Robotech: Battlecry

Robotech: Battlecry-Jack McKinney

How I found this book: I admit to owning this book! I LOVED Robotech as a child; I watched it before school with my father. I rediscovered it recently, and snatched up the books.

Setting: At the time the story was created, (the original Macross Anime it was based on was made in the late 70’s-early 80’s), it is the future, 1999 and later. In our world, obviously, it is our past. Darn, the whole SDF thing NEVER happened!

Main Characters:

Captain Henry Gloval: Commander of the SDF 1, it is his duty to lead his crew and oversee his ship and charges. It is implied that he is a native of Russia.

Lt. Commander Lisa Hayes: The First Officer of the SDF 1, and the officer in charge of coordinating the Veritech Squadrons, Lisa is the daughter of the head of the Robotech Defense force, Admiral Hayes. However, it was Lisa’s tough, smart, no-nonsense demeanor that propelled her to the top of her class and into the position as one of the SDF’s top officers. She comes off as often cold and professional, but masks many insecurities and a broken heart. She immediately butts heads with the young, brash Rick Hunter, but is close friends with Claudia Grant, and gets along well with the rest of her bridge crew.

Bridge Officer Claudia Grant: Claudia heads up the bridge operation on the SDF 1, and while she can be fun and sassy, she can be no-nonsense with her sometimes gossipy crew. Claudia is an empathetic, caring person, and is one of Lisa Hayes’s few friends on the ship. She is dating Lt. Commander Roy Fokker, and it is implied that the two are engaged.

Sammy, Kim, and Vanessa: The rest of the members of the bridge crew, they are three, young female recruits who are very capable at their jobs, despite their love of fun and gossip.

Lt. Commander Roy Fokker: The head of the elite Veritech Skull Squadron, Roy Fokker was once a circus pilot who joined up during the unnamed global war and became an ace pilot. When the Robotech project started he signed on board rather than returning to the air circus, though he has kept in close contact with the owner’s son, Rick Hunter. Roy had a reputation as a ladies man, and still has an eye out for the women, though he seems very committed to his current girlfriend and fiancée, Claudia Grant. While Roy can kid and joke, especially with Rick, he takes his job very seriously, and acts as a big brother to his younger friend.

Rick Hunter: Roy’s ‘little brother’, he grew up with Roy, who was a pilot in Rick’s father’s flying circus. Raised with his father’s anti-war beliefs, he isn’t very fond of Roy’s decision to stay in the military, though he does come out to Macross Island to see the launch of the SDF 1. Little does he know how the events of that day would change his life forever, when he is called upon to pilot one of the expensive Veritech fighters himself.

Linn Minmei: A young Chinese girl from Yokohama, Japan, for reasons never fully explained Minmei lives with her aunt and uncle on Macross Island and helps them run their Chinese restaurant, (the counterpart, so we learn, to Minmei’s parents’ establishment in Japan). Minmei is only fifteen at the series start, a silly, fun-loving teenager who dreams of being a famous singer, or getting married, she can’t decide which. Very pretty, bubbly, and popular, she tends to be a bit self-centered and ignorant of the feelings of those around her, though she can also show a caring, understanding side as well.

Ben Dixon and Max Sterling: Two young recruits into the Veritech fighting force.

Dolza: The Supreme Commander of the Zentradi forces, the race of aliens who are tracking down the SDF 1.

Breetai: The commander of the fleet sent to find the SDF 1, Breetai is a cunning warrior, and a match against the equally experienced Captain Gloval.

Exedor: The Minister of Affairs for the Zentradi, he is the only source of science and information for the Zentradi people.

Rico, Kanda, and Bron: Three Zentradi spies who have an interest in the happenings on the SDF 1


Plot: In the midst of a global war, a strange, alien ship crash lands on Earth, in the middle of the Pacific Island called Macross. The Earth governments agree to a cease fire to allow for study of this strange ship and its technologies, called “robotechnology” by the scientists. So great is this new tool that everything from airplanes to soda dispensers are now affected by this new, strange science that allows simple machines to morph into something else, giving simple metal and electrodes an almost ‘organic’ aspect. The height of this is represented by the SDF 1, the ship that had crash landed and that is rebuilt by the humans to serve as a tool to ensure global peace. But on the day of its actual launch, an alien race known as the Zentradi come to destroy it. The Zentradi, a giant, war-like race beholden to a group called the “Robotech Masters”, are after this ship because it is the last repository of a substance called ‘protoculture’ in the universe. It is through this protoculture that their entire society functions, (and it is what powers much of the Robotechnology). The ship hides the secrets of how to gain more as well, as the ships creator, Zor, had deliberately sent the ship to Earth to hide if from the Robotech Masters. Now the Zentradi are desperate to regain the ship without being tainted by the strange ways of the ‘micronians’, (humans), while the unsuspecting humans are desperate to save their world from attack. In the ensuing battle, Captain Gloval attempts to use the new technology to draw fire away from the Earth, and in so doing accidentally transports the ship and the island itself to the outskirts of the solar system. While the populace is rescued and brought on board, now Captain Gloval and his crew face the task of returning the citizens of Macross City and the SDF back to Earth, while keeping from being destroyed by the Zentradi threat.

Themes:

The toll of war: Robotech, the anime, at its heart was against war, and the books reflect this theme. While war is often necessary, especially in defense of the ones you love or the culture you care for, the continuance of aggression or ignoring the opportunity for diplomacy to bring the war to a swift end can cause nothing but more destruction, bloodshed, and heartache, (ahem, Mr. President).

Society making do in tough situations: The people of Macross are asked to put up with some of the worst situations you can ask a populace to go through, and yet they manage with a level of success that few other societies can say they ever have. While war may happen, and businesses may be destroyed, and homes lost, the human spirit still goes on. Sometimes you just have to pick up the pieces and go.

Sometimes life forces you to grow up: Several of the young characters, such as Rick and Minmei, are forced to face harsh lessons and grow up rather quickly in the series. While this helps them to see the realities of life much earlier on that they might have in peace time, it also forces them down paths that they perhaps might not have chosen or even happened if left to their own devices.

Contact with those different from us: The initial contact with an alien race, in so far as the first book goes, is quite simply disastrous on both ends, as neither race understands why the other is attacking them, and they are doing their best to destroy each other, no matter what the cost. And all of it is over one simple power source…boy does this sound familiar.


Every book sucks somewhere: The only sucky thing about this book is that, frankly, it is written for twelve-year-old boys. Like many D&D books, the Robotech novels were written as an accompaniment to the Robotech RPG game, to fill in and give textual additions to the anime series. So if you didn’t like the anime, or aren’t a twelve-year-old boy, you probably are not going to like the books much. They aren’t what I would exactly call ‘hard’ sci-fi.

What did I like: I LOVED the anime, (I think I was six when it came to America), and the story still rings true to me now twenty-five years later, (yes, I admit it’s been that long). Reading it in book form gave a lot more in-depth detail that was never hashed out in the television series, and added an extra layer of geekery for me that I enjoyed.

How would I rate this wormy book: I would rate this as a FAT WORM, only because it’s really not a universal enough book to be considered MONSTER. If you like a good story about wars, aliens, and love in a flying spaceship, it’s a great, fun read. If you are a twelve-year-old boy, it’s up your alley. If you grew up in the 80’s and watched the original series on TV, (or have read the comics, or are generally just a raging anime geek), you will love this. Go, grab it, and read it through on an evening, it will be fun, and look at it this way…you don’t have to actually HEAR Minmei’s horrible songs!

Starship Titanic

Starship Titanic-Douglas Adams and Terry Jones

How I found this book: My friend Patric actually had this in a whole grip of audiobooks he put on my Ipod, knowing how much I loved Douglas Adams.

Setting: In space, on the spaceliner Titanic mostly, the timeline is vague, though I’m assuming it is ‘current’ Earth time.

Main Characters:

Leovinus: The greatest mine ever on the planet of Blerontin, Leovinus is the designer of the luxury spaceliner Titanic. He sees the ship as his greatest creation ever, and is horrified to learn of what its fate is meant to be.

The Journalist: A Blerontinian journalist, (no journalist on the planet is allowed to have proper names); he is investigating the rumors of shoddy workmanship and over-spending on the Titanic project. He gets trapped aboard the ship when the plot is revealed.

Dan: One of the two owners of the now defunct “Top Ten Travel Company” on Earth, Dan is a handsome, but painfully passive creature who often defers to his hen-pecking girlfriend, Lucy. He and Lucy are planning on opening a hotel, when one night something lands right in the middle of it.

Lucy: Dan’s long-time girlfriend, she is a LA lawyer with a UCLA law education, and an overbearing nature when it comes to Dan. She likes to play calm and collected, even condescending, till real stress hits and she looses her head. It’s implied that while Dan has been faithful to Lucy, Lucy hasn’t always been faithful to Dan, though Lucy seems to get jealous much more easily than he does.

Nettie: Dan’s business partner’s girlfriend, she comes off as a dumb blonde to the irritation of Lucy, nothing but boobs and looks. But Nettie appears to be the most insightful one of the bunch.

Plot: The Starship Titanic was built to be the height of Blerontinian luxury, with no detail left overlooked…well that was the idea anyway. The gigantic spaceship was to have the best of everything, as its creator Leovinus wanted, but being more of a dreamer than an accountant, he didn’t realize that the ship was severely into debt. His business partners plot then to put the ship together as quickly as possible just to finish it up, so they can scuttle it on its maiden voyage, and use the insurance money to cover the debt and make themselves rich. When Leovinus and The Journalist find out about the plot, they attempt to thwart it, but not before the ship is spontaneously whisked away to Earth, where it lands in the middle of Dan and Lucy’s house. Dan, Lucy, and their friend Nettie end up being whisked away on the luxurious liner as it is being threatened by an angry army of disgruntled craftsmen, soldiers from the insurance company out to collect their property, and a bomb whose sole function was to destroy the ship in the first place, but who seems to keep getting sidetracked from it’s final countdown.


