Author Archives: Kait McFadyen

About Kait McFadyen

I am a partially employed Canadian science teacher with visions of grand travel and incredible adventures. When not immersed in work I maintain a small backyard garden, where I try to protect my crops of corn, tomatoes and other vegetables from the neighbourhood wildlife. The all-important library, my source of entertainment and discourse, is a comfortably short walk away.

Fade to Black – Book Review

Leave a reply

It has been a while since I picked up a book that I either hadn’t already read once or wasn’t ashamed to admit I read. Fade to Black by Francis Knight was found on list of fantasy suggestions. It met my requirements of sounding like it might be an interesting story and most importantly was available at my local library.

Book Cover.

As books go, it was Ok. I liked the attempt to create a slightly different fantasy world that was a good mix of modern-seeming technology (moving carriages run on some power source other than animal) and high fantasy (mages). The world was just discovering guns, having been restricted to knives and swords, but was very familiar to artificial lights (similar to the neon lights found in so many city centres). The writing was dark, gritty and had me thinking the author was male. Yes, men usually have a different voice than female authors – at least in my limited experience. The plot was solid, though not surprising. Actually it was all rather predictable. The first person narrative was solid. In the end the book was fine, nice, ok and any other generic adjective. I didn’t hate it, I sort of enjoyed it. But it was not engrossing, so I can’t say I loved it.

In fact, I wouldn’t be bothering with a book review at all if I hadn’t stumbled upon another reader’s review. While they appreciated the setting and the system of magic in use they complained loudly about the dark, gritty nature of the imagery and the overly sexist protagonist.

In one sense I understand where the reader is coming from. The book is dark, the plot is dark the setting is dark – literally you do not get to see the sun at all. Most of the story takes place deep in the shadows and underground, at least buried under layers of city to be effectively underground. But the complaint about the gruesome nature of the description seemed exaggerated. Sure the mages fuel their magic on pain, but that requires injury. And the beating of the main character’s had into the floor was no more gruesome than the torture that was happening in the background. Besides, it was no worse than a fight scene.

But the truly entertaining complaint regarding Rojan’s sexism is what made me chuckle. Yes, the main character is sexist. It is his flaw – the character flaw. All good characters need a problem, something that will serve to make them more human, make them less perfect. And since the only significant female in the book didn’t end up in his bed, I think this was a fair and reasonable flaw. He bungled his interactions with women becomes of his absolute belief that he could charm any woman he wanted into his bed. Arrogance is part of his character flaw. In fact, he needed very strong and very real flaws to fit into the broken world.

The author was clearly going for the dark. The main character is a bounty-hunter living on the edge of squalor in a dystopian city. He is to represent the average citizen living in the slums, eking out a meagre life in a world of despair. The character needed to reflect that in his attitudes, his appearance and his actions. He was supposed to be caustic, abrasive and cynical. He needed a tough personality to survive the harsh realities of his world.

Besides, his sexist ideas leaned more towards his arrogant assumptions of how all women would eventually fall for his charms rather than limit their role in society. At no point did he think that the only good woman was one staying at home and keeping house. His eye was drawn to strong females clearly capable of taking care of themselves. Does that excuse his attitudes? Well no, it is not supposed to. A character flaw is just that – a flaw. It is not a trait that makes the character more likeable, just more human. Flaws are meant to be detractors and clearly this one worked well.

So, what is the point of this review? Well, there isn’t much of one. Fade to Black is still a passable book made worse when I discovered it is supposed to be the first in a series. The best part was not the story itself (though it was fine), but the reactions of others.

Superman – Man of Steel a review

Leave a reply

I finally got around to watching the latest film version of Superman: Man of Steel, 2013. It was sadly disappointing.

Now, first I feel the need to point out I am not my brother. I do not hate everything. In fact, I like superhero movies. I don’t read the comics/graphic novels, so I am not hard-core fan. Still I enjoy the hero’s tale, good triumphing over evil, amazing powers and greater responsibility and all that fun stuff.

