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Books, Tea, and Piracy
Book Review: The Earth Hums In B Flat by Mari Strachan
Characters: *****(4 Stars)
Character Development: **** (4 Stars)
Plot: *** (3 Stars)
Writing: **** (4 Stars)
Overall: **** (4 Stars)
Age range recommendation: 16 +
Review by Morgan
I read this book in two sittings, so it’s clearly got plenty of excellent qualities. I love child-detective stories, especially when those intrepid youngsters are the protagonists of adult novels and, therefore, their deductions about the complex world around them can be completely off track, often to hilarious or poetically tragic results. Despite Gwenni’s tender age of twelve, The Earth Hums in B Flat is about a grown up mystery: yes, there’s a disappearance and death and useless police officers, but the real plot revolves around the little mysteries which flourish in silence to engulf families and entire towns. Our odd little heroine narrates the novel in first person, providing an endearing perspective on events which might be only depressing, rather than intriguing, if they were reported through a more down-to-earth point of view.
Gwenni’s home life is difficult with an unstable mother and a cruel sister; her best friend and she are growing apart as they disagree about the importance of boys vs. magic plans; and to top it all off the intimidating father of two children she takes care of has disappeared, pursued by a mysterious “black dog.” Mr. Ifan Evans’ disappearance causes little ruptures in the every day order of Gwenni’s small Welsh town, and when she decides to take matters into her own hands like the detectives in her books, she uncovers more secrets than answers and learns that some stones are best left unturned. The Earth Hums in B Flat is an easy and delightful read, and I enjoyed watching Gwenni’s observations about human nature develop from naivety to somber comprehension without ever losing the innocent edge which make the betrayals of the real world even more poignant. It’s not an uplifting story, though, so while fans of The Sweetness At The Bottom Of The Pie by Alan Bradley will enjoy the similar narrative style, don’t expect an up-front story where the murderer is evil and a clever child’s perseverance necessarily prevails. The family in The Sweetness At The Bottom Of The Pie is dysfunctional in an amusing way; but the families in Gwenni’s town are just plain messed up. There are a few intriguing minor characters, and the setting – a Welsh-speaking village in the 1950s – is seamlessly described to create a unique stage for story’s events. Some elements of social awkwardness around language, war, and class are seamlessly woven into the small-town plot, placing the story in a wider context which should appeal to anyone with an interest in British cultural history.
While I found the writing to be captivating and the characters compelling, there were a few things about The Earth Hums In B Flat which left me feeling a little let down once I reached the novel’s end. Namely, the end of the novel itself. While I was prepared for a pessimistic ending – meaning, I knew that this was not the sort of mystery which would end with peace for the village, justice for all, and due credit going to the amateur detective – I can’t help but feel that Mari Strachan could have let Gwenni receive a little more credit for the hardships she experiences at the hands of her mother and the small minded town. Some characters were sympathetic and kind, especially her memorable grandmother and absurdly saint-like father, but many of the people who made her life difficult never really get their just deserts. Of course, this is how the world works: a child might be in the right, but those who were wrong might never admit or even realize their faults.
Life isn’t fair, and although the unfairness of this novel left me feeling unsatisfied, I can see that it was an important element in the book’s message. Strachan is honest about how ignored young people can feel, how adults never listen even when they should, and this is a point made time and time again in children’s books but not nearly enough in fiction aimed at adults. There’s nothing wildly inappropriate here, some domestic violence and intimated deviancy, but younger readers might be disappointed by The Earth Hums in B Flat because the plot is driven by subtle relationships rather than action, and the writing expects that readers would have passed the point in their lives when they thought like Gwenni does. We must be able to see where she’s mistaken in her judgement to understand the story’s full scope. I enjoyed this book – it was the perfect cure to a day of feeling generally unwell – and I’d recommend it to someone who wanted an absorbing and self-contained story, a mystery which doesn’t follow the patterns we’ve come to expect, and a reminder of how magical life can be when you’re young and how strange it is when life fails to meet your fantasized expectations.
