so I may eventually pick up the other four of these.
Next: Still keep meaning to go back to the Trekverse; maybe next month? (I have a new novella-sized Trek-fic to attempt, due by April 1). In the meantime, though, I've started the fourth chapter of the adventures of Alex Benedict, far-future archaeologist: The Devil's Eye, by Jack McDevitt.
~
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no subject
Date: 2010-02-11 08:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-02-12 01:12 am (UTC)I haven't read the Sorcery and Cecilia series before, though. I'll have to look for them next time I do a book-shopping run. Thanks for the rec!
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Date: 2010-02-11 09:06 pm (UTC)I was interested in the P. Jackson movie and may actually see it, but Clash of the Titans is upcoming, also. The Riordan book, ha, the first few pages have neat iconic situations for the 8-12 set: the persecuted main character, the gross-out humor (peanut butter and ketchup sandwiches) plus the familiar school settings. I can see where it's a real popular series.
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Date: 2010-02-12 01:13 am (UTC)Yeah, I think my 14-year-old cousin would enjoy Percy Jackson more than I do; she's in the Eragon fan bracket. =)
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Date: 2010-02-12 01:55 am (UTC)Sean Bean is someone or other godly in the P. Jackson movie; may see it for that alone.
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Date: 2010-02-16 03:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-02-16 10:09 pm (UTC)