Okay, I have A LOT of feelings about this book!! I also have not read any of the "person gets transported into fantasy novel" genre although OMG Rae not being familiar with the first novel!
Interestingly, I didn't actually like the cancer parts as much for approximately the same reason you liked them -- I was in this book expecting epic fantasy hijinks and all the cancer stuff was way too realistic and emotional :P
I do agree that the quipping gets old. Although I absolutely loved Rae and the Cobra's friendship and it did seem like the kind of friendship where they would quip at each other nonstop. Though I would think that both of them would learn after a while to stop quipping at the other characters? Code switching anyone?? But SRB is always like that so I kind of think of it as the price of admission at this point.
For a lot of the book Rae thinks the characters aren't real, but she still never does anything bad to them. So when she finally realizes that they are real, it doesn't feel meaningful because she's been treating them like real people all along.
Hm. I actually thought this was a little more interesting -- it parallels both Key's sociopath outlook that no one is real as well as the noble outlook that the peasants aren't really real. I mean, I see what you mean in that in both those cases Key and the nobles do do bad things to the people they don't think are real, but in other cases they just kinda... don't think about them.
I LOVED LOVED LOVED the Cobra and Marius. This is obviously a super iddy me thing but it turns out that a) evil-presenting character with heart of gold b) upright character who is all about Honor and Doing the Right Thing and c) relationship between (a) and (b) with fealty overtones that become explicit are ALL SUPER MY THING. I didn't want them to be a sexual couple, I just wanted them to be ALL THE ROMANTIC PLATONIC, which the book also delivered. (obviously also a super iddy me thing) (Yes, I also absolutely adore The King of Attolia which I absolutely think SRB was thinking of when she wrote those parts.)
I loved Lia! Which I was not expecting. (I liked Emer a lot too, but I was expecting that.)
In addition to being curious about the anonymous author, I am also curious as to who the mysterious lady is who transported her to the other world? (And is she the author?)
THAT CLIFFHANGER OMG.
Massive spoilers rot-13'd: -V jnf FB phg hc jura Xrl "qvrq" guvaxvat gung rirelguvat Enr fnvq gb uvz jnf n yvr. V sryg fb onq nobhg vg naq pbhyqa'g fgbc srryvat onq nobhg vg! V QVQ ABG XABJ VG JNF N CYBG CBVAG. (Gubhtu V qvq jbaqre vs ur jnfa'g ernyyl qrnq sbe n juvyr, ohg ur xrcg abg pbzvat onpx.) -V svavfurq guvf obbx lrfgreqnl naq V xrrc guvaxvat nobhg ubj jryy fur frg gung hc naq V whfg qvq abg frr vg pbzvat ng nyy, V jnf nofbyhgryl sybberq. V xrcg guvaxvat guvatf yvxr "tbfu guvf Bpgnivna thl ernyyl xvaq bs fhpxf naq vfa'g tbbq ng zhpu" ohg V punyxrq vg qbja gb gur punatrf va gur gvzryvar. Ohg, yvxr, gurer'f gur gvzr gung Revp gbyq Znevhf abg gb svtug Xrl!! (Juvpu vf rkcynvarq va-grkg nf, bu, uhu, znlor gur Qhxrf unq onfgneqf?? Ohg gurl qvqa'g!) Naq gura gur cneg jurer Revp fnlf "V guvax fur'f znqr n onq zvfgnxr" naq bs pbhefr V gubhtug ur zrnag "chfuvat Bpgnivna vagb gur nolff" ohg abbbbbb, orpnhfr Revp npghnyyl qvq ernq gur svefg obbx! NNNNNU. Gurer jnf ng yrnfg bar zber V gubhtug bs va gur zvqqyr bs gur avtug ynfg avtug ohg qba'g erzrzore abj :C -...vg bppheerq gb zr juvyr jevgvat guvf gung fur fubhyq 100% unir znqr Revp gryy ure RIRELGUVAT ur xarj nobhg uvf irefvba, tvira gung fur qvqa'g xabj zhpu nobhg gur svefg obbx. :C
no subject
Interestingly, I didn't actually like the cancer parts as much for approximately the same reason you liked them -- I was in this book expecting epic fantasy hijinks and all the cancer stuff was way too realistic and emotional :P
I do agree that the quipping gets old. Although I absolutely loved Rae and the Cobra's friendship and it did seem like the kind of friendship where they would quip at each other nonstop. Though I would think that both of them would learn after a while to stop quipping at the other characters? Code switching anyone?? But SRB is always like that so I kind of think of it as the price of admission at this point.
