here be (more) dragons
Feb. 24th, 2009 04:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ravenIn further news of the Napoleonic Wars, I started reading Post Captain this morning, having been greatly edified at the Taruithorn banquet as to the joys of reading novels where you don't understand every third word (Mizzens! Topgallants! Futtocks!) and, further, the woobification of Stephen Maturin is not to be missed. I believe them. I'm still reading.
Which is not to say I don't still think everything is better with dragons. I'm still very impressed by Temeraire: I can't remember the last time I read something quite this compulsively, and actually I don't think I have since the first few Harry Potter books, because it's the same reason, that kind of ecstatic inventiveness in the way the whole world is built up, and something really original with the dragons. It's interesting, I think, that the relationship between Laurence and Temeraire isn't one I can really compare to anything else; it's not a platonic relationship and it's not a romantic one, it's not paternal although it starts out that way, and it's not done by half-measures - I think the great achievement of the first book is making it entirely believable and really very sweet, even in the absence of categories to put it in. It's kind of lovely, and it's also nicely telling that while Temeraire seems to like having sex with pretty girl dragons, and Laurence has this beautifully drawn friends-with-benefits thing going on with Roland, they both seem to have the one major attachment of their lives vested in each other, with sex as something they do elsewhere.
(That said, halfway through Black Powder War, I'm kind of loving how the theme of the novel so far is How Everyone In The World Is Having More Sex Than William Laurence - the midwingmen are ogling the harems (and he's sending them to dig dragon latrines to keep them occupied); Emily is happily bathing with the boys despite his best efforts ("Oh, Mother told me about that, I don't want to go to bed with any of them!"), there's that lovely bizarre detour into dragon masturbation (which I, shamefully, had to read twice to get), and then the whole of the second and third books are really some kind of extended coitus interruptus for him, poor man. How I do love having an actually likeable POV character.)
The thing that bothers me at the moment, though, is the way the series is handling issues of race, history, and exoticism.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
soupytwist was saying that she was initially taken aback at how all the Chinese characters are evil to begin with, but reconciled to it later, because it makes sense: first of all, Laurence is a product of his society, and second of all, he really doesn't understand the behaviour of the Chinese embassy, and it's his confusion that's evident throughout. I agree with her for the most part: it's clear later that the characters have their own competing agendas and issues, and are as human as the English characters are. The thing that concerns me is, strangely, the setting. The narration is third-person POV, but loose - Laurence is clearly not the narrative voice throughout, and what bothers me sometimes is the lush description; it's all very lovely, but is it entirely necessary? Is it definitely not coming from a place of ooh, China, how exotic? I am honestly not sure. I'm tempted to say not, simply because the novels do so well at not being casually racist, and I may be predictable, but I absolutely love that the only thing Laurence and his father agree on is abolitionism (and that Laurence is an abolitionist because his father traumatised him aged nine by taking him onto a slave ship! what a lovely detail for a ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
yuletide story).
(Edited to add: Not that that would negate it if the book were being racist, but I really like the detailed engagement with the relevant history. It's refreshing.)
I think I'm learning to read more critically for these things, though. I don't know. I shall keep on reading.
(Also, still want to write that crossover. Stephen Maturin measuring a dragon. The dragon finding him a very strange human. Can you see that? I can see that. Yes.)
I should do some work. Pancakes later, hurrah.
Which is not to say I don't still think everything is better with dragons. I'm still very impressed by Temeraire: I can't remember the last time I read something quite this compulsively, and actually I don't think I have since the first few Harry Potter books, because it's the same reason, that kind of ecstatic inventiveness in the way the whole world is built up, and something really original with the dragons. It's interesting, I think, that the relationship between Laurence and Temeraire isn't one I can really compare to anything else; it's not a platonic relationship and it's not a romantic one, it's not paternal although it starts out that way, and it's not done by half-measures - I think the great achievement of the first book is making it entirely believable and really very sweet, even in the absence of categories to put it in. It's kind of lovely, and it's also nicely telling that while Temeraire seems to like having sex with pretty girl dragons, and Laurence has this beautifully drawn friends-with-benefits thing going on with Roland, they both seem to have the one major attachment of their lives vested in each other, with sex as something they do elsewhere.
