me update + book rec

[rushthatspeaks]

So I was meant to go up to Boston for Christmas, and up to Montreal for New Year's. As it turns out, I met sovay in NYC on the way up to Boston, and we went to handful_ofdust's reading at KGB, which was lovely, and that was the last thing that went as originally planned. sovay's grandfather died suddenly and all was sadness and chaos and logistics. (His memory for a blessing. I did not know him well, but everything I have heard was admirable.)

B. and my wife were in town for bits of time, too, though not for the funeral, and there was a lot of running about (faerieboots and rustycoon are heroes of the revolution for helping gaudior and me in Project Get Out Of The Grieving People's Hair So People Coming To The Funeral Can Use That Bed). I have a whole pile of Christmas presents I managed to forget to deliver to, like, everyone who was not twenty feet away from me at some point and in fact I failed to deliver some to people who were. Uh. I will manage this sometime in January I guess?

And then I came down with a nasty cold and so instead of going to Montreal I came back to B.'s and went to bed. Where I remain, about three weeks behind myself. (A Christmas season in which one only blows one significant writing deadline is... about average, actually, huh.)

The whole experience was, as is the way of such things, made a lot better by reading. As is her way, sovay handed me some really good books I hadn't read, and I read them. Most people do not do this with any frequency and it is one of the awesome things about my girlfriend that she can.

Urban fantasy, in the newer meaning of those words (i.e., more vampires, less Charles de Lint), is not really one of my genres. I have however read a fair bit of it, because I am always in search of new brain candy, and also I keep hoping somebody will do something not just fun but also good with it.

Tim Pratt? Totally did. His Marla Mason books are just plain good. Well, the first one is fun and has a lot of potential; the second through fourth are very good indeed; the fifth is epically awesomely heartbreakingly epic, and the sixth should be starting crowdfunded serialization right about now. (Oh and there's an inessential prequel novella and a lot of short stories.)

Marla Mason is an urban sorcerer who runs the city of Felport, somewhere on the U.S. East Coast. Felport, as far as I can tell, is a grungier iteration of New Haven. Marla likes grungy. She came up from street kid on a wave of being willing to do whatever it takes... to a point. Sorcerers basically dislike each other a lot of the time and can get pretty territorial, so there's a lot of political infighting. In the first book, Blood Engines, Marla and her sidekick Rondeau, a bodyswapping magical parasite of unknown origins currently inhabiting the body of a thirtysomething dude with horrible taste in suits, are in San Francisco trying to stave off a power play by one of Marla's vassals when they stumble into your classical I Will Subjugate The World By Summoning An Evil God Mwa Ha Ha plot on the part of a local guy. This book has a fair bit of travelogue and a lot of worldbuilding, and can get pretty info-dumpy. I like it because the world it builds has a fun everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach to magic which nonetheless manages to avoid borking the overall metaphysics in the ways that have become almost traditional in its genre-- no secretly-everything-is-run-by-Biblical-angels-or-demons here-- and because, and this is positively bizarre for its genre, it is resolutely sex-positive, queer-friendly, kink-friendly, and populated by many people who are of many varied ethnicities who have agency and rounded characters and are not walking stereotypes. We haven't seen much of Marla's love life, but she's canonically bi; Rondeau is canonically It's Complicated; later in the series there's, will wonders never cease, a positively depicted and kickass asexual human character. Also, Marla is actually allowed to be ruthless. So: book one, fun.

Book two, Poison Sleep, is where the whole thing becomes awesome. There's an escapee from the hospital where Marla detains sorcerers who've gone too nuts to be responsible for their actions, and much of the book has to work as a result on multiple levels: the level of political reality and assassination and wondering whether the toilets have in fact been possessed by shit demons, and dream-logic, multi-valent surrealist image and the level of the escaped sorcerer's head. And it works. And it's beautiful. It's just purely beautiful, in images, in plotting, even occasionally in language.

And then the stakes go up, book by book, as the cast becomes larger and more fleshed out, as the limits of what Marla will and won't do become more obvious, as the metaplot of the series kicks in (boy howdy, does it). For reasons that confuse me deeply, the publisher dropped the series after book four, which ends on an extremely nasty cliffhanger. Book five may be found in its entirety at the series website, and I am going to buy a paper copy, because the author deserves my support, because book five did a whole bunch of things that this sort of novel doesn't do, including make me cry.

So the entirety of the holidays-that-weren't would have been much worse without those. You should totally all read them. I'm going to go stalk the author's LJ for updates on book six.

Comments

[thistleingrey]

Huh. I was underwhelmed by the first Marla Mason book, though not turned off--merely disinclined to keep going. Perhaps I should reconsider that. (Perhaps it pertains that I have lived in the SF Bay Area?)

