Somebody has to pull the string that makes this thing go! Allow me to do the honors.
What Ms. Halliday has accomplished here is fabulous. Characterization and plot are well-handled. But, in WS, scene and setting are the things that impress me the most. From nicely evoked historical characters like the Empress Dowager Ci Xi, to the appropriately-placed references to important figures like Sun-Yat-Sen, to the cultural accuracies laced throughout like the concepts of "face" and "chi", I got swept away by this historically-adept rendering with the familiar (and lovable!) Faction Paradox tropes thrown in for flavor.
One of my favorite passages, on page 133: "So, what is time?" "A means of measuring the passage of events from the past to the present. Clocks and calendars measure the passage of time so that people can ensure that their day is productive. Time provides discipline. The Westerners exploit time, as we would if we were not hidebound and superstitious."...."In the west," Kuan Yin said, "they're servants to time. They set their clocks by the chimes of Big Ben, not by the setting and rising of the sun. Their trains carry London's time to the whole of Britain. Time is a commodity to them. Linear concepts of time suit them because they're traders, and they put value in things that are finite."
I get the feeling that Mags understands Eastern views well. An interesting outsider's perspective, about a concept we all, as FP readers, are quite interested in, no?
The Octavia-Liu relationship is wonderful, and I had trouble not picturing Uma Thurman and Lucy Liu (surely not a coincidence?) in these roles.
This scene, on page 113, is particularly evocative of the Shakedown at the House of Blue Leaves in Kill Bill, Vol. 1.: "She was conscious of a gaze on her shoulders and turned. The painting hung against the far wall, in a wide alcove. It was her jo fu Xu, father to her mother. She had always thought it stylized, stiff and formal, but now she saw Xu's eyes, older and still more stern. There was a crinkle in the corner of his mouth which reminded her of Xu An Nuo, and she focused on that to strengthen her resolve." Liu is sneaking around where she is not wanted, the tension is palpable, and she takes a moment to build resolve in tru '60's martial arts film style.
The ending didn't quite carry the lyrical weight of the first hundred and fifty pages or so, but the loose ends were tied up well. Overall, a fabulous addition to the Faction Paradox library. Very cool.
What Ms. Halliday has accomplished here is fabulous. Characterization and plot are well-handled. But, in WS, scene and setting are the things that impress me the most. From nicely evoked historical characters like the Empress Dowager Ci Xi, to the appropriately-placed references to important figures like Sun-Yat-Sen, to the cultural accuracies laced throughout like the concepts of "face" and "chi", I got swept away by this historically-adept rendering with the familiar (and lovable!) Faction Paradox tropes thrown in for flavor.
One of my favorite passages, on page 133: "So, what is time?" "A means of measuring the passage of events from the past to the present. Clocks and calendars measure the passage of time so that people can ensure that their day is productive. Time provides discipline. The Westerners exploit time, as we would if we were not hidebound and superstitious."...."In the west," Kuan Yin said, "they're servants to time. They set their clocks by the chimes of Big Ben, not by the setting and rising of the sun. Their trains carry London's time to the whole of Britain. Time is a commodity to them. Linear concepts of time suit them because they're traders, and they put value in things that are finite."
I get the feeling that Mags understands Eastern views well. An interesting outsider's perspective, about a concept we all, as FP readers, are quite interested in, no?
The Octavia-Liu relationship is wonderful, and I had trouble not picturing Uma Thurman and Lucy Liu (surely not a coincidence?) in these roles.
This scene, on page 113, is particularly evocative of the Shakedown at the House of Blue Leaves in Kill Bill, Vol. 1.: "She was conscious of a gaze on her shoulders and turned. The painting hung against the far wall, in a wide alcove. It was her jo fu Xu, father to her mother. She had always thought it stylized, stiff and formal, but now she saw Xu's eyes, older and still more stern. There was a crinkle in the corner of his mouth which reminded her of Xu An Nuo, and she focused on that to strengthen her resolve." Liu is sneaking around where she is not wanted, the tension is palpable, and she takes a moment to build resolve in tru '60's martial arts film style.
The ending didn't quite carry the lyrical weight of the first hundred and fifty pages or so, but the loose ends were tied up well. Overall, a fabulous addition to the Faction Paradox library. Very cool.
