Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

 
If you haven't read this, it is the last book in The Hunger Games series. In this book. Katniss is recovering in the fabled District 13 from her second go-round in the Hunger Games, Gale is training with their soldiers, and Peeta is being held prisoner by President Snow. Katniss has unwittingly become the face of the rebellion and must decide whether she will willingly take on the role. She does but with several conditions, one being that she kills President Snow. The rest...you have to read for yourself.

This is probably the quickest I've finished a series in a long time. Again, I am surprised by the number of people that don't like this last book. I thought it was amazing. My guess is that people simply don't like the sad turn of events near the end (I won't spoil it for people who haven't read it - though I suspect I'm the last person on earth to read it). Personally, I was bawling like a baby by the last page of the book. It's interesting how it is written because I didn't even feel like crying over those events until Katniss does in the next chapter. It's so heartbreaking when she loses it and the poor cat...well, I was a wreck. ;)

Now that I've read this, I'm looking forward to checking out Collins' Gregor series. It looks interesting, even if it may not be as heart wrenching as this one. 

Catching Fire: Audio

All I have to say about Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins is WOW!! I know a lot of people think the series is best on book 1, ok on book 2, and ho-hum on book 3 but I was blown away by this book (no pun intended). Maybe it's because the first was really only about the Games, with the political situation taking a back seat. I loved the story in the first book. There was lots of action which makes it very exciting almost the whole book. But the second book is exciting for a completely different reason. Yes, there's still plenty of action but mainly in the second half of the book. It's just not as important as the political intrigue that comes to the foreground in this book. And I love politics!

Katniss is trying to return her life to normal but her behavior in the Hunger Games has led to uprisings in some of the other districts. Before she and Peeta go on their victory tour, she is given a warning directly from the President: Calm the districts or face the consequences. And those consequences are nasty. Without meaning to, Katniss actually makes the situation worse...


The turn this book takes half way through caught me completely off guard. I figured something odd would happen with the Hunger Games, but what does happen...I wasn't expecting that. Well done Collins. I'm not an easy one to mislead. I love when I can't figure things out. I get bored if I guess it too soon.

Can I also say, what is up with the vampire President? Seriously! Maybe it says in the last book (which I will start tonight and leave off The Lady Elizabeth til I finish this series) but his breath smells of blood and he's been President for 50 years with very little change in his appearance? Totally a vampire. hehehe I know that's not the direction this series is taking but why was this made such a big deal of and then not explained? I really hope it's explained later. I hate loose ends like that. Collins seems to be turning out to be a fairly good writer, so I feel confident she will tidy up that bit. A little confident. :)

The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman: Audiobook

I have loved almost every book I have ever read by Alice Hoffman. She is a gifted storyteller. The only one I didn't like was Practical Magic and I know that's only because I love the movie so much. What bothered me about that book was that the beautiful relationship between the sisters in the movie is not important in the book. That's my favorite part of the movie. That's what makes the movie.

But this book...I have no words. hahahaha Of course I do, that's why I write this blog. It was wonderful. The relationship between the three main women in the book is so well developed. You can feel the tension between the mothers and daughters. You want to reach through the pages and MAKE them do what's right.

The Sparrow women have always been a little different. Each Sparrow woman, going back to their oldest known ancestor has a gift, or some cases a curse (depending on that "gift"). Elinor can tell liars. Not that she simply can pick up lies easily, she can smell the lie. Her daughter, Jenny, can see other people's dreams. Not what they daydream of doing with their lives, but their actual dreams as they're sleeping. Her daughter, Stella, can see how others are going to die. This "gift" causes trouble for her family when she begs her father to save a woman who is going to be murdered and he is suspected by the police when it comes true.

If you like a little magic in your everyday life, pick up this book. You won't be disappointed.

Hunger Games

Ok, I get it. I now know what all the fuss is about because this book kicks a$$! I'm always leery of reading a popular young adult book, especially after the Twilight debacle. :) (I never miss a chance to make a snide remark about that horrible series).

When I first read the blurb I thought, "it's a modern telling of Crete and the Minotaur." So when I read that was her inspiration, I was not surprised but as I read more of the book I started to think it was closer to Battle Royale. If you've never seen that movie, holy sh**. If you can handle copious amounts of gratuitous violence and obvious fake blood shooting everywhere (think Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill) then go find that movie. I normally can't but this movie is so over the top that it just isn't bad. In Battle Royale juvenile delinquents are sent to an island and told to battle to the death. There can only be one winner: the last one left alive. It is also televised for the country to watch as if it's a sport. In the Hunger Games this is essentially the storyline, except these are normal teens simply trying to survive. They come from the outlying districts to provide a sport for the Capitol. The reasoning behind this is to hinder rebellion in the districts (like Crete). Katniss, our protagonist, is not originally chosen but volunteers to save her 12 year old sister who is chosen.

I was so engrossed in this book that I couldn't stop reading. In fact I stayed up till 1:30 the other night and finally had to make myself stop. I would have stayed up all night. I am amazed too at the quality of the writing. Most authors in the young adult market simply can't write. They have a great idea and the storyline is pretty good, but the writing is horrible (e.g. Meyer and Clare). I have been impressed with Michelle Zink's Prophecy of the Sisters  and now Suzanne Collins. I will definitely be finishing both these series.

