evagation

The Hated 15: Theon Greyjoy

2011-07-06T23:34:00.000-04:00

At Towerofthehand.com, there's a lively community of science fiction/fantasy fans that gather to discuss the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R R Martin. Occasionally featured are essays by members; recently one of mine was selected for a countdown of the most hated characters in the series. (I've posted some other essays on ASOIAF before also). I present: Theon Greyjoy. Warning, spoilers follow.

Theon Greyjoy, Theon Turncloak (Artist: Felicia Cano)

Mercy is rare for the children of Westeros. None was to be had for Barra, King Robert's bastard girl. Even high-born children are prone to be victims, as Rhaenys and Aegon Targaryen attest. Rebels and dis-respecters are treated particularly harshly, as shown in the treatment of the Reynes of Castamere - the entire house extinguished, every man, woman and child. The least likely place one would expect mercy would be the cold, hard North - yet this is where the son of the leader of the Greyjoy Rebellion is brought and cared for, raised alongside the noblest children of the region as their peer. He is a hostage - but the cage he is kept in encompasses Winterfell and the lands it governs (including a brothel nearby). He is out of place there, treated suspiciously by many, and never completely accepted. His time with the Starks easily looks like a fostering, which is within the traditions of the Seven Kingdoms, but to his native lands it is not understood that way. Theon Greyjoy rises in position to become a trusted companion of the King in the North, Robb Stark.

But fostering, as with other traditions of the Green Lands, is no right place for an ironborn man. Theon is gradually changed through this proximity to the Stark children to be more like his enforced companions, less like an Ironborn. His sense of his native culture is so far eroded that he undertakes to negotiate with his father on behalf of King Robb, never recognizing that his father would see him as forever suspect in such an arrangement. The glaring errors of his assumptions are displayed for his father at the worst possible moment when Lord Balon asks:

"That bauble around your neck - was it bought with gold or iron?"
Theon touched the gold chain. He had forgotten. It has been so long... In the Old Way, women might decorate themselves with ornaments bought with coin, but a warrior wore only the jewelry he took off the corpses of enemies slain by his own hand. Paying the iron price, it was called. A Clash of Kings: Theon I

In that exchange, the father remakes the son. But when does a child become a man, and responsible for the repercussions of a man's choices? Theon again is scrambling to find a place for himself - recognizing finally that he is no prodigal son coming home, but in his father's eyes he is corrupted to the soft life. Corrupted and corruptible; Balon recognizes that if Theon can be turned into an emissary for the Starks, he can be turned back against the Starks, to prove himself ironborn or die trying - either way relieves Balon of the troublesome prospect of a son who is a misfit. Balon, of course, doesn't recognize that it is his grasping, unrealistic ambitions that resulted in the surrender of his son.
Theon accepts the challenge from his father and sets out to out-ironborn the ironborn, and this is when he changes from being a self-centered, naive and selfish boy to a conniving, backstabbing man. He accepts charge of a small force of men and is charged with creating some mayhem on the Stony Shore. And, much like his father's ambition to make a place for himself he overreaches for Winterfell - and, surprising us all, he succeeds.

This dual betrayal - of Balon's orders, and Robb's trust - gets Theon quite a ways down the road to being hated by the reader. Then he compounds our reader's misery, slaying children to further his scheme and mistreating Winterfell's people. It is almost a relief when Winterfell is lost to Theon, and Theon is captured by the Boltons - but the cost of Theon's comeuppance is the razing of Winterfell and that seems too high a cost. This, too, we blame him for - that Winterfell, centuries old, should be ruined due to his recklessness makes us hate him more.

Is redemption possible for such a flawed soul with such mistaken motives? For a man who cannot be grateful that he was warded instead of slain, who can't be true to his friend, who mistreats the women around him, who cannot satisfy his father, who is responsible for the deaths of children and the destruction of the Starks' home - what hope have we? What hell would Theon have to survive, what right acts could he perform as penance? A Dance with Dragons might offer the chance for redemption and an escape from his hated outsider status (certainly Theon must be punished - how much is sufficient?) - or it may make us hate him all the more. I hate to leave the choice up to Theon, as he makes such poor choices. Is he ready to choose, to join the game again?

Dogsbodies and Scumsters by Alan McCormick and Illustrated by Jonny Voss

2011-07-01T22:51:00.000-04:00

Quirky tales of ne’er do wells and washouts strive side by side with poetical furniture and terminally ill wives in this short story collection. I found the characters endearing and whole in the sketches of these fractured souls and recommend the series to any who delight in witty, bite sized fiction that grows more worthy upon reflection, even as it captivates you during the read. Roast books has excelled again in putting forth this new author for their readers and fans; where do they find these story tellers? If I were to ask McCormick, perhaps he could spin a tale of the underground vat where he was grown on a diet of hearty adjectives and high-protein nouns. I’ll highlight two stories that were favorites in this collection, and leave you, reader dearest, to enjoy the rest unprepared as I was.

“Deal or No Deal” is Brenda’s tale, and Brenda is a very pitiful creature. The story opens mildly, with the socially awkward girl struggling to understand her sister’s harrangues, handle the insults of her bratty niece and nephew and understand her grocer’s friendliness which is just as confusing to her as the nastiness she endures from her family. I was completely caught up in pity for her, an apparent lost soul. And then, as she goes through her day making tea and watching a game show in the company of her neighbor, her past slips out in dribs and drabs until suddenly the pity switch flips back to neutral. I didn’t suddenly feel that her family was right to be nasty to her, but I could understand why they were. That McCormack could get me to flip by judgment in 6 pages of concise text is a cunningly efficient maneuver which left me a bit wobbly in my reading parts.

“Storyteller” finds Katie careening through her life at a fast pace, following a bomb blast. As she unwinds the knots of her tangled tale her patter becomes less and less assured, her poise starts to slip. She lives a mendacious life, and she knows it, justifies it, and celebrates it. She never apologizes, and doesn’t entertain the possibility that there’s another honest way of living – at least not for her. But how far would she go to protect her carefully structured identity? And if not apologetic, is she vindictive towards those who she believes set her on the lying path?

In coming weeks, I’ll be on stage for improv again and am sorely tempted to bring to life on stage some of these irascible, weirdly bewildered characters – I can imagine Katie, in a Grace Kelly scarf patiently explaining herself to a reporter with mounting anxiety. Brenda could easily appear on a bus, riding along in silence and needing a retreat from the world with to trouble her. I wonder if McCormack would be willing to let me let these dogsbodies onto the stage- or if they are better kept in a jar, in a lab, underground, and away from the light of day.

6 books for 2011

2011-01-01T19:25:00.002-05:00

I have quite a backlog on my books-to-read list, and this holiday season has brought a few gift books (thank you!) which I am looking forward to reading. Also, the the last two boxes of books from the move 18 months ago have finally been unpacked, revealing old book friends of mine that I'd like to revisit. Here's my list, with explanations - do you have yours?

