Yes, I did just post one. Yes, I really should be sleeping, otherwise Ill miss shakespare lecture tuesday for the......6th week running. Oh well....
Im reviewing one of my favourite series and for all of you that judge thusly, its manga. Run away now.
Namely, the manga series Rebirth. Actually, its Manwha, being korean, but still good.
Plenty of those amusing manga moments with facefaults and out-of-proportion mouth extensions.
Basically, the story starts of with a bunch of morons (professors of paranormality...yeah, they die, we can skip them) the daughter of one of them, and the exorcist hired to help them. It starts in a place in Europe which is nothing like eastern high carpathian dracula land. Really.
Monsters attack. Humans die horribly. One monster slain by exorcist (who is laughably weak) blah blah blah, vampire emerges from monsters remains. here is Deshwitat! Call him Desh.
after a few wellplaced manlove moments, Deshwitat saves the two girls. To do this, he has to suck the blood of the father of the aforementioned daughter, turning him into a soon-to-bezombie vampire. To avoid this, he burns him and turns him into The Dust Of Death. Yes, its corny, and so very TP, but it sounds better in Korean, I hope.
So, to explain - Deshwitat and his love, Lilith (bible abuse abounds btw) were killed by his once friend, Kalutika, who has recently become a god.
He now wishes to destroy the world. Hey, why not. Theres a big arc in volumes 5-12 which goes back in time to explain all the subtleties.....Enjoy the bits where it seems one of the male characters is wearing drag queen makeup. Also a great joke using the word "Dandy".
This is a fun, violently dark story with a lot of action, sexy costumes and interesting, if a tad predictable, plot twists. Ill now list its bad points.
Occasionally, bits just dont make sense. Secondly, at times its oversimplified or repetitive (Think alex's goldfish comment earlier)
Thirdly...character wise, its a mess. Some of them are great as cliches. some are great as against type. And some...generic. Probably the worst is the one I swore was a chick for 2 books....that was bad.
On the positives - theres a few great descriptions of love in it. And no, not all violent...ok, yeah, mostly. Some are possessive, some are protective, some are just plain strange (the old lady is a bit creepy!). It is, technically, a love story (so far, may change) and a mix of religions show up. Theres some really interesting costumes in it (which the author mocks in the extras) and I actually like the female characters.
So no one thinks Im misogynistic, I will explain this.
A: I doubt any of you can match me in my anime and manga nerdiness. If one of you has endeavoured to do so, then I aplogi- well, youll agree with me.
B: Manga females, unless its shoujo or such, are often crap. Fillers. Useful, amusing, but as people? No. Not always, but often.
So, I usually hate them. Or at least, the creators for them. Here, I liked them. Millenear is a vampire writers dream! Or nightmare, depending. In fact, now that i write this, its eerily creepizoiding how similar they are to us...
Overall, its readable, enjoyable, and emotionally amusing. Nothing heavy, but fun. If anyone in Chch wants to, ask me for all the english volumes released.
Tuesday, 27 May 2008
Well, how long has it been since I admitted I liked a romance novel? Such as say....Jane Eyre?
Its been a very very very long time. If such a time ever occured.
That has not changed. I hate this book! I despise it for a: existing and taking up valuable paper and b: becoming some sort of template to work with or against!
I swear, if anyone ever reads my works and says, "You know, this reminds me of Jane Eyre" or worse, "This writer clearly has taken Bronte into his work" (I have purposely ommited the e's thingyamabob) then I will honestly buy a gun.
Ok, a second gun. One that wont be traced to me. On to the book!
Dont ever read this for fun. If you must read it of your own volition, make it for a good cause,. like learning not to do. The language is archaic, and poor at that - Swift or Coleridge or such are better with it. The actual story is part whining part romance and part wannabe-matyr. Bad mix.
And lets not even go into the poorly chosen characters. So what if she's trying to avoid the stereotypes? All shes done is create mismatched features and a lack of cohesion. Her title character's strongest identifier is this strange idea of servitude and escape. Half the time, its a selfcreated cycle!
(Yes, I have read the damn thing)
This may be recorded as one of the key works in English literature. In fact, it is, by many of the same people who refuse to admit Poe is as well. So, what are its possible good points?
Feminist literature at its early stages. But its not.
A discussion of society at the time. Who really cares.
A womans heartrending tale of growing up in a world that hates her. Hell, you can watch that in reality. Hell, some of you lived that! (I was excluded on the grounds that no one considered my pain and suffering anything other then amusing.)
If I need to explain the plot of this then youre too interested. Dont, dont, dont read it. If you already have, forget it. Wide Sargasso Sea is considerably better.
And hey, wouldnt we all rather watch Valk make hot chocolate? Much the same..... ; P
Its been a very very very long time. If such a time ever occured.
That has not changed. I hate this book! I despise it for a: existing and taking up valuable paper and b: becoming some sort of template to work with or against!
I swear, if anyone ever reads my works and says, "You know, this reminds me of Jane Eyre" or worse, "This writer clearly has taken Bronte into his work" (I have purposely ommited the e's thingyamabob) then I will honestly buy a gun.
Ok, a second gun. One that wont be traced to me. On to the book!
Dont ever read this for fun. If you must read it of your own volition, make it for a good cause,. like learning not to do. The language is archaic, and poor at that - Swift or Coleridge or such are better with it. The actual story is part whining part romance and part wannabe-matyr. Bad mix.
And lets not even go into the poorly chosen characters. So what if she's trying to avoid the stereotypes? All shes done is create mismatched features and a lack of cohesion. Her title character's strongest identifier is this strange idea of servitude and escape. Half the time, its a selfcreated cycle!
(Yes, I have read the damn thing)
This may be recorded as one of the key works in English literature. In fact, it is, by many of the same people who refuse to admit Poe is as well. So, what are its possible good points?
Feminist literature at its early stages. But its not.
A discussion of society at the time. Who really cares.
A womans heartrending tale of growing up in a world that hates her. Hell, you can watch that in reality. Hell, some of you lived that! (I was excluded on the grounds that no one considered my pain and suffering anything other then amusing.)
If I need to explain the plot of this then youre too interested. Dont, dont, dont read it. If you already have, forget it. Wide Sargasso Sea is considerably better.
And hey, wouldnt we all rather watch Valk make hot chocolate? Much the same..... ; P
Monday, 31 March 2008
The Motorcycle Diaries: A Journey around South America - Ernesto ('Che') Guevara
The account of two Argentinian travellers exploring South America on a disaster prone motorbike is, I believe, interesting in itself, even if you don't know anything about Che Guevara. If this is the case, I'd suggest you either go and find out, or read this book first and see what you think of him before looking at the rest of the review, because I'm interested to know what sort of impression people get from it before they find out anything else about him. I haven't figured out where this review is going yet (as with the last three...) so please excuse me.