Book Review: Long Lankin by Lindsey Barraclough
Star Ratings
Characters: ***** (5 Stars)
Character Development: **** (4 Stars)
Plot: ***** (5 Stars)
Writing: **** (4 Stars)
Overall: ***** (5 Stars)
Age range recommendation: 13 +
Review by Morgan
This is the sort of novel I want to read all day, every day. This is the sort of book I want to write, except Lindsey Barraclough has already written it. And I’m so very glad she did. Rosie will verify that when I saw the title of this book as we were aimlessly browsing Barnes and Noble, I seized it with such energy of action that it must have looked like I was struck by lightning. Long Lankin falls into my very favorite tradition of modern literature: haunting stories inspired by unsettling British legends and faery stories, usually featuring young children and strange settings, but always grounded somewhat in our own realm and history. Other books I put in that category are Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones and The Hounds of the Morrigan by Pat O’Shea.
Inspired one of my favorite creepy old folk songs (of the same title), Long Lankin follows young Cora and her toddler sister Mimi from London to Guerdon Hall in the countryside in the decade following World War Two. Cora’s mother has been driven periodically insane by some dark memory from her childhood and their father can not take care of them, so they must stay with their less-than-maternal and wildly mysterious Great-aunt Ida on the ancient and decaying family estate. Guerdon Hall makes a perfect setting for this dark and haunting story: there are strange claw marks on the door, latin wards of protection on the gate, and Aunt Ida is vehement that no doors or windows are to be opened under any circumstances, and that they must never go into the yard when the nearby tide is out. Cora makes friends with a local boy, Roger, and his pack of comically English siblings, and soon enough the children break a few rules in pursuit of adventure in the small town. Unfortunately, their adventures in the forbidden church near the estate and their curiosity about the history of Cora’s ancestors prove to be more dangerous than they expected, and the twisted spirit of Long Lankin from the town’s old legend returns to continue his hunt for innocent blood.
The novel uses the general narrative of the folk song as background to the story we read: generations ago in Guerdon Hall a false nurse let Long Lankin in so that they could kill the baby and the mother when the lord of the estate was gone. In fact, the song lyrics make a ghostly appearance when Cora explores the forbidden attic centuries after the fabled murder, thus combining the real legend and Barraclough’s own invention almost seamlessly. She creates an origin for the song as well as a thrilling continuation of its nightmarish characters. While this appealed to me as a fan of the legend, it’s described well enough to be understood by a reader learning about the story for the first time, too. I loved reading little lines here and there which came directly from the song, and yet my prior knowledge in no way spoiled the novel’s plot or its ending. The plot has a traditional feel, but it was actually quite unpredictable and – to my eternal relief – there was no awkward and totally out-of-the-blue plot twist halfway through to ruin the ghostly atmosphere which Barraclough builds so well in the beginning. In short, the pacing of Long Lankin is superb: a well balanced mix of spirited childish adventure and bone-chilling supernatural suspense.
Several aspects of Long Lankin help it stand out from the other “Young Adult Adventure” books which were its neighbors on Barnes and Noble’s shelf. For one thing, the main characters are a young girl and a young boy, but they are childish enough that their friendship never develops into one of those overwrought romances which weigh down so many other stories. Their determined innocence fits well with the setting of post-war England, and the drama of Long Lankin comes almost entirely from the horrifying imagery and the mysteries which surround Cora’s family. It was a blessed relief to read an entire book without one moment of tragic teenage romantic agony. The writing and story crafting skills which Barraclough demonstrates captured my interest on their own, and I hope that young adults who read this book appreciate that scary stories can be gripping without any real romance at all.
There is true evil in Long Lankin – and that evil is terrifying – but even the good characters have depth and faults. Cora and Mimi are likeable and sympathetic, but they can be brats at times (as children are). Their Aunt Ida wants to do the right thing and protect them, but she also desires peace and solitude and does not have the patience to raise children. Roger and his brothers try to be dutiful sons, yet their adventurous spirits get them into trouble and the natural selfishness which comes with childhood blinds them to their parents’ struggles. These characters all grow and learn as they fight against the shadows of evil – and sometimes each other – but the children never quite lose the power of their innocence. The character development is good but never contrived, another way in which Long Lankin is better than most books I’ve read for the same age group.
