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Jan. 30th, 2025 07:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatFeeling better - may be a combination of the barometric pressure lifting, my sinuses clearing up, and the antibiotics. Also it helps to know what the problem is?
Now, I just got to get the stupid Stress MRI scheduled. They keep calling me while I'm on the F train to schedule - usually when the train is going over the viaduct to Seventh Avenue. I told them this was annoying. And could they call me anytime before 3pm to schedule, not between 4pm-5pm, while I'm in transit. I just don't want to schedule a Stress MRI on the subway.
I miss the days in which I didn't have phones literally everywhere. I can't escape them. I even have one attached to my wrist. It's so Trek. I talk to people on my watch now. All I need is a teleportation device - and I'm all set. Beam me up, Scotty, and fly me to an Earth that doesn't have any Republicans or social conservatives.
Came home. Did Laundry. Which was relatively easy - there was only one other person using it - and theirs was in the dryer. I listened to Fourth Wing while doing it. While the novel moves at a brisk pace, it's annoyingly juvenile in places and the protagonist whines incessantly about her situation (the downfall of trying not to make her a Mary Sue?). But, the people trying to kill her are worse, and they get satisfyingly killed by Dragons. Yes, we finally got to the dragons. I'm admittedly reading it for the dragons. I like the dragons. (Who am I kidding? I love dragons. I fell in love with dragons at the age of ten. Thank you Aunt Audrey, may you rest in peace. She was my mother's oldest sister and a librarian, who loved science fiction, fantasy, and westerns. And introduced me to sci-fantasy at the age of 10.) Anyhow, the problem with Fourth Wing is it is YA, so most of the characters are between the ages of 14-20 and incredibly annoying. More dragons less annoying teenagers, Yarros. At least the author is ruthlessly killing off the teens. The protagonist, Violet, is kind of whiny - I'm hoping she becomes less whiny, but I'm on Chapter 15, so am losing hope. (The writer has gone out of her way to make Violet not a Mary Sue, Violet is weak, and can't do a lot of things and constantly whines about it.) It's very predictable. Of course she's fallen for the guy who wanted to kill her, yes, it's the enemies to lover's trope, and of course the baddest dragon bonds with her, not just one but two dragons. Very predictable - I figured it all out halfway through. But I like the dragons. I have this feeling most people are reading it for the dragons.
I told mother about it - and she told me how much she loved the Anne McCaffrey Dragon books. I did too. (Although they don't hold up well, unfortunately, very few books from past decades, let alone centuries do.)
Finished Rules of Redemption (Firebird #1) by Toby White, aka TA White. It's not well written. I ended up skimming the last five chapters, because it was dragging - and that was the climax. The world-building is not up to snuff. Folks? If you want to write science fiction or fantasy? World-building is kind of important, so is characterization. If you can't do world-building, don't write science fiction and fantasy. It doesn't have to be perfect - you don't have to necessarily develop languages, or religion or stuff like that? But you do have to create rules, a structure, and be consistent. Granted the more successful fantasy and sci-fi have religions and languages developed, but usually you can do fine without it.
The book felt very amateurish. And tropy. I agreed with the reviews - which stated the heroine was a bit of a Mary Sue (she is), and the romance falls flat. (It does). And it was predictable (it is). And it didn't satisfyingly answer or delve in some of the questions or the bits that were interesting.
I'm not continuing with the writer, and have become leery of book suggestions via the Kate Daniels fandom.
Have moved on to Station Eternity: The Midsolar Murders - Book 1 - this is a science fiction murder mystery. Doesn't appear to have a romance, but I could be wrong. I found it on Smart Bitches as a Kindle Daily Deal.
Blurb: "Amateur detective Mallory Viridian’s talent for solving murders ruined her life on Earth and drove her to live on an alien space station, but her problems still follow her in this witty, self-aware novel that puts a speculative spin on murder mysteries, from the Hugo-nominated author of Six Wakes."
***
Work continues to be enjoyable for the most part. I'm not bored. I think I'm becoming a good editor, or at the very least, a good legal, technical and business editor. Not to mention a half decent financial analyst.