Guevara, a 23 year old medical student, leaves Buenos Aires on their motorcycle, 'La Poderosa II', in January of 1952 with his friend Alberto Granado, and returns home in September of that year minus both friend and bike. They pass through Chile, where the people are incredibly friendly, and Peru, where they get through a lot of sightseeing; then Colombia, and Venezuela. In this edition, at least, letters from Che Guevara to his parents are interspersed with his diary entries. I get the impression that these have been altered for publication, and of course it's inevitable that the translation isn't as direct as the original, but the entries are very readable - they're written with a sense of humour, and apparent honesty; Guevara doesn't hold back in telling of how they used their positions as 'doctors' to cadge meals or few nights' accomodation at the local hospitals, getting drunk and having to escape an enraged husband, their 'anniversary routine' - I hope you'll appreciate this so I'm putting it in:
"1. One of us says something in a loud voice immediately identifying us as Argentine, something with a che in it and other typical expressions and pronunciation. The victim asks where we're from and we strike up a conversation.
2. We begin our tale of woe but don't make too much of it, all the while staring into the distance.
3. Then I butt in and ask what the date is. Someone says it and Alberto sighs and says: 'What a coincidence, it was exactly a year ago.' The victim asks what was a year ago, and we reply that was when we started out on our trip.
4. Alberto, who is much more brazen than me, then heaves a tremendous sigh and says, 'Shame we're in such dire straits, we won't be able to celebrate' (he says this as a kind of aside to me). The victim immediately offers to pay, we pretend to refuse for a while saying we can't possibly pay him back, etc., then we finally accept.
5. After the first drink, I adamantly refuse another and Alberto makes fun of me. Our host gets annoyed and insists, I keep refusing but won't say why. The victim keeps asking until I confess, rather shamefacedly, that in Argentina it's the custom to eat when we drink. Just how much we eat depends on what we think we can get away with, but the technique never fails."
- Ernesto Che Guevara, 1995. The Motorcycle Diaries. 'Our hopes are dashed', p115-116. Verso: London.
Please excuse the rather long quotation and the referencing :P This is only one of the many things they come up with - a Kiwi OE seems so dull by comparison. An excellent thing about Che Guevara's writing is how ordinarily he treats his adventures (I'm not sure if this is what he actually thought - perhaps this is completely normal behaviour for South American guys in the 1950s - or if it's just a feature of his writing style); he doesn't try to excuse their actions, and writes very casually about recurrent asthma attacks, or about swimming across the Amazon to visit a leper colony.
You may have seen the film of The Motorcycle Diaries - it's good, although in some ways I think the book does more justice to the characters, being a first hand account. However, the movie does emphasise a lot of the material that Che Guevara downplays, for example the way they deal with the patients in the leper colony (normally, compared the way they're treated by the doctors and nuns), and works well in combination with the book.
Che Guevara's developing political and social views also come across to an extent - in his birthday speech at the leper colony, where he talks about a united South American identity, or when he writes of meeting a Communist couple in Chile '..what had burgeoned in him [the husband] was nothing more than the natural desire for a better life...' and the treatment of workers at a Chilean copper mine. He tells his mother about staying in a hospital in Colombia - '...by which I mean a chair to spend the night in. We aren't all that broke, but explorers of our stature would rather die than pay for the bourgeois comfort of a hostel.' Comments like these might not be entirely noticeable, though, unless you know more about his later life.
Well, I apologise profusely for the quality of the review, and all I can say now is that I strongly recommend you read this book (and watch the film), because they're humorous/entertaining, and thought-provoking; if you don't know much about South America they're also informative, and give an insight into the development of (I think) the world's most influential socialist revolutionary.
Guevara, a 23 year old medical student, leaves Buenos Aires on their motorcycle, 'La Poderosa II', in January of 1952 with his friend Alberto Granado, and returns home in September of that year minus both friend and bike. They pass through Chile, where the people are incredibly friendly, and Peru, where they get through a lot of sightseeing; then Colombia, and Venezuela. In this edition, at least, letters from Che Guevara to his parents are interspersed with his diary entries. I get the impression that these have been altered for publication, and of course it's inevitable that the translation isn't as direct as the original, but the entries are very readable - they're written with a sense of humour, and apparent honesty; Guevara doesn't hold back in telling of how they used their positions as 'doctors' to cadge meals or few nights' accomodation at the local hospitals, getting drunk and having to escape an enraged husband, their 'anniversary routine' - I hope you'll appreciate this so I'm putting it in:
"1. One of us says something in a loud voice immediately identifying us as Argentine, something with a che in it and other typical expressions and pronunciation. The victim asks where we're from and we strike up a conversation.
2. We begin our tale of woe but don't make too much of it, all the while staring into the distance.
3. Then I butt in and ask what the date is. Someone says it and Alberto sighs and says: 'What a coincidence, it was exactly a year ago.' The victim asks what was a year ago, and we reply that was when we started out on our trip.
4. Alberto, who is much more brazen than me, then heaves a tremendous sigh and says, 'Shame we're in such dire straits, we won't be able to celebrate' (he says this as a kind of aside to me). The victim immediately offers to pay, we pretend to refuse for a while saying we can't possibly pay him back, etc., then we finally accept.
5. After the first drink, I adamantly refuse another and Alberto makes fun of me. Our host gets annoyed and insists, I keep refusing but won't say why. The victim keeps asking until I confess, rather shamefacedly, that in Argentina it's the custom to eat when we drink. Just how much we eat depends on what we think we can get away with, but the technique never fails."
- Ernesto Che Guevara, 1995. The Motorcycle Diaries. 'Our hopes are dashed', p115-116. Verso: London.
Please excuse the rather long quotation and the referencing :P This is only one of the many things they come up with - a Kiwi OE seems so dull by comparison. An excellent thing about Che Guevara's writing is how ordinarily he treats his adventures (I'm not sure if this is what he actually thought - perhaps this is completely normal behaviour for South American guys in the 1950s - or if it's just a feature of his writing style); he doesn't try to excuse their actions, and writes very casually about recurrent asthma attacks, or about swimming across the Amazon to visit a leper colony.
You may have seen the film of The Motorcycle Diaries - it's good, although in some ways I think the book does more justice to the characters, being a first hand account. However, the movie does emphasise a lot of the material that Che Guevara downplays, for example the way they deal with the patients in the leper colony (normally, compared the way they're treated by the doctors and nuns), and works well in combination with the book.
Che Guevara's developing political and social views also come across to an extent - in his birthday speech at the leper colony, where he talks about a united South American identity, or when he writes of meeting a Communist couple in Chile '..what had burgeoned in him [the husband] was nothing more than the natural desire for a better life...' and the treatment of workers at a Chilean copper mine. He tells his mother about staying in a hospital in Colombia - '...by which I mean a chair to spend the night in. We aren't all that broke, but explorers of our stature would rather die than pay for the bourgeois comfort of a hostel.' Comments like these might not be entirely noticeable, though, unless you know more about his later life.
Well, I apologise profusely for the quality of the review, and all I can say now is that I strongly recommend you read this book (and watch the film), because they're humorous/entertaining, and thought-provoking; if you don't know much about South America they're also informative, and give an insight into the development of (I think) the world's most influential socialist revolutionary.
