Back from the Beach
Jul. 4th, 2005 08:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shipperxMade it back from the beach. Hot as hell at the beach during the day but really nice if you go in the early morning or late in the afternoon. We did manage to paint one of the upstairs bedrooms at the beach house so we weren't total bums... just mostly bums.
The beach was surprisingly clean for this time of year (usually by this time of year there's a ton of seaweed being floated in) and the water incredibly clear. . . however, I have to admit. . .there were indeed sharks. No kidding. On Saturday there was a small 4' sand shark that swam really close to shore. More frightening was that yesterday a freaking HUGE (7' +/-) shark (maybe a bull?) swam REALLY close to shore. (And yeah the beach area near my sister's house is within easy viewing of the area of the beach where the girl was killed last week). So, no, not a lot of swimming. We did get to see a wedding on the beach (from a distance) on Saturday. And last night there were fireworks from San Destin (there was also a smaller fireworks display from the hotel up the beach from us). With the breeze (okay it was strong enough to be an out and out WIND) coming off the beach it was actually comfortably cool during the fireworks. We biked from the house and stayed mostly in the gazebo that belongs to the homeowner's association where my sister's house is, and broke open an inexpensive bottle of champagne and watched the fireworks, biked home after the display and watched a few episodes of "The Twilight Zone" marathon on Sci-Fi.
I left around noon today and made it home late this afternoon. I think I mentioned before I left that I had bought the "Grave Peril" audiobook narrated by James Marsters. I liked it a great deal. Not only is JM a great narrator (albeit Fenchurche pointed out his tendency to mispronounce "writhed"... although since Fen poined it out before I listened to the book I actually counted and he doesn't mispronounce the word every time... just three times out of five. >:) But, again, flaws aside he's a great narrator and when he's reading the part is oh-so-easy imagining JM as Harry Dresden. But more than that, I really liked the book.
I had listened to "Storm Front" (and I suppose at some point I should finish reading "Fool Moon") But I enjoyed "Grave Peril" better than "Storm Front"
I enjoyed Michael "The Fist of God" as Harry's more-honorable-than-Harry sidekick. I also enjoyed The Vampire Thomas who... I don't know. Maybe it started with the description of Thomas's kick-ass body, but Thomas reminded me of a Season 2, Becoming II Spike. Thomas who was willing to strike a deal with Harry. Thomas who seemed to have such genuine affection for Justine. And... well... Thomas as consort of a mad woman. Add in the kick-ass body, the talent to swap sides and yet you still sort of like him, and Thomas seeking out the good guys when he has no place to go, and Thomas (at least in this novel) reminds me of an old-fashioned, pre-souled, amoral Spike in a lot of ways. (And in his way Harry bears some resemblance --other than just his sporting a black leather duster--to some of the befuddled heroism of Spike who does the right thing despite himself. I know that resemblance is heavily influenced by JM reading the character, but somehow it's oh-so-easy envisioning JM in the role when hearing him give voice to it, and it somehow makes it easy to imagind this Harry as being a magical soul-brother to souled Spike.
I also liked some of the doomed aspect of Harry's feelings for Susan, since Susan (BIG SPOILER AVOID THIS NEXT BIT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW) gets changed to a vampire (or nearly changed but close enough to make the relationship still impossible). It was sad in the end that his loving her was both so important... and so insignificant at the same time.
And... is it my SMidGe/Season 6 Buffy dislike? (Yeah, I know it is) but I kept picturing SMG (in those Entertainment Weekly "The Grudge" photoshoot where she was done up as a nymphette) combined with the First Slayer eyes as Harry's sexually predatory Fairy Godmother who wants to own Harry's life. One of the weaker things in the book, though, seemed to me the lack of closure with that situation. I assume it pops up again in a later book, but even though he makes the deal for a year and a day, it seemed odd for her to be last seen claiming she would have him this night Her not showing up at the end seems to leave a bit too much of a loose thread at the end.
Also, I thought that Harry was overlooking how strong the likelihood of Leonard being involved. The incarcerated sorcery had too many connections to the problems going on for Harry to have overlooked him for that long. But, I suppose Harry was busy, tired, and beaten up enough that I'll give him the benefit of a doubt.
All in all I enjoyed the story, found it fast paced, and funy/scary in the way that BtVS was once. Plus I find Harry much more sympathetic than Buffy.
