redbrunja: (Default)
redbrunja ([personal profile] redbrunja) wrote2012-08-12 01:50 am

Broken Aesop

After The Golden Age by Carrie Vaughn was recced to me on tumblr with an 'if you liked Avengers, read this.' The novel is about the non-powered daughter of two beloved superheros and unfortunately, I can't pass on the recommendation I was given.



The thing this book does really, really well, is Celia's romance with a telepath that is on the same team as her parents. There is a slow build thought the first two-third of the book, where Mentis (the telepath) is, basically, the only person who doesn't judge her or find her lacking, and I'm like, 'you two need to hook up.' And then they do, and there is some great stuff about telepaths and consent where Celia is awash in Mentis' emotions and isn't sure what she's feeling and it's AWESOME. (Also, for bonus points, Mentis and Celia met when he was finished up college and she was still in high school.)

The thing this book does TERRIBLY is Celia's arc. For most of the book it seems like her arc is going to be about realizing that she can be awesome without powers (she's a forensic accountant, fyi) but at the end, she and Mentis have a baby (WHICH WAS WAY TO MUCH INFORMATION, FUCKING EPILOGUE) and she's crying and saying she hopes that her daughter has powers. WAY TO FUCKING BREAK YOUR AESOP, CARRIE VAUGHN.

The other thing is that Celia's father was such a dick to her that she basically had PTSD and could barely interact with him... but he ended up dying for her, so it was all okay.

Also, the writing was just bland.

And finally, I came across that meme on tumblr where you grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 45, and the first sentence describes you sex life for 2012. I got:



"Celia had to deal with trouble before she even reached the courtroom."

That sounds promising. ONLY NOT.
ext_1358: (all in)

[identity profile] grav-ity.livejournal.com 2012-08-12 10:42 am (UTC)(link)
I found Carrie Vaughn's teen books to be a little bit better, in that they had things I adore, but I didn't love the whole thing.

[identity profile] redbrunja.livejournal.com 2012-08-13 05:16 am (UTC)(link)
This + the direction the Kitty Norville books went is, I think, I sign that I need to stop reading her, frankly.

[identity profile] intrikate88.livejournal.com 2012-08-12 01:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Meh, buggery. Who was it that recced that, gingerhaze? I put it on my amazon wishlist but didn't buy it. Bummed to hear it doesn't really live up to the potential, cause that really did sound like a lot of potential.

[identity profile] redbrunja.livejournal.com 2012-08-13 04:58 am (UTC)(link)
Possibly? But no, it certainly does not live up to its potential.

[identity profile] fairest1.livejournal.com 2012-08-12 09:29 pm (UTC)(link)
I have that on my 'To Read' pile. I am dissapoint.

[identity profile] redbrunja.livejournal.com 2012-08-13 04:31 am (UTC)(link)
I was quite disappointed myself.