So I spent way more time than I probably should have thinking about this, and then decided to write a loooong post about my thoughts. If you're not interested in listening (well, technically reading) to me ramble, feel free to ignore.
1. Shipping
Okay, so despite previously being one of the most vocal Alex/Anna shippers here...I actually chose "someone else." I apologize for my betrayal, but I really don't ship them anymore. And I think it's because their relationship is just too unequal and always will be.
I like Anna, a lot. But when it comes to Alex, she's a follower. The only time she wasn't a follower was that one time in Deathly Regiment she chewed Alex out for being a crappy friend. On reflection, I actually think their relationship had a chance to be more equal after that--until Anna told the Confederation Alex was meeting with Abraham, which totally reversed that development and made Anna into more of a follower than ever. She showed no sign of growing out of that in Book 4; she developed some Deadpan Snarker tendencies, true, but she still basically did everything Alex wanted her to do without question.
So to pull my vague thoughts together: I think if they got together it'd be cute. But at this point I don't think they'll ever grow out of this messed-up power dynamic. So a romantic relationship would end up being really unhealthy for the both of them IMO. They work much better as friends.
Who am I shipping Alex with, you ask? Well, for guys it's Johnny, who ended up being really awesome (seriously, he took on Dark Wizards with rocks and won). For girls...
...Angelique. I know, I feel bad about it, and it started off as a joke, but I kind of really want to see it now! I don't even know why! *buries head in hands*
2. Favorite/Least Favorite Book
I spent way too much time thinking about this, especially since it didn't really matter.
First, a disclaimer: Since I was a beta reader for book 4 (and only for book 4), I experienced that book in a much different way than the others. Not only in terms of being able to control when I read the chapters and seeing them in an unfinished state (though both are important), but in order to give effective comments I had to read the chapters with a much more critical eye than I did the other books. Therefore, I'm probably judging book 4 more harshly than it really deserves.
Deathly Regiment has some problems with pacing (nothing really happens in chapters 10-14) and having too many subplots. But it has a strong plot, Alex trying to resurrect Max, almost from the beginning to the end. Both Alex and Anna go through a lot of character development, and a lot of emotionally compelling events happen. And the Deathly Regiment revelation is inspired.
Lands Below and Stars Above are really close in quality level. The odd thing is they shouldn't be; overall, I think Stars Above is actually much better-written. But the climax of Lands Below is much better--the climax of Stars Above is probably the worst of all the books. Let me explain...in the next post! Yeah, I'm nowhere near done.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Talkity talk talk
Date: 2012-06-07 06:20 pm (UTC)1. Shipping
Okay, so despite previously being one of the most vocal Alex/Anna shippers here...I actually chose "someone else." I apologize for my betrayal, but I really don't ship them anymore. And I think it's because their relationship is just too unequal and always will be.
I like Anna, a lot. But when it comes to Alex, she's a follower. The only time she wasn't a follower was that one time in Deathly Regiment she chewed Alex out for being a crappy friend. On reflection, I actually think their relationship had a chance to be more equal after that--until Anna told the Confederation Alex was meeting with Abraham, which totally reversed that development and made Anna into more of a follower than ever. She showed no sign of growing out of that in Book 4; she developed some Deadpan Snarker tendencies, true, but she still basically did everything Alex wanted her to do without question.
So to pull my vague thoughts together: I think if they got together it'd be cute. But at this point I don't think they'll ever grow out of this messed-up power dynamic. So a romantic relationship would end up being really unhealthy for the both of them IMO. They work much better as friends.
Who am I shipping Alex with, you ask? Well, for guys it's Johnny, who ended up being really awesome (seriously, he took on Dark Wizards with rocks and won). For girls...
...Angelique. I know, I feel bad about it, and it started off as a joke, but I kind of really want to see it now! I don't even know why! *buries head in hands*
2. Favorite/Least Favorite Book
I spent way too much time thinking about this, especially since it didn't really matter.
First, a disclaimer: Since I was a beta reader for book 4 (and only for book 4), I experienced that book in a much different way than the others. Not only in terms of being able to control when I read the chapters and seeing them in an unfinished state (though both are important), but in order to give effective comments I had to read the chapters with a much more critical eye than I did the other books. Therefore, I'm probably judging book 4 more harshly than it really deserves.
That said, my order of favorites is probably:
1. Deathly Regiment
2. (tied) Lands Below; Stars Above
4. Thorn Circle
Deathly Regiment has some problems with pacing (nothing really happens in chapters 10-14) and having too many subplots. But it has a strong plot, Alex trying to resurrect Max, almost from the beginning to the end. Both Alex and Anna go through a lot of character development, and a lot of emotionally compelling events happen. And the Deathly Regiment revelation is inspired.
Lands Below and Stars Above are really close in quality level. The odd thing is they shouldn't be; overall, I think Stars Above is actually much better-written. But the climax of Lands Below is much better--the climax of Stars Above is probably the worst of all the books. Let me explain...in the next post! Yeah, I'm nowhere near done.