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keilexandra) wrote2006-09-04 12:03 pm
keilexandra) wrote2006-09-04 12:03 pm
Entry tags:
Book Review!
Parents and sis have gone off to Brandywine Zoo, so I have uninterrupted computer time for a few hours. Whee! Here's a book review I wrote in my notebook two days ago.
Title: Lords and Ladies
Author: Terry Pratchett
Genre: Fantasy
# of Pages: 281 (paperback)
Rating: A
Summary:
I was going to just steal the publisher summary, like usual, but it's partially covered up by the library barcode sticker. Damn.
Basically, Lords and Ladies is about Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and Magrat, three witches who appear in three previous books (Equal Rites, Wyrd Sisters, and Witches Abroad, according to the Author's Note). The three return home to Lancre to find that much has changed--Magrat's unofficial beau Verence has become king and is marrying her, and elves are trying to get into the world (it being circle time).
And of course there are hte parodies and satires Terry Pratchett is so fond of.
Review:
This is only the second of Terry Pratchett's novels that I've read--the first was Going Postal, which I loved--so the Author's Note in the beginning set me off with a bit of trepidation, seeing as I haven't read the previous books. But Lords and Ladies is fantastic, funny, and probably deserves an A+, not a mere A.
I only give out A+s to books by Guy Gavriel Kay, though. Maybe I'll write an adoring review of Lord of Emperors sometime.
Anyway, back to Discworld. Terry Pratchett is famous for his irony, and this novel is no exception. I love his clever parody of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream; it blends with the plot perfectly and yet is easily picked out for a smile. The three main characters are beautifully rendered, and their ordinariness is refreshing.
Then there are the elves, who are much different from the "old folktales" (AKA fantasy cliche). These elves are impossibly beautiful, never age, and have a certain style, or glamour. They can also read minds, invoke horrible thoughts of shame and uselessness, and are cruel, vicious, nasty, brutish, etc. They're not very nice at all.
This is my only real complaint about the story. Elves have no notion of mercy or of how anyone other than themselves might feel; as thus, they become quite evil. I can accept this because I know that Pratchett is parodying an old, well-known cliche, but still. And I never did figure out if the elvish Queen was immortal or not, since elves can be killed with an iron weapon, but she is married to a god.
There are also many other interesting characters: Ridcully the Head Wizard of Unseen University, the orangutan Librarian who can only say "Ook", Jason Ogg the blacksmith, Diamanda, Shawn Ogg the entire standing army of Lancre (except when he's lying down), and the Bursar who requires dried frog pills to stay sane. Just your usual cast, really.
Author: Terry Pratchett
Genre: Fantasy
# of Pages: 281 (paperback)
Rating: A
Summary:
I was going to just steal the publisher summary, like usual, but it's partially covered up by the library barcode sticker. Damn.
Basically, Lords and Ladies is about Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and Magrat, three witches who appear in three previous books (Equal Rites, Wyrd Sisters, and Witches Abroad, according to the Author's Note). The three return home to Lancre to find that much has changed--Magrat's unofficial beau Verence has become king and is marrying her, and elves are trying to get into the world (it being circle time).
And of course there are hte parodies and satires Terry Pratchett is so fond of.
Review:
This is only the second of Terry Pratchett's novels that I've read--the first was Going Postal, which I loved--so the Author's Note in the beginning set me off with a bit of trepidation, seeing as I haven't read the previous books. But Lords and Ladies is fantastic, funny, and probably deserves an A+, not a mere A.
I only give out A+s to books by Guy Gavriel Kay, though. Maybe I'll write an adoring review of Lord of Emperors sometime.
Anyway, back to Discworld. Terry Pratchett is famous for his irony, and this novel is no exception. I love his clever parody of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream; it blends with the plot perfectly and yet is easily picked out for a smile. The three main characters are beautifully rendered, and their ordinariness is refreshing.
Then there are the elves, who are much different from the "old folktales" (AKA fantasy cliche). These elves are impossibly beautiful, never age, and have a certain style, or glamour. They can also read minds, invoke horrible thoughts of shame and uselessness, and are cruel, vicious, nasty, brutish, etc. They're not very nice at all.
This is my only real complaint about the story. Elves have no notion of mercy or of how anyone other than themselves might feel; as thus, they become quite evil. I can accept this because I know that Pratchett is parodying an old, well-known cliche, but still. And I never did figure out if the elvish Queen was immortal or not, since elves can be killed with an iron weapon, but she is married to a god.
There are also many other interesting characters: Ridcully the Head Wizard of Unseen University, the orangutan Librarian who can only say "Ook", Jason Ogg the blacksmith, Diamanda, Shawn Ogg the entire standing army of Lancre (except when he's lying down), and the Bursar who requires dried frog pills to stay sane. Just your usual cast, really.
That was fun.
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Bah, I miss Terry Pratchett and GGK now. Lent out my GGK, and never got it back.
