Epic

Ok so I have FINALLY started to catch up on my reading.  After apx 200 hours spent on an ambulance or in a fire station I desperately needed the reading time.  One of the books that got me through the epic shift of crazy was Epic: Legends of Fantasy edited by John Joseph Adams.  It is a short story collection featuring authors who have set these stories in their previously written epic, sweeping worlds and it hit the spot. Here are a few of my favorite.  As always SPOILERS AHEAD!

 Homecoming by Robin Hobb - I was totally stoked to see the first story was by one of my current favorite authors AND set in my favorite world that this author writes in.  The story is a pre-qual to her Rain Wilds world and gives readers of her books a bit of a glimpse into how this harsh land was settled.  The author brings her signature in depth characters and an amazing ability to paint a world that feels real and complete with out over explaining things.

The Alchemist by Paolo Bacciglupi - This was a complete story with a beginning, middle and end...which is usually very hard to do in a short story format.  The story is about a man who risks everything to save his small family.  When he comes up with a solution to save his world, it is taken by the government and used to control what is left of the population.  The world was inventive and complete, the characters detailed and realistic and the story was both entertaining and nuanced.  I loved every page of this story and am now inspired to pick up a book by this guy as I have never read him before...I love it when that happens.

The Road to Levinshire by Patrick Rothfuss - This story set in a world I now want to go read about is both sad and very very good.  It shows what happens when people make assumptions, especially about whole groups of people.  There is trauma, violence and hopefully a change of thinking when a man goes through some pretty extreme measures to change peoples perspective on pre conceived notions.  This is a story of ideas, which I always find the short story format is perfect for.  This is another author I am now going to look up.

Bound Man by Mary Robinette Kowal - Two different worlds and two different times define this story.  A warrior woman is called from her time and world against her will by a man who considers her a god.  She goes through many emotions trying to figure out why everything happened the way it did.  I love stories like this that essentially turn inside out on themselves.  The contrast between the two characters, what they knew and how they felt about the current situation made for plenty to think about and was a fantastic read.

The Mystery Knight by George R. R. Martin - At this point I am sure the majority of fantasy fans have at least heard of The Song of Ice and Fire series and this entry into that universe is pretty much perfect.  It sets the story in a bit of history of the world of the Seven Kingdoms, but it is not required for a person to have read the series to enjoy it.  It is the quintessential jousting tournament/wedding/knights tale that seems to be the basis for what one would consider "classical" fantasy and it delivers every bit of castlely goodness one could want.

One of my favorite things about this collection was actually the introduction that FINALLY summed up what it is that I love about epic fantasy...seriously go read it.  The only real flaw I could come up with is that several of these stories...while they can be read and enjoyed by anybody...probably are most fully appreciated if the reader has read other books that set up the world the stories are set in...does that make any sense at all?  Anyways, this collection lived up to it's promise of EPIC.  I loved the stories set in the worlds I know and now have a couple of new authors to look up.  I give this collection 7 out of 10 demonic swords and recommend it to anybody who loves a well built world and epic fantasy!  Happy Reading Everybody!

All The Dragons

Dragons, dragons, I love dragons!  I think sometimes that dragons are my favorite thing to read about.  I love the variety and imaginative scope that they provide.  They are part of every culture, every time period, they can be wise, wild, animal, ancient, pets, new, old, funny, scary, the possibilities for dragons are endless.  Which is why I picked up Wings of Fire edited by Jonathan Strahan and Marianne S. Jablon.  The book promised varied stories of any number of types of dragons, and it delivered.  Here are just a few of my favorites.

The Rule of Names by Ursula K. Le Guin - This story fits the authors style perfectly, and is one of the reasons I started reading her full length books.  We have a dragon, a wizard, a quiet island, a treasure and an outsider.  All is not as it appears and this lyrical and readable story instantly became one of my favorites.

The Harrowing of the Dragon of Hoarsbreath by Patricia A. McKillip- Another story that beautifully showcases the authors writing style.  Here our dragon is ancient and giant and the source of an entire culture.  I like this one for the imagery and for the sheer vastness of the dragon.  I like how the author was effective at isolating the dragon and the people affected by it and the outsider who used to be one of them to upset the balance they didn't even know they had.

The Dragon's Boy by Jane Yolen - Here we have a dragon who is no dragon at all, yet the "dragon" in question is smart enough to use the lore of dragons to achieve his ends.  We also see a potential origin story for the boy who pulls the sword from the stone.  This story has just the right amount of humor and puzzle in it, a great little read.

Orm the Beautiful by Elizabeth Bear - One of my favorites because it combines music, dragons, Washington DC and the continuation of a species through love and sacrifice.  This story gives us the flavor of traditional dragons with a wholly original take.  I have read this story multiple times and gets me every time I turn its pages.  The last ancient dragon goes to extreme means to protect the living bones of his family, that they may stay together in eternity.

Dragon's Gate by Pat Murphy - This story is one I would have LOVED as a teenager, I still love it know, but enjoy imagining my younger self discovering it.  There is a girl disguised as a boy, a dragon with a very peculiar curse and an adventure to make any girl (or boy) running off to fetch their traveling cloak.  This is a pretty straight forward adventure tale of awesomeness with just enough of a twist to make it original as well as a really great story.

