[LMB] ACC as Romance, was Elli

[Elizabeth Holden]

Paula wrote:

> > For those focusing more on romance than SF, Ekaterin is a more appealing
> > female lead than Elli, because there are more conflicts involving the
> > personal, rather than non-personal-driven elements.

I do prefer relationship plots to political plots, and yes, this affects my judgements.  As I see
Elli, her relationship with Miles is a yes/no thing - she might persuade him to leave Barrayar
forever, or she might give up.  Another person might see other options - compromises,
alternatives, whatever - but that's not her way. And that's right for her. But it helps to make
her seem less intriguing to me.  There's something very straightforward about her thinking that I
admire on an abstract basis, but don't enjoy in a character I'm reading about.

> > I'm putting that badly, I think. In romances there is a strong focus
> > on -relationship- issues as drivers.  ...

I understood, and agree. It isn't romance per se that I want, it's well-written adventures with
relationship issues woven in.  It *could* be romance, but wouldn't have to be.  Example: I love
many relationship issues in "Heroes", like Bennet with Claire, but the romantic pairings are
mostly extremely uninteresting.  (Actually I like a couple of the love triangles - Nathan,
Niki/Jesssica, and his wife, or Isaac/Peter/Simone, but that was abruptly truncated.)

> > I didn't finish ACC,  I got to that dinner party scene and stopped dead... 
> > plus, where the embarrassment factor hit... that
> > sort of scene is EXACTLY the sort of thing that drives me straight out of a
> > book.  

As I recall, I loved it when I first read it, but something has blocked me from reading ACC again.
Not *just* lack of time. I'm not sure what.  I had much more trouble putting up with Enrico and
Mark than I did with the dinner party scenes.  That's where the embarrassment factor came in for
me.  But even there - I don't think I found them annoying enough to stop reading about them. I
don't know what my problem was.

I totally loved the climax of the dinner party.

> > There are sorts of suspense that I just cannot handle, and seeing
> > that train wreck on the way... 

Sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it, it depends on the characters, the writer, the style, the
situation, the way the suspense is built... Mostly I love suspense of all kinds and don't mind
embarrassment factor.  What drives me away from books is... well, torture scenes primarily, but I
have a few other squicks that sometimes kick in, like punishment due to unjust blame.

> > I just could NOT deal with it. Miles making
> > an ass out of himself in that particular way, wasn't amusing to me, it was
> > pain and "I do't want to see him being STUPID!"  

But... Miles does things all the time that could be described as stupid, and he does them with
panache and style. Sometimes I love Miles best when he does something stupid. (LIke prestend to be
a Little Admiral, and her gets away with it.)

> (this is why I find The Office depressing instead of hilarious, like 
> everybody else seems to). 

I haven't seen The Office and probably never will. 

Jennifer:
> Some of the pairings do end up a little Austenianly pat, 

I like that expression!

> It is the absolute low point of the book, 

Not for me.

> That hyperactive git makes quite an appearance, trust me, just not a 
> military one.

I do love Miles.  And I particularly love him in that book, since he shines.
 
> (I'm not a romance person. I"ve been trying *really hard* with the 
> sharing knife books, because they are Bujold, and sometimes they do grab 
> me and make me turn the page, but reading them has been a little bit of 
> a slog for me.)

I'd have stopped reading that series if it weren't for the romance. The external plot just doesn't
interest me in the least.

namaste,
Elizabeth