Wednesday, 26 March 2008
The Dreamers' Quartet - David & Leigh Eddings
The Dreamers Quartet: The Elder Gods, The Treasured One, Crystal Gorge, The Younger Gods
David & Leigh Eddings
David Eddings is undoubtedly one of the father-figures of fantasy fiction. He is commonly credited with inventing what is now known as “generic fantasy fiction.” As such his older works can seem a little stale and predictable if you have read vast quantities, but as the creator of it, he should still be applauded.
I wasn’t sure what this quartet would be like when I picked it up. Being Eddings I was well aware that it could be more of the same old same old. Yet from works such as The Redemption of Althalus I know it could be fantastically different.
I’ll get it out of the way now: I didn’t entirely like this series. It was relatively different to Eddings’ previous work, and had some interesting ideas flowing round in it, but it just didn’t sit right with me. I’ll get back to this point later.
Brief synopsis of the whole thing: On a planet somewhere out there in a universe is a continent called the
In the centre of this continent is a wasteland. It is ruled by something called the Vlagh. It is effectively a giant insect queen that tampers with genetics. Each time the insect nation come up against a problem the Vlagh goes into a cocoon and figures out what natural tools her next brood should be born with, and then lays a clutch accordingly. Unfortunately she is not bound by natural limitations to evolution so her children can be part mammalian, part insectoid, and so on. Anyway, like all good insects, basically their aim is to find more food, and grow the family. So their eyes have turned out of the Wasteland, beyond the encircling mountains, to the other parts of Dhrall. While the insects still only live for about 6 weeks at most, the Vlagh seems to be eternal, and directs her brood through an insect overmind setup.
Human life has not been going for all that long on Dhrall (still in the stone age more or less, some being tribal-hunting lands, some being farming communities) and the Gods become concerned about their wellbeing if the Vlagh is going to start attacking them. Thus they go overseas to find other more developed civilisations (who know about bronze, and iron etc) and recruit them all to fight in Dhrall. The Gods themselves are bound not to kill any creature, or perform activities that will knowingly bring about death – to Humans, animals, or the Vlagh’s brood – which is why they needed other people to fight for them.
Over the 4 books, 4 pivotal battles are fought against the Vlagh, with lots of extra stuff happening around them. The plot in general is rather cool, with clever conventions and twists to keep it interesting. There is a little too much dues ex machina but that’s only to be expected when you have 4+ gods involved in the world.
The characters are very Eddings typical characters. They are painted with very broad strokes. One race all seem pretty much the same except for a few characters with extra colour running through their personality. The next race can be completely different to the first, but all the same within their community. All these conflicting personalities are thrown together to overcome the big issues. It’s something that works well for Eddings.
It makes for a fair quartet. Not bad reading, and once you start you will want to know the end. But I’m just hazarding that you may want to spare yourself some pain and not bother entirely. It’s up to you.
I will say this before I start moaning. The first book was really good. Truly it was fantastic. It hooked me enough to want to read the rest of the series no matter how bad as I wanted to know the conclusion. Books 2-4 were sloppy, and not as tight or well prepared.
Now on to my gripes: My biggest one is that the storyline repeats itself. I’m not just meaning that the same things happen in each situation, I am literally meaning that you keep getting the same plot happening in exactly the same time.
Why? Somewhere between writing the first and second books the Eddings’ decided that character development could be furthered much better if we got to see the past (and present!) that moulded them. As such the reader is subjected to frequent detours and repetitious material for both main characters and minors. They’re not simply: Hold up! When this dude was young his life was like this…
They go further than that and you end up reading about the same battles, the same meetings, and the same journeys multiple times.
Now I accept this was an attempt to show that different people see situations differently depending on their upbringing and process of evolution, but it’s BORING. It could have been done well, but in my opinion it wasn’t. Hearing the same guy describe the plot of the previous books from 3-4 different points of view is not cool! It’s not needed. Hell I just read the previous books! Please don’t treat me like a moron with a 5 second attention span and the short term memory of a goldfish! Reading about the deep past is useful, reading internal responses to the current situations is also interesting, but having them simply relate the same narrative of events with only a couple of personal thoughts about it is not good.
Frankly it ruined what could have been a really good series. Sorry.
The transitions between 3rd and 1st person narrative is also choppy and unpleasant at times. There was no 1st person in book 1. It came in in book 2, and that was about when I started to think “uh-oh.”
Maybe it’s just me. Perhaps I wasn’t in the right frame of mind for the books, or not the targeted audience. Maybe you should read them to see what they’re like first-hand, as my response is evidently shrouded in distaste and bias. They are good writers, but this effort failed in structure, in plot and conventions it was right up there.
I will say this: The ending was not what I expected. I personally felt cheated, angry and let down to some degree, but also satisfied that it wasn't predictable to the end. A spectrum of feelings has been awoken in me while reading this book and perhaps that makes it epic. I love and hate it, find it interesting and boring, innovative and generic, bland and full of twists, fulfilling and emptying.
The final thing I would like to say is this: may the spirit of Leigh Eddings rest in peace in whichever world she escaped to. She provided countless contributions to almost all of David’s works, whether her name is on the front or not. It will be interesting indeed to see what David comes up with in the future, without the direct influence of his equally talented wife. Although being 76 himself he may just be ready to hang up the pen.
Wednesday, 5 March 2008
The Quest of the Fair Unknown - Gerald Morris
I feel like reviewing something. However, there's one problem with this - namely that I'm a chronic procrastinator, and I haven't actually read a book since... umm... When did Harry Potter come out? Was there a Terry Pratchett after that? I think there was... oh yes!! I read "Making Money" at Christmas. But you've all read that, I suspect. Even if you haven't, it's pretty much in the same vein as the rest, and just as brilliant. So what do I review?
Well, I guess what I do is think waaaay back... And seeing as how I'm in a medieval mood at the moment, I think of... Gerald Morris! Now, when was the last time I read one of those books...? Must have been 2006 or 2007, cos I read one that came out in 2006, called the Quest of the Fair Unknown. So I'll review that.
For those who haven't come accross him yet, Gerald Morris is definitely a light author. He takes Arthurian tales, and retells them as he feels like - sometimes he is close to the original, sometimes not very - but his writing always has a happy, slightly jovial tinge, that keeps you happy and in a good mood - these are children's books really, afterall. And they always have some way in which they relate to modern society. I think this is sometimes deliberate, sometimes not, but he loves to retell tales of excellent young women being awesome that make you make all kinds of funny noises of exhilaration while you read, which get you odd looks from everybody around you. So yes, they are a little clichéd, and coloured by modern views.
The Quest for the Fair Unknown (his 8th book) is definitely one of those tales where he takes a small story - which gets a few mentions here and there in many of the old Arthurian writers - and turns it into a novel. In this case, the big part that stems from Arthurian stories is the main character, a boy named Beaufils who has lived secluded from society with his mother for his entire life. When she dies, charging him to seek his father (a knight at Arthur's court), he wanders off into the wider world... which is all too amusing to read about... Beaufils's innocence is really rather fun, if completely unbelievable.
Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this as much as I enjoyed Gerald Morris's other tales. It's not too bad, but it gets a bit strange here and there, and for a fun, light read, it's a bit overful with symbolism and modernity. Having said that, it's still fun, and definitely worth a read (and more than a few lols). However, I would recommend starting with "The Squire's Tale", which is the first story he wrote. Although they are all stand-alone books, each links to the other, and you understand the in-jokes better if you read them all in order...
...and the other ones are better.
Really do read these books. This kind of medievalist series is so much fun, and makes you feel all happy and bubbly, and there are enough of them to keep you going for a little while. He should have a new one out soon too, I would imagine.
Sorry for that messy review. Someone will have to come along and fix it. But I missed you all so much, I had to review SOMETHING. :P
Well, I guess what I do is think waaaay back... And seeing as how I'm in a medieval mood at the moment, I think of... Gerald Morris! Now, when was the last time I read one of those books...? Must have been 2006 or 2007, cos I read one that came out in 2006, called the Quest of the Fair Unknown. So I'll review that.
For those who haven't come accross him yet, Gerald Morris is definitely a light author. He takes Arthurian tales, and retells them as he feels like - sometimes he is close to the original, sometimes not very - but his writing always has a happy, slightly jovial tinge, that keeps you happy and in a good mood - these are children's books really, afterall. And they always have some way in which they relate to modern society. I think this is sometimes deliberate, sometimes not, but he loves to retell tales of excellent young women being awesome that make you make all kinds of funny noises of exhilaration while you read, which get you odd looks from everybody around you. So yes, they are a little clichéd, and coloured by modern views.
The Quest for the Fair Unknown (his 8th book) is definitely one of those tales where he takes a small story - which gets a few mentions here and there in many of the old Arthurian writers - and turns it into a novel. In this case, the big part that stems from Arthurian stories is the main character, a boy named Beaufils who has lived secluded from society with his mother for his entire life. When she dies, charging him to seek his father (a knight at Arthur's court), he wanders off into the wider world... which is all too amusing to read about... Beaufils's innocence is really rather fun, if completely unbelievable.
Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this as much as I enjoyed Gerald Morris's other tales. It's not too bad, but it gets a bit strange here and there, and for a fun, light read, it's a bit overful with symbolism and modernity. Having said that, it's still fun, and definitely worth a read (and more than a few lols). However, I would recommend starting with "The Squire's Tale", which is the first story he wrote. Although they are all stand-alone books, each links to the other, and you understand the in-jokes better if you read them all in order...
...and the other ones are better.
Really do read these books. This kind of medievalist series is so much fun, and makes you feel all happy and bubbly, and there are enough of them to keep you going for a little while. He should have a new one out soon too, I would imagine.
Sorry for that messy review. Someone will have to come along and fix it. But I missed you all so much, I had to review SOMETHING. :P
Friday, 29 February 2008
Utopia - Thomas More
You'll all have heard of this book - it's the one from which the term 'utopia' is derived - I certainly had, but didn't know what it was about until starting to read. It's incredibly cleverly written; More writes as himself, giving a narrative he's heard from an explorer, which allows him to distance himself from some of the ideas - prudent for a political figure in 1500s England (he was eventually beheaded, but for different reasons). Letters to and by a (real) friend, Peter Gilles, who apparently also knows the original narrator and was there at the time, are included at the start. It seems that some readers did fall for this. But there is a lot more to Utopia than the detail and realism of the background.
The word 'utopia' apparently translates to 'no place', and the story is related by 'Hythlodaeus' - 'distributor of nonsense'. While emphasising that the idea is purely imaginary, More gives his idea of how the world should function. A more positive view is taken than the satire of Swift in Gulliver's Travels, although the basis is similar - to visit a new country and describe the political, economic, religious and social structure. While some of More's views, for example on the role of women, wouldn't be accepted now, they may have been liberal for his time. I could go on to describe other features of Utopia (an almost communist lifestyle; religious freedom), but that would defeat the purpose of reading it. Many of the ideas wouldn't be considered unusual now, but regardless of this, and particularly in context, it is thought-provoking, and, at around 100 pages, won't take too much commitment to read. Remember that this is the starting point for utopian literature!
Try to find a good translation (unless you feel inclined to try the original) - I read the 1965 Penguin Classics edition, which translates most of the Latin names; it has an interesting introduction, notes, and a glossary of names referring back to the original Latin versions and their meanings.
The word 'utopia' apparently translates to 'no place', and the story is related by 'Hythlodaeus' - 'distributor of nonsense'. While emphasising that the idea is purely imaginary, More gives his idea of how the world should function. A more positive view is taken than the satire of Swift in Gulliver's Travels, although the basis is similar - to visit a new country and describe the political, economic, religious and social structure. While some of More's views, for example on the role of women, wouldn't be accepted now, they may have been liberal for his time. I could go on to describe other features of Utopia (an almost communist lifestyle; religious freedom), but that would defeat the purpose of reading it. Many of the ideas wouldn't be considered unusual now, but regardless of this, and particularly in context, it is thought-provoking, and, at around 100 pages, won't take too much commitment to read. Remember that this is the starting point for utopian literature!
Try to find a good translation (unless you feel inclined to try the original) - I read the 1965 Penguin Classics edition, which translates most of the Latin names; it has an interesting introduction, notes, and a glossary of names referring back to the original Latin versions and their meanings.
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists - Robert Tressel
(I wrote this review last year, so my opinions might have changed, but thought this might be relevant to the one I just did of Mary Barton).
It's a book by a guy writing under the name of Robert Tressel, and an excellent insight into socialism in early 1900s Britain. It seemed a bit simplified to me at first but after reading the introduction I must admit I missed some points. Perhaps it's not as relevant to present day New Zealand but the reasoning is still the same, and the situation is very similar in a lot of countries which still seem trapped in the industrial revolution.
The story follows a group of workmen and their families for over a year, showing the problems they're facing; and also the scheming of the bourgeoisie to exploit their employees as much as possible (names like Adam Sweater and Mrs Starvem help to overstate the point a little). Like Gaskell in Mary Barton, Tressel emphasies the suffering of the workers One of the workers, Frank Owen, turns out to be a socialist, and gives several 'lectures' to the others - telling them that they are being exploited, explaining how they're being exploited - and is generally ridiculed for it. Clearly the author was (naturally) furious with the entire system. The amount of repetition regarding this seems unnecessary, but does make the book an excellent 'beginner's guide to socialism' (from my limited knowledge of the subject).
There is also an emphasis on the frustration felt by Owen at the lack of understanding shown by the workers (the novel is based on his own experiences) - and while I can't find any specific article to back me up on this (and could be completely wrong), I think this is related to Gramsci's idea of hegemony (relying on what I recall from proofreading my sister's essay), so it appears to have been observed and documented before Gramsci (but only recognised as social control - nothing so elaborate as his theories about hegemony).
