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Aspects
"The best writer in America, bar none."—Robert Jordan
At last, the final work of John M. Ford—one of the greatest SF and fantasy authors of his time.
Enter the halls of Parliament with Varic, Coron of the Corvaric Coast.
Visit Strange House with the Archmage Birch.
Explore the mountains of Lady Longlight alongside the Palion Silvern, Sorcerer.
In the years before his unexpected death, John M. Ford wrote a novel of fantasy and magic unlike any other. Politics and abdicated kings, swords and sorcerous machine guns, divination and ancient empires—finally, Aspects is here.
“A great writer who is really fucking brilliant.”—Neil Gaiman
At last, the final work of John M. Ford—one of the greatest SF and fantasy authors of his time.
Enter the halls of Parliament with Varic, Coron of the Corvaric Coast.
Visit Strange House with the Archmage Birch.
Explore the mountains of Lady Longlight alongside the Palion Silvern, Sorcerer.
In the years before his unexpected death, John M. Ford wrote a novel of fantasy and magic unlike any other. Politics and abdicated kings, swords and sorcerous machine guns, divination and ancient empires—finally, Aspects is here.
“A great writer who is really fucking brilliant.”—Neil Gaiman
Unknown Binding
First published April 5, 2022
130 people are currently reading
2208 people want to read
About the author
John M. Ford
102 books207 followersJohn Milo "Mike" Ford was a science fiction and fantasy writer, game designer and poet.
Ford was regarded (and obituaries, tributes and memories describe him) as an extraordinarily intelligent, erudite and witty man. He was a popular contributor to several online discussions. He composed poems, often improvised, in both complicated forms and blank verse, notably Shakespearean pastiche; he also wrote pastiches and parodies of many other authors and styles.At Minicon and other science fiction conventions he would perform "Ask Dr. Mike", giving humorous answers to scientific and other questions in a lab coat before a whiteboard.
Ford passed away from natural causes in 2006 at his home in Minneapolis.
Biography source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_M._...
Ford was regarded (and obituaries, tributes and memories describe him) as an extraordinarily intelligent, erudite and witty man. He was a popular contributor to several online discussions. He composed poems, often improvised, in both complicated forms and blank verse, notably Shakespearean pastiche; he also wrote pastiches and parodies of many other authors and styles.At Minicon and other science fiction conventions he would perform "Ask Dr. Mike", giving humorous answers to scientific and other questions in a lab coat before a whiteboard.
Ford passed away from natural causes in 2006 at his home in Minneapolis.
Biography source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_M._...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 141 reviews
June 6, 2019
It starts with a duel and then rushes on to a tense parliamentary vote about the regulation of magic -- in a fantasy world as detailed and fully realised as anything in the field.
If Ford could have finished this it would be a masterpiece. Even as it is, it's so very worth reading.
If Ford could have finished this it would be a masterpiece. Even as it is, it's so very worth reading.
July 23, 2022
Too slow, long and uninspired for me. 0 of 10 stars
March 20, 2022
I received an advance copy courtesy of NetGalley.
This is a book unlike any other I've read: it is being published in unfinished form, as the author died in 2006. An introduction to the work is written by Neil Gaiman. I felt leery as I began to read--how rough was this book? Would the lack of an ending leave me unsatisfied? Within the first page, however, I was hooked. The action begins with an artfully-described duel, then goes immediately to a tense parliamentary vote. The pace remains steady from there.
This is what I would as cozy fantasy. There is no major threat. There are no villains. The tension never escalates in the way of most books. I felt like I had the opportunity to hang out with some brilliant, incredibly complex people in one of the great literary salons of a past era, and I simply enjoyed lingering and listening.
The prose is eloquent in a way that made me gasp aloud more than once. ("Only mediocre conversations could be brought to an easy end. The intolerable and the important always found momentum to roll on." "The owls knew me from the other mice." "Society's not just a pyramid, it's a range of mountains; it takes time to level them.") The worldbuilding is deep and intricate; there were some things I never really understood, but I was immersed and didn't mind that much. The setting is a secondary world inspired by 19th-century Earth, though with none of the trappings of steampunk. There are trains and telegrams, and there is magic that is brilliant and unique.
The ending of the book is abrupt, as expected from the warnings at the start, but I can't say that I was left unsatisfied. No, I was left sad. Aspects is incredible even in its unfinished state. We'll never know how it was meant to be revised or to end, or how the series could have developed. What a tragic loss for us all, when this storyteller was silenced far too soon.
This is a book unlike any other I've read: it is being published in unfinished form, as the author died in 2006. An introduction to the work is written by Neil Gaiman. I felt leery as I began to read--how rough was this book? Would the lack of an ending leave me unsatisfied? Within the first page, however, I was hooked. The action begins with an artfully-described duel, then goes immediately to a tense parliamentary vote. The pace remains steady from there.
This is what I would as cozy fantasy. There is no major threat. There are no villains. The tension never escalates in the way of most books. I felt like I had the opportunity to hang out with some brilliant, incredibly complex people in one of the great literary salons of a past era, and I simply enjoyed lingering and listening.
The prose is eloquent in a way that made me gasp aloud more than once. ("Only mediocre conversations could be brought to an easy end. The intolerable and the important always found momentum to roll on." "The owls knew me from the other mice." "Society's not just a pyramid, it's a range of mountains; it takes time to level them.") The worldbuilding is deep and intricate; there were some things I never really understood, but I was immersed and didn't mind that much. The setting is a secondary world inspired by 19th-century Earth, though with none of the trappings of steampunk. There are trains and telegrams, and there is magic that is brilliant and unique.
The ending of the book is abrupt, as expected from the warnings at the start, but I can't say that I was left unsatisfied. No, I was left sad. Aspects is incredible even in its unfinished state. We'll never know how it was meant to be revised or to end, or how the series could have developed. What a tragic loss for us all, when this storyteller was silenced far too soon.
April 12, 2022
Bear with me, in order to review this book, I need to tell you a story about George R. R. Martin, of “Game of Thrones” fame.
Before 'GoT', George had a respectable career, known well in the science fiction and fantasy field but not outside it. He sold reasonably well but was more respected than rich. Then he had the chance to go to California and write for television. He thought it was his shot to make real money. He had modest success but soured on that industry; they tinkered with his writing and wouldn't develop his ideas as he thought they should.
When recounting this story, George says he said to himself “To hell with them, I'm going back to New Mexico and write the biggest , bloodiest, sexiest, most un-filmable fantasy series anybody has ever done.” So he did. And then HBO came calling. And the rest is history, and is why George is a fantasy icon and a rich man today. George was about 48 when 'GoT' was published.
OK, now to John M. Ford. He also was reasonably well known in the field, publishing eight novels and a number of short stories. His novels were well received and admired by authors who sold better than him, like Neil Gaiman and Robert Jordan. He didn't sell particularly well, though. He did write a couple of Star Trek novels that influenced the franchise. As recounted by Gaiman in his introduction, Ford was working on this book for many years, showing completed pieces to Gaiman periodically. Unlike earlier stand-alone novels, it was shaping up to be a sprawling, complex fantasy series over many books. And then he died, suddenly, before completing the first book. He was 49.
You see my point: If George had died before completing the first book of “Game of Thrones”, we would have had a tantalizing taste of a much larger worldview and plotline. But George would still be known and remembered fondly only by the people in the field.
Am I comparing this book to the “Game of Thrones” series? In some ways, I am. It is immersive, character-driven, politically complex. It doesn't have the cut and thrust action of 'GoT', it's more reflective, descriptive. There's a duel in the beginning, but nobody meaningful dies in the book. It's not that kind of fantasy. (And it is a fantasy, with sorcerers and magic).
So what kind is it? Well...
It has lush and elaborate descriptions like E. R. Eddison's “The Worm Ouroboros”, mostly of clothing, food, and architecture.
It has arcane language taken from Latin and Greek roots, and vocabulary that the reader has to work out the meaning in context, like Gene Wolfe's “Books of the Long Sun”.
It has 19th-century middle European politics and feel (and technology), similar to Ursula Le Guin's Orsinian tales, especially her novel “Malafrena”.
And like those books it builds its worldview slowly, languidly, and requires readers' patience to appreciate the depth of what they are reading.
Unlike those books, it remains unfinished because he died in 2006 at age 49. Although it is 479 pages, it feels like it is just getting warmed up. There are a number of plot threads being developed which presumably would play out in a series of books.
It's a shame. I'm not saying that Ford would have become as famous as Martin and “Game of Thrones”, partly because the lack of violent action and bloodthirsty scheming would limit the appeal for American TV – as it is, I can't see this being filmed. However, I could see it becoming the kind of landmark series that Wolfe's “Long Sun” became, and that Ford would have been feted within the field as Wolfe was, for being a master craftsman of words and thoughts.
As Neil Gaiman makes clear in his introduction, there are some in the field who already feel that way about John M. Ford. Had he lived to complete this book and the series, many more would have felt that way, and he would have enjoyed the accolades in his older years that Gene Wolfe enjoyed.
Before 'GoT', George had a respectable career, known well in the science fiction and fantasy field but not outside it. He sold reasonably well but was more respected than rich. Then he had the chance to go to California and write for television. He thought it was his shot to make real money. He had modest success but soured on that industry; they tinkered with his writing and wouldn't develop his ideas as he thought they should.
When recounting this story, George says he said to himself “To hell with them, I'm going back to New Mexico and write the biggest , bloodiest, sexiest, most un-filmable fantasy series anybody has ever done.” So he did. And then HBO came calling. And the rest is history, and is why George is a fantasy icon and a rich man today. George was about 48 when 'GoT' was published.
OK, now to John M. Ford. He also was reasonably well known in the field, publishing eight novels and a number of short stories. His novels were well received and admired by authors who sold better than him, like Neil Gaiman and Robert Jordan. He didn't sell particularly well, though. He did write a couple of Star Trek novels that influenced the franchise. As recounted by Gaiman in his introduction, Ford was working on this book for many years, showing completed pieces to Gaiman periodically. Unlike earlier stand-alone novels, it was shaping up to be a sprawling, complex fantasy series over many books. And then he died, suddenly, before completing the first book. He was 49.
You see my point: If George had died before completing the first book of “Game of Thrones”, we would have had a tantalizing taste of a much larger worldview and plotline. But George would still be known and remembered fondly only by the people in the field.
Am I comparing this book to the “Game of Thrones” series? In some ways, I am. It is immersive, character-driven, politically complex. It doesn't have the cut and thrust action of 'GoT', it's more reflective, descriptive. There's a duel in the beginning, but nobody meaningful dies in the book. It's not that kind of fantasy. (And it is a fantasy, with sorcerers and magic).
So what kind is it? Well...
It has lush and elaborate descriptions like E. R. Eddison's “The Worm Ouroboros”, mostly of clothing, food, and architecture.
It has arcane language taken from Latin and Greek roots, and vocabulary that the reader has to work out the meaning in context, like Gene Wolfe's “Books of the Long Sun”.
It has 19th-century middle European politics and feel (and technology), similar to Ursula Le Guin's Orsinian tales, especially her novel “Malafrena”.
And like those books it builds its worldview slowly, languidly, and requires readers' patience to appreciate the depth of what they are reading.
Unlike those books, it remains unfinished because he died in 2006 at age 49. Although it is 479 pages, it feels like it is just getting warmed up. There are a number of plot threads being developed which presumably would play out in a series of books.
It's a shame. I'm not saying that Ford would have become as famous as Martin and “Game of Thrones”, partly because the lack of violent action and bloodthirsty scheming would limit the appeal for American TV – as it is, I can't see this being filmed. However, I could see it becoming the kind of landmark series that Wolfe's “Long Sun” became, and that Ford would have been feted within the field as Wolfe was, for being a master craftsman of words and thoughts.
As Neil Gaiman makes clear in his introduction, there are some in the field who already feel that way about John M. Ford. Had he lived to complete this book and the series, many more would have felt that way, and he would have enjoyed the accolades in his older years that Gene Wolfe enjoyed.
February 6, 2024
Since 2000, I've been grumpy with Dave Eggers because I hate the title A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (and yes, I know it's ironic). I was about 2/3 of the way through Aspects, the late great John M. ("Mike") Ford's unfinished masterwork, when I realized that this book is, in fact, a heartbreaking work of staggering genius.
No exaggeration.
It's heartbreaking because it's unfinished. In fact, at almost 500 pages, it has in some ways barely started. The plot is not fully established.
What makes it a work of staggering genius? The characters are genuinely as complex, contradictory and confusing as real human beings, something you almost never see in fiction (because it's so hard to do). Their relationships are as complicated as flesh-and-blood relationships, which is even harder. As a friend who has been no slouch writing about intimacy in her own fiction said to me last week, "I think Mike Ford was the most sensitive writer of human relationships that there is."
Then, there's Strange House. Strange House is the home of Strange, an incomprehensibly old man, now a wheelchair user. He gathers people to him and in his house, the rules of human behavior are subtly changed for the better; people are more respected, more open, more honest, and more themselves than they are anywhere else. The intricacies of human interaction remain just as ornate, but they are somehow more spacious. You can heal at Strange House, before you go back into the world. You can also practice swordplay, play war games, eat with convivial people, build model trains, and revel in hot showers. Not many are invited, perhaps because the invited soon become family.
