Rachel Ann Hanley

SARAH PORTER

2012-03-09T07:00:00.005-08:00

Interview with SARAH PORTER

Sarah Porter is the author of LOST VOICES and the forthcoming WAKING STORMS, the first two volumes in a trilogy about mermaids. Her stories, poems, and essays have appeared in publications including Open City, The New Review of Literature, and Teachers & Writers magazine. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband Todd and two very soft cats.

What are you reading right now?

Jenny Erpenbeck’s novel VISITATION. It’s lovely, austere, and elegant, following all the people who live on a specific patch of land in Germany across the twentieth century. Before that I read all the George R. R. Martin books in A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE, which I absolutely adore, but after three months of being immersed in wars and dragons I was ready for something a bit more meditative.

What first sparked your interest in writing?

Well, my dad is a professor of French and comparative literature, which helps. He was sending me books by authors like Bulgakov and Tournier while I was still in my early teens; not that I understood everything in them, but that didn’t stop me from loving them. And I was a lonely, introverted kid, so books were my refuge and support. It was so strange and striking as a child to realize that I felt loved and understood by the voices of writers who were long dead. It seemed pretty natural to make the transition from living for books as a reader to wanting to contribute something of my own to the dialogue.

What do you love the most about writing? The least?

What I love most? I think the surprise I feel both at the words that come to me and also at what I discover about the story as I go. I often have moments where I suddenly think, say, “Oh, wait, she’s in love with him! That’s why she’s been acting so weird!” And then I notice that all the hints and foreshadowing turns of conversation are already in place, but I didn’t even realize what I was doing when I wrote them in. What I love most is the sense that each book already exists somehow before I even start writing, and it’s my job to uncover it.

What I like least, for sure, is getting stuck. When the surprises stop coming and I doubt I’ll ever find the right words or the story’s secrets again, that can be really dispiriting.

Tell us a little about your writing process.

Each new project gets its own special journal for notes, questions, puzzlings-through. Whenever I feel stuck or confused I’ll go to the journal and try to hash it out. After that I just jump in. I do so much rewriting as I go that there isn’t really a second draft. I usually start the day by rewriting for a couple of hours, then move on to actually advancing the story.

What are your passions?

At the risk of sounding pretentious, the human spirit. Other species, as wonderful as they are, don’t do things like devoting entire lifetimes to understanding the migratory patterns of penguins. In some ways we’re the archivists of the world, gathering and preserving knowledge about as much of it as we can. I love our interest in things beyond ourselves and our immediate needs, our will to understand and recognize and record. And I love the aspects of the human mind that there’s no room for in public discourse, at our jobs or in school or even in a lot of families: the dreams and subtexts, the private worlds. Art and literature function as a kind of preserve for those parts of us.

What inspires you?

I’m not sure I can answer this well. I have a constant sense that reality is layered, that there are alternate worlds just below the skin of this world. I feel like I catch tantalizing glimpses of something hidden and vital, and I want to go after it. I can’t really name any more specific source of inspiration than this, except for maybe my students sometimes, or conversations with friends.

Why young adult?

I used to—and still do—write odd adult literary fiction, but that hasn’t been published beyond a handful of short stories. I switched to young adult after I’d been teaching creative writing in the New York public schools for several years as what they call a “teaching artist.” Being around junior high school kids recalled my own emotions at their age to a degree that was sometimes painful, especially because teaching poetry is necessarily pretty intimate. There’s a lot of intensity finding its way to the page, and to teach you have to really engage with that. So I was simultaneously an adult with an adult’s perspective and also reliving adolescent emotions, which is the same place you have to inhabit to write YA: in that turmoil, but also safely beyond it.

And since LOST VOICES was published, nothing has meant nearly as much to me as the responses of some of my teenage readers. I’m not sure you can hope for that kind of sweetness and fervor and generosity from an adult readership.

Why fantasy?

Because I feel like fantasy captures aspects of reality that realism can’t quite reach. Maybe I write fantasy because I experience more truth in metaphors than in direct statements. I know I couldn’t write realism without it being forced and artificial. I don’t believe in writing what you know, but rather in writing what you see, and this is what I see in my mind’s eye.

In WAKING STORMS, Nausicaa tells Luce “I know this story.” She thinks because she has lived thousands of years, while Luce is young for a human let alone a mermaid, that she knows how Luce’s life will play out based on the choices she makes. Is this an intentional metaphor for when adults presume to know better than teenagers what’s “best for them”?

An intentional metaphor? No… I love Nausicaa too much to be deliberately critical of her! I do think Nausicaa is making a mistake that a lot of adults in that position make, though: she desperately wants Luce to learn from example and be spared the pain of learning from direct experience. And that’s an unreasonable wish; Luce has to go through it all for herself.

But at the same time, Nausicaa has a point: Luce is at risk, and Nausicaa does have a lot more knowledge to draw on. And ultimately what Nausicaa teaches Luce does help save her. So, while I think Nausicaa is making a mistake, I can’t really blame her for trying to protect her friend.

One of the most tragic elements of Luce and Dorian’s romance is that Luce can never be certain if Dorian truly loves her or if he’s enchanted by her. Do you have an opinion (or an answer!) on that matter?

Oh, I think he loves her! But he’s too angry at her, and at the power she has over him, to love her well. He’d have to work more on coming into his own strengths to be able to love her without resentment getting in the way.

The tragic element in their relationship is also Luce’s responsibility: not only because of her part in sinking his ship and killing his family, but also because of her insecurity and fear of abandonment. It would be hard for her to accept that anyone really loved her for herself.

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

Write for love, because love is the only thing that’ll keep you going through all the rejections. Read as much as you can, because the more ways of using language you’ve absorbed the more readily language will flow through you. Even read things that seem difficult and alienating, not just the books you find easiest to like. Give your truest self, because at the end of the day that’s all any of us can really offer.

THE LIES THAT BIND

2012-03-02T07:00:00.000-08:00

Review of THE LIES THAT BIND by KATE CARLISLE
(third in the BIBLIOPHILE MYSTERIES series)

Oh, dear. Brooklyn has found herself smack in the center of another book-related murder. At least the cops seem to be growing a little fond of her and, though they tease her about being bad luck, don’t seem to consider her a serious suspect this time. Of course, by now looking into murders herself is a bad habit and Brooklyn can’t help but investigate, much to Derek’s frustration.

Speaking of Derek, by the third book in the series I’m growing as antsy as Brooklyn for something to happen between them, or at the very least for her to find some closure that nothing ever will. This time both of them are rearing to have a night alone, but every time they make romantic plans something, like a murder or other hard-to-ignore crime, pops up.

It’s natural that after three murder investigations in less than a year Brooklyn starts to wonder if she does have some connection to each case that she doesn’t know about. I’m glad Carlisle addresses what I know I would be wondering if I were Brooklyn, though it’s likely the string of murders will ultimately be chalked up to coincidence. However, I did get the nibbling sense that perhaps there is something more. Maybe over the course of the series connections will form between separate murder investigations and eventually we will learn that it’s no coincidence that Brooklyn winds up involved in so many murder cases. There might be a bigger story here. Or perhaps that’s just my hopeful skepticism speaking.

As long as it doesn’t turn out to be Minka! In THE LIES THAT BIND, Carlisle tiptoes around giving Minka a little more dimension, but never really crosses that line. I hope it’s a sign that Minka will develop more over the series, but I’m not holding my breath just yet.

And once again I was far from predicting the murderer. Carlisle has a knack for lining up lots of potential suspects not to mention misdirects. I did suspect there was something more to the character who turns out to be a tad villainous but I didn’t think his/her secrets were of the malicious variety. Let’s see if I have more luck predicting the murderer next time!

THIEF EYES

2012-02-24T07:00:00.000-08:00

Review of THIEF EYES by JANNI LEE SIMNER

Reading this story is a little like walking into a dark tunnel. I can’t see where it’s going. I can’t even see very far in front of me, but once I emerge from the other end my surroundings are illuminated again. Like Simner’s other works, this tale has a dreamy, surreal taste to it. Forget predicting what will happen next. Forget finding the meaning; you can grasp at vague morals, but, like any dream, there are many possible interpretations to the point that definitive conclusions are arbitrary.

For THIEF EYES, Simner pulls from Icelandic mythology. A year ago Haley’s mother disappeared when she and her parents visited Iceland. Now, against her father’s better judgment, he’s taking her back there and she’s determined to find her mother, or at least learn more about what happened to her. What she couldn’t have imagined is that magic and a curse handed down through generations are at the root of her pain.

In my reviews of Simner’s BONES OF FAERIE books, I mention her skill with complicated (and hence more realistic) relationships. In THIEF EYES, a love triangle emerges, perhaps an overdone staple of young adult fantasy these days. However, Simner tackles this issue with more compassion and insight than most young adult and adult books alike. First, she remains a storyteller not a preacher. Her writing allows us to forget about the author and only think about Haley. In some literary love triangles, it’s easy to pick out the author’s first choice and sometimes you can even sense didactic or judgmental vibes about having your cake and…well, you know. Second, I can imagine Haley with either boy. They’re both likable and different without being exaggerated opposites. I find myself frustrated by love triangles where one of the “suitors” is ruled out by death, an unforgivable action, or an ultimately incompatible trait. I much prefer the more complex situation, like Haley’s, where both are nice guys and she could be happy with either, so she has to make a choice herself rather than let fate resolve the question for her. Third, rather than utilizing the love triangle simply for dramatic spice, Simner mines Haley’s predicament for beautifully-posed themes about both young love and a question that many spend their lives pondering: is it possible to love more than one person?

I can’t wrap up this review without mentioning Simner’s mastery of vivid sensory imagery. She can describe the cold so that I fetch a blanket or portray a sound so that I look up. In particular, I adored the passages about Haley running. I run myself and could relate to this sense that you just want to go faster and faster and if you could you would never stop. Of course, your body heats up when you exercise, so a fantasy twist that Haley might actually run so fast and so far that she bursts into flames taps into the actual feeling of adrenaline being released into the body during a run. The only problem is that these passages were so powerful they made me want to put down the book and go running instead!

I found the right amount of closure in the ending. It’s a good stopping point, but Haley’s sixteen and her life is only just beginning. The end leaves room for the reader to imagine all the possible futures ahead of her and cross their fingers that she finds a happy one.

YVONNE COLLINS

2012-02-17T07:00:00.000-08:00

Interview with Yvonne Collins

When I'm not writing books with Sandy, I can usually be found on a film set, where life is anything but dull. I've hung off the side of Toronto's CN tower, faced down a Grizzly bear, danced with Gregory Hines, and shared a beer with Ireland's Lord Guinness. And to think I almost became a cop.

What are you reading right now?

I've just started BEL CANTO by Ann Pachett, and (feeling guilty after all of my holiday spending), I’m also reading THE WEALTHY BARBER RETURNS by fellow Canadian, Dave Chilton.

What first sparked your interest in writing?

When my niece was a young teen, she kept asking me for advice about how to deal with friends, and boys, and the challenges of a blended family. I thought it would be great to get her a book that would offer some solutions, and was surprised to find there was nothing on the shelves that addressed her concerns in an easy-going and fun way. Sandy and I were roommates at the time, and we decided to rise to the challenge of filling that bookshelf void. The result was TOTALLY ME: THE TEENAGE GIRL’S SURVIVAL GUIDE and a long co-authorship!

What do you love the most about writing? The least?

I love it when a scene comes together so easily that it almost writes itself. That doesn’t happen often, enough, unfortunately. It can be very discouraging to spend long hours at the keyboard only to produce pages I wouldn't subject my worst enemy to, let alone my co-author!

Tell us a little about your writing process.

I like to plough through and write a scene completely, even if it's super rough, so that the overall action is locked in. Then I will go back (again and again), to improve the description and dialogue.

What are your passions?

Friends, family, visuals arts, exploring new cities, watching Coronation Street, and going for long walks with my dog and husband. I'd like to add working out to the list, but that's more of a necessity than a passion, since one of my other passions is eating! (Especially eating any treat that Sandy whips up!)

What inspires you?

Friends, co-workers, stories in the news, life experiences.

Why young adult?

I think because Sandy and I met as teenagers, we share a lot of memories from that time. We bonded over a similar sense of humor, and that humor got us through a lot of teenage drama and angst.

What is it like collaborating on a book?

It can be challenging sometimes, but since I have only ever written books with Sandy, I think the challenges that we face in collaborating are a lot less than some other authors might face. Over the years, we've developed a style that has to accommodate two people's ideas. If I had written books on my own first, I think collaborating would be far more difficult because I'd be such a control freak! But Sandy and I have learned together how to put egos and feelings aside, and appreciate what the other person can bring to the party.

One of my favorite aspects of LOVE INC is Zahra’s voice, especially impressive since the book has two authors. How do you create such a strong, unique voice? Is it more challenging to write a young adult voice than an adult one?

I remember when we first started writing TOTALLY ME, Sandy and I used to say that we could never write fiction. But then we started to write a few fictional scenarios for our non-fiction book, and they were so much fun to do, they gave us the courage we needed to tackle SPEECHLESS, our first novel. As I mentioned, we have always shared a sense of humor and I think in a way, we both have a similar “voice” in our own lives. So giving a single voice to our joint characters has come quite naturally to us.

Writing a young adult voice is more fun than writing an adult voice, because I think we both enjoy the freedom that young people have to challenge ideas, or blurt out exactly what they are thinking, without the kind of filter that we all develop as adults. That said, we do constantly worry that the voice is current and “young” enough and often ask the young adults in our own lives to weigh in on certain topics and expressions.

Of all your published books, do you have a personal favorite?

Although that’s like asking me to choose my favorite child, I do have a soft spot for TRADE SECRETS, the sequel to LOVE INC. I really identified with the character of Kali and wanted her to have a chance to spread her wings in book two. I can’t deny there’s more than a little of teen-Yvonne in this girl who truly believes in the power of love and friendship. And Kali proves you can be fun and flirty, and still smart and loyal and ambitious.

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

Only that the hardest part of writing is actually sitting down to do it. And if you get as far as finishing that first chapter, keep going, even if that chapter isn't as great as you want it to be. I know too many people that just keep chipping away at the first scene of their book/script and get so frustrated that it isn't perfect, they never finish their work. But if you keep moving ahead, you can always polish up the beginning when you've written the end. Besides, stories tend to take on a life of their own once you start writing, you may well find the beginning has to change anyway.

SANDY RIDEOUT

2012-02-10T07:00:00.001-08:00

Interview with SANDY RIDEOUT

Sandy Rideout is the co-author of 11 books with Yvonne Collins. She lives in Toronto and works by day in corporate communications. Please visit Yvonne & Sandy at http://collinsrideout.com/

What are you reading right now?

I’m reading DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE by Laini Taylor, and I absolutely love it. Before that I read Maureen Thompson’s NAME OF THE STAR. I have been spending far more time reading since I got an e-reader, which surprised this paper-loving author!

What first sparked your interest in writing?

I was obsessed with L.M. Montgomery as a kid. I read every single book she wrote (plus all the journals and biographies). It was EMILY OF NEW MOON that made me want to write. The book literally fell apart from so many re-readings!

What do you love the most about writing? The least?

I love getting into a character’s head and trying to figure out what he or she might do in a situation, as opposed to what I would do. And I really enjoy capturing conflict in dialogue.

The hard part, still, after 11 books, is conquering the fear of failure. Each time I start something new, I think, “I suck, I suck, I can’t do this.” And at first, it’s true. The first chapter inevitably reeks, but I’ve learned that if I can survive to the fifth, the foul odour clears.

Of course, the other tough thing is juggling full-time work and other responsibilities with writing. You have to carve the time out somehow, and usually it comes out of the “entertainment” budget. So I am way behind on my favorite TV shows. But I am taking a lesson from my coauthor and putting a TV in the workout room.

Tell us a little about your writing process.

Writing as a team means we need to brainstorm ideas together and develop a solid outline to keep us on track. We don’t have the luxury of writing by the seat of our pants, as some authors do. However, even with an outline, there is room for surprises and we try hard to make each other laugh. I was recently describing what Yvonne did to our poor “Leigh” in the “The New and Improved Vivien Leigh Reid: Diva in Control,” and laughed out loud.

What are your passions?

Aside from writing, naturally there’s reading, and reading about writing. For pure fun, I love cooking and baking, and subjecting people to my kitchen experiments. (No one has died yet!)

What inspires you?

~~Gossip sites~~, ~~scandals~~, ~~fighting with my guy...~~ Okay, seriously...I get a lot of ideas while working out or driving. Plus, I listen to people, and it leads me to stories that sometimes seem too strange to be true—but aren’t. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve shot down one of Yvonne’s ideas, saying, “But that would never happen.” Then we hear that it has, even more outrageously than we speculated.

Why young adult?

We met when we were 13 and 15, and that stage of life is still so vivid for us. We remember the constant feeling of excitement over possibilities—for romance, careers, everything—and love to recapture it. For me, there might also be a faint wish for a “do over.” I wasn’t a confident teen, and wish I’d dared to take more chances. Our characters do things Yvonne and I NEVER would have. For example, in LOVE, INC., when a guy mistreats our trio, they strike back! On the other hand, we’ve learned what stands the test of time—friendship, loyalty, humor—and we celebrate it in our books.

