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Dec. 2nd, 2009 11:26 amI'd sort of been dreading getting through Scales of Gold, the fourth book in the Niccolo series, because I knew it was the Africa one and . . . to put it bluntly, I love Dunnett but I like to think I am clear-eyed about her flaws and I really did not trust her to do Africa. On the other hand, I had also been looking forward to it because it introduces the awesome that is The Heroine! The Boulder was conflicted. :O
I was sort of right on both of these, although Africa was not quite as bad as I feared. I mean, she's clearly making an effort to emphasize that Africa is absolutely not a monolithic Continent of Savage Darkness, that in fact many places in Africa have a long history of culture and learning, and that it really, really does not need White Dudes to Come Save It, and I respect these efforts from her! And I also respect her willingness to show a realistic range of fifteenth-century attitudes about slavery, on all sides. At the same time, though, she often can't quite manage to break out of the Exoticized Adventure Fiction tropes, which makes for a few very othered characters and pretty cringeworthy scenes. I'm similarly conflicted about ( cut for rambling and spoilers about Loppe/Lopez/Umar - uh, that is one person with multiple names, not a very complicated pairing )
(As a sidenote, I also found it hilarious how getting to Ethiopia was IMPOSSIBLE, IMPOSSIBLE, THE FEAT THAT CAN NEVER BE ACCOMPLISHED, because I kept thinking back to the Elizabeth Wein books, where people sail cheerfully from England to Ethiopia every other page.)
On the other hand: this book totally ups the ante on female characters. COLD REVENGE-DRIVEN SUPERINTELLIGENT HEROINE who invites herself along on an epic doomed voyage for the sole purpose of bitching at her enemy the whole way. I LOVE HER. (And Bel! Cheerfully shrewd old Scottish ladies for the win. And they actually managed to pass the Bechdel test, which is pretty astounding, considering how few people in the books ever talk about anything but Nicholas. And Bel is all, "she is so awesome, I would take her home with me and be BFF with her even if she hated the whole world! . . . well, actually she does hate the whole world. OH WELL, STILL BFF.") ( Cut for OTP spoilers! )
I should note: I am not usually that interested in romances where it is just clear that one party is ridiculously bad for the other one, who is relatively sane, because I often just want to tell the sane one to get the hell out of there. (It does not help that the crazy damaged one is usually the guy, who can get away with anything, and the girl has to be nice and sweet and innocent. Double standard!) But I do have a secret weakness for pairings where BOTH parties are completely Machiavellian and manipulating and insane. Hey, better that they end up together than with anyone else, right?
So, guys: indulge my secret weakness! Tell me about your favorite TOTALLY INSANE AND UNHEALTHY OTP. (KYOUYA/AZULA!)
I was sort of right on both of these, although Africa was not quite as bad as I feared. I mean, she's clearly making an effort to emphasize that Africa is absolutely not a monolithic Continent of Savage Darkness, that in fact many places in Africa have a long history of culture and learning, and that it really, really does not need White Dudes to Come Save It, and I respect these efforts from her! And I also respect her willingness to show a realistic range of fifteenth-century attitudes about slavery, on all sides. At the same time, though, she often can't quite manage to break out of the Exoticized Adventure Fiction tropes, which makes for a few very othered characters and pretty cringeworthy scenes. I'm similarly conflicted about ( cut for rambling and spoilers about Loppe/Lopez/Umar - uh, that is one person with multiple names, not a very complicated pairing )
(As a sidenote, I also found it hilarious how getting to Ethiopia was IMPOSSIBLE, IMPOSSIBLE, THE FEAT THAT CAN NEVER BE ACCOMPLISHED, because I kept thinking back to the Elizabeth Wein books, where people sail cheerfully from England to Ethiopia every other page.)
On the other hand: this book totally ups the ante on female characters. COLD REVENGE-DRIVEN SUPERINTELLIGENT HEROINE who invites herself along on an epic doomed voyage for the sole purpose of bitching at her enemy the whole way. I LOVE HER. (And Bel! Cheerfully shrewd old Scottish ladies for the win. And they actually managed to pass the Bechdel test, which is pretty astounding, considering how few people in the books ever talk about anything but Nicholas. And Bel is all, "she is so awesome, I would take her home with me and be BFF with her even if she hated the whole world! . . . well, actually she does hate the whole world. OH WELL, STILL BFF.") ( Cut for OTP spoilers! )
I should note: I am not usually that interested in romances where it is just clear that one party is ridiculously bad for the other one, who is relatively sane, because I often just want to tell the sane one to get the hell out of there. (It does not help that the crazy damaged one is usually the guy, who can get away with anything, and the girl has to be nice and sweet and innocent. Double standard!) But I do have a secret weakness for pairings where BOTH parties are completely Machiavellian and manipulating and insane. Hey, better that they end up together than with anyone else, right?
So, guys: indulge my secret weakness! Tell me about your favorite TOTALLY INSANE AND UNHEALTHY OTP. (KYOUYA/AZULA!)