Superman may not be a childhood favour – I always found his story a little bland. However, I do have fond memories of watching the first several seasons of Smallville – before my source dried up (I was watching a housemate’s bother’s collection in university). I know the basics of Superman – he can do amazing things, including disguising himself with just a pair of clear glass frames. He can leap tall buildings, stop bullets with his chest and somehow fall victim to Lex Luther on a regular basis. I have seen some of the older films and was looking forward to the new reboot.

The cape looks foolish and why doesn’t he realize that he is wearing his underwear infront of everyone?

Casting is probably one of the strongest elements of the movie. It had an incredible supporting cast of well-proven actors. And the main lead fit my visual of the title character perfectly. There was clearly a huge budget available for all the shiny, computer assisted cinematographic tricks used to push the visual appeal for good to great. And Christopher Nolan was also part of production.

So, what happened?

Well, not a lot of anything. Man of steel turned out to be one of the most boring movies I have seen in a while. The most exciting part was surmising that Superman’s ‘flight’ was gas-powered through flatulents. How else do you explain the puffs of air emerging from his backside as he leaps into space?

Poot and he goes a little higher!

From the previews I had expected an origins story – but there was no character development. You could not even describe the film as an epic good vs evil as there was not progression of such a plot. It seemed at several moments the writers wanted to do something, they had half an idea, but then nothing came of it.

Superman’s history was interspersed throughout the long two hours in which nothing much occurs. Sure we see scenes of Clark being bullied (for undiscussed reasons), but what was the point? Why was he bullied? What did he learn from this experience? And why do all modern superheroes have to follow this over-done plot device? Can we not have a reformed bully become the hero?

Lois Lane was tossed into the film because even the director recognized you need a female on screen. But her role was so muddled and random to be completely irrelevant to the story. After doggedly hunting down her mysterious guy (Superman), she is suddenly caught by the FBI – how? And why does Superman, having met the woman once and told her to leave him alone, suddenly want to protect her more than anyone else? I think we are supposed to believe that they have some sort of romantic connection, but why? They interact for barely five minutes together over the course of the entire movie. Also, why is Lois taken by the bad guys? What use do they have for her?

Look I am evil. See, I am wearing black and a perpetual scowl. Oh and some facial hair, for twirling purposes only.

The evil guy – with the ridiculous sounding but otherwise forgettable name – would have twirled a ludicrous moustache, if he wasn’t so two-dimensional to even lack that interesting aspect to his character. He was genetically evil – or so he claimed – without being consistent. He was a warrior bred to protect his people, but initiates a coup and tries to take out one of the few remaining people when he attacks Superman.

I also really struggled with the alien ancestors of Superman. For a species supposed to be different from our own (they are Aliens), they were disappointingly human: in appearance, behaviour and thought. There was nothing particularly interesting about them as all of their characteristics and problems were pulled unimaginatively from our own western-culture thought and history. Their evil plot to terraform earth and rebuild their population on our deaths was so poorly justified. There was no way the audience could sympathise with their actions – which given humanities propensity to do the same should have been an easy accomplishment. Actually, what little dialogue and … culture? … was littered at the beginning of the film I felt the writers wanted to comment on … something.

There were snippets of conversation and thought regarding over population on Krypton and the unfortunate consequences. This led to colonization in the galaxy that was mysteriously abandoned. Birth was controlled by use of test-tube babies. This in turn resulted in limited bloodlines and genetically engineered individuals. Questions arose about the role of genetics over an individual’s fate, free-choice, and natural birth. With our growing skill in genetic engineering this could have been a topic of relevance, but the science was botched (how do two individuals genetically modified not to breed miraculously give birth to a child?) and like everything else the topic fell to the side.

Also, why did the planet suddenly exploded for no particular reason? For those not in the know, planets do not suddenly and violently explode by themselves.

So, underdeveloped, bland and boring summarize my Superman experience. The visuals were nowhere near original or spectacular enough to compensate for story in which nothing really happens over a 2 hour period.

