Well, I just saw season 3....

[conuly]

Good season. Very quotable. And, since they broke off from Earth, I've been feeling slightly less paranoid about conditions in the so-called Real World. Still hoarding links. That's not all of why I've been posting less, though. I've been re-reading my Hilari Bell books. I'd lend them out, I really would, but I don't want to be without them! *huggles*

This has been a reminder to all of you to READ HILARI BELL. I'm not quitting until I see a fandom. Good fanfic. Really scarily bad fanfic. Slash. I want to see it! I want to see crazed fans! I want to see non-crazed fans! I don't want to be alone in my love of these books, so get to it.

Comments

[zathras26.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to see that you're enjoying Bab 5. I'm going to be interested in seeing your reaction to the final episode... no spoilers, but I personally am deeply touched and moved by it.

[conuly]

Yeah, I already read the spoilers. I like knowing what's happening next, and I don't find that it hurts my enjoyment much, especially since spoilers tend to be vague.

But I'll wait to post a reaction when I see it.

[conuly]

Oh, and I'm glad to actually understand your username. Why 26, though?

[zathras26.livejournal.com]

Because wherever I went to register "Zathras" as a UID, it was almost always taken, so I had to append something to it to make it unique. I chose "26" because I'm also an arms enthusiast, and the first firearm I ever bought was a Glock model 26.

[conuly]

Ah. Got it.

One day or another I'm going to ask about why you're such an arms enthusiast, but that'll have to wait until I think I'm up to a polite and respectful discussion on the subject :) Today's not that day. I'd say stupid things.

[moggymania.livejournal.com]

Could you explain *why* you like/recommend Hilari Bell? I looked at the descriptions and reviews, but from what I saw, it didn't look like it'd interest/impress me, so now I'm curious what you're seeing that the other people aren't?

(It could be just One Of Those Things. I seem to have a really narrow band when it comes to what I like, and rarely become a fan of anything.)

[conuly]

I'm very bad at explaining why I like things. I'm good at explaining why I don't like things, that's easy. I can do it in short terms (this person is a dolt) or long ones (your writing is cliched, and your characterization is unrealistic. And you have no idea about linguistics, and that really irks me), but I can do it.

Why I like something? Harder. But I'll try.

1. The stories draw me in. Even the one I didn't like so much (Goblin Wood) was a compelling story. I can't say why, it just was.

2. She has a knack for writing believable characters. Nobody is wholly good or bad, either in their person or their ideology. I don't often see this very well done. Either the author resorts to simple black and whiteness, or they only bother to make their most important characters complex, or they resort to the tried-and-true methods of "he's bad because of some tragic thing/misunderstanding", but I hardly ever see "Well, both sides have real merit here". Maybe I'm reading the wrong books.

3. She's very good with writing things that we, the audience, aren't supposed to understand. Most sci-fi, fantasy, and historical fiction ends up with people narrating stupid things like "And she went to the bathroom, marveling over the toilet, which was invented only 20 years ago" or "And then they went into their Excelsior-class spaceship, which could go at a maximum speed of 12 lightyears a second. This was a bit slow compared to newer models." I understand, intellectually, the need to explain what we don't understand, but it seems so heavy-handed sometimes! She manages, somehow, to fit in the background information in a nice, explanatory way that's not nearly so bad. I love it.

And her writing has only gotten better as time goes by. A Matter of Profit had some annoying parts (notably the T'Chin/T'chin problem) that really shocked me out of the story and into a rant about alphabets. The Farsala trilogy? Not yet. There's a few moments of irritating-backstory-narration, moreso than in her other books, but they're important to the story, and far less irritating than in most books.

[zathras26.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to see that you're enjoying Bab 5. I'm going to be interested in seeing your reaction to the final episode... no spoilers, but I personally am deeply touched and moved by it.

[conuly]

Yeah, I already read the spoilers. I like knowing what's happening next, and I don't find that it hurts my enjoyment much, especially since spoilers tend to be vague.

But I'll wait to post a reaction when I see it.

[conuly]

Oh, and I'm glad to actually understand your username. Why 26, though?

[zathras26.livejournal.com]

Because wherever I went to register "Zathras" as a UID, it was almost always taken, so I had to append something to it to make it unique. I chose "26" because I'm also an arms enthusiast, and the first firearm I ever bought was a Glock model 26.

