Among Others

Among Others
Jo Walton
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Tor Books; First Edition edition (January 18, 2011)
4/5 stars

In Among Others, the focus is less on fantasy and more on the magic of books and reading.

We went down the hill to the bookshop, sort of automatically, as if that's the way our feet wanted to turn. I said that to them.

"Bibliotrophic," Hugh said. "Like sunflowers are heliotrophic, they naturally turn toward the sun. We naturally turn toward the bookshop."

It is 1979.  Mori is a Welsh teenager who has run away from her crazy mother and as a result has been sent to live with her father in England. She attends a boarding school, where she is very much the outcast, and fills her journal with discussions of books and authors and wistful wishes for friends. When she joins a book club at the local library and finds kindred spirits among other readers, she finds a new joy in life.

Written in the first person point of view, as a journal, the lyrical and well written prose of Among Others is a joy to read. Walton has great talent at turning an ordinary world into a magical one through her descriptions and narration.

All the discussions of authors that I've read and not read was also a delight. I laughed over discussions of books familiar to me, hearing myself in those discussions. Furthermore, I've now got a list of others to read, based on Mori's insights, that I might not have read otherwise.

Oddly enough--I am a fan of fantasy fiction--the fantasy element was difficult for me to enjoy. Walton painted her world so real and mundane, that when the fantasy elements were interjected, it felt like an imposition, as if she had torn apart the fabric of this world and sewn in a piece from another world. It didn't mesh properly. For me, the magic was Mori's life in books. The fairy magic almost seemed pretend, and I honestly felt cheated at times when the story moved from the "real world" discussion of Mori's friends and fiction addiction to Mori's dealing with the paranormal.

I wouldn't recommend this book across the board, to all bibliophile or all fantasy/sci fi readers. I think it's only going to find it's niche with those who are both devout bibliophiles as well as being fans of sci fi and fantasy novels.

This was my first time reading a novel by Jo Walsh, but it certainly will not be my last. If her other novels are as well written, I may have found a new favorite author.

Something Different About Dad

Something Different About Dad 
Kirsti Evans, author
John Swogger, illustrator
Paperback: 144 pages
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Pub; 1 edition (January 15, 2011)
Review based on ARC from Amazon Vine.
5/5 stars

Something Different About Dad is a both a nonfiction and fiction illustrated resource with an intended audience of children aged 7 to 15 that have an adult in their life with Asperger Syndrome. It is designed in a style similar to the graphic novel, with friendly monochrome illustrations and a handwritten type of font.

The preface introduces the author and illustrator as guides to the story, and gives a brief explanation of what the book will be about:

Whether or not you know for sure that the person you are thinking of has Asperger Syndrome, we hope this book will help. We hope it will help you answer some of the questions you might have and give you some ideas about how to deal with parents or other adults with Asperger Syndrome.

Something Different About Dad certainly lives up to this expectation.

It is essentially a story told by a preteen named Sophie, whose father (Mark) has Asperger Syndrome ("AS"). Each chapter begins with Sophie describing an incident in their family life that has led to difficulties for Mark, and as a result, to embarrassment, emotional pain and misunderstanding for the family. After the incident is recounted by Sophie, with illustrations that do a fantastic job of showing the emotions that each person is experiencing, Kirsti and John appear in the chapter to explain what caused Mark to act as he did.

Ms. Evans, whose experience with Autism and AS is obviously not in name only, does a wonderful job of explaining just what AS is, the four main areas that difficulties occur for persons with AS, and what can trigger the socially unacceptable behavior. It is explained with clarity and in detail, and yet is not overwhelming with all the factual information.

After picking apart the situation to find the antecedent to Mark's behavior, Kirsti and John then speak to the various family members, giving advice on how to lessen the frustration of a situation for Mark. The family then talks about what changes they have made and how these changes have reduced that type of behavior from Mark.

Despite addressing such serious issues as anger toward the parent with AS, having one's feelings hurt deeply by the parent with AS and frustration at having to arrange schedules around that parent instead of oneself, the book ends on a very positive and hopeful note.

My only complaint about the book was that Mark was not generally held accountable for his behavior or asked to work on reducing his reactions. After I pondered on this, however, I realized that the book is geared for children who would not have the right to ask for such changes from an adult, who would only be able to make changes in their own life to help, and therefore showing such a situation would not be appropriate.

Swooger's illustrations fit the story and the information very well. I not only work with young children that have Autism and AS, but have AS myself, and I thought his he caught the expressions of situations very well. I was particularly impressed with the way he showed conversations going on around Mark, and how overwhelming it was to have some much going on. I found it interesting that he drew Mark with blank eyes, different from everyone else; I'm not sure if it was meant to simply show a difference in how Mark looked at the world, but I rather uncomfortably interpreted it to be a blank stare and didn't find that to be as appropriate as the rest of the illustrations.

