Subliminal
Leonard Mlodinow
ISBN: 978-0307-378217
Pantheon, 2012
You really ought to see the jacket design for this book. It's frankly brilliant, and I laughed out loud when it arrived. On a bright green cover (people are reassured and made comfortable by green) is a nice blocky text stating the title, subtitle, and author. Just barely noticeable is the counterprinted slightly glossy text complimenting you (people are more likely to listen and conform after being complimented) and instructing you to buy! On the inside flaps and reverse, tis a bit more blatant, with huge BUY BUY BUY instructions marching down the pages in that blink and you miss it printing.
Once you get inside, the book continues to be entertaining (which is good, because frankly, the information presented therein is depressing as hell as it relates to our ability to rationally or logically select our governing bodies or who we believe... ) as Mlodinow draws you in through studies and brain imaging and more studies and surveys and polls and even more studies to show that really - we don't actually decide much of anything at all. In fact, we're really kept pretty busy just deciding on the made-up reasons to justify why we already decided things that we didn't know we decided, but we did, so obviously we must be right, and we need a good persuasive reason for it.
Sigh. Other than unseating my tiny spark of hope that someday humanity would become at least reasonably logical and rational, this was a truly amazing book. Read and be astounded!
Monday, June 4, 2012
A Jane Austen Education, William Deresiewicz
A Jane Austen Education
William Deresiewicz
ISBN: 978-159420-2889
Penguin Press, 2011
I have a complicated relationship with Jane Austen. As a self-proclaimed hopeless romantic with a serious pragmatic streak, I have difficulties with the Austen/Bronte dichotomy that popular culture and academic culture alike have deemed insurmountable. I really like Jane Eyre, I really do. And I hate Wuthering Heights with a burning passion. I also think that Pride and Prejudice, Northanger Abbey, and Mansfield Park are quite lovely, and I still wish that I could get my hours back from Emma and Persuasion.
Therefore I feel a little unsuited to review this (at times uncomfortably obsessive) tribute to Austen and her ability to use her novels as object lessons to teach people how to be decent human beings. (I also question the parenting involved that leaves someone in their post-graduate work to realize that they are being schooled in how to be decent human beings.)
Our boy Will apparently grew up under a rock, or had his head so far up his nether regions as a child and young adult that I find it hard to believe that he had any long-term friends at all. Once he made the acquaintance of the delightful Ms Austen's writings, he began to slowly work his way intellectually into the social niceties of not being a self-absorbed twit.
Over the course of a review of the six main Austen works (likely much cross-pollinated with his graduate thesis and subsequent publication on roughly the same topic) Will realizes that Austen was purposefully creating main characters with character flaws, so that the reader would be tricked into identifying with them, and then subsequently shamed by their close identification when the character realizes their lapses (or not, as the case may be) and suffers the obvious consequences.
Perhaps I was read too many moralizing tales as an impressionable child, but I really do have to wonder how someone gets to be an adult without realizing much of what Will seems to attribute directly to the near-divine wisdom imparted by Austen's pen. Perhaps our social circles are simply very different.
In any case, while the rhapsodizing gets a little overwhelming at times, the voice is charming and self-deprecating enough that one doesn't quite want to hit him over the head (I did say quite), and the flow is very well handled between episodes of Austenia and episodes of the ongoing Will learns to be a decent person show.
If you're short on time, or have little patience for obsessive devotion, the back jacket will tide you over quite nicely with short paragraphs of the "point" of each of the novels according to our now totally humanized guide.
William Deresiewicz
ISBN: 978-159420-2889
Penguin Press, 2011
I have a complicated relationship with Jane Austen. As a self-proclaimed hopeless romantic with a serious pragmatic streak, I have difficulties with the Austen/Bronte dichotomy that popular culture and academic culture alike have deemed insurmountable. I really like Jane Eyre, I really do. And I hate Wuthering Heights with a burning passion. I also think that Pride and Prejudice, Northanger Abbey, and Mansfield Park are quite lovely, and I still wish that I could get my hours back from Emma and Persuasion.
Therefore I feel a little unsuited to review this (at times uncomfortably obsessive) tribute to Austen and her ability to use her novels as object lessons to teach people how to be decent human beings. (I also question the parenting involved that leaves someone in their post-graduate work to realize that they are being schooled in how to be decent human beings.)
Our boy Will apparently grew up under a rock, or had his head so far up his nether regions as a child and young adult that I find it hard to believe that he had any long-term friends at all. Once he made the acquaintance of the delightful Ms Austen's writings, he began to slowly work his way intellectually into the social niceties of not being a self-absorbed twit.
Over the course of a review of the six main Austen works (likely much cross-pollinated with his graduate thesis and subsequent publication on roughly the same topic) Will realizes that Austen was purposefully creating main characters with character flaws, so that the reader would be tricked into identifying with them, and then subsequently shamed by their close identification when the character realizes their lapses (or not, as the case may be) and suffers the obvious consequences.
Perhaps I was read too many moralizing tales as an impressionable child, but I really do have to wonder how someone gets to be an adult without realizing much of what Will seems to attribute directly to the near-divine wisdom imparted by Austen's pen. Perhaps our social circles are simply very different.
In any case, while the rhapsodizing gets a little overwhelming at times, the voice is charming and self-deprecating enough that one doesn't quite want to hit him over the head (I did say quite), and the flow is very well handled between episodes of Austenia and episodes of the ongoing Will learns to be a decent person show.
If you're short on time, or have little patience for obsessive devotion, the back jacket will tide you over quite nicely with short paragraphs of the "point" of each of the novels according to our now totally humanized guide.
The Humming Room, Ellen Potter
The Humming Room
Ellen Potter
ISBN: 978-0312-644383
Feiwel and Friends, 2012
What an interesting book this was. Way too short for my tastes.
Potter has taken the bare bones of the Secret Garden, transferred them to modern times in Upstate New York, and slimmed the story down to a tight 182 pages.
I have to say that her version is quite fun (an old sanitarium is the house, the garden is a central greenhouse surrounded by the interior rounded wall of the building, Dickon has become a wild child called the Faigne, and sallow Mary has been transformed into shifty magpie Roo) but I really do wish that it were a YA or adult book instead of Juvie. I can't imagine this story having quite so much resonance for an audience not familiar with The Secret Garden itself, but that story is a beast, clocking in at over 350 pages.
So I'm left with a bit of a twinge, because while I really enjoyed this interpretation, I have to say that it really doesn't quite have an audience. I don't think it's quite captivating enough on it's own merits to incite readers to tackle The Secret Garden, which is both old and huge, and I really don't think that anyone will find this more than a tantalizing tease of a mouthfull after they've devoured all of the rich details and fine storycrafting of The Secret Garden.
So... I really don't know what to say. Perhaps a lush graphic novel (similar to the work Young Kim did with the Twilight graphic novels) to embrace the setting and character changes and make the brevity a virtue?
In all actuality, I would suggest to the author that she consider an adult adaptation - the exact reverse of what Patterson did with The Lake House and the subsequent Maximum Ride series. This tiny little book has such an interesting quality to it, and I really think that many grown-up readers who are nostalgic for The Secret Garden would quite enjoy a really intense and deeply realized re-tread. There are moments here which feel very similar to the breathlessly magical impact of the Night Circus, but they're all just tiny little snatches, and then you're whisked along again.
Ellen Potter
ISBN: 978-0312-644383
Feiwel and Friends, 2012
What an interesting book this was. Way too short for my tastes.
Potter has taken the bare bones of the Secret Garden, transferred them to modern times in Upstate New York, and slimmed the story down to a tight 182 pages.
I have to say that her version is quite fun (an old sanitarium is the house, the garden is a central greenhouse surrounded by the interior rounded wall of the building, Dickon has become a wild child called the Faigne, and sallow Mary has been transformed into shifty magpie Roo) but I really do wish that it were a YA or adult book instead of Juvie. I can't imagine this story having quite so much resonance for an audience not familiar with The Secret Garden itself, but that story is a beast, clocking in at over 350 pages.
So I'm left with a bit of a twinge, because while I really enjoyed this interpretation, I have to say that it really doesn't quite have an audience. I don't think it's quite captivating enough on it's own merits to incite readers to tackle The Secret Garden, which is both old and huge, and I really don't think that anyone will find this more than a tantalizing tease of a mouthfull after they've devoured all of the rich details and fine storycrafting of The Secret Garden.
So... I really don't know what to say. Perhaps a lush graphic novel (similar to the work Young Kim did with the Twilight graphic novels) to embrace the setting and character changes and make the brevity a virtue?
In all actuality, I would suggest to the author that she consider an adult adaptation - the exact reverse of what Patterson did with The Lake House and the subsequent Maximum Ride series. This tiny little book has such an interesting quality to it, and I really think that many grown-up readers who are nostalgic for The Secret Garden would quite enjoy a really intense and deeply realized re-tread. There are moments here which feel very similar to the breathlessly magical impact of the Night Circus, but they're all just tiny little snatches, and then you're whisked along again.
Spell Bound, Rachel Hawkins (Hex Hall #3)
Spell Bound
Rachel Hawkins
ISBN: 978-1423121329
Hyperion 2012
A solid conclusion to an overall quite decent YA girl-power thriller-urban fantasy trilogy.
Sophie Mercer first thought she was a witch, then she found out she was a demon, then she got wrapped up in an ancient blood-feud turned politial coup which left her friends possibly dead, and her father forcibly bereft of his own awesome powers. Now she's on the run, alone, and powerless.
Yay fun!
Rachel Hawkins has a style very similar to that of the Gallagher Girls books, and Sophie herself has that almost Clueless meets Buffy style of breezily taking in horrible news and immediately using sarcasm or wisecracks to take the edge off. I like it.
This final installment brings the trilogy nicely around full-circle, although I do wish that the last third of the book had been about two or maybe three times as long. I really felt that some of the desired impact and emotional intensity were lost through compression. Not to say that it was badly done, just that I felt that there was a lot more potential to be drawn out of that final stretch, and it is a shame to have let it go to waste.
However, a good series all the way through is hard to find, and this one was very enjoyable!
Rachel Hawkins
ISBN: 978-1423121329
Hyperion 2012
A solid conclusion to an overall quite decent YA girl-power thriller-urban fantasy trilogy.
Sophie Mercer first thought she was a witch, then she found out she was a demon, then she got wrapped up in an ancient blood-feud turned politial coup which left her friends possibly dead, and her father forcibly bereft of his own awesome powers. Now she's on the run, alone, and powerless.
Yay fun!
Rachel Hawkins has a style very similar to that of the Gallagher Girls books, and Sophie herself has that almost Clueless meets Buffy style of breezily taking in horrible news and immediately using sarcasm or wisecracks to take the edge off. I like it.
This final installment brings the trilogy nicely around full-circle, although I do wish that the last third of the book had been about two or maybe three times as long. I really felt that some of the desired impact and emotional intensity were lost through compression. Not to say that it was badly done, just that I felt that there was a lot more potential to be drawn out of that final stretch, and it is a shame to have let it go to waste.
However, a good series all the way through is hard to find, and this one was very enjoyable!
The Sword of the Land, Noel-Anne Brennan
Ran across this at the 25-cent table at Goodwill, and was struck by the cover - a young woman with short dark brown hair, and what looks to be a shaggy puma sprouting from the side of her head.
Despite certain issues in composition, I was struck by the hope that this story would include big cats (it does) and that it would have a heroine who wasn't a Rapunzel body-double (it did).
Rilsin (who my brain keeps insisting should be Rislin) Sae Becha is the heir presumptive, until a bloody coup leaves her family dead, and she only lives due to the effection of her elder cousin Sithli (may I note here that creating a character who is named SITH is perhaps not the wisest choice when trying to create nuance and ambiguity about the relative evilness of said character, but I digress).
Rilsin accepts that life changes, becomes her cousin's Sword (essentially Prime Minister and Commander in Chief rolled into one), and sits around moping while her bipolar cousin runs the kingom into the ground through graft, arrant stupidity, slave trading, and also the decay of a fleetingly-explored magical connection that the land should have to the ruler, and Sithli doesn't have.
After a bad marriage, a few wars, an alliance, and a magical transformation in a grotto with candles (no, I'm not kidding) Rilsin finally gets on with it, and thus ends the book in a solid tear of action to make up for the first three-quarters.
Now, that review sounds really harsh, and on the face of it - yeah, kindof. There are sequels, but I'm not really interested enough to hunt them down, which says a lot about how invested I am.
That said, it was an enjoyable light read, and while the story plodded in a lot of ways, there were always interesting characters and dynamics going on, even if there wasn't much action. In addition, the world was very well realized, with an interesting dynastic structure of squabbling family Houses and a gender-equal society where no one ever comments on how marvelous their gender-equal society is.
Plus there were hunting cats, which are always worth a few extra credit points in my book. :)
Despite certain issues in composition, I was struck by the hope that this story would include big cats (it does) and that it would have a heroine who wasn't a Rapunzel body-double (it did).
Rilsin (who my brain keeps insisting should be Rislin) Sae Becha is the heir presumptive, until a bloody coup leaves her family dead, and she only lives due to the effection of her elder cousin Sithli (may I note here that creating a character who is named SITH is perhaps not the wisest choice when trying to create nuance and ambiguity about the relative evilness of said character, but I digress).
Rilsin accepts that life changes, becomes her cousin's Sword (essentially Prime Minister and Commander in Chief rolled into one), and sits around moping while her bipolar cousin runs the kingom into the ground through graft, arrant stupidity, slave trading, and also the decay of a fleetingly-explored magical connection that the land should have to the ruler, and Sithli doesn't have.
After a bad marriage, a few wars, an alliance, and a magical transformation in a grotto with candles (no, I'm not kidding) Rilsin finally gets on with it, and thus ends the book in a solid tear of action to make up for the first three-quarters.
Now, that review sounds really harsh, and on the face of it - yeah, kindof. There are sequels, but I'm not really interested enough to hunt them down, which says a lot about how invested I am.
That said, it was an enjoyable light read, and while the story plodded in a lot of ways, there were always interesting characters and dynamics going on, even if there wasn't much action. In addition, the world was very well realized, with an interesting dynastic structure of squabbling family Houses and a gender-equal society where no one ever comments on how marvelous their gender-equal society is.
Plus there were hunting cats, which are always worth a few extra credit points in my book. :)
Friday, April 27, 2012
Tuesdays at the Castle, Jessica Day George
Tuesdays at the Castle
Bloomsbury, 2011, ISBN: 9780599906447
Celie is the youngest daughter of the King and Queen. They live in a wonderfully accepting Castle, that helps (or hinders) people according to how well it likes them or not. Thankfully, Celie's parents (and ancestors) have been good people, and the castle has currently taken quite a shine to not only Celie's parents, but to her and to her siblings (good thing too, as her brother Rolf is in line to be king).
The book begins with tragedy - parents missing, presumed dead. The Council takes over, menacing envoys from neighboring greedy kingdoms appear almost magically soon after, and before one can blink, the three siblings are in a fight for their lives, and for the continued existance of the kingdom and the Castle.
This is a super-quick read, on the juvenile level (characters have crushes, but are gently teased for it, and exhibit those crushes by being overly nice or by blushing a lot). The siblings have a delightful relationship, and they are believably stubborn and amusingly defiant in the face of overwhelming opposition.
Very good addition to the collection of modern stories told with a fairy-tale feel. I'll put this one up there with Liar's Moon, Princess Academy, and Bella at Midnight. Keep an eye out for this author - this was a delightful read.
Bloomsbury, 2011, ISBN: 9780599906447
Celie is the youngest daughter of the King and Queen. They live in a wonderfully accepting Castle, that helps (or hinders) people according to how well it likes them or not. Thankfully, Celie's parents (and ancestors) have been good people, and the castle has currently taken quite a shine to not only Celie's parents, but to her and to her siblings (good thing too, as her brother Rolf is in line to be king).
The book begins with tragedy - parents missing, presumed dead. The Council takes over, menacing envoys from neighboring greedy kingdoms appear almost magically soon after, and before one can blink, the three siblings are in a fight for their lives, and for the continued existance of the kingdom and the Castle.
This is a super-quick read, on the juvenile level (characters have crushes, but are gently teased for it, and exhibit those crushes by being overly nice or by blushing a lot). The siblings have a delightful relationship, and they are believably stubborn and amusingly defiant in the face of overwhelming opposition.
Very good addition to the collection of modern stories told with a fairy-tale feel. I'll put this one up there with Liar's Moon, Princess Academy, and Bella at Midnight. Keep an eye out for this author - this was a delightful read.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Cinder, Marissa Meyer
Cinder
2012, Feiwel and Friends (Macmillan), ISBN: 9780312641894
First in a proposed set of four, with Scarlet (Little Red Riding Hood) supposedly out in 2013, Cress (perhaps the Princess and the Frog?) in 2014, and Winter (most likely Snow White, or perhaps The Snow Queen) in 2015. Of course, this far out, it's hard to say whether they'll actually happen, but it seems likely that we'll get to see at least Scarlet.
Ok - everyone knows Cinderella. She lives with her stepmom and two stepsisters (common variation has that one sister is kind and the other is mean), dad is deceased, and she gets treated like dirt. Somehow she finds herself at a royal ball, conveyed by the power of a fairy godmother, and usually an unusual coach. Prince sees her, she runs, leaves the shoe, and he uses it to find her. They re-unite, and live happily ever after.
Up until the "he uses it to find her" part, take the above summation and put it into a vaguely caste-based Indian/Chinese society, with strange biologial and biomechanical advances and social implications, and a rapidly diverging set of humans who colonized the moon about a century ago. Got it? Ok, that was the book. And, that's also the main problem with the book.
