Jim Butcher, the author of the Harry Dresden urban fantasies, has created an astonishing new series with wonderful characters. I generally don't like medieval fantasies, but I couldn't put this one down. On Alera people can harness the elemental powers of air, wind, earth, fire, metal and water, in forces called furies. Almost everyone controls at least one fury. Tavi, an apprentice shepherd, is a freak--he has no furies at all. It's especially galling since the harsh life in the mountainside valley of Calderon depends on furycrafting. Tavi and his uncle Bernard, the Steadholter of Bernardholt, are searching for lost sheep when they are attacked by the Calerdon's hereditary enemy, the barbarian Marat. The gravely wounded Bernard is carried back to his Steadholt by his fury. Tavi's aunt Isana, a powerful watercrafter, heals Bernard, but nearly dies herself.
Tavi has to rely on wits and strength to help his Steadholt fight the Marat, who grossly outnumber them. With his courage he gains aid from Doroga, a breakaway Marat tribal leader, and by the end of the book he and Doroga's daughter Kitai are unwilling allies. In an awards ceremony Tavi, his uncle, his aunt Isana, and Doroga are highly honored by the First Lord Gauis Sextus. (But everything Gauis does has political overtones...)
I've finished the second book so far, and can't wait to get the third.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
SUMMER LIGHTNING, by P.G.WODEHOUSE
In yet another break I am re-reading this P. G. Wodehouse classic. In the opening paragraphs Blanding Castle's stuffy butler Beach is reading a Society article in the summer sunshine. (England is almost always sunny in Wodehouse.) He's startled from his reverie by someone whispering, "Psst" from the laurel bush. I know I've read this novel several times before, but I've again succumbed to the comic Blandings world.
NEVER TRUST A LADY by SUZANNE ROBINSON
I must at times take a break from heavy SFF with its wars and W-V conflicts. I recently found this light Civil War romance which chronicles the intrigues of English Lady Eva Sparrow and Texan Ryder Drake. They must foil an assassination plot which would drive Britain into coming into the war on the side of the South. Drake thinks Lady Eva is too frivolous for spying. Lady Eva thinks Drake is a brute who doesn't acknowledge her intelligence. He has to allow her to introduce him into British Society.
Their affair is hysterically PG rated. He accidentally has to hold her and is embarrassed by his physical reactions. She finds herself swooning over his kisses. He brushes his lips over her ears. "Someone has neglected your education, my little peony." Then she has to put him in his place for underestimating her fortitude, again. Together they defeat the villains, and in a final spat he says "Eva, I have no right to ask you to remain here when there's a good chance I'll be killed in this war." She bats him with her fan and replies, "How dare you misunderstand my character after all these months, Mr, Drake? I can face danger as well as you can." Then he asks her to marry him. Delicious froth.
Their affair is hysterically PG rated. He accidentally has to hold her and is embarrassed by his physical reactions. She finds herself swooning over his kisses. He brushes his lips over her ears. "Someone has neglected your education, my little peony." Then she has to put him in his place for underestimating her fortitude, again. Together they defeat the villains, and in a final spat he says "Eva, I have no right to ask you to remain here when there's a good chance I'll be killed in this war." She bats him with her fan and replies, "How dare you misunderstand my character after all these months, Mr, Drake? I can face danger as well as you can." Then he asks her to marry him. Delicious froth.
EARTH MADE OF GLASS, by JOHN BARNES
In the 24th century man has created over a thousand new cultures in space, most of them artificial, idealized recreations of extinct Earth ones. Almost all the good real estate is gone, and new cultures battle for marginally habitable worlds. One of these is Briand, with heavy gravity, extreme heat, and a poisonous atmosphere. The only land masses available are Greenland sized islands which rise up into breathable air.
But the real hellishness of Briand is not its climate, it's the ethnic violence of its two cultures, the resurrected pseudo “Maya” and the poet culture of the Tamil.Although the two cultures are viciously opposed, they have each created beautiful cities. It's as though Bosnians built the Sun Palace, and the Serbs the Taj Mahal. A volcanic explosion has destroyed most of the Maya space and they are wedged into part of the largest Tamil city; acts of violence are more common here than in any other inhabited world
Into this volatile situation come Giraut and Margaret Leones, career diplomats who struggle to keep the planet from wrenching apart into outright war. They soak up each culture and entreat each side to seek peace. Margaret and Giraut's marriage is similarly being wrenched apart and neither can communicate with each other. As the Science Fiction Chronicle wrote, “the ending is both surprising and unsurprising, and to understand that paradox you'll have to read this exciting novel for yourself.” The novel is achingly beautiful and one which will remain with me for a long time.
But the real hellishness of Briand is not its climate, it's the ethnic violence of its two cultures, the resurrected pseudo “Maya” and the poet culture of the Tamil.Although the two cultures are viciously opposed, they have each created beautiful cities. It's as though Bosnians built the Sun Palace, and the Serbs the Taj Mahal. A volcanic explosion has destroyed most of the Maya space and they are wedged into part of the largest Tamil city; acts of violence are more common here than in any other inhabited world
Into this volatile situation come Giraut and Margaret Leones, career diplomats who struggle to keep the planet from wrenching apart into outright war. They soak up each culture and entreat each side to seek peace. Margaret and Giraut's marriage is similarly being wrenched apart and neither can communicate with each other. As the Science Fiction Chronicle wrote, “the ending is both surprising and unsurprising, and to understand that paradox you'll have to read this exciting novel for yourself.” The novel is achingly beautiful and one which will remain with me for a long time.
