Another day, another update

Words today -- 957 (yes, I will write an extra 43 words tomorrow)
Words total -- 51,124
Reason for stopping -- end of scene, with smooching. I think A & L are about to have The Talk.
Sustenance -- Tuscany spice tea and Cinnamonster
Excercise -- 100 crunches, plus various other stretchy excercises

I am closing on Big Important Novel Moments. Ooooh.

I will get some sort of exercise every day, I tell myself sternly. And I will drink more water and eat less processed crap. Cinnamonster is hardly crap, after all. If I'm going to spend the rest of my life sitting on my ass writing, I can at least have less ass to sit on.

Quote of the day

Brought to you by cpolk:

"I'm so evil that Cthulhu calls me--and I put his tentacle ass on hold."

I love my friends.

More book reports

First, my final thoughts on Kim Harrison's Dead Witch Walking.

Alas, this one gets a big thumbs down. At least Hamilton can actually plot (the last Merry book aside). Witch isn't a full-blown idiot plot, but a lot of the conflict could have been avoided if the characters had used a little common sense or thought ahead--and since the reader is informed over and over the Hot Vampire Chick is a rabid planner, there's no excuse for her silliness. The contract on the main character's life that drives the first half of the book is totally random, explained only by the fact that the second-string antag is just Really Mean. The purpose this serves is to drive the heroine to stupid actions that involve her in the Real Plot.

Harrison tosses inter-party conflict about liberally, perhaps in an effort to maintain tension when the Real Plot falters. She raises questions about HVC's motives, and those of the heroine's Romantic Interest, but answers none of them by the end. Maybe she's going for a sense of lingering doubt to keep the readers coming back for a second book, but to me it just feels like she dropped the ball with some sub-plots.

After reading this, my own plotting skills seem suddenly deft and intricate. :)

But if you're looking for a good witch and vampire book, be not discouraged. Instead, go read Robin McKinley's Sunshine. While the world in this story is very similar to LKH, Harrison, and Charlaine Harris, McKinley's prose blows them all out of the water. Her characters are real--even her walk-ons are richer than Hamilton's surfacy and often comic-bookish extras--engaging and sympathetic. And her vampires are creepy-sexy, and very inhuman, which I love.

The climax felt a little rushed, and was a bit of a let down, but the overall story was strong enough that I forgive it. I also would have liked a bit more resolution between Rae and Constantine (read: Amanda wanted vampire smut). But this book is still that rarest of beasts, a Good Vampire Book. And it will make you crave cinnamon rolls like nothing else.

The third review of the day is Poppy Z. Brite's Liquor. But no, this is not a vampire trifecta. For those not paying attention, Brite has moved away horror. While she's received a lot of flack from the babybats over this, I for one am pleased with the result. She clearly enjoys writing restaurant books, and that enjoyment spills over onto the page.

Liquor is fun and fast and will make you very hungry. Poppy's prose is as pretty as ever (though less purple these days), and these characters have a maturity that makes them much more engaging. I enjoyed Lost Souls when I was 15, and Drawing Blood when I was 19, but if I try to read them these days I choke on teen-aged angst and want to beat Zach and Nothing with sticks.

The only criticism I would give is that some of the POVs aren't strictly necessary, and there is a certain distance and tellingness about parts of the narrative. This is mostly a stylistic squick on my part, as I'm fond of very tight & deep POVs. In the end, it didn't lessen my enjoyment of the book.

I'm in the middle of another vampire book right now, so soon I'll complete my vampire review trifecta.