Demi-gods, Talking Swords, and Strong Women

Destroyer's Blood

 

Series:  Blood Series

Author: Michael Lynes

Published: November 5 2018

Publisher: Michael D Lynes

Goodreads Summary: Dev shook his head, spitting out dust and rock chips. The last rays of the setting sun stained the ground crimson. “Betrayer,” he murmured, ears still ringing from the terrific explosion, “we have a problem.”

The cryptic message from Olympus changes everything... One moment Devcalion and Betrayer are free, climbing up Half Dome without a care in the world, the next they are dragged into battle with the Destroyer, Zeus’s ancient foe.

The Dark Power is merciless, and time is running out. It’s up to Dev and Tray to try to stop him, or the world of men and gods is doomed.

My Thoughts:
Honestly at first I wasn't a huge fan. It felt a bit like a Percy Jackson rip-off. However, the farther I read, the more I began to enjoy the story and the ways that the gods/goddesses/titans were portrayed, which was actually very different from Percy Jackson. Don't get me wrong, I freaking love Percy Jackson, and if you haven't heard of the Lightning Thief Musical, educate yourself. . . . But, back to the review. I loved Hephaestus. One of my favorite things was that while his "speaking voice" was crude and rough, his "mind voice" was that of a professor. It taught the idea that people can choose how to portray themselves, and shouldn't be thought less of if their dialect differs from yours. Hephaestus is a genius, but he feels more comfortable being seen as a lovable goof. 

I loved the thought that certain titles/roles of gods can be passed on - Devcalion taking Prometheus' role, and Adrestia taking on the mantle of Nemesis. I liked that the traditions were being passed on to the next generation. That was cool.

As previously stated the characters were great. Typhon's madness was very well constructed and delivered, as was the bond between Dev and Tray. Tray is awesome. When Adrestia first entered the picture I was afraid that Dev - Tray - Adrestia would turn into some sort of weird love triangle, but that's not what happened at all. Tray and Addie become close friends, because strong women don't need to compete over a boy. Strong women pool their resources and move past said boy. Well done Lynes, well done.

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The ending was great, how Gaea's anger and sorrow were acknowledged and her heart was restored, she wasn't destroyed, but made complete again. The way Tray fit into that puzzle was very symbolic and I appreciated the imagery. I really liked that Adrestia's sacrifice wasn't cast aside, but honored.

So yeah, the plot was good, I liked the characters, it brought a fresh spin on Greek mythology, and the ending was satisfying, however, I'm gonna give it 3/5 trees, and not 4/5. Why? Dialogue. While Hephaestus had great interactions with other characters, whenever Dev or Tray spoke it felt off. Almost as if their conversations belonged in a middle-grade series, and not YA. Specifically the last scene - the reunion between Tray and Dev - this was mainly due to the fact that when Dev loses Tray he is completely and utterly devastated. He can't even think, his life is ruined, and nothing matters anymore. Then Gaea does the unthinkable and brings her back, and it's cheesy, quick and paired with frankly stupid dialogue. Their reunion is lackluster, childish, and doesn't seem to match the themes that are followed throughout the rest of the book. 

Definitely an enjoyable book, very well researched and thought out. Great for fans of Greek mythology.

Rating: 

People are lovable but imperfect in Jenna Zark's 'Fool's Errand'

Title: Fool's Errand
Series: Beat Street 
Author: Jenna Zark
Genre: Middle Grade Historical Fiction 
Published: November 20, 2018, Dragon Moon Press
Pages: 150
Buy: Amazon

What Goodreads has to say:

When her best friend Sophie goes missing, 12-year-old Ruby Tabeata has a choice: wait for her friend to come home or defy her parents and find Sophie.

Set during the 1950s Blacklist era when writers like Sophie’s mom were being jailed or fired, Fool’s Errand sends Ruby out of her city and her comfort zone.

With nothing to rely on but her grit and determination, Ruby has to outsmart the men chasing Sophie and her mom—discovering that whether or not you succeed, trying to save a friend is never a fool’s errand.

What I have to say:

The Beat on Ruby's Street was one of my favorite middle grade books ever. It was amazing. I was glued to the page, I reveled in the simple yet beautiful style, and perhaps best of all, the book fed my hopeless poetry addiction.

So when I heard that Jenna Zark had written a sequel about Ruby and her friends, I was ecstatic. In my opinion, Fool's Errand didn't quite reach the level of literary perfection that The Beat on Ruby's Street achieved, but it was still a fantastic read: clever, exciting, and heartwarming.

