uberreiniger: (shedding wings)
This has dragged on about two months longer than I intended it to and I'm not going to drag it into the New Year. Let's wrap it up.

The prompts... )

Day Twenty-Six: Favorite classical female character (from pre-20th century literature or mythology or the like)

I don't have one specifically but I am becoming deeply and increasingly enamored of the warrior goddess archetype; the kind of goddess who would rather nurture art, and love, and beauty, yet who will remorselessly cut down anyone who tries to destroy those things. It fascinates me and I fear it signifies a spiritual shift on my part, but that would be a very long discussion in and of itself.

Day Twenty-Seven: A female character you have extensive personal canon for

Since I recently wrote my first ever fanfiction and it was about Eileen Galvin from Silent Hill 4 I guess... her? I will admit that I am somewhat obsessed with the Lady of Shalott and in my imagination she actually manages to survive and have other adventures.

Day Twenty-Eight: Favorite female writer (television, books, movies, etc.)

I think it's Jacqueline Carey, author of the Kushiel series. I gripe and complain about her books constantly, yet I can't stop wanting to reread them and I don't reread books very often so I guess that makes her my favorite. Yes Phedre is a big fat Mary Sue, and yes she reiterates the same statements, actions, and concepts often enough that you could make a drinking game out of it. But if you can get past the first third of each novel, each of which is nothing but Phedre being stupid, wallowing in her silly little problems and silly little lifestyle, then you will be treated to epic fantasy adventures as good as the best that's been written in the genre. Go Jacqueline.

Day Twenty-Nine: A female-centric fic rec

I recommend anything by Charles De Lint. Most of his books feature a strong female main protagonist or supporting protagonist and the way he tells stories is mesmerizing, haunting, and beautiful. He can incorporate all the horror and beauty of human existence into one perfect package of a story.

Day Thirty: Whatever you’d like!

If you like art, myth, and beautiful women then please check out the Facebook page of this artist friend of mine!

https://www.facebook.com/thepaintedgoddess
uberreiniger: (Lady Deathknight)
The prompts )


Day Four: A female character you relate to. This is another easy one for me. I relate to Leliana from Dragon Age. Let's see, she's highly theatrical, highly sexual, and highly violent all while trying to live a life of religious integrity. No, I wouldn't know anything about that. Not at all. She also tends to playfully joke around when her friends are being serious, and when she's trying to be serious her friends treat her like a joke. That's another feeling I understand a little too well. I may not pull off a sexy Orlesian accent or think that God talks to me, but in every other respect I am Leliana. I am Leliana with a dick.

Fun fact, if you do a Yahoo image search for "Leliana with a dick" the very first image that comes up is this. I'm not kidding! Try it!
uberreiniger: (Gunslinger)
The prompts )

Day Three: A female character you hated but grew to love This was an easy one for me: Susannah Dean (and all her other various iterations) from Stephen King's Dark Tower universe. I hated just about everything about her, from her butchered Southern negro dialect, (which you can tell was written by a white guy from Maine with little to no firsthand experience with Southern black culture,) to King's stubborn insistence on conflating schizophrenia with multiple personality disorder. (He's educated enough to know better, even at the time when he first introduced her when the confusion was still relatively common among the general public.) I actively cringed when it came time to read Song of Susannah because really, who looks forward to a book where their least favorite character is the focus?

In a twist worthy of King himself, that was the book where my opinion of Susannah turned around. Something about that story really made me empathize with her and want to see her through the dire trouble she finds herself in. I was rooting for her by the end. Of course, it ends on a cliffhanger and I haven't read the last book yet so I'll have to root a while longer. Now that I am rereading the series I find her less grating this time around. I appreciate what King was trying to do with her and recognize the place of sincerity and integrity from which the idea of the character is drawn, even if her execution was a little sloppy in her earliest appearances.
uberreiniger: (Warrior)
The prompts. )

Day Two: Favorite supporting female character. I'm going to have to go to the realm of books for this one and choose Wynn Hyergeoht from Barb and J.C. Hendee's intriguinging Noble Dead series.

