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Jane Gaskell (1) (1941–)

Författare till The Serpent

För andra författare vid namn Jane Gaskell, se särskiljningssidan.

16+ verk 1,117 medlemmar 26 recensioner 3 favoritmärkta

Om författaren

Foto taget av: Books and Bookmen, June 1958

Serier

Verk av Jane Gaskell

The Serpent (1963) 293 exemplar
Atlan (1965) 197 exemplar
The City (1966) 186 exemplar
The Dragon (1975) 149 exemplar
Some Summer Lands (1977) 139 exemplar
Strange Evil (1957) 70 exemplar
King's Daughter (1969) 51 exemplar
A Sweet, Sweet Summer (1969) 11 exemplar
The Shiny Narrow Grin (1964) 6 exemplar
All Neat In Black Stockings (1968) 6 exemplar
Summer Coming (1972) 3 exemplar
Attic Summer (1969) 1 exemplar
Sun bubble. (1990) 1 exemplar

Associerade verk

65 Great Tales of Horror (1981) — Bidragsgivare — 59 exemplar
Beyond Lands of Never: A Further Anthology of Modern Fantasy (1984) — Bidragsgivare — 21 exemplar
Splinters (1968) — Bidragsgivare — 15 exemplar

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Recensioner

Loved it! A strange and fantastic adventure story.
 
Flaggad
LadyBeachy | 3 andra recensioner | May 17, 2021 |
I had no idea what to expect from this, and even a third of the way in I hadn't quite pegged it, primarily because it doesn't fit into our neat little genre boxes.

I thought it was quite Diana Wynne Jonesian to begin: a feisty heroine, saddle by elders with an impossible task, prone to grumbling, and a wonderful, light, contemporary way with dialogue (it's amazing to me to read various writings from the past, whether 50 years ago or hundreds, and see how leaden and unreadable some prose is, and how alive and contemporary other prose managed to be).

This quickly changed, as very unpleasant events occurred which DWJ would scarcely have hinted at in middle-grade fiction. My best box for this book would be it's a Fantasy version (and barely fantasy, more like alternate history--there aren't wizards casting spells and such) of the Sexy Historical Lady subgenre (e.g. Angelique, or Forever Amber). I don't know if that's an actual subgenre, but it may as well be.

Gaskell has imagined a world which presumably never existed--a South America not remotely like the one we have together, with extant dinosaurs and other strange beasts, a nearby Atlantis just offshore, and has given us a travelogue from the perspective of her heroine, who starts young and innocent, but grows up quickly due to trials and tribulations.

(If you're ever stuck for an idea for a fantasy novel, really, just grab some other genre and think of a fantasy equivalent: Harry Potter is the fantasy boarding school book, Thraxas is the fantasy detective story, etc. ) So this is fantasy sexy historical lady, and it's terrific.

Note: as some have pointed out, this book--the original book, published oh so long ago in 63, I think--was later split into two copies. If you have this one, you needn't get the second bit, the Dragon--I misunderstood and ordered it through Abe, and it was the second half of this one.

(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!
… (mer)
 
Flaggad
ashleytylerjohn | 7 andra recensioner | Oct 13, 2020 |
girl born to seduce half serpent lord
 
Flaggad
ritaer | 7 andra recensioner | Feb 29, 2020 |
Atlan is the second (or third, depending on the series edition) book of Gaskell's tales of the goddess-hostage-fugitive-empress-scullery-maid-exile-et-cetera Cija in an antediluvian world of feuding kingdoms, Atlanteans, dinosaurs, unicorns, and battle-birds. A preamble chapter "The Road" is in the voice of a new character, the rogue Scar, but the rest of the book is still Cija's diary, increasingly unbelievable as a document transmitted intact from prehistoric times.

In this book, Cija becomes a mother, and sheds many of her youthful principles in efforts to survive. Perhaps two-thirds of the chapters might have been titled "Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire," as the imperial status that she attained at the end of the first book makes her a target for abuse and exploitation as often as it protects her. She frequently finds cause for reproaching herself, and her various associates, companions, and lovers all have a touch of ambivalence, but tend more to the bad than the good.

As the military and political situation in the Atlan capital heats up, Cija is sent into the continent's interior to be sequestered at a half-ruined castle. The second half of the book, set within and around this castle, has a very gothic tone to it. The phenomenon of "Old Atlan," which embraces humans, animals, plants, and even architecture in some unexplained genius loci becomes more active and important in this installment. The end of the book clearly concludes an episode of Cija's saga, but has much less sense of resolution than the previous one, which delivered her to the throne of Atlan. I don't have a copy of the next volume (The City), but I guess I'll keep an eye out for it, without too much urgency.
… (mer)
2 rösta
Flaggad
paradoxosalpha | 3 andra recensioner | Jul 26, 2017 |

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Statistik

Verk
16
Även av
3
Medlemmar
1,117
Popularitet
#22,994
Betyg
½ 3.6
Recensioner
26
ISBN
70
Språk
2
Favoritmärkt
3

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