So so much good character stuff going on. It's not your typical fantasy, despite being full of dragons - it's more like castaways, or the Canterbury TSo so much good character stuff going on. It's not your typical fantasy, despite being full of dragons - it's more like castaways, or the Canterbury Tales (without tales) with dragons as crazy extras....more
Errr, why yes. Yes I am on a Robin Hobb kick. And yes, it is still awesome. I would have liked maybe a little more to happen in this first installmentErrr, why yes. Yes I am on a Robin Hobb kick. And yes, it is still awesome. I would have liked maybe a little more to happen in this first installment in a trilogy, but I'll let that pass for the fact that all the disparate pieces and characters did have to get put into place, and introduced, and they're pretty awesome. Bonus points for having three female characters as the central agents - two humans and a dragon....more
Great, strong female characters, as have been all through this series (starting with Paksenarrion), and in all sorts of different ways. At some pointsGreat, strong female characters, as have been all through this series (starting with Paksenarrion), and in all sorts of different ways. At some points things seem kind of slow, and the plot more driven by people's internal monologue than action or interaction, but still, overall I like this series a lot....more
Ach, the pain of poorly researched apparently historical fiction. Complete with weird racial stereotypes. Though at least not rapey at all. Found it iAch, the pain of poorly researched apparently historical fiction. Complete with weird racial stereotypes. Though at least not rapey at all. Found it in the Lancaster, PA train station, read on the train back to NY yesterday, mostly blissfully forgotten already. So really, I guess what a bodice ripper ought to be, but.. ehh. There are better out there, I'm sure of it....more
D'awww. Fucking d'awww. Maybe I can improve on this review when I've had a bit more time to process, but generally fucking d'awww. That is all.D'awww. Fucking d'awww. Maybe I can improve on this review when I've had a bit more time to process, but generally fucking d'awww. That is all....more
An enjoyable read, though not a desperately gripping one. It was pleasant to pick up and read a little at a time over the course of more than a month,An enjoyable read, though not a desperately gripping one. It was pleasant to pick up and read a little at a time over the course of more than a month, which is definitely not the usual way I read books. It wasn't that it dragged, but it seemed easy enough to pick up after a few days off without getting lost or missing some of the point. Good lazy holiday reading, I suppose, although it'll probably put you off going to the Southern Caribbean for a number of reasons....more
So entirely ridiculous in the plot twists and secondary characters that it's highly enjoyable - much more so than most of the other Heyer's of this paSo entirely ridiculous in the plot twists and secondary characters that it's highly enjoyable - much more so than most of the other Heyer's of this pattern (Established gentleman must chaperone highly attractive silly young girl around only to find himself in love with his more age-appropriate best friend)....more
Seriously good, both as a novel in itself, and as a novelization of issues surrounding PTSD and medical treatment. And WWI, which I think I've said beSeriously good, both as a novel in itself, and as a novelization of issues surrounding PTSD and medical treatment. And WWI, which I think I've said before in reviews of other books is prone to having been done to death as a sort of mastubatory flagellation of 'my god, the horror', but here fails to grate on me. Possibly because your major introduction to the horror is the profound traumatic psychological effects it has on people, and not any attempt to render what was happening in battle into descriptive (read: overblown) prose which is profoundly irritating from people who weren't there. In Regeneration, the memories of the horrors of war that are told from narrators' perspectives or as stories that are being related by patients are generally extremely matter-of-fact and sparse in terms of adjectives - supply your own as you will....more
This book is interesting, although at times that fact was almost obscured by the writing style, which has a recurring tendency to extremely florid proThis book is interesting, although at times that fact was almost obscured by the writing style, which has a recurring tendency to extremely florid prose. Isn't it odd how these days fiction writers generally avoid anything floral or lengthy in description to avoid being 'purple' or Victorian, while non-fiction writers can get away with writing sentences that would make a Bronte sister roll her eyes? Not that they always do it, but the mystical floralness does crop up more often, and at least for me, it detracts from the point. But when I made an effort to sift through the parts of the writing that made me want to eye roll and forget about even trying to take seriously some of the mystical coincidence parallels that were being drawn off and on without much in the way of support, I did find some of the information and in this book quite interesting, and an addition to the perspective of social history over the time period it was covering, and how that informs what we make of technologically-driven social change today....more
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