I’ve mentioned how frightening the book can be, and I want to make it clear that I am a twenty-two year old girl who has loved ghost stories and scary monster tales since I was a child. Consider yourselves warned, therefore, when I say that this book gave me chills. It’s a little bloody and very suspenseful, but nothing to make you slam the book shut in disgust. Instead, the creepy foreboding mood which starts early on just builds and builds until the very last page of the book. Eerie dread which comes out of nowhere, the stomach dropping realizations that something is terribly wrong, and the paralyzing sight of a half-dead creature crawling outside your window: the book is full of these moments which would wake us up screaming if we dreamed them ourselves.
I would not recommend that anyone under the age of twelve start reading Long Lankin, despite the young age of its protagonists, unless those children have uncommonly obliging parents who do not mind waking up in the middle of the night to check windows. It’s scary stuff, even for me, and I’m a scary little person. Read Long Lankin if you love grim folktales, if you appreciate the charm of the English countryside and embrace the horrific past which so often accompanies that setting, and if you have several hours of uninterrupted reading time ahead of you. Once you start reading Long Lankin, you’ll be desperate to finish before you have to go to sleep.
The God Engines, by John Scalzi
Star Ratings
Characters: **** (4 Stars)
Character Development: **** (4 Stars)
Plot: ***** (5 Stars)
Writing: **** (4 Stars)
Overall: **** (4 Stars)
Age Range Recommendation: 14+
Review by Rosie
Dear readers, you may recall that I am a fan of science fiction. You may also have noticed that as yet, we have not reviewed any science fiction. With this review I shall break that trend and dive headfirst into The God Engines, a book about faith, betrayal, and spaceships.
The God Engines is a very small book. It’s really a novella, I suppose, or a long short story. John Scalzi has a very accessible writing style, but doesn’t dumb down his writing at all. Many sci-fi writers fall into the trap of ‘too much exposition,’ where they feel that their machines, or robots, or weird alien species. This frustrates me, because one of the things I love about sci-fi is that I don’t understand everything. I don’t understand the aliens because they’re aliens. That’s the whole point. Scalzi, on the other hand, uses the ‘show don’t tell’ method of writing, which works remarkably well. In the first few pages of this book he shows the reader a snapshot of almost everything important to understanding his world, and he does it without any real fuss.
The title is actually quite literal, and refers to the fact that in Scalzi’s far future universe, spaceships are powered and maintained by captive gods, who are forced to work for the human devotees of whatever god vanquished them. The gods seem to be a cross between an alien species and a god in the traditional sense. They are sustained by the faith of their human followers, which gives them godlike powers. They do appear to have some jurisdiction over the souls of their followers, but they also have a physical - and mortal - body. It is entirely possible to kill a god, and, in fact, nearly everyone knows how to do it. They get tired and need rest, they have likes and dislikes, and they have - (this sentence has ended abruptly to prevent spoilers.)
Scalzi deals with the idea of faith in a very interesting way. Gods require faith in order to become powerful, but there are different degrees of faith. Gods compete to convert each others’ followers, and constantly seek new believers. Their struggle for dominance often includes the mass slaughter of humans, because killing a god’s followers decreases its strength and makes it easier to capture. It’s almost a physical thing, like food, or electricity. It’s what powers the spaceships. If too many people on the spaceship lose faith in their god, then the captive god they have been exploiting can escape its restraints and kill everyone.
I’ve seen The God Engines described as dark fantasy, but I definitely put it in the sci-fi genre. It just happens to have some fantastic elements. It is unquestionably very dark though. There are a few really gruesome scenes, and Scalzi does not hesitate to describe every detail. I’m not especially squeamish, but if this were a movie I would probably have my eyes closed about a third of the time.