In Autumn, A White Dragon Looks Over the Wide River by Naomi Novik - Various cultures come into play in this tale set in an alternate Earth history.  Here we see dragons from various countries and their different assumptions, interests and expectations.  We also see humans and their assumptions about our reptilian friends and how all of this combined leads to a very compelling and thoughtful story.  This is one of those stories that makes you think about how you view the world, it's various peoples and beliefs and how ones ones assumptions colors all of it.

The Silver Dragon by Elizabeth A. Lynn - This is definitely my kind of story.  To me it comes across as almost an epic tale, told across the years.  We have our Silver Dragon, a dragon who is usually seen in the form of a man and follow his and his neighboring kingdoms struggles against a not so nice guy, his subsequent marriage and all that follows.  The best part of this story is that while this particular tale is complete, I am dying to read more about this world and the family of Dragons!

The George Business by Roger Zelazny- One of the more humorous stories in this collection we see a simple young man and a dragon enter into a bargain to help the young man obtain the affections of a lady.  While the plan is sound, alas the lady has already been married.   As the plan itself was actually a good one, the young man and the dragon take their act on the road to make their fortune.  Quick, fun, a great read.

Weyr Search by Anne McCaffrey - Like the editors of this collection, I hesitated on whether to add this story or not.  On the one hand, this story that became the basis for the authors wildly popular (and one of my absolute favorite) Pern series has been read so many times, and been put into so many collections that it seemed redundant.  On the other hand, what is a dragon collection without the DragonLady herself.  I and the editors apparently both feel the same way and such I put it in my list of favorite stories.

Whew I had better stop before I put the whole book in this post!  There are a ton more amazing stories to discover in this big book of dragons so quit reading this post and go get the book!  Seriously though if you like dragons in any way shape or form, this collection needs to be on your shelf.  I give it 8 out of 10 dragon wings and will probably read most of these stories again.

What is your favorite dragon story?  What is your favorite type of dragon?  Do you get sick of my love of dragons?

Tales Of Old

It took me a while, but I finally finished The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.  It did not take me so long because it was bad, but because of the way it is structured it really lent itself to picking up and putting down, making it the perfect backpack/work/station book.  As always SPOILERS AHEAD!

This book is a collection of tales told by various travelers on a pilgrimage.  The host proposes that everybody in the group tells a story and it is agreed.  We are introduced to our travelers (which changes depending on which version you read), in this version we have the Host, the Knight, the Miller, The Reeve, the Wife of Bath, the Clerk, the Franklin, the Pardoner, and the Nun's Priest.  Each tells a story in their turn, each adding their own voice to the group. I guess the best way to sum it up is to tell about each player's tale.
The Knight's Tale - This is a story of love, betrayal, friendship and the gods.  It is told in a mix of Greek and classic medieval story telling and is probably the most intense of all the stories.Two friends are taken prisoner and both fall in love with a princess of the land.  They both get free in different ways and pursue the girl.  It comes down to a battle between the two, with all involved beseeching their particular god for intervention.
The Millers Tale - This is probably the most popular of the Canterbury Tales...probably because it is the bawdiest of them all. A woman who is married to the carpenter is none the less wooed by two scholars.  She accepts one, and taunts the other.  Meanwhile she and her scholar lover scheme to keep her not so smart husband out of the house so that they can...you know...do things :-)  This is definitely a story that appeals to the lower brow among us (I loved it).
The Reeve's Tale-Here we have a tale of mistaken identity and revenge.  After people cheating people out of stuff, two men get revenge on a miller by sneaking into the beds of his wife and daughter.  There is also a beating or two.  This is a quick and dirty story to be quickly read.
The Wife of Bath's Tale - In this story, the prologue is much longer then the actual story and involves the story teller telling of her delight in the dominance of her husbands and her love of the marital bed.  She tells how she essentially bully and tortures her husbands into an early grave and moves on to the next one.  Her actual tale is about a knight tasked with finding out what women truly want.
The Clerk's Tale - This story kind of pissed me off.  It's about a king who marries a common woman then proceeds to test her loyalty by telling her he is going to kill their children.  She being the "model" wife accepts this.  He eventually reveals that he did not kill them, but rather sent them away to be raised by other people.  Seriously this is one messed up tale.
The Franklin's Tale - A fairly typical story of a couple in love.  He gets sent to fight in a war and she is wooed by another man.  She remains faithful, but makes a foolish promise to the desperate suitor that he gets through trickery.  When she is willing to give up her life rather then be unfaithful or break her promise the suitor finally relents.  In this story the husband is actually fairly understanding and supportive of his wife.
The Pardoner's Tale - This tale is a it confusing, but essentially three young men indulge in all sorts of vices and then pay the ultimate price.  The best part of this tale is that the teller is almost as bad as the subjects of his own tale.
The Nun's Priest Tale - This story takes the form of a fable involving a rooster, his chicken wives and a fox.  It is the idea of dreams and their interpretations that takes center stage in this story, with many a prophetic dream being recounted.

