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rushthatspeaksI expected the Percy Jackson books to be terrible, back when I picked the first one up. One of my majors was Greek religion, so I figured my reaction would be 'kill it with fire'. I was so amazed that that turned out not to be the case that the momentum carried me through the entire series.
They're not great books-- they have some major pacing issues, a couple of which serve to make the author look as though he is being stupid for fairly long stretches of time (he isn't, but one shouldn't have to spend a book and a half thinking he is), and they read very much as the work of a writer who has not, as yet, quite figured out exactly the tone and voice he is aiming for and who consequently wavers back and forth a bit. But they hold together much, much better than I had thought possible and I think they do pretty much what they were setting out to do, so I picked up the first book of the sequel series.
The first thing I noticed is that Riordan has definitely found himself. This is just simply better writing. It is also, and I do not think this is coincidental, one age group notch up from the previous. I think it suits him better, as I suspect that part of the tonal wavering was an inability to figure out the exact sophistication level of the group he was first aiming at. This is now solidly older teen: good call.
The second thing I noticed is that he has turned something which could have been a major structural problem for this series into a significant asset-- has used the introduction of a whole bunch of new characters in a very clever way to establish the series as something that can be read independently of the previous. He actually hit that rare sweet spot between 'the previous characters are cameos' and 'you can't read this without knowing who these people are'.
Also, he's using the opportunity to complexify his worldbuilding immensely. He's got the first book out of yet a third series, about Egyptian mythology, and it's fairly obvious it takes place in the same world as these two; the structure he's building here is internally self-consistent and, while really pretty obvious, fun.
He has not as yet fucked up anything mythological in this series but he has gotten to things about which I care even more and is consequently on probation until the dismount. (seishonagon? Have you bought this yet? This series is clearly For You.)
There are still major pacing issues, he's still heavily into tell-not-show, and I can still predict every major plot twist from more than two hundred pages in advance blindfolded while thinking about something else. But it's quite superior beach reading, and if he keeps improving like this, it may eventually have the potential to be something more than that.
They're not great books-- they have some major pacing issues, a couple of which serve to make the author look as though he is being stupid for fairly long stretches of time (he isn't, but one shouldn't have to spend a book and a half thinking he is), and they read very much as the work of a writer who has not, as yet, quite figured out exactly the tone and voice he is aiming for and who consequently wavers back and forth a bit. But they hold together much, much better than I had thought possible and I think they do pretty much what they were setting out to do, so I picked up the first book of the sequel series.
The first thing I noticed is that Riordan has definitely found himself. This is just simply better writing. It is also, and I do not think this is coincidental, one age group notch up from the previous. I think it suits him better, as I suspect that part of the tonal wavering was an inability to figure out the exact sophistication level of the group he was first aiming at. This is now solidly older teen: good call.
The second thing I noticed is that he has turned something which could have been a major structural problem for this series into a significant asset-- has used the introduction of a whole bunch of new characters in a very clever way to establish the series as something that can be read independently of the previous. He actually hit that rare sweet spot between 'the previous characters are cameos' and 'you can't read this without knowing who these people are'.
Also, he's using the opportunity to complexify his worldbuilding immensely. He's got the first book out of yet a third series, about Egyptian mythology, and it's fairly obvious it takes place in the same world as these two; the structure he's building here is internally self-consistent and, while really pretty obvious, fun.
He has not as yet fucked up anything mythological in this series but he has gotten to things about which I care even more and is consequently on probation until the dismount. (
seishonagon? Have you bought this yet? This series is clearly For You.)There are still major pacing issues, he's still heavily into tell-not-show, and I can still predict every major plot twist from more than two hundred pages in advance blindfolded while thinking about something else. But it's quite superior beach reading, and if he keeps improving like this, it may eventually have the potential to be something more than that.
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Date: 2010-11-01 01:35 pm (UTC)And speaking of Place ... Steve Gould is a Cepheid from way back, and his Wildside is, although never explicitly mentioned, set in CS. If you get a copy and start reading, you may start recognizing some landmarks. :)
no subject
Date: 2010-11-01 05:00 pm (UTC)Now I'm curious, because these might also be things I care about, but I'd also like to see him stick the landing. Hm.
Now I'm curious
Date: 2010-11-01 07:03 pm (UTC)What are these things? Could you tell me, with your reply between tags like <span style="color:#666;background-color:#666;">this</span> so it looks like this and hopefully avoid accidental spoilers?
Re: Now I'm curious
Date: 2010-11-01 07:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-01 07:45 pm (UTC)---L.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-02 02:17 am (UTC)*immediately envisions the bastard fusion of Clash of the Titans and 1 Henry IV in some detail*
*contemplates the relative merits of lobotomy and swearing off the internets forever*
no subject
Date: 2010-11-02 03:02 pm (UTC)---L.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-04 04:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-04 05:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-01 09:41 pm (UTC)