A Dance with Dragons by George R R Martin. I've been a member of a fan site, Tower of the Hand, and we're going on years now of lengthy re-hashing and re-analysis of the previous books. I preordered it 2 years ago. Now we're a little more upbeat since HBO is producing the Game of Thrones series but still, it has been quite a wait. Please, George, finish the book and make 2011 the year it happens. Hint for fans: if you like the books, and want to talk with like-minded folks, visit Tower. If you just want to rant about the delay, go to FTBG.
Remake by Connie Willis. Willis is a favorite author, but somehow I forget about her from time to time. Recently I recommended two of her books, Doomesday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog. it occurred to me that I would like o be more familiar with her additional works, as I liked these so well.
Origins by Annie Murphy Paul was recommended to me by my friend Tracey, undisputed intellect and wise mother. Her book recommendations I do not second-guess.
Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card I have to read this year as my eldest is starting on Ender's Game. My mother, when I was younger, made a point to be familiar with all that I was reading and as a result we had something to talk about in those awkward teenage years. I hope to follow her example.
The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams - was recommended to me by fellow readers who enjoy the Song of Ice and Fire series, so I figure to give it a go.
An Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage - received as a holiday gift, and interesting from a historical sense.

My goodreads list has additional books, hopefully I'll get to a few more of these in 2011.

Thousands of leaves from a thousand autumns

2010-12-30T22:43:00.000-05:00

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Today the snow is melting in Indianapolis and it reminded me of a book I'd read but not blogged about yet: The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet by David Mitchell. This book takes a compelling historical incident involving the Dutch East India Company's trading post on the island of Deijima, their limited actions with the Japanese, and the appearance of an English ship in the harbor.

The story begins initially with a young Japanese medical student, Orito, a woman of noble birth who has a face scarred from burns. She faces a kidnapping, forcible drugging, and forced service before attaining some redemption later, and on her own terms.

Orito gains the attention of Jacob De Zoet, a young man seeking to make his fortune with the Dutch East Indies Company before returning home to Zeeland. Jacob is struggling to live morally in this outpost far from the stolid community he comes from, amongst men of uncertain character. As he wrestles with his conscience, he is punished for each decision he makes which is right. In a pivotal scene, his ability to persevere in a course he deems right is essential, though, and serves to keep the Dutch flag flying in Dejima for the years when the Dutch flag was flown nowhere else in the world.

A third character, Uzaemon, offers the last leg of the love triangle. He is a translator and scholar, and moves in waters with deep predators whose cunning he cannot fully see. The outcome, while sad, was predictable.

The historical background research for this work must have been extensive, but the author's burden is not onerous to the reader. Instead the international dynamics between English-Dutch-Japanese percolate along slowly and unobtrusively, until boiling over such that the characters react with precision. I admire Mitchell's ability to use such rich historical narrative without letting it overwhelm the fundamental story.

The fast gourmet cookbook

2010-12-28T19:34:00.001-05:00

The fast gourmet cookbook by Poppy Cannon

Simple genius in the kitchen, December 28, 2010

This review is from: The fast gourmet cookbook (Paperback)

This cookbook was a wonder-trove of information on how to pull together an apparently-from-scratch gourmet meal using readily available products and items from a local store. I'm shocked that this book isn't more widely available as her recipes are wonderful for use by busy cooks in any age, who want to serve something better than take-out. The recipes are varied and multinational. As an example, she has a tasty recipe for black-cherry chicken that uses a grocery-store rotisserie chicken, marjoram, and a can of black cherries to make a wonderfully savory dish in less than 10 minutes. If I had only two cookbooks ever I would have Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition - 2006 and this book from Poppy.

Bran Stark featured at Tower of the Hand

2010-12-13T17:11:00.000-05:00

“The stone is strong, Bran told himself, the roots of the trees go deep, and under the ground the Kings of Winter sit their thrones. So long as those remained, Winterfell remained. It was not dead, just broken. Like me, he thought. I'm not dead either.” - Bran VII, A Clash of Kings

Bran Stark from HBO's Game of Thrones

In the North, for ages gone and many winters past, it appears that change comes not often. The Starks rule the North a thousand miles from King’s Landing to the south; their castle has stood for 8,000 years since it was raised by Bran the Builder. The cold lands lead to a staid people, unlikely to change often or easily - or so we would expect.

Not all is as it seems. Certainly not for a winter-lands child who can name his wolf Summer.

The Starks have wolf-blood, even down through the last Stark in Winterfell - Bran the Broken. Bran’s capabilities are unknown to him, though, until he is crippled, by Jamie Lannister, when Jamie shoves Bran out a high tower window. Bran spends weeks in a coma, watched over by his mother, Catelyn Stark, and guarded by Summer (and perhaps kept alive by the direwolf as well) - though the extent of Summer’s efforts are unknown until the wolf stymies an assassin.

Summer and Bran become closer still as Bran wakes from his coma and develops his warging abilities. Soon Catelyn heads South, Robb rides to war and Bran takes command of Winterfell, meeting with the Stark vassals and planning with his advisors for winter. He frets the whole time though that he will never be enough for the role; that as a cripple he is washed up. His dreams of knighthood evaporate, and he mourns their loss. How pitiful to see a child facing losses that would undo even a brave man. Fortuitously, then, the Reed siblings arrive to guide him, protect him, and shepherd him to a new life beyond the wall, to the three-eyed crow. Bran sets aside his childish dreams for truer dreams..

Westeros is changing - the North is changing - and who better to lead the North than a boy who can change not only his dreams of knighthood but even his very skin? Superficially, he is a paralyzed boy unable to sit a horse without a special saddle - but once we move beyond the surface of things, we find a boy who can be a giant with an unorthodox batte-cry of "Hodor!" or a wolf with an intelligent gaze. While there is some debate as to whom Robb Stark may have named as heir, or whether Jon Snow could accept and hold Winterfell, there is no debate as to who the last Stark was to sit in the high hall; that was Bran. It was he also that knew Winterfell in and out, from up and down, and knew its passages and walls better than anyone. Bran has long odds to beat in just surviving in such a harsh land. But if you are already known as dead, perhaps survival will be easier.There is not much room for cripples in Westeros at war anyway.

Bran's fall and survival presages the fate of the Starks; they will fall, but rise again, fundamentally changed. Bran’s fate awaits him beyond the black gate with Coldhands; “the Black Gate, Sam had called it, but it wasn’t black at all.” Of course it wasn't black. Nothing, in this unchanging land, is really what it seems.

---
This post published at Tower of the Hand as part of the Top 30 Characters profiles on 12/7/2010. A previous character profile on Oberyn Martell was published on 11/22/2010.

Oberyn Martell profile featured at Tower of the Hand

2010-11-22T16:48:00.003-05:00

Oberyn Martell is the heart’s desire of many a lady in the Seven Kingdoms, and the heart’s bane of many a lord. The earliest conquest the reader knows of results in a duel between 16 year old Oberyn and Lord Yronwood over the affections of Lord Yronwood’s lover, and it does not end well for the Yronwoods with their Lord dying of festering wounds. Could these wounds have festered from some additive on Oberyn’s blade? He never claimed that, but earned the name Red Viper for the rumor. His amorous ways have resulted in fine rewards for him; eight daughters, all in good relations with their father.

Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper (Artist: Natascha Roeoesli).

The oldest four of these sand snakes have different mothers. And why would they not? Oberyn took a partner in each place he took himself, and his daughters reveal the diversity of the man. The eldest was born to a whore of Oldtown. The next to a noblewoman across the ocean in the free cities. Third born was to a septa, who are generally a chaste lot. Fourth was to a Summer Isles trader. Most of the Westerosi abide by class distinctions without remark; Oberyn, instead, moves amongst all these groups with ease, and not just superficially - but with enough engagement to form relationships and keep them even after his affections have moved on. Oberyn’s parental devotion assures that even the lowest-born of these by-blow girls are raised into trades and cared for. Contrast that with another man known for his bastards, Robert Baratheon. Robert’s bastards are fathered and killed off in the very city where he sits the throne, and he is ignorant of their demise. One doubts that Oberyn would have let any of his daughters face such malice unprotected. Notably, Oberyn’s wandering lusts find harbor in one woman: the mother of his fifth daughter, and all those thereafter: Elia - namesake, one assumes, of his deceased sister.