At the center of the novel is Ruby Tabeata, and a heroine more lovable, spunky, and indomitable would be difficult to find. Being a Beat (and a preteen) Ruby is apt to question and challenge everything. She's stubborn as anything and determined not to let anyone push her around. And that extends to the people she cares about--Ruby won't let anyone harm them if she can help it. She'll do whatever she can to protect her friends, especially her best friend Sophie.

That's the starting plot for Fool's Errand: Sophie and her mother have gone missing, and Ruby is determined to find them. While The Beat on Ruby's Street painted a vibrant picture of life as a Beat in 1950s Greenwich Village, Fool's Errand paints a picture of life in the days of the Blacklist, when writers and artists had to defend themselves against accusations of Communism.

For young readers, it's an excellent introduction to one of America's darker episodes. But while it's historical fiction, Ruby isn't some antiquated 1950s heroine; she could be living in our time--and if she were, I have a hunch she'd be dealing with a lot of the very same issues: societal prejudices, broken families, political backstabbing, etc. Struggling to understand your parents, breaking the rules to protect a friend, making a situation worse when you only meant to help--these things will always be relevant.

Besides that, Ruby is such a strong, passionate character that she spans generations. She's so full of love but she gets frustrated when people don't understand her and when they harm the people close to her. She's incredibly brave and loyal but far from perfect. Aren't we all?

I think, at bottom, this book is about people: what binds them together, how they can surprise you, how a person you hate can suddenly become your friend, how a friend can make a mistake out of an overabundance of love, and how, in the end, we're all just doing the best we can.

A personal note: When I read The Beat on Ruby's Street I was living in Oregon. Since then, I've moved to New York City and wandered the charming, historic streets of Greenwich Village. Reading Fool's Errand on my daily subway commute, just minutes from Ruby's beloved Beat neighborhood, it feels like I've come full circle.

Rating:

Until tomorrow.

Jude Goodwin captures life's fleeting moments in 'The Night Before Snow'

Title: The Night Before Snow (and other wintry poems)

Author: Jude Goodwin

Genre: Poetry 

Buy The Night Before Snow

What I have to say:

Faithful followers of this blog may know about my poetry addiction. Suffice it to say, this book fed it. I meant to read a few poems a day, but once I started reading, I went through this whole collection of achingly-beautiful poems in one sitting. Yeah. Poetry.

All joking aside, though, wow. As soon as I read the first poem in the collection, I knew I was looking at something special. "There I Was Again," the poem starts, "writing urgently about the rain / as if it would ever stop / or change somehow / into something ordinary."

That stunning opener sets the tone for the rest of the collection. Goodwin has captured life's fleeting, delicate moments--the ones that are gone so soon we never really grasp them--and gathered them into a collection of beautiful, warm, sparkling jewel-poems that speak to the poignancy and wonder of the human experience. Everyday objects and events like rain, couches, heaters, and annual Christmas programs suddenly transform into rare, transcendent experiences.

The night before the first snowfall of the season, for example--there's something magical in the air, like everyone is holding their breath and wishing. I bet few of us have actually stopped to think about that, much less try to write about it. But Goodwin has, and she's done more than try: she's captured the mood perfectly. "It's quieter than any other time of the year. It is the night before snow."

I tried to pick a favorite poem from the collection for this review. I couldn't.

I loved "In Winter" which describes a boy playing the flute in the snow: a sound that will be heard forever in the speaker's memory. I loved the perfectly crafted "I Read Somewhere," so comic and yet so poignant at the same time and for the same reason.  I love "Ode to the Lights" which is about hanging Christmas lights (but is it really?). I love "The Hallelujahs" in which the speaker wonders if there will ever come a time when she won't love the Christmas season--all its hassle, all its repetition, it all sounds like hallelujah to her.

If I had to choose a favorite it might be "Her Music." The speaker loses herself in the piano music of her daughter. If she closes her eyes and listens, "the room is filled with God's rays." I loved all the poems in this collection, but none of them moved me quite as powerfully as this one.

On the outside, these poems are simple. There's no complicated rhyme scheme or cluttering punctuation. The themes are simple, too: love, light, music, snow. Anyone can read these poems, and anyone can relate to them--because we all know what it's like to wait for the snow, or to hang up Christmas lights, or to get attached to a comfy couch.

But that's not where it ends. Like the objects and experiences she writes about, Goodwin's poems speak of something deeper, something more luminous, something more wonderful than simply a couch or the snow or Christmas lights. It's the experience of being human, of being alive--with all the wonder and beauty and joy and poignancy that entails.