How was LOVE, INC born?

Yvonne and I were brainstorming at Starbucks, as usual. We got this idea for a story where friends who get played by a guy, not only get revenge, but start selling it as a service to other teens. We liked that these girls turned lemons into lemonade. And while some of their actions are pretty risky, their hearts are definitely in the right place, and friendship is at the core.

What is it like collaborating on a book?

Coauthoring is like shoving two strange cats into a sack and hoping that something good will emerge a few months later. It’s an exercise in compromise, respect, tact and discipline. But it’s so great to share the ups and downs of writing. And I still get excited when Yvonne sends new chapters. I’m always interested to see where she’s taken the story, and what words she’s put in our characters’ mouths.

After writing 11 books together, non-fiction, adult fiction, and teen fiction, I have to admit that I’m not sure where our “voice” comes from. It seems like it was there from the start, and that’s probably a byproduct of being friends for so long. Our main characters are aspects of our own personalities, and humour is never far from the surface. Even with our new book, TORCH, which is a paranormal romance, we couldn’t shake the humour in the voice.

Of all your published books, do you have a personal favorite?

Well, my favorite book is always the most recent one, which means TORCH. We’ve wanted to try a paranormal romance for a long time and finally got a chance. After so many romantic-comedies, however, we wondered if it was possible to be funny in a book where people die. Oops...Did we give something away?

TORCH is about a girl named Phoenix who discovers she can create fire, although she can’t control her ability. She meets a hot guy who can transform into water, and they team up to tackle a string of arsons that’s threatening the idyllic town of Rosewood.

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

Writing is a tough road, no question. There is rejection at every turn. To succeed, you have to develop a thick skin. Individually, we haven’t achieved that, but together, we’ve got a leathery hide. And of course, everything depends on discipline. Writing is work, like anything else, and it only happens if you apply fingers to keyboard.

Is there anything else you would like to tell us about yourself?

We’re really excited to have an opportunity at this stage of our career to venture into e-publishing. It’s giving us a chance to write a variety of books. For example, we’re currently planning to write another novel for adults, after focussing on teens for many years. (Yvonne edits: We are? Sandy responds: We are! Let’s pretend to be grown-ups again.)

IF BOOKS COULD KILL

2012-02-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

Review of IF BOOKS COULD KILL by KATE CARLISLE

(second in the BIBLIOPHILE MYSTERIES series)

If you liked HOMICIDE IN HARDCOVER, the second bibliophile mystery won’t disappoint. As with the first one, Brooklyn not only discovers another body but she winds up the prime suspect in a murder investigation. Confession: I tease people for investing more in the romance element of a story than the primary plotline, but through most of the first few pages of this book my mind was fixated on whether or not Derek Stone would reappear. Despite some steamy flirtations in the last book, nothing substantial happened between him and Brooklyn by the end and it seemed a valid possibility that nothing ever would. The author certainly provides Brooklyn with plenty of other options. However, I’m not revealing if he comes back; you’ll have to read the book and see for yourself.

Still, you need to be able to let little details go in order to invest in this series. First of all, I struggle to accept that a woman working in bookbinding not only finds herself the center of so many murder investigations but that she’s almost always the one to find the body. It’s probably a matter of taste. I mostly read fantasy, so I readily accept premises involving dragons or mermaids and yet here I am nitpicking a murder mystery for too many murders. It’s easy for authors who make their protagonist work in law enforcement or a related field, but for those whose characters don’t have easy “access” to such situations the reader needs to meet the author halfway and put their skepticism on hold. Second, the first few chapters of the book are packed with Brooklyn coincidentally running into people she knows, one right after the other. At first I found this especially unlikely since IF BOOKS COULD KILL takes place in Scotland, but, after some reflection, I think this might not be so unexpected after all; Brooklyn goes to Edinburgh to attend a book fair and - surprise, surprise - most of the people she runs into are also attending said book fair. Sure, the timing still seems contrived, but it keeps the plot moving along. Last, almost every man Brooklyn knows or meets is described as one of the sexiest men on earth. One starts to wonder how many men can actually hold that title at one point and time.

As crazy as they might be, I do like Brooklyn’s family and her complex relationship with them as a unit and as individuals. I hope we’ll see more of her relatives in future books. Their appearance in Scotland might also seem improbable, but I was nonetheless glad to have them there. As much as they might embarrass Brooklyn, they’re the kind of supportive, loving parents anyone would be lucky to have…even if those same parents do have quite the knack for crashing romantic moments.

I also like the array of characters that Carlise creates. I expect many of them to pop up here and there in future books, hopefully not as victims! The one character that bugs me, though, is Minka. And I don’t mean that she bothers me simply because she’s written as an annoying character; she bothers me because she’s flat. The other characters all have varying levels of depth, but Minka is nothing but static annoying. Also, Brooklyn’s relationship with her seems juvenile, so their interactions usually end up lowering my opinion of Brooklyn almost as much as Minka. I’m crossing my fingers that we'll earn a little more insight into Minka’s catty behavior in future books.

Again, I couldn’t at all predict the murderer, despite more active attempts this time. I made a few different guesses and all of them veered widely off the mark. The ending of this one also satisfies, even though it lacks the bizarre, unexpected twist of HOMICIDE IN HARDCOVER. Like the first book, IF BOOKS COULD KILL wraps up the murder mystery neatly, but leaves some relationship loose ends (especially those of a romantic variety) open for further development in future books.

GINN HALE

2012-01-27T07:00:00.000-08:00

Interview with GINN HALE

Ginn Hale resides in the Pacific Northwest, donates blood as a pastime, and tinkers with things. Her first novel, WICKED GENTLEMEN, won the Spectrum Award for best novel and was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. She is also the author of the LORD OF THE WHITE HELL books and the RIFTER series. Her novella, THINGS UNSEEN AND DEADLY, appears in the Shared-world Anthology IRREGULARS.

What are you reading right now?

Right now, I'm reading through CULINARIA GERMANY, which was edited by Christine Metzger. It's an odd hybrid of history book, cookbook, and atlas. Very useful for research, since it directly ties the geography and culture of a place to its traditions and history. Also there are some beautiful pictures and a lovely section on witches!

THE EXTENDED PHENOTYPE by Richard Dawkins is a delight and quite brilliant.

I've also been revisiting BY THE SWORD by Richard Cohen, which is a history of fencing and filled with fascinating information tracing the evolution of swordplay from a necessity of war to a refined almost artistic sport.

What first sparked your interest in writing?

I'm not a natural writer, I don't think. I don't have favorite words or much skill at word-play. But I've always loved stories - stripped down to their core plots they can often be as perfect and precise as really lovely algebraic formulas. It's always been the core of a story - that nifty little plot - that buoys me through the hard work of crafting the individual words that build characters, scenes, and worlds.

What do you love the most about writing? The least?

I think that writing is beautiful in that simple bits of ink can evoke entire worlds - and that the experience of them can be quite real to the reader. I'm also fascinated by the fact that so very much of what an author creates is actually given life by the imagination of a reader. I think it's marvelous that every reader can have his or her own private version of Cadeleon and it's inhabitants.

What I hate about writing is the intense demand of the craft. For me books take years to write because the individual words do not come easily or naturally. But that's the life I've chosen and I've been very lucky to have met a great bunch of readers because of it. I certainly can't complain.

Tell us a little about your writing process.

My process is quite dull. (Sometimes I think I ought to attempt to spice it up, if only to have a better answer to this question during interviews.)

But alas the truth is that I simply read a wide variety of non-fiction and take notes while I'm cogitating upon a plot. Then when I feel like I've got a grasp of the story I want to write I create my outline as well as a rough atlas of the world I'm creating. Then I pick a song to listen to and I start writing. And I just keep writing until the book, novella, or short story is done.

The only remarkable detail of my process might be that I only listen to a single song the entire time that I'm writing a work. There are songs that I've listened to for eight or more hours nearly every day for up to five years.

What are your passions?

I really like science and I am very committed to LGBT rights; I don't, in any way, accept that my marriage to my wife poses a threat to anyone - except maybe the cats who might get bumped off the bed once in a while. And speaking of cats, I also strongly support the work being done by organizations like the Best Friend Animal Society.

What inspires you?

Nearly anything that makes me think is inspiring. That's why I tend to read so much non-fiction, particularly on subjects of biology, technology, and history. But anything can be inspiring to me if I try to find the inspiration in it. To me, that's part of the real beauty of the world: nothing is too small, common, or ordinary not to harbor some spark of interest.

Why fantasy?

Well, both authors and readers can have quite a bit of fun with fantasy. There aren't many other genres that allow people to fly, animals to speak, and terrible wrongs to be undone with just a kiss. It's also a genre that allows a writer to raise difficult topics - sexuality, religion, social hierarchy, etc. - but removed enough from a real world context not to instantly provoke a knee-jerk reaction from readers.

How were THE LORD OF THE WHITE HELL books born?

I'd just completed the five year project of THE RIFTER, (which required a huge amount of plotting and touched on some rather dark themes), and I wanted to write something more straightforward featuring younger, less hardened characters. A close friend requested a story set in a boys school, another friend asked for horses, and a third friend - the genius whom I based Kiram on - was going through some of the tougher adventure of becoming his own adult and inspired me greatly.

I just went from there and two years later I'd written the books.

Of all your published books, do you have a personal favorite?

I don't have a favorite.

As a rule, the book I've just completed is my least loved work because all the trouble it caused me is still so fresh in my mind.

Right now the LORD OF THE WHITE HELL books and THE RIFTER series are both in the clear; it's my contribution to the IRREGULARS anthology that is my least loved creation at the moment. Though I suppose it will soon be supplanted, since I'm just now starting to write another book set in the Cadeleonian world.

Do you ever plan to return to Kiram and Javier’s story?

I plan to return to their world and I expect to find them there,perhaps not as primary protagonists, but certainly still there.

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

I think most authors give the same, good advice: write every day and always with a creative but critical eye.

The only other thing I can think to add is that no matter how precious some ideas or stories might seem, you must be open to abandoning them for the better of the overall work. Sometimes that means abandoning entire novels and moving on to a better, stronger project. Not every idea works out, but every effort is an opportunity to learn and improve. Even failure gives a writer something to consider. That can be an inspiration in itself.

Is there anything else you would like to tell us about yourself?

Well, I'm not nearly so serious as I may seem in interviews or sitting on some panel fielding questions. In person, I tend to just kid around, tinker with things and talk too much about lichen.

Other bits of trivia: I'm left handed, I nearly live on black coffee, red beans, and rice but haven't manage to develop a taste for chocolate. Oh! And I've been challenged to add noodles into my next novel so there's something to look out for. Elezar Grunito versus noodles!

HOMICIDE IN HARDCOVER

2012-01-20T07:00:00.000-08:00

Review of HOMICIDE IN HARDCOVER by KATE CARLISLE

(first in the BIBLIOPHILE MYSTERIES series)

I rarely read mystery, so HOMICIDE IN HARDCOVER is a fun change for me. It’s the first book in the BIBLIOPHILE MYSTERIES. Can anyone guess what attracted me to this particular series? Since reviews are highly rooted in taste, let me share upfront that I usually go for more whimsical, light, silly mysteries than meaty, grisly ones. Perhaps a break from some of the darker fantasy novels on my favorites list.

HOMICIDE IN HARDCOVER fits my description above. Enjoyable, amusing, comforting. I, obviously, related to the main character Brooklyn because she adores books, but she is above all real. I liked her and could identify with her, but she also irritated me at times. That’s actually a compliment! The point is that she definitely isn’t a flat character. Oftentimes if I agree with every little thing a character thinks or does it means the author is staying in safe ground. Not that Brooklyn did anything deplorable; I only mean that occasionally she struck me as slightly superficial or selfish. I’ve read my share of perfect characters, though, and I welcome ones that are likable without being annoyingly flawless.

I invested in both the murder mystery and the romance. I didn’t predict the murderer, but then again I can count the number of mystery novels I’ve read on one hand so I’m no veteran whodunit reader. The romance subplot doesn’t steal focus and when the author isn’t trying too hard that usually makes me invest even more.

Brooklyn’s the kind of character I can cheer on. I want her to solve the mystery. I want her to resolve any damaged relationships. I want her to win the guy. I want her to find resolution and closure. That wanting pulled me through the story to the end, which wraps up the murder nicely. And the very last part is a totally unexpected, hilarious twist!

TOUCH OF POWER

2012-01-13T07:00:00.000-08:00

Review of TOUCH OF POWER by MARIA V. SNYDER

(review based on an advance reading copy)

I’ve read one other series by Snyder (the POISON STUDY trilogy) and I had to laugh after starting TOUCH OF POWER, because the opening is so similar. A young woman, wrongfully despised for crimes she didn’t commit, awaits her execution only to be offered a chance to live by a handsome stranger who could easily be a friend or an enemy. Of course, the specific details make these completely different books. In POISON STUDY, a woman accused of murder is offered a position as poison taster. In TOUCH OF POWER, the woman is a magical healer. When fear and prejudice toss her in a cell, she finds herself rescued by men who need her gift.

The premise of TOUCH OF POWER is really fantastic and encourages debating. While there are a few different kinds of magicians in this world, our story focuses on healers. Healers can, well, heal people. Of course, it’s more complicated than that. They have a faster curative rate than normal humans and a magical ability to absorb wounds and illnesses from a patient into themselves. This means that they can “take” someone’s pneumonia or stab wound etc. and then heal much faster than the patient would. However, they feel the wound or illness as would anyone else, so this gift isn’t without sacrifice. Here’s where the bigger problems enter: years back a plague spread that healers couldn’t stop. They quickly discovered that, were they to absorb this particular disease, they wouldn’t recover. There are about one hundred healers in the world and this plague spread all over, so the Guild decided it simply wasn’t worth the sacrifice and forbid healers to cure anyone with the plague. Unfortunately, that decree was misinterpreted and people believed healers spread the plague themselves and then refused to treat it. Thanks to that massive miscommunication, all healers must erase their old identities and live in hiding, which means absolutely no magical healing. Discovery means death.

Now on to our protagonist Avry’s individual problems. She has the intellect and survival skills to be a great fugitive if only compassion didn’t lead her to heal someone on the brink of death, usually a child, every time she finds a safe hideout. The men who rescue/kidnap her from prison want her to heal a prince with the plague. Not only does Avry know she will die if she heals someone with the plague, but this particular prince stands for everything about the world that she hates. While she’s prepared to give up her life for some people, not for him.

I noticed more similarities between TOUCH OF POWER and POISON STUDY than just the beginning. In fact, a lot of parallels can be drawn between the two stories. Many characters are mirrors of each other. Avry from TOUCH OF POWER doesn’t seem that different than Yelena from POISON STUDY. Kerrick reminded me of Valek. And so forth. However, it should be said that if Snyder’s plot occasionally seems formulaic, it’s a formula that works. I was totally hooked from start to finish and even where I noticed these similarities, it didn’t take me out of the story. There’s plenty to differentiate the two books.

One writing habit that did distract me, though, is the overuse of present participle clauses. (I noticed this in POISON STUDY as well.) Grammar nerds know what I’m talking about. If you’re not a grammar nerd, then never mind; it’s an amazing book. If you are a grammar nerd, be warned that there is a present participle clause (or two or three) on almost every page and perhaps as many as half of them are grammatically incorrect.

My only other complaint is also something I noticed in both books: the absence of women in the story. While the protagonist is a woman, she’s surrounded by men: friends, enemies, love interests, but all men. Most of the women who pop up play very, very minor roles, and those that play larger ones are evil.

As I approached the ending, I inwardly cringed. It appeared that the author intended to leave a bunch of a plot threads dangling for the next book to pick up. I should have had more faith. The ending was extremely satisfying. It wrapped up everything I wanted some closure on in this book, but, since this is the first in a trilogy, left the bigger plot threads to be resolved over the rest of the series.

After nitpicking a little, I have to repeat that TOUCH OF POWER riveted my attention. I didn’t want to put it down and whenever I had a few spare minutes, I would snatch it up to read a couple more pages. I found Avry easy to empathize with, especially since she so frequently found herself in tricky emotional, intellectual, or political situations that made me ask, “What would I do?” It’s the first in a new trilogy, so I can’t wait for the next one!

Favorite Books Read in 2011

2012-01-06T07:00:00.000-08:00

For those who have been following my blog throughout the year, the books on this list won’t come as a surprise. I write long reviews, though, so below you can find much shorter descriptions of my favorite books from 2011. All the books I reviewed or authors I interviewed are linked to the original post.

Note that these are books I read in 2011, not necessarily books published in 2011. At first I attempted to sort the titles in terms of my most favorite, but ultimately decided to sort them by author’s last name. The order of most favorite probably changes a little (or a lot) every day and it feels like a disservice to those near the end even though they’re all on this list because I loved them! I also decided, rather than go for an even number like “favorite 10” or favorite 25,” to simply list those that I adored, whatever the number.

1. DAUGHTER OF THE BLOOD by ANNE BISHOP

If I had stuck with my original plan of sorting these books in terms of how much I enjoyed them, this one would still deserve a place near the top! Bishop not only creates a detailed, distinct fantasy world, but her story appeals to both my emotion and my intellect. The plot raises so many questions about major aspects of humanity, such as: sexuality, gender, violence, love, honor, and, oh, I could go on! (My review of this book is the longest review I have ever written!)

