Review – Firethorn
Firethorn by Sarah Micklem (Barnes & Noble ~ Amazon)
I picked up this book during a whirlwind shopping trip in B&N – grabbed it because the name sounded interesting, the cover wasn’t horrible, and the reviews I found with a quick search on my phone said it wasn’t too terrible a book. So I bought it. Well, I guess it wasn’t too terrible.
It also wasn’t too exciting. Didn’t really suck me in, didn’t really have me too invested in the characters or the story. All in all, meh. There were bits of the novel’s world that were a little interesting – their gods, their society structure, etc … all sort of glossed over, not really explained in depth, sort of forcing us to assume much, glean what we could from the tidbits that are given. I will say this, I was intrigued by the fact that one of their gods had two avatars – the Sun and the Moon. Common, yes. But in this story, the Sun was the female avatar, and the Moon, the male. Now, most every fantasy novel I’ve read generally associates the Moon with the feminine. Shy, coy, mysterious, etc. And it fits. And I’m used to that. So to hear the Sun described in this world as She, blinding the world with her glittering veils … it was interesting. A little backward in my opinion, but I guess it works.
The story itself: A girl named Luck wanders into the woods after her Dame (her sort of “master”) dies. She lives out there, in like a cave or whatever, for about a year. Eats some firethorn berries, they give her visions of the god Ardor, she decides it’s time to return to civilization. (fun side note: firethorn – also called Pyracantha, in the real world – not poisonous or hallucinogenic or anything. Just nasty tasting.) So now Luck, renaming herself Firethorn, is back in her village. During a local festival, a day when the common folk are served by the ruling class, Firethorn couples with a man of the Blood (ruling class) and they both sort of become besotted. Her mainly because … well, I don’t know. He was cute? of the Blood? she had no better options? And him because he sees her as being sent to him by one of the gods for luck, basically a rabbit’s foot that puts out. He’s certain that if he brings her with him when he goes to war (which all the Blood are gathering to do) that he’ll survive. That’s right folks, it’s true love from the start.
The rest of the book takes place in the Marchfield, the plot of land where all the clans of the Blood gather to prepare for the war. And by “prepare for the war,” I mean sit around, play at mock tourneys, and basically just get into the sort of trouble that happens when lots of amped-up men get together and are then told to sit and wait. During all the crap that naturally comes from this sort of situation, the romance between Firethorn and her man, Galan, blooms. Blooms like the mandrake root charm she binds with Galan’s hair and buries under the full moon. Yeah, to bind him to her. Because having the man truly love her, not good enough.
Galan’s character is probably quite accurate for a man of that time and setting, but he doesn’t make for that likable of a love interest. And Firethorn isn’t that great either. These two are definitely bound together, whether by affection, mutual need (for security, ownership, whatever), or by the binding charm Firethorn makes … but there’s not much in the book about any sort of true affection. They both exhibit a bit here and there, but it’s not extremely believable and you can never be entirely certain about the reason for said affection.
The writing was a bit tedious at times; I often found myself quickly skimming through long paragraphs of descriptions that I really didn’t care about. Even inner monologues got long and tiresome, as none of these characters every really evolve. They basically just wax on and on about the same things through the whole book. So yeah, can’t say with all honesty that I read every word of this book. But I don’t think I missed much of importance.
The ending leaves you with a cliffhanger – Galan gives Firethorn a chunk of land and his hunting lodge/castle as her own, sending her away from the war they’re about to embark on, wanting her kept safe. Firethorn is torn between leaving him (*gasp* how could she ever be parted from him? the pain, too much to bear … this is me rolling me eyes) or defying his wishes and following him into war, without his knowledge. The book doesn’t exactly make it clear that she doesn’t make a decision to stay or go, but it definitely doesn’t make it clear that she’s doing one or the other. It’s pretty vague and annoying, actually. Now, this is the first in a trilogy (the second book – Wildfire – is out, but I don’t believe the third is yet) so I understand leaving the readers hanging. But still. The book wraps up with Firethorn worrying over her options, pondering Galan and her binding of him to her, and then it sort of trails off. After reading the synopsis of Wildfire, not sure if I really want to read it. I wanted to before, because I wanted to know if Firethorn was going to war of if she was going to the castle. But the synopsis I read of the second book told me right out that *SPOILER* she follows him to war. Well, alrighty, that’s all I wanted to know.
Now, I don’t really want to read a book about some bedservant and her man in the middle of some war. Something tells me that this author’s writing of the war would just be unbearable. I don’t even really enjoy war stories when the author’s writing is exciting and interesting. I would much rather have read a story about Firethorn, with her greenwoman skills, charms and various minor supernatural gifts from the gods … I’d like to read about her going to this castle, in a land she’s never been, a slightly higher station than before – not quite a kept concubine, but not a “sheath” (for his “sword” get it … clever), and she’d be all alone. (Possibly with a small staff there at the castle? Would she be now sort of in charge? That would be an interesting situation for her character. A lowborn commoner now faced with ruling over those not much lower than her in station. Interesting dynamics there.) And living nearby would be Galan’s wife (yes, of course he has one) and I’d love to read some interaction between those two. I want to see Firethorn in that world, getting to know herself without Galan, learning about her skills and gifts, growing into a stronger woman. Then Galan can return from war a little humbled and a little wiser from his experiences, and they would both be better people, whole people, and they could have a real romance.
Yes, that’s a story I’d like to read. I know I’m taking my modern ideas of strong women and my love for slightly unrealistic romance/true love/passion and putting it into a medieval setting, where it probably wouldn’t have occurred in real life, but who cares. fan·ta·sy
But unfortunately, the story I want isn’t the story that’s continued in the series. And so, I probably won’t continue reading the series. If I wanted to read a similar tale only much much better – I’d read the Kushiel series by Jacqueline Carey.
Review – The Girl Who Chased the Moon
The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen [ Amazon Barnes & Noble ]
Sarah Addison Allen quickly joined the ranks of favorite authors on my bookshelves, from her very first book, Garden Spells. She has the most wonderful way of writing – everything she describes is so beautiful and sweet, I can’t help but smile as I read them. I can’t get enough of the traditions, quirks, and romances she writes about.
Her latest book, The Girl Who Chased the Moon, is no exception. Set in North Carolina, again, the book centers around Emily, a young girl going to live with the grandfather she never knew after her mother dies, and a forbidden friendship between her and a local boy; and Julia, a woman with a difficult past trying to get out of the ruts created by her high school self – mainly a sweet and sour relationship with a local pretty boy.
