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Cargando... On Land and at Seapor Kage Baker, Kathleen Bartholomew
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Pertenece a las seriesNell Gwynne's (2)
The Ladies of Nell Gwynne's are not your run-of-the-mill demi-mondaines. They are refined and educated ladies all, engaged in the more elegant and expensive forms of carnal delight in order to make their way in a hard world. But they also serve the Queen and the Empire, as the invaluable Ladies' Auxiliary of the technocratic Gentlemen's Speculative Society. However, even the most dedicated operatives need a holiday from time to time. Nell Gwynne's shuts down for a month at the height of every summer for recreation and relaxation. This summer the Ladies have retired to a respectable boarding house in Torquay, since Mrs. Corvey, the Proprietress, is very fond of the sea. She also needs a deal of relaxing, as the cook at Nell Gwynne's has abruptly gotten religion and departed without notice for a less exotic position. No se han encontrado descripciones de biblioteca. |
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The ??ladies� of Nell Gwynne�?s work hard for their money, providing elite custom �?services� to the important men who run England. These men think Nell Gwynne�?s girls are very good at what they do, but they have no idea what�?s really going on inside those pretty little heads. In actuality, all of Nell Gwynne�?s ladies are thoroughly educated and quite accomplished because their �?real� job is to spy for the Gentlemen�?s Speculative Society (the predecessor of Kage Baker�?s The Company).
Their work is exhausting, so each year Nell GwynneÂ??s takes a holiday Â?? without men, of course! This year theyÂ??ve gone to Torquay where they plan to spend a month resting, sunbathing, swimming, shopping, reading, and pursuing some of their personal hobbies (such as archaeological excavation). But when they get to the seaside town, they run into a loud and boisterous American man who may be planning a crime that will threaten EnglandÂ??s security. When the ladies alert the GentlemenÂ??s Speculative Society about the suspected plot, the Society has no agents to send to Torquay, so the ladies must investigate and, if necessary, stop the madmanÂ??s plans. There are other delicate associated issues; the crazy American has fallen in love with one of the ladies and Mrs. Corvey, the proprietor of Nell GwynneÂ??s, must find and hire a new cook before they get back to London. Can the girls accomplish their goals without blowing their cover? And will they get to enjoy their vacation?
Kage Baker is one of my favorite writers and she doesnÂ??t disappoint with Nell GwynneÂ??s On Land and At Sea, her final work. This is a quick-moving short novel with likable characters and plenty of action, but two things set it apart from other fun stories. One is Kage BakerÂ??s excellent storytelling skills and her succinct style. Similar to Ursula Le Guin, Baker makes every word count and she can tell a better story with 25,000 words than most authors can with twice that many. Therefore, characters and setting feel fully developed but the plotÂ??s pace never suffers with detailed backstories and description.
The other is Baker�?s delightful sense of humor which, similar to Jack Vance�?s, is best described as droll. You wouldn�?t call Nell Gwynne�?s On Land and At Sea a comedy, at least not on the surface, but it�?s very funny nonetheless. The subplot with the cook, for example, is hilarious but subtle, relying on the absurdity of the situation and its deadpan delivery rather than the sarcastic snark which counts for humor in so many fantasy novels these days. In fact, the entire premise of a spying whorehouse is pretty comical and Baker has fun with it. In an early scene she shows the �?ladies� at work, gamely fulfilling their clients�? silly fantasies and, in an incongruous contrast, we later see them donning bullet-proof corset stays before heading out to stop the bad guys.
Nell GwynneÂ??s On Land and At Sea was unfinished when Kage Baker died two years ago. She left notes which helped her sister, Kathleen Bartholomew, finish the novella. I wouldnÂ??t have known that Baker hadnÂ??t written the whole thing if I hadnÂ??t seen BartholomewÂ??s name on the cover. The book is illustrated by J.K. Potter.
Fans will definitely want to read Nell GwynneÂ??s On Land and At Sea, but this is also a fine place to start if youÂ??re new to BakerÂ??s work. You donÂ??t need to have read the previous novels about Nell GwynneÂ??s, The Company, or The GentlemenÂ??s Speculative Society, but after youÂ??ve read Nell GwynneÂ??s On Land and At Sea, I think youÂ??ll want to.
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