laceblade

This quartet seems to have mixed reviews....I remember someone telling me that they were bad, and not as good as the Song of the Lioness Quartet. Yet, sasha_feather was adamant that these were her favorite ones, being more realistic. Having acquired them for free at Bookmooch.com, I decided to go for it.

I read Song of the Lioness in fragments spread out over a few months, and I'd have to read it again for style, but I think that Protector of the Small was better written. I definitely liked Kel better as a protagonist.

I like how hard Pierce makes Kel work. I feel like I'm there for every blow, every muscle strain, of her training to become a knight. I remember this being true in the Song of the Lioness Quartet, too. I like that Kel had to deal with bullying/hazing. She didn't tattle, but got stronger and made sure it didn't happen to others. I have so much respect for her strength and personal code of honor. I think these will be comfort books for me in the future!

I like how Kel ages throughout the four books, both physically and emotionally. Everyone around her changes, too, even the way characters view each other and the world. Pierce is really good with her viewpoint characters - while some characters appear in many of her books, they are viewed differently by the people telling the story. I like her consistency, and the obvious thought she gives to viewpoint and the backgrounds people are coming from.

I like that it seems Pierce realized how "easy" Alanna had it in Song of the Lioness - and so Kel has no magic. I found this quartet less annoying than SotL. Kel doesn't have magical powers, a magical pendant, a magic Goddess-voiced cat, a magic horse, or whatever else. The Prince of Tortall is not her best friend. I like that Kel has to do without the Gift, that some things don't come naturally to her. As much as Alanna's life sucked sometimes, I feel like Knighthood/etc. came a bit too easily/naturally for the protagonist, like it was ordained. I found it a lot easier to relate to Keladry.

( Spoilers! )



So, I say all of these good things with a grain of salt. What makes Kel somewhat special in comparison to her peers is that her father was the Tortallan diplomat to the Yamani Islands for 6 years of her childhood. Thus, Kel is not only adept at interacting with people hailing from the Yamani culture, but is also trained in Yamani fighting styles and weapons. After making it through Tortall's training for knighthood, she uses her weapon of choice: a glaive.

It's extremely clear that the Yamani Islands are meant to be Japan. Women wear kimonos secured by obis. Kel refers to her weapon with the "Yamani" (see: actually Japanese) word naginata. In the text, Yamani people bow by placing their palms flat on their thighs and bending forward. Honor is taken very seriously by warriors, and death is viewed as preferaable to surrender or capture.

But in the first two books especially, Pierce makes a narrative choice that I find pretty weird. Whenever Kel hides her emotions, she is described as acting in a Yamani manner. Not just once, but almost ad nauseum. When she smiles but is actually upset, it is a "Yamani smile." When she struggles to keep her countenance free of emotion, she is keeping it "Yamani-blank." When she defers to cultural manners as a way to interact with others, her face becomes "a Yamani mask of politeness."

It might be true that Japanese culture looks less favorably on a selfish outpouring of emotions than, say, U.S. American culture, but it just smacked of painting too broadly with one brush for my tastes.

Also, some of the names were a little improbable, such as "Chisakami" and "Shinkokami," and sort of sounded like an anime fangirl writing some AU fanfiction, making up names.

Of course, some aspects of it were nicely written, and helped bring the Quartet as a whole into focus.. Women in the Yamani Islands are given much more weapons training than women in Tortall (equivalent of France/England) because men are often away when towns/etc. get attacked by pirates. As a child, Kel is 5 years old and with her mother in a temple when pirates attack. And her mother is bad-ass with a glaive, cutting people down and saving some Yamani relics. Thus, it's fairly natural to both Kel and her family that she would want to train to become a knight.



I really want to read Terrier.....I want to see things from a lower-class character. But I've already got Trickster's Choice checked out, and I own the first two of the Immortals Quartet (yeah, I skipped it and went right for Keladry's quartet instead). I'm thinking that I will love Terrier a lot.

What are Melting Stones and Will of the Empress about?

