Any World (That I'm Welcome To)

Why do supernatural romance thriller books hate me? Are they masochists who want to be thrown against the wall?

So. This book starts with an interesting premise: there is some quality which in the world of this story is interpreted as a soul which people who can successfully be transformed into vampires, ghosts, or werewolves possess more of than average, and which Alexia Tarabotti possesses not at all. Her soullessness causes any supernatural creature to lose their powers upon contact with her--fangs retract, fur vanishes, etc. Well and good. And she's an outspoken spinster prone to whacking overly-forward vampires with her parasol. Still on board. And then...

I honestly can't decide whether Soulless is a better or a worse book than A Discovery of Witches. On the one hand, the male romantic lead doesn't seem to have murdered any past girlfriends and only orders his current love interest around sometimes. On the other hand, the writing and the historical grounding are distinctly worse (there is almost nothing more grating than a failed attempt at 19th-century writing).

To give you an idea of the writing, take this attempt at wit and sharp characterization from a scene where our soulless heroine Alexia is having dinner with the ancient, fabulously wealthy, and just plain fabulous vampire Lord Akeldama. I'll skip the description of his wardrobe, but it's the kind of wardrobe which includes "three-inch heels with ruby and gold buckles."

Lord Akeldama waved a limp wrist about dismissively before taking the swizzle and nibbling its tip. "La, my dearest girl, you invited me because you could not bear to be without my company a single moment longer. And I shall be cut to the quick of my very extensive soul if your reason is anything else."

Oh, surely not, I thought. Surely she wouldn't be so crass as to play that tired and cruel old limp wrist cliche--

"Sweetling," he had once said, "you are no more at risk with me in that regard than you are in danger of me accidentally biting you--both being equal impossibilities. In the one case, I do not possess the necessary equipment upon contact, in the other case you do not."

*facepalm* Oh, did I mention that he has a harem of handsome (but clever and efficient!) young men and looks a little too "effeminate" (the book's word, not mine) when he's de-powered by holding Alexia's hand? Running a competent information network does not make it undermining a nasty stereotype which is otherwise played (sorry) straight.

Also, Alexia and Lord Maccom, her designated future husband, start off thinking that they hate each other but having the strangest butterflies in their tummies when around each other and can't figure out why they keep thinking of each other and blah blah blah I'm tuning out because I cannot believe they are that clueless.

( Spoilers )

I'd probably be happy with a book where the leads were just as awful and were not excused. House of Cards (so far I've only seen the British version) is fun because the show doesn't for one minute expect us to approve of Urqhart or excuse him. (A Discovery of Witches would have made an excellent horror novel with very little tweaking.) Or if the book had interrogated the characters' positions and revealed the nastiness hidden behind the silk cravats and bustles, that would be interesting too, even if the characters themselves never realized what the readers do. There's probably a hundred ways this scenario could be done interestingly. But this seemingly uncritical acceptance--more, the fangirling of and excusing of via "worse" villains--of "natural" hierarchy and brutal oppression abroad (not to mention offensive stereotypes) as light and frothy and desirable so long as you add enough lace gloves gives me the creeps.

For those fortunate enough not to have heard of Gropergate yet, allow me to give you this opportunity to bash your head against your desk.

First, here is an account (containing a link to the original post by one of the people involved)of how a group of friends at a con thought it would be a really great idea if they made buttons for women at cons to wear. Green would indicate, "Sure, ask me if you can grope my breasts in public!" while red would equal, "Don't even bother asking." I'm sure you can think of a thousand and one ways this could go wrong, especially if you've ever met one of those guys who hasn't grasped the concepts "no" and "I'm not here for your benefit, actually." I know I've met enough of them for a lifetime.

Then, there's another post here which elaborates on some of the problems with this project, why calling women's bodies open source makes the poster mad, and a bunch of links to other people's reactions. And some satire. That next.

Finally, I've read two of the satires linked in the previous post: A Modest Proposal and version of the original with a few key phrases replaced.

And April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month in the US, too.

Why read-through?
Chapter One
Chapter Eleven
Chapters 1-9: Abridged

There, see? I can read more than one chapter a season without my brain exploding. Unless that gray splotch on my desk isn't just natural variation in the wood...

This chapter has some good moments, but it is not good. It is not good so much that parts of it approach the black hole that is Chapter Five. This chapter can bite me.


Fall to your death into Chapter Thirteen
***

Why read-through?
Chapter One
Chapter Six

It's been a while since the last chapter. I apologize for not posting much other than things I found on my hard drive lately; RL issues have gotten in the way. (So I might seem a little grumpier or more scattered than usual.) I just started school again, and I wanted to make sure I got something up before things got crazy, so here it is!

There are a few nice bits in this chapter, but a lot more that made me want to smack the characters into the Maw. Remember how I said I thought things improved after Chapter Five? I must have meant Chapter Seven. Overall, the chapter feels lumpy - it'll be good, then awful, then okay, and so on.

(  'And I was like, on this beach on Dathomir, and there were like, waves and stuff, and it was all so sweet, dude,' Han said, fingering his pooka shell necklace. )

So now that chunk of the Plot o'Doom is in motion and we can get on with things. I hope. Make the jump to Chapter Eight

Why readthrough?
Chapter One
Chapter Three

There are some tantalizing hints about gender relations in Hapes and in the NR, but Wolverton mostly ignores them in favor of the traditional "two men butt heads over the clueless girl" setup. I feel cheated. This could be so cool!

( We are convening a special session of the Alderaanian Council tomorrow. I've already taken the liberty of calling the usual celebrities. Brad and Angelina have already RSVPed. )

Big on ideas. Needs Enzyte to give the execution a boost.

*sigh* No getting around it: on to The Dread Chapter Five.