Fiction log - February 2020

[pedanther]

Fiction books
Aaron Allston. Iron Fist (e)
Aaron Allston. Solo Command (e)
Aaron Allston. Starfighters of Adumar (e)
Aaron Allston. Wraith Squadron (e)
Lois McMaster Bujold. Captain Vorpatril's Alliance (e) (re-read)
Lois McMaster Bujold. Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen (e) (re-read)
Lois McMaster Bujold. Komarr (e) (re-read)
Michael Stewart, Jerry Herman. Hello, Dolly!
Thornton Wilder. The Matchmaker
Timothy Zahn. Dark Force Rising (e) (re-read)
Timothy Zahn. Heir to the Empire (e) (re-read)
Timothy Zahn. The Last Command (e) (re-read)

In progress
(anthology). Batman Black and White, volume 2 (re-read)
Terry Pratchett. Raising Steam (e) (re-read)

Picture books
Diane Redfield Massie. The Baby Beebee Bird

Non-fiction books in progress
Christopher Lascelles. Pontifex Maximus (e)


Short fiction
Sharon Lee, Steve Miller. "The Gate That Locks the Tree" (e)

Fanfic, novel-length
imaginary_golux. Harlequin (Star Wars)

Fanfic, novella-length
AMarguerite. "Mr. Bennet Travels Through Time" (Pride and Prejudice)
Dira Sudis. "Shelter and Solace" (Vorkosigan Saga, canon divergence au)
LullabyKnell. "The Story of Finn" (Star Wars) (re-read)
neveralarch. "The Amazon" (Doctor Who, canon divergence au)
Prochytes. "Borrowed Robes" (Alias x The Authority x Buffy the Vampire Slayer x Harry Potter x Master and Commander x Torchwood, crossover)
Prochytes. "Dreams to Sell" (Marvel Cinematic Universe x Torchwood, crossover)
Prochytes. "The Last Enemy" (Torchwood)
Prochytes. "One Good Deed Dying Tongueless" (Harry Potter x Hellblazer, crossover)
Syrena_of_the_lake. "Howlrunner" (Star Wars)
Syrena_of_the_lake. "Make Do and Mend" (Star Wars)
Syrena_of_the_lake. "Much Ado About Mutiny" (Narnia x Pirates of the Caribbean, crossover)
Syrena_of_the_lake. "Pscientific Method" (Narnia x Psmith, crossover)
Syrena_of_the_lake. "To seek out new life" (Forever x Star Trek, crossover)
Syrena_of_the_lake. "The Super Genius Caper" (Castle x Gargoyles x Looney Tunes x Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego, crossover)
Syrena_of_the_lake. "Things" (Star Wars, canon divergence au)
thisbluespirit. "Some With Arrows, Some With Traps" (Star Wars, canon divergence au)
Ysabetwordsmith. "Revisiting the Past" (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

Film
Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn
Jojo Rabbit

Theatre
(none)

Television serials abandoned
Doctor Who, 2017 season (online streaming)
Doctor Who, 2020 season


Books bought
Ben Aaronovitch. False Value (e)
Sharon Lee, Steve Miller. The Gate That Locks the Tree (e)
Timothy Zahn. Dark Force Rising (e)
Timothy Zahn. Heir to the Empire (e)
Timothy Zahn. The Last Command (e)

Books borrowed
(none)


Top of the to-read pile
Ben Aaronovitch. False Value

Comments

[thedarlingone]

*bounces* what did you think of the Aaron Allston books?

[pedanther]

Well, I didn't imprint on them dramatically like some people I could mention, but they were a lot of fun. I think Lara was my favourite Wraith; she had an interesting character arc and I was very pleased that it didn't end with her dying. I liked the "you can't look dignified when you're having fun" scene.

[igenlode]

I'm guesing that "The Matchmaker" is the original source material for "Hello, Dolly"?

[pedanther]

The short answer is, yes, "The Matchmaker" is the play that was adapted into the musical "Hello, Dolly".

The longer and more pedantic answer is that "The Matchmaker" is the proximate source material for "Hello, Dolly", but was itself adapted from a play from a few decades earlier called "The Merchant of Yonkers", which was based on a 19th-century Austrian play called "Einen Jux will er sich machen", which was based on an earlier English play called "A Day Well Spent", which was, as far as we know, the original source material.

I happen to have a book of Thornton Wilder plays on my to-read shelf, so after I'd done my first read-through of the script for "Hello Dolly" I decided to read "The Matchmaker" as well to see the differences. I'm not sure if it helped as far as informing my work on "Hello Dolly"; my character is changed enough between versions that I'm not sure any insights carry over.

[igenlode]

I could imagine "Hello, Dolly!" having a German origin (the whole 'matchmaker' thing being Yiddish, as I understand it), but a Theatre Royal farce is certainly unexpected...

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/49882/49882-h/49882-h.htm

I don't think there's any connection to the original left -- this one is all about the misadventures of two truant shop employees, with the principal character being Bolt, the ringleader of the pair!

[pedanther]

The two truant shop employees are still in there, though they got demoted to the B-plot by the playwright who introduced Dolly, and of course their names changed when they emigrated to Vienna and again when they emigrated to America. In Hello Dolly, they're called Cornelius and Barnaby, and Cornelius was played by Michael Crawford in the film version.

Horace Vandergelder, the man Dolly has set her cap at, is Cornelius and Barnaby's boss, which is why he's otherwise occupied and they have the chance to go truant. (The business with the boss's daughter and her unsuitable suitor which was the reason for his distraction in the original play is down to the C-plot in "The Matchmaker" and almost vestigial though still present in "Hello Dolly" -- and for some reason in the American versions she's become his niece, possibly because somebody decided having a daughter of marriageable age would be offputting if he was going to be the main character's love interest.)