Reserved for the Cat, Mercedes Lackey (published 2007)
Re-read August 9, 2013
ISBN - 978-0756403621
Steadfast ("reviewed" on my reading page June 10-15, 2013)
While reading, I felt that the plotline of Steadfast was very
similar to Reserved for the Cat, but then I read that way back in
2007 when it came out, and my memory was a bit fuzzy. I re-read
Reserved yesterday, and they really are quite similar.
I have to wonder if that is on purpose, because the whole of
Reserved for the Cat had a feel of "ballet girls are better than
variety-show dancers" to it, and the whole point of Steadfast was to
feature those same slightly lower class of dancers and personages as the protagonists and important figures in that same
world.
There were minor differences of course - Nina/Ninette the ballerina
couldn't choreograph, while Katie is a brilliant dance designer. The
gathered "powerful menfolk" are Masters in the first and Magicians in
the second. The foe was an Earth Elemental in Nina's case, and Katie's
abusive husband in the second. Although I do pause for a moment that in
the comparison, it's sort of rough for Katie's poor hubby that an Earth
Elemental comes off as so much more crafty and witty and clever than that poor sot.
What's interesting is that reading them so close together, I can't
really decide that one is better than the other, just that they are so
very close to each other in style and tone and plot. Really, the major
difference I see is that Ninette gets to save herself in the end
(although she hides that knowledge) and Katie gets saved in the end by a
magical dragon who thinks she's sweet. As a woman, I have to say I
like the first option better. However, the entire plotline (in both
cases) is a woman alone and dependent on the whims (thankfully of the
most noble and kindhearted sort) of the current batch of men who are
angling to save her because it helps them out. Not much in the way of
agency when you're relegated to taking orders, after all.
On a final note, re-reading Reserved for the Cat did make me question one thing: why didn't the Cat ever reveal himself to Ninette?
No comments:
Post a Comment