The blurb on the covers bills this series as "Buffy meets Lord of the Rings" but in terms of tone + setting it's more like Underworld meets medieval Poland. Here's the premise: a traveling con artist pretends to be a vampire hunter who kills fake vampires (her accomplice in heavy makeup,) for a fee. One day she discovers she is in fact a Dhampir with vampire-killing super powers and a destiny to fulfill. Hijinks ensue involving elven ninjas, tremor-causing dwarves, half-fae dogs, and even eldritch abominations. It's a pretty good series but it doesn't really hit its stride until our heroes encounter Wynn Hyergoeht.

Wynn is a professional scholar assigned by her superiors to follow Magiere the vampire hunter and learn what links the vampires hold to the cataclysm that erased most of the world's ancient history. She is an outsider in the group, useless in a fight, generally in the way whenever danger threatens. She is also incredibly strong-willed, resourceful, and inevitably the first one to figure out what's going on in any given situation while the rest of the heroes are blundering in circles. She is the only character among the heroes with no special powers or training. She does have a kind of second sight acquired from a magic ritual gone wrong, but it backfires more often than not and incapacitates her. It's hard to convey what makes Wynn so special if you haven't read the books, but her normality combined with her sheer reckless nerve make her the emotional heart of the story. Magiere even says as much to her at one point. Even certain of the remorseless vampires and sociopathic elven assassins encountered in the story have a hard time treating Wynn with the cruel disdain they'd like to. It's not so much that she's just written to be a good person: she sort of represents what is good and right in the world, the things the bad guys have a hard time letting go of.

The Hendees have recently begun the second series in the Noble Dead line wherein they elevate Wynn to central protagonist. They give her some power upgrades to better survive undead encounters, but so far they have done so without overpowering her or in any way sacrificing what made her great the first time around. It was a smart move to push her front and center because she really is the best thing about the story and makes an average work of gothic fantasy worth remembering.
uberreiniger: (Warrior)
I've tried these 30 day memes before and I haven't lasted to the end of one yet but this one really excites me so I'm going to give it another go.

30 Days of Female Characters - Here are the prompts. )

Day One: Favorite lead female character I actually had to think about this one for a minute. It's always a bad sign when you have to think about what your favorite is, right? In my case though it's because there are so many female characters I admire rather than too few. In the end I think I'm going to have to give the credit to Ellen Ripley of the Aliens franchise. I haven't been an obsessive Aliens fan in a long time but Ripley stuck with me at an early age and I firmly believe carried the DNA which all my other favorite heroines are imparted with and maybe a little Alien Queen DNA too.

Ripley is just such a subversion, she's really a very transgressive character in terms of the conventions of fiction. She's a nobody with nothing to recommend her for saving the day yet she manages to keep her head while the trained, manly leader types are losing theirs and just knuckles down and does what needs to be done. I saw Alien at a time when a woman being the ultimate hero in a science fiction piece just wasn't done, or at least not done quite like that. In the final scene she is battling a literal walking rape metaphor in her panties yet there is no attempt to eroticize the situation. And there isn't any need to. She remains a real person even against the most surreal of odds.

Ripley follows a truly mythic arc in the films. In Aliens she is a benevolent mother figure to the Queen's entropic subversion of womanhood. She descends into the nether realms and even comes back as a sort of resurrected god-figure. And she does it all without losing her wry, sarcastic blue collar attitude. She'd really like to just go home and have a beer but these damn aliens just keep fucking up her day.

It goes without saying that what makes Ripley so powerful is 1% good writing and 110% Sigourney Weaver's portrayal. She was the right actress at the right time to make that character happen and as an artist I'll always be grateful to her. Her work has impacted me more than I probably realized.
uberreiniger: (Robot Devil)
Day 24 - Best quote from a novel

Best quote from a novel? It's like picking a favorite blade of grass! But here's two good ones:

"That's the problem with people who always mean what they say: they always think everyone else does too."

-Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner

I really identified with this line, a lot. Because I do tend to mean what I say and get hurt a lot when others' commitment to what they say is more fluid than my own.