This wasn't a bad story. It was simply entirely predictable. In one way, that's an impressive feat. Character traits and actions ALL led immediately to one inescapable (and ultimately all confirmed) conclusion. That takes effort. On the other hand, because it was a fairy tale, there are very few surprises, and by keeping so close to the original fairy tale structure, that meant that the story had a certain sense of spoon-feeding that made it ultimately less compelling than it could be. I mean - it had an evil mind-controlling Queen of the Moon for crying out loud! There should be some oomph there!
I liked Cinder, I felt sorry for Kai, and I thought that Dr. Erland was sadly creepy. Iko was an amusing addition, but never really accomplished much - I felt like she could have been utilized better.
Ultimately, I'm really invested in the world, but less so with the characters. I am very glad that the series will be switching protagonists regularly - I feel like the world itself makes for a more compelling through-line character.
2012, Feiwel and Friends (Macmillan), ISBN: 9780312641894
First in a proposed set of four, with Scarlet (Little Red Riding Hood) supposedly out in 2013, Cress (perhaps the Princess and the Frog?) in 2014, and Winter (most likely Snow White, or perhaps The Snow Queen) in 2015. Of course, this far out, it's hard to say whether they'll actually happen, but it seems likely that we'll get to see at least Scarlet.
Ok - everyone knows Cinderella. She lives with her stepmom and two stepsisters (common variation has that one sister is kind and the other is mean), dad is deceased, and she gets treated like dirt. Somehow she finds herself at a royal ball, conveyed by the power of a fairy godmother, and usually an unusual coach. Prince sees her, she runs, leaves the shoe, and he uses it to find her. They re-unite, and live happily ever after.
Up until the "he uses it to find her" part, take the above summation and put it into a vaguely caste-based Indian/Chinese society, with strange biologial and biomechanical advances and social implications, and a rapidly diverging set of humans who colonized the moon about a century ago. Got it? Ok, that was the book. And, that's also the main problem with the book.
This wasn't a bad story. It was simply entirely predictable. In one way, that's an impressive feat. Character traits and actions ALL led immediately to one inescapable (and ultimately all confirmed) conclusion. That takes effort. On the other hand, because it was a fairy tale, there are very few surprises, and by keeping so close to the original fairy tale structure, that meant that the story had a certain sense of spoon-feeding that made it ultimately less compelling than it could be. I mean - it had an evil mind-controlling Queen of the Moon for crying out loud! There should be some oomph there!
I liked Cinder, I felt sorry for Kai, and I thought that Dr. Erland was sadly creepy. Iko was an amusing addition, but never really accomplished much - I felt like she could have been utilized better.
Ultimately, I'm really invested in the world, but less so with the characters. I am very glad that the series will be switching protagonists regularly - I feel like the world itself makes for a more compelling through-line character.
Austenland, Midnight In Austenland, Shannon Hale
Austenland
2007, Bloomsbury, ISBN: 9781596912854
Midnight in Austenland
2012, Bloomsbury, ISBN: 9781608196258
These were a bit of a tangent for me, but I have to say that I enjoyed them more than I thought I would.
Shannon Hale is the author of several Juvenile fairy-tale-esque stories that I have enjoyed - most particularly Princess Academy, The Books of Bayern, and the graphic novels Rapunzel's Revenge and Calamity Jack. (I recommend them all - they are amazing.)
With this duo, Hale sets off into a (presumably imaginary) world where rich young (or not so young) things bored or tormented by modern life and modern loves sequester themselves in the Regency version of an SCA convention, proceed to be romanced (carefully and properly) by handsome young actors in tight Regency pants, and enjoy a few weeks respite from the raging modernity by relaxing in a world where class and gender roles are rigidly imposed.
Ooookay. Sure. On the surface, that sounds a little kooky, but lets be honest here - this seems perfectly logical to me. There have been umpteen different revivals and restagings of Austen's works, women like being romanced, and just about everyone can have fun with a costume party if they let themselves.
In Austenland, our first protagonist is Jane Hayes. She works in marketing, and she's never had a "real" boyfriend. When her elderly aunt notices a certain DVD hiding in her potted plants, Jane is sent off on an adventure to clear the romantic preconceptions from her mind and heart once and for all, so she can settle into a rational life with realistic expectations of love that don't involve beautifully-worded protestations of infatuation or incidents of feet-sweeping-off-of. No one who reads this sort of book will be in the least surprised that this doesn't exactly go according to plan.
In Midnight in Austenland, after having settled our first protagonist (no spoilers) we're treated to a brokenhearted recent divorcee who, while extremely intelligent in many ways, is totally blinded to the reality of the trainwreck that was her marriage. This vacation to fantasy Austenland is an attempt to see herself as something more than an abandoned woman and a mother. Her hopes of finding herself are thwarted from the start as a series of unfortunate and perplexing events culminate in a possible murder! Are the actors simply outdoing themselves, or is something truly afoot?
These are not high literature. They are not classics, they are not treasures of the nation (I would argue strenuously that Rapunzel's Revenge IS) and they are not intellectual reads. They are pure, unadulterated Austen-flavored fluff. I enjoyed the hell out of both of them!
2007, Bloomsbury, ISBN: 9781596912854
Midnight in Austenland
2012, Bloomsbury, ISBN: 9781608196258
These were a bit of a tangent for me, but I have to say that I enjoyed them more than I thought I would.
Shannon Hale is the author of several Juvenile fairy-tale-esque stories that I have enjoyed - most particularly Princess Academy, The Books of Bayern, and the graphic novels Rapunzel's Revenge and Calamity Jack. (I recommend them all - they are amazing.)
With this duo, Hale sets off into a (presumably imaginary) world where rich young (or not so young) things bored or tormented by modern life and modern loves sequester themselves in the Regency version of an SCA convention, proceed to be romanced (carefully and properly) by handsome young actors in tight Regency pants, and enjoy a few weeks respite from the raging modernity by relaxing in a world where class and gender roles are rigidly imposed.
Ooookay. Sure. On the surface, that sounds a little kooky, but lets be honest here - this seems perfectly logical to me. There have been umpteen different revivals and restagings of Austen's works, women like being romanced, and just about everyone can have fun with a costume party if they let themselves.
In Austenland, our first protagonist is Jane Hayes. She works in marketing, and she's never had a "real" boyfriend. When her elderly aunt notices a certain DVD hiding in her potted plants, Jane is sent off on an adventure to clear the romantic preconceptions from her mind and heart once and for all, so she can settle into a rational life with realistic expectations of love that don't involve beautifully-worded protestations of infatuation or incidents of feet-sweeping-off-of. No one who reads this sort of book will be in the least surprised that this doesn't exactly go according to plan.
In Midnight in Austenland, after having settled our first protagonist (no spoilers) we're treated to a brokenhearted recent divorcee who, while extremely intelligent in many ways, is totally blinded to the reality of the trainwreck that was her marriage. This vacation to fantasy Austenland is an attempt to see herself as something more than an abandoned woman and a mother. Her hopes of finding herself are thwarted from the start as a series of unfortunate and perplexing events culminate in a possible murder! Are the actors simply outdoing themselves, or is something truly afoot?
These are not high literature. They are not classics, they are not treasures of the nation (I would argue strenuously that Rapunzel's Revenge IS) and they are not intellectual reads. They are pure, unadulterated Austen-flavored fluff. I enjoyed the hell out of both of them!
Monday, February 27, 2012
The Con, James Munton and Jelita McLeod
The Con: how scams work, why you're vulnerable, and how to protect yourself
James Munton and Jelita McLeod
ISBN: 9781442207318, 2011 Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Oh how fun! Lots of stories (details changed to protect the innocent... ) of people falling for various types of scams and cons, lots of advice (usually pretty good: don't check your online banking on unsecured "open" wireless networks, but sometimes a little paranoid-sounding: lock your mailbox or get a PO box) on how to protect yourself, and really interesting question and answer sessions with imprisoned or reformed conners on what they were thinking about and how they chose their marks.
I think it could have been a lot more powerful if it had taken more time delving into the psychology of victims, and especially dealt with the "reloading" from the victim's perspective rather than the conners (reloading being contacting the victim of a previous scam by pretending to be law enforcement or other agencies trying to help the victim get their money back... and then scamming the poor sheep yet again).
Overall, really interesting, and information that should be part of every modern person's education. We live in a modern world, and cons and scams are one of the most prevalent types of modern crime there is - people should be wary!
James Munton and Jelita McLeod
ISBN: 9781442207318, 2011 Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Oh how fun! Lots of stories (details changed to protect the innocent... ) of people falling for various types of scams and cons, lots of advice (usually pretty good: don't check your online banking on unsecured "open" wireless networks, but sometimes a little paranoid-sounding: lock your mailbox or get a PO box) on how to protect yourself, and really interesting question and answer sessions with imprisoned or reformed conners on what they were thinking about and how they chose their marks.
I think it could have been a lot more powerful if it had taken more time delving into the psychology of victims, and especially dealt with the "reloading" from the victim's perspective rather than the conners (reloading being contacting the victim of a previous scam by pretending to be law enforcement or other agencies trying to help the victim get their money back... and then scamming the poor sheep yet again).
Overall, really interesting, and information that should be part of every modern person's education. We live in a modern world, and cons and scams are one of the most prevalent types of modern crime there is - people should be wary!
Glow, Amy Kathleen Ryan
Not really sure about how I feel on this one.
First off: (I'm going to try and start keeping these for help in tracking down books later)
Glow, Amy Kathleen Ryan
Notes: first of a series "The Sky Chasers"
ISBN: 9780312590567, 2011, St Martins Press
Generation ships Empyrean and New Horizon (roughly agnostic and religiously oriented) are swimming through a messy nebula en route to their new planet. Empyrean has met and overcome their fertility crisis, but (unbeknownst to the colonists at large on the Empyrean (our narrator-focus-ship) the New Horizon hasn't. Now they're aiming for desperate measures.
First off, I'm going to explain the TMG tag: It's a new one specifically thought up for this book (and I imagine other ones will be getting it also) Too Much God. While I'm up for deep philosophical meditations on the use and abuse of religion and religious impulses and the charismatic draw of people who see themselves as prophets, divine leaders, or mouthpieces of the gods, I really really really want a bit of warning before we go there! It's a touchy subject for me, and I have to be in a specific frame of mind to appreciate it - and I'll note, it's not a frame of mind that I really think extends to "space opera about generation ship colonists."
Maybe that makes me a bad person that I want my sci-fi to be agnostic or atheistic (or religious, just not in my face about it) and focusing on battles or culture shocks due to aspects beyond religious belief and practice. I don't know, and I don't really care. All I know is that that topic and the way it was handled in this particular book made me quite uncomfortable, took me completely out of the story, baffled me as to where the author was wanting my sympthy to lie (and don't give me crap about not wanting to lead the reader - I want good guys and bad guys, and I want to know who they are. If they redeem themselves or move to the dark side, that's peachy, but they have to have an alignment beforehand. The author's job is to provide that reference to the reader) AND - most importantly - I don't know if I'll read the sequels because of that discomfort. And that's a shame, because I really could see myself getting behind the whole political struggles between these two ships, and the conflicts between characters with different strengths and abilities and opinions on how to lead people. Darnit all.
Anyway. Interesting, thought-provoking, just plain provoking, and strange addition to the generation-ship fold.
First off: (I'm going to try and start keeping these for help in tracking down books later)
Glow, Amy Kathleen Ryan
Notes: first of a series "The Sky Chasers"
ISBN: 9780312590567, 2011, St Martins Press
Generation ships Empyrean and New Horizon (roughly agnostic and religiously oriented) are swimming through a messy nebula en route to their new planet. Empyrean has met and overcome their fertility crisis, but (unbeknownst to the colonists at large on the Empyrean (our narrator-focus-ship) the New Horizon hasn't. Now they're aiming for desperate measures.
First off, I'm going to explain the TMG tag: It's a new one specifically thought up for this book (and I imagine other ones will be getting it also) Too Much God. While I'm up for deep philosophical meditations on the use and abuse of religion and religious impulses and the charismatic draw of people who see themselves as prophets, divine leaders, or mouthpieces of the gods, I really really really want a bit of warning before we go there! It's a touchy subject for me, and I have to be in a specific frame of mind to appreciate it - and I'll note, it's not a frame of mind that I really think extends to "space opera about generation ship colonists."
Maybe that makes me a bad person that I want my sci-fi to be agnostic or atheistic (or religious, just not in my face about it) and focusing on battles or culture shocks due to aspects beyond religious belief and practice. I don't know, and I don't really care. All I know is that that topic and the way it was handled in this particular book made me quite uncomfortable, took me completely out of the story, baffled me as to where the author was wanting my sympthy to lie (and don't give me crap about not wanting to lead the reader - I want good guys and bad guys, and I want to know who they are. If they redeem themselves or move to the dark side, that's peachy, but they have to have an alignment beforehand. The author's job is to provide that reference to the reader) AND - most importantly - I don't know if I'll read the sequels because of that discomfort. And that's a shame, because I really could see myself getting behind the whole political struggles between these two ships, and the conflicts between characters with different strengths and abilities and opinions on how to lead people. Darnit all.
Anyway. Interesting, thought-provoking, just plain provoking, and strange addition to the generation-ship fold.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Going Solo, Eric Klinenberg
Really short version:
People have been forced throughout history to live together because of lack of resources and cultural freedom to break out on their own.
That's changing with middle and upper-class people now, and it's a mostly good thing for individuals and for social interaction in large cities, but it can sometimes be a source of loneliness and depression for the poor, or for people stuck in suburbs or apartments with no socialization outlets.
It especially sucks for older people, because living alone is the cat's meow until you break your hip and realize that none of your mahjongg buddies are good enough friends to cart your groceries in twice weekly, let alone cook all your meals for you, or help you go to the bathroom three times a day.
If countries would just subsidize people's desire to live alone, and also bankroll our dwindling ability to take care of ourselves when alone and old, we'd all totally be happy and live in our own personalized individualized bubbles and only interact with people in ways that we wanted and we'd all live happily ever after.
The End.
/sarcastic blogging
People have been forced throughout history to live together because of lack of resources and cultural freedom to break out on their own.
That's changing with middle and upper-class people now, and it's a mostly good thing for individuals and for social interaction in large cities, but it can sometimes be a source of loneliness and depression for the poor, or for people stuck in suburbs or apartments with no socialization outlets.
It especially sucks for older people, because living alone is the cat's meow until you break your hip and realize that none of your mahjongg buddies are good enough friends to cart your groceries in twice weekly, let alone cook all your meals for you, or help you go to the bathroom three times a day.
If countries would just subsidize people's desire to live alone, and also bankroll our dwindling ability to take care of ourselves when alone and old, we'd all totally be happy and live in our own personalized individualized bubbles and only interact with people in ways that we wanted and we'd all live happily ever after.
The End.
/sarcastic blogging
Raiders' Ransom, Emily Diamand
This is the beginning of a series.
Set in post-apocalyptic flooded England (similar idea to Ship Breaker, but very different feel) there are 10 remaining counties of England, ruled by an idiotic Prime Minister - everything else has been lost to the sea or to Greater Scotland. (Imagine this set in America, with everything north of the Mason-Dixon Line suddenly part of Expanded Canada. What shock! What horror!)
Anyway - the poor suckers stuck in those last Ten Counties suffer mostly in silence, working fishing boats and trying to keep up with their taxes. Technology is forbidden. Up north, the sinful Scots use all sorts of tech, but they're in league with the devil, so that's why.
Lilly and her seacat only want a nice peaceful fisher life - her, her seacat, and her sweetheart Andy (who will hopefully marry her and still let her go fishing!) living together until the far future. Yeah right.
Raiders attack, stealing the PM's daughter (who was stowed at the fishing village with her exiled aunt), and Lilly sets off on a quest to retrieve the girl and save her village from impression or hanging from the asanine PM himself. (Getting the impression throughout this book that the author isn't too fond of politicians.)
In the alternate viewpoint, Zeph is the younger son of the boss of the Angel Isling gang of raiders. They fled London in the great flooding, and now they prowl around, stealing from the Scots and the fishing villages alike ("no one helped us escape, so we don't owe them any loyalty" is the idea here). Family is everything, and life is brutal, with slaves and captives galore, and turf-wars over status and position. His dad just stole the PM's daughter! The Boss is actually looking forward to starting a war with the PM - he can't wait to fight it out and prove once and for all that the Raiders are the true Englishmen!
By some miracle, Lilly and Zeph, along with the seacat and an intriguing "jewel," meet up with each other and have to figure out how to survive the chaos wrought by one small theft of one small girl.
Not a world-stopping read - there were some technical difficulties. There were some really interesting characters picked up and then dropped nearly instantly (Lilly's "uncle" comes to mind) but with a series, I'm willing to give that a chance to repair itself over time (still, for a single installment, it was a bit abrupt). The plot was strangely herky-jerky, and more than a tad unrealistic in all of the chance meetings and lucky breaks - but so is most juvenile fiction. Even the world was strangely ad hoc - the PM and bureaucrats were described as well off, but if all they have is a tiny collection of fishing villages, where does that come from? Likewise, despite religious protestations and enforced borders, technology from Scotland wouldn't be entirely unknown to desperate natives just a few miles down the pike. Similarly, London itself is totally flooded - or maybe just a muddy mess, or maybe only flooded at high tide. Lots of questions unanswered about how things work in this world.
I did appreciate that the dual narratives were very clear and demonstrably different. I really like knowing who is "speaking" from the very first, and clear character concepts are absolutely necessary for that sort of writing convention. Also - seacats. Great idea. I love cats, and the idea of strange little grey kittens latching on to someone and helping them navigate over undersea obstacles and by forcasting weather changes - really neat concept!
Overall, pretty good - Not an amazing read, but I am looking forward to the sequel.