Friday, December 10, 2010
DEATHSTALKER, SIMON GREEN
Yet a third series from Simon Green is this fun space opera. One minute aristocrat Owen Deathstalker of Virimonde is reclining on his silk sheets, and the next he's running for his life, outlawed by Empress Lionstone. His estates and wealth vanish and people he's known for years are trying to kill him. For the first time he calls up his family's internal “boost” powers whose synthetic adrenalin hormones allow him to fight superhumanly for a short while. He's rescued by an outlaw spaceship pirate, Hazel, who escorts him to the icy planet Mistworld, hellhole and rebel planet. This mild historian reluctantly emerges as the warrior his father always wanted. He assembles a rag-taggle crew who will help him face the Empire.
Back on Virimonde the wealthy court Families indulge in intrigues, dynastic marriages, and literal backstabbing. There are Masked Gladiators with secret Family ties, debauched fops, and plotters of murderous vendettas. I especially love Valentine Wolfe, a drug-addled dandy who, faced with a forced marriage, calmly asks his father if he can wear white. With a veil.
This book closely follows the pattern of Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey outline. Owen's ORDINARY WORLD is Virimonde, and he's CALLED TO ADVENTURE when he is outlawed. He REFUSES THE CALL when, bewildered, he runs for his life. Hazel is his MENTOR and he CROSSES THE THRESHOLD with her when they blast off the planet. He acquires ALLIES and ENEMIES and faces TESTS, growing in strength. I must find every one of this delicious series.
Back on Virimonde the wealthy court Families indulge in intrigues, dynastic marriages, and literal backstabbing. There are Masked Gladiators with secret Family ties, debauched fops, and plotters of murderous vendettas. I especially love Valentine Wolfe, a drug-addled dandy who, faced with a forced marriage, calmly asks his father if he can wear white. With a veil.
This book closely follows the pattern of Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey outline. Owen's ORDINARY WORLD is Virimonde, and he's CALLED TO ADVENTURE when he is outlawed. He REFUSES THE CALL when, bewildered, he runs for his life. Hazel is his MENTOR and he CROSSES THE THRESHOLD with her when they blast off the planet. He acquires ALLIES and ENEMIES and faces TESTS, growing in strength. I must find every one of this delicious series.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
TRAILER FOR VAMPIRES SUCK
I just saw the hilarious trailer for this parody of the TWILIGHT series--who cares how good the movie really is? Bella is riding the roads of Washington, musing "I feel so safe with you," when she nearly runs over Edward Cullen and crashes her motorcycle. In the second scene she confronts the Jacob Black look-alike. "Why did you just take your shirt off?" "It's in my contract--I have to do it every ten minutes of screen time." Lastly, she hovers over Edward Cullen, breathing "Let's go all the way." Cullen hastily points out, "Purity Ring," as he avoids her.
I had neglected the TWILIGHT series due to its teen orientation, but I'm glad I read it now. It's always good to be aware of the pop-cultural zeitgeist, and know whether you're Team Edward or Team Jacob.
I had neglected the TWILIGHT series due to its teen orientation, but I'm glad I read it now. It's always good to be aware of the pop-cultural zeitgeist, and know whether you're Team Edward or Team Jacob.
TV SERIES, THE BIG BANG THEORY
When I first heard the premise of BIG BANG, four geeks with a normal girl next door, I didn't want to watch it. I'm fairly geeky myself, and didn't want to see science put down. But after my first viewing, I've become a great fan.
Set in Pasadena, California, the show is centered around five characters: two roommate Caltech geniuses, Leonard, who works with lasers and Sheldon, a theoretical physicist. Their neighbor across the hall is Penny, an attractive blonde, and their equally nerdy and socially awkward Caltech friends are Howard and Rajesh. Unlike NUM3ERS crime-solving Charlie Eppes, the four friend's science careers are inconsequential backgrounds for the storyline. It's more important to know that Leonard and Penny used to hookup, but she rejected him when he told her he loved her.
The dweebiness of the four guys is contrasted for comic effect with Penny's social skills and common sense. The show's real star is Sheldon, an Asperger poster child, who's played by the stork-like Jim Parsons. In one scene Penny makes a snide remark, and Sheldon says, "I THINK I am hearing sarcasm from Penny." When confirmed, he says, "Aha! I'm 8 for 26 this month!"
In another priceless scene Penny drives Sheldon and Amy Farrah Fowler, Sheldon's female counterpart, to their first date, and vainly tries to get them talking. Every topic falls flat until the pair begin to calculate the number of Penny's sexual partners from the frequency of her dates and “loud noises and references to a Deity.” “Oh God,” she moans, and the pair continue. They are now talking happily while cluelessly mortifying Penny. This is a real jewel of a show. Watch it.