Noise by Darin Bradley

Ok, so maybe I'm slightly biased because I kinda know this guy (he lives in Denton and is friends with people I know). At least I've met him a couple times. The first time I met him, my friend Laura said, "This is Darin. He's a writer and his book is awesome." It hadn't even come out yet, so we are a very supportive group here in Denton!! He then started to tell me about his book and I too started to think, "Awesome!"

This thriller is most likely shelved in the sci-fi section of your local bookstore though I wouldn't really call it sci-fi, more post-apocalyptic. Or peri-post-apocalyptic. It takes place right here in the merry old town of Denton, which was weird because I'm a very visual reader. What I mean by that is I have vivid pictures in my head of what I am reading on the page when I read. Every time he described something in the book, I tried to picture it not as he was describing it, but as I know it to be. I tried to figure out where in town he might be talking about. He didn't make it explicitly Denton, in fact the town's name in the book is Slade, but if you're familiar with it, it's clear what's talking about. Except sometimes it's not. Apparently he took liberties, which kept messing me up and taking me out of the story a little. Not his fault, mine. Because the book itself is wonderful. I love these kind of watch-out-the-world-is-going-to-hell kind of stories.

What's great (i.e. scary) about this is one is it seems so plausible. The downfall of society is an economic collapse, not environmental or nuclear. Right now every time I turn on the radio, I hear about how much worse our economy is getting and this book makes it all the more real.

It also made me paranoid, which is really not all that hard honestly. If we do every have a break down in society. I think I'll go hide in the mountains all by myself for a few years.

Knife Of Dreams - WOT Re-read

Well here it is. It took me 8 months but my self imposed torture is over!! I have re-read all 11 books leading up to the book that came out last year. Phew!! I can't believe it took this long. Oh wait, yes I can. All the books are 1 gazillion pages long.

What was so weird in reading Knife of Dreams again was that I truly didn't remember most of it so it was like reading a new book. I think part of the reason was that it had been so very long in between the last few books that I forgot some of the recent storylines even when I read it the first time. When what you're reading doesn't make complete sense, it doesn't really stick with you.

It's been a great ride for me reading all these again, but I have to say I will probably never do it again. The good part of it is I can't say there's a book I don't like anymore. Everything makes sense when you read it back to back (for the most part) like this. 

I think the one major issue still is relevant though: there are way too many storylines trying to compete for major time. I enjoy most of them but it muddies the series. I know everyone else has already read The Gathering Storm, but having put it off, I really hope Sanderson finds a way to bring all these competing storylines together in a comprehensible manner. Apparently the paperback will be coming out at the end of September and Towers of Midnight will be released Nov 2. I figure I will wait for the paperback. Give my brain a break by reading some books that are COMPLETELY different. I've listened to a lot of short stories on audio and a couple audio books but I haven't read much outside of this series since January. I NEED something different. And I have it! But you'll have to wait for the next post to find out what it is!

By the time I finish the paperback (all 1120 pages, seriously?) I should be ready for the new one! I'm so excited that this series is finally coming to end. I will do a little jig when I read the last page of the last book. Truly, I'll even get it on video so everyone can see!

I want to share one more thing. This beautiful cover for the ebook version of Knife of Dreams. I still think the one for Shadow Rising is the best, but this is very well done.

Pump Six and Other Stories: Audio

Pump Six and Other Stories by Paolo Bacigalupi is a collection of short stories all with a type of social consciousness wrapped into the fantastical stories. While I enjoy a heavy story with a message from time to time, this collection was simply too much for me all at once. I should maybe have read one here and one there in between other books and stories. Every single story in this book is depressing and makes you fear for the state of the world.

The first story, "Pocket Full of Dharma" is a fascinating story about a boy in futuristic China who comes across the Dalai Lama in a most unusual way.

"The Fluted Girl" is a tale about our obsession with perfect bodies and celebrity set in a world at once futuristic (in it's upper class and medical procedures) yet also medieval (in it's serf system).

These are easily the best stories in the book. When I got to ... I had to skip it. The soldiers in the story who are able to regenerate body parts and are simply fascinated by a stray dog who can't turned my stomach. Maybe it has a happy ending, I'll never know.

Maybe one day I'll revisit some of these stories individually and see if they strike me differently. Right now, I guess I'm simply not in the right frame of mind for them.

Widdershins: Audio

Widdershins by Charles de Lint is a type of sequel to The Onion Girl. It's a sequel in that it continues Jilly Coppercorn's story a few years after her accident. Where The Onion Girl tells us what Jilly and her sister's childhood was like, Widdershins has Jilly dealing with the emotional scars she still has but thought she had already dealt with. Of course, this is all done in classic Charles de Lint fashion so there are lots of fairies and animal people and everything in between. For fans of de Lint's Newford stories, many of the loved characters make an appearance: The Crow Girls, Joe Crazy Dog, Geordie Riddel and others. Besides Jilly's personal struggle, a war between America's native spirits and the faery that came from the old world is close to erupting. Joe has to make a terrible choice between finding Jilly and stopping a terrible war that would have devastating consequences.

While I loved this story as I have almost all of de Lint's books, I felt there were simply too many story lines happening. It reminds me slightly of The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb in that way. He tried to cram so many ideas into one book that some of the individual story lines suffered a little. It's possible the book wouldn't have been as good if the two main stories were separated but, other than Lizzie, the two stories don't really have any connection. Lizzie's story almost feels like an afterthought, which is odd since she is the character that opens the book. Lizzie's encounter with boguns (a mean, childish faery) brings Jilly and Geordie into the story but, even though she remains through most of the book, she's simply not important to the progression of the story. If the possible war had been separate, it could have been so much more.

