Shadow of the Hegemon

[neversremedy8]

I never did give my review, which I wanted to, of The Skinner by Neal Asher. Perhaps I'll do it later. I'll probably rant if I do review it, though. Not that I didn't like it, but rant rant rant.

Anyway, what's stumped me is Shadow of the Hegemon, and I'm amazed yet again how a bit of time and experience makes the books (or the sequels to books) that you loved as a kid all the more worthwhile as an adult. Now, what's stumped me is that I think I've already read this book, given that I'm practically reciting the middle chapters verbatim to myself in my head as I read them, yet I didn't remember having read ANY of the first several chapters, nor do I as yet completely remember yet what happens at the end. I sort of do, but not really.

At least I'm getting references to politics and literature that I didn't a few years ago when I suppose I must have read this for the first time.

What amazes me most, though, is how extremely well I identify with Petra. Not necessarily her tactical genius, but her personality. It's so very much the way I live my inner life, and it's somewhat frightening for me to recognize. That I could have forgotten how greatly I identify with her and all of the chapters from her perspective is stunning. Truly stunning. I'm gobbling the book down again but for the fact that the chapters I remember reading from Bean's persepctive aren't as interesting to me except in my deeper understanding of all of the mechanics working through the characters and politics this time. I get it a lot better than I used to. Which is a good thing for me to acknowledge, because it means I've at least begun on the path of understanding that I want to have. Yeah. So, I'm reading through this, and I'm having a hard time not copying several pages here just to say, "Shit, this is exactly what I think in situations like this ..."

Maybe it just means I'm predictable, or maybe it just means I should have been trained at an early age as a tactical genius. Or maybe I'm just a writer, and writers don't fit into any real categories. Even personality labels don't quite fit us right.

Murr.

Blame Orson Scott Card for keeping me up late every night.

Comments

Blame Orson Scott Card...

[carus-erus.livejournal.com]

I personally thought Ender's Game, and Speaker for the Dead were excellent books. (Xenocide could have been dumped in the trash, Children of the Mind so so, and the first prequel Ender's Shadow was halfway decent.)

I am however rather creeped out by some of the things that Orson Scott Card has said in his personal life. I know people who refuse to read his books because of his personal views.

He's Mormon, expresses those views strongly (Lost Boys had all the non Mormon characters aimless in life while the Mormon characters had it together). He's very pro-war and pro-Bush. He's also very anti-homosexuality and very anti- same-sex marriage, calling for laws against sodomy to be kept on the books.

He doesn't exactly sound like the kind of person I'd invite over for tea.

Re: Blame Orson Scott Card...

[neversremedy.livejournal.com]

I don't really care for the person, either, but I fell in love with his sci-fi stories back when I was in eigth grade. I knew nothing about him as a person until I was twenty-two, and by then, I was already hooked on his writing. It was jarring to find out how decidedly conservative he was because in many instances it simply didn't reflect in his writing. I've read much more than the Ender/Bean series, and even his fairy tales and sci-fi shorts tend to be very inviting reads. Sometimes we have to look simply at the art and not the artist; many of his stories contain no religion or many religions that are not Mormon and his views do not play into the scheme of it, except perhaps in the occasional metaphor. I'm not too pleased with the way Anne Rice has been handling her P.R. in the last couple of years, but most of her books are still among my favorites because they appealed to me when I was younger and continue to appeal to me now. I hope that when I've got more published, people will enjoy my work regardless of what they think of me.

Continuing the discussion ...

[neversremedy.livejournal.com]

And I knew there was a comic (http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp03162005.shtml) that echoed my sentiments. :)

I've been rather disappointed in Anne Rice's megalomania lately about her recent works. She's still one of my favorite writers because of her previous art (the last few books have ... well, everyone needs an editor, even those of us who moonlight as editors ourselves), but I'm embarrassed for her due to her behavior. She still wrote an excellent essay on New Orleans that touched me, so she's not completely lost, but well ... I'm babbling now. La.