Themes:

The life of the filthy rich: Like its real life counterpart, the Spaceship Titanic was the height of luxury and decadence. It’s the biggest, the best, and the top of the line of everything. And this makes it as much of a liability as if it were an eyesore, even more so because it has put its owners into debt.

Sometimes looks can be deceiving: Whether it is the ship itself, which looks beautiful on the outside, but is really just a mess of incomplete work on the inside, or the gorgeous Nettie who looks like she is a dumb-blonde, but really is a highly intelligent woman, the idea of looks being deceiving is a playful theme throughout the entire story.

Poking fun at the relationship between craftsmanship and business: Ever since the Industrial Revolution began there has been the tension between those looking to make a dollar and those who want to see good workmanship. Sometimes they can go hand in hand, and in this story…apparently they go to war with each other.

The hubris of the builders: Like with the original Titanic in real life, there is a certain amount of hubris that goes into the great ship, and there is the belief that nothing could go wrong with it…till it does. Apparently human’s aren’t the only people who believe their own lies, but it’s a poignant example that if something can go wrong…it will.

Every book sucks somewhere: I must say, that while the book isn’t much for intellectual substance, I was OK with that, it’s still fun. You can't blame it, after all it's a book based on a video game. It’s not a very deep book, more of a book poking fun at us. So if you are looking for deep meanings in here, or perhaps an allegorical study of the real HMS Titanic’s sinking…this ain’t the place to look for it. There is no Leo DiCaprio-popsicles floating around in this book.

What did I like: It was fluffy, silly, goofy fun. AND, if you listen to the audiobook version, you get to hear the wonderful Terry Jones do a sex-scene from the book that will leave you screaming in laughter, it was so funny.

How would I rate this wormy book: This book rates a MONSTER from me, if nothing else because it’s just fun. It’s not deep reading, but its silly reading, and it’s a lot easier to follow than some of Adams other works, (and some of Jones’s Python work as well!)

Mostly Harmless

Mostly Harmless-Douglas Adams

How I found this book: I read it immediately after So, Long, and Thanks for all the Fish.

Setting: In a parallel universe to the one we’ve come to know, Trillian never left Earth with Zaphod, no one knows anyone else, and pretty much everything is different…oh, and there is an alternate Trillian. I am so confused.

Main Characters:

Tricia McMillan: Tricia never left earth with Zaphod, she is a TV news anchor on Earth who he sought out by aliens looking to use her knowledge to help them create a working model of the solar system.

Arthur Dent: After losing Fenny in a hyperspace traveling accident, Arthur wallows in depression, and takes to hitchhiking again till he settles on a planet a random planet, Lamuella, where he is a sandwich maker. He is the unwitting father of Random, Trillian’s daughter, and is left to take care of her when Trillian dumps her on his doorstep.

Trillian: The Trillian we know, (I think), like her alternative counter-part, has had a career in journalism, and decided to become a mother. Since Arthur was the only creature in the universe for a while who was left of her species, she decided to use his donated sperm to have a daughter. When her career calls, though, and her daughter starts to irritate her, she dumps Random with Arthur and leaves.

Ford Prefect: Despite his previous grievance with the Guide, Ford has returned to work there, but is annoyed with the Guide’s new image. He eventually get’s his hands on the new, enhanced version of the guide and sends it to Arthur, where it is stolen by his daughter in a fit of teenage angst.

Random: The teenaged daughter of Trillian and Arthur, (by insemination), she is an angry, whiney teenager, who resents her jet-setting mother’s neglect of her, and this new ‘father’ that she is thrust upon. She takes off with the new Guide, using its powers to go to an alternate version of her parents home world, where she runs into the alternate Tricia McMillan, her mother, but not

Plot: Arthur has lost his beloved Fenny, and has settled on a planet as a sandwich maker. Unbeknownst to him, Trillian, the only other human to have survived the original Earth’s destruction, has had herself inseminated with his sperm, so that she could have a child. However, she apparently was ill-prepared for motherhood, and as her career in galactic journalism takes off, she dumps her angry, whining teenager named Random off on Arthur to raise while she pursues other things. A first time father to a teenage daughter, Arthur obviously is going to mangle this, especially when Ford Prefect sends him a mysterious package. When Random takes off with it, it forces Arthur, Trillian, and Ford to chase after her as she goes to an alternate Earth, where her mother never left with Zaphod. Everything climaxes to this point, when Arthur realizes that there is nothing else left really, and you have to let fate take its course.


Themes:

The randomness of life: It’s strange how different ones life can be all based on one decision that they made. Trillian’s life would have been very different had she delayed in following Zaphod into outer space. Life after Zaphod she is a successful TV reporter, but Life without him, she is a struggling one, who randomly meets aliens out to destroy the Earth.

Death, and well the end of all things, is inevitable: Arthur knew, thanks to a twist of fate, he wasn’t supposed to die until a certain point. Once that point is reached, knows that his death is ultimately inevitable. So too is the end of the world, which has come back, time and time again, in different universes and incarnations. Everything has its end at some point.

Corporations are evil: All of us poor saps who work for one know that, but Ford’s struggle with the publishers of the Guide sums up Adams belief in corporations, and it is amusing seeing how one man tries to bring them down…even if it is in little ways.

Every book sucks somewhere: I personally think most of this book sucks. The story is confusing, the whole ‘alternate planet’ aspect of it all was a bit pointless, and at the end of it all you feel that it was a bit hopeless, and sort of ‘what was the point’. I wasn’t sure I understood why Trillian was such an unfeeling bitch concerning her own daughter, who apparently she had some need to conceive artificially. And why dump her on poor Arthur, who had no decision in the baby-making process at all, (unlike most of these sorts of pregnancies). And then to end everything so completely like that, for no particular reason, it made one feel that Adams was sick with the series and wanted to end it than gave us, the reader, any sort of conclusion.

What did I like: I liked very little of this book. It really was a disappointment for me.

How would I rate this wormy book: As much as I love the other books, I rate this one as a MAGGOT, don’t even turn it up with a toe. I feel as if Adams gave into pressure to churn out another Hitchhiker book, and sort of spewed out something that neither he nor the fans liked much. It is a pity he passed away, (Creator rest his soul), before he could remedy the situation.

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish-Douglas Adams

How I found this book: I read it immediately after Life, the Universe, and Everything.

Setting: Earth, however since the Earth was destroyed in The Hitchhiker’s Guide, we come to the crux of our story…

Main Characters:

Arthur Dent: One of our main protagonists through all the novels, Arthur has been hitchhiking across the universe, and hears a rumor that the Earth has returned. Heading back to his home planet, he finds everything is eerily the same, and yet everything is very much different.

Fenchurch: A girl referenced in the opening page of The Hitchhiker’s Guide as the girl who finally figured it all out, she has been out of sorts ever since the Earth returned, and is one of the few people in the world whose caught on to the fact that something cataclysmic happened, she just can’t put her finger on it. Arthur finds her very beautiful.

Ford Prefect: A field report for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Ford had at one point written a heavily edited, (read two-word), article on Earth that he expected to be deleted from the latest edition. Instead he discovers that not only is the Earth back, as is his article, and that’s he’s owed a ton of money as back payment.

Marvin, the Paranoid Android: Now 37 times older than the universe itself thanks to all his time travel, Marvin waits patiently and grumpily for a chance to finally end his life.

Plot: After years of jaunting around the universe and learning how to fly with the people of Krikkit, Arthur Dent returns home to Earth…which mysteriously has reappeared. Settling back into his old life, Arthur is troubled by the existence of this new earth, and wonders if perhaps he hasn’t imagined the whole nasty business of hitchhiking across the universe. Perhaps the only other person who understands Arthur’s predicament is the beautiful but strange girl, Fenny, whom Arthur encounters and falls in love with. Meanwhile, Ford Prefect, out having a good Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster, discovers while flipping through The Guide, that not only is there a new entry about Earth, (his previous entry, containing the words ‘mostly harmless’ had been edited out in the last edition), but that the new entry on Earth has all the information he had gathered from his fifteen year sojourn on the planet in the events prior to The Hitchhiker’s Guide. He decides to return to Earth to find out what is going on. Between Arthur, Fenny, and Ford, they try to discover just why it is that the Earth is still there, who their mysterious benefactors were, and why all this craziness is happening in the first place.

Themes:

Environmentalism: The environment was very important to Adams, and it is reflected in the re-creation of the Earth by the Dolphin populace of Earth, who managed to escape the destruction of the first Earth. Much as the human efforts to “Save the Dolphins” try to help preserve the endangered species, so in Adams story do the Dolphins do for humans, and it is there last message to Earth, that serves as the stories title, “So long, and thanks for all the fish.”

Most of the populace are just placid berks: Arthur, by virtue of having witnessed the first destruction of Earth, and Fenny, (as well as Wonko the Sane), are part of only a small group of people who realize that anything is different in their world, (outside of the lack of dolphins, which everyone has noticed). People continue on with their lives, not even noticing that everything had once ceased to exist, and indeed they had been given a great gift. It says something for human nature that often we take for granted those things we should appreciate.

The Meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything: While Adams is STILL wondering what all that is about; I think he puts the idea of life sucking very succinctly, with the last message from the Creator to his Creation, “WE APOLOGISE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.” I think that’s a message many people want to hear when life gets tough.

Every book sucks somewhere: I think that this book suffers a lot less from the episodic nature of the previous ones, and is instead written as a story. So at least it hasn’t that problem. But I did have a problem with the fact that Ford is randomly stuck into the story without a firm explanation of what he is up to, and in that, Ford becomes rather the Zaphod of the story, which is a bit out-of-character for Ford, (of the two Beteulgeusians, Ford is by far the one with more marbles).