However, I did enjoy the book and especially enjoyed Kate Reading's voice in the audio. She also narrated The Onion Girl and I came to associate her voice with Jilly in my head. It was nice to have that consistency. Plus, she's amazingly talented. She's able to give every character a different voice without sounding like a 5th grade teacher reading about scary monsters. Every voice is believable. That's a rare talent when sometimes the first person is a man, sometimes a woman, and (in this story) women in the bodies of children.

Crossroads of Twilight - Reread

I just don't know what to say at this point in my re-read. I know I planned on writing about all the books as I re-read them but that just plain didn't happen for any number of reasons. Now here I am on book 10 and I'm wavering. Not in my commitment to finish the series. I mean, common, if I felt committed enough to read all 11 books again before I read number 12 in hopes of being ready for number 13 when it is released later this year then reading them all again is NOT going to make me waver in that! It's only going to make me more committed to the series. No, what I'm wavering on is my die-hard stance that everything after Path of Daggers sucks, and to be honest the only really exciting part was in the beginning before they use the Bowl of Winds, so really everything after the beginning of the Path of Daggers sucks. Or so I thought before.

Yeah, I'm still a little irritated at all the sitting around and staring sideways at everyone that everyone does. I'm still bored to tears with the endless descriptions of what everyone's wearing and what their roles are. If I have to hear again about what a great horse thief Vanin is and how he would be upset to hear anyone call him that even though that's truly what he is, (and the same sort of repeated, ridiculous descriptions of EVERYONE) then I'm going to puke. But then, after the puking, I will remember that I am really enjoying the books again and will get on with it.

I really didn't remember much about this book from before and some of what I "remember" must be from Knife of Dreams because it hasn't happened yet! hahaha! I'm not sure why I don't remember much from these two books (ALL I remember from the next one is the thing I thought was gonna happen in this one!), especially since I remember so much from the other books. The only explanation I can come up with is that I was pissed off and purposely forgot. Really, not much happens until the last few pages. Written well, this book could have been one chapter. There are a lot of things that simply should have been left out. Jordan was beginning to ramble like an old man telling stories from his youth. But I ate it up this time. Maybe it's because everything else is so fresh in my mind, it didn't all feel like a colossal waste of time. What the characters were going through in their inner lives was interesting this time. No, there wasn't much action and the story didn't really progress. In fact, most of the story happens at the same time as the last few chapters of the previous book. That's something else I forgot. We got a chance to see everyone's reactions to Rand cleansing saidin and the many interpretations of what might be happening since they don't have the 6 pm news. It's really too bad, because that would have saved a lot of heartache and stupid speculation. In spite of the fact that I purposely forgot much of this book, this time I liked it. However, the things I do remember are really the only important thing: Mat is stuck in Luca's show with that haughty-bi***  and he's still there in the end, only it's slightly worse (maybe), Egwene is sitting outside the tower with her army (doing nothing - WTF happened to Gawyn? and for that matter where is Galad?), Perrin is still trying to rescue Faile (seriously though, if this had happened in earlier books you think she'd still be there?), Elayne is pregnant (we get loads of boring details about that) and Rand did absolutely nothing. It's weird that I liked this book on the re-read. Really my first impression of the book was right, but this time I'm enjoying it!

There's one thing that is bothering me. Usually the details are pretty well seen to. I haven't caught any glaring mistakes, until now. Elayne is thinking that her position will be easier once one of her brothers gets there. She is hoping for Gawyn, but spends just a moment reflecting on Galad and how she actually misses him too. Then she "remembers" how Galad once had a thing for Nynaeve. WHAT??!! WHEN??!! That never happened. He had a thing for Egwene and kept quiet about it because he knew Gawyn did too. It was a fairly big deal through the first few books. How could this one little sentence creep in there like that and NO ONE CATCH IT? I found a thread on this very thing. They speculated that because Galad helps her and Elayne out in Amadicia, he did it because he had a thing for Nynaeve, but I remember this clearly and he did it because of Elayne and Egwene, even though she isn't even there! Nynaeve even mentions that she feels ignored by Galad and doesn't like it. Oh well, it's mistake but I'm truly surprised it wasn't caught before being printed.

But just now out of curiosity I did a google search and found an interesting WOT site that has all the errors listed (not typos but actual errors). Hmmmmm, interesting.

So now I move on the last book I've read before, Knife of Dreams. I don't remember what happens to Egwene so I'm anxiously seeking that. All I remember from this book is Faile's story. Does anyone remember if anything actually happens in this book? 

The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman is the story of Bod, short for Nobody Owens, who grows up in the graveyard near his home after the murder of his family. His best friends are ghosts and his guardian is neither living nor dead and he can never leave the graveyard or "the man called Jack" will come for him.

I have been wanting to read this for awhile now since I have loved all of Gaiman's other novels, but it seems that some other book always got in the way of this one. Finally, last night I finished The Path of Daggers and decided today would be the day I would sit down with this book. I started a little after 9 this morning and finished at 5:30 this evening. This includes, of course, my many trips to the computer to play games on Pogo or write emails or check Facebook (which for some reason can take a surprising amount of time). Even at 305 pages it is a very quick read, since it is written for middle schoolers. I loved that, in spite of writing for a specific audience, Gaiman does not talk down to the reader. At no point did I get that sense of "irritating teacher talk." This is what I call the way some adults talk to children when they don't really know how to talk to children. And the only point when I felt Gaiman was over explaining things was when Bod's friend Scarlett talks about deja vu, but then when I reminded myself that the intended audience for this book might not really know deja vu, then it didn't feel over explained at all.

