In the Forest of Serre (Quotes)

The following quotes from In the Forest of Serre by Patricia A. McKillip are definitely ponderable:

You have opened your heart, the book said. Now what will you do?

 …how do I know what I’m worth to me? What would you be worth to you?

Some days you battle yourself and other monsters. Some days you just make soup.

The Best of Connie Willis (Quotes)

Over the years books have helped me in so many, many ways, but for the most part I have felt alone in my reading life. So often when I have wanted to talk about something from a book that has moved me, I have been shushed or worse – I have a friend that believes that reading science fiction is a sign of mental illness – Alexander McCall Smith, Debbie Macomber (Blossom Street Series), and Connie Willis are among authors who have repeatedly touched my heart. Near the back of The Best of Connie Willis is a “bonus section”-- which to me is worth more than the price of the book—that contains her Worldcom Guest of Honor Speech and an undelivered Grand Master Backup Speech. These two selections say so much that is in my own heart about books and make me feel that there is at least one other person out there who has a similar experience. I would love to see a slightly edited version of the speeches made into an illustrated book, which those of us who have been saved by books can read over and over again. Below are some brief excerpts:

[Books] saved my life. I know what you’re thinking, that the books provided an escape for me. And it’s certainly true books can offer refuge from worries and despair. …. But it wasn’t escape I need when my mother died. It was the truth. And I couldn’t get anyone to tell it to me…. I found what I was looking for, what I needed, what I wanted, what I loved in books. 

Characters in stories grow up and go off on quests ….. and in the process they tell us about ourselves. They show us what matters and what doesn’t. They teach us how to be human. And tell us how our own stories might turn out.

Books can reach across space and time …. and speak to someone they have never met, to someone who hasn’t even been born when they were written and give them help and advice and companionship and consolation. 

I encourage anyone who loves books to read the speeches in their entirety.

Fragile Things (Short Fiction Fantasy)

My first reaction after I finished reading Fragile Things was to wonder why I hadn’t read more by Neil Gaiman.So far, I had only read The Graveyard Book and American Gods. As demonstrated by Fragile Things, Gaiman is a master storyteller. In most of the stories, the details come together in just the perfect way, with a wonderful twist at the end. The styles of the stories vary. Some are more traditional; others are shaped more like poems. One story is a novella. In “Fifteen Painted Cards from a Vampire Tarot,” Gaiman tells fifteen microstories. One story won a Hugo; another won the Locus Award. “A Study in Emerald” is a fresh twist on the time-honored Sherlock Holmes tale. “Goliath” is a heartfelt twist on the Matrix. Some of the stories, I confess, I didn’t quite understand. While the stories are from the science fiction and fantasy genres, most of them are thoughtful.

Fragile Things left me with such a good feeling that I want to read more by Gaiman.

Shaman (Science Fiction Novel)

While I am a great fan of Kim Stanley Robinson’s Mars Trilogy, I have mixed feelings about his most recent novel, Shaman. It is a rite of passage novel set in Paleolithic France. The greatest strength of the novel is its ability to look at universal themes. In addition, it is well-paced and has an interesting plot. As with the Mars Trilogy, I enjoyed Robinson’s descriptions of the environment. On the other hand, I am very skeptical of the accuracy of the description of Paleolithic life. Also, I found myself irritated with the all-pervasiveness of sexuality in the first part of the novel. At the risk of sounding like a prude, enough is enough, aren’t there some other interesting things to describe.

In the beginning of Shaman, a very young man, Loon, sets off on a “wander,” where he spends a period of time alone in the wilderness. It is to mark his official apprenticeship as a shaman. Yet, Loon is earmarked to be the apprentice by default; his deceased father was the true apprentice to the tribe’s shaman, Thorn. Loon’s interests lie elsewhere. Loon goes against Thorn’s wishes and marries a woman, Elga. Her past is a bit of mystery. When another tribe steals her, Loon tries to rescue her, with tragic results. By the end of the story, Loon has agreed to take on the role of the new shaman.

The very opening of the story opens with the words “We had a bad shaman.” The very end of the story could have read “We had a good shaman.” While the story centers around Loon, the reader slowly pieces together why Thorn was a good shaman. It speaks to the universal experience of not realizing how good a teacher or a parent was until they have passed or they can no longer understand the gratitude that we hold in our hearts. The story touches on a number of other universal themes. Most of the story focuses on the universal themes of trying to live up to other people’s expectations and trying to become one’s own person. Another major theme is regret. Thorn is forced to make some very difficult decisions, doing the very best he can in a nearly impossible situation. The decisions literally haunt him to the end of this life. Yet another theme is that of otherness. Are the “Old Ones” human? The individuals kidnapped from another tribe are not considered human. Lastly, there is the universal theme of trying to fill another person’s shoes after they are gone.