The book mainly focuses on these two love stories, mixed in with all the wonderful extras Allen throws into her books – her delicious way of describing everything (in meeting one of the main characters, a baker who has a fondness for cakes, we’re treated to this: “It was like she was made of cake, light and pretty and decorated on the inside – with her sweet laugh and pink streak to her hair – but it was anyone’s guess what was on the inside. Emily suspected it might be something dark.”); all the little quirks of the small towns where she sets her stories (the Giant of Mullaby - Emily’s 8 ft. tall grandfather, the Mullaby lights – strange unexplained lights that flicker through the town’s forest at night, and other local oddities that all the natives just take as par for the course); and of course the little bits of everyday magic scattered throughout (wallpaper that changes with your mood, sweet things like cakes and candies visibly sparkling in the air).
But I think what I love so much about Allen’s books, while everything I just said could be enough … what really gets me is the way we get to see both sides of everything. It’s like this is all her books – two characters circle around each other. We follow along in the shoes of one character for the majority of the story, feeling with them how impossible a relationship is with the person they desire, how confused and flustered they get in the other’s presence. It can be a little heartbreaking. But then, midway through the book, we suddenly get to see the situation through the eyes of the other person in the “relationship” and we learn that they’re just as flustered and confused. It’s so wonderfully dream-fulfilling that it makes me grin every time I read it.
Nearly everybody can relate, or at least recognize how great the situation would be – adoring somebody from afar, getting thrown together, and then discovering that they had been adoring you right back, too scared or shy or cowardly to do anything? Come on. I’m smiling right now just thinking about it, and I’ve only ever had that happen once, and the result wasn’t even intense or long-lasting. But it’s still a great feeling, and Allen’s books, along with all her great story telling, give me that feeling. Particularly in this book, there’s one section told from the vantage point of Julia’s love interest that is truly one of my favorites in the entire book.
So in conclusion … read this book! I cannot say enough how much I love it, and Allen’s others – Garden Spells and The Sugar Queen. The author’s bio in the back says she’s currently working on yet another novel … hooray! Now if only I didn’t have to wait so long between publications.
More reasons why I love Allen’s books? She gives me extras – just like the Special Features I love so much in movies. Check out all the fun bits included with this newest book:
Click here to get a virtual tour of the Mullaby Main Street.
Here’s where you’ll find all sorts of fun: down on the right, where it says “Extra Goodies” you’ll see
- Tidbits (fun little factoids from the author about the book)
- recipes for some of Julia’s cakes mentioned in the book
- information about North Carolina BBQ (a major player in the book)
- * my favorite * the evolution of the cover design
- “Not Just Fiction” (read about the small truths behind one of the major magical elements of the book – read the book before you read this or it’ll give away the big reveal in the story!)
Review – Shiver
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater (Barnes & Noble ~ Amazon)
The first of three books from the Wolves of Mercy Falls series (next up is Linger, available August 2010), Shiver is about a boy who is forced to become a wolf whenever the weather turns colder and the girl who loves the constant presence of the yellow-eyed wolf who lives in the woods outside her house in the winter. Needless to say, once he’s human again, romance ensues.
I got this book because it popped up in the “suggestions for you” section after buying another book at B&N. The reviews sounded decent, most agreed that if you liked the Twilight books, you’d like this. So, since I admit I enjoyed the Meyers series, and since Shiver was crazy cheap for a nice big hardcover book, I caved.
My first impression of the book was that yes, it was indeed something a Twitard would love. It has so many elements similar to Twilight that it was almost annoying at first. But I hung in there, and honestly, the book did kind of suck me in the way only good junk lit can do. I’ll give you a brief review the easiest way I can think of – I’m going to compare it to Twilight.
The books are basically the same: two young people, one supernatural and one normal, trying to be together despite the difficulties of said supernatural-ness. Other similarities? Let’s list off a few that made me snort a little when reading: once in human form, these two are inseparable, like how did we manage to live before we met? It is the most natural thing for the one to become the others entire world in a matter of days, of course.
The girl’s mother is an absent-minded artist while her father is absent most the time with work. This means that the girl (Grace) has to basically raise herself, taking care of her child-parents the whole time. Basically, take Bella’s mom and multiply it by two. These are Grace’s parents.
Grace and her wolf-boy (Sam), once meeting each other, soon learn that there is a clicking clock on their relationship, counting down pretty quickly. Grace often talks of how she wishes she could become a wolf like him so they could always be together. Sound familiar? Yeah, I didn’t think so either.
Oh, and did I mention that Grace and Sam have a secret section of the woods? Not exactly a meadow, but a golden section of the woods filled with beautiful birches. When Sam led Grace into this place that she had dreamed about but now knew was real, that it was now their special place … yeah, that was definitely worthy of an eye-roll.
Now, I know it sounds like such a Twi-ripoff, but now let me get into the differences that made this book just a bit higher on the junk lit scale than Twilight. Let’s go in order, shall we? First: this love affair between Sam and Grace wasn’t exactly something that happened in a matter of days. Sort of, but not exactly. Grace had been attacked by Sam’s pack when she was younger and Sam saved her, in wolf form. Somehow human feelings for this girl fuzzed their way through his animal mind, and he sort of fell for her then. Yes, it sounds weird when I write it out like that, but whatever. Meanwhile, Grace, surviving this attack, couldn’t get that beautiful wolf out of her mind. Not only had he saved her life, but this wolf and his strange yellow eyes became a sort of constant in her life. In the world of ditzy parents and, of course, high school, it had to be comforting to always have this beautiful silent companion hovering in the woods outside your house, every winter, never fail. She sort of became obsessed with this pack of wolves in her woods, particularly this one with which she had a bit of history. This goes on for six years, and it only culminates when she finally discovers him in human form. So, yes, their human relationship becomes second-nature extremely quickly, but in fact, they’ve been sort of circling each other for those six years, one way or another. Take it as a mark of subtle writing that not once did any bestiality jokes come to mind when reading this book.
Oh, and the one thing that I really preferred in this book to the Twilight books? In the relationship between Edward and Bella, what do we get to signify their deep eternal love? Pages describing just how beautiful our ole’ Eddie is. I believe the word I’m searching for is perfect. Detailed descriptions. That’s about it. You’re beautiful and I therefore want to be with you. Because I am a teenager. And since we never get to really hear Edward’s mind, we don’t really know exactly why he wants to be with her, except that maybe she’s also beautiful and he can’t read her mind.