(I like your taste in books :D)
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Can't wait for A Dance of Dragons to come out, even if ASoIaF gets gory sometimes.
(I like your taste in books too! ;D)
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Brother bought me Tigana for Christmas, and I bought the Sarantine Mosaic and the umm there was another one I can't remember. Lions of Al-Rassan, I guess? Very smooth, very lyrical, and yet it isn't sickeningly overpoetic either. I am envious of the man.
ASoIaF is GRRM's, right? Haven't read that series yet, though I somehow managed to find myself with two copies each of the first three books. Trying to look for someone to get those extra copies off my hands before I read the ones that are left to me.
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Lions of Al-Rassan is probably GGK's most lyrical novel, but I absolutely adore the political intrigue in Sarantine Mosaic. *squee* The ending of Tigana drove me crazy. I still haven't read his first trilogy, the one set in Toronto (or was it Vancouver?). I'm a Canadian citizen, so GGK is like: fantasy + Canadian + politics + lyricism = favorite author ever. :D
Definitely read ASoIaF! Don't be like me and read them 3-1-2-4, though. XD Reading the books out of order is kind of confusing, especially if you don't start with 1.
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Is Steven Brust any good? I have the feeling I've heard his name before but I don't think I've read anything by him.
Okay, that's it. As soon as I have time, I shall go downstairs, dig through our book collection, and find our GGK books. I barely remember what they're about!
Was Lions of Al-Rassan the one which began with the assassination near the fountain and ends with the two guys dueling at the end?
GGK is brutal in a way. He's not afraid to let people die (*whine*), and that makes him totally awesome in my book (even if it is sometimes painful).
I loved the emperor in Sailing for Sarantium. I've forgotten why, but I do remember I loved the emperor and the empress. Also the mosaicist, whatever his name was -- B-something.
I haven't read any series by GGK that was set in contemporary times, so I guess I haven't read that series yet either.
Lately, I've been going for comfort reads. Not precisely fluff, but nothing really challenging either. I can't wait for October to come! We have our break then and I should be able to have some leisure time to dedicate to thick, richly-detailed worlds.
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Steven Brust is a good writer, though not really my style. Short novels, a lot of them. Pretty good for light reading, it's in-depth but not too deep. I've only read the few copies they have at the library, but Jhereg is the first published book (don't try to read them chronologically story-wise, the timeline is all over the place).
Yep, Lions of Al-Rassan starts with an absolutely gorgeous description of the assassination of the last khalif of Al-Rasaan, next to a fountain in the palace garden. Funny how those details stuck in my head...
*nod* I'm terrified GRRM is going to kill off Dany, because she's my favorite character. The unpredictability is one of the best things about his writing, though. You never know what will happen, because he isn't afraid to break conventions. (Like killing off viewpoint characters...)
The emperor and empress were very cool. Have you read Lord of Emperors? I don't want to spoil it for you. The mosaicist's name is Caius Crispin.
Right now I'm reading Once Upon A Summer Day, but it's not particularly captivating and I haven't got far, since I no longer have time to read during school. It's pretty long, but definitely light reading.
And in squee-news, this book review got linked in yhlee's webreadings post! First mention in the LJ of a non-RL friend. :D
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Lions of Al-Rassan was just so lush and smooth. I normally would have been bothered by how perfect the main characters were, but it's GGK! I was too busy drowning in the book to consider anything critically!
Is Lord of Emperors the second book in the Sarantine Mosaic? If so, then yes I have. Can't reread it because I lent the book to a friend and she never returned it but no worries about spoiling me there!
Am currently reading books by Tamora Pierce. They're quite nice -- fluff, but fluff you can get into.
Congratulations! Squee-news --- lovely!
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OMG, I know exactly what you mean! Just put the last three of his books that I've yet to read, his first trilogy, on request at the library. :D It's fun drowning in his writing.
Okay then! The emperor's death shocked me, though in a way it was predictable -- I kept hoping against hope that someone would walk in and save him, even though I knew that it wasn't going to happen. *sigh* Have you read Tigana? I'm dying to rant about the ending.
Oooh, Tamora Pierce writes lovely fluff! Has the next book in her Circle Reforged quartet come out yet?
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Have read Tigana (first book of his I read and the reason I went on to buy the other books), so rant away.
Not sure about the Circle Reforged. I'm only in the second book of the Circle Reopens. No time to finish the rest, bad luck.
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I'd heard that Tigana's ending was a killer, but I didn't really get it until I read it. I still wish GGK would write a sequel; how the long-lost siblings missed reuniting by like five minutes, it's such a teaser ending. But still satisfying, because it's realistic -- tragic things like that happen in real life, but very rarely in fantasy.
The Circle Reforged is the quartet TP is currently working on; I'm pretty sure only the first book, about Sandry, is out. It's called The Will of the Empress, and it's my favorite of all her books. You should read it, there aren't too many spoilers.
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