The Thirteenth House
Jan. 11th, 2011 10:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
peroxidepirateI finished The Thirteenth House! Today I'm heading back to the library in search of the next one.
I certainly enjoyed it, but I didn't find it nearly as compelling as I did Mystic and Rider. I guess that's a given, really: I like Kirra, but she's not Senneth.
(Sidebar: right now, at least, I love Senneth more than any other character, ever. Clearly a reread -- or audio-book listen? -- of Mystic and Rider is in order, and then maybe I'll write more about her. But first I would like to read the third and fourth books, at least, so I know what else happens!)
I also don't find Romar Brendyn all that interesting, and for most of the book, I don't have a lot of sympathy for his and Kirra's star-crossed love. I'm intrigued by the other parts of the story -- Amalie and Valri are fascinating; so are Cammon and Justin. The political situation is fascinating, too, which is a testament to Shinn's writing ability (since I don't even care much about politics in real life, sadly). I miss Donnal's presence through most of the book -- both after he "leaves" and before, when he's there but Kirra's not paying attention to him -- but as a storytelling device, his absence is perfect.
Back to the romance angle: I spent the first part of the book thinking that maybe I just don't understand because I haven't been there; I've never met someone and fallen quickly and intensely in love despite Reasons for it not to work. I've been in love -- I think -- but it was a gradual thing that built from knowing someone for a long time and getting slowly closer. And I'm still not sure that's the in love that changes people's lives.
Once Kirra and Romar start sleeping together, there's some "I don't care about reputation/my wife/the fate of kingdom, I only want you," which made me angry at them both. In the background I was also thinking, "Maybe I don't want that -- ever. Maybe I wouldn't be cut out for this love thing."
Enter Tayse, telling Kirra that if she really loves Romar, her first priority should be to protect him, even if that means staying away from him.
Because, yeah, there are different ways of being in love. Different ways of expressing that love.
And I'm not a "be together at all costs" type; I'm a "look at the big picture, act for the greater good, suffer in silence if necessary" type (so possibly I can write Senneth fic from Tayse's POV. hmm.). So there's an element of me not understanding Kirra -- not getting her motivation, not fundamentally knowing why she does the things she does.
The last quarter of the book drew in me in again, though. Justin as a puppy (XOMG flail), Berric's betrayal, the healing of Lyrie, the friendship between Kirra and Senneth, the friendship Kirra has with Justin and Cammon (I do kind of feel like Tayse is relegated to just being "Senneth's boyfriend" in this book, which makes me a little sad).
And then Belinda. Kirra's decision to heal her -- to do the right thing -- makes me love her after all; it makes me believe in her strength, after all.
Kirra burning the love for herself out of Romar's brain is one of the most painful scenes I've ever read. And I don't think she does the right thing there. She alters his mind without his permission, and nothing will make that okay (this shows up several times in Buffy, as well as in Doctor Who, and it pisses me off every time, so I admit to having a pre-existing bias). But being so far inside Kirra's head makes me understand why she does it, and I have sympathy for her in that moment. Overall, I can see that this will be better for Gillengaria, and will eventually be less wrong than continuing her affair with Romar (and I can see, by this point, that they'll never stop if they continue to love each other). But that doesn't make altering his mind without permission not wrong.
I feel terrible, because there's no course of action she could take that wouldn't make me pass some kind of moral judgment on her, and I absolutely hate putting characters in a double bind like that. But that's the brilliance of the writing, I guess. That's the fearlessness of the writing. Sometimes life is like that. Sometimes there isn't a good answer.
Then, the ending -- Donnal's return, and Kirra's hope, in spite of all the heartbreak -- is beautiful.
I certainly enjoyed it, but I didn't find it nearly as compelling as I did Mystic and Rider. I guess that's a given, really: I like Kirra, but she's not Senneth.
(Sidebar: right now, at least, I love Senneth more than any other character, ever. Clearly a reread -- or audio-book listen? -- of Mystic and Rider is in order, and then maybe I'll write more about her. But first I would like to read the third and fourth books, at least, so I know what else happens!)