There’s an element of Stephen King-esque horror to it that made me not love it right off the bat, but while that element remains in the story, it doesn’t detract from the book. I ended up thinking it was one of the best dark sci-fi books I’d ever read. Scalzi is really good at twists, and this book contains a really excellent one. I won’t give it away, but I will say this: even if you don’t like it at first, don’t give up. Things are not always as they appear. I would also add a word of caution for people who love sci-fi and have never read John Scalzi: this is not representative of his work. The God Engines is very different from everything else he’s written.
Incidentally, he also has a blog, which is very well-written and fun. You can find it here: http://whatever.scalzi.com/.
Sabriel by Garth Nix
Star Ratings
Characters: **** (4 Stars)
Character Development: **** (4 Stars)
Plot: **** (4 Stars)
Writing: ***** (5 Stars)
Overall: ***** (5 Stars)
Age Range Recommendation: 13+
Review written by Rosie
Sabriel is not quite a zombie book. It is not quite horror, but it’s not just fantasy. It’s not a love story, and it’s not quite about revenge. It is, in fact, very hard to classify. If I absolutely had to assign it a genre, I would say dark fantasy, bordering on horror.
Garth Nix is a master of creepy. He has written quite a few books, and I don’t think I have ever come across a writer who so perfectly balances between the spine-chillingly horrifying and the completely normal. The opening scene of Sabriel is a good example of this balance. In the scene, a pet rabbit lies dead in the road, and a boarding school girl, Sabriel, bends over it. While a bit sad, this is a fairly normal scene - until the rabbit gets up, shakes itself, and hops away.
Sabriel is a girl with extraordinary powers. She is the daughter of the Abhorsen, a mysterious man from a mysterious magical kingdom, whose job is to keep the Dead dead. Necromancers try to raise the dead to use them in various nefarious plots, and each time the Abhorsen must stop them. It is a difficult and dangerous job, but it has to be done, and only a person of the Abhorsen’s bloodline has the power to do it. Sabriel, as the only child of the current Abhorsen, has been training to take over from him all her life. When he vanishes (presumably into Death,) she finds herself forced to take over quite a bit sooner than she had anticipated.
She ventures forth from her boarding school into the Old Kingdom, a kingdom separated from the rest of the world by a wall. The wall is guarded day and night by soldiers who know how to use their swords as well as their guns. When the wind blows from the Old Kingdom, electricity fails, guns don’t fire, and sometimes the Dead come out. Magic works better as well. Sabriel is hardly defenseless, but she finds the Old Kingdom in far worse shape than she had anticipated. Nix spins a terrifying journey for her, as she races the dead to the one place they cannot reach; her father’s house. Unsurprisingly she makes it - just - but her troubles are far from over. This is not quite an adventure story, which means that Nix cannot leave Sabriel simply battling for her life all the time. She has a quest to find her father, and for a quest she needs companions.
Her first companion turns out to be a small white cat named Mogget, who has an extremely sarcastic tongue and a strong penchant for fish. Mogget is one of the most interesting characters, in my opinion. He is apparently bound to the service of the Abhorsen against his will, but he displays quite a bit of grudging respect and affection for Sabriel throughout the book. He helps her without prompting much of the time, and takes care of her as if he were her older brother. He is quite obviously not a real cat, but exactly what he is remains a mystery for much of the book. Her second companion has spent approximately two hundred years frozen in magical sleep, disguised as the figurehead of a ship. He has a mysterious past that he seems to have forgotten, except that he calls himself Touchstone, and believes himself to be unworthy of respect.
Magic plays a large part in Sabriel’s journey, and as you may have noticed by now, I really like to talk about different kinds of magic in books. Garth Nix being the totally awesome and unique writer he is, one must expect fascinating magic in Sabriel, and he delivers. In the Old Kingdom there are two kinds of magic, Charter Magic and Free Magic. Charter Magic is controllable, regimented, and very human. It is tied to the Charter Stones, huge magical boulders created at the same time as the Charter. The Charter is described as an endless flow of marks, with a mark for everything in the universe. Charter Mages know these marks, and can use them to cast spells. Some are stronger than others, and some are so strong that they can actually injure or kill the mage using them, if he or she is not strong enough. When a Charter Stone is broken, it corrupts the Charter in the area around the stone, making it susceptible to attack by Free Magic constructs and the Dead.
