Marie Brennan's Blog, page 227
July 26, 2011
Two things about Sirens
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shveta_thakrar
is hiring herself out as a copyeditor and proofreader to raise money to go to Sirens this fall; read her post for more details. (You can also just donate directly if you wish.) You all know I think Sirens is a wonderful, wonderful event, and I'm going back this year myself, so if those services sound useful to you, pop on over there and let her know.Which brings me to the second thing. Just yesterday I was bemoaning the fact that I have so few costuming opportunities these days, compared to when I lived in Bloomington. Then it occurred to me that I have an absolutely smashing opportunity coming up this fall: the masquerade ball at Sirens!
The theme for Sirens this year is "monsters." I could costume as one of those, or as somebody who hunts the same. The sensible thing to do would be to raid my closet and re-use a costume I already have -- but who wants to be sensible? And really, the only monster-type thing I have is my old Hel costume, but I am damned if I'm going to repeat the makeup and hair you see in that icon; it was a bad idea once, and I'm not stupid enough to do it twice. I have a couple of other options, but one isn't exciting and the other doesn't count as "re-using a costume" so much as "re-using an accessory and buying a new costume to go with it."
This is where you, my faithful LJ readers, come in. Who or what should I dress up as? Get as creative as you like; just remember that a) I'm not going to cut or dye my hair and b) whatever I do has to be easily transportable via plane. Suggest as many things as you feel inspired to, and let me know if you think somebody else's suggestions sound good. I promise there will be pictures afterward. (And, er, I'll get around to posting the pics I have from last year. I swear I will.)
Have at it!
The DWJ Project: The Magicians of Caprona
In Verona Caprona, the families of the Montagues Montanas and Capulets Petrocchis have been feuding since, well, forever. To make matters worse, although they're the most powerful spell-making families in Caprona, the virtue seems to be going out of their work; their spells are failing, right when an alliance of Florence, Pisa, and Siena is threatening Caprona's borders. As with Romeo and Juliet, it's up to the kids to bridge the rift their parents won't cross -- though in this case it involves less death, more Punch and Judy shows.
This book takes place in the same world as The Lives of Christopher Chant and Charmed Life (the same specific world -- Twelve-A), but is more like Witch Week or Conrad's Fate in that it uses Chrestomanci for a side character. This one is generally happier than either of those; among other things, it goes the opposite direction from the usual pattern of neglected or abused children, and puts our characters into huge, boisterous, occasionally contentious but entirely loving families. I especially love the way that fantasy gets integrated into the family dynamic in an understated way: aunts and cousins popping out of the woodwork to help or interfere with things isn't a coincidence, it's a function of the magic that underlies them all.
Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it's off to the spoilers we go.
The biggest weakness in the book, for me, is that I've never seen a Punch and Judy show in my life. As a result, I have absolutely no referents for all those bits: no mental images, no anticipation of where the act is going, no ability to catch whatever in-jokes there might be. I don't know if there would be more to laugh at in Tonino and Angelica's experiences if I had those things; as it is, that entire sequence is just horrific. (As it is meant to be, obviously. But if there's supposed to be a sugar-coating of any kind, I miss it.)
On the other hand, you have Benvenuto. I marvel once again at DWJ's ability to write with deep love for both cats and dogs. So few authors manage that. :-)
I think I'm glad the story sticks with the Montana points of view. We can guess from the start that the Petrocchis aren't going to be the horrible, unwashed, baby-eating monsters the Montana cousins make them out to be, but jumping back and forth to show their side would undermine a lot of the fun touches, starting with little things like "our coach horses got soggy, too" and going all the way up to Rosa and Marco's excellent deception. ("Excellent" in the sense that I approve, not that they thought it through entirely well.)
There's another common DJW motif in here, which is the way that both Tonino and Angelica are the seemingly-untalented children who turn out to have a special talent instead. We get that a lot in the Chrestomanci books particularly; Christopher and Cat both thought they had no magic at all. It crops up elsewhere in her books, too. I seem to remember there being a line in The Merlin Conspiracy about how Grundo's dyslexia just means he's specially talented, and that rubbed me the wrong way -- it's sort of the "disability as superpower" motif -- but this strikes me more as the kind of wish-fulfillment that children's books deal in. We've gotten cynical about seeing it in adult fiction, but you know, sometimes you want that kind of (non-magical) fantasy.
I really do love this one, though I often forget it under the shadow of my first-tier favorites.
One more Chrestomanci novel and a short story collection to go!
This book takes place in the same world as The Lives of Christopher Chant and Charmed Life (the same specific world -- Twelve-A), but is more like Witch Week or Conrad's Fate in that it uses Chrestomanci for a side character. This one is generally happier than either of those; among other things, it goes the opposite direction from the usual pattern of neglected or abused children, and puts our characters into huge, boisterous, occasionally contentious but entirely loving families. I especially love the way that fantasy gets integrated into the family dynamic in an understated way: aunts and cousins popping out of the woodwork to help or interfere with things isn't a coincidence, it's a function of the magic that underlies them all.
Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it's off to the spoilers we go.
The biggest weakness in the book, for me, is that I've never seen a Punch and Judy show in my life. As a result, I have absolutely no referents for all those bits: no mental images, no anticipation of where the act is going, no ability to catch whatever in-jokes there might be. I don't know if there would be more to laugh at in Tonino and Angelica's experiences if I had those things; as it is, that entire sequence is just horrific. (As it is meant to be, obviously. But if there's supposed to be a sugar-coating of any kind, I miss it.)
On the other hand, you have Benvenuto. I marvel once again at DWJ's ability to write with deep love for both cats and dogs. So few authors manage that. :-)
I think I'm glad the story sticks with the Montana points of view. We can guess from the start that the Petrocchis aren't going to be the horrible, unwashed, baby-eating monsters the Montana cousins make them out to be, but jumping back and forth to show their side would undermine a lot of the fun touches, starting with little things like "our coach horses got soggy, too" and going all the way up to Rosa and Marco's excellent deception. ("Excellent" in the sense that I approve, not that they thought it through entirely well.)
There's another common DJW motif in here, which is the way that both Tonino and Angelica are the seemingly-untalented children who turn out to have a special talent instead. We get that a lot in the Chrestomanci books particularly; Christopher and Cat both thought they had no magic at all. It crops up elsewhere in her books, too. I seem to remember there being a line in The Merlin Conspiracy about how Grundo's dyslexia just means he's specially talented, and that rubbed me the wrong way -- it's sort of the "disability as superpower" motif -- but this strikes me more as the kind of wish-fulfillment that children's books deal in. We've gotten cynical about seeing it in adult fiction, but you know, sometimes you want that kind of (non-magical) fantasy.