Set in post-apocalyptic flooded England (similar idea to Ship Breaker, but very different feel) there are 10 remaining counties of England, ruled by an idiotic Prime Minister - everything else has been lost to the sea or to Greater Scotland. (Imagine this set in America, with everything north of the Mason-Dixon Line suddenly part of Expanded Canada. What shock! What horror!)
Anyway - the poor suckers stuck in those last Ten Counties suffer mostly in silence, working fishing boats and trying to keep up with their taxes. Technology is forbidden. Up north, the sinful Scots use all sorts of tech, but they're in league with the devil, so that's why.
Lilly and her seacat only want a nice peaceful fisher life - her, her seacat, and her sweetheart Andy (who will hopefully marry her and still let her go fishing!) living together until the far future. Yeah right.
Raiders attack, stealing the PM's daughter (who was stowed at the fishing village with her exiled aunt), and Lilly sets off on a quest to retrieve the girl and save her village from impression or hanging from the asanine PM himself. (Getting the impression throughout this book that the author isn't too fond of politicians.)
In the alternate viewpoint, Zeph is the younger son of the boss of the Angel Isling gang of raiders. They fled London in the great flooding, and now they prowl around, stealing from the Scots and the fishing villages alike ("no one helped us escape, so we don't owe them any loyalty" is the idea here). Family is everything, and life is brutal, with slaves and captives galore, and turf-wars over status and position. His dad just stole the PM's daughter! The Boss is actually looking forward to starting a war with the PM - he can't wait to fight it out and prove once and for all that the Raiders are the true Englishmen!
By some miracle, Lilly and Zeph, along with the seacat and an intriguing "jewel," meet up with each other and have to figure out how to survive the chaos wrought by one small theft of one small girl.
Not a world-stopping read - there were some technical difficulties. There were some really interesting characters picked up and then dropped nearly instantly (Lilly's "uncle" comes to mind) but with a series, I'm willing to give that a chance to repair itself over time (still, for a single installment, it was a bit abrupt). The plot was strangely herky-jerky, and more than a tad unrealistic in all of the chance meetings and lucky breaks - but so is most juvenile fiction. Even the world was strangely ad hoc - the PM and bureaucrats were described as well off, but if all they have is a tiny collection of fishing villages, where does that come from? Likewise, despite religious protestations and enforced borders, technology from Scotland wouldn't be entirely unknown to desperate natives just a few miles down the pike. Similarly, London itself is totally flooded - or maybe just a muddy mess, or maybe only flooded at high tide. Lots of questions unanswered about how things work in this world.
I did appreciate that the dual narratives were very clear and demonstrably different. I really like knowing who is "speaking" from the very first, and clear character concepts are absolutely necessary for that sort of writing convention. Also - seacats. Great idea. I love cats, and the idea of strange little grey kittens latching on to someone and helping them navigate over undersea obstacles and by forcasting weather changes - really neat concept!
Overall, pretty good - Not an amazing read, but I am looking forward to the sequel.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Entwined, Heather Dixon
Oh, I liked this one!
The Entwine is a dance enjoyed by the populace of the imaginary early industrial-revolution-era kingdom our princesses are from. The Entwine has the couple holding the ends of a scarf, with the gentleman's goal to "capture" the lady, and the lady's goal to "escape."
Azalea, the eldest of twelve sisters (now you know for sure which fairy-tale this one is) loves that dance, and she's almost as good as her sainted and wonderful (and unfortunately dead) mother.
The girls are now in mourning, and the one thing that brings them peace and comfort is dancing. But in mourning, you can't dance! ( LOVED this!) The magic of the castle brings them to a magical underworld dance hall ruled by the Keeper, who assures the bereft girls that they can dance underground with him any time they wish. As time goes on, he gets progressively more posessive and demanding - and before their year of mourning is up, they may be in deep trouble.
This was so much fun! Only one set of twins, the elder girls at least all had distinct personalities, and the younger had "shortcuts" that were at least fun to read. There were even politics and the realities of romance when you are the heir to a throne! The male leads were suitably differing and fun, and the estranged relationship with "Sir" was deftly handled.
All in all, this is the best adaptation of a fairy-tale I have read in a really really long time. Massive kudos!
The Entwine is a dance enjoyed by the populace of the imaginary early industrial-revolution-era kingdom our princesses are from. The Entwine has the couple holding the ends of a scarf, with the gentleman's goal to "capture" the lady, and the lady's goal to "escape."
Azalea, the eldest of twelve sisters (now you know for sure which fairy-tale this one is) loves that dance, and she's almost as good as her sainted and wonderful (and unfortunately dead) mother.
The girls are now in mourning, and the one thing that brings them peace and comfort is dancing. But in mourning, you can't dance! ( LOVED this!) The magic of the castle brings them to a magical underworld dance hall ruled by the Keeper, who assures the bereft girls that they can dance underground with him any time they wish. As time goes on, he gets progressively more posessive and demanding - and before their year of mourning is up, they may be in deep trouble.
This was so much fun! Only one set of twins, the elder girls at least all had distinct personalities, and the younger had "shortcuts" that were at least fun to read. There were even politics and the realities of romance when you are the heir to a throne! The male leads were suitably differing and fun, and the estranged relationship with "Sir" was deftly handled.
All in all, this is the best adaptation of a fairy-tale I have read in a really really long time. Massive kudos!
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Manta's Gift, Timothy Zahn
Way back in 2002, Timothy Zahn wrote Manta's Gift, which begins with a premise familiar to anyone who has seen Avatar (James Cameron, not elemental magic).
Matt Raimey was 22 when he had his skiing accident, and he was the only tetraplegic crazy enough to accept Project Changeling's offer - to be reborn as a Qanska, the behemoth flying/swimming alien creatures discovered in Jupiter's hurricane winds.
Unknown to Raimey, the project isn't for the purpose of creating new biological treatments for injured people, or even to promote cross-species understanding, but specifically to insert an agent into Qanskan society in order to find out their greatest secret.
I want to start out by saying that I really liked this book, and I really enjoyed the concept. I need to say that before I start in on the criticisms:
1) The Qanskans are distressingly human. They have a strict hierarchical society based on tolerable pressures, but despite being TOLD fairly often that they are aliens, they never seem like such - it's the 'bumpy-head' ailment from Star Trek and Star Wars. Friendships, love, even mentoring relationships all act exactly like they do in mainstream American culture. I know it's an established way to deal with "alien" cultures when that isn't your real focus, but I really felt that some more effort could have been expended on this, especially given the payout plotline at the end of the book.
2) If you are 22 years old, and move to a different society, even one where you have to move and speak much differently from normal, even after 8 years, you don't forget your first language and the world you came from, especially if you have people in the back of your mind speaking to you in that language constantly for the first three of those eight years!
If you prefer the new language, that's fine, and if you forget specific terms without having to think hard for them, then ok, but you don't totally forget language and your childhood experiences so thoroughly as the main character did. I was very taken out of the story when that happened.
3) Maybe I've read too much David Weber, but the hints and teases about the "Five Hundred" and all the things going on back on Mars, Earth, and on the Jupiter space station were a little frustrating. I would have really liked to have spent more time with the secondary characters, and on the bad guys and their motivations. I think a contrast between all of that going on, and the totally different conflicts down on/in Jupiter would have been really nifty. Actually, I think I have read too much David Weber.
That's all of the critical stuff.
Specific likes:
I actually liked an epilogue for once! Yay!
Arbiter Liadof was an awesome bad guy. I liked her a lot, and really wished we could have gotten more of her.
Farraday and his team were extremely interesting, as was the concept of the Jupiter Prime station and the various projects and turf-wars going on up there as a result of politics and demagoguery. Again, really wished to see more of that.
I liked the explanation late in the story that revealed the Qanskan reasoning for allowing this "half-breed" birth into their society - it was one of the few times they were shown as having truly alien thoughts and lives. I liked that they recognized that as a species.
I really liked the central conceit (the secret) of the story. That was an interesting concept, and one that would be fun to follow up on, especially considering the epilogue.
Overall, a nifty read!
Matt Raimey was 22 when he had his skiing accident, and he was the only tetraplegic crazy enough to accept Project Changeling's offer - to be reborn as a Qanska, the behemoth flying/swimming alien creatures discovered in Jupiter's hurricane winds.
Unknown to Raimey, the project isn't for the purpose of creating new biological treatments for injured people, or even to promote cross-species understanding, but specifically to insert an agent into Qanskan society in order to find out their greatest secret.
I want to start out by saying that I really liked this book, and I really enjoyed the concept. I need to say that before I start in on the criticisms:
1) The Qanskans are distressingly human. They have a strict hierarchical society based on tolerable pressures, but despite being TOLD fairly often that they are aliens, they never seem like such - it's the 'bumpy-head' ailment from Star Trek and Star Wars. Friendships, love, even mentoring relationships all act exactly like they do in mainstream American culture. I know it's an established way to deal with "alien" cultures when that isn't your real focus, but I really felt that some more effort could have been expended on this, especially given the payout plotline at the end of the book.
2) If you are 22 years old, and move to a different society, even one where you have to move and speak much differently from normal, even after 8 years, you don't forget your first language and the world you came from, especially if you have people in the back of your mind speaking to you in that language constantly for the first three of those eight years!
If you prefer the new language, that's fine, and if you forget specific terms without having to think hard for them, then ok, but you don't totally forget language and your childhood experiences so thoroughly as the main character did. I was very taken out of the story when that happened.
3) Maybe I've read too much David Weber, but the hints and teases about the "Five Hundred" and all the things going on back on Mars, Earth, and on the Jupiter space station were a little frustrating. I would have really liked to have spent more time with the secondary characters, and on the bad guys and their motivations. I think a contrast between all of that going on, and the totally different conflicts down on/in Jupiter would have been really nifty. Actually, I think I have read too much David Weber.
That's all of the critical stuff.
Specific likes:
I actually liked an epilogue for once! Yay!
Arbiter Liadof was an awesome bad guy. I liked her a lot, and really wished we could have gotten more of her.
Farraday and his team were extremely interesting, as was the concept of the Jupiter Prime station and the various projects and turf-wars going on up there as a result of politics and demagoguery. Again, really wished to see more of that.
I liked the explanation late in the story that revealed the Qanskan reasoning for allowing this "half-breed" birth into their society - it was one of the few times they were shown as having truly alien thoughts and lives. I liked that they recognized that as a species.
I really liked the central conceit (the secret) of the story. That was an interesting concept, and one that would be fun to follow up on, especially considering the epilogue.
Overall, a nifty read!
Hachiko, Pamela Turner, illustrated by Yan Nascimbene
Hachiko is pretty famous, but to summarize, Hachiko was a real dog that waited every day at a particular train station for his owner to return home on the evening train. One sad day, the owner died, but Hachiko kept waiting daily for him. He waited for ten years after the man's death, until his own death - at the train station. People were so fond and proud of his devotion that they built a statue in his honor, and hold a yearly birthday celebration for him when the cherry blossoms bloom.
Turner's credit comes in creating a small boy narrator to meet and care for Hachiko, and to tell his story through the years, making it more accessible and immediate to young people. Nascimbene's credit is in his beautiful and simple watercolors - many of which resemble woodcuts. A lovely story of a sweet dog, and a look at a foreign country that doesn't seem so foreign from this view.
Turner's credit comes in creating a small boy narrator to meet and care for Hachiko, and to tell his story through the years, making it more accessible and immediate to young people. Nascimbene's credit is in his beautiful and simple watercolors - many of which resemble woodcuts. A lovely story of a sweet dog, and a look at a foreign country that doesn't seem so foreign from this view.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Axe Cop; Axe Cop: Bad Guy Earth, by Malachai and Ethan Nicolle
Ok, webcomic people may know this, but Axe Cop is totally awesome!
I've got Volumes One and Two from Dark Horse, and I have to say, they make much more sense when they're all bound together in print and I can read them all in one go. Much like Girl Genius, so much is going on, and so much of it is UTTER MADNESS, that it helps to have a chance to look back in print and go - wait, what now? Ohhh, ok. That's hard to do in webcomic format.
So Malachai is this kid, about 7 now, but between 5 and 6 when he came up with this. His big brother Ethan, a cartoonist, came home for the holidays, and this is what they came up with together. Smash internet hit, and awesome little-kid physics and causality. Brilliant.
I don't even know where to start explaining the idea... there's a cop, with an axe, and he routinely recruits strange super-powered weirdos to be his team, and they kill a lot of bad guys, and aliens (which are always bad guys) and sharks (likewise) and sometimes robots (ditto).
I think my favorite panels are the "Ask Axe Cop" segments, and my favorite character is Uni-Man (especially after he bulks up and has his secret hideout).
For any more details, you really just need to go look it up for yourself. Please Do NOT do so at work, or in the presence of people you don't want to see you snerk your drink out your nose.
All Hail Eris! All Hail Discordia!
I've got Volumes One and Two from Dark Horse, and I have to say, they make much more sense when they're all bound together in print and I can read them all in one go. Much like Girl Genius, so much is going on, and so much of it is UTTER MADNESS, that it helps to have a chance to look back in print and go - wait, what now? Ohhh, ok. That's hard to do in webcomic format.
So Malachai is this kid, about 7 now, but between 5 and 6 when he came up with this. His big brother Ethan, a cartoonist, came home for the holidays, and this is what they came up with together. Smash internet hit, and awesome little-kid physics and causality. Brilliant.
I don't even know where to start explaining the idea... there's a cop, with an axe, and he routinely recruits strange super-powered weirdos to be his team, and they kill a lot of bad guys, and aliens (which are always bad guys) and sharks (likewise) and sometimes robots (ditto).
I think my favorite panels are the "Ask Axe Cop" segments, and my favorite character is Uni-Man (especially after he bulks up and has his secret hideout).
For any more details, you really just need to go look it up for yourself. Please Do NOT do so at work, or in the presence of people you don't want to see you snerk your drink out your nose.
All Hail Eris! All Hail Discordia!
Dark of the Moon, Tracy Barrett
This YA (and deeply gory, although totally non-sexual) novel has a subtitle: "The myth of the Minotaur as it has never been told before" and that's most likely true.
Bad stuff first:
The narration switches between two protagonists, Theseus and Ariadne, and you can't tell the difference between them. Your only clue is when a specific reference to places or people is given which allows you to place the reference. For characters which are brought up and appear so very different - there should be a different narrative "voice" for each. This is a really glaring problem, and it dragged me right out of the story each time the narrator switched. No good.
"The Goddess." Oh for fuck's sake, give the damn goddess an actual NAME already! I don't CARE that Kretans don't go in for calling people by names - this is just a bad choice all around, and worse when there's multiple narrators and characters who cycle between names. All of this "The Goddess" and "The Goddess-Who-Was" and "The Goddess-Who-Is" and "The Goddess-Who-Will-Be" dear sweet god - just name them each something allegorical or representative and get over it! Argh! I don't know why that pissed me right off, but it did, and by the end of the book, I practically wept with relief when a bit character said that she worshipped "Selene."
Religion bashing? I personally didn't care for the messages passed on about religion and worship, especially of the "Goddess:" yes, she's evil and bitchy and requires that you sacrifice all that you love, and walk in fear and trembling lest she suddenly get bitchy about something that never bothered her before but might start bothering her now, and she'll totally smite everyone if everything isn't done perfect, and even then she might just smite you anyway just because. But seriously - love her! She's our loving wonderful Mother Goddess! Just a little bit... co-dependent and abusive-relationshippy for me. Maybe that was the point, but it just didn't sit well at all.
Historical context? Anyone? I really was expecting some serious appendage going on at the end, to explain all the crazy-ass priestess things and the multiple cities of the Goddess, and the origins of Theseus, and basically breaking down the things the author made up out of whole cloth, the things the author based on legends and "histories," and things which were actually based on archeological findings and cultural studies. I really really felt the lack there, as I had no idea whether the things I was reading about were in any way based on reality. I would have liked this a lot more if there had been some background available.
Ok, enough with the bad.
Good concepts! Good secondary characters! Poor, dear Minos! I loved dear Asterion. I loved the explanations and depiction of the bull-dancing, and the concept of the Minos and Priestess combination. I even loved the complex succession cycle, and the complicated ties of relationship based on whether certain people were mortal or Goddess when they had their offspring. Really really cool stuff!
I also liked that Theseus happened to be a convenient "spare" and needed to figure out what to do about himself. I think he got gypped in his portrayal and his own character development, but it was a very clever idea. I especially liked Medea: "dear, another one of yours?"
Finally, I enjoyed the naked ambition of Prokris, although I think that might have been a little overdone for the time-period. She was a great scheming character, and I loved her black-hearted ruthlessness.
I even enjoyed the twist on the basic myth, and the "explanation" at the end as to why the mythos is the way it is.
Overall, an interesting take on the Minotaur legend, and not a bad story, just some really bad writing decisions.
Bad stuff first:
The narration switches between two protagonists, Theseus and Ariadne, and you can't tell the difference between them. Your only clue is when a specific reference to places or people is given which allows you to place the reference. For characters which are brought up and appear so very different - there should be a different narrative "voice" for each. This is a really glaring problem, and it dragged me right out of the story each time the narrator switched. No good.
"The Goddess." Oh for fuck's sake, give the damn goddess an actual NAME already! I don't CARE that Kretans don't go in for calling people by names - this is just a bad choice all around, and worse when there's multiple narrators and characters who cycle between names. All of this "The Goddess" and "The Goddess-Who-Was" and "The Goddess-Who-Is" and "The Goddess-Who-Will-Be" dear sweet god - just name them each something allegorical or representative and get over it! Argh! I don't know why that pissed me right off, but it did, and by the end of the book, I practically wept with relief when a bit character said that she worshipped "Selene."
