Castles in the sky

[nishatalitha]

I have been rereading The Belgariad and The Mallorean at the rate of approximately a book a day. I am now up to The Seeress of Kell and quite glad about this - I'm getting quite tired of them.

Still thinking about the characters I like and dislike and a bit about why. At times I almost like Polgara, other times I continue to dislike her. More and more I'm thinking that it's the young (or seeming young) women that Eddings writes that is what I dislike - I mostly like Queen Poreen of Drasnia, for example. Ce'Nedra, on the other hand, I can't stand. When I was 15, this was in part because she has red hair (I have red hair, it's not that exotic and it's more trouble than it's worth sometimes; little old ladies in supermarkets and river paths, bah!), but as I get older there are far more elements of not being able to sympathise with her at all.

Seriously, remove the names, the hair colour, and the single obvious character traits (liking for gold/spying/knives/cooking) and you wouldn't be able to tell any of them apart. And I almost include Polgara in this category. Compared to Ce'Nedra, I positively like Polgara!

On the other hand, a book I did like

Blurb from Amazon:

This stunning epic fantasy debut introduces two exciting new authors—and a world brimming with natural and man-made wonders, extraordinary events, and a crisis that will test the mettle of men, the boundaries of magic, and the heart and soul of a kingdom.

Thanks to its elite Dragon Corps, the capital city of Volstov has all but won the hundred years’ war with its neighboring enemy, the Ke-Han. The renegade airmen who fly the corps’s mechanical, magic-fueled dragons are Volstov’s greatest weapon. But now one of its more unruly members is at the center of the city’s rumor mill, causing a distraction that may turn the tide of victory.

With Volstov immersed in a scandal that may have international repercussions, the Ke-Han devise an ingenious plan of attack. To counter the threat, four ill-assorted heroes must converge to save the kingdom they love: an exiled magician, a naive country boy, a young student—and the unpredictable ace airman who flies the city’s fiercest dragon, Havemercy.

But on the eve of battle, these courageous men will face something that could make the most formidable of warriors hesitate, the most powerful of magicians weak, and the most unlikely of men allies in their quest to rise against it....

Filled with adventure and discovery, treachery and betrayal, Havemercy is a thrill ride to the unexpected—and an unforgettable journey that will linger long after the fire of battle has cleared

Havemercy is a story about four men from different walks of lives who end up connecting with each other and working together to save their country. For all that, it's not a traditional quest story; the quartet is more in the way of two pairs and the pairs hardly connect.

At points, it reminds me of Sarah Monette's Melusine trilogy, particularly with the interactions of Rook and Thom. Admittedly, they don't actually have sex, unlike Felix and Mildmay, but there is almost that degree of obsession between them. This was probably the most disappointing element of the book for me - I would have been interested to see how Thom (the scholar) coped without the distracting element of them being brothers. On the other hand, if they weren't brothers, I would have found that predictable. *shrugs*

I find it hard to believe that the Airmen managed to grow up with almost no social graces - it seems to me that even if the dragons choose their riders, that those riders would need to be older before being introduced and wouldn't lose civilisation so quickly. They are an isolated subgroup, and I wonder whose fault that might be.

The dragons are awesome! Created from metal and magic, each with their own set of skills and similar personalities to their magician creators, they are connected to the source of magic - both a strength, and as it turns out, a failing. Their magician creators were rather crazy or fantatical - had to be to inbue a machine with most of their magic. The dragons are named for lovers, famous battles, lost children, save for three, named for prayers: Thoushalt, Compassus and Havemercy - the newest and best of the dragons and the one Rook flies.

The relationship between Hal and Royston is sweet. Royston exhibits more self-control than a lot of men in similar books do (they don't have sex) and instead, they have a friendship which slowly, over the course of the book. It feels slightly forced in places, but is delightful for me to ignore it.

The book is in first person, from each of the four main characters. Even without the name headings at the top of each section, the writing is all distinct enough to be able to tell who is the storyteller. My main complaint is that viewpoint switches too quickly. A chapter a character would be better, rather than four or more viewpoints per chapter.

Actually, the most frustrating part of the book for me is the physical quality of it. The spine creaks alarmingly, the inside front and back papers aren't glued correctly, the paper feels thin and cheap and in places looks water affected. Not damaged, but there's that slight wave to the paper that suggests being in the damp. There are lots of small spots of paper on my bed from where I was reading it last night. The cover is very pretty - I adore the cover.

I recommend waiting until paperback or getting it from the library. On the other hand, this is the authors' first book - and while it shows (or perhaps it shows because I already know) - I can't help but think it's a very good first effort and that they should only improve. Not quite up to Temaraire's polished standards, perhaps, but eminently readable and enjoyable. Besides which, I wasn't particularly enthusiastic about books 2 - 4 of Novik's, and I do hope to see more of these two - more of the world, certainly (the magic system is quite interesting), but not necessarily entirely about the same characters.

Autumn progress slowly. She has some hair and for a while her face looked like a skull until I stitched in her cheecks and lips. Now it looks like a pink blob. It will look like this for a long time - I plan to do the backstitching just before I do the beading, which will be last.

bl9_knt and purplesparkler liked the chessboard. I still have hold of it, however - even though I finished it in April, I still failed at getting it framed in time. I now have fifteen months to do so. I would make a slightly more urgent effort to do it this year, but where would I put it until then? It's pretty enough that if I have it framed I'm going to want to have it out in view, rather than stored away somewhere.

fraser_by_proxy was in town for some of this week for his birthday and a group of us gathered at Sweet Mother's Kitchen, one of the few mexican restaurants in Wellington. Food was good, milkshakes were great and huge, key lime pie was... interesting. It was good to see him again. Auckland and studying medicine seems to suit him.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

The chessboard was fantastic!

I'm not really sure that Sweet Mothers Kitchen is Mexican, I'd probably put it as Texan....

Cheers
G

[anarchangel23.livejournal.com]

Well that's Eddings, right? He does four characters: Women, grumpy male, cheeky male, and young farmboy who turns into cheeky male. He does them well, but they are all pretty much the same.

I thought Sweet Mother's Kitchen was southern & creole cooking?

[anarchangel23.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I see they claim to be "New Orleans and Mexican" on their website, although their menu leans heavily towards the former. Still, all they need is Quesadillas to get my Mexican vote! Nomnomnom!

[house-monkey.livejournal.com]

I told you reading them again wasn't a good idea.

[nishatalitha.livejournal.com]

Yes, and you were right. I did so anyway and now I don't have to read them again for another five years or so.

[nishatalitha.livejournal.com]

*shrugs* This is Wellington. Coyotes almost counts as Mexican.

[anarchangel23.livejournal.com]

The Horror! The... Horror...!

[nishatalitha.livejournal.com]

There's a place out by the hospital which is about as mexican as you're going to get. I think mexican food fills about the same niche in the states as indian does here. I like both.