Read Paladin's Hope

[conuly]

First I accidentally read this incredibly stupid review: I returned this book as soon as I discovered that the featured romance was gay. That should have been made clear in the advert. I have read and enjoyed many stories by Kingfisher. If I wanted to read about gay romance, I would re-read Mary Renault’s Last of the Wine or The Charioteer, which are lyric and moving. The gay sex angle is out of place in an oeuvre containing children’s stories like Defensive Baking. Greater clarity about content (and possibly controversial subject matter) would make informed purchasing easier.

Asshole.

Anyway, read it.

I had braced myself for the self-loathing, but at one third of the way through I began to think there might not be any.

At 47% of the way through, all of a sudden we have:

Galen: Oh no! I nearly killed you with my nightmare! I am the worst, and worthless, and if I had any decency at all I would have offed myself ages ago!

Me: Wait, what.

Piper: Oh no! I cannot believe I just thought about the fact that the penis and the nose are made of the same sort of tissue! I am the worst! There is a reason I am only a doctor to the dead!

Me: These two things are not comparable, also, what.

Galen and Piper: Our mutual self-loathing is extremely hot, let's make out!

Me: Seriously? Can you just not help yourself, Ursula?

Galen and Piper: Also, near death experiences turn me on!

Me: Sigh.

Galen: Now, I must break up with you... for your own good.

Piper: He broke up with me and I was pathetic for thinking he wanted me.

Galen: No, I am the worst, I should've given him time to break up with me first, I wasn't being noble and self-sacrificing, I was being an asshole and I hate myself.

Ursula: Oh, by the way, have I reminded you yet that cops are assholes?

Me: Accurate.

Galen and Piper: We're going to save our friend! And then hook up after, but you know, that's not at all why we're earnestly going to rescue our friend. Wow, cops really are bigoted assholes, aren't they?

I just... I don't even know.

Comments

[troisoiseaux]

The gay sex angle is out of place in an oeuvre containing children’s stories like Defensive Baking

Sir or ma'am, 60% of this novel takes place in a murder labyrinth. Like. Priorities.

But... yeah. It felt a bit... rushed? Also, I got to a point where if anyone said "humans can't smell" one more time I was going to throw my e-reader across the room.

[conuly]

Also, Defensive Baking is written under the Ursula Vernon name, not the T. Kingfisher name, so.

[jessie_c]

No, it's under Kingfisher. If mx homophobe wants children's books, ey need to get the ones she published under Vernon.

[conuly]

I definitely double checked that, and now that I tripled checked you seem to be right. If it changes when I quadruple check later I'll keep you posted.

[jessie_c]

In Ursula's own words In order to never again have that horrific experience where I find myself running in slow motion across a library crying “Noooooooooo…!” as the well-meaning librarian hands a seven-year-old boy a copy of The One Book With The Torture Scene, I write for adults these days under the pen-name T. Kingfisher. It’s just easier for everybody, particularly for my nerves.

[conuly]

Yes, but I wasn't sure which of her books with young-teen protagonists were published under Kingfisher.

[redbird]

If the random reviewer wants children's books, they should stick to the books with the Ursula Vernon byline.

[conuly]

Apparently the het sex in the previous books in this setting are very kid appropriate.

[jessie_c]

Oh, yeah. That's definitely a thing homophobes do.

[conuly]

This is because they're gross creepy hypocrites.

[lauradi7dw]

But do the priests of the White Rat play a part in the story? They are my priority.

[jessie_c]

They're very much in the background here. But there's a Gnole detective who goes a long way towards making up the lack.

[highlyeccentric]

I mean... I am surprised she put out Defensive Baking under T Kingfisher, given the point of that handle was NOT to be a children's book author. But I also don't think that should have been a children's book, it would have been perfectly fine with a 16 y old protag! Very weird.

As for the gay sex... the sex scenes were fine, but it really did feel like she forgot how to write sexual tension, or how to write 'being attracted to men' if not for reasons of 'he is lorge and i feel unsexy'; struggled therefore with having two men as alternating psov because they cannot both be lorge and unsexy.

[malada]

I just finished reading "Paladin's Hope". My complaint was after they got out of the murder maze they spent then next third of the book *whining* and *whinging* and beating their chests going "I am not worthy" while _mooning_ over each other.

Sheesh. But the last few paladin books were like that too. It must be a romance novel trope.

But it's not just gay sex... it's gay love... no, wait... it's WUUUV! And we can't have that, can we?

(Yeah we can. Lots of it. Hehehehehe.)

-m

[conuly]

I'm not certain if it's a romance novel trope per se or a her trope, specifically.

[siderea]

Does she do this to all her romantic pairings or just the same-sex ones?

[conuly]

I believe this is the first same-sex pairing of hers I've seen.

Of course, she does seem to have a fondness for paladins in particular, with added angst, but still.

[jessie_c]

Update: Ursula found about Mr. Homophobe and she has some thoughts. Well, laughs. Mostly laughs.

[conuly]

It is such an inane review.

[jessie_c]

Avid Reader apparently has very strong (if twisted) views and an incredibly thin skin. Sucks to be him, I guess.