You know what? I look pretty damn cute in the pictures of me that got uploaded to the SASS thread. Indeed, I love what K. Tempest had to say:

I was scrolling through the thread and looking at the pictures and, instead of being ashamed that I associate myself with such people (horrors!), I couldn’t help but think of how beautiful all those images are. They are pictures of beautiful women of all sizes smiling, having fun, loving where they are and what they’re doing. These are the poeple I go to WisCon to be around. And nothing those half-brained monkeys on that forum say can make me feel any different. You wanna call me out as a fat loser? You go right ahead. But it’s plainly evident that I not only have more class than you, I also have a better life and better friends. All the evidence I need to support that statement is my lack of time spent on the internet trolling for pictures of people I don’t know in order to make fun of them for arbitrary reasons.

Get a life, you losers. And coming from a Star Trek fan, that’s fucking sad.

---

Panel 191 Report: Last time, on Battlestar Galactica...

Reading, Viewing, & Critiquing Science Fiction and Fantasy ♦ Sunday, 11:30-12:45 A.M. ♦ Senate A

We saw the first part of Season Four, let's talk about it. Where is the series going? Let's speculate on the ramifications of the final five Cylons, Roslin's reoccurring cancer, and all the good stuff in the rest of Season Four.

M: Ben Burgis, Maddie Greene, JJ Pionke

This panel began at 11:30pm. Most of the panelists were drunk, as was most of the audience. This was hands-down the most hilarious panel I attended during the entire convention. I don't even remember what we talked about, and I didn't even drink. Cracktastic Cylon theories and references to Ikea planets were made. It was the just-perfect combination of people making insightful comments while also being drunkenly cheeky. I think my favorite moment (aside from Starbuck's white viper coming from Ikea) was heyiya's "I have a really complex and insightful theory, but I've had a few beers and I can't complete this thought process!" I had so much fun that I didn't take any notes.

---

I didn't attend the "Is Racism Inherent in Fantasy?" panel, but I have heard a lot about it from friends (whose brains were broken). badgerbag has video responses from people who attended the panel. My friend brdgt is "Bridget" in three of these videos, and you have the opportunity to see how hilarious she is.

---

coffeeandink has has posted about the "Can Internet Drama Change the World?" panel, posting a mostly-complete transcript of the panel. I attended this panel, and intend to post my own notes later, unless I decide that I don't have anything else to say. The consensus, though, was "Yes, Internet drama can change the world."

---

( Here be sign-out stories, involving Tamora Pierce, Patrick Rothfuss, and Maureen F. McHugh )

---

Yesterday was work and grocery shopping, but sasha_feather and I had time to eat dinner together, and I then showed her the first two episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist. She is pretty new to anime (I think she's only seen Cowboy Bebop?), so I cackle with the glee of corruption. She hopes to reciprocate by getting me to read slash fanfiction.

Today was pretty sweet. As difficult as it may be to believe, I never read Tamora Pierce's Song of the Lioness quartet when I was young. I think that I randomly read the third book, but that was it. I read Alanna: The First Adventure a few weeks ago, and loved it. This morning, In the Hand of the Goddess was waiting for me at the library. The premise of the books is that Alanna and her brother Thom switch places so that Alanna can learn to be a knight in a world that only allows boys to do so by pretending to be "Alan," and Thom can learn to be a sorcerer by pretending to be her. Anyway, the books are adventurous and fun, and the heroine actually works to become a good fighter. I do think that her way of naming things is lame, though. Seriously - a horse named Moonlight, a sword named Lightning, and a cat named Faithful. Could be a little more lame, Alanna??

I've also read the first volume of Bryan Lee O'Malley's "Scott Pilgrim" comics, and holy shit, are they awesome and hilarious. Everyone should read Scott Pilgrim! I recommend it especially to Dave, Steph, and Antoine. DO IT.

Anyway, the Senate was in session today. Unfortunately, Wisconsin Eye is getting really good at cutting us pages out of their camera shots. BUT! If you go here, scroll down to "01.15.08 | State Senate Part 2" and click "Watch," you can see me at 18:12 - 18:24. On the left side of the screen, someone comes to get me, and I leave to do an errand. You can tell it's me by the brown curly hair!

Then, Antoine and I went out for dinner! And it was really good.

I also managed to be productive today by setting up appointments with career advisor people, and got my prescription filled. AND, a random Anime Club member sent me some amazing art to use on a flier. And I tried to make a flier, although my Photoshop skills suck. Still. Flier. Now, if only I could clean my room..... :(