I really do love this one, though I often forget it under the shadow of my first-tier favorites.
One more Chrestomanci novel and a short story collection to go!
one step closer
Here's a stage I've never had before, in the book-publication process: I just received a stack of covers for With Fate Conspire. Like, the paper wrap for the hardcover. It's like a real book, just without the book! And that will be coming soon. (I am so excited, y'all.)
And speaking of excited, here's what Publishers Weekly had to say:
The funny thing is, I honestly didn't think of the Tam Lin overtones until I read this, though obviously they're there.
Onward to the shelves . . . .
And speaking of excited, here's what Publishers Weekly had to say:
Gifted storyteller and world-builder Brennan returns to the Onyx Court, a faery city that coexists with London, in her fourth historical fantasy (after 2010's A Star Shall Fall). As the Onyx Court is threatened by 19th-century advances in technology, the faeries and humans increasingly come into conflict. Eliza O'Malley is caught between the two worlds, both of which are often cruel and indifferent to her desperate search for her childhood friend, Owen, who was captured by the faeries seven years before. Unless Eliza can find Dead Rick, the dog-man who betrayed them, Owen will be lost to the faery kingdom forever. Series readers and fans of the Tam Lin myth will be captivated by this complex and vibrant depiction of a magical Victorian era.
The funny thing is, I honestly didn't think of the Tam Lin overtones until I read this, though obviously they're there.
Onward to the shelves . . . .
July 21, 2011
The DWJ Project: Witch Week
The back cover of my copy of Witch Week calls it "a wild comic fantasy from a master of the supernatural."
Um.
There are certainly funny bits in this book. (The mop-and-hoe incident comes to mind.) But "wild comic fantasy"? On a micro scale, Larwood House manages to hit almost every abusive-boarding-school trope there is: never warm enough, dreary food, teachers ranging from neglectful to cruel, and all the student-level nastiness you would expect. On a macro scale, the world is one where witches are still burned at the stake, and since half the students at Larwood are witch-orphans, that means half the characters live in fear of the inquisitors coming after them. You know how I've been talking about the way Diana Wynne Jones' books contain these hard edges, but buried in a way that lets you deal with them on your own terms? The hard edges here are scarcely buried at all. I think Witch Week is a very good book, but I almost never re-read it, because I can't lose sight of how grim it is.
Which is not to say it's unrelentingly bleak; it isn't. (I don't want to scare off anybody who hasn't read it already.) But you may spend a goodly chunk of the time outraged, before the narrative gets to the point where it says "you know how this world is really messed-up and wrong? Yeah. That isn't an accident; it's the real conflict underlying everything else."
Onward to the spoilers.
In the continuing trend of me paying more attention to the adult characters than I used to, I really feel for Mr. Wentworth. God, his life sucks, and yet he's remarkably decent despite it. Nirupam I like all the way through; he's probably my favorite among the students, because he's relatively sensible. Nan I like once she gets her feet under herself; it's great to watch her stand up to Theresa et al. And Estelle is also cool once she emerges from the woodwork. Brian . . . Brian reminds me distantly of a kid I knew in junior high, who was very much picked on (though not as badly as Brian). I didn't know him very well, but then when I did talk to him, he was kind of a jerk to me. Being all of maybe fourteen at the time, I promptly lost a lot of sympathy for him -- but of course that feeds around in a circle, doesn't it? Charles' surprise that Brian objected to being hit sums it all up, really: he's so desensitized to the abuse as The Way Things Are that he assumes Brian is, too. (I don't much like Charles, though I do have a degree of empathy for him.)
And despite what I said above about the grimness, there are some really funny lines. When they all run into each other at Portway Oaks, and Charles thinks Estelle looks like she's mislaid a horse, and Nan thinks Charles' mop looks like he's slain an old-age pensioner. (I much prefer the flexible omniscience of the pov here to the more structured first-person shifting of the Magid books.)
This time through, after having written "And Blow Them at the Moon," I find myself with a different perspective on the Guy Fawkes thing. Can anybody tell me whether the Editor's Note at the beginning, explaining Guy Fawkes, is only in American editions? Or do British readers get that, too, making sure that nobody will be confused at the end of the book? Anyway, I'm amused at the way Fawkes is remembered as the centerpiece of the conspiracy, and nobody ever mentions Catesby. I also raise my eyebrows at Nan's assertion that "he was the kind of man who can never do anything right." My impression is that he's become mythologized as this incompetent fool, which is really quite unfair.
The ending, though . . . I love this ending. It comes up over and over again in DWJ's work: the power of stories and language to change the world. Nan describing what happened, and then Simon, because of Charles' spell, being able to put it back. They couldn't have done it without Chrestomanci, but he also couldn't have done it without them -- well, maybe if he went back to Twelve-A and set up a giant spell with lots of help, but that wouldn't have saved these kids. Littleton would have been and gone, and who knows how many others the inquisitors would have caught in the meanwhile. They saved themselves, with his help. Structurally, it's the kind of balance I think I look for in Conrad's Fate, but don't find, and that's why I find this book the more satisfying of the two. (One of several reasons, really, but the others are hard to articulate.)
Two more Chrestomanci books to go, and one collection.
Um.
There are certainly funny bits in this book. (The mop-and-hoe incident comes to mind.) But "wild comic fantasy"? On a micro scale, Larwood House manages to hit almost every abusive-boarding-school trope there is: never warm enough, dreary food, teachers ranging from neglectful to cruel, and all the student-level nastiness you would expect. On a macro scale, the world is one where witches are still burned at the stake, and since half the students at Larwood are witch-orphans, that means half the characters live in fear of the inquisitors coming after them. You know how I've been talking about the way Diana Wynne Jones' books contain these hard edges, but buried in a way that lets you deal with them on your own terms? The hard edges here are scarcely buried at all. I think Witch Week is a very good book, but I almost never re-read it, because I can't lose sight of how grim it is.
Which is not to say it's unrelentingly bleak; it isn't. (I don't want to scare off anybody who hasn't read it already.) But you may spend a goodly chunk of the time outraged, before the narrative gets to the point where it says "you know how this world is really messed-up and wrong? Yeah. That isn't an accident; it's the real conflict underlying everything else."
Onward to the spoilers.
