Sharp swords & minds

Just wanted to call out a few books I enjoyed in the last week:

The Privilege of the Sword

Ellen Kushner’s The Privilege of the Sword will appeal to those who wish their fantasy had more of the Renaissance or Regency and less of the Dark Ages, more of the romance of the blade and less of dragons. It’s a follow-on to the classic Swordspoint. This time, the sexuality is a little toned down, and there’s a highly amusing strong strain of — wait for it — romance novel parody/pastiche/loving homage. Don’t let that turn you off; the interior monologues of the girls who just want to debut well for their Season, bumping up against the world of duels and politics, makes for a really fun contrast.

Will in the World

Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt is remarkably illuminating, bringing Shakespeare to life in a way I haven’t seen before — this despite my reading much about him and taking three semesters worth of his works while in college. The achievement of this book is that it links tiny clues in his plays back to things that occurred in the world around Shakespeare, allowing us to draw conclusions about his life, his love, his money, his family, his religion, and much more. It left me itching to write stories about Will the person, which I think is a fair turnabout. 🙂

The Art of Detection

I have mentioned before that I am a fan of Laurie King’s wonderful Sherlock Holmes & Mary Russell novels — about Holmes and his wife (!). She also writes a series set in modern day San Francisco, following her detective Kate Martinelli. This book, The Art of Detection, manages to create a crossover between the two series (another ! goes here). It’s the story of a mysterious murder of a Holmes aficionado in Battery Park, but it also embeds within a complete Holmes case, written as a first-person manuscript during the time period covered in Locked Rooms, the last Mary Russell outing.