It’s been a while since I’ve really written and there’s no simple explanation for it. I just haven’t remembered. But that’s not to say that things haven’t been happening or I haven’t been reading. Actually in the intervening time between since when I last really wrote and now I finished King’s Shield, I read the MacCarrick brothers trilogy by Kresley Cole (If you Dare, If you Desire, If you Deceive), read Dream-Chaser and Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon, and even watched the premiere of HBO’s True Blood, based on Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire Series novels. All of which were excellent.

So to begin, King’s Shield was marvelous. Absolutely stunningly good. I devoured it and loved every moment. I can’t wait until it comes out in paperback so I can add it to the permanent collection. (I’d buy it now but I am finicky about series all being in the same format… same with Jim Butcher’s Codex Alera. I bought all of the ones currently in paperback because I love them but I can’t buy Captain’s Fury until it comes out in paperback and I also can’t buy Princep’s Fury the moment it comes out because I need them all to match… Oh, OCD.) Back to King’s Shield, I can’t believe it was so good. Series, especially epic fantasy series, tend to drag on forever. The Wheel of Time, the Sword of Truth… each book moved at a snail’s pace, introducing more subplots rather than resolving the main plot and original subplots it introduced at the start. As one reviewer said about this series, Sherwood Smith dares to resolve subplots. And major plots! But all along she’s throwing things in and stirring the pot and biding her time until WHAM! New plot, new stuff, same characters, shivery thrills all around. I can’t wait for the fourth book now… but it’s going to be so different from the other books. Not that it’s an offshoot but really, it’s going to be interesting to see where all of the plots she “ended” or temporarily resolved will play out in the fourth book as more stuff happens. Because this world is too rich for it to be over yet. Or anytime soon. But with books this good I’m always going to want more…

I read Kresley Cole’s trilogy in and around my classic devouring of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s books. Kresley Cole is so talented compared to Sherrilyn Kenyon. And that talent is evident in so many aspects of her writing. Kenyon has a taste for fantasy and the ability to write but her fiction at this point feels so serialized and predictable (not that I don’t devour them) whereas Kresley Cole throws genuinely strange and amazingly unique characters together and runs with them. She really does make her male heroes sexy but flawed, whereas Kenyon just says they’re flawed, shows them as being mean but perfect, then runs with their inevitable character change. (Except for Acheron. I’ll get there.) Cole’s books are also really love stories and heroic adventures that just happen to have some raunchy scenes. Kenyon’s books are, well, blatant in a sort of almost rude and glaring way at times. Yes, he’s attracted to her right off but do we need the visual of an instant bulge in the pants? Cole goes deeper. Why is he attracted? How so? What particulars? Is it that sneaky smile she makes that shows she’s up to no good, when despite all appearances she looks all prim and proper? It’s adorable and really well-done. Sigh. Maybe it’s because of the recent juxaposition of these novels that I’ve seen their contrasts so vividly. If I haven’t read a Kenyon book in a while it seems great. If I haven’t read a Cole book in a while, any real honesty and intimacy between characters can seem to take forever. (She builds it up, generally, slowly.) But together it seemed so obvious that I prefer Cole’s books.

The MacCarrick brothers books additionally were astounding as much as for their historical settings and the depth to which Cole had clearly researched and built up their individually unique worlds (1850s Andorra, Paris, London, Scotland…), and she really made me feel comfortable in those worlds. Her characters too were vibrantly different. Whereas with Kenyon, except for Tabitha in the Dark-Hunter series, pretty much every main character woman is identical to anyone else. They have so much of the same characteristics they don’t really feel different. Artemis is really well characterized but she’s also not so much a main character as a canonical staple. Acheron, though, is different… so consistent and so incredibly real… until the second half of his book. Then he becomes so much like Zarek and Kyrian and all of her “best” heroes that I’m constantly surprised it’s Acheron we’re talking about. In that regard it was somewhat disappointing. (Also, the “modern” part of the book felt rushed and forced compared to the beautiful, gripping, emotionally raw first part. That part was truly well-done and will stay with me.)

That all being said though, I still enjoyed Dream-Chaser and Acheron. I’m still going to read the subsequent books. She’s got the knack of addicting me. Now while I won’t actually buy these books (though I’m debating getting Acheron when it comes to paperback because it really was unusually good for a Kenyon book, and the first half of it was extraordinary and the latter… while imperfect still was as good or better than a typical Dark-Hunter series book) I still enjoy them. And I am glad I do. I might be high-minded but I really do enjoy a good serialized read now and again.

Oh, and regarding the post I posted while in the middle of Acheron, I was right about the choice of love interest for the modern part. I’d sort of had a whoppingly large suspicion when I read the book in which she was introduced though I was a bit skeptical at first because of who she is. I’d thought for a while it had to be someone else until that got debunked enough for me to bet that if she chose that woman I’d stop reading those books forever. So I am glad Kenyon chose whom she did.

True Blood. Ah, HBO. You never can disappoint me. I don’t think it’s possible. That show was amazing. The way they showed Sookie’s telepathy — as a constant source of distraction and irritation — versus the silence around Bill as a sublime relief… it’s so good. They also foreshadowed or just plain old introduced every major character in the first book (or two) and I’m so excited. All of the characters seem awesome and well-cast, and except for Tara Thornton (whom they changed, a lot) the series is true to the books. Really accurately so. Thus I am so excited. If that was only episode one… If you haven’t seen it, watch it… if you don’t have HBO, rent it when it comes to DVD or ask someone to tape it. Really. It’s so good!

Also, Mad Men was and continues to be excellent this season. I’m looking forward to the Emmys!