October novel-reading

[garran]

Since I don't think I'm going to have any personal reading time to speak of for the remaining few days of the month (I'm right in the middle of a three- or four-week period of unusually intense schoolwork, which is also in large part why I haven't been writing here), I may as well post my October reading now. In keeping with the new tradition, I'll once again happily elaborate on my experience of any of these if asked.

Patrick O'Brian, Master and Commander
John M. Ford, The Dragon Waiting
C.J. Cherryh, Brothers of Earth
Peter S. Beagle, Tamsin
Steven Brust, Agyar

Comments

[garran.livejournal.com]

Master and Commander held my interest, but wasn't immediately as charming or as affecting as I'd expected, from reports; I suspect it probably suffers from the television pilot problem of being slightly atypical for the series, not yet having hit its stride. The prose style was entertaining, but somewhat distancing; the pacing was very strange, which I'm still trying to get my head around (there was a lot less resolution to a lot of the things that happened, for instance, than I expected, or sometimes when there was some sort of climactic event, like the operation on the gunner's brain, it took place off-stage). I suspect that all the scenes where well-meaning seamen explain technical aspects of ship life to Stephen were intended to help the reader get up to speed with the sort of offhand knowledge of rigging, etc., that the crew displayed, so it's a shame that they reliably made my eyes glaze over. I'll try out at least another book or two of the series, anyway.

(I saw the movie maybe a year or two ago, and I had a similar experience there of feeling like something pretty interesting was going on slightly outside my field of view, that might have made what I could see a lot easier to follow, had it been clearer; in that case, the trouble was exacerbated by that I couldn't make out a lot of the dialogue.)

I liked The Dragon Waiting a lot, but I'm not sure what to say about it. I think it was a little unlike anything else I've ever read, especially in the way it was doing so many different things, at once or in stages. Of those things, I especially liked the treatment of Dr. von Bayern's condition, and the locked room mystery, and all of the four main characters as people. I suspect that some of the rest would have benefited from a wider knowledge of English history on my part.


-Garran

[vegetius.livejournal.com]

I've read a lot of historical naval fiction, both Age of Sail and WW2, so I had more of a context in which to evaluate Master and Commander when I read it, than you imply you have.

Having read Forester's Horatio Hornblower series prior reading that of Mr. O'Brian's, I found Mr. O'Brian's superior in terms of writing style and characterization. You mention how certain things take place offstage: nearly everything of importance takes place offstage in the Hornblower series, quite often the battles themselves!

Overall, I enjoyed Master and Commander, and did not notice the things you mention. I read most of the series until the point that Mr. O'Brian demanded and got the right not to be edited any more, whereupon the series degenerated into 400+ pages of sailing and seabirds. I don't read naval fiction for sailing and seabirds!

As for The Dragon Waiting, I thought it was excellent. The well-realized characters, the dramatic and ornate tapestry of events ... I didn't want it to end. I hoped for a sequel but Mr. Ford never repeated himself, never. I believed he considered it bad art to do so (or so I infer from a line of dialog in one of his novellas regarding writers and writing).

Anyway, Mr. Ford died this August, so there will be no more of his brilliantly realized novels or short stories. If you'd like to acquaint yourself with his other writings, the wikipedia has his bibliography. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_M._Ford

Oh, one more thing.

[vegetius.livejournal.com]

Of the three Napoleonic naval war series I've read, the one I consider the best is the Richard Bolitho series by Alexander Kent. Alexander Kent is a pen name for Douglas Reeman. Under his real name, he writes WWII naval fiction (as a WWII & Korean War veteran of the Royal Navy he is well qualified to do so). Strangely enough, Mr. Reeman writes better under his pseudonym than under his real name. My speculation is that since far fewer people are familiar with the Napoleonic period and "ragwagon" naval warfare, he has to write in greater detail to set the scene for his audience. With WWII, more people have familiarity, and so one can let some of the background detail slide.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Kent