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Reading meme
Feb. 28th, 2013 09:24 pmWhat I've just read:
Kate Elliott's Cold Magic. At about page 200 I felt a moment of connection with the main character, but then it went again. This is mostly me, in that I think many people will like this book and it does a lot of things that, if told about, I would find very interesting. Especially the background setting, which is kind of a historical AU with Afro-Celt Europe and intelligent dinosaur (?I think) descendants. I just didn't find them interesting here, and it's mainly because I couldn't connect to the main character at all. Things were just too convenient for her; I never felt, in amongst all the perils and chases and revelations, that she was actually being asked to question anything central to her character (apart from that one brief moment) and there were too many attributes of specialness (Cat's origins, both sets, her sword fighting, her self-possession, her convenient half-brother) for me. I kept going out of sheer determination, but I don't think I'm going to pick up the next. I don't have to like the main character(s), but I do need to want to know what happens to them.
I have also stalled out on Elliott's Jaran series and the Crown of Stars series. Hmm. I think I liked her storyline in The Golden Key? An author that I've failed to connect with while not disliking in any way.
What I'm reading now:
Len Deighton's Mexico Set. I think Bernard is an interesting character, and it's becoming more obvious how much he lies to himself here. The Mexican street market bit made me massively hungry, and the set up is intriguing - Bernard has to try to persuade a KGB major to defect. Not far enough in for anything more.
What I expect to read next:
I have actually had a pretty stressful week and am looking for the fictional equivalent of macaroni & cheese, i.e. predictably comforting with a hint of nutritional value, leaving one with a warm and slightly stodgy feeling. Suggestions taken; otherwise will probably be prowling through fanfic.
Kate Elliott's Cold Magic. At about page 200 I felt a moment of connection with the main character, but then it went again. This is mostly me, in that I think many people will like this book and it does a lot of things that, if told about, I would find very interesting. Especially the background setting, which is kind of a historical AU with Afro-Celt Europe and intelligent dinosaur (?I think) descendants. I just didn't find them interesting here, and it's mainly because I couldn't connect to the main character at all. Things were just too convenient for her; I never felt, in amongst all the perils and chases and revelations, that she was actually being asked to question anything central to her character (apart from that one brief moment) and there were too many attributes of specialness (Cat's origins, both sets, her sword fighting, her self-possession, her convenient half-brother) for me. I kept going out of sheer determination, but I don't think I'm going to pick up the next. I don't have to like the main character(s), but I do need to want to know what happens to them.
I have also stalled out on Elliott's Jaran series and the Crown of Stars series. Hmm. I think I liked her storyline in The Golden Key? An author that I've failed to connect with while not disliking in any way.
What I'm reading now:
Len Deighton's Mexico Set. I think Bernard is an interesting character, and it's becoming more obvious how much he lies to himself here. The Mexican street market bit made me massively hungry, and the set up is intriguing - Bernard has to try to persuade a KGB major to defect. Not far enough in for anything more.
What I expect to read next:
I have actually had a pretty stressful week and am looking for the fictional equivalent of macaroni & cheese, i.e. predictably comforting with a hint of nutritional value, leaving one with a warm and slightly stodgy feeling. Suggestions taken; otherwise will probably be prowling through fanfic.
