George R.R. Martin and I Are in a Fight

Of course, since he has no idea who I am, that probably doesn't mean very much, but still.  I recently finished the audiobook for A Feast for Crows, the fourth book in the Song of Ice and Fire series.  I was willing to forgive the length of the books because of the amazing amount of detail that he puts into the fictional world he  has created, even if it meant that I have to listen to them on audiobook instead of reading them in my all too precious free time.  And I know that part of my issue is the fact that this book and the fifth, A Dance with Dragons were originally supposed to be one book, until it grew to such behemoth size that it had to be divided.  But I'm miffed.  Thirty-plus hours and no mention of some of my favorite characters.  Plenty of mention of some of my least favorite, which is fine, I suppose.  And then lots and lots of new characters and new history and new families and new settings and new politics to learn.  And NOW, I've started A Dance with Dragons, hoping to find the answers to the cliffhangers set up in A Feast for Crows, only to discover that the two books are CONCURRENT?  So yeah, George R.R. Martin are in a fight.

That said, I'm completely sucked into the whole Game of Thrones universe.  I can't stop reading them any more than I can stop watching the show.  As far as the book itself goes, A Feast for Crows was an awful lot of exposition and not a ton of action, but it is worth it in the end when one of the most evil characters in the series appears to get what is coming to her.  Of course, I'll have to wait to find out, because instead of writing a continuation of the story in A Dance with Dragons, I have gone back in time to catch up with the characters that were excluded from A Feast for Crows.  But at least now I know where Tyrion ended up, and what was happening on the Wall after Sam leaves.  But I'm going to be really ready for book six.

Under the Heading of Places I Wish Were Real

Sometimes I read a book that has such a strong sense of place that I feel literally transported there.  Sometimes this is a bad thing, like in Elie Weisel's Night Or A Thousand Splendid Sun's Afghanistan.  But sometimes it is a wondrous feeling, especially when the place in question is full of magic.  This is how I felt when I read the Narnia books for the first time, and frankly I'd still like to visit Caer Paravel and hang out with Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy.  Erin Morgenstern, in her debut novel The Night Circus, creates just such a magical place in Le Cirque du Reves, the setting for her imaginary game of one-upsmanship between two talented illusionists.

Celia and Marco are just children when their training begins.  Their teachers, Celia's father Prospero and Marco's guardian Alexander, are old rivals who have, over the years, challenged each other to a game.  The "game" involved pitting their pupils against each other in a challenge like no other.  Their task is to manipulate the physical world as a test of their skills, and their playing field is a circus-a magical circus that is only open at night. But things do not go as the old masters planned when Celia and Marcos stop seeing each other as adversaries and start seeing each other as something else entirely.

Le Cirque du Reves as imagined by Morganstern is a place full of amazing people doing amazing things.  There are the usual acts of contortionist and fortune teller, but there are also tents full of things that defy reality-a garden made exquisitely out of ice, a cloud maze that allows you to literally climb into the heavens, a wishing tree where wishes really come true.  Even if the book was nothing but a long description of the marvelous things at the circus I would have read it and been happy.  But there was also this really intriguing, mysterious story going on that had my interest piqued.  While I did not get all of the answers that I was hoping for about exactly what was going on, the fact that I am still thinking about the story and what it might have meant shows what an affect it had on my imagination.

I don't usually read other reviews of a book before I write my own, but I was curious about how other people were affected by the story.  I was not surprised to find that the New York Review of Books was not exactly over the moon about this book-I imagine if does not meet their rather high-falutin' definition of literary.  But the other reviewers I read all felt similarly to me.  For a first novel, this book does a pretty good job with evoking mood and setting up a solid plot structure.  Character development is oddly lacking, given the rich possibilities for the creation of a mythology to explain the enchanters and their pupils.  But unlike some of the other reviewers, I actually saw the circus itself as a character, or at least an extension of Marco and Celia.  I felt like a learned a lot about them through the kinds of creations they made for their customers.  I know that some readers may be put off by the non-linear narrative, but I didn't find it distracting at all, since each section is clearly marked, and there is no real jumping back and forth within sections, only between them.  One reviewer I read felt that the ending set up a sequel, but I'm not sure about that.  While the fate of the circus seemed rather open-ended, I was OK with it.  I like imagining the circus, traveling the world, appearing and disappearing like magic, delighting everyone who is lucky enough to discover it.

The Belgariad, by David Eddings

Earlier this fall I posted a review of Pawn of Prophecy, the first book in David Edding's fantasy epic The Begariad.  I enjoyed it a lot.  I think that it is high fantasy at its best.  It had the usual cast of characters-sorcerers, knights, princesses, and the like-but it was smart and engaging.  I also reviewed the second book in the series, Queen of Sorcery, which I thought was a very good next step in describing the quest to find the Orb of Aldur and defeat the evil god Torak.

