Ahhhh when you're freer and feel like it feel free to drop a message!! :D
YES the unique F/F and the atmosphere were the absolute best parts of this! I was also impressed by how different the prose was compared to the first book - from word choice to overall density. I loved how in the beginning it just carries you along and you're not fully sure what's real and what isn't and you're also left wondering why the heck is there a POV shift when we're following the same character? Surely a small time difference doesn't warrant moving from third to second person and back? This all was done so well, and that's what made me all the more personification-of-the-angry-emoji... Because as much as I cared for the characters and dynamics I just didn't care for the world! Like oh, you're a lyctor? Just unbe. What is a House and a Tomb. Go build a shack up the mountain please. :P
(If I'm being serious about the world stuff for a second: I was mostly disappointed because I expected more. For the first book it made sense, Gideon as a POV character is not exactly a knowledge-for-knowledge's sake hoarder and the setting limiting itself to the trials did not offer much either. But for HtN, given Harrow's higher position, I expected her to have a wide-ranging education and therefore to know more, especially since as a world-in-general it seems to have taken the age old science vs. religion debate and fused it into one thing.) (Instead I just left feeling like so much of the current worldbuilding hinges on the reader 1) caring for loyalty kink (which I don't), 2) caring for the fact that some big characters represent XYZ house or other part (which, again, I don't), and just in general being very narrowly focused. Small cultural details, how the economy works, what's the environment & weather in each place like... You're in space, where's the focus on flora and fauna! It all feels very brushed over.)
I also did really like the Gideon/Harrow 'love story'! I wasn't expecting to and I had actually not seen much of them (since my TLT exposure is mostly through seeing it pop up in exchanges, and Gideon/Harrow doesn't seem to appear much?) so I'm happy I went in with no expectations. But the memes... Oh my God, the memes. If I never have to see another humourous meme-y line in these books it'll be too soon.
I'll love to go see all the commentary once I'm done with NtN! Which I've already started :P Hopefully it won't take me as long to finish as HtN did, and I'll be getting back to you on whether I think the original text suffers from the commentary :D I think, objectively, conceptually, these are pretty great books - multiple very different female characters that don't feel like they're there to be like #GirlbossSlay, the ability for the writing to both be very light at times and very mature in other parts, the very fun emotional repression and other deep sadness that doesn't feel like it's put there to inspire "aw poor baby" feelings in the reader, the fact that it actually trusts the reader(!) and doesn't sit you down to spoonfeed you every tiny part. But petulantly I want them to cater to what I enjoy! And fealty with memes is not it!!!
(This got too long :P But hey, if nothing else the fact that it definitely inspired the most feelings makes it a good book?)
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branchandroot
(no subject)
Date: 2023-03-20 06:26 pm (UTC)YES the unique F/F and the atmosphere were the absolute best parts of this! I was also impressed by how different the prose was compared to the first book - from word choice to overall density. I loved how in the beginning it just carries you along and you're not fully sure what's real and what isn't and you're also left wondering why the heck is there a POV shift when we're following the same character? Surely a small time difference doesn't warrant moving from third to second person and back? This all was done so well, and that's what made me all the more personification-of-the-angry-emoji... Because as much as I cared for the characters and dynamics I just didn't care for the world! Like oh, you're a lyctor? Just unbe. What is a House and a Tomb. Go build a shack up the mountain please. :P
(If I'm being serious about the world stuff for a second: I was mostly disappointed because I expected more. For the first book it made sense, Gideon as a POV character is not exactly a knowledge-for-knowledge's sake hoarder and the setting limiting itself to the trials did not offer much either. But for HtN, given Harrow's higher position, I expected her to have a wide-ranging education and therefore to know more, especially since as a world-in-general it seems to have taken the age old science vs. religion debate and fused it into one thing.) (Instead I just left feeling like so much of the current worldbuilding hinges on the reader 1) caring for loyalty kink (which I don't), 2) caring for the fact that some big characters represent XYZ house or other part (which, again, I don't), and just in general being very narrowly focused. Small cultural details, how the economy works, what's the environment & weather in each place like... You're in space, where's the focus on flora and fauna! It all feels very brushed over.)
I also did really like the Gideon/Harrow 'love story'! I wasn't expecting to and I had actually not seen much of them (since my TLT exposure is mostly through seeing it pop up in exchanges, and Gideon/Harrow doesn't seem to appear much?) so I'm happy I went in with no expectations. But the memes... Oh my God, the memes. If I never have to see another humourous meme-y line in these books it'll be too soon.
I'll love to go see all the commentary once I'm done with NtN! Which I've already started :P Hopefully it won't take me as long to finish as HtN did, and I'll be getting back to you on whether I think the original text suffers from the commentary :D I think, objectively, conceptually, these are pretty great books - multiple very different female characters that don't feel like they're there to be like #GirlbossSlay, the ability for the writing to both be very light at times and very mature in other parts, the very fun emotional repression and other deep sadness that doesn't feel like it's put there to inspire "aw poor baby" feelings in the reader, the fact that it actually trusts the reader(!) and doesn't sit you down to spoonfeed you every tiny part. But petulantly I want them to cater to what I enjoy! And fealty with memes is not it!!!
(This got too long :P But hey, if nothing else the fact that it definitely inspired the most feelings makes it a good book?)