Oberyn’s protective instincts for his daughters likely arose from Oberyn’s one failure to protect those he loved: his sister Elia, and her children. Was his beloved sister Oberyn’s first lover? We readers are left to wonder. Oberyn convinced his elder sister to reject all the Dornish suitors their ruling mother brought for consideration; so impossible was a Dornish match, the siblings were sent to Casterly Rock to meet the Lannister twins as an alternative. I speculate that Joanna Lannister and the Princess of Dorne in their close friendship had shared concerns about their children’s too-close relations, and it was decided between them to make the best of it by throwing the four of them together into arranged marriages and letting them pair up as they saw fit. These plans, if such they were, were derailed at Joanna’s death and superseded by Tywin’s dynastic ambitions to make Cersei queen. Certainly Oberyn believes that Tywin bore his sister a grudge when she took the place Tywin expected for one of his own.

Tywin’s grudge was a little thing though compared to the tenacious lust for revenge that grew within Oberyn after the sack of King’s landing - but that was years away for the young Oberyn. Oberyn did not take a partner when his sister married Prince Rhaegar; perhaps, like Jaime Lannister, being brother in law to the king was enough for him. Was Oberyn as devoted to Elia as Jaime was to Cersei? Apparently not, as unlike Jaime, Oberyn was off on his adventures (amorous and otherwise). And what friendship did Oberyn have with his brother-in-law, Rhaegar? Did they come to some understanding that allows Oberyn to forgive - or even facilitate - whatever happened between Rhaegar and Lyanna? Note that as much as Oberyn rages against the Lannisters, he has no venom for Rhaegar, who left Elia and her children undefended.

While Oberyn was away - in pursuits unexplained and unaccounted for - his sister is raped and murdered and his niece and nephew are slaughtered by Gregor Clegane, a guy who enjoys this kind of thing. Oberyn, once back on the scene, rallies Dorne to call for revenge; his brother Prince Doran receives a visit from Lord Arryn which halts the effort. Tywin, in response to accusations from Dorne, frustratingly has plausible deniability in that he contends he did not order Elia’s death, he merely neglected to put orders in place to prevent it. And thus Oberyn’s resilient heart grieves.

Being a Martell, his heart is not broken - Oberyn’s family words provide solace - unbowed, unbent, unbroken. He hones his grief into an instrument of vengeance directed at his sister’s killer and bides his time, waiting patiently until the opportunity presents itself. When it does, with an offer to join the Small Council and get justice, he eagerly accepts. Once in King’s Landing, Oberyn will not set aside his need for revenge - and the longer he hears the Lannister’s futile efforts to placate him, the more impatient he becomes. When the chance comes for him to find justice in defending Tyrion Lannister, he takes it.

Oberyn’s patience reasserts itself during the duel. He steadily whittles away Gregor’s strength, seeking a confession - he taunts his adversary repeatedly: "You raped her. You murdered her. You killed her children." The incessant patter, a’la Inigo Montoya’s in the Princess Bride, grates on the Mountain and, unbelievably, unsettles him from what would assume is a calloused moral state. The duel between them is epic; the fast-moving, acrobatic and deadly accurate poisoner matched against the brutal strength and defensibility of a heavily armoured knight with no ethics. A reader could be forgiven for getting caught up in the scene, believing vengeance would be served in just fashion, and an unrepentantly evil character would receive an overdue comeuppance. Alas, this is George Martin and such tidy conclusions are not for his readers. Oberyn manages to pin Gregor like a bug on a collector’s board, yet despite this Gregor rallies and brutally crushes Oberyn’s face with his hand, confessing at the last that Elia had the same treatment from him.

Oberyn is a man whose life was defined by the women he loved; his mother, his daughters, his lovers, his sister. By all rights he was expected to die happily in bed with a woman. Instead, he has a warrior’s death from a hateful man, unlikely to have heard the confession he died to extract.

This post published at Tower of the Hand as part of the Top 30 Characters profiles.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

2010-10-31T19:13:00.002-04:00

Any novelist who can turn the reader's ignorance to advantage has my respect; Sara Gruen does it by using the reader's ignorance to highlight the wet-behind-the-ears naivete of her protagonist, Jacob. She also turns the reader's forgetfulness to advantage, letting the protagonist's uncertain remembrances guide the reader through the story.

I read Gruen's novel Water for Elephants about circus life this past summer, it was a lovely summer read. The story follows Jacob Jankowski's memories of his life as a young man. In his memories, he is transitioning from a young man's college life to a life on the road as a traveling vet for a circus; in the present time of the novel, he is an old man transitioning gradually into extreme old age.

His memories start with his veterinary school; due to a traumatic event, Jacob leaves his final exams unexpectedly. It is the peak of the great depression, and every option he considers stymies him. He runs away and joins the circus, and encounters a cast of characters that live a double life. On stage, they are marvelous and beautiful, consummate entertainers and work as a well-oiled machine to make sure the show goes on. Off stage, they are just as misfit as is Jacob.

Some warnings for the squeamish: the animal brutality is, well, brutal. Some reviewers have said that these events occurred 50 years ago and don't represent a modern aesthetic; I think that's counter-factual. Consider for example the Humane Society's campaign against bear baiting. PETA has also documented cruel practices that exist today for elephants in circuses. Gruen's descriptions of circus animal treatment are thus relevant today.

Gruen's careful research into circus culture and the history of the depression gives veracity to the tale; the details of jake leg poisoning especially and its impact on the afflicted was well done. Also relevant is Gruen's sympathetic description of Jacob and his predicament in the nursing home. He wants to have the respect and self-sufficiency that he earned for himself in the circus long ago; instead with his physical infirmities, memory trouble, and depression he recognizes his decline. The parallels between his young self - seeking love, acceptance, and control over his destiny - and his older self, seeking the same, are apparent upon reflection.

The story itself is touching and ends well; Jacob reclaims his autonomy and is on the road again. Marlena's character is fiery and understandable as a love interest for Jacob; and Rosie herself, as expected, steals the show whenever she is on scene. August works exceedingly well as a sympathetic villain, in a twirly-mustachioed kind of way.

P.S. The author developed this work as part of the NaNoWriMo effort, which I find delightful. The project asks participants to start writing a novel on 11/1 and finish by 11/30 - many have parlayed National Novel Writing Month efforts into a published work. I keep daring myself to try it, and my pitiful excuses for not doing it are shameful. But seeing what Gruen accomplished in her month keeps me wondering if I could do it.

Take a look at the trailer for the upcoming movie also for more circus glamour:

Snark by David Denby

2010-03-28T08:57:00.000-04:00

How does one address an audience in a witty and humorous way while avoiding snark? This is an essential writing talent, very useful to those dealing with the loyal opposition or even hecklers. Denby's book seemed positioned to help resolve this - but doesn't. Unfortunately, as much as Denby attests to the ultimate ineffectiveness of snark - the writing feels snarky. The examples provided, ranging from Juvenal to Pope to a discourse on modern internet discussions, are conveyed in a slightly offhand, smarter-than-thou manner which is off-putting rather than engaging. For example, from David Denby:

"when reading Juvenal - which is quite an experience, rather like getting drunk during an obscene night in a comedy club..."