Leonard--Johnny Galecki Sheldon; Jim Parsons. Penny-Kaley Cuoco; Rajesh--Kunal Nayyar. Howard--Simon Helberg; Amy Farrah Fowler--Mayim Bialik.
Set in Pasadena, California, the show is centered around five characters: two roommate Caltech geniuses, Leonard, who works with lasers and Sheldon, a theoretical physicist. Their neighbor across the hall is Penny, an attractive blonde, and their equally nerdy and socially awkward Caltech friends are Howard and Rajesh. Unlike NUM3ERS crime-solving Charlie Eppes, the four friend's science careers are inconsequential backgrounds for the storyline. It's more important to know that Leonard and Penny used to hookup, but she rejected him when he told her he loved her.
The dweebiness of the four guys is contrasted for comic effect with Penny's social skills and common sense. The show's real star is Sheldon, an Asperger poster child, who's played by the stork-like Jim Parsons. In one scene Penny makes a snide remark, and Sheldon says, "I THINK I am hearing sarcasm from Penny." When confirmed, he says, "Aha! I'm 8 for 26 this month!"
In another priceless scene Penny drives Sheldon and Amy Farrah Fowler, Sheldon's female counterpart, to their first date, and vainly tries to get them talking. Every topic falls flat until the pair begin to calculate the number of Penny's sexual partners from the frequency of her dates and “loud noises and references to a Deity.” “Oh God,” she moans, and the pair continue. They are now talking happily while cluelessly mortifying Penny. This is a real jewel of a show. Watch it.
Leonard--Johnny Galecki Sheldon; Jim Parsons. Penny-Kaley Cuoco; Rajesh--Kunal Nayyar. Howard--Simon Helberg; Amy Farrah Fowler--Mayim Bialik.
THE SPY WHO HAUNTED ME, BY SIMON R. GREEN
This second series from Simon Green takes its snarky titles from James Bond movies. Besides SPY, there are also DAEMONS ARE FOREVER and FROM HELL WITH LOVE. Green's hero, Edwin Drood, aka Shaman Bond, takes his name, but nothing else, from Charles Dickens' unfinished novel.
Edwin's secretive family, who used to be the Druids, has spent centuries defending humanity. Their power comes from the golden torcs they wear. When activated, the torcs can shield them from magic, call up a Sight, and beat the crap out of murderous aliens, among other powers. Edwin has distanced himself from his family's manipulations, but he's recalled to retrieve a dying superagent's secrets.
Nearly invincible, when he has to travel to the Nightside, the nightmarish heart of London, he's unsettled, off-balance. He hates the Nightside's miasma of “loud, sleazy, bright color ...like standing on a city street in hell.” “Anything is permitted, everything is for sale,...and no one will stop you or call you to account. Or rescue you when things go bad.” He aches to call up his armor and bring justice and retribution. Of course, that's why Droods are never allowed into the Nightside.
It's that same amoral sleaziness which attracts John Taylor. “Bright neon gleamed everywhere, sharp and gaudy...an endless come-on to suckers and victims and lonely souls. Sex licked its lips and cocked a hip. It was all dangerous as hell and twice as much fun. Damn, it was good to be back.”
Drood is ultimately less interesting than Taylor not just from his tendency to self-righteousness, but because he has fewer tricks and skills. The repetitiveness of “I called up my golden armor” finally lead me to imagine Drood as the Oscar Statuette. I enjoyed Edwin Drood, but I love John Taylor. He is one of the good guys who WILL rescue you from the Nightside.
Edwin's secretive family, who used to be the Druids, has spent centuries defending humanity. Their power comes from the golden torcs they wear. When activated, the torcs can shield them from magic, call up a Sight, and beat the crap out of murderous aliens, among other powers. Edwin has distanced himself from his family's manipulations, but he's recalled to retrieve a dying superagent's secrets.
Nearly invincible, when he has to travel to the Nightside, the nightmarish heart of London, he's unsettled, off-balance. He hates the Nightside's miasma of “loud, sleazy, bright color ...like standing on a city street in hell.” “Anything is permitted, everything is for sale,...and no one will stop you or call you to account. Or rescue you when things go bad.” He aches to call up his armor and bring justice and retribution. Of course, that's why Droods are never allowed into the Nightside.
It's that same amoral sleaziness which attracts John Taylor. “Bright neon gleamed everywhere, sharp and gaudy...an endless come-on to suckers and victims and lonely souls. Sex licked its lips and cocked a hip. It was all dangerous as hell and twice as much fun. Damn, it was good to be back.”
Drood is ultimately less interesting than Taylor not just from his tendency to self-righteousness, but because he has fewer tricks and skills. The repetitiveness of “I called up my golden armor” finally lead me to imagine Drood as the Oscar Statuette. I enjoyed Edwin Drood, but I love John Taylor. He is one of the good guys who WILL rescue you from the Nightside.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
SOMETHING FROM THE NIGHTSIDE, Simon R. Green
I first encountered Simon Green and his hero john Taylor in the SF Anthology MEAN STREETS, which I purchased for the Jim Butcher/Dresden files story THE WARRIOR. I loved the tale of the deranged and horrifying Nightside of London, where every sin, degradation, vice and desire can be found, and where dwells every monster, demon, and things not yet classified. And someone's graffiti "has misspelled Chthulhu, as usual." A street gang of punks wearing fake demon horns is actually a real band of demons masquerading as a street gang, but they're probably on day release. Humans can have sex with machines, a dead nun will show off her stigmata and an angel trapped inside a pentacle burns forever.
