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Yesterday's mail delivered unto me a package from Amazon. It contained two very good books and my very own copy of Dr Horrible on DVD.
Yes, I'm a mad science fangirl. Deal.
The books are very different in theme and style, but both are truly remarkable. I think there are a few people on my flist who like pirates and maybe some others who like urban fantasy where the city is the major protagonist. I would also wager that a Venn diagram of those two groups of people would have significant overlap, unlike Wearing Pants and True Happiness.
The first book, Fast Ships, Black Sails is an anthology of pirate stories. I believe, in my heart of hearts, that a future me built a time machine for the sole purpose of going back a couple of years to put this book in motion and give the editors stern instructions on what they should include. There are sky pirates, ship pirates, space pirates, and computer pirates. There are people hunting pirates and people trying to become pirates. There's walking the plank, rum, danger, and treasure.
I checked this one out from the library. After reading the first three stories, I hopped online to order myself a copy. This book has catapulted itself into my piratey heart. I really, really enjoyed it and was sad when I finished. But not so sad that I didn't go back and re-read my favorite story ("Pirate Solutions" by Katherine Sparrow) right away.
I'm trying very hard to savor the second book and not just devour it in a frenzy of fiction goodness. The book is Palimpsest by Catherynne Valente (aka![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
yuki_onna). This is urban fantasy where the main character is a "fantasy" city. You can't get to Palimpsest unless you've slept with someone who's been there. You can't get to any other parts of the city unless you sleep with someone else.
It's an intoxicating read. For the continuing presence of sex in the narrative, this is not a romance. It's mentioned, even described, but it's a vehicle by which the human characters are able to find their way around a city where they seem to be meant to be.
Like The Orphan's Tales duology, this book is lush with words. Valente paints pictures with her prose - prose that's almost poetry, but not quite. The sights, sounds, and tastes are vivid and linger after I've shut the book. It's a seductive world where dreams end up being more real than waking.
Go, find copies of these books. If you like pirates, get the first one. If you like Gaiman and fantasy, get the second. If you're me, get them both and treasure them closely. These are remarkable and wonderful books.
Yes, I'm a mad science fangirl. Deal.
The books are very different in theme and style, but both are truly remarkable. I think there are a few people on my flist who like pirates and maybe some others who like urban fantasy where the city is the major protagonist. I would also wager that a Venn diagram of those two groups of people would have significant overlap, unlike Wearing Pants and True Happiness.
The first book, Fast Ships, Black Sails is an anthology of pirate stories. I believe, in my heart of hearts, that a future me built a time machine for the sole purpose of going back a couple of years to put this book in motion and give the editors stern instructions on what they should include. There are sky pirates, ship pirates, space pirates, and computer pirates. There are people hunting pirates and people trying to become pirates. There's walking the plank, rum, danger, and treasure.
I checked this one out from the library. After reading the first three stories, I hopped online to order myself a copy. This book has catapulted itself into my piratey heart. I really, really enjoyed it and was sad when I finished. But not so sad that I didn't go back and re-read my favorite story ("Pirate Solutions" by Katherine Sparrow) right away.
I'm trying very hard to savor the second book and not just devour it in a frenzy of fiction goodness. The book is Palimpsest by Catherynne Valente (aka
yuki_onna). This is urban fantasy where the main character is a "fantasy" city. You can't get to Palimpsest unless you've slept with someone who's been there. You can't get to any other parts of the city unless you sleep with someone else.It's an intoxicating read. For the continuing presence of sex in the narrative, this is not a romance. It's mentioned, even described, but it's a vehicle by which the human characters are able to find their way around a city where they seem to be meant to be.
Like The Orphan's Tales duology, this book is lush with words. Valente paints pictures with her prose - prose that's almost poetry, but not quite. The sights, sounds, and tastes are vivid and linger after I've shut the book. It's a seductive world where dreams end up being more real than waking.
Go, find copies of these books. If you like pirates, get the first one. If you like Gaiman and fantasy, get the second. If you're me, get them both and treasure them closely. These are remarkable and wonderful books.
