One man's Mede is another man's Persian

[traboule.livejournal.com]

Two things.

The first is a balance to Jade's post about the Art Institute (but I'm not as cool, so I didn't take pictures).

I was recently in the Oriental Institute, which is also in Chicago, but 6 miles south of the Art Institute and half an hour on the bus.  I was absolutely fascinated by the Persian exhibit.  I admit I was mostly drawn in by the promise of stuff from Persepolis (Persian capitals; it was supposed to be one of the most beautiful palaces in the world and Alexander the Great burned it down because he was bored, for which I cannot forgive him. I might have to read The Persian Boy again, just to make myself feel better), but I discovered partway through the exhibits that there were a bunch of Assyrian and Babylonian reliefs.  One of them showed Medes paying tribute and you know what - they all had short beards! Little, short, curly ones and nary dye-job to be seen.

I will admit to shock.

Firstly, let me be honest and say that I thought Medea was another name for Persia since it is in a lot of Greek tragedy.  It isn't in the Dark Ages, though; it's a separate territory.  I think the Medes were conquored and then treated with kid gloves - a bit like the Russians and the Tartars.  Secondly, the Persians were the cultured, elegant ones and the Medes were more barbaric. Given that the books have a pretty Hellenistic feel (that's about 600 years later; feel free to smack me when I get pretentious.  I have a very slight background in Classics but lordy, do I like to show it off), I guess this is OK, but it was still a little surprising.

I also remembered that ANatolia is an alternate name for Turkey.

Moral of the story: if any of you reprobates end up with time to kill in Chicago after checking out the headless statues downtown, take the #6 bus to Hyde Park and look at the OI. It's a mine of MWT and Sounis background.

Second thing: I've got another dubious book rec that may or may not turn out to be a good one for Gen-lovers.  It looks promising right now, at least.  A snarky hero is always appreciated. If you've read it, I'd love a second opinion.

This was lent to me by someone on my latest show.  I have a dubious opinion of McAvoy: Tea with the Black Dragon held my interest, but only just barely.   Damiano entranced me when I was 12 - and simply as a character he's still pretty adorable, and I guess there's something to be said for a rare romance where the woman is the dominant partner - but I remember feeling incredibly cheated at the end of Damiano's Lute and a bit bored and confused during Raphael.  At this point, I'd almost rather read Cantarella which has the same feel but more pulp.  Fewer descriptions of people with the plague, though - I guess everything balances out.  I couldn't finish The Book of Kells or Twisting the Rope, and although I hesitate to say they were terrible, that's where I'm leaning.

On the other hand, when someone tells me the book blew them away - and when they are one of the smartest SF/Fantasy readers I've encountered in a while and someone I'm looking for an excuse to see more of anyway - I'm not going to turn down a rec or an offer to lend.

Has anyone else read The Lens of the World?  Anybody have thoughts on it?  Nazhuret struck me as being a bit of a Gen type, which I always like to see - although the more I see the type, the more I realize how well MWT writes it.  That being said, I'm not quite a third of the way through and I'm crossing it with widely disparate other books so I'm not sure Zhurrie appears to advantage here.

The pun in the heading is not mine, by the way.  I only wish it were.

Comments

[emmaco.livejournal.com]

Heaps of well-read SF/Fantasy readers with similar taste to me recommended Tea with the black dragon and I was underwhelmed, so maybe you should ask this person if they liked that book before handing over the cash for The lens of the world :)

[traboule.livejournal.com]

I should have done. I can't remember if I did, but I should have. On the other hand, I haven't bought the book, just borrowed (I swapped him for The Worm Ouroboros, another highly debatable classic), so I'm free to be as skeptical as I like, I suppose.

Nice to know I'm not the only one out there who found Long a bit much. ;)

[(Anonymous)]

traboule,

you do know that i am a u of c alum?

mwt

[traboule.livejournal.com]

I did not know that! How exciting! I'm currently an undergrad and it's shocking but unfortunately true that I'd never gotten beyond the gift store in the Oriental Institute until this weekend. But I'm enthralled and I'm going to be back frequently - for one thing, because I skipped Nubia. And because I need to go look at the Assyrian reliefs some more.

Oddly enough, I read your books directly after returning from a UC study abroad program. I spent a spring quarter in Athens doing baby Classics courses and came home to a welcome from my sister that involved "Hi, nice to see you again, have you read this becuase it's great!" I opened up The Thief and found myself back in Greece. It was a fantastic experience.

Yes. Hmm. Well. *pretends to be organized and calm* If you're ever going to be speaking at the dear old Alma Mater, I know at least one person who'd be thrilled to bits to hear it.

[(Anonymous)]

Well, you could always nudge the alma mater. But I think it is more likely that I will come by some time just to visit the OI. I haven't been since they renovated.

mwt