Thoughts on Blake and other books.
Jun. 12th, 2008 09:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kippurbirdI just finished reading Summer's Knight by Jim Butcher. ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dragonwhishes and canadianevil recommended the series to me a while back and I picked up the first book. I read it, it was okay, but didn't really impress much upon me. Then I decided to give it a second chance when I discovered that Butcher was going to be at ComicCon. I enjoyed Knight much more than I did Storm Front and may start to pick up the rest of the series.
One of the interesting things I noted, was that on the cover of the book it said that fans of Hamilton would love the book. Thinking about this, I decided that yes, there's a great likelihood that this is true. After all they're both urban fantasies that are detective stories. They're both told in first person with the same sort of humor.
The thing is, beyond that, the two books have nothing alike.
Summer's Knight and Danse Macabre do have a relatively short time span covered in the books. About three days for Dresden and three days, I think, for Anita, maybe two. It's hard to tell with all the sex. In any case despite the same time frame, there's tension in Dresden's book and utterly none in Blakes.
Dresden has increasing problems thrown on him. There's raining frogs, vampires out to get him, and the wizard's council that's come to town. Plus he's been so busy trying to find a cure for vamperism for his girlfriend who's been partially turned that he's neglected everything else in his life. Then he's hired by the Winter Queen, Mab, who has control over him now because his fairy godmother sold her rights to him to the Queen, to find out who killed the Summer Knight. Then the wizard's council wants to feed him to the vampires to sue for peace. Though this is adverted when they tell him that he needs to get Mab to let them through her lands, which she will only allow them to do when her emissary (Dresden) finishes the job for her. Then he realizes that the Summer and Winter courts are going to go to war which will cause another ice age or something else. Then a bunch of changlings ask for his help to find their missing companion. Then he has to get all of this done before Midsummer's night, which is in a day's time. And that's not even mentioning his first girlfriend who he thought was dead and tried to sacrifice him is still alive and the Summer Court's emissary. Now THAT is a good example of pilling shit onto your hero until it looks like you have no idea how he'll work it out and oh boy you better hope he does because other wise Bad Things will happen.
In the mean time, on Blake's side, Anita needs to find someone new to feed off of or else she'll starve. Oh, she might be pregnant too. But in any case, there's never any sense of urgency. They dwaddle, take long baths, talk randomly about things. There's a great deal of showing, actually. Far too much. Not as much as Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time books, but a lot of attention is placed in the details of actions and looks which delays and deflates any sense of urgency. After all if Anita feels like she has the time to describe down to the exacting detail of what a person is wearing, she's obviously not worried about anything big.
Just something I've been thinking on. I'll probably try and expand this more later.
Now, onto the fun stuff.
In theory.
Chapter forty
After they do their group laugh, Noel and Travis come in. Travis is all hurt and everything and Anita says they "both still looked too young to drive". That would make them look around pre-teen age, as most states let you get a learner's permit around the ages of 14-16. The earliest you can get your license is at age fourteen. So, basically, she's saying that these two college age, which would make them at least nineteen or twenty look like they're twelve. There's a great deal of difference between a nineteen year old and a twelve year old. Namely puberty. I guess their hair just isn't long enough for them to be men yet.
Micah wants to know why Travis hasn't shifted yet. Shifting would help him heal quicker. As he goes over to them, Auggie makes a grab at him, which he manages to easily avoid. For some reason, this is Jean-Claude making a point. I don't see how Micah not wanting to be grabbed is making a point beyond Micah not wanting to be grabbed. This is what Jean-Claude says as he lounges decoratively on a couch. I imagined him as paisley, with little flowers. Jean-Claude wants to know if Auggie envies his cats. Which is silly, because JC's animals are wolves, not cats. Anita's animals are cats. And wolves, but that's not important here.
Auggie throws a bit of a snit and lets Micah help the two lions. I like how they're putting their petty concerns over helping the injured. I can just see them on the battlefield where they're bickering about who insulted who or took away who's target while their comrades are bleeding to death on the field. Micah is allowed to go and tend to the lions while Jean-Claude chastises Auggie for acting like a brat."Petty games do not become you, Augustine. You are master of a powerful territory. You could have your own collection of lovers, to rival mine."