Religion bashing? I personally didn't care for the messages passed on about religion and worship, especially of the "Goddess:" yes, she's evil and bitchy and requires that you sacrifice all that you love, and walk in fear and trembling lest she suddenly get bitchy about something that never bothered her before but might start bothering her now, and she'll totally smite everyone if everything isn't done perfect, and even then she might just smite you anyway just because. But seriously - love her! She's our loving wonderful Mother Goddess! Just a little bit... co-dependent and abusive-relationshippy for me. Maybe that was the point, but it just didn't sit well at all.
Historical context? Anyone? I really was expecting some serious appendage going on at the end, to explain all the crazy-ass priestess things and the multiple cities of the Goddess, and the origins of Theseus, and basically breaking down the things the author made up out of whole cloth, the things the author based on legends and "histories," and things which were actually based on archeological findings and cultural studies. I really really felt the lack there, as I had no idea whether the things I was reading about were in any way based on reality. I would have liked this a lot more if there had been some background available.
Ok, enough with the bad.
Good concepts! Good secondary characters! Poor, dear Minos! I loved dear Asterion. I loved the explanations and depiction of the bull-dancing, and the concept of the Minos and Priestess combination. I even loved the complex succession cycle, and the complicated ties of relationship based on whether certain people were mortal or Goddess when they had their offspring. Really really cool stuff!
I also liked that Theseus happened to be a convenient "spare" and needed to figure out what to do about himself. I think he got gypped in his portrayal and his own character development, but it was a very clever idea. I especially liked Medea: "dear, another one of yours?"
Finally, I enjoyed the naked ambition of Prokris, although I think that might have been a little overdone for the time-period. She was a great scheming character, and I loved her black-hearted ruthlessness.
I even enjoyed the twist on the basic myth, and the "explanation" at the end as to why the mythos is the way it is.
Overall, an interesting take on the Minotaur legend, and not a bad story, just some really bad writing decisions.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Juniper; Wise Child; Colman, Monica Furlong
I am listing these in chronological order by events as they happen in the books themselves, as that is how I found them. Many years ago, I read and enjoyed Juniper, but never thought to follow up on possible sequels. Apparently, most people encounter Wise Child first.
These are set in a Northern Britain (Cornwall, Scotland, Ireland, Dalraida) where Christianity is finally beginning to take hold over the population.
Juniper tells the story of a spoilt princess who is taken in by her godmother, a local wisewoman, to learn the powers of good witchery, healing, and herblore. The wise woman, the girl, and their young friends must rise up against the girl's evil aunt, who has ensorcelled her own child, the girl's dear cousin.
Wise Child picks up many years later, in a distant land, where a girl is abandoned by her careless sorceress of a mother and her wandering sailor father. When her grandmother dies, she is left to the care of Juniper, the local wisewoman (and, the good Christians of the village know) the witch. This young girl learns that faith and knowledge can coexist and be quite powerful, but that evil and hateful people can be powerful forces also.
Colman finishes out the series (there are indications that Ms Furlong did not have a chance to edit or revise this last volume, as she passed away immediately upon penning it). Here Juniper, Wise Child, and their (now much more important) male companions return to Juniper's home for a final confrontation (a serious let-down) with her evil aunt and her terrifying knight companion - who are much the worse for wear in this last episode.
I wouldn't say that any of them are bad, but Colman and Wise Child both suffer greatly from a lot of fear and worry and talking up of "oh dear, the bad guys are awful, what are they going to do?" and then not being able to follow that up with any sort of equal action because these really are very Juvenile-level books.
Done well, that can be ok - done not so well, it makes the bad guys fall flat, and makes the good guys look a bit idiotic for being so worried and worked-up when everything was obviously not so dangerous after all. Good guys also look a lot less good and heroic when they don't have something (or someone) of worth and equal power to oppose them, and make them really sweat for their victory.
Anyway - minor complaints. A lovely series, and one I'm glad to finally have read. Both Wise Child and Colman are sweet stories that offer lovely counterpoints to the original tale I read as a child of the spoilt Juniper and her experiences while learning to become a wisewoman.
These are set in a Northern Britain (Cornwall, Scotland, Ireland, Dalraida) where Christianity is finally beginning to take hold over the population.
Juniper tells the story of a spoilt princess who is taken in by her godmother, a local wisewoman, to learn the powers of good witchery, healing, and herblore. The wise woman, the girl, and their young friends must rise up against the girl's evil aunt, who has ensorcelled her own child, the girl's dear cousin.
Wise Child picks up many years later, in a distant land, where a girl is abandoned by her careless sorceress of a mother and her wandering sailor father. When her grandmother dies, she is left to the care of Juniper, the local wisewoman (and, the good Christians of the village know) the witch. This young girl learns that faith and knowledge can coexist and be quite powerful, but that evil and hateful people can be powerful forces also.
Colman finishes out the series (there are indications that Ms Furlong did not have a chance to edit or revise this last volume, as she passed away immediately upon penning it). Here Juniper, Wise Child, and their (now much more important) male companions return to Juniper's home for a final confrontation (a serious let-down) with her evil aunt and her terrifying knight companion - who are much the worse for wear in this last episode.
I wouldn't say that any of them are bad, but Colman and Wise Child both suffer greatly from a lot of fear and worry and talking up of "oh dear, the bad guys are awful, what are they going to do?" and then not being able to follow that up with any sort of equal action because these really are very Juvenile-level books.
Done well, that can be ok - done not so well, it makes the bad guys fall flat, and makes the good guys look a bit idiotic for being so worried and worked-up when everything was obviously not so dangerous after all. Good guys also look a lot less good and heroic when they don't have something (or someone) of worth and equal power to oppose them, and make them really sweat for their victory.
Anyway - minor complaints. A lovely series, and one I'm glad to finally have read. Both Wise Child and Colman are sweet stories that offer lovely counterpoints to the original tale I read as a child of the spoilt Juniper and her experiences while learning to become a wisewoman.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Dancing in the Wings, Debbie Allen, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Sassy is tall. She has long gangly legs, and huge feet. She's also a ballerina, and quite proud of her height - mostly. Her brother teases her about it, but she gives as good as she gets, and keeps on working hard at her dancing.
Still, being tallest is not the greatest thing - her ballet teacher stumbles over Sassy's feet, she can't dance partner work because she's taller than all the boys, and she can't even dance in ensemble with the other girls because she's too tall to fit in.
When a famous Russian instructor offers try-outs for a summer dance festival in DC, she's excited and proudly signs up to audition, but the snickers and cracks from her fellow dancers, and from her brother, finally get to her. Maybe she is too tall and gangly? Maybe her feet are too big? Maybe - maybe it would be safer just not to try out at all...?
A pep talk from a favorite uncle cheers her up and gets her confidence back up to par, and she attends the audition in her brightest yellow leotard, determined to be noticed, and to do her best.
I love this story. I've read it before, and I liked it then, too. I'll never be a ballerina (I'm pigeon-toed with weird hips) but I am pretty tall for a girl - 5'10" in my bare feet. I'm married to a lovely guy who happens to be 6'6". His sisters all break the 6' mark. We were all swimmers, and we all have legs that practically reach our armpits.
I'm gonna have me some tall kids eventually, I just know it. Books like this one are perfect for me to keep in mind when they get a little older, because kids (and adults) can be really cruel about physical differences. It takes a lot of repetition for someone who's always singled out for being different to realize that sometimes different can be really really good! All it takes is one look at that picture of Sassy in her bright yellow, head bowed in disappointment (temporary) with those looooong skinny legs, and I know right where she's coming from. This book is a keeper.
Still, being tallest is not the greatest thing - her ballet teacher stumbles over Sassy's feet, she can't dance partner work because she's taller than all the boys, and she can't even dance in ensemble with the other girls because she's too tall to fit in.
When a famous Russian instructor offers try-outs for a summer dance festival in DC, she's excited and proudly signs up to audition, but the snickers and cracks from her fellow dancers, and from her brother, finally get to her. Maybe she is too tall and gangly? Maybe her feet are too big? Maybe - maybe it would be safer just not to try out at all...?
A pep talk from a favorite uncle cheers her up and gets her confidence back up to par, and she attends the audition in her brightest yellow leotard, determined to be noticed, and to do her best.
I love this story. I've read it before, and I liked it then, too. I'll never be a ballerina (I'm pigeon-toed with weird hips) but I am pretty tall for a girl - 5'10" in my bare feet. I'm married to a lovely guy who happens to be 6'6". His sisters all break the 6' mark. We were all swimmers, and we all have legs that practically reach our armpits.
I'm gonna have me some tall kids eventually, I just know it. Books like this one are perfect for me to keep in mind when they get a little older, because kids (and adults) can be really cruel about physical differences. It takes a lot of repetition for someone who's always singled out for being different to realize that sometimes different can be really really good! All it takes is one look at that picture of Sassy in her bright yellow, head bowed in disappointment (temporary) with those looooong skinny legs, and I know right where she's coming from. This book is a keeper.
Gwinna, Barbara Helen Berger
As many fairy tales do, this one begins with a father and mother desperately wanting a child.
They take their request to the Owl Mother, who grants them a child, with one condition - to send it back in twelve years.
Back home, the infant grows strong and beautiful - except for the two strange brown spots on her back, which eventually (to her mother's utter dismay) bud into wings, which begin to grow larger. Mother, desperate to keep Gwinna grounded and safe, binds them up beneath ribbons and destroys all the looking glasses.
Despite that, on her twelfth birthday, the owls come for Gwinna, and her parents are turned to stone. Now this precocious child must learn to navigate her wings, her deepest desires, and her memories of home in order to save both the Owl Mother, her own family, and her homeland. Her quest takes her to a magical place beneath the center of the world, where a kindly griffin, a beautiful dryad, and a magical harp teach her to play the music of life.
Such a pretty little story, and beautiful illustrations. The one where she and the griffin are seated beneath the dryad tree is almost biblical in style, while the one of her practicing flight on a craggy outcrop in the woods seems like it could appear in a naturalist catalog.
They take their request to the Owl Mother, who grants them a child, with one condition - to send it back in twelve years.
Back home, the infant grows strong and beautiful - except for the two strange brown spots on her back, which eventually (to her mother's utter dismay) bud into wings, which begin to grow larger. Mother, desperate to keep Gwinna grounded and safe, binds them up beneath ribbons and destroys all the looking glasses.
Despite that, on her twelfth birthday, the owls come for Gwinna, and her parents are turned to stone. Now this precocious child must learn to navigate her wings, her deepest desires, and her memories of home in order to save both the Owl Mother, her own family, and her homeland. Her quest takes her to a magical place beneath the center of the world, where a kindly griffin, a beautiful dryad, and a magical harp teach her to play the music of life.
Such a pretty little story, and beautiful illustrations. The one where she and the griffin are seated beneath the dryad tree is almost biblical in style, while the one of her practicing flight on a craggy outcrop in the woods seems like it could appear in a naturalist catalog.
The Cinder-Eyed Cats, Eric Rohmann
In a strange land where sailing ships float yards above the oceans they traverse, a young boy heads off to a tropical island, where he amuses himself by creating sand sculptures - until dusk settles, the Cinder-Eyed Cats appear, and everything turns flamboyantly magical.
Fish leap from the ocean and swirl around in an aquatic version of Max's wild rumpus, and the cats gambol around with perpetually intrigued expressions. Dawn arrives too soon, bringing the fish back to their watery home, the boy back across the water in his flying sailboat, and the cats sprawled lazily along the shore, waiting for another night of magic.
Paintings are very reminiscent of David Wiesner, especially of Flotsam and Tuesday, and the ocean-theme is especially delightful, as I am now living away from the seaside, and miss it terribly.
Fish leap from the ocean and swirl around in an aquatic version of Max's wild rumpus, and the cats gambol around with perpetually intrigued expressions. Dawn arrives too soon, bringing the fish back to their watery home, the boy back across the water in his flying sailboat, and the cats sprawled lazily along the shore, waiting for another night of magic.
Paintings are very reminiscent of David Wiesner, especially of Flotsam and Tuesday, and the ocean-theme is especially delightful, as I am now living away from the seaside, and miss it terribly.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Kamishibai Man; The Boy in the Garden, Allen Say
Both of these by Allen Say are sweet stories of Japan that aren't set in a mythic past, or in a hectic multicultural super-technological present. They're in that sweet spot just between, where anything can happen.
Kamishibai is an old street-performers' art, somewhat like the American idea of flannelboards, silhouette theatres, or shadow-box presentations. Drawings on screens are placed in a box frame, with others behind them, and the progression of the drawings illustrates stories that the Kamishibai Man tells as he draws children in to get them to buy his candy and small toys so he can make a living. A lot of Kamishibai artists moved into anime or manga when those avenues opened up, and now the art form is mainly used in schools or as a demonstration of history.
This story follows an old man who used to sell candies in a small city, before the arrival of TV took all the children inside. In a nostalgic moment, he decides to head into town to tell stories again, and he remembers the way things were as he travels. Once there, everything is changed, and there are no children in sight. However, the business-people remember him from their childhood, and he even makes the evening news as he tells his story and passes out his candy as he did in the past. Sweet and a little sad, just like all of Allen Say's work, with dignified artwork that uses a softer edge to show memories, in contrast with the clear crisp detail of the present day.
This could be really interesting to pair with an American story of similar time and culture changes, such as When I Was Young in the Mountains, by Cynthia Rylant.
With The Boy in the Garden, Say shows a little boy re-imagining the Japanese fairy-tale "The Snow Crane," where a man rescues a crane from a trap, and soon meets and marries a beautiful woman who weaves fabric that lets them become comfortable, then well-off. When the man wishes to become even richer, and spies on his wife while she reluctantly works, she chastises him, changes back into her original crane form, and flies away forever.
In Say's frame story, the young boy Jiro goes with his father to wish a nearby rich old man a Happy New Year. While the adults visit, Jiro explores the beautiful gardens (seeing a sculpture of a snowy crane) and eventually finds the tiny teahouse, where he has an adventure in the snowy night with a beautiful woman. Jiro struggles to change the fairy-tale's sad ending with his foreknowledge, and to protect the woman, but he is interrupted by his father, who has come to fetch him back home. In the end, the father and son walk back through the garden together, commenting on the lifelike form of the beautiful crane sculpture.
I think this story would also go well with Willy and the Cardboard Boxes (Lizi Boyd), which also has a small boy entertaining himself with his imagination (and falling asleep in the process) while adults are occupied otherwise.
Kamishibai is an old street-performers' art, somewhat like the American idea of flannelboards, silhouette theatres, or shadow-box presentations. Drawings on screens are placed in a box frame, with others behind them, and the progression of the drawings illustrates stories that the Kamishibai Man tells as he draws children in to get them to buy his candy and small toys so he can make a living. A lot of Kamishibai artists moved into anime or manga when those avenues opened up, and now the art form is mainly used in schools or as a demonstration of history.
This story follows an old man who used to sell candies in a small city, before the arrival of TV took all the children inside. In a nostalgic moment, he decides to head into town to tell stories again, and he remembers the way things were as he travels. Once there, everything is changed, and there are no children in sight. However, the business-people remember him from their childhood, and he even makes the evening news as he tells his story and passes out his candy as he did in the past. Sweet and a little sad, just like all of Allen Say's work, with dignified artwork that uses a softer edge to show memories, in contrast with the clear crisp detail of the present day.
This could be really interesting to pair with an American story of similar time and culture changes, such as When I Was Young in the Mountains, by Cynthia Rylant.
With The Boy in the Garden, Say shows a little boy re-imagining the Japanese fairy-tale "The Snow Crane," where a man rescues a crane from a trap, and soon meets and marries a beautiful woman who weaves fabric that lets them become comfortable, then well-off. When the man wishes to become even richer, and spies on his wife while she reluctantly works, she chastises him, changes back into her original crane form, and flies away forever.
In Say's frame story, the young boy Jiro goes with his father to wish a nearby rich old man a Happy New Year. While the adults visit, Jiro explores the beautiful gardens (seeing a sculpture of a snowy crane) and eventually finds the tiny teahouse, where he has an adventure in the snowy night with a beautiful woman. Jiro struggles to change the fairy-tale's sad ending with his foreknowledge, and to protect the woman, but he is interrupted by his father, who has come to fetch him back home. In the end, the father and son walk back through the garden together, commenting on the lifelike form of the beautiful crane sculpture.
I think this story would also go well with Willy and the Cardboard Boxes (Lizi Boyd), which also has a small boy entertaining himself with his imagination (and falling asleep in the process) while adults are occupied otherwise.
Monsoon Afternoon & My Dadima Wears a Sari, Kashmira Sheth, illustrated by Yokisho Jaeggi
These two are simply beautiful picture books, and the stories in each are sweet interactions between children and their grandparents.
Monsoon Afternoon is set in India, and My Dadima Wears a Sari is set in America.
In the first, a boy and his grandfather (his dadaji) go out and play in the first rains of the monsoon season, and the boy hears all about how his dadaji also played with his own dadaji, and the monsoon came every year, and so back through time. The love and gentleness is sweet and uplifting, and there's nothing religious or political to take away from the simple message of a child enjoying time with a loving older relative.
My Dadima Wears a Sari has a grandmother who always wears a sari talking about all of her beautiful saris and the memories she has of them with her two granddaughters, and ends with them all dressing up in her favorites. Again, the message is simple and the story is sweet - the dadima and granddaughter talk about all the useful things that can be done with saris, but the point is also made that they are beautiful and remind her of her past, and that she enjoys wearing them for those reasons also.
Both simply gorgeous works, and I'm very glad to have run across them.
Monsoon Afternoon is set in India, and My Dadima Wears a Sari is set in America.
In the first, a boy and his grandfather (his dadaji) go out and play in the first rains of the monsoon season, and the boy hears all about how his dadaji also played with his own dadaji, and the monsoon came every year, and so back through time. The love and gentleness is sweet and uplifting, and there's nothing religious or political to take away from the simple message of a child enjoying time with a loving older relative.