Like the snow itself--soft, delicate, melting away all too soon--we live and love with awe in our hearts because we know none of it will last forever. While it lasts, that's what makes it, like the snow, such a gift.

Rating:

Until tomorrow.

Genetic Modification in the Pages of a Children's Book AKA an Anna Rant

Purple Pup

                                    

Author: Karl Steam

Illustrator: Joshua Lagman

Published: November 27 2016

Publisher: Karl Steam

Goodreads Summary: Lav and his friends are the first of their kind, genetically modified to be wonderful pets. They quickly teach the humans that modifying DNA is easy, compared to controlling the animals that are created. Join the adventures that help them discover where they belong in this world, and what they are meant to do. 

My Thoughts

This book was unlike any other I have ever read, and I'm not sure that's a good thing. I've read plenty of books from the dogs point of view - Call of the Wild by Jack London, Thy Servant a Dog by Rudyard Kipling, and  A Dogs Life: The Autobiography of a Stray by Ann Martin to name a few. None of them even tapped into the world of genetic modification. Maybe that was a good thing.

Let me start out by saying that I have a degree in Wildlife and Wildlands Conservation, I've studied genetics, community interactions and species needs. I have strong opinions on quality of life for animals kept in captivity. I may not be as excepting of this story as others without my background.

This story explores the world of genetic modification and GMOs through the eyes of Lav the purple pup. And it's disturbing. I hate animal experimentation. I felt uncomfortable by the pain that the puppies and other creatures went through at the labs. I did not like the idea that making animals smaller removed them from their niche. Niches are one of the fundamental pillars of biological and ecological communities, and you can't just erase that and expect an animal to still function properly. The idea that "scientists" would willingly remove an animal from their part in the circle of life was baffling to me. Yes, zoos remove animals from the wild and place them into (hopefully) spacious contained areas where they can be viewed by humans. However, they still have their basic niche. Lions are still given dead gazelles to eat, or at least large forms of meat. They still have their pride, and still get to raise their cubs. Genetic Valley tried to remove the wild from the animal. After shrinking down a lion, they didn't then give him a habitat to suit his needs, they kept him in a cage, and later gave him away as a pet - to live with a regular cat. Just because an animal is smaller doesn't mean it isn't still wild. A lion that can be attacked and killed by a raccoon has had it's DNA messed with by someone pretending to be God, and I don't agree with that in any way, shape or form.

There are three parts to this story - Escape, The Return, and The Wild. Each part changed my ideas as to who the "villain" was. During Escape, in which Lav manages to escape from Genetic Valley, the scientists are clearly the bad guys. At one point it is hinted that they plan to experiment on children. Not good. Creepy. Gross. 

The Return continues that theme, except it becomes clear that some of the animals are being modified to better help humans. Some dogs have extra sense of smell to help with Search and Rescue as well as drug detecting. In fact two dogs have this extra skill. But, they are slightly different, the one that was super modified is mean and wild. I found this to be a hint that the scientists had gone too far. 

The Wild pits the main characters against, well, the wild. They actually join a pack of wolves. It works for some of them. It is during this section that we find out what Genetic Valley is really trying to do - provide humans with good genetically modified items. Crops that promote good health, Cows that can give twice as much milk, dogs better suited for rescue, but also dogs modified simply for color, and softness, animals made luminescent simply for kicks, and wild creatures shrunk down for human enjoyment. Here I think the reader is supposed to realize that Genetic Valley is actually helping people, science just sometimes has a rocky start. I agree with the crops, and search dogs, it's okay to enhance something's natural abilities - to a point. But to change the role of the creature in nature is abhorrent. To make natural camouflagers "glow-in-the-dark" means that they could never be placed back in their natural role. Animals become the way they are through natural selection, and we shouldn't try to reverse that.

Oh, also there's this part with a baby that has glowing yellow eyes . . . which was fun . . .

In the end everything turns out okay, but I was left in a state of confusion as I tried to gauge who the audience of this story even is. The title seems to scream "It's for kids!" and the story telling itself leans that way, but the content is deep, disturbing and over the heads of most children I know. This seems to be a social commentary for adults hidden in the pages of a "children's" story. 

Rating:

Wading through prejudice in Jeffrey Bardwell's 'The Knight's Secret' (relaunched)

Title: The Knight's Secret

Series: The Mage Conspiracy Series (#1)

Author: Jeffrey Bardwell

Genre: Fantasy 

Pages: 217

Publisher: Twigboat Press

Buy The Knight's Secret

What Goodreads has to say:

Sir Corbin, retired Hero of Jerkum Pass, rides for honor, glory, and his pension with the aid of a magic ring. The knight’s mission takes him to the capital of the Iron Empire. The city is in an uproar. The emperor has been slain by rogue mages. The new empress is livid. Soon all mages are suspect . . . including Corbin’s daughter. 