In Shiver, the relationship between Grace and Sam is so much more realistic … or as realistic as a relationship between a werewolf and a girl can be. We still get sappy descriptions from each character about the other, but – and this is what I love – they are rarely about looks. Yes, we get a few here and there, expected in a new relationship between two young people, but it’s limited to a brief comment here and there like wow, her legs are sexy when she gets out of bed in that over-sized t-shirt or his crooked nose is imperfectly perfect; but the majority of the sappy bits are bits about the personalities or traits or mannerisms … like how he loves to read German poetry; how he was still shy enough to sometimes blush a little when he complimented her; how her hair is way funky in the morning when she wakes up; her tone-deaf singing in the shower … things like that, that make their relationship seem like something real. I mean, these kids talk about wanting to grow old together, getting a post office box, and putting up Christmas decorations. They want a life together, not just an eternity basking in the perfection of the face of their ‘love’ like some people. *coughBellacough* These sappy bits also don’t take over the story all the time, adding unnecessary length to the book. They love each other, we know it, we get glimpses into the minds of two young people in the glow of a new relationship, but there are other things going on in their lives that take precedence over the fall of her hair or the arch of his back.
It also helps that half the book is in Sam’s perspective while half is in Grace’s. This way we get to see how the love is for both of them; we don’t have to spend the entire book inside the mind of a teenage girl’s mind. Also, when we are in that girl’s mind, it’s a bit more mature than the “mature” Bella’s brain, despite the fact they both apparently had to raise themselves, be the responsible one in the family. Apparently, this burden of sorts did more wonders for Grace than Bella. It made Grace’s character interesting and grown up, all it did for Bella was teach her how to cook and give her a disdain for young marriage.
And, during a bit of the book when the relationship is sort of over for a spell, just like Twilight (only thankfully this doesn’t result in an entire book of moping), but when this happens, what does Grace do? Does she walk around like hole-in-her-chest Bella for hundreds of pages? Nope. She’s desperately sad, misses her love, all that. But her life goes on. She’s not happy about the whole situation, but she copes a helluva lot better than Bella did, proving again that Grace is on a whole different maturity level than Bella. It also removes the horrible “a girl is less than worthless without her man” theme we get so subtly woven throughout the Twilight books.
Second: yes, Grace does wish at times she could change into a wolf just like Sam (who will soon no longer be able to change back into human form, leaving him as a wolf forever … which, admit it, would suck once they’ve finally gotten a chance to be together) but this doesn’t consume her the way Bella wants to be a vampire. Bella’s just annoying, constantly wheedling about how she needs to be turned, now, dammit. Grace just has this wistful dream, like oh wouldn’t it be great if I could change and be with you forever? But it’s never written in a way that it takes over the book, never a main point in the story. It maybe mentioned a handful of times.
Third: that damn woods bit. So cheesy like Bella and Edward’s meadow. But thankfully, it’s cheesy for all of a minute. He takes her there, shows her, she’s like oh, it’s like this place I saw in a dream once, cool, he tells her it was where he grew up as a wolf and he might have sort of slipped a few images of it from his animal mind to her human one, when he’d been saving her those years ago, and then … moment over. It was a cute little moment (but not sickeningly adorable cute), him sharing a bit of his childhood, as it were, with her and that was it. It doesn’t take on this almighty presence like the meadow in Twilight. We never return to the woods like that again.
The story itself was fun, taking an interesting approach at the werewolf legend. The writing was a little … vague? at times. But this didn’t annoy me as much as it might others, it’s like the author trusts us to understand what’s going on without the need for pages and pages of descriptions. Sometimes, this was mildly irritating, paring down what’s going on with too few words, leaving me to fill in too many gaps; but for the most part, it left the book with this minimal feel that allowed me to imagine bits of it myself, making the story my own in a way. Oh, and if you do read this – be prepared for a good, but very abrupt ending.
Of course, the book doesn’t necessarily end, as it’s the first of three. Also, because Twilight makes movie execs money and they must cash in on this fascination with paranormal romance with the young folks while they can – Unique Features has purchased the rights to all three books and they’re taking first dibs to Warner Brothers for production. I’m up in the air about how I feel about this one – the partners of Unique Features have been responsible for lots of adaptations lately (Lord of the Rings, The Last Mimzy, Hairspray – all good, but he also did the adaptation of The Golden Compass, a favorite series of mine that curled up and died when this movie came out.) I’m going to cross my fingers for these guys, try and forget the disaster that was The Golden Compass, and hope for the best. Not just for this movie either, as these two are also involved in the adaptation of another favorite series of mine, The Mortal Instruments. I’m really crossing my fingers for that one because those books are so beloved and they’re cramming three books into one movie (which I understand, though it would have been interesting to see how they would have played it into separate movies. I don’t see it being that marketable with the way the books left the main romance unresolved until the end of book 3.)
So, with this book mostly unheard of, expect to be hearing more of it soon, as it will likely be coming to a screaming-teen-packed theater near you.
*replace “vampires” with “werewolves”, “Edward” with “Sam”, and “Twilight” with “Shiver”
bookshelves
I was looking through my books the other night, looking for something to read, and it dawned on me that I have several books that I rarely read. Why was that? Thinking it through, it’s because once I read it once, I don’t want to put myself through it again. Not because the stories are bad, but because the books are for one reason or another not the easiest reads.
So, here’s a few of those books – books with great stories at their heart, but hidden under less than amazing writing:
Sunshine by Robin McKinley – a great vampire story that takes place in a wonderful world with a great Other history (demons, part-bloods, vamps, magic-handlers and such definitely aren’t loved, but are common enough). Unfortunately, the book itself is more tangent than story. I know the story is there, but digging it out is kind of exhausting. Everything in the book is really interesting, but the way it’s written … you’ll be reading about an event, which triggers a small thought in the mind of the main character, which leads to two or three pages telling some memory or history of the world we’re living in – helpful at times, always interesting, but completely unrelated to the event we were originally dealing with. By the time we’re thrown back into the actual story, sometimes I have to think about where we were even at before that long-ass tangent. Tiring, but mildly rewarding once you finish the book, once you know the whole story and are able to sort of retell it to yourself without those intrusive tangents.
Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkein – come on people, let’s not lie. The stories themselves are amazing, but honestly. Wading through Tolkein’s writing? not as amazing.
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown – the basis of this book was intriguing, interesting … but wow, is Dan Brown not a great writer.
The Black Jewel series by Anne Bishop – a great set of books, but I don’t really know what I’m reading until I finish the book. Everything is interesting, and I get the feeling I like the story, but it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what’s going on. It feels almost as if there’s some prequel or companion novel that I should have read before starting the series … except none such exists.