Intelligence – a review

Leave a reply

Ok, I would just like to point out that I am not skipping this week – so take that!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

If you didn’t already know, the Olympics are on right now. I think they are rather interesting and I have been watching many of the different sports. I have also spared a few moments to watch some TV – alas, I have not read anything worth noting. So instead I am going to take a very brief moment to comment on one of the newest TV series titled: Intelligence.

It is terrible.

In fact I am struggling to find one redeeming quality in this show. Now, I know that people will blissfully sit and watch awful programming. I have been known to absently watch poorly created TV without much thought; usually with knitting needles busily clicking in my hands.

So, let’s take a moment to consider the various aspects of the show.

Characters: well, they are all really, super boring with no characterization. Essentially, all the characters are interchangeable. Really, if I was to describe them we have: The Male Lead (with noticeably sloping shoulders), The Female Lead (a brunette), The Super Genius Scientist (of unspecified discipline, but advanced age – hence the smarts), The Scientist’s Sidekick (who is his son – wow, isn’t that new and different!), and the Hard-Ass Female Boss (the older blond). I assume the characters have names, but they are forgettable.

Plot: so here we have a super-secret technology based agency who have created an amazingly dangerous weapon by implanting a computer chip in a human. Yup, that is all they have done. A small chip, the size of a pea (or there about) was inserted in the brain of a human. How does this make them super-human and extremely dangerous? Why was this human able to survive the surgery when all others died? How can we protect this expensive asset?

Well, these are reasonable questions and the show has answers for some of them. First, there is a gene that allows only some people survive the implantation of a computer chip into the brain. Wait. A gene? As in genetics and DNA?? But that doesn’t make any sense at all. Even those with a rudimentary understanding of biology must recognize the fallacy of this statement. How could there possibly be a genetic trait for such a concept? What sort of mutation exists that allows people to better interface with implanted computer chips? I mean really?!

Second, according to all the people on the show, one single, small chip was implanted in the Male Lead’s brain. As best I can tell it is a portable internet search engine – WiFi enabled. Apparently through tech-magic, it also allows the user uninterrupted access to all types of technology that are powered by electricity. The Male Lead can turn on cell phones, hack into closed circuit surveillance cameras, utilize satellite imagery, search every database in a millisecond and remotely unlock key-pad operated door locks. All this using a very tiny chip and I have yet to touch the fantasy of ‘cyber-renderings’, which are ultimately too stupid to comment on.

At one point the Male is lamenting the ‘knowledge’ streaming through his head. He knows all the details of his partners life because of the data trail she leaves behind and he really wishes for one day he could wake up and just not know these things. At which point the Female should have said ‘Then stop googling my life, you stalker!’ Alas, the show failed to see the ridiculousness of its own creation.

Their magic chip is capable of everything or anything at every moment, which does create a huge disconnect. Where is the drama, the tension, the drive of the plot when the magic-chip will come through and expedite the problem solving process? The show has completely failed to define the limitations of their magic-chip. Without this critical framework, the creators really have nothing to explore since any problem the characters come across can be easily solved with that all-purpose magic-chip. Without challenge, there is no conflict and without conflict the show lacks any real draw.

The Third question is really stupid. The chip was implanted in a military-marine, who should be well trained to protect his brain. So why they brought in a female secret service agent to protect him can only mean they are looking to set up a love interest (how predictable).

This brings me awkwardly to the Writing. Obviously the writers have put little thought into the world’s development. They have not flushed out any of the characters. They do not have a clear idea what sort of themes they want to explore – and this is perhaps the most frustrating as there are so many options. You could explore the impact of bionics on humans and the blurring between man and machine, but not if the only difference is one tiny implanted chip. It would be interesting to explore the benefits (beyond a glorified search engine) and the manifold limitations (data corruption, viruses, the need to constantly clear the memory, etc), but they do not.

