I fell to pieces
Jan. 5th, 2015 10:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bironicRahr, I finished Ancillary Sword tonight, which was not flail-inducing like the first half of Ancillary Justice but still a quite enjoyable read, and brought it immediately back to the library--
Short version: Because it had racked up a whole $1.35 in late fees.
Long version: Because back in November I kept mixing up whether Ancillary Sword or Ancillary Justice was the first book, and the interlibrary loan request delivered what I thought was the second one first, so then I returned it, and then the "first" one came in and I discovered it was in fact the sequel, so then I had to hold onto it and re-request the actual first book and wait for that to come back in, by which time the sequel was already overdue. And when I got far enough into AncillarySword [ETA:] Justice, LOL, I'm still doing it [/ETA] to decide I wanted to buy the books to support the author, it was only to discover that a shocking number of stores don't carry them. (Ended up ordering them from Amazon. They're in the mail as we speak.) At least the fines are only a nickel a day.
--and now I'm in that bereft state where you have to resurface from a universe you like,* but you're not ready yet, and also at a loss for what to read next.** Especially as these books came on the heels of the Vampire Chronicles re-reads, another universe I have been known to moon over.
*Mainly thanks to the protagonist being so fabulous: just the right mix of incredible competence, confidence when thrown into unfamiliar and difficult situations, stoicism/self-control, wry humor, intelligence, and physical and emotional vulnerability. And asexuality and atheism and good strong morals and super cool SF technology-driven powers. And an achingly enviable amount and breadth of life experience. Languages, music, cultures. Trying not to say anything spoilery. Also: Space! And worldbuilding that feels pleasantly familiar for a genre fan without being too derivative, IMO, with details that are fresh. And sort of basic but still interesting social justice plots, and some stuff about gender and the necessity of tethering logic to emotion [take that, TOS] and an occasionally unreliable narrator and oh right by the way the dominant race in the galaxy is black, and and.
I see there are 32 stories for it on the AO3, but I'm not ready to try them yet. I want more, but I want more in the sense of I wish the book hadn't ended or that the third one were out already, not that I want gaps filled. Even if the fic summaries and titles look pretty good. Now that I'm not afraid of spoilers I am perusing professional reviews and will have to sort through LJ/DW people's back entries to see who's said stuff about the books before I knew what they were. toft, I seem to recall, recently.
**For tomorrow, there's at least Saga vol. 4. After that, we'll see. Maybe Best American Magazine Writing 2014, but I think I want one more novel first. Thank you again for those feminist SF/F recs last year. I've read two more Le Guin collections and Octavia Butler's Kindred since then, and still want to go for Steerswoman but would prefer to find it in print when it seems to be mostly available for e-readers. Additional recommendations still quite welcome.
(Subject of this post may still be my favorite line from the first book. BTW.)
Short version: Because it had racked up a whole $1.35 in late fees.
Long version: Because back in November I kept mixing up whether Ancillary Sword or Ancillary Justice was the first book, and the interlibrary loan request delivered what I thought was the second one first, so then I returned it, and then the "first" one came in and I discovered it was in fact the sequel, so then I had to hold onto it and re-request the actual first book and wait for that to come back in, by which time the sequel was already overdue. And when I got far enough into Ancillary
--and now I'm in that bereft state where you have to resurface from a universe you like,* but you're not ready yet, and also at a loss for what to read next.** Especially as these books came on the heels of the Vampire Chronicles re-reads, another universe I have been known to moon over.
*Mainly thanks to the protagonist being so fabulous: just the right mix of incredible competence, confidence when thrown into unfamiliar and difficult situations, stoicism/self-control, wry humor, intelligence, and physical and emotional vulnerability. And asexuality and atheism and good strong morals and super cool SF technology-driven powers. And an achingly enviable amount and breadth of life experience. Languages, music, cultures. Trying not to say anything spoilery. Also: Space! And worldbuilding that feels pleasantly familiar for a genre fan without being too derivative, IMO, with details that are fresh. And sort of basic but still interesting social justice plots, and some stuff about gender and the necessity of tethering logic to emotion [take that, TOS] and an occasionally unreliable narrator and oh right by the way the dominant race in the galaxy is black, and and.