Now how about some books that I think are just all-around wonderful?
Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy by Tad Williams – if you liked The Lord of the Rings books, you will love these. There are four books (book 3 has a Part 1 and Part 2) and they’re just as wonderfully epic as LOTR but without the weighty Tolkein writing in the way. Williams’ writing style is interesting to read and tells the story beautifully. Not to mention these books have everything – battles between Good and Evil, a tortured deposed prince, a beautiful princess, your basic coming-of-age tale with our main character … I could go on. It’s the epitome of epic fantasy and I could read them over and over.
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen – there’s a reason this has been a book club staple lately, it’s a damn good book. Set on a circus train during the Depression, it’s got romance, history, exotic animals, and wonderful characters. I also love the way it’s written, jumping back and forth between the main character as a young man on the circus and as a old man in a nursing home. The comparison makes the story even more interesting. I’d love to see this book adapted for the screen. It’d be interesting to see if they could pull it off without fucking it up.
Fallen by David Maine – not a religious person in the slightest, I was a little leery of this book. But once I started reading it, I was instantly sucked in. The book tells the story of the first family, but telling it in a wonderfully real way. The story begins with Cain on his death bed, and every chapter jumps you back farther in time. You’re constantly learning what led to the events you just read, which makes for a really interesting read. We look back through the life of Cain, then the lives of Cain and Abel and their family, then Adam and Even alone, and the book ends with Adam and Even getting kicked out of Eden. Maine also leaves out most of the religious aspects of the story as well, which can’t be entirely easy. But God is a minor character, really only important in that he was the one who kicked Adam and Even out. The story instead focuses more on the reality of the situation – two virtual newborns thrust out of paradise into a harsh land with no idea how to survive. The book describes wonderfully and realistically what it could have been like, the nitty gritty of it all, and follows the family as it learns and grows. Really interesting.
Pilgrim by Timothy Findley – long but always interesting, this book tells the story of a man who cannot die. Not for lack of trying. We start out with the character in an asylum in the mountains, basically on suicide watch after his latest “botched” suicide attempt. “Botched” in that everyone swore he was physically dead for a good hour or so, but lo and behold, he awoke. The man, known only as Pilgrim, really wants to die, having had enough of this immortal life. The books takes us back in time often for stories from the long life of this man, and it’s wonderfully interesting to see how the writer insinuated Pilgrim into actual historical events (for example – the portrait of the Mona Lisa is actually of him, and he was the one who stole it from the Louvre in 1911.) All the while, he is being studied by psychologists of the time, mainly Carl Jung, who all think he’s nuts. With good reason. The book leaves you unsure who to believe, which makes it even more interesting in my opinion. There’s also some good subplots about Jung and his failing marriage. I believe this book also inspired an opera called The Dream Healer – I think it premiered in 2008, though I haven’t seen that it continued showings.
The Sundering books (Banewreaker and Godslayer) by Jacqueline Carey – I think this is one of the most interesting stories I’ve read in a while. It’s your basic Good v. Evil story, but it really focuses on each side’s reasons. We’re given insights into both the good guys and the bad guys, and the intriguing thing you discover is that both sides are pretty much the same. The only reason one is considered ‘bad’ is because of a very old grudge and what basically boils down to a big misunderstanding. But with the misunderstanding diluted and the grudge concentrated over centuries, what we get is what must be a Bad Guy. Everybody’s always said he’s bad, so he must be. And legends also say that if we do such and such, we can destroy him. Why are we destroying him? Do we know for sure he has some evil plan? Well, he must, because he is a Bad Guy. Now we’re thrown back into the Evil camp, where we learn that the Bad Guy’s not really that bad. He’s not necessarily the Muffin Man either, but you try keeping a good temper when you’ve had the mass majority of the population wishing fervently for your destruction for centuries. Some of his actions can easily be seen as Evil by the good guys, but this is because he’s trying to thwart their plans. So he doesn’t die. Understandable. Really, the good guys kind of started it. It puts a whole new twist on the classic Good v. Evil battle you find in so many fantasy stories, and it was extremely interesting. Definitely a good read.
There – now I will take a good book (actually one from my first list, I’m digging my way through it) and curl up under lots of blankets. We are currently at the tail end of our first blizzard of the season. Ick. Did I mention that I loathe snow? And all things related? Particularly the effing snowmobiles that my effing neighbors seem to want to buzz around my house in? Yay, winter.
Oh, and by the way – happy birthday to me. 
nowhere randomly wave
I couldn’t decide what to write about tonight, so I thought I’d just cobble together a bunch of randomness for your viewing pleasure.
I recently watched The Hangover … amazing. Literally laughing almost the entire length of the movie.
Just finished a new great book by the amazing Charles de Lint, one of my favorite authors. This book, Memory and Dream, was one I wasn’t sure about since all the other work of his I’ve read have all either been about one of his major and, in my opinion, best characters (Jilly Coppercorn) or collections of short stories. This book was about one of Jilly’s friends, and Jilly was there, now and again, but very minor. But I fell in love with this new character … I say new, but she’s not really new, she’s been in the background of many other de Lint stories … and I was easily sucked into the story. Oh Charles de Lint, you are awesome.
Just now discovered a new band I’m thoroughly enjoying – they’re called Gomez, and they remind me a lot of Weezer. The music styles are slightly similar, Gomez might be a little softer rock than Weezer, but I think what really brings Weezer and Gomez together in my mind is that they’re both peopled with fabulous nerds and they both make great random music videos, though Gomez’s videos are definitely lower budget type stuff as I don’t think they’ve quite got the revenue Weezer’s got. Here’s a couple songs of theirs that I particularly enjoyed:
“Airstream Driver”
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
“Notice”
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
“Silence”
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Let’s see … what else. Oh, I’ll be taking off soon for a fabulous 4-day vacation to California to visit a friend. This Wednesday, actually. I am so very excited to see my friend, and Cali. I’ve never been. I land back home on Saturday and that Sunday I get to go home for an early Thanksgiving with my mom’s side of the fam. It’s actually great how that works out too, since the only reason I’ll be going is because my plans for my ride from the airport back home got mixed up and I was afraid I would be stranded for a while, but everything worked out more than perfect. Love when that happens.
Alrighty, well that’s enough randomness for one night. Oh, and in case you were wondering, no I’m not on drugs – the title for this entry came from a random phrase generator I found when I was too lazy to come up with something on my own. And now, I’m off to bed so I’m not insanely tired for stupid work in the morning.
