2014 books: 26-39
Sep. 28th, 2014 04:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_siobhanSpending all that time on the planes last month means I got caught up on an awful lot of reading.
The Merlin Trilogy by Mary Stewart.
Darrell says he gave me these books when he was clearing out his shelves. I must have originally read them from the library as a kid because I remember loving this version of the Merlin story. I have always found him to be the most fascinating character from the Arthur legend.
In this version Merlin's powers are portrayed as completely legitimate and supernatural in origin. He has visions which he attributes to the actions of a God (who frequently chooses to withhold the ability), he has "the Sight" that allows him to see what people are doing remotely - apparently a genetic trait, since he inherited it from his mother - and he can also do magical spells like lighting fires, which are tricks that anybody with the talent can learn.
The Crystal Cave tells the story of Merlin's childhood, how he comes into his powers, and how he stumbles into being part of the High King's court. The Hollow Hills is devoted to the origins and rise of King Arthur. And The Last Enchantment is about the consolidation and defense of Arthur's Kingdom and Merlin's gradual decline in influence. There are two later books devoted to the rest of the story, which I have not read - I don't know if they had even been written yet when I initially read the first three.
On re-reading I still like the books, but Merlin is the only one who feels fully three-dimensional. It especially bothered me how monochromatic all the women characters are in the first two books, although that improves in the third. I also thought the Wooley book did a better job with showing the conflict between the different religious cultures at a time when Christians were becoming the dominant group. In the Stewart version that is very much glossed over. Still, the focus on my favourite character was the big reason why I was such a fan, and I definitely enjoyed revisiting this version of the legend.
The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny
According to the date on the inside covers, I got these books in 1980 from an SF version of the Book of the Month Club. There are actually five books bundled into these two volumes; Nine Princes in Amber, The Guns of Avalon, Sign of the Unicorn, The Hand of Oberon, and The Courts of Chaos.
The premise of the story is that there are multiple parallel universes which are all "shadows" of the one real world, called Amber. It's ruled by an immortal king who has had something like *counts on fingers* 19 children? I think? by approximately 10 women. Anyway, the King disappears and dysfunctional family struggle over the throne ensues, with the main character (Corwin) being the oldest legitimate male heir.
My conclusion after re-reading it is that this book has not aged well. For one thing Corwin is suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuch a Mary Sue it's annoying. He's strong, practically immortal, all but invincible, and of course women throw themselves at him throughout the book. To be fair everybody in the family is supposed to be Übermensch, but he manages to beat even the brothers who are more skilled than he is by being just so gosh-darned smart and talented. I also get the impression he is supposed to be somewhat sympathetic because unlike his siblings he has supposedly learned to look at non-immortals as actual people. He's still the cause of thousands of deaths, but he feels bad about.
It was a fast read, but that might be because there were spots where I definitely started to skim. Mostly every single time a character travels through the shadows I glossed through the lengthy descriptions of the landscapes they travel through. It probably could have been edited from five books down to three.
I have the next five books in the series in electronic format, but I probably won't bother reading them. Into the giveaway pile.
The Faded Sun Trilogy by C. J. Cherryh
This is another series that I bought from the SF Book Club, apparently in 1982. The three books are called Kesrith, Shon'jir, and Kutath, which are names of the locations where the majority of events take place in each book.
The plot centres on the intersection of three different species. The Regul have a clan-based society in which the "elders" hold the power of life and death over masses of offspring who are essentially slaves unless they can survive long enough to reach adulthood. They care about profit, security, and status. Think of the Ferengi from the Star Trek universe. The Mri, on the other hand, look more like humans but live in a strict caste-driven social structure that prioritizes honour and is entirely closed to non-Mri. Think the Mimbari from Babylon 5. Their warrior caste hires themselves out as mercenaries, and at the opening of the first book the Mri have been almost completely wiped out in a war against the humans that they have been fighting for the last 40 years in the employ of the Regul. Their bosses surrender when the human forces figured out that attacking Regul targets was a strategy that got a much more immediate reaction than trying to fight the Mri directly and part of the terms of that surrender was the planet the Mri call their home-world. There are some hard feelings about this.
I have to say I think this series has aged really well. It is kind of interesting re-reading it with the background I now have of brown people who live in the desert and wear robes against people who like war just fine as long as it's profitable and they don't get hurt. I do find Cherryh a bit heavy-handed at times in how she directs the reader's sympathies - there is never any doubt who she wants you to root for. But I end up rooting for them anyway. She's also brilliant at creating internal tension in her characters, although if you like action more than introspection you may find that the story drags a bit at times.
