I didn’t really like either of them, and it’s been so long since I’ve read either that I can’t make a good comparison. I think they are both low points in SJM’s body of work.
Tag: anti acowar
just when you think you’re free
a thread stanning eris crosses your dash
Hi! (Different anon than the two before me about acowar) In your reply to a previous ask you said that SJM copy-pasted some sentences from the Bible. I’m wondering whether you could give a few examples if you’re not uncomfortable with that? I’ve only read a translation of acowar so I might not have caught them. Btw, the translator of my version (Dutch) solved the “-” problem by using three dots (…). I wanted to tell you this before but completely forgot. Anyway, thanks!
I was being a bit facetious when I said “copy-paste” but it was pretty dang close. I can think of at least three examples in ACOWAR.
1) The story of Nephelle that Azriel tells is identical to the crossing of the Red Sea in Exodus.
2) Amren mentions destroying two cities in her past life at the behest of a “young a vengeful God” (I think that’s the quote), so she’s basically describing Sodom and Gomorrah.
3) The citizens of Velaris paint their doorframes in blood to protect themselves from Amren, just like the Jewish people did on the first Passover.Again, a lot of these are shared traditions between Christianity and Judaism, so I can’t accuse SJM of appropriating her own culture, but it wasn’t very well done in my opinion and did make me uncomfortable.
And that’s interesting about the Dutch version! But isn’t that just as bad to read as excessive em dashes?
I want to add that it’s not so much that she USED these stories (for me personally) but the manner in which she treated them, especially the role in which she placed Amren. In our belief system, it wasn’t a “servant of the Lord” who both destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah AND was the Angel of Death that killed Egypt’s firstborn. MANY theologians believe that those acts were committed firsthand by God. That the Angel of Death is an incarnation of Him.
That puts a fictional book character on the same plane as (as we believe) the God of the Universe, the King of Kings, the One who created all things and who loves and cherished us.
These are stories that we, as Christians, and I think as Jews and even Muslims (correct me if I’m wrong, please!), have been taught are examples of God’s incredible power, of His anger, AND of his love. And it IS a bit insulting, we believe both to us and especially to Him, to see those incredible incredible things reduced to a plot or character device.
Prince of Egypt did it right.
ACOWAR did not.
Excellent addition, Susanna, thank you!!
Hi! (Different anon than the two before me about acowar) In your reply to a previous ask you said that SJM copy-pasted some sentences from the Bible. I’m wondering whether you could give a few examples if you’re not uncomfortable with that? I’ve only read a translation of acowar so I might not have caught them. Btw, the translator of my version (Dutch) solved the “-” problem by using three dots (…). I wanted to tell you this before but completely forgot. Anyway, thanks!
I was being a bit facetious when I said “copy-paste” but it was pretty dang close. I can think of at least three examples in ACOWAR.
1) The story of Nephelle that Azriel tells is identical to the crossing of the Red Sea in Exodus.
2) Amren mentions destroying two cities in her past life at the behest of a “young a vengeful God” (I think that’s the quote), so she’s basically describing Sodom and Gomorrah.
3) The citizens of Velaris paint their doorframes in blood to protect themselves from Amren, just like the Jewish people did on the first Passover.
Again, a lot of these are shared traditions between Christianity and Judaism, so I can’t accuse SJM of appropriating her own culture, but it wasn’t very well done in my opinion and did make me uncomfortable.
And that’s interesting about the Dutch version! But isn’t that just as bad to read as excessive em dashes?
Top Five Wednesday
Welcome to Top 5 Wednesday! Every week, join me and other bloggers/booktubers as we discuss our Top 5 Books according to the theme from the Top 5 Wednesday Goodreads Group! This group, started by @thoughtsontomes and @gingerreadslainey, has prompts every week.
Today, the theme is BOOKS YOU DISLIKED BUT LOVE TO DISCUSS!
Some books we disliked or they were just okay, but they still have a lot of discussion points to sink your teeth into.
#5 – The Selection by Kiera Cass
I know some people love this book, and I can sort of understand why, but for me it was kind of a trashfire. I didn’t like the characters, the world, the plot–none of it. Even so, I did read the rest of the series just to find out how bad it could get (spoiler: pretty bad). But bad books offer a lot of material to discuss and talk about, so this makes the list for me!
#4 – Mermaid by Carolyn Turgeon
I hated this book when I first read it, though I’ll admit I wonder if I’d feel the same if I reread it now that I’m older. I had a lot of thoughts about the quality of the retelling and the take on the mermaid’s sexuality and all that. I’ll probably reread it at some point to be able to discuss it better, but from my memory I have a lot to say on it as is.
#3 – Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton
I DNFed this one because I became uncomfortable with the painful amount of misogyny in this book. It had a clever premise of blending two different kinds of desert cultures, but it wasn’t done sensitively and just wound up reinforcing damaging stereotypes. This book offers interesting discussion points on cultural appropriation, how unexamined white privilege can damage a book, and sensitivity reading.
