Calm and clarity, in the spaces between

[dolorosa_12]

I think I got my grief and regret at the election result out of my system, although there's some interesting discussion going on in the comments of my previous post, should you be so politically inclined. There also seems to be some movement towards creating a UK version of thisfinecrew, to organise advocacy, activism, and survival in this British dystopia in which we find ourselves. I'll point you towards it when it's up and running.

These past three days I've read two books: Proper English, by KJ Charles, which I had deliberately bought as fluffy post-election consolation reading, and Gideon the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir. Proper English was sweet, and cheerful, and diverting, as all Charles' books are, but it was not my favourite of her works. Gideon the Ninth was a disappointment, and seems to be yet another instance of a book massively hyped by the pro-SFF crowd which really didn't work for me. It looks set to be Yuletide-popular, and I suspect will be nominated for a lot of awards next year as well.

In terms of other media, Matthias and I watched the rebooted Charlie's Angels in the cinema on Monday, and finished the TV series of The Name of the Rose last night. The former was trashy, silly, and had a great soundtrack, but also fairly forgettable. I'm not sure it's likely to launch a new franchise, sadly. The Name of the Rose was odd: clearly the showrunners didn't feel that an adaptation focused on the book's subject matter (the tension and unease in Christian medieval scholarship about engaging with 'pagan' texts) was dramatic enough to sustain a TV miniseries, and so the underlying background (a dispute about heresy) is brought to the fore, meaning that the final reveal of the murderer lacks punch and context.

Other than reading and watching, I've written: another Yuletide treat, bringing my total in the collection up to five. That already makes this my best writing Yuletide ever, if we're going by number of works. I still have an idea for one more, but I'm not sure I'll have time to write it before the collection closes. We'll see.

And that has been my weekend.

Comments

[auroracloud]

I've got Gideon the Ninth from the library at the moment and need to make a start on it soon in order to be able to return it in time... Curious to see how I'll like it. Sorry it was a disappointment for you. I've seen a lot of hype, but also some not-so-thrilled comments. Well, sometimes I agree with the majority and sometimes I don't, so anything might be the case for me. We'll see!

KJ Charles has been on my bookish radar for quite some time, but the library doesn't store her books and I can't afford to buy many books at the moment. I should probably request the library to get some of them.

[dolorosa_12]

I hope you end up liking it, although for me, as I say, I found it to be overhyped, and if it wins all the awards next year at the expense of A Memory Called Empire I will be quite annoyed.

I hope you're able to read some KJ Charles books in the future — they're so comforting and cozy!

[auroracloud]

I've started it now, but am not far enough into it to say much about it. Anyway, I agree that A Memory Called Empire is brilliant and deserves lots of awards! I'll want to buy that one for myself at some point, it's so good and I know I'll want to reread it. Also, I feel like even if I end up loving Gideon the Ninth I'm unlikely to spend any Hugo nominations on it, because I'm sure it'll end up on the ballots of crowd-nominated awards, at least.

I'll probably try to make requests to the library about the KJ Charles books. I'm pretty sure I could at least get the e-library section to get them... I've only recently learned to start making requests to the library to buy things I want to borrow.

[thawrecka]

Gideon the Ninth disappointed me, too. I wanted to enjoy it more than I did and I have friends who loved it but I just felt underwhelmed.

[dolorosa_12]

I found it incredibly underwhelming as well, and looking at the comments here, I'm not the only one! I think it might have been another case of something being really overhyped by the pro-SFF crowd — there are at least two other series of books in recent memory which were rapturously received, nominated for awards, and didn't impress me.

[isis]

Five stories in the collection! Go you!

I'm working on a third but have hopes for at least one more.

[dolorosa_12]

Three or four is still pretty good! I just seem to have had a lot of time for writing this year.

[naye]

I am so very impressed with your Yuletide productivity, and am eagerly awaiting reveals so I can see what it is you've been up to!

[dolorosa_12]

Awww, thank you! I'd be surprised if you're familiar with any of the fandoms, but you never know...

[rachelmanija]

Gideon the Ninth was a DNF for me.

[dolorosa_12]

Yes, I remember seeing that, and wondering if the book had been overhyped. In my opinion, yes, it had been. Thankfully I got it from the library rather than paying for my own copy, at least!

[aimedatthestars]

Gideon the Ninth wasn't for me either. I think partially because I went in with the wrong expectations. Like, it was heavily touted as "LESBIANS! NECROMANCERS! SPAAACE!" and that's not how I would've described it.

I'm sure others will love it, just wasn't for me. I tend to struggle with slapstick/humorous tones anyway.

(The author did mention she used to write FFVII fanfic, and now I'm wondering if she wrote one of my faves there LOL)

[dolorosa_12]

Yes, the marketing of the book was really strange, emphasising aspects of it that I didn't actually think were all that prominent. I'm also wondering if I was in the wrong headspace for it when I read it (see above re: disastrous UK election). What it reminded me of most was Gormenghast, which I really liked, so maybe I just wasn't in the right mood.

I'd heard that the author came from fandom, although not in any fandoms I've ever shared. It must be amusing for readers who knew her from back in the day, seeing if any elements they liked in her fic have come through in her professional work.