Reading Wednesday
Sep. 2nd, 2015 07:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sally_mariaI've actually managed two recs today, one fanfic and one book.
One is a very long (115k) Middle-earth story - The Shadow of War by rhymer23
I've loved all of rhymer23's Tolkien-based stories, but this one is an epic. It has one of my favourite fanfic literary devices, each chapter begins with an excerpt from one of the historical works written about the period, from the social historians to the Great Man obsessive.
"Gondor was at peace, then. It was fourteen years since the fall of Sauron, and the world was full of hope. Little did the people think that their world was about to be rocked to the core! Because of that man, fear would soon stalk through the streets of Minas Tirith. Armies would march and battle would be joined. The safety of Gondor would be threatened as it had never been threatened since the coming of the king.
This was the dawn of a new age, and the world was changing. They were on the cusp, then, moving from a time of legends to the sober world of history that we now inhabit. Songs were made, but we also have books. There are tales of heroes, but there are also dry analyses of the facts. We hear the speeches of kings, but we also have letters from the ordinary folk, people whose voices had never before been heard."
It's a wide-ranging and nuanced tale, with sympathy for the different cultures and societies represented, and for the high and lows of human nature. It also brings a wide range of characters, both Tolkien's and original, to life, and gives us the chance to identify with their fears and their joys. I particularly liked her handling of Eowyn, one of my favourite characters, and the way she is coming to terms with her new life and the expectations placed on her.
It's the kind of story AO3's ebook download function is made for, and I will certainly be keeping it in my ebook library for the future.
The other is a cosy travel book, ideal for people who like Michael Portillo's Railway Journeys (and I definitely count myself in that category). On the Slow Train Again by Michael Williams is a sequel, a second set of journeys on the branch lines and byways of the modern day network. It covers 12 journeys, in places from Cornwall to the north of Scotland, and west Wales to East Anglia, talking to railway staff, campaigners for the various lines, and residents. It's interesting, readable, and even has the occasional Tolkien reference. :-)
One is a very long (115k) Middle-earth story - The Shadow of War by rhymer23
I've loved all of rhymer23's Tolkien-based stories, but this one is an epic. It has one of my favourite fanfic literary devices, each chapter begins with an excerpt from one of the historical works written about the period, from the social historians to the Great Man obsessive.
"Gondor was at peace, then. It was fourteen years since the fall of Sauron, and the world was full of hope. Little did the people think that their world was about to be rocked to the core! Because of that man, fear would soon stalk through the streets of Minas Tirith. Armies would march and battle would be joined. The safety of Gondor would be threatened as it had never been threatened since the coming of the king.
This was the dawn of a new age, and the world was changing. They were on the cusp, then, moving from a time of legends to the sober world of history that we now inhabit. Songs were made, but we also have books. There are tales of heroes, but there are also dry analyses of the facts. We hear the speeches of kings, but we also have letters from the ordinary folk, people whose voices had never before been heard."
It's a wide-ranging and nuanced tale, with sympathy for the different cultures and societies represented, and for the high and lows of human nature. It also brings a wide range of characters, both Tolkien's and original, to life, and gives us the chance to identify with their fears and their joys. I particularly liked her handling of Eowyn, one of my favourite characters, and the way she is coming to terms with her new life and the expectations placed on her.
It's the kind of story AO3's ebook download function is made for, and I will certainly be keeping it in my ebook library for the future.
The other is a cosy travel book, ideal for people who like Michael Portillo's Railway Journeys (and I definitely count myself in that category). On the Slow Train Again by Michael Williams is a sequel, a second set of journeys on the branch lines and byways of the modern day network. It covers 12 journeys, in places from Cornwall to the north of Scotland, and west Wales to East Anglia, talking to railway staff, campaigners for the various lines, and residents. It's interesting, readable, and even has the occasional Tolkien reference. :-)
