Doesn't it snow in Chicago? (And other headscratchers)

But it seems it never rains in southern California (seems I've often heard that kind of talk before). It never rains in California but, girl, don't they warn you. It pours, man, it pours.

Sorry. Couldn't resist. In a lousy mood right now and need to happy it up in here.

kaitie said:

Okay, first thought eeeeeew. And again, EEEEW.

Probably the best example I have was a Mary Higgins Clark book (don't recall which one, and I haven't read it in fifteen years probably) in which the main character, a "tough" "strong" chick, got caught by the bad guy and had to be rescued. That frustrated me in and of itself because the whole book she had discussed how this character was independent and could take care of herself, and then she ended up becoming an outright damsel in distress.

But the part that just had me saying "what the frak?" was the manner in which the woman was being killed. See, the bad guy put her inside a plastic bag, tied the top, and then left her to die. Obviously, in a full sized plastic bag you aren't going to die immediately anyway, and I could actually be completely wrong on this, but all I could think was "It's plastic!" If that had been me, instead of lying there wondering if someone was going to save me, I'd have been trying my damndest to get some holes in said plastic. I mean, it's not like a garbage bag is tear proof, you know?

I just really didn't understand the logic, and to me it felt like a total plot device to allow the good guy (who of course we were supposed to think was the bad guy up until this point) to show up and save her life. I'd have been much more convinced if she had been tied to a chair and then had a plastic bag taped around her head.

Click to expand...

Strong and independent in no way means a woman is going to get the better of a man. Usually just ain't going to happen. I generally fling the book when the woman does whip the man. Real women aren't Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or there wouldn't be nearly as many women raped, mugged, kidnapped, and murdered each year.

A damsel in distress who needs to be rescued isn't bad, it's simply realistic.

As for the plastic, it depends on the type. Even some of the high end garbage bags are damned near impossible to tear. And they make many types of heavy-duty plastic bags that no one is going to get through without some sort of sharp weapon. Doesn't take very long to suffocate in one, either.

I remember Battlefield Earth. I read it just a few years after it came out, bought from a used bookstore because, even back then I didn't want to put money in that guy's pocket. Yes, I read the whole 1,000+ page thing (unlike another large, highly-touted-by-fans novel), and his writing style IS kinda-sorta like Heinlein's, but there's the lack of paying attention to tiny details that Heinlein and so many other great SF writers were and are so good at.

Somewhere in the middle of Battlefield Earth, the MC is some sort of assistant or slave to this alien that (IIRC, and I could have this pretty far wrong) runs the Earth department of this interplanetary/intersteller mining business. In one scene our MC is looking over the shoulder of this alien who is doing some algebra. MC is good at math, but is having a really hard time following the alien because the alien uses Base 12 arithmetic.

This really struck me as BS. Algebra is mostly about manipulating symbols, and the numbers are usually just constant multipliers or additions. One can estimate the order of magnitude of a base 12 number just by counting the number of digits (presuming the writing is anything like the way humans use Roman numerals).

I continued to read, humanity was saved (I don't remember the Harriers, but whatever), and I at least felt an accomplishment in, if nothing else, having read such a long book.

So, were ALL these novels published by commercial publishers who have books for sale at the local Big Box Bookstore? It sorta gives me hope for my own writing. Trying not to wipe my nose now that I know it's a totally gross thing to do on a date.

Jamesaritchie said:

Strong and independent in no way means a woman is going to get the better of a man. Usually just ain't going to happen. I generally fling the book when the woman does whip the man. Real women aren't Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or there wouldn't be nearly as many women raped, mugged, kidnapped, and murdered each year.

A damsel in distress who needs to be rescued isn't bad, it's simply realistic.

Click to expand...

Oh, not this goddamn crap again. NOT TRUE. A bunch of other AW members (and me) have made so many posts explaining why this is not true. Gods. If I have to argue against this misogynistic crap one more time, I really am going to do something that gets me temp banned.

Kitty Pryde said:

I'll let that sink in for a moment. A CHILD-RAPING WERE-DINGO stole the child. There were no shapeshifters previously in the story, and no hints that there was anything amiss about this character. Worst, least sensible ending ever. I would have thrown the book at the wall but i was already at the end by then.

Click to expand...

That's just funny.

Chasing the Horizon said:

Oh, not this goddamn crap again. NOT TRUE. A bunch of other AW members (and me) have made so many posts explaining why this is not true. Gods. If I have to argue against this misogynistic crap one more time, I really am going to do something that gets me temp banned.

Click to expand...

Thank you for saying this. I grew up frustrated reading because the typical girl story turned the character into a total idiot. It wasn't that the guy was naturally stronger; it was that the woman character was often written to be stupid, clueless, and lacking completely in common sense. I remember a huge disappointment in a book where it was established the woman character knew karate, was a marksman, and was a bodyguard for the rich. She's demonstrated throughout the story that she's smart and clever. She gets caught by the bad guy--which was well done in regards to all that was previously developed. Given that it was a romantic suspense, I didn't have a problem with the guy coming to rescue her. But, in order to do that, the writer turned her stupid. She didn't do a single thing to help herself--she didn't even think about how she could escape, try to figure out where she was, or anything. That's the kind of stuff that makes want to throw the book across the room.