(no subject)

[slemslempike]

Mumsnet has a thread on Jilly Cooper which I read and now wish to read more Jilly Cooper books. However, they're £4.99 in book, and I think that that is out of my price range - I shall have to wait until I get to UK charity shops again. There was one, Imogen in the backpacker shop here in Cochabamba, but I flicked through and nary a bonk did I find, so I left it on the shelf.

I have just finished The Curse of Chalion, which I absolutely adored, and am now reading the second. I forget that I rather like fantasy sometimes. I may have children just to call them Ista and Iselle. I wish there were more than three (and a novella) books in the series. I hope that I like them all as well as the first. Any opinions on whether I might like the Sharing Knife books? I read Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen and I think I would have liked it better if it had had some sort of plot.

Also, here is a photo that I thought hfnuala might like.

Comments

[spiralsheep.livejournal.com]

To generalise: Cooper's earlier work, titled with individual women's names, is bonk-free pre-Harlequin romance. IIRC Riders was her first bonkbuster. When you go charity shop fishing don't miss out on Lace by Shirley Conran, which rarely gets a mention alongside Cooper and Collins these days but was very much at the forefront of the bonkbuster genre.

I loved Paladin of Souls (much more than Curse of Chalion, although I liked that too).

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

Ah, then I shall happily not bother with the bonk-free romances. I have of course read Lace! I enjoyed it very much, though I don't think it's as amazingly dreafully awesome as Cooper and Collins.

[spiralsheep.livejournal.com]

I'm told Lace is now considered a manifesto for choice feminism. My generation, however, remember it as That One With The Goldfish. Cooper was uniquely awful (at the time) and even Collins is done a disservice by being lumped in with her imo.

(My brain wants to read "dreafully" as "drear-fully" or even "dree-fully" instead of dreadfully.)

[everthere.livejournal.com]

I can get you kindle versions of those books if any use
My head hurts

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

Yes please. I now have Polo, Riders, Rivals and The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous.

[everthere.livejournal.com]

http://www36.zippyshare.com/v/10549246/file.html

http://www.solidfiles.com/d/4bd7ac9927

[hfnuala.livejournal.com]

I do like it very much.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

Good!

[alitheapipkin.livejournal.com]

Erm, Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen hasn't been published yet... (ETA: ah, Baen are selling review copies I gather)

Personally, I always recommend 'Cordelia's Honor' ('Shards of Honor' and 'Barrayar' in one volume as they follow right on anyway) as the starting point for the Vorkosiverse. I haven't read any of her fantasy as yet so can't make any recommendations there.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

Yes, same as they did with Captain Vorpatril's Alliance. I've read all the Vorkosiverse, which is why I was venturing into her fantasy books.

[alitheapipkin.livejournal.com]

Ah, I see! Apologies for the unhelpful comment ;)

[katlinel.livejournal.com]

The Sharing Knife books are a May-December romance between members of two social groups who don't mix, set in a future fantasy world, where the fantasy setting is explicitly and deliberately chosen to be North America, rather than fantasy-Europe. The romance is sorted out quite early in book one - it's not a will-they-won't-they romance - and the rest of the books are about how the couple are treated by their respective societies, how they build new family ties, and how they start changing their world, bringing the two societies together. There are mysteries to be solved in each book, but they're not necessarily the beginning and end of the story in each book - sometimes the mystery is about working out how magic works in the universe as opposed to how everyone has previously said it worked. Hope that helps in deciding whether you'd like them or not.

I think I read one of Cooper's name books (possibly Octavia), after reading Riders and wasn't strongly inclined to read more.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

That is very very useful! I wish I could get you to advise on evertyhing I'm thinking of reading. It sounds like I will definitely enjoy them so I'll look out for them next.

[katlinel.livejournal.com]

I like them, so I hope you do too! Four books is a satisfying number in that series, I find.

[artw.livejournal.com]

I liked 'Paladin of Souls' very much. Older woman at a turning point leaves home and starts a new life. The Sharing Knife books weave together plenty of sub-plots and minor characters and also details drawn from history, and explore traditional gender roles and women's work. Definitely recommended.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

I'm halfway through 'Paladin of Souls' right now and loving it because Ista's so through with all the pettiness of her youth and focusing differently. I'll definitely pick up The Sharing Knife books on your and katlinel's recommendation as well.

[pescana.livejournal.com]

I've read the Sharing Knife books, and enjoyed them quite a bit. Came here to say a bit more than that, but it's already been said.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

I have bought the first one! Just finished Paladin of Souls, which was excellent.