More talk ensues and they bribe him. They say that if he plays nicely then they'll let him come down and get fucked by them. So, they're holding him hostage to his addiction. If he does what they want he can feed his addiction. If he doesn't then he can suffer without it. This wouldn't have been so bad if he didn't just get a major dose. Now that the junkie has fallen off the wagon, he'll do anything to get his kick.
Hey, remember Travis? The injured lion? Anita suddenly does too. She wants to know why he hasn't shifted yet. Travis says it's because he wants her to bring his beast. She doesn't want to do it. How selfish of her. She has no problem bringing other people's beast out, but since Travis isn't long haired and pretty he doesn't deserve it.
This lasts for about a paragraph with Anita just saying: Change yourself. Then they go back to Auggie's little problem. He offers them "money, drugs, designer anything, whatever you want, whatever you need" They turn him down saying that "We do our own killing. We've got enough money. We are a drug free zone; don't bring that shit here. except in bed If I want designer stuff, I'll buy it myself except in bed." I find it funny that they say they're a drug free zone. There's no real way to control that. Schools and things are drug free zones, but that doesn't stop anyone. Auggie then starts to weep like a baby.
Anita tells him how horrible his power is. Which is horribly amusing.
Hrmm... Enslavement and ultimate addiction vs loving someone. Enslavement and ultimate addiction vs loving someone. You know, I'd take the loving someone. At least that way you don't have to need to be with them all the time. Rather like the gift of true love that was given to Ella's father and stepmother. The father spent as much time as possible away from the stepmother, despite the fact that they were madly in love with each other. On the other hand, the arduer is addiction and enslavement and Requiem's power is a date rape drug.
They talk about Auggie's power and how he's learned to control it, like JC's learned to control his, but not like how Anita has learned to control hers.
Hey, remember Noel and Travis? Noel buts in, asking if can approach. Exactly how isn't the were a slave to vampires? Anita says yes. Auggie says no. Noel drops to all fours and says, "I don't know what to do; I can't please you both."
Hey, Noel, ever heard of free will? I hear it's very popular among most people.
Anita goes to him and that makes Auggie upset because she's going to a submissive. This is the damn hierarchal structure thing. They then, once again, forget about Noel and Travis and start talking about the different structures that the various were-clans have in St. Louis as well as how Auggie is afraid of wanting Anita as much as he does. He talks about how he thought Anita's personality would be different and that if she had been a gentle and feminine then she would be more willing to submit to Auggie's demands.
They talk about how Auggie is like his lions, trying to make emotions and love logical. Don't see how that one works. Also the fact that he needs to prove himself the most dominant over the other people that sleep with Anita.
Noel is remembered again and given permission to get up and talk. He brings them over to Travis who's going into shock. A problem that could have been adverted if they had actually, you know, paid attention to the injured person in their party. Anita, again, tells him to shift and again he refuses saying that he needs her to give him her beast or have metaphysical sex (the adeur) with one of the two of them. Their reason for wanting this is because they don't want Haven their Rex. If Haven stayed in St. Louis, then he'd take over the lion pride. Anita continues to refuse saying that her beast is fine and she doesn't want to bring it up on purpose. So, accidents are fine, but doing it for a purpose that would help allies? Not fine.
She's supposed to be the heroine too. Remember?
She finally agrees to try it. But they decided that they need to talk first about the dangers of raising the ardeur. They don't want to do it in front of the lions so, Jean-Claude says that they should send them back to the doctor. Anita doesn't think so, and does something intelligent for once.
She suggest they move and leave Travis and Noel in the room. After a short pissing contest they decided to do this.
dragonwhishes and canadianevil recommended the series to me a while back and I picked up the first book. I read it, it was okay, but didn't really impress much upon me. Then I decided to give it a second chance when I discovered that Butcher was going to be at ComicCon. I enjoyed Knight much more than I did Storm Front and may start to pick up the rest of the series. One of the interesting things I noted, was that on the cover of the book it said that fans of Hamilton would love the book. Thinking about this, I decided that yes, there's a great likelihood that this is true. After all they're both urban fantasies that are detective stories. They're both told in first person with the same sort of humor.
The thing is, beyond that, the two books have nothing alike.
Summer's Knight and Danse Macabre do have a relatively short time span covered in the books. About three days for Dresden and three days, I think, for Anita, maybe two. It's hard to tell with all the sex. In any case despite the same time frame, there's tension in Dresden's book and utterly none in Blakes.