The Time Trilogy by Madeleine L'Engle
I originally read this book back in my read-every-single-book-in-the-library days and loved it so much that when I spotted it in a box set I scooped it up without question. I probably haven't re-read it since then - which was apparently in 1979. I would just like to note here how hilarious I think it is that I am re-reading books older than my daughter.
All three books are about the oldest daughter (Meg) and the youngest son (Charles Wallace) of the Murry family, with other family members providing the supporting cast. A Wrinkle in Time takes place when they are about 14 and 5 respectively. It starts off talking about Meg's problems at school, which are in part because of the stresses of her home life and in part because she is a math prodigy who is bored out of her socks and resentful at being asked to do work way below her abilities. She thinks that she is ugly. Her youngest brother, who is brilliant, doesn't talk to people outside the family so everybody thinks he is "a moron". Her father has disappeared and although the consensus in town is that he has abandoned the family to run off with another woman her mother refuses to admit to the possibility that he will not be coming back. The townspeople are not only unsympathetic but seem to take pleasure in provoking Meg about her father and brother and her own perceived shortcomings so she gets into fights.
It all starts like a typical coming-of-age novel, but then she finds out that her father is missing because he discovered faster than light space travel and is fighting an evil alien entity. So she and her brother and some guy she just met go off to rescue him. As you do. Oh, and her brother has psychic powers.
A Wind In The Door takes place about a year later when Charles Wallace gets sick from evil forces and Meg has to save him. A Swiftly Tilting Planet takes place about 10 years later when Charles Wallace is called upon to change history and prevent the birth of the man who plans to wipe out the whole planet in a nuclear war.
Looking back now I can see why I liked this book. I probably identified with Meg and how she is pretty much abandoned by the adults in her life. As an adult it just makes me furious. By the time I got to the second book there were points where I was ready to throw it across the bus. Her parents talk about evil in the world as if it is some mysterious outside force while completely abandoning their responsibility towards their 6 year-old who is being assaulted by older kids on a daily basis. I also got really pissed at how Meg got treated in the last book. Her younger brothers are in law school and medical school and her husband - the guy she meets in the first book - is some kind of PhD. Meanwhile, her entire life is summed up as "married and pregnant".
I managed to miss all the Christian themes when I was a kid, but I was pretty oblivious to that kind of thing - I never picked it up in the Narnia books either. They are glaringly obvious now. I also found the writing to very simple, even compared to the other YA novels I've read in the last couple of years, though perhaps they are aimed at a younger audience.
So final conclusion, these did not age well. Out they go.
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The Merlin Trilogy by Mary Stewart.
Darrell says he gave me these books when he was clearing out his shelves. I must have originally read them from the library as a kid because I remember loving this version of the Merlin story. I have always found him to be the most fascinating character from the Arthur legend.
In this version Merlin's powers are portrayed as completely legitimate and supernatural in origin. He has visions which he attributes to the actions of a God (who frequently chooses to withhold the ability), he has "the Sight" that allows him to see what people are doing remotely - apparently a genetic trait, since he inherited it from his mother - and he can also do magical spells like lighting fires, which are tricks that anybody with the talent can learn.
The Crystal Cave tells the story of Merlin's childhood, how he comes into his powers, and how he stumbles into being part of the High King's court. The Hollow Hills is devoted to the origins and rise of King Arthur. And The Last Enchantment is about the consolidation and defense of Arthur's Kingdom and Merlin's gradual decline in influence. There are two later books devoted to the rest of the story, which I have not read - I don't know if they had even been written yet when I initially read the first three.
On re-reading I still like the books, but Merlin is the only one who feels fully three-dimensional. It especially bothered me how monochromatic all the women characters are in the first two books, although that improves in the third. I also thought the Wooley book did a better job with showing the conflict between the different religious cultures at a time when Christians were becoming the dominant group. In the Stewart version that is very much glossed over. Still, the focus on my favourite character was the big reason why I was such a fan, and I definitely enjoyed revisiting this version of the legend.
 |
 |
The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny
According to the date on the inside covers, I got these books in 1980 from an SF version of the Book of the Month Club. There are actually five books bundled into these two volumes; Nine Princes in Amber, The Guns of Avalon, Sign of the Unicorn, The Hand of Oberon, and The Courts of Chaos.
The premise of the story is that there are multiple parallel universes which are all "shadows" of the one real world, called Amber. It's ruled by an immortal king who has had something like *counts on fingers* 19 children? I think? by approximately 10 women. Anyway, the King disappears and dysfunctional family struggle over the throne ensues, with the main character (Corwin) being the oldest legitimate male heir.