In the continuing trend of me paying more attention to the adult characters than I used to, I really feel for Mr. Wentworth. God, his life sucks, and yet he's remarkably decent despite it. Nirupam I like all the way through; he's probably my favorite among the students, because he's relatively sensible. Nan I like once she gets her feet under herself; it's great to watch her stand up to Theresa et al. And Estelle is also cool once she emerges from the woodwork. Brian . . . Brian reminds me distantly of a kid I knew in junior high, who was very much picked on (though not as badly as Brian). I didn't know him very well, but then when I did talk to him, he was kind of a jerk to me. Being all of maybe fourteen at the time, I promptly lost a lot of sympathy for him -- but of course that feeds around in a circle, doesn't it? Charles' surprise that Brian objected to being hit sums it all up, really: he's so desensitized to the abuse as The Way Things Are that he assumes Brian is, too. (I don't much like Charles, though I do have a degree of empathy for him.)
And despite what I said above about the grimness, there are some really funny lines. When they all run into each other at Portway Oaks, and Charles thinks Estelle looks like she's mislaid a horse, and Nan thinks Charles' mop looks like he's slain an old-age pensioner. (I much prefer the flexible omniscience of the pov here to the more structured first-person shifting of the Magid books.)
This time through, after having written "And Blow Them at the Moon," I find myself with a different perspective on the Guy Fawkes thing. Can anybody tell me whether the Editor's Note at the beginning, explaining Guy Fawkes, is only in American editions? Or do British readers get that, too, making sure that nobody will be confused at the end of the book? Anyway, I'm amused at the way Fawkes is remembered as the centerpiece of the conspiracy, and nobody ever mentions Catesby. I also raise my eyebrows at Nan's assertion that "he was the kind of man who can never do anything right." My impression is that he's become mythologized as this incompetent fool, which is really quite unfair.
The ending, though . . . I love this ending. It comes up over and over again in DWJ's work: the power of stories and language to change the world. Nan describing what happened, and then Simon, because of Charles' spell, being able to put it back. They couldn't have done it without Chrestomanci, but he also couldn't have done it without them -- well, maybe if he went back to Twelve-A and set up a giant spell with lots of help, but that wouldn't have saved these kids. Littleton would have been and gone, and who knows how many others the inquisitors would have caught in the meanwhile. They saved themselves, with his help. Structurally, it's the kind of balance I think I look for in Conrad's Fate, but don't find, and that's why I find this book the more satisfying of the two. (One of several reasons, really, but the others are hard to articulate.)
Two more Chrestomanci books to go, and one collection.
Forty days!
Following on the heels of yesterday's review: more excerpt! An additional scene apiece from Eliza and Dead Rick; you can pick up there, or go back and start at the beginning.
There will be one more set of scenes posted here before the book hits the shelves, plus a couple of other tidbits. Enjoy!
There will be one more set of scenes posted here before the book hits the shelves, plus a couple of other tidbits. Enjoy!
July 20, 2011
holy cow, they liked it
You have to be a subscriber to Kirkus Reviews to see the whole thing (or, y'know, have a publicist who shares it with you) -- but here is a quote from the (ahem) STARRED REVIEW I just received:
There's been a general pattern of reviews of the series echoing that last phrase, and I have to say, I'll take that graph, thankyouverymuch. I guess maybe from a sales perspective it would be better to have an amazingly awesome first book, and then tail off afterward (presuming your readership doesn't all vanish), but artistically? Hearing that I've done better with each attempt is very satisfying.
Brennan's grasp of period detail is sure, as the Dickensian squalor of most mortal sections of the city has its mirror in the teeming desperation of the Goblin Market. Despite the cast of thousands, many of the characters have real presence, and after a slow start the plot coheres and swirls forward into a series of tense and surprising conclusions. An absorbing finale to a series that has grown richer with every installment.
There's been a general pattern of reviews of the series echoing that last phrase, and I have to say, I'll take that graph, thankyouverymuch. I guess maybe from a sales perspective it would be better to have an amazingly awesome first book, and then tail off afterward (presuming your readership doesn't all vanish), but artistically? Hearing that I've done better with each attempt is very satisfying.
July 18, 2011
Revisiting the Wheel of Time: Crossroads of Twilight
[This is part of a series analyzing Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time novels. Previous installments can be found under the tag. Comments on old posts are welcome, but please, no spoilers for books after this one.]
This is the book that killed me.
Prior to the publication of Crossroads of Twilight, I was willing (if not happy) to wait two or three years for each Wheel of Time book, slowly plodding my way toward the conclusion. After this one, I was done. I would not pick the series up again until the end was in sight -- as indeed has been the case. All the way through this re-read, I've been bagging on CoT, dreading its arrival . . . but wondering, subconsciously, if maybe I had mis-remembered; maybe it was just the disappointment of having waited more than two years, or the disconnect caused by not re-reading previous books, and it wasn't really as bad as I thought.
Reader, I did not mis-remember.
This book is, from beginning to end, the Catastrophic Failure Mode of Epic Fantasy Pacing. It is everything I've been critiquing since The Fires of Heaven, writ extra large, with underlining. Hell -- to the best of my knowledge, it is the one book about which Jordan ever publicly admitted, "you know, maybe that wasn't a good idea." Given the flaws I've been pointing out along the way, that admission should tell you something.
Going into it, I wondered how I should approach analyzing this book. What could I say that I hadn't already said before? I suppose this post could consist of me tearing out my hair and going "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH," but that's not too helpful. Instead I decided to approach this systematically: reading the book, I noted down the number of pages in each chapter, the point of view character(s), and, in no more than one sentence, what important events take place. What changes in the chapter? What new thing do the characters (or the readers) learn? What fresh problem starts, or old problem concludes? Having done that, I now have a wealth of evidence to back me up when I tell you:
NOTHING BLOODY HAPPENS IN THIS BOOK.
I subdivide the summary in the three instances where multiple characters have pov within a chapter. Page counts in those instances are approximate.
Prologue (80 p) -- Rodel Ituralde proposes a truce and alliance with various Domani and Taraboners against the Seanchan (12 p); Eamon Valda argues with Asunawa (4 p); Gabrelle Sedai learns that Logain is going to "recruit" for the Black Tower (7 p); Yukiri Sedai discusses the "odd" Tower Sitters with Seaine (15 p); Gawyn gets a messenger from Elaida (7 p); Davram Bashere finds out that somebody was snooping in his tent (10); Samitsu Sedai meets Loial and Karldin, Heals Dobraine after an assassination attempt, and hears of Logain's arrival in Cairhien (24 p).