The story is set in an adjacent world to ours, in a time adjacent to our past. We're in almost-England, with neighboring almost-Germany and almost-France. It's a time of duels, and railways (Mike loved trains) and early photography and telegraphy. The politics are familiar but different, the bicameral legislature is not quite the House of Lords and House of Commons (we don't see the commons). It's not just the macro-picture that's detailed and rich; it's also the micro. The book is loaded with details of clothing (men and women), details of meals, details of landscape.
Religion and sorcery are both present, side by side, with some tensions and some commonalities. One of the early scenes, of a sorceress in magickal distress in a railway lavatory, is as chilling enough to make a reader afraid she has walked into a horror novel--but the horror is only there when the story draws it out. Horror novel, love story, travelogue, family saga.
If it was finished, it would be thousands of pages. If the first book was finished, it would almost certainly be hundreds of pages longer than it is now.
This isn't my first encounter with this book. Before Mike died in 2006, a number of his friends, including me, had been handed chunks of Aspects for some years. Mike would walk up to you, chat about other things for a while, and when the conversation was trailing off, he would shuffle his feet and say "You might be interested ..." and there would be 50 or so manuscript pages of the book in a manila envelope, with Mike standing there ready to accept the expected refusal.
Everyone who was this lucky grabbed those envelopes and went home and devoured them, waiting eagerly for more. My copies are still in my filing cabinet, and some day maybe I'll compare them with this "finished" text, as far as it goes.
You can't read it to find out what happens; we'll never know. You can't wait until it's finished to pick it up, because it will never be finished. All you can do is decide if you want to immerse yourself in this sensual, perceptive, moving world and accept the heartbreak of the last page.
NOTES ON REREADING: This fractal book will bear re-reading on a regular basis (no surprise there). This time, I especially noticed how much attention Ford pays to the difficulties, intimacies, and rewards of friendship, which are as important to the book as the same issues in romantic or erotic relationships. And what to say about Varic and Agate, who are not really friends, nor is their relationship either romantic or erotic, and nonetheless they are inextricably intertwined, and basically glad of their connection. Strange and everyone, Varic and Brook, Agate and Birch, Winterhill and Reccan--the friendships are everywhere, and they hold the book together.
I also especially noticed the rails -- the Ironway, as it is called -- and the ways it ties the world together ... and, of course, since this is Mike Ford, the ways it affects the places where it is not, as well as the places where it is.
No exaggeration.
It's heartbreaking because it's unfinished. In fact, at almost 500 pages, it has in some ways barely started. The plot is not fully established.
What makes it a work of staggering genius? The characters are genuinely as complex, contradictory and confusing as real human beings, something you almost never see in fiction (because it's so hard to do). Their relationships are as complicated as flesh-and-blood relationships, which is even harder. As a friend who has been no slouch writing about intimacy in her own fiction said to me last week, "I think Mike Ford was the most sensitive writer of human relationships that there is."
Then, there's Strange House. Strange House is the home of Strange, an incomprehensibly old man, now a wheelchair user. He gathers people to him and in his house, the rules of human behavior are subtly changed for the better; people are more respected, more open, more honest, and more themselves than they are anywhere else. The intricacies of human interaction remain just as ornate, but they are somehow more spacious. You can heal at Strange House, before you go back into the world. You can also practice swordplay, play war games, eat with convivial people, build model trains, and revel in hot showers. Not many are invited, perhaps because the invited soon become family.
The story is set in an adjacent world to ours, in a time adjacent to our past. We're in almost-England, with neighboring almost-Germany and almost-France. It's a time of duels, and railways (Mike loved trains) and early photography and telegraphy. The politics are familiar but different, the bicameral legislature is not quite the House of Lords and House of Commons (we don't see the commons). It's not just the macro-picture that's detailed and rich; it's also the micro. The book is loaded with details of clothing (men and women), details of meals, details of landscape.
Religion and sorcery are both present, side by side, with some tensions and some commonalities. One of the early scenes, of a sorceress in magickal distress in a railway lavatory, is as chilling enough to make a reader afraid she has walked into a horror novel--but the horror is only there when the story draws it out. Horror novel, love story, travelogue, family saga.
If it was finished, it would be thousands of pages. If the first book was finished, it would almost certainly be hundreds of pages longer than it is now.
This isn't my first encounter with this book. Before Mike died in 2006, a number of his friends, including me, had been handed chunks of Aspects for some years. Mike would walk up to you, chat about other things for a while, and when the conversation was trailing off, he would shuffle his feet and say "You might be interested ..." and there would be 50 or so manuscript pages of the book in a manila envelope, with Mike standing there ready to accept the expected refusal.
Everyone who was this lucky grabbed those envelopes and went home and devoured them, waiting eagerly for more. My copies are still in my filing cabinet, and some day maybe I'll compare them with this "finished" text, as far as it goes.
You can't read it to find out what happens; we'll never know. You can't wait until it's finished to pick it up, because it will never be finished. All you can do is decide if you want to immerse yourself in this sensual, perceptive, moving world and accept the heartbreak of the last page.
NOTES ON REREADING: This fractal book will bear re-reading on a regular basis (no surprise there). This time, I especially noticed how much attention Ford pays to the difficulties, intimacies, and rewards of friendship, which are as important to the book as the same issues in romantic or erotic relationships. And what to say about Varic and Agate, who are not really friends, nor is their relationship either romantic or erotic, and nonetheless they are inextricably intertwined, and basically glad of their connection. Strange and everyone, Varic and Brook, Agate and Birch, Winterhill and Reccan--the friendships are everywhere, and they hold the book together.
I also especially noticed the rails -- the Ironway, as it is called -- and the ways it ties the world together ... and, of course, since this is Mike Ford, the ways it affects the places where it is not, as well as the places where it is.
partly-read
March 22, 2022A lot of authors are more intelligent and erudite than me. Elizabeth Bear, for example. Jo Walton, sometimes too much so for my enjoyment of her books. Neil Gaiman, who provides the introduction to this book, and was the author's friend. And, clearly, John M. Ford.
An author being more intelligent than me is not a problem if they write in such a way that I can follow what's going on. Unfortunately, in this book, Ford does not. The conversations are full of subtext that the characters clearly understand, but which went completely over my head, and I'm not sure if that's my fault or the author's.
The big problem, though, was the lack of a plot. I know the book was unfinished, and maybe at the point where I stopped reading (nearly halfway) we're still in Act 1, but... events occur, conversations occur, people and their clothing and surroundings are described in detail, but there's little sign of anyone driving towards any goal. The enormous chapters just wander on and on. Some of the characters do want things, but rather than see them pursuing those in any meaningful way, we're stuck at a country house where they're all spending their holidays playing games and having meals and conversations that do a lot of worldbuilding and character exposition but never cohere into any kind of story.
My frustrations with the book caused me, at one point, to compare it to Gene Wolfe, which coming from me is not in any way a compliment; I can't stand Wolfe's inscrutable and often morally repugnant characters. To be fair, it's not nearly so far in those directions as the typical Wolfe novel, though I didn't follow many of the conversations, and a couple of the characters have done some vile things, which don't seem to count against them significantly in the author's mind.
John M. Ford is clearly a great author. I recall reading a short story of his ("Green is the Color") in an anthology and being inspired by its imagery to write a story of my own. He's a capable poet, and he describes things beautifully and delivers lovely epigrams. But in this book, anyway, he doesn't tell a story, and half the time I don't know what he is telling me, and that's a dealbreaker.
I received a pre-publication copy from Netgalley for review.
An author being more intelligent than me is not a problem if they write in such a way that I can follow what's going on. Unfortunately, in this book, Ford does not. The conversations are full of subtext that the characters clearly understand, but which went completely over my head, and I'm not sure if that's my fault or the author's.
The big problem, though, was the lack of a plot. I know the book was unfinished, and maybe at the point where I stopped reading (nearly halfway) we're still in Act 1, but... events occur, conversations occur, people and their clothing and surroundings are described in detail, but there's little sign of anyone driving towards any goal. The enormous chapters just wander on and on. Some of the characters do want things, but rather than see them pursuing those in any meaningful way, we're stuck at a country house where they're all spending their holidays playing games and having meals and conversations that do a lot of worldbuilding and character exposition but never cohere into any kind of story.
My frustrations with the book caused me, at one point, to compare it to Gene Wolfe, which coming from me is not in any way a compliment; I can't stand Wolfe's inscrutable and often morally repugnant characters. To be fair, it's not nearly so far in those directions as the typical Wolfe novel, though I didn't follow many of the conversations, and a couple of the characters have done some vile things, which don't seem to count against them significantly in the author's mind.
John M. Ford is clearly a great author. I recall reading a short story of his ("Green is the Color") in an anthology and being inspired by its imagery to write a story of my own. He's a capable poet, and he describes things beautifully and delivers lovely epigrams. But in this book, anyway, he doesn't tell a story, and half the time I don't know what he is telling me, and that's a dealbreaker.
I received a pre-publication copy from Netgalley for review.
September 1, 2022
This is a hard book to review because of the fact that the author has been dead for sixteen years (he passed in 2006). The book was unfinished at the time of his death, and has been published in its incomplete form due to the almost singlehanded efforts of a magazine writer, as told here. (And do stop and read that article. It's an amazing, touching detective story.)
I'm glad the book finally saw print, but reading it is a bittersweet experience, especially as you draw near to the end and realize that even after 471 pages this story is nowhere near finished....and there will be no more. This tale, a magical alt-version of Victorian England, is slow and leisurely and a bit meandering, with gorgeous prose, lush descriptions of clothing, rooms and landscapes, and long-drawn-out conversations. It's not a conventional plot at all: there is no Big Bad and no one has to save this world. The main character, to the extent that Varic is the main character, is mainly concerned with politics and the machinations of his country's Parliament and drawing up a new constitution. This narrative style suits the slightly steampunk-ish-with-magic worldbuilding perfectly, and in any case Ford's writing is so exquisite that it carries you right along (or it did me). One of the most amazing things about the book is that Ford was just as good a poet and lyric writer as he was a prose stylist: the in-story song lyrics and sonnets that begin the book and hint where it might have been going at the end are not to be missed.
It's very much worth reading as far as I'm concerned, even if you close the back cover with an ache for what might have been. And if it causes you to hunt down his other finished works and cry a little for the genius who left us too soon...so much the better.
I'm glad the book finally saw print, but reading it is a bittersweet experience, especially as you draw near to the end and realize that even after 471 pages this story is nowhere near finished....and there will be no more. This tale, a magical alt-version of Victorian England, is slow and leisurely and a bit meandering, with gorgeous prose, lush descriptions of clothing, rooms and landscapes, and long-drawn-out conversations. It's not a conventional plot at all: there is no Big Bad and no one has to save this world. The main character, to the extent that Varic is the main character, is mainly concerned with politics and the machinations of his country's Parliament and drawing up a new constitution. This narrative style suits the slightly steampunk-ish-with-magic worldbuilding perfectly, and in any case Ford's writing is so exquisite that it carries you right along (or it did me). One of the most amazing things about the book is that Ford was just as good a poet and lyric writer as he was a prose stylist: the in-story song lyrics and sonnets that begin the book and hint where it might have been going at the end are not to be missed.
It's very much worth reading as far as I'm concerned, even if you close the back cover with an ache for what might have been. And if it causes you to hunt down his other finished works and cry a little for the genius who left us too soon...so much the better.
Read
April 22, 2022One book, and part of another, from what was intended to be a series of at least six, judging from the prefatory sonnets, because who doesn't write those first when writing fantasy novels? Interrupted by the author's death, and granted, it's not like death is an uncommon element of fantasy novels, but whether or not it's the context, he does seem especially present here. The opening line (after one of those sonnets, obviously): "It has been said that, if a person is going to die, he should do it in the morning: when the day is new and clean and full of unanswerable questions, when the sun has just risen to cast an afterglow on the things that have been done by night. It has also been said that, if a person is going to die, the circumstances are irrelevant." The last, of what we have: "When I am done with death and homeward turn." One of the key characters, a great sorcerer who knows his end is not far off. One of the images, reminiscent of our world yet subtly other, is of Death not as the reaper who cuts all corn, but as a dancing master: "Who or when or whether, you and I shall dance together." And really, that something is common in fantasy doesn't necessarily mean a thing when it comes to Aspects – notwithstanding the ludicrous blurb of the UK edition at least, which has several errors of fact embedded within an overwhelming error of tone, combining to give the impression of something much more fantasy yet far less fantastical than the book itself.
