DS9: Fearful Symmetry, Wonder Woman, Korra. One of these things I am terribly joyful about!

[usuallyhats]

SUNSHINE. Yesterday was my afternoon off, and I spent a good chunk of it sitting in a deckchair in the garden reading a book. YES. Unfortunately, the book was Fearful Symmetry, the next in the DS9 relaunch series, and it had Issues. [this next bit has spoilers, also, trigger warning for discussion of rape] Frustratingly, it wasn't a completely terrible book: it was fairly decently written, and though the section with Iliana's backstory wasn't doing anything particularly new or interesting, I didn't mind it too much until, well, all the rape. Which is a pretty significant "until". It was just so gratuitously unpleasant, and really unnecessary: the "traumatised woman snaps and goes evil" cliché is so tired, and a bit offensive. Not to mention how out of character it was for Dukat. He's just not that kind of bad guy. Yes, he wants everyone to do what he wants, but he wants them to do it because they've understood that he is epically right and they are entirely wrong. He's a deluded egocentric with a shaky grasp of what kinds of ends justify what kinds of means, but he's not a violent sadist. Also, I really don't buy that he could go up against the Obsidian Order directly and win, consequence free. ARGH. Oh, one more thing: I really hated the fact that the ONLY person to tell Iliana (rightly!) that it should be her choice how much she revealed about her past and whether she wanted to be Kira, Iliana, or both, was someone already established as a villain. SIGH.

The Kira half had problems too (though it had some good moments, and I was pleased to see Etana Kol (possibly that is not her name) again). I really tremendously dislike the implication (here and in other books) that Kira only survived the Occupation because Dukat was watching over her. D: And I am very concerned about where this storyline involving Vaughn and Sisko going behind Kira's back is going.

In conclusion, BOO, and I really should listen when cosmic_llin says something's not worth reading...

In other "things I am grumpy about" news: here is a good post about the recent Wonder Woman developments. D: (I haven't been reading Wonder Woman, because I am too cheap to buy single issues and horror's not my thing, but I definitely won't be getting it now! Instead I ordered the first trade from Greg Rucka's run and am waiting impatiently for it to arrive.)

To end on a cheerier note, I watched the first two episodes of of The Legend of Korra yesterday, and loved it TREMENDOUSLY. ALL THE SQUEE IN THE WORLD. Korra herself was brilliant: she has shot up my list of favourite charcters ever. I love her confidence, her enthusiasm and her occasional understandable thoughtlessness. ♥ Lin Bei Fong was also BRILLIANT, and I was so happy that she called Korra on her wanton, if well intentioned, property destruction. ♥ Tenzin's seriousness is hilarious, and his whoop of joy (and immediate attempt to pretend it hadn't happened) when Korra won was so great. The look of Republic City is really brilliant, and I can't wait to see more of it. Just... joy all round.

Comments

[cosmic-llin.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry that you had to go through that. But I'm also kind of glad that someone understands! And yeah, I hate all that stuff! Just. Aaargh. To the max.

[usuallyhats]

All the stories they could have told, and they had to go for that one... D: