all billered and curled
Wednesday, 22 July 2009 01:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
freckles_and_doubtMonday's dawn saw a sort of sea-foggy thing rolling in, which from my office window exhibited the most amazing giant, soft, billowy wave effect, which I then almost completely failed to actually catch in this photo. On the upside: bonus geese.
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In other news, while not wibbling financially I am managing to distract myself very nicely, thank you, with a combination of reading and knitting. (Ravenclaw scarf in bamboo. 20 rows in and still haven't screwed up the rib. On the downside, am conscious of mild desire for a wand (willow, unicorn hair) and the relevant incantation to make the knitting do its own automatic thing, at least until I get to the interesting bit with the bronze stripe. One of my colleagues in my Late Lamented Department persists in referring to me as "Hermione", I figure I may as well make it work for me).
On the upside, have discovered Ysabeau S. Wilce, courtesy of (a) a recommendation from, IIRC, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sarahtales, and (b) the book title: Flora Segunda: Being the Magickal Mishaps of a Girl of Spirit, Her Glass-Gazing Sidekick, Two Ominous Butlers (One Blue), a House with Eleven Thousand Rooms, and a Red Dog. For YA fantasy this is some high quality worldbuilding, characterised not only by a sharp, vivid, economical writing style but by some truly lovely games with gender identity, family obligation and the nature of "evil" (if you think it's evil you probably haven't heard its side of the story). Her giant, animus-inhabited houses are also pleasingly demented, and she has a nice line in capitalisation. I thoroughly enjoyed this: in intelligence, originality and wit it's a cut above the usual YA fantasy fare. And she's written a sequel! So I'm going to cheat like hell, and assume that that's my Ginormous Fantasy Epic for the day, although strictly it probably isn't. But at least you're spared me wittering on about Sheri S. Tepper1.
In a nutshell: Victorian cultural nods, kick-butt female soldiers, giant shapeshifty houses, stupid dogs. Very cool magic, including Strange Symbols to the power of n. Blue supernatural entities with talons and droopy spaniel ears. Huitzl, humming-bird gods, housework, human sacrifice. Rangers, a new and original formula. Effeminate pirates. Couture. Kilts. Confusion. Roman cultural bits.
.In other news, while not wibbling financially I am managing to distract myself very nicely, thank you, with a combination of reading and knitting. (Ravenclaw scarf in bamboo. 20 rows in and still haven't screwed up the rib. On the downside, am conscious of mild desire for a wand (willow, unicorn hair) and the relevant incantation to make the knitting do its own automatic thing, at least until I get to the interesting bit with the bronze stripe. One of my colleagues in my Late Lamented Department persists in referring to me as "Hermione", I figure I may as well make it work for me).
On the upside, have discovered Ysabeau S. Wilce, courtesy of (a) a recommendation from, IIRC, sarahtales, and (b) the book title: Flora Segunda: Being the Magickal Mishaps of a Girl of Spirit, Her Glass-Gazing Sidekick, Two Ominous Butlers (One Blue), a House with Eleven Thousand Rooms, and a Red Dog. For YA fantasy this is some high quality worldbuilding, characterised not only by a sharp, vivid, economical writing style but by some truly lovely games with gender identity, family obligation and the nature of "evil" (if you think it's evil you probably haven't heard its side of the story). Her giant, animus-inhabited houses are also pleasingly demented, and she has a nice line in capitalisation. I thoroughly enjoyed this: in intelligence, originality and wit it's a cut above the usual YA fantasy fare. And she's written a sequel! So I'm going to cheat like hell, and assume that that's my Ginormous Fantasy Epic for the day, although strictly it probably isn't. But at least you're spared me wittering on about Sheri S. Tepper1.In a nutshell: Victorian cultural nods, kick-butt female soldiers, giant shapeshifty houses, stupid dogs. Very cool magic, including Strange Symbols to the power of n. Blue supernatural entities with talons and droopy spaniel ears. Huitzl, humming-bird gods, housework, human sacrifice. Rangers, a new and original formula. Effeminate pirates. Couture. Kilts. Confusion. Roman cultural bits.
1 I should generally be prevented from wittering on about Sheri S. Tepper. Feminism results. Also, postmodernism. Also, fangirly drool.
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Date: Thursday, 23 July 2009 09:17 pm (UTC)The second book, on first reading, felt very much like a Second Book, ie. a bridge between two (better-defined) ones. Unfortunately(?) it feels a bit transparent, as in I feel like I can predict what the likely outcome is in book 3 - not typical for me.
I may yet be surprised, and do hope I am, but perhaps its the path of the novice published writer.
On second reading I enjoyed it more.
Google for 'Calafia gazette' for author's blog.
Didn't Sheri S. Tepper edit a series/anthologies of fairy tale short stories? I read at least 3, with names like 'Black thorn, white rose', or something like, and decided at least one of the editors was abused as a child, and should really just go shoot the bastard who did it, and get on with her life, instead of choosing viciously dark ugly stories for (unsuspecting) others to read. Ugh.
no subject
Date: Saturday, 25 July 2009 12:28 pm (UTC)The Snow White, Blood Red series of fairy tale anthologies is edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, not Sheri Tepper, although the combination of syllables is actually very similar in parts (Terri Datlow...?) I read a lot of them in pursuit of thesis, and there are some amazing stories, although to my mind too many which abandon the magical in favour of over-psychologisation, which seems to be a similar irritation to yours.
no subject
Date: Sunday, 26 July 2009 03:18 pm (UTC)Wasn't trying to discourage you from pursuing the Flora Secunda series at all! enjoyed it. Just thought the first was stronger than the second.
For me, it wasn't so much Victorian as SW US culture - Spanish+Aztec influences, that you find in N.Mexico, parts of US closest to the Mexico border. Interesting place to locate the world.
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Date: Friday, 24 July 2009 07:07 pm (UTC)scroob
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Date: Saturday, 25 July 2009 12:29 pm (UTC)My mother heads back to the UK at the end of August, will you be in need of Milo bar supplies by then...?