somebody laid the mountains low while the town got high

[minkhollow]

So I'm around halfway through Villains By Necessity, and, well... facepalming at Sam a lot, at present. (Similar principle to Lord of the Rings and the last Harry Potter book, but not exactly the same. WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS TRIP PEOPLE UP.) That said, it's a very good book - something of a Fractured Fairy Tale - and I think my favorite character so far is the knight.
That... is pretty much it. for the moment.

Comments

[quinby.livejournal.com]

wheeeere are you? *flailcling*

[fujinsama.livejournal.com]

Oh I'll have to look for it. I lovelovelove fractured fairy tales. (Speaking of, I've just recently heard of The Looking-Glass Wars and wanted to know if anyone else I know's read it and if it's any good before I start the search for it.)

[minkhollow]

The one by Eve Forward, if you get to looking. According to Amazon, it's not the only book by that name. (It also seems to be out of print, so... try the library first?)
's quite enjoyable, though. Basically, the forces of Good get too much power for, well. Their own good, so some bad guys band together to put a stop to that nonsense. There are a lot of obvious fantasy tropes (the bit I was facepalming at, the Epic Quest deal, someone spying for The Other Guys), but it's very well-thought-out.
Can't say that I've heard of the book you mentioned, though.

[desertephemeral.livejournal.com]

Heh! Glad you're enjoying it, at least. ^_^
I could never quite decide whether the cliche fantasy stuff was okay because it was sort of spoofish, or if it annoyed me. :P
I have to say that I enjoy Sam as a character, despite the irritation. XD XD XD

[minkhollow]

Oh, he's a fun character. Just that particular stretch of pages, I was going 'YOU, SIR, ARE A DUMBASS!'
Most of the cliches are handled well enough, particularly in the context of turning the typical Epic Fantasy Novel on its head, that it doesn't bug me.

yaaaaay, VbN!

[falxumbra.livejournal.com]

"Sure, Frodo, why don't you just put on that EVIL RING OF EVIL while those EVIL MINIONS OF EVIL are looking for you?"

"Oh, hey, Ron, why don't you wear that thingybob with the piece of the Dark Lord's soul in it, I'm sure that won't have any bad consequences at all!"

"Y'know, Sam, stealing Valerie's pendant was a great idea! Why don't you try to use it, what with it being a small portal to a realm of PURE EVIL and you having no idea what to do with magic!"

Yeah. Sam is a bit of an idiot sometimes, but I found him rather endearing anyway. And we learn a very valuable lesson because of his ordeal: "Half of an assassin is just an ass." XD Blackmail is made of awesome, too, but I think Arcie was always my favorite because I'm irrationally fond of snarky sneakthieves.

The book is pretty much just a great big string of fantasy cliches turned slightly on their heads, and that was why I enjoyed it so thoroughly. It's my ultimate comfort-food book.

[minkhollow]

Oh, Sam had me from the beginning, but seriously, EVIL JEWELRY. DO NOT WEAR IT. You'd think there'd be a memo about that. (I'm tempted to write an evil necktie into something, now. At least no one would see it coming.)
I did like the 'yo, I'm hanging out in the shadows!' thing, up to where it turned out to be a STUPID IDEA.