2. HOUSE OF THE STAR by CAITLIN BRENNAN

This is a must-read for horse fanatics, but a great book for other bibliophiles. Elen lives in a universe where different worlds are connected by magical roads across which only special horses can travel. She desperately wants to become a trained rider on one of these horses, but that means going to Earth (the only planet on which the horses can breed) and working alongside a perceived enemy.

3. MIDNIGHT NEVER COME, IN ASHES LIE, and A STAR SHALL FALL by MARIE BRENNAN

In the ONYX COURT series, a fey court lurks beneath the mortal one in historic London. Each book is set in a different century and, with fascinating attention to detail, Brennan examines how the fey must adapt if they wish to survive in a human-dominated world.

4. WARRIOR by MARIE BRENNAN

The very premise of this book could be posed to a class on ethics. Miryo is a witch in training, but she learns that before she can harness and control her magic she must kill her doppelganger. Murder might seem like the obvious unethical option, but if Miryo doesn’t slay her doppelganger, her magic will ricochet out of control and kill many more than one innocent person.

5. LOVE INC by YVONNE COLLINS and SANDY RIDEOUT

I adored this book! Very few books actually hook me so that I don’t (or can’t) put it down, but here’s one that did! Three girls meet in a counseling group for teenagers with separated or divorced parents and realize they’re all dating the same guy! Spurred by their own romantic failure along with that of their parents, they start a hilarious if morally questionable business devoted to solving other people’s romantic problems.

6. WITHER by LAUREN DESTEFANO

A good test of how much you enjoyed a book is how much you remember and think about the book months later. I still can’t get Rhine’s world, where men die at twenty and women at twenty-five, out of my mind. I can’t wait for the next installment, especially because I have absolutely no idea where the second book is headed.

7. GOOD OMENS by NEIL GAIMAN and TERRY PRATCHETT

This work (and these authors) is pretty established by now and has many devoted fans, but for those who haven’t heard of this title: it’s a hilarious take on the apocalypse. And I’m not talking a handful of great jokes. I mean almost every line is funny.

8. DRUIDS by BARBARA GALLER-SMITH and JOSH LANGSTON

Fantasy and history find a nice blend here. The authors are actually very minimalist in their use of fantasy, which only makes the real magic all the more exciting. Set during the Sertorian War, the story focuses on fictional characters but crosses paths with historical figures.

9. A TALE DARK & GRIMM by ADAM GIDWITZ

This middle grade novel tackles Grimm’s fairy tales and actually manages to stay fairly true to the original story without traumatizing younger readers. Each chapter is a twist on a specific Grimm fairy tale. However, the stories are all connected with the characters Hanzel and Gretel, who just want to find a real happily-ever-after.

10. AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES by JOHN GREEN

This book is laugh-out-loud, read-quotes-to-innocent-bystanders hilarious. As the cherry on top, it’s intelligent humor, too. Child prodigy Colin might have peaked too early, but after being dumped for the nineteenth time by yet another girl named Katherine he attempts to put his genius to work determining a mathematical formula for how long a relationship will last.

11. LORD OF THE WHITE HELL BOOK ONE and LORD OF WHITE HELL BOOK TWO by GINN HALE

Ginn Hale’s LORD OF THE WHITE HELL duology wins the prize for hardest books for me to put down this year. I not only stayed up ridiculously late to finish the first one, but I found myself desperate and impatient to get my hands on the second book ASAP! Kiram accepts a scholarship to a foreign school, but they dump him (the outsider) with the least desirable roommate. Er, make that least desirable to most people. While others fear Javier and the strange magic that curses him, Kiram feels an instant attraction - not a problem where he’s from but male-male relationships are forbidden in this land.

12. DRAGON CHAMPION by E.E. KNIGHT

Auron’s story is a tale about survival. By the way, Auron is a young dragon. In his world, dragons are being hunted into extinction and this book, though stuffed with fantasy, echoes with the sad reality of endangered species.

13. THE MERMAID’S MIRROR by L.K MADIGAN

On the surface, this story sounds unoriginal, but what brings it to life is the characters, each real, unique, and flawed. Madigan avoids the didactic trap some young adult writers fall into and lets her characters be selfish and make mistakes without ruining their likability.

14. SEPULCHRE by KATE MOSSE

Mosse utilizes a similar format to that of her first book: a fantastical twist and interwoven modern and historical plotlines that crash together at the end. The main characters are not likable, which can be an issue for some readers, but they are nonetheless believable and their story engrossing.

15. HIS MAJESTY’S DRAGON by NAOMI NOVIK

Set during the Napoleonic Wars, this world doesn’t seem so different from our own except that there’s an extra branch of the military: those that train and ride dragons. The novel holds together with solid research and details, but the themes of chivalry and honor and the strengthening bond between the human Laurence and “his” dragon Temeraire are what hooked me.

16. WHO FEARS DEATH by NNEDI OKORAFOR

This is not an easy story to read. Okorafor doesn’t hold her punches with the graphic violence, but the story transcends morbid fascination with brutality and presents nightmares like war rape and circumcision as traumas real women endure. Not to mention that this isn’t a flat story about violence. There’s depth here in a painful exploration of humanity’s propensity for aggression and cruelty.

17. ZAHRAH THE WINDSEEKER by NNEDI OKORAFOR

This book is much lighter in tone than Okorafor’s WHO FEARS DEATH while still managing to give the reader little scares with strange, frightening monsters. The foremost theme - being an outsider - is universal in young adult literature.

18. LOST VOICES by SARAH PORTER

This story was a breath of fresh air. (Sorry for the cliché.) Sirens are usually depicted as monsters that lure men to their deaths for no particular reason other than that it’s in their nature, but Porter delves into this myth and gifts these mermaids and their devastating songs with the layers and backstory they deserve.

19. THE GOLDEN COMPASS by PHILIP PULLMAN

Pullman’s trilogy is one of the most complex works I have ever read. Every detail from characters to setting to plot seems carefully thought through. Also, it’s hard not to like the defiant eleven-year-old protagonist Lyra and I dare say impossible not to be caught up in her journey, which is peppered with characters who each seem to have their own, intricate story and packed with obstacles of all kinds.

20. BONES OF FAERIE and FAERIE WINTER by JANNI LEE SIMNER

Like Porter, Simner also takes material that has become fairly repetitive in literature and molds something new. This is a post-apocalyptic fairy story! Simner’s writing has an easy flow that tugs you along and she treats every character with compassion so you can understand where everyone is coming from even as they disagree or, well, try to kill each other.

21. DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE by LAINI TAYLOR

This book was not only an incredible find, but it led me to the author Laini Taylor. I devoured all of her work after discovering this book and now consider her one of my favorite authors. Her writing zings with her own distinct style and she creates some beautiful metaphors so apt that I marvel that I’ve never read them before. In DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE, Taylor also demonstrates brilliant pacing. The story pulled me along, making me want to know more, but I never found myself frustrated. Details were always divulged at the exact moment I most wanted them.

22. DREAMDARK: BLACKBRINGER and DREAMDARK: SILKSINGER by LAINI TAYLOR

These two books follow Magpie the fairy. At first she might seem like your fairy stereotype - small, cute, whimsical - but this fairy pre-teen spends most of her time hunting down demons that humans foolishly release into the world.

23. LIPS TOUCH: THREE TIMES by LAINI TAYLOR

Three stories fill this collection connected by themes of longing not to mention the fey. The first follows the type of girl the goblins desire: the girl who longs so badly to be popular that the goblins can almost taste her longing…and it tastes delicious. The second story details a cruel curse that prevents a young woman from ever speaking. And in the third, by far the darkest, children are nothing more than toys and hosts for the fey.

24. UGLIES, PRETTIES, SPECIALS, and EXTRAS by SCOTT WESTERFELD

This series is such a quick, easy read that it’s tempting to put intellect on pause and just enjoy a fun story, but once the questions start coming you realize there’s quite a lot to think about and debate. Tally lives in a far future society where everyone is required to have a surgery at age sixteen to make them “pretty.” I actually don’t like Tally, who wants nothing more than to do what’s expected of her, but her friend Shay, the one who questions the surgery and urges Tally to do the same, definitely belongs on my favorite characters list.

FAERIE WINTER

2011-12-30T07:00:00.000-08:00

Review of FAERIE WINTER by JANNI LEE SIMNER

(sequel to BONES OF FAERIE, review based on an advance reading copy)

The strength of this story comes from the choices the characters face. No one, even our protagonist Liza, is simply good or bad. Simner takes legends of faerie magic and mines the potential ethical and moral dilemmas, especially those that might appear straight-forward at first glance…but not so much when you look closer. Also, like the best fantasy, the magic serves as a metaphor for choices and tragedies we must face in real life.

I’ll backtrack just a little here to suggest that you read FAERIE WINTER soon after reading BONES OF FAERIE. Or, if you’ve already read the first book, as I did, take the time to re-read it, because I did have a little trouble slipping back into the story when it had been so long since I read BONES OF FAERIE.

But once I slipped back in, I was invested! It’s worth reiterating how Simner gives all her characters such depth. Liza makes some choices that aren’t entirely good, but neither are they condemnable; I could always understand her motivation even as I grasped how her decision hurt another.

For those who need a quick refresher, Liza lives in a post-apocalyptic world left devastated after a terrible war between humans and faeries. Even after the war, faeries have left their mark on humans. (Connection to real-life, humans-versus-humans wars, anyone?) Some people now have magic, which unfortunately makes them seem a lot like the enemy. Liza’s magic in particular is brutal in its power. She possesses the ability to control others with her voice. When she gives a command laced with magic, free will exits the equation and people have no choice but to obey. The plot returns to a key question again and again: Is it okay to take away someone’s free will if you did so to help them?

As well as layered characters, Simner crafts complex relationship webs. One particular scene near the end comes to mind when numerous characters clash and everyone fights for their own ideals. Final showdowns aren’t unique in novels, especially not in fantasy, but in most of these climatic scenes there’s a clear line drawn between sides and more often than not we know which side we’re expected to support. In FAERIE WINTER, you can’t draw any clear line down the middle. Each person has loyalties and enemies and values they will die to protect, but I dare you to try to divide all the characters into two simple camps. No matter how you split them up, someone will have a loyalty on the other side or an enemy on their side. That’s what makes this particular scene both so fun and so affecting as each individual tries to protect those they love, destroy those they despise, and drill home why their outlook on the world is the right one.

LOST VOICES

2011-12-23T07:00:00.000-08:00

Review of LOST VOICES by SARAH PORTER

(review based on an advance reading copy)

I recently attended a literature conference (Sirens 2011) that focused on female monsters. The conference both deconstructed the concept of a monster and analyzed in what ways women and monsters meld together into one idea. Medusa is a prime example. She’s demonized in mythology as a hideous, malicious beast, but what exactly brought her to such a fate? According to one myth, Poseidon raped Medusa, once a beautiful maiden, in Athena’s temple. Medusa deserved punishment for “allowing” herself to be raped, and in the temple of the virgin goddess no less; therefore, Athena turned her into a gorgon. Sarah Porter’s haunting story takes another feminine demon, the siren-like mermaid, and gives her the depth and layers she deserves.

This story moved me right from the start. Luce has an unusual background and yet she remains relatable. Her mother died when she was young and Luce cannot reconcile her memories of the father she adored with the person people describe as a criminal who kidnapped her. Unfortunately, he, too, dies - in a storm at sea. Now Luce must live with her alcoholic uncle, who dated her mother before her father stole her away, and doesn’t keep his bitterness a secret. Drunken beatings are common for Luce now, but after the abuse escalates she tumbles off a cliff into the sea below. Instead of dying, she becomes a mermaid.

Not anyone can become a mermaid. The book speaks of a “dark shimmering” around not only all mermaids but all humans who have the potential to become a mermaid. I can’t think of one word to describe what this shimmering represents: darkness would be my easy choice, but it’s not always the same kind of darkness. Also, a rich, spoilt girl becomes a mermaid, even though her shimmering is less darkness and more emptiness.

At first Luce seems to have discovered the haven for which she longed. A tribe of mermaids finds her after her transformation and welcomes her into their midst. They explain about the timahk, the rules that govern mermaid tribes, such as the rule that states no mermaid is ever allowed to hurt another mermaid or the one that forbids they interact with humans. Violation of the timahk results in banishment from the tribe, an essential death sentence in a dangerous ocean.

It doesn’t take Luce long to learn there’s a dark side to being a mermaid. Sometimes her pain rises up inside her, rises up in the form of a song, a song that lures humans to their deaths, lures ships to the rocks. She doesn’t want to murder anyone, but it seems to be part of being a mermaid. Even as she tries to fight it, she yearns to sing and her singing only brings destruction and death.

Men cannot become mermaids. This keeps the focus on the girls and their relationships. I confess that I’m filled with admiration for Porter that she managed to write a young adult story without romance that is no less compelling for the absence of boys and crushes. Friendships are plenty complex and well-written ones like these don’t need a romance subplot to keep the reader’s attention. There are already an abundance of star-crossed romances, but what about star-crossed friendships? Porter captures just that with the relationship between the tribe leader Catarina and Luce. The slang “frenemies” comes to mind, though it sounds like a cheap word for this convoluted, profound bond. Catarina both elevates Luce above the other girls and occasionally treats her with cold disdain. It all comes down to signing in mermaid society. The best singer leads the tribe, and Luce may just rival Catarina’s cruel but beautiful voice.

Of course, what makes this book especially interesting is how many ways the status quo becomes upended. Luce discovers mermaids breaking the timahk and must decide whether to keep their secrets or reveal all and let them be exiled. New mermaids join the tribe, with their own sad tales, and some upset the order and calm that once existed more than others. The primary conflict, though, (the source of the tension between her and Catarina) remains Luce’s reluctance to come to terms with what she has become. Rather than accept that she’s a monster now, Luce practices her signing in private, hoping that with enough effort she can contort the malicious enchantment that slips from her lips into something good. While a noble and admirable goal, her ambition to change what it means to be a mermaid stirs things up more than she understands or can foresee.

DAUGHTER OF THE BLOOD

2011-12-16T07:00:00.000-08:00

Review of DAUGHTER OF THE BLOOD by ANNE BISHOP

(first in THE BLACK JEWELS trilogy)

First off: I adore this book, this entire trilogy actually. Anne Bishop is now one of my favorite authors and the discovery of this scintillating, addictive series revitalized my love of reading and reminded me why it’s worth devouring book after book in search of the gems like these. Anne Bishop is up there with Laini Taylor on my list of favorite authors (even if it’s off topic, I have to toss in that Tamora Pierce is my first author love). As I’ve mentioned in my reviews Taylor’s work tends to hit my emotional sweet-spot, striking right past my intellect to visceral feelings and reactions. Bishop’s work does make me feel as well; don’t doubt that, because this high conflict series dredges forth every emotion I can imagine and not in small doses. However, THE BLACK JEWELS also engages my mind by presenting countless tantalizing questions about gender, class, power, honor, love, and violence, to name a few. Long after I put down her books, I’m thinking: about the world, the plot, the characters, and the questions it poses about real life.

Bishop has created a complex, intricate society that intertwines gender and power, creating a sharper and often more violent battle between the sexes. The thoughtfully crafted magical system fascinates me with every new detail, not to mention the very structured society in which everyone has a clear place depending on ranks both fiscal and magical, and, of course, depending on gender. I’m reading the trilogy as an omnibus that includes an insightful introduction by the author, wherein she describes a little of the intriguing “what if”s that led to THE BLACK JEWELS. If you don’t have that introduction in your book, it’s worth checking out!

In this world, different jewels represent magical rank. People have their Birthright Jewel, which varies from the lightest - white, yellow, tiger-eye, and rose - to the darkest: red, gray, ebon-gray, and finally black, the strongest and most dangerous jewel. (There’s a nice list of all the different jewels at the start of the book, including the middle ones that I didn’t mention.) Around puberty, individuals can make an offering to the Darkness, a ceremony that will hopefully descend their power to a darker jewel, though one can only descend a maximum of three jewels from their birthright and are not guaranteed to descend even one. Now here’s where Bishop changes up the status quo a little: women tend to be more powerful than men, often outranking them in jewels aka magical strength. This society also hands women authority in numerous ways. To name a big example, women rules territories. Always. There isn’t even a question of men ruling in this book, though there are plenty of questions about different, better women ruling. Traditionally, a queen’s court is a positive example of mutual trust and protection. A good queen looks after all those in her court, is in fact fiercely protective of those who serve her. In return, the males protect their queen and other women in the court at times when the females might be more vulnerable. I mentioned that Bishop interlocks power and gender and this next twist is another example: women might be the more powerful gender but they are weaker at two points in their lives - before they lose their virginity and during their periods. In this world, a woman’s first time is less about love and passion and more about trust. A woman who is raped or treated roughly her first time can be “broken.” At the best, that term means the loss of her magic, but at the worst it also means the tortured, inescapable insanity Bishop coins the Twisted Kingdom. After their virgin night, though, women are much more secure in their own power. The only catch remaining is that their magic weakens during their moontime, meaning they must look to others for a web of mutual support. I’ve only described the society as it once was, but now a few malicious queens have contorted a social structure of trust and reciprocated respect into a corrupt, never-ending crusade to ensure males remain the subservient, ever-suffering gender, existing only for the whim of powerful females. Not that all the villains in this story are female. Many males who have been tortured, whether emotionally or physically, by pitiless, vindictive queens for too long (and let me mention that these supernatural “people” lives thousands of years) then look for weaker women on whom they can take out their frustration. For many of these men, it becomes a vengeful sport to “break” as many young women as possible before they can grow into the powerful but heartless queens these men fear.