What really grabbed me in this book was Bod. He's an amazing character and I really want to see more of him. I am hoping Gaiman writes a sequel to this. There are a couple things that feel not very well explained and have that sense of "you'll find out later" as if there are supposed to be more books. I also very much loved the relationship between Silas and Bod. I want to read more of it! In fact, I was so sure, based on the way the book ended and the details that were not completely explained, that there must be a sequel planned. I was so sure that I searched for it and low and behold I found this on an FAQ page on Gaiman's Mouse Circus  site:


Q: Could you write a sequel to THE GRAVEYARD BOOK? I just finished it and I want more!
A: I will, yes, but it will go to very different places—and it may not get back to the Graveyard.

YAYYYY! I don't when but some day I will again get to read about Bod, and maybe find out if my suspicions on Silas are correct.
Near the beginning of the book one passage made me just giggle out loud, in spite of the terrible things happening in the scene. Bod is just a baby, a little more than a year old and the man Jack is in the house killing his family. Bod, unaware of this, wakes to a noise and is bored in his crib so he decides to climb out:

He landed with a muffled thump on a small mound of furry, fuzzy toys, some of them presents from relations from his first birthday, not six months gone, some of them inherited from his older sister. He was surprised when he hit the floor, but he did not cry out: if you cried they came and put you back in your crib.

Why was this funny to me? Because it is exactly what my sister's son did either about this age or a little younger. I actually think he might have been a little younger. Except there was nothing to soften his fall. And he landed on his head. And he seemed very proud of himself. 

Another thing that got me was how unimportant life must seem to someone who grows up in a cemetery surrounded by people who have already died and are happy as ghosts. Why would he care if the man called Jack killed him? And in fact, Gaiman addresses this:

Bod shrugged. "So?" he said. "It's only death. I mean, all of my best friends are dead." 

I won't ruin it and give Silas' response to this but it's good. Read this book. You will love it, no matter your age.

The Path of Daggers

On with my re-read of WOT. I have finally finished book 8. It's only taken me 6 months to get here! I've noticed since I started this re-read that I am reading a little slower than normal. Not sure what that means. Either I am not motivated or I don't want it to end!

I am constantly being surprised by how much I am still in love with the characters of this series. I remember being really irritated by the time I got to this book before. I originally started reading this in the summer of 2000, right before Winter's Heart was published. I know that I consumed the first 5 or so books as if they were chocolate and then I started to slow down. By the time I actually got to The Path of Daggers, I was already starting to become disillusioned and cursing the guy in my British Lit class who turned me on to the series. Now though, I'm finding that I really love this series right up to this point. I figured out what was irritating for me before. I don't like Rand anymore and I don't really care about his storyline anymore. But maybe that's the point. He's not the same wide-eye innocent he was in The Eye of the World but if he was would be able to do what needs to be done? Of course not! I am loving Egwene's story and feeling a little frustrated that there isn't more of it in each section she's in. I'm loving Elayne's story and feeling a little frustrated that there isn't more of her too! I also remember waiting for Moiraine to come back, although I knew she probably wouldn't. Now I'm not waiting for storylines to take the turn I want them to. I find myself having forgot so much (the reason I decided to re-read them in the first place!) but reading it again brings it all back and I am anticipating future stories that I only remember parts of with glee. The end of this book was so exciting that I stayed up real late last night finishing, something I haven't done in a while. I can't wait to get to the next book and see what has happened at the Black Tower with the Aes Sedai who were captured. I KNOW what happens but still feel this sense of, "oooohhhhh, what happens?"

Here's the lesson for me: Don't assume you know where things are going, because you'll be disappointed in the end. Read with an open heart and things will surprise you, maybe in a happy way.

I also wanted to share the cover of the ebook version of this book because it so very beautiful. Elayne, Aviendha, and Nynaeve here are working the Bowl of Winds. This is not how I pictured the scene in MY head, but it's still very beautiful.

Edit: I just found out the next book (13), Towers of Midnight, will be released on Oct 26, 2010. I should be ready for it then!

Short Story Challenge - May Recap

 

If you missed signing up for the Short Story Challenge, it's not too late.  Each month I will post a recap to discuss what everyone has read for the challenge. Everyone who still wants to sign up, go back to original post (to which I will leave a link in every current post). Then leave comments in the current post.

Summer's almost here! Can you believe it!

Well short stories this month were few and far between. I downloaded through Audible two collections of short stories in order to listen in the car but they were so very long and I am not driving as much with the school year having ended (three days a week I drive over an hour one way to work in another school district) so I only listened to one. It is Favorite Sci-Fi Stories Vol 2 and includes authors Frederic Brown, Ben Bova, Frank Herbert, and Kurt Vonnegut. This is a wonderful collection from the granddaddies of Sci-Fi just recently published (May 20th), though many of their stories we written years ago and part of much older collections. I got a late start on the Short Stories this month also, which is another reason I only "read" the one!
I'm enjoying this though, getting in the short stories written by some of my favorite authors. I wish I had done it years ago!
Looking forward to seeing what everyone else read!

