Druids by Morgan Llywelyn

Read: 12 March, 2009

When Ainvar's grandmother gives her life to save her tribe from starvation, he begins his journey to learn the true meaning of sacrifice. Along with his "soul friend," the warrior Vercingetorix, Ainvar must find a way to end Caesar's conquest of Gaul.

POSITIVE: Great plot and a fantastic pace. After a painful beginning, this novel quickly became an exciting page-turner.

NEGATIVE: Unfortunately, this great story was burdened with several narrative issues. Right from the start, the reader is met with page after page of unnecessary exposition. Exciting scenes would be broken up by dull interludes explaining the meaning of this or that ritual or detail. The choice of the first person narrative may also have been a mistake as there is no clear perspective or reason for the telling of the story (at one point, Ainvar says "I must remember to ask Menua," despite the fact that Menua has already died from the narrator's perspective). Finally, I have to mention the scene where Ainvar looks into a mirror. He describes the "young man staring back at me" as:

"He had an elegant narrow head with a long skull suitable for storing knowledge. The eye sockets were deeply carved, the cheekbones high, the nose prominent and thrusting. It was a strong clear timeless face full of contradictions, brooding yet mischievous, reserved yet involved. Fathomless eyes and curving lips spoke of intense passions carefully suppressed, concentrated in stillness."

Who, I ask, would ever write in this way about themselves? It's just silly.

Overall, I would say that this book is worth the read, especially for people with an interest in historical battles or the history of Gaul. That being said, readers should be prepared for a less-than-fabulous writing style and an incomplete mastery of the first person narrative.

Discworld #13: Small Gods by Terry Pratchett

Read: 23 February, 2009

Things just can't seem to go right for Brutha, Novice to the Great God Om. First a tortoise starts talking to him, then the head of the Inquisition notices that he exists, and that's just the start! Terry Pratchett delivers yet another wacky, zany, hilariously funny, and delightfully philosophical episode in the Discworld Series.

POSITIVE: Funny. Really funny. Laugh out loud while in public and make others think you're adled funny. In Small Gods, Pratchett's focus is on religion - monotheistic religion in particular. He handles his topic with great care, so that it is irreverent and funny, and yet somehow manages never to come off as insulting. The morals and philosophies of the story are also a treat and the ending, in particular, is absolutely perfect in every way.

NEGATIVES: None. Pratchett frequently falls a little short on his plots and endings, but this book is a shining exception. I don't get to say this often, but I think that this novel might just be perfect in every way.

Overall, this is a fabulous book and a joy to read from start to finish. I think that Atheists and scientists would most enjoy this read. Fundamentalists and religious conservatives may see themselves too accurately reflected and dislike the book as a result. Even so, I think that a good sense of humour will make this book an enjoyable read regardless of your religious beliefs.

The Encyclopedia of Witches & Witchcraft by Rosemary Ellen Guiley

Read: 17 August, 2008

Overall, I'd say that this book is fine if taken as fiction and read for pleasure. If you are interested in serious scholarship regarding the history of the occult, this book would really only serve to help you with modern/Wiccan perceptions of witchcraft. While it does touch on a number of older subjects, the articles are clearly written from a Wiccan perspective.

For example, "altar" is almost entirely defined in the context of goddess worship, never mind that plenty of patriarchal religions made use of altars in their devotion to male gods (Christianity being an obvious example). The book takes the theory that goddess worship was the norm before it was suddenly replaced by male-centred religion as a given.

Even the entries that don't display an obvious Wiccan/feminist perspective show dubious scholarship. For example, the entire entry for Patricia C. Crowther talks about her relationship with woman she had been in a previous life - Polly. Polly teaches her some spells. The book says that "Patricia had no knowledge of such spells, which experts determined were authentic." Well, that's just sloppy. Who were these experts? Were they experts of Elizabethan magical theory and could therefore say that the spells Crowther had learned did match up with what we know of what Elizabethan witches may have practised? Or were these experts in magic who could tell that the spells were true spells with real magical power? We are never told the type of expert and in what way the spells were deemed authentic, which would change the interpretation of the article a great deal.

And then there were some entries that I just have no way of explaining. For example, the entry on "Gypsies" explains that "their language, Romany, is related to Sanskrit," but it never says that the people themselves are not called "Gypsies." They are Romani. This is never mentioned in the entire entry - a very unusual little bit of bigotry for a book published in 1999.

This book isn't a waste in the sense that I did get quite a few story ideas from it. But if you are doing research for any purpose other than the writing of fiction, don't bother looking here. And, honestly, even if you are writing fiction, use it only as inspiration, not as an information source.