What did I like: I did like that this book for once sat still…in other words no jumping around in space and time, save for at the end. This gives you a chance to have a bit more character development of Arthur and of Fenny, and in the end I discovered I quite liked Arthur after all. In previous books he comes off much more like Charlie Brown, a hapless, wishy-washy sort of fellow who has stuff happen to him, rather than causing stuff to happen. I think this new side of Arthur makes him a much more likeable character than in previous incarnations of him.

How would I rate this wormy book: This one earns a MONSTER out of me, I think after the first book it is my next favorite of the series. I know some people wouldn’t say that it is, but I think the slower pace, character development, romance, and the more internal looking aspect of the story makes it must better than it’s previous two predecessors.

Life, the Universe, and Everything

Life, the Universe, and Everything-Douglas Adams

How I found this book: I read it immediately after Restaurant at the End of the Universe, as it was part of the same volume.

Setting: Immediately after the events of Restaurant at the End of the Universe. They start in pre-historic Earth and end up on the planet of Krikkit.

Main Characters:

Arthur Dent: Once a perfectly normal and rather boring Englishman from Earth, he is now stranded on his home planet in its pre-historic times, before being drug off to help prevent an intergalactic genocide on the part of the people of Krikkit.

Ford Prefect: Arthur’s best friend and field reporter for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Ford was stranded on Earth with Arthur. He too is taken off to help save the universe from the people from Krikkit.

Slartibartfast: Once the designer of fjords on Magrateha, Slartibarfast is out to try and prevent a genocide on the universe as hasn’t been seen since the great Krikkit wars, and useses his Bistromath ship to try and prevent the servents of the Masters of Krikkit from finding the keys to release them from their prison.

Hactar: A supercomputer built centuries ago for a race of homicidally, violent killers, Hactar has been manipulating the entire race of Krikkit to achieve his own protocol…that of destroying the universe.


Plot: Arthur and Ford have been stranded on pre-historic earth for years now. Out of no where, a time eddy forms that sweeps the pair back to the day before the Earth was destroyed at the beginning of The Hitchhiker’s Guide. Back in Arthur’s time, they find themselves on the Lord’s Cricket grounds, just as it is about to be attacked by strange robots with cricket bats and cricket balls for weapons. In the middle of the carnage, Slartibartfast from Magrathea appears to enlist Arthur and Ford in his quest to stop these robots, who are the servants of the planet of Krikkit. Many years before the planet came out of their all-encompassing cloud that surrounded their system and decided to destroy everything in the universe. They had since been locked in a pocket of slo-time, but one ship of their robot servitors is still out there, trying to find the pieces of the key to unlock them. Arthur, Ford, and Slartibarfast attempt to get all the remaining pieces of the key before the robots do…but will they be successful. And whose idea was this whole genocide thing anyway?

Themes:

Races and Genocide: The people of Krikkit appear to be the most peaceful of people, described as singing songs that would make Paul McCartney fabulously wealthy. So why in the world would this bunch of peaceful people turn to killing the entire universe? Why, psychological influence by a greater power, of course. Perhaps it is something to note when looking back on genocides that it only takes one person or a handful of people to manipulate the fears and worries of a particular group of people and turn them into something as atrocious as genocide.

The Secret to Flying is to Throw Yourself at the Ground and Miss: It’s true…as Arthur. Sometimes the coolest things in the world happen completely by taking a leap of faith and hoping it all works out.

Revenge is Pretty Stupid: Especially when you are trying to revenge something that occurred to you mostly as an accident. Poor Arthur is trapped by a being so consumed by his own rage and anger, that the being didn’t even stop to consider that all that hate was for a pretty stupid reason to begin with.


Every book sucks somewhere: Of all the Hitchhiker’s books, I would say that this one is the weakest. While it has some more of a semblance of a plot than the first two, it has less of a point and not nearly as much humor to take away from the lack of a point. While you can say that perhaps Adams is making a comment on violence and the universe, and I think he might, the fact is there isn’t a point outside of the further adventures of Arthur and Ford.

What did I like: More of the zany fun that characterized the first two books.

How would I rate this wormy book: I would rate this as a FAT worm, but perhaps on the low end, closer to LITTLE worm. It’s not a complete waste of time, but it certainly wasn’t my favorite book in the series.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe-Douglas Adams

How I found this book: I read it immediately after The Hitchhiker’s Guide as it was part of the same volume.

Setting: Immediately after the events of The Hitchhiker’s Guide, and ranges from the end of the universe to the beginning of man on Earth. Darn that time travel.

Main Characters:

Zaphod Beeblebrox: President of the Galaxy, he is caught up in a conspiracy to find the man who really runs the Universe.

Zarniwoop: A member of the conspiracy, he contrives to get Zaphod away from the rest of the group in order to find the man who really controls the universe.

Trillian: Zaphod’s girlfriend, one of the last Earthlings in the universe.

Arthur Dent: One of the other last Earthlings, he is sent back in time to the starships that are unwittingly carrying his own ancestors to Earth.

Ford Prefect: Arthur’s best friend, he is sent back, along with Arthur, to pre-historic Earth.

Marvin, the Paranoid Android: The completely depressed robot of Zaphod’s, he pops up at different parts of the story looking for the crew of the Heart of Gold, who often leave him behind on their adventures.


Plot: Zaphod is separated from the rest of the crew as he is drawn into a conspiracy to find the real head of the galaxy. In an effort to thwart the plans of Zarniwoop, Zaphod goes to the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Milliways, with the rest of the crew, in order to eat a good steak and watch the end of the universe as part of the big show. As they leave the restaurant, Zaphod decides to steal a ship belonging to a famous band, Disaster Area. What he and the others don’t realize is that the ship is part of one of their big stunts to be flown into the sun of some planet during their show. In an attempt to escape, Zaphod and Trillian are separated from Arthur and Ford, who are sent back in time to a spaceship from Glorgrafinch full of all their useless and idiot members of society. The ships crashland on pre-historic Earth and it is discovered by Arthur and Ford that it is these beings, not the ape-descended ones that were created by the designers of Magrathea, who are indeed the true ancestors of Earthlings.

Themes:

The man behind the man: Adams plays with the traditional ‘conspiracy’ theory, and shows that the universe isn’t really run by some evil consortium, or even Zaphod, (thank goodness), but instead by one, simple, kooky guy who seems to keep things running despite it all, even on attempts to control him. And I think that is perhaps as closest to a deity that Adams, and atheist, would ever get. Personally, I think it’s a fine image, and I have to agree, the universe is in fine hands.

Don’t be so proud of your heritage, you never know what you’ll find back there: Everyone has black sheep in the family, and sometimes we really hate to admit how embarrassing our own family trees are where exactly we came from. This has never been more exemplified than with the 19th century scientist and anthropologists who liked to portray human kind as the ‘top’ of the evolutionary scale on earth. While that may or may not be true, Adams laughs at this notion with the portrayal of our own ancestors as being the rejects that would develop into our own, commercialist, and perhaps somewhat useless society, (in particular I love the decision of using leaves for money, reflecting Adams own environmentalist sensibilities). While we would like to think we are the pinnacle of what civilization can be like, in reality…well we are perhaps just a big a bunch of screwballs as that bunch.

The end of the universe: However you believe the universe is going to end, you have to admit, having a restaurant there and watching it as a dinnertime show is a pretty unique and thrilling way to go.


Every book sucks somewhere: Much as The Hitchhiker’s Guide, Restaurant at the End of the Universe suffers from the episodic nature of the radio series it’s based on, thus smashing what appeared to be two separate story arcs into one. This causes a bit of disjointing between Zaphod’s quest and Arthur and Ford’s predicament on ancient Earth. This makes the story not flow nearly as well as in the first book, which seemed to be one complete story arc. This doesn’t mean the story isn’t funny and entertaining, but it isn’t quite as smooth.

Also, I felt a bit confused as to the whole point of Zaphod and the conspiracy finding the real ruler of the universe. What was the purpose in it? Was there any? This could be, like the

What did I like: This book, like it’s prequel, is hysterical, in the tongue-in-cheek manner of most of Douglas Adams books. It laughs both at our own tendency to look for conspiracies and our own high-minded view of our evolution. What I think makes the books so funny, in the tradition of British humor such as Monty Python is that the absurd happens in such a matter-of-fact manner that there is little need for a ‘straight man’, the entire story revolves around the fact that the universe is just an absurd place.

How would I rate this wormy book: I would only rate this book as a FAT WORM. It’s note quite as good of story telling as The Hitchhiker’s Guide, and yet it is still entertaining none the less. It’s a great book to sit and snicker at in some snooty coffee shop and let people give you dirty looks over it.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy-Douglas Adams

How I found this book: While in college the first time with the Jewell Gang, my friend Melissa received this book from someone she was dating. It passed the rounds through each of us, and being college aged kids, the humor was really meaningful to us. I still will whip it out just for the fun of it now and again.

Setting: Late 20th century by Earth standards, hard to tell with the rest of the Universe, which is where the rest of the book takes place at. The primary other planet that they ever approach is the mythical planet of Magrathea.

Main Characters:

Arthur Dent: A writer for the BBC radio, Arthur Dent is a rather sad and somewhat confused Englishman who has just found out his house is being demolished and his planet is being destroyed when he is whisked off into an adventure in outer space. Somewhat confused and lost through most of the story, Arthur’s disorientation serves as a great source of irritation to several other characters who have little or no respect for Earthlings or their need for tea.

Ford Prefect: Arthur’s best friend, he is really a field reporter for the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the universe’s pre-eminent travel guide and general source of knowledge. Stuck on earth for the last fifteen years, he has been pretending to be an actor. He manages to help Arthur escape Earth in its last minutes of existence, and eventually falls in with his semi-cousin Zaphod in his zany quest.

Zaphod Beeblebrox: The President of the Galaxy, Zaphod has just successfully stolen the brand new, amazing spaceship, the Heart of Gold, and is off to find the mythical planet of Magrathea. Apparently theft is no preclusion to being Galactic president, nor is Zaphod’s often irresponsible behavior. He has two heads, and three arms, and is depicted as being a charismatic, hippie type, but also slightly insane.