I see there are 32 stories for it on the AO3, but I'm not ready to try them yet. I want more, but I want more in the sense of I wish the book hadn't ended or that the third one were out already, not that I want gaps filled. Even if the fic summaries and titles look pretty good. Now that I'm not afraid of spoilers I am perusing professional reviews and will have to sort through LJ/DW people's back entries to see who's said stuff about the books before I knew what they were. toft, I seem to recall, recently.
**For tomorrow, there's at least Saga vol. 4. After that, we'll see. Maybe Best American Magazine Writing 2014, but I think I want one more novel first. Thank you again for those feminist SF/F recs last year. I've read two more Le Guin collections and Octavia Butler's Kindred since then, and still want to go for Steerswoman but would prefer to find it in print when it seems to be mostly available for e-readers. Additional recommendations still quite welcome.
(Subject of this post may still be my favorite line from the first book. BTW.)
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Date: Jan. 6th, 2015 04:01 am (UTC)... well, one of my "To Read" book piles. There may be a few of them. :D
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Date: Jan. 7th, 2015 02:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Jan. 6th, 2015 09:58 am (UTC)I can't recall - have you read The Martian yet? (Andy Weir) It's totally not a replacement for immersion in the Ancillary world, but it's bloody good and enormously engaging, and there's a very funny fic for it in Yuletide: A study on the aerodynamics and parabolic arcs of viscous fluids in a low gravity environment (http://archiveofourown.org/works/2791337) by dira.
Someone recommended the Spin State books (by Chris Moriarty) to me, as a series to rival Ancillary Justice/Sword. I read the first - some interesting ideas but I didn't like the protagonist in the way I did in Ancillary, and there were long, overly detailed and drawn-out sections in which she melds with an AI/fights mental battles/has transcendental union with an alien network etc. etc. All too much like the tedious martial arts sequences in The Matrix for me (albeit all in her head when jacked in), when what I wanted was more complex world-building and somewhat more engaging characters. I'm also trying to get into the 'Tour of the Merrimack' books by R.M. Meluch, but am struggling as I kind of hate reading paper books (the print's pretty small and the damn things don't glow in the dark so how am I supposed to read them in bed?). Have read hardly anything as yet - some interesting ideas but they seem a little male-centric on first take - I guess that'll change. Slightly odd writing style as well, that I can't quite put my finger on.
So none of that's any help in suggesting things for you to read! :)
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Date: Jan. 7th, 2015 02:43 am (UTC)Ha, I agree! Although for a while I wondered if "tea" didn't mean "coffee," the way Awn and everyone complained about non-Radchaai tea, until she started describing the leaves.
have you read The Martian yet? (Andy Weir)
I have not - your description sounds intriguing, and I did just enjoy a dira fic over the weekend. Hmmmmmm.
& isn't Chris Moriarty the one who did A Child's Christmas in Wales? Which I know nothing about other than stultiloquentia and kassrachel like them, which is a recommendation in itself. I mean, plus you, of course, if that's the same author.
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Date: Jan. 7th, 2015 10:18 am (UTC)Nope, Chris Moriarty's just a sci-fi/fantasy writer as far as I know (wasn't A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas?). Lots of people like her books so don't let me put you off - maybe it's just that nothing else quite compares to the Ancillary books for me with the worldbuilding.
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Date: Jan. 8th, 2015 01:19 am (UTC)...Yep, that would be me confusing two apparently very different things. Possibly stulti mentioned both in one conversation and memory conflated them.
Oh The Martian is so great
Requested it from the library today! There were a lot of holds already; I guess it's doing well.
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Date: Jan. 7th, 2015 01:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Jan. 7th, 2015 01:43 pm (UTC)found links
http://www.tor.com/stories/2014/06/nights-slow-poison-ann-leckie
http://www.strangehorizons.com/2014/20141110/commands-f.shtml
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Date: Jan. 7th, 2015 01:59 pm (UTC)