Carey, Jacqueline - Naamah's Kiss
Mon, Jun. 29th, 2009 03:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceterMoirin is a daughter of the Maghuin Dhonn (the bear magicians from the Imriel books), literally raised in a cave. But she's not fully Maghuin Dhonn either, for her father was D'Angelline, and a priest of Naamah to boot.
Like Carey's Kushiel books, this is a meaty start to what promises to be a meaty trilogy. I suspect you will already know if you will like this or not, given its similarities to Carey's other books. It begins with Moirin's childhood and gradually moves to her introduction to society in Terre d'Ange and then to "foreign" adventures elsewhere, contains the discovery of her true love, lots of sex, and the invocation of the heroes of the Kushiel books.
The main difference is that this takes place six generations after the Imriel books, which I actually found refreshing. (That, and no S&M, which I am a bit sad about.) There's still a little too much referencing of Imriel and Phedre—I would have liked their stories interspersed with other tales, so as to establish that yes, they are heroes and legends, but that they are only a handful of legends among many. Still, there was actually not as much as I had anticipated, given how much page-time Phedre gets in the Imriel books, and that was a pleasant surprise.
The other odd bit for me was the beginning, which is set in Alba. I kept thinking I was reading Juliet Marillier, given the focus on Moirin's possible witch-hood, the talk of the old ways passing, and the general setting. And then Moirin started to have sex, and I was like, "Oh yes! This is indeed Jacqueline Carey!" The strengths in the book are the same as in the Kushiel series, particularly Carey's attitude toward sex, the magical reproductive freedom granted to women in Terre d'Ange, and the way she treats romantic polygons in a way that miraculously does not make me want to throw things. Unlike the Imriel series, this is much less boring, thanks to Moirin not being overshadowed by former protagonists. Also, having Moirin as a newbie to the Terre d'Ange court scene makes things much, much more interesting.
The weaknesses are also the same as the previous Kushiel books, from the way Carey reimagines France but fails to do so for other countries (couldn't you have made Ch'in/China more female-centric instead of having that be the exception and falling into the whole "Asian cultures, they are misogynistic!" thing?). There is a huge emphasis on looks and gorgeously colored eyes and pale skin. And there's the whole "what these people need is a honkey," although it actually bothered me less than other versions of it in previous books. This was particularly surprising to me, given that the "foreign" country in question is Ch'in/China.
The other strange thing is the treatment of time periods. People have just discovered "Terra Nova" (and I dearly hope the next books are not about rescuing Indians or ignoring Indian genocide plsthxbai), so I assume the Europe-equivalent is around the 1400s. However, Ch'in is clearly modeled on Qing Dynasty China (1644-1911), and Alba seems firmly stuck in the medieval ages, if not earlier. I, however, am more irritated about the Ch'in thing, as every single person in the world seems to think that queues = China and I would like to note it is a VERY SPECIFIC DYNASTY! And that it is a Manchu thing!
But. I keep reading Carey—you can see how devoted I am because I even made it through the trilogy in which Imriel is emo—because she does some things very well.
Minor spoilers (does not spoil ending)
One of my favorite bits of the series is Moirin's relationship with Jehanne, which could have so easily become something headdesky. I was very worried at first, although I probably didn't need to be, given Phedre's relationship with Nicola L'Envers and, of course, Melisande. But you never know! I adore Jehanne to pieces, and I especially liked how Carey handled the triangle among Jehanne, Moirin, and Raphael.
My other favorite bits actually involve the trip to Ch'in, which I was completely not expecting. Don't get me wrong; Carey definitely does some headdesky things. I winced when a maid told Moirin about Master Lo Feng's "slanty eyes" and how it was rumored that the Ch'in people ate dog, even though it was put in there to be debunked. It still hurts to read. And Master Lo Feng is uncomfortably the stereotype of the Wise Asian Mentor. On the other hand, I did not actually want to throw the book at a wall!
Undoubtedly some of it is my low expectations; I already know about Carey's somewhat sketchy racial politics. And there are definitely annoying bits, such as introducing someone by their transliterated name and then going with the translated name (Xue Hu vs. Snow Tiger), the use of things like "Noble Daughter," and minor details like the three-line poem. And the moment in which I nearly cheered because Carey was using five elements instead of the Western four, but then I didn't cheer because she got them wrong.
However, then there are bits where Master Lo Feng's most beloved student is a Chinese guy, that said Chinese guy is actually really hot, and that while Moirin definitely influences a lot of the Ch'in plot, there's still good amount of screen time and agency given not only to the princess she's there to help, but also to Bao (aforementioned hot guy) and to the guys who join them. I especially love that when the book ends, you know that the stories the Ch'in people tell will be about their awesomesauce princess and how she was awesome (and by the way aided by a foreign witch but really it was totally the princess and her awesomeness). It is, of course, not the story we are seeing, which is why it is still very "what these people need is a honkey," but it was much better than I had expected.
Plus, the princess (Snow Tiger)? SUPER AWESOMESAUCE. I love her to pieces. And I love the dragon as well! And the boys who are clearly an echo of Phedre's boys but dedicated to the princess instead of Moirin. And did I mention how much I love Snow Tiger?
In conclusion: fairly standard Carey, I liked it better than the start of the Imriel trilogy, and I am still rather amazed I wasn't massively offended by her version of China.