Buckle up, because I’m not wrapping up yet. That’s only my condensed description of Bishop’s complex, imaged society. I still haven’t even grazed the plot of this specific epic. The story jumps between many different characters, but we have five clear heroes and heroines. Lucivar: an ebon-gray jeweled Eyrien (meaning he’s from a race that has wings) who opens the book but plays a relatively small role in DAUGHTER OF THE BLOOD. Saetan: the demon-dead (kind of like a cross between vampire and zombie stripped of most of the now common stereotypes) black jeweled High Lord of Hell who is both rash and terrifying as well as gentle, sweet, and grandfatherly. Daemon: the only other black jeweled male in this world, a pleasure slave who has a reputation for snapping in a very violent way every now and again when he’s tired of the abuse of his malevolent queen. These men have more in common than they know. All of them are waiting for a savior: Witch. That capitalized “W” counts for a lot! There are plenty of witches in this world, but Witch only comes every few thousand years at times of great need. She is referred to in the singular sense although throughout the years there have been many women who are Witch. (Never more than one at a time, mind you, and always spaced far apart.) Witch is an embodiment of hope, power, and change. She is both an individual woman and a pool of greater wisdom millennia older than herself. All that keeps Lucivar and Daemon from killing themselves to escape this cruel world is the hope that Witch is coming soon, that she will change everything. Daemon takes his longing to a new level, nourishing a fantasy that one day, rather than being an unwilling whore, he will become Witch’s eager and adored lover. Then there’s Surreal: a sly, cynical prostitute turned assassin who, though unapologetic for her flaws or past sins, seems more than a little lost. While the three male leads all share the same grand dream of Witch the savior, Surreal seems more focused on immediate goals and surviving each day in a harsh, lusterless world. Last but certainly not least there’s Jaenelle: Witch.

Let me sidetrack a little now, or rather step back. Daemon’s romantic fantasy surrounding Witch is the one reason some people I know dislike this book. Believe it or not, it’s not the violence; it’s that. Why? Because it turns out Witch is twelve. In Daemon’s defense, he never saw that coming. He assumed she would be a grown woman when he first meets her and this revelation strikes him as a cruel twist on what should be a joyous event. Contrary to some opinions, I don’t label Daemon a pedophile for this development. In fact, it raises a good point. He was never in love with a person; he was in love with an idea. Witch represents everything he wants and so he built her up in his mind exactly as he hoped: a mature, powerful woman who needs him both physically and emotionally. Now the reader has the captivating experience of watching a real relationship develop between Daemon and Jaenelle. Witch doesn’t need a lover at the age of twelve, but she does need a friend. Daemon realizes that, as usual, reality has turned out to be very different from the fantasy, but the fact remains that he wants to serve Witch, even if it isn’t in the manner he originally expected.

Aside from a fascinating plot and complex characters, Bishop makes some interesting stylistic choices with her writing. One decision that jumped out at me is that there isn’t a single excerpt told from the perspective of Jaenelle, our twelve-year-old Witch. This elevates the sense of mystery surrounding a girl who does things that shouldn’t be possible, who seems lost and isolated in her own power, and who must find a balance between Jaenelle the child and Witch whose wisdom makes her seem older than any other character in the book. I have heard Jaenelle accused of being a Mary Sue, but I argue against that. Many characters do feel strongly towards her, be it adoration or hate (a typical Mary Sue marker), but there’s also a shocking number whose opinion of Jaenelle is, well, apathetic. Much to the anger of Daemon and Saetan who cannot escape their awe of Witch, most people don't recognize her for what she is. Though Jaenelle’s Birthright Jewel is Black (something entirely unheard of), her power is so strong that she struggles controlling it and hasn’t yet figured out how to target her magic to simple, small tasks. When she can’t perform any basic magic, her family assumes she has no power whatsoever, one of the many reasons she is their shameful secret, the black sheep.

The characters in this book sometimes feel like hyperboles of actual people. They are all extremely passionate, and everyone is always furious, despairing, or brimming with hope. Mundane moments or milder feelings are few and far between. Normally, I find this type of exaggeration falls into flat melodrama, but in this case it works. While the characters closely resemble humans, they’re not. They live longer and they feel more intensely. They’re also more animalistic, and Bishop even pulls on terminology from nature to describe traits or tendencies of these fantastical beings. She tosses in words like “growl,” “snarl,” and “hiss” in her dialogue with a frequency that might frustrate me if it didn’t seem so fitting for this society. Increased power comes hand in hand with increased hormones so that the strongest queens and princes can fly into rages at the smallest frustration. “Temperamental” is the diplomatic word Bishop often employs. Also, this is a work of romantic fantasy, and I believe (though I don’t read much in genre so I’m no expert) that impassioned characters are often a staple of the romance genre. It must be said that neither genre suffers for the other’s presence. Bishop manages to meet the usual genre expectations for both the fantasy and the romance elements without sacrificing the content in the other. If you need further proof, she has both devoted fans who read fantasy but rarely romance and ones who read romance but rarely fantasy. Ultimately, we’re all looking for a good story.

I want to go on. I warned you in my first paragraph that this is a series that starts my brain turning and I have yet to find an end to the list of questions THE BLACK JEWELS forces me to consider. If people can only increase their magical power so much from their Birthright Jewel, does that mean we cannot run far from whatever status we’re born into? Do women lead and men serve in this society because it’s in the very nature of these semi-human supernatural beings…or have they been socially trained from birth to believe this is the norm? Does violence beget more violence; are victims doomed to become abusers? Where’s line between love and obsession? Does power always come with loneliness? Is it ever impossible for one to shake off the traumas of their past? Are the best epic stories those that follow a single, absurdly powerful individual or those wherein even the strongest can’t overcome evil without help? Okay, okay, I’ll stop listing questions, though that hardly means I’ll stop thinking of new ones.

DREAMDARK: SILKSINGER

2011-12-09T07:00:00.000-08:00

Review of DREAMDARK: SILKSINGER by LAINI TAYLOR
(second in the DREAMDARK series)

You don't need to read BLACKBRINGER to read the second book of the DREAMDARK series: SILKSINGER. In BLACKBRINGER, Taylor nicely wrapped up the story so the book functions well both as a standalone and as part of a greater story. While set in the same world with characters and conflicts readers will recognize, SILKSINGER is an entirely fresh tale with an even more ominous threat.

It’s no secret by now that I think Taylor writes memorable characters. Magpie, her silly crow brothers, and Talon feature prominently in SILKSINGER, but the new additions to the cast are equally compelling. Whisper actually reminds me of Taylor's own short story in LIPS TOUCH: THREE TIMES in which the woman’s voice will kill all who hear it, so she remains always silent. Whisper is a muted version of this same concept. Her fairy clan, the Silksingers, have magical voices, a gift she can’t always control. Thus she keeps her voice at a low whisper to avoid accidental magic. This soft-spoken nature causes many to underestimate her, but she will prove her bravery and determination more than once before the end of this book.

The romance between Talon and Magpie was so subtle in the first book as to be practically nonexistent. They are essentially pre-teen fairies; Talon is clearly attracted to Magpie but is too young to even recognize what he’s feeling. Magpie on the other hand is only barely pulling out of the “Boys? Ew!” stage. However, a second budding romance plus a dash of jealousy bring forward these relationships more than in the first book. On this subject, I’m impressed with how Taylor handles the gender roles in romance. A lot of rescuing occurs in these pages, but girls do the rescuing as much as they are the ones being rescued. The ultimate sense is that both are drawn to protect the other and neither could accomplish as much without that kind of support. I’m a cynical romance reader, but that’s a concept that wins me over.

As with BLACKBRINGER, significant loses occur within these pages. Taylor doesn’t go around killing off too many characters, but she’s not afraid to strike down favorites. Actually, deaths aren’t nearly as frequent as death scares. Numerous times a main character appears close to death only to be saved by a cohort at the last moment. However, what makes me still hold my breath every time is that real, irreversible deaths do occur, so you can’t always trust conveniently timed rescues. The writing and characters really suck me into these moments and I experienced, at different points, both elation that someone made it through against all odds and crushing disappointment when I realized the author wasn’t holding her punch this time. At least Magpie can still visit those who died. In the last book, she learned to slip into the Moonlit Gardens, the afterlife for fairies and other magical creatures, and she utilizes this skill for many different purposes throughout the story. Perhaps most touching, though, is when she comes to see someone she lost. Anyone who has lost someone beloved will envy her this power, but, whatever closure it might bring, it doesn’t erase her pain; she still yearns for them to return to the world of the living and mourns the years lost to an untimely death.

I have mixed feelings about the bad guy in this story, but I’m going to shy away from saying too much, since most of my comments give away important details. The short version is that I predicted something significant about the villain. Yet, even if that may have diminished my surprise, it didn’t lessen the threat or the tension. Not to mention that there are so many layers that it’s impossible to predict everything!

The saddest part of this book, though, doesn’t lie in the story, but outside in the real world. While BLACKBRINGER tied up all its ends, SILKSINGER trails off almost unfinished. Unfortunately, the publisher decided not to follow through with this series, so until the author finds another home for Magpie and Whisper and the others, we will be left to wonder for a while. Taylor’s blog says she has five books planned for the series and I for one hope they find a new home soon.

SONG OF THE WANDERER

2011-12-02T07:00:00.000-08:00

Review of SONG OF THE WANDERER by BRUCE COVILLE
(second in THE UNICORN CHRONICLES)

There’s a lot of exposition in the first few chapters of SONG OF THE WANDERER, but Coville slips in details from the last book with admirable ease. Though experienced readers and writers will recognize the intent, the story never reads as an information dump. However, the first part of book moves rather slowly, suffering a little from what bibliophiles term "middle book syndrome." Before the story and action begins, there’s a long, relatively uneventful journey.

Of course, this is a short book (although it’s twice as long as its predecessor!), so even the slow bits are fairly fast reading. Besides, it’s well worth trudging along with Cara and her crew during the quieter portion of the journey, because when the pace picks up, oh boy does it pick up! The tension just keeps riser higher and higher near the end as the conflict escalates and unexpected surprises pile on.

I certainly don't mean to imply that the first half of the book is boring, either. As with many great series, we learn more about beloved characters from the previous book along with meeting plenty of new ones. Medafil the gryphon now joins the Squijum on my list of favorite UNICORN CHROINCLES characters. And, of course, our young but brave protagonist Cara deserves a spot up there herself.

SONG OF THE WANDERER might take a while to hit the same fast pace as INTO THE LAND OF THE UNICORNS, but once it starts moving it doesn’t slow. The end is stuffed with intriguing confrontations and revelations that promise much more excitement in future books.

THE GOLDEN COMPASS

2011-11-25T07:00:00.000-08:00

Review of THE GOLDEN COMPASS by PHILIP PULLMAN

(first in HIS DARK MATERIALS trilogy)

This is truly a work worthy of exuberant admiration. In HIS DARK MATERIALS, Pullman creates a vivid, detailed world with a grand, epic plot, complicated politics, and a varied assortment of memorable characters and relationships.

The book is fast-paced. Near the very start Lyra, our eleven-year-old protagonist, prevents an attempted murder and, through spying, learns of a mysterious substance called Dust, the mention of which seems to rile and rankle the adults around her. From there, it’s one climatic event after another as Lyra finds herself swept up in an intricate journey. She moves from one clear goal to the next, but throughout the book the sense builds that Lyra has a greater purpose, one she doesn’t know about yet and probably wouldn’t even understand if she did.

Let me backtrack and describe this world a little bit. Lyra lives at Jordan College in what seems an alternate universe to our own rather than a completely fictional construction. The geography is very similar, but history is quite different. What strikes me as the most obvious difference, however, is the dæmons. Every person is mystically linked to an animal, their dæmon, essentially a physical manifestation of their soul. Children’s dæmons can shapeshift into any creature, often symbolic of the human’s emotions, but during puberty the dæmon starts to remain in one form more than others until by adulthood it never changes from that form again. Do I need to mention the incredible metaphorical power of Pullman’s premise? And I’m only giving you a concise summary of an elaborate society. Pullman has carefully considered his imagined universe and understands how dæmons fit into this world. For example, when two people interact, so will their dæmons; however, the relationship between the latter is often all the more telling. Another intriguing fact is that humans, while they frequently touch their own dæmons, will never lay hands on another’s. As Lyra informs us, no one ever told her not to touch another person’s dæmon and yet she instinctually knows it’s forbidden, not by law but nature: it’s an unspoken rule.

Lyra is awesome. This story wouldn’t be half as incredible without her as the lead. She’s a spunky, fierce, brave, arrogant, funny, outspoken child who causes all kinds of mischief both mundane and heroic. Nor is she the only likable character. I personally adore books with a huge cast. I’ve met many people who don’t, because they say it becomes tricky to keep track of everyone, but I feel books overstuffed with characters both major and minor are far more realistic. Also, some authors (yes, Pullman) can pull it off and not once did I find myself mixing up characters or forgetting who someone was. Pullman shows us at least a little of everyone’s mind. Though there are lots of characters I adored, they never feel like cookie cutter heroes; each individual has their own morals, opinion, and vibrant personality. The villains are easy to pick out, but most of them believe they are doing right, not just for them but for the world.

You will find every kind of emotion you can imagine in these pages from Lyra’s comedic, childish tomfoolery to the complicated adult romances she can’t yet comprehend to tragic losses that strike the reader with real grief. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: this is a beautiful, allegorical story about growing up both as an individual and as one tiny part of a huge, complex world.

THE GRAVEYARD BOOK

2011-11-18T07:00:00.000-08:00

Review of THE GRAVEYARD BOOK by NEIL GAIMAN

An easy, quick read, THE GRAVEYARD BOOK possesses Gaiman’s distinct tone: deceptively formulaic enough to trick you into thinking you know what’s going to happen but then original enough to continually surprise you. In retrospect, the arch is clean and easy to map, but that doesn’t mean you see it coming when you’re reading. The book opens with a grisly start: a mysterious murderer dispatches an entire family…except the surprisingly competent baby who escapes to a nearby graveyard where the ghosts decide to raise and protect him.

From the very first scene, it’s clear that the story is building towards the principal confrontation at the end. That sometimes makes the rest of the book feel like filler until that moment, but Gaiman packs it full of enough interesting events along the way to distract the reader from the impending conflict. Also, the book has a very natural flow that tugs the reader along from one page until the next.

The writing takes a somewhat distanced approach to the characters, but I found myself nonetheless eagerly snatching up whatever small lines I could about each individual to piece together as much about them as possible. Sadly, the only one who didn’t win me over was Bod, our protagonist. His nickname is short for Nobody, what the ghosts named him once they decided to adopt him. It may very well be the author’s intent (and I’m still pondering Bod’s character), but sometimes Nobody did feel a little like a nobody. He has a few defining moments, but for the most part he feels underdeveloped and a little hollow. One might attribute his rather bland personality to the fact that he has been trapped in a graveyard all his life with mostly only dead company, but I would expect a mixed bag of ghosts from different centuries and backgrounds serving as family to make a person more interesting, not less.

This is a book that raises as many or more questions than it answers, but satisfies by covering all the major ones. Even if Nobody Owens didn’t captive me, his surrounding cast did and my mind toyed with the characters after the book ended, imagining what’s next for my favorites.

DREAMDARK: BLACKBRINGER

2011-11-11T07:00:00.000-08:00

Review of DREAMDARK: BLACKBRINGER by LAINI TAYLOR

(first in the DREAMDARK series)

I want to start by describing Taylor's fairies and the words tiny, whimsical, and fierce immediately leap to mind. Now that could be because I'm subconsciously stealing from the quote on the cover by Holly Black: "Laini Taylor's faeries are whimsical and tiny, but fierce" or that those adjectives are simply spot-on. In some ways, these seem like your typical fairies. Typical might seem vague now that are so many stories about fairies of all types, but I'm referring to the small ones about the size of a palm that seem quaint by their size alone. However, there's an edge to Taylor's fairies. The one this story follows, named Magpie, spends her days hunting down demons.

I liked the magic system in this world, a funny combination of vague and specific that functions quite well. The role of humans also seems standard for a fey story. We're the foolish ones who keep screwing with the world's order in ways that we're too stupid to comprehend. In this case, a long time ago there was a great war between fairies and demons. For reasons that are explained later, it's always better to capture and imprison a demon than to kill it and so the fairies managed to lock away all the demons, mostly in ordinary bottles. An obvious Pandora's box metaphor, humans see a strange, corked bottle and they want to know what's inside. So the humans go around opening these bottles and releasing demons into the world while fairies like Magpie and her parents clean up the mess.

