Jam's recent posts

Recent public discussion board posts (showing 1-14 of 14).

Sorry, I wasn't being clear.

It's an AU in the sense of being plus dragons, but aside from that (and yes, Temeraire is a pretty big thing to brush past) it doesn't read as different to our world, our history. It runs parallel, it doesn't divert until you get to the later books.

Victory of Eagles kind of kicks it back on to being parallel again.

With the colonization of the Americas foiled and active military air support present centuries before they would otherwise have it, there could be all sorts of wonderful bits of world-building to come.

They were foiled? They have colonies in Halifax so I assumed there was at least some representation in the Americas.

I need to reread the books.

This was the Fix-It book, I think. the first book, the world is pretty much Our World (but5 with dragons)-- not much difference apart from that. Later books start to actually take it into an AU with other countries and Empire of Ivory *breaks* the world-- it establishes the knock-on effects of the new historical differences (Nelson living, etc.), it changes the British Empire, it makes France more powerful and more dangerous, and on a personal level, leaves some of the characters broken (in their life-as-it-was, in their status and perceptions).

Victory of Eagles is the fixer book, the one that puts things back on track. For me, it was arguably less interesting than Empire of Ivory in a world-building sense, but much more enjoyable.

Your ellipsis speaks volumes.

For this one, the emphasis should be on the fiction part of "historical fiction".

She picks her evidence to fit her theories, like saying that Mary almost certainly did not have an affair with Francis I since she's would have been too young (only 12) when she went to court. Actually,Mary's birthdate isn't known, and historians estimate her age at the time from 12 to her early twenties.

There are also quite a lot of facts that the author choose to ignore-- like she claims that Anne had Mary cut off without a pension when William Carey died, when Anne secured Mary a pension of £100 a year.

I think you could because the characters are good, are interesting and I'd be interested to see what you make of it.

I'll take your word for it. "Not as bad as her last one!" is kind of worrying. I'm easy, sure, but not that easy.

Maybe I'll go back to binging on Pratchett for a while. Mmm, comfort-reading.

I think it's interesting, not least because this book was about the *world* for the first time. It wasn't about Temeraire or Laurence, not in the way that the other books have been. They were there, but they weren't what the book was about as such, not until the final chapter, which-- yes. Ouch, but yes.

I think so. I paid... hmm, I think it was about £10 new? Certainly, it's worth $15.

Excellent! I'm so glad you're reading it. I've been throwing this book at people in the good way since I first read it.

I remember this as one of the books I always looked for when I went to the library and always being disappointed if it was out.

As sidetracks go, that one's pretty impressive.

I found that book such a disappointment. I love her Vorkosigan books, I love the Chalion books but this just left me... meh.

The presence of Haruhi's relentlessly sensible nature would improve many series, though it would also make them a lot shorter.

The presence of Haruhi's relentlessly sensible nature would improve many series, though it would also make them a lot shorter.