A Crown Of Swords

Well, I just finished book 7 in the Wheel of Time Series. I didn't make it a formal challenge to re-read all of the WOT books in order to be back up to "date" on the next book but it has felt like a formal challenge trying to read them all again one right after another. I started this back in January and between that and my new relationship, I haven't hardly had time to read anything else so blogging has kind of taken a back seat. I am generally a fast reader but to have only read 7 books (besides the short story collections) in 3 1/2 months feels like I'm suddenly reading very, very slow. Then I look at the length of these books and remember that each book is the length of 2 other books and don't feel so bad!

The downside to this is I'm suddenly very tired of Jordan's writing style. I feel the need to read something completely different RIGHT NOW. And so, I picked up Gossip Girl. Yep, I sure did. Mull that over for awhile! I did set myself to do the Young Adult challenge too, but I figured I would still be reading fantasy when I did that. Nope, I need something completely different, so Gossip Girl it is. I figure I'll have it done tonight an be blogging about it tomorrow. Big type and 199 pages. No Problem.

The upside to reading all the WOT books one right after the other is that I don't feel pissed off at Jordan anymore. I remember getting really upset with him by book 5 or 6 because it was 500 pages of nothing and 100 pages of action. It seemed nothing important was happening until the very end of the book and I couldn't figure out why his editor didn't do some good editing. Now I don't feel that way. Yeah, the books could still use a little editing but I've rediscovered the story and I LIKE IT again. I don't feel the sitting around discussing things is wasteful words. There is action in the words and all the characters are important to me again. The minor ones, in the past, were a waste of time to me. Now I don't feel that way.

To compensate for both feelings I'm going to continue my personal challenge of re-reading the books, however, I'm going to read something completely different in between each one. I think otherwise I may throw The Path of Daggers out the car window on my way to work!

Short Story Challenge - February Recap

 

If you missed signing up for the Short Story Challenge, it's not too late.  Each month I will post a recap to discuss what everyone has read for the challenge. Everyone who still wants to sign up go back to original post to sign up (which I will leave a link to in every current post). Then leave comments in the current post.

Again, I have just read the bare minimum, as I am still re-reading my way through the WOT series. I'm on book five, so it won't be too much longer and then I can read something new! And that includes more short stories. Hope everyone else is doing well on their challenges!

This month I read the February 2010 edition of Realms of Fantasy. I have never read this magazine before and will most likely not again unless a specific story in it look interesting. There's too much other junk in it I'm simply not interested in, like game reviews. Boring! At least I think so. But the stories themselves were pretty good.

How Interesting: A Tiny Man by Harlan Ellison is an interesting take on human nature and what is a natural life. The story starts like this: "I created a tiny man. It took me a long time. But I did, finally: he was five inches tall. Tiny; he was very tiny. And creating him, the creating of him, it seemed an awfully good idea at the time."

I like this not only because of the implications of creating a tiny man but because of the humor with which the story was told: "There were threats. Some of them curiously misspelled - its, rather than it's - and suchlike." or there is also: "And so, I have a car, I use raw sugar instead of aspartame, my pants do not sag around my shoetops, and I drive a perfectly utilitarian car. The make and year do not matter for this disquisition."

Mister Oak by Leah Bobet wanted to be something more than what it was. It wanted to be a look at human nature through the eyes of plants but it took the metaphor too far and left me just feeling wanting.

The Demon of Hochgarten by Euan Harvey was beautifully told and was a complete story in it's own right. It does not need to be expanded into a full length novel to make sense or feel complete. I think that's a very important part of being a "short story." Also, I very much enjoyed the new aspect of the classic werewolf tale.

Melanie by Aliette de Bodard was also a very well written story and a good commentary on human nature and our fears, though I believe the story she did for Asimov's was much better.

My favorite story in this collection is The Unknown God by Ann Leckie. I love the irreverent way in which she tells the tale of a god who regrets his hasty actions. I will leave you with a bit of this story in which one god, Aworo, is contemplating another, Smerdis:

Aworo had heard of devotees who, laying a hand on the bull as it passed, had been granted inner peace and enlightenment. "There's a procession..."

"Every month. They'd like to do it more often, of course, but they can't get the permit. Can't have gods parading around the city whenever they like, we'd never get anything done!"

Happy Reading!

The Friday 56: The Unknown God

Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog.
*Post a link along with your post back to this blog.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Right now I'm kind of liking this version of the F56 logo best, but that might change! It's on the page 56 and (though you can't tell) from my Shakespeare book AND it just looks cool! hehehe (if I do say so myself).

So this week's selection comes from The Unknown God, a short story in the February 2010 issue of Realms of Fantasy.

"How can I?" Aworo asked, bitter. "Some things can't be undone."