So if there are no Archmages, and the reference to a sorcerous machine gun is misleading (dammit, at least call it a mystical machine gun so we can do a Phonogram callback), what is Aspects? Well, bear in mind that perhaps Ford's best-known novel was The Dragon Waiting, which notoriously contains no dragons, though does have vampires and Mithraism, while otherwise hewing close to our Renaissance in a way I would often find trying. After all, if you can change things that fundamental yet still find history following the same course for centuries, what reason to suppose anything the characters can do will derail its further continuation? But Ford carried it off there, and does something similar here, with a world which is not quite our nineteenth century, but still a recognisable reflection. There are minimi instead of minutes, but they still come in sixties; railways are called ironways; the city in which we open has no monarchy anymore, another name and geography, but is still more Victorian London than not. Again, this is exactly the sort of thing which can easily be annoying even to the seasoned reader of fantasy – if tea and muffins are still tea and muffins, what was the point of dicking around with names for the clock? Yet again, he pulls it off somehow, not least because of the little places where their manners or phrases include something our world does not have, but could have been improved by. Even the organisation of duels – and misleadingly we open with a duel – feels in some ways a little neater. Not that it's all about neatness; much of the plot, in so far as there is one, and there isn't so's you'd notice, concerns constitutional reform, and the odd little byways which accumulate in law are exactly the sort of thing which ring true if you grew up in a country where a man called Black Rod has an inexplicable yet key role in the operation of government. If you think somewhere along the lines of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, you wouldn't be on the wrong track, or perhaps The Goblin Emperor's less showy cousin. A lot of the parallels which came to mind were outside fantasy, though. I suspect the parliamentary stuff might bear some kinship to Trollope, if the thought of reading Trollope didn't fill me with quite such ennui; some of the cattiness in offices obscuring life and death stakes echoes The Sandbaggers.
But it's the end of the parliamentary session, and thereafter the action – such as it is – moves out of the capital to Strange House. Where, yes, the name is on the nose (though cf Wolf Hall), but it's here that Aspects moves up from intriguing to delightful. Peter's Friends would not be an unfair comparison, or – and the cover made me think of this a little too – The Secret History. But really it's more Iris Murdoch at her best, that sense of a fabulous social bubble where a varied assembly of remarkable people fascinate in themselves, but more so for their enviable bond. Here it's reified, some of the group also comprising magically linked pairs who may or may not be lovers, or exclusive if they are, but who can sense each other with a thought, whisper across the miles like the ultimate DM. All introduced to the reader through the person of a newcomer, of course, who at first feels abashed and misled, before being shown that there are more ways than she's known for people to be, and even more for them to interrelate, and that she is welcome in this world. That sense of new vistas opening up reminds me of first reading Murdoch, or de Beauvoir, but becomes even more seductive when you consider Strange House itself, perfect expression of a setting which so joyfully has magic, and good conversation, but also (at least for the well-off and forward-looking) hot water and electricity, not to mention a wargaming set-up to die for, without it ever feeling like a mere wishlist (another lovely detail: yes, we see a fair bit of a game that has a similar role in this world to chess in ours, but is much more exciting. However, unlike so many created worlds with their one culturally defining game, here there are lots of other games too, for different tastes and moods, which is what you want, isn't it, even besides making the world feel so much more solid). There's even a wonderful section about how the last stage of the journey is part of the love of a favoured retreat – except it's not a retreat, it's an advance – which made me think of a few dear places from younger days.
Which brings us neatly to the melancholy woven through this, because heavens forbid we ever get a story about a lovely place that just stays lovely (well, Blandings aside, but even there you need to watch out for aunts). Because Strange himself is getting on, and so there's that note of the tragedy of knowing you'll have to go when you've just got your life how you like it - and of missing what comes next. Except, of course, that because that happened to the creator, it will never happen to the creation. Perhaps Strange would have died; perhaps this fellowship would have been broken. It is the sort of thing stories feel obliged to do, after all. But now, like Keats' urn, they can stay in this moment forever. Doubly so, because it's not easy to guess where the story was headed; it's not just a case of pausing Butch Cassidy before the carriage doors open. Especially when there's a recurring motif within the story of stories which have different endings depending which version the teller favours. For me, all this is the opposite of a problem. But if you do read for resolution more than mood, well. Similarly, all the outfit descriptions, and meals, are exactly the sort of thing I know some people skip, whereas for me they just deepen the sense of somewhere I'd love to hang out. It's not altogether idyllic; there are difficulties, and illnesses (the agonised search for blame among those around the afflicted only deepened by the extra possibilities of help and harm magic opens up). And there's politics, of course, which is never a happy arena, especially not in a world close enough to our own that "It's simply the nature of politics that they tend to become about politics, rather than issues." But even when it comes to something like a magic-user's penalty for overreaching, here it's not because they made a bad roll, or a simple plot convenience, but something much more like a neurodivergent meltdown made literal, a sorcerer who needed some quiet after a working, only to find noise where it was not expected. Which, in decades of reading and watching and playing this stuff, is the truest rendering I think I've ever seen. And all tying in to that central issue, the one at which the title hints, the one which bounces off the setting's main religion with its one goddess of multiple aspects: the idea of trying to see people as completely as one can. Ironic for an incomplete book, of course, but still to be treasured.
Ironic too that, 15 and a half years on from Ford's September death, a story so very firmly set as summer becomes autumn should, after so long a wait, arrive in spring. Certainly I'd recommend waiting a few months for better effect. But even read out of time, Neil Gaiman's introduction is beautiful and moving to the extent that I almost forgot the period - and we're talking more than a year here - where Gaiman was one of the parties most publicly agitated about how Ford's situation made clear why writers should always appoint literary executors, because Ford's family just didn't care about his work, and then it transpired, near as I could work out, that the literary associates had all just been using the wrong email address or something and actually his family were all for putting the work into print again because honestly, why wouldn't you be? If nothing else, free money! Which said, I suppose there are some books which you might want to bury. Case in point: searching 'Ford Aspects' on Goodreads also brought up The International Jew: Aspects of Jewish Power in the United States, by Henry Ford! The worst of it was, there were multiple records for the bastard thing so I ended up spending a good ten minutes tidying the editions of a hateful man who, by popularising the automobile, also played a key role in humanity's impending death by fire regardless of race. Ah well, at least I got to read such Aspects as we've got first, though for all I said (and meant) up there about the consolations of its being unfinished, the complete set is still joining Firefly and Big Numbers on the shopping list for if I ever find myself in a better parallel.
So if there are no Archmages, and the reference to a sorcerous machine gun is misleading (dammit, at least call it a mystical machine gun so we can do a Phonogram callback), what is Aspects? Well, bear in mind that perhaps Ford's best-known novel was The Dragon Waiting, which notoriously contains no dragons, though does have vampires and Mithraism, while otherwise hewing close to our Renaissance in a way I would often find trying. After all, if you can change things that fundamental yet still find history following the same course for centuries, what reason to suppose anything the characters can do will derail its further continuation? But Ford carried it off there, and does something similar here, with a world which is not quite our nineteenth century, but still a recognisable reflection. There are minimi instead of minutes, but they still come in sixties; railways are called ironways; the city in which we open has no monarchy anymore, another name and geography, but is still more Victorian London than not. Again, this is exactly the sort of thing which can easily be annoying even to the seasoned reader of fantasy – if tea and muffins are still tea and muffins, what was the point of dicking around with names for the clock? Yet again, he pulls it off somehow, not least because of the little places where their manners or phrases include something our world does not have, but could have been improved by. Even the organisation of duels – and misleadingly we open with a duel – feels in some ways a little neater. Not that it's all about neatness; much of the plot, in so far as there is one, and there isn't so's you'd notice, concerns constitutional reform, and the odd little byways which accumulate in law are exactly the sort of thing which ring true if you grew up in a country where a man called Black Rod has an inexplicable yet key role in the operation of government. If you think somewhere along the lines of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, you wouldn't be on the wrong track, or perhaps The Goblin Emperor's less showy cousin. A lot of the parallels which came to mind were outside fantasy, though. I suspect the parliamentary stuff might bear some kinship to Trollope, if the thought of reading Trollope didn't fill me with quite such ennui; some of the cattiness in offices obscuring life and death stakes echoes The Sandbaggers.
But it's the end of the parliamentary session, and thereafter the action – such as it is – moves out of the capital to Strange House. Where, yes, the name is on the nose (though cf Wolf Hall), but it's here that Aspects moves up from intriguing to delightful. Peter's Friends would not be an unfair comparison, or – and the cover made me think of this a little too – The Secret History. But really it's more Iris Murdoch at her best, that sense of a fabulous social bubble where a varied assembly of remarkable people fascinate in themselves, but more so for their enviable bond. Here it's reified, some of the group also comprising magically linked pairs who may or may not be lovers, or exclusive if they are, but who can sense each other with a thought, whisper across the miles like the ultimate DM. All introduced to the reader through the person of a newcomer, of course, who at first feels abashed and misled, before being shown that there are more ways than she's known for people to be, and even more for them to interrelate, and that she is welcome in this world. That sense of new vistas opening up reminds me of first reading Murdoch, or de Beauvoir, but becomes even more seductive when you consider Strange House itself, perfect expression of a setting which so joyfully has magic, and good conversation, but also (at least for the well-off and forward-looking) hot water and electricity, not to mention a wargaming set-up to die for, without it ever feeling like a mere wishlist (another lovely detail: yes, we see a fair bit of a game that has a similar role in this world to chess in ours, but is much more exciting. However, unlike so many created worlds with their one culturally defining game, here there are lots of other games too, for different tastes and moods, which is what you want, isn't it, even besides making the world feel so much more solid). There's even a wonderful section about how the last stage of the journey is part of the love of a favoured retreat – except it's not a retreat, it's an advance – which made me think of a few dear places from younger days.
Which brings us neatly to the melancholy woven through this, because heavens forbid we ever get a story about a lovely place that just stays lovely (well, Blandings aside, but even there you need to watch out for aunts). Because Strange himself is getting on, and so there's that note of the tragedy of knowing you'll have to go when you've just got your life how you like it - and of missing what comes next. Except, of course, that because that happened to the creator, it will never happen to the creation. Perhaps Strange would have died; perhaps this fellowship would have been broken. It is the sort of thing stories feel obliged to do, after all. But now, like Keats' urn, they can stay in this moment forever. Doubly so, because it's not easy to guess where the story was headed; it's not just a case of pausing Butch Cassidy before the carriage doors open. Especially when there's a recurring motif within the story of stories which have different endings depending which version the teller favours. For me, all this is the opposite of a problem. But if you do read for resolution more than mood, well. Similarly, all the outfit descriptions, and meals, are exactly the sort of thing I know some people skip, whereas for me they just deepen the sense of somewhere I'd love to hang out. It's not altogether idyllic; there are difficulties, and illnesses (the agonised search for blame among those around the afflicted only deepened by the extra possibilities of help and harm magic opens up). And there's politics, of course, which is never a happy arena, especially not in a world close enough to our own that "It's simply the nature of politics that they tend to become about politics, rather than issues." But even when it comes to something like a magic-user's penalty for overreaching, here it's not because they made a bad roll, or a simple plot convenience, but something much more like a neurodivergent meltdown made literal, a sorcerer who needed some quiet after a working, only to find noise where it was not expected. Which, in decades of reading and watching and playing this stuff, is the truest rendering I think I've ever seen. And all tying in to that central issue, the one at which the title hints, the one which bounces off the setting's main religion with its one goddess of multiple aspects: the idea of trying to see people as completely as one can. Ironic for an incomplete book, of course, but still to be treasured.
Ironic too that, 15 and a half years on from Ford's September death, a story so very firmly set as summer becomes autumn should, after so long a wait, arrive in spring. Certainly I'd recommend waiting a few months for better effect. But even read out of time, Neil Gaiman's introduction is beautiful and moving to the extent that I almost forgot the period - and we're talking more than a year here - where Gaiman was one of the parties most publicly agitated about how Ford's situation made clear why writers should always appoint literary executors, because Ford's family just didn't care about his work, and then it transpired, near as I could work out, that the literary associates had all just been using the wrong email address or something and actually his family were all for putting the work into print again because honestly, why wouldn't you be? If nothing else, free money! Which said, I suppose there are some books which you might want to bury. Case in point: searching 'Ford Aspects' on Goodreads also brought up The International Jew: Aspects of Jewish Power in the United States, by Henry Ford! The worst of it was, there were multiple records for the bastard thing so I ended up spending a good ten minutes tidying the editions of a hateful man who, by popularising the automobile, also played a key role in humanity's impending death by fire regardless of race. Ah well, at least I got to read such Aspects as we've got first, though for all I said (and meant) up there about the consolations of its being unfinished, the complete set is still joining Firefly and Big Numbers on the shopping list for if I ever find myself in a better parallel.
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April 24, 2023❧ 𝐎𝐧 𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐭 𝐜'𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐥'𝐡𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐞 𝐥𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐛𝐝𝐨 ! 𝐄𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐜𝐢 : https://mathildecorvin.fr/index.php/2...
C’est une expérience singulière dans la vie d’un·e lecteur·ice que je souhaite vous partager en ce dimanche d’Avril : la découverte d’un livre publié à titre posthume. Plus curieux encore : un livre non terminé, pas même corrigé.
Avant de nous plonger dans l’examen du livre du jour, prenons un instant pour nous imprégner des circonstances de cette publication.
