Reading Update

So, I’ve read The Great Gatsby. Um, it was good – short, well-written. There may be several reasons why I don’t understand why it’s considered the greatest American novel – and probably all of them are true. First, I’m not well-versed in American novels; Victorian English is more my speed, for reasons unknown. Second, as I mentioned in an earlier post about music, I like books for different reasons, and I can’t really see myself saying: “This one is the only best book out there.” I can’t see comparing Jane Eyre and Red Storm Rising for instance, two of my favorite books. They’re completely different, and serve completely different purposes. Third, I may have shot myself in the foot – or at least grazed it – by surrounding my reading of Gatsby with fantasy novels. I was kind of in that mode, you know? To then go suddenly to realistic fiction….it’s all about context, you know.

So I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that I decided to go back to Paksenarrion after Gatsby. There are several things to note, after 150 pages of Divided Allegiance: First, it reads much more like a genre fantasy novel – lots more spells and magic and random beastie encounters. I don’t know if that had anything to do with the publisher, or Miss Moon herself. There is still, thankfully, a sense of days-in-the-life, which I really enjoyed about Sheepfarmer’s Daughter. There is, however, a greatly added sense of adventure, which kind of works both ways. It does add to the D&D feel, but it also captures a part of Sheepfarmer’s that I really liked, where Paks and some friends are trying to escape to go warn the Duke. There is still no real sense of where the plot is heading as a whole, which is interesting and well done, I think.

But what struck me the most, and what I’d like to spend the remainder of the time discussing, is that there is not the typical rehash that you see in almost all sequels. What Elizabeth Moon does give you in the way of reminding you what has gone before, and what everyone looks like, is so subtly interwoven that you don’t even realize it’s happening.

(You do know what I’m talking about, right? The most blatant example is The Hardy Boys mysteries, where you find out in the opening pages of every story that Frank is black-haired, the brains, and 18, and Joe is blond, the brawn, and 17.)

As I realized she wasn’t doing that, I began wondering: “Why does that happen so often? Do people really pick up a book in the bookstore/library, and say: ‘Hmm. Book Two. I think I’ll start reading here.’?”

And I can see, perhaps, for the first generation readers, after two years they might need to be refreshed; but aren't the proceeding generations probably the larger audience? And is it that difficult to refresh yourself – if it’s been that long – by going back over some of book one? It’s annoying, sometimes! It’s really annoying, especially as one of the proceeding generations, who are reading the books back-to-back.

(As a pseudo-interesting side-note, I’ve never come in on a series before it’s finished. I could’ve with Eragon, but I didn’t like it that much…)

So, I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ll say it again as a way of recommendation: I’ve found that Paks’ world doesn't end with The Deed of Paksenarrion, and there’s even a book about Gird, a holy Saint in Deed, showing what he actually accomplished in his life. I will be reading those later on. These are by far the best books I’ve read in a long time.