Most of the demons are crude, brutish things with more brawn than brain. As long as Magpie keeps clear of whatever fangs or claws each one possesses, she can usually dispatch them without too much difficulty. However, an even worse kind of demon has been released, one that Magpie's not sure she knows how to handle.

In earlier reviews, I've professed my adoration of all books by Laini Taylor and this one is no exception. The story held me beginning to end, and any loss or failure on the part of the characters struck me with a strong emotional "Nooo!" and sometimes even a desperate "Maybe if I go back and read it again, it won't happen that way this time!" Also, Magpie is a very relatable protagonist. She's a rare combination of youthful and wise, something that seems entirely believable for her character. She's probably a pre-teen by fairy standards, but given that they live much longer than us, you would expect a pre-teen fairy to have more life experience than a pre-teen human.

The writing flourishes with Taylor's distinct style and she builds a story with such natural ease that you can forget about the writer and immerse yourself in the world.

LIAR

2011-11-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

Review of LIAR by JUSTINE LARBALESTIER

Wow, do I ever admire Larbalestier for this book. It's tempting to play it safe as a writer - go with characters, settings, plot formulas that consistently do well - but I will always respect those who don't, who try something that hasn't been tested yet or that doesn't always succeed. In this case, LIAR has an unreliable narrator, something that can make a book soar high or flop hard and definitely a description that can turn off a potential reader. Why should I read a book where I can't trust anything the narrator says to be true? Because Larbalestier pulls it off; that's why.

I'll admit the style is the slightest bit confusing at first. If you read the back of the book, like I did, you know going in that Micah is unreliable: a liar. So I was immediately on guard not to believe a word from the start and that made for an unusual reading experience. Additionally, this book isn't sorted into standard chapters. Rather it's divided into short sections (less than a page to a few pages), some of which are entitled "before" and some "after." Before and after what? you may wonder. Right near the start we learn that Micah's boyfriend has died, possible been murdered. That’s the event around which this story centers.

The reason that this unreliable narrator works is because she's a real, likable teenager. Micah won me over and I wanted to keep reading whether she was lying to me or not. Also, there’s more to the plot than a girl who lies all the time. Or there isn't, depending on what you believe and what you don't! I at least believe that Micah's boyfriend really did die, and that there was some kind of foul play. Their realistic relationship also grounded the story, since it’s a dynamic I don't see too much of in YA fiction despite seeing a lot of it in real life.

Some of Micah's lies are easy to see coming when she confesses later. Some of them really sneak up on you! While Larbalestier does an amazing job with an unreliable narrator, the readers still need to resign themselves to an ending open to interpretation. Really, an entire book open to interpretation. One could spend hours arguing over the lies and the truths. Yes, Micah does claim to tell you the real truth in the end, but there's plenty of reason to still believe otherwise.

I want to believe Micah's last version of her story, implausible as it is, but that might be naive. While I admit that not knowing for certain did occasionally drive me crazy, I still took away from this book two points Micah made about lying that really resonated with me. The first: that lying is easier than one might imagine, because the victim wants to believe the lie. If they don't, they feel negative emotions such as anger and humiliation that someone would try to deceive them and that they almost bought it. So many hop along with the lies rather than play the guessing game of "is she/isn't she telling me the truth?" That may very well explain why I choose to believe Micah’s latest version of the story rather than wonder if this entire book masks yet another truth.

Whether or not Micah's final tale is the truth I still cling to the second, more personal, point she made about lying: that she lies to cover up the real truth, because it’s so convoluted and outrageous that no one would believe it. She would rather have people disbelieving her lies than her truth. If I trust nothing else that Micah said, I believe that.

LIPS TOUCH: THREE TIMES

2011-10-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

Review of LIPS TOUCH: THREE TIMES by LAINI TAYLOR

Anyone who read my zealous review of Laini Taylor’s most recent book DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE might not be surprised to learn that she’s making her way up the ranks of my favorite authors. Since I enjoyed DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE so much, I have been reading her older works. I’m loving everything. I finished LIPS TOUCH: THREE TIMES, a collection of three stories, in one day.

Taylor’s writing is spectacular. With all her books and stories, I find myself pausing to admire utterly unique turns of phrase, many of which so concisely capture the current emotions or situation that you wonder how you’ve never read or heard this combination of words before. Now it’s time for some honesty: as a writer working towards publishing my own books, sometimes admiration for brilliant authors can be tainted with a little of that ugly sentiment: jealously. Somehow Taylor’s writing, stunning as it is, doesn’t stir up any envy. It inspires. When I read writing like this, I remember why I love to read, why I love to write, why my life is practically devoted to these two activities. Taylor’s writing is entirely her own, a goal to which most authors aspire, and it shoves its way past your mind towards those emotion-laden concepts: your heart and your soul.

All three of these dark stories tantalize and linger. Both fresh and familiar, they tap into folklore and fairy tale elements, but the emotions make them relevant to today and any day. The title of the book makes more sense once you read the stories; all three of them utilize kissing as a key component. In fact, the pronounced overarching theme of the collection echoes off the page: love and wanting.

For the first story I want to share an excerpt from the brief prologue, which succinctly captures the premise and tone of the tale:

There is a certain kind of girl that the goblins crave. You could walk across a high school campus and point them out: not her, not her, her. The pert, lovely ones with butterfly tattoos in secret places, sitting on their boyfriends’ laps? No, not them. The girls watching the lovely ones sitting on their boyfriends’ laps? Yes.

Them.

The second story has a slight ELLA ENCHANTED feel with magic that binds one’s will until overwhelming helplessness makes them feel trapped in their own body. Due to one strange woman’s peculiar relationship with a demon, the innocent victim Anamique is cursed as a baby: if she ever utters a single sound every person in the room will die. Unlike ELLA ENCHANTED in which the protagonist knows without a doubt that her curse is real because it affects her every day, Anamique constantly battles doubt. What if the real curse is that some cruel person has convinced her of this mad, fictional spell? What if she’s silencing herself for no good reason? Of course, testing the curse would be a dangerous game. As usual, Taylor plays well with her setup and this story, if it didn’t break my heart, still fractured it again and again.

The third and last story is the darkest and most mature, closer to the type of fairy tales for which the Grimm brothers are famous rather than the happily-ever-after, mellowed-down-villain versions in abundance today. For this one, I fear telling you too much will ruin the experience, so suffice it to say that this story plays with folklore about the more sinister fascinations that fey folk have with mortals.

I loved every story in LIPS TOUCH: THREE TIMES too much to rank or compare them. Each is its own unique and beautiful tale. And Laini Taylor is definitely an author to watch!

WHO FEARS DEATH

2011-10-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

Review of WHO FEARS DEATH by NNEDI OKORAFOR

This is an ominous tale worthy of shudders, not due to any fantastical beasts but because the story is filled with the dark side of humanity that, sadly, doesn’t feel at all unrealistic or exaggerated. The redemptions here are plenty: strong writing, haunting characters, stirring relationships, and politics both familiar and magical. Despite the book’s virtues, it wasn’t easy to stomach the violence and cruelty that’s almost mundane in Onyesonwu’s life. This is a beautiful, terrible book and I’m grateful that it was difficult to read.

Onyesonwu has been dealt a painfully inequitable burden in life: she is a child of rape and her lighter skin marks her as such. Those who don’t think she should be killed still hardly consider her an equal. Right near the start of the book the war rape of Onyesonwu’s mother, along with many other women, is described in vivid, excruciating detail. I have read my share of violence, including a lot of rape, but this particular scene skyrocketed to the most agonizing that I have ever read. I was quite seriously tempted to toss the book to the floor and bolt to the bathroom. My stomach rebelled not so much at the level of violence but at just how real it felt. Honestly, though, I think that’s good. There’s something irresponsible about rape scenes that are easy to read. I’m not against violence in books but I do find myself worked up when it’s clearly thrown in there for “spice.” If I’m going to read a rape scene, I want it to make my skin crawl like this one did. I want to be reminded that this really happens - this part isn’t fantasy - and that the emotional consequences last far longer than the actual rape.

However, if you think you’re through the worst of it after reading that scene, think again. Before I even had a chance to compose myself, I stumbled into the circumcision scene. The sting of this one doesn’t lie so much in violence, but more in how it’s drawn out. It’s clear that Onyesonwu can leave at any point, but she has a desperate hope that her peers will accept her if she goes through the same eleventh year rite as all the other girls. I won’t revel whether or not she goes through with the circumcision, but it’s a long scene that actually roused my adrenaline as I mentally begged Onyesonwu to leave while she still could. Okorafor describes each minute in detail, reminding the reader that Onyesonwu’s opportunity to back out is ticking away.

Horror and hope are well-balanced in this world, even though there’s such a heavy dose of horror. Onyesonwu’s magic, in a sense, stems from pain, something she struggles with daily. She’s not a pure storybook victim who takes the beatings from fate without doling out anything herself. She can be rash and commits some terrible actions, but I could always understand her motivations and how her traumatic past has filled her with so much anger.

A small, bright light of comfort can be found in Onyesonwu’s friendships. Friends are few and not easy to find for her, but circumstance brings her a handful that prove touchingly loyal, even if their fear of her still shines through on occasion. The romantic relationship that she enters into is also full of such depth that I will probably only undermine it if I attempt to summarize.

One last quirk that I want to mention is the connection to ZAHRAH THE WINDSEEKER. Those who have read the book or my review might as surprised as I was to learn there’s a link between such vastly different books. Well, it’s extremely subtle. Really, just one line, one little detail, that doesn’t play a significant role in this story at all, but will leave readers familiar with both books pondering for long after.

WHO FEARS DEATH is a rough, emotional read. I cringe at telling anyone not to read an amazing book, but this is definitely one that will always come along with a cautionary disclaimer after any gushing. I am filled with admiration for how Okorafor handles such disturbing subject matter, but I admit to still feeling a little traumatized every time I even think about this book. Again, in an odd way, that’s a good thing. I prefer my trauma in books than in real life, because it can be a safe way to learn more about the world without needing to have the same horrific experiences as, say, Onyesonwu. Still, fictional trauma, when done well, drags along the reminder that this is a reality for someone. Those reminders, which can be life altering, are one of the primary reasons I read.

TRIS & IZZIE

2011-10-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

Review of TRIS & IZZIE by METTE IVIE HARRISON

(Review based on an advance reading copy)

TRIS & IZZIE transfers the story of Tristan and Isolde to a high school setting. Izzie, our protagonist, has the perfect life until she makes the mistake of fiddling around with magic. Though Izzie has a wonderful relationship with her boyfriend Mark, she senses that her best friend Branna might be a little lonely for a romance of her own. Since Izzie’s mother is a witch, her mind jumps to the easy solution and she tries to use a love philtre on Branna and the odd-but-handsome new guy Tristan. Needless to say, things don’t go according to plan, and Izzie accidentally drinks the philtre herself.

It took me three to five pages to go along with the tone of the book. The description of Tristan and Isolde transferred to a high school setting might have set me up with the wrong expectations at first. The book, while still a delightful read, is more whimsical than realistic, more humorous than tragic. A lot of the dialogue felt slightly more plot-serving than something I can imagine teenagers actually saying and the characters seem more like people from a fairy tale than a real high school campus. While it took me a few pages to accept the atmosphere, it all works well for the story.

The book doesn’t waste any time. We meet Izzie and Mark and see a brief glimpse of their relationship in line one and we have conflict between Izzie and her best friend Branna on page two. The story line isn’t an exact parallel to the Tristan and Isolde tale, so readers can expect some surprises.

A woman torn between two wonderful men, trying to have them both. That sets the writer a challenge to make her likable, and Harrison jumps over this hurdle: Izzie is very likable. She walked into this situation by messing with magic, but it’s debatable whether her feelings for Tristan are her own or entirely forced from the love philtre. Her eagerness to help her friend early on won me over. In fact, most of the characters demonstrate remarkable maturity throughout in their desire for others’ happiness. Definitely a book that inspires faith in humanity.

The role of will in love is perhaps the most prominent theme. Izzie is perfectly happy with Mark until a love philtre makes her fall for Tristan instead. Does that mean her feelings for Tristan aren’t real? Or is the philtre merely an excuse? I saw parallels to alcohol with this, especially in the sense that the substance can be used as a social crutch. “It wasn’t me; it was the alcohol.”

TRIS & IZZIE is a fun read, especially since Harrison makes the story her own. Its greatest strength, in my opinion, is the characters. For all their complications and flaws, all the main characters are good people and their self-sacrifices and loyalty make this book a refreshing alternative to the abundance of dark, dreary stories out there.

RAMPANT

2011-10-07T07:00:00.000-07:00

Review of RAMPANT by DIANA PETERFREUND

At first, RAMPANT seems like a twist on unicorn mythology; in Peterfreund’s portrayal unicorns are violent, aggressive, and deadly. However, as the author herself points out, her version of the unicorn is actually the more historically accurate one. Astrid, our protagonist, discovers that she descends from a long line of unicorn hunters and a reemergence of the bloodthirsty beasts forces her into a lifestyle that she can’t even comprehend.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. I’ve heard only good things, but for some reason it fell a little flat for me. All of my criticisms are specific, petty complaints that individually can’t ruin a book for me, but together kept me from being enveloped into this imagined world. After some thought, I realized all the little details that distracted me can be summarized into two main points: the story often felt both unbelievable and contrived. However, because the book raises such imperative topics with an incredible candor I still consider it a worthwhile read.

The fact that I found a book about killer unicorns unbelievable deserves a mental chuckle, but fellow readers, especially fantasy readers, know what I mean. I have read many books with preposterous, ridiculous, or plain silly premises that somehow suspend any skepticism and unfold a “what if” in your mind like it really could be an alternate universe just out of our reach. I wanted RAMPANT to be one of those books where each character, setting, conversation, and action comes with a clear mental picture that will forever live on in my mind, but I found myself constantly distracted by little things. In particular I wanted to picture these unicorns, since they clearly differ from standard depictions, but descriptions sometimes clashed and I could never form a mental image. The chaotic action scenes also left me confused and I often had to re-read passages multiple times. Astrid’s voice never clicked into place; she always felt more like a character than a person and for that matter a character trying a little too hard to be a teenager. I often struggled to follow her sudden mood or opinion changes and couldn’t understand the logic behind her actions and decisions. Other characters suffered similar fallbacks. Caricatures is too harsh an assessment since all of them are so close to feeling realistic, but some tiny detail in each made them fall short of convincing me.

Whenever I use “contrived” to describe a book, I mean that I’m too aware of the author. The story wasn’t quite fleshed out enough and I often saw major events as mere plot devices, which detracted from any emotional impact. I can’t explain why, but I foresaw Astrid’s cousin Philippa’s latter role in the story as soon as she was introduced. I also wanted to know more about how magic works, why unicorns behave the way they do, and why only certain families can hunt them. It really bothered me that Astrid and the others simply go along with murdering unicorns, because people tell them they must do so without any additional explanation. It’s only at the end of the book that Astrid and her fellow unicorn hunters begin asking questions I feel they should have asked before they ever picked up a weapon.

I still think this book is worth reading! Despite the fact that I never fell in love with the story the way I anticipated, I found it enjoyable throughout. Yet even that isn’t why I consider this book worth reviewing and recommending. RAMPANT contains some primal themes and the nature of its premise allows for a much franker discussion of sensitive topics than teenagers, or adults for that matter, are likely to find many other places. The subjects I want to mention are sex (which is really an umbrella label for a LOT of different discussions) and endangered species.

One part of unicorn mythology that stays fairly consistent is the creature’s fascination with female virgins. In RAMPANT and countless tales before, virgin girls pacify the wild, hostile unicorns and, thus, are often used as hunting tools: the bait to lure the prey. The nature of this mythology already creates a preoccupation with purity and virginity that cannot be untangled from the rest of the story and pushed aside. Astrid’s mother desperately urges her daughter to preserve her virginity, but less for the usual reasons and more because if Astrid is no longer a virgin she cannot be a unicorn hunter. At times Astrid is even tempted to sleep with someone merely to escape a path she feels forced into by her mother. This metaphorically addresses how many teenagers (and, yes, adults as well) sleep with people for the wrong reasons. The book also tackles rape with a rare openness. In particular, RAMPANT forces readers to acknowledge exactly what can be considered rape. There are many different kinds, but women whose experience doesn’t fall under extremely violent penile penetration by a stranger are often even more likely to keep their mouths shut. The experience is humiliating enough without explaining the details to everyone.

Another forefront theme is unicorns as an endangered species. In fact, those who know of these creatures’ existence already believed them to be extinct, but unicorns are reemerging. Part of why I couldn’t invest in this story fully is also why I think it’s important discussion fodder. Astrid and her fellow unicorn hunters are told very little: unicorns are evil monsters and the teenagers must kill these beasts. I was deeply bothered that none of these girls demanded more information before they followed orders and slay, by gruesome means, what seemed to be more like animals acting on instinct. Humans, along with other creatures, have a widely acknowledged fear of the unknown. Oftentimes, what scares us or differs from us we would like to see erased from the world. Though my opinion did alter a little as the story unfolded, at first I saw unicorns more like sharks or crocodiles: predators but not evil and certainly not deserving of intentional, violent extinction.