And here's a quote from Juvenal to ponder:

The blind envy the one-eyed.

And here's an example you might hear getting drunk during an obscene night in a comedy club:

Juvenal = Carlin? Absolutely not. Denby's pushing some snark at us in the guise of explaining how snark is deteriorating civil discourse and reducing our ability to understand and relate to one another's ideas. I think the argument would have been furthered more readily by not using snark to make the case that snark was not as useful. And I'm not trying to be snarky in saying that.

I think the author has a good point to make. In describing the master snark-users and regaling readers with tales of the utility of snark for their situations, Denby provides a service. A thriving counter-culture and critiques of power are essential for the healthy functioning of democratic societies, so understanding better the ways in which master political critics rise to their talents would be useful.

And, to end on a minor complaint - I would have appreciated a clear definition of what he considers snark. There's no proffered definition, no attempt at such - and thus, one man's snark is another man's measure.

The fate of humanity depends on Shakespeare.

2010-02-18T17:59:00.003-05:00

Reading Muse of Fire by Dan Simmons is a glimpse behind the scenes of a horrid future, and backstage of the workings of the universe. Dystopian novels of a world undone compel me to read them; a story of a whole metaverse gone haywire was irresistible.

The story is narrated by young Wilbr, an actor with The Earth's Men, a traveling performance troupe that specializes in Shakespeare. Their travels take them from planet to planet, entertaining the enslaved humans who toil for their alien overlords, the Archon, a race so alien they seem to take no notice of the humans, except for their work output. Suddenly and for no apparent reason, after a performance of Much Ado About Nothing, the alien's interest manifests itself for a performance request. The performers oblige with the Scottish Play. And then, the overlords of the Archons appear with a request for a performance of their own...

By the end of the tale, the performers have given the performances of their lives, and perhaps more than that: they are told that the continued existence of humanity depends upon their skill. Have they passed the test? Or was there any test at all - was the outcome predetermined?

William Shakespeare via last.fm

The Puzzle Ring by Kate Forsyth

2010-02-11T01:08:00.060-05:00

I recently finished reading The Puzzle Ring by Kate Forsyth. She's an author I wasn't familiar with before, and I'm glad to have met her through this blog tour. For other stops on her blog tour, check out the list The Bookette helpfully put together.

The novel concerns protagonist Hannah Rose, who discovers by accident that her mother had spirited her away from a birthright in Scotland. The strong willed lass immediately demands that her mother return her to Scotland, and succeeds. Hannah then begins a relationship with the great-grandmother she didn't know she had; she investigates the mystery of her father's disappearance; and she sets out to break a curse that's doomed her family for over 400 years... which takes her back to that very time.

As a girl raised on tales from Nancy Drew and C.S. Lewis, the cadence of the story and the reliance on a child to do the work of an adult were a comfortable fit for me. I'd recommend the story for any young girls interested in the supernatural, especially if it keeps them away from sappy vamp lit. The plethora of mythical and magical creatures - selkies, blue men, imps and the Unseelie Court - reminds me also of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Mists of Avalon,

I particularly loved the portrayal of the past as not a romantic tourist promenade, but a dangerous and uncouth time in which people lived very differently than we do now; eating rarely, and storing clothes near the toilet. As a traveler to the past, Hannah's reflections on the distance separating her from her present and on how terribly her manners suit the time she finds herself in are beautiful expositions which further the story. These reflective moments on Hannah's part also serve as proxy to her transition from childhood to adult.

Thanks Scholastic for the review copy, and thanks Kate for the time for the interview!

I asked a few questions of Kate Forsyth to better understand the book:

Scottish history is, like that of many countries, full of bloodshed and horror as well as heroes and glory. How much did you think about representing both aspects of this history - the proud moments and the desperate?

It was very important to me to try and make the history seem as real as possible. One of my strongest dislikes has always been fantasy that sets its story in a quasi-medieval world that somehow does not smell like medieval times. I think fantasy must be rooted very deeply into the real if it’s going to work well. There’s always a balancing act between keeping the pace moving strongly and giving enough vivid detail to bring the world and the times to life, and so I hope I managed to keep all the balls in the air. I wanted to show just how very dangerous it was for Hannah and her friends to go back in time, because the world of the 16th century is far more barbaric, ruthless and fraught with danger than the world of most middle-class teenagers today. Also, for me, it was important to show both the high points and the low points of the story of Mary, Queen of Scots, herself. Her story is so compelling and so tragic because there is such a contrast between her days as the most beautiful and powerful women in the world and the end of her life as a poor captive who has her head cut off by her cousin.

There are a few subtle references to elitism in the book; for example, Hannah's mother Rose is unhappy by the way her mother in law treats her household help, and scorns the prospect of taking on the title she is entitled to by marriage. After a few references to this, though, Roz never mentions it again. I'm left with an impression of her character as being somewhat indecisive. Can you speak about this characterization of Roz?

I certainly don’t see Roz as a particularly forceful character – she gives in to her daughter Hannah on almost every front – but I also think she had a very hard time, losing her husband when Hannah was only a day old and living in a house in which she felt like an outsider. I think Roz was always rather overwhelmed by the Countess of Wintersloe, who is a very strong personality, and who, besides, believes in all sorts of strange uncanny things that Roz believes firmly to be complete and utter rubbish. The two are diametrically opposed which makes for great conflict. I think that Roz is gradually won over by Lady Wintersloe, and by the warm and loving relationship she has with her cook, and by the magical atmosphere of the house itself. Roz went to Wintesloe Castle very reluctantly – she had sworn never to return there – but after a while she stops protesting so much and by the end I think she is glad to be there.

The scenes written with Queen Mary were fabulous; I loved the contrast of her as the glamorous life of the party with her later appearances, crying and captured. I admired very much how you distilled what is a long and complex tale of her life into very few references that still gave substance to her character, and provided interest without overwhelming Hannah's tale. Are there other historical subjects you would like to cover in future stories?

Oh, absolutely! So many stories of the past that intrigue me. In my earlier novel, ‘The Gypsy Crown’, the action is set during the English Civil War which was just as fascinating and dangerous. All the action takes place in the last three weeks of Oliver Cromwell’s life, and I’d love to write a sequel to that which looks at England in the time of the Great Fire and the plague. Then, I’d also love to write more Puzzle Ring stories – I can see Hannah and Donovan and Max and Scarlett meeting Bonnie Prince Charlie ... or perhaps being caught up in the Highland Clearances, a time of great grief and trouble ... or even, perhaps, helping Robert Louis Stephenson come up with the plotline of ‘Kidnapped’ ... I have so many ideas!

I previously read Diana Gabaldon's Outlander and enjoyed the time travel and magical elements in her writing, but they were much more in the background of the story rather than being center-stage as they are in The Puzzle Ring. Is there something about Scotland that is drawing such literary attention?

Scotland is a storyteller’s dream. So much history, so many fairy tales and battles and love stories and ghosts. I was brought up on them all, thanks to my Scottish forebears, and love the idea of bringing some of them to life. Why are stories set in Scotland so popular? Perhaps because there are so many people, scattered all over the world, who have Scottish blood in them. Perhaps because it still seems like a wild, lonely, mysterious place when so much of the world is built over with cities and fast food joints. I don’t know - I only know that I love to read books set in Scotland!

I would have really enjoyed this story when I was a tween - it would have fit right in with my collection of Jane Yolen and Narnia books. Reading it as an adult, it seemed like a very feminine book; there's few men in Hannah's life, she concerns herself with "typical" girl concerns of hair and makeup and fashion, and her dynamics with Scarlett aren't ones I've seen my sons endure with their friends. Do you think a boy might enjoy this book as much as a girl, and why?