I have since finished he entire cycle-including Magician's Gambit, Castle of Wizardry and Enchanter's End Game-and I am please to say that the epic story of Garion and his journey from scullery boy to King of Riva and champion of the west was every bit as fun and exciting as the first two books led me to believe.  Eddings did a great job creating characters that were at once universal archetypes of western literary fantasy and completely individual.  While there was never really any doubt of the outcome-this is a classic good v. evil story after all, and we all know how those come out-there were enough twists and turns to keep you guessing.

One of the frequent complaints about high fantasy is how sexist it can be.  The men are warriors, the women are witches or princesses.  Eddings addresses that issue head on, acknowledging in this male characters that those attitudes exists, but countering them with his female characters, who he shows to be every bit as resourceful, strong, and capable as his male characters.  Unlike Tolkien, who's female characters were very one dimensional, Eddings shows women to be an integral part of the world that he created, and each has her own strengths and foibles.  All in all The Belgariad is a fine example of good storytelling-gently flowing language, interesting turns of phrase, characters that are believable even when they are doing unbelievable things, and exciting action sequences that stir the blood and the heart.

Queen of Sorcery, David Eddings

So a couple of weeks ago I posted a review of Pawn of Prophecy, the first book in David Edding's Belgariad series.  I talked about how it was a well-written fantasy series, with well-developed characters and well-paced action.  All the typical archetypes are there-the sorcerer, the witch, the warriors, the rogue.  It is an enjoyable journey in a sometimes dark fantastical world.

I just finished the second book in the series, that chronicles the further travels of Belgarath, Polgara, and Garion and their allies on their search for the orb.  As for my review of said book-I can only say...

ditto.

Clash of Kings, Or Why Fantasy Novels Should Come With a Score Card

I've been a fan of fantasy since I was a kid.  I remember getting the Narnia books for Christmas and reading them all before going back to school.  I remember getting The Wishstone of Shannara for Christmas a few year later and completely losing myself in the quest to save the tree...and how I cried when the elf had to sacrifice herself at the end.  I think that this is one of the reasons that I like role playing games like Final Fantasy or Fable-they are like living in the books I read growing up.


That said, it's been a while since I have gotten into a fantasy series.  I suppose some of the reason is because after reading so many they do start to blend together and feel like the same story over and over.  I experienced a similar phenomenon after years of reading almost nothing but mysteries and thrillers.  But I think that part of it is because fantasy stories have this perception of being childish or immature somehow.  I mean, serious, literary readers don't read genre fiction like fantasy, do they?

Then came Game of Thrones on HBO.  Because while I might have stopped reading much fantasy, I sure do love to watch it.  I've probably watched every Arthurian based movie and show made in the last 20 years, as well as any Robin Hood adaptation.  While I did read all of the Harry Potter series, I am just as excited about the movies coming out as I was the books (well, OK, maybe not just as excited, but you get my point).  Now, I have always been a proponent of reading the books that a series is based on.  I've scolded people for not reading the Southern Vampire books before watching True Blood, and I have waxed poetic on how much better the Temperance Brennan books are than the TV show Bones is.  So, after watching (and loving) the first season of Game of Thrones, not to mention hearing my many friends who've read the books lambast me for being a hypocrite, I gave in and downloaded the second book in the series, Clash of Kings, for my brand-spanking new Kindle.

I should have known that my friends would not steer me wrong.  George R.R. Martin has done something that most fantasy writers in my experience can't quite pull off-a grown up fantasy novel.  Clash of Kings tells the story of what happens in the Seven Kingdoms after King Robert is killed by a boar while hunting.  His "son" ascends to the throne, supported by his rich and powerful family, House Lannister.  Of course, thrones are rarely passed peacefully, especially when it is pretty apparent that the 13 year old "king" is in fact not King Robert's son, but a product of incest between his mother and her twin.  Three other men aspire to be king:  Robert's brothers, Renly and Stannis, and the murdered Eddard Stark's son, Robb.  The intrigue, violence, and betrayal that ensues are pretty much impossible to summarize, unless I want this post to be as long as the book (which at 761 pages is one of the longer books I've read this year).

The writing is smart and well-crafted, and the main characters are well-developed.  They are also fairly nuanced for a genre that lends itself to one-dimensional characters who are either wholly good or wholly evil.  I find that of my favorite characters, one is a member of that incestuous Lannister clan, despite the fact that in the arc of the story his family is pretty much completely cruel and morally bankrupt.  And this talk of character leads me to the subtitle of this post.  While I love my new Kindle, reading this book on an e-reader may not, in fact, have been the best choice.  I'm not sure that it is exaggerating to say that there are hundreds of characters mentioned in this book-both "present" day and past heroes-and not being able to flip to the maps of the pages tat listed how everyone was related to everyone else sometimes left me very confused. Short of reading with a computer next to me to look things up I was hard-pressed to keep it all straight.   In the end I decided to just go with it-after all, I'll have season two of Game of Thrones to explain whatever I missed.