[rushthatspeaks]

The first is not as good as the later ones. If you don't like book two, it's worth stopping, but the quality jump between book one and book two is substantial. I don't think it has much to do with the depiction of the Bay Area qua Bay Area, but it is definitely true that getting back to Felport helps; the post-industrial wasteland is a better match for Marla's personality. Also, she mellows a bit, which I think needed to happen, and the supporting cast in book two get better development because they aren't intended as one-book my-main-character-is-traveling scenery. Also, he just learned how to structure a novel better. I probably wouldn't have expected anything from book two if I hadn't had my girlfriend's word on it, though I would have kept reading them because, as I mentioned above, I have a reading category marked 'brain candy'. Book one is decidedly in that category, as is the prequel. The others aren't.

[roadrunnertwice]

Hmm. I only read the prequel and got really annoyed at it. (I understand prequels have continuity limitations that make amnesia resolutions much more attractive, but argh.) This makes me much more interested in giving the series proper a shot, though.

(And I liked Pratt's unrelated short story where he was riffing on the salmon of knowledge legend, so hey.)

[rosefox]

Have you tried Harry Connolly's books? They're my go-to for anyone who wants really good urban fantasy. He has three out in mass market from Del Rey, and after they dropped the series he self-pubbed a quite wonderful sequel that you can buy on his website.

I also diffidently recommend The Price and not just because I edited it.

[thistleingrey]

I have a reading category marked 'brain candy'. Book one is decidedly in that category, as is the prequel. The others aren't.

Aha. This in particular makes sense to me; the first one was okay as a casual read. Thanks for explicating! *makes note on list*

[jinian]

Oh, I didn't realize you hadn't read these -- I just assume that when I bother to bookpost these days everyone knows they should get right on that. :) But I know you missed some bits. Glad you got to read them now. Happy new year!

[rushthatspeaks]

The prequel only works as background fill if you're already invested in these people, and even then it's kind of thin. I mean it was fun, but nothing that a reader hasn't extrapolated about the past from the main series, except the thing with the annoying resolution (and I agree about the annoying, although it actually does explain some things psychologically about Marla). I got the feeling he wrote it to see how he'd do at posting things serially online without a professional editor. To which the answer was 'fine, now go do it with something good', and he has been.

[rushthatspeaks]

Oh, I'm glad to hear about the next Harry Connolly, as the pro release of the third felt recent enough that I had no notion it was anywhere near reasonable for a sequel to exist yet. I like his stuff-- tied for my second-favorite urban fantasy with M.L.N. Hanover's Black Sun's Daughter series. I like the Pratt better, but Connolly makes me happy.

I will look into The Price. Thanks!

[rushthatspeaks]

Happy New Year! And yeah, I have been missing internet at random intervals for random stretches of time lately. Glad to know you like these books also.

[rosefox]

Er, sorry, by "sequel" I meant "prequel"; it's the When Ray Met Annalise story. But really good.

[rushthatspeaks]

I will cheerfully read When Ray Met Annalise! Cool.

[kate_nepveu]

Sorry to hear about illness & will check these out, as refer Chad to them as he likes Connolly's books too.

[rushthatspeaks]

Thank you and I hope you both like them-- I reiterate that the first is fun and the second onward good.

[handful-ofdust.livejournal.com]

It was great to see you, and I'm so glad you like Marla, 'cause she's hands down my favourite character to come out of or perhaps fall under that particular genre title. I like her more than Richard Kadrey's James Stark in the Sandman Slim books, and that's saying a lot.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

Is the god actually called Mwa Ha Ha? Because that would be cool.

[sovay]

hands down my favourite character to come out of or perhaps fall under that particular genre title.

This series features the very rare case of a protagonist I really, actively like.

(Also I have a thing for Langford, but that probably surprises no one.)

[handful-ofdust.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I like Marla too, which is why I was (initially) surprised when Steve stopped reading the series because he found her "impossible to sympathize with", on account of general ruthlessness. But...(shrugs) To each his/her own.

[rushthatspeaks.livejournal.com]

It was great to see you too! Next time hopefully we will have longer.

Marla is awesomesauce. In ninety percent of media she would not have been allowed to be female.

Tell me of this Richard Kadrey?

[rushthatspeaks.livejournal.com]

/unsurprised.

Marla is my favorite character, which is actually shocking, because protagonists just usually aren't.

[rushthatspeaks.livejournal.com]

Andrew Plotkin had that response too, and I absolutely do not get it.

[rushthatspeaks.livejournal.com]

No, it isn't, sadly, although I agree that would be cool. It's just one of those circumstances Pratchett is so good at pointing out, where the mere act of coming up with this plan indicates that the person coming up with it is barking mad and should not be trusted to tie their own shoes.

[handful-ofdust.livejournal.com]

In ninety percent of media she would not have been allowed to be female.

This, I think, is the issue right here. Annoyingly.

