jsbowden: (Default)
jsbowden ([personal profile] jsbowden) wrote2005-08-26 08:07 pm

Zoltan!

So, since I'm talking books I've read recently, I have to touch on Brust. I finally got around to finishing The Viscount of Adrilankha (TVoA). Or however it's spelled. Anyway, I'm not sure if I'm annoyed at Brust's killing of Aerich and Tazendra or not. I mean, a big complaint in many fantasy series is the author's obvious attachment to, and subsequent reluctance to kill off major characters. Hell, J.O.R. Jr. can't even bring himself to kill off minor villains (excepting 3 of the what, 7 forsaken killed in the series to date? We still have 10 of the 13 running around being incompetent) permanently after 10 books, and I think all the rasfwr-j refugees here have noted it at least once. The problem I have is the way Brust did it, I think. Their deaths seemed pointless.

Their deaths didn't do anything for the plot or the story for me. I think it's a timing thing. It makes a lot of the ending arc of Sethra Lavode seem pointless. If you're going to have the heroes show up late, don't make it 30 seconds. Either keep the K, A, T and Pel in tact, or don't, but that felt like needlessly toying around with the reader and the plot to have K and P and the Viscount and his troop show up just in time to watch their friends die (granted, A and T took out the Bitch Duo in the process, but still). Sure, Sethra shows up and zaps the jenoine, but that whole scene just felt forced. I don't know, I liked the series over all, but that one spot feels like it could have worked a little better.

I've also read The Books of Jhereg and Taltos. I'm just waiting on Tor to release the next couple in a nice trade paperback compendium (Dragon and Issola are next in order of publication, yes?) One of you people with an inside line to TNH ([livejournal.com profile] kate_nepveu, this means you), work on this.

I've taken in a total of <3000 calories in the last 48 hours, and I've spent an hour sparring last night, and an hour working forms tonight, so this rum and Coke is just speeding right on along. Fear me, for I am Cheap Date man!

Okay, I think I'm going to load up CS:Source and shoot people now. Or get shot a lot. Drunken Counter Strike isn't a spectator sport, but it should be.

[identity profile] scifantasy.livejournal.com 2005-08-26 05:35 pm (UTC)(link)
There's the Book Of Athyra...

[identity profile] jsbowden.livejournal.com 2005-08-26 05:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Excellent. See, I just knew all I had to do was ask, and I would recieve.

Okay, off to CS now, there are terrorists waiting to shoot me.