Hugos incest watch, unpopular opinions, etc

[lizbee]

Having recovered somewhat from the overwhelming badness of Among Others, I moved onto attempting Mira Grant's Deadline. I say "attempting", because it's the second book in a trilogy I had otherwise decided not to read, and while I had to give it a go, I promised myself I could stop if I really hated it.

I MADE IT FIVE CHAPTERS, GUYS, YOU SHOULD BE PROUD OF ME.

To sum up: the Newsflesh trilogy is set in a sci-fi zombie apocalypse dominated by pop culture references that are already outdated now. (Strike one.) The protagonist in the second book has his dead twin sister living in his head, but that doesn't save him from being deeply annoying. (Strike two.) And then someone (thankfully) warned me that the trilogy's OTP are siblings. (Strike three.)

It wasn't HOLY SHIT, THIS IS BAD! on the scale of Among Others, but the little bit I read killed any desire to read any of Grant's other work ever.



...also, the "it's not incest if they're only adopted!!!" meme makes me really angry. (It keeps coming up in Korra fandom, too.) It's insulting to adopted families. It's also a line that gets used in cases of real life abuse, ie, my grandfather and the daughter he adopted.



I'm now trying to read Ray of Light by Brad R. Torgersen, one of the nominated novelettes. I say "trying" because, while it's technically good and all, so far it suffers from All The Female Characters Are Symbols And Archetypes Syndrome, and also a bad case of PrecociousInnocentChildItis. I'm beginning to wonder if this year's nominations are actually an elaborate attempt at trolling.

Something I did like! I'm on a couple of YA panels at Continuum -- I also came third in the short story competition! -- so I've been catching up on some YA sci-fi. (I have to say, the contrast with the adult-oriented Hugo nominated novels is striking. And I'm still convinced that the really interesting stuff is being written for teens.) Really enjoyed Feed by M T Anderson, even though it is full of things I usually avoid -- cyberpunk, douchebag male protagonist who learns an important lesson from a borderline manic pixie dream girl, etc. Mostly because it is so well written that it turns the cliches inside out and into interesting origami shapes, and is also short enough that it doesn't overstay its welcome. I'm not saying that I was crying on the train as I finished it, but ... yeah, I was totally crying on the train.

As long as I'm kicking lots of popular genre works, here are four more unpopular opinions:

- The actress who played Sif in Thor was really embarrassingly bad...
- ...and Darcy is kind of not that interesting to me
- Korra/Asami is possibly the most boring f/f pairing on the entire planet, and I'm sure I have good reasons for believing this that aren't just "They get in the way of Korra/Lin"
- it kind of skeeves me out that so much of the Korra/Tahno fan art on my dash puts Korra in a stereotypically feminine nurturing role

OH YEAH, and I'm also on a Continuum panel about vidding! So I should probably maybe go watch some vids? Said panel is at 11pm Friday night, btw, so if you come -- it's gold coin entry on Friday! -- maybe bring me some Red Bull, because I turn into a pumpkin at 9.30.

Comments

[emilly]

things that may end badly: me being on that vid panel at 11pm Friday; me being in charge of opening the dealers room at 8am Saturday.

i have stocked up on red bull & berocca already.

[lizbee]

At least you're staying at the venue, so you don't have far to go?

[emilly]

why i am staying at the venue!

[lizbee]

So thoughtful, btw, to choose the venue with a tram that runs by my house.

[emilly]

that's pretty much why we chose it.

that, and it was cheap.

[wolfy_writing]

The "They're not blood relatives, so it's not incest!" totally creeps me out, because I used to work with kids who'd been sexually abused, and it was horrifyingly common for abusers to go "But she's not my biological child" or "But I suspect my wife cheated and she might not be my biological child!" as if that excused anything at all. So I'm with you there.

[lizbee]

Yeah. I understand the appeal of the WOWWRONGBADHOTDYSFUNCTION (I mean, I am known, at times, to read Zuko/Azula, provided it's warned for and I'm in the right mood), but if you have to reach for "they're not really related" excuses, you're probably not in it for the WOWRONGBADHOTDYSFUNCTION.

