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A review by sortabadass
The Moon and the Sun by Vonda N. McIntyre
2.0
So continues my crawl through Nebula award winners. This one was a bit surreal because I read it while suffering from one of my worst illnesses in years, so I keep reminding myself that it wasn't a fever dream.
The Moon and the Sun is a historical fantasy novel about the capture of a mermaid during the reign of Louis XIV. The premise is incredible and, unfortunately, the execution of the novel winnowed away a lot of my gumption to keep reading.
I did love learning more about the court of the Sun King. McIntyre described a fascinating microcosm revolving around the habits and fancy of one man in a way that no history nonfiction book had yet brought to life for me. The church's response to the question of the mermaid was also well-described if typical.
My main gripe with this book is that Marie-Josephe is the biggest Mary Sue this side of Ayla Cavebear. So that's an aggravation to power through.
Through googling, I have also found that The Moon and the Sun is set to announce its film release any day now. I must admit, that I'm very excited about the idea of Pierce Brosnan as Louis XIV.... His casting role is a stroke of brilliance.
However, what I've seen of the promotional images leaves a lot to be desired.
This is Louis and Marie-Josephe:
For contrast, this was actually what Louis wore:
And I did lots of googling: bosoms aplenty in Louis's time but nary a bare arm to be seen.
I must admit that I'm pretty disappointed! I mean, Louis XIV put the "holy wah" in bourgeoisie -- why dress him like a freshman who can't find a costume for a I <3 The 1690s party? And the protagonist's dress just looks like mildly attractive underwear. Disappointing.
The Moon and the Sun is a historical fantasy novel about the capture of a mermaid during the reign of Louis XIV. The premise is incredible and, unfortunately, the execution of the novel winnowed away a lot of my gumption to keep reading.
I did love learning more about the court of the Sun King. McIntyre described a fascinating microcosm revolving around the habits and fancy of one man in a way that no history nonfiction book had yet brought to life for me. The church's response to the question of the mermaid was also well-described if typical.
My main gripe with this book is that Marie-Josephe is the biggest Mary Sue this side of Ayla Cavebear.
Spoiler
Oh gee, the beautiful, modest, intelligent mathematician/biologist/artist is also a world-level composer? Great. Well, I managed to not eat the entire box of Cheez-Its while watching anime this weekend, so I have things going for me too. (Lies. I did eat the entire box.)Through googling, I have also found that The Moon and the Sun is set to announce its film release any day now. I must admit, that I'm very excited about the idea of Pierce Brosnan as Louis XIV.... His casting role is a stroke of brilliance.
However, what I've seen of the promotional images leaves a lot to be desired.
This is Louis and Marie-Josephe:
For contrast, this was actually what Louis wore:
And I did lots of googling: bosoms aplenty in Louis's time but nary a bare arm to be seen.
I must admit that I'm pretty disappointed! I mean, Louis XIV put the "holy wah" in bourgeoisie -- why dress him like a freshman who can't find a costume for a I <3 The 1690s party? And the protagonist's dress just looks like mildly attractive underwear. Disappointing.