Recent Reading

Most recently I've read The Caves of Steel, Girls of Riyadh, and The Iron Tree. As always, I loved Asimov's book, because it expertly combined the theories he explored in it with the overlay of a classic almost-Noir detective story complete with its own tall, dark, and brooding, but essentially noble and upstanding detective forced to clear his own name. I had an interesting discussion with two men at Dragon*Con who were both in the process of writing two different scholarly works on medievalism, which is one of the themes Asimov explored in The Caves of Steel. I explained to them how he introduced it in The Caves partly as society's natural adverse reaction to being confronted with too much modernism, especially the cavernous and resources-hungry Cities and the resulting necessity of employing Robots more and more frequently; they both dilligently jotted down the title on their little notepads and seemed intrigued that an author of science fiction was exploring the idea of medievalism in a work of science fiction, so hopefully they'll pick up the book, even if Asimov's views on medievalism do not coincide with their own. I wish I would have gotten their names, because I'd be interested to read their books when/if they are published. If I have any complaint with The Caves of Steel it is one I have had with dozens of older works of science fiction, specifically those written by the old, male grand masters of the genre: that the female characters are generally silly, always less intelligent then the male characters, and prone to hysterics. However, I understand that this was the common perception of men of that age and it makes me only more thankful for the female masters of science fiction like Linda Nagata and Octavia Butler, who are, in truth, both better writers than the majority of the old school grand masters.

Girls of Riyadh was wonderful, although I would almost derisively classify it as "chick lit," a term which really shouldn't have the negative connotations it does; it's the conspiratorial, gossipy tone of the writing that leads me to feel this way about Girls, but it really doesn't detract from the powerful message of the book and, after I became used to it, made the book more meaningful. Girls explores a world to which I will never, in this life, have access and one in which I would not want to live, because it is a life of stark contradictions, criminal unfairness, and endless restrictions. Most of all, Girls of Riyadh sends a message of hope and gives a very human, understandable, persona to a group of people of whom I would otherwise have almost no understanding: that is, young, wealthy, Saudi Arabian women. Honestly, before I read Girls of Riyadh I didn't realize how horribly ignorant I was of that culture, having had only knowledge that was outdated or so extremely vague as to be worthless.

I've been a fan of Cecilia Dart-Thornton since I first picked up The Ill-Made Mute, which I read in less than a week because it was so beautiful and fascinating. The Iron Tree, by comparison, leaves much to be desired and I cannot recommend it highly, although there were some very worthwhile moments, especially Dart-Thornton's retelling of some classic English folk tales. I did enjoy The Iron Tree because it is a beautifully-written fairy tale, but there were some extremely dull chapters and a number of predictable cliches. I also disliked the handsome hero and his beautiful bride, because I felt they were too strongly archetypal and thus dull; nor do I care much for their daughter, Jewel, who seems like she will be the focus of the second book in the trilogy, although I have to acknowledge that so far her character is less two-dimensional than that of her parents. Instead, I much more enjoyed the too-briefly explored stories of Eolacha and Cuiva, an elderly carlin (wise woman) and her successor. I will eventually read the second book in the trilogy, despite my misgivings, because the story Dart-Thornton has begun in The Iron Tree is interesting enough for me to wish to learn the conclusion, but so far it just cannot compare to the Bittyerbynde Trilogy. I would love to see Dart-Thornton write more about the carlins, who have been important figures in all of her books, although they have never been the focus of any of them. Ideally, I would love to see a collection of short stories published about the carlins, focusing on the sacrifices they make to gain the magical favor of the Crone, the mysteries to which they gain access, the adventures and struggles they experience throughout their lives, and their lives in general before and after they become carlins.