My Dadima Wears a Sari has a grandmother who always wears a sari talking about all of her beautiful saris and the memories she has of them with her two granddaughters, and ends with them all dressing up in her favorites. Again, the message is simple and the story is sweet - the dadima and granddaughter talk about all the useful things that can be done with saris, but the point is also made that they are beautiful and remind her of her past, and that she enjoys wearing them for those reasons also.
Both simply gorgeous works, and I'm very glad to have run across them.
Monday, February 6, 2012
The False Princess, Eilis O'Neal
I tagged this as YA because the main characters are sixteen, but other than a short unpleasantness overheard early on, there isn't anything but a single set of kisses to get worked up over.
Nalia (wish that had been a different name, as I got Lion King music in my ears every time I read it) is the sixteen-year-old heir to the throne - until she learns that she's just a random commoner, bought from her father and magicked to resemble the princess. Why? Well, the prophecy that the princess would die young, of course!
Sixteen having sucessfully been reached, Nalia is now revealed as Sinda (much better name), kicked out within the day to her poor relations, and poor Orianne (also a good name) is snatched from the convent where she thought she was a noble's unwanted bastard child, renamed Nalia, and given her new crown. Surprise!
Back in the country, Sinda learns quickly that a princess education does very little to help in common life, and uses an unexpected upsurge of magic as an excuse to head back to the capital where she tries to figure out who she really is, what she's good for, and how to be satisfied with her now very common life.
A plucky (and devoted) friend helps her out, and very quickly they realize that not all is as it should be in the capital, and with the Royal Family. Is Sinda just jealous of what she's lost? Or has she really noticed something truly treasonous in the palace?
This is a good story, but not an amazing one. It suffers slightly from what I think of as "magic girl syndrome" Magic Girl is usually the heroine, but sometimes the sidekick. She suddenly has so much magic that it's a problem, and she can never trust it to work right, except that she ALWAYS trusts it to work in a pinch, and it ALWAYS does! Despite being "unpredictable" and "uncontrollable" and "dangerous," all of the main characters depend on it often, and it always (at least in the important plot-related bits) works the way it's supposed to, or if it goes wrong, it goes wrong in a good way to further their aims. I really really really dislike that. I think it's sloppy writing. If magic is uncontrollable, then let it fail at an important moment, and add some extra conflict to the mix! If the girl is not able to be relied upon in that way, then DON'T RELY ON HER THAT WAY!
Think of it this way: I have pretty good makeup skills, but I can't work makeup that looks good under direct sunlight. So my plan is to have us all sneak past the city guards at high noon, wearing makeup so they won't recognize us! Sounds great, right?
In any rational universe, my friends who know about my problems with makeup should mention at this point all of the sunlight that happens at noon, and how maybe we need a different plan, or perhaps a different time of day. This never happens in The False Princess, and it is a great irritation to me.
That one pet peeve aside, this is a pretty fun (if predictable) middle-ages-style fantasy romp with a slightly snarky heroine in the vein of Alanna or Harimad-sol. Her companions are varied and personable, and the bit characters are also drawn very nicely. I would be interested in seeing a sequel featuring Mika, especially.
Nalia (wish that had been a different name, as I got Lion King music in my ears every time I read it) is the sixteen-year-old heir to the throne - until she learns that she's just a random commoner, bought from her father and magicked to resemble the princess. Why? Well, the prophecy that the princess would die young, of course!
Sixteen having sucessfully been reached, Nalia is now revealed as Sinda (much better name), kicked out within the day to her poor relations, and poor Orianne (also a good name) is snatched from the convent where she thought she was a noble's unwanted bastard child, renamed Nalia, and given her new crown. Surprise!
Back in the country, Sinda learns quickly that a princess education does very little to help in common life, and uses an unexpected upsurge of magic as an excuse to head back to the capital where she tries to figure out who she really is, what she's good for, and how to be satisfied with her now very common life.
A plucky (and devoted) friend helps her out, and very quickly they realize that not all is as it should be in the capital, and with the Royal Family. Is Sinda just jealous of what she's lost? Or has she really noticed something truly treasonous in the palace?
This is a good story, but not an amazing one. It suffers slightly from what I think of as "magic girl syndrome" Magic Girl is usually the heroine, but sometimes the sidekick. She suddenly has so much magic that it's a problem, and she can never trust it to work right, except that she ALWAYS trusts it to work in a pinch, and it ALWAYS does! Despite being "unpredictable" and "uncontrollable" and "dangerous," all of the main characters depend on it often, and it always (at least in the important plot-related bits) works the way it's supposed to, or if it goes wrong, it goes wrong in a good way to further their aims. I really really really dislike that. I think it's sloppy writing. If magic is uncontrollable, then let it fail at an important moment, and add some extra conflict to the mix! If the girl is not able to be relied upon in that way, then DON'T RELY ON HER THAT WAY!
Think of it this way: I have pretty good makeup skills, but I can't work makeup that looks good under direct sunlight. So my plan is to have us all sneak past the city guards at high noon, wearing makeup so they won't recognize us! Sounds great, right?
In any rational universe, my friends who know about my problems with makeup should mention at this point all of the sunlight that happens at noon, and how maybe we need a different plan, or perhaps a different time of day. This never happens in The False Princess, and it is a great irritation to me.
That one pet peeve aside, this is a pretty fun (if predictable) middle-ages-style fantasy romp with a slightly snarky heroine in the vein of Alanna or Harimad-sol. Her companions are varied and personable, and the bit characters are also drawn very nicely. I would be interested in seeing a sequel featuring Mika, especially.
Welcome to Bordertown, editors: Holly Black & Ellen Kushner
With this new anthology of Borderlands/Bordertown stories, the source-point for modern American urban fantasy steps into a new era. At least - I sure hope so!
I first found Bordertown a looong time ago. I was reading Charles de Lint like a starving waif, and I didn't know where else to turn for stories of myth and magic and REAL PEOPLE. Then he mentioned Terri Windling, and that was that.
I firmly believe that a whole generation of authors, artists, and dreamers-in-general owe a great debt to this lovely lady and her delightful world that she shared so generously with everyone - readers and authors alike. It was like a splendid playbox where each person built on another's foundation, or riffed off of a tune that another just casually tossed out as ornamentation. It was beautiful, and then the 80s ended, urban fantasy got passed on to another (still excellent) generation, and Bordertown quietly faded into the background inspiration pile.
Now, we're back! The way has opened again, familiar faces are still right there, new people are pouring in, elves are stuck-up as usual, but i-pods and laptops are taking over, and I can't wait to see what happens when the haughty Truebloods encounter dubstep!
Welcome to Bordertown has a visitor's guide, stories, songs (including one rap), poems (including a jump-rope rhyme), and a black&white comic by all of the following fantastic people: Ellen Kushner, Terri Windling, Cory Doctorow, Patricia McKillip, Catherynne Valente, Amal El-Mohtar, Emma Bull, Steven Brust, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Will Shetterly, Jane Yolen, Janni Lee Simner, Sara Ryan, Dylan Meconis, Tim Pratt, Annette Curtis Klause, Nalo Hopkinson, Delia Sherman, Christopher Barzak, Holly Black, Cassandra Clare, Neil Gaiman, and Charles de Lint.
If you haven't already, go and read all of their other (non Borderlands) work. Yes, I mean all of it. Seriously. You will be a better, mostly happier person if you do.
In the meantime, Bordertown LIVES!
I first found Bordertown a looong time ago. I was reading Charles de Lint like a starving waif, and I didn't know where else to turn for stories of myth and magic and REAL PEOPLE. Then he mentioned Terri Windling, and that was that.
I firmly believe that a whole generation of authors, artists, and dreamers-in-general owe a great debt to this lovely lady and her delightful world that she shared so generously with everyone - readers and authors alike. It was like a splendid playbox where each person built on another's foundation, or riffed off of a tune that another just casually tossed out as ornamentation. It was beautiful, and then the 80s ended, urban fantasy got passed on to another (still excellent) generation, and Bordertown quietly faded into the background inspiration pile.
Now, we're back! The way has opened again, familiar faces are still right there, new people are pouring in, elves are stuck-up as usual, but i-pods and laptops are taking over, and I can't wait to see what happens when the haughty Truebloods encounter dubstep!
Welcome to Bordertown has a visitor's guide, stories, songs (including one rap), poems (including a jump-rope rhyme), and a black&white comic by all of the following fantastic people: Ellen Kushner, Terri Windling, Cory Doctorow, Patricia McKillip, Catherynne Valente, Amal El-Mohtar, Emma Bull, Steven Brust, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Will Shetterly, Jane Yolen, Janni Lee Simner, Sara Ryan, Dylan Meconis, Tim Pratt, Annette Curtis Klause, Nalo Hopkinson, Delia Sherman, Christopher Barzak, Holly Black, Cassandra Clare, Neil Gaiman, and Charles de Lint.
If you haven't already, go and read all of their other (non Borderlands) work. Yes, I mean all of it. Seriously. You will be a better, mostly happier person if you do.
In the meantime, Bordertown LIVES!
The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women, Valerie Young
The subtitle of this work is actually a better summary of the contents: "Why Capable People Suffer from the Impostor Syndrome, and How to Thrive in Spite of It."
The book is geared towards women mainly, but the author acknowledges up front that men do have difficulties with this sometimes as well. There's also acknowledgement of the overlap between Impostor Syndrome and "Highly Sensitive" people (which I still think is an unfortunate name choice).
Valerie goes over what Impostor Syndrome is: that nagging, constant feeling that you're just faking it, and someone eventually will figure out that you're not actually a grownup or very good at this, and call your bluff and send you home in disgrace.
Then she talks about what may cause it: Sensitivity to other people and to your environment, social conditioning to think that luck or "nice people" caused all of your successes, worry that past achievements are no predictor of future success.
Next up is a summary of all the ways that you are hurting yourself professionally and emotionally by believing that: you may procrastinate or never finish projects to avoid "failing" on the finished project, you may avoid offers of promotion or of positions that you may actually want because you're afraid someone will find you out, you may help out your competitors to the point that they succeed and you don't because you don't want the stress of competition, you may just live your whole life as a miserable ball of stress.
All that established, she throws in some CBT (cognitive behavior therapy) style assignments and questions. Do you really think that you "lucked" your way into your high scores and previous achievements? Do you really think that your past experiences and successes have nothing to do with how well you'll handle future challenges? Do you really want to be a miserable ball of stress?
While there's only so much a book can do for me ( I read too quickly for "workbook" style assignments to really work, and would do much better in actually changing habits if this were a class or term-long workshop or seminar) I appreciate the insights, and especially the knowledge that I'm not the only one who feels like they're faking this whole "mature competent grownup" thing.
The book is geared towards women mainly, but the author acknowledges up front that men do have difficulties with this sometimes as well. There's also acknowledgement of the overlap between Impostor Syndrome and "Highly Sensitive" people (which I still think is an unfortunate name choice).
Valerie goes over what Impostor Syndrome is: that nagging, constant feeling that you're just faking it, and someone eventually will figure out that you're not actually a grownup or very good at this, and call your bluff and send you home in disgrace.
Then she talks about what may cause it: Sensitivity to other people and to your environment, social conditioning to think that luck or "nice people" caused all of your successes, worry that past achievements are no predictor of future success.
Next up is a summary of all the ways that you are hurting yourself professionally and emotionally by believing that: you may procrastinate or never finish projects to avoid "failing" on the finished project, you may avoid offers of promotion or of positions that you may actually want because you're afraid someone will find you out, you may help out your competitors to the point that they succeed and you don't because you don't want the stress of competition, you may just live your whole life as a miserable ball of stress.
All that established, she throws in some CBT (cognitive behavior therapy) style assignments and questions. Do you really think that you "lucked" your way into your high scores and previous achievements? Do you really think that your past experiences and successes have nothing to do with how well you'll handle future challenges? Do you really want to be a miserable ball of stress?
While there's only so much a book can do for me ( I read too quickly for "workbook" style assignments to really work, and would do much better in actually changing habits if this were a class or term-long workshop or seminar) I appreciate the insights, and especially the knowledge that I'm not the only one who feels like they're faking this whole "mature competent grownup" thing.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Brave Margaret, Robert D. San Souci, Sally Wern Comport
The last of my current batch of "Clever Princess"- type stories, Brave Margaret is yet another one based on old folktales.
Margaret is a "red woman" with fiery hair, milky skin, cheeks that glow like embers, and eyes blue like hot fire. She works on her farm until the day a young king comes by looking for kine to supply his ship full of adventurers.
Adventurers, you say? Margaret gladly grants the cows, but only if she can come with. Despite initial protestations, King Simon agrees, and she works as hard and as long as the sailors and adventurers do.
Until the sea serpent attacks. After that, the duo is separated, and Margaret ends up in a hovel with a weird old crone who's a bit tiched in the head. There's a sword and ring hanging over the fire, waiting for a champion to take them up and defeat a great evil.
We all know how this is going to go, right? But, before that, we get to see Simon taught a hard lesson (and perhaps an unfair one) and Margaret learns that she doesn't have to sit on her ass and wait for someone else to be the hero.
Stunning illustrations - all deceptively loose and "primitive" in places, but full of details and strength in colors and lines. The story flows neatly and straightforwardly, which is a blessing to old Irish folktales which can often wander and get lost in side alleys. The episodes aren't always explained (why did the sea serpent want Margaret?) (why didn't the not-really-an-old-crone just get off her ass and kick the evil's butt herself?) but they're thrilling adventures and reasons aren't a strong point in fairy tales anyway.
Margaret is a "red woman" with fiery hair, milky skin, cheeks that glow like embers, and eyes blue like hot fire. She works on her farm until the day a young king comes by looking for kine to supply his ship full of adventurers.
Adventurers, you say? Margaret gladly grants the cows, but only if she can come with. Despite initial protestations, King Simon agrees, and she works as hard and as long as the sailors and adventurers do.
Until the sea serpent attacks. After that, the duo is separated, and Margaret ends up in a hovel with a weird old crone who's a bit tiched in the head. There's a sword and ring hanging over the fire, waiting for a champion to take them up and defeat a great evil.
We all know how this is going to go, right? But, before that, we get to see Simon taught a hard lesson (and perhaps an unfair one) and Margaret learns that she doesn't have to sit on her ass and wait for someone else to be the hero.
Stunning illustrations - all deceptively loose and "primitive" in places, but full of details and strength in colors and lines. The story flows neatly and straightforwardly, which is a blessing to old Irish folktales which can often wander and get lost in side alleys. The episodes aren't always explained (why did the sea serpent want Margaret?) (why didn't the not-really-an-old-crone just get off her ass and kick the evil's butt herself?) but they're thrilling adventures and reasons aren't a strong point in fairy tales anyway.
Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave, Marianna Mayer, Kinuko Craft
This is an ancient Russian fairy tale, similar to Cinderella in some ways with the evil stepfamily, but Baba Yaga is no fairy godmother.
Vasilisa's mother gave her a tiny doll before she died, telling the girl that it would look after her and pass on her love even beyond the grave. Now, with her father also dead, an evil witch of a stepmother, and two hateful stepsisters, she needs that love and help more than ever.
A reason is manufactured to send Vasilisa over to Baba Yaga's house in the woods, the one standing on little chicken feet, surrounded by walls of human bones, and lit by the unearthly lights shining from bleached skulls. She's supposedly sent to fetch a light back home, but she's really supposed to become Baba Yaga's dinner.
Between her own care and bravery, and the help of the magic doll, Vasilisa not only doesn't become dinner, but actually manages to impress the old hag. After two days, she's sent back home with a skull lantern, and things start looking up for her after that.
I love the illustrations here. I'm less thrilled by the pacing of the narrative, and I'm really a bit confused by the tacked-on ending involving the weaving and the young tzar. I know it's there in the earliest versions, but it really does seem disconnected to the rest of the story.
Despite those flaws, an amazing tale, and a good complement to The Magic Nesting Doll or to A Weave of Words.
Vasilisa's mother gave her a tiny doll before she died, telling the girl that it would look after her and pass on her love even beyond the grave. Now, with her father also dead, an evil witch of a stepmother, and two hateful stepsisters, she needs that love and help more than ever.
A reason is manufactured to send Vasilisa over to Baba Yaga's house in the woods, the one standing on little chicken feet, surrounded by walls of human bones, and lit by the unearthly lights shining from bleached skulls. She's supposedly sent to fetch a light back home, but she's really supposed to become Baba Yaga's dinner.
Between her own care and bravery, and the help of the magic doll, Vasilisa not only doesn't become dinner, but actually manages to impress the old hag. After two days, she's sent back home with a skull lantern, and things start looking up for her after that.
I love the illustrations here. I'm less thrilled by the pacing of the narrative, and I'm really a bit confused by the tacked-on ending involving the weaving and the young tzar. I know it's there in the earliest versions, but it really does seem disconnected to the rest of the story.
Despite those flaws, an amazing tale, and a good complement to The Magic Nesting Doll or to A Weave of Words.
Scarlet Angelina Wolverton-Manning, Jacqueline Ogburn, Brian Ajhar
This delightful picture book from Dial isn't exactly new - it's from 1994, but I just discovered it!
Scarlet Angelina is the only child of her doting (and fabulously wealthy) parents, scions of what must have been equally fabulously wealthy lineages; the Mannings and the Wolvertons. She's got huge eyes, a lovely big white smile, and family pets have an unfortunate tendency to go missing around her. She also eats rare steaks for dinner, and has to be home before the moon comes up.
She's also just been kidnapped. Sadly, poor Ralph doesn't quite realize just what he's gotten himself into, and as the moon rises over the graveyard, he finds that he doesn't have quite as much time to count his ransom money as he thought he did.
He also learns that when a little girl has a strict bedtime - it's usually best to abide by it.
GGGGRRRRRRR!
