Gypsy Poetry

So, this will probably be my last update for about a week, because I’m moving next weekend. It’s a sudden move, precipitated by a good deal on rent for my roommate, so I’m going to be doing a whole lot of packing this week. But by next Sunday, I’ll be in my awesome new apartment, so it’s all good. I’ll be sure to take pictures and post them in here so you all can revel in the one-bedroom glory, too.

Okay, books. Since my last post, I finished reading Memoirs of a Geisha, which I absolutely adored. I really like Golden’s writing style, and how he managed to capture the mood of both the place and Saiyuri. Being the big sap I am, though, I think I liked the end of the movie better. I’ve been suddenly possessed by the urge to buy Japanese stuff to decorate the new apartment, heh.

After all of the “serious literature” I’ve been reading, I decided it was time for a break. I had picked up a romance novel the other day, so I dived right in.

Warsworn by Elizabeth Vaughan is the sequel to Warprize, which I found at a used bookstore a few months ago. The novels (as well as a third, which will be published next year) are an interesting blend of high fantasy and romance; they are set in the kingdom of Xy, which is under seige by the Firelanders, people of the Plains. Xylara, the younger daughter of the dead king of Xy, is a healer who takes it upon herself to treat the Firelander prisoners of war, and is taken by Keir, the Firelander Warlord, as his Warprize. In the first book, much confusion ensues as to what a Warprize really is–slave or queen–and by the second book, Xylara has become queen of Xy and is accompanying Keir to the Plains.

In Warsworn, a plague strikes, and as a Master Healer, Xylara feels it’s her duty to try to heal the people. The Firelanders have never faced sickness such as this, and tend to trust the magic of warrior-priests rather than medicine, which sets up an interesting conflict between the two cultures. I found myself liking the supporting characters more than the main ones in this book; Xylara’s guards have compelling stories of their own, and I found myself wanting to see more of them than her. Lara, on the other hand, showd herself to be both a determined healer and a whiny bitch. True to stereotype, the woman healer blames herself for the deaths of the plague and spends quite a bit of time dissolving into tears and being scared instead of standing up for herself when the Big Bad Warrior who’s challenging the Warlord bullies her. When she finally grew a set and stood up for herself to him, I actually cheered.

To be fair, though, I get the feeling Vaughan is going to develop Lara as a stronger woman after this point; the preview of the third book hints at her learning her own strengths in a fight. I’m not one of those people who expects every single female character to conform to my ideal of a tough chick, but there’s a point where Lara starts crying for the thirtieth time where I just wanted to reach through the page and strangle her. I also have a bit of a beef with casting the woman into the traditional role of healer–played too many Dungeons & Dragons games where I had to fight to keep from being stuck as the cleric–but Vaughan balances that stereotype out with the female warriors of the Firelanders.

It’s not a bad book; it’s actually fairly entertaining and involving. I’d save it for a rainy day, though.