Reading List: #22-26

[jedibuttercup]

Eight more days, five more books. *laughing* Two scifi, two fantasy, and one historical fiction.

22. The Adventures of the Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison. Paperback, 402pp. The first third of this was written in the 60's, the rest in the 70's, and it shows; the stories are supposed to be set many thousands of years in the future, but a lot of the "future" tech and scifi tropes used are very dated, and women are still generally portrayed as disadvantaged compared to men-- even the hero's kickass girl, who is characterized as kickass despite her femaleness. Aside from those points, though, it was a fun collection of actiony mayhem, and reminded me a lot of the TV show "Leverage" (in that the heroes are "former" thieves recruited to chase and stop evil masterminds).

23. Wolf Captured by Jane Lindskold. Paperback, 709pp. 4th of the Firekeeper series. I'm glad I finally picked this one up; I didn't like the third one in the series, mostly because it felt like the storytelling came unfocused and most of the characters were imprisoned by the plot rather than moving it along, so I was hesitant. There was much more movement in this one, though, not only in terms of distance traveled and exploration of the setting but also in terms of personal growth, something I usually appreciate about this author's work in general. Despite the story's length I didn't feel like any of the detail was superfluous; I was swept along right to the end, and want to find the fifth one ASAP.

24. The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan. Paperback, 279pp. 2nd of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I liked this one better than The Lightning Thief; the obstacles seemed less ridiculous and "pastede on yay" (the excuse for why they couldn't use phones or planes was a very obvious afterthought in Book 1), the kids were less oblivious (though they still had some facepalm moments), and the mythic setting was explored more fully. They're still ridiculously kickass for teenagers battling superpowered beings, but I definitely got caught up in it, and turned the last page with a smile.

25. The Fortune of War by Patrick O'Brian. Paperback, 329pp. 6th of the Aubrey-Maturin series. I love Jack and Stephen, I do, but there's a reason I waited two years between books five and six; their adventures can be rather wearing on the emotions! So much action and misfortune and spying and friendship and war and difficulties both romantic and financial-- very likeable human characters cast against a very authentic historical world. (I like this series about as much as I like the Sharpe series, and for many of the same reasons, they just get-- depressing sometimes).

26. Time Spike by Eric Flint and Marilyn Kosmatka. Paperback, 651pp. Part of the Ring of Fire. This is kind of a branch-off of the 1632 series; another chunk of modern America (this time, a maximum security prison rather than a rural Appalachian town) is cast back in time, picking up a number of other historical groups that peopled Southern Illinois along the way. Only-- they end up in the Dinosaur Age instead of medieval Germany. The interactions between the different historical populations were the best part of this; I enjoyed the worldbuilding, and many of the heroic characters were engaging. The antagonists, though-- Flint's not quite as far-right as Ringo, but he's a lot closer to Ringo than a lot of the other authors I read, and there are some definite "I C What U Did Thar" moments in the plotting, especially in the guards &/vs. prisoners bits. This is one of those I'll keep, but not recommend.

Next: Currently reading the first of Diane Duane's Young Wizard series, since it turns out I don't have any of her other Rihannsu books, which is what I'd wanted to read next. (I've put those on order).
~

Comments

[beege22.livejournal.com]

Dated sci-fi can sometimes be fun - and very illustrative of the time in which it was written. There are maybe a dozen novels in the Stainless Steel Rat series written between the 60's and the beginning of this decade, and they definitely got better over time. I mostly agree with you on the sexism thing (I don't think Angela is presented as being awesome in *spite* of being a girl, but she is very much a male fantasy of the perfect woman). I do think Harrison inverts it sometimes though - for instance the first time Jim meets Angela she escapes by playing on his assumption that her male partner/patsy is the boss.

I like the Leverage comparison; it's very appropriate. In one book Jim evades paying tax on his illegitimate earnings by deleting every tax record under his initial and every file under two other letters which, together. spell out an extremely rude word in that planet's language. Which is just the kind of thing Hardison might do, when you think about it.


And if you're a fan of Sharpe and Aubrey & Maturin can I assume you've read C.S. Forrester's Hornblower novels? Because Forrester was the first and the best.