This is a great read for several reasons.  The first being that every story is interesting in its own way.  There is a huge variety in theme and style and it gives the book lots of interest.  The second is that it gives a glimpse into the way life was during this time period.  Third, the language is just absolutely beautiful.  The version of the book that I have (and there are tons of versions with ton of various combinations of stories) is cool because it has the original old English on the one page and a "translation" on the other.  I like reading it as much as I can in the old English because the rhythm and rhyme is very transporting, sometimes though it is nice to have a definition of some of the more obscure words.  I will say that the attitude towards women in general in this book is pretty bad.  They are expected to be docile, faithful and put up with pretty much anything the husband, father, brother or male guardian can throw at her.  I found it amusing that in the Wife of Bath's tale, she not only does what ever she wants, but tells her tale about how what women really want is the freedom of choice.  Overall I found this book to much more readable then anticipated and really enjoyed the variety and language.  I recommend it to anybody who wants to read a true classic without the daunting million page story.  Almost anyone should be able to find at least one story in this book that they enjoy.  I give this book 8 out of 10 tales and will keep it on my classics shelf.
What is your favorite tale?  How do you feel about how women were treated back in the day?  Why are all the "classics" so full of sex?

Kitten To Lioness

Now that I have finished my individual ramblings, it is time for me to sum up the series The Song of the Lioness by Tamora Pierce as a whole.  This is where I put down my feeling about the series as a whole.  I have noticed when I do my ramblings and critique/gush about the books individually that it comes across very differently then when I think of a series as whole.  I think a lot of this has to do with going back and reading books and enjoying them more as an overall story...ok not relating this very well.  Let's talk about the series shall we?   SPOILERS AHEAD.

Biggest thing about this quartet is that it follows our heroine Alanna from the time she is 10 until she is in her 20's.  This makes for a HUGE range in the age these books are appropriate for.  The first book is one I would recommend for any young lady (or man) starting to read chapter books...the later books may have a bit of content we may want to reserve for our slightly older readers.  The books start out very simply, a girl, a dream, and a bunch of quick vignettes showing us as she grows.  As we move on in the series each book gets fatter and more complex with less telling and more showing of our girl Alanna.  I sometimes forget that these were the authors first books, and her ability seems to grow along with her heroine.  I also like watching Alanna's friends grow along with her, especially Prince Jonathan and George Cooper.  In the start Jon is almost as young as Alanna and he grows in his responsibilities as a Prince, and eventually a King.  It is great to watch his transformation from a spoiled teenager to a regal and just man.  George also gets his own arc, going from the carefree King of Thieves to a man who is ready to become "respectable" if it means the ability to protect his loved ones.  Myles, Corum, and the other characters in Alanna's world all grow up in some way or another...even if they were already adults :-).

Alanna herself goes through the biggest transformation...and as the main character that makes sense.  It is interesting to watch this young girl start with the simple dream of being a knight and then realize that there is so much more to life then a single dream.  Her knighthood turns out to be just one aspect of what she wants out of life, realizing that every time she achieves a goal, that it does not fulfill her in the way she thought it would.  The ability to recognize that she needs friends, loves, and a variety of goals helps her become a well rounded person.  This series, being the first in a series of series (wow we are starting to get meta in here) set in Tortall and the surrounding areas really sets up the world for the rest of the books.  The stories we read in this series very much color the future books, making rereads even better as we know what happens far into the future.  This quartet of books tends to hold up better as a whole, then as individual books...at least for me, and I actually enjoy rereading them more then the original read.  I am very glad that I discovered this series and it's message of figure out who you are and be yourself 'cause that is probably your best bet at happiness :-)  Happy Reading Everybody!

Woman And Warrior

I MADE IT!!!!!  Sorry it's my first real day off in a couple weeks and I am so so so deliriously happy...also I get the whole weekend off!  To celebrate let's ramble shall we?  I'm gonna go ahead and finish up the Song of the Lioness by talking about Lioness Rampant by Tamora  Pierce.  It is the final book in the quartet and wraps most things up quit nicely, but first as always SPOILERS AHEAD!

After her falling out with the Prince Jonathan, Alanna and her man Corum head to other lands to try and figure out what the map she received at the end of the last book means.  Along the way they meet up Liam Ironarm the Shang Dragon.  The Shang are legendary fighters, trained from a very very young age and the Shang Dragon is the best of them all.  He and Alanna start a relationship (you go girl).  They discover that their map leads them to the fabled Dominion Jewel, that when used by a just ruler can prosper any country that possess it.  Alanna decides that if she can bring this artifact back, she will be able to prove her worth as a knight.  As they are traveling through Sairan, a country torn apart by a very bloody civil war, they happen upon the dead warlords daughter, the Princess Thayet and her K'miri bodyguard Buri.  Both women belay any royal prissyness by being pretty bad ass (YAY!).  Alanna instantly realizes that Thayet, aside from being the most beautiful person she has ever seen, is also one of the only people who could match Jonathan and keep him in check.  She starts aking plans to introduce them, and if they like each other, get them to marry.  They add the girls to their group and head up to the roof of the world to get the jewel.  Alanna discovers that Liam is deathly afraid of all magic, and that includes her Gift.  The group stops at an inn and Alanna can feel the jewel calling her.  She uses her gift to keep everybody asleep and heads out into the blizzard.  Alanna battles the elemental protecting the Dominion Jewel and after some fighting and

