Reading, reading. Wednesday, that is.
Spent most of the last two weeks sick, along with the rest of the household, so not a lot of reading. Much of it was still digging through my backlog of New Yorker nonfiction, but I did start an actual novel:
Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay, a fantasy set in not!Tang Dynasty China -- specifically, on the eve of the An Lushan rebellion. So far (about a third in), it is very good. It starts with two hooks that are both original (or at least, I've never seen them used before) and culturally appropriate to the place and era. Certainly it does a better job of templating from its source than the last couple Western books to attempt this that I've tried. The poet who is not Li Bo was an absolute delight.
---L.
Subject quote from "Regret," New Order.
Spent most of the last two weeks sick, along with the rest of the household, so not a lot of reading. Much of it was still digging through my backlog of New Yorker nonfiction, but I did start an actual novel:
Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay, a fantasy set in not!Tang Dynasty China -- specifically, on the eve of the An Lushan rebellion. So far (about a third in), it is very good. It starts with two hooks that are both original (or at least, I've never seen them used before) and culturally appropriate to the place and era. Certainly it does a better job of templating from its source than the last couple Western books to attempt this that I've tried. The poet who is not Li Bo was an absolute delight.
---L.
Subject quote from "Regret," New Order.