The Endless Search

Ever have one of those authors that you simply never give up on? I have an author that I discovered many years ago and fell in love with. Unfortunately she has given up on my favorite series of hers but I never give up on her. I started reading The Ruins of Ambrai by Melanie Rawn when the second book The Mageborn Traitor was released. I had to look on Wikipedia to remember when exactly that was. March 1, 1997. Almost 13 years ago now. The funny thing is, now that I look that date up it's no wonder I remember the book so well. I seriously don't think I picked up the first book on the very day the second was released because I remember that day all too well. But I know it was close to this time and I know now why I continue to obsess about this series.
March 1, 1997 is the day that Arkadelphia, Arkansas, where I was living in at the time for college, was completely destroyed by an F4 tornado. It also happens to be my birthday; I was turning 20. At the time I was dating someone that I thought I was going to marry. Thank goodness for both of us it never happened, but we were very happy at that time. We had gone to visit my mom and my best friend from high school for the day (they only lived an hour away), to have dinner with them and celebrate my birthday. We stopped at a pawn shop about 15 minutes away from our destination so he could look at amps or guitars or some such. (I didn't play guitar then, though I wanted to learn). While there we learned from the guy working that a tornado was headed right for us. He had the news on and we watched the weather. We decided to stay there for a little while just in case. I stepped just outside the door and was shocked by the change in the weather. Just a few minutes before the sun had been shining. Not brightly but it had been there. Now the sky was a greenish-grey and the wind was blowing something fierce. Just as I called to my boyfriend to come see, I saw insulation flying through the air.
"I think maybe we should go back inside," I said.
"Ummm, yeah, good idea," he muttered.
So we rode the little tornado out, it wasn't much there and we thought we had a cute story to tell friends later.
When we went to dinner, the restaurant had the news on. It was one of those places like Chili's or Applebees or somesuch that always has the tvs on over the bar playing some game or news. On the all the channels was the news of the terrible tornados that whipped across Arkansas, Texas, and Louisanna. So many tornados that day all over the region that I doubt they ever knew exactly how many. I was shocked.

"I guess we weren't the only ones to see a tornado today!" I joked. But my mood quickly turned sour when I realized what they were showing. The pictures of devastation were just way too familiar.

"It's Arkadelphia," I breathlessly said to everyone at the table. "And that's the pharmacy that Kelli works at." It was leveled. There was truly nothing left of the building and I could not remember if Kelli (my roommate) was working that day. I tried immediately to call her, yet she didn't answer. I didn't know it at the time, but there were just not enough phone lines left in Arkadelphia to handle to normal amount of calls it gets, much less the massive amounts of people calling for help or people calling to see if loved ones were all right. I was simply frantic. I listened though when everyone said there was nothing I could do. I stayed, had dinner, and we left right after to go home and assess what we had left to go back to.

I will say right away, we were all very lucky. According to old reports (cause I couldn't remember this part) only 5 people died. It was shocking. You should have seen the devastation. The entire downtown was destroyed. I'm not exaggerating. There was was no building left standing downtown. This is where Kelli's work was. Kelli was not at work that day. She was not one of the few who died. In fact, she just had a baby two months ago. Everyone say congrats to Kelli!

Unfortunately for the town, most of the damage was done in the parts that were solely town. What I mean by this is, there are two universities in Arkadelphia. I highly doubt if they were not there that the town would survive. However, the most destruction was done in places that had nothing to do with either college. That turned out to be lucky for me and my friends though, in more ways than one. Our apartment and all the dorms being used were untouched. The universities had very little damage. As I recall the most damage was actually done to a dorm that was not used anymore. Just as the semester was ending, Kelli and I wanted to find a place off campus to live. Our campus apartment had some serious flaws and we needed a cheaper place to live.
An interesting side note. The pipes in that apartment popped constantly. It was loud so that you couldn't help but notice and be bothered by it. Unless you lived there. I remember going to the apartment with Kelli before I moved in and asking her what that noise was. She said, "What noise?" And cocked her head to listen. "Oh yeah, that's the pipes." She was serious. She had gotten so used to it that she didn't hear it anymore. I had almost the exact same conversation with a friend just a few months later, only I was the one saying "What noise?"

We found a couple new trailers for rent right where some houses had been destroyed and torn down. Another plus for us. I hate to list all the good things we got out of this tragedy, but they are there. My boyfriend and his friends rented the other trailer and we were suddenly party central. I'm sure the neighbor were overjoyed with us for the year we lived there but they had their moments too. We moved in during finals. I was deperately trying to study while listening to the constant pounding of hammers all around me as the town tried to recover. I tried to find some pictures, I figured there would be several but I guess the internet just was not as popular then as it is now so I couldn't find too many. Here's a good one to illustrate what I'm talking about.

It took me some digging but I found this one too:

So now, after all these years, is it any wonder that I still remember Melanie Rawn's books so well? The other day on Walking in the Mountains, JhanaJian brought up the subject of awareness. Mainly the post discussed how the two opposing forces of war and mediation can both bring us to a heightened sense of awareness. I believe this tornado did that for me at the time. I have read several of Melanie Rawn's other books, yet I remain spellbound (pun intended) by this incomplete series. I so aware of myself and my surroundings at this time of my life that I can sometimes remember whole conversations. I have a hard time some days remembering conversations from yesterday.

Many promises have been made that this series will be completed one day, yet Rawn continues to put it off, writing about other places and other characters. It is very possible The Captal's Tower (the third book) will never be written. But I never give up hope. Every so often I go on a search to see if there is any information about it. Everytime I find out about another story she did for a collection or a new book in different series she is writing. I am happy she got passed what ever difficulty she had. I'm not sure what it is but she has alluded to it in the notes of other books. This makes me not so anxious, knowing she has had some writer's block or personal problems or something that keeps her away from this series. But I loved this series and continue to hope that one day she will find her way back to it. And I never give up the search.