The writing in each episode has the heroes charging off to save the people from their everyday problems: kidnappings and terrorist attacks. All the while they are trying to keep their implanted human secret while using him as their most effective asset. There is question about government and power that could be explored, but isn’t. And of course, with modern media there are the constant, illogical and poorly conceived action beats. Why does a car chase suddenly erupt, well because it has been 10 minutes since the last chase/fight/explosion. Uhg, how predictable.

In the end, Intelligence brings nothing new to the table. It doesn’t even competently rehash old ideas. It is bland, super-bland. It is just another program adding to the monotony of current television programing.

It is Winter Out There

Leave a reply

In case it has not already been mentioned, we live in Canada. As such we are privilege to observe and enjoy a wide variety of weather. We also spend a great deal of time talking about the weather – it is a fascinating subject.

Picture taken from our back patio door of the ice storm that came through about a month ago. It was pretty and deadly in its own special way.

Currently it is winter in the northern hemisphere. And for Canada that means snow, ice and cold temperatures. Now, I know there are places in this country with colder temperatures, with more snow, with a greater claim to winter than where I sit. But I must note that a high of -22 C with added win-chill is not bad. Blue skies and a white layer of pretty snow makes for a lovely landscape. The frosty air is chill enough to cause damage to skin if left exposed for any length of time. And it is going to be properly cold for much of this week. This is winter and I am delighted to have it.

What I truly don’t understand are the people who spend all their time complaining about the weather. What else do you expect at this time of year? Granted we might be a smidgen below seasonal. Still, it is not like we are exposed to spring rains in January – that would be a tragedy. Not only do people complain that it is too cold now (so cold we don’t have to worry about snow and the roads are great for driving), but they will then complain we have too much snow (gosh, you need to use a shovel in the middle of winter!) or that we have freezing rain (which is a sad complication of warmer temperatures – see colder is better). Come spring these same individuals will certainly criticize the rain, the soggy ground and the inevitable flooding. Summer is too hot, too dry (sometimes too wet with thunderstorms) and autumn brings the hurricanes and tornadoes. Really, just think of all the fuel for conversation we have just living in a country blessed with four distinct and creative seasons. Does the frigid, white winter make the sultry, sunny summer all the more pleasing?

Yup, I love living in a part of the country touched by weather – even the current cold.

*Also, I confess I have absolutely nothing else to post about. I work (which is dull to write about). The books I have read most recently have been good (neither praise-worthy nor rant inducing).

An Exercise in Disappointment – The Damnation Affair

2 Replies

First, I am going to start my saying that while I have several New Year’s Goals, none of them are to improve my Blog Posting Regularity. Perhaps it should be, but it isn’t. Instead I am resolved to rewite second drafts on two different stories; write a short story for competition submission and finish Left 4 Dead 2. Anyway, all that is completely unrelated to my post.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It was supposed to be so good. It was supposed to be an adventure in the west, a story filled with cowboys, steampunk, and magic.

For some inexplicable reason I was convinced I just needed to read this book. I had to have it! No other story would satisfy this craving. By the end I was desperate.

A book, written by a reasonably popular author should not be that difficult to procure. However the acquisition was a trial in and of itself. The book in question was not to be found in any local book stores. There was no copy held in the library. And my request for the library to order this book went unheeded. Finally, in desperation I broke down and purchased the novel and had it shipped to the nearest book store. For two weeks I waited in anxious anticipation until finally it arrived. Until finally this weekend I could read my book. Until my dreams ended abruptly with ridiculously dumb vampires and a story that didn’t go anywhere.

The Damnation Affair by Lilith Saint Crow is the third book in the same world as the Clare and Bannon Series. The Clare & Bannon Series is set in an alternate Victoria world swirling with magic and mechanisms. An increasingly popular subgenera of steampunk fantasy which I have read of lately. The Clare and Bannon novels have a distinctly Sherlock Holmes vibe and Dr. Watson to them. I liked the first book well enough to read the second in the series. They were fine. A little too much magic – which seemed more than a bit silly. Oh and the mentath’s – the supposed antithesis of magic as these individuals were all about logic – were simply ridiculous. The conclusions a mentath made was based on such little information it was wildly improbable. Ultimately, the mentaths were mental mages instead of traditional magic weilding sorcerers.

