Meg Cabot's Insatiable

Okay, so I've been somewhat stalled on Meg Cabot's Insatiable since I first mentioned it.  I've been having issues with it since the heroine finally met the vampire romantic lead.  Is it mocking Twilight?  Yes.  But I also have the impression that I'm to take this romance seriously and -- or dear sweet flippin' God! -- this romance is sacchrine.  It's cloying!  And I don't say this with any prejudice against romance novels.  I've read more than my fair share of romance novels.  It's just that, at the moment, this is not my kind of romance novel.

That's what has been stalling me for a couple of weeks.  What's irritating me at the moment is the author's use of Dracula. 

First off, I seem to have a different interpretation of where the real misogyny in Bram Stoker's novel lies.  To me a lot of the misogyny in Dracula isn't the vampire but in the human men's reaction to OMG, women's sexuality!  Dracula comes into ladies bedrooms and has metaphorical sex and the story tells us this makes Lucy evil, and it culminates in the human men re-exerting Victorian order by a metaphorical human gang-rape/staking of the sexualized female now turned vampire.  There's a great deal of the Victorian man's fear of women's sexuality and of the concept of 'original sin' in Bram Stoker's Dracula, and a lot of the misogyny in the story is in the human heroes.

Secondly, if the heroine is conversant with Dracula enough so as to discuss the novel, then how in the heck did she not connect the Romanian 'hero' Vlad Tepes with Dracula?  It's not an obscure fact.  In fact, I would bet it would be mentioned on the plaque under his portrait in the museum.  How exactly can the heroine know enough to gripe about the novel Dracula and yet have no clue about who the novel is based on? 

Yeah, yeah, it's a nitpick, but it's currently irritating me. Either make her largely ignorant about the novel or have her bright enough to know the connection.

ETA:  And I'm growing sick of the name "Jack Bauer".  Seriously, does she have to use her dog's full name all. of. the. time?

ETA II:  D'oh!  It just struck me what this novel is trying to be -- an updated, modern Northanger Abbey !  (I don't know whether Meg Cabot realizes this though.  While she's riffing on Twilight, I haven't seen any Northanger Abbey shout outs).  You can't really blame a woman for not being Jane Austen.  But...erm... she's not as good as Jane Austen.  Northanger Abbey does a far better job satirizing gothic novels.

Meg Cabot's Insatiable

Okay, so I've been somewhat stalled on Meg Cabot's Insatiable since I first mentioned it.  I've been having issues with it since the heroine finally met the vampire romantic lead.  Is it mocking Twilight?  Yes.  But I also have the impression that I'm to take this romance seriously and -- or dear sweet flippin' God! -- this romance is sacchrine.  It's cloying!  And I don't say this with any prejudice against romance novels.  I've read more than my fair share of romance novels.  It's just that, at the moment, this is not my kind of romance novel.

That's what has been stalling me for a couple of weeks.  What's irritating me at the moment is the author's use of Dracula. 

First off, I seem to have a different interpretation of where the real misogyny in Bram Stoker's novel lies.  To me a lot of the misogyny in Dracula isn't the vampire but in the human men's reaction to OMG, women's sexuality!  Dracula comes into ladies bedrooms and has metaphorical sex and the story tells us this makes Lucy evil, and it culminates in the human men re-exerting Victorian order by a metaphorical human gang-rape/staking of the sexualized female now turned vampire.  There's a great deal of the Victorian man's fear of women's sexuality and of the concept of 'original sin' in Bram Stoker's Dracula, and a lot of the misogyny in the story is in the human heroes.

Secondly, if the heroine is conversant with Dracula enough so as to discuss the novel, then how in the heck did she not connect the Romanian 'hero' Vlad Tepes with Dracula?  It's not an obscure fact.  In fact, I would bet it would be mentioned on the plaque under his portrait in the museum.  How exactly can the heroine know enough to gripe about the novel Dracula and yet have no clue about who the novel is based on? 

Yeah, yeah, it's a nitpick, but it's currently irritating me. Either make her largely ignorant about the novel or have her bright enough to know the connection.

ETA:  And I'm growing sick of the name "Jack Bauer".  Seriously, does she have to use her dog's full name all. of. the. time?

ETA II:  D'oh!  It just struck me what this novel is trying to be -- an updated, modern Northanger Abbey !  (I don't know whether Meg Cabot realizes this though.  While she's riffing on Twilight, I haven't seen any Northanger Abbey shout outs).  You can't really blame a woman for not being Jane Austen.  But...erm... she's not as good as Jane Austen.  Northanger Abbey does a far better job satirizing gothic novels.

Meg Cabot's Insatiable

Okay, so I've been somewhat stalled on Meg Cabot's Insatiable since I first mentioned it.  I've been having issues with it since the heroine finally met the vampire romantic lead.  Is it mocking Twilight?  Yes.  But I also have the impression that I'm to take this romance seriously and -- or dear sweet flippin' God! -- this romance is sacchrine.  It's cloying!  And I don't say this with any prejudice against romance novels.  I've read more than my fair share of romance novels.  It's just that, at the moment, this is not my kind of romance novel.