It's interesting to note that while reading the book, I somehow got the impression that the author had never actually been one of the workers he was writing about, but I was completely wrong. The person who wrote the introduction also got this impression on first reading. It's possibly to do with the somewhat derogatory tone taken towards most of the characters - including the workers - for perpetuating and believing in the system.
The life of the author is also interesting, and relevant, but something you'll find out about if you do read the book (or an introduction). In my opinion the prose wasn't particularly good, and the ideas were repeated too often - at times too sarcastic for a modern reader? but it's definitely worth the time all the same.
Before I forget: the 'ragged trousered philanthropists' are the workmen - philanthropists, because they're willing to sacrifice their - and their families' - necessities, working in unhealthy conditions for a pittance, and content to be exploited for the comfort of their 'masters'. (Ragged Trousered is pretty self explanatory).
It's a book by a guy writing under the name of Robert Tressel, and an excellent insight into socialism in early 1900s Britain. It seemed a bit simplified to me at first but after reading the introduction I must admit I missed some points. Perhaps it's not as relevant to present day New Zealand but the reasoning is still the same, and the situation is very similar in a lot of countries which still seem trapped in the industrial revolution.
The story follows a group of workmen and their families for over a year, showing the problems they're facing; and also the scheming of the bourgeoisie to exploit their employees as much as possible (names like Adam Sweater and Mrs Starvem help to overstate the point a little). Like Gaskell in Mary Barton, Tressel emphasies the suffering of the workers One of the workers, Frank Owen, turns out to be a socialist, and gives several 'lectures' to the others - telling them that they are being exploited, explaining how they're being exploited - and is generally ridiculed for it. Clearly the author was (naturally) furious with the entire system. The amount of repetition regarding this seems unnecessary, but does make the book an excellent 'beginner's guide to socialism' (from my limited knowledge of the subject).
There is also an emphasis on the frustration felt by Owen at the lack of understanding shown by the workers (the novel is based on his own experiences) - and while I can't find any specific article to back me up on this (and could be completely wrong), I think this is related to Gramsci's idea of hegemony (relying on what I recall from proofreading my sister's essay), so it appears to have been observed and documented before Gramsci (but only recognised as social control - nothing so elaborate as his theories about hegemony).
It's interesting to note that while reading the book, I somehow got the impression that the author had never actually been one of the workers he was writing about, but I was completely wrong. The person who wrote the introduction also got this impression on first reading. It's possibly to do with the somewhat derogatory tone taken towards most of the characters - including the workers - for perpetuating and believing in the system.
The life of the author is also interesting, and relevant, but something you'll find out about if you do read the book (or an introduction). In my opinion the prose wasn't particularly good, and the ideas were repeated too often - at times too sarcastic for a modern reader? but it's definitely worth the time all the same.
Before I forget: the 'ragged trousered philanthropists' are the workmen - philanthropists, because they're willing to sacrifice their - and their families' - necessities, working in unhealthy conditions for a pittance, and content to be exploited for the comfort of their 'masters'. (Ragged Trousered is pretty self explanatory).
Mary Barton - Elizabeth Gaskell
Mary Barton is another of those mid-19th century novels about the working class in industrial Britain. It is apparently one of the earliest novels of this sort, and may be worth reading for that reason alone. I'm not sure that all of you will have the patience for the melodrama, and this style of writing, but if you do it's an interesting book. The story follows Mary, her father John, their family friends and her suitors, through a simple enough plot involving a murder and subsequent trial (and some remarkable coincidences, of course). Compared to authors such as Thomas Hardy, Gaskell avoids the idealisation of working class life - in fact, she emphasises the hardships - but a strong religious element rather blunts the effect, and I expect that people with more Marxist views will disagree with her beliefs.
My political science lecturer pointed out in one of our classes that people who lead revolutions (at least the 'People's Revolutions' kind) tend to be well off - not the people that the revolutions are meant to help. This could be extended to say that authors of books protesting the 'condition of the working class' are also generally middle class and comparatively wealthy, which is interesting - hypocritical, perhaps? (Maybe this isn't the right place for that particular discussion...) Anyway, when I first started reading Mary Barton I was expecting something similar, but found that Gaskell isn't protesting inequality as much as lamenting the consequences. Her view seems to be that, while class divisions are perfectly acceptable, the wealthy should, out of the kindness of their hearts, do as much as they can for the poor. When wages are cut, it is so that the factory owners can continue cheap production and therefore stay in business, which would be beneficial to the workers. Apparently the problem is that the working class doesn't understand this, and the industrialists don't know how much their workers are suffering. This bothered me throughout the novel, enough to make me want to throw things at Gaskell, but is one of the reasons that I'd recommend reading it (it's good to know what other people think, after all).
The original title was 'John Barton', because the story was meant to focus on Mary's father and his struggle (as a trades' unionist) against the industrialists of Manchester. However, the publisher required a name change - it's easy enough to see that Mary does end up playing the main role, whatever Gaskell's intentions were. The story of Mary's two love interests (the son of a factory owner, and her childhood friend, who is a factory worker) is meant to link back to the theme of 'the suffering of the poor', and the activities of the more radical trades unionists, but in many aspects manages to detract from it. Nevertheless it's important to keep this in mind while reading the book, because John Barton makes some interesting decisions in his frustration with the industrialists, which are significant in the themes, not just as a plot device.
Another point of interest is the way the lives of the characters are described. The first few chapters, in particular, are quite readable, showing the friendships between the characters - I felt that this was later sacrificed to the plot, but at least there was something to think back fondly on while mentally throwing things at the author. The religious element surfaces most strongly at the end of the novel, with deathbed confessions and redemptions and whatnot (Gaskell was married to a minister, after all) and was another annoying feature. However, the views expressed in the novel are might be quite liberal for Victorian England (alright, so she 'redeems' the prostitute, but never condemns her in the first place).
It doesn't look like I have that many good things to say about Mary Barton but it's worth reading for a different opinion, however frustrating it may be, and I don't think any of you will have trouble with the actual writing style, and it's less than 400 pages which isn't much compared to some of the massive tomes I see you lot with. I can't say that you'll enjoy it, but hopefully it'll make you think.
My political science lecturer pointed out in one of our classes that people who lead revolutions (at least the 'People's Revolutions' kind) tend to be well off - not the people that the revolutions are meant to help. This could be extended to say that authors of books protesting the 'condition of the working class' are also generally middle class and comparatively wealthy, which is interesting - hypocritical, perhaps? (Maybe this isn't the right place for that particular discussion...) Anyway, when I first started reading Mary Barton I was expecting something similar, but found that Gaskell isn't protesting inequality as much as lamenting the consequences. Her view seems to be that, while class divisions are perfectly acceptable, the wealthy should, out of the kindness of their hearts, do as much as they can for the poor. When wages are cut, it is so that the factory owners can continue cheap production and therefore stay in business, which would be beneficial to the workers. Apparently the problem is that the working class doesn't understand this, and the industrialists don't know how much their workers are suffering. This bothered me throughout the novel, enough to make me want to throw things at Gaskell, but is one of the reasons that I'd recommend reading it (it's good to know what other people think, after all).