Tricia “Trillian” MacMillan: The only other survivor of Earth, Trillian met Arthur at a party once in the past, but was picked up by Zaphod (who had only one head at the time and was party crashing), and went into space with him instead. Trillian is a practical, sane foil to Zaphod, herself having been a scientist on Earth. She seems to take the vagaries of space and Zaphod with a great deal more equilibrium than Arthur.
Marvin, the Paranoid Android: One of the many androids on the Heart of Gold, Marvin’s personality has been designed to be both rudely sarcastic and hoplessly depressed and depressing. Marvin’s chief point in the stories is to constantly complain about some malfunctioning body part or the total lack of respect for his great intellect in respect to the menial tasks he is asked to perform.

Slartibartfast: One of the designers on the mythical planet of Magrathea, known for it’s handcrafted design of whole worlds. He is very proud of his creation of the fjords on Earth, which we discover was a creation by Magrathea as part of an experiment by creatures from another dimension.

Plot: Arthur Dent discovers one day that not only is his house being demolished in favor of a new freeway entrance, but that the planet of his birth is about to be destroyed. Whisked off the planet by his good friend, (and unknown to him, and alien), Ford Prefect, Arthur is taken on an adventure in space with semi-cousin, Zaphod, and Trillian, a girl Arthur once was interested in back home on Earth and the planets only other survivor. Now the quartet tries to survive as the police hunt down Zaphod and his ship, The Heart of Gold, (which Zaphod stole), as Zaphod attempts to find the mythical planet of Magrathea.

Themes:

The idiocy of bureaucracy: Adam’s delights in poking fun at the absurdities of governments and bureaucracies, and does so without restraint in the book. Everything from the parallel of the destruction of Arthur’s house/the Earth, to Zaphod’s role as President of the Galaxy shows how governments are inefficient tools used to control the lives of others, often at the expense of those who are directly affected by them.

Why are we here: Adam’s himself wasn’t big on the whole ‘religion’ thing, but it is silly that the whole purpose of Earth in the universe, (which is constantly lampooned by other aliens as being a backwards backwater), was to answer the meaning to life, the universe, and everything for a bunch of beings elsewhere. The loss of this backwards planet means that this question is once again not really answered, (well sort of…the answer is 42, we still haven’t figured out the question). Perhaps the real purpose to life then isn’t in finding the answer, its in finding the question to ask.

Human’s aren’t always the smartest creatures in the universe: Other aliens aside, Adams, who was an environmentalist, really felt that we humans often think to much of ourselves, and loves to gently prod out our pride. Besides the snide remarks about our descent from monkeys, we find that often the most intelligent creatures in the story are not even humanoid. The mice, (who are humanoid in their dimension, but mice in ours), are an example of creatures who do not look as if they would have a great deal of intelligence, but prove to be manipulative enough to have conned the very gullible Zaphod into doing their bidding and getting the two remaining Earthlings to Magrathea.


The universe is absurd: In Adams stories, the universe is often doing the weirdest things, just because…and that is just the way it is.


Every book sucks somewhere: The crux of the story comes from a series of radio shows Adams wrote for the BBC. Because of this, the story is very zany, but more than that it is episodic. It doesn’t have a real, full, clear plot or point that a regular novel would, which isn’t a bad thing, but is a bit off putting for those of you who are looking for a definite beginning, middle, climax, and end. If you read it much more as a story arch from a series, it works better that way, and it is very, very funny.


What did I like: I love the humor of this story. Britian has some of the funniest writers out there, all with the wry, tongue-in-cheek humor that many Americans might think is odd, but which I love. Yes, some of this is over-the-top humor, but it is dolled out with the dry, sarcastic wit that makes it hard to get through the story without sitting in a corner quietly snorting to yourself.

I also love Adams delight at making fun of EVERYTHING, and how he cleverly turns all sacred cows from our society into something to laugh at in his stories. He doesn’t bat an eye as he drops jokes about religion, sex, and politics, and keeps merely rolling along with the absurdity, but making it make sense as well. It’s not a chaotic story, it does have a point, and he is able to keep his story together with firm reasons for the hysterics going on around our characters.

How would I rate this wormy book: This is a MONSTER book, I believe every person at some point should read The Hitchhiker’s Guide, if nothing else to understand why people say that 42 is the answer to life, the universe, and everything. It’s a fun, silly book, and if you love British humor, you will love Douglas Adams.

We interrupt this regularly scheduled posting...

I try to post book reviews Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Today I am sick though, so today's book review for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy will be put off till tomorrow.

Fragile Things

Fragile Things-Neil Gaiman

How I found this book: It was part of my Time4Reading booklist. I love Neil Gaiman, I’ve read most of his Sandman comic books and Neverwhere, as well as Good Omens, a book he collaborated on with the wonderful Terry Pratchett. I would say Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite authors out there.

Setting: Many, as this is a collection of short stories gathered by Gaiman over several decades.

Main Characters: Many, see above.

Plot: Several…again, see above. But you can be guaranteed they are all wonderfully, darkly whimsical in the punky, gothy way that Gaiman has.

Themes: In lieu of themes, I’m instead going to pick three of my favorite short stories from the book, and explain why I loved them.

A Study in Emerald: This is a short story Gaiman wrote for the anthology Shadows over Baker Street, a tribute to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous sleuth, Sherlock Holmes. It also is a tribute, in its own way, to HP Lovecraft’s weird and creepy Cthulhu stories. In it, the ‘Old Ones’ have returned to the world long ago, and the British Empire is ruled by Queen Victoria…only she isn’t the Victoria you and I know of. One of her nephews is murdered, and it is up to the detective to solve the mystery of ‘whodunnit’. But as it turns out, things aren’t what they seem in this very proper, late-19th century British mystery, and that the intrepid Holmes is not what we would have expected either, nor is the evil Dr. Moriarty. This story won the 2004 Hugo Award for Best Short story.

The Problem of Susan: The elderly Professor Hastings is a woman who once had to deal with the grief of losing her entire family in a train crash. While her name is never explicitly given, the title of the story, as well as the mention of the fact she had a sister and two brothers, one of whom was named Ed seemed to indicate that she is really Susan Penvensie, well known to all of us as the second oldest of the four children who go through the Wardrobe to the land of Narnia to rule as one of their legendary Queens. If you read The Last Battle, you know that Susan alone of the four children survives, as the others are killed in a horrendous train wreck, which allows them to live in the Real Narnia, the Narnia beyond, (or read Heaven), leaving Susan behind with just her memories. I think it’s a wonderful response to C.S. Lewis, who sort of left poor Susan out at the end, (perhaps Lewis’s comment on young people who get caught up in fippery and turn their nose on the imagination).

The Monarch of the Glen: A novella, it is a sequel to American Gods, (on my booklist), and follows Shadow, (who is strongly implied to be one of the Norse gods, perhaps Baldur). Shadow has made his way to England, where he is contracted to work at a exclusive house party. There, he finds that the guests are unique in their own way, and that he is asked to play the part of one of the Saxon people’s greatest folk heroes, and re-enact a story that has existed since human’s began spinning tales around fires long ago.


Every book sucks somewhere: I think in terms of ‘suck’, that there are some stories I liked better than others, and some stories that were OK, and others that were phenomenal. I think the collection as a whole is great, but there were some stories that even I was sort of ‘meh’ about.

I do think there should be a warning though, (directed to those my parents age, though my mother will probably stick her tongue out at me), that there is a certain dark, some would say ‘gothic’ turn to Gaiman’s work, (I would say ‘gothic’ like E.A. Poe, they would say ‘gothic’ like Sisters of Mercy). He does have a twisted way of seeing the world which I think my Gen X self and many my age love, but which our parents perhaps sort of cock their eyebrow and look at us funny for, (you know, it’s the look my father gave me when I got the cartilage ring and the ankle tattoo.) So if you don’t ‘get it’, rest assured, you are probably not alone in that. While I don’t think you have to be young to get it, (my mother I think will do just fine), sometimes there is a generational gap and what one generation might consider weirdly fun another might must consider…weird.

What did I like: I’ve always loved Gaiman’s sense-of-humor, that darkly, tongue-firmly-implanted-in-cheek humor that seems to go with so many of my favorite British authors, (Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, and others). Gaiman approaches his readers intelligently, he doesn’t make his humor slapstick, but rather assumes that we know the subtle references and play-on-themes he uses, which I think is part of why I find him so endearing as a writer. He doesn’t assume I am stupid.

I also love how he sees the world. While I can’t say he’s really a ‘gothling’, he, like Tim Burton, and in some ways like Clive Barker, has a dark way of seeing the world that really appeals to my generation, (perhaps it’s a Gen X thing), of being at once both cynical and whimsical. Things that in a Stephen King horror story would be sad, he makes into bittersweet stories, and he has a twist on perspective that reminds us that there is a flip side to every fairy story, (such as his short story, The Problem with Susan.)

How would I rate this wormy book: Big, ginormous, hungry MONSTER worm, it is so very good, and I adore Neil Gaiman. Despite my ‘sucky’ worries, I think that this is a great book, it’s fun to read either in short bursts, (since it’s short stories, you can do that), or in one long sitting. It’s a great way of being introduced into the works of Neil Gaiman and his style. If you like it, I highly suggest Neverwhere as a great follow-up.

Foundation

Foundation-Isaac Asimov

How I found this book: I once listened to a BBC radio production of it, and it was really good. So I wanted to read the actual book it was based on.

Setting: Somewhere in the future, when humans have created a Galactic Empire. This begins in the waning years of that Empire.

Main Characters:

Hari Seldon: A brilliant mathematician, he creates the social science of psychohistory, a way of using statistical analysis to predict the future of large groups of people, based on psychology and history. He is the founder of the Foundation, a group whose soul purpose in the waning age of the Empire is to preserve knowledge and to hold civilization together in the hopes of rebuilding a Second Galactic Empire in 1000 years.

Salvor Hardin: A descendent of the first colonist of Terminus, and it’s mayor during the first and second Seldon Crises, he is a shrewd politician, knowledgeable in some of the ways of psychology, and very politically savvy. Hardin is the one who recognizes the solution to both problems, and manipulations the situations to ensure the continuity safety of Terminus. He helps to place it in a prime position to become the dominate factor in the periphery of the crumbling Galactic Empire, primarily by turning science into religion, and controlling its knowledge from the Foundation.

Hober Mallow: A trader from the planet of Smyrno, he has a Foundation education, and is sent to learn why the planet of Korell has access to nucleics. He not only discovers the Empire’s role in providing the Korellians with the weapons, (and subsequently their lack of ability of knowing how to repair them), but helps move the Foundations control over the systems from that based on religion to one based on trade.


Plot: In the future of mankind, we have long left the earth and moved into a Galactic Empire, which rules the universe from its center on Trantor. But the Empire, though seemingly strong, has stagnated and is in its decline. Only Hari Seldon, a mathematician and developer of the science of ‘psychohistory’, (a way to use mathematics to predict the future of a large group of humans based on the knowledge of their history and the psychology of humans), knows for certain that this decline is happening, and he is preparing for the worst. Creating a Foundation on the far off planet of Terminus, he seeks to create a repository for all the physical science in the universe to help stave off the approaching collapse of the Empire and to begin preparing for the Second Empire to come. But being far from the Imperial center, the Foundation must learn to deal with the rising political forces on the edges of the Empire, and learn how to both protect themselves and consolidate their power against the rise of the independent minded ‘barbarians’ on the edge of the galaxy. Using Seldon’s ‘psychohistory’, the strong leaders of Terminus are able to stave off the various problems, (know singularly as a ‘Seldon crises’), and in each case allow the Foundation to come out stronger and more formidable in the end. But are the leader’s blind faith in their understanding of human nature and economics going to be enough to protect them in the end?

Themes:

The ability to predict human behavior in large scale: A large part of the book is Seldon’s ‘psychohistory’, the ability to statistically analyze and predict human behavior, based on knowledge of their psychology and their history. It only works on large groups of people, which seems to indicate that Hari Seldon has predicted what humanities course in the galaxy is for the next thousand years, using his science. It becomes a bedrock for the Foundation and the civilization that they create in the periphery of the Galaxy, as they learn to depend on Seldon’s predictions for their course of action in any major nexus point of conflict. In a way, much as Paul Atreides in Frank Herbert’s Dune series, Hari Seldon is seen as being the hand that is moving great future events because of his ability to calculate what might happen. In future Foundation stories, this becomes problematic for the Foundation. This is in large part why Seldon creates a ‘second Foundation’, to help counterbalance the rogue individual, something Seldon himself couldn’t predict in his calculations, and something he feared might happen.

The power of the individual to affect great change: Seldon couldn’t predict on the individual scale, but that is not to say that individuals in the foundation do not effect great change on the populace. Leaders such as Salvor Hardin and Habor Mallow are able to rise to the occasion of particular crises and use their reasoning to avert it handily. Yes, it is usually verified by Hari Seldon’s predictions, but it is something that anyone who thinks in a logical pattern of socio-economic tendencies could come up with if they connect the dots. And that individual is able to help the larger population through a disaster in waiting.

The rise and fall of an Empire: I was delighted to see that Asimov got the idea of this book from Edward Gibbon’s (in) famous book, The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire. As this particular period in history is my specialty, (Late Antiquity), it was fun to compare the slow decline of the Roman state and the rise of the barbarian kingdoms to the Foundation version of it. I had images in my head of keepers of Roman knowledge and science hiding out in places such as St. Catherine’s of the Sinai, or in hidden places in the Alps, while they dealt with the rising power of the barbarian hordes all around them, (Goths, Vandals, Franks, oh my!) For the history dork in me, this book was way too much fun for my own good.

Every book sucks somewhere: It isn’t the fault of the book, really, but perhaps the suckiest part of the book is that it is serialized. As Asimov collected the stories into book form many years after they had first been published in magazine form, the novel comes off disjointed, with not a lot of development for characters or the world. Where books such as Lord of the Rings or Dune are beloved and well known for the rich worlds and universes they create, Foundation suffers a bit from no real explanation of ‘how we got here’ and ‘why are things this way again’. While the blips from the Encyclopedia Galactica that head up many of the sections do try to lend some depth to the story, it just doesn’t feel as much of a ‘real’ future for humanity as say Dune did.

Also, I would have liked much more discussion on just what psychohistory is. As both a historian and someone whose worked in Marketing Research for years now, it interested me as these are two areas I’ve spent a great deal of my adult life working in and trying to understand. So I would have been curious to know what it is, and how it came about. From my understanding Asimov does explain this a bit more in Forward Foundation, the prequel written shortly before Asimov’s death.

What did I like: I loved the ties it had to the real life late antique history of our world, and how much Asimov made it mirror the happenings of my favorite period in history.

Also, despite the fact that the serial nature prohibits great detail, I do like the fact that the serial nature meant things happen very quickly. This meant that the book flowed a lot better than some books of greater length, and that it’s a quick read. I guess sometimes you can’t have both.

How would I rate this wormy book: I would rate this book as a FAT worm, if you love Roman or Byzantine History, or if you just like reading good sci-fi, this is a great book. It’s perfect for a quick afternoon read on the weekends when you are just jonesing for a bit of futuristic, human nature sci-fi that doesn’t involve strange aliens, mystic religions, and light-sabres. Though, those are just as fun too….yum, Han Solo.

Kushiel's Justice

Kushiel’s Justice- Jacqueline Carey

How I found this book: When I purchased Kushiel’s Scion, I saw it on the shelf. Being a hardback, I had to wait a week to get it though! Thank God for Border’s coupons.

Setting: Terre D’Ange and Alba, immediately after the events of Kushiel’s Scion.

Main Characters:

Prince Imriel de la Courcel no Montreve: Returning from Tiberium, Imriel decides to face his duty and marry Drustan’s niece, Dorelei. But his heart belongs to someone else, the Dauphine of Terre D’Ange. Though he loves Sidonie, he marries Dorelei, feeling that by doing this he is doing the good and right thing, even if it is against Elua’s precepts, and even if he is sulky about it. But his passions are turned against him with dire consequences, forcing Imriel to test his endurance and his love to see that as a scion of Kushiel, that Kushiel’s justice is carried out.

Princess Sidonie de la Courcel, Dauphine of Terre D’Ange: The eldest daughter of Ysandre and Drustan, she is the heir to the D’Angeline throne. She is in love with Imriel and he with her, but they realize the scandal and political schism this will create, and attempts to keep their affair secret, hoping it will go the wayside of all such young romances. While in public she has the same cool, blonde beauty of her mother, in private she is very different, and with a wit and humor that enchants Imriel.

Princess Alais de la Courcel: The younger daughter of Ysandre and Drustan, she is promised to Talorcan, her cousin and Drustan’s heir. She is more Cruithne than her D’Angeline looking sister, and feels more at home in Alba, her father’s homeland. She is a favorite of Imriel, and is much like his younger sister, accompanying him to Alba when he finally marries Dorelei.

Drustan mab Necthana: The Cruarch of Alba, and husband to Ysandre de la Courcel, Queen of Terre D'Ange, and father to Sidonie and Alais. He is a wise leader and tested warrior, who is trying to both hold his clannish country together, as well as open in to the wider world that through its connection to Terre D'Ange. He knows that many resent the influence of the D'Angelines in Alba, and that many in Terre D'Ange resent the Alban influence there, especially the fact that their future queen is half Cruithne herself. He hopes to calm some of those fears by marrying Imriel to his niece, Dorelei, who is the future mother of the potential heir, and by promising his own daughter, Alais, to Dorelei's brother and Drustan's direct heir, Talorcan.

Dorelei mab Breidaia: The only daughter of Drustan’s sister Breidaia, she is supposed to produce the next heir to the Cruarchy of Alba. She is asked to marry Imriel in an arranged marriage on the part of her uncle and aunt to ensure that D’Angeline interests remained tied to the Alban throne. She is unsure of this arrangement with her handsome, yet sulking D’Angeline prince, but comes to love Imriel in her own way, as he comes to care for her.

Maislon de Lombelon: The leader of Sidonie’s personal guard and her lover after Imriel’s marriage, he manages to shoot off his mouth, and finds himself haking Imriel the most unlikely of allies.

Urist: One of the men of Imriel’s Alban estates, he is like a father to Dorelei. When the unthinkable happens, he aids Imriel in his quest to seek Kushiel’s Justice.

Morwen: A witch of the Maghuir Dhonn clan, she uses Imriel’s passions to bind him with her magic, and in so doing causes more trouble than she intended for her people.

Berlick: A male witch of the Mahuir Dhonn, he follows Morwen’s lead in her fears, and commits an awful crime, causing him both to threaten the line of succession for Alba, but bring down the wrath of Kushiel on himself for his crimes.

Micah ben Ximon: A Yeshuite warrior who had been trained by none other than Joscelin Verrieul, he is now the war leader of the armies of Taseuz Vral in Vralia, and Imriel’s only contact in the strange, foreign land.

Tadeuz Vral: The king of Vralia, he has formed a nation out of sheer force and the power of the Yeshuite faith. He is seeking to create a new Yeshuite kingdom to the East, one that would rival the other great nations in power and prestige, built under the standard of Yeshua ben Yosef.

Avraham ben David: A respected Rebbi in Vral, he both befriends Berlik and assists Imriel in his search for the Cruithne male witch.

Plot: Imriel de la Courcel no Montreve returns from Tiberium prepared to do his duty and marry the niece of Drustan mab Necthana. But he never expected to fall so completely and passionately in love with Drustan’s oldest daughter, the heir to the D’Angeline throne, Sidonie de la Courcel, or that she would return the affection. While they dabble with forbidden fire, Imriel knows that his duty lay elsewhere, and despite Elua’s only precept, “Love as thou wilt”, he defies that and goes with his arranged bride to Alba. But his ignored passions get him in trouble, and place himself and his wife Dorelei in danger. When the unthinkable happens, Imriel is forced to face his crimes, and to mete out Kushiel’s Justice, both on those who dared to break their oaths, as well as on himself and Sidonie.

