Much Ado and a return to Mercedes Lackey
Jun. 24th, 2011 09:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alobearSecond one first, I think.
I've been listening to Foundation by Mercedes Lackey in audio form this week, and just went back to my entry of 16/4/09 to check the review I wrote when I first read the book. Imagine my surprise when I found a rather vitriolic account of the book's unoriginality and lack of coherence - since I *loved* the audio version and can't wait until 16th July when I can download the sequel. Reading my previous review, I guess I can't really disagree with anything I said at the time, but none of it occurred to me as I listened to the audio version. I think the difference may be that it's a been a while since I've read any Lackey, so the repetitious nature of the plot and the lack of consistency wtih other books in the series didn't strike me. I haven't had a fix of magical telepathic horses for a while, so it tapped directly into my teenage wish fulfilment fantasies and I lost myself to it wholeheartedly. Lackey isn't the most skilled or profound of writers, but she knows her audience well, and can totally suck me in when I'm in the right mood for it.
Also this week, we benefitted from vampadvocate's birthday gift of tickets to Much Ado About Nothing, which was excellent. David Tennant was just as good as I had expected in the role of Benedick, and Catherine Tate didn't disappoint as Beatrice, though I didn't think she was quite up to Tennant's level. Everyone else in the cast was very good too, so it wasn't unbalanced, and the 80s setting added some interesting sparkle to proceedings. The scene where Benedick overhears the others talking of Beatrice's love for him was absolute comedy genius, though the related scene of Beatrice overhearing Hero and Ursula didn't work as well. I particularly liked the nod to Romeo and Juliet when Claudio tried to psych himself up to commit suicide in the tomb after Hero's funeral - those pesky friars and their "play dead and it'll all be fine" plans! Much Ado is definitely one of Shakespeare's better comedies, and I think it's an easy play to do well, but that doesn't detract from this being a superlative production and an excellent night out.
I've been listening to Foundation by Mercedes Lackey in audio form this week, and just went back to my entry of 16/4/09 to check the review I wrote when I first read the book. Imagine my surprise when I found a rather vitriolic account of the book's unoriginality and lack of coherence - since I *loved* the audio version and can't wait until 16th July when I can download the sequel. Reading my previous review, I guess I can't really disagree with anything I said at the time, but none of it occurred to me as I listened to the audio version. I think the difference may be that it's a been a while since I've read any Lackey, so the repetitious nature of the plot and the lack of consistency wtih other books in the series didn't strike me. I haven't had a fix of magical telepathic horses for a while, so it tapped directly into my teenage wish fulfilment fantasies and I lost myself to it wholeheartedly. Lackey isn't the most skilled or profound of writers, but she knows her audience well, and can totally suck me in when I'm in the right mood for it.
Also this week, we benefitted from vampadvocate's birthday gift of tickets to Much Ado About Nothing, which was excellent. David Tennant was just as good as I had expected in the role of Benedick, and Catherine Tate didn't disappoint as Beatrice, though I didn't think she was quite up to Tennant's level. Everyone else in the cast was very good too, so it wasn't unbalanced, and the 80s setting added some interesting sparkle to proceedings. The scene where Benedick overhears the others talking of Beatrice's love for him was absolute comedy genius, though the related scene of Beatrice overhearing Hero and Ursula didn't work as well. I particularly liked the nod to Romeo and Juliet when Claudio tried to psych himself up to commit suicide in the tomb after Hero's funeral - those pesky friars and their "play dead and it'll all be fine" plans! Much Ado is definitely one of Shakespeare's better comedies, and I think it's an easy play to do well, but that doesn't detract from this being a superlative production and an excellent night out.