We know we're in for real horror when Taylor says he's seen a werewolf skinned and eaten by the Salvation Army sisters, whose motto is "Save them all and let God sort them out." Taylor's ambiguous friends include Razor Eddie, who rescues him from nightmares he's sent Taylor's way, and Death Boy, forever young, with his symbiotic race car which can handle any marauder and outrun anything.
John Taylor can find things, anything, by using his third eye, his "private eye." Why did no one come up with that joke before? Probably because there are few traditionally trench-coated PI's treading the mean streets of hell itself. This book starts, of course, with a beautiful dame coming into his seedy office, needing him to find her daughter. He'll charge her triple, and then wish it were more, to return to the Nightside he left five years before. I expect great things of this writer.
...Which, with a little more Googling, I find is like saying I think we'll see more of this Stephen King guy. Green has published at least forty novels in multiple different series. He's one of the most prolific SF authors ever.
We know we're in for real horror when Taylor says he's seen a werewolf skinned and eaten by the Salvation Army sisters, whose motto is "Save them all and let God sort them out." Taylor's ambiguous friends include Razor Eddie, who rescues him from nightmares he's sent Taylor's way, and Death Boy, forever young, with his symbiotic race car which can handle any marauder and outrun anything.
John Taylor can find things, anything, by using his third eye, his "private eye." Why did no one come up with that joke before? Probably because there are few traditionally trench-coated PI's treading the mean streets of hell itself. This book starts, of course, with a beautiful dame coming into his seedy office, needing him to find her daughter. He'll charge her triple, and then wish it were more, to return to the Nightside he left five years before. I expect great things of this writer.
...Which, with a little more Googling, I find is like saying I think we'll see more of this Stephen King guy. Green has published at least forty novels in multiple different series. He's one of the most prolific SF authors ever.
FLINX'S FOLLY, by Alan Dean Foster
Pip and Flinx are two of my favorite characters in all science fiction. Flinx (Phillip Lynx) first surfaces as an orphan boy on frontier planet Moth. He has an unusual mental talent which allows him to sense other's emotions. He acquires a companion, the flying snake, Pip, with whom he has an empathic bond, and who defends him with a venomous spray. I love Flinx, and marvel at his increasing powers. He eventually did a favor for an alien species for which he is opulently rewarded with his own starship.
It was disappointing, then, to see Foster use the lazy literary device of deux ex machina. Flinx, newly re-united with his old flame Clarity, has escaped two attackers sent by Clarity's suitor, and then is drugged by a third set. Since Flinx had demonstrated remarkable powers even if he appeared to be unconscious, I anticipated his coming through again. Just in time two old friends, Bran Tse-Mallory and the alien Thranx "Tru" Truzenzuzex show up to shoot the villains. Bran and Tru have searched through many worlds and somehow happen on him exactly when they're needed. Pfui!
In a satisfying story, the hero must be tested as hard as possible, and then triumph through his own strength. He can have some aid, but the efforts must be his own.
Harry Potter can destroy Voldemort, but he needs all his friends and allies in Hogwarts to battle the rest of the death eaters.
This is sloppy writing, and it kept me from finishing, let alone enjoying, the rest of the book. I expected better of such a prolific writer.
It was disappointing, then, to see Foster use the lazy literary device of deux ex machina. Flinx, newly re-united with his old flame Clarity, has escaped two attackers sent by Clarity's suitor, and then is drugged by a third set. Since Flinx had demonstrated remarkable powers even if he appeared to be unconscious, I anticipated his coming through again. Just in time two old friends, Bran Tse-Mallory and the alien Thranx "Tru" Truzenzuzex show up to shoot the villains. Bran and Tru have searched through many worlds and somehow happen on him exactly when they're needed. Pfui!
In a satisfying story, the hero must be tested as hard as possible, and then triumph through his own strength. He can have some aid, but the efforts must be his own.
Harry Potter can destroy Voldemort, but he needs all his friends and allies in Hogwarts to battle the rest of the death eaters.
This is sloppy writing, and it kept me from finishing, let alone enjoying, the rest of the book. I expected better of such a prolific writer.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
HEARTLAND, by Mark Teppo
Mark Teppo's quotes about HEARTLAND, the second novel in CODES OF SOULS:"The little mantra I hummed to myself while I was writing was: “Men and Mantras/Shotguns and Sigils.” I was going to write an urban fantasy book without vampires, lycanthropes, zombies, angels, or demons.
"Anyway, we kill a lot of our monsters every year in the fiction we read. By making them desirable, we defang them. We take away what is terrifying about them when we transform them into sex objects, as we convince ourselves that we are mastering our fear of the unknown. But are we?"
