The Bush League Critic

I haven't been around the old blog much lately, and I apologize to my three readers for that. I blame it on early-onset blogging burnout. It's still not in my nature (yet) to finish a book and then take time to organize my thoughts into a coherent, intelligent, thoughtful book review. It is in my nature to pick up the next book in my TBR pile and get back to what I enjoy most... reading. So I may eschew intelligence and coherence in favor of some quick thoughts on what I've been reading.

Iron Council by China Miéville. Miéville challenges me as reader. That can result in one of two things: 1) I love the book because I was equal to the challenge and kicked its ass, or... 2) The book pisses me off because I somehow failed to meet the challenge and my easily irritated vanity tries to convince me that it's the author's fault. Luckily, the outcome of this particular challenge resulted in option number one.

I've seen this book get bagged by many online reviews. I'm not sure why, but most points of contention seem to revolve around the section entitled 'Anamnesis'. Many found the the change of style and direction too disruptive, but I found it to be altogether enticing and necessary. That may be due to the (what I can only assume were intentional) corollaries drawn to a favorite subject of mine in America's history; namely the building of the transcontinental railroad--and all of the perceived injustices of that time. Miéville's 'Re-made' seemed to represent the Chinese (and other) immigrants who were exploited in the name of progress... not to mention the allusions to indigenous people who were uprooted from their history for that same 'Progress'. Fascinating stuff really.

I was a tad 'let down' with The Scar (the middle book in this three book series), namely because the city of New Crobuzon (which I consider a minor character in the series) played no part. But Iron Council returned to the greatness that I had come to expect from Perdido Street Station.  My only real beef with Miéville is that he tends to cross that fine line between 'quirky, interesting prose' and 'what the fuck did he just say?!' quite often... usually when he goes on one of his "big word" binges. I don't mind using a dictionary occasionally while reading, but I'd sure like the words I'm looking up to actually be in there when I do. I guess I should invest in a new dictionary, huh?

Song for Arbonne by Guy Gavriel Kay. I'm a johnny-come-lately to Kay's -- and many other fantasy authors -- works. Mainly because after kicking off my fantasy reading career in the late 70's with the likes of Tolkein, Terry Brooks and Stephen R. Donaldson (whose works inspired me), I came down with a nasty case of elfaorcaphobia (don't look it up in a dictionary, just sound it out). The fantasy tropes of the time frankly bored me shitless; and so I kicked all things unicorn (or kobold) related to the curb for many years. When I eventually wandered back into the genre, I found that a lot of authors had acknowledged the fact that many readers wanted... well, more. So I dove back in, and authors like Kay made me love the genre again.

I think it's pretty much accepted that The Lions of Al-Rassan and Tigana are the center-pieces of Kay's works, to date. Song for Arbonne is still a great story, as were Under Heaven and The Fionavar Tapestry, but not quite up to Kay's personal best. Fortunately for readers, Kay's 'slightly less than stellar' works still stand head and shoulders above many fantasy authors' best output. Plus, Kay proves that epic stories -- rich with history,  memorable characters, and all the emotional baggage we've come to expect from them -- can be achieved in one book.

The Middle Kingdom by David Wingrove. I'm still digesting this one. After reading this (the first volume in Wingrove's highly touted Chung Kuo series), I can certainly see what all the fuss was about. Wingrove puts together an intricate plot in a future where Han culture dominates the world (and history is rewritten to make it seem it has always been that way). Full of political intrigue, social unrest and many kick-ass characters, this series has my full attention for the time being. My only concern is that there may not be enough kick-assness or original plot twists to justify the eight moderately large volumes that make up this series. I worry that there may be serious amounts of '(re)treading water' going on as it progresses. I'll certainly give it the shot it deserves, but I'm not going to attempt to read all eight of these books straight through.