conversation obtains the fabled treasure.  She wakes up days later, being rescued by her group to find she is pretty battered, but has secured her jewel.  Liam is upset about her using magic on him and the two end their romantic relationship, but remain friends.  They head home to find that both the Queen and King have died, leaving Prince Jonathan as the new king.  They also discover that Alanna's twin brother Thom has brought back Duke Roger from the grave.  George finally agrees to become a respectable spy master for Jonathan after the infamous Claw (who turns out to be the noble Ralon of Malvon from the first book) continues to kill innocents in his quest for...well who knows what.  Stuff happens and the group uncover a plot to kill Jonathan.  Duke Roger has been sapping magic from Thom and intends to pretty much destroy the who country.  With the help of the jewel Jonathan holds the earth together while the rest of the group battle the traitors.  Alanna kills the Duke and all is ended.  In the aftermath it is discovered that Thom, Liam and Alanna's cat Faithful have all been killed.  Alanna goes to the Bloody Hawk tribe to grieve and recoup.  Thayet comes to get her friends ok to marry Jonathan, which Alanna happily gives.  George comes down to make an honest woman out of her.  That ends the Song of the Lioness Quartet.

This last book is the fattest of all four of the books, and contains the most story of all the books as well.  There is a lot of things I like about this book.  Let's start with the adding of a couple of kick ass women shall we?  The addition of Thayet and Buri do a lot for this book and the story in general.  They show us that Alanna is not the only brave, physical, warrior woman.  They show us that there can be more then one kind of kick ass woman.  Thayet is beautiful, but it is not something she is ashamed of, nor does she use it as a crutch.  For Thayet she is what she is.  She is not afraid to be a woman, a ruler, a mother figure, or a warrior.  All that being said, she has her soft side, her fears and her flaws.  Buri on the other hand, along with reminding Alanna of what she used to be like and giving some great perspective, comes from a different background then the other two women.  She is a commoner, born and bred to serve.  She has no interest in anything other then fighting and protecting her charge.  She has a great outlook on life, giving us another many layered woman

character.  I love that Alanna almost instantly recognizes in Thayet a good partner for Jonathan.  She is able to get past her hurt, and history and help find her friend a good match that will not only make him happy, but be good for the kingdom as well.  I found Alanna and Liam's relationship to be interesting.  I like that she goes for a variety of guys, not always falling for the same type every time.  I also like that even as a warrior who doesn't want to be tied down, that she is not cold and closed off, but open and even eager to explore new relationships (which in my opinion can be even scarier then fighting a monster).  Liam was good for Alanna in some ways, being a bit older and more mature, he was able to allow her to be the "kitten" as he called her.  He taught her a lot of fighting and of the world.  I also liked how they both acknowledged that due to his inability to ever accept her Gift, that their relationship was probably doomed from the start, but both of them agreed to give it a shot anyways.  There was one part when Alanna dresses up for fun that Liam seemed to have an uncharacteristic about face on his ability to view Alanna as a real woman...but it was brief so I guess I can overlook it.  The second have of the book got a bit complicated as the author was trying to tie everything together.  The plot got a bit overly complicated with to many players trying for to many things and we never really got what Roger the Duke of Conte was trying to accomplish...other then mass destruction.  I did appreciate that the author killed of some key people, reminding us that even in stories, battles and violence have its cost.  I also appreciated that Alanna did not just get over the deaths of her loved ones, but needed to take time to grieve.  As far as George and Alanna are concerned...I'm pretty sure they are gonna be ok, but her acquiescence to his desire to have a true wife, mother and Lady as his partner seems to be kind of sudden and uncharacteristic.  I have read more books in this world that give me more insight into George and Alanna's life, but without that it seems a bit...I don't know...trite maybe.  Anyways, the country is saved, the survivors are happily paired off and the realm is on the way to recovery.  Alanna is the King's Champion, finally realizing her dream of knighthood, adventure and glory all while discovering who she really is.  A good ending to a good series and a great set up for further books set in this world.  I give this book 7 out of 10 black pearl earbobs and recommend it everybody who has been following the series.
How do you feel about characters that change their minds about fundamental things?    How many characters are to many?  How much do I love me a strong female character?

Riding Boy Style

Continuing on with my Song of the Lioness reread is the third book, The Woman Who Rides Like A Man by Tamora Pierce.  This book is nice because the story is a bit more cohesive and linear then the earlier books and really launches our girl Alanna into the rest of her life.  Before I get into all that though, as always SPOILERS AHEAD!