Desirable as the idea of a w-v free urban fantasy is, HEARTLAND is hard going.The main character, magus Michael Markham is a "Lightbreaker," who can take souls into his "Chorus," the internal voices which guide and confuse him. He's returning to Paris where he was nearly killed,and suddenly finds himself in the middle of a war where magi battles to become Hierarch, the top man of the mysterious organization. Michael accesses his tarot cards endlessly, but they give no helpful results.
These guys are apparently descendants of the Templars, and they may possibly be searching for the Holy Grail. Or not. It's sort of like THE DAVINCI CODE, with more deaths, only boring. The setup is interesting, but it goes nowhere. Markham is passive, takes no action on his own, and is pushed this way and that both by the Chorus, and his ex-and-future girlfriend, Marielle, who may be his enemy as well. Reading this in the same week as ANATHEM is very heavy going. I am going back to DEADER STILL, in the delightful Anton Strout series. This and the Gail Carriger "PARASOL PROTECTORATE " series are the antidote to this bloated story.
"Anyway, we kill a lot of our monsters every year in the fiction we read. By making them desirable, we defang them. We take away what is terrifying about them when we transform them into sex objects, as we convince ourselves that we are mastering our fear of the unknown. But are we?"
Desirable as the idea of a w-v free urban fantasy is, HEARTLAND is hard going.The main character, magus Michael Markham is a "Lightbreaker," who can take souls into his "Chorus," the internal voices which guide and confuse him. He's returning to Paris where he was nearly killed,and suddenly finds himself in the middle of a war where magi battles to become Hierarch, the top man of the mysterious organization. Michael accesses his tarot cards endlessly, but they give no helpful results.
These guys are apparently descendants of the Templars, and they may possibly be searching for the Holy Grail. Or not. It's sort of like THE DAVINCI CODE, with more deaths, only boring. The setup is interesting, but it goes nowhere. Markham is passive, takes no action on his own, and is pushed this way and that both by the Chorus, and his ex-and-future girlfriend, Marielle, who may be his enemy as well. Reading this in the same week as ANATHEM is very heavy going. I am going back to DEADER STILL, in the delightful Anton Strout series. This and the Gail Carriger "PARASOL PROTECTORATE " series are the antidote to this bloated story.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
ANATHEM, by Neal Stephenson
When I picked up this 932 page science fiction tome, I hoped not to be disappointed by Stephenson again. In several of his novels, especially the dazzling THE DIAMOND AGE, the opening is marvelous, but the ending is weak, vague, and uncertain. Unfortunately, ANATHEM follows this pattern.
AMATHEM has a bright beginning, as a not-quite priest from a not-quite monastery quizzes a town resident about secular changes since the last opening of the concent/monastery ten years ago. Erasmus, an acolyte of the science based monastery, is taking notes of this humorous encounter. It's only much later that we learn that this seemingly innocent conversation ignites a catastrophic sequence for the monastery's six-thousand year old way of life. Great stuff. Erasmus is a wonderful protagonist whose coming of age story takes him from his Middle Ages life to space age technology.
Stephenson hides his literally earth-shaking events in incredible amounts of exposition. Several times there are more than fourteen pages without a word of dialog. Besides the length, the book is heavy going, as the scientist-priests are in love with philosophy, quantum physics, and mathematics. Good editing could have saved this potentially amazing book.
AMATHEM has a bright beginning, as a not-quite priest from a not-quite monastery quizzes a town resident about secular changes since the last opening of the concent/monastery ten years ago. Erasmus, an acolyte of the science based monastery, is taking notes of this humorous encounter. It's only much later that we learn that this seemingly innocent conversation ignites a catastrophic sequence for the monastery's six-thousand year old way of life. Great stuff. Erasmus is a wonderful protagonist whose coming of age story takes him from his Middle Ages life to space age technology.
Stephenson hides his literally earth-shaking events in incredible amounts of exposition. Several times there are more than fourteen pages without a word of dialog. Besides the length, the book is heavy going, as the scientist-priests are in love with philosophy, quantum physics, and mathematics. Good editing could have saved this potentially amazing book.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
VOCABULARY. Commentary, CeeViews
In the splendid Alexis Tarabotti "Parasol Protectorate" series, Gail Carriger introduces three new words. The "clavigers," caretakers of the werewolves and agents for their daylight activities, derive their name from "key carrier, or club bearer." That's another twist on werewolf life. Like vampires, they cannot operate during the day. Werewolves aren't burned up by sunlight, and very strong, older werewolves can tolerate it for a few days, but they are mostly comatose. This is an odd limitation.
Where DO they get these ideas? I'm still smiling about fairies and lemon, from the Charlaine Harris TRUE BLOOD series.
Also new is the Dewan position of the Shadow Council, supernaturals who advise Queen Victoria. That word, too, has a long history, and means council member or leader. The word divan is actually derived from dewan because seats of this long cushioned type were found in ancient Arabic council changers. I am unable to track down the meaning of "muhjah," Alexia's title in the council. It appears to be a Muslim name, "heart's blood," or "soul." Is Carriger teasing us with the soulless Alexia having this position? Regardless, these meet my test of great new vocabulary words. I'm thinking about trying dewan the next time I play Scrabble.
Where DO they get these ideas? I'm still smiling about fairies and lemon, from the Charlaine Harris TRUE BLOOD series.
