Pierce, Tamora - The Will of the Empress

Alas, the latest Circle book is a standalone, as opposed to the two quartets that had come before. The Will of the Empress takes place four years after the events of The Circle Opens quartet. Sandry has been in Emelan all the while Briar, Tris, and Daja have been travelling, and now that they've started returning to Emelan, things are awkward.

I like that Pierce doesn't gloss over the awkwardness, especially since a lot of changes happen between the ages of fourteen and eighteen, particularly if you haven't seen people for those four years. They've all come back with different issues, and while Sandry is eager to be able to mindtalk with her foster siblings again, the other three aren't so interested. Soon they get called to Namorn, where Sandry's cousin is empress. The empress attempts to hold them there, largely because Sandry's a rich heiress, multiple plot points ensue, etc.

I do like how Pierce is trying to make a feminist statement about rape -- one of the customs of Western Namorn is that if a man can kidnap a woman and force her to sign a marriage contract, it's legally binding. The empress herself has been subject to these attempts, but since she was able to escape (probably because she was rich and people didn't treat her too meanly), she scorns the women who aren't able to. A lot of the other bits of plot are about court intrigue, except I don't think Pierce does intrigue particularly well. She's very good at directness and action, but not so much with the political maneuverings, which is a pity, since I like a good court intrigue. Unfortunately, this falls into the court intrigue I tend to dislike, since it's a bunch of un-intrigue trained people wandering around and showing how stupid and/or cruel intrigue is.

This is not at all to say that Pierce is wrong in portraying this or anything, just that it seems to be my anti-button. It's probably because I like intrigue, and so anything about decreasing the level of intrigue lessens my entertainment.

There are some pleasant surprises when it comes to the world of sex and love, and I was particularly glad to see the Pierce didn't feel the need to have all four of the teens romantically entangled.

For some reason, though, this didn't intrigue me as much as the other two quartets. This may be because I was reading it when I was in a bad headspace, or because it didn't concentrate much on the mechanics of the magic (usually crafty magic), which is what got me into the world to begin with.

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I want to make some sort of big post about LJ and communication and how people communicate through different methods, but I'm too tired to actually be coherent, so you all get random thoughts.

fannishly friended me a long time ago, but she only started posting about a year ago, around this time, actually. I started commenting, to find that she a) was my age, b) was from Taiwan, c) went to a primarily English/expat school like me, and d) lived only ten minutes away! So we met up.

(Hey, fannishly, it's an anniversary! Aka, excuse to go out and eat and have good food! Let's go!)

It could have been a one-off thing, but we started watching movies together, and then had weekly movie nights, and then eventually became roommates. All the while, we were still IM-ing, emailing, blogging about our separate lives and our encounters with each other, and commenting on each other's posts on LJ.

It's very interesting because this is the first time I've had both modes of communication available. Actually, I wish it were possible with more people, but since there's that whole geographical barrier...

So sometimes I'll find out about how Angela is doing via her LJ. Actually, that's how I usually find out, despite the fact that we live together. This isn't to say that it's hiding of info. thing; we do the small talk bit and the "how was your day" thing when I get home from work, but a lot of the details get revealed in LJ entries.

Same for me too ... I do try to tell people when I'm feeling bad and stuff, but with a conversation (phone or IM or in person), there's always a sense of 50-50, that the attention should be split equally between participants, especially if it's a one-on-one conversation. In LJ, I don't feel so guilty or selfish going into all sorts of boring personal detail, or going on and on about specific things because it's my LJ.

I was actually a little hesitant earlier on, because I thought it would be odd having the ongoing LJ entries with life commentary with the other person right in the same room, but it's actually been a really nifty thing.

Angela's also a very open person to begin with, which is really nice, since I tend to be more of the passive-aggressive, never bring up bad stuff type. So there's this sort of neutral space in the house, where there are boundaries and etc., but then we each have our own LJs, which are ours.

So even when Angela does post about me in her LJ, I know it's from her POV, not directed at me, and when I respond, I sort of tend to put on my LJ-hat and use it to address the concerns she raises in her entries. And LJ does sort of support that -- the post takes up most of the space and the comments are supplementary (though important and fun).

And a lot of the time it's easier for me to talk about things that are bugging me in my LJ instead of over the phone or in person, because if it's on LJ, I feel less like I'm monopolizing people's time with my problems or making them listen to me yammer on, or etc. I do realize that people who are my friends will want to hear from me, but there's still that bit of my brain that feels awkward.

Anyway. Yes. I have now run out of words, so I will stop.

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Murphy's law in action....

1. I washed my car over the weekend. It rained on Monday.



2. My appt. with Gail has been moved to Monday, due to last minute circumstance changes.



3. I get my wisdom teeth out tomorrow, which means I can't have peas for another week in a row.



4. My cable is still fuzzy. Honestly, I could care less, except this means that my Food Network is fuzzy. *Wails*



5. My budget is uncomfortably tight.



6. The rat statues I ordered still haven't come, and it's been two weeks.



7. I haven't started shopping for Christmas yet.

I now stop whining.

Baker, Kage - In the Garden of Iden

I read this after several people on LJ raved about Kage Baker, and I am completely puzzled. Alas.

In the future, people have figured out how to time travel. Also, there's some giant conglomorate called the Company that sends operatives back in time to save endangered species and etc. Mendoza was recruited when she was nearly burned alive or something at the tender age of five. Yay for the Spanish Inquisition.

Anyhow, now 18, Mendoza accompanies two other operatives to Tudor England, right before Elizabeth takes the throne. She falls in love with Nicholas Harpole, not-so-secret Protestant, various things happen..

Unfortunately, I was pretty much bored through the entire book. I'm not sure why. The very modern dialogue between the operatives vs. the Elizabethan dialogue gave me whiplash, I didn't care about any of the characters, and it took me forever to get through the book. I think I'm missing something. Also, I never quite connected with Mendoza.

I think a large part of the problem was that I completely didn't get the allure of Nicholas, and since a large part of the book was about the two falling in love, Mendoza's dilemma (he's a mortal, she's not), Mendoza's fears for his safety (not such a great time for Protestants), etc. To be honest, I had no idea why she was in love with Nicholas or why he liked her, and so all the worrying and angsting and etc. ended up not interesting me.

Maybe other people who like the period or time travel better would like this.

Veronica Mars 2x06 Rat Saw God

( 2x06 Rat Saw God )