Holly versus Melissa: not actually a contest
All right. I’m doing things all out of order, but I just finished reading Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr, which came on the tail of Wicked Lovely (I was a MM virgin, it’s true). And only a week or so ago, I read Ironside by Holly Black, and I need to talk to you.
I need to talk to you about faeries. I need to talk to you about my serious lack of education in the land of faery. Because see, Holly and Melissa use all the same lingo. Let’s start with something really simple, which is a thing called “glamour.” Note that it is spelled with a u, as if the word is inherently British or Canadian. Note that both Melissa and Holly are American.
Glamour: n., a kind of false skin that makes faeries visible to mortals, and makes them look mortal, and can even protect them from things they are allergic to, like iron.
Yes, apparently it is also a fact in the faery universe, a commonly known fact, that all faeries are allergic to iron.
But I didn’t know any of these things until I read the first of Holly’s modern faery tales, Tithe. I didn’t know any of them at all! Like, did you know what the effects of a four-leafed clover are on a faery? Yeah, neither did I.
So then I pick up Wicked Lovely like … oh, yesterday. It was yesterday. Anyway, I pick up this book, having absofreakinglutely no idea at all that this tome is another faery tale. But let me tell you, it’s a good thing Holly educated me a bit, because if Melissa Marr has one fault, it is that she seems to expect her readers to know stuff about faeries. Holly doesn’t, necessarily. She explains it all very patiently. Melissa’s works are like, I dunno, not beginner books.
I’m not being very helpful here, am I? Okay, let me at least tell you about Melissa’s world: Aislinn and Leslie are mortals, friends who go to Bishop O’Connell High School in a town called Huntsdale. Aislinn, though, has the Sight, which means … you know … she sees faeries. Okay. So book one (Wicked Lovely) focuses on Aislinn and her encounters with the faery world, and on her love story, because what would a book be without a love story, and on two specific faery “courts,” the Winter Court and the Summer Court. (Faeries, it seems, are very big on courts, as in the groups who surround a particular king or queen, not the kind where you go if you get a parking ticket and you want to fight it.)
Book the second, Ink Exchange, is not a sequel but a companion book, meaning it relates a separate but related story. This time we get to read about Leslie and the Dark Court, and of course we see Aislinn and all our favorite characters from Wicked Lovely. Thing is, I wouldn’t recommend starting on the companion novel without having read the first. As I said, Melissa’s work is very “faery tales for intermediate readers of faery lore.” I am not intermediate, but I loved her books anyway. They deal with issues of choice, with the needs of the few versus the many, and Wicked Lovely in particular has an awesome love story.
Now, about Holly. Well, it’s no secret that I love Holly Black more than lasagna, air conditioning and pedicures all combined. This is because she does this thing … she takes trailer trash and has them meet up with super-formal high-fallutin’ faeries, so she explores a lot of stuff about class. She’s also a really awesome writer, who, as I said before, patiently explains things about faeries. Like that they’re allergic to iron, or that they have courts, or … any of the things I’ve just told you in this blog post, and many more. She is like the most admired kindergarten teacher of faery lore, but also pretty qualified, so she could probably be a faery lore professor, too. Just saying, I’m not busting her for being good at explaining things to ignoramuses like me. I’m very glad she did, because that allowed me to enjoy her work and Melissa Marr’s, and I expect I’ll get to enjoy other books about faeries in the future because of Holly’s intro, too.
Ahem. Now, about Ironside. It’s the third in a trilogy, FYI. Tithe was the first. Valiant was a companion book, kind of like Ink Exchange is. (Secret: I haven’t read Valiant, which is why I was holding off on reviewing Ironside, but I realized you can read the third without having read the second.) Apparently Ironside is a more traditional sequel to Tithe, but it sort of brings all the stuff from Holly’s first two books together.
About the Tithe world: In the first book we meet Kaye, who turns out to be a faery. Not that she’s known it her entire life. In fact, she was covered with a really powerful glamour when she was a baby, and so it’s been hidden from her for years that she’s a faery. A pixie, actually. A green one. Holly’s world is really grungy and dark, and yet beautiful at the same time. In Ironside, she picks up with the coronation of a new king — I won’t tell you too much in case you’ve not read Tithe — and she also picks up Kaye’s story where it left off. It all happens in New Jersey, and some of it actually in New York City, which apparently faeries don’t like much because of all the iron. Awesome love stories in Holly’s books, too.