Anyway, hope everyone has had a great fourth.
The beach was surprisingly clean for this time of year (usually by this time of year there's a ton of seaweed being floated in) and the water incredibly clear. . . however, I have to admit. . .there were indeed sharks. No kidding. On Saturday there was a small 4' sand shark that swam really close to shore. More frightening was that yesterday a freaking HUGE (7' +/-) shark (maybe a bull?) swam REALLY close to shore. (And yeah the beach area near my sister's house is within easy viewing of the area of the beach where the girl was killed last week). So, no, not a lot of swimming. We did get to see a wedding on the beach (from a distance) on Saturday. And last night there were fireworks from San Destin (there was also a smaller fireworks display from the hotel up the beach from us). With the breeze (okay it was strong enough to be an out and out WIND) coming off the beach it was actually comfortably cool during the fireworks. We biked from the house and stayed mostly in the gazebo that belongs to the homeowner's association where my sister's house is, and broke open an inexpensive bottle of champagne and watched the fireworks, biked home after the display and watched a few episodes of "The Twilight Zone" marathon on Sci-Fi.
I left around noon today and made it home late this afternoon. I think I mentioned before I left that I had bought the "Grave Peril" audiobook narrated by James Marsters. I liked it a great deal. Not only is JM a great narrator (albeit Fenchurche pointed out his tendency to mispronounce "writhed"... although since Fen poined it out before I listened to the book I actually counted and he doesn't mispronounce the word every time... just three times out of five. >:) But, again, flaws aside he's a great narrator and when he's reading the part is oh-so-easy imagining JM as Harry Dresden. But more than that, I really liked the book.
I had listened to "Storm Front" (and I suppose at some point I should finish reading "Fool Moon") But I enjoyed "Grave Peril" better than "Storm Front"
I enjoyed Michael "The Fist of God" as Harry's more-honorable-than-Harry sidekick. I also enjoyed The Vampire Thomas who... I don't know. Maybe it started with the description of Thomas's kick-ass body, but Thomas reminded me of a Season 2, Becoming II Spike. Thomas who was willing to strike a deal with Harry. Thomas who seemed to have such genuine affection for Justine. And... well... Thomas as consort of a mad woman. Add in the kick-ass body, the talent to swap sides and yet you still sort of like him, and Thomas seeking out the good guys when he has no place to go, and Thomas (at least in this novel) reminds me of an old-fashioned, pre-souled, amoral Spike in a lot of ways. (And in his way Harry bears some resemblance --other than just his sporting a black leather duster--to some of the befuddled heroism of Spike who does the right thing despite himself. I know that resemblance is heavily influenced by JM reading the character, but somehow it's oh-so-easy envisioning JM in the role when hearing him give voice to it, and it somehow makes it easy to imagind this Harry as being a magical soul-brother to souled Spike.
I also liked some of the doomed aspect of Harry's feelings for Susan, since Susan (BIG SPOILER AVOID THIS NEXT BIT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW) gets changed to a vampire (or nearly changed but close enough to make the relationship still impossible). It was sad in the end that his loving her was both so important... and so insignificant at the same time.
And... is it my SMidGe/Season 6 Buffy dislike? (Yeah, I know it is) but I kept picturing SMG (in those Entertainment Weekly "The Grudge" photoshoot where she was done up as a nymphette) combined with the First Slayer eyes as Harry's sexually predatory Fairy Godmother who wants to own Harry's life. One of the weaker things in the book, though, seemed to me the lack of closure with that situation. I assume it pops up again in a later book, but even though he makes the deal for a year and a day, it seemed odd for her to be last seen claiming she would have him this night Her not showing up at the end seems to leave a bit too much of a loose thread at the end.
Also, I thought that Harry was overlooking how strong the likelihood of Leonard being involved. The incarcerated sorcery had too many connections to the problems going on for Harry to have overlooked him for that long. But, I suppose Harry was busy, tired, and beaten up enough that I'll give him the benefit of a doubt.
All in all I enjoyed the story, found it fast paced, and funy/scary in the way that BtVS was once. Plus I find Harry much more sympathetic than Buffy.
Anyway, hope everyone has had a great fourth.
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Date: 2005-07-05 08:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-07-05 02:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-07-06 01:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-07-06 03:54 am (UTC)I probably wouldn't have counted but Fen mentioned it before I ever listened to it so then I couldn't help noticing. :)