MERCEDES-LACKEY Digest 1452 Topics covered in this issue include: 1) Time to read by Karen Chan 2) re: book recommendations by skyfire-+AT+-t-online.de (skyfire-+AT+-t-online.de) 3) Myste/Cherryh by skyfire-+AT+-t-online.de (Khenta Blaufalk) 4) re: book recommendations by Kenneth Allen Hyde 5) Re: Book recommendations by "Traci Harriman" 6) re: book recommendations - MZB by "Brighthawk K'Treva" 7) Re: book recommendations - MZB by "Mark Severson" ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 09 Jan 1998 16:03:44 +1100 From: Karen Chan To: Mercedes Lackey list Subject: Time to read Message-ID: <3.0.32.19980109075920.0070ffe8-+AT+-ozemail.com.au> 8th January, 1998. 3:57 p.m. "List-sibs: One question I have -- with all these great books, where do you get more time to read?" I like to stay up late at night reading. Often I don't get to sleep until dawn which is a really bad habit when you are living in a different time zone to the rest of the world but it's good when I am on summer break from university and don't have to worry about what I have to do the following day. I wish I had more time to read. The amount of stuff out there that I haven't read really scares me. Karen. ================================================================== Karen Chan kkchan-+AT+-ozemail.com.au kkc02-+AT+-wumpus.uow.edu.au "...but at four o'clock in the morning, when the world is full of magic, things may be safely said that may not be uttered at any other time, so long as the person who listens believes in the same kind of magic as the person who speaks." Robin McKinley, "Deerskin", p. 189. ================================================================== ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 08 Jan 1998 16:24:20 -0800 From: skyfire-+AT+-t-online.de (skyfire-+AT+-t-online.de) To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: re: book recommendations Message-ID: <34B56E34.4855E3D3-+AT+-t-online.de> Jerrie wrote: > Some excellent authors have already been recommended for Skyfire's > delectation. Huh? Thank you, but my pile of books-to-read is quite high enough ;), with _When the bough breaks_ on it. Decided to give it a 2nd try. These elves-and-race-cars thing just annoyed me, previously. Currently I'm into Huff's _Blood Pact_ -- please, does Vicki really cross the line in the end? I can't believe it. Shantaya wrote: > I personally also don't like MZB as an author but all I have read are > "The Ruins of Isis" which had a disappointing ending and "The Mists of Avalon". Hah! Somebody _finally_ shares my opinion of MZB! Her books take up quite a bit of my shelf space, mostly Darkover. I really liked the "Free Amazon" books, 'though. But I can't fight the feeling that much of what she writes tends to be a bit pessimistic. No matter what the protagonist does, it'll end fatally. I do admire her as an editor, 'though. The _Sword & Sorceress_ anthologies are still favourites, for about 12 years now. > CJ Cherryh created one of my fav characters, Ishade (Thieves World) > and did a good job with "The Goblin Mirror". Hmmm. I just can't get into her fantasy. I made it through _Paladin_, but never finished _Goblin Mirror_. I found it just boring. But her SF is fine, _Rimrunner_ being my favourite. > Jane Yolen's Great Alta trilogy (haven't read book 3 yet), Hmm. There is no book 3. Yet. AFAIK, there will be one, with Scilla, Jenna's one-armed daughter as protagonist. There's a short story (just as beautifully written as the books) in the anthology _Women at War_, edited by Lois McMaster Bujold and Roland Green, Baen books. BTW: author recommendation: Lois Bujold. Although the books look like it (the covers! argh), this isn't your standard military SF. They're more about the characters and their development. She's also written a fantasy novel, _Spirit Ring_, but since I haven't read it yet, I can't say much about it. Delilah wrote: > Neverending Story by Michael Ende. It's actually better in book form > then in the movies. Isn't that the nature of the game? IMO it tends to turn out that way. That's why I really don't want to see any of Misty's books turned into movies. Low-budgeted C-movies with bad FX. Wonder if that qualifies as an ObMisty . Walk in beauty Khenta Blaufalk skyfire-+AT+-t-online.de aka Skyfire k'Vala, bonded to Aar Goddess of Incomplete Vocabulary and Garbled Grammar ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 09 Jan 1998 17:11:13 -0800 From: skyfire-+AT+-t-online.de (Khenta Blaufalk) To: ML mailing list Subject: Myste/Cherryh Message-ID: <34B6CAB1.8E6FAE84-+AT+-t-online.de> Some time ago, Shadowwolf wrote: > I've been re-reading the Winds trilogy. The introduction to WOF is signed > by Herald-Chronicler Mystie. Is the name of Mystie's Companion mentioned > anywhere? Please don't say Larry Dixon. No no no, nothing so blatantly obvious. The companion would have been called Lerry or Lerryn... Or, even worse, Dixie. ;) Has anybody read CJ Cherryh's _Rider at the Gate_? And would be willing to tell me what it's like. I saw it in the bookstore and was wondering if it's worth