Hooray!!
While I like Simon Vance (who is currently reading The Little Stranger to me), I am glad to read that you have found a book that ticks all the boxes. Sorry, that you also had a rocky start to the Bingo. :(
Oh, wow. Thanks. Sorcerer to the Crown got itself put back to the end of the TBR line. That's really disappointing, tho. The premise sounded really good.
It did -- and this shall teach me (again) not to buy into hype. Essentially, this is fanfic for "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell" (and probably also for Novik's "Temeraire" series, though I haven't read that, so I can't say for sure), written by an author who wouldn't even know how to craft ordinary adult communication if hit over the head with it, and whose idea of (1) politics, (2) power and (3) not least, magic is strictly kindergarten level. Not to mention plot holes big enough to drive several carriages through ... etc.
Ugh. That's disappointing. JS&MR is not everyone's cuppa but in a quiet way it did set a certain standard for "magic in Regency Britain" books. I'm glad it's got to a place where it attracts fan fiction, but not a lot of fan fiction rises to the same level, it appears.
Fanfic seldom does (and it seriously irks me that these days, so much fanfic is either not even recognized for what it is or hyped far and above its literary merit *just because* it is fanfic), but gah ... I'd so totally DNF'd this one if it hadn't been for Halloween Bingo. In fact, pretty much the only remotely positive thing about this experience was that it provided (perhaps superfluous, but nevertheless welcome) confirmation that I can trust my "DNF" instincts: If I feel like bowing out early on, chances are this is a book that really will not improve for me the further it progresses.
I'm not the biggest fan of "Jonathan Strange" -- the beginning, the end, and the world building are superb, but for me it seriously dragged in the middle -- but I'll be the first to recognize that it really does accomplish something new and original. And yes ... if there has to be fanfic for it, at least let it be something that at least halfway stands up to the original!
And re JS&MN, it does go on and on and on, but it is one of the few books that didn't annoy me to the point of skipping ahead doing so. I think this was only because the writing made this an utterly immersive reading experience ... and I probably had time on my hands when reading it.
Sanctuary on the other hand was a short book but would have ended up as a DNF if it had not been for the Bingo.
There may come a time when I'll revisit "Jonathan Strange" -- I think what contributed to my "please, let's just get on with it" response in the middle was the combination of the sheer length of the book and the fact that I read it when I only had whatever time I managed to stay awake before going to bed (which translated into a chapter or two at most per day).
But that's precisely the thing: "Jonathan Strange" *is* a book I would revisit, on the grounds of its beginning, end, and the quality of the writing and the world building alone. "Sorcerer to the Crown" is much shorter, and still it took me forever to finish -- and I know won't ever look at it again. And I think the same is true for you with "Sanctuary". (And possibly also Faulkner's other writing into the bargain!)
While I like Simon Vance (who is currently reading The Little Stranger to me), I am glad to read that you have found a book that ticks all the boxes. Sorry, that you also had a rocky start to the Bingo. :(
The "infantile drivel" was Zen Cho's "Sorcerer to the Crown".
I'm not the biggest fan of "Jonathan Strange" -- the beginning, the end, and the world building are superb, but for me it seriously dragged in the middle -- but I'll be the first to recognize that it really does accomplish something new and original. And yes ... if there has to be fanfic for it, at least let it be something that at least halfway stands up to the original!
And re JS&MN, it does go on and on and on, but it is one of the few books that didn't annoy me to the point of skipping ahead doing so. I think this was only because the writing made this an utterly immersive reading experience ... and I probably had time on my hands when reading it.
Sanctuary on the other hand was a short book but would have ended up as a DNF if it had not been for the Bingo.
But that's precisely the thing: "Jonathan Strange" *is* a book I would revisit, on the grounds of its beginning, end, and the quality of the writing and the world building alone. "Sorcerer to the Crown" is much shorter, and still it took me forever to finish -- and I know won't ever look at it again. And I think the same is true for you with "Sanctuary". (And possibly also Faulkner's other writing into the bargain!)