Dresden has increasing problems thrown on him. There's raining frogs, vampires out to get him, and the wizard's council that's come to town. Plus he's been so busy trying to find a cure for vamperism for his girlfriend who's been partially turned that he's neglected everything else in his life. Then he's hired by the Winter Queen, Mab, who has control over him now because his fairy godmother sold her rights to him to the Queen, to find out who killed the Summer Knight. Then the wizard's council wants to feed him to the vampires to sue for peace. Though this is adverted when they tell him that he needs to get Mab to let them through her lands, which she will only allow them to do when her emissary (Dresden) finishes the job for her. Then he realizes that the Summer and Winter courts are going to go to war which will cause another ice age or something else. Then a bunch of changlings ask for his help to find their missing companion. Then he has to get all of this done before Midsummer's night, which is in a day's time. And that's not even mentioning his first girlfriend who he thought was dead and tried to sacrifice him is still alive and the Summer Court's emissary. Now THAT is a good example of pilling shit onto your hero until it looks like you have no idea how he'll work it out and oh boy you better hope he does because other wise Bad Things will happen.
In the mean time, on Blake's side, Anita needs to find someone new to feed off of or else she'll starve. Oh, she might be pregnant too. But in any case, there's never any sense of urgency. They dwaddle, take long baths, talk randomly about things. There's a great deal of showing, actually. Far too much. Not as much as Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time books, but a lot of attention is placed in the details of actions and looks which delays and deflates any sense of urgency. After all if Anita feels like she has the time to describe down to the exacting detail of what a person is wearing, she's obviously not worried about anything big.
Just something I've been thinking on. I'll probably try and expand this more later.
Now, onto the fun stuff.
In theory.
Chapter forty
After they do their group laugh, Noel and Travis come in. Travis is all hurt and everything and Anita says they "both still looked too young to drive". That would make them look around pre-teen age, as most states let you get a learner's permit around the ages of 14-16. The earliest you can get your license is at age fourteen. So, basically, she's saying that these two college age, which would make them at least nineteen or twenty look like they're twelve. There's a great deal of difference between a nineteen year old and a twelve year old. Namely puberty. I guess their hair just isn't long enough for them to be men yet.
Micah wants to know why Travis hasn't shifted yet. Shifting would help him heal quicker. As he goes over to them, Auggie makes a grab at him, which he manages to easily avoid. For some reason, this is Jean-Claude making a point. I don't see how Micah not wanting to be grabbed is making a point beyond Micah not wanting to be grabbed. This is what Jean-Claude says as he lounges decoratively on a couch. I imagined him as paisley, with little flowers. Jean-Claude wants to know if Auggie envies his cats. Which is silly, because JC's animals are wolves, not cats. Anita's animals are cats. And wolves, but that's not important here.
Auggie throws a bit of a snit and lets Micah help the two lions. I like how they're putting their petty concerns over helping the injured. I can just see them on the battlefield where they're bickering about who insulted who or took away who's target while their comrades are bleeding to death on the field. Micah is allowed to go and tend to the lions while Jean-Claude chastises Auggie for acting like a brat."Petty games do not become you, Augustine. You are master of a powerful territory. You could have your own collection of lovers, to rival mine."
More talk ensues and they bribe him. They say that if he plays nicely then they'll let him come down and get fucked by them. So, they're holding him hostage to his addiction. If he does what they want he can feed his addiction. If he doesn't then he can suffer without it. This wouldn't have been so bad if he didn't just get a major dose. Now that the junkie has fallen off the wagon, he'll do anything to get his kick.
Hey, remember Travis? The injured lion? Anita suddenly does too. She wants to know why he hasn't shifted yet. Travis says it's because he wants her to bring his beast. She doesn't want to do it. How selfish of her. She has no problem bringing other people's beast out, but since Travis isn't long haired and pretty he doesn't deserve it.
This lasts for about a paragraph with Anita just saying: Change yourself. Then they go back to Auggie's little problem. He offers them "money, drugs, designer anything, whatever you want, whatever you need" They turn him down saying that "We do our own killing. We've got enough money. We are a drug free zone; don't bring that shit here. except in bed If I want designer stuff, I'll buy it myself except in bed." I find it funny that they say they're a drug free zone. There's no real way to control that. Schools and things are drug free zones, but that doesn't stop anyone. Auggie then starts to weep like a baby.
Anita tells him how horrible his power is. Which is horribly amusing.
"Of all the powers from Belle's line that I've had used on me, Auggie, yours is the most awful."
"How can you say that?" he asked. "The ardeur can enslave. Requiem can rape with a thought."
"Yeah, Requiem's power would be the ultimate date-rape drug, but he doesn't use it that way." except in bed
"He did once," Auggie said.
I processed the information, tested if it was a lie, but I didn't think it was. I shrugged. "Whatever he was as a young vampire, he's not that now. But the ardeur is just lust, and so is Requiem's power. It doesn't steal the emotions, yours does. Except in bed"
"And you think that is a worse crime?"
I nodded. "Yeah, I do. except in bed"
Hrmm... Enslavement and ultimate addiction vs loving someone. Enslavement and ultimate addiction vs loving someone. You know, I'd take the loving someone. At least that way you don't have to need to be with them all the time. Rather like the gift of true love that was given to Ella's father and stepmother. The father spent as much time as possible away from the stepmother, despite the fact that they were madly in love with each other. On the other hand, the arduer is addiction and enslavement and Requiem's power is a date rape drug.
They talk about Auggie's power and how he's learned to control it, like JC's learned to control his, but not like how Anita has learned to control hers.
Hey, remember Noel and Travis? Noel buts in, asking if can approach. Exactly how isn't the were a slave to vampires? Anita says yes. Auggie says no. Noel drops to all fours and says, "I don't know what to do; I can't please you both."
Hey, Noel, ever heard of free will? I hear it's very popular among most people.
Anita goes to him and that makes Auggie upset because she's going to a submissive. This is the damn hierarchal structure thing. They then, once again, forget about Noel and Travis and start talking about the different structures that the various were-clans have in St. Louis as well as how Auggie is afraid of wanting Anita as much as he does. He talks about how he thought Anita's personality would be different and that if she had been a gentle and feminine then she would be more willing to submit to Auggie's demands.
They talk about how Auggie is like his lions, trying to make emotions and love logical. Don't see how that one works. Also the fact that he needs to prove himself the most dominant over the other people that sleep with Anita.
Noel is remembered again and given permission to get up and talk. He brings them over to Travis who's going into shock. A problem that could have been adverted if they had actually, you know, paid attention to the injured person in their party. Anita, again, tells him to shift and again he refuses saying that he needs her to give him her beast or have metaphysical sex (the adeur) with one of the two of them. Their reason for wanting this is because they don't want Haven their Rex. If Haven stayed in St. Louis, then he'd take over the lion pride. Anita continues to refuse saying that her beast is fine and she doesn't want to bring it up on purpose. So, accidents are fine, but doing it for a purpose that would help allies? Not fine.
She's supposed to be the heroine too. Remember?
She finally agrees to try it. But they decided that they need to talk first about the dangers of raising the ardeur. They don't want to do it in front of the lions so, Jean-Claude says that they should send them back to the doctor. Anita doesn't think so, and does something intelligent for once.
She suggest they move and leave Travis and Noel in the room. After a short pissing contest they decided to do this.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-06-12 06:44 pm (UTC)Not that this one is much better, either.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-12 06:51 pm (UTC)Also, would you like a page on the Sporking's site to put up your sporkings?
no subject
Date: 2008-06-12 07:08 pm (UTC)It's GREAT.
(I'll comment on Chapter 40 later.)
no subject
Date: 2008-06-12 07:19 pm (UTC)And yes, my brain has thoroughly rotted, or it would have, if I didn't write a long post on how the "Christian" fantasy wasn't "christian" at all.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-12 08:07 pm (UTC)You deserve a drink...and some chocolate cake. And possibly a medal of heroism in reading for braving this book of sewage. (At least the other crappy books were funny, albeit unintentionally.)
no subject
Date: 2008-06-12 09:23 pm (UTC)Hahaha and I do. Except for LKH.
I wub me my Butcher. A while ago I was looking for him and came across a Spiderman book he wrote. Which is good. I'm so far not as big a fan of his new series that is not Dresden Files but perhaps once I get bored enough to keep reading.
