Anyone else read Garth Nix's old kingdom series? They're good book, I like them a lot, but at the same time I can't help but feel they could have been so much better. In particular, the books make use of all sorts of symbolism regarding order, freedom, duty, stability, progress, conservation (That is to say, the conservation of institutions - kingdom, abhorsens, clay, etc.), etc. But it doesn't really go anywhere with it, or make a very strong, clear message. It's kind of like he's recycling these cause he saw other people using them, without having a strong grasp on what they mean or what he wants to communicate with them. :/
@Angle I love Sabriel and I adore the world but I find the construction of the following books really lacking in some of the ways you’ve identified.
@tux_kate Mmm. I'm really partial to Lirael, but yeah, I can see a lot of ways the series could have been way better. having a consistent philosophical underpinning is just one of them.:/
@Angle @tux_kate I hadn’t actually thought about it as much as that, but I think you’ve put a finger on some of what bothers me about those books. I suspect Nix did the worldbuilding and then just thought about Adventure, but that’s not really enough.
And here I’d thought that it was mostly that I’m tired of fantasy about restoring or maintaining a monarchy. (Though I’m sure that’s part of it.)
I adore Lirael as a character and the library of the Clayr is my DREAM PLACE and the Dog! Oh, the Dog!
But I find that "Sabriel" as a self-contained book seems to be the best constructed novel of the series.
I really wish there were more depth to the questions of legacy and knowledge and loss and change and dealing with international relations and so on, but yeah. I also find Sameth tiresome, which makes "Lirael" and "Abhorsen" something of a slog.
@Angle I read them but my memory of them is really foggy, so there's probably definitely something in what you're saying. I remember really enjoying Lirael! The others I think I enjoyed but wasn't crazy about (I can't remember Abhorsen or Clariel at all, I looked it up now and hadn't even heard of Goldenhand)
@sajan Clariels probably the most problematic of them all. It kinda wants to have the position that freedom is bad and you should just give up on your dreams and do what you're supposed to, but also kinda wants to have the position that denying people their dreams is bad, and so ends up kinda flopped in the middle. :/
@Angle Ergh. Hm. I wonder if there are any good examples of fiction involving the whole destiny/role figure completely shirking whatever people are telling their fated responsibility is, and instead going off and doing their own thing. But also without concluding by having them putting on the hero shoes in the very end. So all that stuff they were meant to be countering is just left in the background whilst they open up a shop/become a house burglar or something.
Spoilers Afficher plus
@Angle I mean, actually, with the interchange of letters peppering the book - it could be OK!
@Angle its been a long time but i remember liking them a lot. i read the new one more recently though and boy it was a mess