The original title was 'John Barton', because the story was meant to focus on Mary's father and his struggle (as a trades' unionist) against the industrialists of Manchester. However, the publisher required a name change - it's easy enough to see that Mary does end up playing the main role, whatever Gaskell's intentions were. The story of Mary's two love interests (the son of a factory owner, and her childhood friend, who is a factory worker) is meant to link back to the theme of 'the suffering of the poor', and the activities of the more radical trades unionists, but in many aspects manages to detract from it. Nevertheless it's important to keep this in mind while reading the book, because John Barton makes some interesting decisions in his frustration with the industrialists, which are significant in the themes, not just as a plot device.
Another point of interest is the way the lives of the characters are described. The first few chapters, in particular, are quite readable, showing the friendships between the characters - I felt that this was later sacrificed to the plot, but at least there was something to think back fondly on while mentally throwing things at the author. The religious element surfaces most strongly at the end of the novel, with deathbed confessions and redemptions and whatnot (Gaskell was married to a minister, after all) and was another annoying feature. However, the views expressed in the novel are might be quite liberal for Victorian England (alright, so she 'redeems' the prostitute, but never condemns her in the first place).
It doesn't look like I have that many good things to say about Mary Barton but it's worth reading for a different opinion, however frustrating it may be, and I don't think any of you will have trouble with the actual writing style, and it's less than 400 pages which isn't much compared to some of the massive tomes I see you lot with. I can't say that you'll enjoy it, but hopefully it'll make you think.
Monday, 11 February 2008
Boring administrative-y matters
You've probably all thought of this already, but just to be obvious:
What to review: anything that you'd like everyone else to know about. There's no point in reviewing something like the Lord of the Rings unless you thought it was horrid and want to warn everyone off (which would be pointless in this case since everyone's read it). Equally, there's no point in reviewing something completely obscure unless you think we should hunt it out and read it. If we're interested in discussing books, rather than reviewing them, we could put 'discussion' in the title and the tags (and remember to do spoiler alerts).
That brings me to tags: It'd be good if everyone could tag their reviews as they write them - someone else will do them if you don't, but not as well. Have a look at the tags that are already there, or make some up. It'll become useful if we end up with fifty reviews and don't want to look over all of them to find something to read.
You all have admin privileges, so go ahead and use them - in particular, you can get the blog to email you about comments (and possibly about posts, although I haven't figured that setting out yet), and add your own web comics ;) and blogs to the list of our sites. (Update: if you want the blog to email you when a new post is put up, either do it yourself under Settings-> Email and add your address, or let me know and I'll do it).
If someone's already reviewed something you wanted to write about, don't be put off - you can add a comment to their review. If you have a lot to write, and the original author doesn't mind, you could always add it to the end of their review - do mention who you are, though, and remember we won't know the review has been updated. The best thing to do might be to write another review, and add the book title to the tags of both reviews, so that we know there's another one.
When you review a book of which you are fortunate enough to possess a copy, and feel generous enough to let someone else read it, you could mention that in your post, and also whether it's in Christchurch or Wellington (or wherever else you happen to be).
Any other suggestions?
What to review: anything that you'd like everyone else to know about. There's no point in reviewing something like the Lord of the Rings unless you thought it was horrid and want to warn everyone off (which would be pointless in this case since everyone's read it). Equally, there's no point in reviewing something completely obscure unless you think we should hunt it out and read it. If we're interested in discussing books, rather than reviewing them, we could put 'discussion' in the title and the tags (and remember to do spoiler alerts).
That brings me to tags: It'd be good if everyone could tag their reviews as they write them - someone else will do them if you don't, but not as well. Have a look at the tags that are already there, or make some up. It'll become useful if we end up with fifty reviews and don't want to look over all of them to find something to read.
You all have admin privileges, so go ahead and use them - in particular, you can get the blog to email you about comments (and possibly about posts, although I haven't figured that setting out yet), and add your own web comics ;) and blogs to the list of our sites. (Update: if you want the blog to email you when a new post is put up, either do it yourself under Settings-> Email and add your address, or let me know and I'll do it).
If someone's already reviewed something you wanted to write about, don't be put off - you can add a comment to their review. If you have a lot to write, and the original author doesn't mind, you could always add it to the end of their review - do mention who you are, though, and remember we won't know the review has been updated. The best thing to do might be to write another review, and add the book title to the tags of both reviews, so that we know there's another one.
When you review a book of which you are fortunate enough to possess a copy, and feel generous enough to let someone else read it, you could mention that in your post, and also whether it's in Christchurch or Wellington (or wherever else you happen to be).
Any other suggestions?
Sunday, 10 February 2008
Dragon's Fire - Anne and Todd McCaffrey
I actually did a review for the Todd-only Pern novel a while back (Dragon’s Blood). I can’t figure out whether this one is before or after – I think before, as in this one they haven’t started their exploration of the Southern Continent.
Anyway, the brilliant thing about the Dragons of Pern series is that you can pick up any one of the books and pretty much throw yourself straight into the story. I mean there’s not much to remember for the books’ premise: Sci-fi/ Fantasy world with dragons that was colonised by our descendants escaping Earth. Sister planet orbits too close every once in a while and drops the evil life-form called thread. Dragons burn thread, everybody happy…
Dragon’s Fire involves the search for firestone – the fuel dragons need to create flames with is running out and with the next pass about 30 years away something needs to be done. Thus some heroes are discovered and the disaster accordingly dealt with in a way that keeps the reader involved, interested, and excited right to the last page. In fact the stories stay so fresh up to the end that you almost don’t see it coming, and in some ways feel a bit short-changed in not having the usual wind down.
It’s nothing special when compared to other Pern novels, but in the greater scheme of things the McCaffrey’s write brilliant fiction: The scenery is always colourful, and the culture continues around and through the plot. The characters are crafted very deftly in such a way that their character is quickly identifiable and memorable yet they still appear to have depth – it’s just that we don’t really see it (or need to).
I enjoyed it; however, there were a few things that irked me somewhat. The main characters seem a bit dumb when it comes to communication (horrid pun given that one of the guys is a mute…). There were a number of points when I was left thinking “but but why didn’t you say something??” or “how can anyone be that stupid?!” etc. Some of these reasons I may have just missed, and a few are explained later, but it seemed to me the main characters were behaving a bit too irrationally to achieve verisimilitude. This might have been at least partially due to having two writers involved and while they know intimately the world that has been created, they do have slightly different writing styles and merging each of their own bits with the other didn’t quite mesh nicely in places.
All in all it’s a good book with good twists and changes in plot, but just a tad frustrating. Read it if you like Pern and the McCaffrey’s, don’t if you don’t :P
Friday, 8 February 2008
The Angel with One Hundred Wings - A Tale from the Arabian Nights; by Daniel Horch
Oh yeah – ancient script fonts all the way for this one!
Daniel Horch has created a gem of a historical novel in this tale. Inspired by “L’histoire des amours d’Aboulhassan” from Arabian Nights (as translated by Antoine Galland), this book is set in
The tale centres around an elderly pharmacist called Aboulhassan, who has made his fortunes in his time selling potions, and has effectively retired to perfect his art of alchemy and try, with dwindling time, to find the elixir of life. His skill with potions and wisdom through a life of trials sees him somewhat reluctantly hosting afternoon talks with youths who are mostly there out of moral obligation, and also playing chess with his only close friend the Sultan (our pharmacist being one of the few men to ever win – although he tried not to…).
One youth, however, is much more interested in Abulhassan’s wisdom than most – he too is called Abulhassan, but also the Prince of Persia, the last living descendant of the royal family ousted from power by the religious clout of the Sultan, allowed to live by virtue of his parents’ loyalty to the Sultan. One fateful day, the Sultan’s mistress comes to visit the pharmacist for some perfume and meets the Prince and it is from there a story of intrigue, love and scandal develops. Poor Abul must choose which of his close friends to betray – the Sultan a long time friend, companion, and the authority of the land; or the Prince, his protégé who has grown into a man at Abul’s side.
The book is amazing – it really brings this ancient city to life, and fills it with elaborate characters in a richly decorated environment. Daniel Horch has done his research where needed, and used his imagination to fill in the rest – the story and events contained within are almost all fictional but utterly believable.
It was a pleasure to read this beautiful work of story-telling in its engaging surroundings featuring a combination of alchemy, the Koran, Islamic mystics and a touch of history.
The Wit and Wisdom of Discworld - Terry Pratchett
““Do you know, a fortune-teller once told me I’d die in my bed, surrounded by grieving great-grandchildren,” said Mooty. “What do you think of that eh?”
I THINK SHE WAS WRONG.” (Guards! Guards!)
Sweetened condensed milk. It makes a wonderful ingredient in cooking, or you can drizzle on top of stuff, take a passing finger lick out of the tin, or sit down with a spoon and have a really good time gorging yourself.
This book is sweetened condensed milk. Containing the essence of what makes Discworld fantastically funny and clever; this compilation of the best quotes from the series serves many purposes. It can inspire you to read books you haven’t got round to, it can make you want to read the whole lot again, or it can just refresh plot lines in your mind, all the while providing wise words and amusing gags.
““It’s going to look pretty good, then, isn’t it,” said War testily, “the One Horseman and Three Pedestrians of the Apocralypse.”” (Sourcery)
Some will argue it’s not the greatest compilation – everyone has their own favourite characters, plots and jokes. Nor can this book contain every little gem or clever escapade – some of Pratchett’s better work lasts for pages. Seriously, if you wanted every good bit of the Discworld you may as well bind all the novels together. But this book, as I said – it’s the essence of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld: There’s a perfect balance of DEATH, Rincewind, U.U, Vimes, and other characters and casual comments.
“Meat pies! Hot sausages! Inna bun! So fresh the pig hasn’t noticed they’re gone!” (Moving Pictures)
I loved it, read it from start to end and immediately wanted to pick up some of the books that I haven’t touched in too long. As I said – sweetened condensed milk. You don’t have to read it all at once, you can just flick open, find a random quote and smile.
“Words are the litmus paper of the mind. If you find yourself in the power of someone who will use the word “commence” in cold blood, go somewhere else very quickly. But if they say “Enter,” don’t stop to pack.” (Small Gods)
Earth, Air, Fire, and Custard - Tom Holt
Tom Holt is to literature what Monty Python were to television. Hilarious, odd, and at times so completely random that you don’t have a clue what’s going on.
This is the 3rd book of the “Paul Carpenter” novels – based in a world featuring the magic company “J. W. Wells” out of Gilbert & Sullivan’s work The Sorcerer.
You don’t need to have read the earlier books – I don’t think I have; however, doing so may help general storyline cohesion. But you’re all smart people and able to put threads together fairly quickly. Well, as fast as you can with a writer who not only keeps you in the dark for most of the book, but makes sure that the light-bulb has blown, that there’s just enough draft to blow out any candles that you try to light along the way, and puts a blindfold on you for good measure too…
Anyway, Paul had his soul sold to this magic firm (who are mostly goblins) when he was a child and since has worked for as a lowly clerk doing paper shuffling tasks, while learning the odd bit of magic. In previous adventures he saved the world from the evil humanoid creatures, and had a perfect relationship ruined when all traces of love for him were removed from his fiancée Sophie’s mind. He has died a few times, visited the Bank of Death and withdrawn himself out of there in different ways.
It’s hard to say what the true plot of this story is… Holt has the book filled with so many red herrings moving so quickly it’s like it’s not only raining fish, but also firing them at you out of a cannon, and if the protagonist doesn’t have a clue what’s going on, you can rest assured you won’t either. Suffice to say it comes down to a power struggle between God and a mad magical scientist, and believe you me – I didn’t know that until almost the end… What goes on around it all can be charming, alarming, confusing and falsely enlightening, and you grasp at straws as much as Paul does to make sense of it all.
The characters are well written – from the confused, self-degredating hero, and the sulky romantic interest, to the imposing partners of the firms, and also the bit characters, they all fit tightly into the picture.
The plot is… I think I may have already mentioned this, but it’s complicated. If you like a book to make sense the whole way through this is NOT your type of book. “Like Robert Jordan times three” to quote Paul as he tries to explain it to someone. Chapters can fly past in a whirl of words and colours and not really make sense. If you like Pratchett or Robert Rankin I’d say that you will love Tom Holt – but if random is not your thing stay away.
I laughed and laughed and laughed while reading this book – I hope you do too.
Chart Throb - Ben Elton
Having read and loved his crime/war novel “The First Casualty” I picked up this book with the knowledge that it was going to be well written. I was right. Chart Throb is a masterful blend of intrigue, story, satire and cynicism. It details the running of a new season of the hit TV show “Chart Throb” a pop idol show like all the others – but done better. Go behind the façade that is put on screen for the public and see how contestants are picked, filmed, used and dropped on the whims of the main judge Calvin (very much like Simon Cowell, but meaner). Along with this we have ethical conflicts for the research team behind the scenes, romantic interests, and power struggles as the 2 other judges vie for more screen time and a better representation of the “real” them to help their own careers. Yes, for the other judges that perfect mix is used with a mumsy mum (who just happens to also be a transsexual still undergoing further cosmetic surgery), and a once famous musician trying to get back into the spotlight by being supportive, harsh, friendly, critical, and goofy all at once…
As stated, a very cynical look at the reality TV industry and especially the pop idol arena. All in all, a good laugh with twists and turns that will keep you guessing the whole way through.
Friday, 25 January 2008
Jasper Fforde - The Fourth Bear
Ok, I'll admit it.
I'm an infamously picky reader, and anything that smacks of rewriting nursery tales better have serial killers and gratuitous sex or violence for me to even read the blurb.
Thankfully, good ol' JF is aware of this.
