My new housemum existence (as opposed to the old gadabout bookshop-haunting student existence) means that I don't get out much. The upshot of this is that I am spending less money on impulse-buy books from actual bookshops, and spending more on buying books online. Funnily enough, it works out that overall I spend less money on books, because I'm a lot choosier when lashing out for postage.
I have less time for everything these days, except reading (while breastfeeding). And soap operas, but that's another story. :)
I've recently been indulging in a pile of Locus-recommended fiction, and enjoying myself immensely.
The Family Trade by Charles Stross was a bit of a disappointment, but only because I have read so many reviews that built it up so highly. I don't think it's quite as fantastic and original and amazing as so many other reviewers seem to thing, although I should add that it is a) pretty good, b) reasonably original, and c) far better than most of the mass market fantasy out there. The character and set up is interesting, and I'll certainly read more in the series. I'm generally not a fan of US-based 'portal' fantasy but this is a quality example of the sub-genre.
Even though I was prepared for it not to have a proper conclusion (having been warned by various reviews) I wasn't really prepared for it to stop *so* suddenly and when the story had only just gotten started. Apparently this is another publisher-slashes-book-in-half casualty and I'm getting so tired of those! Unfortunately there's no way to protest this without doing further damage to the author. The female characters are fantastic, very developed and interesting, not only the heroine but her various friends and companions also. Conversely, the male characters are very uninteresting and uninspired. The central 'dangerous man/villain/father figure' never gets beyond the oft-mentioned Godfather metaphor, and as for the 'romantic interest' Roland - well, he *could* be wetter, but it's hard to imagine. I didn't mind Miriam falling into bed with him in an attempt to manipulate him, but I couldn't for the life of me see why/how she was falling in love so suddenly. It didn't fit in with her character.
I wish I'd waited until another volume or two of this was out, because the pace does build up and I'm keen to see what happens next. I did enjoy this - particularly the various travel descriptions, usually the bane of fantasy - and will be following future installments. My high expectations worked against me with this one.
Not so with Stranger Things Happen by Kelly Link, which I also came into prepared to love. In this case I did, unconditionally. Kelly Link writes exactly the kind of stories that I love to read - and the kind I'd love to write. She constantly surprises me with my favourite themes and characters that I enjoy spending time with; even the nasty ones! I'm looking forward to Magic for Beginners.
The third on the list was Trash Sex Magic by Jennifer Stevenson. I admit that I read it because of the title more than the various awards it's garnered, but I was overwhelmed by how much it exceeded my expectations. It's a beautiful, literate story about brash, lively characters. It doesn't patronise or over-explain (or confuse). It doesn't need a sequel or a prequel or a map or twice as many pages as the plot allows for. It's tight and clever and more fantasy should be exactly like this (only different of course, which is the point).
So two out of three books this week that made me want to be a better writer. Not bad at all.
