Sylvester by Georgette Heyer

Sylvester by Georgette Heyer


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Heyer does Pride and Prejudice. She is the outspoken country girl, he is the prideful but goodhearted duke. They rub each other completely the wrong way, but are then thrown together by hilarious circumstance.

Picture my silly grin right now. I have figured out what my deal is with Heyer: the more like The Grand Sophy it is, the happier I am. By which I mean if our leading couple spend most of the novel being witheringly sarcastic at each other, when they aren't cracking each other right up to the annoyance and consternation of all the self-involved/stupid people around them, we're golden. I guess the heroine has to be, um you know. *mumbles* Fiery. Shut up.

This isn't quite as awesome as Sophy -- our heroine here is, um, a little too plot-required dumb, for one. But still. It's a formula, and it works.

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First Lord's Fury by Jim Butcher

First Lord's Fury by Jim Butcher


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Conclusion to this six-book epic fantasy about the lost prince rising to power in the land overrun by creepy hive-minded spider thingies.

It's not romanesque, it's romanish. Which explains everything you really need to know about this series, except that it's predictable and has quietly annoying gender issues and is deeply, deeply satisfying. Like dolphin noises satisfying. Like Anne McCaffrey when you're twelve satisfying, only more swords.

No, wait, I do actually have something else to say. There's a moment in the epilogue where one of the characters explains Jim Butcher's books to us. He's talking about writing a history of the war, and he says the bits they're living now – everything since the very last second victory at the OMG! Last! Stand! Of brave! Men! – is the boring stuff, and all Jim Butcher cares about the interesting bits are the heroic battles and close calls and fights to the death. Forget about the reconstruction and the politics and the reunions and relationships.

Jim Butcher is wrong, and wow did he drop the ball on the denouement here, which is, you know, what he does every. Single. time.

But I dolphin noise anyway.

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