[conuly]

Ah. Got it.

One day or another I'm going to ask about why you're such an arms enthusiast, but that'll have to wait until I think I'm up to a polite and respectful discussion on the subject :) Today's not that day. I'd say stupid things.

[moggymania.livejournal.com]

Could you explain *why* you like/recommend Hilari Bell? I looked at the descriptions and reviews, but from what I saw, it didn't look like it'd interest/impress me, so now I'm curious what you're seeing that the other people aren't?

(It could be just One Of Those Things. I seem to have a really narrow band when it comes to what I like, and rarely become a fan of anything.)

[conuly]

I'm very bad at explaining why I like things. I'm good at explaining why I don't like things, that's easy. I can do it in short terms (this person is a dolt) or long ones (your writing is cliched, and your characterization is unrealistic. And you have no idea about linguistics, and that really irks me), but I can do it.

Why I like something? Harder. But I'll try.

1. The stories draw me in. Even the one I didn't like so much (Goblin Wood) was a compelling story. I can't say why, it just was.

2. She has a knack for writing believable characters. Nobody is wholly good or bad, either in their person or their ideology. I don't often see this very well done. Either the author resorts to simple black and whiteness, or they only bother to make their most important characters complex, or they resort to the tried-and-true methods of "he's bad because of some tragic thing/misunderstanding", but I hardly ever see "Well, both sides have real merit here". Maybe I'm reading the wrong books.

3. She's very good with writing things that we, the audience, aren't supposed to understand. Most sci-fi, fantasy, and historical fiction ends up with people narrating stupid things like "And she went to the bathroom, marveling over the toilet, which was invented only 20 years ago" or "And then they went into their Excelsior-class spaceship, which could go at a maximum speed of 12 lightyears a second. This was a bit slow compared to newer models." I understand, intellectually, the need to explain what we don't understand, but it seems so heavy-handed sometimes! She manages, somehow, to fit in the background information in a nice, explanatory way that's not nearly so bad. I love it.

And her writing has only gotten better as time goes by. A Matter of Profit had some annoying parts (notably the T'Chin/T'chin problem) that really shocked me out of the story and into a rant about alphabets. The Farsala trilogy? Not yet. There's a few moments of irritating-backstory-narration, moreso than in her other books, but they're important to the story, and far less irritating than in most books.

[smartalienqt.livejournal.com]

Exactly! I have scoured FF.Net for Hilari Bell fanfic, and yet not a one! I love the Shield, Sword, and Crown series (Crown of Earth out Oct. 20th!!!), and yet I cannot find one Weasel/Arisa fanfic (or even Edoran/Arisa, or, or Weasel/Edoran!). I'd write them myself if I thought I could do them justice. Glad to know that someone like me is out there.

--SMARTALIENQT

[conuly]

You know what? A while back I was browsing donorschoose.org looking for projects to advertise here for Christmas. And one teacher said she couldn't have enough of the Farsala trilogy.

[conuly]

Isn't the next Knight and Rogue coming out next month as well? (October 20th? I may have to not give Evangeline her b-day gift, it's the same day!)

[freckleon.livejournal.com]

Alright, so, I know this post is more than half a decade old now, but HI. I READ HILARI BELL. I am also a die-hard fan who doesn't understand why there aren't people flocking by the hundreds to start a fandom of some of her amazing books. Knight and Rogue is my absolute favorite, but I also loved the Farsala Trilogy and even the Goblin Wood. I haven't read any others yet, mostly because I haven't found them and I'm trying to pace myself when it comes to buying books.

Anyways, I have recently been searching for other fans of her work so that I don't feel so alone. I even restarted this LJ that I never used after I first created it years ago and came across that_oneill_guy who pointed me in the direction of your journal.

Do you maybe want to be friends? =]

[conuly]

Sure, why not? *giggles* I sure get more friends this way that I would've expected! (More = 2ish, but that's beside the point.)

Mildly Belated...

[42variables.livejournal.com]

More like over-half-a-decade-belated ... but anyway back to the point! I do read Hilari Bell, and I even write nearly passable fanfic about her books. After scouring the internet I've found about a dozen of us. Apparently we are a dieing breed.*Sigh*

Would you mind if I friended you?

Re: Mildly Belated...

[conuly]

That'd make you the second friend I've got solely through Hilari Bell, so... why not?