But that is a small aside, as the mentaths do not appear in the third book – The Damnation Affair. And the sorcerors magic apparently works different on the new continenet – for ‘reasons’. This was a cowboy-zombie book taking place in the Wild West of the New World. It could have been good. It should have been brilliant, after all the writing had all the flavour of the times. Flavour is important to the writing a great story. A historical piece is quickly ruined by the use of modern language. If I could point to one good thing about this book, it was the use of a western drawl by the citizens of Damnation. But in the end the language was not enough to save me from an otherwise disappointing story.

I knew the story had zombies, which are regularly a turn off. However I was willing to overlook this little hiccup for the rest of the world. I craved that New World feel, the rough and tumble of frontier living, the struggle to overcome the land and all the varied obstacles. I was even anticipating a twist on technology, the creative use of mechanicals in a land not constrained by thousands of generations of Society.

What I had was a nod to the walking dead, a town with potential – yet poorly described or explored, a romance between two orphaned characters (and yes, that is sad) and all that topped off with a demon in the hills capable of creating vampires. Really where did the vampires come from? And WHY?

There were so many other things the author could have done. Granted every idea that sprang to mind from her pages was already a well-used cliché, but this was a mess. A rather slow to build mess with threads hanging loose at every turn. The Chinese were tossed in without regard to purpose. The magic was convoluted. The rage of some characters against the secret order of something was left completely unexplained. The feisty female doesn’t really do anything (a striking injustice to the character). Even the argument that she brings civilization from the East loses weight when one considers that the conflicts she faces just sort of fade into the background like hazy mirages. The battle of the undead lacked the big punch one would expect from the set up. And the Sheriff tosses aside every belief he has ever held for a pair of brown eyes that don’t appear to lose their luster from being buried in the dirt.

What you don’t see is the dozen of streets hidden behind the unprepossessing façade of this ‘main street’.

The town which is described as a single street with some half dozen buildings lining the two sides, blossoms suddenly in the second half of the book into a place big enough to house an unwanted portion of the populace in a completely different section. Really, where did these side-streets spring from?

One of the characters introduced as a villain in the first half of the book, is turned into another deputy by the end of the story for one random deed. Incidently, they never explain the shady dealings with that character. Just suddenly we are to accept him as one of the good guys – as much as the men in this town of Danmanation, plagued by the walking dead can be considered good.

I wanted to love this book. I read it with care I rarely afford my novels. I read it is slowly (for me) talking a solid 24 hours to finish. But the vampires were one straw too many and now I am left with two hundred pages of broken dreams and crushed hopes.

I desperately hope this is not foreshadowing of this year’s releases. Please, let the next book I read be better. Please…

Merry Christmas

Leave a reply

On this day, I wish you all a Merry Christmas (or politically correct Happy Holiday!)

To all those involved in celebrating at this time, I hope you are enjoying a day of friends and family. May your time be filled with good food and excellent companionship – in my case beating my brother at his brand new board game, summoner wars. Other highlights of my day included watching Newsroom and finishing my annual gingerbread house.

This year I created a template to resemble my actual house. The idea was to make it look real-ish. The product was not as clean or well exicuted as I had hoped. The gramcrackers do not look like siding and the dried cranberries are shaped more like red stone than brick. Yes, the large block on the right is supposed to be garage door. However, I have photographed it for memory and will enjoy looking at it for the next week or so.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Book Review – Untold

Leave a reply

I feel the need to defend some of my reading material. Why? Because of my very judgemental brother of course. Not only does he hate everything – he can always defend his point of view by pointing out the obvious (and less obvious) flaws in the book/movie/game/etc. So, even when I come out of a movie thinking geez that was fun, a few minutes discussion with Kevin will leaving me disappointed in the film.