Chapters
(19 p, Mat pov) -- He thinks back to their escape from Ebou Dar.
(15 p, Mat pov) -- Seanchan soldiers come to demand horses from Valan Luca, go away empty-handed.
(24 p, Mat pov) -- He talks to Tuon, learns about Tylin's death, and notices Rand's stunt from the end of Winter's Heart.
(15 p, Furyk Karede pov) -- He talks to a Seeker about Tuon's disappearance, and leaves to search for her.
(22 p, Perrin pov) -- He dreams about something evil, then receives reports from Balwer and Selande about Masema and the Aes Sedai visiting him.
(14 p, Perrin pov) -- He tracks the Darkhounds, and gets the Suroth letter to Masema from Berelain.
(15 p, Perrin pov) -- Masuri lectures everyone about Darkhounds, and Masema argues with Perrin.
(19 p, Perrin pov) -- He scouts the Shaido camp and notices Rand's stunt.
(29 p, Faile pov) -- She notices Rand's stunt and starts an alliance with Rolan, and her plans for escape are discovered.
(17 p, Elayne pov) -- She does PR for her campaign and notices Rand's stunt.
(18 p, Elayne pov) -- She yells at Doilan Mellar.
(17 p, Elayne pov) -- She bargains with Zaida over Windfinders and Aes Sedai.
(17 p, Elayne pov) -- She accepts the support of four juvenile High Seats.
(23 p, Elayne pov) -- She receives reports from the First Maid and First Clerk about spies, and hears that Merilille ran away with (probably) Talaan.
(31 p, multiple pov) -- Elenia allies with Naean to escape Arymilla (16 p); Mellar meets with Lady Shiaine (15 p).
(18 p, Egwene pov) -- She tells Beonin to negotiate for Elaida's surrender.
(26 p, Egwene pov) -- Her council speculates about Delana, and Egwene checks in on a new project to create cuendillar.
(19 p, Egwene pov) -- She reads and discusses reports with Siuan.
(25 p, Egwene pov) -- The Hall votes to send an embassy to the Black Tower, for linking.
(20 p, Egwene pov) -- She has prophetic dreams and finds out Anaiya has been murdered with saidin.
(21 p, Alviarin pov) -- She returns to the White Tower and finds out that she has been ousted as Keeper, then sees (but does not recognize) Mesaana's face, and gets sent by Shaidar Haran to hunt the Black Ajah hunters.
(7 p, Pevara pov) -- Tarna Feir suggests the Red Ajah take Asha'man Warders, and sees the message Pevara received from Toveine in Cairhien.
(17 p, Cadsuane pov) -- She watches the Warders exercise and talks to Rand.
(17 p, multiple pov) -- Rand hears Loial's report about the Waygates (10 p); Cadsuane sends Samitsu back to Cairhien (2 p); Rand sends Bashere, Logain, and Loial to negotiate a truce with the Seanchan (3 p); Elza tells her Warder he may have to kill some people (1 p).
(11 p, Perrin pov) -- He goes to So Habor and sees a Seanchan aerial scout.
(14 p, Perrin pov) -- He discovers strange evils and ghosts in So Habor.
(17 p, Perrin pov) -- He tortures a Shaido warrior, abandons his axes, and thinks about allying with the Seanchan.
(26 p, Mat pov) -- He courts Tuon.
(22 p, Mat pov) -- Renna stabs Egeanin, escapes, and is killed.
(28 p, Egwene pov) -- She turns the Tar Valon harbor chain into cuendillar and gets captured.
Epilogue (2 p, Rand pov) -- He learns the Seanchan want him to meet the Daughter of Nine Moons.
By my count, precisely two -- TWO -- things happen during the course of this book that alter the direction of the narrative. They both happen in the last four pages, and one of them basically happens offstage: Egwene gets captured, and Rand arranges a truce with the Seanchan.
Nothing. Else.
At the beginning of the book, Mat was running away from Ebou Dar and worrying about marrying Tuon. At the end of the book, Mat is running away from Ebou Dar and worrying about marrying Tuon. Perrin was trying to rescue Faile; he's still trying to rescue Faile. Elayne was trying to secure the throne; she's still trying to secure the throne. The character with the highest plot-to-pages ratio is freaking Alviarin, man.
This is partially, but not entirely, due to the choice that even Jordan admitted was a bad one: starting (almost) every character's section on the same day, i.e. the one when Rand and Nynaeve cleansed saidin. If you look at that list up above, and where I mention the stunt, you'll find that the first fifteen chapters all take place on the same goddamned day. We are literally on page three hundred ninety-one before it moves forward, with Egwene's pov. I am running out of italics with which to express my horror, y'all. I could forgive it if that was an action-packed day for everybody . . . but oh my god, it is so far from that, it isn't even funny.
Back when I posted about The Path of Daggers , I commented that it's difficult, with a narrative as multi-stranded as this one, to make clear declarations about how I would have reorganized it. In this case, however, it's easy. Three examples:
Dump Mat's first three chapters, excepting only the conversation with Tuon, which you graft into his later two chapters. Then find something else for him to do during this book. (I could name specifics here if I'd read Knife of Dreams, but I haven't.)
Condense the time-wasting crap I complained about from Elayne's chapters in Winter's Heart (the pointless stalling before the assassination attempt, the mechanics of setting up her meeting with the Borderlanders), and use the pages thus freed up to pack in the few bits of meat from this book (e.g. the High Seats). Then either give her a sabbatical from this book -- she's basically the only major pov character who hasn't had one -- or, as per Mat, find her something to do.
Perrin is an interesting case. At the start of this book, twenty-two days have passed since Faile was kidnapped. In that time, he went leaping ahead with gateways, then realized he'd lost the trail of the Shaido and had to backtrack; we learn this through brief exposition. I would totally support eliding that bit if it were surrounded by Exciting! Action! on both sides -- Faile's been kidnapped! (elision) Rescue Faile! -- but instead it's Faile was kidnapped! Blah blah, (elision), blah, blah. [Rescue Faile! . . . one of these days.] I'd chuck, or at least massively condense, the pointless time-wasting with him and Berelain in Winter's Heart, and replace it with the "leaping ahead with gateways" part of the elision, then end his part of that book with him figuring out his mistake. (Yay despair!) Then have this book pick up directly with him finding the Shaido, and have him do something about it before the end of the book. (Oh look, I found more italics.)