That's what has been stalling me for a couple of weeks.  What's irritating me at the moment is the author's use of Dracula. 

First off, I seem to have a different interpretation of where the real misogyny in Bram Stoker's novel lies.  To me a lot of the misogyny in Dracula isn't the vampire but in the human men's reaction to OMG, women's sexuality!  Dracula comes into ladies bedrooms and has metaphorical sex and the story tells us this makes Lucy evil, and it culminates in the human men re-exerting Victorian order by a metaphorical human gang-rape/staking of the sexualized female now turned vampire.  There's a great deal of the Victorian man's fear of women's sexuality and of the concept of 'original sin' in Bram Stoker's Dracula, and a lot of the misogyny in the story is in the human heroes.

Secondly, if the heroine is conversant with Dracula enough so as to discuss the novel, then how in the heck did she not connect the Romanian 'hero' Vlad Tepes with Dracula?  It's not an obscure fact.  In fact, I would bet it would be mentioned on the plaque under his portrait in the museum.  How exactly can the heroine know enough to gripe about the novel Dracula and yet have no clue about who the novel is based on? 

Yeah, yeah, it's a nitpick, but it's currently irritating me. Either make her largely ignorant about the novel or have her bright enough to know the connection.

ETA:  And I'm growing sick of the name "Jack Bauer".  Seriously, does she have to use her dog's full name all. of. the. time?

ETA II:  D'oh!  It just struck me what this novel is trying to be -- an updated, modern Northanger Abbey !  (I don't know whether Meg Cabot realizes this though.  While she's riffing on Twilight, I haven't seen any Northanger Abbey shout outs).  You can't really blame a woman for not being Jane Austen.  But...erm... she's not as good as Jane Austen.  Northanger Abbey does a far better job satirizing gothic novels.

Farscape 1.06-1.07

1.06 - Thank God It's Friday...Again.

Aeryn: She gives me a woody... [surprised look from Crichton] 'Woody', it's a human saying. I've heard you say it often. When you don't trust someone or they make you nervous, they give you --

John: Willies!

Just goes to show that my opinion is strictly my own. I checked out Farscape World and "Back and Back and Back To The Future" has an equally high or higher rating to "Thank God It's Friday... Again," and yet I hated B-B-Back to the Future, and I like TGIF. Go figure. Ah well, my opinions are my own. :)

Anyway, part of the reason that I like TGIF is that it feels bigger somehow, and not just because of location shoots. To this point in the series, the Peacekeepers have mostly been Crais's vendetta against John. This ep shows that they are an institutional evil...and it's not even the point of the episode. It's just there, part of the show's landscape

( Thoughts on D'Argo )

::pets D'Argo::

( Thoughts on Aeryn )

And back to why this episode felt 'bigger' to me ( more detailed spoilers )

Oh, and wow! In this rewatch I caught something that I don't think I ever caught before! ( Read more... )

Damn. You have to love Farscape for continuity.

Finally, for the fun of it a D'Argo/Crichton friendshippy vid

---

1.07 - PK Tech Girl

John: They spit fire? How come nobody tells me this stuff? How come nobody tells me they spit fire? Aeryn!!!

Okay, to give a little perspective, I began watching Farscape when it was airing Season 4 on Syfy (then SciFi). Intrigued, I began downloading back episodes that I found online, filling in the episodes that I couldn't find by reading posted summaries. PK Tech Girl was one of the episodes that I couldn't find, so I read the summary first and the summary left me with a preconception that John and Gilina had a full blown romance here, when mostly it's just flirtation. ( thoughts on John/Gilina )

But, though I went into the episode the first time thinking that it would be about John/Gilina, many watchings later it sticks in my head as an Aeryn and Rygel episode.

And the episode image that remains most clear in my memory for PK Tech Girl is this:

Action hero Aeryn Sun! I love her swinging in, rescuing Crichton as though he's a damsel in distress, shooting up the bad guys, and brushing off the carnage with "Sorry, about the mess."

Woohoo! Aeryn rocks.

( But, of course it's not only about Aeryn rocking. She's a wonderfully realized three-dimensional character )

And the B-storyline is Rygel's post traumatic stress as this ghost ship was his first prison (130 years ago!), where he was once brutally tortured. Rygel is no ordinary muppet. He's haunted by those old fears and smoldering, impotent rage. He wants revenge on Durka, who was his torturer, but there's more on that later...

---

So two good episodes tonight!

Farscape 1.06-1.07

1.06 - Thank God It's Friday...Again.

Aeryn: She gives me a woody... [surprised look from Crichton] 'Woody', it's a human saying. I've heard you say it often. When you don't trust someone or they make you nervous, they give you --

John: Willies!

Just goes to show that my opinion is strictly my own. I checked out Farscape World and "Back and Back and Back To The Future" has an equally high or higher rating to "Thank God It's Friday... Again," and yet I hated B-B-Back to the Future, and I like TGIF. Go figure. Ah well, my opinions are my own. :)

Anyway, part of the reason that I like TGIF is that it feels bigger somehow, and not just because of location shoots. To this point in the series, the Peacekeepers have mostly been Crais's vendetta against John. This ep shows that they are an institutional evil...and it's not even the point of the episode. It's just there, part of the show's landscape

( Thoughts on D'Argo )

::pets D'Argo::

( Thoughts on Aeryn )

And back to why this episode felt 'bigger' to me ( more detailed spoilers )

Oh, and wow! In this rewatch I caught something that I don't think I ever caught before! ( Read more... )

Damn. You have to love Farscape for continuity.

Finally, for the fun of it a D'Argo/Crichton friendshippy vid

---

1.07 - PK Tech Girl

John: They spit fire? How come nobody tells me this stuff? How come nobody tells me they spit fire? Aeryn!!!

Okay, to give a little perspective, I began watching Farscape when it was airing Season 4 on Syfy (then SciFi). Intrigued, I began downloading back episodes that I found online, filling in the episodes that I couldn't find by reading posted summaries. PK Tech Girl was one of the episodes that I couldn't find, so I read the summary first and the summary left me with a preconception that John and Gilina had a full blown romance here, when mostly it's just flirtation. ( thoughts on John/Gilina )

But, though I went into the episode the first time thinking that it would be about John/Gilina, many watchings later it sticks in my head as an Aeryn and Rygel episode.

And the episode image that remains most clear in my memory for PK Tech Girl is this:

Action hero Aeryn Sun! I love her swinging in, rescuing Crichton as though he's a damsel in distress, shooting up the bad guys, and brushing off the carnage with "Sorry, about the mess."

Woohoo! Aeryn rocks.

( But, of course it's not only about Aeryn rocking. She's a wonderfully realized three-dimensional character )

And the B-storyline is Rygel's post traumatic stress as this ghost ship was his first prison (130 years ago!), where he was once brutally tortured. Rygel is no ordinary muppet. He's haunted by those old fears and smoldering, impotent rage. He wants revenge on Durka, who was his torturer, but there's more on that later...

---

So two good episodes tonight!

Farscape 1.06-1.07

1.06 - Thank God It's Friday...Again.

Aeryn: She gives me a woody... [surprised look from Crichton] 'Woody', it's a human saying. I've heard you say it often. When you don't trust someone or they make you nervous, they give you --

John: Willies!

Just goes to show that my opinion is strictly my own. I checked out Farscape World and "Back and Back and Back To The Future" has an equally high or higher rating to "Thank God It's Friday... Again," and yet I hated B-B-Back to the Future, and I like TGIF. Go figure. Ah well, my opinions are my own. :)

Anyway, part of the reason that I like TGIF is that it feels bigger somehow, and not just because of location shoots. To this point in the series, the Peacekeepers have mostly been Crais's vendetta against John. This ep shows that they are an institutional evil...and it's not even the point of the episode. It's just there, part of the show's landscape

( Thoughts on D'Argo )

::pets D'Argo::

( Thoughts on Aeryn )

And back to why this episode felt 'bigger' to me ( more detailed spoilers )

Oh, and wow! In this rewatch I caught something that I don't think I ever caught before! ( Read more... )

Damn. You have to love Farscape for continuity.

Finally, for the fun of it a D'Argo/Crichton friendshippy vid

---

1.07 - PK Tech Girl

John: They spit fire? How come nobody tells me this stuff? How come nobody tells me they spit fire? Aeryn!!!

Okay, to give a little perspective, I began watching Farscape when it was airing Season 4 on Syfy (then SciFi). Intrigued, I began downloading back episodes that I found online, filling in the episodes that I couldn't find by reading posted summaries. PK Tech Girl was one of the episodes that I couldn't find, so I read the summary first and the summary left me with a preconception that John and Gilina had a full blown romance here, when mostly it's just flirtation. ( thoughts on John/Gilina )

But, though I went into the episode the first time thinking that it would be about John/Gilina, many watchings later it sticks in my head as an Aeryn and Rygel episode.

And the episode image that remains most clear in my memory for PK Tech Girl is this:

Action hero Aeryn Sun! I love her swinging in, rescuing Crichton as though he's a damsel in distress, shooting up the bad guys, and brushing off the carnage with "Sorry, about the mess."

Woohoo! Aeryn rocks.

( But, of course it's not only about Aeryn rocking. She's a wonderfully realized three-dimensional character )

And the B-storyline is Rygel's post traumatic stress as this ghost ship was his first prison (130 years ago!), where he was once brutally tortured. Rygel is no ordinary muppet. He's haunted by those old fears and smoldering, impotent rage. He wants revenge on Durka, who was his torturer, but there's more on that later...

---

So two good episodes tonight!