Since he doesn’t read much, books in theory should be safe from his hypercritical views. But it doesn’t seem to work that way. First I struggle to relate the plot of my stories in any manner that doesn’t sound utterly ridiculous. Further, the self-proclaimed God of Taste will on occasion read the book summary online. And that I suppose is really where this post began. With a movie poster for Divergent and a curiosity to know what the story was about.

According to some online summary, Divergent is supposed to be a dystopian future similar to the Hunger Games. Only none of the described problems seem like reasonable problems. How is a government that is characterised as being selfless considered evil? How can people really expect to divide the population into five classes based on personality and not think there will be individuals that do not fit in their system? More importantly what does it matter which personality you have? There is not indication of how these classes integrate into society. It seems silly as many young adult novels do. While I am curious to see if the book is as bad as the summary suggests, I am not quite willing to sacrifice the day required to read it.

On the other hand I did read and enjoyed a different young adult novel, Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan. Untold is the sequel to Unspoken (which I think I have mentioned before). The summary: well, in brief it is about a town of wizards divided between the evil side that want to kill people for power and the good side that don’t want to kill anyone. It is set in modern England. So, in some ways I suppose you could compare it to Harry Potter which also explored good and evil and magic in modern times. Certainly both had secret wizards capable of fantastical feats but hidden from the rest of society.

One of the biggest questions raised with Harry Potter was: If magic is so powerful and capable of doing all sorts of things why do wizards have to hide from the rest of society? I don’t think it was ever fully rationalized. I could apply the same question to Untold. The only answer I can find is that Wizards are not capable of just anything with their power and that for most of them their power is confined to the small English town through tradition and design. Certainly everyone (or nearly so) in the town is aware of the concept of wizards, it is accepted but not much discussed (on account of death being connected to power). The wizards themselves have a strong connection to the town (it was built expressly for them hundreds of years earlier) and desire to continue ruling it. But still I ask, why there? Why can they not do magic elsewhere? And if they can, why do they not rule the world?

While the main characters are still in school, it is not the driving force behind the books. Untold does not have a Hogwarts, it has an entire village – kept isolated by magic and wizards. Very few people seem to move into the town and few seem to leave. This seems reasonable for small towns and certainly builds that insular world of Sorry-in-the- Vale.

Ok, I can see where the story sounds a bit silly and I really cannot explain it away. The characters however, are really what have sold me on the series. They are teenagers – a point against them, but in some ways they are not real teenagers. First their banter is far more interesting to listen to. Second, although they can be very moody, several are spunky, straight-forward and optimistic. It gives the cast a good balance as there is always someone there to call out the particularly emotional ones and give them a good kick in the pants.

I like the connections between people. Families are not perfect in this story, even the one example of a seemingly perfect family has to deal with real issues of trust and potential divorce. There is a range of families and different relationships expressed in the book. Some parents are absent. Some parents don’t care for their offspring, other parents seem to care more for their nephew than their own son. The main character is not your typical orphan. She is deeply connected to her family and struggles when they show how human even her parents are. Even in the conservative English village there is a hint of diversity with the main character and her Japanese ancestry; with characters exploring their sexuality. All of these conflicts are well done and I think they remind the reader that not everyone is the same and you cannot judge people just by their appearances.

So, what is the point of this lengthy (for me), incoherent ramble? Well first and most importantly: Untold, the second book in the Lynburn Legacy, is a good read. I liked it. I would recommend it, particularly to those enjoying young adult. And even better, it doesn’t have vampires, werewolves or zombies. Second, it is probably a blessing that my brother doesn’t read much. It keeps him from tainting everything I like.

Crown of Midnight

Leave a reply

This week’s brief review is looking at Sarah J. Maas’ latest novel the Crown of Midnight. It is the second book in A Throne of Glass series.