I found this book witty, interesting, and possessed of a Terry Pratchet style of humour, with boring aliens, talking bears with porridge addictions, and a psychopathic baked good. All in all - I'd read it 4 times, or possibly five.
It will appeal to most of you, probably hotstuff more then most, but all of you, find, read, and then chortle with me.
I'm an infamously picky reader, and anything that smacks of rewriting nursery tales better have serial killers and gratuitous sex or violence for me to even read the blurb.
Thankfully, good ol' JF is aware of this.
I found this book witty, interesting, and possessed of a Terry Pratchet style of humour, with boring aliens, talking bears with porridge addictions, and a psychopathic baked good. All in all - I'd read it 4 times, or possibly five.
It will appeal to most of you, probably hotstuff more then most, but all of you, find, read, and then chortle with me.
Thursday, 3 January 2008
Dale Carnegie - How To Win Friends And Influence People
How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Surprisingly enough, this book has no dark underlying themes of extortion and manipulation =P
I was highly impressed and even a little inspired with the common sense wisedom this very old book had to offer. The fundamental idea was just - be really nice to people, hold your tongue when you would otherwise criticise and that listening properly is one of the highest compliments you can pay someone =D
I would reccommend this book to anyone who needs help with dealing with people... or making people like them ;) not mentioning any names, but it might even help one pick up the ladies... if one happened to be in the market...
Anyway. A good read, if a little out of date (all the examples are from the 1930's) Oh, and you will learn a bit about American history in the process... but the fundamental principles are solid. Give it a go, you might be surprised. =D
Surprisingly enough, this book has no dark underlying themes of extortion and manipulation =P
I was highly impressed and even a little inspired with the common sense wisedom this very old book had to offer. The fundamental idea was just - be really nice to people, hold your tongue when you would otherwise criticise and that listening properly is one of the highest compliments you can pay someone =D
I would reccommend this book to anyone who needs help with dealing with people... or making people like them ;) not mentioning any names, but it might even help one pick up the ladies... if one happened to be in the market...
Anyway. A good read, if a little out of date (all the examples are from the 1930's) Oh, and you will learn a bit about American history in the process... but the fundamental principles are solid. Give it a go, you might be surprised. =D
Robin Hobb: The Soldier Son Trilogy
Shaman's Crossing
Forest Mage
Renegade's Magic
The Soldier Son trilogy is not linked to any of Robin Hobb's previous books.
Essyllt: I was really impressed by the uniqueness and poignancy of the setting, which was post-colonial fantasy, and appears to be loosely based on early America, but with three cultures. The main character, Nevare, is from Gernia, a 'civilised' nation similar to British America. The plainsfolk, who have been conquered by Gernia, have a similar culture to the Native Americans. The third people, the Specks, are an isolated forest-dwelling people, who feature more in the second and third books.
I was able to read the books for the plot alone, because it is definitely not bad, but when I stopped to think about it, I fell in love with the theme. There is something beautiful about Hobb's ideas, and the way in which they can be applied to so many interactions between cultures or even individual people.
The Iconoclast: The politics of the Kingdom of Gernia and the way in which it deals with non-Gernian cultures were one of the important aspects of this series, and is relevant to New Zealand and other ex-colonies. In Shaman's Crossing, we see the book through Nevare's eyes as a Germian citizen, complete with his ethnocentric views. It isn't until the third book that, still through Nevare, develop a better understanding of the 'Speck' culture. One impressive feature of Hobb's writing is that we, originally, are as horribly racist as Nevare, without even realising it, and change as radically as he does (thanks to a plot device which I won't detail). The trilogy gives an excellent understanding of the dicotomous nature of ethnic - indeed, any - conflict, leaving the reader divided.
Although the trilogy is named 'The Soldier Son', after Nevare's role as the second son of the family, this was more of a plot device - this theme was mostly overwhelmed by the conflict between the Gernians and 'Specks'. The Plainsfolk are sidelined to some degree, with the occasional plot based role - I'm not sure whether this was intentional or unavoidable, but it leaves us to wonder what will happen to the intercultural relations of Gernia after the end of the trilogy.
Forest Mage
Renegade's Magic
The Soldier Son trilogy is not linked to any of Robin Hobb's previous books.
Essyllt: I was really impressed by the uniqueness and poignancy of the setting, which was post-colonial fantasy, and appears to be loosely based on early America, but with three cultures. The main character, Nevare, is from Gernia, a 'civilised' nation similar to British America. The plainsfolk, who have been conquered by Gernia, have a similar culture to the Native Americans. The third people, the Specks, are an isolated forest-dwelling people, who feature more in the second and third books.
I was able to read the books for the plot alone, because it is definitely not bad, but when I stopped to think about it, I fell in love with the theme. There is something beautiful about Hobb's ideas, and the way in which they can be applied to so many interactions between cultures or even individual people.
The Iconoclast: The politics of the Kingdom of Gernia and the way in which it deals with non-Gernian cultures were one of the important aspects of this series, and is relevant to New Zealand and other ex-colonies. In Shaman's Crossing, we see the book through Nevare's eyes as a Germian citizen, complete with his ethnocentric views. It isn't until the third book that, still through Nevare, develop a better understanding of the 'Speck' culture. One impressive feature of Hobb's writing is that we, originally, are as horribly racist as Nevare, without even realising it, and change as radically as he does (thanks to a plot device which I won't detail). The trilogy gives an excellent understanding of the dicotomous nature of ethnic - indeed, any - conflict, leaving the reader divided.
Although the trilogy is named 'The Soldier Son', after Nevare's role as the second son of the family, this was more of a plot device - this theme was mostly overwhelmed by the conflict between the Gernians and 'Specks'. The Plainsfolk are sidelined to some degree, with the occasional plot based role - I'm not sure whether this was intentional or unavoidable, but it leaves us to wonder what will happen to the intercultural relations of Gernia after the end of the trilogy.
The characterisation was rather flat, with none of the characters aside from Nevare developing much further than necessary to power the events. Even Nevare isn't a deep character, but in some ways this emphasises his development. We agree that the characters, and to an extent the setting and plot, are too familiar; however, this shows the true brilliance of Hobb's writing, as the cliches simply don't matter, and aren't particularly noticeable without closer inspection. Tamora Pierce could never pull this off, but Hobb does so with flair. The first person narration is so strong that we truly develop an empathy for Nevare and are unavoidably caught up in his feelings.
I (Tehnuka) found the magic difficult to deal with, managing to get too tangled up in trying to understand what was happening and not being able to do so until the last book. My advice is to not worry too much about this and keep reading - it becomes clear later. Compared to Hobb's previous trilogies, this one has definite strengths in the themes, and in how incredibly well the writing style conveys the main character's emotions. While I'm not sure that I got out of it what Robin Hobb intended for her readers, I was impressed by the level of consideration given to the themes, particularly those of ethnic relations (which don't tend to feature in fantasy) - of novels in this genre, dealing with such themes, these are probably the best I've ever read.
In conclusion:
Essyllt: These books are good. Read them.
The Iconoclast: These books are bloody awesome! I can't eat properly anymore.
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