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Oct. 20th, 2013 03:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skygiantsSo sometimes I feel the need to tap into the zeitgiest and check back in on the YA dystopia trend, such as, for instance, Masque of the Red Death.
My favorite thing about Masque of the Red Death is that it is a dystopia that begins with the city suffering from a terrible plague . . . and ends on a cliffhanger (of course!) with the city getting hit with ANOTHER, EVEN MORE TERRIBLE PLAGUE.
("HEY CITIZENS, I HEARD YOU LIKED PLAGUES, SO I PUT A PLAGUE IN YOUR PLAGUE SO YOU CAN DIE HORRIBLY WHILE YOU DIE HORRIBLY . . .")
Oh, and in addition to the plagues, there is also an evil usurping duke and oppressive government. NEVER TOO MUCH DYSTOPIA! This is not as funny to me as the second, even more terrible plague, though.
My other favorite thing is that the pre-plague world was vaguely Victorian, but now the hard-partying upper class have to prove they're not infected with THE PLAGUE all the time so they like showing a lot of skin . . . all of which is just a really hilarious excuse to have the entire cast wear SEXY STEAMPUNK-STYLE BUSTLES AND CORSETS as they hang out at decadent opium-addled parties.
All of which is actually recipe for some kind of amazing idfic, but then alas there is my least favorite thing about the book: THE YA LOVE TRIANGLE.
So our heroine -- the daughter of a mad scientist who came up with the plague preventative measure that only rich people get to use (of course) and also riddled with dead brother angst (of course) -- obviously has two love interests:
BACHELOR A: hot lower-class bouncer at the PARTY CLUB! working to earn money to take care of two sad adorable younger siblings!
BACHELOR B: a DANGEROUS ASSHOLE with an ANGSTY BACKSTORY and RAGE ISSUES who LEADS THE RESISTANCE and sexually harasses the heroine for the lulz!
Our heroine likes Bachelor A, because he is a halfway decent person, and has no interest in Bachelor B, because he is terrible. Then Bachelor A betrays our heroine out of fear for his sad adorable younger siblings, thus removing him from Love Interest candidacy . . . which means that our heroine must fall IMMEDIATELY into the arms of Bachelor B and realize HE WAS HER TRUE LOVE ALL ALONG.
An open suggestion for YA novelists: it's possible for two bad romantic choices to BOTH BE BAD ROMANTIC CHOICES. 'Neither' is an okay option!
And, you know, the thing is, I would have been so happy with this book, in all its amazing id-fic awfulness, if our heroine had instead dumped both boys and run off instead with her party-girl secret-resistance-member best friend instead.
On the other hand, I might still read the second one to find out how much more over-the-top the plot can get, given that the first book ends with all of the major characters -- including heroine, both love interests, adorable baby sibling, and plague-infected secret-resistance-member bff -- flying away from the double-plague-infested-city in a GIANT HOT AIR BALLOON.
My favorite thing about Masque of the Red Death is that it is a dystopia that begins with the city suffering from a terrible plague . . . and ends on a cliffhanger (of course!) with the city getting hit with ANOTHER, EVEN MORE TERRIBLE PLAGUE.
("HEY CITIZENS, I HEARD YOU LIKED PLAGUES, SO I PUT A PLAGUE IN YOUR PLAGUE SO YOU CAN DIE HORRIBLY WHILE YOU DIE HORRIBLY . . .")
Oh, and in addition to the plagues, there is also an evil usurping duke and oppressive government. NEVER TOO MUCH DYSTOPIA! This is not as funny to me as the second, even more terrible plague, though.
My other favorite thing is that the pre-plague world was vaguely Victorian, but now the hard-partying upper class have to prove they're not infected with THE PLAGUE all the time so they like showing a lot of skin . . . all of which is just a really hilarious excuse to have the entire cast wear SEXY STEAMPUNK-STYLE BUSTLES AND CORSETS as they hang out at decadent opium-addled parties.
All of which is actually recipe for some kind of amazing idfic, but then alas there is my least favorite thing about the book: THE YA LOVE TRIANGLE.
So our heroine -- the daughter of a mad scientist who came up with the plague preventative measure that only rich people get to use (of course) and also riddled with dead brother angst (of course) -- obviously has two love interests:
BACHELOR A: hot lower-class bouncer at the PARTY CLUB! working to earn money to take care of two sad adorable younger siblings!
BACHELOR B: a DANGEROUS ASSHOLE with an ANGSTY BACKSTORY and RAGE ISSUES who LEADS THE RESISTANCE and sexually harasses the heroine for the lulz!
Our heroine likes Bachelor A, because he is a halfway decent person, and has no interest in Bachelor B, because he is terrible. Then Bachelor A betrays our heroine out of fear for his sad adorable younger siblings, thus removing him from Love Interest candidacy . . . which means that our heroine must fall IMMEDIATELY into the arms of Bachelor B and realize HE WAS HER TRUE LOVE ALL ALONG.
An open suggestion for YA novelists: it's possible for two bad romantic choices to BOTH BE BAD ROMANTIC CHOICES. 'Neither' is an okay option!
And, you know, the thing is, I would have been so happy with this book, in all its amazing id-fic awfulness, if our heroine had instead dumped both boys and run off instead with her party-girl secret-resistance-member best friend instead.
On the other hand, I might still read the second one to find out how much more over-the-top the plot can get, given that the first book ends with all of the major characters -- including heroine, both love interests, adorable baby sibling, and plague-infected secret-resistance-member bff -- flying away from the double-plague-infested-city in a GIANT HOT AIR BALLOON.
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Date: 2013-10-20 11:22 pm (UTC)I do agree that this book had much in common with the awful idfic you'd find at FF.net.
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Date: 2013-10-20 11:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-10-21 04:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-10-21 12:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-10-21 05:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-10-21 08:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-10-21 12:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-10-21 05:13 pm (UTC)Also, what the fuck at that name? Is she... a ruby's worth? Like one ruby droplet worth of blood, or similar quasi-Victorian imagery??
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Date: 2013-10-21 05:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-10-22 04:57 am (UTC)