[Larry.]

Since there seems to still be life in that anti-woman author thread, I thought I'd just acknowledge that as weird timing for a post about an author who has garnered both praise and umm...non-praise from many on the blogosphere. I happen to be one of those who enjoyed her first novel, Mélusine, and I just finished reading her second novel, The Virtu last night. This link here will take you to a review of the second (with an embedded link for the first), in case you're curious.

But beyond what I think, I'm curious about what you think about her two novels to date (the third, The Mirador, is set to be released later this month). What did you like/dislike about her work? If you read both, which was your favorite and why? And if you haven't read her yet, how inclined are you to read her work?

This post has been edited by Dylanfanatic: 05 November 2007 - 09:06 PM

[Ran]

Linda quite enjoys the books, and I've enjoyed them as well. She prefers Felix (which, apparently, makes her in a minority of Monette's fans), while I think Mildmay's a nicely-handled character. There's some inventive stuff in the setting, though I get the strong sense that it's not particularly thought out; or, at least, the borders and the rules of it are left deliberately vague in preference of other avenues of world-building.

Of the two, I think I probably enjoyed the second over the first, primarily because I did not find the driven-insane-by-magic Felix particularly sympathetic or compelling (naturally, Linda disagrees). But in both books, I really think it's Mildmay who really sold it for me. She's captured his voice very well.

[Larry.]

I guess I'm in the majority then, as I thought Mildmay's scenes were a bit more "accessible," I suppose, although the insane Felix was written better than many other attempts at portraying madness that I've read by other authors.

Another thing that struck me about the two books is that they're more "mood" pieces than a standard develop the world/plot fantasy series, at least for me. It seems Monette is more interested in the internal conflicts within each character than with the externals of her plot/story. It works for me, but I think it might drive many people crazy.

[etcetera]

Dylanfanatic, on Jul 2 2007, 16.13, said:

Another thing that struck me about the two books is that they're more "mood" pieces than a standard develop the world/plot fantasy series, at least for me. It seems Monette is more interested in the internal conflicts within each character than with the externals of her plot/story. It works for me, but I think it might drive many people crazy.

I think you are on to something there, Dylanfanatic. I think this may be why I liked Mélusine. I haven't read the others yet, but plan to (perhaps waiting til the series is completed, though).

I found Mildmay the more likeable character, but Felix the more fascinating, perhaps because of the madness and not being able to communicate (insane characters are a weakness of mine -- sucks me into the story usually). I often don't mention these books. I've been burned a few times because people generally have such a visceral reaction to Felix, and most hate him, and therefore hate the book. Since I've only read the first one, I'm not sure how I would react to what Monette has done with him in the followups.

I've also liked a few of Monette's short stories. I think she's talented, and I'll be interested in whatever she chooses to write.

[Larry.]

Well, the series will be complete in about a year. I know she has about a month before she's due to turn in the manuscript for the final volume, Summerdown, so Summer 2008 seems to be the target for that. Third volume, The Mirador, comes out next month, I believe.

As for her short stories, there is a collection called The Bone Key, that's out this year (might already be in stores, have to check). And I know she's doing a collaborative story with Elizabeth Bear that'll be released this autumn by Tor. I'm going to request a review copy for that one.

[Fantasy Book Critic]

I've mentioned this on another board, but yeah, I'm a fan of the series, and I do like Mildmay more than Felix, but the series as a whole is one of the more interesting ones out there and I'm looking forward to completing it. "The Mirador", book three, does come out in August, the 7th to be more specific, and I hope to cover it in the next couple of weeks. And, if I'm lucky, I'll also have an interview with Ms. Monette...

[Larry.]

Very cool. I just started the interview process with her and we aim to have it up around the end of the month in time for The Mirador. If you don't mind me asking, do you have an ARC for it?