Have the story begin on the day the taint was cleansed, sure. That's what you use your prologue for: a bunch of rapid-fire scenes, no more than five pages each, showing where everybody was and what they were doing when the world changed. Then move on with your story.
In other words, take the tiny fragments of actual material and shove them into either Winter's Heart or Knife of Dreams, and dump the rest of it as dead weight. Because that's what it is. Several different kinds of dead weight, in fact. The stuff in So Habor is creepy, sure -- but what does it add to the narrative? I'm guessing it's a sign of the Dark One's touch (along with, presumably, the failing of the wards on the Tower/Keepings on the rebel army's supplies, Mat seeing things that aren't there, people wondering if saidar is weakening, etc; I'm speculating there, but it seems likely that's the cause). And you know, back in the early books, So Habor would have made a great scene. But at this point in the story, give us a couple of paragraphs where somebody tells Perrin what happened when they went to buy grain; don't waste two entire chapters on it. In a related vein, half of the dead weight in this book and the last one is Jordan showing his math on Elayne getting the throne. Either he had what he thought was a compelling reason why he couldn't let that happen before Book 11 (in which case he should have come up with actual challenges for her along the way), or he didn't realize that at this late stage in the game, we're willing to spot him the routine stuff.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have lost sight of the epic, except in the pathological sense of "wordy." We briefly found it again, at the end of Winter's Heart; it's why that book gave me hope. But Crossroads of Twilight grinds it under once more. Almost nobody knows what Rand did, so all they can do is goggle and make wrong guesses; even the few who do know (like Cadsuane) doubt whether it's true. Rand himself seems to go on vacation afterward -- I think he gets less page-time, and certainly does less of interest, in this book than he did in The Dragon Reborn. For God's sake, he doesn't even show up until page 540.
The one other thing that seems vaguely epic -- Egwene turning the harbor chain into cuendillar -- falls flat because I have no goddamned clue why she did it. Seriously, can anybody explain this to me? If there's a simple answer, I don't even care that it constitutes a spoiler, because right now I'm staring at that and going "huh?" I cannot for the life of me figure out what advantage that's supposed to gain for her side. Will it be too heavy to lift, thus forcing Tar Valon into an actual siege? (I thought cuendillar was lightweight.) Will its value cause people to mob the harbor, trying to run off with links of the chain? (As if they could.) Will this show of wonder cause the people in Tar Valon to freak out and surrender? (It seems unlikely.) I really, really don't get it. So if you can explain it to me without giving away Egwene's whole part in Knife of Dreams or later, please do.
It's the same problem he's had before, done all over again, this time in bold letters. Jordan hides stuff from the reader -- including stuff the pov character knows -- without good reason. What's the point of Egwene's plan? What message does Gawyn get from Elaida? Is Rand's sooper-sekrit plan in Tear to make peace with the Seanchan, or something else? Why not tell us that Tuon asked for Mat to take her (god help me) shopping? Toveine's message to Pevara and Loial's warning about the Aes Sedai that came with him from Cairhien are both almost certainly about the Asha'man bonding Aes Sedai; we the reader already know this, so why not tell us? Augh! <beats head into desk, hoping for a concussion and subsequent memory loss regarding this book>
. . . it just goes nowhere. Even on a paragraph level, it's too much description, not enough action. There are almost no runs of dialogue; each paragraph of speech is separated by one or two of description, or consists of a line of dialogue, several sentences of description, and then another line of dialogue to close the paragraph out. There's no speed, no momentum. People say "nothing happened" in previous books, but it isn't true; it's just that the story kept going on tangents instead of proceeding toward a conclusion. Here it isn't even tangenting. The entire book is treading water.
You want to know something funny? In the copy I read, the story is 680 pages long. Except that, like most books, it doesn't actually start on page 1. In this case, it starts on page 15.
Which would make Crossroads of Twilight 666 pages long.
It really is the devil.
<sigh of relief> Okay. I made it over the hurdle. Everything after this, including New Spring, is stuff I haven't read before. I was thinking of speeding up my pace -- one month per book, rather than two -- since once the plot gets moving again I'll probably be eager to see it through to the end, but then I found out that apparently the final book has been pushed back to March, instead of November. I'll probably still do New Spring next month, using it to make up for the total lack of interest in Crossroads of Twilight, but if I otherwise keep on at my current pace (and Tor doesn't have any more delays), I'll arrive at A Memory of Light right when it's published. That seems fitting.
Ten books down. Four (and a half) to go.
I can make it.
This is the book that killed me.
Prior to the publication of Crossroads of Twilight, I was willing (if not happy) to wait two or three years for each Wheel of Time book, slowly plodding my way toward the conclusion. After this one, I was done. I would not pick the series up again until the end was in sight -- as indeed has been the case. All the way through this re-read, I've been bagging on CoT, dreading its arrival . . . but wondering, subconsciously, if maybe I had mis-remembered; maybe it was just the disappointment of having waited more than two years, or the disconnect caused by not re-reading previous books, and it wasn't really as bad as I thought.
Reader, I did not mis-remember.
This book is, from beginning to end, the Catastrophic Failure Mode of Epic Fantasy Pacing. It is everything I've been critiquing since The Fires of Heaven, writ extra large, with underlining. Hell -- to the best of my knowledge, it is the one book about which Jordan ever publicly admitted, "you know, maybe that wasn't a good idea." Given the flaws I've been pointing out along the way, that admission should tell you something.
Going into it, I wondered how I should approach analyzing this book. What could I say that I hadn't already said before? I suppose this post could consist of me tearing out my hair and going "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH," but that's not too helpful. Instead I decided to approach this systematically: reading the book, I noted down the number of pages in each chapter, the point of view character(s), and, in no more than one sentence, what important events take place. What changes in the chapter? What new thing do the characters (or the readers) learn? What fresh problem starts, or old problem concludes? Having done that, I now have a wealth of evidence to back me up when I tell you:
NOTHING BLOODY HAPPENS IN THIS BOOK.
I subdivide the summary in the three instances where multiple characters have pov within a chapter. Page counts in those instances are approximate.
Prologue (80 p) -- Rodel Ituralde proposes a truce and alliance with various Domani and Taraboners against the Seanchan (12 p); Eamon Valda argues with Asunawa (4 p); Gabrelle Sedai learns that Logain is going to "recruit" for the Black Tower (7 p); Yukiri Sedai discusses the "odd" Tower Sitters with Seaine (15 p); Gawyn gets a messenger from Elaida (7 p); Davram Bashere finds out that somebody was snooping in his tent (10); Samitsu Sedai meets Loial and Karldin, Heals Dobraine after an assassination attempt, and hears of Logain's arrival in Cairhien (24 p).
Chapters
(19 p, Mat pov) -- He thinks back to their escape from Ebou Dar.
(15 p, Mat pov) -- Seanchan soldiers come to demand horses from Valan Luca, go away empty-handed.
(24 p, Mat pov) -- He talks to Tuon, learns about Tylin's death, and notices Rand's stunt from the end of Winter's Heart.
(15 p, Furyk Karede pov) -- He talks to a Seeker about Tuon's disappearance, and leaves to search for her.
(22 p, Perrin pov) -- He dreams about something evil, then receives reports from Balwer and Selande about Masema and the Aes Sedai visiting him.
(14 p, Perrin pov) -- He tracks the Darkhounds, and gets the Suroth letter to Masema from Berelain.
(15 p, Perrin pov) -- Masuri lectures everyone about Darkhounds, and Masema argues with Perrin.
(19 p, Perrin pov) -- He scouts the Shaido camp and notices Rand's stunt.
(29 p, Faile pov) -- She notices Rand's stunt and starts an alliance with Rolan, and her plans for escape are discovered.
(17 p, Elayne pov) -- She does PR for her campaign and notices Rand's stunt.
(18 p, Elayne pov) -- She yells at Doilan Mellar.
(17 p, Elayne pov) -- She bargains with Zaida over Windfinders and Aes Sedai.
(17 p, Elayne pov) -- She accepts the support of four juvenile High Seats.
(23 p, Elayne pov) -- She receives reports from the First Maid and First Clerk about spies, and hears that Merilille ran away with (probably) Talaan.
(31 p, multiple pov) -- Elenia allies with Naean to escape Arymilla (16 p); Mellar meets with Lady Shiaine (15 p).
(18 p, Egwene pov) -- She tells Beonin to negotiate for Elaida's surrender.
(26 p, Egwene pov) -- Her council speculates about Delana, and Egwene checks in on a new project to create cuendillar.
(19 p, Egwene pov) -- She reads and discusses reports with Siuan.
(25 p, Egwene pov) -- The Hall votes to send an embassy to the Black Tower, for linking.
(20 p, Egwene pov) -- She has prophetic dreams and finds out Anaiya has been murdered with saidin.
(21 p, Alviarin pov) -- She returns to the White Tower and finds out that she has been ousted as Keeper, then sees (but does not recognize) Mesaana's face, and gets sent by Shaidar Haran to hunt the Black Ajah hunters.
(7 p, Pevara pov) -- Tarna Feir suggests the Red Ajah take Asha'man Warders, and sees the message Pevara received from Toveine in Cairhien.
(17 p, Cadsuane pov) -- She watches the Warders exercise and talks to Rand.
(17 p, multiple pov) -- Rand hears Loial's report about the Waygates (10 p); Cadsuane sends Samitsu back to Cairhien (2 p); Rand sends Bashere, Logain, and Loial to negotiate a truce with the Seanchan (3 p); Elza tells her Warder he may have to kill some people (1 p).
(11 p, Perrin pov) -- He goes to So Habor and sees a Seanchan aerial scout.
(14 p, Perrin pov) -- He discovers strange evils and ghosts in So Habor.
(17 p, Perrin pov) -- He tortures a Shaido warrior, abandons his axes, and thinks about allying with the Seanchan.
(26 p, Mat pov) -- He courts Tuon.
(22 p, Mat pov) -- Renna stabs Egeanin, escapes, and is killed.
(28 p, Egwene pov) -- She turns the Tar Valon harbor chain into cuendillar and gets captured.
Epilogue (2 p, Rand pov) -- He learns the Seanchan want him to meet the Daughter of Nine Moons.
By my count, precisely two -- TWO -- things happen during the course of this book that alter the direction of the narrative. They both happen in the last four pages, and one of them basically happens offstage: Egwene gets captured, and Rand arranges a truce with the Seanchan.
Nothing. Else.
At the beginning of the book, Mat was running away from Ebou Dar and worrying about marrying Tuon. At the end of the book, Mat is running away from Ebou Dar and worrying about marrying Tuon. Perrin was trying to rescue Faile; he's still trying to rescue Faile. Elayne was trying to secure the throne; she's still trying to secure the throne. The character with the highest plot-to-pages ratio is freaking Alviarin, man.
This is partially, but not entirely, due to the choice that even Jordan admitted was a bad one: starting (almost) every character's section on the same day, i.e. the one when Rand and Nynaeve cleansed saidin. If you look at that list up above, and where I mention the stunt, you'll find that the first fifteen chapters all take place on the same goddamned day. We are literally on page three hundred ninety-one before it moves forward, with Egwene's pov. I am running out of italics with which to express my horror, y'all. I could forgive it if that was an action-packed day for everybody . . . but oh my god, it is so far from that, it isn't even funny.
Back when I posted about The Path of Daggers , I commented that it's difficult, with a narrative as multi-stranded as this one, to make clear declarations about how I would have reorganized it. In this case, however, it's easy. Three examples:
Dump Mat's first three chapters, excepting only the conversation with Tuon, which you graft into his later two chapters. Then find something else for him to do during this book. (I could name specifics here if I'd read Knife of Dreams, but I haven't.)
Condense the time-wasting crap I complained about from Elayne's chapters in Winter's Heart (the pointless stalling before the assassination attempt, the mechanics of setting up her meeting with the Borderlanders), and use the pages thus freed up to pack in the few bits of meat from this book (e.g. the High Seats). Then either give her a sabbatical from this book -- she's basically the only major pov character who hasn't had one -- or, as per Mat, find her something to do.
Perrin is an interesting case. At the start of this book, twenty-two days have passed since Faile was kidnapped. In that time, he went leaping ahead with gateways, then realized he'd lost the trail of the Shaido and had to backtrack; we learn this through brief exposition. I would totally support eliding that bit if it were surrounded by Exciting! Action! on both sides -- Faile's been kidnapped! (elision) Rescue Faile! -- but instead it's Faile was kidnapped! Blah blah, (elision), blah, blah. [Rescue Faile! . . . one of these days.] I'd chuck, or at least massively condense, the pointless time-wasting with him and Berelain in Winter's Heart, and replace it with the "leaping ahead with gateways" part of the elision, then end his part of that book with him figuring out his mistake. (Yay despair!) Then have this book pick up directly with him finding the Shaido, and have him do something about it before the end of the book. (Oh look, I found more italics.)
Have the story begin on the day the taint was cleansed, sure. That's what you use your prologue for: a bunch of rapid-fire scenes, no more than five pages each, showing where everybody was and what they were doing when the world changed. Then move on with your story.
In other words, take the tiny fragments of actual material and shove them into either Winter's Heart or Knife of Dreams, and dump the rest of it as dead weight. Because that's what it is. Several different kinds of dead weight, in fact. The stuff in So Habor is creepy, sure -- but what does it add to the narrative? I'm guessing it's a sign of the Dark One's touch (along with, presumably, the failing of the wards on the Tower/Keepings on the rebel army's supplies, Mat seeing things that aren't there, people wondering if saidar is weakening, etc; I'm speculating there, but it seems likely that's the cause). And you know, back in the early books, So Habor would have made a great scene. But at this point in the story, give us a couple of paragraphs where somebody tells Perrin what happened when they went to buy grain; don't waste two entire chapters on it. In a related vein, half of the dead weight in this book and the last one is Jordan showing his math on Elayne getting the throne. Either he had what he thought was a compelling reason why he couldn't let that happen before Book 11 (in which case he should have come up with actual challenges for her along the way), or he didn't realize that at this late stage in the game, we're willing to spot him the routine stuff.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have lost sight of the epic, except in the pathological sense of "wordy." We briefly found it again, at the end of Winter's Heart; it's why that book gave me hope. But Crossroads of Twilight grinds it under once more. Almost nobody knows what Rand did, so all they can do is goggle and make wrong guesses; even the few who do know (like Cadsuane) doubt whether it's true. Rand himself seems to go on vacation afterward -- I think he gets less page-time, and certainly does less of interest, in this book than he did in The Dragon Reborn. For God's sake, he doesn't even show up until page 540.
The one other thing that seems vaguely epic -- Egwene turning the harbor chain into cuendillar -- falls flat because I have no goddamned clue why she did it. Seriously, can anybody explain this to me? If there's a simple answer, I don't even care that it constitutes a spoiler, because right now I'm staring at that and going "huh?" I cannot for the life of me figure out what advantage that's supposed to gain for her side. Will it be too heavy to lift, thus forcing Tar Valon into an actual siege? (I thought cuendillar was lightweight.) Will its value cause people to mob the harbor, trying to run off with links of the chain? (As if they could.) Will this show of wonder cause the people in Tar Valon to freak out and surrender? (It seems unlikely.) I really, really don't get it. So if you can explain it to me without giving away Egwene's whole part in Knife of Dreams or later, please do.
It's the same problem he's had before, done all over again, this time in bold letters. Jordan hides stuff from the reader -- including stuff the pov character knows -- without good reason. What's the point of Egwene's plan? What message does Gawyn get from Elaida? Is Rand's sooper-sekrit plan in Tear to make peace with the Seanchan, or something else? Why not tell us that Tuon asked for Mat to take her (god help me) shopping? Toveine's message to Pevara and Loial's warning about the Aes Sedai that came with him from Cairhien are both almost certainly about the Asha'man bonding Aes Sedai; we the reader already know this, so why not tell us? Augh! <beats head into desk, hoping for a concussion and subsequent memory loss regarding this book>
. . . it just goes nowhere. Even on a paragraph level, it's too much description, not enough action. There are almost no runs of dialogue; each paragraph of speech is separated by one or two of description, or consists of a line of dialogue, several sentences of description, and then another line of dialogue to close the paragraph out. There's no speed, no momentum. People say "nothing happened" in previous books, but it isn't true; it's just that the story kept going on tangents instead of proceeding toward a conclusion. Here it isn't even tangenting. The entire book is treading water.
You want to know something funny? In the copy I read, the story is 680 pages long. Except that, like most books, it doesn't actually start on page 1. In this case, it starts on page 15.
Which would make Crossroads of Twilight 666 pages long.
It really is the devil.
<sigh of relief> Okay. I made it over the hurdle. Everything after this, including New Spring, is stuff I haven't read before. I was thinking of speeding up my pace -- one month per book, rather than two -- since once the plot gets moving again I'll probably be eager to see it through to the end, but then I found out that apparently the final book has been pushed back to March, instead of November. I'll probably still do New Spring next month, using it to make up for the total lack of interest in Crossroads of Twilight, but if I otherwise keep on at my current pace (and Tor doesn't have any more delays), I'll arrive at A Memory of Light right when it's published. That seems fitting.
Ten books down. Four (and a half) to go.
I can make it.
brain bunnies
So last night I write a little over 2300 words on A Natural History of Dragons, and then it's Very Late, so I go to bed, and lie there for a little while, and then get up and go back to the computer and type in this:
I'm not sure why my brain decided that 4:30 in the morning after 2300 words of novel was the ideal time to mug me with a framework and two opening paragraphs for a "Tam Lin" retelling that could possibly cruise all the way through without having any fantastical content whatsoever (only then where would I sell it?) . . . but that's how it goes, sometimes.
The funny thing is, I've had the opening page and a half for a "Tam Lin" sequel story hanging out in my "unfinished" folder for years now. And now I'm wondering if what I need to do is throw out everything but the first line ("Faerie trouble never really goes away."), splice a bit of fantastical content into the story up above, and then link these two together.
Well, no need to decide right away. I have several deadlines breathing down my neck which take first priority. But it's a thought for the future.
I'm one of those people who, soon as you tell me not to do something, I turn around and do it. Because fuck you, even if you are a friend. And Tia wasn't that much of a friend.
So I'm talking about how I'm bored with the Meltdown and there's this old club over on Hall I might check out, and she says I shouldn't, and we argue about it a bit until she says -- only half-joking -- "J, I forbid you to go," and that's it: to hell with her. Which I say. So she storms off, and I pin up my favorite skirt with some giant safety pins, braid gold LEDs into my hair, and go off to see what this old club is like. Because fuck Tia, and anybody else who tells me what to do.
I'm not sure why my brain decided that 4:30 in the morning after 2300 words of novel was the ideal time to mug me with a framework and two opening paragraphs for a "Tam Lin" retelling that could possibly cruise all the way through without having any fantastical content whatsoever (only then where would I sell it?) . . . but that's how it goes, sometimes.
The funny thing is, I've had the opening page and a half for a "Tam Lin" sequel story hanging out in my "unfinished" folder for years now. And now I'm wondering if what I need to do is throw out everything but the first line ("Faerie trouble never really goes away."), splice a bit of fantastical content into the story up above, and then link these two together.
Well, no need to decide right away. I have several deadlines breathing down my neck which take first priority. But it's a thought for the future.
The DWJ Project: Conrad's Fate
The people up at Stallery Manor keep "pulling the probabilities" -- manipulating chance to change the world into one that's more favorable to them. The problem is, this causes all kinds of spillover changes, most of which go unnoticed by people elsewhere in the world (things have always been that way, right?), but which are readily apparent to people living in the town of Stallchester. Conrad, a boy of twelve, gets sent up there to become a servant and sniff around for the cause of these problems . . . and also to kill somebody. You see, Conrad has an evil fate: some kind of bad karma hanging around from a past life, when he failed to take out somebody he was supposed to. If he doesn't make good on that now, he'll die before the year is out.
And then things get more complicated when an older boy named Christopher shows up, from another world, looking for his missing friend Millie.
Yes, this is another Chrestomanci book (and I think the only other story that shows us Christopher in his pre-Chrestomanci days). I bore it a bit of a grudge the first time I read it because I wanted MOAR CHRISTOPHER DANGIT, and that isn't this book; I liked it better now that I was reading the book it actually was. Really, what it is could be described as "the Chrestomanci series meets Gosford Park / Downton Abbey;" a lot of the story revolves around the servants-eye view of a grand household, first as vast amounts of effort are spent on keeping three people in style, then as a bunch of guests show up.
The rest of the details go behind the cut.
Okay, I still want MOAR CHRISTOPHER DANGIT . . . in ways that, on reflection, would have made it not so much a Diana Wynne Jones novel. You see, there are these tantalizing hints of romance and associated drama, to the point where I think there's a great YA story that could be written out of this material, instead of the children's story we get here. (Certainly that story might make Gabriel come off better; he seems a little bit clueless here, what with ignoring Millie until after she's vanished.) In particular, the throwaway comment about Christopher breaking into Gabriel's safe to steal the gold ring with his life in it is a scene I really want to read. More than I want to read about Conrad, honestly, which is why this book falls a bit flat for me.
It's also kind of structural. Conrad goes up to Stallery with a mission, but it sort of gets put on hold while he helps Christopher run around looking for Millie. Then we find out it was bogus anyway, which leaves Conrad without momentum, as the consequences of that deception get deferred until the very end, after Gabriel has shown up to ex machina explicate what's been going on at Stallery. I think it might have been easier to tie everything together if Christopher had been at the center, instead of Conrad.
Also, I have to ask a question about the end, and the assertion that Conrad can't stay in Series Twelve, because people can't leave their world forever. Uh, don't we have three examples saying that isn't true? Gwendolen/Janet, Millie, and Tacroy. Okay, so Gwendolen hopped along her own Series; maybe that's different. But the other two? Even if you go back to my post about Charmed Life and assume that Gwendolen and Millie managed to move permanently because a life got destroyed (which I still don't buy in Millie's case), none of that explains Tacroy. It's a weird inconsistency that bugs me.
I don't think this book is terrible, but I don't think it works entirely well for fans of other Chrestomanci books, because it doesn't do enough of the Chrestomanci stuff to satisfy, but has too much Chrestomanci (compared with Witch Week and The Magicians of Caprona) to make the focus on Conrad quite work. It might work better for readers who encounter it first.
Next up, probably Witch Week.
And then things get more complicated when an older boy named Christopher shows up, from another world, looking for his missing friend Millie.
Yes, this is another Chrestomanci book (and I think the only other story that shows us Christopher in his pre-Chrestomanci days). I bore it a bit of a grudge the first time I read it because I wanted MOAR CHRISTOPHER DANGIT, and that isn't this book; I liked it better now that I was reading the book it actually was. Really, what it is could be described as "the Chrestomanci series meets Gosford Park / Downton Abbey;" a lot of the story revolves around the servants-eye view of a grand household, first as vast amounts of effort are spent on keeping three people in style, then as a bunch of guests show up.
The rest of the details go behind the cut.
Okay, I still want MOAR CHRISTOPHER DANGIT . . . in ways that, on reflection, would have made it not so much a Diana Wynne Jones novel. You see, there are these tantalizing hints of romance and associated drama, to the point where I think there's a great YA story that could be written out of this material, instead of the children's story we get here. (Certainly that story might make Gabriel come off better; he seems a little bit clueless here, what with ignoring Millie until after she's vanished.) In particular, the throwaway comment about Christopher breaking into Gabriel's safe to steal the gold ring with his life in it is a scene I really want to read. More than I want to read about Conrad, honestly, which is why this book falls a bit flat for me.
It's also kind of structural. Conrad goes up to Stallery with a mission, but it sort of gets put on hold while he helps Christopher run around looking for Millie. Then we find out it was bogus anyway, which leaves Conrad without momentum, as the consequences of that deception get deferred until the very end, after Gabriel has shown up to ex machina explicate what's been going on at Stallery. I think it might have been easier to tie everything together if Christopher had been at the center, instead of Conrad.
Also, I have to ask a question about the end, and the assertion that Conrad can't stay in Series Twelve, because people can't leave their world forever. Uh, don't we have three examples saying that isn't true? Gwendolen/Janet, Millie, and Tacroy. Okay, so Gwendolen hopped along her own Series; maybe that's different. But the other two? Even if you go back to my post about Charmed Life and assume that Gwendolen and Millie managed to move permanently because a life got destroyed (which I still don't buy in Millie's case), none of that explains Tacroy. It's a weird inconsistency that bugs me.
I don't think this book is terrible, but I don't think it works entirely well for fans of other Chrestomanci books, because it doesn't do enough of the Chrestomanci stuff to satisfy, but has too much Chrestomanci (compared with Witch Week and The Magicians of Caprona) to make the focus on Conrad quite work. It might work better for readers who encounter it first.
Next up, probably Witch Week.
July 17, 2011
a glimpse inside my mind
So I'm watching the last Harry Potter movie -- don't worry; no spoilers -- and at one point there's a shot which completely distracts me from the movie. This has happened before with the films.
But as I leaned over and said to my husband a moment later: this time I was distracted by contemplating dragon anatomy, and not by trying to ID the slice of London flying by in the background.
Ladies and gentlemen, the new series has clearly moved in and set up house.
But as I leaned over and said to my husband a moment later: this time I was distracted by contemplating dragon anatomy, and not by trying to ID the slice of London flying by in the background.
Ladies and gentlemen, the new series has clearly moved in and set up house.