My Favorite Reads: The Queen of the Damned

My Favorite Reads is hosted by Alyce on her blog At Home With Books. The idea is to take a book you read before you started blogging and tell your readers about it.


Just like high school girls are today, I was a teenaged vampire fanatic. The only difference is my vampires were what vampires should be: dangerous and exciting not broody and pathetic. Oh, yeah I loved the whole Angel/Buffy thing and he was broody but he was never pathetic. And of course, that was before Spike came along. Spike is what vampires should be. However, before there was Buffy the Vampire Slayer, there was the Vampire Chonicles by Anne Rice. No one does vampires like Anne Rice did. Too bad she found Jesus. (Literally: Christ the Lord)

Like all teenagers, I thought everything I discovered was new. No one had ever seen it before I laid eyes on it. Because of this I didn't know that Queen of the Damned was part of a series. I picked it up because it looked like something I would fall in love with. And it was. It happens to be the third book in the Vampire Chronicles, following Interview with the Vampire and The Vampire Lestat.

I now know that seeing the book in the first place was probably not an accident. Considering it was originally published in 1988 and I read it in 1993, it was probably part of some marketing strategy. I read it about a year before the movie Interview with the Vampire was released. There was most likely some big display in the store featuring the books. Though why I chose that book and not Interview is lost in the pages of my history. The title probably sounded much more interesting. And, I was also going through a phase of the bigger the book the better. Since Interview has 352 pages and Queen has 512, I'm thinking that might be the reason. I clearly remember once in high school, an adult commenting on the thickness of my book (I think it might have been Scarlett: 832 pages). She seemed shocked that I'd be willing to read something that long. I felt at once contemptuous of her and proud of myself. It was clear she didn't think it worth her time to read something that long, therefore I was better than her. Isn't teen-think wonderful?

The thing is, Queen of the Damned IS the better book. Not just because it's bigger, but because the story is so much more complex and the characters more defined. In Interview the characters are very one dimensional. It's a good book, but people do things because they are good or evil in Interview. They are not either good or evil in Queen, even Akasha.

I will say now, that I have never seen the movie. I saw the previews and that was enough for me. I don't believe they did Akasha right and I don't want to see her portrayed that way. It was never supposed to get the big release it did anyway. It was supposed to be one of those straight-t0-video movies but when the actress/singer playing Akasha died, it got all that attention. I can't even remember right now who that was. Sad, huh?

The Eye of the World re-read

The great thing about this project is that I get to post reviews of this series that I originally read before I had this blog. It's kind of exciting!

I posted some pre-review comments earlier this week. If you haven't had a chance to read them, go on and check it out.

My very last semester of college I took a class on early British literature. I was not an English major but a music major and I was more than ready to be FINISHED with school. So why would I take such a hard class? Oddly enough I didn't have enough junior/senior credits to graduate. I needed 1 more. Weird considering as a music major I KNOW I took more classes than most people in other majors. I have no idea how that happened. I could have taken another music class, it certainly would have made more sense but the only thing I hadn't taken that would be open to me was Marching Methods. Now if you're not familiar with the wonderful world of band directing you will not know what this means. Count yourself lucky. High school band directors in the south spend about as much time devising plans for their marching band as they do actually teaching children how to play their instruments. It's probably the number one reason I decided I did not want to be a band director in the first place. I loved marching band. I know that's weird, but I did. However, I did not want my entire career as a musician being defined by how well 15 year olds could play and step in time while remembering what form they're making. Therefore, I was certainly not going to take a class all about this. I took the British Lit class instead. To make a long story short, it was not my focus (as I was taking music history and composition in this same semester) and I didn't do so well in this class. But I met a wonderful guy who found out how much I like fantasy novels. He gave me The Eye of The World as a graduation gift. I don't remember his name and for that I am sorry. What I remember most about him is that when I said I would look for the book myself (I didn't want to take his paperback copy knowing I may never see him again to give it back), he said, "Take it. I love this series so much I'm planning on getting the whole run in hardback.

Little could this guy have known in 2000 how long he was going to have to wait for that particular dream to come true!

In May 2000, 8 books in the series had been published and the 9th was awaiting release later that year. A pretty good go for a series to have 9 books published in 10 years. Sounds like someone was making some good progress! I even remember thinking, "Wow! I won't have to wait forever for the ending! By the time I get to 9th book, maybe the end will have been written!" Yeah, not quite. I finished these books lightning fast (though I was starting to have some doubts as to its previously believed genius come The Path of Daggers) and purchased the 9th book, Winter's Heart, as soon as it was released. I waited another 3 years for the next book and was sorely disappointed in it. I then waited another 2 years for the next book and was even more disappointed. By now, even though I'm pretty irritated with the turn the series had taken (or lack of turn maybe is a better way to describe it) I was fairly invested in it. I wanted to know the end. Two more years passed and in this time, fans of series learned that Jordan was seriously ill.

I remember hearing about a letter that one of Stephen King's fans sent him when he was hospitalized after his car accident that basically said "You better not die before you finish the Dark Tower." It was heartless....but I kind of knew where the guy was coming from! In September of 2007, the thing Jordan's fans feared happened. He died beforehe could finish the last book. Now the next book (the *last* has been split into 3) has just been released. It has been 4 years since I read the previous book and even then I was starting to think to myself "who is that person again?" as I read the book. I knew there was no way I would be able to enjoy this new book. Thus, my project to begin the series again.

