[LMB] (chat) Krentz/Quick/Castle

[sekhmet]

--- Lois McMaster Bujold <lbujold at myinfmail.com>
wrote:

 
>  Her  first futuristic, _Amaryllis_, from 1996, had
some
> wince-worthy moments 

Ah, you mean the way she tried to make everything
exotic by littering the scene with hyphenated words?
Pets are cat-dogs, people eat pear-apples, etc. She
also wrote futuristic/paranormal romances (possibly
even earlier) under the Krentz name, like Sweet
Starfire. Her worldbuilding was actually less
derivative, but the characters were less interesting,
too.

> some  nice stuff with the paranormal-telepathy bits
and
> their social  implications that worked rather
better.  

Which is why they're on my romance keeper shelf, which
has very, very few inhabitants. Despite their flaws,
(IMO the biggest of which is that they all seem to be
Seattle in Space with arranged marriages) there's
something about them that I enjoy. There are flashes
of humor, and quite often the characters themselves
have a good sense of the absurd.  I find the heroines
in the Castle romances usually preferrable to the
Quicks and Krentzes. Their paranormal powers seem to
give them more gumption. I also like that the men are
not bullying, manipulative jerks, which seems to be
common in many paranormal romances I've read lately.


>2002's _After Dark_ -- the world-building here was
much
 > better

Yes, although still Seattle in space, with an abusive
overuse of the suffix/prefix "rez". After Dark, After
Glow and Ghost Hunter are keeping the earlier books
company on my romance shelf. The characters are a
little more complex: some have divided loyalties, most
are smart and capable, and men and women annoy and
exasperate each other, but they're not inherently
jerks. I admit I skip the sex scenes, but I do in most
romance novels. 

I've read most of the Krentz romances, and there's a
couple or three  that I've liked enough to keep. What
frustrates me is that she is capable of writing some
very snappy, humorous dialog, but it's only a couple
of scenes in each book. I read those and wish she'd
write an entire book with that kind of energy. I don't
even bother with the Quick books anymore; I never
found one that didn't have me gnashing my teeth at how
stupidly at least one (cardboard) main character
behaved.

> one can see her trying out her ideas in several
evolving
> variations over several  books, as if each were a
first draft for the
> next.

Yes, with her it's not what she's writing, because
it's almost the same each time, it's how well she got
it to work this time. Nonetheless, of the 20 or so
non-Heyer romances on my shelves, I think 8 or 9 are
by Krentz or Castle.

Irene


       
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