SBD: drive by
Feb. 4th, 2008 05:02 pmIt's Monday, and the call for the SBD has been issued. So it's time to gush or snark or whatever verb you like about romance.
My topic today isn't about romance so much. Over the weekend I read a fantasy novel that I loved. I loved it so much that I want to hug it close and call it Precioussss. Okay, maybe not because that's a little creepy. But I really ought to write down what I loved so much, like a review. Duh. Except I can't really think of anything coherent to say, other than: Go. Buy. Now. I really enjoy Patricia Briggs's Mercy Thompson urban fantasy series, but I think maybe her Hurog duology is better.
And my weekend long squee about Hurog got me thinking -- why don't I read more straight fantasy? I mean, I love Bujold's Chalion and Sharing Knife series. And Novik's Temeraire series. So why I don't I read it more? Well, because a lot of the classic fantasy I read as a teenager didn't thrill me. (Sorry, couldn't finish Tolkein's LotR series.) And the fantasy that I tried in the past either wasn't so good or didn't really speak to me. Frankly, until I started getting recs online, fantasy really felt like it was all about a Boy and His Dragon. And I mean that literally, "dragon" is not a euphemism for a body part or a wank or an orgasm. Although, now that I think about it, I like the idea of "dragon" as the code word for orgasm. Can you imagine a heroine in an erotic romance gasping that the dragon was almost there? *snorts* I know, too much, right?
Back to the Boy and His Dragon -- until relatively recently, all the fantasy I'd read seemed really male-centric; the women were pretty interchangable and disposable. Not very interesting to me, frankly. But I'm sure there's more good stuff out there. Anybody got recommendations for me?
Juliet Marillier is on the TBR list, as is Charles de Lint. I like Catherine Asaro and Jim Butcher. I loved War for the Oaks. I don't care for Mercedes Lackey or Marion Zimmer Bradley.
My topic today isn't about romance so much. Over the weekend I read a fantasy novel that I loved. I loved it so much that I want to hug it close and call it Precioussss. Okay, maybe not because that's a little creepy. But I really ought to write down what I loved so much, like a review. Duh. Except I can't really think of anything coherent to say, other than: Go. Buy. Now. I really enjoy Patricia Briggs's Mercy Thompson urban fantasy series, but I think maybe her Hurog duology is better.
And my weekend long squee about Hurog got me thinking -- why don't I read more straight fantasy? I mean, I love Bujold's Chalion and Sharing Knife series. And Novik's Temeraire series. So why I don't I read it more? Well, because a lot of the classic fantasy I read as a teenager didn't thrill me. (Sorry, couldn't finish Tolkein's LotR series.) And the fantasy that I tried in the past either wasn't so good or didn't really speak to me. Frankly, until I started getting recs online, fantasy really felt like it was all about a Boy and His Dragon. And I mean that literally, "dragon" is not a euphemism for a body part or a wank or an orgasm. Although, now that I think about it, I like the idea of "dragon" as the code word for orgasm. Can you imagine a heroine in an erotic romance gasping that the dragon was almost there? *snorts* I know, too much, right?
Back to the Boy and His Dragon -- until relatively recently, all the fantasy I'd read seemed really male-centric; the women were pretty interchangable and disposable. Not very interesting to me, frankly. But I'm sure there's more good stuff out there. Anybody got recommendations for me?
Juliet Marillier is on the TBR list, as is Charles de Lint. I like Catherine Asaro and Jim Butcher. I loved War for the Oaks. I don't care for Mercedes Lackey or Marion Zimmer Bradley.