oyceter: Stack of books with text "mmm... books!" (mmm books)
Oyceter ([personal profile] oyceter) wrote2013-04-24 10:10 am

Reading Wednesday

Sigh, I have been reading (and posting) much less of late.

What I've just read: I feel like I haven't had much brain the past few weeks. Anyway, I finally figured out how to split up a single epub file into several so I can split up several compilations I have—they mess with my series numbering! And I hate it when a compilation of romance novellas has novellas in several series I'm keeping track of, so I don't know which series to count it as. My quest for book organization perfection will never end... This is the long way to say that in the course of splitting up novellas, I came across Sharon Shinn's "Nocturne" in Angels of Darkness, reread it, and was struck by a desire to reread some of her Samaria books. And lo, I was down in South Bay over the weekend and found my copy of Jovah's Angel.

"Nocturne" is a light, enjoyable read that doesn't feature issues about faith. This is good, because I feel the Samaria series overall doesn't do very well with those. I like the first-person voice, and the fact that the heroine is past thirty (iirc). There's a bit of "hey disabled person, stop moping around," as the heroine finds a recently blinded angel, but I liked how they found a way for him to fly again.

Jovah's Angel was less light and less enjoyable, alas, and it reminded me of why I am not a Samaria fan. I vaguely remembered it having more engineering stuff and more crises of faith and was sad to find that this was not so. Anyway, this is the one where Alleluia discovers that their god Jovah is actually the orbiting spaceship Jehovah. I didn't remember the subplot regarding former Archangel Delilah at all. Overall, I like that there are two female Archangels here, and that they aren't pitted against each other, but I would have liked seeing them together more. I also didn't quite buy how quickly the Alleluia/Caleb romance progressed, and of course, I still want more deconstruction of the whole Jovah-picking-your-perfect-mate thing. Overall, the book isn't enough of a romance to satisfy, and it's not enough of sf to satisfy on that front as well.

I also read volume 1 of 7 Seeds. So far, I am unimpressed by the heroine, though I am sure I would be the extremely frightened and nervous one if I randomly found myself in a boat with strangers and no memory of how I got there. Plus, she probably develops into a badass later on, so I am content to wait and watch. On a more random note, EW BUGS. I'm glad Tamura doesn't draw them in great detail.

What I'm reading: Just started Lilith in preparation for Wiscon, which hopefully I will continue. I am feeling rather meh lately, and the dystopic situation weirdly makes me feel better.

What I'm reading next: If I am being optimistic, more Xenogenesis! Also, more of 7 Seeds. Though I am tempted to start on a Fruits Basket reread because CB has just started on the anime. And I just got Yes, Chef from the library, which has POC author + food + easy reading in its favor.
skygiants: Azula from Avatar: the Last Airbender with her hands on Mai and Ty Lee's shoulders (team hardcore)

[personal profile] skygiants 2013-04-24 10:28 pm (UTC)(link)
It definitely does! I wouldn't say that she becomes a badass exactly in the traditional sense, but her arc is about gaining confidence in herself and respect for herself, which I find very rewarding.

She's also not the only protagonist, and the second one -- who you'll meet pretty soon, I think -- is very emphatically badass, so Natsu's arc provides a nice counterpoint . . . The range of female characters in he story general is one of my favorite things about the manga. There are some very action girl-type characters, and very feminine characters, and they're all treated with a lot of respect and recognition for their skills! IT'S AMAZING.
jinian: (birdsquee)

[personal profile] jinian 2013-04-24 10:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes! 7 Seeds! It is so great with women! And the ecology, while excessive, sometimes incoherent, and not really what I think would happen, has the right concepts behind it, so I approve.
Edited ([ableist language redacted] ) 2013-04-24 22:55 (UTC)
jinian: (birdsquee)

[personal profile] jinian 2013-04-24 11:10 pm (UTC)(link)
*cough* Can't promise that, there are some big and disturbing bugs. Probably should've thought of that before I tried to get [personal profile] rushthatspeaks to read it, too.