In the aftermath of Alanna being knighted, revealed as a female and killing Duke Roger of Conte (the princes cousin) she decides she needs a bit of a breather from the capital and heads out with her man Corum to seek adventure.  She ends up in the desert with a tribe of Bazhir called the Bloody Hawk.  She fights for the right to become part of the tribe and is named as The Woman Who Rides Like a

Man...which is a really long title, but hey it is also very descriptive.  The Bazhir are fierce nomadic people who have a pretty strict division between males and females, and Alanna is setting all that on it's head acquiring a magical crystal sword of potential evil along the way. As she gets to know her adopted people the tribes shaman (who is a bit crazy...ok he's a lot crazy) challenges her and ends up being slain by our lady knight.  According to custom, Alanna takes over as shaman of the tribe until she can train up her apprentices, including two girls to take over.   Prince Jonathan and Sir Myles end up coming from Corus so Jonathan can become the Voice of the tribes and unite the desert people with the kingdom of Tortall.  Myles decides to make Alanna his heir, giving her resources and a home that she did not have before.  Jonathan renews his attentions to Alanna, culminating in a marriage proposal.  After much thinking and fighting, Alanna decides that she does not want to become a traditional lady and declines...which of course makes things a bit awkward between the two.  Alanna leaves the tribe in the hands of her young apprentices, fulfilling the rite to make them full fledged shamans.  She goes to visit George, the king of thieves and her dear friend.  The two start a relationship which lasts until there is an attempt on George's life by a young upstart by the name of Claw.  George returns to Corus to find out what is behind the attacks and Alanna moves on to further adventure.

This book like I said earlier is much tighter of a timeline then previous books.  The story is much more focused and it some ways it makes more sense.  I really enjoyed spending an extended amount of time with Alanna, learning about her and seeing her on a daily basis instead skipping over  months and years at a time.  It is nice to see some of the other cultures that are actually part of the kingdom and not a completely different country.  I will say that I personally found the Bahzir to be a bit stereotypical of a desert/nomadic tribe, but that is just my personal feelings.  I'm still not sure how I feel about Alanna's relationships with Jonathan and George.  I felt Jonathan changed feelings about Alanna very quickly, going from completely accepting who and what she was to demanding she

become a traditional lady.  George's love for Alanna was well established in previous books and he is much more accepting of her as a a person, which is nice, but the speed in which Alanna went from one serious relationship to another is a bit disturbing.  I like watching Alanna come to grips with her own magic Gift, learning to use it and not to fear is cool to see.  This book gives us glimpses into the lives of some of the other characters, showing us what is going on while Alanna is gone, reminding us that just because she is not there does not mean that everybody else's life stops.  We are introduced to the Shang warriors, Thom's increasing magic, and the feeling that all of this is building up to something big in the next book.  Overall it was good to see a story from beginning to end and to not skip around the time  line.  I feel like we have established Alanna's character, likes, dislikes, quirks, strengths and weaknesses making her for the most part a very believable human character.  I enjoyed this installment and feel like we are at the perfect set-up for the final book.  I give this book 7 out of 10 evil crystal swords.
Do you like the longer or shorter time lines in books?  How do you feel about relationship jumping? Do I sound like I am repeating myself in these ramblings?

Purple Eyed Kitty Cat

Continuing my reread of the Song of the Lioness Quartet, I finished up In the Hands of the Goddess by Tamora Pierce the other night.  Of course my extreme insomnia made so I actuallys started and finished the book in the same night, but that's ok.  As always SPOILERS AHEAD!

Our cross-dressing heorine Alanna has made it to the rank of Squire and has also secured the position of squireing for the newly knighted Prince Jonathan.  Jon now know's Alan is actually Alanna and is totally cool with it (yay for semi-enlightened boys).  In the course of her duties as a squire Alanna is out camping when a curious kitten with purple eyes that match Alanna's appears.  Along with this kitten, Alanna if visited by the Goddess, the female head of the Tortall pantheon of gods.  She hangs out for a while and then gives Alanna an amulet which allows her to see when magic is being used.  When she get's back to Tortall, she continues to train for her Ordeal, which if she passes will allow her to become a knight and finally realize her dream.  In the meantime she is busy trying to balance becoming a woman and her love of the knighthood.  Jon and and the King of Thieves George, both make a move, George declaring his love for Alanna and promising to wait until she is ready.  Jon a bit more aggressive, though always circumpspect as to not give away her secret.  After some flirting and uncomfortable moments, Jon and Alanna become lovers.  Alanna continues to be looked after by Sir Myles, an old knight who takes Alanna under his wing.  Jon's cousin Roger the Duke of Conte
continues to teach the young men (and Alanna) how to use their gift and he still creeps Alanna out. Alanna finally gets through her Ordeal, becoming a knight as she has always dreamed.  Her borther Thom comes down to give her the gift of a shield with their family crest on it.  As a surpise he shows her that when she is ready to reveal herself as a female, she can say a spell to change the shield to show a glorious lioness rampant...very very cool. After her suspicions become aroused she uses her amulet to discover that Duke Roger has been keeping the Queen sick and other's ignorant of his true plans through the use of sorcery.  Showing proof of this to the King and Queen, Roger demands a trial by combat and he and Alanna battle.  During the course of the battle, the corset Alanna wears to hide her feminity is cut and she is revealed as a woman.  She wins the battle, killing Roger and chaos ensues.  She decides that she cannot deal with all the aftermath of her reveal and she and Corum decide to travel for a while, as she had originally planned on doing.  They pack up and set of to somewhere warm to await the nest book.