Rediscovering the Punny World of Fantasy

For a period of a few years when I was in middle school and high school, I read almost exclusively science fiction and fantasy.  My love affair with science fiction started with A Wrinkle in Time, and my first fantasy love was The Wishstones of Shannarah.  I tore through the works of Terry Brooks, Lloyd Alexander, Susan Cooper, Stephen R. Donaldson, Anne McCaffery, and Ursula K. LeGuin.  One of my favorite authors from this period was Piers Anthony.  His Xanth novels were always light and amusing, and better yet, there were a TON of them.  I spent whole weekends ensconced in my room with a pile of Xanth novels, reading non-stop while listening to Abba on vinyl.  That's right, I was a total nerd, but a happy one!

Then I went away to college, and spent my reading time on textbooks instead of reading for pleasure.  Between that and the fact that I'd lost my book supplier (my mother, who was somehow not willing to drive two hours just to take me to the bookstore for more reading material), I didn't read a Xanth book for a long time.  When I finally did get back to them, I was saddened to discover that the puns that I thought were so funny and clever in my teens now seemed a bit immature.  I remember how sad I was at not really enjoying the books as I once had.

Fast forward 20 years, and I am once again in love with a goofy, pun-filled series of fantasy humor.  Terry Pratchett's Discworld series was recommended to me by a friend years ago, but for some reason I never managed to pick up any of his books.  Finally two circumstances fell into place-morning door duty and an iPod Touch.  One morning at school while on door duty, in between buses coming in, I was exploring my new iPod Touch, and there in the iBooks store was Terry Prachett's Color of Magic for less than $5.  The universe had finally brought Prachett and I together.

The Color of Magic is the first book in the Discworld series, though not necessarily the first book chronologically in the Discworld mythology.  In The Color of Magic we are introduced to Rincewind, a failed wizard living a dissolute life in Ankh-Morpork, a large city on the Disc, a world being carried through the universe by four elephants that are perched on a large turtle A'Tuin.  Rincewind chances to meet Twoflower, a tourist from across the sea, who has a magic chest that follows him everywhere.  What Rincewind doesn't know is that he and Twoflower are pawns in a large chess game being played by the gods and goddesses of the Discworld.  Rincewind becomes Twoflower's tour guide and protector, and they travel around the Discworld meeting all manner of magical beings, heroes, and danger.  Despite being completely inept as a wizard, somehow Rincewind manages to take advantage of every piece of luck that comes his way to help Twoflower and himself survive.

The books is full of puns, illogical magical mythology, and humor, just like the Xanth novels.  But unlike Anthony's series, The Color of Magic also feels more mature. A combination of satire and silliness, The Color of Magic is a light read, with layers of meaning that can be thought about-or not-at your leisure.  Pratchett's books are like a big "wink wink, nudge nudge" to the fantasy community, at once spoofing it and enriching it.  If you, like me, loved fantasy as a youth but find it rather immature as an adult, then Pratchett's books may be right up your alley.

From Dead to Worse, Charlaine Harris

One of my guilty pleasures is a love of all things Sookie.  While the TV show based on the book, TrueBlood, and the books have diverged pretty widely at this point, I figure that just gives me twice as much Sookie Stackhouse to love.  There is something very comforting about the predictability of the stories.  Sookie will be in mortal danger.  Some supernatural man (or woman, in the case of her fairy godmother) will have to help save her.  At least one supernatural man will be in love with her.  Chances are there will be some impediment to their love.  Wash.  Rinse.  Repeat.

So, here is my short summary of From Dead to Worse, book number eight in Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series...missing weretiger, vampire takeover, fairy great-grandfather, werewolf war, revenge, werepanther justice, Eric remembers everything, Bill still pines...if you have read the Sookie Stackhouse books, you know what all of this means.  If you haven't, and you are interested and or intrigued by what it all could mean, go back to the beginning and start with Dead Until Dark, the first book in the series, and prepare to lose yourself in a funny, scary, surprising, completely unrealistic world that will provide the perfect escapism.

Literary Blog Hop-Wish You Were Here

It's that time again!  The Literary Blog Hop is a hop designed for book bloggers who read and review primarily literary fiction hosted by the lovely bloggers at The Blue Bookcase.
This week's prompt was a real challenge for me...

Robyn asks: What setting (time or place) from a book or story would you most like to visit? Eudora Welty said that, "Being shown how to locate, to place, any account is what does most toward making us believe it...," so in what location would you most like to hang out?

Ok, so this presents a couple of conundrums for me.  First of all, I've read A LOT of books in my time, as I'm sure most of you have as well.  I'm pretty sure that I've read a novel that takes place on just about every continent and in most climate regions of the world, making it hard to narrow down.  Really, I could pick just about anywhere and I could probably find a book I've read that takes place there.

Second, unlike some of you I do read some genre fiction, fantasy and science fiction specifically.  So, does my place have to be real?  I mean, would choosing Narnia be totally cheating because it doesn't really exist? (Because if I was going to choose a fictional place, it would definitely be Narnia.  Come on, talking animals?  Fugedaboudit!) 


Finally, there is the time factor.  I mean, sometimes a place would only be interesting if you were there for the historical events that surrounded it.  I mean, most Civil War battlefields are only flat spaces covered with grass now.  I could visit them, but what would I see?  


