The privilege of the sword
Sep. 7th, 2008 09:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alias_sqbr(This is a rambletastic entry since I am sick today but have a feeling I'll be sicker tomorrow and write it even worse. I am in a posty mood)
EDIT: This is a squee, not an objective review :) Also the book may be triggery for some people, though not as much as a lot of fantasy (I say as a non-triggery person).
So, people, when I said I was sad that I would never find another "Fairytale about rescuing a princess where both protagonists are women and there's lots of stabbing of arrogant misogynistic men with swords", what y'all should have said was "Read 'the Privilege of the sword' by Ellen Kushner"(*). Well, ok, the story doesn't focus mainly on the bond between the two girls (and I think I would have enjoyed it more if it had). And it's alternate-universe-regency-ish rather than fairytale... but that just means extra swashbucking! It was a lot of fun, and to round out the "aimed straight at me"ness it even has a snarky woman mathematician (She does not hit anyone with swords, but that's ok) I found "Swordspoint" (the precursor to this book, though you could get away without reading it) confusing and simply couldn't bring myself to care much about the protagonists or their political wranglings, and felt pretty much the same way about those sections of this book from the POV of Swordspoint's protagonist, but since these were short and not too frequent didn't mind.
Thinking about why I liked this book I realised that I only tend to enjoy fantasy which subverts or questions the underlying tropes and power structures of the setting and genre, which cuts out 99% of it (especially the light fluffy stuff, which is what I'm mainly after from fantasy(**)). I think that's the reason I didn't get the same kick out of the Lioness Quartet: yes, Allana dresses as a boy and hits things with swords, but it's all in aid of the status quo and there's no sense that the expected gender roles are oppressive in general, just that there needs to be space for the odd exception like her.
I find it amusing that I am drawn to stories of swashbuckling women rescuing damsels in distress, while my gay/bi/otherwise-not-straight female friends seem to prefer slash :)
Next on my lost of reserved books to read would be "Fledgling" by Octavia Butler, but it turns out that it's a bad idea to try to start a serious vampire novel just after reading these snarky Twilight synopses :)
(*)and if you have any other stories like that up your sleeves I would like them please. Or I'll have to write one myself or give unexpected prompts to drabble requests or something, and nobody wants that
(**)Yes, that's right, I want light fluffy fantasy which subverts the genre and questions the underlying power structures. This is why I tend to make things simple and say "I don't like fantasy" :)
EDIT: This is a squee, not an objective review :) Also the book may be triggery for some people, though not as much as a lot of fantasy (I say as a non-triggery person).
So, people, when I said I was sad that I would never find another "Fairytale about rescuing a princess where both protagonists are women and there's lots of stabbing of arrogant misogynistic men with swords", what y'all should have said was "Read 'the Privilege of the sword' by Ellen Kushner"(*). Well, ok, the story doesn't focus mainly on the bond between the two girls (and I think I would have enjoyed it more if it had). And it's alternate-universe-regency-ish rather than fairytale... but that just means extra swashbucking! It was a lot of fun, and to round out the "aimed straight at me"ness it even has a snarky woman mathematician (She does not hit anyone with swords, but that's ok) I found "Swordspoint" (the precursor to this book, though you could get away without reading it) confusing and simply couldn't bring myself to care much about the protagonists or their political wranglings, and felt pretty much the same way about those sections of this book from the POV of Swordspoint's protagonist, but since these were short and not too frequent didn't mind.
Thinking about why I liked this book I realised that I only tend to enjoy fantasy which subverts or questions the underlying tropes and power structures of the setting and genre, which cuts out 99% of it (especially the light fluffy stuff, which is what I'm mainly after from fantasy(**)). I think that's the reason I didn't get the same kick out of the Lioness Quartet: yes, Allana dresses as a boy and hits things with swords, but it's all in aid of the status quo and there's no sense that the expected gender roles are oppressive in general, just that there needs to be space for the odd exception like her.
I find it amusing that I am drawn to stories of swashbuckling women rescuing damsels in distress, while my gay/bi/otherwise-not-straight female friends seem to prefer slash :)
Next on my lost of reserved books to read would be "Fledgling" by Octavia Butler, but it turns out that it's a bad idea to try to start a serious vampire novel just after reading these snarky Twilight synopses :)
(*)and if you have any other stories like that up your sleeves I would like them please. Or I'll have to write one myself or give unexpected prompts to drabble requests or something, and nobody wants that
(**)Yes, that's right, I want light fluffy fantasy which subverts the genre and questions the underlying power structures. This is why I tend to make things simple and say "I don't like fantasy" :)
no subject
Date: 2008-09-08 12:09 pm (UTC)I have a very limited capacity for intrigue/politics before I get bored and stop caring. I had the same problem with "Kushiel's Dart", I think I'm just not the market for fantasy set in pseudo-france unless it makes up for the the intrigue with things that make me squee.
Is there any other kind these days? It's the questions that need subverting ... or at the very least, it's not enough merely to subvert.
Oh, there's plenty that doesn't, it's just not likely to ping on your "book I might consider reading" radar (I get recced a lot of crap). But yes, subversion in and of itself is not a marker of quality or interestingness. And with regards to your comment below: if a "twist on the genre" is so common it's become hackneyed, it's not a twist any more :)
(nb, am posting without preview because lj is playing up. So I hope it's not full of typos!)