Imaginez un auteur né aux Etats-Unis en 1957 et qui, tout du long de sa carrière, est connu et reconnu pour son œuvre au sein de la littérature de l’Imaginaire. Imaginez un auteur débutant à 19 ans par une nouvelle dans un magazine de SF, et qui, à chaque publication de ses livres, se voit récompensé de grands prix. Parmi ceux-ci, rien de moins que le meilleur livre de Fantasy du monde en 1984, à l’âge de 27 ans. Le jeune homme évolue dans les sphères de célèbres auteurs à venir, tels que Neil Gaiman, Robert Jordan, ou encore Ellen Kushner. Il participe à la vie de nombreux magazines de SF/F, est créateur de jeux de société fantastiques, tient un blog, participe à des conventions, et dessine même les cartes des univers de ses ami·es (notamment pour La Roue du Temps de Jordan). Sans jamais s’arrêter, il écrit, écrit et écrit encore, et quand il trouve le temps, il publie des anthologies de poésie. Mais ledit auteur connait une santé fragile depuis l’enfance, et chaque nouvelle infection ruine ses économies. Sa maison d’édition l’enjoint à écrire de grandes sagas, des trilogies au moins ; de quoi créer l’apanage commercial d’un G.R.R Martin (auteur du très célèbre Trône de Fer). Mais notre protagoniste n’y entend rien ; il veut écrire selon ses idées, et c’est grâce à ses ami·es auteur·ices qu’il parvient à régler ses énormes dettes médicales. Depuis plusieurs années, il travaille sur un grand roman, une œuvre superbe : Aspects. Seulement, le destin en a décidé autrement, et en 2006, à l’âge de 49 ans, John M. Ford s’éteint.
Avec lui, son œuvre sombre dans l’oubli.
Jusqu’au jour où.
Jusqu’au jour où un journaliste et essayiste se rappelle avec nostalgie les écrits de John M. Ford et entreprend de se procurer les romans de l’auteur chéri. A sa grande surprise, il découvre qu’il n’y a plus de tirages effectués ; tous les romans ne sont disponibles qu’en occasion, et à des tarifs excessifs. Alors, Isaac Butler enquête : pourquoi John M. Ford n’est-il plus publié ? Qu’est-il arrivé à l’œuvre de cet auteur pourtant reconnu et célébré ? De fil en aiguille, le journaliste découvre un John M. Ford en froid avec sa famille, des parents très conservateurs et opposés à sa vie d’auteur, mais aussi une agente littéraire éperdue entre chagrin face à la mort de son client et ses propres difficultés personnelles. Sans trop savoir qui des deux est tout à fait responsable des fins de contrat d’impression, Isaac Butler s’évertue néanmoins à renouer un dialogue entre la maison d’édition Tor et la famille de John M. Ford.
C’est ainsi qu’en 2022, nous parvient enfin la publication du livre Aspects, le dernier joyau de l’œuvre de John M. Ford.
Alors, quel est donc Aspects et comment ai-je vécu sa lecture ?
Aspects nous emporte dans le quotidien de Varic, un politicien parlementaire au sein d’une société pré-Victorienne où la sorcellerie est efficiente, et fait partie intégrante de la vie courante. Nous faisons aussi la rencontre de Longlight,, gouverneuse d’un état fédéré. Tous deux débutent une relation aux mille facettes, et à leurs côtés, nous découvrons la cité de Lystourel.
Définie comme une œuvre socio-politique par l’auteur lui-même, Aspects est un livre exigeant, à l’écriture minutieuse et passionnante.
John M. Ford prend le parti de ne pas offrir de réponses directes à son·a lecteur·ice : l’approche du récit y est naturelle. C’est une plongée dans une vie quotidienne, un lieu commun pour les protagonistes ; de fait, ceux-ci n’éprouvent pas de nécessité à expliquer la culture environnante. Voyez cela comme un voyage à l’étranger : il n’existe pas de grand panneau explicatif à chaque coin de rue pour le touriste que vous êtes. Il en va de même ici.
Cette démarche comporte aussi un aspect intellectuel et artistique : lorsque John M. Ford n’explique pas tout de go un concept qui nous est inconnu, c’est qu’il y a une raison. L’auteur nous invite à chercher les réponses par nous-même, à s’interroger sur ce qui vient d’être narré. Pas de panique, toutefois : il ne s’agit pas de nous laisser les bras ballants, et tout se voit expliqué au fil des chapitres.
Ce travail d’immersion en pays inconnu, c’est un gage de réalisme et d’authenticité de la part de l’auteur. Ici, se trouve l’une des très grandes qualités de John M. Ford : sa faculté à donner vie aux personnages et monde qu’il a créé. John M. Ford décrit avec soin tout ce qui bâtit la vie de ces humains, et la logique qui leur est propre. Par exemple, lorsque Varic évolue en ville, les détails remarqués sont raccordés à sa culture politique. Ainsi, il nous raconte les origines de Lystourel, son évolution dans le temps, les changements que Varic a observé. Etrangère à ces lieux, Longlight observe d’autres aspects et vient compléter notre regard.
"Varic wondered, by no means for the first time, if they would understand each other now. He supposed they would, though to what degree he could not know, and he had no clue whether it would have brought them closer.
Varic se demanda, non pas pour la première fois, s’ils se comprendraient l’un et l’autre aujourd’hui. Il supposa qu’ils le feraient, bien qu’à quel degré il ne pouvait savoir, et il n’avait aucune idée de si cela les aurait rapprochés."
De même, les personnages narrés sont très entiers ; ils ont autant de belles qualités que de tristes défauts. L’auteur ne s’autorise aucun arrangement : les personnages sont tels qu’ils devraient être, en toute cohérence avec leur éducation, culture et philosophie de vie. Lorsqu’une histoire traite de politiques et de leviers de pouvoir, il est très appréciable de ne pas voir la réalité atténuée. Nous ne perdons jamais de vue l’ampleur stratège et calculatrice des personnages. Et pourtant, John M. Ford réussit le pari de susciter une profonde tendresse envers eux, un attachement sincère. Personnellement, voilà longtemps que je n’avais pas été autant habitée par des personnages et leurs humeurs – et ce, même une fois le livre refermé.
« To answer your fair and honest question, I believe that Varic has looked quite clearly into the wells of his own darkness. I choose to believe that he knows what he could do, and is happy that he does not do it. »
"Pour répondre à votre juste et honnête question, je crois que Varic a regardé avec quelque franchise le puits de ses propres ténèbres. Je fais le choix de croire qu’il sait ce dont il serait capable, et est content de ne pas le mettre en œuvre."
La deuxième très grande qualité de l’auteur réside dans son écriture même. John M. Ford nous livre un véritable travail d’orfèvre, sans jamais tomber dans le registre pompeux et/ou inaccessible. Aspects comporte de nombreux passages proches de la versification anglaise (des rimes de fin, l’alternance de syllabes accentuées et non accentuées…) et l’effet est assuré : la lecture roule avec grâce. John M. Ford est un amoureux du mot, il nous confie des champs lexicaux très fournis et s’amuse de certains termes à double sens ; il les déplie, les replie, joue avec. L’auteur est aussi un passionné de Shakespeare, et j’ai cru voir dans l’un de ses personnages une ode au Maître britannique. Aspects est un bonheur pour tout lecteur aimant le travail d’une langue, et j’encourage tout·e futur·e auteur·ice à étudier avec intérêt les mécanismes de l’écriture de John M. Ford. Si ce n’est pour l’intérêt de l’histoire, Aspects est au moins à découvrir pour la beauté de sa prose.
"I entertained an automn thought of you,
An unexpected warmth with summer gone ;
It colored deep, as leaves in autumn do,
And I allowed the wind to blow it on"
D’ailleurs, l’histoire, parlons-en. Dans la plupart des romans de SF et de Fantasy, le récit tourne autour de « l’Evènement » ; ce moment, ou cette variable, dont un univers dépend. Ça peut être « l’Evènement » qui amènera la fin d’un monde, ou à plus petite échelle, la séparation d’un cercle social – quoiqu’il arrive, il est le point central dont découlent des conséquences importantes pour les protagonistes suivis. Ces dernières années, une nouvelle catégorie de romans SF/F a fait son apparition : la « cosy fantasy » – des histoires aux enjeux faibles, voire inexistants.
Vous me voyez venir avec mes gros sabots et je vous le dis franchement : dans Aspects, il ne se passe pas grand-chose. Et mine de rien, mieux vaut le savoir ! Il n’existe pas de grandes menaces, de prophétie terrible, ni d’épopée à venir. Aspects un roman « tranche de vie » ; un instant de partage avec d’autres humains. Alors, peut-on parler d’un auteur avant-gardiste quant à ce genre? Il ne m’appartient pas de le définir. En revanche, la lecture d’Aspects m’a profondément étonnée de par son progressisme. Chaque interaction intime entre les personnages comporte une demande de consentement, par exemple. Il n’y a jamais de réflexion à l’encontre des femmes qui gouvernent – pas même de la part de leurs rivaux. Il n’y a pas de rivalité féminine en faveur d’un homme, les couples homosexuels existent à plusieurs reprises et ne sont jamais décriés, ni problématiques. Les relations amoureuses connaissent différents modèles représentés et sont toujours approchées avec grande maturité. De toutes mes années de lectrice, je crois bien que c’est la première fois que je lis un homme hétérosexuel de 50 ans qui ne tombe dans aucun de ces défauts. Tout cela, en 2006 qui plus est !
« […] But a Coron must never show weakness toward anyone, didn’t your father teach you that ? Certainly not to another Coron.
– My father did teach me that, she said. He also taught that me that one can be tender without being weak. »
« Mais un Coron ne doit jamais faire montre de faiblesse à qui que ce soit, votre père ne vous l’a t’il pas enseigné ? Certainement pas devant un autre Coron.
– Mon père me l’a bien enseigné, dit-elle. Il m’a aussi appris que l’on peut être tendre sans être faible. »
Puisqu’il faut bien que cette chronique ait une fin, évoquons-la, la fin… Aspects est une œuvre inachevée. John M. Ford n’a pas eu le temps d’écrire les derniers chapitres. Puisque l’expérience est aussi inédite, je ne peux que vous parler de mon ressenti personnel face à cela : j’ai été ensorcelée par ce roman, il figure parmi mes plus belles lectures Fantasy et oui, il est frustrant, triste même, de ne pouvoir aller jusqu’au bout de l’histoire. J’aurais aimé connaître la volonté de John M. Ford, découvrir ses derniers vers, rester encore un peu aux côtés de Varic, Longlight, Silvern et Brook. Il est difficile de ne pas savoir le point final. Néanmoins, je préfère avoir eu la chance de lire cette histoire inachevée, plutôt que de ne jamais l’avoir connue.
La bise les ami·es,
Bon dimanche.
C’est une expérience singulière dans la vie d’un·e lecteur·ice que je souhaite vous partager en ce dimanche d’Avril : la découverte d’un livre publié à titre posthume. Plus curieux encore : un livre non terminé, pas même corrigé.
Avant de nous plonger dans l’examen du livre du jour, prenons un instant pour nous imprégner des circonstances de cette publication.
Imaginez un auteur né aux Etats-Unis en 1957 et qui, tout du long de sa carrière, est connu et reconnu pour son œuvre au sein de la littérature de l’Imaginaire. Imaginez un auteur débutant à 19 ans par une nouvelle dans un magazine de SF, et qui, à chaque publication de ses livres, se voit récompensé de grands prix. Parmi ceux-ci, rien de moins que le meilleur livre de Fantasy du monde en 1984, à l’âge de 27 ans. Le jeune homme évolue dans les sphères de célèbres auteurs à venir, tels que Neil Gaiman, Robert Jordan, ou encore Ellen Kushner. Il participe à la vie de nombreux magazines de SF/F, est créateur de jeux de société fantastiques, tient un blog, participe à des conventions, et dessine même les cartes des univers de ses ami·es (notamment pour La Roue du Temps de Jordan). Sans jamais s’arrêter, il écrit, écrit et écrit encore, et quand il trouve le temps, il publie des anthologies de poésie. Mais ledit auteur connait une santé fragile depuis l’enfance, et chaque nouvelle infection ruine ses économies. Sa maison d’édition l’enjoint à écrire de grandes sagas, des trilogies au moins ; de quoi créer l’apanage commercial d’un G.R.R Martin (auteur du très célèbre Trône de Fer). Mais notre protagoniste n’y entend rien ; il veut écrire selon ses idées, et c’est grâce à ses ami·es auteur·ices qu’il parvient à régler ses énormes dettes médicales. Depuis plusieurs années, il travaille sur un grand roman, une œuvre superbe : Aspects. Seulement, le destin en a décidé autrement, et en 2006, à l’âge de 49 ans, John M. Ford s’éteint.
Avec lui, son œuvre sombre dans l’oubli.
Jusqu’au jour où.
Jusqu’au jour où un journaliste et essayiste se rappelle avec nostalgie les écrits de John M. Ford et entreprend de se procurer les romans de l’auteur chéri. A sa grande surprise, il découvre qu’il n’y a plus de tirages effectués ; tous les romans ne sont disponibles qu’en occasion, et à des tarifs excessifs. Alors, Isaac Butler enquête : pourquoi John M. Ford n’est-il plus publié ? Qu’est-il arrivé à l’œuvre de cet auteur pourtant reconnu et célébré ? De fil en aiguille, le journaliste découvre un John M. Ford en froid avec sa famille, des parents très conservateurs et opposés à sa vie d’auteur, mais aussi une agente littéraire éperdue entre chagrin face à la mort de son client et ses propres difficultés personnelles. Sans trop savoir qui des deux est tout à fait responsable des fins de contrat d’impression, Isaac Butler s’évertue néanmoins à renouer un dialogue entre la maison d’édition Tor et la famille de John M. Ford.