The stories revolve around the young assassin, Celaena Sardothien. She is working for an evil King in order to win her freedom. Naturally nothing about life is as simple as she pretends. There is the crown prince Dorian and the Captain of the Guard Choal for a love triangle. And then there is her friend, the princess Nehemia, who would like to see Celeana fighting for the people, the land or good in general instead of her own selfish desires.

The novel is a quick read. The pacing is fast. The main character is physically strong. The use of magic should appeal. It is a land that was once seeped in the ancient and mystical, until suddenly it wasn’t – until the King decreed magic was banned and set about slaughtering all its visible remnants. There is an undercurrent of bringing back the forgotten magic – a concept I like.

However, I find the book has been tainted by the Fae. I am not entirely certain I can articulate what it is about fairies that displeases me so. Perhaps it is the fact they are thrown into the world as a seemingly easy way to explain things like magic. Perhaps it is because they are nothing more than lifeless derivatives of Tolkien’s work that I find so insipid. The Fae are always magical, always gorgeous, always faster, smarter, prettier, with golden pale hair and pointed ears. They live forever and are often – especially those following in Tolkien’s glorious footsteps – perfect in morals and rule. This holds true once more. The Fae have been persecuted, driven from the lands/hunted from their homes – slaughtered and killed and etc.

The big twist in the book regarding the main character’s past was not unexpected. I thought it was a bit excessive for two reasons. First it was a bit too predictable – which I suppose would could interpret to mean that the author was successful in setting up the plot. Except that it is an old plot twist that is common to this style of story. The second thing that rubbed me as being slightly off was a comment made by one of the characters, Nehemia. The princess says and does what is most convenient to the plot. At one point she is speaking with the Prince will Assassin and Captain dance in the moonlight.

“Responsibilities. We will always have burdens that no one else can ever understand. That they…will never understand.”

These words bother me even more having finished the book and knowing the big twist. They bother me because it has been implied at several junctions Nehemai know of the twist, yet I do not feel this is accurately expressed in her words – and sometimes in her actions. Of course, it could be related to some other idea yet to come. For while this book certainly felt like a second book in a series, I cannot tell from the story ending or the author’s webpage if this is going to be a trilogy (most common) or longer series (increasingly common). I suppose only time will answer this question.

So, to wrap this up. Yes, Crown of Midnight is a good read. I think it holds up rather well to the first book in the series, Throne of Glass. It is fun, fast and frivolous. It is a solid young-adult fantasy novel that does show the influence of Cinderella in subtle ways.

Gail Carriger – Author Review

Leave a reply

Gail Carriger is an amazing author of highly entertaining Victoria Steampunk novels. To date I have read both the adult and young-adult, all of which take place in the same world – England mostly.

What I absolutely love about her work is the quirky way she has of using words. Carriger does not shy away from the use of a larger vocabulary often ignored by current fantasy authors. She pairs descriptors in absurd ways that still function most hilariously. It is absolutely the very best thing about her books – her writing.

The names in her works have become increasingly ridiculous – and thus increasingly amusing to pronounce. For example in the young adult books about finishing school we have Professor Shrimpdittle and Lord Dingleproops. Not all the names are so over the top to make reading them an entire distraction. She does strike a balance between the outrageous and slightly less exotic.

As for the stories themselves – well I certainly enjoyed them, but they are far from perfect. Really, have you ever read a book that didn’t have at least one thing you would change? In this case I sometimes struggle with the amazingly fantastical nature of the technology. The first series, The Parasol Protectorate, had a new automaton creature each book: swarms of lady bugs and needle shooting hedgehogs come to mind first. I suppose it would be less of a bother if she didn’t try to explain each one with science – the humanoid with clockwork gears and thick greasy blood covered in a wax skin was particularly cumbersome.

Another aspect I completely disapprove of is the direct interactions with Queen Victoria. I am really not fond of authors involving actual people in their fantasy stories. Of course, I would prefer if the author would simply make up their own world, similar in flavour and style but different in name, history (which it already is) and people (no actual historical figures present please). It is often jarring to read.

