Lady Knight

[peroxidepirate]

I'm listening to the Lady Knight audiobook for the first time. My last reread was... well over a year ago, I think; definitely before I started my position as a chef. As always, I love getting inside Kel's head. Her thoughts on leadership and on people ring absolutely true to me. She works so hard to get where she is, and it comes through in every single page. Frankly, it's inspiring. This audiobook is never leaving my MP3 player. Never. (Note to self: What Would Kel Do? is still a good motto; when overwhelmed at work, it's always a good idea to read LK again.)

As time goes by, though, Kel's flaws become clearer to me -- with the result that she becomes ever more fascinating.

I mentioned on Goldenlake that I'll never see her as a Mary Sue because she's so much harder on herself than she is on anyone else; I was audio-reading Squire at the time, but it's just as clear in LK: she's eighteen and she has dedicated her whole life to the mission of proving herself as a knight. It's perfectly convincing for her to loathe anything she feels or thinks or desires that won't further that goal. But it doesn't make her a well-rounded or emotionally complete person, and there's going to come a time when she needs to acknowledge all those feelings she doesn't want to bother with now -- good ones and bad ones. Doesn't make me love her any less;  just makes me wonder how she'll react when it hits.

Also, she's kind of an asshole noble sometimes, for all she thinks of herself as a friend of the common people. She's consistently patronizing toward Lalasa. And when she first takes Tobe home and orders him to bathe, for instance, she's preemptively stern with him when he hasn't given any indication that he won't do what she asks. No wonder he thinks she might be on drugs. No wonder she and Fanche butt heads right away.

These are both faults she might grow out in time -- and both faults that are likely to cause her trouble if she doesn't -- which is part of why I'm so intensely, simultaneously, excited and terrified by the prospect of more books about her (untold years in the future, given Pierce's current rate of publication). If Pierce maintains the pattern of writing YA books with preteen and teenage protagonists, Kel will show up as an adult knight in a book where her squire plays the starring role -- meaning, as with Alanna and Raoul, we'll see the result of her early-adult struggles and development, and the person she is somewhere between her late 20s and mid 40s, but not the process by which she changes. That's a shame. I want to see both who she becomes and how she gets there.

On the other hand, though, I don't want to end up throwing a book across the room if I disagree with where Pierce takes her. So maybe it's just as well that possible future book is a good distance off.

Anyway, I'm off to listen some more.

Comments

[boosette.livejournal.com]

and the person she is somewhere between her late 20s and mid 40s, but not the process by which she changes. That's a shame. I want to see both who she becomes and how she gets there.

Yes, this. I've always thought it was quite sad that Pierce prefers the very first finding-of-oneself emotional plot to the extent of forsaking all others; I feel like if she allowed herself to write adult characters from adult points of view (and thereby getting out of what's surely a comfort zone) she could do some truly amazing things. Alas.

[peroxidepirate.livejournal.com]

if she allowed herself to write adult characters from adult points of view (and thereby getting out of what's surely a comfort zone) she could do some truly amazing things.

*nodnod* She really could, and I wish she'd give it a try.

[flake-sake.livejournal.com]

I never quite got over Alanna. I thought her other books were fun to read, but nothing after Alanna ever came close again. It's funny because her writing certainly got better but somehow the later books always had such teaching voice.

That said I liked the Keladry series a lot because she created a more real character here. With flaws and everything.

I also wish she'd write a book for adults once in a while.

[peroxidepirate.livejournal.com]

somehow the later books always had such teaching voice.

Ohhhh they do! I think there's an unchecked vibrancy to the Alanna books that I don't see in any of her others. But I'm all over most of them anyway, for the characters. :)

Another thing coming through in audio form is that Pierce shines at dialog and action narrative, but could have used much better editing everywhere else to cut out a lot of the soapboxing and repetition.

[flake-sake.livejournal.com]

Ohhhh they do! I think there's an unchecked vibrancy to the Alanna books that I don't see in any of her others. But I'm all over most of them anyway, for the characters. :)

Yeah, I've read everything set in Tortall (and one of the other series) too. Even if it's not Alanna it's still very good.

You're right about the vibrancy, I think Alanna really is something imagined by a child, while the others are more by an adult for children.

And at times that leads to things like Alanna being the supermagic ueberknight, but in other ways I find Alanna benefits a great deal from not perpetuating so many moralizing myths. For example in the Daine and the Trickster books you always have these men the heroine is meant to be with. None of her girls got to sleep with three different men after Alanna.

[peroxidepirate.livejournal.com]

For example in the Daine and the Trickster books you always have these men the heroine is meant to be with. None of her girls got to sleep with three different men after Alanna.

Trufax, and I still don't buy that Aly "settled down" so fast. I'm holding out hope for Beka, however! (Daine I will never understand each other, and I have made my peace with that fact.)

Side note: I once started an AU fic in which Kel and Alanna were the same age, and were the first two girls to be pages. They hated each other: Kel thought Alanna was irresponsible and Alanna thought Kel was boring and a goody-two-shoes.

[journeycat.livejournal.com]

On the other hand, though, I don't want to end up throwing a book across the room if I disagree with where Pierce takes her. So maybe it's just as well that possible future book is a good distance off.

If you're talking about K/D, then I concur...a lot.

[peroxidepirate.livejournal.com]

Oh crap, I wasn't even consciously thinking of that. >.< I blocked it out of my miiiiiind.

[gracefulfallen.livejournal.com]

She's consistently patronizing toward Lalasa.

I'm always so peeved at Kel for that. I think it was really interesting to hear PIerce talk (in an LJ post) about how it's OK to not be the person who can fight back, because her characters display such a lack of compassion and interest in people that are more gentle natured, or interested in things that are "not useful". Gentle natured? Maybe not that, because I picture Baird as gentle natured, but it's clear that he at least knows how to use a sword.

My point being that Lalasa clearly shows discomfort with being able to fight, but she's doing it anyway because she wants to make her lady happy. Kel shows an incredible amount of selfishness during the teaching process though - unable to really identify with Lalasa's struggle to fight through her own abhorrence of violence. She's just mad that Lalasa is making jokes about it, or cringing. It makes her a really compelling character though - that she is so determined to help the weak, but bad with the day-to-day of accepting that weakness in people she cares about.

[peroxidepirate.livejournal.com]

Yes, exactly! I can really see where they're each coming from, though, which makes them an interesting pair to think/write about.

(I totally intended to write some Kel/Lalasa for SMACKDOWN last year, btw, but Real Life had other plans for me that week and so it never happened.)