C’est ainsi qu’en 2022, nous parvient enfin la publication du livre Aspects, le dernier joyau de l’œuvre de John M. Ford.
Alors, quel est donc Aspects et comment ai-je vécu sa lecture ?
Aspects nous emporte dans le quotidien de Varic, un politicien parlementaire au sein d’une société pré-Victorienne où la sorcellerie est efficiente, et fait partie intégrante de la vie courante. Nous faisons aussi la rencontre de Longlight,, gouverneuse d’un état fédéré. Tous deux débutent une relation aux mille facettes, et à leurs côtés, nous découvrons la cité de Lystourel.
Définie comme une œuvre socio-politique par l’auteur lui-même, Aspects est un livre exigeant, à l’écriture minutieuse et passionnante.
John M. Ford prend le parti de ne pas offrir de réponses directes à son·a lecteur·ice : l’approche du récit y est naturelle. C’est une plongée dans une vie quotidienne, un lieu commun pour les protagonistes ; de fait, ceux-ci n’éprouvent pas de nécessité à expliquer la culture environnante. Voyez cela comme un voyage à l’étranger : il n’existe pas de grand panneau explicatif à chaque coin de rue pour le touriste que vous êtes. Il en va de même ici.
Cette démarche comporte aussi un aspect intellectuel et artistique : lorsque John M. Ford n’explique pas tout de go un concept qui nous est inconnu, c’est qu’il y a une raison. L’auteur nous invite à chercher les réponses par nous-même, à s’interroger sur ce qui vient d’être narré. Pas de panique, toutefois : il ne s’agit pas de nous laisser les bras ballants, et tout se voit expliqué au fil des chapitres.
Ce travail d’immersion en pays inconnu, c’est un gage de réalisme et d’authenticité de la part de l’auteur. Ici, se trouve l’une des très grandes qualités de John M. Ford : sa faculté à donner vie aux personnages et monde qu’il a créé. John M. Ford décrit avec soin tout ce qui bâtit la vie de ces humains, et la logique qui leur est propre. Par exemple, lorsque Varic évolue en ville, les détails remarqués sont raccordés à sa culture politique. Ainsi, il nous raconte les origines de Lystourel, son évolution dans le temps, les changements que Varic a observé. Etrangère à ces lieux, Longlight observe d’autres aspects et vient compléter notre regard.
"Varic wondered, by no means for the first time, if they would understand each other now. He supposed they would, though to what degree he could not know, and he had no clue whether it would have brought them closer.
Varic se demanda, non pas pour la première fois, s’ils se comprendraient l’un et l’autre aujourd’hui. Il supposa qu’ils le feraient, bien qu’à quel degré il ne pouvait savoir, et il n’avait aucune idée de si cela les aurait rapprochés."
De même, les personnages narrés sont très entiers ; ils ont autant de belles qualités que de tristes défauts. L’auteur ne s’autorise aucun arrangement : les personnages sont tels qu’ils devraient être, en toute cohérence avec leur éducation, culture et philosophie de vie. Lorsqu’une histoire traite de politiques et de leviers de pouvoir, il est très appréciable de ne pas voir la réalité atténuée. Nous ne perdons jamais de vue l’ampleur stratège et calculatrice des personnages. Et pourtant, John M. Ford réussit le pari de susciter une profonde tendresse envers eux, un attachement sincère. Personnellement, voilà longtemps que je n’avais pas été autant habitée par des personnages et leurs humeurs – et ce, même une fois le livre refermé.
« To answer your fair and honest question, I believe that Varic has looked quite clearly into the wells of his own darkness. I choose to believe that he knows what he could do, and is happy that he does not do it. »
"Pour répondre à votre juste et honnête question, je crois que Varic a regardé avec quelque franchise le puits de ses propres ténèbres. Je fais le choix de croire qu’il sait ce dont il serait capable, et est content de ne pas le mettre en œuvre."
La deuxième très grande qualité de l’auteur réside dans son écriture même. John M. Ford nous livre un véritable travail d’orfèvre, sans jamais tomber dans le registre pompeux et/ou inaccessible. Aspects comporte de nombreux passages proches de la versification anglaise (des rimes de fin, l’alternance de syllabes accentuées et non accentuées…) et l’effet est assuré : la lecture roule avec grâce. John M. Ford est un amoureux du mot, il nous confie des champs lexicaux très fournis et s’amuse de certains termes à double sens ; il les déplie, les replie, joue avec. L’auteur est aussi un passionné de Shakespeare, et j’ai cru voir dans l’un de ses personnages une ode au Maître britannique. Aspects est un bonheur pour tout lecteur aimant le travail d’une langue, et j’encourage tout·e futur·e auteur·ice à étudier avec intérêt les mécanismes de l’écriture de John M. Ford. Si ce n’est pour l’intérêt de l’histoire, Aspects est au moins à découvrir pour la beauté de sa prose.
"I entertained an automn thought of you,
An unexpected warmth with summer gone ;
It colored deep, as leaves in autumn do,
And I allowed the wind to blow it on"
D’ailleurs, l’histoire, parlons-en. Dans la plupart des romans de SF et de Fantasy, le récit tourne autour de « l’Evènement » ; ce moment, ou cette variable, dont un univers dépend. Ça peut être « l’Evènement » qui amènera la fin d’un monde, ou à plus petite échelle, la séparation d’un cercle social – quoiqu’il arrive, il est le point central dont découlent des conséquences importantes pour les protagonistes suivis. Ces dernières années, une nouvelle catégorie de romans SF/F a fait son apparition : la « cosy fantasy » – des histoires aux enjeux faibles, voire inexistants.
Vous me voyez venir avec mes gros sabots et je vous le dis franchement : dans Aspects, il ne se passe pas grand-chose. Et mine de rien, mieux vaut le savoir ! Il n’existe pas de grandes menaces, de prophétie terrible, ni d’épopée à venir. Aspects un roman « tranche de vie » ; un instant de partage avec d’autres humains. Alors, peut-on parler d’un auteur avant-gardiste quant à ce genre? Il ne m’appartient pas de le définir. En revanche, la lecture d’Aspects m’a profondément étonnée de par son progressisme. Chaque interaction intime entre les personnages comporte une demande de consentement, par exemple. Il n’y a jamais de réflexion à l’encontre des femmes qui gouvernent – pas même de la part de leurs rivaux. Il n’y a pas de rivalité féminine en faveur d’un homme, les couples homosexuels existent à plusieurs reprises et ne sont jamais décriés, ni problématiques. Les relations amoureuses connaissent différents modèles représentés et sont toujours approchées avec grande maturité. De toutes mes années de lectrice, je crois bien que c’est la première fois que je lis un homme hétérosexuel de 50 ans qui ne tombe dans aucun de ces défauts. Tout cela, en 2006 qui plus est !
« […] But a Coron must never show weakness toward anyone, didn’t your father teach you that ? Certainly not to another Coron.
– My father did teach me that, she said. He also taught that me that one can be tender without being weak. »
« Mais un Coron ne doit jamais faire montre de faiblesse à qui que ce soit, votre père ne vous l’a t’il pas enseigné ? Certainement pas devant un autre Coron.
– Mon père me l’a bien enseigné, dit-elle. Il m’a aussi appris que l’on peut être tendre sans être faible. »
Puisqu’il faut bien que cette chronique ait une fin, évoquons-la, la fin… Aspects est une œuvre inachevée. John M. Ford n’a pas eu le temps d’écrire les derniers chapitres. Puisque l’expérience est aussi inédite, je ne peux que vous parler de mon ressenti personnel face à cela : j’ai été ensorcelée par ce roman, il figure parmi mes plus belles lectures Fantasy et oui, il est frustrant, triste même, de ne pouvoir aller jusqu’au bout de l’histoire. J’aurais aimé connaître la volonté de John M. Ford, découvrir ses derniers vers, rester encore un peu aux côtés de Varic, Longlight, Silvern et Brook. Il est difficile de ne pas savoir le point final. Néanmoins, je préfère avoir eu la chance de lire cette histoire inachevée, plutôt que de ne jamais l’avoir connue.
La bise les ami·es,
Bon dimanche.
June 1, 2022
What a brilliant book! While it is tragic that the author died before he could finish this book, he was so good, the book is a very rewarding read even in this unfinished state. Highly recommended for any reader who wants to be transported to a world very different and also very like our own. One of the many pleasures of the book is the way the author has clearly based so much on the world we live in, but made things just a little different so as to help us pay better attention.
Saying it is a combination of steampunk and high fantasy doesn't do it justice, but it at least gives you some sense of the kind of world you will enter on reading the book. No dragons, but plenty of magic. There's a feeling of Victorian England about it, but transmuted in a way that makes it so different you can't help enjoying everything you learn about this world as the story progresses.
The characters and story are compelling, but I won't say anything more because to avoid spoilers.
Saying it is a combination of steampunk and high fantasy doesn't do it justice, but it at least gives you some sense of the kind of world you will enter on reading the book. No dragons, but plenty of magic. There's a feeling of Victorian England about it, but transmuted in a way that makes it so different you can't help enjoying everything you learn about this world as the story progresses.
The characters and story are compelling, but I won't say anything more because to avoid spoilers.
March 25, 2022
First off, thank you to Tor for the egalley. As always, free books in return for an honest review is a great thing for me. I'm not as voracious as I used to be, but I enjoy reviewing for publishers because it helps me to try things I might not otherwise buy without a serious recommendation from a trusted friend.
This unfinished novel would definitely fall into that category. You know from the moment you crack the spine (errr.... open the file? lol) that you will be left hanging. There is no meeting with Brandon Sanderson to discuss notes and story arcs, there is no CG to steal pieces of other scenes and bring Brandon Lee back for one more act. Neil Gaiman tells you up front that the book abruptly stops upon the death of its author, and all you will ever get is this fragmented piece.
Which makes me wonder why they published it. Is it one final paycheck for the company? Had they sent an advance and are trying to recoup that expense? Or was Ford such a visionary, such a Writer's Writer, that Tor said "You know what, we'll take that chance and put it out there regardless."
I don't pretend to understand their thinking, nor to understand where Ford was going with his narrative. This book is more a series of Scenes than a cohesive story, and while some of those scenes are truly engaging, the overall whole is less so.
I can't recommend this in all honesty, unless you're a true fan of John Ford's work. It's not terrible by any means, but it's disjointed nature and never-to-be-finished ending will leave anyone other than the true fan disappointed.
This unfinished novel would definitely fall into that category. You know from the moment you crack the spine (errr.... open the file? lol) that you will be left hanging. There is no meeting with Brandon Sanderson to discuss notes and story arcs, there is no CG to steal pieces of other scenes and bring Brandon Lee back for one more act. Neil Gaiman tells you up front that the book abruptly stops upon the death of its author, and all you will ever get is this fragmented piece.
Which makes me wonder why they published it. Is it one final paycheck for the company? Had they sent an advance and are trying to recoup that expense? Or was Ford such a visionary, such a Writer's Writer, that Tor said "You know what, we'll take that chance and put it out there regardless."
I don't pretend to understand their thinking, nor to understand where Ford was going with his narrative. This book is more a series of Scenes than a cohesive story, and while some of those scenes are truly engaging, the overall whole is less so.
I can't recommend this in all honesty, unless you're a true fan of John Ford's work. It's not terrible by any means, but it's disjointed nature and never-to-be-finished ending will leave anyone other than the true fan disappointed.
April 25, 2022
3.5 stars, Metaphorosis Reviews
Summary
The Coron Varic is a distant ruler - spending all his time in the capital, Lystourel, working on revisions of the Constitution rather than in his cold home province. A master of Parliamentary procedure and intrigue, he nonetheless finds time to visit Strange House, where the mysterious and diverse guests of the mysteriously long-lived Strange form all manner of new connections - both romantic and dangerous.
Review
The first thing to know is that this book is unfinished. At 380 pages long, it feels like it’s only beginning to set its stage when it abruptly ends with two isolated paragraphs of a new chapter, and the epigraphs for five more parts – each part so far being approximately 200 pages, broken up randomly into 50 page chapters. It was only on reading Neil Gaiman’s introduction that I realized the book was incomplete, but even there he seems to suggest only one chapter is missing, not the bulk of what would have been a massive book – and apparently the start of a series.
I was introduced to Ford through his Liavek stories, and followed through to a handful of novels – one Liavek-related, one YA SF, and one adult SF. None had any similarity to this book, which is a large, complex, political fantasy with a well-developed industrial world and plenty of subtle allusions. I’d have thought they were written by different people (this one perhaps by Richard Grant), though perhaps I should reexamine Ford’s earlier books.
Aspects is carefully thought out and very well written – the prose in particular is smooth, effective, and masterful. The characters, sadly, are less successful- Ford lays the trail for important character traits, but seems so concerned with delicate subtlety that he forgets to show us the characters he’s talking about, and there’s simply too much that’s opaque. Even the book’s central figure, the Coron Varic, remains mysterious – as many other characters insist on telling us – at the book’s stopping point. The net result was that I greatly admired the prose, but found the characters distant, and more intellectually interesting than personally engaging. The magic system as well is important to the story but underdescribed, and the narrative is sometimes muddled.