I also don't find Romar Brendyn all that interesting, and for most of the book, I don't have a lot of sympathy for his and Kirra's star-crossed love. I'm intrigued by the other parts of the story -- Amalie and Valri are fascinating; so are Cammon and Justin. The political situation is fascinating, too, which is a testament to Shinn's writing ability (since I don't even care much about politics in real life, sadly). I miss Donnal's presence through most of the book -- both after he "leaves" and before, when he's there but Kirra's not paying attention to him -- but as a storytelling device, his absence is perfect.
Back to the romance angle: I spent the first part of the book thinking that maybe I just don't understand because I haven't been there; I've never met someone and fallen quickly and intensely in love despite Reasons for it not to work. I've been in love -- I think -- but it was a gradual thing that built from knowing someone for a long time and getting slowly closer. And I'm still not sure that's the in love that changes people's lives.
Once Kirra and Romar start sleeping together, there's some "I don't care about reputation/my wife/the fate of kingdom, I only want you," which made me angry at them both. In the background I was also thinking, "Maybe I don't want that -- ever. Maybe I wouldn't be cut out for this love thing."
Enter Tayse, telling Kirra that if she really loves Romar, her first priority should be to protect him, even if that means staying away from him.
Because, yeah, there are different ways of being in love. Different ways of expressing that love.
And I'm not a "be together at all costs" type; I'm a "look at the big picture, act for the greater good, suffer in silence if necessary" type (so possibly I can write Senneth fic from Tayse's POV. hmm.). So there's an element of me not understanding Kirra -- not getting her motivation, not fundamentally knowing why she does the things she does.
The last quarter of the book drew in me in again, though. Justin as a puppy (XOMG flail), Berric's betrayal, the healing of Lyrie, the friendship between Kirra and Senneth, the friendship Kirra has with Justin and Cammon (I do kind of feel like Tayse is relegated to just being "Senneth's boyfriend" in this book, which makes me a little sad).
And then Belinda. Kirra's decision to heal her -- to do the right thing -- makes me love her after all; it makes me believe in her strength, after all.
Kirra burning the love for herself out of Romar's brain is one of the most painful scenes I've ever read. And I don't think she does the right thing there. She alters his mind without his permission, and nothing will make that okay (this shows up several times in Buffy, as well as in Doctor Who, and it pisses me off every time, so I admit to having a pre-existing bias). But being so far inside Kirra's head makes me understand why she does it, and I have sympathy for her in that moment. Overall, I can see that this will be better for Gillengaria, and will eventually be less wrong than continuing her affair with Romar (and I can see, by this point, that they'll never stop if they continue to love each other). But that doesn't make altering his mind without permission not wrong.
I feel terrible, because there's no course of action she could take that wouldn't make me pass some kind of moral judgment on her, and I absolutely hate putting characters in a double bind like that. But that's the brilliance of the writing, I guess. That's the fearlessness of the writing. Sometimes life is like that. Sometimes there isn't a good answer.
Then, the ending -- Donnal's return, and Kirra's hope, in spite of all the heartbreak -- is beautiful.
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Date: 2011-01-13 01:57 am (UTC)Oh, sweetie, the little smiley won't stop me from pointing out that you are an amazingly kind and generous friend to so many people. I sincerely hope you can move past whatever guilt you're dealing with. *smushes*
Argh, didn't mean to turn this into my personal therapy session. >.<
'S ok... you've been on the receiving end of my little freak-outs often enough. And I do find it truly interesting to hear what all this means you! (Partly, too, it's nice to know I'm not the only one who sometimes gets deeply emotionally involved with characters/stories she identifies with.)
Oh! And going up to what you said in your original post... I see what you mean about Tayse being there as a Senneth-attachment rather than for himself. Unfortunately with Senneth as the special sauce on this awesome-burger, it definitely feels that way sometimes. Justin's narration is next though, so if I recall correctly, there's some OMGTAYSE hero-worship for who Tayse is. ;)
1. It's not that it doesn't make sense, since I can see Kirra seeing him that way. But it's nice to know he gets some good moments in the next one.
2. *sporfle* "Senneth as the special sauce on this awesome-burger." Um. I'm trying not to look too closely at that analogy, but it's cracking me up anyway.