So, how to answer the question?  Funnily enough, the place I have chosen is from a fantasy novel that has a historical context, and there is some question of how much of that historical context was reality rather than fiction.  And that place is....drumroll...Cornwall in England.

Cornwall is the supposed site of King Arthur's reign, and there is a group in North Cornwall that believes they have identified Arthur's castle and Merlin's Cave near Tintagel.  This area is the setting for Marion Zimmer Bradley's Mists of Avalon, which is my favorite re-telling of the Arthurian legend.  With it's strong feminist focus and themes of the Christianization of the old world and fate vs. free will, it made quite an impression on me as a high schooler.  I've read it several times since then, and every time I want to jump on a plane to England and visit all of the places mentioned.  Tintagel, the Tor, the rugged coast, the woods where the Horned God and the Goddess met and renewed the world...all magical.  The fact that I am a bit of an Anglophile doesn't hurt.  If I ever make it to England, Cornwall will be but one of many places I want to visit.  But there are actually tours designed to take you to the sacred sites of the ancient world in the UK, and as nerdy as I feel being excited about that, if I ever get over there I'm signin' up!

 

Tintagel Castle, possible site of Camelot

Glastonbury Tor, also prominent in the legend

Heart's Blood by Juliet Marillier

ISBN-13: 9780451463265
Publisher: Penguin Group
Published: October 2010
403 pgs
Source: Library




I have heard lots of good things about Juliet Marillier's Sevenwater Series, but just haven't got around to reading them yet. So when I visited the library and found Heart's Blood instead, I decided to borrow it and read this first.

The story opens with a 18-year-old Caitrin running away from home after her father had died and she was being forced to marry a man she didn't love. With her sister being married off to a traveling musician, she has no one to turn to but to rely on herself and hoping that the craft she has mastered (she is well trained by her father as a scribe) would offer her a roof for shelter and meals to keep her full. Her journey eventually brings her to Whistling Tor, a place where no one dares to cross or even mention it for it was believed to be haunted by the host.

When Caitrin finds out that Anluan, the chieftain of the Whistling Tor needs a scribe, she asks for the task despite that the place gives her the creeps and that Anluan intrigues her with his brooding moods. Crippled and cursed, Anluan is a man whom the people hate and fear at the same time, for they think what had happened to Whistling Tor is the deed done by his family many, many years ago when Anluan's great grandfather performed some dark sorcery and many people had suffered and couldn't rest their souls. They were also cursed so that they could not leave Whistling Tor and be forever at the bidding of the chieftain heirs of Whistling Tor.

While Caitrin is drawn to the heart's blood (which makes fine writing ink when the petals are crushed and concocted) grown in Anluan's household, she also finds herself drawn into his family's history and the man himself. She believes that under that cold and brooding mask is a man who has a kind and loving heart, and she intends to break free of his will through her love and patience. Her efforts are paid off in the end, but secrets and vengeance still linger strongly within the household and it seems history is about to repeat itself again. Will Caitrin and Anluan be able to break the hundred-year-old curse or will they suffer the same fate like Anluan's ancestors?

Heart's Blood is one of the best fantasy I read for awhile. It has elements like mystery, fantasy, romance mixed with bits of Irish history which have kept me intrigued and hooked from the beginning of the book till the end. Juliet Marillier is a great storyteller, and through her prose and writing style she tells a great love story with her unforgettable characters. Aside from the characterisations, I have to say the overall setting and atmosphere are well crafted too, for they gave me a foreboding feeling while reading it. Another thing I liked is that it breaks away the tradition of featuring a hero who thinks he is superior above others. Don't get me wrong, Anluan is certainly a hero in his own rights, but what makes him real is the feelings he portrays in the story, regardless they are traits of his strength or his flaws.

As you can tell, I really enjoyed reading Heart's Blood and would recommend this to anyone who loves a good fantasy tale. Meanwhile, I am going to get a copy for my keeper's shelf after returning this to the library.

Book Blogger Hop-Why Do I Read What I Read

Well, folks, with the Literary Blog Hop only happening every other week, I've decided to join Crazy-for-Books Book Blogger Hop on the off weeks for LBH.  Thanks to both The Blue Bookcase and Crazy-for-Books for hosting these events.  I've certainly found plenty of great bloggers out there as a result.

This week's question is:

Why do you read the genre that you do?  What draws you to it?

First things first-we need to ad an "s" to that word genre.  I read many genres, and all for different reasons.  Since I love lists, let's do this in list format.

1.  Contemporary Fiction-I read contemporary fiction because it says something about the state of our world and society RIGHT NOW.  One of the reasons I like Jodi Picoult's books is because through her (rather exaggerated) plot lines, she does explore social issues facing us in America today.   Medical ethics, school shootings, religion vs. secularism, issues of family and society-contemporary fiction, while not always the most profound, can usually be relied on to be thought provoking.

2.  Literary Fiction-I read literary fiction because it says something about humanity, which is usually transcendent of time or place.  Unless it shows how humans are affected by time and place.  At any rate, sometimes my brain needs more sustenance than others.