I think it is incredibly cool that the Charter is a created thing. It does not flow from some unknown source. It did not come into being with the universe. The Charter was created by the Seven Bright Shiners, Free Magic beings who are not exactly gods. They existed at the Beginning, and they decided to create the Charter for unknown reasons. Five of them gave themselves completely to the making, sacrificing their conscious existence to their creation. Two retained their identities, while still participating. One opposed the others and was bound, and one declared himself neither for nor against, and was punished.
Free Magic is even more dangerous than Charter Magic. Its presence corrodes the Charter, and makes it difficult or impossible to use. It is linked with Death, and Necromancers who use it too frequently tend to become either insane, dead, or possessed. Free Magic is not evil, it is just uncontrollable. The Abhorsens can use it through their bells, which allow them to access it indirectly, since the bells are technically Free Magic bound to the service of the Charter.
Sabriel is a book filled with surprises. It is creepy, dark, and fascinating. It has dangerous magic, handsome men, talking animals, and a really wicked villain, bent on revenge for something no one else can remember. The world is brilliantly crafted, following rules that make your flesh creep. The characters are sympathetic and well-rounded. The plot is simple in essence, but filled with rich detail that makes it complicated. The portrayal of Death (the place) and death (the state of being) is both integral to the plot, and extremely mature. The characters do not fear or hate death, recognizing that there is a time and place for everyone and everything to die. There are no easy outs via magic for Sabriel, her magic is at least as dangerous as the creatures she fights. The monsters are satisfyingly monstrous, and the heroes are not always what they appear to be. This is a fantastic book for lovers of dark fantasy who don’t like horror. Read it. You won’t regret it.
The Magicians by Lev Grossman
Star Ratings
Characters: **** (4 Stars)
Character Development: **** (4 Stars)
Plot: *** (3 Stars)
Writing: **** (4 Stars)
Overall: **** (4 Stars)
Age Range Recommendation: 16+
Review written by Rosie
The best thing about this book is the characters. The worst thing about this book is the characters. This contradiction is what makes the book so good.
We are introduced to the main character, Quentin, as he tells us about everything that is bad in his life. Within the first couple of pages, Quentin has been established as the quintessential angsty, whiny teenager. He describes his search for happiness, and his general belief that happiness will never happen to him. There is nothing all that remarkable about him, except that he is really smart. He also describes his continued fascination with a series of children’s books about the magical land of Fillory (roughly analogous to Narnia,) and how this fascination has alienated him from everyone, because they think he is being incredibly childish.
Quentin is not an immediately likeable character. Once the action starts and he gets spirited away to a magical boarding school in upstate New York, where he is taught how to be a magician, he… doesn’t really change. His character develops, certainly. He becomes more interesting, he gets into scrapes, he gets a girlfriend, he even acquires a few friends - but in the end he is still the same, somewhat depressed character we met in the first chapter. None of Lev Grossman’s characters are particularly likeable. Most of them are unpleasant in one way or another. They are, however, very real. They feel like people, not characters, and for a book that deals with magic, this is very important.
The plot is pretty good. I won’t spoil it for you, but there is a Beast, and a lot of difficult magic, and some really weird magic, and a magical land. To paraphrase the person who recommended it to me, it is “a story about a bunch of kids who go to a college for magic, and descend into a pit of hedonism and depravity.” Be warned, this is not a PG rated book. It’s probably not even PG-13. It is a relatively accurate portrayal of a bunch of college kids dealing with life and each other, plus magic.
This is not Harry Potter magic, where you wave your wand and say some words and stuff happens. It’s not Diane Duane magic, where you say some words, and pay a price, and stuff happens. It’s not even Wheel of Time magic, where you have to study for years, risk going mad, and devote your life to it magic. This is magic you have to work at. The students have to learn dozens of languages, because spells are not unique to English. The have to learn complicated hand movements and positions, which seem physically impossible until you get used to them, and even then, they still hurt. They have to read mind-numbingly boring theory books. They pull all-nighters, have killer-hard tests, and drink a lot. It’s really just college, but with magic. It does not feel unrealistic. Of course, it’s more dangerous than normal college, because there is magic involved, and Grossman’s world does not allow for safe magic. Students get hurt. Occasionally, students die.