Kadrey's stuff is stream-of-consciousness nu-Noir set in L.A.; his protag was sent (alive) to Hell during a failed magic ritual by quote-quote friends who benefitted from the sacrifice, then served a bunch of time in the Infernal arena, becoming the "monster monsters are afraid of", the human being who could go toe-to-toe with demon gladiators and win, no matter his damage. (There turns out to be a reason for this, which you have a pretty good chance of being able to figure out once you get told that this universe also features "normal" angels, Grigorim, Nephilim and Outer Dark Creatures even the Devil won't truck with.) Much like the hero of the TV show Brimstone, he gets paroled by Lucifer and sent back upstairs to do a particular deed, then is called upon intermittently after his first triumph to investigate mysteries/kill whoever's annoying Lucifer this week. His B.S. male angst has a literal Tom Waits soundtrack, but I gotta say, I like him nonetheless--great supporting characters, too. It's a bit like somebody crossbred Jim Butcher with Hellblazer specifically because they wanted John Constantine to puke all over Harry Dresden, then give him the finger.

[radiotelescope.livejournal.com]

I was about to reply "I had that reaction too!" but I see you covered it. :)

I'm not sure my problem with Marla was ruthlessness per se. (Keep in mind that I read the book in 2007.) I thought she treated everybody around her as objects, not out of cruel necessity but out of not giving a crap about them. I could imagine the series digging into this as a problem, but it didn't strike me as what the author was actually going to do.

I have wondered since then whether I would have reacted differently to a male protagonist. I am very hit-or-miss with extremely tough characters. I hate everything by Neal Asher, but I like Richard Kadrey and (most of) Richard K. Morgan. I *love* Annalise Powliss (character in a series by Harry Connolly), who is beyond ruthless and into terrifying; but she is emphatically not a protagonist.

I give your +rec of the series some weight, and I've seen others recently as well. So I will probably find book 2 and go give it more time. (Once I ha ha catch up a little on books. Did I mention the new R.A. MacAvoy is out?)

[sovay]

It's a bit like somebody crossbred Jim Butcher with Hellblazer specifically because they wanted John Constantine to puke all over Harry Dresden, then give him the finger.

*snerk*

I remember reading a bunch of Kadrey's short-stort stories when they were posted online as some kind of project, but I think I was in college at the time. He was definitely not writing a series.

[rushthatspeaks.livejournal.com]

That sounds fun and I will look into Kadrey the next time I'm in the mood for that direction of noir. (Am hoping I will not have the problem I have with Mike Carey's Felix Castor books, which can be summarized as FELIX CASTOR YOU ARE NOT JOHN CONSTANTINE, MIKE I AM SORRY THEY MADE YOU STOP WRITING THE COMIC THIS WAS NOT HOW TO REASSURE YOURSELF BUT HEY THIS TELLS ME WHY THEY BOUNCED YOU. Um. I have... kind of a Thing about the artistic integrity of John Constantine. For which I know John Constantine would laugh at me.)

[rushthatspeaks.livejournal.com]

Ooh, new R.A. MacAvoy, I will look into that.

I also love Annalise Powliss. The Harry Connolly books are another series on my list of 'aargh publishers dropping things', though rosefox said over on my DW that there's a self-published prequel I haven't got yet.

I see what you're saying about Marla and treating people as objects, but assure you that it's a problem unique to the first book. There are series-structural reasons that Pratt set the first one Not In Marla's Home City, but it really puts the reader at a disadvantage as far as seeing the bits of her personality that are likely to make most people like her. Because most of those parts of her kick in at Felport city limits, and so one only gets told about them in the first book, and they're harder to register as real when it's tell-not-show. Fortunately as soon as she gets home one realizes that she was, in the entire first book, in extreme-danger out-of-my-element hardass mode. Tell-not-show is Pratt's major writing problem, I think, but he gets a lot better at not doing that as he goes along.

Now me, there's a certain kind of nasty I am actively fond of, so I wouldn't have had a problem if she'd continued being the way she is in the first book for the entire series, but then it would have been one of those reviews where I sit there going '... so I think maybe people who aren't me are going to find these books disturbing and maybe I should have a content warning?' And it isn't one of those reviews. If that makes any sense.

I think I would probably dislike Marla if she were male, because male characters of that sort usually have horrendous Machismo Issues.

[handful-ofdust.livejournal.com]

Kadrey's guy is pretty firmly American, which (Keanu Reeves aside) removes him from the realm of potentially being John Constantine, to me. I mean, I think he's named after Wild Bill Hickox--he sort of reminds me of a James Ellroy character mashed up with Raylan Givens from Justified, except with spells/magical weaponry instead of a gun.

[handful-ofdust.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I totally agree with you about the artistic integrity of Total Bastard Theatre J.C.! He's a weirdly precious character to me, someone whose personal specificity yet ultimately archetypical nature cheers and horrifies me in equal measure.

[sovay]

He's a weirdly precious character to me, someone whose personal specificity yet ultimately archetypical nature cheers and horrifies me in equal measure.

I find Wittgenstein adorable. He'd be horrified by that.