When Corbin dies on the eve of the mission, his granddaughter Kelsa dons his armor and his wrinkles to save her mother. Hidden behind the magic ring, she infiltrates his old regiment. The army has become a slithering nest of vipers. Imperial mages and cavalrymen move warily around each other. Both sides snare the disguised hero in tight coils of suspicion, politics, and lies. When the vengeful empress launches a vendetta against all mage kind, Kelsa must decide whether to save her family or preserve the empire. 

Unravel The Knight’s Secret, the first fantasy adventure of The Mage Conspiracy series. Discover a world of lurid entanglements and political intrigue where lies cut deeper than any sword.

What I have to say:

First of all, this is The Knight's Secret relaunched: version 2.0. (I reviewed 1.0 here.)

Now twice as gritty, twice as thrilling, and twice as thought-provoking.

Also twice as much sex, but we'll get to that in a minute.

This book gave me a lot to think about. In fact, while I've found all of Jeffrey Bardwell's books to be at least somewhat thought-provoking, this one takes the cake. 

There are two issues at the heart of The Knight's Secret: gender and prejudice. Both are beautifully illustrated in the way the story unfolds, and both feel extremely relevant right now. So I'm going to talk about them.

The gender divide

Our hero is a girl (Kelsa) -- disguised as a man. This isn't just a Shakespeare in Love situation; Kelsa is under a (voluntary) enchantment that makes her look and talk like her recently deceased grandfather, Sir Corbin Destrus. The longer she spends in his body, the more she begins to think and act like him, until it seems Corbin may have taken over entirely. But not quite.

Elsewhere, we have an empress who's just taken over from her deceased father. Wow -- wait. Didn't even think about that parallel until I wrote that sentence just now. Cool.

We've also got Maven: a mage and Corbin's former lover; and Drake: an old warrior and Corbin's best friend. 

Of course, there are plenty of other characters as well, and the gender divide plays out on smaller scales in all of them, notably in Kelsa's mother and father.

OK it's time to talk about sex.

So like, yeah, having sex with the woman who may or may not be your grandmother is super awkward. But like, Kelsa seems to have no problem with it so.... whateves.  

(This is where I point out that this book is PG-13. Like, it wasn't super graphic or anything, but definitely there's some... stuff... going on.)

Here's one of the places we see the gender gap most clearly. It's a different experience for each gender: Corbin and Maven. But since Kelsa has experienced it from both sides, she picks up on that difference. Then she makes love to a woman the way she knows women want to be loved.

But it's not just in the bedroom that gender differences come to light. It's in the story of the Battle of Jerkum Pass, where two women and one man make a fatal mistake -- and no one but the three of them ever know the true story. It's in the plots and intrigues that swirl around the city -- to which men and women give different responses. It's in the way Drake and the empress treat Maven -- calling her a witch and disrespecting her at every turn -- when they treat Corbin with evident respect and deference. 

And Kelsa? She's the bridge. Corbin and Kelsa in one, she brings the two genders together, just as she tries to bring the mages and soldiers together.

The mage prejudice

So I only realized this time through that this book takes place way before the events of The Artifice Mage saga. (I mean, there's literally the year at the beginning of every chapter so IDK how I missed that, just unobservant apparently.) Once I realized that, I was excited to see things like the mage detectors and the Black Guards coming into being, because those are already mainstays of Devin's world in The Artifice Mage saga. But enough plugs.

Just as there's a divide between men and women, there's a growing divide between the soldiers and the mages of the Imperial Army. While they're still on fairly good terms (depending on who you ask though, really), there's definitely tension in the room -- and it's building. 

It doesn't help that the empress seems determined to ramp up that tension for her own purposes. But just as she tries to bridge the gap between men and women, Kelsa tries to hold fast the growing divide in the army. 

So maybe there's only one issue at the heart of this book after all. It's about more than just the gender gap or societal prejudice. (Though those are pretty big issues in themselves.) 

In other words, it's not the difference itself that's the issue. 'Cause there will always be differences, whether they're differences of gender, ability, race, class, you name it. It's not hard to find the differences. It's hard to find the similarities.

And what this is all about is that we hone in on the ways we differ when we should hone in on the things we share.

That's The Knight's Secret.