#2 – The Thinking Woman’s Guide to Real Magic by Emily Croy Barker
I wouldn’t say “discuss” so much as “rant about,” because this book was so bad that I couldn’t bring myself to finish it. That said, there’s a lot to talk about with regard to female agency, the use of fairies, and the sheer number of inaccuracies concerning the life of a grad student in the humanities. If you’ve read this book, hit me up, because I love to hate it.
#1 – A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
Okay, so I hesitate to say I like discussing this book because I feel like I’ve said most of what there is to say, but this book offers a lot of material for discussing not only things like representation, toxic masculinity, and cultural appropriation, but also things like writing as a craft, what makes good prose, and the editing process. It’s a good case study, even though talking about it is still rather bitter.
The books above represent books that I DNFed and books that I finished, but all books that I rated three stars or less. I have strong feelings about all of them, which is why it’s so easy (and sometimes fun) to discuss them! What are the books you disliked or hated but still enjoy discussing? I’d love to hear about them!
Is there anyway to get a copy of ACOWAS in print? I.E. do you plan on making an online PDF version that can be downloaded and printed? I would much rather have ACOWAS next to ACOMAF and believe that is the ending than seeing ACOWAR in my collection.
Oh, this is so kind of you! ❤ Really, it’s so sweet and means a lot!
Your best bet is to go to the Archive of Our Own page, which allows you to download it as a PDF. You can do the same with any of the one-shots, as well. Just a warning, it comes out to over 400 pages as a PDF, so it might be a little expensive to print. You’re welcome to do so if you’d like, though!
Thanks so much for the lovely note. ❤
What’s the reason for Feysand no longer being your otp at the end of acowar? I, too, share the same feeling. For me, the couple that once had so much understanding, compassion, and electricity suddenly became somewhat generic, forced and predictable, and I feel like it’s more to do with writing skill than character changes and development due to how inconsistent these changes felt. Thoughts?
Basically this, tbh. I mean, I go into it here and there in my anti acowar tag, but it’s not something I like to talk about much, because that ship meant a lot to me and losing it was a serious bummer.
What’s your overall opinion on SJ Maas’ writing on a whole? Or rather, the way her writing has regressed or improved (in your opinion)? Feelings about this in relation whatever ACOWAR turned out to be.
Listen, no writer’s first draft is good, and that’s why we have editors. If SJM had taken the time to give ACOWAR the TLC it deserved, I think her writing would have been passable, or even good. That is, it would not have taken away from the enjoyment of the book. Part of SJM’s talent is prose that is generally unnoticeable compared to her characters and relationships, which are certainly her strengths. Sometimes you read a book and it’s the words themselves that carry you away, but sometimes it’s things like the characters or plot.
This is a perfectly acceptable way to write–every writer has their own strengths!
So I’m not going to say she’s bad for writing like that. But what is a problem is that she didn’t get proper rounds of editing, because all of the problems with ACOWAR would have been fixed if it had been given more editing at every level. I blame the quality of ACOWAR’s prose more on the editors and publishers than SJM herself, though honestly it’s quite possible she was resting on her laurels a bit and wasn’t focusing on craft when writing as much as she might have.
Honestly… I was not even halfway done reading ACOWAR when I decided to just stop reading it altogether. I can’t even explain it; it’s like everything about it just made reading that book feel like a chore to me, if that makes sense? And now my copy of ACOWAR is just sitting there on my book shelf. Seriously, ACOWAS was WAY BETTER. I may or may not wish at times that ACOWAS were the official ACOWAR instead.
That sense of it being a “chore” is reflective of my experience, as well. The pacing was simply so slow that it felt like a slog most of the time. Pacing doesn’t have to ruin a book, but in this case it made my reading experience very different.
And thank you so much! It’s nice to hear ACOWAS aged well, though I am sad that we didn’t get the real third book we were hoping for.
Oh, sorry, I wrote ‘buyed’ and ‘buy’ in my prior message instead of ‘bought’ :) Yes, there is a huge different between the writing style of the first two books and the last one. I’ve heard that sometimes the translators take somes liberties in order to improve the style in their translations but it seems this is not the case. It feels like ACOWAR is a draft. Next time one of her books gets my attention, I’ll read a sample to decide whether I buy it or not. It’s very interesting what you comment1
2about slow burn 😀 I love seeing how two characters develop a bond gradually. I loved the relationship between Rhysand and Feyre in ACOMAF. I think there were several exciting and emotional moments between them, so it saddens me that ACOWAR is letting me down. Btw I’ve read your fics and I loved them, so I want to buy your series. What you’ve told us about it sounds amazing 😀
Yes, most of the fandom noticed the huge difference in style, which led to a conspiracy theory about a ghostwriter (which I don’t buy into). I just think they hurried it to publication a little too fast. And yes, I plan to do the same with any of her books in the future. I’m still undecided about ACOFAS. Feysand was my OTP before ACOWAR, and I’d kind of love to have those feelings back, at least a little.
And awww!! Thank you so much, that’s really sweet! It’s only a year away now and I feel like it’s really going to fly by. ❤
Sarah Viehmann 