So this is another book where a lot happens, not as much as the last one, but still pretty packed.  I remeber liking this one when I was younger because it mirrored a lot of the conflict I felt and some of my fellow friends felt about being able to kick butt and be strong, and yet still want to wear sparklies and be girly.  This book showed not just the good parts of being both, but the struggle as well.  One of the things that struck me is that both Jon and George were attracted to Alanna for different reasons and showed it in different ways.  In some ways George bugged me, stealing kisses from Alanna, almost by force, which made me a bit uncomfortable, but it end he acknowledges that she is not ready and backs off.  Jon on the other hand, makes more of a game of it and in the end, the less serious

relationship is the one Alanna chooses.  This book shows us a lot of Alanna's fears how she has to face them mostley on her own, which to  me makes her a bit more human then the last book.  Mostly this book sets up the last two books and gives us a solid foundation of knowledge of the land and the primary players.  Ahhh I almost forgot to mention Faithful, the purple eyed kittycat.  Faithful is one of my favorite characters throughout the series.  He technically only meows, but anybody he wants to "talk" to can understand his meows as speech.  Their is obviously something supernatural about him, but for the most part he comes across as a snarky cat.  He is helpful, observant, and adds a touch of humor to the whole proceedings.  Overall, I enjoy this book as part of the series and give it a 7 out of 10 picture changing shields and recommend it to anybody who likes kick-ass conflicted heroine, or has already started the series :-)
Do you thing being a favored of a god/goddess is cheating?  How relieved would you be to finally have your long kept secret out?  What snarky supernatural animal companion do you want?

It's Ok To Be A Girl

One of the few good things about the holiday's being over is that I can get back to my normal reading pattern.  I always feel a bit nostalgic right after the holidays and since for once I didn't have a deadline looming over me, I picked up one of my favorite series by one of my favorite authors.  I read Alanna: The First Adventure, the first book in the Song of the Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce.  How did it hold up over the years?  I'll tell you, but first, as always SPOILERS AHEAD!

Alanna and Thom are pre-teen twins with a crappy father (as all good MG/YA books start).  They both have the Gift, a form of magic certain people posses in the realm of Tortall.  To this end, Thom wants to become a mage, and Alanna wants to become a night, the problem being that females can't become knights, and their father insists that Thom go become a knight instead of a mage.  They decide to switch places and Thom goes on to the City of the Gods to become a mage ('cause both guys and gals can practice magic) and Alanna becomes Alan and signs up to be a Page at the court in Corus, the capital of Tortall.  Only Corum, Alanna's trusted friend and guardian knows her secret and helps her when he can.  Alanna works extremely hard to overcome her smallness and the beatings of a much larger bully.  In town one day Alanna (in the guise of Alan) meets George Cooper, the King of Thieves who takes her under his wing and teaches her how to fight.  Between this and all her extra work at her Page lessons, Alanna earns her place among her fellow Pages and Squires.  She

eventually befriends the Prince Jonathan, and her ability with the Gift is revealed when she uses it to heal him after an awful illness called the Sweating Sickness sweeps through the city, killing many.  It is thought that the illness was sent by a sorcerer, who may have targeted the royal family.  After saving the prince, he and Alanna, along with a few other guys get to be good enough friends that she introduces them to George, who in turn helps them by keeping an eye on the city.  Eventually Alanna gets older, and as it goes, hits puberty.  Since she has no mother, and not female to talk to, Alanna is understandably freaked out by her first period and goes to George's mother, a healer to find out what is what.  Mrs. Cooper explains the birds and the bees to her and gives her a charm against pregnancy and encourages her to be a girl when she can. She also let's George in on the fact that she is a girl.  The prince's cousin, Roger the Duke of Conte arrives to teach the pages/squire's with the Gift how to use it. A bunch of stuff happens (don't you love how I skip over all this stuff in every rambling :-) )   The bunch of them head off to hang out at Persopolis, an oasis city in the middle of the desert.  In site of the encampment is the Black City, an evil place that compels people to come and they are never seen again.  Roger, goad/tricks Jonathan into going to the city and Alanna follows him.  They confront an ancient evil called the Ysandir and defeat them using Alanna and the princes combined Gifts.  In the process, Prince Jonathan discovers that Alanna is really a girl.  He decides he is ok with this, agrees to keep it a secret and the book ends with him choosing her as his squire once he is knighted.

This is one of those books where a lot of stuff happens very quickly.  If I remember correctly just this book spans the course of at least 5 years and each page if packed full of stuff.  Most of the events are pretty simply described, with out a whole lot of detail or angst, and while this makes things a bit quick, it keeps the pace up.  This book, and series in general is pretty cool in that the main message is that it is ok to be yourself.  Alanna is hellbent on being a knight, even at the tender age of 11 and she thinks this means she pretty much has to turn herself into a boy.  While this is true to some degree, she learns that it does not have to be her whole life.  Through out the book, she is lucky enough to have several people encourage her to be who she wants to be, if that's a knight, great go for it, but don't let that completely squash your femininity if you don't want it to.  I really like the idea that it is ok to be whatever, a girl who likes to swing swords and wear a pretty pair of earrings.  A boy who wants a quieter life of study, but is still able to ride a horse like a pro.  Just because you like one thing, or are good at something, does not automatically mean the rest of your life has to follow suite.

