My trip to Dallas was weeks ago, and I’m still grumbling that Alexia thought of a tiresome dinner companion as a “poor sod.” From about ten minutes in, I became suspicious that the writer is an American - correct. ![]() ![]() It’s not a flaw, exactly, to spend so much time describing characters’ clothing, but I found it a little wearying, especially when such clothing includes men wearing top hats in the house. I find this really highlights the flaws in writing. This is not a Deep, Literary Book, but there were moments when I laughed aloud. The alt-history bits of Carriger’s world are well thought out, and the plot moves along at a steady clip. There has to be in a Victorian steampunk romance novel, right? It’s like a law. There’s a mystery (where are all these new vampires coming from?), plus a bunch of Standing Up to Victorian Sensibilities (making-out in the street!), and the usual leap forward/step back of romance novels (she hates him! she can’t stop thinking about him! etc.). The story itself is ridiculous and entertaining - sort of a steampunk paranormal romance that takes place during Victoria’s reign in a London populated by werewolves, vampires, and the protagonist, Alexia Tarabotti, whose absence of soul renders the other creatures powerless. Gray is a terrific narrator - good with accents, able to give different characters voices that are distinguishable without any of them sounding goofy. That particular recording was Soulless by Gail Carriger, read by Emily Gray. I think my mother feels a sense of triumph at my conversion. An audio book just keeps going on and on, unfolding into plot twists, and I found myself minding the trip very much less than usual. Music makes it too easy to mark time - most songs are four-ish minutes long. Once you’ve passed the prison in Huntsville, you don’t even see any towns - just a series of exits, twenty miles apart. The four hours up I-45N have approximately two curves and not one hill. I say that as someone who once rode in a van across the width of Kansas. I hope you have never made the drive from Houston to Dallas, because a more boring road was never traveled. ![]() What really converted me was a drive to Dallas. You must listen to samples! Such trouble they will save you. On the strength of my response, I received a short membership to Audible for Christmas, which presented me with a challenge, but at least I had learned to listen carefully to the samples. The Rilke is lugubrious (something I had not thought possible), but Magneto McGandalf flies through Homer with such perkiness that if you’re not paying attention, you might start to think Odysseus was having a good time. I learned something valuable: actors read at a very speedy pace. I got two books: Ian McKellen reading The Odyssey and Rilke’s Duino Elegies read by the translator. Later still, my mother was able to talk me into giving the one-month Audible free trial a go. I cried my way through large chunks of that book, which was very well done but is not the subject of this particular ramble. The distraction was terrific, and I felt so stupid with pain that the slower speed was probably necessary. How awful!Ī couple of years ago, on a visit to my parents’ house, I was laid up with a bad migraine, and my mother set me up with a dark room, an ice pack, and the audio version of Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time-Traveler’s Wife to keep me from thinking about throwing up. In early days, when my mother and my oldest friend (our friendship has been old enough to rent a car for a while now) tried to convert me, my reaction consisted mainly of eye-rolling, snorting, and heavy sighs. ![]() Hounded: The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 1
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |