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.
All Systems Red is the first book in Martha Wells’ series the Murderbot Diaries. It is actually a novella rather than a full length novel. As I sit here on the back deck, I really don’t know what to say about this book. I liked it but I didn’t love it. I am interested enough that I have ordered more books in the series from the library. Ultimately it did not move me – I neither loved it enough to gush, nor hated enough to complain.
Book cover for All Systems Red by Martha Wells; first novella in the Murderbot Diaries series. Image from the internet.
It was not what I expected, which I suppose is something. First from the title, I thought Murderbot was more actively killing humans. It wasn’t. I was mildly surprised that its job was security – but very low end security.
From a friend’s review I also expected it to be funnier than it was. There were no laugh-out-loud moments in the story.
I was interested in how Wells developed the character and dealt with a constructed lifeform. I thought the setting was different enough and the future of mega-corporations fine – not new, but certainly concerning.
I struggled a bit to learn and follow the humans in the story. Their names were confusing as was the use of pronouns. I don’t know if I struggled because the pronouns did not match my expectation of gender for the names or if they were intentionally misleading because Murderbot didn’t care. Aspects of the world were difficult to understand. Were all the researchers on the planet corporations looking for mineable resources? Are there any governments in this future space setting, or only money making corps? How are constructs different from augmented humans? What parts are organic?
Certainly there are some interesting questions about personality and defining life. And I do give the author huge props for creating a shy, apathetic artificial construct who wants to spend all its time watching the entertainment feed.
Overall, the writing is strong. The author is able to raise some interesting points about humanity and our future. While I found it a bit confusing, other readers may not. It was not something that resonated with me, but it was a well written book (novella) – 4.5 stars out of 5.
Gir from the Stars is a five book series by Cheree Alsop. I read the first book Daybreak, which I thought was fine, but not nearly good enough for me to invest in purchasing four more books. I might have ordered the rest from the library, if my library carried this series. Since I found the series lackluster, I wasn’t going to write a review. It wasn’t terrible enough to deserve a good rant and not good enough to share with the world. Still, beware of spoilers.
But that changed. I was browsing the synopsis of the other four books – out of curiosity – when I discovered these books have really high ratings, life 5 stars (out of five). Why? I am baffled. While the plot chugged along, the characters were not the best I have read. The crew of the SS Kratos is a cliched mix of different aliens. But since the aliens were not well described, I feel like they are all early Star Trek – humans with different coloured skin and eyes. Especially as the lead is half human half damaclan. Clearly we have some mingling of genetics which means the aliens are more human than not.
*** Insert break while I actually read the reviews of other readers, rather than just looking at the star count. ***
Book cover for Daybreak; book 1 in the Girl from the Stars series by Cheree Alsop.
Okay, I am going to do something a bit different I am going to comment on some of the common reviews of other people.
First, I am noticing that people who liked the book liked the fast pace adventure and the main character’s ability to kick ass. I will agree that Liora Day (the half Damaclan warrior with a traumatic past) can kick ass. She is also filled with flaws, like the inability to work with or communicate with others. An interesting problem as she is also a telepath. Yes, I appreciate that she can fight hordes of bad guys, but I am less enthused by the fact she is constantly being rescued by men. This does detract from her strength as a character.
Sure, the story moves quickly. Unfortunately this fast pace means we skip past actual character and plot development. For example (because examples are important): in the opening chapters of the story, the Captain of the SS Kratos is killed. One of the Lieutenants is sworn in as new captain. What is mentioned in passing, is the new Captain is the son of the previous Captain. There is no explanation as to why father and son are serving together. There is very little time spent on how Devren is coping with the loss of his father. He is granted one moment of grief, then continues on his day. Also, why did Devren rescue Liora from the cruel circus? And why not any of the other imprisoned species?
I will ignore the giant world destroying artifact that is tossed into the book as a key plot element that everyone will fight over. But I will not just support Captain Devren’s decision to withhold the device from his government. Yes, I am sure many of his superiors are corrupt and going to use the artifact for evil purposes. But, Devren is the son of a Captain. He has a long space military history. He is used to following orders – at least he should be. Why is he suddenly defying generals, throwing his lot in with the rebels he had previously been fighting against and in one quick move condemning the rest of the crew who we are led to believe Devren views as family? A little more dialogue would have gone a long way on this point.