 I also really like how hard Alanna has to work to achieve her goal.  Besides her Gift (which she is afraid of AND many other people also have), she is not all that special.  She is small so she has to work extra hard just to be as good as the other guys.  Through out the book (and the series) she makes no secret of the fact that there are some things she will probably never be good at.  The only real "convenient" part that bugs me a bit, is her ability to have people fall head over heels to help her out of most situations.  George Cooper, while a great character, for some reason decides to take the scrawny little Page under his wing even before he knows she is a girl, same with the Prince (though I guess saving his life helped with that).  It is a bit convenient for her to have a lot of support in a time and place where she should have very little.  As this is a reread, I always like to compare the first time I read it to subsequent rereads.  In this case, I still love the book, but found it to be a bit simpler then I remember.  The time frame in which it is written makes it go fast, and certain things go unexamined and stuff gets glossed over. I think it is a great first book in this series and is a great pace for a younger reader to really get into.  I love it for anybody who struggles with reconciling who they are with what they do, or what they like.  It has adventure, intrigue, swords and magic and it will always have a spot on my shelf.  I give it 7 out of 10 crystal swords.
What books do you feel like rereading this year?  Do you have changing feelings about books you reread?  What would a sword fighting tutu look like?

Kick-A** Girl Power In All Forms

Getting excited for the National Book Festival coming up next weekend!  One of the things I am most excited about is the possibility of meeting Tamora Pierce, one of my favorite authors.  I have to admit it took me a while to get into this authors works, my baby sis had actually read her Circle of Magic books and tried to get me interested, but it wasn't really my thing right then.  Later I picked up the Song of the Lioness quartet and then promptly kicked myself for not getting into them sooner.  There are a zillion reasons to love the works of Tamora Pierce, her world building, characterization and plot are all wonderful, but what I want to talk about in this post is how she writes her heroines.

I know you have heard me gripe before that most heroines come in two forms, either SUPER AWESOME KICK-ASS ALL POWERFUL SUPER SKILLED WHO CAN SHOOT A GUN BETTER THEN ANYBODY RUN FASTER THEN ANYBODY FIGHT BETTER THEN ANYBODY ALL WHILE MAINTAINING A 'TUDE!!!! Yes I had to put that in all caps because that is what it always feels like when you read these characters.  The other heroine is the sweet, lovely, perfect, obviously special girl that everybody falls all over themselves for, you know the type that looks at you with big blue eyes and just can't thank you enough for letting her cut class for the zillionth time with out getting into trouble.  These two types actually do have there place in some stories, but let me tell you they get old very quickly.  This leads me to why I love Tamora Pierce so much, her heroines are as varied as a box of chocolates (the good kind from Godiva, not the stale ones you get from the drug store) and while they all have special skills it is balanced out by plenty of flaws and insecurities.
Let us go heroine by heroine and I will show you what I mean. (Warning, there may be minor spoilers ahead that are unavoidable so read with caution...but I don't think it will be to bad)
Lets start with the Tortal series:

Song of the Lioness
Alanna-Our heroine for this first quartet makes the bold move of disguising herself as a boy to become a knight.  She is great because while she is probably one of the more outgoing and feisty of our girls, she also comes with some of the most identity issues.  Aside from wanting to become a knight, our girl also wants to be...well a girl.  One of the best scenes shows Alanna in the guise of Alan waiting upon the Prince as he dances with girls all decked out in there finest.  Alanna struggles with jealousy that they can freely act like women, while at the same time refusing to give up her dream of becoming a knight.  This struggle continues all the way through the series, even after she is revealed as female and no longer has to hide it.  She has numerous romantic liasons, controlling her own sexuality and clearly stating her intentions of never being tied down.  She is loud, tempermental, stubborn, determined, spirited, confused, and oh yeah she does have magic that also gives her amazing amounts of trouble.  See along with trying to balance her need to be free and violent with her desire to be seen as a female, she also has to balance her magic (and her reluctance to use it) with her need to prove herself aside from the Gift as it is called in Tortall. Again numerous things to love about this first series, but I think what I would want people to get out of it the most is the fact that you don't have to choose to be one thing or another.  If you want to be a tutu wearing knight go for it, if you want to wear fatigues while you whip up a souffle I say more power to you.  This book really showed me that it was ok to indulge my girly for a while and then go hop on my ambulance or fire truck without feeling conflicted.