*Blanks out the rest of the post from sight, noooo not tha bad*
no subject
Date: 2008-06-12 10:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-12 10:55 pm (UTC)No, Anita K. Blakelton, it's not 'just' lust. Seeing a pretty girl in a bikini is just lust. Seeing a handsome man in a bathing suit is just lust. Forcing someone to do something so objectionable that afterwards they slink away, refusing to meet anyone else's eyes because they're so totally mortified by their actions (*waves to London) isn't 'just' lust. Lodging yourself so totally in someone's psyche that they'll offer you "money, drugs, designer anything, whatever you want, whatever you need" in exchange for one bout of sex isn't 'just' lust.
Look. Either the ardeur is a serious problem, both for Anita and those around her, or it isn't. For the love of all that's unholy, though, would you please stop trying to have it both ways!
no subject
Date: 2008-06-13 01:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-13 01:42 am (UTC)Thing is, technically speaking there isn't anyone who shouldn't die or have other horrible things happen to them. For, as they say, shit happens.
Love doesn't solve everything. Neither does sex.
In fact, it should cause more problems!
no subject
Date: 2008-06-13 01:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-13 01:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-13 02:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-13 02:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-13 02:04 am (UTC)I try to find funny here. I do. You see me. But it is all fail.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-13 02:06 am (UTC)I noticed that. It's kinda weird and makes me feel like I'm driving around in a circle.
*offers brain bleach*
no subject
Date: 2008-06-13 02:10 am (UTC)And LKH wants it both ways so none shall make it otherwise.
I hate her.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-13 02:11 am (UTC)I like throwing shit at people. It makes them CRAAAAZZZEH. And good drama.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-13 02:26 am (UTC)*nods* That's what I'm saying, yeah. Also, apparently, you can get over Auggie's 'love' pretty damn quick, too.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-13 03:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-13 03:54 am (UTC)On a brighter note, so much love for the Ella Enchanted reference.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-13 04:22 am (UTC)*pats* *offers booze*
no subject
Date: 2008-06-13 05:20 am (UTC)Also, the idea of two people trying to have sex on top of a nonparticipent just grosses me out. If I was letting someone sit on my lap and they suddenly grabbed a third person and started having sex with them, I would be SHOVING THEM THE HELL OFF and fleeing in horror. I mean...wow. Violation of personal space. O_o
no subject
Date: 2008-06-13 05:25 am (UTC)And I love how Anita completely dismisses the seriously injured person in favor of bitching at someone. And how she refuses to inconvenience herself for the sake of possibly saving someone's life (because as far as I can tell, calling his animal or whatever wouldn't be harmful for her). Wow. What a heroine. NOT. >_< Honestly, she's just...ugh.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-13 07:16 am (UTC)All right, what do I have to do?
no subject
Date: 2008-06-13 12:19 pm (UTC)It's all very incestuous, isn't it? XD
no subject
Date: 2008-06-13 06:50 pm (UTC)I'd suggest putting up a bit about you, if you'd like and maybe a contact email for comments.
To make a separate page you do the following in the edit feature [[Page_Name_Here| What you want it to look like on the page]]
I suggest for clarity's sake you use the following formula:
[[Iccorp_Book name_Chapter| Chapter or what ever you want]]
If you need any help just let me know.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-14 03:31 am (UTC)Oh, and bad things happen to the hero. Sometimes he can't completely save the day. Good and bad are not always easy to define, but the hero resists his dark side (with LOTR quotes!) rather than embracing it. Wars result in death and anger and fear. The villains actually do stuff other than inspire more sex. Harry doesn't ramble for chapters at length about his feelings, and he never ever cares about empty protocol and dominance shit.
It also has humor, jokes, NORMAL people, genuinely sexy guys (wait till you read about Thomas!), and a well-realized universe that Butcher can actually keep straight. Basically it's all and everything that the AB series is not, and shows no signs of changing anytime soon.
Also good reads are Rachel Harrison and Jennifer Rardin.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-14 03:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-14 04:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-15 02:57 pm (UTC)It is circular though, I agree. But it makes me laugh, which is good right? :D
no subject
Date: 2008-06-15 02:58 pm (UTC)YES
Gentlemen/ladies we have found our porn