Is the book worth reading? It was certainly an eye opener for me about Ford’s literary strengths. On the basis of his other work, I’d classified him as, for me, a B-list author – interesting, but not particularly noteworthy. To my mind, the writing in this book is head and shoulders above my recollection of his prior books. If you like good prose, you’ll enjoy reading this. On the other hand, the book is unfinished, reaching no conclusions or resolutions, leaving its characters and their arcs hanging – and, since Ford died almost 20 years ago – there will be no more. It would be difficult to find an author to carry on even this first book or match its style, let alone complete a series. I assume that is why, so long after Ford’s death, this incomplete volume is being published.
I’d have thought Ford’s audience was limited at this date, but some big name authors think otherwise, so perhaps I’m mistaken. If you’re one of his true fans, this is the best writing of his that I recall, though perhaps if my judgment is mistaken, my memory is as well. I do wish that the book had been described as a partial manuscript, which it most certainly is, and addressed it to fans, who would have enjoyed it. I’m not sure that newcomers will be well pleased with a very strong introduction and … nothing else. But perhaps they’ll go on to Ford’s other work, and perhaps that’s the intent here. Still, best to be open about it, I think.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
Summary
The Coron Varic is a distant ruler - spending all his time in the capital, Lystourel, working on revisions of the Constitution rather than in his cold home province. A master of Parliamentary procedure and intrigue, he nonetheless finds time to visit Strange House, where the mysterious and diverse guests of the mysteriously long-lived Strange form all manner of new connections - both romantic and dangerous.
Review
The first thing to know is that this book is unfinished. At 380 pages long, it feels like it’s only beginning to set its stage when it abruptly ends with two isolated paragraphs of a new chapter, and the epigraphs for five more parts – each part so far being approximately 200 pages, broken up randomly into 50 page chapters. It was only on reading Neil Gaiman’s introduction that I realized the book was incomplete, but even there he seems to suggest only one chapter is missing, not the bulk of what would have been a massive book – and apparently the start of a series.
I was introduced to Ford through his Liavek stories, and followed through to a handful of novels – one Liavek-related, one YA SF, and one adult SF. None had any similarity to this book, which is a large, complex, political fantasy with a well-developed industrial world and plenty of subtle allusions. I’d have thought they were written by different people (this one perhaps by Richard Grant), though perhaps I should reexamine Ford’s earlier books.
Aspects is carefully thought out and very well written – the prose in particular is smooth, effective, and masterful. The characters, sadly, are less successful- Ford lays the trail for important character traits, but seems so concerned with delicate subtlety that he forgets to show us the characters he’s talking about, and there’s simply too much that’s opaque. Even the book’s central figure, the Coron Varic, remains mysterious – as many other characters insist on telling us – at the book’s stopping point. The net result was that I greatly admired the prose, but found the characters distant, and more intellectually interesting than personally engaging. The magic system as well is important to the story but underdescribed, and the narrative is sometimes muddled.
Is the book worth reading? It was certainly an eye opener for me about Ford’s literary strengths. On the basis of his other work, I’d classified him as, for me, a B-list author – interesting, but not particularly noteworthy. To my mind, the writing in this book is head and shoulders above my recollection of his prior books. If you like good prose, you’ll enjoy reading this. On the other hand, the book is unfinished, reaching no conclusions or resolutions, leaving its characters and their arcs hanging – and, since Ford died almost 20 years ago – there will be no more. It would be difficult to find an author to carry on even this first book or match its style, let alone complete a series. I assume that is why, so long after Ford’s death, this incomplete volume is being published.
I’d have thought Ford’s audience was limited at this date, but some big name authors think otherwise, so perhaps I’m mistaken. If you’re one of his true fans, this is the best writing of his that I recall, though perhaps if my judgment is mistaken, my memory is as well. I do wish that the book had been described as a partial manuscript, which it most certainly is, and addressed it to fans, who would have enjoyed it. I’m not sure that newcomers will be well pleased with a very strong introduction and … nothing else. But perhaps they’ll go on to Ford’s other work, and perhaps that’s the intent here. Still, best to be open about it, I think.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
January 25, 2022
I read this courtesy of NetGalley.
Glorious. Frustrating. Confusing. Breathtaking. Heartbreaking...
It's hard to know how to talk about this book.
The first thing that needs to be said is that it's unfinished. The author, John M Ford, died in 2006. He had been working on this novel, it seems, for many years - at least that's what I get from the introduction, written by a friend of Ford's, Neil Gaiman. And so... the book is incomplete. That is, there's no conclusion; and I suspect there are bits that might have been edited for clarity if the author had, indeed finished.
And I nearly cried when I got to the end, because this book is just so amazing. Like, this could have been the start of one of The Great Series. I've read only one other Ford novel, and I think a few short stories; this makes me want to go back and read absolutely everything. Because if this is the standard, well - I've been missing out.
Aspects is set in an alternate world. It's kind of Britain, I think, although it doesn't seem to be an island. It's kind of analogous to the nineteenth century - there are trains (the Ironways), for instance, and there's a form of electricity but some people are suspicious. But chemistry doesn't quite seem to work the way it does here. Religion is important, but it's not a Christianity-analogue; there's a goddess with several faces, and matching consorts. And there's a Parliament, with Commons and Lords, but here's the final difference to our world: the lords are lords of the land, of religion - and of sorcery, or Craft.
So it's kind of steampunk, but it doesn't really fit into what I know of that category, and it's fantasy set in an industrial context. Honestly though it just defies categorisation. It's a deeply political work - three of the main characters are in Parliament, and at least part of the narrative revolves around machinations there, like writing a new constitution. It's a country struggling to figure itself out several decades after becoming a republic - and it seems that the previous monarchy had been imposed by a conquering race, although that's one aspect (heh) that I never quite got my head around. Some of the characters have the ability to use magic, which is not without its difficulties, and it's clear that was going to a significant thread if the book had continued. There's a romance, with its own difficulties; and such a large array of characters, all with their quirks (and bringing diversity, too) that this should have - could have - provided many, many pages of just mesmerising story. And now I'm making myself sad all over again that I'll never read them.
Ford's writing can be profound: "Play keeps us happy and agile, in mind and muscle; sleep and good meals keep us alive. We can misspend time - hurting people, ourselves included, making the world worse - but to 'waste' time - to get no motion at all, good or bad - to do that one would have to be not at alive at all" (p172 of the e-version). While I was sometimes a bit confused about what was going on, I was always captivated by the writing itself and somehow convinced - even though I don't know Ford's work that well - that everything would eventually make sense. And I was largely right.
Glorious. Frustrating. Confusing. Breathtaking. Heartbreaking...
It's hard to know how to talk about this book.
The first thing that needs to be said is that it's unfinished. The author, John M Ford, died in 2006. He had been working on this novel, it seems, for many years - at least that's what I get from the introduction, written by a friend of Ford's, Neil Gaiman. And so... the book is incomplete. That is, there's no conclusion; and I suspect there are bits that might have been edited for clarity if the author had, indeed finished.
And I nearly cried when I got to the end, because this book is just so amazing. Like, this could have been the start of one of The Great Series. I've read only one other Ford novel, and I think a few short stories; this makes me want to go back and read absolutely everything. Because if this is the standard, well - I've been missing out.
Aspects is set in an alternate world. It's kind of Britain, I think, although it doesn't seem to be an island. It's kind of analogous to the nineteenth century - there are trains (the Ironways), for instance, and there's a form of electricity but some people are suspicious. But chemistry doesn't quite seem to work the way it does here. Religion is important, but it's not a Christianity-analogue; there's a goddess with several faces, and matching consorts. And there's a Parliament, with Commons and Lords, but here's the final difference to our world: the lords are lords of the land, of religion - and of sorcery, or Craft.
So it's kind of steampunk, but it doesn't really fit into what I know of that category, and it's fantasy set in an industrial context. Honestly though it just defies categorisation. It's a deeply political work - three of the main characters are in Parliament, and at least part of the narrative revolves around machinations there, like writing a new constitution. It's a country struggling to figure itself out several decades after becoming a republic - and it seems that the previous monarchy had been imposed by a conquering race, although that's one aspect (heh) that I never quite got my head around. Some of the characters have the ability to use magic, which is not without its difficulties, and it's clear that was going to a significant thread if the book had continued. There's a romance, with its own difficulties; and such a large array of characters, all with their quirks (and bringing diversity, too) that this should have - could have - provided many, many pages of just mesmerising story. And now I'm making myself sad all over again that I'll never read them.
Ford's writing can be profound: "Play keeps us happy and agile, in mind and muscle; sleep and good meals keep us alive. We can misspend time - hurting people, ourselves included, making the world worse - but to 'waste' time - to get no motion at all, good or bad - to do that one would have to be not at alive at all" (p172 of the e-version). While I was sometimes a bit confused about what was going on, I was always captivated by the writing itself and somehow convinced - even though I don't know Ford's work that well - that everything would eventually make sense. And I was largely right.
May 17, 2022
A generous three, to honor the dead.
One should know that by "unfinished," they really mean unfinished. There's no end, and probably wouldn't have been for another few hundred pages at least. At its present pace, the story would span ten books each 800 pages long, but much of that length would consist of descriptions of dress, food and drink, and elaborate pleasantries. The rest is very Fordian dialogue, and I mean that as a compliment. The characters are well drawn and all likeable, almost instantly, but there's no plot, no conflict, the worldbuilding is unremarkable (though magic feels magical), and in 475 pages no sense the story is going anywhere at all. It's mostly one polite conversation over a meal repeated with different characters and different foods for 475 pages. Descriptions are also given in such a way that they show the reader what's there, and that is all. The room looks like this and is filled with these pieces of furniture; not, he notices this in the room and that chair reminds him of the one back at home.
This book is bizarrely, almost maddeningly leisurely. It's cozy, almost comforting at times in that way only fantasy can be. But there are *no* stakes, except emotionally, but all the characters seem to know something about the world (that the reader does not) that bestows a strange gravitas on what would otherwise seem like fairly normal interactions and romances. There's a sense of something going on behind the scenes (in a delectably Fordian kind of way), but the structure and pacing of the story is almost satirically clumsy. How someone as intelligent as Ford could think this was good writing is a mystery, or an anomaly, or perhaps Ford would have revised heavily after all (though the prose is smooth as cream), or all the banality would eventually pay off.
Aspects has its moments, and much of it is suffused with that wistful, autumnal melancholy so common in Ford's novels, an ache you can almost drink like wine, and be drunk upon. A mix of nostalgia and the knowledge that love is fleeting and only death is in the future. There are beautiful lines, more subtlety and grace than anything written lately, wonderful moments, (and bad poetry - Ford is an exceptional writer, but his poetry is dead and mannered). As it stands, however, we'll never know if he had a greater plan, or what he might have been building with Aspects, which feels like the longest prologue ever written.
Kind of a curiosity as it is. Only for completionists.
One should know that by "unfinished," they really mean unfinished. There's no end, and probably wouldn't have been for another few hundred pages at least. At its present pace, the story would span ten books each 800 pages long, but much of that length would consist of descriptions of dress, food and drink, and elaborate pleasantries. The rest is very Fordian dialogue, and I mean that as a compliment. The characters are well drawn and all likeable, almost instantly, but there's no plot, no conflict, the worldbuilding is unremarkable (though magic feels magical), and in 475 pages no sense the story is going anywhere at all. It's mostly one polite conversation over a meal repeated with different characters and different foods for 475 pages. Descriptions are also given in such a way that they show the reader what's there, and that is all. The room looks like this and is filled with these pieces of furniture; not, he notices this in the room and that chair reminds him of the one back at home.
This book is bizarrely, almost maddeningly leisurely. It's cozy, almost comforting at times in that way only fantasy can be. But there are *no* stakes, except emotionally, but all the characters seem to know something about the world (that the reader does not) that bestows a strange gravitas on what would otherwise seem like fairly normal interactions and romances. There's a sense of something going on behind the scenes (in a delectably Fordian kind of way), but the structure and pacing of the story is almost satirically clumsy. How someone as intelligent as Ford could think this was good writing is a mystery, or an anomaly, or perhaps Ford would have revised heavily after all (though the prose is smooth as cream), or all the banality would eventually pay off.
Aspects has its moments, and much of it is suffused with that wistful, autumnal melancholy so common in Ford's novels, an ache you can almost drink like wine, and be drunk upon. A mix of nostalgia and the knowledge that love is fleeting and only death is in the future. There are beautiful lines, more subtlety and grace than anything written lately, wonderful moments, (and bad poetry - Ford is an exceptional writer, but his poetry is dead and mannered). As it stands, however, we'll never know if he had a greater plan, or what he might have been building with Aspects, which feels like the longest prologue ever written.
Kind of a curiosity as it is. Only for completionists.