Scarlet Angelina is the only child of her doting (and fabulously wealthy) parents, scions of what must have been equally fabulously wealthy lineages; the Mannings and the Wolvertons. She's got huge eyes, a lovely big white smile, and family pets have an unfortunate tendency to go missing around her. She also eats rare steaks for dinner, and has to be home before the moon comes up.
She's also just been kidnapped. Sadly, poor Ralph doesn't quite realize just what he's gotten himself into, and as the moon rises over the graveyard, he finds that he doesn't have quite as much time to count his ransom money as he thought he did.
He also learns that when a little girl has a strict bedtime - it's usually best to abide by it.
GGGGRRRRRRR!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
The Silver Bowl, Diane Stanley
This juvenile high-middle-ages fantasy (although classified as YA in my library, there is no romance or terrible gore, and the lead character is around 10 years old) is by the same author as Bella At Midnight and The Mysterious Case of the Allbright Academy (both very good) and this work is no exception.
Molly is one of seven children of an out-of-work drunken tanner and his mad wife (who isn't really mad), and at age seven, she's packed off to work in the castle because of a peculiar ability that she's inherited.
The pictures of castle life and the differences between the nobility and the servants (and even the differences in class between different ranks of servants) are very straightforward, but not preachy - just matter-of-fact.
While at the castle, Molly is chosen to polish the silver, and she soon learns from an ornate washing bowl that there are curses on the royal family - 100 of them to be precise, and they're getting worse every year. When another curse erupts in bloody violence at the royal princess' wedding, Molly, her friend Tobias, and their mysterious rescued companion must figure out how to save the kingdom, and what's left of the royal family.
I really enjoyed this one - Molly is gutsy, clever, and outspoken, and the male leads are kind and generous. The 'moral' of the story is a little simplistic, but not a bad idea to explain to kids, and thankfully free of any religious or environmental entanglements.
I don't know that I would rate this quite as high as Allbright Academy (which was simply a marvelous read from start to finish) but I would say it's easily as good as Bella, and I look forward to Diane's next work. I also feel compelled to say Bravo! for not falling into the endless sequels trap - these have been three jewels, each distinct, and I appreciate that almost more than I can say.
Molly is one of seven children of an out-of-work drunken tanner and his mad wife (who isn't really mad), and at age seven, she's packed off to work in the castle because of a peculiar ability that she's inherited.
The pictures of castle life and the differences between the nobility and the servants (and even the differences in class between different ranks of servants) are very straightforward, but not preachy - just matter-of-fact.
While at the castle, Molly is chosen to polish the silver, and she soon learns from an ornate washing bowl that there are curses on the royal family - 100 of them to be precise, and they're getting worse every year. When another curse erupts in bloody violence at the royal princess' wedding, Molly, her friend Tobias, and their mysterious rescued companion must figure out how to save the kingdom, and what's left of the royal family.
I really enjoyed this one - Molly is gutsy, clever, and outspoken, and the male leads are kind and generous. The 'moral' of the story is a little simplistic, but not a bad idea to explain to kids, and thankfully free of any religious or environmental entanglements.
I don't know that I would rate this quite as high as Allbright Academy (which was simply a marvelous read from start to finish) but I would say it's easily as good as Bella, and I look forward to Diane's next work. I also feel compelled to say Bravo! for not falling into the endless sequels trap - these have been three jewels, each distinct, and I appreciate that almost more than I can say.
Monday, January 30, 2012
The Magic Nesting Doll, Jacqueline Ogburn, Laurel Long
The heroine of this story isn't really Vasilisa, but the style is very similar to that of the stories of Vasilisa the Clever/Brave/Beautiful, especially with the nesting doll resting in her pocket.
Katya lives with her beloved grandmother, who passes away one spring. Before she dies, she gives the girl a magical nesting doll (matryoshka) to use three times in her greatest need.
The girl travels to the capital to find a new home and work, and as she travels, the skies grow darker, the world grows colder, and it begins to snow. It appears that the young tsarovitch has been put under a spell to become no more than living ice, and in response, the world has fallen into a winter without thaw, a night without moon, and dark without dawn.
Fascinated by this idea she journeys to the palace and is imprisoned by the Vizier (never have a Vizier, people!) and uses the fantastical creatures inside the nesting doll to break the layers of the evil spell, rescuing the country and the prince.
Not particularly original, or worldshattering, but the illustrations are beautiful, and the girl-power theme is welcome.
Katya lives with her beloved grandmother, who passes away one spring. Before she dies, she gives the girl a magical nesting doll (matryoshka) to use three times in her greatest need.
The girl travels to the capital to find a new home and work, and as she travels, the skies grow darker, the world grows colder, and it begins to snow. It appears that the young tsarovitch has been put under a spell to become no more than living ice, and in response, the world has fallen into a winter without thaw, a night without moon, and dark without dawn.
Fascinated by this idea she journeys to the palace and is imprisoned by the Vizier (never have a Vizier, people!) and uses the fantastical creatures inside the nesting doll to break the layers of the evil spell, rescuing the country and the prince.
Not particularly original, or worldshattering, but the illustrations are beautiful, and the girl-power theme is welcome.
A Weave of Words, Robert D. San Souci, Raul Colon
Such a pretty pretty book, and such a wonderful message.
Based on the Armenian folktale "Clever Anaeet" - (found in closer to original form in the compilation The Fabrics of Fairytale, by Tanya Robyn Batt. The same story also appears (with much less stirring text and illustrations) in The Golden Bracelet, by David Kherdian and Nonny Hogrogian.
A lazy prince loves only to hunt, and in fact, that is the only thing he knows how to do. That is until he meets a beautiful, clever, and wise weaver's daughter, who won't have anything to do with him until he has proven himself to be a true man by becoming literate and learning a craft or trade.
Smitten with her, and now burning with desire to prove himself worthy, the prince studies hard and learns (and excels at) the craft of loom weaving cloth-of-gold.
He sends her a poem written by him, wrapped in a blanket woven by him, and she accepts his proposal. She teaches him to handle bureaucracy, he teaches her to ride, and to fight.
Then danger stirs on the border, and he goes to investigate. He's caught by a dev (a goblin demon) and forced to work night and day to earn his meager rations. He weaves a beautiful cloth with a secret message for his queen, and tricks the dev into sending it to her for gold. She understands it at once and rides in to the rescue.
The illustrations are beautiful! Dark and evocative, with beautiful prince and maiden, and evil henchmen and dev. The backgrounds are full of "arabian nights" style swirls and flourishes, and they remind me of The Horse and His Boy, and of The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown.
Based on the Armenian folktale "Clever Anaeet" - (found in closer to original form in the compilation The Fabrics of Fairytale, by Tanya Robyn Batt. The same story also appears (with much less stirring text and illustrations) in The Golden Bracelet, by David Kherdian and Nonny Hogrogian.
A lazy prince loves only to hunt, and in fact, that is the only thing he knows how to do. That is until he meets a beautiful, clever, and wise weaver's daughter, who won't have anything to do with him until he has proven himself to be a true man by becoming literate and learning a craft or trade.
Smitten with her, and now burning with desire to prove himself worthy, the prince studies hard and learns (and excels at) the craft of loom weaving cloth-of-gold.
He sends her a poem written by him, wrapped in a blanket woven by him, and she accepts his proposal. She teaches him to handle bureaucracy, he teaches her to ride, and to fight.
Then danger stirs on the border, and he goes to investigate. He's caught by a dev (a goblin demon) and forced to work night and day to earn his meager rations. He weaves a beautiful cloth with a secret message for his queen, and tricks the dev into sending it to her for gold. She understands it at once and rides in to the rescue.
The illustrations are beautiful! Dark and evocative, with beautiful prince and maiden, and evil henchmen and dev. The backgrounds are full of "arabian nights" style swirls and flourishes, and they remind me of The Horse and His Boy, and of The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown.
My Favorite Band Does Not Exist, Robert Jeschonek
Oh what a weird book. I like it a lot, but I'll fully admit, it's a weird one.
Ok, here goes....
In a world much like ours, with blue skies and green grass, Idea Deity (seriously) is on the run from his parents (Loving and Vengeful Deity, yes, seriously.) and his minders/tutors. Meanwhile, he amuses himself by posting status reports about an imaginary band he's created out of whole cloth - and which is rapidly becoming an internet phenom. Then he meets up with Eunice Truant, a pretty blonde girl with a gothic face tattooed on the back of her head. She's not doing anything important, so she's ready to help him make his escape. He's also reading this really cool fantasy book called Fireskull's Revenant.
In a world much like ours, with green skies and pink grass, Reacher Mirage is the front man of a band that is desperately trying to remain secret. That's hard, with someone online managing to spill all of their set lists, songs, schedules, and lyrics (even the ones he hasn't even finished writing yet!) to everyone in the world! He and his bandmates travel around with their stage manager (and his girlfriend) Eurydice Tarantella, a really cool goth chick with this amazing tattoo of a blonde on the back of her head. As he tours, he tries to get up his courage to actually perform live, without a disguise. He's also reading this really nifty book called Fireskull's Revenant.
In a world with bright orange fiery skies and lots of dead grass, Lord Fireskull and his arch-nemesis Johnny Without (yes, really) battle pretty much continually over their shared border. They get each get advice from a Scrier, who oddly enough doesn't look quite the same to each of them, and conflicting advice from a Prophet.
All three of these worlds are deeply entertwined, and only Idea, Reacher, Fireskull, and Johnny can save the universe. First they have to find each other. Then they have to find themselves.
Ok, here goes....
In a world much like ours, with blue skies and green grass, Idea Deity (seriously) is on the run from his parents (Loving and Vengeful Deity, yes, seriously.) and his minders/tutors. Meanwhile, he amuses himself by posting status reports about an imaginary band he's created out of whole cloth - and which is rapidly becoming an internet phenom. Then he meets up with Eunice Truant, a pretty blonde girl with a gothic face tattooed on the back of her head. She's not doing anything important, so she's ready to help him make his escape. He's also reading this really cool fantasy book called Fireskull's Revenant.
In a world much like ours, with green skies and pink grass, Reacher Mirage is the front man of a band that is desperately trying to remain secret. That's hard, with someone online managing to spill all of their set lists, songs, schedules, and lyrics (even the ones he hasn't even finished writing yet!) to everyone in the world! He and his bandmates travel around with their stage manager (and his girlfriend) Eurydice Tarantella, a really cool goth chick with this amazing tattoo of a blonde on the back of her head. As he tours, he tries to get up his courage to actually perform live, without a disguise. He's also reading this really nifty book called Fireskull's Revenant.
In a world with bright orange fiery skies and lots of dead grass, Lord Fireskull and his arch-nemesis Johnny Without (yes, really) battle pretty much continually over their shared border. They get each get advice from a Scrier, who oddly enough doesn't look quite the same to each of them, and conflicting advice from a Prophet.
All three of these worlds are deeply entertwined, and only Idea, Reacher, Fireskull, and Johnny can save the universe. First they have to find each other. Then they have to find themselves.
13 Treasures & 13 Curses, Michelle Harrison
These two are actually pretty good. I wasn't as impressed with the first one, especially since the 13 Treasures in the title actually had very little to do with the storyline. In fact, in some ways, the first story is really just a set-up for the second, but it was an interesting story in it's own right.
For 13 Treasures, Tonya has the second sight, has been desperately trying to find anyone to believe that she is not crazy. She has been tormented by fairies all her life because of her determination to tell. Her mother has had enough, and sends her away for a break in the countryside. A summer away at her grandmother's spooky mansion, with her stern groundskeeper, his irritating son, and a deep dark forest (forbidden of course) filled with danger will show her that her sight doesn't show her everything, and that the fairies can be quite dangerous.
In 13 Curses, we get a lot more background on fairy lore and countermeasures as we follow Red (a secondary character from Treasures) into fairyland to rescue her baby brother, stolen years ago. Red, like Tonya, has the sight, and she is determined to do anything necessary to rescue her brother.
The second installment is actually much better than the first, and Red is in intriguing choice as the hero - she's brusque and haughty, and actively vengeful against anyone who has wronged her - even accidentally. This makes her a little harder to like, but certainly understandable.
The cast from the first is back again, to help her complete her mission, and learn some interesting thigns about her own family, just as Tonya did in the first installment.
Both books have plotlines that are resolved neatly, but there are enough edges of stories (the groundskeeper and his son have yet to feature) to possibly create a third to round out the set. Even without another addition, these are remarkably good overall, despite some little niggles of sloppy plotting and action by off-screen characters.
For 13 Treasures, Tonya has the second sight, has been desperately trying to find anyone to believe that she is not crazy. She has been tormented by fairies all her life because of her determination to tell. Her mother has had enough, and sends her away for a break in the countryside. A summer away at her grandmother's spooky mansion, with her stern groundskeeper, his irritating son, and a deep dark forest (forbidden of course) filled with danger will show her that her sight doesn't show her everything, and that the fairies can be quite dangerous.
In 13 Curses, we get a lot more background on fairy lore and countermeasures as we follow Red (a secondary character from Treasures) into fairyland to rescue her baby brother, stolen years ago. Red, like Tonya, has the sight, and she is determined to do anything necessary to rescue her brother.
The second installment is actually much better than the first, and Red is in intriguing choice as the hero - she's brusque and haughty, and actively vengeful against anyone who has wronged her - even accidentally. This makes her a little harder to like, but certainly understandable.
The cast from the first is back again, to help her complete her mission, and learn some interesting thigns about her own family, just as Tonya did in the first installment.
Both books have plotlines that are resolved neatly, but there are enough edges of stories (the groundskeeper and his son have yet to feature) to possibly create a third to round out the set. Even without another addition, these are remarkably good overall, despite some little niggles of sloppy plotting and action by off-screen characters.
Flurry of Posts...
With the start of the new year, I'm attempting to at least record a few thoughts about any book that I read that I enjoy - it should be an interesting experiment.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
The Emerald Atlas, John Stephens
This is the first of what looks to be a trilogy based on the plot set-up, but there is no word on subsequent titles or release dates as of now. Which is a pity, because I would be on them like white on rice.
An earlier review of mine covered a book: The Lost Children, which I didn't rate too highly. This book is what that book could have been.
The Emerald Atlas is beautiful. A perfect complement to Lemony Snicket, the three children have been snatched from their parents at a very young age, supposedly to keep them safe, but reality doesn't always match up to expectations or suppositions.
Now older, the children have been dumped from orphanage to orphanage, and finally deposited into the hands of a strange pair of elderly caretakers, and nearly immediately fall through time into an adventure that seems more than they will ever be able to survive, let alone resolve.
The children are beautifully individualized: Kate is tough and proud, Michael is intelligent and quietly desperate, and Emma is a peerless fighter. The three use all of their strengths to make their way through a world gone dark and predatory, and emerge at the other end with an identity, and a sense of their own strength (which is good, because they also emerge with a quest waiting for them to complete.)
Lovely, lovely, lovely. Can't wait for the next ones, which I simply hope will live up to the quality of the first, and to my expectations!
An earlier review of mine covered a book: The Lost Children, which I didn't rate too highly. This book is what that book could have been.
The Emerald Atlas is beautiful. A perfect complement to Lemony Snicket, the three children have been snatched from their parents at a very young age, supposedly to keep them safe, but reality doesn't always match up to expectations or suppositions.
Now older, the children have been dumped from orphanage to orphanage, and finally deposited into the hands of a strange pair of elderly caretakers, and nearly immediately fall through time into an adventure that seems more than they will ever be able to survive, let alone resolve.
The children are beautifully individualized: Kate is tough and proud, Michael is intelligent and quietly desperate, and Emma is a peerless fighter. The three use all of their strengths to make their way through a world gone dark and predatory, and emerge at the other end with an identity, and a sense of their own strength (which is good, because they also emerge with a quest waiting for them to complete.)
Lovely, lovely, lovely. Can't wait for the next ones, which I simply hope will live up to the quality of the first, and to my expectations!
Demonglass, Rachel Hawkins (Hex Hall, Book 2)
This is the second of the projected Hex Hall Trilogy, preceded by Hex Hall.
Last time around, Sophie learned she was a witch, and got dumped into reform school. By the end of term, she learned she was actually a demon, so was her dad, and that her powers were orders of magnitude higher (and darker) than she was prepared to deal with. Once her headmaster told her about the Removal, which will either remove her powers, or simply kill her, she was on the first flight to England to sign up.
Nothing goes smoothly in the life of a YA heroine in an urban fantasy book rife with demons, fae, and dangerous monster-hunters, so of course, her plan goes awry from the start.
With Jenna (the pinkest vampire who ever lived) by her side, Sophie marches straight into plot twists, betrayals, and love-triangles galore. I wasn't even overly put off by the love triangle, which should say a lot for how well this was constructed.
Mystical devices and haunting pasts play a large part in this installment, and Sophie ends up, literally on her own, facing the final book of the trilogy with a huge amount of the plot still unresolved, and a surprising amount left mysteriously un-dealt-with. Not sure if this bodes well or poorly for the last book, or if this signals a bloat into a quartet, but I have to say that I am interested.
Last time around, Sophie learned she was a witch, and got dumped into reform school. By the end of term, she learned she was actually a demon, so was her dad, and that her powers were orders of magnitude higher (and darker) than she was prepared to deal with. Once her headmaster told her about the Removal, which will either remove her powers, or simply kill her, she was on the first flight to England to sign up.
Nothing goes smoothly in the life of a YA heroine in an urban fantasy book rife with demons, fae, and dangerous monster-hunters, so of course, her plan goes awry from the start.
With Jenna (the pinkest vampire who ever lived) by her side, Sophie marches straight into plot twists, betrayals, and love-triangles galore. I wasn't even overly put off by the love triangle, which should say a lot for how well this was constructed.