Review – Kingmaker, Kingbreaker series
I recently finished another fabulous set from Karen Miller, author of the previously reviewed Godspeaker trilogy. The series consists of only two books, “The Innocent Mage” (Barnes&Noble ~ Amazon) and “The Awakened Mage” (known as “Innocence Lost” outside of North America and the UK) (Barnes&Noble ~ Amazon). These books are set in the land of Lur, a peninsula that has been walled off from the rest of the world, literally. In times past, a ragged band of mages, survivors of a terrible war waged over the mountains that seclude Lur, straggle into this land untouched and currently safe from the horror they narrowly escaped. To save themselves and those who now give them safe harbor, one among them, the great mage Barl creates The Wall, a bright golden barrier that covers the border mountains, sealing Lur off from the outside world. Around the edge of the peninsula is a nasty reef wrought with wicked storms, thus discouraging much travel via sea.
And so, hundreds of years later, the people of Lur live a comfortable life. The natives, the Olken people, make up the lower class of laborers, fishermen, farmers, etc. The descendants of Barl and her group, known as Doranen, make up the ruling class. The Olken are forbidden to perform magic, which seems to be a moot law, since they say Olken don’t have the capability for magic-wielding. But the law exists nonetheless, and if an Olken is seen even waving their hands around in what might be considered magical symbols … off with their head, no exceptions.
The King of Lur is a talented Doranen mage whose specialty is weather magic, which not only controls the weather all across the country, keeping the seasons perfectly on schedule, but also fuels the strength of Barl’s Wall, keeping them safe from the evil that might still be lurking behind the mountains. Mind you, nobody knows if the evil is still there, because the Wall isn’t exactly see-through, but everybody just assumes that bad things are behind the Wall because it’s been assumed for generations. And of course, who wants to be the one who attempts to cross through the Wall just to check?
Behind the scenes of this happy but slightly tyrannical society, a secret group of Olken known as the Circle has been protecting the knowledge of a prophecy uttered back in the days of Barl herself. These Olken know better than to believe that the Olken are lacking in magical talents, but in fact have a magic all their own, slow and subtle rather than flashy and all-powerful like the Doranen magic. Apparently it was one of the criteria Barl laid down when promising to protect the Olken from the evil that followed them … Barl and her kind would protect the Olken forever and keep their sometimes nasty weather in check if they forgot their own magics and never let future generations know they ever had the capability. Oh, and the Doranen would be in charge. Nice, if you think about it, especially since they were the ones who brought this great evil within such close proximity to Lur in the first place. Not saying the evil wouldn’t have found Lur eventually anyway, but still.
The prophecy vaguely (of course, because all prophecies must be vague) references that the Wall will fail someday and gives, again, vague clues as to how to handle that situation in a way that doesn’t involve everybody in Lur dying. The key figure in this prophecy is the Innocent Mage, an Olken who must be unaware of his role in the whole scenario until it becomes necessary for him to do his part. We meet this Innocent Mage in the beginning of the book, a fisherman’s son who leaves his tiny coastal town to travel to the capital city of Donora. This young man, Asher, hopes that in the city he can work and earn enough money in a year to return home and buy a boat for him and his father, getting them out from under the bullying hoard of older brothers who have virtually taken over the fishing business for the town. (This is a point of annoyance with me, since the blurb on the back of the book talks about how Asher was destined to be a fisherman like his father but it just wasn’t what he wanted, and thus left it all for the grand capital, hoping for a life more worthwhile. This is not right in the slightest. Asher loved being a fisherman, only planned on being in the city one year, and in fact bitches quite often throughout the book about how he’s only a fisherman, he shouldn’t have to deal with all the political crap he gets thrown into, he can’t wait to get back home to his lovely little coastal town, etc. Did the guy who wrote the back-of-book teaser blurb even bother to skim the book?)
Upon arriving in Donora, Asher stumbles into the employ of Prince Gar, a singular oddity: a magicless Doranen. The two eventually become friends, which makes for most of the great dialogue in the book – Asher, a rough unsophisticated man who has no qualms telling royalty just exactly what he thinks; and Gar, a member of the ruling class and the royal family, weighted down with all the expectations of his family and people that he can never meet because of his lack of magic, making him slightly bitter but seemingly content (or rather, resigned but making the best of it) with his non-magical duties. Gar appreciates Asher’s bluntness and honesty, and Asher seems to grudgingly gain a great fondness for his prince, who becomes more like a brother to him than any of the brutal brothers he left behind.
Amidst the events that create this great friendship, it happens that Barl’s diary is found in an old underground library discovered thanks to a cave-in on the palace grounds. Lur’s Master Magician reads through this great find and discovered a spell that would enable him to look beyond the Wall. Well, he jumps at the chance to see if this great evil is in fact still lurking behind the mountains, which most agree would be unlikely, since the evil was embodied in a man named Morg, and he would of course be long dead since the days of Barl. But of course, as this is a good-vs-evil fantasy book, Morg is not dead, but rather transformed into a kind of immortal evil entity (which, trust me, reads better than how I’m describing it right now) which greedily takes possession of the Master Magician’s body the instant his head pokes through the barrier, so to speak. Eager to destroy this prosperous land the irritating Barl locked away from him for generations, Morg sees this as the perfect chance to sow some discord in this happy nation, working to bring down Barl’s blasted Wall for good so his evil minions can flood the land and Morg can have some new fun.
Thus, the stage is set for the beginning of the end. The events the Prophecy warned of are happening, and the Circle, the Olken dedicated to the Prophecy, must work with Asher to save everything.
Paced wonderfully over the course of two books, this story gripped me from start to finish. I found the character of Asher slightly annoying in the very beginning, mostly because he starts out younger, a bit naive – and he is overly grating and abrasive, prickly to the extreme, to compensate for his youthful ignorance. As the books continue, he grows and becomes a man much more fun to read about. If I may be allowed a comparison from within the genre, he transforms from the Harry Potter of “…The Order of the Pheonix” to the Harry Potter of “…The Half-Blood Prince”. (If that makes no sense to some, no matter, there are those that will understand.) This emotional growth leads to more responsibilities and influence that also help make him more interesting as a lead character. Asher also has a great ingrained goodness that is impossible to hide, even when he’s being a bit of an ass. He’s just a great character, and when countered by Gar, the scholar raised in a life Asher couldn’t even imagine, burdened by expectations he can never meet but doing the best with what he can … they make a great pair.
