Just Rambling
And likely to be long enough to warrant a cut.
I finished Hade's Daughter this morning, and I'm still only "meh" about it. I understand that it's the first in a series that deals with multiple reincarnations of characters and I find myself more interested in the meta-story than this introductory novel itself.
I think the biggest problem I have is that I really don't feel much attachment to any of the characters. The only character I feel the desire to see again is Brutus - and even then only because of the self-awareness his future self displays in brief snippits that amount to a few pages at most. That trait, however, is probably the result of living multiple lives, so I'm not likely to see that version of him (or any of the others) until the last book.
So maybe the epic payoff is worth it, but for now I think I'll just de-prioritize those books and borrow Santa Olivia with cautious optimism as Jacqueline Carey's work has been either awesome hit or total miss with me.
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Shiftercat left a comment that made me stop and think:
"Fantasy is not about noodling around with spells and dragons any more than science fiction is about noodling around with spaceships and aliens. Science fiction is about creatively exploring the possible, while fantasy is about creatively exploring the mythic. (This, btw, is my major argument for why Star Wars is "low fantasy in a science fiction setting".)"
I've agreed wholeheartedly about Star Wars for some time now, considering it science fiction only in the most superficial of ways. I haven't, however, looked at the genre difference quite so succinctly before that I can recall. We use "fantasy" and "science fiction" as terms to describe the trappings of a setting, but as far as the core of what the genres really mean, I think she's on target.
Tangentially, this makes me think (again) about how fantasy settings are prone to overlooking progress and development (exploring the possible). You'll get settings where technology has remained at roughly the same Middle-Ages level for thousands of years, because that's simply not what the story is about. And yeah, I can point at Star Wars on that one, too.
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"Interesting" is a word cropping up a lot in connection with a little something tashiro intends to do on Faire. Part of me very much wants to participate. I think Jhazza would be a very interesting character to throw into the mix as she's almost antithetical to the whole premise and she's a rare character who probably would struggle against fate even after the battle was lost.
But at the same time, there's my general lack of faith in humanity. While this sounds like a awesome little experiment, I foresee nothing but frustration if I actually do get involved. There's too much ego among players on the MUCK - myself included, probably - and setting up an adversarial character-versus-character scenerio almost inevitably leads to out-of-character pissiness and one upsmanship. This is what all my previous experience tell me to expect. So I'll probably stay out of it. That's always a mixed blessing though, as my mind torments me with thoughts of what "might have been" even when I know they're ridiculously unlikely.
Feh. I wish the player base showed more maturity. Sadly, even I'm lacking at times.
I finished Hade's Daughter this morning, and I'm still only "meh" about it. I understand that it's the first in a series that deals with multiple reincarnations of characters and I find myself more interested in the meta-story than this introductory novel itself.
I think the biggest problem I have is that I really don't feel much attachment to any of the characters. The only character I feel the desire to see again is Brutus - and even then only because of the self-awareness his future self displays in brief snippits that amount to a few pages at most. That trait, however, is probably the result of living multiple lives, so I'm not likely to see that version of him (or any of the others) until the last book.
So maybe the epic payoff is worth it, but for now I think I'll just de-prioritize those books and borrow Santa Olivia with cautious optimism as Jacqueline Carey's work has been either awesome hit or total miss with me.
----
Shiftercat left a comment that made me stop and think:
"Fantasy is not about noodling around with spells and dragons any more than science fiction is about noodling around with spaceships and aliens. Science fiction is about creatively exploring the possible, while fantasy is about creatively exploring the mythic. (This, btw, is my major argument for why Star Wars is "low fantasy in a science fiction setting".)"
I've agreed wholeheartedly about Star Wars for some time now, considering it science fiction only in the most superficial of ways. I haven't, however, looked at the genre difference quite so succinctly before that I can recall. We use "fantasy" and "science fiction" as terms to describe the trappings of a setting, but as far as the core of what the genres really mean, I think she's on target.
Tangentially, this makes me think (again) about how fantasy settings are prone to overlooking progress and development (exploring the possible). You'll get settings where technology has remained at roughly the same Middle-Ages level for thousands of years, because that's simply not what the story is about. And yeah, I can point at Star Wars on that one, too.
----
"Interesting" is a word cropping up a lot in connection with a little something tashiro intends to do on Faire. Part of me very much wants to participate. I think Jhazza would be a very interesting character to throw into the mix as she's almost antithetical to the whole premise and she's a rare character who probably would struggle against fate even after the battle was lost.
But at the same time, there's my general lack of faith in humanity. While this sounds like a awesome little experiment, I foresee nothing but frustration if I actually do get involved. There's too much ego among players on the MUCK - myself included, probably - and setting up an adversarial character-versus-character scenerio almost inevitably leads to out-of-character pissiness and one upsmanship. This is what all my previous experience tell me to expect. So I'll probably stay out of it. That's always a mixed blessing though, as my mind torments me with thoughts of what "might have been" even when I know they're ridiculously unlikely.
Feh. I wish the player base showed more maturity. Sadly, even I'm lacking at times.
Thanks! ^_^
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