featherynscale | Questions about fiction

The best of slow weekends include trips to the library. This weekend's trip was particularly well-timed, because before we went, I had been in the middle of the first book of Storm Constantine's Wraeththu series, and I was afraid I might finish the damned awful thing if I didn't get anything else to read. Which leads me to these questions: Have any of you guys ever read this? Does it ever get good? I think I'm about 150 pages in, and so far, the plot seems to be "There are these mutants. Except, they're Gay. Really, really Gay. Isn't that transgressive? And, they have these mystical powers. That all have names in this crappy dialect I invented. That you get through Gay Sex. Isn't that transgressive? And they wander around looking for a mutant city, and they meet some mutants that aren't very nice, but are secretly okay, because they want to have Sex with the protagonists. Gay Sex. And then, there is something that might be conflict, but let's not focus on that! Let me tell you more about their levels of mystical attainment!" If the story isn't going to advance beyond the sort of cataloguing of abilities these people have and trying to shock the reader with their not-very-shocking sexual tendencies, I'd like to know so I can jettison the thing.

Fortunately, I was able to pick up two more Lois McMaster Bujold books from the library, Paladin of Souls and The Hallowed Hunt. I finished Paladin of Souls in a day, and am halfway through Hallowed Hunt I'm liking her stuff quite a bit -- I suspect that this is because it is very easy to imagine what sort of character I would be in this world. Where I would fit in is very plain to me. Again, I'm enjoying the way the human characters interact with the Gods much more than the way they interact with other humans, but that's all right, as I enjoy the Gods a great deal. (I know some of the folks on my friends list are fans -- are all of her books set in this world with the Five Gods, or just the three books that I happened to pick up?)

Being able to imagine myself in the world is apparently a factor in whether or not I get hung up on books, but apparently it's not the only thing. I very much enjoy Pratchett's Discworld, Martin's Song of Ice and Fire and Jordan's Wheel of Time, but couldn't for a moment tell you what kind of character I would be in any of those worlds.

triadruid told me this morning that he was pretty sure he'd be a Shienaran in the Wheel of Time world, what with the cold weather, and the coed bathing, and all. I added relentless sense of duty to save the world to his list, and he agreed. He had some theories about where I might belong, but I was unconvinced. People with theories of this sort, either about me, themselves, or anyone else we know, are welcome to post their assignments in the comments, if they like. :)

Also, I finished The Scar the other day. It was brilliant and fascinating, and the author continues to hold my highest regard.

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Does it ever get good? I think I'm about 150 pages in, and so far, the plot seems to be "There are these mutants. Except, they're Gay. Really, really Gay. Isn't that transgressive? And, they have these mystical powers. That all have names in this crappy dialect I invented. That you get through Gay Sex. Isn't that transgressive? And they wander around looking for a mutant city, and they meet some mutants that aren't very nice, but are secretly okay, because they want to have Sex with the protagonists. Gay Sex. And then, there is something that might be conflict, but let's not focus on that! Let me tell you more about their levels of mystical attainment!"

This reminds me of Anne Rice's Marius novel, "Blood and Gold", which I gave up on after ot follows a similar pattern of gay sex scenes in Ancient Roman bathhouses. I get it, Marius like young boys, can we get to the plot already?

I think my last Anne Rice was Memnoch the Devil, which was a very interesting story, but lacked what was for me a critical ingredient to an Anne Rice story, which was vampires. So I'm sort of glad I didn't continue.

And I don't mind sex scenes. I mean, I read Laurell K Hamilton. For the sex, specifically, because there's not a lot of plot to be had. But there's something about this which specifically bothers me -- it's a little like Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel series, where she spends most of the first book trying to shock the reader (or perhaps avoid shocking the reader) with the fact that the main character is a masochist. Over and over. I understand that perhaps I am not a mainstream reader, so perhaps there are people out there that find these things shocking or incomprehensible, but I'm not those people, and I'm bored/put off by the "this is shocking! please like my character even though this is shocking!" sort of movements.

What, Gaius Marius or some other Marius?

Nope, Marius de Romanus.

I couldn't see you as anyone but a Witch in Discworld. Perhaps not a Ramtops one, but a witch all the same.

