Ink and Steel by Elizabeth Bear...

[fajrdrako]

I just finished Ink and Steel by Elizabeth Bear.

I'm not sure I've ever felt so conflicted about a book.

On the one hand, I loved it.

On the other hand.... Well, there is another hand, and I don't see any way to reconcile my differences.

I should explain that I don't generally like stories about fairies, or Faerie, unless they are in one of the following categories:

1. It is written by either William Shakespeare or Neil Gaiman;
   
2. It is about Oberon (or Auberon) and/or Titania.
   
3. It is in a Torchwood episode, and even so, "Small Worlds" is far from my favourite. But then there's John Barrowman and Gareth David-Llloyd appearing at San Diego Comic Con in fairy wings, and I enjoyed seeing that. The magic holds.
   
4. It is drawn by Charles Vess, Winifred Bromhall, or Arthur Rackham.

There may be other exceptions, but not many. I've read all sorts of fairy stories by the likes of Pamela Dean, John Keats, and Percy Bysshe Shelley; stories and fairy tales and fantasy authors, and even (God help me) Laurell K. Hamilton, and I just didn't like them. Fairies are not for me.

I also don't like alternate history, though it may be the only way to get good historical novels these days. A really, really good writer (like Guy Gavriel Kay) can overcome this problem, though I still with he'd take out the magic. This felt a little like that.... Except that fairies, and fairyland are so intrinsic to Bear's plot that there'd be little left without it.

And therein lies the rub. I read it, loving it, the characters, the writing style... And kept thinking, "If only it wasn't about fairies." It seemed clear to me (though it might have been my prejudices speaking) that the human characters, even minor ones, were so much more interesting than any of the fairies. Who were not, sadly, at the court of Oberon and Titania, but at the court of Queen Magb, whose name I can't even pronounce. An added irritant.

A few more detailed points:

1. I loved Kit and Will, of course. I'm fascinated by both Christopher Marlowe (here called Cristofer Marley) and William Shakespeare in any case. They were well written, and clearly loved each other, but it took a long time to get to the slash. What kept them? Even when we got to it, I didn't feel I understood their feelings clearly. Kit's sense of sin, Will's sense of obligation - I would have liked to have it spelled out a little more. Insofar as Will hesitated to become Kit's lover, his qualms seem to have been physical rather than emotional, religious, or moral. Yet later on he is devastated to have been unfaithful to his wife Annie. Somewhere along the way I lost the sense of what his attitude really was. Kit was generally easier. At first, I'd thought the love story was going to be Kit and Tom Walsingham.
   
   
2. Loved the scenes of intrigue in Elizabeth's London. I was happiest then. Whenever the story slipped into Faerie, it started to lose me. None of the Faerie characters interested me. In London, I was enjoying every minute. It would have been nice to see more of Elizabeth and Walsingham; though given the tight viewpoint (which I loved), difficult to show more.
   
   
3. There were obscurities to the story (and characters) that I never quite figured out. Sometimes I felt really dumb, wondering if I should know the meaning of a cryptic phrase or a sudden emotion that I couldn't figure out. I'm usually good at this sort of thing. For instance, when Kit read Will's sonnets, it was a catalylst to their love and they end up in bed - and there were implications of something more literal than just the beauty of the words or the loving sentiments. Yet Kit couldn't be the Fair Lord of the sonnets, or the Dark Lady, so I couldn't think how they could be about him. (Or were we talking about sonnets lost to posterity?)
   
   
4. I loved the use of Christian mythology. When we left the land of the fairies and descended into Hell, suddenly I was a happy reader. Lucifer! Lucifer and sex! Lucifer and magnificent wings. ... I found myself pondering whether Shakespeare had read Dante - surely he must have, given his interests. Or am I making unwarranted assumptions?
   
   
5. I liked the Arthurian references, especially the way they fit into the overarching theme of monarchy and England.
   
   
6. Why did Kit not resent being made into a sex slave?
   
   
7. It came as a surprise to me to get to the end of the book and learn that it was a series. The ending was neither decisive nor a cliffhanger. I don't know what to expect in what is coming up. Do I want to read the next book? If it's about Will and Kit and London and English history, yes. If it's about Queen Magb and her court, no, not really.
   
   
8. I was confused about death and non-death in the story. Kit is stabbed, drugged, and appeared to die, but is alive in Faerie, though he can only leave for short periods, because mortals can't leave. Will is alive although he goes to stay for months in Faerie, with leave to return to England, though instead he goes to Hell - without dying. I was getting confused, perhaps unnecessarily so.
   
