So. I have been trying to get through Sunshine by Robin McKinley for what seems like millenia. It is a book that for all intents and purposes, I should like. It's got a sort of AU-world, it's got vampires and supernatural creatures, and it's got a protagonist that I started off really liking. More than one review has favorably compared it to Buffy.

( But it's starting to annoy the hell out of me. Not really spoilery, but...Collapse )

Also, in a quick googlesearch, I found that McKinley is one of those authors who gets upset about fanfic, mostly because she thinks it's lazy (HAHAHAHA) to use someone else's world beyond a private workshop exercise. LADY, LOOK. You have several books based on myth and legend and fairytales that someone else wrote. In particular, 'Beauty and the Beast' can be traced back to its formative versions. PLEASE do put a lid on your hypocrisy. I don't know why opposition to fanfic is something that just IRKS me about particular writers-- I have written some, and enjoy reading it from time to time, but I agree that it should always be a labor-of-love, not-for-profit thing. But when an author-- particularly one who has basically written fanfic retellings herself and published it for profit (see also: Rice, Anne and her bible fanfic) starts getting all "NOT MY WORLD, NOSIREE," it's just stupid and sad.

I'm going to finish this book because I am one of those people that compulsively feels the need to finish books if I've passed the halfway point. I just needed to vent my spleen a little before I could pick up that damn book again, as if talking about my irritation will somehow lessen it. (I'll get back to you on that.)