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Wednesday reading meme
Mar. 5th, 2014 08:43 pmWhat did you finish reading
Wet Grave, by Barbara Hambly: Chloe and Dominique call each other sweetheart/darling! Artois! Is brilliant and adorable and then heartbreak, oh no. (As a sidenote, I absolutely love love the treatment of grief in these books, like the way Ben marvels at missing Ayasha still, but loving Rose anyway and neither of these taking anything away from the other.) I'm not sure if it's a good or a bad thing that I don't own these books as paperbooks. If I did, there are so many bits I would be drawing hearts around, like when Shaw hugs Ben. (Aw, Shaw ❤.) I laughed for ages at the bit where Ben is all grumpy at Shaw trying to be a hero, literally minutes after Ben himself risked his life to save Shaw's. Pretty sure I ship Ben/Shaw, but then again Ben/ALL THE SHIPS is pretty much my OTP for the series, just after Ben/Rose/Hannibal. Also, the resolution of the St Chinians. Did not expect that one. I love the care in the depiction of illnesses, even accounting for the limited information Ben has compared to today. Shaw is incredibly badass and kind of frighteningly intense in his pursuit of justice, but that's okay. And then! Pirate treasure, ho! And then! Minou had a baby and then BEN AND ROSE GOT MARRIED!!! And Hannibal wasn't there. :(
The Eagle of the Ninth, by Rosemary Sutcliff: I don't have much more to add from last week. Cub's reunion with Marcus was adorable! I really wish we could have seen more of Cottia. She deserves so much more than to be tacked on at the end the way she was, but hey, at least now Esca's a Roman citizen; you could be more happy about that Esca. Marcus isn't exactly the brightest crayon in the box, is he? (Also, there's a bit where Uncle Aquila and the Legate adress each other as "my Claudius"/"my Aquila" and now we know why Uncl Aquila is unmarried, I guess.)
Days of the Dead, by Barbara Hambly: WOW. I think this just might be my favourite of the series so far. It is so so so good, omg. I just love all of it. I love how relieved Hannibal is that Ben and Rose come to the rescue. I love how Ben never for one moment believes Hannibal did it, despite all the evidence to the contrary. I fucking love the resolution of the crime plot: murderous accident! I don't think Ben would have been able to prove any of it in a court of law, so probably the DASHING CROSSDRESSING ESCAPE was for the best. And Hannibal is totally the damsel-in-distress of these books, it is great. There are so many great Hannibal moments (I missed him in Wet Grave, okay?), like the one where he's quoting Shakespeare, with a broken leg, down an unclimbable hole, with 4+ dead bodies down there with him, or the one where he takes care to note the edition of the book he was clubbed over the head with, but my favourite just might be:
and totally slept with Ben, come on. Happy ending for Consuela! I actually liked Ylario, for all that he was one of the antagonists. I think he'd get along great with Shaw. Also, is it me, or is Hannibal trying to give up opium?
What are you currently reading
Hannibal's Odyssey, by William Mahaney: I may not get out this book alive.
What are you reading next
Dead Water, by Barbara Hambly:I literally just finished Days of the Dead and I've been raving at people about it because it is honestly so so good, I swear. I think two of them might have been convinced to try it. You've no idea how excited I am to start on this one tonight. I hope it has hannibal and Rose and Shaw and Olympe and Minou and Marie Laveau and Ayasha in it! And that Rose opens her school again.
Wet Grave, by Barbara Hambly: Chloe and Dominique call each other sweetheart/darling! Artois! Is brilliant and adorable and then heartbreak, oh no. (As a sidenote, I absolutely love love the treatment of grief in these books, like the way Ben marvels at missing Ayasha still, but loving Rose anyway and neither of these taking anything away from the other.) I'm not sure if it's a good or a bad thing that I don't own these books as paperbooks. If I did, there are so many bits I would be drawing hearts around, like when Shaw hugs Ben. (Aw, Shaw ❤.) I laughed for ages at the bit where Ben is all grumpy at Shaw trying to be a hero, literally minutes after Ben himself risked his life to save Shaw's. Pretty sure I ship Ben/Shaw, but then again Ben/ALL THE SHIPS is pretty much my OTP for the series, just after Ben/Rose/Hannibal. Also, the resolution of the St Chinians. Did not expect that one. I love the care in the depiction of illnesses, even accounting for the limited information Ben has compared to today. Shaw is incredibly badass and kind of frighteningly intense in his pursuit of justice, but that's okay. And then! Pirate treasure, ho! And then! Minou had a baby and then BEN AND ROSE GOT MARRIED!!! And Hannibal wasn't there. :(
The Eagle of the Ninth, by Rosemary Sutcliff: I don't have much more to add from last week. Cub's reunion with Marcus was adorable! I really wish we could have seen more of Cottia. She deserves so much more than to be tacked on at the end the way she was, but hey, at least now Esca's a Roman citizen; you could be more happy about that Esca. Marcus isn't exactly the brightest crayon in the box, is he? (Also, there's a bit where Uncle Aquila and the Legate adress each other as "my Claudius"/"my Aquila" and now we know why Uncl Aquila is unmarried, I guess.)
Days of the Dead, by Barbara Hambly: WOW. I think this just might be my favourite of the series so far. It is so so so good, omg. I just love all of it. I love how relieved Hannibal is that Ben and Rose come to the rescue. I love how Ben never for one moment believes Hannibal did it, despite all the evidence to the contrary. I fucking love the resolution of the crime plot: murderous accident! I don't think Ben would have been able to prove any of it in a court of law, so probably the DASHING CROSSDRESSING ESCAPE was for the best. And Hannibal is totally the damsel-in-distress of these books, it is great. There are so many great Hannibal moments (I missed him in Wet Grave, okay?), like the one where he's quoting Shakespeare, with a broken leg, down an unclimbable hole, with 4+ dead bodies down there with him, or the one where he takes care to note the edition of the book he was clubbed over the head with, but my favourite just might be:
"Fernando [...] took Hannibal by the throat, and thrust him up against the wall and snarled, 'Know that when I am master here you will pay dearly for your perfidy, Norteamericano bastard.'And Don Prospero was quite something. Stop hating on Helen of Troy, dude! (Btw, this is the second novel of the series with maybe-maybe-not-but-probably supernatural elements: there is no earthly way for Don Prospero to have known about those details of the death.) And good on Valentina! And omg, the climax was so badass. Hannibal! Ben! Rose! Omg, Rose she was brilliant, I loved it. The moment where she talks to the madman hugging the pillar really stuck with me, don't know why. And of course her evil twin sister Elena was brilliant
And of course Hannibal replied 'My dear Fernando, you're as mistaken about my intentions as you are about my nationality and the circumstances of my birth."
What are you currently reading
Hannibal's Odyssey, by William Mahaney: I may not get out this book alive.
What are you reading next
Dead Water, by Barbara Hambly:I literally just finished Days of the Dead and I've been raving at people about it because it is honestly so so good, I swear. I think two of them might have been convinced to try it. You've no idea how excited I am to start on this one tonight. I hope it has hannibal and Rose and Shaw and Olympe and Minou and Marie Laveau and Ayasha in it! And that Rose opens her school again.
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