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A Reccomendation
Apr. 19th, 2013 01:59 pmOh my God, you guys. I have a new series of books that I am obsessed with, and I want you all to read them because they are just that good. Also, then maybe there would be fanart.
I'm speaking of the Benjamin January series by Barbara Hambly; the first one is A Free Man of Color and the most recent- the 12th in the series- is Good Man Friday, which is coming out next month, omg yay. I am particularly happy because I have already devoured 8 of the series in less than three weeks, and am obviously going to run out soon.
So, why should you read them? I have a lot to say on that topic. The series is set in early 1830s New Orleans, and deals primarily with the culture of free blacks that existed at that place and time. It's a mystery series, though I can't really comment on that aspect of it, not being a mystery fan in particular; as far as I'm concerned, the mysteries exist in order to have the amazing characters interact with each other and with the setting. Many of the books take up a particular aspect of the world and focus on that (A Free Man of Color- the famous quadroon balls! Graveyard Dust- voodoo! Die Upon a Kiss- opera! Wet Grave- pirates!), but regardless of the individual focus, there is just so much historical detail and realism. The fictional characters interact with real historical personages- Marie Laveau, Madame LaLaurie (note: don't read that wikipedia page unless you want the plot of the second book spoiled. If you already know who she is, well, haha, I guess the plot was spoiled for you anyway, which is what happened to me), Jean Lafitte, etc. So much of this series is like id-candy for me: it's a setting that I have generally found to be completely fascinating, and with an author who has clearly done unbelievable amounts of research. Plus, descriptions of food! of music! of clothing! of landscape! ladies disguised as guys! characters who are total geeks! gay couples (okay, only in minor characters. But still)! ghosts! con-men! Additionally, this particular setting allows for my two irrational phobias: alligators and cholera. (Irrational not because they are not terrible things, but because I'm unlikely to ever actually be in danger of either. And I'm not afraid of anacondas or plague or lions or polio or whatever. Just these two. But seriously you guys, did you know cholera can take you from healthy to dead in less than 24 hours? And sometimes you turn blue, the dehydration is so bad?) And yet, I think the writing is too good to call it id-fic. Particularly the way race and class and color and gender and language all play out is so thoughtful, and well-done, and moving. They're just really, really good books.
Anyway! The characters. Because they are my favorite part. ( I'm going to cut this, as it's already pretty long )
Let me post a couple of excerpts, so you can see if you like the style or not. I've got three bits I particularly liked: one funny, one sad, and one just pretty. ( Stuff to read, yay! )
So. Has anyone already read these? Do you want to talk to me about them? Yes? Awesome! They are all available as ebooks as well, so everyone has no excuse for not reading them immediately.
I'm speaking of the Benjamin January series by Barbara Hambly; the first one is A Free Man of Color and the most recent- the 12th in the series- is Good Man Friday, which is coming out next month, omg yay. I am particularly happy because I have already devoured 8 of the series in less than three weeks, and am obviously going to run out soon.
So, why should you read them? I have a lot to say on that topic. The series is set in early 1830s New Orleans, and deals primarily with the culture of free blacks that existed at that place and time. It's a mystery series, though I can't really comment on that aspect of it, not being a mystery fan in particular; as far as I'm concerned, the mysteries exist in order to have the amazing characters interact with each other and with the setting. Many of the books take up a particular aspect of the world and focus on that (A Free Man of Color- the famous quadroon balls! Graveyard Dust- voodoo! Die Upon a Kiss- opera! Wet Grave- pirates!), but regardless of the individual focus, there is just so much historical detail and realism. The fictional characters interact with real historical personages- Marie Laveau, Madame LaLaurie (note: don't read that wikipedia page unless you want the plot of the second book spoiled. If you already know who she is, well, haha, I guess the plot was spoiled for you anyway, which is what happened to me), Jean Lafitte, etc. So much of this series is like id-candy for me: it's a setting that I have generally found to be completely fascinating, and with an author who has clearly done unbelievable amounts of research. Plus, descriptions of food! of music! of clothing! of landscape! ladies disguised as guys! characters who are total geeks! gay couples (okay, only in minor characters. But still)! ghosts! con-men! Additionally, this particular setting allows for my two irrational phobias: alligators and cholera. (Irrational not because they are not terrible things, but because I'm unlikely to ever actually be in danger of either. And I'm not afraid of anacondas or plague or lions or polio or whatever. Just these two. But seriously you guys, did you know cholera can take you from healthy to dead in less than 24 hours? And sometimes you turn blue, the dehydration is so bad?) And yet, I think the writing is too good to call it id-fic. Particularly the way race and class and color and gender and language all play out is so thoughtful, and well-done, and moving. They're just really, really good books.
Anyway! The characters. Because they are my favorite part. ( I'm going to cut this, as it's already pretty long )
Let me post a couple of excerpts, so you can see if you like the style or not. I've got three bits I particularly liked: one funny, one sad, and one just pretty. ( Stuff to read, yay! )
So. Has anyone already read these? Do you want to talk to me about them? Yes? Awesome! They are all available as ebooks as well, so everyone has no excuse for not reading them immediately.
