Hidden Warror (Tamir Triad #2) – Lynn Flewelling

Mass Market Paperback, 551 pages

Published November 26th 2008 by Bantam Dell

Source: Purchased

Synopsis:

As the orphaned nephew of the king, trusted companion to his cousin, and second heir to the throne of Skala, Prince Tobin’s future is clear. But not as clear as the spring in which a hill witch shows him his true face–and his secret destiny….

Now Tobin carries a burden he cannot share with even his closest friend, Ki, his squire. He is to rule–not as he is but as he was born: a woman. Given the shape of a boy by dark magic, Tobin is the last hope of the people of Illior–those who desperately seek a return to the old ways, when Skala was ruled by a line of warrior queens. They still believe that only a woman can lift the war, famine, and pestilence that have run rampant through the land since the king usurped his half sister’s throne. It is these outlaw wizards and witches who protect Tobin–and it is for them that Tobin must accept his fate.

With the unsuspecting yet fiercely loyal Ki at his side, Tobin must turn traitor against the only blood ties he has left. He must lift the masks of Skala’s rulers to show their true colors–before he can reveal the power of the woman within himself.

Review:

The second novel in The Tamir Triad trilogy loses none of the charm of the first. In fact, it makes an already intriguing world downright amazing. I loved how the characters are developed and the faint stirrings of romance between the two main characters promises that the conclusion to the trilogy will pack a punch in more than one way.

So the pace continued in its languid manner and I’m not gonna lie, I did for a minute or two wish they could just hurry up and get the reveal over with. However, at the end of the novel I was glad that Flewelling took the time she did because it has more momentum when it happens the way it did. I was surprised by how Korin’s character was developed and I thought that Flewelling’s careful attention to the grey in a person’s character was well done. The novel is populated by such wonderful characters that I wouldn’t mind reading all their individual stories. There’s Lutha and Nikides, Una, Ahra – it is actually an awesome compliment from me (ahem ahem) that I remember the names of the characters in the book because usually I don’t even remember the name of the main character.

And this book won my love by having cats being mini characters. I am a cat person (future cat lady? ha) and Flewelling’s portrayal of the felines was entertaining. Of course, on the other side of it, Niryn became slimier than ever. What is he doing with that Nalia? Okay, I’ll stop pretending this is a review because honestly, I just want to talk about the book. I thought that Tobin going naked in front of all those people took balls he didn’t have. I understood why it had to be done and I don’t even have to any trouble with it. I just thought it interesting.

Oh also, I hope Flewelling keeps Tobin/Tamir as ordinary as possible and not, you know, on a pedestal. That would interfere with the original dynamic too much and I don’t know…I kinda like it the way it is right now. I am not looking forward to see what that wizard has up his sleeve but I am looking forward to seeing how Ki copes with a female best friend.

A Note on The Scandal

I’m not a terribly popular blogger. I am well aware of that and while sometimes I may feel a bit put out that I’m not read as widely as I feel I should be, I also am quite cognizant of that fact that I don’t promote myself as assiduously as popular bloggers do. I don’t go around commenting every day, I don’t friend everyone and I don’t even butt in on conversations happening on twitter because I’m really kinda shy like that. Or maybe, more appropriate, more reserved than that. I think popularity comes with the pressure to keep being popular. Me, I’m not keen on anything that takes me away from my first love: reading. Blogging is an expression of reading but it’s not reading so…you get my point, right? But if you are popular, you may feel the pressure to keep that spot, those statistics etc that keep you at the top. That may lead you to push yourself to keep on doing new things, finding new ways to keep your readers.

But there are certain limits you simply cannot cross. I’m sorry but this is book business. Plagiarism is never okay. It is never excusable. It is never justifiable. It is wrong. Whether it is forgivable remains to be seen. What Kristi did was wrong. It will always be wrong and no matter how many twists you give to it, it will remain wrong. I don’t condone it. I can’t condone it.

That said, people need to understand that there is a difference between disapproving (for lack of a better word) her actions and slandering her as a person. I don’t think going after her because she is popular or because she gets review copies that you lust after is right. That said, what Kristi did was not right. She is not the victim so the people who are sending the true victims, the bloggers who were plagiarized, hate emails should be ashamed of themselves. I understand that you might have revered Kristi but open your eyes and smell the scent of reality. Realize it.

Personally, I feel bad for the plagiarized blogs and also Kristi. I don’t know what was going through her mind when she did what she did but I do know that whatever she’s going through right now must not be pretty. Hopefully, she learns from this and not just her, I believe there is a lesson in this for everyone involved. Including me.

Finally, while I won’t automatically paint Kristi as a bad person for plagiarizing, (I realized that this might seem a bit ambiguous so to clarify, let me restate that while I do not condone Kristi’s actions in anyway whatsoever, I do not want to villify her,  I don’t know how else to articulate it), I won’t follow her anymore. I will continue to read debut novels but not  under the DAC banner. I will continue sharing books that are new on my shelves but they will no longer be IMM. As I said, there are limit and boundaries. I have mine.

New on my Shelves for the Month of April

So I didn’t think I would be getting much in the way of books come April because I’m in the midst of moving and really, getting more books would not be well advised. As it turns out, I don’t listen to even my own advice as evidenced by the following pictures. In my defense, the library was having a book sale and I got each book at 75c. So. Yeah. I couldn’t help myself a lot.

Grave Mercy – Robin LaFevers (This arrived after I had reviewed it but hey, hard copies are always nice.) (For review.)
Purity – Pearce Jackson (for review. Reviewed. Thanks Hachette Canada.)
Burnt Snow – Van Badham (purchased. So I lusted after it for ages and then finally gave in and bought it. I dunno though, the beginning is not very promising and I might be epically disappointed.)
Earthseed – Pamela Sargent (From Tor. Thanks Alexis. Review has been posted.)
South of the Moon West of the Sun – Haruki Murakami  (addition to my Murakami collection.)
My Life in Black and White – Natasha Friend (for review. Thanks Penguin Canada (I think.))

Between the Lines – Picoult and Van Leer (Thanks Simon & Schuster)
The Killing Moon – N. K. Jemisin (for review. Thanks Hachette Canada)
Changeling – Philippa Gregory (for review. Thanks S&S)
The Letter Q – Sarah Moon (for review. Thanks Scholastic.)
The Last Princess – Galaxy Craze (Thanks Hachette Canada. For review.)

Book Sale Haul

The Salmon of Doubt – Douglas Adamns
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society – Mary Ann Shaffer
Love – Toni Morrison
Betty-san – Michiko Yamamoto
Garden Spells – Sarah Addison Allen
Front and Center – Catherine Gilbert Murdock
The Da Vinci Code (special edition, pretty book!!) – Dan Brown

Utopia – Thomas More
The Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas
Transparency – Franceca Lia Hwang
Lunar Follies – Gilbert Sorrentino
The Odyssey – Homer
Olivia Kidney – Ellen Potter
The Ladies of Grace Adieu – Susanna Clarke
The Pink Fairy Book – Andrew Lang
Bog Child – Siobhan Dowd
Sorcery and Celia – Patricia C. Wrede
Eleven Minutes – Paulo Coelho

The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia – Samuel Johnson
Dancing Girls – Margaret Atwood
The Castle of Otranto – Horace Walpole
Peony in Love – Lisa See
The Red Tent – Anita Diamant
Tawdry Knickers – Alex Novak
Docketful of Poesy – Diana Killian
Northanger Abbey – Jane Austen
Emma – Jane Austen

The Orange Fairy Book – Andrew Lang
The Crimson Fairy Book – Andrew Lang
Outage – B. W. Powe
Beatrice and Virgil – Yann Martel
Princess Academy – Shannon Hale
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Outspoken Princess – Edited by Jack Zipes
Fall on Your Knees – Ann-Marie MacDonald
Tender Morsels – Margo Lanagan
Night Circus – Erin Morgenstern (Almost as new hardcover copy. Not pictured.)

That’s all for this month! *beams*

On My Radar

This is a meme inspired by The Book Smugglers and I’ve found awesome new books because of them. Hopefully you find some new ones that interest you from mine. Or check theirs out!

The Castle of Shadows – Ellen Renner

There is a kingdom, a missing Queen and a wild princess. Need I say more? Middle Grade awesomeness ftw!

Sleuth or Dare: Partners in Crime – Kim Harrington

I liked Harrington’s YA paranormal series that is more mystery than paranormal so I’m pretty certain I’m going to like this one a lot too.