Also new is the Dewan position of the Shadow Council, supernaturals who advise Queen Victoria. That word, too, has a long history, and means council member or leader. The word divan is actually derived from dewan because seats of this long cushioned type were found in ancient Arabic council changers. I am unable to track down the meaning of "muhjah," Alexia's title in the council. It appears to be a Muslim name, "heart's blood," or "soul." Is Carriger teasing us with the soulless Alexia having this position? Regardless, these meet my test of great new vocabulary words. I'm thinking about trying dewan the next time I play Scrabble.
COMMENTARY, THE NEW COZIES, by CeeViews.
The proliferation of supernatural series astonishes me.I'm now up to fourteen series. What happened to the super-woman independent PI's of only a generation ago? Of course the immense popularity of Buffy helped, but there was also INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, and the ANN RICE series. Today, although supernatural tales must, by standard definitions, have horrifying moments, the terror is quite dialed down. The Gail Carriger ALEXIA TARABOTTI (MACCON) series is not a great deal scarier than AMELIA PEABODY EMERSON. Indeed, there is more apprehension and dread when Ramses, Amelia's son, spies for England in WWI Egypt.
These last two series have many cozy features. Simon Canderous is an investigator, but for a government agency, and he fears his paperwork more than the living dead. Alexis lives with a werewolf and has no soul, but her Victorian observations are a huge send up much funnier than Amelia's. She has dreary and wittering relatives who must marry for position, not dissimilar to the JANE AUSTEN ladies. The supernatural and predatory has become often funny and by familiarity has devolved into a nearly cozy style. And I like cozies, and heroines refreshed by a good cup of tea.
These last two series have many cozy features. Simon Canderous is an investigator, but for a government agency, and he fears his paperwork more than the living dead. Alexis lives with a werewolf and has no soul, but her Victorian observations are a huge send up much funnier than Amelia's. She has dreary and wittering relatives who must marry for position, not dissimilar to the JANE AUSTEN ladies. The supernatural and predatory has become often funny and by familiarity has devolved into a nearly cozy style. And I like cozies, and heroines refreshed by a good cup of tea.
CHANGELESS, by Gail Carriger
In yet another w-v series, Alexia, Lady Maccon, is the wife of Lord Maccon, a London based werewolf. Alexia is a strange preternatural creature, a curse-breaker who can turn weres and vamps mortal with just a touch. Also, she's missing a soul. Her acerbic point of view is wonderful. The voluptuous Alexia has a figure unsuitable for Victorians, but her husband enjoys it thoroughly. The physical relationship between Alexia and Lord Maccon is as enthusiastic as that of Amelia Peabody Emerson and Radcliffe Emerson in the celebrated Elizabeth Peters series. And Alexia is as deadly with her parasol as the formidable Amelia, whacking the weres to command their attention.
Disaster follows when a strange event plagues the London supernatural community. None of the supernaturals can change form and are trapped as mortal humans. They have lost their invulnerability and face sudden death. Lord Maccon dashes away to fight this catastrophe, leaving Alexia to find and follow him. The werewolf dominance struggles which follow are less interesting. They were enlightening in the Carrie Vaugh "Kittie" series, but are now tedious.
The supernaturals slot into Victorian England in unique ways. They are more or less accepted, and Queen Victoria profits greatly by "her vampire advisers and her werewolf warriors." The East India company is vampire controlled. I knew it! Bloodsuckers if I ever saw any! Enjoy this romp.
Disaster follows when a strange event plagues the London supernatural community. None of the supernaturals can change form and are trapped as mortal humans. They have lost their invulnerability and face sudden death. Lord Maccon dashes away to fight this catastrophe, leaving Alexia to find and follow him. The werewolf dominance struggles which follow are less interesting. They were enlightening in the Carrie Vaugh "Kittie" series, but are now tedious.
The supernaturals slot into Victorian England in unique ways. They are more or less accepted, and Queen Victoria profits greatly by "her vampire advisers and her werewolf warriors." The East India company is vampire controlled. I knew it! Bloodsuckers if I ever saw any! Enjoy this romp.
DEAD TO ME, Anton Strout
In a refreshing change from the usual w-v's this supernatural novel stars Simon Canderous, a psychometrist in New York. He can tell the history of an object by touching it. This helped him in his previous life as an antiques appraiser/petty thief, but was disastrous in the romance department. (I wonder if this is where Lovejoy gets his talents.) Now Canderous has reformed and is an agent of the Department of Extraordinary Affairs. As a government employee, he faces departmental as well as supernatural hell. His in-box is always overflowing, and his field operations are complicated by the amount of paperwork they generate.
In this debut novel he encounters a lovely lady in distress and is quick to help her. Her problem, however, is that she's dead and doesn't know it. Simon's pursuit leads him to the Sectarian Defense League. Even than though it's an agency authorized by the mayor, it's a front for cults. I love the mayor's Office of Plausible Deniability, and the way that mundane humans refuse to see supernatural activity. I'm sure that's the way I'd respond, if I were charged by an angry ghost. A fun new series!
