This book was immediately fascinating because many of the main characters are gay men. I haven't read much of -- oh, wait, come to think of it, none -- of that perspective in any of the fantasy books I've read. In science fiction, my only recollection of specifically gay male characters are of the vile Duke from Dune and Madrid's transgendered lover in When Gravity Falls. It's like there is a conspiracy in genre literature to erase variations in sexuality...
I will have to think on this more.
The Fall of The Kings has interesting characters, evocative writing, a lush and gritty setting, and a see-the-plot-several-miles from-the-horizon: it's the last part, the plodding and constant prophetic hints of where the plot is going, the wait-for-it!-wait-for-it! that convinced me to stop reading the book half way through. (That alone always gives me that annoyed "Here, hold the biscuit on your nose until I say it's okay" feeling that must make the most domesticated of dogs crave to rend human flesh.)
As that annoyance grew, it gave time for other concerns for the story to rise: idiosyncrasies. For instance, if this is a fantasy world of its own, where are they getting chocolate from? They have public libraries where you can check out books? Gah. I may still finish this book though, when I'm in the mood for it.
Still, a very interesting lessons for writers are here: Not saying something says a great deal, sometimes in very powerful ways.
I will have to think on this more.
The Fall of The Kings has interesting characters, evocative writing, a lush and gritty setting, and a see-the-plot-several-miles from-the-horizon: it's the last part, the plodding and constant prophetic hints of where the plot is going, the wait-for-it!-wait-for-it! that convinced me to stop reading the book half way through. (That alone always gives me that annoyed "Here, hold the biscuit on your nose until I say it's okay" feeling that must make the most domesticated of dogs crave to rend human flesh.)
As that annoyance grew, it gave time for other concerns for the story to rise: idiosyncrasies. For instance, if this is a fantasy world of its own, where are they getting chocolate from? They have public libraries where you can check out books? Gah. I may still finish this book though, when I'm in the mood for it.
Still, a very interesting lessons for writers are here: Not saying something says a great deal, sometimes in very powerful ways.
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