While I regret that the story didn’t wrap around me as I had hoped, I still find myself pondering the candid discussions to which it leads the reader. The metaphorical but frank discussion of sex doesn’t impose any opinions, but rather poses question after question to be collected and considered. The theme of endangered species also branches out into other serious topics about killing and fear of the unknown. Whether or not you can jump into Astrid’s world, you will find an abundance of relevant, noteworthy issues stuffed into these pages.

WARRIOR

2011-09-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

Review of WARRIOR by MARIE BRENNAN

(first in the DOPPELGANGER duology)

The premise of this book can be reduced to a concise hook: Miryo is a witch in training. Mirage is a bounty hunter. Miryo learns she cannot use her magic until she kills the doppelganger she never knew she had: Mirage. Remember, Mirage is a ruthless, expertly trained bounty hunter, so this isn’t exactly going to be easy.

By the nature of both Mirage’s career path and her impending confrontation with Miryo, intense action scenes find their way into almost every chapter. I’m not normally inclined toward action heavy books; I often find myself skimming the fight or flee scenes for the end result. Yet Brennan writes these scuffles with such urgency and clarity that each moment held my attention…even though I’m not familiar with all the terminology for specific kicks and strategies!

I don’t want to make it sound as though action is all this book has to offer. There are a lot of politics and well-paced mysteries as both Miryo and Mirage work to understand a world that defies their previous assumptions. I can be a very skeptical reader and there were many times when I braced myself for a contrived, cheesy, or cliché resolution to a problem. For inevitable events, such as when Miryo and Mirage finally meet or the many smaller stepping stones of necessary revelations, the author has her work cut out for her. The reader expects a reasonable amount of emotion and dramatics for an event of that magnitude not to mention understandable actions and conversations from the characters. Oh, and it still has to be interesting. I approached each of these critical moments with wariness, but Brennan pulled them off every time.

The magic in this world seems well-developed with its own checks and balances as well as cans and cannots. While the reader isn’t attacked with exposition about how magic works, what can be gathered from statements or conversations pieces together without any noticeable logic lapses.

The premise raises a lot of imperative questions about survival and killing. Though filtered down to a one on one situation, it’s easy to see parallels to war. Experienced witches have warned Miryo that if she doesn’t kill her doppelganger, her magic will spiral out of control, killing her and most likely many other innocent people. The only way Miryo can even contemplate this violent task is by thinking of Mirage as “it.” She pushes away her objections to murdering a human being and tries instead to stuff the action into the mental category of survival versus an inhuman threat. Convincing herself that this act is necessary is the only way she can live with it.

Though part of a duology, the book reads as a stand alone novel and ends without any vital plot threads left dangling. The end, as with the other crucial moments of the book, impressed me. Brennan sometimes backs her characters into such tricky corners that I don’t see how they’re going to find their way out without a painfully flimsy explanation. The end was a little like that and as the story drew down to its final pages, I feared a brisk wrap-up, but once again Brennan took me pleasantly by surprise.

JANNI LEE SIMNER

2011-09-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

Interview with JANNI LEE SIMNER

Janni Lee Simner is the author of the post-apocalyptic YA faerie tales BONES OF FAERIE and FAERIE WINTER, as well as of the Icelandic-saga based THIEF EYES. She's also published four books for younger readers and more than 30 short stories, including one in the WELCOME TO BORDERTOWN anthology. BONES OF FAERIE received the 2010 Judy Goddard/Libraries Ltd. Young Adult Author Award.

What are you reading right now?

SILENCE by Michelle Sagara, which is due out next year. I love her adult SUN SWORD novels (written as Michelle West), so I'm really excited about this book, which is her first YA.

Books already out that I've loved the past few months include Karen Healey's THE SHATTERING, Megan Crewe's GIVE UP THE GHOST, Sarah Rees Brennan's THE DEMON’S LEXICON, Roseanne Parry's SECOND FIDDLE (not a fantasy, but very much about the importance of art in our lives), and Malinda Lo's HUNTRESS.

What first sparked your interest in writing?

So many things! I was the sort of kid who was always telling herself stories, so in a sense I was always a writer. I also immersed myself deeply in playing pretend games, long past the age when anyone admits to still playing them, and that was a part of becoming a writer, too. And of course, I've always been a reader. Sometimes, if you don't find that book you want to read, you have to go out and write it!

What do you love the most about writing? The least?

I most love the moments when I'm deeply immersed in the story, and the words are flowing, and the characters seem just a little bit real. I also love the revision process, taking the rough words already on the page and turning them into an actual story.

I probably least love all the waiting involved in being a writer: waiting to finish writing a book, waiting to sell it, waiting for it to come out … being a writer has forced me to learn patience, something that doesn't come to me naturally!

Do you have a writing process?

My writing process is as much a rewriting as a writing process. I don't outline ahead of time (unless I need an outline as a sales tool), and I do go through at least five drafts to get a completed book.

- The first draft is the one where I pretty much tell the wrong story. By writing the wrong story--and seeing why it's the wrong story-- I learn things I need to know about the right story.

- The second draft is the one that's sort of kind of is somewhere in the neighborhood of the right story.

- The third draft is the one where I tell the right story, but use all the wrong words.

- The fourth draft is the one where I begin finding the right words, and along the way straightening out muddled character and story arcs.

- The fifth draft is the one where I smooth out all the things that are almost there, and polish the prose more deeply as well.

On top of that, I usually do a bunch more rewrites to get the ending to click into place.

I sort of think of myself as honing in on the story as I go. With each new draft, layers get added to the story, and so every draft has a role to play in making the final book as strong as it can be.

What are your passions?

I'm a serial hobbyist, so what I'm passionate about changes over time. A few things have remained constant through the years, though: a love of writing, an interest in doing volunteer work with kids, and a love of hiking and camping and the outdoors.

What inspires you?

I draw a lot of inspiration from natural world and various places I've visited. Wherever I go, I want to understand the land I'm walking on (whether I'm in a wilderness area or in a city where that land is more hidden beneath all the layers of buildings and people who live there) and how it shapes the people who live there. I've had several books (published and to be written) begin with a landscape.

Why fantasy?

I've always read fantasy, so it never really occurred to me to write anything else! I love magic, in our world and in other worlds, for its own sake and for the things it teaches us about what it means to be human and to live and survive in our non-magical world.

I love what Jane Yolen says about fantasy in her collection of essays, TOUCH MAGIC, which I think gets to the heart of one of the things fantasy is all about:

"And for adults, the world of fantasy books returns us to the great words of power which, in order to be tamed, we have excised from our adult vocabularies. These words are the pornography of innocence, words which adults no longer use with other adults, and so we laugh at them and consign them to the nursery, fear masking as cynicism. These are the words that were forged in the earth, air, fire, and water of human existence, and the words are:
Love. Hate. Good. Evil. Courage. Honor. Truth."

I have that posted above my desk.

Why young adult?

I've always loved coming of age stories, so I've always tended to write stories with teen protagonists who are living right on the edge of that time when everything begins to change.

It took me a while to realize those stories were YA, though--I started off assuming I was writing for adults, just with younger characters. Then I noticed how much more enthusiastic the rejection letters I was receiving from YA editors were than those I was getting from adult editors, I took another look at both my work and at the books I loved to read, and I began more consciously calling what I wrote YA.

I also have written books for younger children, along with the occasional short story for adults.

How was BONES OF FAERIE born?

BONES OF FAERIE began with an opening scene that wouldn’t let me go. I don't know where that scene came from. I do know that once I wrote it, I had to tell the rest of the story. Only I didn't know how to--I didn't know what happened next, and I also just wasn't yet a good enough writer to tell the story well. So I went off and wrote some other things, but every few years I came back to BONES OF FAERIE’s opening, until I was ready to write the book that went with it.

All told it took me 12 years from writing that opening to finish the book!

How much do the fey and magic in BONES OF FAERIE pull from folklore and how much is your own invention?

It's a mix. Ballads and stories and bits of folklore did contribute to the book, but the elements drawn from them were in many ways transformed when seen through the lens of the book's post-apocalyptic war between faeries and humans. Glamour, for instance, became much harsher in FAERIE WINTER (BONES OF FAERIE’s sequel) than in the stories where I'd seen it used, because the world in which I was using it was harsh, too. And there are other elements that are entirely my own, including the quia trees that once grew only in Faerie, and that become increasingly important with each Faerie book.

A book in which I stuck a little more closely to existing canon than in the Faerie books was THIEF EYES, which is based on my reading of the Icelandic sagas. I think how close one sticks to the known folklore depends a lot on the story being told.

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

Be stubborn! Stubborn enough to keep learning, keep revising, and keep becoming a better writer; and also stubborn enough to keep submitting your work. Just because you don't sell quickly doesn't mean you won't sell. The authors who break in quickly and spectacularly are the most noticeable, but that's only one way to build a career. This is a paced game--more of a marathon than a sprint--and it's worth being in it for the long haul.

Learn the business, but keep as much focus as you can on the craft and the process of writing. That's where the joy comes from, and that's where you'll find the things to sustain you over that long haul.

Ignore any writing advice you hear that doesn't work for you, even mine. There are many ways to write, and no one way works for everyone. Try everything, keep the advice that works for you, and ditch the rest. Ultimately, you're trying to find your own way and your own processes.

Is there anything else you would like to tell us about yourself?

I like gelato. I don't like chocolate. I think the Star Wars movies should have stopped with the original trilogy, and I try to pretend the later movies never happened. I used to love unicorns, and then I hated them, but now I love them again.

I've just turned in the third and final Faerie book (from Liza's point of view, anyway) to my editor. So many years after writing BONES OF FAERIE’s opening scene, it feels like Liza and I have traveled a long way together, and I'm going to miss her.

ZAHRAH THE WINDSEEKER

2011-09-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

Review of ZAHRAH THE WINDSEEKER by NNEDI OKORAFOR-MBACHU

This book echoes with a universal theme in young adult literature: “I don’t belong.” The fourteen-year-old protagonist Zahrah already feels like an outsider because of her hair. She has what are called dadalocks, clumps of hair with vines woven into them. While those born dada are rumored to be very wise that doesn’t keep Zahrah’s peers from mocking her for being different. Only her friend Dari appreciates her uniqueness and when Zahrah discovers she can levitate, he pushes her to dangerous means for developing her gift.

Zahrah is a likable, relatable character. While she isn’t devoid of typical teenage insecurities, she doesn’t let them overpower her. She repeatedly impressed me with her determination and perseverance, especially in seemingly hopeless situations. Her friendship with Dari is also a literary rarity and I enjoy stumbling across less common relationship dynamics; their extreme closeness never spills over into romance, despite the fact that they’re both straight and unattached.

The trappings of this story are incredible. Zahrah lives in a world where technology and nature don’t fall into opposite categories. Most technology comes in the form of some type of plant. She even grew her own computer! Then there are the off-limits places that teenagers Zahrah and Dari, of course, sneak into: the Dark Market and the Forbidden Greeny Jungle. These locations are both swollen with the author’s inventive creations from the peppers you can buy in the Dark Market that make you more popular to the meat-eating hummingbirds in the Forbidden Greeny Jungle.

Okorafor-Mbachu demonstrates remarkable restraint in her use of magic. Zahrah’s only power is levitation and, as she’s a beginner, she can’t even rise notably high or move in any direction other than up. Cool by its magical nature, but there’s not a whole lot she can do with that power. While her talent is an interesting twist and a significant part of Zahrah’s identity, she doesn’t use it as a crutch. What’s really impressive about her is her wit and her resilience, which save her life far more often than any superpower.

While the prevalent theme of feeling like an outsider is pretty much standard for young adult literature, the intricacies of this book make it a rewarding and unique read. Every few pages, the reader discovers more imaginative creatures and objects to tantalize their mind and it’s nearly impossible not to invest in Zahrah’s bravery.

THE AMERICAN HEIRESS

2011-09-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

Review of THE AMERICAN HEIRESS by DAISY GOODWIN

(review based on an advance reading copy)

This historical novel explores the extravagances and chains of vast wealth in the Gilded Age. The luxuries and indulgences, such as gold-painted hummingbirds, serve as atmospheric story decoration, but the heart of the tale lies in young Cora Cash. With seemingly limitless money and her mother’s determination to buy Cora a title through marriage, one might wonder what the girl lacks. While for the most part Cora contents herself with a wasteful life, most of her relationships function without any sincere affection or open communication.

The story focuses primarily on romantic relationships, though those shown less attention are still equally intriguing. At the start of the novel, Cora begs her childhood friend Teddy to marry her and whisk her away from an empty life. He rejects her for his artistic passion and moves to Paris to paint. As her mother hoped, Cora does find that title match. Better yet for Cora, she actually loves the man, but paradise turns grey when Cora unearths hint after hint that her husband may not deserve her unconditional love.

The book didn’t captivate my attention throughout, but I often found myself surprised by how invested I was in the characters. Whenever big moments sprouted up, I empathized with circumstance’s latest victim and wished I could reach in and help them. The focus wasn’t quite where I wanted it to be, though, which probably explains my slight detachment. About midway through, I expect most readers will foresee the proverbial can of worms. As for me, I was most interested in what happens after the can is opened, but the can just sits on the table until we’re near the end when, as expected, it finally explodes. Though I did enjoy the ending, I was a little disappointed by how easily everyone collected the worms and stuffed them back in the can. Everyone steps forward with some exposition heavy dialogue to reveal their piece of the story. Though we find out for certain who can be trusted and who cannot, I wanted to follow the characters longer and witness the fallout from so much mistrust in relationships.

Though Cora is likable and relatable, I felt a stronger tie to her maid Bertha. Cora isn’t cruel or abusive to Bertha, but neither does she treat her maid with the respect she deserves. Bertha has her own love story, one that, though problematic, still holds more promise for happiness than Cora’s. Despite her mistress’s spoiled expectations, Bertha recognizes that Cora has no true friends and thus feels a duty to be that one eternally loyal person in Cora’s life. Bertha’s sacrifices for someone who gives so little back threaten to destroy her own romance.

At times, the comma usage in this book pulled me from the story. There seem to be commas where they shouldn’t be on almost every page. Many sentences are linked together with a comma where a period should be. I did read an ARC, so I hope any grammar errors will be fixed, but the frequency suggests a grammatically rebellious writing style that, unfortunately, I found distracting.

This wasn’t a book that blotted out the real world, but it was one that left me thinking and one that forced me to feel at all the pivotal moments. The story tackles such big themes that it can barely scratch the surface of the issues: money, class, and trust. When all actions are motivated by the first two, it’s near impossible to find any of the third.

MARIE BRENNAN

2011-09-02T07:00:00.001-07:00

Interview with Marie Brennan

Marie Brennan is an anthropologist and folklorist who shamelessly pillages her academic fields for material. Her short stories have appeared in more than a dozen print and online publications. Her newest novel, WITH FATE CONSPIRE, is the fourth book in the Onyx Court series and released August 30, 2011.

What are you reading right now?

I'm doing a big project, re-reading (and blogging about) all of Diana Wynne Jones' books, as a memorial. I think I've made it through ten of them so far, which is about a fifth of the total. She wrote a *lot* of books!

What first sparked your interest in writing?

Diana Wynne Jones, sort of, which dovetails nicely with the above. I know I made up stories before I started reading her work, but it was her novel FIRE AND HEMLOCK that made me decide I wanted to be a writer. It's a story about stories and about the power they can have; no wonder that left a mark.

What do you love the most about writing? The least?

"Most" would have to be the moments when it feels like the story's writing itself, because my subconscious is tossing out ideas as if pointing out what actually happened, rather than making stuff up. Those are always the best ideas, at least for me; they mean a part of my brain has figured out something important, even if the rest of me hasn't yet caught up.

"Least" is probably the fact that novel-writing is a marathon sport. I know there are people who can do binge-writing and knock out a whole book in, like, a week flat…but I'm not one of them. (If only because my hands would fall off.) It requires several months of steady work, day after day, and after a while the numbers seem to move at a snail's pace. That middle third starts to feel like a real slog sometimes, with no end in sight.

Do you have a writing process?

Everybody who writes must, by default, have a process for it. :-) Mine has been changing lately, though. It used to be that I produced near-final first drafts, but the Onyx Court books required more and more revision, just because of the complexity of what I was trying to do. And the one I'm working on right now, A NATURAL HISTORY OF DRAGONS, is breaking my usual pattern of "a thousand words a day, rain or shine" — I keep taking a day off and then writing two thousand words the next day. I'm really not sure why. But it's important first to find the process that works for you (rather than the process you think you ought to have) and second to remember that it can change. What works for one book may not work for another

What inspires you?

My academic background is in anthropology, archaeology, folklore, a lot of history classes — I like knowing about different ways of living and organizing societies. I've gotten a lot of plot ideas, especially for short stories, out of "what if there were a culture that did X?" My first bit of success with fiction, “Calling Into Silence,” came out of reading about spirit possession in sub-Saharan Africa. Character has to come into it, too — I'm not interested in writing about societies in the general sense — but I always think up characters in context, having particular roles and problems that come out of the culture they live in.

