Reading Wednesday

[brigdh]

What did you just finish?
Cyroburn by Lois McMaster Bujold. This was a lot of fun, though I agree with people who called it lighter than most of the books earlier in the series. I liked getting to see favorite characters again (Kareen and Mark! I want so much more detail about their lives and partnership. Taura! Awwww, Taura. Raven!), though sadly there were few of those, since we're on a new planet and all. The world-building was interesting, and a logical development out of what we already knew about the cryorevival technology. The pet sphinx was a particularly perfect detail that seemed both believable and incredibly horrifying ("Cat genes... mostly."). It reminded me of the living blanket from earlier in the series.

The big development, of course, is at the very end. I didn't at all see it coming, though it makes perfect sense with the themes of the book and how much time has passed in the series. But still. Ow. I love that Bujold used drabbles as an afterword! I'm always super excited to see drabbles outside of fanfiction (and real drabbles: exactly 100 words each). A neat idea, and one that worked very well, I thought.

What are you currently reading?
Raj by Gita Mehta. A novel of Rajasthan in the late 1800s and early 1900s. I totally could have finished this one this week, but kept putting it off.

Laura's Wolf by Lia Silver. Werewolves with scars! Con artists with survivor's guilt! Snowed in a cabin together and reading books by the fire! It is the awesome h/c banter-y romance novel I needed in my life. Currently only .99 on Amazon! Go grab a copy!

Comments

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

It's a bit hard to explain without spoilers, but in the very last scene of the book- in literally the last sentence!- an important character died. The afterword was five drabbles, each from the POV of a different character, about their reaction to the death and what they did.

[dhampyresa.livejournal.com]

In the very last sentence? Tha sounds kind of mean. Did the afterword provide some sort of closure, at least?

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

It was very mean! And they did, but I would have liked even more closure. Of course, there's another book in the series, so it might be dealt with then.