In this debut novel he encounters a lovely lady in distress and is quick to help her. Her problem, however, is that she's dead and doesn't know it. Simon's pursuit leads him to the Sectarian Defense League. Even than though it's an agency authorized by the mayor, it's a front for cults. I love the mayor's Office of Plausible Deniability, and the way that mundane humans refuse to see supernatural activity. I'm sure that's the way I'd respond, if I were charged by an angry ghost. A fun new series!
COMMENTARY, Physics of the supernatural CeeViews
In the last posting I praised Poul Andersen for sticking to normal physics in his alternative world. By the same token, one of the the things I hate about the Briggs-Mercy Thompson world is the flouting of natural laws. Humans gain about fifty pounds when they take their werewolf form, for unknown reasons. And in a greater discrepancy, Mercy's coyote form weighs no more than a real coyote, about 40 pounds. Briggs blithely asserts that "this is magic, not science." I think her reason may be to explore coyote-wolf relationships, with the tinier coyote being more nimble as well as sneakier. Still rotten physics.This is the only series I've found where matter relationships are ignored.
OPERATION CHAOS, by Poul Andersen.
The original were story.The courageous werewolf Steve Matuchek and his red-headed witch girlfriend, the talented Virginia Graylock, push back the enemy during a sortie in World War II—the Caliph's War. Andersen's opening is delicious, as the enemy is in control of the weather and throwing the troops a week of cold punishing rain. “Meanwhile, we slogged ahead...the pride of the United States army, turned into a wet misery of men and dragons hunting through the Oregon hills for the invader.” Two sentences later Andersen provides another lively observation. “Our sentries were, of course, wearing Tarnkappen, but I could see their footprints form in the mud and hear the boots squelch and the tired monotonous cursing.” The ramifications of this alternative history are great fun. Magic exists, but follows normal physical laws. And humans are always the same.
The physics of this world is least as fascinating as the adventures. Matter and energy can neither be created or destroyed. Therefore, Steve weighs the same when werewolf or human, and when basilisks change men into stone, the carbon-to-silicon reaction gives off a radioactive isotope. In the second novella of this series, Steve chases away a fiery salamander with the water-burning properties of magnesium and thereby boosts the salary of the tiny physical sciences department. The third novella finds the Graylock-Matuchek family harrowing the skewed geometries of hell with a brilliant mathematician ally. This last novella is the most poignant, with a kidnapping and a soul to rescue. I have never seen the supernatural world handled more deftly.
The physics of this world is least as fascinating as the adventures. Matter and energy can neither be created or destroyed. Therefore, Steve weighs the same when werewolf or human, and when basilisks change men into stone, the carbon-to-silicon reaction gives off a radioactive isotope. In the second novella of this series, Steve chases away a fiery salamander with the water-burning properties of magnesium and thereby boosts the salary of the tiny physical sciences department. The third novella finds the Graylock-Matuchek family harrowing the skewed geometries of hell with a brilliant mathematician ally. This last novella is the most poignant, with a kidnapping and a soul to rescue. I have never seen the supernatural world handled more deftly.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
WEREWOLVES AND VAMPIRES—an astonishing eleven series
1.PATRICIA BRIGGS
Mercy Thompson: Volkswagen mechanic, coyote shapeshifter
2.CHARLAINE HARRIS
Sookie Stackhouse:A waitress and medium
3.CARRIE VAUGHN:
Kitty Norville:A radio show personality
4.STEPHENIE MEYER
Bella, in the Twilight series:A mopey high school student
5.CHRISTOPHER MOORE
Vampires of San Francisco
LATEST NARRATOR:ABBY VON NORMAl, Emergency Backup Mistress of the Greater Bay Area
too many characters to name
no werewolves
6.JES BATTIS:
Heroine whose name I can't remember (bad sign)(Tess Corday)
an OSI-occult scene investigators
Vancouver, vampires, necromancers
no werewolves.
7.IONA AMDREWS
Kate Daniels:Magic/tech turmoil in Atlanta
were beast of all kinds
vampires as orcs.
9.JIM BUTCHER
Harry Dresden series:Chicago
Vampires as major players, at war with wizards
sexy monsters
Werewolves major characters,in Fool Moon
afterwards minor , but persistent players; the bumbling college-student pack lead by the childish Bill, who later grows up to be the powerful Will—almost the only friends Harry has
W-V'S AS SUPPORTING ACTORS
10.TERRY PRATCHETT, the Ankh-Morpork city cities
Angua is a beautiful girl loved by Captain Carrot Ironfounderson
several other supernatural minor, but memorable, characters, including the (not terribly competent vampire) watchperson Salacia and the soldier Malifient in Monstrous Regiment
Also, the Black Ribboner,Lady Margolotta may be the Patrician's lover
He certainly claims to have learned a lot from her when he was young
and who could forget Otto Chriek, the vampire photographer who crumbles to dust every time he uses a flash, but is willing to suffer for his art.
Hadn't realized how strongly drawn these characters are, as is almost ever major character in Discworld
Hadn't noticed it, but there's only one book in which the vamps are evil.
And one with Angua's family and her psychopath brother Wulf
11.J.K.ROWLING
Harry Potter series.