[Maid Sansa]

I Just finished The Virtu - tore through both books in three days, actually. It took some work to make myself read past the breaking of the Virtu at first, but Monette's style just drew me in. Poor Felix's descent into madness was awful at times, but I still couldn't stop reading. Seems I'm in the minority that prefers Felix as POV character. It may be because I can sympathise with a snarky smartass that always wants to know everything there is to know about their chosen obsession. Mildmay and his "fuck this for an emperor's snotrag" attitude, far from seeming more accessible, actually baffled me at times. He was far too withdrawn for my taste. I still enjoyed reading him, though.

[Fantasy Book Critic]

Dylanfanatic, on Jul 11 2007, 10.50, said:

Very cool. I just started the interview process with her and we aim to have it up around the end of the month in time for The Mirador. If you don't mind me asking, do you have an ARC for it?

Ah, you're interviewing her too huh. That should be cool then, since you always have some pretty interesting questions. And yes, I do have an arc of the book. How about you?

[Larry.]

Thanks :D As for having an ARC, no, mostly because when I looked at the Penguin group's site, it seemed very difficult to ask for one, when something about having a printed letterhead was mentioned. How did you go about getting one?

[Fantasy Book Critic]

Dylanfanatic, on Jul 11 2007, 13.08, said:

Thanks :D As for having an ARC, no, mostly because when I looked at the Penguin group's site, it seemed very difficult to ask for one, when something about having a printed letterhead was mentioned. How did you go about getting one?

I'll send you an email regarding this...

[Larry.]

OK. You can either use the PM function here or the NB feature at wotmania if you'd prefer that (my email address is only in my wotmania profile, I see). Thanks! :D

[Fantasy Book Critic]

Larry, hey I sent you an email to your gmail address about the same time that my Internet service went out yesterday afternoon. So, I'm not sure if you got it or not. Let me know when you get the chance, thanks!

[Larry.]

I just checked, didn't receive anything. Please send again?

As for the ISP cutting out in the middle of sends, I've had that happen before and it is really annoying - nothing major, right?

[Fantasy Book Critic]

Okay, I resent it to your email and also I IM'd you on this board, so hopefully you get it this time. Thankfully, I save all the emails I write :)

We actually had an outage in this area yesterday, so the Internet was out for several hours. Other than that, normally I don't have any problems with the ISP cutting out...

[Larry.]

Part I of my interview with Sarah just went live. Click on the link to read it. Part II and my review of her upcoming The Mirador will be posted by Tuesday, I hope.

[Xray the Enforcer]

I went into Melusine with high hopes, but in the end I was just not into the book at all. Not even as a mood piece. Aside from the obviously difficult task of writing a POV with a trauma-induced mental illness, I thought the book squandered opportunites, or failed to deliver on others. I dunno -- I'm all for non-standard approaches to fantasy, but this one wasn't for me.

[Larry.]

Interesting, as I found her second book, The Virtu, to be stronger by far in exploring the character dynamics. I'm only 50 pages into the third, The Mirador, and it's probably too early to tell where this is heading, but considering she said that this was the hardest book for her to write, I think I can tell why. Very difficult to pick up with characters a few years down the road. I suspect the dramatic tension is about to kick in, though.

But I am curious about the failed/squandered opportunities. Anything in particular that sticks out?

[Xray the Enforcer]

Dylanfanatic, on Aug 3 2007, 18.13, said:

But I am curious about the failed/squandered opportunities. Anything in particular that sticks out?

I wish I could go back to the book and dig some up, but when we moved that was one of the books that went to the used book shop. I just remember being really intrigued by the whole premise, and then being left high and dry at every turn (either side stories not fleshed out, or questionable motivations on behalf of the main characters). Maybe it just lacked pacing. All I know is that by the end, I didn't give a shit what happened to either main character, nor did I have any motivation to chase down The Virtu. :(

[Larry.]

Gotcha. Just one of those books that it's hard to say where it went wrong for you, but that something did, but it just cannot be pinpointed?