04-17-2012, 09:28 PM
Okay, I suppose I could have rolled this review into the first book topic. But it is a separate book, and harder than hell to get hold of. So here's it's own topic.
Book Two is more of the same, Trinket gaining favor with almost everyone he meets, taking on new, higher and sometimes outrageous posts, and using all to his advantage. He's not a total scoundrel, though. He has emotions, sympathies, a guilty conscience at times, and this allows his character to work for me. But there's not much martial arts in this second book. The first book had just enough to keep me satisfied. This one grows increasingly repetitious, perhaps a symptom of writing it piecemeal as a weekly column in a newspaper. Trinket keeps falling in love with women who are in love with some handsome heroic dude, so he is ever trying to discredit this competitor, often in very despicable ways. I sense that Louis Cha was taking revenge on all the guys in high school who got the girls, leaving him without.
The shape of the narrative becomes clear in Book II, which in some ways reduces the epic feel of the trilogy. I "know" where the final book will be headed now, and I wish it had been kept more a mystery. Still, Louis Cha can be full of surprises, and I want to finish this ride. So in a week or two, after recovering from taxes and a two-week house repair/remodel ordeal, I'll try to track down Book III. No, wait. I think DM has a copy. Yeah, I'll check with him.
I believe this trilogy is worth reading, with the caveat that the martial aspect is muted compared to Louis Cha's other work.
Book Two is more of the same, Trinket gaining favor with almost everyone he meets, taking on new, higher and sometimes outrageous posts, and using all to his advantage. He's not a total scoundrel, though. He has emotions, sympathies, a guilty conscience at times, and this allows his character to work for me. But there's not much martial arts in this second book. The first book had just enough to keep me satisfied. This one grows increasingly repetitious, perhaps a symptom of writing it piecemeal as a weekly column in a newspaper. Trinket keeps falling in love with women who are in love with some handsome heroic dude, so he is ever trying to discredit this competitor, often in very despicable ways. I sense that Louis Cha was taking revenge on all the guys in high school who got the girls, leaving him without.
The shape of the narrative becomes clear in Book II, which in some ways reduces the epic feel of the trilogy. I "know" where the final book will be headed now, and I wish it had been kept more a mystery. Still, Louis Cha can be full of surprises, and I want to finish this ride. So in a week or two, after recovering from taxes and a two-week house repair/remodel ordeal, I'll try to track down Book III. No, wait. I think DM has a copy. Yeah, I'll check with him.
I believe this trilogy is worth reading, with the caveat that the martial aspect is muted compared to Louis Cha's other work.
I'm nobody's pony.