I'm learning to just enjoy things without thinking too much about it. Life is so much more enjoyable when I float through it and remember to turn off my brain.
Now, I just got to get the stupid Stress MRI scheduled. They keep calling me while I'm on the F train to schedule - usually when the train is going over the viaduct to Seventh Avenue. I told them this was annoying. And could they call me anytime before 3pm to schedule, not between 4pm-5pm, while I'm in transit. I just don't want to schedule a Stress MRI on the subway.
I miss the days in which I didn't have phones literally everywhere. I can't escape them. I even have one attached to my wrist. It's so Trek. I talk to people on my watch now. All I need is a teleportation device - and I'm all set. Beam me up, Scotty, and fly me to an Earth that doesn't have any Republicans or social conservatives.
Came home. Did Laundry. Which was relatively easy - there was only one other person using it - and theirs was in the dryer. I listened to Fourth Wing while doing it. While the novel moves at a brisk pace, it's annoyingly juvenile in places and the protagonist whines incessantly about her situation (the downfall of trying not to make her a Mary Sue?). But, the people trying to kill her are worse, and they get satisfyingly killed by Dragons. Yes, we finally got to the dragons. I'm admittedly reading it for the dragons. I like the dragons. (Who am I kidding? I love dragons. I fell in love with dragons at the age of ten. Thank you Aunt Audrey, may you rest in peace. She was my mother's oldest sister and a librarian, who loved science fiction, fantasy, and westerns. And introduced me to sci-fantasy at the age of 10.) Anyhow, the problem with Fourth Wing is it is YA, so most of the characters are between the ages of 14-20 and incredibly annoying. More dragons less annoying teenagers, Yarros. At least the author is ruthlessly killing off the teens. The protagonist, Violet, is kind of whiny - I'm hoping she becomes less whiny, but I'm on Chapter 15, so am losing hope. (The writer has gone out of her way to make Violet not a Mary Sue, Violet is weak, and can't do a lot of things and constantly whines about it.) It's very predictable. Of course she's fallen for the guy who wanted to kill her, yes, it's the enemies to lover's trope, and of course the baddest dragon bonds with her, not just one but two dragons. Very predictable - I figured it all out halfway through. But I like the dragons. I have this feeling most people are reading it for the dragons.
I told mother about it - and she told me how much she loved the Anne McCaffrey Dragon books. I did too. (Although they don't hold up well, unfortunately, very few books from past decades, let alone centuries do.)
Finished Rules of Redemption (Firebird #1) by Toby White, aka TA White. It's not well written. I ended up skimming the last five chapters, because it was dragging - and that was the climax. The world-building is not up to snuff. Folks? If you want to write science fiction or fantasy? World-building is kind of important, so is characterization. If you can't do world-building, don't write science fiction and fantasy. It doesn't have to be perfect - you don't have to necessarily develop languages, or religion or stuff like that? But you do have to create rules, a structure, and be consistent. Granted the more successful fantasy and sci-fi have religions and languages developed, but usually you can do fine without it.
The book felt very amateurish. And tropy. I agreed with the reviews - which stated the heroine was a bit of a Mary Sue (she is), and the romance falls flat. (It does). And it was predictable (it is). And it didn't satisfyingly answer or delve in some of the questions or the bits that were interesting.
I'm not continuing with the writer, and have become leery of book suggestions via the Kate Daniels fandom.
Have moved on to Station Eternity: The Midsolar Murders - Book 1 - this is a science fiction murder mystery. Doesn't appear to have a romance, but I could be wrong. I found it on Smart Bitches as a Kindle Daily Deal.
Blurb: "Amateur detective Mallory Viridian’s talent for solving murders ruined her life on Earth and drove her to live on an alien space station, but her problems still follow her in this witty, self-aware novel that puts a speculative spin on murder mysteries, from the Hugo-nominated author of Six Wakes."
***
Work continues to be enjoyable for the most part. I'm not bored. I think I'm becoming a good editor, or at the very least, a good legal, technical and business editor. Not to mention a half decent financial analyst.
I'm learning to just enjoy things without thinking too much about it. Life is so much more enjoyable when I float through it and remember to turn off my brain.
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Date: 2025-02-01 06:20 pm (UTC)