The Immortals
Daine-Our heroine in this series reminds me a bit of the old fashioned Caddie Woodlawn type main character.  She is spunky, fun, loyal and motherly.  After reading about our warrior princess in the previous series, Daine more innocent views are refreshing.  Intially thought to be insane because of her little understood brand of magic (she can talk to, heal and even eventually transform into animals) she learns to not be afraid of her magic.  Daine is a bit of the super special trope of heroine, she finds out eventually that she is the daughter of a minor god, but it is handled really well and is just one more piece to our girls story.  This series also highlights the importance of depending on your friends, not always having to go it alone.  A lot of times our heroines have this crazy urge to prove themselves by doing every thing on there own, making themselves closed off and cold in an attempt to prove how bad-ass they are, and it is only after some poor sop has broken down those walls...blah blah blah, our girl has absolutely none of that, she loves her friends with a ferocity of a mamma bear and will do anything for them.  In return she believably has people willing to help her out, again not because she is a sweet, perfect girl, but because she has already proven her loyalty to them.  Daine is also one of the most open minded heroines I have seen, able to put aside her initial feelings and prejudice to try and understand other people and creatures.  This makes for some interesting questions and answers about prejudice against groups as a whole and how an individual may or may not further that.  What I would want people to get out of this book is that being loyal and open minded will get you much further in the world then being a close minded blowhard.  It is ok to change your mind about people, and the whole Lone Ranger thing is not as cool as you think.

Protector of the Small
Keledry-This is where I really started to notice how different all of these girls are. Kel has decided to try and become the first sanctioned Lady Knight in hundreds of years, after Alanna broke the gender barrier, the King declared any female who wanted to train as a knight would get the chance.  Enter Kel our quiet, determined, justice seeking, hights fearing heroine.  At first glance she is almost the exact opposite of Alanna, tall, reserved, calm, only sharing the trait of determination.  As time goes on we see our Kel put these traits that most authors would never write into a knighted heroine to good use.  We see that her nature actually lends itself to becoming one of the best knights ever, and not just for a girl, but for anybody.  She deals with a lot of the same am I a woman or a knight issues that Alanna did, but her approach to dealing with it is much different then Alanna's was.  Being a loud mouth myself I found it fascinating to read about this quiet dignified girl who pushed through the ranks of brash and loud naysayers, to not only achieve her dreams, but to save a country as well.  What I would want people to get out of this story is to quit discounting the people who don't have to make a lot of noise.  In our culture it seems the louder and brasher you are, the more people seem to think you are the top banana, but let me tell you as one of those loud people, a lot of the times it is really the quiet people standing behind us who are getting the real work done, and if given the chance will astound you.

Trickster
Ally-This series is about Ally, Alanna's teenage daughter and I love it for so many reasons (hm this seems to be a theme here).  Right off the bat I love the interaction between mother and daughter, how they are similar in some areas and completely different in others, causing them to butt heads more often then not.  It explores what I am sure is every parents biggest issue, balancing what you want for your kids, with what your kid wants, with what you want your kid to want.  Ally takes after her dad is more impulsive and fun loving then her mother, she does not think of consequences on a regular basis and would rather spy with her dad, then fight as a knight.  After Ally's capture by pirates and is eventually sold to a family far away with a completely different culture, she uses her skills of observation and trickery to help protect the family she serves.  Ally is probably the most "fun" character to read, she has the most relaxed and natural rhythm of any character and seems to be the most comfortable in her own skin.  Her greatest challenges come from having to on occasion suppress her natural tendency to speak her mind at any time and learn when to use her powers of observation vs her powers of persuasion.  She also comes to appreciate her parents and the differences between them, instead of seeing the differences as flaws, she see's how each person needs to use there own way to solve problems.  What I would want people to get out of this book is to learn to feel comfortable with yourself, regardless of what other people want you to be.  If your a girl, it is just as ok to want to be at home and raise your children as it is to want to go out and become the first female presidant...or both. If you are a guy you can dream about becoming an NFL player, or the worlds best RN...or both.  It doesn't matter what other people tell you what you should want as long as YOU are happy with your choices.

Provost's Dog
Beka-Beka is a different sort of heroine, she lives hundreds of years before the other series when it was still ok for females to be knights and warriors so her struggle is vastly different then the other heroines in this post (I love how women's rights actually went backwards over time as the nobility "refined" itself, very interesting concept).  Beka is mostly on her own, earning a living as a Dog, which is essentially a police officer.  While most of our other heroines spent their time at court or in noble houses, Beka patrols, lives, and plays in the more slummy part of the city.  Our girls biggest issue is her shyness, she can barely speak in front of people she does not know which hinders her ability to give testimony in court...a big part of her job.  She is able to overcome it with some difficulty and is able to do her job.  Beka is shy, quiet, generous, and resourceful. She never forgets where she comes from and is constantly helping out people less fortunate then she is.  She also has the ability to talk with ghosts that ride with pigions, giving her an eccentric crazy bird lady vibe which suits her perfectly.  What I would want people to get out of this is that you don't have to be a big bad knight, or a super duper magic wielder to be a hero.  It is the people who get out of bed and go to work to provide for their families, or protect the common folk, or answer the individual call for help that really makes the world go round.
Wow this is getting super long, so I will save the girls from her other books for another time, but needless to say they all have there own personalities and kick ass as well.  Hopefully this long rambling ode to the females in Tamora Pierce's books gives you an idea of why I love her so much!

What female hero is your favorite?  What traits do you think often get overlooked when writing heros/heroines?  Is the ability to read anywhere at any time a super hero trait?