Questions about fiction

[featherynscale]

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.

Comments

[gamera-spinning.livejournal.com]

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?

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

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.

[zylch.livejournal.com]

What, Gaius Marius or some other Marius?

[gamera-spinning.livejournal.com]

Nope, Marius de Romanus.