My conclusion after re-reading it is that this book has not aged well. For one thing Corwin is suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuch a Mary Sue it's annoying. He's strong, practically immortal, all but invincible, and of course women throw themselves at him throughout the book. To be fair everybody in the family is supposed to be Übermensch, but he manages to beat even the brothers who are more skilled than he is by being just so gosh-darned smart and talented. I also get the impression he is supposed to be somewhat sympathetic because unlike his siblings he has supposedly learned to look at non-immortals as actual people. He's still the cause of thousands of deaths, but he feels bad about.
It was a fast read, but that might be because there were spots where I definitely started to skim. Mostly every single time a character travels through the shadows I glossed through the lengthy descriptions of the landscapes they travel through. It probably could have been edited from five books down to three.
I have the next five books in the series in electronic format, but I probably won't bother reading them. Into the giveaway pile.
 |
 |
 |
The Faded Sun Trilogy by C. J. Cherryh
This is another series that I bought from the SF Book Club, apparently in 1982. The three books are called Kesrith, Shon'jir, and Kutath, which are names of the locations where the majority of events take place in each book.
The plot centres on the intersection of three different species. The Regul have a clan-based society in which the "elders" hold the power of life and death over masses of offspring who are essentially slaves unless they can survive long enough to reach adulthood. They care about profit, security, and status. Think of the Ferengi from the Star Trek universe. The Mri, on the other hand, look more like humans but live in a strict caste-driven social structure that prioritizes honour and is entirely closed to non-Mri. Think the Mimbari from Babylon 5. Their warrior caste hires themselves out as mercenaries, and at the opening of the first book the Mri have been almost completely wiped out in a war against the humans that they have been fighting for the last 40 years in the employ of the Regul. Their bosses surrender when the human forces figured out that attacking Regul targets was a strategy that got a much more immediate reaction than trying to fight the Mri directly and part of the terms of that surrender was the planet the Mri call their home-world. There are some hard feelings about this.
I have to say I think this series has aged really well. It is kind of interesting re-reading it with the background I now have of brown people who live in the desert and wear robes against people who like war just fine as long as it's profitable and they don't get hurt. I do find Cherryh a bit heavy-handed at times in how she directs the reader's sympathies - there is never any doubt who she wants you to root for. But I end up rooting for them anyway. She's also brilliant at creating internal tension in her characters, although if you like action more than introspection you may find that the story drags a bit at times.
 |
 |
 |
The Time Trilogy by Madeleine L'Engle
I originally read this book back in my read-every-single-book-in-the-library days and loved it so much that when I spotted it in a box set I scooped it up without question. I probably haven't re-read it since then - which was apparently in 1979. I would just like to note here how hilarious I think it is that I am re-reading books older than my daughter.
All three books are about the oldest daughter (Meg) and the youngest son (Charles Wallace) of the Murry family, with other family members providing the supporting cast. A Wrinkle in Time takes place when they are about 14 and 5 respectively. It starts off talking about Meg's problems at school, which are in part because of the stresses of her home life and in part because she is a math prodigy who is bored out of her socks and resentful at being asked to do work way below her abilities. She thinks that she is ugly. Her youngest brother, who is brilliant, doesn't talk to people outside the family so everybody thinks he is "a moron". Her father has disappeared and although the consensus in town is that he has abandoned the family to run off with another woman her mother refuses to admit to the possibility that he will not be coming back. The townspeople are not only unsympathetic but seem to take pleasure in provoking Meg about her father and brother and her own perceived shortcomings so she gets into fights.
It all starts like a typical coming-of-age novel, but then she finds out that her father is missing because he discovered faster than light space travel and is fighting an evil alien entity. So she and her brother and some guy she just met go off to rescue him. As you do. Oh, and her brother has psychic powers.
A Wind In The Door takes place about a year later when Charles Wallace gets sick from evil forces and Meg has to save him. A Swiftly Tilting Planet takes place about 10 years later when Charles Wallace is called upon to change history and prevent the birth of the man who plans to wipe out the whole planet in a nuclear war.
Looking back now I can see why I liked this book. I probably identified with Meg and how she is pretty much abandoned by the adults in her life. As an adult it just makes me furious. By the time I got to the second book there were points where I was ready to throw it across the bus. Her parents talk about evil in the world as if it is some mysterious outside force while completely abandoning their responsibility towards their 6 year-old who is being assaulted by older kids on a daily basis. I also got really pissed at how Meg got treated in the last book. Her younger brothers are in law school and medical school and her husband - the guy she meets in the first book - is some kind of PhD. Meanwhile, her entire life is summed up as "married and pregnant".
I managed to miss all the Christian themes when I was a kid, but I was pretty oblivious to that kind of thing - I never picked it up in the Narnia books either. They are glaringly obvious now. I also found the writing to very simple, even compared to the other YA novels I've read in the last couple of years, though perhaps they are aimed at a younger audience.
So final conclusion, these did not age well. Out they go.