I’m glad you enjoyed the book and I love you comparing it to Jane Yolen & C.S. Lewis as they are two of my all-time favourite authors!

I’m intrigued, though, by your comment re the femininity of the book. There are as many boys as girls in the story – Hannah and Scarlett versus Donovan and Max – while Hannah’s father and the old gillie Angus help balance out the Roz/Linnet/Lady Wintersloe triangle. And I don’t really see Hannah as being very interested in hair and makeup and fashion at all – I think Scarlett is, definitely, but Hannah very much goes her own way. Apart from liking to wear a beret, of course.

I do like the idea of both boys and girls reading my books. I remember when I was a child, my sister and my brother and I all read the same books and we all played the same games – pretending to be in Narnia, or to be the Famous Five, or having sword fights in the back garden. I worry about the modern trend to write books about princesses and fairies for girls, and spies and gadgets for boys – children that don’t read the same books and play the same games will not have an imaginative landscape they can share. Certainly lots of boys read my books, because they come along to my public appearances and ask me questions and bring their books for me to sign. Though now I come to think of it, I get a lot more fan mail from girls!

Blog tour: The Puzzle Ring by Kate Forsyth

2010-02-08T06:56:00.004-05:00

Image by Catherinette Rings Steampunk via Flickr

I received The Puzzle Ring as a gift from Kate Forsyth - thanks, Kate! It was a great read and kept me up past my bedtime for a few nights.

Forsyth has many books listed with Amazon but in the US, this one is not listed, so you'll have to go further afield to find it. One option is Amazon UK and another is the Book Depository.

I'll be hosting Kate Forsyth here on February 11th to answer a few questions about the book as part of her blog tour.

Animals Make Us Human

2010-02-07T10:56:00.000-05:00

As a volunteer foster parent with the Humane Society of Indianapolis, I bring into my home dogs that aren't read for prime time - for whatever reason, they can't go out for immediate adoption. I'm nowhere near as dedicated as most of the shelter workers I've met, but I think I do a pretty good job doing my part to help animals. My family usually takes in dogs who have social problems - too shy, too scared or too ignorant of humans to understand how to interact with us. I wonder often how best to help these dogs and read Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals by Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson to see if I could pick up some ideas.

Grandin interviewed with Amazon recently:

Q: How will this book be useful to people working with cats and dogs in animal shelters?
A: People often don't recognize emotions in these animals. I went to a very nice animal shelter recently that had group housing for cats that had tree-like things with platforms and cubbyholes for the cats to get in, and a very astute worker there noticed that you can have a situation where a cat seems very calm in a shelter, but he's not really sleeping, he's constantly keeping an eye out for another cat. And people need to watch for that kind of situation, because even though it looks peaceful, that one particular cat that never sleeps is going to be stressed out.
Also at this shelter, I was very pleased that the amount of dog barking was way less, and I think one of the reasons for this is that every day, every dog is taken out for an hour of quality time, playing and being walked and interacting with a person. That's going to help lower the stress. Dogs need to be taken out every day for quality interaction with a person, exercise, and fun play.

Image via Wikipedia

One lesson I got from this book was to think about how an animal can become conditioned to respond to certain things in a certain way and how that conditioning is very hard to alter. Any dog owner knows that picking up the dog's leash can cause the dog to be very, very excited! That's a positive association, but it is just as possible for negative associations to form. For example, we fostered a dog who hated to be crated. I'm certain in retrospect that the crating experiences this dog had before were probably awful. We worked with the dog to replace the negative crate associations with positive ones. Eventually, going into the crate did not cause the dog to shiver in fear, although the dog was never happy about it. I think applying Temple Grandin's ideas might have helped rehabilitate the dog faster and more completely.

And, relating to my professional life, I also found a reference to animal welfare in a presentation at Dreamforce 2009: Data, like Pigs, like to be clean. Thanks again Paul Young for the engaging presentation!

Alchemy of Stone by Ekaterina Sedia

2010-02-01T20:00:00.000-05:00

Image by Xavier Fargas via Flickr

Gargolyes, longing to live free from the bonds of stone. A robot, with a vulnerable ticking heart. A reclusive AI inventor, with a fearful past in a bleak orphanage that specializes in cage-raised children. A consumer of souls, an outcast, unsafe to any but the soulless.

Any one of these creations would have been enough material for an ordinary author to build a story. A superb author might have dared two of these elements. But Ekaterina Sedia dares to work with them all, and more, and makes a book that appears so effortlessly wonderful, so delightful, that substantial efforts must have gone into her novel, The Alchemy of Stone.

What ultimately pleased me about the work is how each of the characters was so utterly right in their actions and motivations, and how each of them ends up harming the other inevitably. There is no dithering and no simpering in this lot. The gargoyles' pursuit of their determined salvation is absolute - and correct. The inventor's mistrust of his creation is, in the end, merited. The robot's vulnerability is exploited to bad result. Upon reflection, the trajectory of each character appears to have been plotted out with mathematical precision. Counter-motivations balance and oppose one another; and the shape the entire plot makes is deceptively simple until it cascades together at the end.

I read Alchemy based on Carl's recommendation from Stainless Steel Droppings. This fellow drives way more than his fair share of my book purchases than is logical for someone I've never met. He's like My Own Private Oprah.

This comment from Carl was what put this book in the read category for me:

Despite being an automaton, she is a remarkably human creation, and in that sense very easy to relate with. One particular passage made me smile, discovering that Mattie was a clockwork girl after my own heart:

“…Mattie decided to stop by a bookshop near the paper factory. It carried some books she had lusted after for as long as she had been on her own, after she had ended her apprenticeship with Ogdela–small, trim books with thick paper and ragged pages, books bound in cloth and leather, books with faded drawings painted with a thin brush dipped in ox’s blood.”

Reading this book for myself, I flagged a section of prose to share with you, wandering readers-

“Mattie’s memories had shapes--some were oblong and soft, like the end of a thick blanket tucked under a sleeping man’s cheek; others had sharp edges, and one had to think about them carefully in order not to get hurt.”

And isn't it like that sometime? I reflected on the passage and considered that in Mattie's case, what is a simple human metaphor is dangerously real for her. What would it be like to be made with a kill-switch inside, to have the capacity to sabotage oneself and not know that it exists? In further reflection, I considered that we all are already, and that believing this is only true of robots is simplistic - automaton or not, the sentiment is human. For the author to so subtly include such wellsprings of metaphysical thought with such a careful sentence is masterful.

I'd recommend this book to readers of fantasies, cyber-punk, philosophy and fairy tales. I hope this is not the last we'll see of Mattie and the gargoyles in the city of stone.

Best Fantasy books of the '00s

2010-01-08T14:10:00.001-05:00

There's a compilation of reviews of books of the 00s put up today by Johnny of Tower of the Hand, including a few of my contributions. Following are my reviews extracted to succed or fail on their own; please also check out my co-reviewers posts: Aidan at A Dribble of Ink put in one on Perdido Street Station that I like and Adam across the pond at The Wert Zone contributed a good review on The Shadow of the Wind . Both books have been hovering on the edges of my TBR pile but now reading their thoughts I should really read them now. Johnny, our blog host, and James from Speculative Horizons rounded out our reviewing cadre. If you missed these books from the last decade now's the time to set things aright.

