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Cyl
Joined: 22 Mar 2007
Posts: 130
Location: Mississippi
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 Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2012 5:47 am Post subject: Mary Stewart's Wildfire at Midnight |
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Thank you for the spot on review.
I think I have all of Ms Stewart's books, but I would buy them all again if they would release them for Kindle! |
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LinnieGayl
Joined: 22 Mar 2007
Posts: 752
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| Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2012 9:07 am Post subject: |
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Until I read the review a second time I didn't remember reading this one. Not only would I like these on Kindle, but I'd love to have some of her classics in audio. Are you listening, audio producers?
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PWNN
Joined: 11 Apr 2010
Posts: 818
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| Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2012 10:00 am Post subject: |
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Love Mary Stewart and liked the review though I think I think it rates far higher as a B. As a Romance it might be a B, though I find their relationship and back story very interesting, but as a novel I think it's one of her best and an A/A-.
My issue with the review is a complaint I see all too often and don't understand - that the book is "dated" with the negative connotation that word is often given.
It's not dated, any more than Pride & Prejudice, Little Dorrit or Jane Eyre are dated. It's a book contemporaneous to it's time with all the attendant social mores and world circumstances of it's era.
A contemporary book that has so little relation to the time period it's written in that it's lacking in timely detail or verisimilitude to it's era might as well be an AU or fantasy. This lack of real world/era detail is what gets historicals labelled wallpaper or 21st century people in costumes. Is it considered a plus to be anachronistic rather than realistic?
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PWNN
Joined: 11 Apr 2010
Posts: 818
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| Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2012 10:10 am Post subject: |
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| LinnieGayl wrote: | | Until I read the review a second time I didn't remember reading this one. Not only would I like these on Kindle, but I'd love to have some of her classics in audio. Are you listening, audio producers? |
I've read there are some Stewart books in e-book form for the UK and New Zealand markets so hopefully they'll finally get here. I'm also waiting for M.M. Kaye's e-books to leap the Atlantic.
There are older audio books on cassette by Stewart. The narrator for most is Jane Asher and she's wonderful. Sadly they are OOP. I don't see why they can't re-issue them digitally.
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MrsFairfax
Joined: 27 Mar 2007
Posts: 1065
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| Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2012 10:15 am Post subject: |
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My husband converted those Jane Asher cassettes to mp3 for me. Some times it's worth stepping over all the half-finished projects to be married to an engineer. 
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PWNN
Joined: 11 Apr 2010
Posts: 818
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| Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2012 10:21 am Post subject: |
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| MrsFairfax wrote: | | My husband converted those Jane Asher cassettes to mp3 for me. Some times it's worth stepping over all the half-finished projects to be married to an engineer. |
I converted them as well (should really get around to coveting other tapes and records), the sound quality is a bit scratchy (I bet being married to an engineer yours are a bit clearer) but they're still great listens.
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MrsFairfax
Joined: 27 Mar 2007
Posts: 1065
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| Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2012 10:29 am Post subject: |
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| PWNN wrote: | | MrsFairfax wrote: | | My husband converted those Jane Asher cassettes to mp3 for me. Some times it's worth stepping over all the half-finished projects to be married to an engineer. |
I converted them as well (should really get around to coveting other tapes and records), the sound quality is a bit scratchy (I bet being married to an engineer yours are a bit clearer) but they're still great listens. |
He did what he could with noise reduction, but it's still a multi-generation copy. Worth a bit of buzz, though. Wildfire's a favorite - Fog's never been so frightening.
And as for dating - I'm an unapologetic fan of the way Stewart uses cigarettes in her stories. The things that woman could convey with the offer, acceptance and lighting of a cigarette.
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Binocular vision, no need to hop, and an ever-so-much easier time of it climbing ladders.
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PWNN
Joined: 11 Apr 2010
Posts: 818
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| Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2012 10:52 am Post subject: |
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I know cigarettes are bad bad bad for us (though so are so many things people still do in droves) but I sometimes miss them in books and especially films for how much they can convey and the atmosphere. I was watching a recent review of Dark Victory and the reviewer not so jokingly said if you don't smoke the film will tempt get you to start and if you've quit you'll be up to 4 packs a day just watching Paul Henried light up two cigarettes and pass one to Bette Davis. 