One werewolf, the beloved and poverty-stricken Professor Lupin, friend of Harry's father, nemesis of Severus Snape, very memorable
no vampires
12.SETH GRAHAM-SMITH
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Zombies, but a hugely funny member of this world
Mercy Thompson: Volkswagen mechanic, coyote shapeshifter
2.CHARLAINE HARRIS
Sookie Stackhouse:A waitress and medium
3.CARRIE VAUGHN:
Kitty Norville:A radio show personality
4.STEPHENIE MEYER
Bella, in the Twilight series:A mopey high school student
5.CHRISTOPHER MOORE
Vampires of San Francisco
LATEST NARRATOR:ABBY VON NORMAl, Emergency Backup Mistress of the Greater Bay Area
too many characters to name
no werewolves
6.JES BATTIS:
Heroine whose name I can't remember (bad sign)(Tess Corday)
an OSI-occult scene investigators
Vancouver, vampires, necromancers
no werewolves.
7.IONA AMDREWS
Kate Daniels:Magic/tech turmoil in Atlanta
were beast of all kinds
vampires as orcs.
9.JIM BUTCHER
Harry Dresden series:Chicago
Vampires as major players, at war with wizards
sexy monsters
Werewolves major characters,in Fool Moon
afterwards minor , but persistent players; the bumbling college-student pack lead by the childish Bill, who later grows up to be the powerful Will—almost the only friends Harry has
W-V'S AS SUPPORTING ACTORS
10.TERRY PRATCHETT, the Ankh-Morpork city cities
Angua is a beautiful girl loved by Captain Carrot Ironfounderson
several other supernatural minor, but memorable, characters, including the (not terribly competent vampire) watchperson Salacia and the soldier Malifient in Monstrous Regiment
Also, the Black Ribboner,Lady Margolotta may be the Patrician's lover
He certainly claims to have learned a lot from her when he was young
and who could forget Otto Chriek, the vampire photographer who crumbles to dust every time he uses a flash, but is willing to suffer for his art.
Hadn't realized how strongly drawn these characters are, as is almost ever major character in Discworld
Hadn't noticed it, but there's only one book in which the vamps are evil.
And one with Angua's family and her psychopath brother Wulf
11.J.K.ROWLING
Harry Potter series.
One werewolf, the beloved and poverty-stricken Professor Lupin, friend of Harry's father, nemesis of Severus Snape, very memorable
no vampires
12.SETH GRAHAM-SMITH
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Zombies, but a hugely funny member of this world
MOON CALLED, by Patricia Briggs
Patricia's Briggs series is an exciting addition to the werewolf-vampire world .Her heroine Mercedes “Mercy” Thompson, a Volkswagen mechanic by trade and a coyote shapeshifter. She was fostered by the werewolf pack in Spokane until Bran Carter, the Marrock, leader of all Northwestern werewolves, cast her out when she was sixteen and in love with his son Samuel. (Marrock, a wonderful new vocabulary word, is old English word for a knight who was thought to be a werewolf).
Now she is next door neighbors with Adam Hauptman, leader of a pack a few hundred miles south of her original clan. Mercy's built a life for herself because she doesn't need a pack, unlike weres. Mercy finds Adam attractive, but her mischievous coyote side playfully resists his attempts to dominate her.
Then Adam's human daughter Jessie, is kidnapped, several of Adam's pack are killed, and Adam disappears on the hunt for Jessie. Mercy is forced to look to the Marrock for help. Back in the pack's territory, she encounters Dr. Wallace, the kind old veterinarian who cared for all the weres. His werewolf son has Changed him in order to beat his brain cancer. Now young and healthy, his calm and loving personality has vanished. He's aggressive and viciously quick-tempered, like all weres, and barely restrains his violent tendencies. If he can't get control of his wolf soon, the Marrock will have to kill him for the safety of the pack. The Marrock has his own agenda as he plans to reveal the werewolves to the public light.
Mercy rouses the Marrock's pack to the fight for Adam and Jessie. In the process she uncovers the truths about Samuel and the werewolves' desperate struggles to create families.
MOONCALLED is a fascinating new exploration of the supernatural genre.
Now she is next door neighbors with Adam Hauptman, leader of a pack a few hundred miles south of her original clan. Mercy's built a life for herself because she doesn't need a pack, unlike weres. Mercy finds Adam attractive, but her mischievous coyote side playfully resists his attempts to dominate her.
Then Adam's human daughter Jessie, is kidnapped, several of Adam's pack are killed, and Adam disappears on the hunt for Jessie. Mercy is forced to look to the Marrock for help. Back in the pack's territory, she encounters Dr. Wallace, the kind old veterinarian who cared for all the weres. His werewolf son has Changed him in order to beat his brain cancer. Now young and healthy, his calm and loving personality has vanished. He's aggressive and viciously quick-tempered, like all weres, and barely restrains his violent tendencies. If he can't get control of his wolf soon, the Marrock will have to kill him for the safety of the pack. The Marrock has his own agenda as he plans to reveal the werewolves to the public light.
Mercy rouses the Marrock's pack to the fight for Adam and Jessie. In the process she uncovers the truths about Samuel and the werewolves' desperate struggles to create families.
MOONCALLED is a fascinating new exploration of the supernatural genre.
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