I am so glad I did! I remember why I love The Wheel of Time. I remember now, that Jordan WAS gifted writer. He just got lost along the way. I don't believe The Eye of the World is the best book in the series as some have said, but it is well paced with a good story that has great characters that leave you wanting more. I am looking forward to immersing myself once again in this world. I'm going to repost something I already said in the previous one because I think it bears repeating. I think it's something that lapsed-fans of the series may not realize: Even Jordan's side roads in the story may have been planned. Here's why I think that...

There is a speech Moiraine gives the Emond's Fielders after they're reunited in Caemlyn in which she states:

You three did not choose; you were chosen by the Pattern. And you are here, where the danger is known. You can step aside, and perhaps doom the world. Running, hiding, will not save you from the weaving of the Pattern. Or you can try. You can go to the Eye of the World, three ta'veren, three centerpoints of the web, placed where the danger lies.

Now obviously she is attempting to get the boys to see they need to act on one specific danger but as I read the sentence "Running, hiding, will not save you from the weaving of the Pattern," I realize maybe THIS is what is happening in the books that appear to be a bunch of random nothingness. If I want to give Jordan that much credit, I would say that maybe he is showing what would happen if they did try to run from their duties as ta'veren. Maybe.

The Eye of The World: Pre-Review Comments

First of all, I feel I should say I must have had way more time on my hands in college than I remember because it's taking me much longer to read this book than I remember it taking 10 years ago. Of course, since it was kind of a graduation present, I guess I wasn't reading it when I should have been studying or practicing. I had a whole summer of just working and doing practically nothing but reading and partying.

I'm about 150 pages from the end and the only reason I'm that far is because I was so sick for three days I hardly got out of bed. In fact, I had to go to Walgreens and I didn't even bother to get out of pajamas. I just threw my coat over top. Yes, I was THAT person. I was sick, I don't care. So, when I wasn't sleeping (which I did A LOT) I got to read. And this is what I've discovered:

I remember again why I got so hooked on this series. Jordan IS a good writer. I had forgotten that! He also seems to have had a plan, which is suddenly more apparent on a second read through than it ever was the first time through. There are things in the book I overlooked the first time through because they simply did not make sense not knowing what he was referencing. It's all well and good to give some foreshadowing but if your audience doesn't know wtf those things mean then they'll forget you said that! Reading it a second time I'm seeing all kinds of references to things that aren't even mentioned until several books later. On my original reading, as I got further into the story I got more and more frustrated by the apparent randomness of some of the storylines that kept popping up. I'm not going to completely absolve him of this though, I still think he went a-rambling in the last couple of books, but to know there was a plan to begin with and he laid the groundwork for that plan in book one as a good writer should makes me respect him again as a writer.

An interesting point I noted along this thought-line. There is a speach Moiraine gives the Emond's Fielders after they're reuinted in Caemlyn in which she states:

You three did not choose; you were chosen by the Pattern. And you are here, where the danger is known. You can step aside, and perhaps doom the world. Running, hiding, will not save you from the weaving of the Pattern. Or you can try. You can go to the Eye of the World, three ta'veren, three centerpoints of the web, placed where the danger lies.

Now obviously she is attempting to get the boys to see they need to act on one specific danger but as I read the sentence "Running, hiding, will not save you form the weaving of the Pattern," I realize maybe this IS what is happening in the books that appear to be a bunch of random nothingness. If I want to give Jordan that much credit, I would say that maybe he is showing what would happen if they did try to run from their duties as ta'veren. Maybe.

2012

I went to see 2012 last night. I am a sucker for disaster movies or anything starring John Cusack so this movie was pretty much made for me! ;)

I went into the theater with the full knowledge that the Mayans do NOT believe the world is going to end on the winter solstice of the year 2012 so I'm glad they didn't concentrate on this too long. It was inevitable that it would make an appearance since the name of the movie comes from this misconception. For those of you who still think the Mayans did believe this simply because that is the date their calendar ends I ask you this: Do you believe the world will end when the calendar on your wall ends? The Mayans were a civilization advanced in astronomy. Their calendars (yes, they had more than the one that ends in 2012) have many astrological phenomena in it and the lining up of the planets that is supposed to happen in 2012 is just one of them.

But I get off the subject. If you have not seen the movie, I apologize for any spoilers there may be in here. I will try to keep them as vague as possible.

The science in the movie is sketchy at best. The cause is supposed to neutrinos? By their very name neutrinos are neutral. Ok, so there is one little line in the whole movie that tries to explain this by saying that the solar flares are causing the neutrinos to be a different kind of molecule. BS. Sorry, but it is.

The one other thing that really bothered me about this is the ships they all get on at the end. The one John Cusack and his family get on is not able to start it's engines because the gate is open. What??!! What kind of F***ed up design flaw is this? I know it makes for more drama and high intensity but there are better more plausible ways to do this. Ok, so the gate is jammed because something is caught in the hydraulics. Well, it would seem more reasonable to me to say that they can start the engines but the turning mechanism is also jammed because it is a part of the same hydraulic system as the gate. Same high intensity drama that we get with coming up on the Everest, but better reason. I mean, seriously, does your car's engine not start if the door is open?

But other than these two minor problems I really liked the movie. Like I said, it was pretty much made for me! It was long and I like long movies. It had lost of things getting destroyed because mother nature was going crazy and I love a badass mother nature. It had lots of great acting. It had John Cusack, need I say more?