And that interest goes beyond the "colorful" value of those differences. We have a built-in tendency to assume the way we live is somehow "natural," that our way makes sense and everybody else's way is weird. The truth is, it's all weird. The more time you spend looking at alternatives and thinking about what they would be like, the more you see that…and the more it opens up the chance of you doing things differently, too, or at least understanding why other people might. That matters.

Why fantasy?

Because I like it? :-)

It just feels to me like it has more freedom. I could write stories set in other parts of the world (and I have, sometimes), but then you have an obligation to represent them accurately, which means you maybe can't tell the story you want to tell. And fantasy means that the experimentation I described above can go beyond tinkering with the mundane details of the world and into the metaphysics. Mesoamerican cultures believed that blood sacrifice was necessary to keep the cosmos functioning; what if they were right? How does that change the ethics that we take for granted?

How was MIDNIGHT NEVER COME born? How about WARRIOR and WITCH?

I've described the genesis of both in fairly extensive detail on my website; MIDNIGHT NEVER COME was born from a roleplaying game I ran, and the doppelganger books grew out of a random collusion of two very small ideas (see the "About the Novel" section).

Did MIDNIGHT NEVER COME require a lot of research?

Vast, vast mountains of it, that seemed to get bigger with each subsequent book. I have my entire research bibliography posted on my site, along with the journal of all my trips to London. Partly that was because I feel a genuine obligation to get things right, when I'm talking about real people and real history, but partly it was because researching really fed the story, as much as it restricted it; I kept turning up little details that I never would have invented on my own, which took the narrative in really cool directions.

How did writing the MIDNIGHT NEVER COME series and the WARRIOR series differ?

Did I mention the research? :-) They're very different kinds of stories, too; the doppelganger books are more about adventure, though they have a side order of politics, whereas the Onyx Court is much more political in nature. The latter is a lot more like writing a chess match, with more moves planned out in advance and more need for me to keep several narrative balls in the air at once. I also think of the Onyx Court as urban fantasy, albeit of a historical sort, because ultimately the fact that they're set in London, and follow the way the city changed through the centuries, is crucial to the story. Even the most important bits of the setting for the doppelganger books never came close to that kind of central importance.

Why did you divide MIDNIGHT NEVER COME into acts?

Honestly, it came about because I knew I would need to skip over a chunk of time partway through. Deven had to spend some time working for Walsingham before things got complicated; it just didn't make sense that Walsingham would give that kind of trust to somebody he'd only just taken on. And the process of establishing Lune in her new position would have necessitated a kind of prose montage, that wouldn't have been very interesting. So given that I was going to skip forward, it made sense to have some kind of division. Then I realized that the 1588 bit was likely to be approximately a fifth of the book, and of course plays in that period were often divided into five acts. Once I sat down to consider how the five-act structure works, it turned out to map pretty well to the structure of the novel, so I went with it.

What got interesting was deciding how to divide up the later books. Each one is different, but they all have some kind of part setup. IN ASHES LIE is in four parts because of the four days of the Great Fire, so that felt like the obvious choice. A STAR SHALL FALL, on the other hand…I went with seven because the number recurs so much in alchemy, but it turns out there's a good reason that seven-part narratives aren't common; it just doesn't feel natural. That one was a lot harder to wrestle into shape. It was a relief to go back to something very familiar, the three-part structure, for WITH FATE CONSPIRE.

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

Advice of that kind tends to fall into two categories: brief platitudes and really lengthy rambling. On the platitude side, I'd say write more, revise more, send out what you've revised, and have patience. (It sounds trite, but it's true.) On the rambling side, I've got a lot of essays on my site dissecting the craft and business and philosophy of writing; it's only the tip of the iceberg in terms of what I could say, but I keep adding new essays all the time.

METTE IVIE HARRISON

2011-08-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

Interview with METTE IVIE HARRISON

Mette Ivie Harrison is the author of MIRA, MIRROR, THE PRINCESS AND THE HOUND, THE PRINCESS AND THE BEAR, and THE PRINCESS AND THE SNOWBIRD. Her new novel, TRIS AND IZZIE, will be out in October with Egmont. She has a PhD in Germanic Languages and Literatures from Princeton University, and she is a competitive triathlete who has competed in 3 Ironmans. She has five children and lives in Utah, where she knits during church and reads anytime she can get away with it.

What are you reading right now?

I spent several years reading 200-300 YA novels a year, trying to give myself a crash course in YA. I never read YA much as a teen, and I missed a lot of great books. But the last year, I've found myself turning more and more to mystery. I've been on an Elizabeth George junket. I tend to read everything in a series in one great big gulp, and then look around for more to read. I've also loved Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone series, Robert Parker's books, Anne Perry's Victorian mysteries and her new series set after WWI. I was like this as a teen, when I spent one memorable summer tracking down every novel about Perry Mason ever written. That was after my Sherlock Holmes obsession, and before my Isaac Asimov obsession. My mom kept wondering if I wouldn't like to read something else for a change. Nope. I think this is the way that I learn. In a couple of years, I'll be done with mysteries and on to something else. I read about 10,000 romance novels as a later teen and I haven't read any romances for years.

What first sparked your interest in writing?

I knew I wanted to be a writer when I was in Kindergarten, when I wrote my first children's story about a dragon. I still have it. I don't remember ever not wanting to be a writer, or not wanting to spend just about every waking moment experiencing story in one form or another. I did spend about six years getting a PhD in German literature, and I focused more on writing about story then than on creating my own. It was my final year of my degree, all the pressure of finishing my dissertation on me, that I went back to my own stories. I didn't intend to make a career of it then. I had heard too many stories about how impossible it is to make a living at writing. But I think I was mostly afraid, and it was only when all the other possible career choices blew up that I discovered courage because I had nothing left to lose.

What do you love the most about writing? The least?

I still love the first draft the most. Yes, it takes a kind of courage to stare at the blank page. And yes, I have to learn to turn off my internal editor every day anew. But I like playing with my own characters and my own world, making up my own rules, asking "what if?" My kids laugh at me now, because I have novel ideas all the time, and they know me well enough that when I talk about something I'm interested in appropriating for my own, I think about it in a real-life setting, and then say, "And I add magic."

I struggle with the professional business end of writing. Not accounting or anything like that. I was always good at math at school and I don't procrastinate most things. But I don't feel that I'm good at social interaction at events, or promoting myself. There is a part of me that is a little frustrated by the idea that writers are becoming entertainers, almost stand up comics. I got into this gig because I wanted to sit in my office and write stories about people, not travel around talking about my books. I have had to find ways that I do love to interact, so I write blogs about what I care about at the moment, whether it is triathlon or women characters on TV shows or parenting. I also love twitter.

Do you have a writing process?

I try to write about 4 hours a day, generally in the morning after my kids go to school. In the summer, this goes down to maybe 2-3 hours a day. I do have an office, but I can work almost anywhere if I'm rested enough. I have a pretty regular schedule of sleep, exercise, and eating. I also have 5 kids who run in and out of my office. I just work around that. I also try to set aside a few hours a day for reading. I believe that the more you read, the more intuitive the structure of a novel is to you. I have tried many times to outline a novel, but usually it works for about one chapter and then the outline is useless. I have started to try to write a first sentence to the next chapter before turning away from the computer for the day, so I don't start with nothing the next day.

The hardest thing about writing is dealing with fear. It doesn't ever go away, but I think I have learned to work around it. I don't often know where a story is going, except in some part of my unconscious that doesn't talk to the rest of me. I feel like I just sit down every day and let my characters tell me what they would do next. But it's also true that I try to have lots of surprises in each book and end a chapter with something that I myself didn't expect. Which is a hard thing to do, surprising yourself with your own writing.

What are your passions?

I love triathlon, and I am passionate about exercise and eating and health in general. I feel so angry when I hear people say that they just "can't" run or they weren't born athletic. I wasn't born athletic, either. But persistence in athletics, like persistence in writing has paid off for me. I feel passionate, too, about adults trying new things. This idea that when you get older, you've found already what you're going to be good at is bunk. I suppose as a writer, I am always reading and researching new things, so that is part of the reason why I believe this. But I didn't do my first triathlon until 34. Before that, I had only been running for one year. I have also learned how to play the piano fairly competently, as an adult.

What inspires you?

Oh, everything. There are story ideas all over. I tell people who ask me how I get my ideas that I am usually more concerned with pushing ideas away. I certainly don't write them down at night if I wake up with a dream. If it doesn't keep bugging me to write it, good. I have a long list of novels I want to get to and I'd rather it didn't get any longer.

I will say that I don't believe that writers ever come up with anything new. Maybe others are not as conscious of it as I am, but we steal all our ideas from other books or TV shows or people we know or stories in the newspaper. Then we make them completely our own if we do our job well. I started watching Dr. Who in the last year, fell in love with it, and then decided that I wanted to steal some of the story effects in the episodes I liked best. So I have a book I'm working on that came from that. And we also went to London (my two oldest daughters and I) to see David Tennant and Catherine Tate in Much Ado About Nothing and I'm working on a book retelling that. And I have a book that's a retelling of Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband called AN IDEAL BOYFRIEND.

Some things turn out well and some don't. I'm trying to learn that as a writer, my job isn't to judge which ones are good, but simply to let myself be a tool for the creativity that runs through me. Sounds zen, but it works for me.

Why fantasy?

I read fantasy a lot as a tween, but by the time I was 12, was firmly into adult fiction, reading classics and "worthy, great literature." I didn't get back to reading fantasy until I was in grad school. Then I would have to read the fantasy books in the library because I was afraid to check them out, paranoid that my professors would somehow be getting a list of my library books each week.

I have heard a lot of people say they just don't "get" fantasy. Well, there is a lot of fantasy out there. And it's very different. Maybe you really wouldn't like any fantasy, but I doubt it. If so, I think I feel sorry for you. Fantasy to me is just a way of talking about the same things as realistic fiction, but with the metaphor of fantasy. You can talk about feminism in a way you wouldn't be able to otherwise, or about how humans are really still animals, or about love triangles, or anything you want.

Why young adult?

I didn't really pick young adult. It picked me. By that, I mean that I simply wrote the stories I wanted to write, some with adult characters, some with young adult characters, and a lot of them are crossover and could be either one. I feel like I write in the seam between adult and young adult, and sometimes that means certain novels will never work for either target audience. MIRA, MIRROR is about a hundred year old mirror who wants to be human again. THE PRINCESS AND THE HOUND was rejected by Viking because Prince George was "too old" and the "marriage plot" didn't work for YA. But it sold to another editor who saw it differently.

How was THE PRINCESS AND THE HOUND born?

I originally wrote THE PRINCESS AND THE HOUND as a retelling of the Princess and the Pea, but the princess came in, bedraggled and dripping water, and she had this hound with her that she wouldn't let anyone take from her. Then the story became a mystery about what was going on with the princess and the hound, told by the prince's point of view. I never intended for it to be a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, though I can see in retrospect how it was read that way. I thought of it when I sent it out as very dark and strange and probably unsellable. I wanted it to feel like a fairy tale retelling, but of a tale that no one could find in any book.

Can you tell us about your new book TRIS AND IZZIE?

TRIS AND IZZIE is a project I had in the back of my mind since 2002, when I quit my position teaching German at the university level and turned to writing full time. I thought about it off and on, but I could never see how I could do it. It felt like it was biting off too much. It took almost six years for me to get the courage to sit down and actually start the thing. And even then, I wrote about a hundred pages and put it aside for a couple of years. When my editor Ruth Katcher (at Egmont) was asking about what different projects I had lying around (she knows me well enough to know that there are always projects lying around), I mentioned this one to her and she instantly wanted to see it. Then I had to go back and rewrite it and figure out how to finish it. I think it took that ten year period for me to stop being intimidated by the subject matter and not take myself so seriously. It's the first book I've written that I think is actually funny.

The idea is that Izzie is a high school junior who has a perfect life. Her boyfriend is Mark King, basketball star, and the only thing that is wrong is that her best friend Branna doesn't have a boyfriend. So Izzie decides to mix up one of her mother's love philtres and give it to Branna and a suitable guy at school. Then this new boy shows up, Tristan, and he takes the philtre, but Mark is also reaching for it, so in an impulsive moment, Izzie grabs it and drinks it. So she is in love with the wrong guy completely and she feels like it isn't real. She fights her own feelings for a long time, and in the midst, there is a larger fantasy adventure where Tris and Izzie have to fight off an evil magic plot that could destroy the world. But it's heavy on romance, and my own experience of high school and having a boyfriend that I truly fell in love with and married later.

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

Just keep writing. There is no teacher better than experience. I wrote 20 novels before I got my first one published. I don't know anyone who has had so many rejections on so many books before being published. I continued to believe that I just wasn't good enough yet. And by good enough, I mean so good that an editor couldn't say no to me. Not just as good as what I see on the shelf. Those books are from authors who generally have an audience already. You have to be better than they are. I think that a lot of beginning authors keep honing their first "baby" thinking that they can make it better. It's not always true. A lot of the time, the problems in one book are just no soluble. So move on to another one. Keep learning and growing with each book you write.

Is there anything else you would like to tell us about yourself?

I love Jane Austen and someday will figure out how to write my Jane Austen with magic book. Maybe. I also knit, crochet, and quilt and do other sorts of needlework. I remember taking a class from a female professor at Princeton and for the first time feeling comfortable bringing my knitting with me. We talked about the importance of needlework in novels by women. I thought about that for a long time afterward and eventually wrote an (still unpublished) academic essay about needlework and secret writing in Jane Austen's novels. One of the examples was Jane Fairfax's letters to her aunt, which are written crossways on the paper and hard to read. This made me immediately think of knitting and how women's literary messages are often hidden and can't be read except by other women who know the secret code.

INTO THE LAND OF THE UNICORNS

2011-08-19T07:00:00.000-07:00

Review of INTO THE LAND OF THE UNICORNS by BRUCE COVILLE

(first in THE UNICORN CHRONICLES)

From the unbiased blog of a short person, smaller doesn't equal lesser! Coville's 159-page book can serve as evidence. Rather than a sense that this story isn't very fleshed out, I finished the book with a conviction that Coville doesn't waste words.

The book opens with the line "Gramma, is that man following us?” Indeed, the protagonist, Cara, and her grandmother, notice a dark figure stalking them and we're off with an action scene as they flee their pursuer. By the end of Chapter 2, only 14 pages into the book, Cara is separated from her grandmother in their escape and leaps off the top of a church tower to fall into Luster, the magical world of the unicorns. Let me repeat: the first 14 pages.

INTO THE LAND OF THE UNICORNS doesn't slow down from there. For such a short book, the plot is packed with action, new acquaintances, unusual creatures, and unexpected revelations. Forget predicting what's going to happen next; you won't have time.

Twelve-year-old Cara remained a likable and endearing protagonist for me from start to finish. Despite her youth, she has a sense of morality that rivals that of many grown adults. When confronted with agonizing choices, she might bemoan the lack of a consequence free option, but she sticks by whichever decision feels right.

However, my favorite character has to be the Squijum, otherwise known as the comic relief. His oral communication skills are limited, confined to strings of clipped, rambling exclamations, though abundant with enthusiasm. This gives us entertaining outbursts such as, “Nasty phooey strange hotcha no-good trustem?”

The book sets the stage for a sweeping epic. Throughout we learn information that will surely be mined for interesting twists and dilemmas, and despite the shorter length of the book it's obvious there's a deeper story here than first meets the eye. Even though Cara's tale obviously isn't complete the ending still satisfies.

DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE

2011-08-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

Review of DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE by LAINI TAYLOR
(review based on an advance reading copy)

I've discovered another magical find! DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE starts with an offbeat, attention-grabbing scene that hooked me immediately, and it didn't take long for my intrigue to spark into infatuation. I'm a reader who can easily put down a book, even when I'm adoring it, because now and again I like to do other things, like eat or sleep. That's why it's all the more impressive when I find a book so good that it calls to me even when I'm trying to finish some actual work.

I've mentioned before my stance that there are two kinds of gifted writing: that which turns invisible and that which demands admiration. Taylor's is the latter. I was hyper aware of the writing style at all times, but in a positive way. She handles words with such love, devotion, and care that I frequently paused my overeager reading rush. Not only does Taylor craft unique turns of phrase and evoke intense sensory imagery, but she does so on almost every single page. There were a handful of times when the writing stumbled over itself with a jerky point of view change, such as when the author inserts her own voice to tell us pretty obvious details about a character like that the protagonist is very mysterious, but those awkward moments can be counted on one hand.

The pace is the work of a master, hitting a nice balance of suspense without frustration. A lot of information is withheld, something that can easily, and often does, annoy me, but in this case it worked. Karou, the mysterious protagonist, knows as little as we do (often less), so I enjoyed the journey of rediscovering a forgotten past with her. Taylor feeds her readers new information on this imagined world and its secrets in little bites that kept me constantly appeased: never starved, never bloated.

After finishing the book, I realized it's a fairly direct Romeo and Juliet spin-off, only with so many added layers and so much entrancing world-building that one might miss that. The back cover describes the story as a forbidden love tale; however, it actually takes quite a while, perhaps a third of the book even, for that portion of the story to take off.

