It's been too long since I wrote a review, and in the time I've been slacking I've finished off two more books. 'Captain Vorpatril's Alliance' by Lois McMaster Bujold and 'Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas' by John Scalzi. I'm always eager to read a new Vorkosigan novel by Bujold, and it's nice that she's willing to branch out and embrace some of her smaller characters, Ivan has always been sort of hanging out in the background so it's nice to see him getting his own novel. Also I'm really enjoying watching the whole Vorkosigan crew age and grow up, while their adventures might be less exciting than Bujold's first few novels they're certainly more fulfilling.
I didn't think I would enjoy Redshirts as much as I did. I had a good idea what the story was about, and while I knew it would be a clever take on the subject I did have my worries that it would be something of a one note gag. This is actually addressed in the novel and afterword and Scalzi did a pretty good job in capturing the reader's interest for the duration of the novel, and he was as entertaining as ever.
Also I finished 'Throne of the Crescent Moon' by Saladin Ahmed. I should be posting a review for it in the next couple days. I both really enjoyed this book, and was immensely disappointed at the same time. I've always been a big fan of fantasy that has it's roots in a mythology not native to Western Culture, it's one of the reasons I've enjoyed so much of N.K. Jemisin's Inheritance trilogy. The novel was good but flawed, and probably the biggest flaw was that the novel could have been so much more.
So far 'Shades of Milk and Honey' doesn't really seem like my cup of tea, but it's looking to be a pretty quick read and I should be done with it in a few days. Also I need to finish it off because the sequel, 'Glamour in Glass' was nominated for an award this year. I hate getting backed up on sequels, I've got a whole slew of Jack McDevitt novels I need to read stretching back to 1999. The worst part is that the first few novels in those McDevitt series just aren't all that interesting, but no one can shut up about how great the later novels are.
Anyway, I'm not so big on Milk and Honey. So far, I should say, I'm barely getting started. I've never really been able to get into fiction dealing with the British Regency. I know a lot of people really like 'Jane Eyre' or whatever but every time I read one of these books I just end up asking myself, 'What the hell did they do for a living?' None of these people seem to have jobs or anything. There's plenty of fiction that deals with settings in which women are much more subjugated, more prevalent racism, and worse aristocracy than Regency Britain, but none of those settings are quite as celebrated and gloried over as this one, and it kind of creeps me out.
Like I said I've still got a long way to go. Maybe I'll change my mind about Milk and Honey. And I'll try to get a review for Crescent Moon up pretty soon.
I didn't think I would enjoy Redshirts as much as I did. I had a good idea what the story was about, and while I knew it would be a clever take on the subject I did have my worries that it would be something of a one note gag. This is actually addressed in the novel and afterword and Scalzi did a pretty good job in capturing the reader's interest for the duration of the novel, and he was as entertaining as ever.
Also I finished 'Throne of the Crescent Moon' by Saladin Ahmed. I should be posting a review for it in the next couple days. I both really enjoyed this book, and was immensely disappointed at the same time. I've always been a big fan of fantasy that has it's roots in a mythology not native to Western Culture, it's one of the reasons I've enjoyed so much of N.K. Jemisin's Inheritance trilogy. The novel was good but flawed, and probably the biggest flaw was that the novel could have been so much more.
So far 'Shades of Milk and Honey' doesn't really seem like my cup of tea, but it's looking to be a pretty quick read and I should be done with it in a few days. Also I need to finish it off because the sequel, 'Glamour in Glass' was nominated for an award this year. I hate getting backed up on sequels, I've got a whole slew of Jack McDevitt novels I need to read stretching back to 1999. The worst part is that the first few novels in those McDevitt series just aren't all that interesting, but no one can shut up about how great the later novels are.
Anyway, I'm not so big on Milk and Honey. So far, I should say, I'm barely getting started. I've never really been able to get into fiction dealing with the British Regency. I know a lot of people really like 'Jane Eyre' or whatever but every time I read one of these books I just end up asking myself, 'What the hell did they do for a living?' None of these people seem to have jobs or anything. There's plenty of fiction that deals with settings in which women are much more subjugated, more prevalent racism, and worse aristocracy than Regency Britain, but none of those settings are quite as celebrated and gloried over as this one, and it kind of creeps me out.
Like I said I've still got a long way to go. Maybe I'll change my mind about Milk and Honey. And I'll try to get a review for Crescent Moon up pretty soon.
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