A number of people commented on the books ending, or lack thereof. I can see what they mean about it being abrupt. However, I am not entirely opposed to the loose ends of the final chapters. I am more bothered by the journey to that point. The motivations of the characters and how they interact with each other and their world is the greater flaw. Devren is a great example of a character who does things because the plot says so. There is very little justification. Liora also does things, like go off on her own to hunt down her stepfather she suddenly learns is still alive. As a character she swings back and forth between running away from everyone else and trying to belong. While this is a great internal conflict, it needs to be explored more thoughtfully. Otherwise her actions hold no logic.
This feels like the author wanted an epic space opera. There are elements of Star Trek in the superficial nature of the universe and the multiple species, all working well together and all appearing mostly human. Unfortunately, the book lacks the character development to make the crew of the SS Kratos memorable. Thus it is difficult to be bothered by their deaths. Also, how big is this crew? Or the ship for that matter?
The kick ass nature of Liora, her random falling in love with the doctor, and the mysterious (yet very evil) creatures of her childhood feels more like Star Wars. Unfortunately, neither aspect is well developed. So the reader meanders between two leads: the ship’s crew and the female warrior. In the end, neither side is satisfied, but a lot of messy action happens in between.
For the potential of the storyline and the effort to have a non-sexual male-female relationship, I give this story 3 out of 5 stars. Hopefully, the writing gets tight over the rest of the series, though I doubt I will ever know.
Title: The Night House Author: J.C. McKenzie Beware of spoilers.
Book cover for The Night House, image from the internet.
The Night House is the first book I have read by author J.C. McKenzie. From the synopsis of other books by this author, I am going to say The Night House is a bit different. First, this is a stand alone book. Which I quite like. Second, I found the Night House felt similar to Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass series. Maybe it was the blade wielding white-blond assassin characters found in both stories. Survivors of great tragedy that killed their families, these two strong, snarky women would become a force to be reckoned with as they uncover dark plots in black magic tainted castles. Obviously there are many differences between these two characters. Their stories are not the same, but there was a general presentation of plot and character that was reminiscent of the other.
In The Night House, Taya is camping with her best friends when the apocalypse sweeps through as a blue wave of destruction. It opens a portal to another reality where medieval- esq raiders originate. They have come to our Earth for resources, including slaves. Taya, trained in a variety of martial arts by her father, is a survivor of the first death wave. But surviving on the West Coast of Canada as winter settles in is not easy. Captured, Taya is hauled through the magical portal by Lord Thane and forced to choose how her survival will look going forward. Spoilers, she chooses the path of a warrior in Thane’s personal army. Besides, Thane has offered Taya a chance at revenge, and that is something she is not willing to pass up.
There are lots of things I liked about this story. I liked the pure fantasy of magic and super fighting skills. Though their methods for problem solving are rather primitive – stab with pointy objects. I like the Canadian setting. It is understated, but present. And since most modern fantasies I come across take place in the US, it is a nice change. Though, really, there is not much that is distinctly Canadian other than some place names.
The Arkavian’s are a mix of medieval knights and vikings on steroids. And as each one is described as massive, I can only assume they are actually on steroids. Their world is simplistic and not well developed. But they are fine for moving the plot along.
The first few chapters of the book dealing with Taya’s survival after the portal opens is interesting. I like the way the author discusses some of the challenges faced in this post-apocalyptic world; finding food, shelter and other survivors. Not a lot of time is spent on this, as Taya is then captured and dragged through the magic portal. Not much time is spent developing Arkavia either. A lot of short hands are used so the reader feels they have a good enough idea of how things are going for Taya.
I did like the character dialogue. I think the author was rather good at conveying information through dialogue and building interest with the characters this way. While there were areas of the story I would have liked to see explored a bit more, I do appreciate the pace of the story. It moved, and at points time jumped. This was used in an effective manner, so I didn’t feel like I missed a great deal. Besides, in real life time does have a way of slipping past so we don’t realize that days, weeks or even months have gone by.
Overall I enjoyed this book, which looks different in tone than McKenzie’s other novels; 4.5 stars out of 5.
