Idle Thoughts from an Idle Fellow
Jul. 15th, 2003 11:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakI've read Ash by Mary Gentle, which ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rozk had recommended to me. Very entertaining and clever story about a female mercanary in an alternate version of the late middle ages, and Gentle went to some trouble not to make her into a disguised Joan of Arc; she's very much her own character. Lots of characters are refreshingly unpredictable, like Ash's not-quite husband (though I'm still trying to work out how his father ended up in Burgundy and then in Bavaria with a Spanish name, this before the Habsburgs married themselves the Spanish empire, courtesy of poor Juana La Lorca), her sister, and her doctor. One of the crucial concepts involves shifting realities, and considering the present day, I'd very much prefer a reality shift and rewriting of history of my own, you know? Between Dubya and Tony B., and Berlusconi and Schröder, I'd rather live in the West Wing reality where politicians actually think of stuff like ethics and consequences.
Between HP slash floroushing since years and Narnia slash sure to become more popular now Neil Gaiman is writing it and having a go at Mary Poppins at the same time, I wonder whether anyone will write Tom Sawyer/Huck Finn sooner or later? My pal HonorH assures me Mark Twain would be amused.
And another thing, while we're in the American South: how come nobody wrote Scarlett/Melanie yet? Because that's the other love story Scarlett was in denial about (though Melanie was not) in Gone with the Wind.
For two fabulous movieverse X-Men stories, one about Magneto and Mystique (there is far too little Mystique fanfic out there), and one about Xavier and Magneto, go here.
rozk had recommended to me. Very entertaining and clever story about a female mercanary in an alternate version of the late middle ages, and Gentle went to some trouble not to make her into a disguised Joan of Arc; she's very much her own character. Lots of characters are refreshingly unpredictable, like Ash's not-quite husband (though I'm still trying to work out how his father ended up in Burgundy and then in Bavaria with a Spanish name, this before the Habsburgs married themselves the Spanish empire, courtesy of poor Juana La Lorca), her sister, and her doctor. One of the crucial concepts involves shifting realities, and considering the present day, I'd very much prefer a reality shift and rewriting of history of my own, you know? Between Dubya and Tony B., and Berlusconi and Schröder, I'd rather live in the West Wing reality where politicians actually think of stuff like ethics and consequences. Between HP slash floroushing since years and Narnia slash sure to become more popular now Neil Gaiman is writing it and having a go at Mary Poppins at the same time, I wonder whether anyone will write Tom Sawyer/Huck Finn sooner or later? My pal HonorH assures me Mark Twain would be amused.
And another thing, while we're in the American South: how come nobody wrote Scarlett/Melanie yet? Because that's the other love story Scarlett was in denial about (though Melanie was not) in Gone with the Wind.
For two fabulous movieverse X-Men stories, one about Magneto and Mystique (there is far too little Mystique fanfic out there), and one about Xavier and Magneto, go here.
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Date: 2003-07-15 03:33 am (UTC)Ash is awesome. On all levels. I've collected some other novels by Gentle as a result, but the only one I've read through and through so far was Grunts!, which I heartily recommend. It's pretty brutal, but since you've read Ash it shouldn't be a problem. :-) It's also a hilarious send up of certain Lord of the Rings-derived tropes. Ashnak and the Halflings still haunt me today.
Okay...
Date: 2003-07-15 08:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-07-15 06:02 am (UTC)I lent out my copy of Mary Gentle's Grunts! to a Dungeons and Dragons gaming friend, who informed me with suspect regret halfway through her reading not to ever expect the book to be returned to me. It's a fun book. At least, I recall it's a fun book; I couldn't exactly prove it now.
Alas, I couldn't avoid...
Date: 2003-07-15 08:20 am (UTC)Melanie and Scarlett: you're right. Also, Scarlett realises she did love Melanie at the same time when she realises she loves Rhett. I think the turning point was probably when Melanie shot the soldier and they covered it up together...
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Date: 2003-07-15 06:57 am (UTC)I am in the minority, then ...
Date: 2003-07-15 07:41 pm (UTC)Probably my favorite novel of Gentle's is The Architecture of Desire, which is a sort-of sequel to Rats and Gargoyles; it could be read independently, but the first book is so good, why bother?
Since "Ash" so far...
Date: 2003-07-15 10:16 pm (UTC)Re: I am in the minority, then ...
Date: 2003-07-16 12:19 am (UTC)I didn't know there was a sequel to GW. Maybe my local library has a copy or can interlibrary loan it for me.
Out of curiosity...
Date: 2003-07-16 02:31 am (UTC)Re: Out of curiosity...
Date: 2003-07-16 04:54 am (UTC)