The story overall was good, though not executed so wonderfully at times. There were moments where things happen so suddenly and without much fanfare, you don’t even really remember them happening … only to learn later on that that was in fact something extremely crucial to the story as a whole. One such example being that the possession of the Master Magician’s body by the evil Morg, thus giving him access to Lur so he can start his systematic destruction of everything (seems cruicial, right?) all happened so quickly and with little description, and was then easily overshadowed by the events that followed that were much easier to read and follow. I also remember the battles at the very end being a bit wordy and hard to follow. As before, things aren’t emphasized much or explained in a way that you can really know what the hell is happening. One example I can clearly remember: reading the final battle, Miller writes that Asher steps up the unconscious body of the bad guy … I’m like, wha? When did he get knocked out, last I knew he was wreaking havoc over here while Asher and his group had a little pow-wow. I had to go back two or three pages, discovering after close inspection, that there was a short sentence or two in which, without much to-do, the bad guy, who was flying around over Asher, was hit somehow and fell to the ground. Aaahhhh. Gotcha. This is not a book to skim through paragraphs, which let’s face it, we all do at times. You have to read this shit carefully or be prepared to waste time combing back through pages to find out what the hell you missed.
Besides that one drawback, I really enjoyed these books. The story was great, I loved the characters, and it ended on just the right note. I also discovered that Miller has written a follow-up novel which follows Asher’s son during yet another crisis in the land of Lur. It looks to be the first in a new series titled Fisherman’s Children, no doubt telling the tales of Asher’s descendants. I’ll definitely give it a go, especially since it’s got cover art done by the same artist who created all the other beautiful Miller covers that I am so in love with. Gotta love a book that’s both fun to read and makes my bookshelf look cool.
the new novel, “The Prodigal Mage” (Barnes&Noble ~ Amazon)
Review – The Godspeaker Trilogy
The Godspeaker Trilogy by Karen Miller consists of Empress, The Riven Kingdom, and The Hammer of God. I originally picked up these books because I was so in love with the cover art. I mean, they’re gorgeous. I bought these even though I’d read some not so amazing reviews of Karen Miller’s work online, just because they were so damn cool looking.
So now for a brief synopsis of the trilogy (Did I say brief? Ha. There are three huge books after all.): Empress is set in the land of Mijak, a horrible blood-soaked place where the deity is one of death and punishment, and every citizen, no exceptions, lives to worship the god, to do its bidding. Nobody is educated beyond the godspeakers (priests) and the occasional merchant. It’s a brutal existence, but it’s all the Mijaki know. Miller makes it very clear in this first book that this is not a nice place to be. Despite that, she introduces us to characters that we are supposed to care about, and let me tell you, it’s not easy. There are a few people that shine through as being a little less evil than others, people that you can’t help but like just a little, but for the most part everybody you meet in this first book is just downright horrible. Primitive to the core, evidenced in both their lifestyle and speech (which annoyed me at first, but you get used to their brusque way of speaking), these people are very single minded and have just one goal: make Mijak the world. This basically means expansion by force, lots of killing and enslavement. And they’re not nice like the Romans were, assimilating other cultures into their own, oh no. The Mijaki will kill you if you resist, and if you go quietly, you’ll become a slave, usually for killing later. As I said, this is not a nice place.
The main character of Empress is Hekat. The book begins with her as a young child, headstrong and proud and the youngest of a big family. Her father, deciding she’d be much more useful if he sold her and got some money out of her, gives her to a traveling group of slave merchants who happen to ride through town. While on this slave train to the city, Hekat is pampered and treated like a treasured object. Seeing this treatment as deserved, her pride grows. She even falls for her new owner, thinking that he was treating her so preciously because he felt the same for her and would continue to take care of her forever. Little does she know, she’s destined for the life of a high-end sex slave. And in Mijak, once you’re a slave, you’re stuck. Slaves are given a “slave braid,” a lock of red hair that never goes away, no matter how many times you shave your head and re-grow your hair – the godspeakers and their dark powers have a hand in this. Well, Hekat certainly doesn’t want to be a slave forever, especially when she sees that her “love” doesn’t feel for her anything like what she feels for him, only treating her kindly because he sees the value of her as a pampered sex toy for the wealthy. She runs away the night before she’s to receive her slave braid, finding her way to the warlord’s palace grounds. She impresses the warlord and those under his command with her “dancing” (how they refer to fighting with knives, or “snakeblades”, the only form of combat in Mijak) and works her way up the ranks, entrancing the warlord himself and eventually entering the ruling house of Mijak.
All this is done with a “the god wants me to do this” attitude from Hekat, who believes she is god touched, a favorite. After fashioning herself as Empress, she basically takes over the ruling of Mijak, and nobody fights her. And if they do, they die horrible deaths by “the god’s hand” which only seem to support Hekat’s claims of being chosen by the god. And her people love her, really love her. She really is the perfect representation of Mijak.
Though this book was entirely about Hekat and her family, you do learn so much about the Mijak way of life, which I personally was horrified by. The writing wasn’t the greatest in this first book either, but you soon learn that this is simply Karen Miller’s way of showing the primitive nature of the Mijaki, and it does work. But it’s a heavy book to wade through, especially when none of the characters are all that likable and the dialogue is so rough. But if you can make it through – you get the wonderful prize of getting to read the second and third books.
I won’t get into these last two books in too much detail, because they’re slightly more formulaic than the first and so don’t need as much explanation. In the second book, The Riven Kingdom, we are introduced to an entirely new kingdom, the island kingdom of Ethrea. Life in Ethrea is a wonderful breath of fresh air after wading through the stale blood of Mijak. The language is more elegant, more like modern English that’s much nicer to read than the rough primitive Mijaki dialogue; the characters are lovely, funny, and generally good at heart; and the land itself is lush and green, beautiful after the hot, dry deserts of Mijak. Think a more cultured olde-time England in comparison to a primitive brutal tribe from somewhere similar to the Middle East or the wilds of Africa.
The king of Ethrea is on his deathbed and with his two sons recently dead from a plaque caught while traveling overseas, the kingdom is a little uneasy about their future. The only remaining royal family member is Princess Rhian, known for her elegance and beauty. Rhian’s more than a pretty face however, having been raised by a father who taught her statesmanship and strategy while bouncing her on his knee. With her excellent political brain, Rhian sees no reason why she can’t be the next ruler of Ethrea. Of course, most disagree. A woman ruler? That’s just crazy talk. And so, disposed by a horrid head priest, Marlan, and several council members who agree with him, Rhian gets the choice of marrying a shriveling lackey of Marlan and thus become a puppet queen, or flee. She of course runs, and is joined by the royal toymaker, Dexterity Jones, who has been having visits from his long-dead wife-turned-spokeswoman-for-God who tells him he needs to help Rhian, even giving him miraculous powers that pop up now and again when he needs to make a point. They’re also joined by Hekat’s son, Zandakar, banished from Mijak in a horrid scene at the end of Empress. Of course, nobody knows this strange man is really the son of this horrible Mijaki ruler. (That drama gets played out later.) Their ragtag group is completed with a brusque and blunt physick named Ursa, and Rhian’s chaplain (also Marlan’s cowed nephew), Helfred, who says it is his duty to protect her.