As for the WoT series, I'd probably go with an Altaran Gleeman, possibly one from Ebou Dar. Sure, 'All Gleemen are men' (except for Thom's would-be protege), but if anyone were to spit in the eye of that queer bit of cannon it'd be an Altaran

featherynscale. It'd also make sense that you'd get tired of folks trying to cut each other up over who should walk through a doorway first & other even more trivial matters and decide to wander. Hell, she's probably found some amusinging Hunters for the Horn in Illian and has tagged along with them.

As for Martin's series, I've no idea as I've not read it. Hope my other two picks were helpful though!

Are you aware that I am currently involved in a d20 Wheel of Time game, in which I am playing an Ebou Dari who is travelling with some Hunters for the Horn met in Illian? I mean, he's not a gleeman (that not being a class that one can take right off the bat, apparently), but he is a transvestite. Since it seems like the DM is not going to allow him to become an Asha'man, as was my fondest hope (everybody likes to play insane magic users -- deny it if you can), I was wondering if I could develop him into a gleeman. Assuming, of course, that the Whitecloaks don't kill us all first. I hate Whitecloaks.

As for your d20WoT character, no. It's news to me. A cross-dressing, duel prone, wielder of the One Power?

::shudder::

Um, yeah, I'd probably have to side with the GM on that one. I think you're supposed to be trying to prevent the re-breaking the world, not set to it by starting with the mind of every poor villager you come across. Simple farmers and tradesmen aren't meant to have to deal with the likes of that.

As for you hatred of Whitecloaks< I'll bet there's a very short list of people that actually like them. It's just a shame that they occasionally (and accidentally) do a bit of good now & then. Otherwise, even despite their numbers I bet they'd be either wiped off the map, or at least driven underground.

::snerk::

Now that's an amusing concept: Whitecloaks working in secret, operating within cellular units that would be so much like their Darkfriend counterparts it's not even funny. What group of crackpots would rise up to hunt them?

He's only duel-prone when insulted. Or if you insult his sister. He's not an unreasonable man. Unless the subject of conversation is Whitecloaks, in which case he becomes very unreasonable very quickly. Even that, though is not without its own reason.

Perhaps he will develop into a Whitecloak hunter, as you say. That would be amusing. ::grin with teeth::

She refers to herself as a "person of glee". I was/am amused.

::lecherous whistle::

Wow, go her! Was she from Ebou Dar? Did her patches flutter? I'll have to look for her next year. Too cool.

Her patches did not flutter. But she was very cute all the same.

That pic is FNS' photo gallery, I forgot to link to the full size version.

She said she needs more patches. I don't know what nationality she was claiming, but she's dark enough to have been Ebou Dari (if I remember their desc. right).

I picked up a compilation of the 3 books of the Wraeththu series in a used bookstore awhile back and read the whole thing...mostly from the compulsion to find out how it turns out.

The whole series is pretty much what you're seeing now, with more geography in the subsequent books (and more gay sex). For the most part, the story line is a lot of guilt flagellation and the stuff you've already described.

Hope that answers it for you...

btw, I've lost your mailing address, and have something I need to send off to your household. If you get a moment can you email me (zerself at gmail dot com) with it? I know I have it somewhere...but somewhere could still be packed in a random box.

I was afraid that might be true. I have read another of her series, which I thought was pretty decent, but this, this is dreck. Thanks for the heads-up.

Also, email sent. :)

*ahem* I seem to remember having this discussion before. You clearly were cut out for some kind of Oggdom. Don't deny it. ;)

Yes. That.

The first book is by far the worst. The first half of the first book is the worst part of that book. Not sure whether you'll like the rest, but they do get better. (I read them due largely to having someone who's a personal friend of Storm's in my life, who told me to slog through that part and it gets better, and he was right...though they never got to "amazing" in my eyes, just "reasonably good".)

That said, I really enjoyed the Kushiel books because I had no trouble ignoring the 'ooh, shocking!' stuff. If that bugs you, it's possible Wraeththu will as well. I didn't notice any 'ooh, shocking!' crap once I got out of book one, but then I may have just become inured to it.

Questions about fiction

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Probably a good pick...

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Did you see the female gleeman at D*Con?

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yup, that's about it

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re: discworld

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