   
9. There were some wonderful, wonderful passages that I wish I'd had time to make note of and quote. Usually bits of dialogue.
   
   
10. I loved, absolutely loved, the theme that plays and words are magic and can be used to shape history. They did something similar with Shakespeare in the Doctor Who episode "The Shakespeare Code". I liked it there, too.
    
    
11. The dialogue was written in Shakespearean style. Dialect. Normally I'd dislike that, but it was beautifully done, and blended seamlessly with bits where the works of Marlowe or Shakespeare were quoted.

By a nice synchronicity, when I returned this book to the library yesterday, another had came in for me - a biography of Marlowe that has been on my request list for a year.

Comments

[editrx.livejournal.com]

My husband was the copyeditor for this series -- I'll sic him on the question about the next book: I am embarrassed to admit that I haven't gotten to them yet. I'm still plowing my way through some others on my nightstand (I've been too busy reading fic online, frankly, until well into the morning :/ ).

Queen Magb, whose name I can't even pronounce...

It's pronounced as a long "a" and a "v," as in "Maiv." In Irish Gaelic a "g" followed by a "b" turns into a "v." And an "h" following an otherwise soft consonant is aspirated, which is why the name Cuchullain is pronounced "Kuhullain." The first "c" is hard because it's followed by a short vowel.

And this reminds me why I didn't go into another semester of Gaelic when I was in school, though much of what I learned of Irish Gaelic follows the same rules of pronunciation that I learned as a child when I because the "family translator" for my Scottish grandmother who "lost" her English as she started to enter into more and more dementia. Flossie Muirhead -- yeah. Even her son, born in Scotland too, couldn't remember enough to figure out what she was saying half the time. But my father was a real bastard and I think that the half he did remember, he pretended he couldn't understand anyway. Me, the American kid, ended up doing all the heavy lifting. But it stood me in good stead whenever I used to end up in Scotland and among nationalists who'd try to stump the "stupid American" by throwing out Gaelic words. Heh. :)

I'll try to remember to ask him in the morning about how the rest of the series runs.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I'm still plowing my way through some others on my nightstand (I've been too busy reading fic online, frankly, until well into the morning :/ ).

That sounds so like me - ! On both counts.

It's pronounced as a long "a" and a "v," as in "Maiv."

I wish she'd explained - or that she's not used Irish names for English fairies. My father studied Irish Gaelic and I used to like looking at the interesting shapes of the words.

If you can find out what the name of the next book will be, I'd appreciate it. Looking on amazon, I found it hard to tell what order I was supposed to be reading the "Promethean" books in.

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

Except that's it's normally spelled 'Medb' in Irish, as per the Tain. I have never, ever seen a 'g' used in the name. It makes no sense with Gaelic orthography as I know it. (I have some familiarity with Scots Gaelic, as a lot of my family were native speakers a couple of generations ago, but I never persevered with learning it, as I find it far more alien to me culturally than the Romance languages. And the fact that the modern orthography established in 18-19Cs is the work of spelling sadists. Manx Gaelic is at least phonetic!)

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I may have misremembered the spelling; I had to return the book to the library (the eternal downside of library books) and so can't check. Because the spelling didn't make sense to me (for Welsh, Scots or Irish Gaelic or any other language I've paid attention to), it was all the harder for me to remember, and I don't know where Bear got that spelling from. Breton, perhaps? I think it was part of the tie-in to the "Matter of Britain" but I found that aspect more confusing than illuminating.

the fact that the modern orthography established in 18-19Cs is the work of spelling sadists.

People with a satanic sense of humour? Out to foil the future?

Manx Gaelic is at least phonetic!

I didn't know that. Good for them! Note to self: Look up Manx.

You know, I have very little knowledge of the Isle of Man and would like to visit it, and to learn more. I am particularly interested in (and puzzled by) its relationship to the rest of the UK. I might make it a mini-project to research it for the next issue of Apaplexy. That, or Hadrian's Wall, which I am hoping to walk in the not too distant future.

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

Because the spelling didn't make sense to me (for Welsh, Scots or Irish Gaelic or any other language I've paid attention to), it was all the harder for me to remember, and I don't know where Bear got that spelling from. Breton, perhaps?

No, because Medb of Connacht is only a character in Gaelic ('Q Celtic') tradition. I've never seen a cognate name in the Brythonic ('P Celtic') languages (Breton, Welsh, Cornish). The name's meaning has something to do with drunkenness/intoxication.

You know, I have very little knowledge of the Isle of Man and would like to visit it, and to learn more. I am particularly interested in (and puzzled by) its relationship to the rest of the UK.