3.  Science Fiction-Hated science, love science fiction.  The best science fiction writers say something about the human experience in their work, and they tend to be rather action packed for those times when I want something fun and exciting.

4.  Fantasy-I have been a fantasy fan since I read the Narnia books in sixth grade.  I was given The Wishstone of Shannarah in middle school, and I was hooked.  For a while in high school that was pretty much all I read.I don't read as much now as  used to, but I'm still quite fond of mythical lands full of unusual races.  I think this is why I like role playing games like Final Fantasy and Fable so much.  It's like I'm in the story.

5.  Feminist Fiction:  Ummm....because I'm a feminist!  Toni Morrison, Alica Walker, Margaret Atwood, Sheri Tepper, Sylvia Plath, Marge Piercy, Octavia Butler...I feel empowered just typing their names.

6.  Mystery/Thrillers:  They are fun, and usually easy, and often have engaging recurring characters that I enjoy reading about over time.  Also, because my mother reads them and gives me all of her book when she's done with them.

The End of the World is Hilarious

What do you get when you cross an angel, a demon, a witch hunter, a sixteenth century prognosticator, the Antichrist, and the Four Horsemen on motorcycles?  You get the hilarious end-of-the-world vision of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett known as Good Omens.

Good Omens opens with the birth of the Antichrist in a rural hospital in England.  The demon in charge of his arrival, Crowley, thinks that all has gone according to plan when he sends a newborn home with a demonic nanny.  His adversary, and friend, the angel Aziraphale, does his level best to convert the boy to the side of good, supplying an angelic gardener to counteract the demonic nanny.  What neither of them realizes however, is that the Satanic nurse present at the birth made a mistake, and sent the real Antichrist home with another family.  They realize their mistake at the boy's eleventh birthday-the date at which the end of the world was supposed to begin.  When they realize their mistake, the search for the real Antichrist (a normal 11 year old named Adam) ensues.  As strange things with an eerie resemblance to the Book of Revelations start happening all over the world, the forces of good and evil start gathering for the war between Heaven and Hell that is to come, unless four children, a witch hunter, and the descendant of the only prognosticator to correctly predict the events to come can head off the ineffable plan of the Almighty.

Gaiman and Pratchett do a fine job of skewering the whole idea of good and evil.  Their basic premise seems to be that good and evil need each other-that the whole point of being good or being evil is to have the opposite side to fight against.  This point of view could be seen as an allegory for all kinds of human institutions-competing religions, political ideologies, classes...In addition, they seem to be making a case for atheism, or at least for the existence of God being irrelevant to the daily lives of humans.  As Crowley and Aziraphale discuss towards the end of the book, what was the point of creating the Tree of Knowledge if God didn't expect his creations to eat from it?  Why give humans free will and the run of an entire planet if you didn't expect them to make their own way?  At one point the ineffable plan is defined as a way for God (a word which is never used for the ultimate creator in the book, by the way) to test his creations to see if they work as he devised them-not in his (or her or its) glory, but the way you would test pilot an airplane after you put it together to make sure it would fly.  In the end, humanity doesn't need angels or demons to create moments of transcendent glory or moments of horrific cruelty.  We do alright on those scores without divine intervention.

Wild Seed, by Octavia E. Butler

Sometimes you find something amazing in the most random ways.  I first discovered Octavia Butler while waiting in a mall.  I haven't really been a mall person since I was about 17, but it was Christmastime, and I suppose malls are unavoidable.  While listening to a band play holiday tunes in the center of the mall, I noticed a small bookstore I had never noticed before.  Well, the band was pretty good, but they had nothing on a store full of books.  Walking in, right on the first shelf I saw, was the book Fledgling, which promised me a vampire story.  Having barely recovered from my Twilight daze, I eagerly picked it up.  Little did I know how different this writer and this story wold be from anything I had ever read before.  When I finished Fledgling, I knew that I needed to read more of Octavia Butler's brilliant prose!


Wild Seed is the first book in Butler's Patternist series.  Well, the first book chronologically in the arc of the story, though not the first to be published.  Wild Seed tells the story of Doro and Anyanwu, two immortal beings.  Doro is amoral, surviving by casting off and taking new bodies at will.  He has traveled the world for thousands of years, finding others with special talents and breeding them to try and create someone like himself.  Anyanwu is a shape-changing, self-healing mother who has lived over 300 years as the story begins.  Her people revere her as a healer-and fear her as a witch.  When Doro senses her while traveling through Africa, he is drawn to her as to no other before her.  While Doro wants to use her for his own purposes, and seeks to control her, Anyanwu wants nothing more than to protect her people, her grandchildren and great-grandchilren.   From Africa to the American colonies, the story of Doro and Anyanwu is one of lust, power, and destiny.

Despite the amoral nature of Doro, one can't help but feel sympathy for a being that has lived for thousands of years, watching everyone he has ever cared about die.  One of his sons warns Anyanwu that without a companion Doro will lose everything that makes him human.  What is it to a being like Doro to take one life or a hundred, since he has seen thousands come and go like so much smoke in the wind?  The irony is that while he feels desperately lonely, he is not really comforted by the people he finds and manipulates.  They fear him too much to be true companions for him.  Anyanwu, on the other hand, needs to be surrounded by her family, those descendants of her descendants that give her a reason to continue living.  As much as she comes to resent Doro, her irony is that he gives her the reason to keep herself young and healthy.  When you are the only two immortal people in the world, who else do you have but each other? 