The series is Sentinels of the Galaxy by Maria V. Snyder. There are currently two books: Navigating the Stars & Chasing the Shadows. Beware of spoilers in the following reflection.
Maria V Snyder’s Sentinels of the Galaxy series currently has two books. The third is not out until November, but it is already on my reading list. So, short review – I like this series.
The first book, Navigating the Stars, follows Lyra Daniels as she is forced to move across the Milky Way Galaxy to a new planet because of her parents’ research. Her parents are expert archaeologists studying terracotta warriors found on different planets. Lyra is nearly 18 Actual Years old and she definitely acts like a teenager. She spends time getting into trouble on the advanced data-communications-navigations system, the Q-net. But there are troubles ahead when looters come and attack the dig site. Lyra is drawn into danger. The book ends with Lyra’s death and her subsequent resurrection as Ara Lawrence.
Book cover for Navigating the Stars; book one in the Sentinels of the Galaxy series by Maria V. Snyder. Image from the internet.
The second book, Chasing the Shadows, continues to follow the first person narrative style of Ara Lawrence (aka Lyra Daniels). To hide the fact she isn’t permanently dead (only flatlined for a few seconds), Ara became a security officer for the dig site. Using her rapidly growing worming skills (future based hacking), Ara needs to track down the bad guys who not only looted the dig site, but destroyed many terracotta warriors and released the alien shadow-blobs. These hostile life forms (HoLFs) are deadly and growing in intelligence.
I read the first book a few weeks back (maybe a couple of months) and I don’t remember all the details very well. But I feel like I actually prefer book two to the first book. Which is very unusual. As for why I liked Chasing the Shadows better, I think it had more explanation. There was more science, more aliens and generally more explanation of the plot. The first book was more about Lyra/Ara and setting up the world. But the second book was more about explaining the world, about finding answers. And these were interesting answers. I suppose in many ways the second book was more fantasy than the first book.
The author’s take on space travel was interesting. It is generally not my favourite way of dealing with the space travel, but it ranks high for most thoughtful. In this world, there exists a Crinkle Machine, that connects two distant points in space. For this reason ships (and their passengers) are able to travel great distances in the blink of an eye – but with constraints. They are traveling into the future. So while it may not seem like very long inside the Crinkle Process, the rest of their friends and relatives are aging. And actually, Snyder did a good job selling this feature. It was rather sad when you thought about it. But people continued to travel and to age differently than those left on planets.
It does raise some questions, like why those people from Earth manage to maintain the same sorts of outlooks. But for the people on the outer reaches of explored space, it is an interesting problem.
Book cover for Chasing the Shadows; book two in the Sentinels of the Galaxy series by Maria V. Snyder. Image from the internet.
One of the aspects that I don’t love is the teenager-ness of the main character. While, Lyra/Ara is well written and reasonably believable. I find that I am at a point in my personal life when I really don’t want to read about teenagers. They are a strange mix of child (classified as someone adults readily ignore and who sees adults as one dimensional beings) and adult (classified as someone who can be trained in combat). Teenagers are hormonal, with epicly dramatic relationships. And while Snyder does a pretty good job of balancing out Lyra/Ara with her parents being present, it is still one of my least favourite aspects of the books.
Still, these books are well written. They have an interesting take on space, travel and aliens. The characters are complex, detailed and well crafted. And the story is interesting. Rating of 5 out of 5 stars (or 4.5 if I am feeling stingy). Good stories, definitely recommend. And truthfully I am excited for the next book.
Today we are going to look briefly at Wayfarer’s Keep by T.A. White. Note: there will be some spoilers in the following passages, including a briefly discussion about the final boss.
Wayfarer’s Keep is the third book in The Broken Lands series. It stars Pathfinder Shae and Warlord Fallen as they descended upon the stronghold of the Pathfinders.
Book covers for the first three books in the series from the internet.
First a confession: while I have read the first two books in the series, it was not recently. My memory for details is not the very best. So this review is based on what I remember with a focus on my impressions of this story.
It was clearly a book in a series. It actually felt like the third book in a trilogy, there was a sense of completion with its final battle. Though it was not a very firm conclusion, leaving plenty of room for the big bad guy to return. Or related minions to harass the people of this world.