As a brief summary, Karou lives among humans, but she was raised by chimaera, creatures with mixed human and animal features. While she has mortal friends and does in fact share her fantastical life with them, they all assume the bizarre tales and drawings are nothing more than the work of a creative imagination. Karou's guardian, Brimstone, sends her out on strange, disturbing, and sometimes dangerous errands to collect human teeth, though he refuses to explain their purpose...which I never could have predicted!

My only annoyance with this book is that I wasn't aware it's the first in a series until I neared the end and found myself mentally chanting, "How on earth will she wrap this up in only twenty more pages? In only ten? Five? Two?" Then I reached the last line "to be continued" and did feel quite disappointed to know I wasn't anywhere near reaching a conclusion. However, I do believe that if someone starts this book with the knowledge that it's the first in the series, it does find as nice a closure point as possible with such a grand plot, though I admit the end was the only time when my nicely fed reader's appetite felt the slightest bit starved.

This book slides under your skin. The writing reaffirms the power of words and the story hums with fervent emotion throughout, including hope's struggle against a wall of tragedy. From the tensions of a double life to petty (in comparison) social concerns to a tone that can hit hilarity, woe, and romance right on target, there's never a dull moment!

DRUIDS

2011-08-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

Review of DRUIDS by BARBARA GALLER-SMITH and JOSH LANGSTON

(first in the DRUIDS saga)

This week I find myself reviewing yet another historical fantasy, an underappreciated subgenre from my experience, perhaps because many history buffs don’t want to see fantasy in their history and many fantasy addicts don’t want real history clogging their fantasy. Such a shame! It is remarkable what skilled writers can create with facts and truth in one hand and imagination and words in the other.

This particular historical fantasy takes place in the last century BC during the Sertorian War. While the book bears a background of historical events and some characters taken from history step forward now and again to play greater roles, the story revolves around the two fictional protagonists, the druids Rhonwen and Mallec. Their stories alternate, though there’s little connection at first. Rhonwen’s uncle Orlan becomes Mallec’s tutor and the prophetic Mallec has occasional visions about Rhonwen. I expect the two will meet, but it isn’t in the first book.

DRUIDS is tricky to describe without giving away too much as the wonder is in how the well-told epic unfolds with carefully paced events. So rather than reveal even the first scene and deprive others of the chance to experience the emotions it conjures, I will disclose a little about some of the characters. The book opens on Rhonwen, a young and stubborn healer who won me over with the choices she makes when her loyalties conflict. We also meet her younger brother Telo, an overeager warrior ready to prove himself, her mother Baia, a source of much grief and guilt, and her uncle Orlan, also a druid as well as her tutor and perhaps the single strongest connection between herself and Mallec. I won’t be surprised if Orlan leads to their first meeting; in fact I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t! A few chapters later we meet Mallec, also a druid in training like Rhonwen at the start, though he’s not accepted among his peers who consider brute strength the last word in personal worth. It isn’t for a while that he meets Deirdre, a bitter druid who only values knowledge in relation to the power it might bring and has a metaphorical bright red warning light flashing over her head from her first appearance. Sertorius, the namesake for the war and one of the characters based from history, crosses paths with Rhonwen multiple times throughout the book, starting with the first scene. Their interaction buzzes with their mutual attraction; however, their meetings always prove bittersweet, stuffed with strong, passionate emotions, but not all of them good.

The fantasy element in this saga is deceptively light, which proves to be a great strength. While the druids make use of many traditions and rituals that at first appear as magic, in almost all cases the allusion of magic is merely a tool and the wondrous act a simple trick. Of course, this only makes the real magic all the more impacting. When you read closely, you realize there are actually only two fantastical elements in this book: the prophetic dreams and visions of a few select druids like Mallec and an unexpected and unique power that those who discover it guard as a precious and dangerous secret.

There’s a subdued sense to this epic. Tragic moments gripped me with intensity, but due more to the authors’ subtle restraint than any excessive description of how betrayed or pained the characters felt. While the book finds a nice place of closure, the story hangs open for the next installment. I find myself happily lacking any confident predictions other than the eventual union of Rhonwen’s and Mallec’s stories.

A STAR SHALL FALL

2011-07-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

Review of A STAR SHALL FALL by MARIE BRENNAN

(third in the ONYX COURT series)

“Science is King, but Magic is Queen.” The tagline on the cover of A STAR SHALL FALL succinctly captures the evolving theme of the ONYX COURT series. In the third book, set another century ahead from the last in the 1700s, a modern sentiment seeps into this historical fantasy. As science and ever-sharpening human curiosity spread their influence throughout London, the rest of England, and the entire world, the fey find it increasingly difficult to understand their place in an unpredictable society.

Foremost at the center of faerie concerns is the return of Halley’s comet where they banished the insatiable dragon from the last book. Scientific predictions suggest that the comet will come close enough to earth for the magical beast to resume its fiery greed and feast on the Onyx Hall. The fey become much more innovative in their desperation to stop the dragon. With help from mortal science and other cultures, they defy tradition by reaching past what they know and accept as the limits of possibility. As in many other works, scientific advancement rings with the cautionary truth that most gain comes hand in hand with sacrifice. Once a potential solution is found, the question remains whether or not the sacrifice is too immense.

The book is divided into seven parts, each of which opens with a short passage in the dragon’s perspective, who is not so much evil in mind as by nature. Rather than the typical villain, a closer comparison would be a predatory animal that can’t be reasoned with if it intends to eat you. In its way, this is even more threatening. Like most villains, the dragon lives for selfish purposes, thinking of itself before all others. It will destroy the Onyx Hall and every faerie foolish enough not to flee in time as nothing more than one, gluttonous meal. Appealing to any sense of decency, pity, or any other emotional salvation isn’t an option. The final showdown with the dragon at the end of the book is riveting.

Irrith, the country sprite from book two, plays a greater role in A STAR SHALL FALL. She’s not accustomed to the underhanded scheming of the court, which makes her an easy pawn for the manipulation of anyone who knows how to play her. She likes to think of herself as perceptive to these false friends, but the reader is more likely to predict what Irrith’s artless (at least politically) nature misses. On Lune’s side, she remains so desperate not to be her predecessor Invidiana that she once again misplaces her trust and discovers disloyalty where she least expects it.

Brennan presents us with another romantic subplot unique from the previous books. Galen, the newest Prince of the Stone, walks into not a love triangle but a love square! Three women pull his heart in different directions. First, there is the faerie he loves. Adores might be a more apt word as his besotted, unrequited affection smacks more of adolescent obsession than anything with real depth. Second, there’s the woman who seduces him, also a faerie. The fling reminds the reader that faerie love is characterized by two distinct rules: faeries choose who they love and thus cannot fall into love unintentionally as do mortals and second a faerie can only ever love once. While Galen’s lover toys with the possibility of giving her heart to a mortal man, she recoils from so grand a sacrifice and recognizes it could all be for naught if he cannot overcome his devotion to another. Third, there’s the mortal woman Galen must marry. At the start of the book, he has no particular woman in mind, but if he wishes to secure a happy future for his beloved sisters then marriage isn’t an option but a necessity. When he does settle on a specific mortal woman their relationship is bittersweet. While they lack either the passion of body or of heart found in his other relationships, a strong level of respect and admiration builds plenty of tension between the two.

The book is peppered with many more intriguing subplots, including one about the mysterious death of the last prince, Hamilton. All other mortal princes ruled at least a few decades, but Hamilton died only six years after becoming the Prince of the Stone. This mystery is easy to dismiss, seemingly insignificant compared to more important issues, but the unexpected explanation near the end ties together a stronger understanding of one of the book’s main themes: when scientific advancement moves faster than our own understanding, the toll can be colossal.

BONES OF FAERIE

2011-07-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

Review of BONES OF FAERIE by JANNI LEE SIMNER

A lot of praising adjectives float through my head when I think of this book, but I find myself settling on “balanced.” While that might not be the most exciting choice, every time I pick a different word, I notice how the story also possesses the reverse. For example, I found myself tempted to describe this as a simple tale. In ways, it is, clearly drawing from much, much older stories about the fey. Yet that feels dismissive of the complexities of emotions and relationships found in these pages. I also want to say the story is dark. True, very true, but as many books prove and this one is no exception, sometimes the strongest lights are found in the darkest shadows and despite the grimness of its premise, this story clutches tight to hope.

Simner approaches faeries from an angle I, for one, have never read before. This is a post-apocalyptic faerie story! After a mysterious great war between mortals and faeries, the world is left in tatters, littered with remains of dark magic such as trees taught to seek out human flesh. While mortals appear to have won this war (as much as a war can be won), an understandable fear and prejudice of magic remains, especially troublesome for those mortals who find themselves cursed with traces of faerie magic.

The tale is beautifully written with an easy flow that invites the reader into this world. While I found many characters to love, the protagonist Liza lingers with me. Her troubles are many and of both fantastical and mundane molds. I mean mundane in the earthly sense, as in some of Liza’s troubles are painfully real even with all the fantasy of the story stripped away.

Due to both the book’s shorter length and the natural voice, this is a quick read, but one that left a lasting impression. I’m a sucker for deceptively simple fantasy tales where the magical element doesn’t beat you over the head, but tantalizes the imagination, not to mention stories with a subdued, sometimes tragic, sense of mystery and wonder that echoes out of the book into the real world.

IN ASHES LIE

2011-07-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

Review of IN ASHES LIE by MARIE BRENNAN

(second in the ONYX COURT series)

The second book in Marie Brennan’s ONYX COURT series takes place in 1600s London when King Charles finds himself imprisoned by the army and then beheaded prior to the Great Fire. As with the first book, the history and fantasy blend superbly together with the fey and magic playing surprising roles in past events. The Great Fire of London might look like nothing more than vicious flames to mortals, but the fey see the fire’s true form: a dragon, bent on devouring all of London in its lust to feed on the magnificent Onyx Court.

Lune unintentionally won the throne at the end of the first book, and now this further glimpse into the fey world allows us a chance to see her as queen. She’s no idolized heroine. Lune is unsure of herself, but determined to hide her worries and insecurities. She makes mistakes, with serious consequences, often in whom she trusts and whom she doesn’t and how she chooses to reward or punish her subjects. Her redeeming feature throughout shouldn’t be underestimated: she loves her realm. She wants the best for every individual, mortal and fey alike, even if she’s not always certain how to earn the best. Even when I disagreed with her decisions, I always respected Lune for her fierce loyalty to her court and subjects, proven with wounds both physical and emotional, and her unwavering resolve to protect her realm from those who would do it harm.

As promised, Lune always keeps a mortal by her side. Her love, Michael Deven, aged and died, as was inevitable, and now she works alongside a man named Antony. The first book brushed up against the concept that faeries can only love once, but this second book embraces that idea even more. While she hides it well and the writing doesn’t overemphasize the lamentation, Lune’s grief for her lost lover is painfully apparent. The new dynamic with Antony is a different kind of enthralling. His heart, too, belongs to another, his wife, and he regrets that this secret service to a magic realm remains the greatest strain on their otherwise strong relationship.

As with the first, the second book in the ONYX COURT series is a thoroughly engrossing read, both passionate and thoughtful at the same time. Somewhat subtle in the story’s subtext is an ever-increasing sense that the world is changing. As it shifts for mortals, so must the fey, too, learn to adapt.

THE CITY & THE CITY

2011-07-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

Review of THE CITY & THE CITY by CHINA MIÈVILLE

The premise of this book is more than a little mesmerizing, though now I empathize with people's difficulty explaining the concept, which evades easy categorization or description.

The book is most commonly shelved in Science Fiction & Fantasy, though the truth is it could be either, both, or neither, depending on how you interpret the imagined world. As per the title, the story centers around two cities, unlike any you might expect. They are interconnected in a highly unusual way, which I find difficult to describe in part because it's a little mind-boggling and in part because how exactly the world works is never fully clarified. The reader remains free to interpret the cities as connected by some fantastical faerie-world type bond, as a future science fiction development, or, perhaps most chilling of all, simply a bizarre, government-enforced division of territory.

In fact, if forced to categorize this book, it belongs more in mystery than in speculative fiction. As thought-provoking as the two cities are, they more or less serve as a backdrop for a murder mystery.

I admit at times the dialogue read as rather exposition heavy and most climatic action scenes had me re-reading them in confusion as to who just did what, but it's all worth it for the ending. The ending weaves the speculative fiction element of the cities deeper into the plot and drops away with a subdued sense of closure and an eerie revelation.

THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOG

2011-07-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

Review of THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOG by MURIEL BARBERY
(translated by ALISON ANDERSON)

I both loved and hated this book, so I seesawed about whether or not to review it. I prefer reviewing books for which my comments are primarily positive; criticism is easier to write than praise and I would rather spend my time promoting good books than bashing those I dislike. Then I realized that I'm seesawing about the book itself. I don't love it. I don't hate it. Yet that doesn't equal out to apathy! Every moment in THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOG made me feel something, a strong something. I'm tempted to dissect the book and give parts five stars and parts one star, but my mixed feelings do not at all amount to an average impression of the entire book.

What didn't I like? Only two aspects really, but two big aspects: the writing style and the characters. The writing style is very heavy, often rambling and digressive. After finishing a long paragraph, I couldn't help analyzing how the same concept could have been condensed to one succinct sentence. It has to be said, though, that this is a translated work and perhaps what read as awkward and chunky might be beautiful in the original French (or perhaps the French have a different concept of beautiful writing). While mentioning the style, there's also an abundance of weighty lines that feel intended be greater and more meaningful than they are. However, every now and then a line buried in the layered tone really did ring true to the extent that it redeemed those that felt forced.

The story alternates between two characters, a middle age concierge and a depressed preteen. Often the voices seem near indistinguishable, more like the author's voice in both cases than individuals with their own tone and at times they even feel like megaphones for Barbery's own philosophical rants. This book also uses different fonts for the two protagonists. As I've mentioned in an earlier review, this technique is an instant turn off for me, because strong voices should distinguish different characters. To be fair, this is almost always a publisher, not author, decision, but one that I consider a warning sign that the voices aren't unique enough.

Don't brush this book aside yet! It's time for what I loved. While the individual characters fall a little flat, something magical happens when they interact. They don't change into someone else, but the different character relationships pop off the page in a way the individuals never do, not to mention that interactions highlight all their subtle differences. This leads into a potentially endless philosophical discussion: what does it say about humanity when individuals blend together with a similar dullness but jump into life when they form relationships? Anytime two or more characters collide, the story comes to life with an incredible vibrancy.

The ending deserves mention, though I find myself lost in my own muddled feelings. I both loved and hated the ending. Sometimes I lean more one way than the other, but what I can say for certain is that it isn't "blah." This is one of those books where the ending plays an especially large role in the overall story and how you feel about the book. Most likely, you will either find it significantly moving or you will feel like a hippopotamus stole all your cookbooks and wrote a rap song about it, in other words, too blindsided to react.

Whether you love or hate THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOG, I'm convinced that this is a book to feel passionate about, not one that earns a shrug and "it was okay, I guess." If the purpose of books is to make us think and feel, mission accomplished.

THE BOOK THIEF

2011-06-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

Review of THE BOOK THIEF by MARKUS ZUSAK

When telling a friend about this book, the most obvious hook is that Death narrates the story. However, Death isn’t nearly as intruding as one might expect and doesn’t crush the story’s own power beneath an overly intense tone. An interview with the author in the back of the book reveals that he originally wrote Death differently, a much crueler character, who reveled in the morbidity of his purpose. That didn’t feel right, so Death morphed into something else, a personality much more affecting for his subtlety. THE BOOK THIEF is historical fiction, set in Germany during World War II, and Death’s distanced, at times almost mundane, tone only heightens the horror.

Though Death’s narration doesn’t pull focus from the actual story of a little girl named Liesel with a habit of stealing books, such a mysterious character provides the author an unusual amount of freedom. Death gives away the ending. Multiple endings, in fact. Not at all in a way that ruins the book, but occasionally he will slip in a line about what happens to someone later on, another distanced reminder that these people have little control over their own endings. In Death’s voice, Zusak also inserts frequent tangents, musings, and emphasized thoughts with a unique formatting style.

* * * EXAMPLE OF AN EMPHASIZED THOUGHT * * *

They look like this,

cutting up a page.

They are short and blunt

and sometimes profound.

Since this story both takes place during World War II and is narrated by Death, it’s not much of a spoiler to admit that many characters die. My one disappointment with this book was that I didn’t feel any of the deaths. The book held my attention until the end, but I found it more intellectually engaging than emotionally affecting. Perhaps Death’s distanced tone played a large factor in that. Maybe when the narrator slips in mentions of the countless other bodies he has collected through the years, it pulls from the individual grief of a particular death and creates a collective grief, not quite as sharp a pain but one that never dulls or fades. While character deaths didn’t make me sad, I don’t mean to imply that this book never moved me, because that would be a lie. The moments that dragged forth my empathy were those of brave kindness, though I will avoid specific details for spoiler reasons. Whenever a character made a small but extremely powerful gesture of humanity at his or her own personal risk, I felt more than all the deaths combined, both in hope and in sadness, because those gestures couldn’t stop the end.

A great many individual lines in this book are worth cherishing. For example: “can a person steal happiness?” — only one of many lines that made me pause and consider. THE BOOK THIEF didn’t suck me in as I expected; however, the story lingers with me, and perhaps that’s something stronger.