I didn’t like this book right away. The characters are just not pleasant, and it is sometimes hard to read. It’s not a comfortable book. The tone is fairly dark. The kids make a lot of really, really bad decisions, and no one comes along to bail them out. In the end though, I loved it. It’s gritty, it’s dark, it’s uncomfortable, and it’s fantastic. There is some magic that is so incredibly cool I would read the book just for those scenes. Once you meet it, the villain is completely evil, and completely satisfying. Even better, it’s not immediately obvious who the villain is. There’s a mystery embedded in the book, but it doesn’t become apparent until almost halfway through.
One of the major criticisms of The Magicians is that it rips off such famed series as Harry Potter, Narnia, and Earthsea. I contest that rather than copying these stories, Lev Grossman takes their basic premises and applies them to the real world. Brakebills Academy bears little to no resemblance to Hogwarts, and Fillory is only superficially like Narnia. The people in The Magicians definitely live in our everyday world. They are flawed, but functional.
I highly recommend this book, particularly for the fantasy afficiando. It is a breath of fresh air for those of us who have to actively stop ourselves from over-analyzing the magic in our favourite books. Grossman is a master of fantastic realism. He weaves many separate storylines together seamlessly. Pay attention to little things, because they will show up again. There are no loose ends in this story. And be prepared for heartbreak.
A Quick Note of Apology and Welcome
Hello beautiful, literary followers! There are two things of note to mention in reviewland.
1. Welcome to everyone who got here via FYeahEnglishMajorArmadillo! Since you are all readerly sorts, I expect I don’t have to direct you to the Intro post, which is, appropriately, the first thing we ever posted. I assume you have all blasted through everything on this (still short) blog, probably in order, so huzzah you! We like you a whole lot. Thanks for following!
2. I (Rosie) am now finished with finals! HUZZAH HOORAY WHOOP WHOOP PARTY TIME! This means that I will start reviewing again. Morgan is still mired in coffee-land for the next two weeks, so you probably won’t be hearing much out of her until she’s done, but I will try my hardest to pick up the slack! We would both like to apologize for the recent dry spell (and silly little character review filler posts, even though they’re fun to write,) but fear not! We are half back.
3. Bonus! Because we have been slacking on reviews, I’m going to leave you a list of a few books you should read! Reviews might come later, if I feel like it.
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski (WARNING: Do not read as bedtime reading!)
Dune by Frank Herbert
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones
Happy reading! Love, Rosie (and sort of Morgan, even though she’s in Scotland and had nothing to do with this post.)
Young Wizards series by Diane Duane
Star Ratings
Characters: ***** (5 stars)
Character Development: ***** (5 stars)
Plot: **** (4 stars)
Writing: ***** (5 stars)
Overall: ***** (5 stars)
Age Range Recommendation: 11+ (If you’re a precocious reader, start earlier.)
This is going to be a difficult series for me to review, and I’ll tell you why. If I had my way, most of my review would look like this: LASJHGLIUWGHMNO99Q;AURPTGABTAUE’RTYHVAOIUGVHEIRWNVGIUBTHNNUIV’G;EOAIUHAG’RIGBKNHVMGIKFKDOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGREADITALLTHETIMEREADITREADITREADIT!!!!!!!!!1!!!!!!!11!!!!!ONE!!!ONE!!!! For the sake of your eyes and my keyboard however, I will do my best to be coherent.
I don’t actually remember when I first picked up a Diane Duane book. I remember which one it was though, (the fourth) and where it was (the library). Sometimes that happens. I remember exactly how and where I read the first Harry Potter book, too.