Themes:

One cannot cut themselves off from who they are: Imriel’s journey has been that of accepting who and what he is, as Melisande Sharhazai’s son, as Phedre’s foster son, as a Prince of the realm, and now as Sidonie’s lover and Dorelei’s husband and father to his unborn child. It is a learning process for Imriel, shown most explicitly when he is forced to wear special charms that protect him from the magic of the Maghuin Dhonn, the strange clan who have taken some dislike to Imriel. When they use his own passions for Sidonie against him for their own ends, he is literally divided from himself by the charms used to keep him from their control. All his senses are muted, and while he does this willingly to protect his wife and to try to do what is right by her, he isn’t being true to himself at all. In the end, the price would be far to high, especially for Dorelei who was an innocent in most of this. Imriel learns that it isn’t worth it to ignore or to separate you from who and what you are; no matter if you believe you are being ‘good’ by it. Often times the good is outweighed by a greater evil at the end of it, and more hurt and pain than if you had just been honest from the start.

Love as thou wilt: Elua’s precept is sacred in Terre D’Ange, and both Imriel and Sidonie ignore it when they feel duty calls. Instead of staying true to that love and leaving it in the hands of Blessed Elua, they circumvented it, believing they were doing what was best. Much as the above example, things didn’t work out that way, and in the end more hurt and pain was caused by neither of them being honest about the situation and working it out. Because of this, both Sidonie and Imriel feel a great since of guilt over the events that happen and feel that their needs to be an atonement, for Imriel it is chasing down the one who committed the wrong and bringing him to justice…but there is justice in it as well for Imriel. However, there is mercy to Kushiel as well, and perhaps the two young lovers have learned their lesson and will not let politics enter into how they feel again. As Melisande put it once, and it was repeated by Sidonie, “Elua cared not for thrones and crowns…”

Don’t take out you irritation with others: While Imriel may love Sidonie hopelessly, that isn’t to say he doesn’t love Dorelei, and that she didn’t love him. In Dorelei’s quite way, she puts up with the temper tantrums of her young husband, who is unhappy to be leaving Sidonie, and teaches him that it isn’t her fault that any of this is happening, so please stop acting that way. When she comes down on him like that, Imriel begins to grow up, and to treat Dorelei as a person, a good person, who cares for him. It’s an important step into adulthood for Imriel, and something that he will forever be thankful for from his young wife.

You can’t outrun the crimes you have committed: Berlik tries to run from Alba and from Imriel in the hopes that he can draw away the pressure from his people and the awful crime he committed. In doing so, he falls into the company of the Yeshuite pilgrims to Vralia, and he too learns important lessons about accepting ones sins and forgiveness. Rather than continuing to run and hide from his crimes, he accepts it when justice finally comes, and he accepts it with peace and dignity, confident that he has finally paid the price for the things that he has done.

Tadeuz Vral as Constantine: Unless you completely ignored your World History course in high school, there’s no way of missing the Constantine the Great/Tadeuz Vral angle, (Constantine was the Roman Emperor who made it suddenly cool to worship Jesus). Tadeuz Vral, similar to the real life Constantine, decides that Yeshua ben Yosef, (Jesus), would be a really cool way to a) unite the Vralians and new Yeshuite immigrants and b) have one standard with which to kick is brother’s ass. The effect worked, and now Yeshua, like in real life, becomes a warrior god who is out to convert through massive use of force, and using religion to control everyone. No biggie, I figured this was coming at some point with the Yeshuite angle; I just wasn’t sure HOW when I was reading Kushiel’s Chosen.


Every book sucks somewhere: This book, despite its scope and length, had surprisingly few sucky parts. Perhaps I could have done without the graphic descriptions of how to boil someone’s head, and the endless trooping through the Vralian, snow covered hinterland, but on the whole the story was great. I actually had very few complaints about this book.

What did I like: Everything, but especially the romance of Sidonie and Imriel. I know, some people are squicked when they start doing mental family trees in their head, (Imriel is Ysandre’s cousin, that makes Sidonie his second cousin I believe…I get so confused with the ‘once removed’.) Frankly, it didn’t squick me that much. I thought they were a perfect match together, and I think Carey did a really good job of trying to explain that first, and letting that over-ride the whole ‘cousin’ thing. And I love the political quagmire this is creating and how Sidonie handles it so deftly, even putting Barquiel L’Envers firmly in his place. It shows that Sidonie herself will make a great queen and great leader someday.

I also liked the marriage of Dorelei and Imriel as well. I think it could have been so easy to make it miserable, but I think Carey did it very well by portraying a couple of kids thrown into a political marriage, trying as they might to be tender and caring towards one another, knowing that it wasn’t as much about love but duty for them. I think in the end Imriel really did love Dorelei, and perhaps would have tried as he could to make things work, but it wasn’t good for either of them. And perhaps the hand of fate knew what it was doing after all.

And surprisingly, I liked that Phedre and Joscelin only had a limited appearance in this book. It would have seemed a bit silly for a book that was focusing on Imriel to constantly be referring to those two, as if Imriel couldn’t stand on his own two feet. Rather, they are shown as just what they are in Imriel’s life, his parental figures, who are there to try and help him when his life goes to hell, but wise enough to know that he is a man now who can solve his own problems, (something Phedre, admittedly, has a bit of a problem with, as all mothers usually would.)

How would I rate this wormy book: This is a MONSTER worm, if you have read this series, read this book, I think it is my favorite of the lot. Adventurous and romantic, torrid and sweet, it has a bit of everything, and I think that this book more than it’s predecessor really shows us the worth and potential of Imriel, and how he is developing outside of the concept of being ‘Melisande Sharhazai’s son.’

Kushiel's Scion

Kushiel’s Scion- Jacqueline Cary

How I found this book: I just kept following the trail of breadcrumbs that Ms. Cary keeps leaving me…have you figured out I’m addicted to these books?

Setting: Terre D’Ange, starting some 2 years after the end of Kushiel’s Avatar, and ending 4-5 years later.

Main Characters:

Prince Imriel de la Courcel no Montreve: The son of Melisande Sharhazai and Prince Benedicte de la Courcel, he is third in line to the throne of Terre D’Ange. He is also the adopted son of Phedre no Delauney, Comtesse de Montreve, and her consort Joscelin Verrieul. As a boy he had no idea what his parentage was, and was kidnapped and tortured in the lands of the Drujan. Now fourteen, he is dealing with all the pangs of growing up, magnified by the fact that his birth parents are two of the greatest traitors to his homeland, and his adopted parents are two of the lands greatest heroes. Imriel struggles to find himself in all of this, at the same time trying to understand what it means to be ‘good’, unlike his mother, who he abhors. He finds as he grows older that the answer to that question continues to become more and more difficult at the years go by.

Phedre no Delauney, Comtesse de Montreve: The adopted mother of Imriel, she is fiercely protective of her adopted son. She is tries to encourage him to learn more about his mother, but doesn’t force him. She tries as she might to guide Imriel through the tender ‘growing up’ years, made all the more awkward by the fact that she is Kushiel’s Chosen and he is a scion of Kushiel, thus making her all the more attractive to the already confused Imriel. Still, she and Joscelin serve as the rock that Imriel turns to when his life is troubled.

Joscelin Verreuil: Still Phedre’s loving consort, Imriel looks to Joscelin both as a father figure and as a guide through the most difficult years of his life. He sees both Phedre and Joscelin as heroes that he can never be, and is jealous of the seemingly perfect love the two have for each other, causing him to occasionally go to Joscelin on matters of the heart. He trains with Joscelin in the ways of fighting, and while not as good as Joscelin and his legendary skills, can handle himself pretty well thanks to his adopted father’s teaching.

Mavros Sharhazai: One of the many Sharhazai clan, he is slightly older than Imriel, and his cousin through his biological mother’s side. He introduces Imriel to the darker side of his nature and his Sharhazai legacy, but is also his friend and confidant. Mavros proves to Imriel that not all of his mother’s family is evil or scheming.

Eammon mac Grainne: The Son of the Queen of the Dalreida, and Quintillius Rousse, the Queen’s Admiral, Eamonn fosters with Phedre to learn something of his father’s D’Angeline culture. He becomes fast friends with Imriel, almost like a brother, and share’s in Imriel’s secrets, including his time with the Drujani.

Gilot: One of Phedre’s men-at-arms in Montreve, he is one of Imriel’s good friends and keeps an eye on the younger, brasher Prince. He also proves to be a good and loyal friend to Imriel.

Ysandre de la Courcel: The Queen of Terre D’Ange, she tries to make Imriel as welcome as possible, despite the whispered remarks about his parentage.

Drustan mac Necthana: The Cruarch of Alba and husband of Ysandre, he is dealing with succession crises at home that Imriel might be able to help him solve.

Sidonie de la Courcel: The oldest daughter of Ysandre and Drustan, she is as beautiful as her mother, with her father’s dark, Cruithne eyes. She is Ysandre’s heir, and is a very cool, distant person who doesn’t appear to like Imriel much. But as he grows older, he begins to see Sidonie in a new light, as she does him.

Alais de la Courcel: The younger daughter of Ysandre and Drustan, she takes after her father in looks and in spirit. She is a lively girl, and is painfully fond of Imriel who she sees as an older brother. The affection is returned by him, and he tends to tease and spoil Alais when given half the chance.

Dorelei mab Breidaia: The niece of Drustan mab Necthana and sister to his heir, Talorcan, Ysandre wishes Imriel to marry her to secure the Alban line to that of Terre D’Ange

Master Piero: Imriel’s teacher at the University of Tiberium.