Okay, a few differences here: Holly is seemingly pro-faery, though hers do as many dark and terrible things as Melissa’s do, if not more. Melissa is, at first sight, anti-faery. The female protagonists in all these stories are, of course, strong and smart. Although Kaye, from Holly’s world, might be more prone to saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. Melissa’s first book is very unlike the Tithe trio, but the main character in her second book does face some of the same class issues. Oh, and I think the two authors set their stories on opposite coasts, in different climates.
Truth is? The two sets of books are only alike in that they’re about the same subject. It’s like if you said 30 Rock and Studio Sixty on the Sunset Strip were the same. Or West Wing and Commander in Chief. Which is not to say one is better than the other, just that they’re not as related as one might assume, and therefore cannot actually do battle against one another. Which makes this post moot. Except that now you know about both Holly and Melissa, and if you’ve never read a faery story you’ll go buy Holly’s books, and if you have read Holly and are longing for more faeries, you’ll go buy Melissa’s. And you’ll like them both.
Now I’ve got to go find another book to read. Something shiny.
‘Scuse me, I’ve got to look through all this stuff now and see if I can’t find something shiny.
July 18th, 2008 at 12:01 am
I adored Valiant, and still think it the strongest of the three Modern Faerie books (though I liked them all). Definitely worth looking for!
July 18th, 2008 at 12:27 am
I actually think that Melissa’s books were the first faery books I read, and I didn’t feel confused by them at all. I thought she explained everything pretty well, but did keep it to a minimum, so I guess I can see how some people might be confused by her writing. I have yet to read Holly Black’s books, though obviously, I see them everywhere. Perhaps eventually I will get to them once my TBR pile goes down substantially, which won’t be for a while, lol.
Also, just wanna say that I’ve been to Bishop O’Connell- they were actually my school’s rival, lol.
July 18th, 2008 at 8:52 am
(hey, i like your site, it’s been in my bookmarks a while but i haven’t actually bothered commenting or delurking yet. Also, all my latest recs seem to be coming from you. Loved Zombie Blondes and The Summoning! *waves*)
Oh, but you’ve got to read Valiant because then you understand where Luis comes from!
Yeah, I love both these books/authors/series. Especially Ironside. I reeeallly love Ironside.
Though i must admit, I think I knew a fair amount about faerie lore before I read either series.
July 18th, 2008 at 10:07 am
Glad you liked them
This was one of the most fun responses I’ve read. Thank you.
If you’re looking for more of a faery fix, THE BLUE GIRL (Charles de Lint) is wonderful. Clare Dunkle’s HOLLOW KINGDOM trilogy is also fabulous. Hers are goblins, Victorian era, but very feminist & lore-true. YA has a bit of a faery absence (unlike some of the other lore-based creatures).
Not YA, but very good are 1) Emma Bull WAR FOR THE OAKS–gorgeous, interesting, & compulsively re-readable; 2) Terri Windling WOOD WIFE–desert, trickster type character & others, not Celt faeries; 3) and Mark Del Franco’s UNSHAPELY THINGS (& sequels)–Dresden Files style texts, same folklore mine & Holly’s are rooted in, male protag, clever. (Admission: Mark is also a good friend. I don’t think I’m biased, but just like to throw out a FWIW there.) Graphic novel/comic format texts that you can find in trade paper collections: ARIA (can’t recall author), SUBURBAN GLAMOUR (McKelvie–not sure if it’s avail in the US yet), FABLES (Wllingham).
Okay, there’s my “get your faery fix” list.
(Aside to Book Chic–thanks. How weird that there’s a real Bishop OC in your past! If you think of it, remind me to tell you the source of the high school at one of the signings. Will you be at either of the DC are ones this weekend? I have a Bethesda, Maryland one tonight & a Stafford, VA one tomorrow. Thought you emailed after the last local one & said you might hit one of those.)
July 18th, 2008 at 11:46 am
Melissa, thanks so much for stopping by. Your books were really a delight, even if I didn’t understand everything right away. (Google is such a handy tool for looking up things like Ly Ergs!)
And Serafina, I believe I’ve seen you around on LJ and so forth, and I’m so glad you finally decided to comment here! I am definitely going to read Valiant as soon as I can afford to get myself to a bookstore.
Book Chic, it’s really interesting to me that Melissa’s were the first faery books you read. What’s your feeling been since then on other books with a faery twist?