Neil Gaiman - American Gods - 2001

Any list of the best books of the decade would be remiss without including Gaiman. But which of his many works to choose? For my money, I recommend American Gods. For me, that was the book that brought Gaiman to my attention and sent me back onwards to find the Sandman, and made me eager for anything else Gaiman ever writes. Gaiman starts with a character with a mystery heritage a'la Corwyn of Zelazny's masterwork Amber series, adds in all the fables and legends of the 'old world ' - particularly the Norse legends for which I am fond, and gently drops in elegant and mind bending atrocities and humble victories. And he ends it all with a war to end all wars, and a love story ending in a second death. Brilliant. But don't just believe me - the book garnered a Hugo and a Nebula award as well.

Jacqueline Carey - Kushiel's Legacy series - 7 books from 2001 through 2009

So you like your fantasy worlds well thought out and coherent? But you don't want a rehash of the dwarves-elves-humans-

halflings-and-orcs melange that Tolkien established for the genre? Check out Carey's world building skills, wherein she plays out an alternate reality of Earth, an Earth where angels were made flesh and left their progeny to do as they please - in the catchphrase of the novel, "to love as thou wilt." The geography is similar, the cultures are familiar, but everything is pushed so-slightly askew, so that for example an encounter with her world's version of Vlad the Impaler seems utterly rancid and completely original. Start with Kushiel's Dart, which introduces courtesean Phadre. The cleverest piece of the work is how little is owed to the supernatural - similar to masterworks like George RR Martin's, there is magic and mysticism but it is rare and otherworldly, more dreamt than lived, and the characters have to get through mainly on their wits and skills. And her sex scenes are possibly the best written of anything outside of specifically erotic literature, and tend towards the more exotic and unusual encounters. Also of interest is the thriving fan community, including readers who get body art in imitation of the characters. Final kudos: Carey's put out two finished trilogies in this world encompassing two separate story arcs, and shows every indication of completing a third trilogy by next year. She doesn't leave her fans hanging out forever waiting to find out what happens next in the Kushiel's Legacy series (but, sadly, there are no collectible miniatures either).

Neal Stephenson - Anathem - 2009

For my last pick of the group, I'll take a risk and choose Anathem, although I have yet to meet someone I've recommended it to who thanked me (although it did win a Locus Award). Have you ever read a book that, for weeks afterwards, you were reminded of in many ways? Or that inspired you to make a movie? This book is like that - I'd read something in a science journal or in the news a month later about hieroglyphs or the North Pole and instantly be put in mind of a scene in the book. Stephenson builds a intricate and complicated world, barely believable in its restrictions and interactions, and then interweaves explanations to make it all plausible. The characters start mildly enough but then become more and more interesting until finally one is reading at a fast pace to find out what happens next to them. Imagine Name of the Rose meets Minority Report (minus Tom Cruise), and you'll have an approximation of the story than what Stephenson provides, but much stupider (and neither Eco nor Dick was writing for idiots). Oh - and although I feel this book fits solidly in the fantasy genre, there's a bit of space travel and science chatter to make the science fiction reader at home.

Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey

2009-12-14T05:39:00.000-05:00

I'm an admirer of the Kushiel series, and recently started looking around for other books Jacquline Carey has written. I found Santa Olivia, and decided to pick it up.

I found the story entertaining and engaging, and a quick read. The setting is this: in a future time, but not so very far distant, a disease breaks out with a high mortality rate. In response, the US closes its Southern border with a wall, leaving a span of land as a buffer zone and declares the people within as no longer being US citizens. In this zone various military outposts are built, staffed by Americans within the wall to defend against a deadly but unseen enemy - whether the virus or a mysterious raider known as El Segundo is only to be guessed at. And such guesses should not be made aloud.

A military base puts certain pressures on the surrounding populace, and in such a pressured area as this the strains are nearly visible. One soul takes advantage of the zone to attempt to sneak away; but in passing through, he fathers a child before moving on. He was a hybrid human, a GMO and not technically a citizen but actually property of the US government.

The child grows; the child shows the traits of the father. And the child is tested in ways one might expect are just as harsh as anything the father went through. But one difference remains - she chooses this path, and could leave it if she chose. Her determination and pique make the story arc in a trajectory that is inevitable and still mesmerizing.

I'd recommend this book to any fans of the Kushiel series. The protagonists' parallels to Phèdre are evident, and while the relationships and plottings of the characters are nowhere as nuanced and brilliant as those in the Kushiel series there is a certain prospect of intrigue which is unsettling. I found myself wondering at one point if the child's father was the same as the General, and trying to second guest the motives of the priest as well.

I have a thing for dystopia novels. If you do too - or if like me you're waiting for the next installment from Terre d'Ange - check out Santa Olivia.

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

2009-11-30T19:49:00.002-05:00

I recently read Her Fearful Symmetry and was curious afterwards to go back and re-read The Time Traveler's Wife. For a change, I'm going to review a book based on answering the reader's discussion guide.

1. In The Time Traveler's Wife , the characters meet each other at various times during their lifetime. How does the author keep all the timelines in order and "on time"?

I read elsewhere that the author opted to use Clare's timeline to anchor the book. Good choice and it makes sense; otherwise following Henry it would be too jumpy.

2. Although Henry does the time traveling, Clare is equally impacted. How does she cope with his journeys and does she ultimately accept them?

She has a very full artistic life, social engagements, family - and she seems widely read in philosophy. Also from early childhood she has debated determinism and fatalism and free will; so these concepts are ones she can reflect upon when her life situation is disrupted.

3. How does the writer introduce the reader to the concept of time travel as a realistic occurrence? Does she succeed?

The writer's genius is in introducing the "superpower" of time travel as a disability. The realism of the situation comes from the ordinary and mundane needs that Henry must handle when traveling. He lives most of his life as an intellectual; but with his time travels, he regresses to the base of the Maslovian Pyramid, having to satisfy basic needs of food and shelter.

4. Henry's life is disrupted on multiple levels by spontaneous time travel. How does his career as a librarian offset his tumultuous disappearances? Why does that job appeal to Henry?

The orderliness of the catalog appeals, and the job offers an environment which is comfortable for eccentrics.

5. Henry and Clare know each other for years before they fall in love as adults. How does Clare cope with the knowledge that at a young age she knows that Henry is the man she will eventually marry?

6. The Time Traveler's Wife is ultimately an enduring love story. What trials and tribulations do Henry and Clare face that are the same as or different from other "normal" relationships?

7. How does their desire for a child affect their relationship?

It stresses Henry out immensely and triggers more time traveling; and it risks Clare's life. It makes Clare more precious to Henry, and shows for the first time Clare putting her adult needs over Henry's.

8. The book is told from both Henry and Clare's perspectives. What does this add to the story?

In a He Said, She Said fashion the dual perspectives add depth and context. Although one expects that, as a time traveler, Henry would be nearly omniscient and extremely wise, through is early interactions with Clare he manages to imbue her with a sense of quasi-omniscience as well. This presents Henry as not the most powerful creature in the story - in fact, he is nearly powerless even in front of a small girl.

9. Do you think the ending of the novel is satisfactory?

No, but it did seem necessary and proper - predestined, almost.

10. Though history there have been dozens of mediums used for time travel in literature. Please cite examples and compare The Time Traveler's Wife to the ones with which you are familiar.

I drew a comparison between Time Traveler's Wife and Asimov's End of Eternity. In contrast to EoE, time travel in TTW is disorderly, chaotic, and generally purposeless. Changing the past is impossible in TTW, and the reason for the existence of a whole society in EoE. In EoE, the love interest of Harlan - Noÿs Lambent - is at first seen as a pliant and naive individual, trapped in real-time and ignorant of the larger implications of time travel, much as is Clare. Both Clare and Noÿs have attainted a larger-than-life wisdom and forknowledge by the end of the book.

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

2009-11-23T08:00:00.001-05:00

What a strange story this is. I read it rapidly - the story pulled me in and kept me riveted. It may do the same to you, if you like strangeness - and stories like:

The Graveyard Book - it must have been set in the same place.
The Lovely Bones - until someone writes "Haunting for Dummies" we have these few books to guide us in the after life
Stranger with My Face - twins, identity swapping, and soul snatching
The Devil Wears Prada- exotic shoes and high fashion as a plot device

The story begins in a hospital, as Elspeth lies dying with her lover in attendance. She slips into oblivion, but doesn't take her secrets with her. Instead she leaves a collection of journals to her lover, and some requirements in her will involving her twin sister's brood. She's been estranged from her sister, but even so seems to hold a fondness for the children, Julia and Valentina, and has maintained a connection to them through correspondence with her sister.

With this staging, the action begins - with the sure hand of the deceased Elspeth guiding the revolutions of the girls, her lover, and even her sister into her orbit. Her writing The living take their cues from the dead; and the action unfolds with deadly consequences.

When it ends, all the characters lives are reconfigured - some drastically, some in very subtle ways. Relationships have been decimated and resurrected; cowards and heroes come to the fore. But never is the demon that drives the plot exorcised; instead, a destiny shaped of happily ever after awaits.

Blog tour: a conversation with a stranger on a train

2009-11-20T11:06:00.001-05:00

Anne Tillyer, author of An A-Z of Possible Worlds, stopped by to answer a few of my questions as part of the Roast Books blog tour. In interviewing Anne, she was quite approachable and friendly with the questions, much like a friendly stranger you might meet and like when riding the train in a foreign city. You can converse, chat, laugh, get some helpful tips and wonder if you'll ever see that stranger again so that you might have time to strike up a friendship. The seat across from us on the train is available, so why not sit down and listen in?

Many of your stories reveal a depth of researched knowledge, such as "Q is for Quayside." What was your strategy for researching as much as you needed for the story, but not spending more time than you wanted to on the research? I find I can spend a lot of time researching and run out of writing time.

I expect that's where writing on trains helps. I can't look anything up, so I just leave a gap or a question mark and carry on. Most things can be checked pretty quickly afterwards. That said, if you're enjoying the research, then why not do loads of it? It might be the start of a whole new interest! The books I read about the history of shipping and navigation for 'The Quayside' were fascinating. I still have a few to go, actually. I also read quite a bit about peat bogs for 'The Bog', even though I knew I wouldn't use much of it but again, they're remarkable places. There were things I found less interesting (road surfaces, golf, ballistics, plastic surgery...), but I only needed a few facts for each so they didn't take long to research. I suppose the trick is to keep your writing time separate from your reading time. You don't have to know everything before you start. But if you find you'd rather research something than write about it, perhaps it's time to ask why. I spent nearly a year reading loads about apothecary shops and plagues for a book I barely started. It was all extremely interesting until I realized I was trying to write something that I probably wouldn't read myself, not being particularly keen on historical fiction. So that was a mistake. I know you should learn from your mistakes, but I wish I'd learnt a bit quicker!

Your title "possible worlds" put me in mind of many alternate worlds stories, such as Neal Stephenson's Anathem and Roger Zelazny's Amber series. What kinds of alternative world stories inspired you? Who would you want to see your stories displayed with in a bookstore featuring a section on possible worlds?

Thank you for that! I've just googled Anathem and it sounds brilliant, but I'm afraid I hadn't heard of it before. Perhaps I should try the Amber stories as well, though their sheer length has always seemed rather daunting to me. I've worked out that I may have time to read just 2,000 more books in my entire life, so I'm very protective of my reading time.

'Nineteen Eighty-Four' had a huge impact on me when I read it in my early teens and I still love it. I think it's the way Orwell thinks through every aspect of his world that makes it so convincing, right down to language, the ownership of history and the effects of a surveillance society on personal psychology. I'm not interested in magic and unicorns, it's worlds that are just one or two twists away from the known that intrigue me. So if you put me on a shelf alongside J G Ballard's 'High-Rise' and 'Concrete Island', Ira Levin's 'Stepford Wives', Ray Bradbury's 'Fahrenheit 451', Yevgeny Zamyatin's 'We' and, of course, George Orwell, Franz Kafka and Bruno Schulz, I'd be pretty happy. Ecstatic, actually!

Some authors have written of struggles they face in writing wonderful characters who experience horrible events - there is an inclination to ease up on the character, to be more gentle and less gruesome. I can tell when an author is pulling their punches, and you don't pull any. Which characters in your stories did you face the most mental resistance in having them face awful events?

Ha! Well, I had a pretty good idea of what was in store for my characters beforehand, so their fate didn't cause me any sleepless nights. There were some that I positively enjoyed tormenting. The Queen in 'The Frontier' is one of those women who delude themselves with romantic ideas and pick the horrible guys to go out with because they think they can redeem them and they can't, they can't. So she gets what's coming to her. Likewise, the people in 'The Straits' have been ostracized by mainstream society but, when they have the chance to be accepted, they deliberately sabotage it because they have much more fun being on the outside. I'm with them on that! I did feel rather sorry for the manager in 'The Youth Hostel', who is too naive to give the tourists the ethnic charm they're looking for, but that's the beauty of short stories. He wouldn't exist at all if he wasn't about to suffer a big disappointment. Hopefully, the readers like him and that's as much as he can expect. I can't imagine changing what I want to say because I sympathize with one of my characters. In fact, if I feel sorry for them, I know I'm doing all right.

Your stories highlight the roles of individuals who are outsiders to the mainstream such as the entrepreneur in "G is for Golf Course" and the historian in "E is for Excavation". In your interview with Andy at Decoding Static you said "to be frank, I don't actually trust the public that much" but the individuals you portray don't seem trustworthy either. Where is the redemption and uplift in your stories? Does an author need to provide some positivity in a tale?

I think the historian does redeem himself in the end. After all, his final act is pretty brave. He's a little guy who doesn't have the courage to stand up against the government, so they trust him. Yet he's prepared to hide a historical fact that would be very useful to the authorities. But you're right, I don't really trust the public that much. I think we all turn a blind eye to certain things for the sake of an easy life, and I include myself in that. The dictator in 'The Holiday Resort' gets away with human rights abuses because people want to believe that he has come round to their way of thinking, so he says what they want to hear and simply changes his tactics. It's a difficult question and, if I think about it, no, I don't think I 'need' to provide positivity in a story if I don't think it's there. At the same time, I think if an author can reveal the mechanics behind a certain situation, then they've done a good job. Maybe I'm just cruel, but I find that watching people get their comeuppance can be very satisfying. In fact, it's nice to be able to construct a world where people do get what's coming to them.

I work as an improv actor, and in that work names are hugely important. Starting a scene as a Ben can give an entirely different characterization than starting it as a Benedict. Yet in your novels, names are conspicuously absent. What fueled your decision to have nameless characters and how do you feel about that writing choice in retrospect?

That was because I wanted the stories to be destinations on a journey around your head, so I decided early on to try to avoid using any specific cultural references and, as you say, names come with their own social baggage. It was quite tricky in places and yup, there were a few times when I regretted that decision. But then, there was always a way around it. I think 'The Peep Show' has the most characters and for a long time, I couldn't see how I could write it without naming the women. But when I realized that they could be referred by their hair colour, it seemed to fit the story rather well, as if there was a 'stable' of women that worked in the club, like horses in a circus. Just think of the freedom you would have if you were told to improvise that little lot!

What's next? Do you have another work on the way, and will you be continuing with non-traditional formats?

I would love to continue with a non-traditional format, but only if it fitted the text. The box set for this collection seemed perfect because each story is a self-contained world and you can read them in any order. But I wouldn't want to do something that was just a gimmick, that would be annoying. I'm working on a full-length piece at the moment which reads like a normal book and to alter the format would feel gratuitous. However, I do have an idea for a series of stories set around a single night's television programmes and it might be interesting to do something a bit different with that...

Roast Books Blog Tour

2009-11-10T20:21:00.000-05:00

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Cherished readers, please note that my modest Evagation blog will be included in an upcoming tour of blogs by A.C. Tillyer, author of An A-Z of Possible Worlds. Check back on November 20th for the interview.

I've got a few questions that I plan to ask A.C., and would be happy to include questions of yours. So email or post if you have insightful questions. Please don't bother with silly questions, as I can come up with enough of those on my own.

Thank you to Faye at Roastbooks for setting up the tour!

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

2009-11-09T11:25:00.001-05:00

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope by William Kamkwamba and Brian Mealer is a no-holds-barred look at a life of poverty, dreams and tenacity.

In the beginning of the story, William is considered crazy by neighbors and others, and only his friends stand by him (one even funds his inventions). By the end, William has redeemed their investment tenfold - financially, of course, but even more so by improving their lives far beyond their expectations.

William and his family and his nation survive terrible hardship and famine in the course of his life, and he is unstinting in describing the horrors of starvation to the reader. The scene where his poor old dog Khamba dies is worthy of comparison with the story of Ol' Yeller, and to me far more gut wrenching. William is forced at one point to withdraw from school as he lacks the tuition money; but not before he spends 2 weeks basically cutting *into* class to try and stay to learn. But being forced out of school has an up-side; in an attempt to keep up, William begins self-study at the library, finds a book describing how to make a windmill, and then he begins to scavenge parts and supplies from the local dump with which to build one. And it works.

The story isn't ended by any means: William Kamkwamba has a blog, and his ingenuity and entrepreneurship is blossoming now that he is gaining resources to finish his educaton and challenge himself to see what he can do next.

Causing a Scene

2009-11-07T23:17:00.001-05:00

Causing a Scene by Charlie Todd and Alex Scordelis is a detailed look at the early missions of Improv Everywhere and the interactions of their Agents on missions involving public performances "causing scenes of chaos and joy." Included are background on the Frozen Grand Central Station event, the Fake U2 concert, and the Synchronized Swim in Washington Park Fountain as well as the No Pants subway rides. For improvisers, reading about the planning and coordination needed comes off very realistically - 5 minutes stage time for the Mobius Starbuck easily stretches to hours of plotting and advance work and rehearsal. Bravo!

I would so love to do one of these in Indianapolis. We can start with the No Pants subway ride event. So, who's bringing the subway to Indy?

An A-Z of Possible Worlds by A. C. Tillyer

2009-10-31T15:23:00.005-04:00

I just finished A. C. Tillyer's An A-Z of Possible Worlds and am happy to post today, on our spooky national holiday, on my successful completion of Carl's Readers Imbibing Peril challenge. The stories were strange and fantastical and in parts disgusting and contemplative or both:

Evolution's dire twists and turnings for creatures that used to be humans
An unmappable island with residents who have no concept of now or anything beyond here and there
Tedious hum drum vampires, dreary commuters as boring as any human
A boutique strip club catering to the strangest tastes, with a new dancer willing to bare all and then some
The most beautiful and ornate palace ever, lovingly constructed though burdensome on the populace, with an unknown and unknowable king.
A completely impregnable island fortress, forever ready against an unknown enemy (read the sample of A is for Archipelago).

Provided in bite sized serving sizes, the tales are easily digested and individually wrapped. The petite booklets are are delightfully portable, ready to read surreptitiously hidden in a class binder or conveniently retrieved from even a small purse.

The tales stick in my brain after reading, surfacing time and again for me to mull over. If vampires were real and did live today, how would they have evolved? What is the logical limit of exhibitionism when cinema-vérité becomes stale? In a perfectly engineered city, what place is there for misfortune?

I'm grateful to the author for leaving me with such mental fodder to mull over post-read. The best books excel at this - they summon reflection in the reader (willing or no) long after the book cover is closed.

I'll examine one story in detail as it gave me nightmares after. In M for Metropolis, a group of tourists seeking an "extreme experience" visit a post-urban environment where the metropolis has collapsed. The inhabitants are presented for their elucidation. With clever misdirection, the author first presents the guide carefully explaining the precautions and procedures to be used by the tourists, putting the reader into the position of meta-tourist; the reader will see the displays on exhibit and also be watching the tourists. The curiosity-seeking tourists and the bored guide are both presented, unvarnished, equally as perverse in their own way as anything they might see.

The guide, numb from overexposure, provides no explanation for the 'exhibits.' The tourists are herded through the experience much like tourists anywhere - and the parallels between the tourists on display to the reader and the 'exhibits' on display to them continue. The tourists react clumsily and are terrifically unsuited to have anything beyond a shocked reaction - and is the reader better off than they? They gape, they retch, they cower and beg to be extracted - the reader has no escape from the story lodged in their brain. At the end, any sympathy for the tourists (and any of us who's fumbled through the London Underground maps as a traveler can sympathize) - all that sympathy erodes, and in its stead is left disgust at the tourists' callousness and lack of empathy with the post-human residents of the failed city.

Speaking of endings: today's post was written from The Bean Cup, which is sadly closing. I'll miss them.

Disclosure: the book reviewed was an unsolicited gift from Roast Books. Check out Roast Books for unusual fiction presented in original ways.

I just received An A-Z of Possible Worlds by A. C. Tillyer

2009-09-18T17:00:00.002-04:00

A. C. Tillyer's An A-Z of Possible Worlds enchanted me at first impression with the details of its formation. The author found herself fabricating backgrounds and destinations for fellow-travelers on trains when stuck waiting at a station. Trains similarly enchanted me as a child and I remember passing long trips the same way; would that I had thought to write these stories first, perhaps the author would then be writing a blog post about my stories.

Be that as it may, I was pretty excited when the package came from overseas and tore into it on Friday. The booklets are cleverly packaged and begging to be let free from the package, but I'm holding off until I can properly photograph the unboxing. I've already had to chase my boys away from it twice because they are fascinated with the idea of an alphabet series that is Not For Them.

Immediately I recognized an opportunity for a solid Autumn read of the sort that Carl has been championing with his Readers Imbibing Peril challenge. So while I wasn't planning to, I find myself taking part in the challenge:
I'm anticipating a reading experience that will be somewhat of a cross between reading Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere and a not-suitable-for-children version of On Beyond Zebra.

Here's a tease to keep you entertained while you wait for my review:

Why I support a public option for healthcare

2009-08-19T12:17:00.002-04:00

Please, please bring on a public option for heathcare. Cover the gaps due to employment change, don't make people chose between avoiding poverty and illness, and stop denying coverage to people who need it.

read more... or simply click in support of health reform: