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Friday musings
1. I have finally found some urban fantasy worth the paper it was printed on: Lyn Benedict's 'Sins & Shadows' and 'Ghosts & Echoes'. I actually managed to read the second one first, as it was the only one the library had, but it was a pretty swift read (though I doled it out over the week to keep myself happy), and I'm already five chapters into the first one and enjoying it intensely.
Reasons: a) not in first person. b) major character is a woman, her personal assistant is a woman, the book's very keen on her relationships with her sister and the PA (who is also her friend). c) NO GRATUITOUS SEX. There's an exceedingly hot kissing scene, and some other bits and pieces, but there are not pages of mindless rutting. d) plooooot. So much plot I was gleeful, even if I figured some bits out before Sylvie did. e) DOES NOT SPEND PAGES on telling the reader HOW HOT the lead is, or everyone around her is, or what she's wearing down to her panties (there's the sort of casual, passing "man, X is hot" type thing, but not the "I am SO irresistable, I am short and curvy with curly hair and I wear skin-tight leather!" crap that every other urban fantasy [outside of War for the Oaks] has)
I would appreciate it if Sylvie got more sleep, though.
2. I gave up on the audio book of 'Murder is Easy' a third of the way into the third disc and put the last disc in to see what changes there were in the killer and such. Shockingly, they kept the killer the same, but her original motive was GETTING JILTED. Also, madness runs in her family. WTF. I'm not hugely fond of the motives given the killer in the Marple version, but at least it actually feels like something that could happen in reality. And isn't insulting.
Also, book!Luke is such an asshole. The only redeeming feature is that Bridget Conway is still MILES smarter than him.
3. Which left me listening to The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, and seriously wanting to strangle Michael York for all the whiny voices he used. (well, and Lewis for the "girls are too pretty to do battle" crap, and the rather annoying WITCHES AND GIANTS ARE EVIL EVILEVIL)
Also, Edmund is really annoying.
And? I'm sorry, but the pronunciation of Aslan just makes me think everyone is calling him Ass-man. This is not really helpful when he's supposed to be, like, all majestic. (My mother always said it 'azz-lawn', which made more sense and wasn't stupid-sounding)
Reasons: a) not in first person. b) major character is a woman, her personal assistant is a woman, the book's very keen on her relationships with her sister and the PA (who is also her friend). c) NO GRATUITOUS SEX. There's an exceedingly hot kissing scene, and some other bits and pieces, but there are not pages of mindless rutting. d) plooooot. So much plot I was gleeful, even if I figured some bits out before Sylvie did. e) DOES NOT SPEND PAGES on telling the reader HOW HOT the lead is, or everyone around her is, or what she's wearing down to her panties (there's the sort of casual, passing "man, X is hot" type thing, but not the "I am SO irresistable, I am short and curvy with curly hair and I wear skin-tight leather!" crap that every other urban fantasy [outside of War for the Oaks] has)
I would appreciate it if Sylvie got more sleep, though.
2. I gave up on the audio book of 'Murder is Easy' a third of the way into the third disc and put the last disc in to see what changes there were in the killer and such. Shockingly, they kept the killer the same, but her original motive was GETTING JILTED. Also, madness runs in her family. WTF. I'm not hugely fond of the motives given the killer in the Marple version, but at least it actually feels like something that could happen in reality. And isn't insulting.
Also, book!Luke is such an asshole. The only redeeming feature is that Bridget Conway is still MILES smarter than him.
3. Which left me listening to The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, and seriously wanting to strangle Michael York for all the whiny voices he used. (well, and Lewis for the "girls are too pretty to do battle" crap, and the rather annoying WITCHES AND GIANTS ARE EVIL EVILEVIL)
Also, Edmund is really annoying.
And? I'm sorry, but the pronunciation of Aslan just makes me think everyone is calling him Ass-man. This is not really helpful when he's supposed to be, like, all majestic. (My mother always said it 'azz-lawn', which made more sense and wasn't stupid-sounding)
no subject
Second, thanks for the book recs. I love some good urban fantasy and I generally HATE first person.
no subject
You're welcome, I dislike it a lot, and something has to be really good to get me to read it.
urban fantasy query
Edghill, the author, is not a sentimentalist at all.
I always thought of the name as "Oz-lon", and now I'm imagining him as a Cylon, which would be scary except that anything including an angry deity would have been better than Cavil.
Re: urban fantasy query
That pronunciation also works. ANYTHING but assss-whatever.
Cavil vs. Aslan would be hilarious, though. All his prattling about God not existing would be drowned out in annoyed lion roars.