Duane’s main characters, Nita Callahan and Kit Rodriguez, each find a mysterious book that tells them the risks and benefits associated with being a wizard. Each accepts, and they soon become friends, allies, and partners in magic. Duane’s approach to magic is immediately appealing. The wizards’ manuals explain to Nita and Kit that at the beginning of creation, the Lone Power (roughly analogous to Lucifer) brought entropy and death into the world. A wizard’s job is nothing more nor less than slowing down the process of entropy in the Universe. Each new wizard must undergo an Ordeal, after which he or she is considered a full practitioner of the Art. The Ordeal often involves a direct confrontation with the Lone One Itself.
The magic in Duane’s world is often difficult, nearly always rewarding, and frequently funny. It can seem nonsensical on occasion, and can lead to very unexpected results. The most compelling thing about it however, is that it feels real. Nita and Kit cannot simply wave a hand and get results. Each piece of magic they do has a price attached. Usually the price is simply that they feel winded or tired after completing a spell, but occasionally it is much higher. They must also learn to speak the wizardly Speech, the language all of creation understands. The studying is considerable, and it is completely self-motivated. At any minute any wizard might find him- or herself placed on assignment, meaning that somewhere in the Universe there is a problem to which they are the answer.
Duane’s wizardry is based on the Oath, which binds each wizard to the service of Life. At first glance this seems sweet, but relatively unimportant. Duane does not leave it alone though. She follows this premise to its logical conclusion, creating - not exactly a religion, but an entire way of life based upon the Oath. The books are not preachy. They do not tell the reader how to live life. Instead they give a picture of what life could be like, if everyone worked selflessly for the benefit of humanity. In the meantime there are aliens, sharks, monsters, and cranky gods, but the central message is about the rejection of negativity.
When Nita and Kit are younger, early in the series, they see the Lone Power as absolutely evil. As they get older however, they begin to see Its side more and more. They can even sympathize with It occasionally. Both of their characters have evolved and changed. The emotional and mental aspects of wizardry become more important, and the flash and bang of their starting years begins to fade. They become more skilled at wizardry, and they start to specialize. The books become more complex and less like childrens’ books. The fifth, and even the fourth book place the series firmly in the realm of Young Adult literature.
If spiritual speculation is not your thing, fear not! You will probably still like this series. Diane Duane is, all else aside, a fantastic science fiction writer. Her magic follows logical rules, and, as a bonus, it integrates into the physical, scientific world without a hitch. Her aliens are fascinating, with habits, appearances, and traditions that are, well, alien. She’s not scared of technology, which is something a lot of fantasy authors seem to shy away from. Nita’s little sister Dairine, who enters the wizardly scene in the third book, actually manages to partly turn her mind into a computer. There are chase scenes, giant bugs, huge battles, and even the Fair Folk. Legends and myths abound for those who like making connections, and Atlantis gets explained. In the fourth book, when Nita and Kit go to Ireland, there is even an extremely bossy and sarcastic kitten. Do you like time travel? It’s there. Do you like alternate universes? Oh boy, you got it! Do you have a soft spot for dogs? Kit’s dog Ponch will be your best friend. Of course, if you prefer cats, you can read the two spin-off books she wrote about the Grand Central Worldgating team - who happen to be feline.
The Young Wizards series really does have it all. The stories are told with a sense of humour that never fails to amuse. The settings are delightfully dated, so if you remember the nineties, get ready! Nita’s forays into the world of miniskirts are a blast from the past. Above all the books are quirky, fun, and charming. The world is well-developed, the plots are exciting, the characters are well-rounded and develop as the series continues, and hard truths are dealt with in a mature, sensible way. Diane Duane is a master of her craft. You should read these books, even if you think you’re too old for them. Trust me, you’re not.
List of Books:
1. So You Want to Be a Wizard
2. Deep Wizardry
3. High Wizardry
4. A Wizard Abroad
5. The Wizard’s Dilemma
6. A Wizard Alone
7. Wizard’s Holiday
8. Wizards at War
9. A Wizard of Mars
The Wheel of Time series, by Robert Jordan
Star Ratings
Characters: *** 3 stars
Character Development: *** 3 stars
Plot: ***** 5 stars
Writing: *** 3 stars
World Building: ***** 5 stars
Overall: **** 4 stars
Age Range Recommendation: 13+
Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series is epic fantasy at its most epic. Each book is huge, ranging from nearly seven hundred pages to over one thousand. The publication dates span three decades, with the first book, The Eye of the World, released in January of 1990. The series is due to conclude with A Memory of Light in early 2012. It took so long to create that Robert Jordan actually died in the middle, and the series had to be concluded by a different author, Brandon Sanderson. Sanderson was chosen by Jordan’s widow to complete the series, and has been working from Jordan’s extensive notes.
