Iron Kissed (Mercy Thompson #3) Patricia Briggs

[rolanni]

The advertent auditor of this journal will have noticed that I keep a "books read" list. Mostly, this is for my own information, to prove to myself that I am too reading, at least a little. I rarely comment on the books, because I learned when I was working for SFWA that commenting truthfully on novels written by people I know was more likely to get me grief than not, and, thanks to the SFWA job, I know an awful lot of fantasy and science fiction writers.

That said, there was a conversation the other day regarding the third book in Patricia Brigg's Mercedes Thompson series, Iron Kissed. It seems that the excellent buymeaclue had some issues with the third book, and the question was asked what I thought.

I have not read buymeaclue's commentary, and don't intend to. What I think is that the [spoilery thing] of which I understand she complains, and its aftermath is handled appropriately and believably for this reader. The book was not a warm and cozy read, but the [spoilery thing] worked on the storytelling level (again) for me. As always, YMMV. If you are a person who believes that fiction must never use violence against women as a "plot device," then you might not want to read this book; it'll only get your politics in an uproar.

What I understand to be a secondary beef regarding the structure of the werewolf pack and the peculiar powers of the pack Alpha -- these things were set up very clearly and maintained consistently from early in the first book. If a reader of the series managed to get to Book Three only then to be offended by the pack social structure, well...sometimes we don't read as carefully as we ought.

Comments

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

This statement makes me feel physically ill. It reads like a defense of rape - of any rape - as a way of personal growth.

See now, I read that as a comment on how we're going to work through a (pretty tricky) characterization. There's a line between Real Life and Fiction. In Real Life, we don't go around raping uppity wimmin to Teach 'Em. Or, if we do, we get twenty to life.

For the story and, arguably, for the character development of the lead character, that violence, in that way, was necessary. In the author's estimation, which, in a novel, Counts.

Fiction can't make Bad Things not happen. What fiction can do...it can teach. As Di mentions, what made this work on a whole 'nother and deeply wonderful level was Ben. Ben explaining what was going on, and connecting with the lead character's pain in a way that, I'm sorry, I've seen very few Real Life people manage for a Real Life rape victim.

So, yanno, what I'm seeing is that the story may have taught somebody something. One person -- and that's worth it.

Just from my own point of view...an author doesn't put her characters through this stuff for fun. It hurts me just as much as it hurts them. There's gotta be a Real Good Reason why I'm willing to put up with so much pain and watch someone I love and respect suffer that pain.