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wilderthan) wrote2011-01-11 01:31 am
wilderthan) wrote2011-01-11 01:31 am
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Reviews - Elizabeth Jewell, Josh Lanyon
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Elizabeth Jewell)
I should probably be screaming at the liberties taken with Arthurian myth, knowing me, but I actually really enjoyed this. I found it hilarious to begin with: first with the inappropriateness of saying things like, "Camelot was a liberal place, after all.", and then at other observations which summarised what I've always really thought about certain knights, e.g. of Lancelot, "Gawain steeled himself for a long, drawn-out, nonlinear narrative of rescuing fair maidens from dragond, conquering supernatural demons disguised as human knights with fire-breathing horses, and getting oh so very close to the discovery of the ever-elusive Holy Grail and yet somehow once again not quite managing to bring it back to the castle."
Once Gawain left the castle though, it settled down a bit into something that was much better than I expected. Most of the elements of the familiar story are here, but used ingeniously. A tenderness and a tension does build between Bertilak and Gawain, and I began to need to finish the story to find out how things turned out for them. It didn't totally neglect women, either, as Bertilak's wife is a part of the story, is given a name and feelings of her own. The tenderness between her and Bertilak, despite their lack of attraction to each other, and their cursed situation, is rather lovely. The sex itself is pretty well-written, too: nothing egregiously bad, or inherently hilarious.
It all added up to a surprisingly satisfying story, which made me laugh along the way. I don't think one can really ask for much more.
(Just. Gaheris and Agravain are not Gawain's cousins.)
Cards on the Table (Josh Lanyon)
Cards on the Table is relatively short, but -- as with all Lanyon's work, actually -- I very quickly came to care about the characters. Jack is a good guy: not a jerk who you like anyway, but an actually good guy who has legitimate concerns about being with Tim. That makes him all the more likeable -- that his issues are understandable, even sensible. I actually liked him more than Tim, though there was nothing I particularly disliked about Tim.
The story of the mystery itself was well written, too, though decidedly -- personally, anyway -- second to the relationship developing between Tim and Jack. I didn't really get invested in the mystery, if that's any indication: the climax for me was the relationship between Tim and Jack, not the solution of the mystery.
Dangerous Ground (Josh Lanyon)
Whenever I want something quick and fun to read, I'm starting to realise that I should just pick up something by Josh Lanyon, since there's plenty of his work I haven't read yet (and isn't that a lovely feeling?). Dangerous Ground is more action/adventure than mystery, but the build-up of the relationship is as well-done as ever, and I quite liked the way he handles the action/adventure aspect. I liked the history between the two characters, and their helpless misunderstandings of each other -- which didn't embarrass or annoy me as they would in a chick flick, which just seemed real and believable.
My only quibble is that the main characters are very alike. Taylor and Will... for a while, I couldn't keep them (heh) straight. They are meant to be alike, with a lot in common, that's why they're drawn to each other, but they shouldn't be alike to the reader.
Still, plenty of fun, as well as being light and easy to read.
I should probably be screaming at the liberties taken with Arthurian myth, knowing me, but I actually really enjoyed this. I found it hilarious to begin with: first with the inappropriateness of saying things like, "Camelot was a liberal place, after all.", and then at other observations which summarised what I've always really thought about certain knights, e.g. of Lancelot, "Gawain steeled himself for a long, drawn-out, nonlinear narrative of rescuing fair maidens from dragond, conquering supernatural demons disguised as human knights with fire-breathing horses, and getting oh so very close to the discovery of the ever-elusive Holy Grail and yet somehow once again not quite managing to bring it back to the castle."
Once Gawain left the castle though, it settled down a bit into something that was much better than I expected. Most of the elements of the familiar story are here, but used ingeniously. A tenderness and a tension does build between Bertilak and Gawain, and I began to need to finish the story to find out how things turned out for them. It didn't totally neglect women, either, as Bertilak's wife is a part of the story, is given a name and feelings of her own. The tenderness between her and Bertilak, despite their lack of attraction to each other, and their cursed situation, is rather lovely. The sex itself is pretty well-written, too: nothing egregiously bad, or inherently hilarious.
It all added up to a surprisingly satisfying story, which made me laugh along the way. I don't think one can really ask for much more.
(Just. Gaheris and Agravain are not Gawain's cousins.)
Cards on the Table (Josh Lanyon)
Cards on the Table is relatively short, but -- as with all Lanyon's work, actually -- I very quickly came to care about the characters. Jack is a good guy: not a jerk who you like anyway, but an actually good guy who has legitimate concerns about being with Tim. That makes him all the more likeable -- that his issues are understandable, even sensible. I actually liked him more than Tim, though there was nothing I particularly disliked about Tim.
The story of the mystery itself was well written, too, though decidedly -- personally, anyway -- second to the relationship developing between Tim and Jack. I didn't really get invested in the mystery, if that's any indication: the climax for me was the relationship between Tim and Jack, not the solution of the mystery.
Dangerous Ground (Josh Lanyon)
Whenever I want something quick and fun to read, I'm starting to realise that I should just pick up something by Josh Lanyon, since there's plenty of his work I haven't read yet (and isn't that a lovely feeling?). Dangerous Ground is more action/adventure than mystery, but the build-up of the relationship is as well-done as ever, and I quite liked the way he handles the action/adventure aspect. I liked the history between the two characters, and their helpless misunderstandings of each other -- which didn't embarrass or annoy me as they would in a chick flick, which just seemed real and believable.
My only quibble is that the main characters are very alike. Taylor and Will... for a while, I couldn't keep them (heh) straight. They are meant to be alike, with a lot in common, that's why they're drawn to each other, but they shouldn't be alike to the reader.
Still, plenty of fun, as well as being light and easy to read.