finishing school
Oct. 25th, 2006 09:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snugglekittyThis week I finished two books featuring young ladies of quality in very hot water.
The Spirit Ring was Lois McMaster Bujold's first foray into fantasy. After being impressed by her Curse of Chalion series, I decided it merited a read. High-strung, high-spirited Fiamatta is the daughter, and apprentice, to a cranky jeweler and Church-licensed mage. On the occaision of her very first dinner party, she witnesses acts of violence and dark magic that leave her running for her life. This piece is set in Renaissance Italy, which is an interesting change from fantasy standard. It's one of those books full of neat ideas, but without characters that inspire love. Three stars.
In Fury Born is a reworking of David Weber's 1992 Path of the Fury, featuring a very angry ex-commando out for justice. Kind of like Sassinak, only bleaker. This book is unusual for Weber in that it features some weapons that are not easily predictable from our current technology - in this case, mobile black holes - and also in that it includes an aspect of the supernatural. The book was not well-edited - I found a number of typos, and a reference to an institution from the Honor Harrington universe (which this book isn't), and Weber flagrantly abuses the word "literally."
I am also considering creating a DW Drinking Game. (Whenever any of the following phrases are used, you must drink: Screw up by the numbers. Up the kilt. Screw the pooch. Let's be about it. Let's dance. On the beach. Eyes straight from hell. With preternatural grace. You'd be drunk fast.) I was also very frustrated by the front cover, which essentially lays out the entire plot of the book. You don't run out of cover plot until you're more than two-thirds through, and that just sucks. Also, this book is plain long - more than 800 pages. However, I found it very enjoyable - it was hard to put down. Three stars.
The Spirit Ring was Lois McMaster Bujold's first foray into fantasy. After being impressed by her Curse of Chalion series, I decided it merited a read. High-strung, high-spirited Fiamatta is the daughter, and apprentice, to a cranky jeweler and Church-licensed mage. On the occaision of her very first dinner party, she witnesses acts of violence and dark magic that leave her running for her life. This piece is set in Renaissance Italy, which is an interesting change from fantasy standard. It's one of those books full of neat ideas, but without characters that inspire love. Three stars.
In Fury Born is a reworking of David Weber's 1992 Path of the Fury, featuring a very angry ex-commando out for justice. Kind of like Sassinak, only bleaker. This book is unusual for Weber in that it features some weapons that are not easily predictable from our current technology - in this case, mobile black holes - and also in that it includes an aspect of the supernatural. The book was not well-edited - I found a number of typos, and a reference to an institution from the Honor Harrington universe (which this book isn't), and Weber flagrantly abuses the word "literally."
I am also considering creating a DW Drinking Game. (Whenever any of the following phrases are used, you must drink: Screw up by the numbers. Up the kilt. Screw the pooch. Let's be about it. Let's dance. On the beach. Eyes straight from hell. With preternatural grace. You'd be drunk fast.) I was also very frustrated by the front cover, which essentially lays out the entire plot of the book. You don't run out of cover plot until you're more than two-thirds through, and that just sucks. Also, this book is plain long - more than 800 pages. However, I found it very enjoyable - it was hard to put down. Three stars.