(That said, halfway through Black Powder War, I'm kind of loving how the theme of the novel so far is How Everyone In The World Is Having More Sex Than William Laurence - the midwingmen are ogling the harems (and he's sending them to dig dragon latrines to keep them occupied); Emily is happily bathing with the boys despite his best efforts ("Oh, Mother told me about that, I don't want to go to bed with any of them!"), there's that lovely bizarre detour into dragon masturbation (which I, shamefully, had to read twice to get), and then the whole of the second and third books are really some kind of extended coitus interruptus for him, poor man. How I do love having an actually likeable POV character.)
The thing that bothers me at the moment, though, is the way the series is handling issues of race, history, and exoticism.
soupytwist was saying that she was initially taken aback at how all the Chinese characters are evil to begin with, but reconciled to it later, because it makes sense: first of all, Laurence is a product of his society, and second of all, he really doesn't understand the behaviour of the Chinese embassy, and it's his confusion that's evident throughout. I agree with her for the most part: it's clear later that the characters have their own competing agendas and issues, and are as human as the English characters are. The thing that concerns me is, strangely, the setting. The narration is third-person POV, but loose - Laurence is clearly not the narrative voice throughout, and what bothers me sometimes is the lush description; it's all very lovely, but is it entirely necessary? Is it definitely not coming from a place of ooh, China, how exotic? I am honestly not sure. I'm tempted to say not, simply because the novels do so well at not being casually racist, and I may be predictable, but I absolutely love that the only thing Laurence and his father agree on is abolitionism (and that Laurence is an abolitionist because his father traumatised him aged nine by taking him onto a slave ship! what a lovely detail for a yuletide story).(Edited to add: Not that that would negate it if the book were being racist, but I really like the detailed engagement with the relevant history. It's refreshing.)
I think I'm learning to read more critically for these things, though. I don't know. I shall keep on reading.
(Also, still want to write that crossover. Stephen Maturin measuring a dragon. The dragon finding him a very strange human. Can you see that? I can see that. Yes.)
I should do some work. Pancakes later, hurrah.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
on 2009-02-24 05:43 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2009-02-25 09:58 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2009-02-24 07:39 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2009-02-24 08:13 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2009-02-25 09:58 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2009-02-27 06:55 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2009-02-24 07:46 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2009-02-26 08:15 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2009-02-26 08:41 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2009-02-24 08:06 pm (UTC)(Also, still want to write that crossover. Stephen Maturin measuring a dragon. The dragon finding him a very strange human. Can you see that? I can see that. Yes.)
OHYES.
...I think Age of Sail fandom (those familiar with both the Aubreyad and Temeraire) would probably explode from squee.
A propos of reading books full of words you don't understand, that reminds me of how I had quite a substantial vocabulary expansion as a result of reading all the nautical slang in the "Swallows and Amazons" books. I'm now onto the Hornblower ones (and incidentally survived reading through "A Clockwork Orange"), so yes, yay increasing word-power!
no subject
on 2009-02-25 08:52 am (UTC)ETA: Am eagerly awaiting the Stephen/measuring tape/dragon story :-) :-)
no subject
on 2009-02-26 11:02 pm (UTC)And I have been thinking about your point about exoticism, and thinking that it's probably one of the most difficult things to weed out - there's a blurry, difficult line between 'description using nice language describing things unusual to the narrator' and 'exoticising, and as a white person it is very difficult to see where that might be (or even if there is a non-exoticising way for a white person to describe that experience). I dunno how much that's because white people's exposure to the relevant cultures is generally very limited (and from a white perspective), and how much it's the cultural ingraining of the idea that 'omg omg how EXOTIC!' reactions are normal and non-problematic, or what, but it's definitely one of the hardest to even explain why it might be an issue. To be honest, it's one of the things I wouldn't trust myself over - examples which are clearly waaaaay in the bad side or, say, actually written by and for people of the culture concerned I can manage, but the mushy middle confuses the hell out of me!