July 19, 2022
I remember liking The Dragon Waiting very well after many years
which may mean it’s more than the 4 I see I gave it. So I decided to give this one a try even though it’s unfinished which I ordinarily would never do since I hate being left hanging. And altho I’m frustrated I am so glad I read this beautiful book. It reminds me of Islandia, another make believe world that upon finishing I could swear exists in the real world. Also the slow pace and beautiful descriptions but with plent of interactions between developed characters which forms a major part of the plot. I almost gave up on this in the middle of the first section because my attention span is terrible these days but I gradually gave in to the luxurious grace and phenomenal world. This one will stay with me.
which may mean it’s more than the 4 I see I gave it. So I decided to give this one a try even though it’s unfinished which I ordinarily would never do since I hate being left hanging. And altho I’m frustrated I am so glad I read this beautiful book. It reminds me of Islandia, another make believe world that upon finishing I could swear exists in the real world. Also the slow pace and beautiful descriptions but with plent of interactions between developed characters which forms a major part of the plot. I almost gave up on this in the middle of the first section because my attention span is terrible these days but I gradually gave in to the luxurious grace and phenomenal world. This one will stay with me.
June 11, 2022
It's nothing short of a tragedy that this went unfinished. What we have is a rich, gorgeous gem of a book, and I'll be mourning what could have been for a very long time.
December 7, 2022
I feared a cash grab, got a masterpiece instead.
Read
February 22, 2024dnf :( I promise I tried really really hard to finish it
May 12, 2022
This says everything how I felt about the book. I am so sad there won't be an end or subsequent volumes. It was lovely.
https://www.tor.com/2022/05/11/book-r...
https://www.tor.com/2022/05/11/book-r...
April 13, 2022
I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
This is an incomplete novel written by John M. Ford before his death. It has a lot of promise and intrigue, with interesting characters. He is clearly an excellent writer and I liked the bits of poetry woven into the story. A villain never appears and it is hard to know where he was taking this story, but the beginning was certainly enjoyable. An absolute shame he never got the chance to complete it.
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
This is an incomplete novel written by John M. Ford before his death. It has a lot of promise and intrigue, with interesting characters. He is clearly an excellent writer and I liked the bits of poetry woven into the story. A villain never appears and it is hard to know where he was taking this story, but the beginning was certainly enjoyable. An absolute shame he never got the chance to complete it.
July 24, 2022
Aspects is preceded by a fulsome introduction by Neil Gaiman. John M. Ford was my good friend. John M. Ford died tragically young, his works largely unknown. John M Ford was a genius, who tossed off sonnets like most people toss off Facebook updates. Aspects is his unfinished magnum opus, and in my estimation its pretty good.
Aspects opens with a duel. Varic is a noble, a parliamentarian and a reformer, and for the honor of the cavalry and the stability of the realm, his enemies want him removed from the picture. And then it's on to a busy closing session of Parliament before the equinox holidays, and a romantic encounter with our second viewpoint, Longlight, and a holiday at Strange House, a grand way station for people with special powers.
This book is really closest to cozyfic. Despite opening with a duel and the promise of intrigues, the story ambles though good friends and good meals, and setting details of history, magic, and religion rather than the urgency of Varic's reforms or the conspiracy against him. Cozyfic isn't really my thing, but these people are quite pleasant, and realistically often confused or ambivalent about their lives and relationships, chewing things over as they come to a realization. The setting is very much a Europe 1850 variant, where mostly the names have changed, though it is interesting puzzling out what has diverged. I have a low tolerance for kindly liberal nobles and honest servants who are happy to know their place, but other might not mind so much. What Gaiman is 100% right about is that Ford is one hell of a wordsmith, and this book is an absolutely pleasure on a sentence to sentence level!
The story ends as its barely getting started. I do wonder if Ford could have stuck the landing on plot, or if it would have dragged around for a while and gone nowhere. I do wish I'd started one of Ford's finished novels, but I don't regret the journey.
Aspects opens with a duel. Varic is a noble, a parliamentarian and a reformer, and for the honor of the cavalry and the stability of the realm, his enemies want him removed from the picture. And then it's on to a busy closing session of Parliament before the equinox holidays, and a romantic encounter with our second viewpoint, Longlight, and a holiday at Strange House, a grand way station for people with special powers.
This book is really closest to cozyfic. Despite opening with a duel and the promise of intrigues, the story ambles though good friends and good meals, and setting details of history, magic, and religion rather than the urgency of Varic's reforms or the conspiracy against him. Cozyfic isn't really my thing, but these people are quite pleasant, and realistically often confused or ambivalent about their lives and relationships, chewing things over as they come to a realization. The setting is very much a Europe 1850 variant, where mostly the names have changed, though it is interesting puzzling out what has diverged. I have a low tolerance for kindly liberal nobles and honest servants who are happy to know their place, but other might not mind so much. What Gaiman is 100% right about is that Ford is one hell of a wordsmith, and this book is an absolutely pleasure on a sentence to sentence level!
The story ends as its barely getting started. I do wonder if Ford could have stuck the landing on plot, or if it would have dragged around for a while and gone nowhere. I do wish I'd started one of Ford's finished novels, but I don't regret the journey.
May 21, 2022
Gosh, if a book doesn't even come close to finishing the story, which could well have gone on for several volumes, how can it get 4 stars or more from so many people?
Early on, you realize this isn't your everyday fantasy writer, Little bits, little turns of phrase, tell you that this is a polished, comfortable writer. Highly detailed descriptions that could have been deadly dull in other hands come across as the details of a master's painting; you know not only that there is a glass on the table, but you know its gleam, its heft, its position .... and somehow you feel you *needed* to know those things.
We have a duel, some magic, some love, a mysterious host whose capabilities are unknown but respected. Best of all, we have a magic that is a tad unpredictable, and perhaps stronger than the wielder would like. Some people know that their ride on the magic must lead to a mighty roll of the dice. We have obligations, love, honour, and courtesy, the conflicts thereof, and simple dignity. Hardly anyone dies, and we don't need Jack the Ripper or massive orc-slaughtering.
It's a world much like ours in many ways, yet clearly different. But we get right away that love and duty etc. etc. are the same here as there.
I wanted so much to know what happens to Varic and Longlight, to Birch, Agate, Hilt, ... I want to go back to this world and I won't be able to. Sigh.
The best I can do is to seek out everything Ford ever wrote.
Early on, you realize this isn't your everyday fantasy writer, Little bits, little turns of phrase, tell you that this is a polished, comfortable writer. Highly detailed descriptions that could have been deadly dull in other hands come across as the details of a master's painting; you know not only that there is a glass on the table, but you know its gleam, its heft, its position .... and somehow you feel you *needed* to know those things.
We have a duel, some magic, some love, a mysterious host whose capabilities are unknown but respected. Best of all, we have a magic that is a tad unpredictable, and perhaps stronger than the wielder would like. Some people know that their ride on the magic must lead to a mighty roll of the dice. We have obligations, love, honour, and courtesy, the conflicts thereof, and simple dignity. Hardly anyone dies, and we don't need Jack the Ripper or massive orc-slaughtering.
It's a world much like ours in many ways, yet clearly different. But we get right away that love and duty etc. etc. are the same here as there.
I wanted so much to know what happens to Varic and Longlight, to Birch, Agate, Hilt, ... I want to go back to this world and I won't be able to. Sigh.
The best I can do is to seek out everything Ford ever wrote.
May 18, 2023
reading this book is like watching really good improv, or seeing one of those 30 second figure drawings that doesn't really look like a person but manages somehow to perfectly capture the movement and energy of its subject. an incomplete first draft published after the author's unexpected death, aspects is obviously messy, but it has this particular kind of magical glitter that i think you only get in first drafts. it's the way that nothing quite fits together if you look too closely, but also everything works perfectly if you just let it wash over you. even though an edit (not to mention an ending) would have made this story cleaner, there's something really unique about getting to see this first rendering of a text where that initial idea and emotion that inspired the story seem to come though crystal clear, even though the story itself doesn't quite make it.
considering-reading
October 14, 2023I am not sure if I want to read this or not. I read a bunch of his books, shortly before his death and I was actually aware, excited, looking forward to this book. It might make sad again at the waste of his death, so young (well, just reading about it made me, reading surely will). Also, more self-servingly, it is so hard to decrypt what is going on in his books, not sure if there will be enough here to make it satisfying rather than frustrating. Thinking about it. Maybe. Maybe not.
April 27, 2023
I really don't know what to make of this book. So much about it was beautiful, incomprehensible, or simply beautifully incomprehensible. I thought the quality of the writing was excellent, but it was often so vague and roundabout that the plot itself was hard to grasp. However, the relative plotlessness of this book is but a minor quibble, since Ford managed to create an artful pastiche of slice-of-life romance, Edwardian manor-house dramas, steampunk industrialism, and high fantasy politicking, all within the confines of this sadly unfinished novel.
Aspects was certainly an enjoyable read, but I wouldn't call it a satisfying one. The main character, Varic, is a lord and a politician, and his associates are also nobles, politicians, sorcerers, and assorted odd people, all with agendas. This means that so much was left unsaid, or half-said, or said merely between the eloquent lines of some purple prose. I find this style of intrigue better suited to the screen than the page, because when I'm reading a book, I'd actually like to know what the hell is going on.
The worldbuilding was certainly unique. The trains (known as the Ironways)formed the backbone of the land of Lescouray, and much time was spent talking about the Ironways, riding them, thinking about the political ramifications of them, etc. The food and clothing descriptions were just the way I like them- excessive. The main religion was also interesting- their Goddess has several aspects and manifestations, hence the title of the book- but some of the historical and geographical parts of the story were a bit lacking. Lescouray is England, its capital of Lystourel is London, there are countries that directly parallel Italy, France, and Germany. There was a period of time when Lescouray was under the control of an empire that's pretty transparently the Roman Empire, and then the land had its own version of the Middle Ages. So, to sum it up, the execution of the worldbuilding felt unique, but its substance wasn't really all that special.
As for the plot (or lack thereof), interpersonal relations formed a large part of the goings-on. Most of the book's second act took place at Strange House, which was...strange. Unsurprisingly. It was a gathering place for Varic and other interesting people, and it's owned by a man named Strange who is probably immortal. A whole lot of nothing happened at Strange House, although I'm sure some of it might've been more significant if this book were actually finished. There was a lot of theological rambling, a lot of needlessly elaborate meals and conversations, and a lot of playful prevaricating. I skimmed most of it. This section's worst fault was probably the weak stab Ford took at promoting a polyamorous...situation (Varic is the lover/caretaker of a borderline insane sorceress named Agate, but since he can't touch her due to the insanity, he gets to sleep with other people, including a noblewoman named Longlight). Longlight was incredibly boring. She had one brief conversation with Varic about how she cut a boy's throat when she was a girl because being a violent huntress turned her on. I think that was the author trying to be an empowering feminist, but what do I know?
Anyway, it really is a shame that this book and this series will remain unfinished. It felt layered and intricate, and I wish I could see more of the world, even if the characters could use some work.
Aspects was certainly an enjoyable read, but I wouldn't call it a satisfying one. The main character, Varic, is a lord and a politician, and his associates are also nobles, politicians, sorcerers, and assorted odd people, all with agendas. This means that so much was left unsaid, or half-said, or said merely between the eloquent lines of some purple prose. I find this style of intrigue better suited to the screen than the page, because when I'm reading a book, I'd actually like to know what the hell is going on.
The worldbuilding was certainly unique. The trains (known as the Ironways)formed the backbone of the land of Lescouray, and much time was spent talking about the Ironways, riding them, thinking about the political ramifications of them, etc. The food and clothing descriptions were just the way I like them- excessive. The main religion was also interesting- their Goddess has several aspects and manifestations, hence the title of the book- but some of the historical and geographical parts of the story were a bit lacking. Lescouray is England, its capital of Lystourel is London, there are countries that directly parallel Italy, France, and Germany. There was a period of time when Lescouray was under the control of an empire that's pretty transparently the Roman Empire, and then the land had its own version of the Middle Ages. So, to sum it up, the execution of the worldbuilding felt unique, but its substance wasn't really all that special.
As for the plot (or lack thereof), interpersonal relations formed a large part of the goings-on. Most of the book's second act took place at Strange House, which was...strange. Unsurprisingly. It was a gathering place for Varic and other interesting people, and it's owned by a man named Strange who is probably immortal. A whole lot of nothing happened at Strange House, although I'm sure some of it might've been more significant if this book were actually finished. There was a lot of theological rambling, a lot of needlessly elaborate meals and conversations, and a lot of playful prevaricating. I skimmed most of it. This section's worst fault was probably the weak stab Ford took at promoting a polyamorous...situation (Varic is the lover/caretaker of a borderline insane sorceress named Agate, but since he can't touch her due to the insanity, he gets to sleep with other people, including a noblewoman named Longlight). Longlight was incredibly boring. She had one brief conversation with Varic about how she cut a boy's throat when she was a girl because being a violent huntress turned her on. I think that was the author trying to be an empowering feminist, but what do I know?
Anyway, it really is a shame that this book and this series will remain unfinished. It felt layered and intricate, and I wish I could see more of the world, even if the characters could use some work.