For something completely different:

"My lord makes love like he is hunting boar: it is a heroic act, but not one that is pleasurable for women."

-Jacqueline Carey, Kushiel's Dart

SPECIAL BONUS QUOTE:

"A man is walking a tightrope between two skyscrapers. Somewhere on the other side of the world a young man is getting a blowjob from an 80 year-old woman. Both of them are having the exact same thought: 'Don't look down!'"

-Mark Z. Danieliewski, House of Leaves

The prompts... )
uberreiniger: (library)
I've got to admit I've lost all enthusiasm for this meme. It hasn't turned out to be nearly as much fun as it first looked like it would. But I hate to leave things like this unfinished, so...

Day 21 - Favorite romantic/sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)

I'll go with Leesil and Magiere from Barb and Jaycee Hendee's Noble Dead series. Their relationship is very levelheaded and like real life for a couple where one is a berserking dhampir and the other is an alcoholic former assassin. The relationship builds up naturally in the series and once it's established, doesn't overwhelm the storyline or get saddled with unnecessary drama, but their love for each other is always apparent even when it's not center stage.

Day 22 - Favorite non-sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)

I'll say Firekeeper and Blind Seer from Jane Lindskold's Wolf series. Firekeeper is a noblewoman literally raised by wolves in the wilderness and Blind Seer is her wolf companion. He speaks but only she can understand him. And it's pretty apparent that she has a crush on him - which you'd think would make for uncomfortable reading since she's human and he's a wolf - but it doesn't and their interactions are some of the best parts of the series.

Day 23 - Most annoying character ever

Hands down, Morgaine from Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon. Although Gwenhwyfar with her hysterical Christianity and agoraphobia runs a close second. But Morgaine sucked as a protagonist. She was in no way sympathetic and pretty much just came across as an inflexible spoiled brat. Did I mention that by the end of the book I wanted to see Avalon paved over and turned into a parking lat complete with a McDonald's and a Starbucks?

The Prompts... )
uberreiniger: (blink kitty)
Day 20 - Favorite kiss

I can't think of a favorite kiss, but I've always been partial to the scene in Neil Gaiman's American Gods where Bilke seduces the movie producer. If you've read it you know the scene I mean >:)

::EDIT::

Actually I CAN think of a favorite kiss, if you can call it that. There's a scene early in Clive Barker's The Great and Secret Show where the two antagonists meet and one tries to possess the other one by kissing him. 1,000 page book and the line "his breath smelled like a sick man's fart" was the only one I could remember for years. Ah, Barker, you crazy fellow.

The prompts )
uberreiniger: (draenei paladin)
Day 19 - Favorite book cover (Bonus points for posting an image!)

leibowitz

I think it speaks for itself.

The prompts )
uberreiniger: (For a Muse)
Day 18 - Favorite beginning scene in a book

My all-time favorite beginning scene has to be the infamous "Darkfreinds' Social" scene from The Great Hunt, volume 2 of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time. I enjoy the device of using a double agent as a viewpoint character without revealing his/her identity so much that I've gone on to use it quite a bit in my own writing.

The prompts... )
uberreiniger: (For a Muse)
Day 16 - Your favorite poem or collection of poetry. - I'm not huge on poetry, but I have a collection of Rilke I like to curl up and relax with every now and then. If I have to pick an all time favorite poem it's Yeats' The Second Coming.

Day 17 - Day 17 - Favorite story or collection of stories (short stories, novellas, novelettes, etc.)

I've got a Lovecraft collection that includes At the Mountains of Madness and several of his other works. I'm not big on short stories buy I'll take one of Lovecraft's whenever I can get it. I also enjoy Stephen King's, which is unsurprising given how much influence he drew from Lovecraft.

The prompts... )
uberreiniger: (Jesus saves)
Day 15 - Your comfort book

Honestly, whatever I'm reading at the time is a comfort book. Reading itself comforts and soothes me. As long as it's good and entertaining, odds are I'll feel safe and happy when reading it.

