I picked this one up recently at my favorite local bookstore because the cover just really caught my eye. It's a short novel, only a little over 200 pages, about a women who sets sail for England after some personal tragedy to start over and to find the lost letters of Jane Austen. I wanted to like this book, I really did. Honestly though I spent the whole time just wanting to smack the lead character, Emma Douglas, whose head we spend the whole story in. She's whiny, trite and frankly ridiculous. The story itself had great potential but the "heroine" just ruins any and all believablity the story might have had. I wanted to have sympathy for all Emma had gone thru which had led her to embark on this quest but I just couldn't. She spent so much of the story crying and feeling sorry for herself while ridiculously blaming Jane Austen for her problems that I could barely stomach it. Not only was she not believable as a character, she was just annoying to have to deal with. Add to that that the story is told in first person and her thoughts are therefore inescapable and it's frankly miraculous I even finished it.
This is one I would pass on, especially if you prefer your chick-lit to have a strong female lead or at the least a multi-dimensional personality.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Sir Apropos of Nothing- Peter David
Sir Apropos of Nothing is one of the funniest books I have read in awhile. It's been out for some time but I have only just recently decided to pick it up and I'm glad I did. If Douglas Adams had written epic fantasy satire as opposed to science fiction satire it might have been something like this! Peter David did a tremendous job lampooning all I hold dear about the fantasy genre. The witty prose made me quite literally laugh out loud at some points and the sheer knavery of the title character made it impossible to put down. I had to find out if what he was going to do next! Despite being a satire it does have a well laid out plot, twists and all. Im eagerly looking forward to the next installment. If you are looking for a light read that will make you laugh, especially if you are a fantasy nut like me I highly recommend you pick this one up!
Below the dust jacket description....
They were dark and stormy knights...and when they had their way with a helpless tavern wench one terrible evening, they had no idea that the result of that twilight brutality was going to come after them years later looking to settle the score...
The "result's" unlikely name is Apropos: A rogue, a rascal, a scoundrel, a cheat...and those are his good points. Lame of leg but fast of wit, the only reason Apropos doesn't consider chivalry dead is because he's not yet through with it. Herewith, Sir Apropos of Nothing- his story in the words of the knave himself.
Apropos, all too aware of his violent and unseemly beginnings, travels to the court of good King Runcible, with three goals in mind: to find his father, seek retribution, and line his own pockets. However Apropos carries the most troublesome burden a would-be harbinger of chaos can bear: He may well be a hero foretold, a young man of destiny. It's not a notion that Apropos finds palatable, having very low regard for such notions as honor, selflessness, or risking one's neck. Yet when Apropos finds himself assigned as squire to the most senile knight in the court- Sir Umbrage of the Flaming Nether Regions, whose squires tend to have a rather short life span- Apropos is forced to rise to the occasion lest he be dragged under- permanently.
His difficulties are compounded when a routine mission to escort the King's daughter home after a long absence goes horribly awry. Suddenly Apropos finds himself saddled with trying to survive while dealing with a berserk phoenix, murderous unicorns, mutated harpies, homicidal warrior kings and- most problematic of all- a princess who may or may not be a pyschotic arsonist.
You can find Sir Apropos of Nothing at your local bookstore or order it here Sir Apropos of Nothing
Below the dust jacket description....
They were dark and stormy knights...and when they had their way with a helpless tavern wench one terrible evening, they had no idea that the result of that twilight brutality was going to come after them years later looking to settle the score...
The "result's" unlikely name is Apropos: A rogue, a rascal, a scoundrel, a cheat...and those are his good points. Lame of leg but fast of wit, the only reason Apropos doesn't consider chivalry dead is because he's not yet through with it. Herewith, Sir Apropos of Nothing- his story in the words of the knave himself.
Apropos, all too aware of his violent and unseemly beginnings, travels to the court of good King Runcible, with three goals in mind: to find his father, seek retribution, and line his own pockets. However Apropos carries the most troublesome burden a would-be harbinger of chaos can bear: He may well be a hero foretold, a young man of destiny. It's not a notion that Apropos finds palatable, having very low regard for such notions as honor, selflessness, or risking one's neck. Yet when Apropos finds himself assigned as squire to the most senile knight in the court- Sir Umbrage of the Flaming Nether Regions, whose squires tend to have a rather short life span- Apropos is forced to rise to the occasion lest he be dragged under- permanently.
His difficulties are compounded when a routine mission to escort the King's daughter home after a long absence goes horribly awry. Suddenly Apropos finds himself saddled with trying to survive while dealing with a berserk phoenix, murderous unicorns, mutated harpies, homicidal warrior kings and- most problematic of all- a princess who may or may not be a pyschotic arsonist.
You can find Sir Apropos of Nothing at your local bookstore or order it here Sir Apropos of Nothing
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