The issue of race is also present in the book, as it always is in Butler's work.  The fact that Anyanwu is a black African brought to America on a ship in the late 1600s is not coincidence, and regardless of her actual legal status as free, she feels the figurative shackles of slavery in the way that Doro is able to manipulate her.  Throughout the book, Butler points out the issue of race in subtle and not-so-subtle ways.  Doro will only take white bodies when traveling through the American south.  Anyanwu herself becomes a white male landowner to protect her people, white and black, from suspicion.  The fact that Doro uses his talented people as breeding stock much as white slave owners bred their slaves for certain traits is not an accident, I'm sure.  This novel is thought-provoking, well-paced, and so intriguing that I plan to read the next book in the series immediately.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

 Thanks to Sheila at One Person's Journey Through Books for hosting this weekly meme, letting book bloggers share what they've been reading.  I tell you, my reading has become so much more diverse since doing this whole book blogging thing!  Thanks to my fellow book bloggers for the inspiration and book ideas! (And no, you're not seeing double-if you read this post at Second Childhood Reviews, that's because it's same blogger, different blog, and I'm cheating this week!)

Another week gone, another week closer to going back to school.  Ah, well, at least I had a good reading week!



Children's/YA Books Completed This Week:

Escape from Saigon, by Andrea Warren

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan

(Review coming soon on Second Childhood Reviews!)

Adult Fiction Completed This Week:

Another Thing to Fall, by Laura Lippman

Wild Seed, by Octavia Butler

(Review coming soon)

Books I'm Hoping to Get to This Week:

Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli (YA)
10 Things I Hate About Me, by Randa Abdel-Fattah (YA)
Mind of my Mind, by Octavia E. Butler

...and whatever else I decide to pick up off the shelf.  After a month of reading for class, I want to keep my options open!

Have a great week, everyone!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Happy Monday!  I am still deep into a children's literature class, so all of my titles this week are young adult titles.  But, my big book project is due to day, so I'm looking forward to catching up on some of the new books I've been getting that I've had to put aside.

The View from Saturday, by E.L. Konigsburg

Rainbow Boys, by Alex Sanchez

Almost Perfect, by Brian Katcher (Review coming soon!)

Hello Groin, by Beth Goobie (Review coming soon!)

This coming week I am hoping to get to:

Another Thing to Fall, by Laura Lippman

Wild Seed, Octavia E. Butler

I will also get to the following YA titles:

Bait, by Alex Sanchez

Ten Things I Hate About Me-Randa Abdel-Fattah

Have a great reading week, everyone!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It has been all young adult, all the time in my house this week!  I am deep in the midst of reading books for a webquest assignment, a diversity in young adult literature presentation, a literature share, and book reviews. The books I've reviews on my new blog, Second Childhood Reviews, are listed below.  Come on over and check it out!  Here's how my week went:

Baby Be-Bop, by Francesca Lia Block

Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky

Luna, by Julie Anne Peters

The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman

The God Box, by Alex Sanchez (review coming soon!)

Right now I am starting a novel about a high school boy who falls for the new girl, only to find out she was born a bay, called Almost Perfect.  I also have some more Alex Sanchez books and some more Francesca Lia Block books to get to.  I'll be reading Kate DiCamillo's The Magician's Elephant, as well as The View of Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg, and Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan.  I may even get to an adult novel this week, of time permits.  I hope that everyone has a great reading week!

Weekly Geeks-The Wishlist

I only recently discovered Weekly Geeks, an interactive blogging community with a different blogger challenge each week (hence the name...sorry, I'm mistress of the obvious right now, huh?)

Here's this week's theme (taken directly from their site)

"Is your wishlist as big as your TBR pile? What books are topping your list? Are there any new releases that you are counting down the days for? Share a handful of titles and be sure to share why you want to get your hands on these books! And if another blogger is responsible for that book being on your wishlist, consider sharing a link to their review!"

And here's my list...

The Dark is Rising Sequence-Susan Cooper-I read this series as a child, and loved everything about it.  It's already made my list of favorite young adult books for another meme, and writing that post made me want to read the whole series again.  I'm anxiously waiting on someone, anyone, to post the first book on GoodReads bookswap, but I may have to break down and buy it soon.

The Book Thief-Markus Zusak-Apparently I am the last book lover on the planet to read this book, which sounds so much like something I would love I can only guess that the genre threw me off. I haven't read much young adult fiction in years, but I've started to pick it up again lately.

My Fair Lazy-Jen Lancaster-Jen Lancaster and I should definitely be friends...she is hilarious, fiercely smart, strong, and independent (dare I say, just like me?).  I find myself reading her books and her blog (linked up there) and saying the same damn thing in my head a second before I read that she also said it.  I can even forgive her membership in the republican party (though that was almost a dealbreaker!)  My Fair Lazy is her newest book, and I can't wait to get my hands on it!