The prompts... )
uberreiniger: (Warrior)
I've gotten behind and am now playing catch up.

Day 14 - Favorite character in a book (of any sex or gender.)

I'm going to go with Jocelyn from the Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel novels. Not that he's personally my favorite character, more like he's my favorite kind of character someone finally decided to write a book about. I've always been drawn to the stoic paladin, thoroughly devoted to his faith yet he feels so much that he must keep his emotions in check at all costs. It's the kind of characters I almost always play in RPG's. When I discovered Jocelyn it was like my alter ego was finally given breath.

The prompts... )
uberreiniger: (Default)
Day 13 - Favorite childhood book OR current favorite YA book (or both!)

Were you not paying attention on the last entry? I read The Chronicles of Narnia FIVE FREAKIN' TIMES!

The prompts... )
uberreiniger: (Default)
Day 12 - A book or series of books you've read more than five times

Reading slowly like I do, I tend not to re-read things much or I'd never get anything new read. I have never ready any book or series of books five times. The only one I've ever come close on is The Chronicles of Narnia, the 3rd - 4th books of which I have read three or four times each.

The prompts... )
uberreiniger: (Silent Hill nurses)
Day 30 - A book that disappointed you.

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. Because it is an AWESOME book with maybe the most anti-climactic climax ever laid to paper. Dracula has not taken part in such a lackluster ending since, well... since Dracula.

The prompts... )
uberreiniger: (library)
Day 10 - A book you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving.

I didn't think I'd really get into Khaled Housseni's The Kite Runner. I just picked it up out of curiosity, to see what all the fuss was about. But wow, what a story. I finished it in about four days. If I hadn't had a great many interruptions with work and getting my tooth pulled I could easily have finished it in one. And that always says something, as slow as I read.

the prompts... )
uberreiniger: (library)
Day 8 - A book everyone should read at least once. I'm leery of saying anyone has to read a certain book. Everyone told me I had to read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and look how well that turned out.

Having said that, read House of Leaves. I can't explain why. No one can. Just... read it already. You have to.

Day 9 - Best scene ever. I can't pick just one. But one that has stayed with me in recent memory is the finale of Walter Miller Jr.'s A Canticle for Leibowitz. It involves nuclear holocaust, a dying Catholic priest, and a mutated woman with two heads. And it is one of the most moving, emotionally genuine scenes in a novel that I have read in a very long time.

The prompts... )

In other news, anyone know what to do when your Facebook gets hacked and starts throwing up spam links on everyone's feeds?
uberreiniger: (Robot Devil)
Day 07 - Least favorite plot device employed by way too many books you actually enjoyed otherwise

I don't think it's a plot device per se since it rarely drives the plot forward... but it occurs often in fantasy novels and annoys me in a way that actual plot devices rarely do.

If it's a fantasy adventure and the protagonist is any kind of peasant/commoner or what have you, there will inevitably be a scene where he is musing on the fact that all his life he has wanted to go on an adventure. But now that he's on an adventure he realizes he doesn't like it because adventures are scary and full of hardship and unpleasant all around. Many authors great and small feel the need to do this, and while it may be a natural reaction for a person to have, it all sounds the same after a while.

The prompts... )
uberreiniger: (Default)
Favorite book of your favorite series OR your favorite book of all time.

Wow. That's a toughie. Well I don't want to pick just one favorite from one favorite series so I'm not gonna. Eat it.

-The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader - The Narnia crew take a break from saving Narnia from conquerors to go on an old fashioned high fantasy quest. Gets rather weird when invisible hopping monsters get thrown into the mix.

Kushiel's Dart - Never before in the centuries of animosity between Vikings and sissy French bondage freaks has anyone tried to tell both sides of the story. Carey does and does it well. And also: Chidric d'Essoms; what the fuck is WRONG with that guy? And why do the other books just forget he existed?

The Wheel of Time: The Shadow Rising - SPOILER ALERT! A guy gets so upset about his ancestor's history that he literally eats his own face. They don't make entertainment like that anymore.

The prompts... )

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uberreiniger: (Default)
uberreiniger

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