Tax-haven, largely occupied by right-wing nutjobs who've moved there for financial reasons and because of its cultural conservatism. It's a homophobic place.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Tax-haven, largely occupied by right-wing nutjobs who've moved there for financial reasons and because of its cultural conservatism. It's a homophobic place.

Woo, all the more interesting, if scary.

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

People with a satanic sense of humour? Out to foil the future?

No. Classically-educated clergymen who imposed notions that derived from rules of Classical languages.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Classically-educated clergymen who imposed notions that derived from rules of Classical languages.

I disapprove. It's like the etymology books that trace words to Latin or Greek and no further - and ignore words whose derivation is from elsewhere.

[ceindreadh.livejournal.com]

but at the court of Queen Magb,

It's probably pronounced with a silent G, 'Mab' (at least if the author was influenced by Celtic mythology)

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I would assume that - Queen Mab, as with Shelley. But I don't know enough about Celtic (Cornish?) orthography to know this is a general rule and I'm too irritated by it to want to look it up. I don't know why it bothered me in this case... Yes, I do. There was no reason she couldn't have used English spelling: these were English fairies.

[lauradi7.livejournal.com]

Wait, where are the links to photos of the guys with fairy wings? If there aren't any, how did you know about it?

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

where are the links to photos of the guys with fairy wings?

I'm not sure about links... I found them in various places after SDCC, when people were making their commentaries on the con and posting their photos. Here's one of them from barrowmandaily for your pleasure and amusement:

[blackbyrde.livejournal.com]

This sounds like a good read; I've been looking for a new series or author to try. I think I'll get this one...are you going to read the sequel?

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I haven't entirely decided yet, but yes, I think I'll read the sequel. It was really extraordinarily well written and, of course, slashy.

[blackbyrde.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm sold! Shopping from the chapters/indigo site and I have to get over $39 to get free shipping. :) There's only so many books about Cars I can buy for Xavier.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

There's only so many books about Cars I can buy for Xavier.

That sounds to me like an excellent reason! Is that his favourite thing now?

[rosiespark.livejournal.com]

You make this sound most intriguing, in spite of your reservations.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Oh, it was certainly intriguing and I'm considering buying a copy of my own (I got it from the library) and reading it again to see if I understand the bits I didn't get the first time through. It was good enough. It just had aspects that annoyed me.

[myfavouriteplum.livejournal.com]

Now you make me want to read this. I liked the style of her fanfics, too. And the title ink and steel sounds very appropriate.

It's true fairies are at their best with Shakespeare and Gaiman, although I've only read very little about this subject. I used to think Charlotte Bronte should have a go, too, if she's less reality-bound...

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I liked the style of her fanfics, too.

I didn't know she wrote fanfic. What fandoms did she write? Are her stories online?

the title ink and steel sounds very appropriate.

Oh, yes - perfect.

I used to think Charlotte Bronte should have a go, too, if she's less reality-bound...

What an interesting idea!

[myfavouriteplum.livejournal.com]

Oh God. I must have mistaken her for someone then *hides her face*

It's the endings of Villette and Shirley that I thought of. And some descriptions I love in Jane Eyre. I don't know how to describe the feeling...

BTW, I decide to acquire the book. I've wanted to read historical RPS about this two for a long time*g* though I always had trouble to imagine it. At best it came to me like some Romeo/Mercutio fanfic...

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I must have mistaken her for someone then *hides her face*

For all I know she might well do fanfic. I don't know a lot of fanfic authors; least of all what their real names are.

I'll be interested to hear what you think of Ink and Steel.

[raissad.livejournal.com]

This book sounds a bit much for my taste, but I just finished another Elizabethan fairy novel you might like called Midnight Never Come (http://gloriana.midnightnevercome.com/index.php).

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Thank you for mentioning it. The library has it, so I requested it - #18 on the list. Looks interesting.

[raissad.livejournal.com]

You're welcome. I've requested Gaiman's new one from my library, The Graveyard Book (http://www.thegraveyardbook.com/). I really liked Coraline, so I have high hopes for this story.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Thank you for mentioning that - I'll request it, too.

On the whole, I like Gaiman's comics more than his prose, but some of his stories (particularly his short stories) are wonderful.

[raissad.livejournal.com]

I recently finished Gaiman's X-Men story 1602 and loved it. In the new year when I have more time, I'm going to read his Sandman series.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Sandman is wonderful. I have my favourite bits - but not point tantalizing you with them ahead of time. I liked 1602 as well. And I'd recommend Violent Cases.