Review - The Fall of Troy

The Fall of Troy (Peter Ackroyd)

This was a lot better than I expected it to be, given it was a random find in a charity shop. The central character, Herr Obermann, is an odd one: unlikeable in his fanaticism, and yet attractive in his dedication to his ideas. The supporting characters are not so vivid, but Sophia has a quiet strength which is very appealing.

The story itself is more suspense and quiet threat than action, really. The dialogue is odd, rather stiff, because Peter Ackroyd seems to make a pretty good attempt at representing how people speak English as a second language. The writing itself is functional rather than beautiful, rather matter of fact, but not a chore to read. It does make the potential romances that could be built here rather prosaic and flat, and the whole thing feels reserved, but it works, here.

Big Bang Promo: A Drinking Game

It's nearly time for posting to start on au_bigbang. I have been waiting impatiently to make this post since the end of March. Consider this a heads up: there is going to be a ton of awesome fic over at au_bigbang, very soon.

In particular, there's going to be my fic, "Right Where We Belong", on the 10th. Summary: When John dies, Dean ends up at the roadhouse and is brought up by Ellen as Jo's big brother. Growing up there is no protection, though -- not when the apocalypse is about to start.

It includes: woobie!Dean, badass!Ellen, bratty!Jo, clueless!Castiel and misguided!Sam! There is angst! There is violence! Dean is mute and scarred and did I mention woobie? And the world is saved by hugging!

I am not even joking.

As I was writing this fic, for some reason, I started to think about a drinking game for it. By way of promo for the fic, I am going to post the rules for that drinking game right now.

Right Where We Belong, or The One In Which Hugs Saved The World: A Drinking Game

It's like this. Take a drink:

( Rules under the cut, with teasers! )

Alternatively, grab a bottle of your chosen beverage, click on the cut tag, and start drinking. Keep drinking. No, really, keep on drinking. Don't stop. And -- no, get another bottle. Really! Keep drinking!

Disclaimer: If you drink water each time, you are going to be needing the toilet a lot. If you drink alcohol, well. I'll allow you to hold off on leaving me feedback until after you've had your stomach pumped. I do not accept responsibility for anything that happens to you if you actually attempt to put these rules into practice, they are a joke.

You can now read the fic here!

Review - Palimpsest

Palimpsest (Catherynne M. Valente)

This book is beautiful. The language of it is mesmerising and enticing and sometimes cloying, there's so much of it, it's so thick with description and invention and ideas. I remember commenting about China Miéville's work, and how the cities of his work almost seem to be characters themselves -- I can see why people compare Palimpsest to his work, although in Palimpsest it's more true than ever.

Reading this book is like exploring the city in the same limited way as the characters. Sometimes frustratingly: there's a bit you want to see or understand or get to, but you can't, not yet. You have to give it time for it to unfold.

I can understand why it has quite a lot of love-or-hate reactions. If you give it time, it's a beguiling, rewarding book, but if you don't have the time or the patience or the inclination, it's impenetrable.

I didn't really feel like I got to know the characters or the city as well as I would want to. Ordinarily, that would be a major turn-off for me, but there was enough to keep me satisfied, and the writing, the richness of the detail, was enough to compensate for the lack of my usual favourites. If there's any criticism, it's that the characters didn't feel as rich and as real to me as I wanted them to -- there were enchanting details about them, but I didn't get to know them as I would like to.