For a lot of the book Rae thinks the characters aren't real, but she still never does anything bad to them. So when she finally realizes that they are real, it doesn't feel meaningful because she's been treating them like real people all along.
Hm. I actually thought this was a little more interesting -- it parallels both Key's sociopath outlook that no one is real as well as the noble outlook that the peasants aren't really real. I mean, I see what you mean in that in both those cases Key and the nobles do do bad things to the people they don't think are real, but in other cases they just kinda... don't think about them.
I LOVED LOVED LOVED the Cobra and Marius. This is obviously a super iddy me thing but it turns out that a) evil-presenting character with heart of gold b) upright character who is all about Honor and Doing the Right Thing and c) relationship between (a) and (b) with fealty overtones that become explicit are ALL SUPER MY THING. I didn't want them to be a sexual couple, I just wanted them to be ALL THE ROMANTIC PLATONIC, which the book also delivered. (obviously also a super iddy me thing) (Yes, I also absolutely adore The King of Attolia which I absolutely think SRB was thinking of when she wrote those parts.)
I loved Lia! Which I was not expecting. (I liked Emer a lot too, but I was expecting that.)
In addition to being curious about the anonymous author, I am also curious as to who the mysterious lady is who transported her to the other world? (And is she the author?)
THAT CLIFFHANGER OMG.
Massive spoilers rot-13'd:
-V jnf FB phg hc jura Xrl "qvrq" guvaxvat gung rirelguvat Enr fnvq gb uvz jnf n yvr. V sryg fb onq nobhg vg naq pbhyqa'g fgbc srryvat onq nobhg vg! V QVQ ABG XABJ VG JNF N CYBG CBVAG. (Gubhtu V qvq jbaqre vs ur jnfa'g ernyyl qrnq sbe n juvyr, ohg ur xrcg abg pbzvat onpx.)
-V svavfurq guvf obbx lrfgreqnl naq V xrrc guvaxvat nobhg ubj jryy fur frg gung hc naq V whfg qvq abg frr vg pbzvat ng nyy, V jnf nofbyhgryl sybberq. V xrcg guvaxvat guvatf yvxr "tbfu guvf Bpgnivna thl ernyyl xvaq bs fhpxf naq vfa'g tbbq ng zhpu" ohg V punyxrq vg qbja gb gur punatrf va gur gvzryvar. Ohg, yvxr, gurer'f gur gvzr gung Revp gbyq Znevhf abg gb svtug Xrl!! (Juvpu vf rkcynvarq va-grkg nf, bu, uhu, znlor gur Qhxrf unq onfgneqf?? Ohg gurl qvqa'g!) Naq gura gur cneg jurer Revp fnlf "V guvax fur'f znqr n onq zvfgnxr" naq bs pbhefr V gubhtug ur zrnag "chfuvat Bpgnivna vagb gur nolff" ohg abbbbbb, orpnhfr Revp npghnyyl qvq ernq gur svefg obbx! NNNNNU. Gurer jnf ng yrnfg bar zber V gubhtug bs va gur zvqqyr bs gur avtug ynfg avtug ohg qba'g erzrzore abj :C
-...vg bppheerq gb zr juvyr jevgvat guvf gung fur fubhyq 100% unir znqr Revp gryy ure RIRELGUVAT ur xarj nobhg uvf irefvba, tvira gung fur qvqa'g xabj zhpu nobhg gur svefg obbx. :C