Brigitta: A Skaldic woman studying with Master Piero, she seems to have an affection for Eammon.

Lucius: Another of Master Piero’s students, he is a member of an important family in the town of Lucca, and is haunted by the ghost of his grandfather, Gallus Tadius. He later becomes possessed by the old warrior when his town is besieged by a rival noble Caerdicci family.

Claudia Fulvia: Lucius’ sister and the wife of the Tiberian senator Deccus Fulvis, she draws Imriel into a torrid affair as part of the plan of the Unseen Guild to attract Imriel into their ranks and to teach him the art of covertcy.



Plot: Imriel de la Courcel no Montreve is the adopted son of two of Terre D’Ange’s greatest heroes, but he’s the biological son of two of its greatest traitors as well. As third in line to the D’Angeline thrown, Imriel must grow in the hotbed of political intrigue, knowing he is not trusted thanks to the legacy of his scheming mother. But his only desire is to be good and to be left out of the politics that seems to want to keep drawing him in. As he grows, he feels the need to go beyond the confines of his homeland to Tiberium to study with his closest friend Eammon and to learn what it is he must do to be good and to escape his mother’s treachery. What he finds is that you can’t ever escape the ghosts of your past, but you must learn how to face the responsibilities and trials of your present.

Themes:

The nature of good and evil: Imriel is obsessed with the idea of what it takes for him to ‘be good’. It’s a small wonder, knowing who is mother is and the horrors he had to witness in Darsanga. All he wants out of his life is to not be thought evil because of Melisande, and to never succumb to that evil himself. In many ways it’s that same journey all young people take, learning how to define one’s self away from one’s parents. For Imriel, it is a processing of understanding and accepting who he is personally away from the image of his mother, and realizing that no matter what others think of the matter, he is not made up of his mother’s crimes.

The ghosts of one’s past: No one understands being haunted by the ghosts of ones past more than Imriel. He struggles daily with the terrors and abuse he suffered in Darsanga, so much so that even the most intimate acts, considered sacred in D’Angeline society, are difficult for him. They are demons that he must overcome and understand before he can move on. Perhaps he learns this lesson best with Lucius, who is literally haunted by the ghost of his long-dead, tyrannical grandfather. As Lucius becomes possessed by his grandfather’s spirit while in defense of his hometown, Lucius must learn to deal with that aspect of his family’s heritage, and learn that despite his own differences from his grandfather, he is as capable and worthy as the old man ever was. Everyone must learn to deal with the ghosts of their past somehow.

Sometimes it just sucks being a teenager: Let’s face it, being a teenager was not any of our best periods in life. We were at once a child wanting to please everyone and we were an adult wanting to do what we wanted…if only we could figure out what that was. We are casting ourselves around looking for answers, and at the same time so certain about particular things that we throw temper tantrums when those are questioned. Being a teenager usually just sucks…and for Imriel he is no exception. It’s a hard thing going through this stage, even for a D’Angeline prince. Carey seems to capture this rough period with sensitivity and eloquence.

Ysandre’s court looks so much different when not from Phedre’s angle: One of the delightful things about this book and it’s change of perspective is a look at the D’Angeline court from Imriel’s eyes rather than Phedre’s. Phedre is much more forgiving of the foibles of the court around the Queen, mostly as many of them are her patrons or formers patrons. Imriel makes no bones about his likes and dislikes, and is blatant in his hatred for Barquiel L’Envers, as Barquiel hates him. This shift is fun to see as it shows us that not is sunshine and daisies in the rule of Ysandre de la Courcel, and that there are real political shifts and undercurrents that in many ways Imriel, in his position as a Prince of the Blood, is much more aware of than Phedre.


Every book sucks somewhere: I had one complaint, and that was that this book seemed never ending. Not only did it span five years, (less than Kushiel’s Dart, but not as cleanly done), but it didn’t ever seem to just finish. Imriel is wandering all about, making one adventure after another, and at one point, I just said ‘screw it’, I’m skipping to the end. The entire battle in Lucca seemed superfluous and drawn out, and I wasn’t certain what the purpose of it was, outside of Lucius’s story, much of that I skipped through.

The Unseen Guild and Claudia Fulvia seemed awkward as well, more of a plot device to keep Melisande’s presence in the story and to give Imriel intrigue rather than anything substantive. I rolled my eyes at the idea, here we go, another secret, Illuminati out to control the world with secrets and lies! Gah….I guess it’s just me, between having a co-worker who bought into the ‘Masons are out to rule the world’ theories, and myself once having been a rabid White Wolf gamer dork, I think I’m a bit tired or that sort of plot thread. But I will admit that it does keep Melisande around in the readers minds effectively whenever it comes up.

What did I like: I loved seeing Imriel grow up. He was such a wounded soul when Phedre first found him in Kushiel’s Avatar, this scared, damaged little boy who had done nothing to get himself there, except having a twist of fate occur. And it was no easier for him to find out the truth of his heritage than it was to deal with his torture. I love this book lets us see Imriel grow up and out of that situation, to thrive and improve, and to learn to love himself on his own terms. It made Imriel a wonderful, interesting character in his own right, a person struggling with what it means to be Melisande’s son as well as Phedre’s son, and still trying to be himself.

How would I rate this wormy book: I would rate this book as a FAT WORM, perhaps not a MONSTER because I really did feel the book was getting far too long. I think it could have benefited a bit from condensing a bit more. But otherwise, I loved this book, I think it was a great way to introduce Imriel and still keeping the feel of the first three books, and I loved seeing what adventures Melisande’s son would have in his own right.

Kushiel's Avatar

Kushiel’s Avatar- Jacqueline Carey

How I found this book: As with Kushiel’s Chosen, there was a huge plot whole left at the end of the last book that sort of needed to be addressed. Thus I assumed there was another.

Setting: Ten years after the events of last book, mostly in Darsanga, a land far away from Terre D’Ange, (in what in our world is Azerbaijan), as well as Saba, the mythical land where the Ark of the One God was taken for safe keeping, (in what is in our world Ethiopia).

Main Characters:

Phedre no Delauney, Comtesse de Montreve: After ten years of peace, Phedre is no less beautiful or prone to intrigue. She is called upon by her greatest enemy to do a favor for her, the price…the secret that might allow Phedre to set Hyacinthe free from the prison he’s been in for twelve years. All she is asked to do is to find Melisande’s missing son, Imriel. Phedre’s task proves to be much more than she ever bargained for, and will take her to the limits of her own nature and to the bounds of her love for Joscelin.

Joscelin Verreuil: Phedre’s constant companion and now her consort, he follows his vows and his love for her and goes with her to the darkest place in the world to rescue the child of a woman he has every cause to hate. This will task Joscelin as much as anyone, seeing Phedre in her element as Kushiel’s Dart in all it’s debasement, but he clings to the love he has for Phedre and remains her pillar as she attempts to rescue Melisande’s son from the hellish existence amongst the Drujan.

Imriel de la Courcel: The son of Melisande Sharhzai and Prince Benedicte de la Courcel, he is third in line for the throne of Terre D’Ange. He is hidden from Queen Ysandre for years in a Shrine to Elua in Siovale, ironically close to Phedre’s estates at Montreve. By an irony of fate, he is kidnapped by Carthaginian slavers and meant for the Menhket slave market, but is instead taken to Darsanga, where rule the bone priests of Angra Mainyu. He is meant to be a sacrifice to their dark god, but when Phedre arrives, she usurps his place. First angry at Phedre for her place as ‘Death’s Whore”, the Mahrkagir favorite, he begins to warm up to Phedre when he realizes his mother sent her, and then to depend on her for escape.

The Mahrkagir: The ruler of the Drujan, he was once one of the illegitimate children of the former ruler of Darsanga who led his people in an uprising against the Akkadians who ruled over the land. Just a boy, he watched as all the children and women of the zenana were slaughtered by the Akkadian forces, he himself only surviving because of a head wound that knocked him senseless but left him unharmed, save for the fact his pupils are unable to dilate and he must remain in darkness. This odd side effect, coupled with the fact that he was dug out of a pile of dead bodies causes the dark priests of the Angra Mainyu, the dark god/demons of Zorastrianism, to revere him and use him as a focal point for their own rise. Under the Mahrkagir, all the Magi, the priests of Ahura Mazhda, are overthrown and he creates a kingdom where all good thoughts, good words, and good deeds are replaced by their opposites. Everything is turned upside down; good is replaced by evil, life by death, light by dark. It is his goal to feed his dark god, Angra Mainyu and to offer the god something that is so perfect and pure that the god will help him and his minions take over the world.

The Aka-Magi or Skotophagotai: The bone prients of Angra Mainyu, they manipulate the situation created by the Mahrkagir, and use it to feed their own dark power. In any land they traverse, people quell from them in fear, and bad things happen to those unfortunate ones who cross their path.

Valerie L’Envers: The daughter of Duc Baraquiel L’Envers, and the wife of the heir to the throne of Kebbel-im-Akkhad, Valerie has little interest in seeing Imriel de la Courcel coming back from Drujan alive to threaten the throne of her cousin.

Hyacinthe: Phedre’s childhood friend, he is the new Master of the Straits, and is unable to break the curse that holds him to the island. It has been Phedre’s goal to break the curse that the Angel Rahab put on the island, and allow Hyacinthe to go free.


Plot: Ten years after saving the Queen’s life in La Serenissima, Phedre is happy and content with her consort, Joscelin. She has yet to discover the secret to freeing Hyacinthe, who has now fully become the Master of the Straits, and is desperate to do something to free him. As luck would have it, Melisande Sharhazai de le Courcel has the answer, but only at the price of discovering where her hidden son, Imriel, has been taken too. The boy was kidnapped, and not even Melisande’s extensive network of spies can find him, and his mother is frantic to get him back. Phedre does as she is asked, and is able to get the information to a land named Saba, where a race of Habiru escaped a thousand years before. It is where she might be able to find the Name of the One God, the one thing that would free Hyacinthe. But her dreams are haunted by the still missing Imriel, who has been taken to the mysterious land of Darsanga, where nothing is as it should be, and everyone fears it. Knowing it is the will of the gods themselves that she should go and rescue the boy, Phedre endeavors to rescue Imriel de la Courcel before it’s too late. The question is, is she still in time to save Hyacinthe?