The Broken Lands are a strange place. There are the Highlands, the Lowlands, the Outlands and the Mists. Things are a strange mix left over technology from some great cataclysm and monsters. There are lots of monsters making the world a very hostile place for humans. This book takes the already ferocious creatures and adds the new mythicals – intelligent ferocious creatures. It kind of feels like a comic book where the heroes have leveled up, so their foes must also level up otherwise there wouldn’t be any tension.
The story is composed of a lot of battles. There seems to be a lot of fighting in these stories. And with a Warlord for our second main character, the fighting is heroic and glorious. Which is fine. It is not the smart solution to the problem, but reading about heroes fighting their foes to win the day is a very solid story arch.
It is interesting how magical the advanced old technology is described. It is also interesting some of the imagery chosen by the author. Large, cannon like guns are described as flowers that open up before sending their projectiles.
Book cover for Wayfarer’s Keep from the internet.
Treachery is one of the issues faced by our leads. Who to trust? How to earn the trust of others? The intrigue was okay, but not very subtle. Again, these characters are more blunt instruments that beat the problem to death. While this may not have been the intent of the author, the characters did not actually express any subtlety in their actions. Though, I suppose there was a moment of misdirection. And I did like that the author final addressed Shea’s mysterious past connection to the Broken lands. Even if I was left feeling slightly disappointed there wasn’t more to her much alluded to journey.
The plot as I reflect on it, became a fetch quest into the Badlands – that no one is supposed to enter. Here our heroine faces the Darkness. I don’t remember if it had a name, but it was the Heart of Evil that taints the land and manipulates the minds of the weak. And like every other Heart of Evil Darkness, it cannot truly be killed. Only weakened and chained and left to await the next hapless idiot who tries to free it.
The book was fine. It was probably as good as the others in the series, but I don’t remember them very well to make a confident comparison. It is not my favourite series by this author, but it does have some interesting elements with its post-apocalypse society filled with deadly things to kill. The focus on epic battles was fine, just not my favourite. The final sequence of facing the great old evil was not unexpected and I would probably have liked something less predictable.
For this one, I am going with 3.5 out of 5 stars. If you liked the first two, then I am sure you will like this too.
It is summer and that means I have time to read! Welcome to my book review. Today we will look at Fractured Stars by Lindsay Buroker. Note: there may be spoilers, but they are pretty mild I think.
Fractured Stars follows McCall Richter and Arjun “Dash” Deshmukh. McCall finds things, criminals, missing shipments, that sort of thing. She is not really a bounty hunter, as she will call the law enforcement to collect any of the bad guys she does find. But she is successful, owns her own ship and has two big secrets. First, she helped to liberate an android – it is not stealing if the android didn’t want to stay with its previous owner. Second, she is autistic – high functioning, but definitely struggles with people. There is surgery in this futuristic world that would correct McCall’s autism, but she doesn’t want to have it done. Especially after living her whole life this way.
The book cover for Fractured Stars from the internet.
Dash is a weak Starseer, a former bounty hunter and currently a spy for the Alliance. Working as a deputy with a cyborg sheriff, Dash recognizes McCall from his earlier life as a bounty hunter. He knows she is good at her work and that she has scooped a bounty from him on more than one occasion. He is also enough of a Starseer to realize that McCall is hiding secrets.
Their adventure is set before the events of Lindsay Buroker’s Fallen Empire series. Set in a future of teraformed planets with high tech cyborgs and magic starseers, this is a fun space opera adventure. The empire has not fallen, but it is not loved either. And the Alliance is growing. While McCall and Dash have different goals, they do work together to escape a prison, recover a ship and hide their secrets for the people around them – as best they can.
Lindsay Buroker has a great world set in space. It is rich, complex and full of stories. This book is both very different from and very similar to her Fallen Empire series. They are both set in the same world and both feature strong female characters owning their own ships. These are people who want to live between the stars, not bound to one single planet. Romance does happen. Does that mean the characters are any less strong? No, I really don’t think it does.
Further strength comes in different ways. Yes, both Alisa (from Fallen Empire) and McCall are problem solvers. But where Alisa will dive head first into a fight or sweet-talking another, McCall will take a different approach. For McCall people are more of a problem.