I think this book would be an excellent resource for children with adults, or even other children, in their life with AS. Regardless of the book's language being geared toward a younger age group, it is also an excellent resource for adults who are experiencing the effects of AS in their life.

An Artificial Night

An Artificial Night
Seanan McGuire
Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: DAW (September 7, 2010)
4/5 stars

An Artificial Night is the third book in McGuire's urban fantasy series, set in present day San Francisco Bay area, about half-fae, half-human October ("Toby") Daye. Toby is a knight errant in the service of her Lord, as well as the only private investigator in the Kingdom. She lives with two cats and a rose bush gremlin, has recently formed a fledgling friendship with the King of Cats and seems to live her life like a death wish.

When An Artificial Night begins, Toby meets her "Fetch", a harbinger of her death. Closely following this, her best friend Stacy calls Toby in a panic: two of her children are missing. Tybalt, King of Cats, reports five missing children from his Court as well. To find and return these children, Toby must face down an ancient evil, uncover secrets a friend has kept long hidden, and make the choice to become a hero.

The plot of An Artificial Night is rather complex, following various nursery rhymes and fairy tales in a way that would make explaining it impossible. Despite this sometimes muddled story line, An Artificial Night is a good read; McGuire has created a paranormal alternate reality that is very believable and blends the fantasy world with the present day world quite nicely.

Her characters are sometimes over the top with their actions and reactions, but then this is fantasy and they are fae. I suppose it would be odder if they were not larger than life. Toby herself is very likable in both her strengths and weaknesses. Tybalt is a character one can't help but like and his gradually unfolding relationship with Toby is one of the better written parts of the series.

The action (fights, car chases, hunts) is often more like an action movie than a novel, in that it moves very fast and Toby seems indestructible. This is a minor quibble, though, because the novel is a solidly enjoyable, casual read and I would certainly recommend this series to fans of paranormal fiction and urban fantasy. Do read them in order, though, as many incidents in An Artificial Night can only be fully understood by having read the first two novels.

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer
Lish McBride
Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); First Edition edition (October 12, 2010)
Reviewing ARC version from Amazon Vine.
4/5 stars

Sam is college dropout, trying to find his place in the world but currently flipping hamburgers, riding his skateboard and hanging out with his friends. A smashed tail light causes a chain of events that brings Sam to the attention of the areas most powerful necromancer and brings Sam to the discovery that not only does the paranormal exist, but he is a necromancer as well.

Douglas intends to train Sam, keep him if he's useful and kill him and steal his power if he isn't. None of these options is really what Sam had in mind for his life, and his attempts to resist Douglas lead to murder, uncovered family secrets, heroism and love.

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer has a fast, but enjoyable pace. The chapters alternate between Sam's first person point of view and a third person point of view of other characters. This causes the flow to be interrupted a bit at the beginning of chapters, but isn't a vital flaw.

When the paranormal world is revealed, the reader is bombarded by race after race of fantasy creatures. This is overwhelming, trying to absorb all the information being given, and many of the races have no bearing on this story. A more gradual introduction, as the races become relevant, would have been better.

Sam and his friends are well defined, with likable and believable personalities. Douglas is a bit over the top, more of a stereotypical evil villain, but his back story was well written.

A most amusing point was the chapter titles. Sam's love of classic rock is reflected in those titles and often gave me a chuckle.

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer is a good, light novel with humor and tension and well planned plot. I expect Ms. McBride will leave her mark in the paranormal YA genre.

Note to parents: This novel does contain consensual, lightly described, sex between young adults.

Martin Hewitt, Investigator

Martin Hewitt, Investigator
Arthur Morrison
originally published 1894
3/5 stars

Martin Hewitt, Investigator is a series of short stories linked by the protagonist, Martin Hewitt, and written down by a good friend, the journalist Brett. The similarities to Doyle's Holmes are striking and most likely intentional. Doyle had killed off Holmes in 1893 and other writers were looking to fill that void.

Unlike Holmes, however, Martin Hewitt runs an investigative business, is a very personable gentleman, works well with the police force and easily makes friends. Add to this his ingenious ability for disguise and fluidity in thieves cant and in Mr. Hewitt you have an investigator that is able to blend in anywhere and solve the most intriguing of crimes.

In Martin Hewitt, Investigator, Brett gives the details of several of Hewitt's most renowned cases, many of which he was intimately involved with as well. They are tales of impossible to solve crimes that Hewitt was able to crack by piecing together a few clues (a burnt out match, raindrops on a hat, un-capitalized letters in a note) where the police detectives had failed.

