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rusty_haloAlright, so I'm 107 pages into book 5, "The Ringed Castle," and we've been following Phillipa around the English court for AGES and yes it's all very interesting, Mary and Elizabeth and Spain and England, blah blah blah, but DAMMIT I WANT TO READ ABOUT LYMOND. I just skipped ahead and it's 40 more pages until he even shows up again!
Okay. But this frustration stems from the fact that the previous two books were AWESOME. Gabriel has got to be one of the best villains ever. I usually find villains either tedious plot devices or else sources of amusement/interest that outshine the heroes. I don't think I've EVER hated a villain as much as I fucking hated this guy. I wanted him to die so badly. (And then when he did, it was completely anticlimactic, because of the baby dying right beforehand... oh my god!!)
I disliked him the instant he showed up, but I couldn't figure out if it was my bitchy atheism objecting to his religious piety, or if he really was that slimy. Glad he really was. And that Lymond figured it out--for a long time I knew he was bad but wasn't sure if Lymond knew. But of course he did.
I actually cheered out loud at the moment when Lymond tells all his friends about how evil Gabriel is, and asks them to destroy anything of his if he dies rather than allow Gabriel to benefit from it, and Richard says "no," and you turn the page going "oh my god, does he mean no that he doesn't believe Lymond, or no that he's not going to let his brother die?" and you HOPE it means that he's not going to let his brother die, but being Richard you're not entirely sure. And then when it turns out Richard does believe Lymond, thank god, after all it took for Lymond to ask for help, I cheered. I love that they are so different but that their bond has managed to endure through so much. (And man, hardly anything can hurt Lymond like those moments when Richard doesn't stand by him. "I'd rather you died" after Richard catches him with Joleta? *sniffle*)
I also was quite impressed, in the third book, that the author had managed to have her hero sleep with a sixteen year old girl and knock out a--fourteen?--year old girl, and to simultaneously keep the audience on his side. No wonder his family finds him trying, though....
I don't quite get how someone as perceptive as Lymond could end up deeply addicted to opium without even *noticing* that something was up. But I guess that's Lymond, ignoring pretty much anything that gets in the way of his will....
The babies! Aaahh!! That was awful!!! I knew it would come to a showdown where Lymond would have to choose between the two, but it was still so shocking and vivid. That chess game....
And the character deaths... I never warmed to Oonagh, but Lymond's reaction to her death was totally affecting. And Will Scott! I knew he was going to die; why have him married with kids, and then bring him back, if not to kill him off? But it still upset me badly. Of all Lymond's clueless followers, I think he had the most personality. (Jerrot, blech.) And Will's father, too! It's awful to kill off the funny characters; no more Wat/Janet banter....
What else...? Well, the formula is getting rather predictable. There's always some clueless follower who both hates and admires Lymond, usually with massive homoerotic subtext (I had a total A:tS flashback with Marthe's "It's not me you want, it's him"), who eventually grows to recognize that Lymond actually is human underneath it all. And Lymond always starts out totally badass and tough, but pushes himself beyond the limits of endurance and breaks in one way or another. And meanwhile the reader spends the book only understanding about 3/4 of what's going on, until the end when there's a big public hearing and the truth comes out.
But, okay, every moment with Lymond is pretty much awesome, so I'm not complaining. I'm just getting really bored of all the scenes he's not in. (And I like Phillipa! Really! But... ahhhh... don't care about all these new characters and politics and blah blah blah....)
[Cross-posted]
Okay. But this frustration stems from the fact that the previous two books were AWESOME. Gabriel has got to be one of the best villains ever. I usually find villains either tedious plot devices or else sources of amusement/interest that outshine the heroes. I don't think I've EVER hated a villain as much as I fucking hated this guy. I wanted him to die so badly. (And then when he did, it was completely anticlimactic, because of the baby dying right beforehand... oh my god!!)
I disliked him the instant he showed up, but I couldn't figure out if it was my bitchy atheism objecting to his religious piety, or if he really was that slimy. Glad he really was. And that Lymond figured it out--for a long time I knew he was bad but wasn't sure if Lymond knew. But of course he did.
I actually cheered out loud at the moment when Lymond tells all his friends about how evil Gabriel is, and asks them to destroy anything of his if he dies rather than allow Gabriel to benefit from it, and Richard says "no," and you turn the page going "oh my god, does he mean no that he doesn't believe Lymond, or no that he's not going to let his brother die?" and you HOPE it means that he's not going to let his brother die, but being Richard you're not entirely sure. And then when it turns out Richard does believe Lymond, thank god, after all it took for Lymond to ask for help, I cheered. I love that they are so different but that their bond has managed to endure through so much. (And man, hardly anything can hurt Lymond like those moments when Richard doesn't stand by him. "I'd rather you died" after Richard catches him with Joleta? *sniffle*)
I also was quite impressed, in the third book, that the author had managed to have her hero sleep with a sixteen year old girl and knock out a--fourteen?--year old girl, and to simultaneously keep the audience on his side. No wonder his family finds him trying, though....
I don't quite get how someone as perceptive as Lymond could end up deeply addicted to opium without even *noticing* that something was up. But I guess that's Lymond, ignoring pretty much anything that gets in the way of his will....
The babies! Aaahh!! That was awful!!! I knew it would come to a showdown where Lymond would have to choose between the two, but it was still so shocking and vivid. That chess game....
And the character deaths... I never warmed to Oonagh, but Lymond's reaction to her death was totally affecting. And Will Scott! I knew he was going to die; why have him married with kids, and then bring him back, if not to kill him off? But it still upset me badly. Of all Lymond's clueless followers, I think he had the most personality. (Jerrot, blech.) And Will's father, too! It's awful to kill off the funny characters; no more Wat/Janet banter....
What else...? Well, the formula is getting rather predictable. There's always some clueless follower who both hates and admires Lymond, usually with massive homoerotic subtext (I had a total A:tS flashback with Marthe's "It's not me you want, it's him"), who eventually grows to recognize that Lymond actually is human underneath it all. And Lymond always starts out totally badass and tough, but pushes himself beyond the limits of endurance and breaks in one way or another. And meanwhile the reader spends the book only understanding about 3/4 of what's going on, until the end when there's a big public hearing and the truth comes out.
But, okay, every moment with Lymond is pretty much awesome, so I'm not complaining. I'm just getting really bored of all the scenes he's not in. (And I like Phillipa! Really! But... ahhhh... don't care about all these new characters and politics and blah blah blah....)
[Cross-posted]
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(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-10 11:58 am (UTC)(And I like Jerrot a lot - he's ... more interesting than he seems at first and he ends up being a true friend to Lymond.)
(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-10 02:39 pm (UTC)Jerrot... is he coming back? Wait, don't spoil me. I already see that he's loyal, his personality's just kind of... overly sincere and plodding. Like, he idealizes other people and then gets all bitter and disappointed when they turn out to be human. Although, I can see his relationship with Lymond has grown beyond that...
I will have to write up a real reaction post once I finish the series. Right now I am still just going "OMG CHESS GAME!!" That is seriously one of the most memorable, gut-wrenching things I've ever read.
I'm not even going to ask you about the shippy moment... I assume I know what the ship is, but I don't want to be spoiled! (I can't wait to finish and have an *actual* discussion....)
(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-10 02:50 pm (UTC)I had to quit reading that section of the book in public because it made me cry! It's really just ... so, so, so harsh, isn't it?
I can't wait to discuss without spoiling you :P Although I haven't read the books in a few years, so I might be a bit rusty on the details!