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies-Seth Grahame Smith
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, same author-Again, I am apparently late to the party on these two books.  The premise sounds fascinating, and I can't wait to see how the stories are woven together.  I know that some bloggers have felt that these books are overrated, but really, I'm more interested in the writing challenge than the overall story, if that makes sense.

Hmmmm...shorter list that I expected.  Here's the thing-I don't usually choose what to read based on a list.  I have about 400 books in the house that I haven't read yet, so I generally just pick whatever strikes my fancy at the moment.  GoodReads bookswap is spoiling me, though.  It doesn't feel so much like "Why are you spending money on another book when you have a room full of unread ones at home?" when all you're doing is paying for postage!

Team Quinn, Anyone?

OK, I think that I have now gotten the need to immerse myself in the world of Bon Temps, Louisiana out of my system for the time being.  You may remember I reviewed Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris earlier this week.  At the time I was asking Ms. Harris to stop it with the new suitors for Sookie, already!  Seriously, how many men should one telepathic barmaid have to fend off?  Come to think of it, I suppose that barmaids of all stripes probably fend off more than their fair share of men, but I digress...

Well, now that I've read Definitely Dead, book #6 in the Sookie Stackhouse series, I think that Charlaine has finally created the perfect man for Sookie.  As the novel opens, Sookie is called to New Orleans by the Queen of Louisiana.  While there, she decides to finally clean out her cousin Hadley's apartment.  Hadley, formerly human, finally vampire, lover to the Queen in both incarnations, was rendered definitely dead some months back by another vampire.  Even though she and Hadley had not been particularly close in recent years, Hadley had left everything she owned to Sookie.  Like most things in Harris' universe, nothing was really as it seemed.  New Orleans, being the center of supernatural culture in the southest, provided plenty of danger and drama for small-town Sookie.

As usual, the story is fun and action-packed, and Sookie as narrator is funny and engaging.  What made this one for me was her newest love interest, Quinn.  I mean, really, what could be sexier than a weretiger?  Strong, sleek, dangerously exciting, sexy...not to mention kind, gentlemanly, and supportive without being overwhelming.  I have no idea what becomes of this "relationship"  in the next couple of books, but I can't wait to find out!

Dead as a Doornail, Charlaine Harris

Well, Sookie Stackhouse fans, I finally read number 5, Dead as a Doornail.  Love, love, triple love this series! 

In this installment someone appears to be out to get the shifters around Bon Temps, and since Sookie is related to or secretly in love with about half of them this is of some concern.  Add to that Eric's persistence in trying to remember what happened between them during the Witch War, Bill's reappearance, and some political shenanigans in Alcide's pack and you have quite a mess for Sookie to clean up, as usual.

If you have no idea what the paragraph above is about, shame on you!  If you enjoy campy, soapish story lines involving the paranormal, you probably already read these books, but if you haven't, go get them NOW!  Harris's books are escapism at its best.  No real thought required, just a desire to immerse yourself in a completely unbelievable world that is inexplicably believable in these novels.

OK, I do have to admit that I did think a little bit when I read this one...and I have one complaint, Ms. Harris.  Seriously, how many men have to be fighting for Sookie's attention?  Thank goodness no one ever started that Team Edward/Team Jacob nonsense with these books.  You'd need several Facebook fan pages to take care of Team Bill, Team Sam, Team Eric, Team Alcide, Team Calvin, and now Team Quinn (though I would totally be a fan of Team Sam!).  Also, if you are going to give her any more suitors, can one of them not be a testosterone-fueled, macho, paternalistic guy?  I'd like the next one to say, "Wow, Sookie, look how strong and smart and loyal you are...I know that you can take care of yourself, so instead of swooping in to save you even when you don't want me to, I'll be here when you get home to fix you some tea."  Now that would be a guy I could get behind.  Regardless of that small complaint, I will be starting Definitely Dead pretty much as soon as I finish this review.

This Week's Top Ten

Jillian over at Random Ramblings has chosen Books That Made You Cry as the topic of this week's Top Ten.  Anyone who knows me that I cry if the wind blows the wrong way, so this list should be pretty easy for me to create.  I'm going to try and stay with books that are legitimate tear jerkers, because I occasionally cry at things that no one else finds touching (like when Darth Vadar died in Return of the Jedi-yep, I'm that bad, though I was only 13 or something when it came out)

1.  The Time Traveller's Wife-Audrey Niffenegger
I think that this is one of the most touching love stories I have ever read.  Even though I knew in my heart what was going to happen, I just kept hoping I was wrong.  I actually cried harder at the end, when Clare was old.  It just seemed so much sadder to me.

2.  The Kite Runner-Khaled Hosseini
There are so many tragic things that happened in this book.  I can't even imagine the shame that the main character must have felt, or the pain and confusion that Hassan felt first because of the brutal attack, and then because of the betrayal by his friend.

