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books, old, new, and rejected
Nov. 9th, 2006 09:00 amOver the weekend, despite the fact that I had a big pile of new library books, I just wanted to re-read comfort books. I re-read my favorite parts of Oathbound and Oathbreakers by Mercedes Lackey, and By the Sword in its entirety. I don't know what it is about these books that I love so much. The writing isn't that good, but maybe they just appeal to me emotionally. Or maybe it's because I've known them for so long and loved them when we first met. Like an old friend you used to date.
Then I dove into Throne of Jade, second in Naomi Novik's Temeraire trilogy. The second book didn't thrill me as much as the first, but there was nothing really wrong with it, despite a few plotholes. I'm not sure that the whole "Dragons are people too!" plotline is working for me, either.
Finally, I read Salon Fantastique, the new anthology by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling. I was expecting great things, given their recent triumphs with The Green Man and The Faery Reel. Sadly, I was doomed to disappointment. The change in quality confuses me - don't they still do their own editing? The few stories I liked are as follows: "La Fee Verte" by Delia Sherman, "The Night Whiskey" by Jeffrey Ford, "Chandail" by Peter S Beagle, and "Femaville 29" by Paul Di Filippo. In general, the stories were very bleak, not super-well written, and not by my favorite authors. I'm sad about this. I can only give the book two stars. However, I'm still looking forward to their next anthology, The Coyote Road, which is a book of trickster tales.
I am returning one book to the library unread, Melusine by Sarah Monette. I read the first 30 pages, and then thought, "How much longer is this character going to keep getting himself into worse trouble?" I leafed ahead, which is something that I NEVER used to do, and discovered that he would be digging himself deeper for another 160 pages. I decided that it just wasn't worth it to me. I read the ending, because I'm no longer the literary purist I once was, and called it a day.
Then I dove into Throne of Jade, second in Naomi Novik's Temeraire trilogy. The second book didn't thrill me as much as the first, but there was nothing really wrong with it, despite a few plotholes. I'm not sure that the whole "Dragons are people too!" plotline is working for me, either.
Finally, I read Salon Fantastique, the new anthology by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling. I was expecting great things, given their recent triumphs with The Green Man and The Faery Reel. Sadly, I was doomed to disappointment. The change in quality confuses me - don't they still do their own editing? The few stories I liked are as follows: "La Fee Verte" by Delia Sherman, "The Night Whiskey" by Jeffrey Ford, "Chandail" by Peter S Beagle, and "Femaville 29" by Paul Di Filippo. In general, the stories were very bleak, not super-well written, and not by my favorite authors. I'm sad about this. I can only give the book two stars. However, I'm still looking forward to their next anthology, The Coyote Road, which is a book of trickster tales.
I am returning one book to the library unread, Melusine by Sarah Monette. I read the first 30 pages, and then thought, "How much longer is this character going to keep getting himself into worse trouble?" I leafed ahead, which is something that I NEVER used to do, and discovered that he would be digging himself deeper for another 160 pages. I decided that it just wasn't worth it to me. I read the ending, because I'm no longer the literary purist I once was, and called it a day.
