The Wilding

[kodalai]

To: C.S. Friedman
Re: 'The Wilding'

DEAR C.S. FRIEDMAN,

PLEASE TO STOP WRITING BOOKS ABOUT NOBLE WARRIOR ALIEN RAPISTS AND GO BACK TO VAMPIRES AND SLASHY GOODNESS. I KNOW I COMPLAIN WHEN ANNE RICE DOES IT BUT YOU'RE SPECIAL.

AND WHILE YOU'RE AT IT MAYBE YOU SHOULD JUST STOP WRITING ABOUT HUMAN WOMEN AT ALL BECAUSE THEY INVARIABLY SUCK. STICK TO ALIEN WOMEN THAT ALWAYS SEEMS TO TURN OUT BETTER.

THAT WOULD BE NICE K THX BAI

Love,

[edit] Approximate summary of character dynamics in 'The Wilding':

Manly Male character: This is the society I'm from. It's very manly. It involves a lot of rape. We're a warrior society that exalts manly virtues such as being dumb bigots, killing each other, and raping women. Manly manly manly. Did I mention the rape? Hur hur hur.
Weak Female character: Eek! How manly! I am somehow inexplicably attracted to your manliness! Swoon!
Pussy male character: This is the society I'm from. It values diplomacy and human rights and other things which are not manly. We don't get much screen time. As a matter of fact, we don't do a goddamn thing in this book at all.
Manly Male character: Hey, my society's gonna come over into your society's backyard and rape it. Hur hur hur.
Pussy male character: Eek!
'Strong' Female character: I am a ridiculously powerful telepath who is strong and angry and hates men and is probably a lesbian.
Manly Male Character: I counter your ridiculously powerful telepathy with rape! Hur hur hur.
'Strong' Female character: Oh, for God's sake. I mean, eek!

Comments

[reikah.livejournal.com]

...

Wow, that was the best book-pimp ever.

[cerusee.livejournal.com]

But it sucks!

[reikah.livejournal.com]

And that's precisely why I must read it. I was born with a bad case of TWS, alas. :(

[kodalai.livejournal.com]

Nonono, don't start with The Wilding. D: Read Madness Season or This Alien Shore first. They have the same style and are much better written and won't give you a prejudiced view of Friedman's writing which is generally quite decent except for this.

[reikah.livejournal.com]

But I can't resist such a negative review! *whiine*

[cerusee.livejournal.com]

Read it after you've read one of her good books, though, so you can see how good she can be when she's at the top of her game.

[nekojita.livejournal.com]

... oh dear. Should I pick up that book or not?

[cerusee.livejournal.com]

Not. It bites. Pick up "Madness Season" or the Coldfire Trilogy; those're much, much better.

[nekojita.livejournal.com]

I already have those. ^_^

[kodalai.livejournal.com]

Not. It's awful. It's as though Friedman combed through all her other books to find the worst elements of it and stirred them all together in a big crockpot full of misogyny. Every male character is a rapist. Every female character is a weak, helpless wuss, even the ones that are supposed to be 'strong.' Plus, I got this very distinct feeling that every single marginally interesting plot element in the book had already been used in another book before this one.

I picked up a hardback copy for $25 and I haven't even been able to resell it on half.com for 99 cents.

I mean, seriously, I'm re-reading Madness Season lately and saying to myself "This book is so damn good, what happened!?!"

[kodalai.livejournal.com]

Approximate summary of character interactions in 'The Wilding':

Male character: This is the society I'm from. It involves a lot of rape. It's very manly. We're a warrior society that exalts manly virtues such as being dumb bigots, killing each other, and raping women. Manly manly manly. Did I mention the rape? Hur hur hur.
Female character: Eek!
Male character: What a nice day. It makes me feel very manly. So manly that I just have to go out and rape me some women. Hur hur hur.
Female character: Eek! How manly! I am somehow inexplicably attracted to your manliness! Swoon!
Female character: I am a ridiculously powerful telepath who is strong and angry and hates men and is probably a lesbian.
Male: I counter your ridiculously powerful telepathy with rape! Hur hur hur.
Female character: Eek!
Pussy male character: This is the society I'm from. It values diplomacy and human rights values and other things which are not manly. We don't get much screen time. As a matter of fact, we don't do a goddamn thing in this book whatsoever.
Male character: Hey, my society's gonna come over into you're society's backyard and rape it. Hur hur hur.
Pussy male character: Oh, for God's sake. I mean, eek!

[nekojita.livejournal.com]

....*GAH*....

Thanks for saving us the pain. I would have picked up this book (in paperback, though) and it would have just joined my LKH collection.

[kodalai.livejournal.com]

It makes me weep in pain. You were once so good, Friedman. What happened? ;-;

[nekojita.livejournal.com]

*shakes head* I used to love her (?) books, too, have several of them on my shelves. It sucks when formerly good authors go bad.

[kodalai.livejournal.com]

Still hoping she'll go back to being good. It was just one book, and a followup to what was probably her first baby (In Conquest Born.) Maybe she'll get it out of her system. *crosses fingers*

[nekojita.livejournal.com]

True. At least she doesn't crunch the deadlines like a few other authors - maybe she just had a bad year like a lot of us and that's what happened to the book. Still not gonna buy it, though!

[cerusee.livejournal.com]

So far, the good books still outnumber the bad. It's not like The Simpsons. Yet. *crosses fingers*

[darksea.livejournal.com]

Can I kill the male character? Please? Better yet, can I neuter him?

[alphasean.livejournal.com]

hahaha. Did you actually end up reading it through? I always start books but fail to finish them. I can imagine simply finishing this one out of morbid curiosity, though. I've certainly done that before.

[windandwater.livejournal.com]

This post just killed me and Aoi-chan. AT THE SAME TIME.

... hur hur hur?