Of Swords and Parasols

What are you currently reading
To Taste Temptation by Elizabeth Hoyt. Romance novel set in the 1760s. I've only read a chapter, so no real comments yet, save that I enjoyed the heroine sighing over how intelligent men were difficult to manage.

What did you recently finish reading?

Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong: This is the last book in the "Women of the Otherworld" series, though I still have a couple other books in the series to read. Like the two previous books in the series, this one focused on Savannah, and followed up on the plot from the last book about a group of paranormals who want to expose the existence of paranormals to the rest of the world. Because it's the last book in the series (though Armstrong deliberately leaves things open for more books if she decides to return, but without actually leaving things dangling) it's a bit overcrowded as Armstrong tries to touch in with as many characters as possible and wrap up their plotlines while giving the book its own plot, but she pulls it together pretty well. Overall, I liked the book a whole lot, but was most fond of the first third of the book, and could have read that setup for Eve and Savannah endlessly, even though I knew it wouldn't be a permanent status quo.

Side note: So, according to Armstrong's introduction, her fans wanted the series to be all werewolves, all the time, and didn't like Paige a lot, and complained when the third book in the series was about her. Apparently, most of her fans are anti-me when it comes to the books, as I've liked all the non-werewolf books a whole whole lot, and the werewolf books range from DNF to "liked it, but not as much as the others" for me. (Though I am glad that her response wasn't to do all werewolves, all the time, but to keep exploring other parts of her world while onyl switching back to the werewolves every few books.)

Taiyou no Ichiwaru by Souryo Fuyumi. A single-volume Josei manga collecting several short stories, largely focusing on women and how they're perceived, or force themselves to conform to expectations. I enjoyed it a lot, but don't really have any comments on the invidicual stories.

A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent by Marie Brennan. Set in an AU 19th century, this is the memoir of the early days of an elderly woman who is the world's premier dragon naturalist. Travels and adventures and dragon anatomy galore. I enjoyed it a lot, but more for the older Lady Trent's commentary and sidebars than for the young Lady Trent's adventures. I did enjoy those, but spent a lot of the book wishing I was a few decades down the timeline. Possibly the start of a series? It's obviously open for sequels, but also stands well on its own.

Did not finish:

The Roman's Virgin Mistress by Michelle Styles. Set in 1st century Italy, everyone is vacationing in Baiae to escape the hustle and bustle of city life. Our Hero is summoned by his aunt to stop his cousin from pursuing a shameless and scandalous woman. Our Heroine is said shameless and scandalous woman, who actually has no interest at all in marrying the cousin, and whose scandal is largely based around her uncle's parties having lots of gambling and their being in debt because of his own gambling. Our Heroine intends to inform Our Hero that his nephew is safe, until he offers to buy her off, with a large enough bribe to settle all her uncle's debt. morally outraged, she announces that she intends to marry the nephew for his money. Except, you know, she doesn't. if you're going "wait, that sounds like..." then yes, it really is Heyer's "Faro's Daughter" with the serial numbers filed off and dumped in another time period (and all the tropes and cliches and conflict are VERY Regency Romance) and without the humor. I was going to stick with it just to see if this heroine also abducted the hero and tied him up in the basement, but then we got to "I'll save your uncle from execution if you'll be my mistress, have sex with me now to prove you mean it" about halfway through, and I decided that this wasn't worth taking one for the team for.

What do you think you'll read next?

I got a bunch of books from the library that I saw but could not get due to finances at WisCon, mostly nonfiction, but also Marie Robinette Kowalski's books. I also have the Kelley Armstrong books I haven't read yet, and the last "Artemis Fowl" book, and I'll probably do library books before I read something that I don't have to give back soon

This is the third of Marie Brennan’s Onyx Court books, and possibly my favorite. Lady knight! Courtly love! Bluestockings platonically seduced by the promise of getting to read whatever they want! All the women in a man’s life who would normally be pitted against each other or jealous being just fine with each other!

Set in the 1750s and centering around the coming of Halley’s comet, A Star Shall Fall spins more directly out of the events of In Ashes Lie than that one does from Midnight Never Come, as the comet means that the disaster temporarily averted before is returning. Much of the plot revolves around solving that problem, with both fae and humans working together and trying to make magic and science work together to solve the problem. (Uhm…I much prefer “magic and science” to “magic vs. science.”) The secondary plotline (and, admittedly one I prefer) revolves and a subversive rebel faction in Lune’s court and the fact that, the further the Onyx Court moves from it’s original era, the more difficult it becomes for Lune to find a consort to maintain the pact.