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Eggletina
Joined: 06 Jul 2010
Posts: 341
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| Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2012 11:06 am Post subject: |
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| PWNN wrote: |
I've read there are some Stewart books in e-book form for the UK and New Zealand markets so hopefully they'll finally get here. I'm also waiting for M.M. Kaye's e-books to leap the Atlantic.
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I'm waiting for the MM Kaye ebooks, too!
Several years ago, I decided not to wait anymore and bought mass market paperbacks for all of Stewart's romantic suspense novels. They were among my favorites growing up, and the writing and suspense still hold up very well upon a re-read. I think where some of them fall a little short is in the development of the romance, but the other elements are so well done I hardly care. My top tier favorites are still My Brother Michael, The Ivy Tree and Nine Coaches Waiting. Love the new cover that's pictured on the review for this one, though!
| Quote: | Mrs. Fairfax wrote: And as for dating - I'm an unapologetic fan of the way Stewart uses cigarettes in her stories. The things that woman could convey with the offer, acceptance and lighting of a cigarette.
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I'm not bothered by behaviors such as this in older fiction. Sometimes it really lends something to the atmosphere and climate of the times. I run into a lot of young readers trying older books being put off by the sensibilities of older times, though. Sometimes it can be interesting to discover how different authors in different times handled issues we don't find acceptable in our own time. |
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Jean Wan AAR
Joined: 13 Apr 2009
Posts: 383
Location: Toronto, Canada
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| Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2012 12:54 pm Post subject: |
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| PWNN wrote: | Love Mary Stewart and liked the review though I think I think it rates far higher as a B. As a Romance it might be a B, though I find their relationship and back story very interesting, but as a novel I think it's one of her best and an A/A-.
My issue with the review is a complaint I see all too often and don't understand - that the book is "dated" with the negative connotation that word is often given.
It's not dated, any more than Pride & Prejudice, Little Dorrit or Jane Eyre are dated. It's a book contemporaneous to it's time with all the attendant social mores and world circumstances of it's era.
A contemporary book that has so little relation to the time period it's written in that it's lacking in timely detail or verisimilitude to it's era might as well be an AU or fantasy. This lack of real world/era detail is what gets historicals labelled wallpaper or 21st century people in costumes. Is it considered a plus to be anachronistic rather than realistic? |
I actually reviewed the book a few years ago. If you'd care to see a slightly different take:
http://likesbooks.com/cgi-bin/bookReview.pl?BookReviewId=7570
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Cyl
Joined: 22 Mar 2007
Posts: 130
Location: Mississippi
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| Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2012 5:19 am Post subject: |
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| PWNN wrote: | Love Mary Stewart and liked the review though I think I think it rates far higher as a B. As a Romance it might be a B, though I find their relationship and back story very interesting, but as a novel I think it's one of her best and an A/A-.
My issue with the review is a complaint I see all too often and don't understand - that the book is "dated" with the negative connotation that word is often given.
It's not dated, any more than Pride & Prejudice, Little Dorrit or Jane Eyre are dated. It's a book contemporaneous to it's time with all the attendant social mores and world circumstances of it's era.
A contemporary book that has so little relation to the time period it's written in that it's lacking in timely detail or verisimilitude to it's era might as well be an AU or fantasy. This lack of real world/era detail is what gets historicals labelled wallpaper or 21st century people in costumes. Is it considered a plus to be anachronistic rather than realistic? |
This goes back to an earlier discussion, possibly on a different board? When does a book become a historical? Is it possible Mary Stewart would now be considered historical? |
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LynnS/AAR
Joined: 22 Mar 2007
Posts: 115
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| Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2012 1:17 pm Post subject: |
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| Cyl wrote: | | PWNN wrote: | Love Mary Stewart and liked the review though I think I think it rates far higher as a B. As a Romance it might be a B, though I find their relationship and back story very interesting, but as a novel I think it's one of her best and an A/A-.