Mystical devices and haunting pasts play a large part in this installment, and Sophie ends up, literally on her own, facing the final book of the trilogy with a huge amount of the plot still unresolved, and a surprising amount left mysteriously un-dealt-with. Not sure if this bodes well or poorly for the last book, or if this signals a bloat into a quartet, but I have to say that I am interested.
Hex Hall, Rachel Hawkins
Hex Hall is the first in a projected trilogy.
Sophie Mercer thought she was a normal girl, living a mostly normal life. In fact, the only strangeness was the moving. Her mother kept them constantly on the run, and Sophie always assumed that her estranged father was to blame. It turns out that was only partially true.
Sophie isn't really human. When her powers erupt, she's nabbed by the magical powers that be, informed of her transgressions, and dumped into a reform school for uncontrollable magical youngsters - werewolves, witches (white and dark) vampires, and fae (who really do have wings). As the semester proceeds, Sophie makes friends with a kawaii bubblegum princess vampire, avoids the roving gangs of werewolves, and falls in love with foreign transfer student Archer.
Sadly, Archer is intended for someone else (arranged marriages are all the rage for magical families) and even more sadly, terrible things begin to happen at school. Throughout, Sophie's powers range from nonexistent to totally uncontrollable and riotous, forcing her to use her wits and her friends to solve her difficulties.
By the end, Sophie will know a lot more about herself, but the learning may cost her a lot of herself.
This reminded me strongly of the Gallagher Girls series - lighthearted and fun, and then a strong dash of cold serious plot to the face. An interesting way to write, and certainly engaging. I also liked Sophie's development and that her "issues" all had very real basis in how her life had gone thus far.
Sophie Mercer thought she was a normal girl, living a mostly normal life. In fact, the only strangeness was the moving. Her mother kept them constantly on the run, and Sophie always assumed that her estranged father was to blame. It turns out that was only partially true.
Sophie isn't really human. When her powers erupt, she's nabbed by the magical powers that be, informed of her transgressions, and dumped into a reform school for uncontrollable magical youngsters - werewolves, witches (white and dark) vampires, and fae (who really do have wings). As the semester proceeds, Sophie makes friends with a kawaii bubblegum princess vampire, avoids the roving gangs of werewolves, and falls in love with foreign transfer student Archer.
Sadly, Archer is intended for someone else (arranged marriages are all the rage for magical families) and even more sadly, terrible things begin to happen at school. Throughout, Sophie's powers range from nonexistent to totally uncontrollable and riotous, forcing her to use her wits and her friends to solve her difficulties.
By the end, Sophie will know a lot more about herself, but the learning may cost her a lot of herself.
This reminded me strongly of the Gallagher Girls series - lighthearted and fun, and then a strong dash of cold serious plot to the face. An interesting way to write, and certainly engaging. I also liked Sophie's development and that her "issues" all had very real basis in how her life had gone thus far.
Lady Knight, Tamora Pierce (Protector of the Small, Book 4)
I never put up a review for the final book of the Protector of the Small series because, frankly, Pierce doesn't do so well with her endings. I felt very "meh" about the whole story, and honestly have a hard time remembering details of it. For all of my vivid memories of the other installments, I have to call that a failure, or at least a fall-back from the highs of the series up to this point.
I would not go so far as to not recommend it - it is the finishing point to the series, but by now, Kel is grown, she's overcome her fears completely, she's dutiful to a fault (even in her interior monologue) and the story is stretched much farther than it should have been to cover a hum-drum posting, a crisis of conscience, and a new stray rescued.
Because Kel has developed into such a good well-rounded person, she's not as interesting anymore. Heck, even Alanna is more interesting in her bit parts because she still has her temper! It's hard to root for someone you don't think will ever fail, or ever struggle, or ever show doubt, and has perfect faithful companions and subordinates who would die for them.
So, while the writing and the plotting aren't bad, they are much too flabby, and do very little to disguise a burgeoning Mary Sue, and an uninteresting one at that. Sadly, reading Lady Knight made me glad that this was the last book of the series - I was afraid of what would happen if it went on any further.
I would not go so far as to not recommend it - it is the finishing point to the series, but by now, Kel is grown, she's overcome her fears completely, she's dutiful to a fault (even in her interior monologue) and the story is stretched much farther than it should have been to cover a hum-drum posting, a crisis of conscience, and a new stray rescued.
Because Kel has developed into such a good well-rounded person, she's not as interesting anymore. Heck, even Alanna is more interesting in her bit parts because she still has her temper! It's hard to root for someone you don't think will ever fail, or ever struggle, or ever show doubt, and has perfect faithful companions and subordinates who would die for them.
So, while the writing and the plotting aren't bad, they are much too flabby, and do very little to disguise a burgeoning Mary Sue, and an uninteresting one at that. Sadly, reading Lady Knight made me glad that this was the last book of the series - I was afraid of what would happen if it went on any further.
Previously Published Review: Squire, Tamora Pierce (Protector of the Small, Book 3)
If you're reading these reviews, you've either read the previous two books, or are still trying to see if you should. Either way, this book is a very good read on its own, and a decent further look at our heroine Kel.
Sadly, I found it not to the standards of the first two. Firstly, the posting Kel recieves is 'tailor-made' to groom her for further adventures. Nothing as serious as the climax of Page ever happens, which makes it difficult for her character to grow in this installment. Her difficulties now are in reconciling her crushes (in regards to, I'll remind readers of how many boys you were 'in love with' at age 14 through 18, and how many of those crushes lasted past summer vacation, let alone an entire year). She also learns the quiet skill of picking her battles, and there is a sadly anti-climactic result for her long-standing enemy. Fitting, but still anti-climactic.
The world is strangely light-hearted, despite onrushing wartime, Kel is strangely capable in a world she's never directly experienced, and ALL of the men she works with accept her without reservations after only a few months of her arrival. This all contrasts with the mood that Pierce cultivated in the first two installments, and I was strangely sad to see it shattered so easily. This almost felt like an intrusion, or a "rest period" for the character.
The mood changes again towards the end, where the build-up to Lady Knight begins, re-establishing the familiar tension faced by our soon-to-be Lady Knight.
**As I have for previous books, here is my 'cautious parent' warning. This book deals frankly with crushes, and the possible results of acting on them. The character deals with it in a 'family-appropriate' way, by asking her mother, but the simple inclusion of this "big talk" and the other references to kissing and passionate emotions may upset some parents. Please Please Please, if you think this will be a concern for you, or if your child is delicate or easily frightened, please be aware that this book is directed more towards OLDER pre-teens. The character is 18 at the end of the book, and considered an adult from the age of 14 when the book begins.
Finally, the climax scene, while not as challenging for the character, deals with magic and necromancy, and this may disturb some readers (or their parents). Be warned - read it first!
Sadly, I found it not to the standards of the first two. Firstly, the posting Kel recieves is 'tailor-made' to groom her for further adventures. Nothing as serious as the climax of Page ever happens, which makes it difficult for her character to grow in this installment. Her difficulties now are in reconciling her crushes (in regards to, I'll remind readers of how many boys you were 'in love with' at age 14 through 18, and how many of those crushes lasted past summer vacation, let alone an entire year). She also learns the quiet skill of picking her battles, and there is a sadly anti-climactic result for her long-standing enemy. Fitting, but still anti-climactic.
The world is strangely light-hearted, despite onrushing wartime, Kel is strangely capable in a world she's never directly experienced, and ALL of the men she works with accept her without reservations after only a few months of her arrival. This all contrasts with the mood that Pierce cultivated in the first two installments, and I was strangely sad to see it shattered so easily. This almost felt like an intrusion, or a "rest period" for the character.
The mood changes again towards the end, where the build-up to Lady Knight begins, re-establishing the familiar tension faced by our soon-to-be Lady Knight.
**As I have for previous books, here is my 'cautious parent' warning. This book deals frankly with crushes, and the possible results of acting on them. The character deals with it in a 'family-appropriate' way, by asking her mother, but the simple inclusion of this "big talk" and the other references to kissing and passionate emotions may upset some parents. Please Please Please, if you think this will be a concern for you, or if your child is delicate or easily frightened, please be aware that this book is directed more towards OLDER pre-teens. The character is 18 at the end of the book, and considered an adult from the age of 14 when the book begins.
Finally, the climax scene, while not as challenging for the character, deals with magic and necromancy, and this may disturb some readers (or their parents). Be warned - read it first!
Previously Published Review: Bait and Switch, Barbara Ehrenreich
The author's original premise was to illustrate the evils of a common white collar experience. A qualified individual applies for a job, and while accepted, is told (the Switch) that the position applied for is unavailable, but they'd be perfect for this slightly less valuable position over here (part-time vs full time work, high premium health care vs full coverage, and other demeaning offers.) What to do? Take the lesser job and HAVE a job, or wait and hope for another better offer in an increasingly competitive market?
Instead of landing a switched job, Barbara learns that landing ANY job is becoming a long, and often frustrating, helpless, anxious, and increasingly hopeless search. This leads to her new book premise - an even worse "Switch" which profoundly affects the middle class. The reference here is to the growing illusion of available jobs. Current market statistics state a search time of 3 months on average when looking for a job. That search time is based on a reasonably qualified individual, with current and appropriate background and experience.
She wasn't intending to write about long-term unemployment, but it is a valid topic, and well worth attention. So, this book, ironically, is a bait and switch, but one I was glad to see.
Several reviewers have questioned the author's political bias, her religious views, and even her failure to get a job. They cite these factors as reasons why her topic is flawed. I beg pardon, but one's religion and political affiliation are NOT valid or LEGAL employment screenings, and as a journalist and skilled writer, I find it hard to believe her resume and cover letter skills were lacking. I also find it hard to believe that with years of journalistic experience, she would be lacking in people skills necessary to at least gain a toehold in the job counselling market. Lastly, that market is currently one which is posting the most gain in the labour field - it isn't like she's limiting herself to an obscure position.
With all that in her favor, and 5,000 dollars to cushion her search, she is in actually better position than many searchers today. Who, when suddenly laid off, has a cover letter ready, and thousands of dollars earmarked just for a job search? Not many, in today's culture.
Her failure to find a job, despite qualifications, reveals a chronic disorder affecting millions today. The middle class job market no longer values the human element. Their increasing reliance on pseudo-scientific "personality studies" and "aptitude questionaires" are often revealed to be a front for a very specific search. I know, I was a middle manager, and I handed those surveys out for nearly a year. I knew they were worthless, my manager knew they were worthless, but we were looking for people who would take a 9 page survey without question, and nod in agreement when told what their personality was going to be. We wanted sheep, and we selected for it. I didn't like it, but I also didn't want to be on the other end of that interview. I had a job, thank you, and I didn't need the anguish I saw in my interviewees faces. Months later, the stress did cause me to leave, and I then spent 4 months where my full time job was job-hunting.
Barbara very clearly illustrates the damage wrought by these, and other spurious "networking" or "job-counseling" practices, but her story stops short of really penetrating the corporate culture to explain the WHY of these practices. It would be an interesting revelation, but one she was sadly unqualified to make. Understandably - she was unable, like many of us, to get a job.
Perhaps, if she just gives herself enough time, she'll finally make it in. Just like the rest of us don't.
Instead of landing a switched job, Barbara learns that landing ANY job is becoming a long, and often frustrating, helpless, anxious, and increasingly hopeless search. This leads to her new book premise - an even worse "Switch" which profoundly affects the middle class. The reference here is to the growing illusion of available jobs. Current market statistics state a search time of 3 months on average when looking for a job. That search time is based on a reasonably qualified individual, with current and appropriate background and experience.
She wasn't intending to write about long-term unemployment, but it is a valid topic, and well worth attention. So, this book, ironically, is a bait and switch, but one I was glad to see.
Several reviewers have questioned the author's political bias, her religious views, and even her failure to get a job. They cite these factors as reasons why her topic is flawed. I beg pardon, but one's religion and political affiliation are NOT valid or LEGAL employment screenings, and as a journalist and skilled writer, I find it hard to believe her resume and cover letter skills were lacking. I also find it hard to believe that with years of journalistic experience, she would be lacking in people skills necessary to at least gain a toehold in the job counselling market. Lastly, that market is currently one which is posting the most gain in the labour field - it isn't like she's limiting herself to an obscure position.
With all that in her favor, and 5,000 dollars to cushion her search, she is in actually better position than many searchers today. Who, when suddenly laid off, has a cover letter ready, and thousands of dollars earmarked just for a job search? Not many, in today's culture.
Her failure to find a job, despite qualifications, reveals a chronic disorder affecting millions today. The middle class job market no longer values the human element. Their increasing reliance on pseudo-scientific "personality studies" and "aptitude questionaires" are often revealed to be a front for a very specific search. I know, I was a middle manager, and I handed those surveys out for nearly a year. I knew they were worthless, my manager knew they were worthless, but we were looking for people who would take a 9 page survey without question, and nod in agreement when told what their personality was going to be. We wanted sheep, and we selected for it. I didn't like it, but I also didn't want to be on the other end of that interview. I had a job, thank you, and I didn't need the anguish I saw in my interviewees faces. Months later, the stress did cause me to leave, and I then spent 4 months where my full time job was job-hunting.
Barbara very clearly illustrates the damage wrought by these, and other spurious "networking" or "job-counseling" practices, but her story stops short of really penetrating the corporate culture to explain the WHY of these practices. It would be an interesting revelation, but one she was sadly unqualified to make. Understandably - she was unable, like many of us, to get a job.
Perhaps, if she just gives herself enough time, she'll finally make it in. Just like the rest of us don't.
Previously Publishe Review: The Hollow Kingdom Trilogy; The Hollow Kingdom, Close Kin, In the Coils of the Snake, Clare B. Dunkle
As an avid and insatiable reader with a tendency towards fantasy, I have hit my fair share of male-dominated literature. Heroes, not heroines, are prevalent. I understand and accept this, but it is nice to have female role-models in my preferred reading. So I was overjoyed at the prospect of reading a new series which focus on women!
I have happy memories of Tamora Pierce's novels and young adult fantasy tales. Perhaps this would add to my collection of books to share with my daughter eventually! Sadly, the further I read into this series, the more depressed I became. I rate the entire series as a whole with three stars because the writing is very solid, the characters are personable, and my own personal quirk; the story is NOT the traditional 'hero - quest - action - happy ending.' I am very taken with the writing, and the style of the tale. However, anyone with strong feminist tendencies will NOT enjoy this series, as the main theme is that of weak women, either through nature; portrayed by elven women, or through environment; displayed with shocking forthrightness by the 'human' sisters and eventual girl-children showcased in the story).
These women, time and again, are captured, kidnapped, stolen from their family/culture/preferred reality in order to be forcibly (in yet another brutal and shocking scene from the story - the wedding itself is a horrid travesty) wed to creatures dependent on outside blood to "strenghten" their genetic line. Despite this brutal introduction to the men of the tale, hardly any time passes before the women (perhaps weak in emotional control and mental powers as well? It's certainly suggested in the storyline) fall helplessly in love with their husbands, and proceed to aid their brutal adopted culture in inflicting the same fate on other helpless women.
In a way, I was almost anguished at the quality of this series. It BEGS you to like it, with lyrical prose and a gifted ability to show feeling as well as sense of place. To use such skills to portray a tale so deeply against everything modern women STILL fight to gain... it was saddening. The final straw was the author's website, where she commented that the tales were meant for her own teen and college aged daughters!
Read and enjoy, but THINK about what the author presents for you to accept.
I have happy memories of Tamora Pierce's novels and young adult fantasy tales. Perhaps this would add to my collection of books to share with my daughter eventually! Sadly, the further I read into this series, the more depressed I became. I rate the entire series as a whole with three stars because the writing is very solid, the characters are personable, and my own personal quirk; the story is NOT the traditional 'hero - quest - action - happy ending.' I am very taken with the writing, and the style of the tale. However, anyone with strong feminist tendencies will NOT enjoy this series, as the main theme is that of weak women, either through nature; portrayed by elven women, or through environment; displayed with shocking forthrightness by the 'human' sisters and eventual girl-children showcased in the story).
These women, time and again, are captured, kidnapped, stolen from their family/culture/preferred reality in order to be forcibly (in yet another brutal and shocking scene from the story - the wedding itself is a horrid travesty) wed to creatures dependent on outside blood to "strenghten" their genetic line. Despite this brutal introduction to the men of the tale, hardly any time passes before the women (perhaps weak in emotional control and mental powers as well? It's certainly suggested in the storyline) fall helplessly in love with their husbands, and proceed to aid their brutal adopted culture in inflicting the same fate on other helpless women.
In a way, I was almost anguished at the quality of this series. It BEGS you to like it, with lyrical prose and a gifted ability to show feeling as well as sense of place. To use such skills to portray a tale so deeply against everything modern women STILL fight to gain... it was saddening. The final straw was the author's website, where she commented that the tales were meant for her own teen and college aged daughters!
Read and enjoy, but THINK about what the author presents for you to accept.
Previously Published Review: Page, Tamora Pierce (Protector of the Small, Book 2)
I gave the first of this series 5 stars, and reluctantly subtract one for the execution of her second. The premise is sound - she planned to deal with Kel as a child, a Page, a Squire, and finally as Lady Knight, but the pace and high drama of this book left many things feeling a bit rushed.
Firstly, expect the content to be notably more mature than in First Test. Kel deals with hitting puberty, hitting boys, being hit by boys, and a brutal regimen of forcing down her phobias. This, in addition to intense training, having (and dealing) with crushes on her fellow Pages, and proving over and over and over that she can and will "run with the big boys."
Despite cramming several years worth of experience (literally) into this book, Pierce does an admirable job of containing and streamlining it. The years are well defined, and the individual 'quests' are tightly written and clear. This book also handles the development of Kel's unique abilities in command. Her growing sympathy for commoners and the weak is showcased in a series of growing climaxes. The ending sequence is especially well-done, and younger readers will be very impressed with Kel's maturity and self-sacrifice.