[jedibuttercup]

The "in spite of" part comes mostly from the first book, while Jim's still chasing Angelina. Partly it's that she's always working from behind the front of a male partner. And partly it's a bit more explicit. On page 84 of my copy, Jim thinks this about her:

> She must spend her life feeling damned because she was a woman, knowing she was better than the rest of the cruds around, then proving it to herself and them over and over again.

I agree with you otherwise. It just... makes me aware of the times in which the story was written, that's all; nothing against the author. I don't think I got as far as the tax evasion one-- I just have the collection with the first three books. How many others are there? I might have to look them up.

I ... actually haven't read the Hornblower novels? Mostly because I read Honor Harrington first (series by David Weber), and went from really liking her to seriously put off by the High Drama by book four, and then someone told me they were pretty closely based on Hornblower. I have a hard time reading stories where the characters are deliberatly and repeatedly wrung to the last drop emotionally. Since you've read them ... have I been given an inaccurate picture? I'd love to read more Age of Sail stuff, I just get burned easily.

[beege22.livejournal.com]

I take your point on the first SSR book, it's just that I tend to judge the series as a whole. There are 10 separate books written over most of Harrison's career, and except maybe for the last one they got steadily better (and cleverer). In particular 'The Stainless Steel Rat Sings The Blues' takes Jim back to when he was still a professional crook and has several interesting female characters.

The Honor Harrington books definitely draw on Hornblower as inspiration, but closely based is a huge misrepresentation. It's just that Weber mimicked a lot of the major plot points in the Hornblower series for his books. Hornblower is a character with a tendency towards introspection and depression (balanced by confidence and certainty in the face of a challenge) so there are emotional highs and lows, but Forrester handles them with far more skill and subtlety than Weber does (I read Honorverse for the space battles and the worldbuilding, not the drama). If you're really looking for more adventures set in the age of sail you're missing a lot by not reading them - Forrester writes naval battles like no-one else and his knowledge of the sea shines in every sentence.

[jedibuttercup]

I'll definitely have to keep an eye out for more SSR books next time I'm at Powell's; that's where I found the first one. Thanks.

Which would you recommend as a starting point for the Hornblower series-- the first one Forrester wrote, or the first one set within the series timeline? (I understand that, like with the Sharpe series, the author later went back to cover the character's early career).

[beege22.livejournal.com]

So Long as you read 'The Happy Return', 'A Ship of the Line' and 'Flying Colors' in order (they function as a dedicated trilogy within the framework of the series)* it doesn't matter too much. That said, if you can read them in order without inconveniencing yourself I recommend that you do so - Forrester worked hard to maintain continuity between the books, regardless of when he wrote them, and the effect comes across.

[davegrs.livejournal.com]

I love your comment about Eric Flint. I haven't read this book but I've read most of his others. His politics are interesting though. He's a Trostskyite (proudly so).

[jedibuttercup]

A quick google on Trotskyite gives me an odd mixed picture of socialist/neoconservative? I didn't know that about him, but I'm not surprised. I love these military scifi authors, they're easy brain candy for me, but I have to roll my eyes when they get all sidetracked into 'C Mah Politics, Aren't They So Much More Speshul Than Those In Power In ______?'

[(Anonymous)]

Communist, not Socialist. Trotsky organized the Red Army and was the advocate of International Socialist Revolution as opposed to Stalin's Socialism in One State. (The joys of Russian history) Neoconservatives are a group of people who decided that liberty was preferable to socialism and left the communist movement. No more fervent believer then the convert. I have no problem with polemic so long as they are done skillfully and with some humor.

[jedibuttercup]

Ah. I tend to drift right, but I'm not very political at all, so a lot of the nuances are lost on me. I enjoy Flint's stories-- I enjoy Ringo's too, for that matter, because they are fun-- I just don't rec them, because 90% of my (verbal, anyway) flist/r.l. friends seem to be way the hell the other end of the spectrum, and I get sick of explaining "just because I like X doesn't mean I support his/her beliefs". And these authors' books are a little anvilly about it at times.