My issue with the review is a complaint I see all too often and don't understand - that the book is "dated" with the negative connotation that word is often given.
It's not dated, any more than Pride & Prejudice, Little Dorrit or Jane Eyre are dated. It's a book contemporaneous to it's time with all the attendant social mores and world circumstances of it's era.
A contemporary book that has so little relation to the time period it's written in that it's lacking in timely detail or verisimilitude to it's era might as well be an AU or fantasy. This lack of real world/era detail is what gets historicals labelled wallpaper or 21st century people in costumes. Is it considered a plus to be anachronistic rather than realistic? |
This goes back to an earlier discussion, possibly on a different board? When does a book become a historical? Is it possible Mary Stewart would now be considered historical? |
Is this the discussion you meant? http://www.likesbooks.com/blog/?p=9030 I had to smile when I pulled this up because I saw that LinnieGayl's piece actually had a Mary Stewart cover to illustrate it. I love Stewart's books but, as someone who was born long after they were written, they do read like historical mysteries to me - and very good ones. |
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maggie b.
Joined: 23 Mar 2007
Posts: 2252
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| Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2012 6:37 pm Post subject: |
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| PWNN wrote: |
My issue with the review is a complaint I see all too often and don't understand - that the book is "dated" with the negative connotation that word is often given.
It's not dated, any more than Pride & Prejudice, Little Dorrit or Jane Eyre are dated. It's a book contemporaneous to it's time with all the attendant social mores and world circumstances of it's era.
A contemporary book that has so little relation to the time period it's written in that it's lacking in timely detail or verisimilitude to it's era might as well be an AU or fantasy. This lack of real world/era detail is what gets historicals labelled wallpaper or 21st century people in costumes. Is it considered a plus to be anachronistic rather than realistic? |
I agree with pretty much everything you've said. Books that I've read which were written in the 80's can feel "dated" (no cell phone??) but they are instead accurate. Books like this are actually something I seek out. I want the detail which puts a book in a certain time and place. Stewart is actually a master at this - I can picture her books, the drinks on the veranda, the crisp dresses, - yes even the smoking. It makes the books so much more memorable when they are firmly grounded in detail like this. It has been several years since I read Wildfire at Midnight and yet I can remember it better than some books I read just last month. It was the rich, detailed writing that set it apart.
maggie b.
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Cyl
Joined: 22 Mar 2007
Posts: 130
Location: Mississippi
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| Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2012 2:26 am Post subject: |
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| LynnS/AAR wrote: | | Cyl wrote: | | PWNN wrote: | Love Mary Stewart and liked the review though I think I think it rates far higher as a B. As a Romance it might be a B, though I find their relationship and back story very interesting, but as a novel I think it's one of her best and an A/A-.
My issue with the review is a complaint I see all too often and don't understand - that the book is "dated" with the negative connotation that word is often given.
It's not dated, any more than Pride & Prejudice, Little Dorrit or Jane Eyre are dated. It's a book contemporaneous to it's time with all the attendant social mores and world circumstances of it's era.
A contemporary book that has so little relation to the time period it's written in that it's lacking in timely detail or verisimilitude to it's era might as well be an AU or fantasy. This lack of real world/era detail is what gets historicals labelled wallpaper or 21st century people in costumes. Is it considered a plus to be anachronistic rather than realistic? |
This goes back to an earlier discussion, possibly on a different board? When does a book become a historical? Is it possible Mary Stewart would now be considered historical? |
Is this the discussion you meant? http://www.likesbooks.com/blog/?p=9030 I had to smile when I pulled this up because I saw that LinnieGayl's piece actually had a Mary Stewart cover to illustrate it. I love Stewart's books but, as someone who was born long after they were written, they do read like historical mysteries to me - and very good ones. |
That wasn't the discussion, but thank you for the link  I meant to go back and read it when I saw it linked in this discussion http://www.likesbooks.com/blog/?p=9125 |
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