They must travel across Ethrea to reach Rhian’s love, Alasdair, son of the duke of Linfoi, and persuade him to marry her. One of the complaints about Rhian ruling was the fact the she was unmarried. Hoping to appease these dissenters, she thinks, hopes, that Alasdair will let her rule alone, not stealing the power of a king’s crown out from under her.
This second book is all about this group and their travels, trying to get Rhian on the throne. It’s not until the very end of this book that we learn that there is a horrible threat on the horizon. Mijak (remember them?), expanding their borders ruthlessly, have decided they need to give Ethrea to their god. This, of course, would mean the death and enslavement of every living Ethrean. Not good news, really.
In the third book, Hammer of God, we read about the days leading up to Ethrea’s seemingly hopeless battle with Mijak. Ethrea, a peaceful country where swords haven’t been used for anything more than show fighting for several centuries, pitted against Mijak, full of warriors bred and trained from birth to ravage and kill. Ethrea rests their hope with the trading nations they’re allied with, and they’re all extremely reluctant, mostly because nobody believes this horrible nation is really coming, convinced it’s a trick contrived between Ethrea and the only other empire warning of the Mijaki threat, the nation of Tzhung-tzhungchai, much hated by all (and clearly inspired by Asian cultures). The other trading nations are convince that if Ethrea and Tzhung-tzhungchai are allowed to create an army and an armada to fight this “Mijak” that they will instead turn their armies on their lands. Hammer of God is basically 800 pages of Ethrea trying to convince everybody that this threat is in fact real and quite horrible, pleading for help, and all the while trying to prepare for the inevitable battle with Mijak.
Having finished the whole trilogy, I now appreciate the first book much more. You begin the trilogy seeped in this horrid Mijaki culture, and you need that in-depth knowledge to truly appreciate the threat against the much more likable Ethrea. It’s not just some vague “bad thing” coming to destroy the “good thing.” You really know what’s in store for the Ethreans, and it makes it pretty horrifying as you read the pathetic attempts made by the people of Ethrea to stave off what you know to be inevitable. Sure you hope it will work out for the best, but when you compare the two nations, you know damn well who would kick whose ass in a fight.
Karen Miller definitely wrote an epic with this trilogy, and it’s a great read. As I said, if you can wade through the first book, it certainly pays off. And if you can make it through this entire trilogy, you have a new appreciation for Karen Miller’s raw talent. I’m currently reading another set by her, and I think if I didn’t know how good her writing can really be, I might have given up on the book I’m reading. She’s got a way of introducing you to her worlds and stories that makes you wonder a little when the real meat of the story is going to begin, if ever. She certainly expects her readers to hang in there for the long haul (much as I do apparently, with these insanely long reviews I write sometimes). I would definitely recommend giving these books a go, especially if you’re a fan of the fantasy genre. And hey, if you don’t like them, at least they’re look great on your shelves.
Review – The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O’Farrel (Amazon Barnes and Noble)
I picked up this book in the bargain piles of Barnes and Noble. It looked fairly interesting, and if it wasn’t, eh, I paid like four bucks for it. No big loss. Well, I can’t say how glad I am I bought this book. The critics aren’t lying when they say this is one riveting, haunting read. The book tells the story of two sisters and their descendants, now reduced to one granddaughter, Iris. The story revolves around the psychosis of the two sisters, Kitty – lost in the fog of Alzheimer’s, and Esme – trying to function in a new reality after 60+ years locked away in a mental asylum.
Iris is the rock between these two, though a crumbling one at best. She’s had a chaotic life, mostly in reaction to the love felt between her and her “step-brother” (I quote that because their parents, though possibly married for a time, did not remain together for long, and thus I was not in the slightest disturbed by this love, as the two met when they were no longer babies and really only grew up as brother-sister in the eyes of a small few, and certainly not in each others eyes. The author actually makes a bit more of a deal about this “impossible” love than I felt necessary; it was interesting and intriguing, heartbreaking, annoyingly unresolved in the end, but all in all, it could have been omitted with no serious setbacks to the story.) Iris’ relationship troubles don’t end there, however, she also happens to be sleeping with a married man who wants to push a bit more commitment on her than she would like. And while it was odd seeing Iris as the supposedly steady one, thrown between her grandmother and great-aunt and their oddities, it still seemed to work.
I mentioned heartbreaking before, and that is the one word, if I had to choose, that I would use to describe this book. In the beginning, it’s slightly sad, full of the tragedies of these girls’ lives, and at that point, you still don’t really know what those tragedies really are. They’re only hinted at, related to the reader through the wandering thoughts of an Alzheimer’s patient, spotty and jumpy, and the eccentric thoughts of somebody who was locked away and abandoned by those she loved. The Alzheimer’s prose was sad for me because it’s a great fear of mine, for both myself and my family. I cannot imagine anything worse than having your memories abandon and betray you, nor how hard it must be for both the afflicted and those close to them. O’Farrell did a beautiful job writing Kitty’s thoughts, bouncing between events, entering a story in the middle, cutting off to begin a new thread … it was a scary yet interesting insight into the mind of one afflicted with the terrible disease. It also was a wonderful way to give hints of the major plot points that are revealed later, so you get an idea of what really happened so long ago, but you can’t be quite sure, mainly because Kitty herself isn’t quite sure anymore.
As for Esme, her story was truly heartbreaking. With parts of the story told through her eyes, you can see how she thinks. In her youth, she was really just a little eccentric, more headstrong and willful than a girl was wanted to be in those days (the book is set in Scotland, with Kitty and Esme growing up in the 20s and 30s.) In fact, she is committed for reasons that nowadays would make the doctors laugh. Without giving too much away, I’ll just say that if Esme had experienced what she had in a later time period, she would have simply needed a little therapy, just somebody to talk to her and help her understand what it was she was going through as an adolescent – or even just a more understandng parent, or more understanding from society as a whole. But being in the time she was, she was considered demented, high-strung, willful, without prospects (prospects being of course, marriage and family). And as she grows up chafed by the tedious life of the European lady in the 30s and hiding her boredom poorly, all it takes is one traumatic experience, a little crying (to be expected), some yelling (also justified) and poof – she vanishes. She is sent away by her family, forcefully forgotten, never to be seen again. Kitty becomes an only child.