Cairo by G. Willow Wilson and M.K. Perker

Read: 10 July, 2008

This is the first actual full-length graphic novel I've ever read, so I don't have all that much to compare it to. That being said, I enjoyed it immensely. It's a short read. I went through it in about five hours while at work, so I had a whole lot of distractions.

I loved the way mythology was used in the story. The result was an urban fantasy injected with just enough realism to make it all seem possible. The use of Arabic in the story was also well done - just enough to give the story an exotic flavour while not enough to confuse a non-Arabic speaking reader.

The illustrations are beautiful, both realistic and stylized with just enough shadow to give it a gritty feel. There were a few chronological errors (in one part, for example, a character is wearing glasses, and then taking his glasses out of his pocket and putting them on), but these are few and truly unimportant in the face of the work as a whole.

The characters themselves were fairly two-dimensional (the wide-eyed blonde American who wants to change the world, the censored journalist, the Israeli special ops soldier, the American teen who wants to do a suicide bombing in the hopes that it would teach all the kids who teased him in High School a lesson, etc.), but I do understand that it's probably unavoidable in this sort of medium where the space available in which to tell the story is so limited. Even so, strong writing made these stock characters pop and made me hold my breath hoping that they would all come out all right.

In conclusion, I think this is a great book, perfect for anyone interested in world mythology or the middle east.

Harry Potter #3: The Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

Read: 2005

The Prisoner of Azkaban is the third instalment of the Harry Potter series. The story opens on Harry's thirteenth birthday. He is staying with his abusive aunt and uncle (muggles, or non-magical persons) for the summer. What follows is a story of his third year at Hogwarts, a boarding school for young wizards, and his discovery of his long-dead father.

Before I begin, I would like to make it very clear that I will only be discussing The Prisoner of Azkaban in this review. I haven't read any of the other books in the series, so I really can't comment on how this particular book fits in. Now that that's out of the way…

I absolutely loved the way The Prisoner of Azkaban brought mythology to life in a modern and relevant way. It's not Tristan or Siddhartha Gautama anymore, this is just Harry. I have seen many attempts to revitalize myths for children, but this is the first time I have seen it done quite so successfully (at least since The Hobbit and The Chronicles of Narnia).

The plot is undeniably interesting. Many common child issues are brought up and dealt with in quite a nice pedagogical way. Everything from friendships to coping with fears to bullying to dealing with the loss of a loved one. These are all issues that every child faces, and children can learn a lot about how to deal with fear, for example, in the episode with the boggart (just find a way to make the fear look silly, laugh it to death!).

My major qualm with the book was the way that the plot developed. Rather than a subtle movement or clues for the reader to piece together, the plot moves very slowly, takes a huge leap, moves slowly again, etc. Sometimes, an explanation character is thrown in. These characters have no being of their own, no personalities, no relevance to the story. Rather, they are there just to act as Harry's (and our) surrogate ears. A good example of this would be Rosmerta at the Three Broomsticks pub. The story hasn't been told in twelve years, and suddenly they are telling Rosmerta every single detail. Of course, it just happens to be right in front of Harry.

The ending pretty much plays itself out in this same way. In a typical Nick and Nora style, all the relevant characters are gathered together and three chapters are spent revealing the truth. A lot of new information is added, sudden leaps are taken so that the reader could not have guessed the outcome for him/herself, and several instances are still left unexplained (for example, why, if Sirius Black is so good, did he break Ron's leg? One explanation someone has given me is that he's gone a little crazy with his desire for revenge. Why, then, did he not just kill Scabbers once he had him in the Shrieking Shack? Why did he wait in a dark corner until Harry and Hermione appeared and waited for Ron to shout out that it's a trap?).

The only other trouble I had with the book was the fact that everything plot critical was repeated several times. So you would have a main character explain something, then someone would ask an idiotic question that pretty much requires that main character to repeat what he just said. I suppose this is technically a children's book, so it makes sense that it would not require quite so much memory, attention, and piecing together as what I normally read. But as an adult, this was quite frustrating to read. And I feel that, somehow, it's short-changing children, too. From what I've noticed, kids tend to be a whole lot more perceptive than they are typically given credit for.

The use of names in The Prisoner of Azkaban is really interesting and entertaining. The names are whimsical, but also very descriptive of the character. Take "Snape" for example. This man is a jealous, petty, conniving man, one of those bullies in books that the reader just loves to hate. His name sounds exactly like that. "Snape" firstly sounds a lot like "snake," but it also conjures images of the petty and the low. Then you have "Remus Lupine," the werewolf. Remus, of course, taken from the Roman myth of Romulus and Remus, the twins who were raised by a she-wolf. And "Lupine" from the Latin word "lupus" which means "wolf." Playing around with pronunciations and possible meanings of the names is almost more entertaining that the novel itself.

