6.27.2005
The Moon and the Sun
by Vonda McIntyre, 464pgs, paperback
Amazon site
Official Grade: A+
You know, I've had this book on my book shelf forever, I can't even remember what induced me to get it at Bookworm to begin with, but I finally got around to reading it, thinking 'yeah, let's get this crummy alt-history volume done with so I can get rid of it'. And I will admit that the beginning was bit dodgy and slow to start. But once it got going I could believe how much this novel pulled me in. I can definitely see why it won the Nebula or whatever award it was that it got. There are some aspects I don't like, like when people always take potshots at the Church and its clergy (for every corrupted, twisted Church official there are hundreds of pious, good-hearted ones). And the possible romantic interest, once it comes to light is obvious what is going to happen. And it does take a while to keep all the characters' names straight, since the royals often have several long names, titles and nicknames that they are interchangeably referred to with. As for the story: Marie-Joseph is a lady-in-waiting to a princess in the court of Louis XIV. Her brother, Yves (also a priest) has just returned from a long sea-expedition where he has successfully captured two mer-people. One dead to dissect and one kept alive so that when they find the reputed organ of immortality it contains, the king can eat to his eternal health. Obviously, the story cannot be so simple and happy. But I don't want to ruin what Marie-Joseph discovers, or the shocking revelations that occur later on in the book. I totally recommend this one, folks!
Amazon site
Official Grade: A+
You know, I've had this book on my book shelf forever, I can't even remember what induced me to get it at Bookworm to begin with, but I finally got around to reading it, thinking 'yeah, let's get this crummy alt-history volume done with so I can get rid of it'. And I will admit that the beginning was bit dodgy and slow to start. But once it got going I could believe how much this novel pulled me in. I can definitely see why it won the Nebula or whatever award it was that it got. There are some aspects I don't like, like when people always take potshots at the Church and its clergy (for every corrupted, twisted Church official there are hundreds of pious, good-hearted ones). And the possible romantic interest, once it comes to light is obvious what is going to happen. And it does take a while to keep all the characters' names straight, since the royals often have several long names, titles and nicknames that they are interchangeably referred to with. As for the story: Marie-Joseph is a lady-in-waiting to a princess in the court of Louis XIV. Her brother, Yves (also a priest) has just returned from a long sea-expedition where he has successfully captured two mer-people. One dead to dissect and one kept alive so that when they find the reputed organ of immortality it contains, the king can eat to his eternal health. Obviously, the story cannot be so simple and happy. But I don't want to ruin what Marie-Joseph discovers, or the shocking revelations that occur later on in the book. I totally recommend this one, folks!
Labels: genre: fantasy, genre: fiction, genre: historical, media: book