[rj_anderson]

Mostly because [FEED by M.T. Anderson] is so well written that it turns the cliches inside out and into interesting origami shapes

Oh, well said. That is exactly why I liked it, or I should say respected it enormously and thought it worth re-reading and recommending to my brother's even though it was ONE OF THE MOST DEPRESSING THINGS I HAVE EVER READ.

[lizbee]

CRYING ON THE TRAIN.

I didn't even mind that it ended with SPOILER SPOILERING, because under the circumstances, that seemed like the better option.

[rj_anderson]

Yeah, exactly. *sob*

[thedorkygirl]

OH MY GOODNESS, MY THOUGHTS ON NEWFLESH.

Loved the first book - it felt like going back to 2001 with Buffy & the West Wing being REAL. The characters were lovable, though a lot of them died. The second book I definitely enjoyed for the ZOMBIE FIGHTING.

Third....nothing concluded properly. It got wrapped up pretty, but, no, not really. They don't go into why the Masons are such horrible parents, it doesn't give a good reason for the incest other than they're IN LOVE, etc etc etc....and I just don't UNDERSTAND THE SCIENCE/POLITICAL CONNECTIONS. or I do and I don't and I liked it but it could have had more. There were other things that were on my mind right when I first read it, but basically I was horribly disappointed.

& I didn't even catch the hint at incest from the second book until I was reading TV tropes a week before the BLACKOUT was released. I hoped it wouldn't go there, because it seemed pretty insulting to create a romantic relationship between two people raised together from infancy without going into HOW EXTREMELY MESSED UP IT IS. Nobody had an issue with it. it. just. idk.

The Fox was pretty wicked cool, though.

As a TV show or movie (minus the incest), I'd watch & be a fan. And I think I'm still a fan of the series...I want to reread everything again and really pay attention as I go through.

Sorry! Sorry! Needed to rant.

[lizbee]

...it felt like going back to 2001 with Buffy & the West Wing being REAL

Funnily enough, that's exactly why I didn't want to read it!

[amberfox]

This is pretty much my position on the series. I'll re-read BLACKOUT on ebook when I've had a couple of weeks away from it, just to see if I dislike it less, but it really didn't seem to flow from the previous books. Which is a shame, because I really loved FEED, DEADLINE was interesting, and I was so looking forward to this. I even had it on my calendar. =(

They do at least mention that they were very careful about keeping their relationship quiet because they knew it would creep people out.

[archangelbeth]

IIRC from her LJ spoiler-thread, the author acknowledges that the relationship is not what you'd call healthy in anything but a zombie-infested post-zombipocalypse; something along the lines of pressure-cooker environment, emotionally distant "parents," and no real options for relationships outside their tiny, enclosed home environment until after they'd already established their pairing. (Sort of a Flowers In The Attic vibe, only the author didn't make that comparison.)

If it helps that it's not presented as a "incest, yays" and more "broken world, broken people, making the best of what they're dealt." (Which doesn't mean you should read the book either way, but if it helps in a... *waves hands* thingie. Bah, I cannot brain. Bedtime...)

[phosfate]

We get a bit more about the shittiness of the Masons as parents in book 3, but not really enough to explain the whole business. I don't know if Grant (or her narrator) is, for some reason, holding back on fully detailing their douchebaggery, or if she's just unwilling to go there. If the former, it doesn't work, and if the latter...oh, just grow a pair and tell us, Mira.

We see more of the Masons in the e-book novella, but they're basically cyphers.

For me, it's the least convincing romance since How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, and less sexy than the off-screen lesbian dinosaur nookie in Jurassic Park.

The final volume is a much better book than the endless Deadline, sort of in the way that old Tootsie Rolls are much better than drinking a bottle of vinegar. The first book was stupid fun horror. The other two are just stupid.

[violetisblue]

I wasn't aware of any "adoption makes unrelated persons the legal equivalent of full biological relatives UNLESS IT'S SEXY!" exceptions, but admittedly family law isn't my area of practice. Regarding M.T. Anderson, if you haven't read his Octavian Nothing duology I can't recommend it highly enough--although, speaking of totally crying, fair warning.

