That was the week that was
Apr. 5th, 2008 03:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stephbgNot enough to justify daily postings, for Tuesday-Friday were spent seething helplessly at home whilst my mortgage giggled quietly to itself.
I did, however, complete Market Forces by Richard Morgan, Swancon 2009's GoH. I probably wouldn't have bothered reading it again if I wasn't going to meet him next year, for as mentioned previously it was retrieved from my trade pile.
However, I have been known to deliberately reread books that failed to impress me, just to give them a second chance and to test my recollections.
MF had far less nasty sex than I recall. I've a sneaking suspicion that the nasty sex that I'm thinking of is still lurking in RM's other novels.
The relationship breakdown was worse than I recalled. Anti-romance I guess you'd call it, and it was technically well done, but I found it difficult to read about a loving relationship that deteriorates, staggers on and finally dies.
And the violence. The general bodycount. The casual assasinations. The various up-close-and-personal beatings. I recalled there was a lot of it, and I was right. Not that I sat down to actually make a list from memory before I started reading, but I was still surprised at how many violent scenes there were.
All said, and given it was a constant struggle to like the main character, I still found myself *wanting* to like him, even until just before the end. He showed signs of conscience throughout, although eventually those signs deteriorated into acts of violence themselves.
So, lots to be uncomfortable about, but I'll say this: I think it was done well. Now I'm off to wash my brain, maybe read a pony book.
EDIT: I should add the the re-read helps to overcome any disappointments caused by false expectations. This time around I was less annoyed by the absence of narrative (and lower SF content), because I stopped waiting for things to happen.
I did, however, complete Market Forces by Richard Morgan, Swancon 2009's GoH. I probably wouldn't have bothered reading it again if I wasn't going to meet him next year, for as mentioned previously it was retrieved from my trade pile.
However, I have been known to deliberately reread books that failed to impress me, just to give them a second chance and to test my recollections.
MF had far less nasty sex than I recall. I've a sneaking suspicion that the nasty sex that I'm thinking of is still lurking in RM's other novels.
The relationship breakdown was worse than I recalled. Anti-romance I guess you'd call it, and it was technically well done, but I found it difficult to read about a loving relationship that deteriorates, staggers on and finally dies.
And the violence. The general bodycount. The casual assasinations. The various up-close-and-personal beatings. I recalled there was a lot of it, and I was right. Not that I sat down to actually make a list from memory before I started reading, but I was still surprised at how many violent scenes there were.
All said, and given it was a constant struggle to like the main character, I still found myself *wanting* to like him, even until just before the end. He showed signs of conscience throughout, although eventually those signs deteriorated into acts of violence themselves.
So, lots to be uncomfortable about, but I'll say this: I think it was done well. Now I'm off to wash my brain, maybe read a pony book.
EDIT: I should add the the re-read helps to overcome any disappointments caused by false expectations. This time around I was less annoyed by the absence of narrative (and lower SF content), because I stopped waiting for things to happen.
