I recently finished “The Snow Queen” by Joan Vinge, who lives in
Madison, WI (I used to live there!). It’s a sci-fi novel, about
a planet ruled by a Winter Queen who exploits a local species to achieve
longevity. However as summer comes
(seasons last for decades), her rule will end and so she tries to use cloning
to extend her rule. It’s a fast paced
story about power and control. I like
that there are several female protagonists and everyone is drawn in shades of
grey.
On the feminism and culture blogs I read, there has been a lot of
discussion about how many authors, directors, etc. will have the heroine suffer
sexual assault as a catalyst for turning her stronger or to provide impetus for
action. What I like about The Snow Queen
is that all of the heroines face challenges and reach a breaking point, but in
none of these instances are the tests sexual or violent.
The Queen’s challenge is to hold onto power in the face of
death. The federal police chief’s
challenge is to maintain authority within her force despite the overt and
covert sexism by the men above and below her in the police hierarchy. And the challenge of maintaining federal law
over the locals. And fighting depression
caused by a subsonic device planted in her apartment. Wow. I’m
really liking the police chief more and more.
The Winter Queen’s clone’s challenge is to survive a psychic break. See, no sexual violence anywhere.
It is interesting to note that Vinge wrote The Snow Queen in
1980.
The other book I’m reading is “Hot Ice” by Nora Roberts. Yes, the
romance writer. I’ve only just started
but so far so good. It’s got a “Romancing
the Stone” vibe to it. It’s about a
thief who steals some documents that he thinks will lead to a legendary lost
diamond formerly owned by Marie Antoinette.
As he’s running from some thugs, he jumps into a car driven by a bored smart
heiress who manages to shake the thugs.
She decides she likes the excitement and the quest so joins him as a
partner. Of course, sparks fly and but
other things, like being pursued by bad guys keep them from acting on it. Plus, it’s more fun that way.
What’s also fun is that this book was written in the 1980s as
well, so they have to use the library and books to figure things out, not the
Internet and GPS. Reading about the old
tech is fun too.
I like Nora Roberts because her stories make sense with and
without the romance. As with any story,
the characters have to be fully drawn characters to be enjoyable. The plot has to make sense and be driven by
internal and external forces, not just coincidence. What brings the heroine and hero together?
What keeps them apart? Does it all make sense?
Another thing I like about her books is that her protagonists are often
entrepreneurs, running book stores, pizzerias, bakeries, a wedding consultancy,
an inn, etc. These are settings where
the heroines clearly are in charge and have a lot of agency, and also meet a variety
of people, for instance neighbors/customers who need help which sets the plot
in motion, and the hero so there can be a romance.
It seems every few years I start writing a book but only get as
far as setting –thinking about who are the characters? What do they do? Where do they live? How do
they live? And there’s always a romance
in there. But never get as far as thinking about the plot. Once I populate the story with people and a
setting, what are they supposed to do
and why?
I’ve got notes about these characters and images in my head about
them. I may just draw them and not
bother writing the stories.
