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3rdragonI had a fantastically complicated dream last night, but had forgotten the entire thing within two minutes of waking up.
Thoughts on Shadow in the North, cut for those who don't care and for spoilerness, both for itself and perhaps A House Like a Lotus:
As usual, my first thought on finishing the book was, Poor Sally. I knew when I started the book that Frederick was going to die shortly after they had begun something that looked like a viable relationship, but I'd forgotten precisely how.
I enjoyed the adventure-cum-mystery with a hint of the best Joan Aiken style; it's what I expect from this book (in addition to killing off love interests) and what I receive.
And yet . . . the ending was less satisfying than it might have been. There's a fire, Frederick dies, it's terribly traumatic, Sally is unhappy and numb, Sally blows things up, Sally doesn't die, Sally starts getting the business back on its feet, end of book. And perhaps it's merely because I just finished A House Like A Lotus, in which so much of the book is spent grieving, and in the expectation of loss, that 20-30 pages after Frederick's death, most of which is action, didn't feel emotionally real. Or rather, it felt real, but not complete; a sort of yes, that's a good start, how about we finish now? Perhaps that's not what Pullman's interested in. And I guess that's allowable. But it does make the book seem a bit more flat than it might otherwise.
And I'll admit that it's the second book in a trilogy, so perhaps he can handle that more in the next book, but my recollection is that The Tiger in the Well takes place several years after Shadow in the North.
Once again, it is a beautiful, gorgeous day. Too bad that I'm stuck inside; it's on days like today that I would like to be able to transport the entire computer lab out onto one of the lawns.
In other news, I lost my surge protector the night before last. Mildly annoying, but given that Miss Eliza was plugged into it at the time, I think that the loss of a $17(?) surge protector is worth having her safe. It's possible that my surge protector was just overly sensitive, since Emily and Gwen's surge protector is fine. Then again, neither of their computers was plugged into it.
Thoughts on Shadow in the North, cut for those who don't care and for spoilerness, both for itself and perhaps A House Like a Lotus:
As usual, my first thought on finishing the book was, Poor Sally. I knew when I started the book that Frederick was going to die shortly after they had begun something that looked like a viable relationship, but I'd forgotten precisely how.
I enjoyed the adventure-cum-mystery with a hint of the best Joan Aiken style; it's what I expect from this book (in addition to killing off love interests) and what I receive.
And yet . . . the ending was less satisfying than it might have been. There's a fire, Frederick dies, it's terribly traumatic, Sally is unhappy and numb, Sally blows things up, Sally doesn't die, Sally starts getting the business back on its feet, end of book. And perhaps it's merely because I just finished A House Like A Lotus, in which so much of the book is spent grieving, and in the expectation of loss, that 20-30 pages after Frederick's death, most of which is action, didn't feel emotionally real. Or rather, it felt real, but not complete; a sort of yes, that's a good start, how about we finish now? Perhaps that's not what Pullman's interested in. And I guess that's allowable. But it does make the book seem a bit more flat than it might otherwise.
And I'll admit that it's the second book in a trilogy, so perhaps he can handle that more in the next book, but my recollection is that The Tiger in the Well takes place several years after Shadow in the North.
Once again, it is a beautiful, gorgeous day. Too bad that I'm stuck inside; it's on days like today that I would like to be able to transport the entire computer lab out onto one of the lawns.
In other news, I lost my surge protector the night before last. Mildly annoying, but given that Miss Eliza was plugged into it at the time, I think that the loss of a $17(?) surge protector is worth having her safe. It's possible that my surge protector was just overly sensitive, since Emily and Gwen's surge protector is fine. Then again, neither of their computers was plugged into it.