[rj_anderson]

Oh my word, yes. THOSE pages, and you know which ones I'm talking about. Utterly devastating. And the voice and tone of the story is utterly unlike FEED in almost every conceivable way.

M.T. Anderson is a genius.

[violetisblue]

"Oh my word, yes. THOSE pages, and you know which ones I'm talking about."

Oh, yeah. They're unforgettable. And then the followup book kicks you in the gut in a whole new way.

[amyraine.livejournal.com]

I really dug 'Feed', but I do like cyberpunk, I guess because I'm old.

"douchebag male protagonist who learns an important lesson from a borderline manic pixie dream girl"

I'm guessing you probably wouldn't like any of John Green's stuff.

I'm hoping Korra/Asami will be less boring when Asami does more other than drive fast cars. I mean, I find that hot, but it doesn't substitute for much needed character development. The Aftermath gave us a little of that, but not enough. I like both pairings in equal measure, but I'm just happy to have femslash, period. Avatar is a pretty het-heavy fandom and I have to go digging to find anything else.

[phosfate]

Feed was great fun, and it should have been left on its own.

[innerbrat]

...how is it turning up in Korra fandom? How is it doing that?

[lizbee]

Mako/Bolin. And Korra/Mako/Bolin. I've seen lots of people going, "But maybe they're not really brothers, they're just adopted!"

[recessional]

Dude, if you are going to have a 'cest ship, own up and have a fucking 'cest ship. It's FANDOM. No one will judge you.

[innerbrat]

But but but but but.


That doesn't even make sense.

[ljwrites]

Totally hear you on the most interesting stuff being written for teens. My recent reading is heavily skewed toward YA, I've noticed. I'm still trying to figure out why so much good stuff is coming out purportedly for teens. Maybe because it's such a marketing godsend, since you gain teen as well as adult demographics. This has a positive feedback effect since good YA fiction with substance will draw in more adult (and teen) audiences. Maybe it's because fiction for grownups is growing less fresh and more self-indulgent, and readers and writers are getting fed up. I'm not familiar enough with the fiction market to come to a conclusion, but those are some of my theories. Whatever the cause, the effects for me as a reader, particularly of spe-fic, are very good indeed.

[mondyboy]

I won't be there Friday, but I will be there Saturday and Sunday. Hope to catch up!

[amaresu]

I've had the first book of the Newflesh trilogy sitting on my bookcase since about the time the second book came out. It just got packed away in preperation for moving and I still haven't read it. That being said I do love pretty much everything else she's written. The October Day books have slipped into the realm of guilty pleasure and all the people who follow me on Pintrest (who are these people?) are well aware of my problems with Discount Apacolypse, but I find them fun books. Sparrow Hill Road and Velvateen Vs are fun reads as well.

I guess what I'm saying is don't give up on her because of one bad book? At least check out Sparrow HIll Road or Velvateen Vs as they are both available for free on her website.

I'm a bit sad at the state of the Hugo nominations. I feel like they should be better? You're right about the most interesting stuff being written for teens though. No one is really saying that you can't do that to the writers and fun things are being written. Which reminds me that I need to finish reading Girl in the Arena before I pack it.

I also need to get caught up on Korra. Clearly.

[philippos42]

Sif and the Warriors Three were not well handled in Branagh's Thor. Did you ever read the Zelenetz & Vess "Warriors Three" arc from Marvel Fanfare? That's all right.

[unjapanologist]

Look, a thing with Mai and Zuko and your name on it.

This one was... tons of fun, actually.

[lizbee]

And pretty much exactly what I was picturing!

[unjapanologist]

No mercy.

Hopefully Kuei has someone who'll do the same for him.

[lizbee]

All the long diplomatic conferences that are going to come out of this, I'm sure Mai can make the time.

[unjapanologist]

Maybe she can just strip them both and tie them to the conference table, and have her way until they agree to agree on something.

[grimorie]

...and Darcy is kind of not that interesting to me

I kind of want to raise my hand for a fist bump. I mean I like her... just, I don't get the love.