This short story prequel tells the story of how McCall acquired her four-legged companion, Junkyard. It is a cute story and really shows off how the character thinks and looks at the world.
One of the setting aspects I really like is the conflict between the Empire and Alliance. Buroker does a really good job discussing the benefits and drawbacks of both systems of governance over her series. I really like that the Empire, while generally described as the bad guys also has its strong, well-reasoned supporters.
Fractured stars is a romance adventure – a space opera. It is well written with thoughtful and engaging characters. It is a great book. And I am deeply torn. I love that it is currently a stand-alone. However, I also really want to read more about McCall and Dash.
I feel like I have been sharing only the good books I have read of late – mostly because I have only been sharing the good books I have read of late. There have been other books. Some that don’t deserve mention and others that I have nothing interesting to write about because they were not so bad as to be comment worthy (or they are later books in a series I have already talked about).
Book Cover for Secrets Bound by Sand – book 4 in the Dragon Ridden series.
However, today I am going to discuss Secrets Bound by Sand by T. A. White. This is also found in a series. Secrets Bound by Sand is book four in the Dragon-Ridden series by T. A. White. And after thinking about it for a couple of days I would give the book a 2 out of 5 stars. Which is low I know. First, I want to say that I like this series, especially book one – Dragon Ridden. Second, it is possible the author could salvage the series, so even though this book is ranked low, I would still likely try a fifth book if one was written.
The important question becomes, why such a low rating if I like the series? Well, I didn’t like this book is the short answer.
Book Cover of the third book in the Dragon Ridden series.
The book spent too much time with the main character, Tate, internally monologuing. Not only was much of the book internal thoughts, but they were rather boring thoughts of would she or wouldn’t she hook up with Ryu. It was a dumb point to try and create tension around, because T. A. White has spent the previous three books setting up this relationship. It was hardly a surprise. And the multiple monologues about Tate feeling anxiety about trusting Ryu seemed more forced. They have already been through some intense situations. Trust has already been built – or as much as was going to be built before these two hooked up. All this indecision seemed pointless and meandering. But this was not the biggest complaint I have for the book.
Book cover of the second book in the Dragon Ridden series.
My key criticism stems from the big reveal at the end of the story. In a pre-recorded message from a former friend, Tate finally learns … some of her background. Finally, this is what we, the audience, have been waiting. This is what the previous three books have teased. This is also where things start to come apart, because now we are faced with some significant inconsistencies.
So, in book four, we learn that Tate was betrayed into becoming a sleeper. Meaning, through a betrayal of those she held as friends, Tate was forced/coerced into a thousand year (or more) cryogenic sleep. Only, this does not seem to mesh with the flashback in book one, where Tate, enters the room with the put-you-to-sleep tube when she goes to rescue a dragon. A dragon that she holds in her arms and becomes a tattoo by the time she awakens a couple thousand years later. Unless Ilith was also in her own body, this seems highly inconsistent with what we know of the dragon-ridden. Besides, the whole going-to-sleep-thing supposedly happened because the building Tate was in was attacked.
Book cover for the first book in the Dragon Ridden series.
And then we learn that Tate has been genetically manipulated – while she remained in her stasis-sleep in an isolated area of the world. This manipulation supposedly has made her into the ultimate weapon. I am already struggling with the level of magic in a world that is supposed to be explained through advanced science. For me, there are just too many things that don’t seem to add up. And that was extremely disappointing. However, to be fair, there are some ways the author could explain these discrepancies. So, maybe this series can be saved. But I a little worried things are starting to roll sideways and I am not a fan.
So in summary, while I enjoyed the first three books in the series I found Secrets Bound by Sand to be a rambling mess with an unsatisfactory conclusion. The blend of magic and science-tech is leaning too far to the magic and the science-tech is making far less sense than I would like to see.
Long, long ago I was standing in the book store staring at the science-fiction/fantasy section with uncertainty. I had a gift card, a desire to read something knew and no idea what to get. I kind patron pointed me in the direction of George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones. So I bought it, got maybe two chapters in and decided this was not for me. Thus it cannot surprise that when the series came out I did not immediately watch it. That and I don’t have HBO. Anyway, after many strong recommendations, I finally decided to give the series a try. Though I did wait until the Library had a copy.