There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried to Kill Her Neighbor’s Baby – Ludmilla Petrushevskaya
Isn’t the title awesome? This is basically Russian fairytales, modern Russian fairytales. I can’t wait to get my hands on them!

Unclean Jobs for Women and Girls – Alissa Nutting
Anther fantastic title. The synopsis reads something like: an exploration of women through the various not so cool jobs they have. Short stories, awesomesauciness. I want!

In The Forests of Forgetting – Theodora Goss
Another collection of fairytales that hopefully will rock my socks. It sounds really good!

Advent – James Treadwell
The synopsis is sufficiently intriguing to pique my interest. It doesn’t say much but whatever it does say, I like.

That’s all from me this week. Anything new on your list?

 

The Letter Q: Queer Writers’ Notes to their Younger Selves – Sarah Moon et al (A Review)

Hardcover, 217 pages
Expected publication: May 1st 2012 by Arthur A. Levine Books
Source: Publisher

Synopsis:

Life-saving letters from a glittering wishlist of top authors.

If you received a letter from your older self, what do you think it would say? What do you wish it would say?

That the boy you were crushing on in History turns out to be gay too, and that you become boyfriends in college? That the bully who is making your life miserable will one day become so insignificant that you won’t remember his name until he shows up at your book signing?

In this anthology, sixty-three award-winning authors such as Michael Cunningham, Amy Bloom, Jacqueline Woodson, Gregory Maguire, David Levithan, and Armistead Maupin make imaginative journeys into their pasts, telling their younger selves what they would have liked to know then about their lives as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgendered people. Through stories, in pictures, with bracing honesty, these are words of love and understanding, reasons to hold on for the better future ahead. They will tell you things about your favorite authors that you never knew before. And they will tell you about yourself.

Review

The Letter Q is a poignant collection of countless letters from several LGBT authors to their younger selves holding hope, wisdom and hindsight. The book is beautifully bound, its pages smooth and able to withstand time and tears. The short letters invite the reader into the heads and personal lives of not the children these authors were but also the adults they have become. While many of the letters entreat their younger selves not to give in,  not to give up and not to capitulate to what society demands of them, there are also some, such as Levithan’s (which was a particular favourite of mine) that portray an awareness in self, a growth that is heartwarming.

What the Letter Q offers young children is priceless. The book is physical proof that the child/teenager questioning his/her sexuality, sexual orientation is not alone, that whatever questions, whatever experiences he or she is going through at the moment, others have also gone through and more than that, they have survived and survived successfully at that. This is the kind of reassurance that is invaluable to a child who is much more vulnerable to attacks and fears.

If you are an adult reading this review, I recommend that you buy this novel for any young person because whether or not they are sexually confused, reading this novel will give them an insight to the thoughts and feelings of children who often cannot find the voice to express themselves. I found this to be touching, sad and yes, hopeful. I recommend this to everyone.

 

 

Interview with Pamela Sargent, author of Seed trilogy

Nafiza: I saw that Earthseed was first released in 1983. How does the experience of writing a novel for young adults in 1983 compare to writing for young adults in the new millennium? Has there been a positive change or has it become more challenging?

Pamela Sargent: There seem to be many more readers of young adult books these days, and they seem enthusiastic about what they’re reading, very involved with favorite books and authors. That’s a positive change, but the danger for writers is becoming too moved by trends or falling into writing something that’s only a variation on what’s current. A writer has to find her own voice, and that’s especially important if you’re writing for younger readers. They’re demanding, often more so than older readers, and can sniff out anything phony.

N: In a market saturated with stories about the paranormal, how does Earthseed distinguish itself as a proponent of the sci-fi genre? In other words, what makes Earthseed awesome?

PS: The theme of a starship or interstellar vehicle that’s a world in itself is an old one in science fiction, but what I wanted to do was put a group of young people inside this kind of vessel, kids that are brought up by Ship, the artificial intelligence that controls the starship and is the only parent they’ve ever known. In Earthseed – and I don’t think this is a spoiler for anyone who hasn’t read my novel – Ship in the end is as important to the story as Zoheret, the main character, or any of the other human characters. Like them, Ship is also growing up and making mistakes along the way.

N: Alexis told me Earthseed has been optioned by Paramount. Congratulations! How do you feel about your novel shifting mediums and what do you hope is retained in the movie version?

