three good books

[snugglekitty]

This week I finished Sense and Sensibility, Sunshine, and Dreaming Down Under.



Yes, it was the first time I read Sense and Sensibility. Somehow, I left Smith with an English degree without having read Jane Austen. I'm not totally sure how that happened, although I did have a poetry concentration. Anyway, I'm glad it's worked out the way it has. I get to really savor Austen by reading her books, one at a time and at my own pace, which is great because I love the way she writes. I think I enjoyed Pride and Prejudice a bit more, but I already know the plot of S&S from the movie, so it's possible that contributed. Anyway, I'd give it four stars.

I have been putting off reading Sunshine by Robin McKinley for a while, because from the cover and the synopsis I read, I thought it looked terrible. However, McKinley delivered the goods in a big way. Yes, it was about vampires, yes it was paperback - but it was not, in any way, a Hamilton ripoff. It was funny, it was original, it was believable. Four stars and I hope to gods she writes a sequel or three. Actually, I just wish she would write more in general.

Dreaming Down Under was an awesome anthology of speculative fiction from Austrailia. It was edited by Jack Dann and Janeen Webb. My favorite stories were "The Truth About Weena," which was a retelling of The Time Traveler, "Wired Dreaming," which was cyberpunk-ish, and "Prelude to a Nocturne," which defies description. There seems to be a lot going on in Austrailian world of sci fi, and it's nice to see some of those trends. I could have wished for a gay character or two, and one story ("The Last Dance") presented a pretty upsetting view of aboriginal spirituality - it was a little mainstream - but still, I liked it a lot, and I hope it will pave the way for some of these writers to get more recognition.

Comments

[woodwardiocom.livejournal.com]

"The Truth About Weena," which was a retelling of The Time Traveler

-The Time Machine, I think you mean. And that sounds like a premise with possibilities.

[nchanter.livejournal.com]

asciikitty gave me Sunshine for my birthday or christmass last year (they are both in december, so sometimes they blur) and it was something I couldn't manage to put down. It really really resinated with me, in an almost eerie way. And, um, yea. Thought I would share. :-)

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

I liked a lot of things about the character and the book. I especially liked how the character was very attached to mundane and positive things but couldn't help being fascinated by darkness. I liked the idea that having a magical affinity for something gives you a degree of immunity to its opposite.

I also really liked the way that the character didn't think about things (like the Voodoo Wars) until they came up. It wasn't just "Here is this magical world, and now we introduce the characters..." It felt very natural. Although her occaisional "inner monologue for five pages in the middle of a conversation" thing did get annoying from time to time.

[chienne-folle.livejournal.com]

I loved "Sunshine." I thought the idea of the main character's being attuned to the sun as her source of power was really original. I've read a zillion vampire novels, and I thought I'd heard it all, but McKinley actually has an original take on the genre.

I think Anita will always be my favorite vampire novel heroine, just because I feel as if I NEED to have images of women who kick butt to counteract all those images of weak and helpless women. But Sunshine takes second without any effort.

More, Robin, more!

Cory