While the solutions to these various crimes and mysteries do fit together well with the evidence and clues, the reader is not privy to all the information that Hewitt is (as he doesn't share it with Brett). Hewitt then chides Brett (or the police) for not having seen such and such clue and then builds his entire case on that missed bit of information. Morrison uses this ploy to make the solving seem even more spectacular, but this style patronizes the reader and is not a fully satisfying reading experience.

~~Read for the Victorian Literature Challenge.~~


Note: This is my opinion; on Amazon, 50% of the reviews were 5 stars.

Tiger Hills

Tiger Hills 
Sarita Mandanna
Paperback: 624 pages
Publisher: Orion Publishing Group, (January 2011)
Read ARC copy from Amazon Vine.
3/5 stars

Ever since I read the stunning novel The Toss of a Lemon, I have actively sought out stories that take place anywhere in India. I have wanted to immerse myself as much as possible in the varied, rich cultures of that lovely country. So, naturally, when I saw Tiger Hills  offered as an ARC, I snatched it up.

Tiger Hills  takes place during British Colonial rule in the Coorg district (now Kodagu in Karnataka State) in southern India. It follows the lives of Devi and Devanna, and later Muthi, and their relationships with each other.

Devi, the much beloved first female child of several generations, is a headstrong girl from the beginning, wrapping her family around her finger and well aware of that power. She befriends the younger Deanna, and after he is orphaned he comes to live in her home. They grow up as siblings and the best of friends, but Devanna always expects that someday they will marry.

When a ten year old Devi sees Muthi at a "tiger wedding", she becomes immediately smitten with the 21 year old hunter and declares that she will marry him and only him. Her determination is not lost as the years pass, and leads to many complications and sorrows in the lives of all three.

Mandanna uses wonderful descriptive phrases to paint a sensory experience of the Coorg district. The colors and smells and sounds are vivid and, Mandanna's skill in filling the reader's senses is the strongest point of the novel.

The plot begins very slow, and when it does pick up it is to spiral the characters toward unpleasant events or unfortunate choices, none of which come as a surprise to the reader. Granted, a novel does not have to have a happy or pleasing plot to be an excellent novel, if it is well written--take Nabokov's Lolita, for example, which is one of the finest novels ever written. The prose of Tiger Hills , though, is not very striking (with the exception of the location descriptions), and I had to make myself continue to read. When Mandanna's plot planning and general writing match her descriptive ability, she will produce exceptional novels.


Note: This is my opinion; on Amazon, 58% of the reviews were 5 stars.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1
Alan More, author
Kevin O'Neill, illustrator
Paperback: 176 pages
Publisher: America's Best Comics; 1st edition (October 1, 2002)
Read 30 January 2011
3/5 stars

I was predisposed to love The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1, as alternate history is a favorite genre, and famous character mash-ups a particular favorite as well. Volume One introduces a "menagerie" (as they are often referred to) of otherwise famous literary characters brought together to help Queen and Country with dangerous tasks in a somewhat steampunky Britain of an alternative history. Two characters, Mina Murray and Allan Quatermain, are favorites of mine from their original novels and I loved the idea of them having more adventures.

This graphic novel has many literary references, both in the text and illustrations, which is a delight for a book nerd. The pseudo-Victorian style and parody of Victorian serials used throughout the novel was highly amusing for a fan of that era and added an extra level of enjoyment.

Character development and setting introduction took the first few chapters ("issues") and was pretty well done. The personalities of the five members of the League were nicely established and tantalizing hints given about the world from both the illustrations and the text. I became quite fond of the characters, even the amoral Griffin, and was eagerly awaiting plot development.

When the plot did develop, however, it was unsatisfying. Perhaps because so much time had been spent developing characters and world, very little time was able to be given to generate a decent plot. It was a messy, mishmash of explosions and overaction (not to mention overacting) and made very little sense. If it was meant to be a parody of Victorian fiction, it didn't read like any of the multitude of Victorian novels I have read.

The art was nothing spectacular. While there were some scenes drawn with "hidden" references, these occasional treats did nothing to add to the story. The illustration of the panels is a very straightforward, comic book style, with no artistic angles or composition. The lines are harsh, the backgrounds busy, the colors generally unappealing. There were even times when panels were so busy with so many irrelevant details, that it was hard to find the action. I certainly did not feel that I was reading a graphic novel where the art is vital to the storyline; I felt as though I were reading a comic book.

Despite my interest in the characters, the lack of a real plot line and the average art made this very promising premise a mediocre read. I truly am interested in the characters, though, and may still give the second volume a try to see if Moore and O'Neill were simply getting established with this volume.

~~Read for the Graphic Novels Challenge.~~