Like Carey's Kushiel books, this is a meaty start to what promises to be a meaty trilogy. I suspect you will already know if you will like this or not, given its similarities to Carey's other books. It begins with Moirin's childhood and gradually moves to her introduction to society in Terre d'Ange and then to "foreign" adventures elsewhere, contains the discovery of her true love, lots of sex, and the invocation of the heroes of the Kushiel books.
The main difference is that this takes place six generations after the Imriel books, which I actually found refreshing. (That, and no S&M, which I am a bit sad about.) There's still a little too much referencing of Imriel and Phedre—I would have liked their stories interspersed with other tales, so as to establish that yes, they are heroes and legends, but that they are only a handful of legends among many. Still, there was actually not as much as I had anticipated, given how much page-time Phedre gets in the Imriel books, and that was a pleasant surprise.
The other odd bit for me was the beginning, which is set in Alba. I kept thinking I was reading Juliet Marillier, given the focus on Moirin's possible witch-hood, the talk of the old ways passing, and the general setting. And then Moirin started to have sex, and I was like, "Oh yes! This is indeed Jacqueline Carey!" The strengths in the book are the same as in the Kushiel series, particularly Carey's attitude toward sex, the magical reproductive freedom granted to women in Terre d'Ange, and the way she treats romantic polygons in a way that miraculously does not make me want to throw things. Unlike the Imriel series, this is much less boring, thanks to Moirin not being overshadowed by former protagonists. Also, having Moirin as a newbie to the Terre d'Ange court scene makes things much, much more interesting.
The weaknesses are also the same as the previous Kushiel books, from the way Carey reimagines France but fails to do so for other countries (couldn't you have made Ch'in/China more female-centric instead of having that be the exception and falling into the whole "Asian cultures, they are misogynistic!" thing?). There is a huge emphasis on looks and gorgeously colored eyes and pale skin. And there's the whole "what these people need is a honkey," although it actually bothered me less than other versions of it in previous books. This was particularly surprising to me, given that the "foreign" country in question is Ch'in/China.
The other strange thing is the treatment of time periods. People have just discovered "Terra Nova" (and I dearly hope the next books are not about rescuing Indians or ignoring Indian genocide plsthxbai), so I assume the Europe-equivalent is around the 1400s. However, Ch'in is clearly modeled on Qing Dynasty China (1644-1911), and Alba seems firmly stuck in the medieval ages, if not earlier. I, however, am more irritated about the Ch'in thing, as every single person in the world seems to think that queues = China and I would like to note it is a VERY SPECIFIC DYNASTY! And that it is a Manchu thing!
But. I keep reading Carey—you can see how devoted I am because I even made it through the trilogy in which Imriel is emo—because she does some things very well.
Minor spoilers (does not spoil ending)
One of my favorite bits of the series is Moirin's relationship with Jehanne, which could have so easily become something headdesky. I was very worried at first, although I probably didn't need to be, given Phedre's relationship with Nicola L'Envers and, of course, Melisande. But you never know! I adore Jehanne to pieces, and I especially liked how Carey handled the triangle among Jehanne, Moirin, and Raphael.
My other favorite bits actually involve the trip to Ch'in, which I was completely not expecting. Don't get me wrong; Carey definitely does some headdesky things. I winced when a maid told Moirin about Master Lo Feng's "slanty eyes" and how it was rumored that the Ch'in people ate dog, even though it was put in there to be debunked. It still hurts to read. And Master Lo Feng is uncomfortably the stereotype of the Wise Asian Mentor. On the other hand, I did not actually want to throw the book at a wall!
Undoubtedly some of it is my low expectations; I already know about Carey's somewhat sketchy racial politics. And there are definitely annoying bits, such as introducing someone by their transliterated name and then going with the translated name (Xue Hu vs. Snow Tiger), the use of things like "Noble Daughter," and minor details like the three-line poem. And the moment in which I nearly cheered because Carey was using five elements instead of the Western four, but then I didn't cheer because she got them wrong.
However, then there are bits where Master Lo Feng's most beloved student is a Chinese guy, that said Chinese guy is actually really hot, and that while Moirin definitely influences a lot of the Ch'in plot, there's still good amount of screen time and agency given not only to the princess she's there to help, but also to Bao (aforementioned hot guy) and to the guys who join them. I especially love that when the book ends, you know that the stories the Ch'in people tell will be about their awesomesauce princess and how she was awesome (and by the way aided by a foreign witch but really it was totally the princess and her awesomeness). It is, of course, not the story we are seeing, which is why it is still very "what these people need is a honkey," but it was much better than I had expected.
Plus, the princess (Snow Tiger)? SUPER AWESOMESAUCE. I love her to pieces. And I love the dragon as well! And the boys who are clearly an echo of Phedre's boys but dedicated to the princess instead of Moirin. And did I mention how much I love Snow Tiger?
In conclusion: fairly standard Carey, I liked it better than the start of the Imriel trilogy, and I am still rather amazed I wasn't massively offended by her version of China.
Tags:
(no subject)
Mon, Jun. 29th, 2009 11:44 pm (UTC)I do have a secret guilty pleasure for Carey, so I will almost certainly be reading this, but first I have to read the last book of the Imriel trilogy, since I wasn't into it enough to buy it when it was only out in hardcover, and then I forgot about it.
(no subject)
Tue, Jun. 30th, 2009 12:20 am (UTC)... then again, I have about four cards to different library systems and assidulously send recommendations to all of them as to what they should buy. And may get card #5 in a few days to a library system with more romances.