Cover for the DVD of season one. I like the power of this image. It is dark and brooding and the character is fully clothed. It is also Sean Bean – so guess what happens by the end of the season?
And thus I have come to Game of Thrones, the TV series, after the entire projected has finished. In fact, knowing that they had completed the series was one of the selling features for me. In many ways it is the only selling feature, because I don’t like Game of Thrones.
While I found the caste of millions not as off putting as others, it does make it hard to connect with the series. Entire episodes pass without spending even a minute with some characters. Further, it is confusing to track all the names, lineages, and locations – and this is with me watching the entire first season over the course of a week.
The biggest complaint I have is the gratuitous nature of the visuals. There is a great deal of explicit sex and violence scenes which do little or nothing to forward the plot or character development. In fact, the sex (in particular) seems added for shock value or titillation only. And quite frankly, it is more than I care to see. Besides the graphic presentation of sex, it is also unrealistic to the time they are trying to imitate and also demeaning. Show me one character (over the age of 13) that is not demonstrated to be a whore. And don’t tell me this is reflective of the times. Because so much of this show is most definitely NOT reflective of the times (assuming the times are a pseudo-medieval period).
Welcome to the North, where the Starks reign. It is cold, grey and ominously close to the Wall. Here everyone wears a cape. Sometimes two. Except the prostitutes who continue to run around naked – is this because they were too poor to own clothing?
In terms of violence, wow do those bodies bleed in ways I am sure most modern coroners would find extremely odd and unrealistic. Also, the swordsmanship of these people (who in theory have spent their lives learning the art) is comically bad. I will say this for the violence, those who are dead stay dead – unless they die on the other side of the Wall.
One thing I do like is the way that large battles are dealt with off camera. I thought that was a clever way of dealing with a limited budget and time. Unfortunately important dialogue is also dealt with off screen, which is not good. How do two men go from supporting Ned to betraying Ned in the 6th or 7th episode? Well, that is a question that was never answered and does make me wonder: Did the writers not know why these characters suddenly had a change of heart? OR Did the producers cut this important bit of dialogue so they could show two naked people having sex instead?
So the Dire Wolves were supposed to be a thing, right? I mean each Stark child was given a wolf. And occasionally, the wolf appears on screen. But then is conveniently absent the next time something terrible happens. This is the sort of inconsistency that I find frustrating. Cute puppy though.
What could be an interesting story, even with all its multitude of factions and questionable characters, is destroyed by a focus on something I hope is not in the source material. Too much sex and not nearly enough substance makes for a tedious series. There is too much political plotting going on to be sidetracked constantly by boobs. Also, is there not even one strong female character in this world whose plot does not focus on her reproductive organs?
The Benighted by A. M. Dunnewin is already six years old and the sequel, which is promised in the subtitle “The Benighted Saga – Book 1” has yet to be released. Needless to say, I will only be reviewing the first book in this series.
Book cover for The Benighted, book 1 in the Benighted Saga – image from the internet.
The Benighted is about the Royal Princess of Correnth, Skylar Mandolyn. As we learn in the opening chapter, Skylar has been imprisoned. The story is told through a series of flashbacks covering the events that have lead to her current abuse and torture. Memories of her family, court ladies and of course her personal knight, are interspersed with the dark, cold cell, the beatings and pressure to sign a mysterious document.
I really appreciated the out of order telling of Skylar’s life from her brother’s death, meeting Sir Harlin Brien (her personal guard), through the estrangement with her father, the mecanations of the evil court advisor Cross Lutherus, to Skylar eventually being locked in the prison tower. I think the tension that was woven through this tail of reflection would have been lost if everything had been presented chronologically.
It also keeps some of the surprises, those important dangling threads needed for any sequels, nicely hidden until the end of the book. The reader can than look back over the course of events leading to our protagonist being locked up and start to understand some of the rational used to come to this point.
The other aspect that I liked was the level of technology. The world is not deeply discussed in the book. Really, it sits there as a backdrop, more obscured, as Skylar is focussed on her personal grief than the welfare of the Kingdom. Established early on, Skylar’s brother was heir to the throne before his death. And many of her first revealed memories circle around the sense of loss she feels because of her brother’s absence.
Book cover for The Illusory, book 2 in the Benighted Saga – image from the internet.
