Journal 1 - Vampires, Art, Xanth, Rusch and Potter

 

9/7/2000

Crusader’s Torch  by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

[Note – Olivia novel, part of the Count Saint Germain series]

               I like the idea that Renault did not want to sully himself or Olivia so he slept with whores to preserve her purity (his idea of her purity) and got syphilis.

               The problem with the two main lovers of Olivia in the book and the first of this series is that the man does not believe the vampire part.  The woman of the Count can accept him more readily than the men do Olivia.  Either they do not believe her, or they cannot accept the long term ramifications, the only exception being D’Artagnan in Candle for D’artagnan.  The men also seem weaker, at least the male lovers (D’Artagnan and Sigifith being exceptions).  The men do seem to be ensnared by her to a degree.  Her choice does not always seem to be good in regards to her lovers.  Her lover, with two full character examples and one passing remark example, they lack the strength the Count’s lovers have.  Perhaps they lack the sense of purpose.

               I did like the present but not graphic relationship between Olivia and Sigfirth at the end of the book as well as that Between Fealt and Girault open ended ending.

               Olivia’s biased view on how great ancient Rome was begins to ring false after a while.  She was the well loved daughter of a noble house.  Of course, she was well treated.  Slave lives were undoubtedly more harsh and Rome was brutal to the conquered.  If Olivia had been a poor Roman or a slave would her view be the same?  The Count in regards to this, appears to have a more rounded view.  Life as a plain woman, especially outside the city, was not pleasant.  Olivia at times lives in the glories of the past.  At times, it gets very repetitive  Her complaints have a somewhat false and hollow ring to them.

 

9/10/2000

The Gondola Scam by Johnathan Gash

[Note - Lovejoy novel]

Lovejoy Cast

               Like the description of Tink, “There are two good things about Tinker.  He is the world’s best barker-slang for antique finder – and he stank to high heaven . . . The second is great because his pong clears a space in any crowd so I could pay for more bear” (5).

               Lovejoy is honorable even though he does not desire to be so.  He refuses to take Mr. Mallson’s money because Mallson did not follow his advice.

               “Not because he has this unshakable belief that I’m a villain but because I have the unshakable belief that he’s a bigger one” (13) – Lovejoy on a cop.

               I love the idea of defifth instead of bathing.  Lovejoy is a lovable rogue because of the way he talks to the reader. He engages the reader.  Gash’s prose style is such that it is as if Lovejoy is there, next to you, explaining himself and relating the story.

               Little difference between the women.  And he admits that it is the women who help him 9 times out of 10.  He is chivalrous to a degree that he has no desire to hurt women but the ending is disjointed.  Unreal feel to it.

 

9/14/2000

Faun and Games by Piers Anthony

[Note: This is an Xanth novel.  I use to love the Xanth novels, pretty much up until college]

               It is nice to see Imbri get a happy ending.  But the book much of the time reads like a list of puns, like filler, and the plot is almost absent or episodic.  The older Xanth novellas are better because of the focus on plot and not on puns.  It is what makes Discworld better than Xanth.  Pratchett is funny and tells a good story with good characters.  [Note – Pratchett is also more interested in humanity; he is a humanist.  Even at his best, Anthony can be incredibly sexist in his writing].  Anthony use to do this  but it now seems like nothing but puns.  “Let’s see how many we can use, can we?   Perhaps if he stopped using the ones the people sent in this problem would be fixed.  He’s too busy trying to please the readers by using their puns so the art gets ignored.  Without the pages of puns, the book would be much shorter and less episodic.

               Imbri seems absent for long periods of the novel and the sexism that people have accused him could be the reason.

               Does Anthony only return to Xanth to keep fans happy?  Is that why it seems so silted?  Could it be that he resents  being known just for Xanth and not for more serious writing.  It seems that in his discussion of his lecture in the afterword that this is the case.  It is nice to know that he still writes Jenny, though [Jenny was a 12 year old girl who was hit by a drunk driver.  When she was in a coma, her mother wrote to Anthony requesting that he write her a letter that they could read to her.  That is what started the correspondence.  Jenny recovered, though uses a wheelchair.  Anthony not only created a character based on her, but published Letters to Jenny which tells the story].

               But if he is tried of writing Xanth, he should stop before he destroys it.

9/15/2000

The Black King by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

[Note – this is a sequel to Rusch’s Fey series which is about a group fairy like beings, as in evil Celtic fairy beings, that attempt to take over a fantasy version of England.  You should read it].

               I like the development of Shya.  She becomes more than the standard sexual lover of the predestined king.

               For once, an ending that could have been longer.  Ari seemed to take her non-shifting new self too easily.  The giving up of other aspects of her Fey heritage was foreseen, she was even more Islander than Fey.  Every character notes this. But her shifting was always such a large part of her.  Perhaps her being confined to a golem body helped her deal with it.

               I like development of Bridge and Leynard.

               Surprised at the small role Sebastian played however.

               Rusch is nice to read because no character is every really safe [Note: Seriously, there is that one death in the first series that you never saw coming].  Realistic fantasy that way.  I never doubted that MacLeod would survive every episode of Highlander.  Rusch makes you doubt.  Everyone also has their faults, small or large.  That’s refreshing too.

               The separating of Blue Isle and the rest of the Kingdom make sense and feels right.  Gift is far more able to deal with the Fey than Ari.

               I want her to do something with Leen.

 

9/17/2000

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets  by J. K. Rowling

               If Ron and Hermione do not get together in the later books it will be an absolute sin.  [Note: oh how my view about this changed so much.].

               The best thing about Potter is that while he is the special on, he is nothing without his friends.  Hermione who has the brains to figure everything out and Ron who will stick by his friends.  Their talents do not overlap.  Each has their own interests.

               Missed Fluffy.

               Potter is attractive to kids because he has fame, yet is still an outsider and that is good.  Ron and Hermione are outsiders too and get identified with.

 

9/19/2000

Dickens: A Biography by Fred Kaplan

               Couldn’t get it into it.  Will finish later.