July 12, 2024
I went into Aspects fully aware, especially after the introduction, that it was unfinished, and yet the closer I came to the end of the page count, the more I prayed that extra pages would magically appear. I truly feel bereft at only having received a glimpse at this story, and yet I do also feel richer for it. Thanks to Tor Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Starting something which is destined to remain forever unfinished is an interesting challenge. I thought that, knowing this, I would not connect to the material as much, or that it would be obvious that this was a work in progress. What emerges in Aspects is a drastically exciting fantasy world which would have cemented itself as a forever favourite if it had been finished. (Even now it is a favourite!) While an unexpected death is always a tragedy, knowing what Ford could have given the world through his fiction makes it even sadder. Thankfully he wrote many other books before his death and I will dive into those as soon as possible.
Aspects starts with Varic, a Coron, about to begin a duel. It seems he has been challenged rather a bit lately and a cloud hangs over him. As a Coron, he represents his region in Parliament, where he is trying to push through reform. During a session, he encounters Lady Longlight, another Coron who has travelled to Parliament to ask for support against rebels invading her own region. A spark lights between them and he invites her to Strange House, which truly lives up to his name. Strange is an odd fellow, seemingly incredibly old and full of good but mysterious advice. There we also meet a set of other characters, each of whom is fascinating and suggests a whole other set of layers and depth. Varic is called away from Strange House urgently due to an emergency and then... Aspects ends. Each chapter begins with a poem and Ford had already written the rest of the poems for the rest of the chapters. I believe that what we have now is roughly the first third of the novel, which means that the world has been properly established and the plot is now fully underway. I would kill (almost) for the rest of this novel! I will write more about the writing style below, but the world Ford creates in Aspects is utterly sumptuous. There is truly a whole world there, which stretches beyond the confines of the plot, full of history, politics, and legend. The characters are intriguing. Varic is quite reclusive, in his way, highly polished and restrained, and yet brimming with passion and energy and destiny. Longlight is something of a fish out of water, introduced, by Varic, to the world of politics and Strange House and she serves as an excellent guide to the reader, who is equally new. There is a whole magic system which is not fully explained in what exists of the novel but is given enough space that you can't help but want to know more.
This was my first time reading John M. Ford, but it will not be the last time. From literally page 1 of Aspects I could feel the world he was trying to create. The novel starts, as said, with a dueling scene and not only does it serve as a good introduction to Varic, but also to the world. We get an idea of religion in the world, how they count time, what their days are called, how magic functions, how bureaucracy impacts everything, and the balance between the fantastical and the urban. And on top of that it is a good action scene! Ford crafts a post-industrial but pre-modern world in which magic exists, but so do trains, where a Goddess occasionally descends into the mortal realm, but humans sit in Parliament. Fantasy novels sometimes run the risk of including too many details, going on endlessly about how a certain building looks or what someone is wearing, and this can get tiresome. Yet somehow Aspects is full of details and yet I was never bored of it. I will be rereading this novel in the future, I am sure, because there are things I missed, or didn't understand what they meant. Aspects can be difficult reading, due to the details but also Ford's seeming desire to push you into the deep end, but I found it very rewarding as well.
Aspects, in all its unfinished glory, lifted me out of a reading-slump with its detail and craft. If you enjoy puzzling out details, slowly creating a cohesive picture of a world, and if you think you can handle having to accept the picture will never be complete, then please give Aspects a chance!
URL: https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/...
Starting something which is destined to remain forever unfinished is an interesting challenge. I thought that, knowing this, I would not connect to the material as much, or that it would be obvious that this was a work in progress. What emerges in Aspects is a drastically exciting fantasy world which would have cemented itself as a forever favourite if it had been finished. (Even now it is a favourite!) While an unexpected death is always a tragedy, knowing what Ford could have given the world through his fiction makes it even sadder. Thankfully he wrote many other books before his death and I will dive into those as soon as possible.
Aspects starts with Varic, a Coron, about to begin a duel. It seems he has been challenged rather a bit lately and a cloud hangs over him. As a Coron, he represents his region in Parliament, where he is trying to push through reform. During a session, he encounters Lady Longlight, another Coron who has travelled to Parliament to ask for support against rebels invading her own region. A spark lights between them and he invites her to Strange House, which truly lives up to his name. Strange is an odd fellow, seemingly incredibly old and full of good but mysterious advice. There we also meet a set of other characters, each of whom is fascinating and suggests a whole other set of layers and depth. Varic is called away from Strange House urgently due to an emergency and then... Aspects ends. Each chapter begins with a poem and Ford had already written the rest of the poems for the rest of the chapters. I believe that what we have now is roughly the first third of the novel, which means that the world has been properly established and the plot is now fully underway. I would kill (almost) for the rest of this novel! I will write more about the writing style below, but the world Ford creates in Aspects is utterly sumptuous. There is truly a whole world there, which stretches beyond the confines of the plot, full of history, politics, and legend. The characters are intriguing. Varic is quite reclusive, in his way, highly polished and restrained, and yet brimming with passion and energy and destiny. Longlight is something of a fish out of water, introduced, by Varic, to the world of politics and Strange House and she serves as an excellent guide to the reader, who is equally new. There is a whole magic system which is not fully explained in what exists of the novel but is given enough space that you can't help but want to know more.
This was my first time reading John M. Ford, but it will not be the last time. From literally page 1 of Aspects I could feel the world he was trying to create. The novel starts, as said, with a dueling scene and not only does it serve as a good introduction to Varic, but also to the world. We get an idea of religion in the world, how they count time, what their days are called, how magic functions, how bureaucracy impacts everything, and the balance between the fantastical and the urban. And on top of that it is a good action scene! Ford crafts a post-industrial but pre-modern world in which magic exists, but so do trains, where a Goddess occasionally descends into the mortal realm, but humans sit in Parliament. Fantasy novels sometimes run the risk of including too many details, going on endlessly about how a certain building looks or what someone is wearing, and this can get tiresome. Yet somehow Aspects is full of details and yet I was never bored of it. I will be rereading this novel in the future, I am sure, because there are things I missed, or didn't understand what they meant. Aspects can be difficult reading, due to the details but also Ford's seeming desire to push you into the deep end, but I found it very rewarding as well.
Aspects, in all its unfinished glory, lifted me out of a reading-slump with its detail and craft. If you enjoy puzzling out details, slowly creating a cohesive picture of a world, and if you think you can handle having to accept the picture will never be complete, then please give Aspects a chance!
URL: https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/...
Read
May 31, 20256 out of 10 (it’d be at least 7, maybe 8, if this were a complete novel).
For anyone who’s ever read anything by John M. Ford it should not be surprising that even an incomplete story that cuts off, leaving everything hanging should garner such a high score. John M. Ford was one of the finest authors in any genre; it’s us SF/F geeks who had the great good fortune that he most often wrote in our genre. Ford could even make something as hack as a Star Trek novel special with this erudition and humanity. For my money, The Final Reflection is the best of the (at this point) hundreds of ST novels and he puts the clichéd, anemic Klingons of the post-TOS Star Trek series to shame.
He also managed to write one of the finest historical fantasies ever – The Dragon Waiting. If you can’t stomach a ST novel, you owe it to yourself to read this at least.
Ford brings his usual erudition, humanity, compassion and writing skill to this tale of a world that very broadly resembles early Industrial Age Europe but with magic. Lescoray, Alinsea and Ferangard all resemble England, France and Germany, respectively, but they’re not. It quickly becomes clear that any resemblance is superficial, particularly in regard to Lescoray, where the story takes place. It’s hard to know where Ford was taking this novel, which follows Varic and Longlight, Corons (lords) in the parliament of Lescoray both in there growing personal relationship and in the broader context of a country that is going through profound change. The story is slow and measured in pacing. Ford takes up much of the first half or so (of what we’ve got) carefully setting up the characters and their world, and it’s only in the second part that the plot begins to move forward.
It makes it all the more frustrating that we’ll never know what Ford planned to do with it; he died suddenly in 2006. I only hope that no one attempts to “complete” the novel a la Brandon Sanderson and The Wheel of Time. (Which is not to say Sanderson didn’t do yeoman service in completing Jordan’s work but Ford’s voice is so unique, no one, however good, could do Aspects justice.)
I can’t really recommend Aspects except to Ford completists but if you haven’t discovered him yet, you should expend some effort in fixing that mistake as soon as practicable.
For anyone who’s ever read anything by John M. Ford it should not be surprising that even an incomplete story that cuts off, leaving everything hanging should garner such a high score. John M. Ford was one of the finest authors in any genre; it’s us SF/F geeks who had the great good fortune that he most often wrote in our genre. Ford could even make something as hack as a Star Trek novel special with this erudition and humanity. For my money, The Final Reflection is the best of the (at this point) hundreds of ST novels and he puts the clichéd, anemic Klingons of the post-TOS Star Trek series to shame.
He also managed to write one of the finest historical fantasies ever – The Dragon Waiting. If you can’t stomach a ST novel, you owe it to yourself to read this at least.
Ford brings his usual erudition, humanity, compassion and writing skill to this tale of a world that very broadly resembles early Industrial Age Europe but with magic. Lescoray, Alinsea and Ferangard all resemble England, France and Germany, respectively, but they’re not. It quickly becomes clear that any resemblance is superficial, particularly in regard to Lescoray, where the story takes place. It’s hard to know where Ford was taking this novel, which follows Varic and Longlight, Corons (lords) in the parliament of Lescoray both in there growing personal relationship and in the broader context of a country that is going through profound change. The story is slow and measured in pacing. Ford takes up much of the first half or so (of what we’ve got) carefully setting up the characters and their world, and it’s only in the second part that the plot begins to move forward.
It makes it all the more frustrating that we’ll never know what Ford planned to do with it; he died suddenly in 2006. I only hope that no one attempts to “complete” the novel a la Brandon Sanderson and The Wheel of Time. (Which is not to say Sanderson didn’t do yeoman service in completing Jordan’s work but Ford’s voice is so unique, no one, however good, could do Aspects justice.)
I can’t really recommend Aspects except to Ford completists but if you haven’t discovered him yet, you should expend some effort in fixing that mistake as soon as practicable.
The Complex Gardens
Bright passion’s petals make it hard to see
That all our individuated loves
Are single blooms in complex gardens. We
Are lost too easily in forests of
Fantastic beasts with topiary smiles,
Or flytraps sweet with promises and glue,
The dark beneath the greenery beguiles,
And sense is drowned in nectar, till bamboo,
With just a whisper of insidious shoot,
Has pricked the heart. Perhaps we ought
Step back to see the pattern in the root,
Or think, and not be frightened at the thought,
That love may blossom (and always, die)
To please some unseen Gardener’s heart and eye.
December 26, 2023
This book very nearly became my all time favorite!
I am not taking any points away for any particular reason, it just didn't hit me in the end, the same way that my still favorite, The Secret History by Donna Tartt, did.
That's not to say that this novel failed in any way, because it very much did not fail in my eyes, it's quite a wondrous tale that I really enjoyed through the whole process of reading.
Achieving the second spot in my all time favorites list is definitely quite a feat.
It's quite unfortunate that this book is unfinished and we'll probably never see an end to it, nor the inevitable series that surely would have followed. Hey is Brandon Sanderson still available for finishing series???
Despite this book being the pinnacle of teases, being unfinished, it was still such a well crafted tale that I really loved it all. The story was good, the characters were excellent, the fantasy world that Mr Ford invented here was really something special to behold.
I am not taking any points away for any particular reason, it just didn't hit me in the end, the same way that my still favorite, The Secret History by Donna Tartt, did.
That's not to say that this novel failed in any way, because it very much did not fail in my eyes, it's quite a wondrous tale that I really enjoyed through the whole process of reading.
Achieving the second spot in my all time favorites list is definitely quite a feat.
It's quite unfortunate that this book is unfinished and we'll probably never see an end to it, nor the inevitable series that surely would have followed. Hey is Brandon Sanderson still available for finishing series???
Despite this book being the pinnacle of teases, being unfinished, it was still such a well crafted tale that I really loved it all. The story was good, the characters were excellent, the fantasy world that Mr Ford invented here was really something special to behold.
September 5, 2022
What an amazing world he created. I read this on the basis of Gaiman's comments and was not disappointed, even though it breaks off suddenly on account of Ford's unexpected death. I think it can be read much like Martin's Song of Ice and Fire, which is unfinished and will probably never be finished. It's still excellent.
Read the reviews by Dan Trefethen and Debbie Notkin. I have nothing to add.
Read the reviews by Dan Trefethen and Debbie Notkin. I have nothing to add.
July 2, 2023
This is now one of my favorite books of all time. The closer I got to the end, the more my sadness grew as I realized with each page turned, there was less of this world for me to be a part of. Ford's writing is like a hypnotic drug that just took over my mind: the world he creates, the characters we connect to, and the experience of being with them. It's an interesting book in that nothing really "happens" but every page had me captivated. It's almost just the idea of the world and the characters in it that are so captivating: this world in tension between the traditions of magic and the advancements of technology. I didn't mind that the middle Act was just the characters luxuriating at Strange House, with so many detailed outfit changes and opulent meals it can make your head spin. I savored every minute of it and wanted more. One thing to keep in mind that is that was intended to be a world-building book for the start of a series that was unfortunately cut short. I read this book with a mind to what it could have been and the gratitude for what we did have. John M. Ford is an absolute master and every word he wrote in this book is a gift.
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