July 18th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Glad you liked them
re: creatures & lore
I guess with things like Ly Ergs & Glaistigs & all the rest I don’t think it’s necessary to get into the history of the tradition or the minutia. I reveal the details that make them relev to the tale I’m telling. Basically, treat them like I would any other character: only reveal what’s plot-essential. The alternative–imho–is too “data dump-y” for me. I’m trying to keep to a close narrative pov, so as not to pull a reader out of the text for those “as you know Jane . . .” kinda explanations. It’s just a personal reading preference, so I guess it creeps into the writing part too.
That said, my editors do read with an eye for “what is assumed knowledge that isn’t obvious.” I’m so immersed in the lore that I forget sometimes that not everyone is. My editors ping that for correction in the revision process.
*stops self before getting too much further into rambling over craft & lore*
July 18th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
I really enjoy them. I haven’t read too many that really focus on faeries, but some of them do have that tiny little twist to them (Girlwood by Claire Dean was like that). Right now though, I am actually reading a faery-centric book called Kandide and the Secret of the Mists (review hopefully up tonight- btw, Brina, do you have a myspace? You should add me on there if you haven’t already).
But I do enjoy the whole faery lore and all that because I like reading about paranormal books. It gives it that fun, ethereal feel to the reading experience, and I love that.
I hope that answered your question- it felt like I was just rambling on, lol.
July 18th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Book Chic: I need to read Kandide in a major way. And I do have MySpace, but I haven’t used it in ages. I’ll friend you, but alas … that won’t get me back into the habit of using the website I have deemed to be the most evil of evils.
Melissa: I totally get what you’re saying about not wanting to go into too much detail with explanations and so forth. It’s definitely better, I think, to err on the side of frugality-of-words than to err on the other side. The one that means you end up with a book that is 700,000 pages long. Speaking of which, if you come back and read this, we should totally play Twenty Questions (my preferred interview format) or something. E-mail me, yah? It’s brina AT yanewyork DOT com.
July 18th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Kandide is good, sorta in the middle really. Not terribly good, but not horribly bad either. Just kinda meh. I’ve not been too impressed by it, mainly because the main character Kandide is such a self-centered brat that it’s almost a pain to read it sometimes.
Do you have the same hatred for facebook that you do for myspace? I’m on facebook as well, and import my blogs from myspace onto there. Pretty much, all I’m getting at here is that I’d love to hear your comments on my blog entries, haha.
July 18th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
yeah, i’m pretty much everywhere. *laughs*
and Suburban Glamour is *supposed* to be available in the US as a trade already, I’ve been trying to get ahold of it. should look into that again.
July 18th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Book Chick, sweetie, we’re friends on FaceBook!
Serafina, maybe you’re on Scott Westerfeld’s blog sometimes? I just know that I always instantly recognize your lovely Philip Pullman nickname.
July 18th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
Well, not so much anymore, but there was an entire summer (as in, the last one) that I spent obsessively refreshing Westerblog, which is pretty much where i got my start on this whole book-blog-osphere.
*bows head in shame* and i must admit that the Serafina is not a Phillip Pullman tribute. And that I am a very strange, horrible person who has still not read His Dark Materials. In my defense, and odd coincidence, The Shadow in the North is sitting right next to me, half-done, but that’s sort of unrelated. The Serafina Zane is actually a tribute to a character from one of my old stories of the same name. Ah, Sera. She was cool. Could conjure lightning.
I should work on that more…*wanders off to laptop*
July 18th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
“Book Chick, sweetie, we’re friends on FaceBook!”
Oh god, we ARE?! I didn’t know this. I mean, I have a ton of friends on there and I barely know who’s on the list. Once I get on facebook later tonight, I’ll look around for ya.
Also, Kandide gets better in the second half; the MC does change, which is a great thing cuz sometimes I was seriously wanting to strangle her.
July 19th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Oops. Can’t believe I called you Book “Chick,” Book Chic … sorry, didn’t check my spelling.
Serafina, please do read the HDM trilogy. It’s awesome and you will love it.
August 3rd, 2008 at 10:55 am
I have enjoyed all of Holly’s novels to date, with Tithe being my favorite of her faery trilogy. I also thought The Spiderwick Chronicles, co-authored by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi, were adventurous and fun. I’ve read WL, but not yet Ink Ex.