All in all, I did enjoy it. I think Ms. Rowling is certainly an extremely intelligent woman and she puts a lot of that intellect into her work. Getting kids to read on such a large scale is certainly an amazing feat. However, the plot development style does not help anyone. If this is a children's book, I would like to see more clues throughout the novel so that it is possible (note: not 'easy') to figure out the ending. I think it's not just important that children read, but also what they read. Giving them something that has room for guesswork would do far more to improve their critical and observational skills than just having a couple little stories and then having a complete gear shift for an ending that pulls strings out of thin air with which to tie loose ends. As an adult reader, it would make the novel more worth-while.

Gifts by Ursula K. Le Guin

Read: 6 December, 2007

Book jacket summary: Scattered among poor, desolate farms, the families of the Uplands possess gifts. Wondrous gifts: the ability - with a glance, a gesture, a word - to summon animals, bring forth fire, move the land. Fearsome gifts: They can twist a limb, chain a mind, inflict a wasting illness. The Uplanders live in constant fear that one family might unleash its gifts against another.

Two young people, friends since childhood, decide not to use their gifts. One, a girl, refuses to bring animals to their death in the hunt. The other, a boy, wears a blindfold lest his eyes and his anger kill.

So that wasn't entirely laziness on my part. It's a fairly difficult story to describe in a few short words. OK, so maybe it was partially laziness...

I'd like to start off by saying that I'm a huge Le Guin fan. Her Earthsea books were my first taste of fantasy (and probably the reason why I don't read much fantasy - very few books compare). From that perspective, I found Gifts to be a little disappointing. I could see hints of what made her other books (like the Earthsea cycle or Left Hand of Darkness) so amazing, but they didn't seem to come together in as solid a book as I might have hoped. That being said, it was still a very good story.

One of the things I like best about Le Guin is that her stories tend to be character driven more than anything else. Several chapters might go by before something really happens or there's any action, but her books are interesting and readable from start to finish regardless. This was present in Gifts as well.

I also enjoyed that Gifts didn't wrap up or give the sense of a completed story. Rather, it mimicked life - ending with a new story beginning. This makes the characters feel alive, it makes them feel like they really exist somewhere and we readers are merely getting a chapter from their lives.

The characters themselves were fairly well constructed. They all felt real and distinct. However, I found that Orrec seemed to think in a strange way. He would come to a conclusion that isn't necessarily obvious and then hold to it as fact. It's almost as though Le Guin wanted X to happen but wasn't sure how to do it, so she implanted the thought into one of the characters' heads. This wouldn't be such a problem (heaven knows we all believe things that aren't strictly backed with facts) except that he's always right.

One of the classic Le Guin traits that made it into Gifts is the real world theme conveyed by the story. In this case, dealing with power. There aren't many authors who are able to carry both theme and story as Le Guin does and she does so quite well in this story.

In conclusion, this isn't my favourite book, but it isn't my least favourite either. If you have a spare afternoon and don't know what to read, this is a great choice. On the other hand, I wouldn't go out of my way to get it either.

The Beetle by Richard Marsh

Read: 2004

As wikipedia puts it, The Beetle is a xenophobic story about an evil oriental antagonist wreaking havoc about London with his powers of hypnotism and shape-shifting. Unfortunately, I don't remember too many of the plot details as it's been about two years since I've read it.

I do remember enjoying the novel quite a bit, though. I've always enjoyed the use of multiple narrators and the suspense is well-maintained from begining to end. The only flaw, and, unfortunately, its a real doozy, is the ending. The tension mounts and mounts and the climax builds and then BAM! Train crash! Damsel saved and evil guy killed! How disappointing...

Discworld #8: Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett

Read: June 2007

Constable Carrot, Captain Vimes, and the rest of the Nightwatch must save Ankh-Morpork from a "noble dragon" that's taken over the city.

Another great book from the Discworld series. I absolutely loved Captain Vimes. He's just such a great character and would work perfectly well in a story of his own sans the comedy. The humour is, as usual with Pratchett, laugh-out-loud hilarious.

Discworld #4: Mort by Terry Pratchett

Read: 2007

Mort was an awkward farm boy with the horticultural talents of a dead starfish. Eager to send him into a trade that might better suit his dispositions, his family agreed to place him in an apprenticeship with Death.

As far as coming of age and first love stories go, this is one of the better ones I've read. That's the major aspect of the Discworld novels I've always liked - they are hilarious, but the stories would still be quite good even without the humour.

Like most of the Discworld series, I loved the book right up until the climax. At that point, I usually feel like Pratchett is letting some fumbling inner author take over and I lose interest completely. It's usually a struggle for me to read the last 10-20 pages.

Overall, though, I highly recommend Mort as well as just about any other Discworld novel for anyone who enjoys comedy, particularly the more word-play witty humour of Britain rather than the slapstick/situational humour of North America.