Cherryh, C.J. - Morgaine books
Tue, Oct. 19th, 2010 06:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceter(individual titles: Gate of Ivrel, Well of Shiuan, Fires of Azeroth, Exile's Gate)
I hate writing plot summary. Therefore, instead have a list of elements that make up the series: cold, icy, possibly alien woman attempting to close all the Gates in the universe (Morgaine); dishonored horse-loving warrior who becomes her bond servant (Vanye); medievaloid worlds; science that looks pretty much like magic; body swapping; UST galore.
I read book 1 and 3 of this series four years ago and skipped over book 2, as my library didn't have it. Most of what I remember from that first read is "Morgaine + Vanye = win," "hairbraiding = sexy," and "Who is this Roh guy and what the heck is going on? Oh well, Morgaine is talking again, good."
It's amazing how much more sense the series makes when a) my plot brain has returned and b) I actually read book 2 between books 1 and 3. These would remind me a great deal of traditional sword and sorcery books had I actually read many of those as a kid; as such, I feel Cherryh has many of the trappings, albeit with Morgaine as a master of alien technologies instead of a sorceress, but couldn't say for certain.
The world of Shiuan is the most striking: it's nearly the end of the world there, and the looming sense of DOOM and apocalypse makes it the most memorable of the four worlds.
Still, the reason why I read the books is less the worlds and almost all Morgaine and Vanye. Morgaine is, as mentioned, cold and icy and determined to close the Gates at all cost, while Vanye is frequently torn between his loyalty to her and his conscience. It also helps that Cherryh is excellent at UST; some of the most memorable scenes between them involve hair braiding or Morgaine sleeping on the same bed as Vanye with absolutely nothing implied.
Exile's Gate has much more Morgaine/Vanye, which is almost a bit strange to me after all the UST, but I still love how Cherryh ends up balancing it with Morgaine and Vanye's liyo/ilin relationship.
In conclusion: cool and fun worldbuilding and adventuring, but mostly lots of not-touching and not-saying what you actually mean!
I hate writing plot summary. Therefore, instead have a list of elements that make up the series: cold, icy, possibly alien woman attempting to close all the Gates in the universe (Morgaine); dishonored horse-loving warrior who becomes her bond servant (Vanye); medievaloid worlds; science that looks pretty much like magic; body swapping; UST galore.
I read book 1 and 3 of this series four years ago and skipped over book 2, as my library didn't have it. Most of what I remember from that first read is "Morgaine + Vanye = win," "hairbraiding = sexy," and "Who is this Roh guy and what the heck is going on? Oh well, Morgaine is talking again, good."
It's amazing how much more sense the series makes when a) my plot brain has returned and b) I actually read book 2 between books 1 and 3. These would remind me a great deal of traditional sword and sorcery books had I actually read many of those as a kid; as such, I feel Cherryh has many of the trappings, albeit with Morgaine as a master of alien technologies instead of a sorceress, but couldn't say for certain.
The world of Shiuan is the most striking: it's nearly the end of the world there, and the looming sense of DOOM and apocalypse makes it the most memorable of the four worlds.
Still, the reason why I read the books is less the worlds and almost all Morgaine and Vanye. Morgaine is, as mentioned, cold and icy and determined to close the Gates at all cost, while Vanye is frequently torn between his loyalty to her and his conscience. It also helps that Cherryh is excellent at UST; some of the most memorable scenes between them involve hair braiding or Morgaine sleeping on the same bed as Vanye with absolutely nothing implied.
Exile's Gate has much more Morgaine/Vanye, which is almost a bit strange to me after all the UST, but I still love how Cherryh ends up balancing it with Morgaine and Vanye's liyo/ilin relationship.
In conclusion: cool and fun worldbuilding and adventuring, but mostly lots of not-touching and not-saying what you actually mean!
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Wed, Oct. 20th, 2010 03:49 am (UTC)Golden Witchbreed by Mary Gentle comes to mind.
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Wed, Oct. 20th, 2010 03:55 am (UTC)