And now that I'm in real danger of waxing too poetical, I'll wrap up. Thank you Jeffrey Bardwell, as always, for another rousing, darkly fascinating adventure. I look forward to sharing the next part of Kelsa's journey. And I look forward to sharing more literary travels with all you lovely readers, because at the end of the day, that's why we read, isn't it? To know we're not alone.

Rating:

Until tomorrow.

Happy Hobbit Day!

“There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.” 
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

May you keep looking for good books and always find ones that aren't exactly what you were after--because they're far better. 

Erin (center), Anna (right), and their sister in Oxford at a Tolkien exhibit. There was much geeking out.

From The Wood Between the Worlds to your own cozy Hobbit hole, Erin and Anna wish you a very happy Hobbit Day. 

My stress levels rise thanks to R.E. Palmer's 'The Gates of Dawn'

Title: The Gates of Dawn

Series: The Never Dawn (#3)

Author: R.E. Palmer

Genre: YA Sci-Fi / Dystopian

Publisher: FrontRunner Publications

Date: August 17 2017

Pages: 398 pages

Buy The Gates of Dawn

What Goodreads has to say:

Banished to the surface, Noah and his team struggle to survive in the harsh climate and are forced to make a difficult decision. In their quest to see the first dawn, they make a shocking discovery about their past that could help Noah bring Mother's cruel regime to an end.

What I have to say:

You know that feeling when you're nearing the end of a book, and there's maybe ten pages left, and everything is a complete mess and you're like, "how the heck can we salvage this situation? Ain't no way. Everyone's gonna die."

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present R.E. Palmer's The Gates of Dawn. 

This book was so stressful. Not only at the end when I was like, but wait, are they not going to win after all???? No, this book was just stressful all the way through. Like--Is this person going to die? No, they can't die! I really really like them! (Hi Reuben). Shoot, is Noah going to die? Noah can't die, he's the narrator and we still have three-fourths of the book left! But wait, is he dead? Crap, maybe everyone's going to die.

It kept me invested, it kept me guessing, and it kept me holding my breath right up to the very end. The characters' pain was my pain. Their small victories filled me with joy. Their shocking discoveries induced my horror.

Before moving on, can we take just a moment to appreciate this masterful opening paragraph:

"It turns out you can't touch the sky. I guess I really should have known it wasn't possible. But I mustn't be critical of my younger self. In every picture I'd drawn in the nursery, I'd colored the top third in blue and left the page blank until the green line of the fields where I would be playing happily with Mother."

At the beginning of The Gates of Dawn, Noah, Rebekah, and a handful of their friends (I use the term loosely because one of them wants Noah dead) are sent down to New Earth by Mother. That should be cause for celebration, right? Yeah, sure, I mean except for the fact that New Earth seems to be a dark, frozen planet incapable of supporting life.

They decide to trek across the planet in search of fertile ground, but it's by no means a smooth journey. Think avalanches, sea storms, and the occasional murder attempt by that person who's not really Noah's friend. In other words, it's truly an adventure.

But what Noah and his "friends" eventually learn on New Earth sends them back to The Ark, in one final attempt to topple "Mother" from her seat of power and save themselves and everyone else still living in The Ark.

While I loved this book, and in fact, the whole series (well done on your first trilogy, R.E. Palmer), I ultimately had a problem with the ending for some reason. Being my usual super helpful self, I'm not sure exactly what that problem was. Of course, it's hard that, oh wait, hold on a sec-

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*WARNING: SPOILERS*

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OK hi. So it's hard that Noah and Rebekah end up separated at the end, and my heart aches for Rebekah who's still stuck under Mother's dominion (though we can hope that Mother is a little nicer now, right?). 

But I don't think that's where my problem with the ending lies. Maybe I wasn't sure exactly what happened at the end--how Noah averted the crisis? Or maybe averting the crisis turned out to be too simple? (Activating the fail-safe by pressing a button.) Maybe I wanted more people to die? IDK.

Or maybe it was the epilogue that fell flat for me. Maybe I needed more trees, or maybe I needed Abraham or Seth to be there. Maybe I needed something more akin to the beautiful moment in this book where Noah looks up at the first sunset he's ever seen and is overcome:

"I blink. A tear runs down my cheek. I can't touch the sky, but it can touch me."

All in all, though, this was a great story and I enjoyed it immensely. Even though I think the final book was ultimately my least favorite of the three, simply because I didn't feel it was quite as masterful as the first two (The Never Dawn and Cloud Cuckoo), it was still a fantastic, gripping dystopian adventure.

Yeah, it was heck of stressful. But that's how I like 'em.

Rating: 

(like... 3 and a half...? Can we get half a tree?)

Until tomorrow.