PS: I feel both delighted and apprehensive. A movie is a different medium from a book, so I can’t expect a film to replicate every detail in Earthseed, only to be true to the story, the characters, and the ideas.

N: Additionally, what is your favourite book to movie adaptation?

PS: I thought Martin Scorsese did a beautiful adaptation of Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence. The Bostonians, one of the many Merchant Ivory productions, was a meticulous movie based on the Henry James novel. In science fiction, I’m still very fond of the 1960 movie version of H.G. Wells’s classic The Time Machine. It took a lot of liberties with the novel, probably ones the author would have objected to, but in its own way it’s a moving and poignant experience.

N: If you were writing Earthseed right now, what would be different in the book compared to the original one?

PS: Nothing – expect presumably my writing might be better and more eloquent. I’d like to think I’ve made some progress as a writer over the years!

N: Would you say that reading has helped you become a better author?

PS: Absolutely. My advice for anyone who wants to be a writer is: Read. Read compulsively. Read anything you can get your hands on and don’t be afraid to try a book or story that looks difficult or uncongenial.

N: What is the one book you wish everyone would read?

PS: I wouldn’t be able to single out one book. There’s no book so great that there won’t be readers who will hate it, and probably no book so bad that somebody won’t love it. So it all depends on the individual reader. I’d have to know what a reader already enjoyed reading before making any recommendations.

——————

Thanks for answering my questions, Ms. Sargent. Check out my review of Earthseed and add it to your reading lists!

Earthseed – Pamela Sargent (A Review)

Paperback, 304 pages
Published January 15th 2007 by Tom Doherty Associates(first published March 198)
Source: Publisher

Synopsis:

Ship hurtles through space. Deep within its core, it carries the seed of humankind. Launched by the people of a dying Earth over a century ago, its mission is to find a habitable world for the children–fifteen-year-old Zoheret and her shipmates–whom it has created from its genetic banks.

To Zoheret and her shipmates, Ship has been mother, father, and loving teacher, preparing them for their biggest challenge: to survive on their own, on an uninhabited planet, without Ship’s protection. Now that day is almost upon them…but are they ready to leave Ship? Ship devises a test. And suddenly, instincts that have been latent for over a hundred years take over. Zoheret watches as friends become strangers–and enemies. Can Zoheret and her companions overcome the biggest obstacle to the survival of the human race–themselves?

Review

I found Earthseed to be fascinating for more than the obvious reasons. We’ve had a recent spate of many young adult novels set on spaceships and will continue to do so in the near future. What sets Earthseed apart from them is the fact that it was written when the young adult genre was barely defined and if I’m not incorrect, was hardly recognized as a genre in its own right. The reading experience, too, is markedly different from reading other novels that may be superficially attempting to do the same thing and tell the same story.

There is a gravitas to Earthseed that is somehow lacking in contemporary young adult novels. What I mean by that is in my experience with reading some of the more popular young adult novels, I’ve found them to be very concerned with material things. Sometimes to the detriment of the overall narrative itself. That is not the case with Earthseed. Also the multicultural and diverse cast of characters in Earthseed is very welcome and I like that this multicultural-ness does not feel contrived to make the world in the narrative all encompassing but a natural progression of the circumstances that led to the creation of this solitary “world.” The characterizations, too, were fascinating and while I cannot exactly articulate why, I reiterate that there is a certain more gravity, more solid-ness in the characters in Earthseed than I usually expect in characters in young adult novels.

Perhaps what is most different is the romance bit. There is no insta-love. There cannot be, these kids have known each other from birth but also lacking is the melodrama, the deep importance placed on romantic love. I found that really refreshing. The focus of the novel remains the spaceship, the self-discovery, the growing into their skins and the growing up of the children who represent hope and more. With all these important issues, romance, while present, does not take center stage and I applaud that. I also thought it was very interesting how there is no “true love” and the accompanying refrain of “soul mate” in the novel. What this says about recent novels is something I feel is worth pondering.

Earthseed explores themes of growth, mental and emotional. It also challenges the rights a creator has over the created. There are several sequences of intense action and danger that will have you reading rapidly and almost breathless with anticipation. This will make an awesome movie. Anyway, I recommend this to you. If you haven’t ever read science fiction, try this. It actually is a science fiction novel and not a novel just masquerading as one.