3.  Bridge to Terebithia-Katherine Patterson
This book was one of my favorite as a kid.  I've read it aloud to several of my classes, and I still cry every time I read the part where Leslie dies.  I think that reading this book was the first time I realized that children could die.

4.  The Notebook-Nicholas Sparks
This was the first Nicholas Sparks book that I read, and I expected all of them to be this touching.  Sadly, I haven't liked any of his other books.  They seem a little too sappy to me.  I was surprised, because this love story is so poignant, given the setting and structure of the novel.

5.  My Sister's Keeper-Jodi Picoult

This was the first book I read by Jodi Picoult, and it was the first book my teachers' book club read when we got started a few years ago.  I had no idea what I was letting myself in for.  This book made me angry and sad and frustrated, but mostly sad.

6.The Yearling-Marjorie Kinnan Rowlings
 Believe it or not, I read this book for the first time in college for a children's literature class.  I had heard of Ol' Yeller, of course, and had I known that this was a similar story I might have been prepared for what happened.  I was so angry at the boy's father-I say let that deer eat whatever he wants!

7.  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows-JK Rowling
Fred Weasly, that's all I'm sayin'

8.  Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe-Fannie Flagg
While the movie really downplays the love affair between Ruth and Idgie, the book makes it clear that Idgie is not just losing her best friend, but her lover-the love of her life.  Couple that with the sub-plot of Big George and Smokey Lonesome, and the mood is set for tearjerkiness.

9. The Joy Luck Club-Amy Tan
The matter of fact way that the tragedy of what happened in China to this family added to the horror that I felt.  Human beings should never be put in the position to have to make the kinds of decisions that this family had to make.

10.  The Secret Life of Bees-Sue Monk Kidd
Oh, Miss May...carrying the weight of the world, writing them and placing them in the chinks of the wall.  Just that image tears me up, never mind what happens later.

Mini Movie Reviews: The Hill Have Eyes and How to Train Your Dragon

I know I don't always post reviews on the movies I watched, but I want to share my thoughts with you on these two movies which I saw lately. Let me begin with The Hill Have Eyes. I have to admit I am a total wimp when it comes to horror movies, yet I am fascinated with them. We watched this on MioTV, which is a subscribing channel but we got a free one-year subscription since we subscribed to a new Broadband plan which expired last year. Though there is a limited access to their programmes, at least we have four movies to look forward to each month.

Anyway, The Hill Have Eyes is a remake from the original which was first released in 1977. My husband and I had waited till our daughters have gone to bed before watching this because of the gore and the strong violence elements.

A team of men in NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) suits were brutally killed when they explored a secret military base where the government has secretly used for conducting their nuclear tests. The terror continues when Bob Carter, a retired officer and his family were being forced to camp at this place during their road trip after someone had intentionally punctured their tyres.

Unfortunately for the Carters family, they did not know that this place is inhabited by a mutant family and soon they have to do everything to fight for their lives before they became their meals. Without saying, some family members have to die during the struggle, and of course they died in the most inhuman ways. While I was bothered by the gore and all, what really made me think about this movie is the nuclear tests and how it would badly affect the world should there be a nuclear war. It is definitely a terrifying thought.

(My Rating: 3 out of 5)

Onto a cheerier issue, we watched How to Train Your Dragon with our eldest daughter last evening. We totally enjoyed watching it and I think we all have something to learn from Hiccup, our young Viking hero of this movie. When I first watched this movie, I didn't know this was based on a children's novel by Cressida Cowell, and that this is the first instalment of her How To Train Your Dragon Series.

One would never expect Hiccup is the son of a Viking Chief, for Hiccup is quiet and he does not seem to have the viking blood as his father. However, all the young ones in the tribe are required to go through trainings in catching and taming the dragons, and Hiccup could not say no to this ordeal and has to grit his teeth no matter how much he dislike it.

During a mission when they are required to fetch a dragon for training, Hiccup caught a black scrawny dragon and named him Toothless. Toothless is not friendly towards him in the beginning, but they began to trust each other and a special bond is formed as the days go by. However, no one in the clan knew of Toothless existence and Hiccup has no intention to tell anyone about it. Through his experience with Toothless, he began to learn ways of soothing and taming dragons. Little does he know that his experience with Toothless will change his life thereafter and he will encounter a challenging task that not only will prove his courage but also allow the other tribe members to change their attitude towards the dragons.

For this movie, we chose to watch a 2D version because my husband had complained of giddiness when we first watched a 3D movie last year. I think it has got to do with the glasses issue as I could not imagine wearing a pair of 3D glasses over a regular pair of glasses (for this, I'm thankful for being a contact lens wearer and I only wear my glasses at home). Anyway, we totally enjoyed the movie experience! What I loved best about this movie is the humanity and the emotions portrayed in all aspects: loyalty, friendship and of course, love. I loved the part that shows the struggle between Hiccup and his father, and how their feelings towards each other changed and became stronger as the plot progress. The bond between Hiccup and Toothless is especially moving for me, and I was choked with emotions over a scene which I'd rather not tell. All in all, a great inspirational movie for the young audience and adults alike.

(My Rating: 4 out of 5)