reading update

[saffronhare]

I could get used to this recreational reading thing. More Elizabeth Bear consumed in the last few weeks:

The Tempering of Men: Not so much a direct sequel as a continuation along the timeline, which explored the stories of characters other than the dude who was central in the first book. Also, it had a teensy bit more cross-cultural and political interaction, which I liked it a lot. Third and final book of this series ordered from ILL last night.

Chill: It was easier to get into this one, because the world was the same. There were still plenty of "wuhhh?" moments, but the characters were back in action and I liked how the storyline continued to develop. Peril ahead! Next book ordered from ILL last night.

By the Mountain Bound: Now, this one was disappointing. Much thinkier than the first one, which was harder to pick up for the five-minute bursts of time I have for reading lately and I just couldn't wrap my brain around it. Plus, I care about Muire and not so much about the other characters. It's also a prequel, which is, I don't know. Meh. I am deeply intrigued by the title of the third book, though, so I'll have to come back to this one when I have the luxury of a bit more time and inclination to be absorbed. HA. Returned to the library for the time being.

Side note on Game of Thrones -- diermuid and I were scanning some of the bonus features on the DVDs we indulged in for seasons 1 and 2. I noticed that, while descriptions provided for each region varied in depth and complexity, every Westeros region had a surname designated for bastard children. Somehow, that seems a little fucked up to me...either that the writers who put together these 75-word summaries thought it was worth the word count for every single region when the only bastard character we know at the moment is Jon Snow, that Mr. Martin was obsessed with bastardy, or some other nebulous thing I'm having trouble articulating right now.

Comments

[katzenfrau.livejournal.com]

The books are full of these cultural notes, and there's no reason to translate most of them to the TV show. In the books you meet a Stone and a River among others.

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

I thought it was a pretty clever social custom for an author to create--regardless of my own personal feelings about allegedly illegitimate children. It struck me that in this culture, those children belonged to the place, rather than to any particular family.

[saffronhare.livejournal.com]

I honestly hadn't thought of it that way, J. Thanks for the added perspective!