Shaman doesn’t describe much that is supernatural. It contains very few instances of Loon or Thorn practicing what we typically think of as “shamanism.” In fact more of the story describes making cave drawing.

While I’m glad that I read Shaman, it is definitely not on my list of books that I would most likely recommend.

Down These Strange Streets (Urban Fantasy Short Fiction)

When I read that Down These Strange Streets edited by R. R. Martin and Gardner Duzois was a book of urban fantasy short stories, I expected something very different from what I ended up reading. I imagined gritty detectives tracking down supernatural bad guys in modern cities. And, in fact, the book does have some stories like that. But, most of the stories are hard to pin down, transcending genres. A number of them are part historical fiction, including stories that take place in Caesar's Rome, WWII Aleutians, Prohibition Era United States, Babylon in its declining years, and eighteenth century Jamaica. Almost all the stories have some element of mystery, but they are not all what I would personally describe as "fantasy." Many of the stories have good plot twists.

My favorite story was "The Difference Between a Puzzle and a Mystery" by M. L. N Hanover. Not only did it have a good plot, but it also gave me a new paradigm to think about, puzzles vs. mysteries. Briefly, an exorcist is brought into a murder investigation to prove or disprove that a suspect is possessed. The exorcist is mild mannered, to say the least. He is even a Unitarian, making him seem even more ordinary. This all sets the reader up for a a wonderful twist at the end. I am new to M. L. N Hanover, so perhaps fans will not be as surprised by the ending.

My runners up for favorites were "It's the Same Old Story" by Carrie Vaughn and "In Red, With Pearls" by Patricia Briggs. "It's the Same Old Story" was a touching story about a friendship between a mortal and a vampire that spans close to 70 years. "In Red, With Pearls" was more of what I expected from an urban fantasy, a werewolf trying to find out why a zombie tried to murder his gay partner. The intensity of the werewolf's loyalty was one of the things that made the story attractive for me.

Down These Strange Streets introduced me to some writers that I had never read before. At some point I would like to read novels by a number of them, including Hanover, Vaughn and Briggs. This book also marks the beginning of what I hope to me a year focused more on short fiction and less on novels. I want to have a better understanding of what makes a good story, and short fiction seems like a good place to start.

The Contribution of Outsiders (Quote)

Funny how it's always society's outsiders who create the things that bind society together.

Christopher Fowler in The Invisible Code, referring to Alan Turing

The Invisible Code (Mystery Novel)

Insanity. An Old Nemesis. A Red Thread. Witches. A Mysterious Death. Political Wives. Codes. Secret Weapons.

For me, the Peculiar Crimes Unit Mysteries by Christopher Fowler get better with each new book. The tenth book in the series, The Invisible Code, is not only a good mystery, but it is also thought provoking, educational, funny, and a great escape from my everyday life. Unlike the earliest books in the series, Fowler clearly establishes Arthur Bryant as the main character, bringing more of his quirks and brilliance to the novel. For those new to the series, Bryant is a loveable curmudgeon, who is long past the age of retirement. He is notorious for using unusual means to solve crimes, including consulting with those associated with the esoteric and the occult.

Early in The Invisible Code, Bryant and his partner May are called into the office of their archnemesis, Osker Kasavian, the head of Home Office Security. Osker is scheduled to give a presentation that could make him the one man in charge of the UK's newly overhauled terrorism security system. But, he has a major problem; his much younger wife Sabira, who has been acting rather oddly recently. She thinks dark forces are trying to harm her. Finding the true cause of Sabira's problems appears to be a perfect assignment for Bryant and May and the Peculiar Crimes Unit. Reluctantly they agree to take on the case, with the assurance that that it will benefit the unit. Most of the story centers around Sabira's life and Bryant's attempts to find the truth about her mental deterioration. Fowler takes the reader inside the world of political wives, discusses classism, describes secret codes and describes ways the rich handled insanity.

I was much in need of a mental vacation, and so I spent a day just reading this novel. I especially enjoyed how Fowler laid out the mystery chapter by chapter, enticing me to try and figure out what was really happening. Focusing on Bryant and on Sabira made the story richer, although part of me misses learning about what is happening with the the other members of the Peculiar Crimes Unit. Perhaps Fowler could write some short stories that focus on some of the other characters. By the end of the story, Bryant had gained a new nemesis, making me hungry for the next book in the series.