And in a sad, but by this point, slightly predictable turn of events (yes Stephanie, even for me), we discover all sorts of delicious closet skeletons this family has been hiding for generations, never even letting a hint of bone peek out. But as those things tend to do, it eventually comes to light, and we discover it all right along with Iris. The actual truth is never exactly written out, more insinuated, leaving it to the reader to either figure out what happened all those years ago, or realize they’re not quite as bright as O’Farrell would hope her readers are.
So, in conclusion, all I can really say is that I think this book should be read and enjoyed by all. Of course, I know that this sort of book won’t appeal to everybody, but for those who think they might enjoy this tale of family secrets revealed in the best way, I promise they won’t be disappointed. Well, not entirely, as I mentioned before, the love story between Iris and Alex, her step-brother, is sadly sweet throughout the book and therefore, annoyingly unresolved. I don’t really have any other complaints besides that one, and it’s a minor one at that, since the ending is more about the conclusion of the sisters’ stories – which again, is told in such a way that to the less bright readers out there, you might not know what the hell just happened until you ponder it a bit – than about the realization of this forbidden (but not really) love between Iris and Alex. And if the ending seems a bit abrupt … well, I’m sorry. Not really sorry of course, since I didn’t write it and there’s nothing I can do except sympathize. But in truth, it does end a bit abruptly, but it seemed to work alright as it makes me stop and think about the story I just made it through, going back over all the heartbreak in these women’s lives, comparing it to my own virtually non-existent troubles, and realizing that 1. it would suck indeed to have these things happen to you or your family and 2. damn, that was one great read … I wonder how they might adapt this into a Hallmark movie?
… did you make it through that entire freakishly-long review? Well hot damn, kudos to you.Review – The Girl with the Pearl Earring
This is a review of the book and not the film (which I do love). For those who don’t know, this book chronicles a bit of life of Griet, a fictional maid working in the house of the painter Vermeer. She eventually becomes the model for the famous and beautiful painting, ‘The Girl with the Pearl Earring’.
I cannot help but compare this book with the movie adaptation, especially since I saw and loved the movie long before I picked up the book to read. And now that I’ve finished the book, I can say that both versions are wonderful. There are parts of both that I prefer, but overall, they’re both great stories in themselves. The differences are abundant, and as I read, I often thought, wait, that’s not how they wrote it for the movie. But the screenwriters did a great job of condensing and tweaking the book to make it work just right for the film.
Griet did seem to have a much stronger personality in the book, which I enjoyed, but it was easier in this medium since we can read what she’s thinking. The relationship between her and Vermeer is wonderful to read about, the way it develops, her perception of him, the subtle adoration that is always implied but rarely stated – it was all quite beautiful. The book also has such a visual quality which I didn’t expect. The world through Griet’s eyes, even before she meets the painter, was so descriptive; her way of thinking of colors and how the author described everything was really interesting. It helped a lot to get into the mind of this maid as well as really see the world she was inhabiting. This descriptive quality seemed to fade as the book continued, turning to focus more on the relationships in Griets life, rather than her world perception, but it flows well enough that I didn’t even remember I was missing it.
This book was wonderfully written and gives the painting a beautiful back story I can now imagine when I see it – Tracy Chevalier imagined a well thought out story from just that one stunning image, and I can’t wait to read some of her other stories that follow this same thread, for her novels about the unknown people crossing paths with the now-famous are so intriguing to me, a great take on the historical novel.
(augh, it’s always awkward when I bring my posts to a close … I suck at wrapping up, always my worst part of papers in high school and college too. *sigh* oh well, you’ll just have to suck it up and deal with abrupt endings)
Review – Empress
Empress by Shan Sa (amazon ~ barnes and noble)
I recently finished reading this great historical novel by Shan Sa about the first and only female emperor of China, Emperor Wu. This was an interesting read, at worst. At best, it was a great insight into the mind of a historical figure that until now has been known primarily as a manipulative, arrogant, greedy woman whose every move (mostly immoral in nature) were geared toward getting to the throne. Not knowing anything about the history of this time period or the woman herself, I can’t say myself which version is closer to the truth, though I’d be interested to know just what Sa discovered when she was doing the extensive research for this novel, and how her research influenced the way she wanted to portray Heavenlight (Emperor Wu), if her portrayal was based on this research of if she already had a preconceived idea about how she wanted to spin the story of this woman.
Either way, I was sucked into this book from the very beginning. It begins before the birth of the girl, but not in the way you’d expect. The story starts and ends from the perspective of Heavenlight, and if she happens to be unborn or dead, no matter. The book starts right off with Heavenlight telling her perceptions of the world she knows, which at that time, is her mother’s womb. She tells of her birth, from her perspective, and let me just say, it’s strange to read. It was such a strange way to start off that I immediately wanted to read more. The musings of this unborn child were so insightful that I couldn’t wait to see what she would make of life in the real world.
She doesn’t disappoint. Though the prose is slightly choppy in my opinion (though I give a little slack since this book was translated into English from its original French, even though Sa says she pours over the translations – she speaks English as well as French – to make sure her readers still get the best of her writing in whatever language) the story behind the rough writing is intriguing. This woman was an interesting character. While you don’t get much of the emotions of others, you realize that this is only because Heavenlight herself doesn’t concern herself with them. Even the blocky storytelling begins to mirror her personality, in my opinion, giving you the feeling you’re really being told the story not by some eloquent Chinese beauty, but by the brusque, politically driven, practical woman Emperor Wu was to the core. There are brief glimpses into the softer side of Heavenlight but they don’t seem to hold as much sway in her life as the more important tasks of ruling her people, for which she seems to care for even if some of her motives seem to be slightly more geared toward keeping her dynasty alive more than what’s best for the people – though while she rules, it seems that her dynasty is exactly what’s best for the people.
Following her to the grave and beyond, this book kept me interested to the very last page. It was one of those books that made me want to learn even more about this woman and her rule, though if what I’ve read is any indication, this seems to be one of the only portrayals of the ruler in a positive light, and there’s little published about the details of her life and rule. So as I said, not knowing much about the history, I can’t vouch for the legitimacy of the facts behind this novel, but true or not, it made for a good read. If you pick it up and are put off by the abrupt style of writing, as I was at first, give it a chance. Hang in there, you won’t be disappointed!