At first glance, Wheel of Time looks thoroughly generic. It starts with a group of young people living in a small village. A mysterious woman appears, monsters attack, they have to escape on a long journey, etc. etc. We’ve read this a hundred times, let’s move on. “But”, I hear you ask, “if this is a boring old fantasy epic, why are you reviewing it?” Well dear reader, let me enlighten you. If this series were only three or four books long, I probably wouldn’t review it. No doubt I would have read and enjoyed it, then put it aside and forgotten about it. Instead, it remains one of my favourite fantasy stories of all time, and I have stuck with it since I started reading it at age eleven.
What makes this series special is the sheer scope of the thing. There are fourteen books, and a prequel. That’s twice as many books as Harry Potter, and each book is so enormous that the series takes up literally an entire bookshelf on its own. Jordan doesn’t just tell a story, he builds and entire universe, complete with detailed geography, intricate political climate, and an incredibly rich history and mythology. The plot itself is a fairly basic good vs. evil story, but once again the enormity of the whole thing gets in the way of simply writing it off.
Most fantasy stories fall into one of two categories; plot-driven, or character-driven. I argue that Robert Jordan falls into a different category, world-driven. He follows characters, that’s true. He also has a plotline with so many problems to be solved that it seems impossible anything could ever turn out for the best. Neither of these things, however, truly seem to propel the story forward. Instead, when he notices that an area of the world has yet to be explored thoroughly, a new character will appear in a branching sub-plot that takes place in the neglected area. If a piece of mythology gets mentioned, seems interesting, and then gets glossed over, you can bet it will show up again later in the form of a side quest by one of the characters. He even gives an explanation for this technique of storytelling. Jordan describes time as circular, rather than linear. In his world, it is common knowledge that history repeats itself. This makes it acceptable and even expected when heroes out of legend appear to save the day, or seemingly unimportant characters turn out to be reincarnations of legendary figures. Jordan has almost limitless license to do whatever he wants with his world. The intricacy of the world more than makes up for the series shortcomings.
The worldbuilding also meant that when Jordan died, another author was able to continue the series with a minimum of trouble. Series like Dragonlance, and Forgotten Realms started a long tradition of world-centric books. New authors could write stories using the framework of the world, and these would be considered canon. It works a bit like fanfiction, except that fanfiction is unsanctioned, and generally less well-written. Brandon Sanderson could, therefore, pick up exactly where Jordan left off. He knew the rules of the world, and he knew the characters. He is a better writer (his take on the main characters is often more believable, and his writing flows a little better,) and he can follow the path Jordan left him with ease.
The Wheel of Time series is not for everyone. You have to be able to appreciate the scale of the work. You have to be able to keep track of a huge number of characters. You have to be willing to commit to the series. You have to be able to put aside minor failings (the somewhat unrealistic portrayal of women, the rampant use of stereotypes) in favour of the much greater successes. (It makes sense for women to be strong, because of the history. He has to use stereotypes, because he’s dealing with three huge continents, not just one small country or village.) Don’t be intimidated by the length of the series, it’s worth it. If you want to be completely immersed in a fantasy world, this is definitely the series for you.
List of books:
0. New Spring (Prequel)
- The Eye of the World
- The Great Hunt
- The Dragon Reborn
- The Shadow Rising
- The Fires of Heaven
- Lord of Chaos
- A Crown of Swords
- The Path of Daggers
- Winter’s Heart
- Crossroads of Twilight
- Knife of Dreams
- The Gathering Storm
- Towers of Midnight
- A Memory of Light
For those who have read the series and have questions, http://www.encyclopaedia-wot.org/ is extremely useful. Happy reading!