Though I thought parts of the first two books were bogged down a bit by the extent of the political set up (though, I doubt I’d even notice now as I’ve read a fair bit of utterly tedious and sometimes completely unneeded political setup and info dumping, and even when the ADD part of my brain is all “get on with it” at least Brennan does it well and it’s all pertinent to what’s going on) I basically uncritically adore these books, especially since, after the first, they’re set in time periods that aren’t covered as much in fiction, and even the Elizabethan book avoided a lot of the most common paths there, with nary a Marlowe or Shakespeare or Dudley or Essex in sight. Though, the next book should be set in the 1800s, which seems to be the most common setting for historical fiction these days. Like, it seems about 90% of English language historical fiction (maybe a bit less so in fantasy historical/historical era based fiction) is set in the 19th century, and I…am not burned out on it, exactly, but am finding myself glancing past things set in the 19th century more often in favor of possibly-more-questionable things that are more likely to involve flintlocks and/or people thwapping each other with swords. (In particular, there should be more stuff set in the English Civil War and Restoration, which is rife for my fictional desires for “we were friends/lovers who are on opposite sides and may be friends/lovers again once we finish staringly meaningfully at each other over our weapons.”)

But, back to the point! If you like historical fantasy and/or don’t run away screaming at the idea of fae plots these days, you should read these books!

The complete list of books I read it 2008 is in poll form here.

( top books of the year )

Michael Deven is a typically ambitious young nobleman of Queen Elizabeth I’s court, a member of her pensioners and a protégé of her spymaster, Walsingham, Deven is also carrying on a secret affair with Anne Montrose, a lady in waiting to a countess in Elizabeth’s inner circle. Things are not, however, as they seem, because four years before taking the throne, Elizabeth made a pact with the fae Invidiana, queen of the Onyx Court, which exists underneath London. Not only has this pact influenced many of the decisions of Elizabeth’s reign, but Anne is also Lune, and lady of the Onyx Court, and Invidiana’s spy in Elizabeth’s court.

You know, I love politics in sff and historical fiction. However, politics in fiction need to be accompanied by Things Happening. In the first 150 or so pages, nothing but political maneuvering and the establishment of the two courts is going on. Though a bit of a chore to get through, things definitely picked up around the page 150 mark, and when they did, it got good. Betrayals! Secrets! Plots within plots! Ancient curses! Lovers torn apart! Journey’s to the otherworld! Epic actions for love! Many varieties of otherworldly-ness! Queens! All the stuff I signed up for!

A lot of people seem to be tired of fae plots. I don’t know. It seems I haven’t encountered many that were actually based on myth and legend, or that aren’t playing second fiddle to the vampires and werewolves. Regardless, this is a plot that definitely can’t be pulled off without the fae, in a setting where the fae make more sense than any other supernatural element. But then, I may be biased, as I’m much more interested in fantasy based on myth and legend than most seem to be, unless it involves vampires. Moving backwards a couple points, the first 150 pages focused mostly on Deven, but at that point, the focus starts shifting towards Lune, and her experiences in the much darker and more treacherous Onyx Court, and it becomes increasingly more and more her story. While Deven never becomes remotely inconsequential (and deals much, much better with the whole “my girlfriend is a spy from the enemy court” thing than expected) the action increasingly switches over to Lune, until the action, control, and decision making (not to mention the rescuing) are primarily in her hands at the end. I’m not sure if this was deliberate, though, or if Brennan just couldn’t help herself, as it felt like it was more meant to be Deven’s story early on.

Anyway, rough going at first unless you’re good with politics being the primary driving force, but once you get past that one long stretch, is pretty much all uphill. 

1 person has seen 2 of the graduation pics(no gloating) the rest of you can see them when I either find or give up looking for the others.

No real plans today.  Would be a family dinner or some such, but Mom and Dad are on their anniversary cruise, and Jen and Myles are in Stanford with her parents, I think.  So, mostly just enjoying being off today.

Drove by the movie theater.  Think I'll try for the 12:50 showing tomorrow, before heading in to work.

The cats think that I should be getting up around 8 even though I don't get to bed until 2 or 3.  I need to discuss that with them...