Wed Reading Meme...

[shadowkat]

I rather adore Illona Andrews - who writes the Kate Daniels series. Apparently the 6th book in the series, Magic Rises, was rather controversial.

(What is it about book serials and tv serials and the number 6? Actually, I think I know - this is when writers tend to experiment and go outside the proverbial box. They like to shake things up a bit. Evolve the characters, maybe even change a few things. And a lot of viewers and readers want comfort food - they want their tv show or books to give them what they expect...a comfortable time.

If you will excuse the Buffy fandom reference...I remember back in 2002 getting into a fight dialogue with a poster who went by the name "redactor", which considering the name - I'm not sure why I was surprised it went down the way it did.
Anyhow..the gist was this:

Me: Why do you watch Buffy?
Redactor: Thoughtless, comfortable and fun entertainment. No angst please.

I considered telling him he was watching the wrong show - and he should check out Charmed. But I restrained myself, knowing he wouldn't take that well.

Anyhow, I've not read Magic Rises yet, the 6th book. But I adore the writer's Q&A on their website:

With the comments from the blog, my email box had over 600 emails. I am not going to answer all of them. I just can’t. We’re on a deadline, and this would take days.

So I do apologize, but this has gone beyond my capacity. I hope you understand. It’s not that we don’t care or don’t appreciate you, it’s that the scope of feedback exceeds our ability to efficiently go through it. We are humbled and we are deeply grateful to you for taking the time to read our stuff.

1. I love the book

Thank you so much. We are delighted that the book worked for you.

2. I hate the book.

We are sorry the book didn’t work for you. Not every book will appeal to every person. Thank you so much for giving us a try.

3. I disagreed with something you said or wrote and I will argue with you in the comments to this an other posts. You owe me, you suck, and I will tell you all about it because you need to know etc, etc.

I wish you wouldn’t. We can’t write a book tailored to your expectations. There are thousands of you, and a book by committee wouldn’t be a very good book. We can only write the best book we can according to our expectations.

If you are upset about the book, the internet has many forums available to you. If you just can’t help yourself, go ahead, but we will not respond to your comment. If it contains personal attacks or profanity, it will be deleted.

[Honestly, Neil Gaiman's response sticks with me on this one - "the writer is not your bitch!" They are nicer.]

Maybe I'm weird, but I've never felt the need to tell a writer that I hate their work. Love yes, hate no. Oh sure I'll rant about it in my own blog or in a review on Good Reads or Facebook. But I'm not going to tell them. And I don't feel a desire to argue with them about what they wrote or tell them they are wrong. They have the right to tell the story however they so desire. It's their story. And they've put the time and effort into putting it out there - a scary thing to do.
Attacking them personally - seems...a bit cruel.


1. What I just finished reading?

Magic Bleeds. Which was surprisingly good. The writers get better as they go. And it had the most interesting villain to date. Kate Daniels arc is about a loner who has been taught not to care about anyone, who chooses to care and ends up deeply attached to others. It's about how we make our own families and communities and how we need one another to survive. Even if that can be deeply painful at times, and very risky.

I adore the writing style. Which is important. It's snarky, and doesn't take itself too seriously. Also, I don't have to think that hard. Does have a few inconsistencies. The time line in this series is confusing. In one section, we're told three weeks have gone by, in another it's three days. They have their readers beta, but I think they need to find a more anal retentive beta. I'd volunteer, but I hate that sort of thing. That's why I find it difficult asking for beta, I hate doing it.

2. What I'm reading now?

Magic Slays - also quite good so far. They are developing the Andrea Nash and Kate Daniels friendship. This is amongst the few books that I've read in this genre that has a strong focus on platonic friendships. Also it passes the Beschdel test with flying colors. They rarely talk about men.

Makes me laugh as well. Lots of witty banter - which appears to be the writers voice.

3. What I'm reading next?

Gunmetal Magic - the Andrea Nash novel and Magic Gifts (companion novella) that comes before Magic Rises. I read that these two stories enhance Magic Rises. Also have decided to grab "An Ill-Advised Rescue" when I get the chance. And have downloaded Curran's POV stories, written by Gordon Andrews.

In July, Magic Breaks comes out - apparently. Will most like take a break and read
Skin Game by Jim Butcher in between. The writing style of the Kate Daniels books is very similar to Jim Butcher's writing style - snarky and doesn't take itself too seriously.

Comments

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Hee. Yeah - someone hunting a fluffy quippy teen show - was going to be sorely disappointed in the later seasons of Buffy. And it did get pretty dark and angsty in 2002. I find the second half of S6 very hard to re-watch.

The internet has really changed things. It makes it easier to rant or spout off. OR be trollish. Because you don't see the pain on the other side.

And you're right - you can't have a rational conversation with these people. When someone states an "absolute" opinion - it's a conversation stopper.

I can only imagine what it must be like to receive a 100 emails stating: "Your book sucked. You jumped the shark! blah..blah..blah..." And that's after getting past the normal rejection letter process.