Actually, one of the neat things about her books was the use of the supernatural – which should be nothing but silly. I don’t know why all steampunk must feel the need to include Vampires and Werewolves and the like. However, I did appreciate the way it was dealt with in these books. The supernatural was in the process of being incorporated into society – it was used to explain some of the social rules that govern that time period. It was interesting the way the characters of the time tried to use science to explain the supernatural around them – in this case an excess of soul. But what was best about the explanation, it was done in such a way the author could use a completely different one as the technology and science evolved over time. After all scientific views are not static in the least. It was also impressive the way different people viewed the supernatural – some clearly supported and emulated them, others tried to hunt them down and kill them. There was a healthy mix of both, with a clear bias leaning in favour of the main character.

Both heroines are adorable. They are spunky, go-get-them types that work to some degree within the confines of their social world. Again, the writing is immensely entertaining when it comes to the dialogue and the frequently outrageous clothes donned by several of the secondary characters.

The young adult stories – Finishing School series – predate the events of the Parasol Protectorate series. It is interesting to see the author’s struggles with technology. The Finishing School – located on a dirigible and staffed by clockwork servants – seems almost more advanced than the more typical housing arrangements of the Parasol Protectorate, so I am curious as to how she will explain some of its loss.

Those reading both series will find that some overlap in characters. Though they are not primary characters, some are strong secondary ones. Also, the Finishing School series has a much lighter, faster and more youthful feel to it which is appropriate to the audience. Again, because of the brilliant writing, it is still wonderfully entertaining to older audiences.

So, for those that like well written books of the supernatural steampunk persuasion I would highly recommend Gail Carriger. Both the young-adult and adult books are instantly captivating. The element of the absurd is laugh-out-loud fun and the characters are ridiculously engaging. This is not your average fluff fantasy, this is perfectly written entirely diverting fluff.

The Books:

The Parasol Protectorate stars Alexia Tarabotti in five novels.

Soulless – In which the intrepid heroine accidently kills a vampire and becomes embroiled in a plot to manufacture the supernatural.

Changeless – In which our heroine is forced by circumstances from the comforts of fashionable London to the uncivilized backwaters of wild Scottish highlands.

Blameless – In which the practical heroine must flee homicidal mechanicals for the dubious safety of Italy.

Heartless – In which family and history clash and ghosts request our heroine’s aid.

Timeless – In which the story of supernaturals and our heroine’s own extended family (including their histories) are explained, if not by science, then by their limitations in the exotic lands of Egypt.

Finishing School stars Sophronia Temminnick in four novels (two of which have been published to date).

Etiquette & Espionage – In which our fearless heroine discovers mysterious going-ons at a rather atypical floating finishing school.

Curtsies & Conspiracies – In which our crafty heroine continues her studies into the nefarious practices of poison and deportment.

Nanowrimo Winner

Leave a reply

Nanowrimo – National Novel Writing Month

This is a very short post and a late post all of which is being blamed on Nanowrimo. As my brother has mentioned, November is Novel writing month. And, since work was not particularly busy, it was something I participated in. The goal: 50 000 words in only 30 days. Actually, it is far from unacheivable as goals go. However, it is also very time consuming. These past few days have been dedicated to the final push.

Last night, after hours spent chained to my computer I finally reached my goal of 50 000 words. It is exciting to be done, it is relieving to be done and quite frankly I am bragging that I am done – unlike some other people I could name. On the other hand, I would not say that I wrote an actual novel. I certainly wrote all about one place and group of characters. I wrote the required number of words. But for all the other aspects of character development and plot progression I feel I failed. My novel is a terribly written first draft of something that needs to be returned to the darkest corner of the closest for a long period of time. Until someday I can drag it back out, scrap it and start over – perhaps next november.

Now that I am finished, I hope to do some reading, which should provide me with things to write about. In the meantime, for all of those people still rushing to complete their November Novels – you can do it! It is within reach and it is possible. To everyone else, enjoy these last few days of the month.