Kyrie
I haven't had time to sit down and write anything even remotely resembling a review in ages, thanks to the fact that we lost two desk clerks in one two-week period. So, being one of the stronger clerks remaining, I've been picking up a metric f-ton of shifts until the replacement workers are strong enough to pick up busy shifts on their own.
But I felt the need to jot down some mental notes I had while reading this, that I'd probably end up forgetting if I didn't at least try to write something. So apologies in advance...this is probably (most likely) going to end up being a fairly disjointed “review”.
I liked Carry On. A lot. I enjoyed it for the same reasons that I enjoyed The Magicians series - it's a somewhat cynical reinterpretation of a beloved children's classic. And I'm all about that.
That being said, there were a certain amount of mental gymnastics involved for me to properly enjoy this book.
Carry On is a story based on a story from another story that the main character wrote fanfic about. And while there are some scenes from the Fangirl version of the Simon Snow story - scenes from the actual fictional book that were written in-between chapters of Fangirl, not the fanfic version of the story IN that book - Carry On is its own beast, at heart.
“Being matched with your roommate is a sacred tradition at Watford,” he said. His voice was gentle but firm. “The Crucible cast you together, Simon. You're to watch out for each other, to know each other as well as brothers.”
“Yeah, but, sir...” I was sitting in that giant leather chair up in his office, the one with three horns attached to the top. “The Crucible must have made a mistake. My roommate's a complete wanker. He might even be evil. Last week, someone spelled my laptop closed, and I know it was him. He was practically cackling.”
The Mage just sat on his desk, stroking his beard. “The Crucible cast you together, Simon. You're meant to watch out for him.”
It isn't the actual “Simon Snow as an allegorical representation of the Harry Potter fandom” story, nor Cath's fanfic of the story...while, at the same time, following the same rough idea of the story as shown in Fangirl. Which is easier to sort out in my head than it is in words. I'd be a crap wizard.
The trick is, I think, to both juggle the ideas from the story given in Fangirl, while also completely disregarding Fangirl. I seriously don't know if this is a book that works better on its own, without any sort of context, or if it makes more sense if you've read Fangirl.
I will admit that Simon and Baz's relationship works better if you completely disregard the Fangirl version of Simon Snow. It gets in the way of how events turn out - ignoring Fangirl actually improves that part of the story.
The romance feels a bit contrived if you read the story as though it's an extension of the Fangirl "Simon Snow" series. Because the two aren't actually in a love-to-hate relationship in the Fangirl version, treating it as an extension of that...I guess the best way I can sum it up is that it makes the relationship feel forced. Like, if you look at it that way, the only reason they end up together is because Cath's fanfic dictates that they end up together.
If you take the story at face value, though - holy hell.
I'd also like to note that I loved the magic system - the combination of turns of phrase, popular quotes and song lyrics, proverbs, and nursery rhymes being used as the starting points of spells, as well as the fact that everyone's magic has its own feel/scent/taste...it was very much Maki catnip.
I haven't had time to sit down and write anything even remotely resembling a review in ages, thanks to the fact that we lost two desk clerks in one two-week period. So, being one of the stronger clerks remaining, I've been picking up a metric f-ton of shifts until the replacement workers are strong enough to pick up busy shifts on their own.
But I felt the need to jot down some mental notes I had while reading this, that I'd probably end up forgetting if I didn't at least try to write something. So apologies in advance...this is probably (most likely) going to end up being a fairly disjointed “review”.
I liked Carry On. A lot. I enjoyed it for the same reasons that I enjoyed The Magicians series - it's a somewhat cynical reinterpretation of a beloved children's classic. And I'm all about that.
That being said, there were a certain amount of mental gymnastics involved for me to properly enjoy this book.
Carry On is a story based on a story from another story that the main character wrote fanfic about. And while there are some scenes from the Fangirl version of the Simon Snow story - scenes from the actual fictional book that were written in-between chapters of Fangirl, not the fanfic version of the story IN that book - Carry On is its own beast, at heart.
“Being matched with your roommate is a sacred tradition at Watford,” he said. His voice was gentle but firm. “The Crucible cast you together, Simon. You're to watch out for each other, to know each other as well as brothers.”
“Yeah, but, sir...” I was sitting in that giant leather chair up in his office, the one with three horns attached to the top. “The Crucible must have made a mistake. My roommate's a complete wanker. He might even be evil. Last week, someone spelled my laptop closed, and I know it was him. He was practically cackling.”
The Mage just sat on his desk, stroking his beard. “The Crucible cast you together, Simon. You're meant to watch out for him.”
It isn't the actual “Simon Snow as an allegorical representation of the Harry Potter fandom” story, nor Cath's fanfic of the story...while, at the same time, following the same rough idea of the story as shown in Fangirl. Which is easier to sort out in my head than it is in words. I'd be a crap wizard.
The trick is, I think, to both juggle the ideas from the story given in Fangirl, while also completely disregarding Fangirl. I seriously don't know if this is a book that works better on its own, without any sort of context, or if it makes more sense if you've read Fangirl.
I will admit that Simon and Baz's relationship works better if you completely disregard the Fangirl version of Simon Snow. It gets in the way of how events turn out - ignoring Fangirl actually improves that part of the story.
The romance feels a bit contrived if you read the story as though it's an extension of the Fangirl "Simon Snow" series. Because the two aren't actually in a love-to-hate relationship in the Fangirl version, treating it as an extension of that...I guess the best way I can sum it up is that it makes the relationship feel forced. Like, if you look at it that way, the only reason they end up together is because Cath's fanfic dictates that they end up together.
If you take the story at face value, though - holy hell.
I'd also like to note that I loved the magic system - the combination of turns of phrase, popular quotes and song lyrics, proverbs, and nursery rhymes being used as the starting points of spells, as well as the fact that everyone's magic has its own feel/scent/taste...it was very much Maki catnip.