spending my money on. I got this strange thing with Cherryh. While I tend not to finish her fantasy novels (won't even make it through the 1st chapter), I adore her SF (the Chanur series!). I think I said that before, btw. Reading the blurb I was just wondering how it can be compared to Valdemar and the Heralds. Valdemar's dark mirror image? Was it even influenced by Misty's work or am I just making this up? I know both of them have collaborated before (Merovingen Nights etc.). Walk in beauty Khenta Blaufalk skyfire-+AT+-t-online.de aka Skyfire k'Vala, bonded to Aar Goddess of Incomplete Vocabulary and Garbled Grammar ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 9 Jan 1998 13:07:39 -0500 (EST) From: Kenneth Allen Hyde To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: re: book recommendations Message-ID: On Fri, 9 Jan 1998, Khenta wrote: > Hah! Somebody _finally_ shares my opinion of MZB! Her books take up > quite a bit of my shelf space, mostly Darkover. I really liked the "Free > Amazon" books, 'though. But I can't fight the feeling that much of what > she writes tends to be a bit pessimistic. No matter what the protagonist > does, it'll end fatally. I have to say that the only MZB books that I have read and liked are "Hawkmistress" and "The Mists of Avalon." Neither of which was what you could call an "upper." Of course, part of my beef with the redoutable Ms. Bradley is that she is excessively anti-male in much of her writing. Which is odd, since she doesn't really seem to be anti-male in her editing or personal life (judging from the glimpses offered in her comments in the S&S volumes and interviews). However, her male characters, particularly in Mists, are almost villainous in the way they are characterized. The sympathetic male characters are ones who are either gay (the male lead in "Hawkmistress") or otherwise rendered "powerless" towards women (the crippled Merlin in "Mists of Avalon"). Maybe it is because I am male, but I find stories where male=villain/threat to be just as annoying as stories where female=weak/victim. > I do admire her as an editor, 'though. The _Sword & Sorceress_ > anthologies are still favourites, for about 12 years now. Ironically, this series has done much for introducing equal partnership between the sexes in Fantasy fiction. Which is why I find MZB's writing so unexpected. Her editorial opus seems to be very even-handed and promotes sympathetic male characters almost as much as it valorizes strong female characters. ----- So, more book recommendations: Anything by GGK, of course (but y'all have heard that one many times, by now). But most particularly, read his Fionavar Tapestry. It is one of the great tours de force of Fantasy Fiction. Even after reading it more than a dozen times, there are passages that still send shivers down my spine and tears to my eyes. It is writing that reminds us of the glory and grandeur of the human spirit, and that is definitely something to be treasured. =) Ele mentioned the cycle of books by Dan Simmons (Hyperion, Fall of Hyperion, Endymion, and Rise of Endymion). This series is staggering in its scope. It is not fantasy so caveat emptor, but it will make you think like no other book in recent times: the physics of love, the nature of man's relationship with God, immortality and redemption. What more could you want? Romance? Oh, well there is that too. =) Hmmm. I just found out that Irene Radford (who has a trilogy called "The Dragon Nimbus" on the market) is none other than Phyllis Ann Karr (of "Frostfire and Thorn" fame). If you like her previous work, check out the Dragon Nimbus series; it is very much in the same style. ------ Hmmmm. Okay, obMisty. On re-checking the early parts of BG, it appears that the textual evidence supports the claim that, at least during the Mage War, kestra'cherns had sex with their clients only in the course of therapy, when it seemed indicated. I still want to check other references, because I get the feeling that this may not have always been the case. But so far, it is supported. I don't have the book with me at the moment, so I cannot provide page references, though. May the seas be your solace and the forests a refuge for your spirit, Cennydd Councilor of Mist Kenneth Allen Hyde | No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife Univ. of Delaware | between the shoulder blades will seriously Dept. of Linguistics | cramp his style -- Old Jhereg proverb kenny-+AT+-Udel.Edu | A mind is a terrible toy to waste! -- Me //www.ling.udel.edu/hyde/prof/ken.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 09 Jan 1998 14:46:47 PST From: "Traci Harriman" To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Re: Book recommendations Message-ID: <19980109224647.25547.qmail-+AT+-hotmail.com> I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKK. AFTER A LOOOOOOOONG CHRISTMAS BREAK I FINALLY GET TO RETURN TO NORMAL.......WELL AS CLOSE TO NORMAL AS I EVER AM. If any1 wants my 2cents worth.... This is /not/ a fantasy writer.... but i like her books. Anne Rice. any1 read her books? Theyre long but a treat to read. Knight of Fluff, Mooncrystal P.S. Lady Summershine, i have thought about what else i could be..... how bout a story writer/or maybe an editor if any1 wants to send me things(via private e-mail of cource!)