"And then I realized Crosspointe is more like the mournful sunset sea chantys than most fantasy stories, because it contains the same kernel of victory and despair as the sailors' songs: the idea that what's beating you will defeat you, and that you're lost."
I love that... and you're right. The Lauper song does get the feel of it. The rolling touch of hope and sorrow coinciding with one another. Not just one or the other.
"Or perhaps, to mangle Kierkegaard, the only stability is that there is no stability: her characters end the stories adrift, to a certain degree, yet squarely rooted within this state of being adrift."
That pinpoints her endings perfectly. There is a satisfaction and dissatisfaction. This stage of this person's story is done but there is so much more ahead of them, so much more they need to do but then we move onto the next person. But to me, that's so lifelike. We don't all have a happy ending in the middle of our lives and then just sit around basking in it. No, we go through many journies, many steps, many conflicts.
I think the Crosspointe series also have the 'butterfly effect'. We see little incidents in each that effect the next story, that despite the fact that they are different people in different places at different times, they previous happenings have rippled into their lives. And I love that. Not many series do that. You don't get to jump from head to head and see how it effects the entire world. How one thought, one action, can effect multiple people in different and yet the same ways. That's probably one of my favorite parts of the series. I can see the overall arc. I can see there has to be a resolution to the overall story yet each book is just one stage in various people's journey towards that final goal that isn't even the same goal for some of them. And the constrast and movement forward... it's fascinating. I flip through each page dying to get a glimpse of previous characters, or meet new ones, or see how this journey will change the path to the final outcome...
"And that, also, ties into the notion of family, because where death is just a birth elsewhere, then dying from one family means being born into another."
Well said. I have no other comment for that, it just touches me. Makes me think of what it means to be adopted since my husband and I talk about doing just that.
Thank you for your 'not review'. It was awesome. I'm also a HUGE Di fan. I love the way she writes. She has a very unique voice in a sea of fantasy authors. It's always nice to find someone who enjoys her writing as much as I do, though you are much more eloquent that I am in expressing it.
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Date: 27 Aug 2009 12:12 pm (UTC)I love that... and you're right. The Lauper song does get the feel of it. The rolling touch of hope and sorrow coinciding with one another. Not just one or the other.
"Or perhaps, to mangle Kierkegaard, the only stability is that there is no stability: her characters end the stories adrift, to a certain degree, yet squarely rooted within this state of being adrift."
That pinpoints her endings perfectly. There is a satisfaction and dissatisfaction. This stage of this person's story is done but there is so much more ahead of them, so much more they need to do but then we move onto the next person. But to me, that's so lifelike. We don't all have a happy ending in the middle of our lives and then just sit around basking in it. No, we go through many journies, many steps, many conflicts.
I think the Crosspointe series also have the 'butterfly effect'. We see little incidents in each that effect the next story, that despite the fact that they are different people in different places at different times, they previous happenings have rippled into their lives. And I love that. Not many series do that. You don't get to jump from head to head and see how it effects the entire world. How one thought, one action, can effect multiple people in different and yet the same ways. That's probably one of my favorite parts of the series. I can see the overall arc. I can see there has to be a resolution to the overall story yet each book is just one stage in various people's journey towards that final goal that isn't even the same goal for some of them. And the constrast and movement forward... it's fascinating. I flip through each page dying to get a glimpse of previous characters, or meet new ones, or see how this journey will change the path to the final outcome...
"And that, also, ties into the notion of family, because where death is just a birth elsewhere, then dying from one family means being born into another."
Well said. I have no other comment for that, it just touches me. Makes me think of what it means to be adopted since my husband and I talk about doing just that.
Thank you for your 'not review'. It was awesome. I'm also a HUGE Di fan. I love the way she writes. She has a very unique voice in a sea of fantasy authors. It's always nice to find someone who enjoys her writing as much as I do, though you are much more eloquent that I am in expressing it.
-Missy