While sword wielding knights exist in this world – as is epitomized by Sir Brien’s summoning to court to become Skylar’s personal guard – they also have guns! And steamships. So, the feel of the world is not medieval, though not actually modern either. There is electricity and firearms. There are large metal boats in the harbour and by the end of the novel this is the promise of a threat from a more advanced enemy. However, shortswords are still heavily used in the book. And guns are accepted to be in constant danger of exploding (if not well cared for).
The caste of named characters is also small. Again, we meet Skylar as she is grieving (and locked up). Her thoughts focus on those incidents most relevant to her current imprisoned situation so there is not a lot of names to learn in the story. I suppose in many ways it is more of a character study with its very tight focus on our heroine.
While we learn the actual time of the book spans only a few days, the memories span months. Time is easily distorted in this format.
Overall, I thought it was an interesting read and I would give this book a solid 4 (maybe even a 4.5) out of 5 stars. That said, I have a difficult time imagining how the series can continue forward. Yes, there is a world you could explore. But the real draw of this book was that personal story of a deeply wounded character fighting for sanity in a time when her life was descending into madness. The same format would not work a second time. So the story will have to move in a completely different direction, but to what success? I suppose the only way to know would be to read the sequel – if it ever releases.
I confess that I am not a frequent attendee of the theatre. I have seen several plays over the years from A Midsummer Night’s Dream to Cats. But nothing particularly recent – at least prior to this week.
Glory is a play written by Tracey Power about a women’s hockey team called the Preston Rivulettes. As a hockey player, I think the most fascinating thing I learned from this play was that there was a women’s hockey league in the 1930’s!
The play covers the first decade of the Preston Rivulettes. Over these first 10 years the team had a 95% win rate. The captain, Hilda Ranscombe, was regarded as one of the best hockey players at the time.
I was a little hesitant when saw that there were only five actors in the play. Two sets of sisters, Nellie and Hilda Ranscombe and Marm and Helen Schmuck, and one man Herb Fach were all the people used to represent the team and times. Herb was the reluctant coach, the other four women were all founding members of the team. Impressively, the two hours duration passed quickly with these engaging and energetic actors.
In addition to covering the impressive record of the Rivulettes the play also brought in other issues of the times. The play started in the depression and the lack of money was a complication of the team. In fact they had to default of the national championship game several years in a row because they did not have the money to host the winning women’s hockey team from the west.
Hitler was just establishing himself in Germany at this time and there are tensions between Marm Schmuck, raised Jewish and Herb Fach, whose parents emigrated from Germany. In fact, Canada was not welcoming to Jewish individuals at that time and signs were placed outside buildings saying “No dogs, No Jews welcome”. Not a good moment in our history. But one more element of tension lurking in the background of the players and contributing to the interpersonal challenges they faced. These are issues that faced women at the time, the challenge of having a family and still playing sport. The difficulties of unrequited love comes into play between two of the players on the team. It is a sweet and sad element of the play that was sensitively addressed.
The choreography used to convey was one of the highlights of the play for me. It was a mix of Jazz inspired dancing that did a really interesting job of conveying the speed, aggression and energy of skating on ice. As other reviewers noted, the attention to detail was really evident during the ‘skating’ scenes to the point that skaters always ‘stop’ just before stepping off the ice.
The set design was clever in its simplicity. Looking mostly like one end of a hockey rink, the seven pieces making up the u-shaped boards could be moved to create the illusion of a dressing room, train or workshop. While some people commented the scene changes were distracting, I disagree. I was impressed by how quickly things could be moved, often by the actors.
Like the scene changes, the costume changes were often done on stage in front of the audience. It was interesting to see how only a few pieces of clothing, combined with the force of personality of the actors, gave such an accurate representation of the uniforms of the times.
But the aspect that impressed me more than anything else was the dedication the actors put into their parts. The woman playing Hilda Ranscombe hurt her ankle in the first twenty minutes of her performance, but continued through as though nothing had occurred. She showed the same sort of persistence I expect the women of that first Rivulettes team did as they fought for the right to play and the respect of the fans.
Overall, this was a really well executed performance on a little known local story. First presented by the Western Canada Theatre company, I was able to see this great play at the Drayton theatre. I would recommend Glory.