Again, I find that Pierce writes extremely appropraitely for the age-level (estimating by Kel's own age, the pre-teen market) and I find that her focus on morality and strength of conviction in difficult circumstances is fitting for younger readers. I wholeheartedly suggest these books for parents wishing to instil those ideals in their children, in addition to reading them because they are simply VERY nicely crafted books.
**Lastly, as I warned for First Test = Parents who are very careful of the sexual, homosexual, or magical encounters their children have - PLEASE read these books before handing them over to your kids. I personally see nothing wrong with her handling of delicate issues, but you might. And to set your child on a series of entertaining books, and then later ban them for dealing with unfortunate subjects - this makes rebellious and NEEDLESSLY unhappy children. Please, if you are sensitive to sexual references (including a brief mention of homosexuality and extremely frank dealings with rape) and/or the use and presence of magic, please make sure YOU read this first.
Firstly, expect the content to be notably more mature than in First Test. Kel deals with hitting puberty, hitting boys, being hit by boys, and a brutal regimen of forcing down her phobias. This, in addition to intense training, having (and dealing) with crushes on her fellow Pages, and proving over and over and over that she can and will "run with the big boys."
Despite cramming several years worth of experience (literally) into this book, Pierce does an admirable job of containing and streamlining it. The years are well defined, and the individual 'quests' are tightly written and clear. This book also handles the development of Kel's unique abilities in command. Her growing sympathy for commoners and the weak is showcased in a series of growing climaxes. The ending sequence is especially well-done, and younger readers will be very impressed with Kel's maturity and self-sacrifice.
Again, I find that Pierce writes extremely appropraitely for the age-level (estimating by Kel's own age, the pre-teen market) and I find that her focus on morality and strength of conviction in difficult circumstances is fitting for younger readers. I wholeheartedly suggest these books for parents wishing to instil those ideals in their children, in addition to reading them because they are simply VERY nicely crafted books.
**Lastly, as I warned for First Test = Parents who are very careful of the sexual, homosexual, or magical encounters their children have - PLEASE read these books before handing them over to your kids. I personally see nothing wrong with her handling of delicate issues, but you might. And to set your child on a series of entertaining books, and then later ban them for dealing with unfortunate subjects - this makes rebellious and NEEDLESSLY unhappy children. Please, if you are sensitive to sexual references (including a brief mention of homosexuality and extremely frank dealings with rape) and/or the use and presence of magic, please make sure YOU read this first.
Previously Published Review: First Test, Tamora Pierce (Protector of the Small, Book 1)
Tamora Pierce should be saluted for her many accomplished entries into the world of fantasy, not least of which is her steadfast reliance on capable, motivated, realistic FEMALE lead characters. Modern fantasy readers (especially us girls) have much to be grateful for - until pioneers like Pierce and McCaffrey broke through the 'crystal ceiling' seeing a HEROINE was achingly rare.
Besides her realization that ladies also like to have plucky role models, Pierce remains a talented writer. Fans of the Lioness Quartet will appreciate this "sequel" (but don't expect too much of Alanna - she's forbidden to speak to Kel!). Newcomers to the world of Tortall will find themselves welcomed, and making quick sense of a fairly traditional 'sword and sorcery' realm.
Other raters have noted the relative lightness of the tale, and the easy challenges that Kel must overcome. While I too have the same thoughts, I must remind readers that while these books can be read and enjoyed by ALL age groups, they were ORIGINALLY intended for the pre-teen group.
Personally, thinking back to childhood, the challenges seem quite age-appropriate, and could even relate to modern challenges. Kel sees and handles bullies, thinks about fairness and moral standards, sticks up for the underdog, and also deals with a personal phobia. Not bad for a 12 year old.
Other readers have taken issue with the 'flaws' in the medieval or derivative nature of the book. Even as an adult, however, people relate best to what they understand, and forcing a book for pre-teens into a 'realistic' portrayal of medieval society would be tiresome and BORING. Also, I find the inclusion of the Yamani (Japanese) culture to be refreshing, as it is treated as a source of strength for Kel, as well as a learning experience in dealing with culture differences.
As always, Pierce has done a wonderful job creating a girl-friendly world (even for a 26 year old girl!), written in a refreshing and engaging manner, without dumbing-down or condescending to her audience. Bravo.
** Very conservative parents, or those carefully monitoring their children's reading before "the talk" may wish to read this series (as well as the Alanna quartet, or ANY Pierce book) before letting their children start. As Kel grows older (the later books), her concerns naturally turn to teenage matters, and Pierce does not mince words. I found it still appropriate, and even sweet, but I know people are often careful of such things. Also later in the series, a fleeting mention is made of homosexuality. Finally, the later depictions of magic for defense and healing, and the use of necromancy (by the evil forces) are intense and fairly graphic. It is cruel to allow a child to start a series, then ban it later for containing information you'd rather not deal with. If these things bother you, be aware of them from the start and find other means to entertain your children.
Besides her realization that ladies also like to have plucky role models, Pierce remains a talented writer. Fans of the Lioness Quartet will appreciate this "sequel" (but don't expect too much of Alanna - she's forbidden to speak to Kel!). Newcomers to the world of Tortall will find themselves welcomed, and making quick sense of a fairly traditional 'sword and sorcery' realm.
Other raters have noted the relative lightness of the tale, and the easy challenges that Kel must overcome. While I too have the same thoughts, I must remind readers that while these books can be read and enjoyed by ALL age groups, they were ORIGINALLY intended for the pre-teen group.
Personally, thinking back to childhood, the challenges seem quite age-appropriate, and could even relate to modern challenges. Kel sees and handles bullies, thinks about fairness and moral standards, sticks up for the underdog, and also deals with a personal phobia. Not bad for a 12 year old.
Other readers have taken issue with the 'flaws' in the medieval or derivative nature of the book. Even as an adult, however, people relate best to what they understand, and forcing a book for pre-teens into a 'realistic' portrayal of medieval society would be tiresome and BORING. Also, I find the inclusion of the Yamani (Japanese) culture to be refreshing, as it is treated as a source of strength for Kel, as well as a learning experience in dealing with culture differences.
As always, Pierce has done a wonderful job creating a girl-friendly world (even for a 26 year old girl!), written in a refreshing and engaging manner, without dumbing-down or condescending to her audience. Bravo.
** Very conservative parents, or those carefully monitoring their children's reading before "the talk" may wish to read this series (as well as the Alanna quartet, or ANY Pierce book) before letting their children start. As Kel grows older (the later books), her concerns naturally turn to teenage matters, and Pierce does not mince words. I found it still appropriate, and even sweet, but I know people are often careful of such things. Also later in the series, a fleeting mention is made of homosexuality. Finally, the later depictions of magic for defense and healing, and the use of necromancy (by the evil forces) are intense and fairly graphic. It is cruel to allow a child to start a series, then ban it later for containing information you'd rather not deal with. If these things bother you, be aware of them from the start and find other means to entertain your children.
Previously Published Review: The Ruins of Gorlan, John Flanagan
Of the book(s) themselves - I read The Ruins of Gorlan and the sequel, The Burning Bridge in a night - I have very few complaints. The other rewiewers are correct. These are juvenile books, intended for younger boys, and I found the pace and tone of them to be highly appropriate for that age-range.
The core of the first book - a coming of age tale - may be a bit slow for modern impatient boys, as the action and suspense don't pick up til nearly the end of the book. The focus is on Will, who realizes that he doesn't have to be a knight to be a good person, and a good warrior. As he grows, he learns more about his history, his kingdom, and his character. Because it is a character focus, there isn't much action/adventure for most of the book. Despite this, it is a strong introduction, and was very similar to the feel of C.S. Lewis' intro, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Both stories contain little actual action, but feel interesting and full.
The second book has more action, and develops a few more characters. I read these two, and I am reminded highly of the old "serial" novels which were released as magazine articles in the past centuries. These stories have that same highly structured, episodic feel. Excellent for reading aloud over a series of nights, a bit repetitive for an older lady devouring two books in an evening. Despite the style, the author writes very well, refusing to tone down his language or historical details to make the story easier to read. The second tale quite definitively rids the world of the overarching threat which has been the tension of the story thus far, but events create a more personal threat to our growing hero and his friends, and the story ends on a cliffhanger similar to the Lemony Snicket Unfortunate Events tales.
The core of the first book - a coming of age tale - may be a bit slow for modern impatient boys, as the action and suspense don't pick up til nearly the end of the book. The focus is on Will, who realizes that he doesn't have to be a knight to be a good person, and a good warrior. As he grows, he learns more about his history, his kingdom, and his character. Because it is a character focus, there isn't much action/adventure for most of the book. Despite this, it is a strong introduction, and was very similar to the feel of C.S. Lewis' intro, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Both stories contain little actual action, but feel interesting and full.
The second book has more action, and develops a few more characters. I read these two, and I am reminded highly of the old "serial" novels which were released as magazine articles in the past centuries. These stories have that same highly structured, episodic feel. Excellent for reading aloud over a series of nights, a bit repetitive for an older lady devouring two books in an evening. Despite the style, the author writes very well, refusing to tone down his language or historical details to make the story easier to read. The second tale quite definitively rids the world of the overarching threat which has been the tension of the story thus far, but events create a more personal threat to our growing hero and his friends, and the story ends on a cliffhanger similar to the Lemony Snicket Unfortunate Events tales.
Previously Publishe Review: From the Hips, Rebecca Odes
As someone not particularly interested in pain and hospitals (or even children) I read this book more for reassurance than any other reason. For that purpose, I'd suggest that others are better off with a grade-school textbook which glosses over all the unpleasant bits.
There are scads of comments from pregnant or recently pregnant women splashed about the book discussing everything from conception to sore nipples, and amazingly enough, most of them were negative.
I can't imagine why, in this modern, image-overconscious, sexually laden, instant-gratification, pain-killing society, women would feel negatively about their bodies distending, erratic sex-drives, 9-month "baby vessel" status, followed by a painful labor process (where 10 hours is still considered short...) and then a loss of personal space, sex-drive (again) and sore nipples. Oh, wait. Yes I can imagine. Ouch. Yikes.
All that scary commentary aside, this book really is useful. There is an amazing wealth and variety of information presented in a strangely bias-free (mostly) environment, usually with comments from parents who tried it, with varying results.
Nausea remedies, natural birth options, water-bith discussions, hospital information, introduction to different epidural styles, the use (and general uselessness) of a "birth planning" document - its all in there.
Also in there are reams of info on new babies - you know - the ultimate wrinkly shrieking goal of the whole enterprise. Yeah. There's the requisite breast-feeding vs formula debate, a how to get your baby to sleep section (co-sleeping, SIDS, how many hours of sleep mom will lose (300 in the first year) whether they should be on a sleep-schedule...) and many references to the necessities of work, daycares, nannys, au pairs, and all that "alloparenting" information needed in this 2-income society of ours. Strangely, since all of this is so culturally "hot-button," treated in an amazingly unbiased manner.
So, all in all, despite me being a wimp and easily traumatized by their candid treatment of it all, I can see that this is an amazing resource, and one I'll be glad for when (if) I ever take that plunge.
There are scads of comments from pregnant or recently pregnant women splashed about the book discussing everything from conception to sore nipples, and amazingly enough, most of them were negative.
I can't imagine why, in this modern, image-overconscious, sexually laden, instant-gratification, pain-killing society, women would feel negatively about their bodies distending, erratic sex-drives, 9-month "baby vessel" status, followed by a painful labor process (where 10 hours is still considered short...) and then a loss of personal space, sex-drive (again) and sore nipples. Oh, wait. Yes I can imagine. Ouch. Yikes.
All that scary commentary aside, this book really is useful. There is an amazing wealth and variety of information presented in a strangely bias-free (mostly) environment, usually with comments from parents who tried it, with varying results.
Nausea remedies, natural birth options, water-bith discussions, hospital information, introduction to different epidural styles, the use (and general uselessness) of a "birth planning" document - its all in there.
Also in there are reams of info on new babies - you know - the ultimate wrinkly shrieking goal of the whole enterprise. Yeah. There's the requisite breast-feeding vs formula debate, a how to get your baby to sleep section (co-sleeping, SIDS, how many hours of sleep mom will lose (300 in the first year) whether they should be on a sleep-schedule...) and many references to the necessities of work, daycares, nannys, au pairs, and all that "alloparenting" information needed in this 2-income society of ours. Strangely, since all of this is so culturally "hot-button," treated in an amazingly unbiased manner.
So, all in all, despite me being a wimp and easily traumatized by their candid treatment of it all, I can see that this is an amazing resource, and one I'll be glad for when (if) I ever take that plunge.
Previously Published Review: On My Own: The Art of Being a Woman Alone, Florence Arlene Falk
The Art of Being a Woman Alone - now there's a subject which needed to be addressed. Women today (and for most of recorded history) have been culturally expected - even driven - to sacrifice themselves for others. More recently, ideals emerged which allowed women to seek their own interests and careers, and in todays world, most women know instinctively that they HAVE to be able to support themselves (and children if they have them) as men are no longer required to support them.
This, understandably, creates pressure.
In our modern drive to have everything, women have lost their Self. By losing one's Self, according to Falk, a person loses the ability to stand alone, to be self-sufficient, to enjoy solitude without being lonely and bereft. In addition, when one's Self is damaged or missing, there is nothing protecting you from psychic damage from friends, lovers, and the world in general.
In many ways, our culture resists the import of a woman who is able to stand alone. If you are valuing your own self, you are selfish - a horrible accusation to make of any girl or mother. If you cultivate your own interests, or enjoy your own company, you are self-absorbed - again, a negative. Falk wants us to take joy in selfishness, as we re-imagine ourselves and make peace with who we truly are. She wishes that more women would take time to be self-absorbed, to glory in the creative, WHOLE person who has been submerged for so long by our society, our relationships, and abuse.
Which brings me to the "almost inspiring." Falk finds it necessary to trace in microscopic detail the failed relationships, parental and peer abuse, and overarching societal pressure which causes modern women to lose their Self. This is an amazing downer in a book intended to inspire. In those pages (which are a majority of the book) there is a passivity - a helplessness in the face of a powerful and malevolent grinding cultural poverty. Comparing this to her stirring call for Self-awareness, I found it difficult when she failed to transfer this individual awareness into culture at large.
One example speaks of a girl, gifted and pretty, from an "academic" hippie family, and the teasing and social abuse she suffered at middle and high school. The girl, now a middle-aged woman, is only now dealing with this pain. Nowhere is it suggested that if the girl had a Self-aware mentor, she could have learned to stand ALONE and to rise above the taunts of her peers. Repeatedly, women and girls in her examples are left with gaping psychic wounds which are bemoaned as evil and spirit-breaking, but with no counter-examples to show HOW, if one is taught to grow into her Self from the start, those wounds could be minimized or avoided.
Much of this comes from the author's own experiences, as late in life she rediscovered herself and fought free of years of living for others. I do applaud women who, at any age, realize that no matter what or who is in your life, a healthy person's focus must be on themselves FIRST. However, I think that a celebration of women's rights to be whole people in themselves should try to show how to achieve that from the start, rather than passively accepting the damage until some midlife "eureka" is reached.
In spite of this, this book is stirring and powerful, and begs for women to accept that we CAN be alone and powerful, we CAN be at peace with our true Selves, and we CAN recover from childhood trauma and the pressures of life. This is an important message for everyone.
This, understandably, creates pressure.
In our modern drive to have everything, women have lost their Self. By losing one's Self, according to Falk, a person loses the ability to stand alone, to be self-sufficient, to enjoy solitude without being lonely and bereft. In addition, when one's Self is damaged or missing, there is nothing protecting you from psychic damage from friends, lovers, and the world in general.
In many ways, our culture resists the import of a woman who is able to stand alone. If you are valuing your own self, you are selfish - a horrible accusation to make of any girl or mother. If you cultivate your own interests, or enjoy your own company, you are self-absorbed - again, a negative. Falk wants us to take joy in selfishness, as we re-imagine ourselves and make peace with who we truly are. She wishes that more women would take time to be self-absorbed, to glory in the creative, WHOLE person who has been submerged for so long by our society, our relationships, and abuse.
Which brings me to the "almost inspiring." Falk finds it necessary to trace in microscopic detail the failed relationships, parental and peer abuse, and overarching societal pressure which causes modern women to lose their Self. This is an amazing downer in a book intended to inspire. In those pages (which are a majority of the book) there is a passivity - a helplessness in the face of a powerful and malevolent grinding cultural poverty. Comparing this to her stirring call for Self-awareness, I found it difficult when she failed to transfer this individual awareness into culture at large.
One example speaks of a girl, gifted and pretty, from an "academic" hippie family, and the teasing and social abuse she suffered at middle and high school. The girl, now a middle-aged woman, is only now dealing with this pain. Nowhere is it suggested that if the girl had a Self-aware mentor, she could have learned to stand ALONE and to rise above the taunts of her peers. Repeatedly, women and girls in her examples are left with gaping psychic wounds which are bemoaned as evil and spirit-breaking, but with no counter-examples to show HOW, if one is taught to grow into her Self from the start, those wounds could be minimized or avoided.
Much of this comes from the author's own experiences, as late in life she rediscovered herself and fought free of years of living for others. I do applaud women who, at any age, realize that no matter what or who is in your life, a healthy person's focus must be on themselves FIRST. However, I think that a celebration of women's rights to be whole people in themselves should try to show how to achieve that from the start, rather than passively accepting the damage until some midlife "eureka" is reached.
In spite of this, this book is stirring and powerful, and begs for women to accept that we CAN be alone and powerful, we CAN be at peace with our true Selves, and we CAN recover from childhood trauma and the pressures of life. This is an important message for everyone.
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