? I think that would be fun.......need mistys approval? Mooncrystal "NORMAL IS A SETTING ON A WASHING MACHINE" "INSANITY IS RELETIVE, FOR ALMOST ALL RELETIVES ARE INSANE!" ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 09 Jan 1998 15:02:37 PST From: "Brighthawk K'Treva" To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: re: book recommendations - MZB Message-ID: <19980109230237.4357.qmail-+AT+-hotmail.com> I am rather disappointed that so many people dislike MZB, and it seems like some people haven't really given her a chance. Yes, some of her works seem rather male-bashing, and a great deal are downers. One thing I can say, is that some of her most "male-bashing" works, like Mists and it's sister books, were written from a several women's point of view during a time when women were subservient in a man's society, and therefore any willful women such as MZB wrote about would see these men as the villains, keeping them from doing what they wanted to. Many of MZB books are also historical tragedies, again citing the Mists trilogy. These books were written to portray a particularly tragic English myth, with some basis in English history. Personally, I think that an author is truly great who can write a great tragedy and still leave me with a sense of fulfillment. MZB also writes books that are not downers, or are both downers and uppers, in the end. For example, I particularly like her collaborations on Black Trillium and Tiger Burning Bright (with Misty!), as well as her sequel to BT, Lady of the Trillium. Maybe some of you could try MZB with a new outlook, and maybe find the magic that I and so many other fantasy fans have. Blessings, Brighthawk ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 9 Jan 1998 21:04:34 -0600 From: "Mark Severson" To: Subject: Re: book recommendations - MZB Message-ID: <001001bd1d74$9da526a0$385181ce-+AT+-markttz.eonet.com> >I am rather disappointed that so many people dislike MZB, and it seems >like some people haven't really given her a chance. I am afraid I have to come into this on the side of the "bashers." I have given MZB a chance, at one time I enjoyed her works then, in my opinion she degraded into nothing but male bashing. I originally started reading her books back in the 70's when I started reading the Darkover books. After a time though I found myself losing interest in her materials because of how she the books were written. TBB was the first book I have even bothered to pickup that she was even a collaborator, let alone the author of in over 15 years, and the ONLY reason I ended up purchasing it was because of the Norton & Misty. Frankly if all I had to base my opinion of her (MZB) was her books I would be forced to conclude that she has a deep hatred of men in general. Here is a small snip from page 296 of "The Rules of Issues" published in 1979. "However, it has been noticed that over thirty women, a full half of them still of reproductive age, have applied for a license to take a Companion. Most women, however, still prefer a life-partnership with another women, and the status of a Companion is very low. A new insult is in use among the children in Ariadne; "Companion's-child." This word is considered too gross for use among grown women." A "Companion" in this case is a male person. The prosecution rests. I found this passage by looking on my bookshelf and grabging the first MZB book I could. I opened up the book from the back and in less then a minute of scanning pages I found the above. The spine of this paperback book is in perfect shape which means I never read it. I am, besides a tax zombie, a notorious pack rat, it nearly takes an act of God to make me throw something out, which is why I was able to find a MZB book at all. I have no problem what so ever with strong female characters, I found the Arrows books to be an excellent series of books, and I don't believe anyone could call Talia a weak character. Misty, imho has created strong characters of both sexes, without attacking the opposite sex. I do not feel the same can be said for MZB. In the end it all boils down to a matter of taste, to those of you who enjoy MZB you are welcome to her books, but for me I will pass. When I gave her up it was because I found her works becoming both dark and negative towards my gender. I am no longer willing to risk $5 or $6, let along $20 on an author whose works I was so deeply disappointed by. I would much rather spend that money on a new author whose works I have never read, that is how I found Misty. So for me, I say explore! There are more books out there then I can ever read in my lifetime, why waste my money and time giving an author a fourth or fifth chance. Mark Severson markttz-+AT+-eonet.com ------------------------------ End of MERCEDES-LACKEY Digest 1452 **********************************