Themes:

The Power of Love: More than just a cheesy lyric to a pop sing, love really does have power, both figuratively and literally in this book. Love is the driving force behind everyone’s actions in the book, Melisande’s love for her son, Phedre’s love for Hyacinthe, Joscelin’s love for Phedre, and Imriel’s love for Phedre and Joscelin and they for him. Love can make people do the craziest, most daring, stupidest, most impossible things. And sometimes it comes out all right in the end.

More than that, love can overcome quite a bit. Love has the ability to defeat the darkest, most hateful power on earth. Love can allow God to use an imperfect vessel for a great task. Love can overcome a curse cast by an angelic being. In all things, love is God, and perhaps that is why Blessed Elua, God’s grandson ordered his children to “Love as thou wilt.” Because in doing so, one sees the true nature of God.

The strength of the submissive: Phedre perhaps submits in things of passion, but by no means is she a submissive personality. Phedre is headstrong and stubborn and does what she has to, even if it nearly breaks her and those around her. While she might appear fragile and submissive, this ruse allows Phedre to work in ways that few people think or consider, thanks to her wits and her understanding of the nature of people. Being submissive in the moment only means that that she is bidding her time for the will of Kushiel to be done.

True friendship: Hyacinthe is Phedre’s oldest friend, and she his. Despite the years, she never once forgets him or her promise to free him from the curse that binds him to the island between Alba and Terre D’Ange. While her life has moved on, and he has found another who understands how he’s suffered the last twelve years, the two love each other with a bond that not even their respective partners can come between, not that they want to. While Hyacinthe and Phedre will never be together as lovers that bond between them is what keeps Hyacinthe and Phedre going even when it seems all hope is lost.

The love of a mother for her child: Who of thought that Melisande Sharhizai would love anything but her own political games. But it seems that even her cruel heart can be bent towards love for her own son, which is why she sends the only person she trusts to retrieve him without playing games with her. What Melisande never bargained for was that Phedre would love her son too, as the mother that Melisande never could be, and that she would die to protect Melisande’s son as surely as Melisande would. That love that Phedre has for this poor boy caught up in something not of his making is what gets Imriel out of the hell he is in. And it is what causes her to lay down her own life for the boy even when the one prize she has been seeking is within her grasp. Phedre’s love for Imriel would be the anchor the boy would latch himself on to as he returned to a world that he was unprepared for, and it will give Imriel in the future a foundation during the touch years of growing up.

The love of Joscelin and Phedre: Despite it all, through all the travails, the plots of Melisande, the degradation of Darsanga, the search for the true name of God, and the attempt to free Hyacinthe, Joscelin is at Phedre’s side, her Constant Companion, laying down his life for her and being the ‘compass by which she sets her heart’. Joscelin, steady, pragmatic, and true is the pillar for Phedre, and is what keeps her going when she fears all else will fail her. Though they started out as opposites, unable to stand each other, they have become equals and partners whose differences fit one another perfectly.


Every book sucks somewhere: It’s hard to pick anything that sucks about this book, of the first three Kushiel’s Legacy books, it is the best written. I would have to say if I could pick one sucky thing about the book; it would be that in the end, Hyacinthe isn’t the person he was, which is to be expected. What’s more, he doesn’t stay in Terre D’Ange, but goes to Alba, separating himself and Phedre. While it is understandable as their lives have diverged so wildly in the 12 years he’s been imprisoned by the Master of the Straits, you can’t help but feel a bit sad that the Prince of Travelers and the Queen of Courtesans don’t have a happier ending. But still, there is that bond between them that not even their respective mates can come in between, and it’s a good thing their mates understand that.

What did I like: Most everything, but in particular I loved the deepening of Joscelin and Phedre’s relationship. The first two books spent so much time hashing out the clashes and differences between the two that it is nice to see a book where they’ve learned to accept one another for what they are and that they are able to see those ‘differences’ as strengths now. If they didn’t have each other, I don’t think either of them could function nearly as well as they do.

I also liked the character of Imriel, who in so many ways is his mother’s son but her exact opposite. He has her intellect and her perception, but he has something his mother never had, which is a heart. While I think that is part of the reason Melisande had him raised where he was, (of course outside of her own schemes for the boy), Imriel cares for people in a manner that Melisande never has been able to do for anyone save her own son. And I think that makes Imriel such an interesting counterbalance to his own mother, a true scion of Kushiel, one who understands both justice and mercy, one who understand both punishment and love. Having been on both ends of the spectrum lends Imriel a perspective on life that his scheming mother will never have.

How would I rate this wormy book: I would rate this one a MONSTER worm. There is a warning, some of the scenes in Darsanga are not for the squeamish, but there is a reason for it. However, despite the sweep of the story, it isn’t nearly as scattered as Kushiel’s Chosen, and it is a story with more depth at its heart I think even than Kushiel’s Dart. It is a wonderful close to the story of Phedre and Joscelin, and sets us up for the next series, which has Imriel as its focus.

Kushiel's Chosen

Kushiel’s Chosen- Jacqueline Carey

How I found this book: I sort of figured when I got to the end of Kushiel’s Dart and a whole new plot angle started there had to be a sequel running around there somewhere.

Setting: La Serenissima, what is in our world known as Venice. There are also ventures to what in our world is Croatia and Crete (or Illyria and Kriti in the novel). The novel starts two years after the Skaldic wars, but only the day after the proceeding book, Kushiel’s Dart ended.

Main Characters:

Phedre no Delauney, Comtesse de Montreve: Our heroine is back in this latest installment. Phedre is now a peer of the realm, the inheritor of Anafiel Delauney’s title and lands, living a quiet life in Montreve, trying to solve the mystery that imprisons her beloved Hyacinthe. When Melisande Sharhazai lays a challenge before her, Phedre travels to La Serenissima to find out where the greatest traitor that Terre D’Ange has ever known has hidden herself. But as always Melisande has the upper hand and Phedre nearly loses everything she holds dear as she desperately tried to get word to her queen that once again, one closest to her is preparing to betray her.

Joscelin Verreuil: Phedre’s companion perhaps is not as constant as he once believed he could be. Angered by Phedre’s insistence on chasing after Melisande, and jealous of her Service to Naamah, Joscelin is not sure if he is able to accept what life with Phedre would mean for him personally. Believing himself damned for the choices he’s made, he tries to find some sort of answers, even if they can’t reconcile him to what Phedre is. It is only when he’s faced not only with perhaps his greatest failure as a Cassiline Brother as well as perhaps his greatest loss that he is only able to understand what is and isn’t important in his life.

Ti-Phillipe, Remy, and Fortun: Member’s of Phedre’s Boys, and her Chevaliers, they follow Phedre wherever she goes and serve as both her servants and her eyes and ears.

Melisande Sharhazai: Escaped from her fate in the end of Kushiel’s Dart, Melisande is up to her scheming ways once again. She lures Phedre to La Serenissima, but keeps her presence there a mystery. It is only too late that Phedre discovers the truth, and it nearly costs her everything.

Caesare Stregazza, Doge of La Serenissima: The ailing ruler of La Serenissima and head of the Stregazza family, he doesn’t trust his children or the plots around him. Though clearly aged and ill, he hasn’t lost his wits, and asks Phedre to be watchful for him.

Prince Benedicte de la Courcel: The younger brother of King Ganelon de la Courcel, and the great-uncle to the current Queen of Terre D’Ange, Ysandre, and is second in line for her throne. He was married into the Stregazza family by his brother. Benedicte sets up his own ‘little court’ of D’Angeline influence in Le Serenissima, and bring D’Angeline art and culture to the city. But despite his Seranissiman family and his long stay in the city, Benedicte is a D’Angeline at heart, and it is his countries interest that concern him far more than the happenings of the Doge’s court. And now with his new, young D’Angeline wife and D’Angeline son, some think that perhaps he plans to maneuver D’Angeline interests into the web of Seranissiman politics.

Prince Imriel de la Courcel: The new, baby son of Prince Benedicte with his mysterious D'Angeline wife, he is third in line to the D'Angeline throne, and seen as a threat by his Stragazza kinsmen.

Marie Celeste and Marco Stregazza: The parents of Servio, they both come from two of the most powerful families in La Seranissima. Marie Celeste is the daughter of Benedicte de la Courcel, Marco the son of the Doge. They both scheme to have Marco named as the successor to his father as Doge, but the full ramification of their plotting places the throne of Terre D’Ange in danger.

Servio Stregazza: The son of Marie Celeste and Marco, he is the grandson of both Prince Benedicte and the Doge. He meets Phedre while visiting his royal cousin’s court, and is entranced with her beauty, and she assists the young, angry man to accept both his desires, (repressed in the much more conservative Seranissiman society), and who he is as a Prince of the D’Angeline royal house. He is not as involved in the political plotting of his parents, and is much more honest about himself and his dealings than many of the Stregazza. He fears his grandfather, Benedicte, will chose to give his ‘little court’ to his new son, Imriel, and pass over his grandson.

Kazan Atribades: A pirate on the seas between La Serenissima and Illyria, Kazan rescues Phedre, but decides to hold her for ransom. Phedre uses her skills both to influence the wily pirate, but to heal him from the guilt of a crime that he accidentally committed many years before. As their relationship grows from captor to friendship, Kazan and his men are Phedre’s link to assisting her queen in what could be one of her deadliest hours.

Ysandre de la Courcel: Queen of Terre D’Ange, she is conducting a Royal Procession to La Serenissima to visit both her uncle and make her first state visit at the installation of the new Doge. She is unaware of the danger that lies waiting for her in the city.

Duc Barquiel L’Envers: The uncle of the queen, he knows that Melisande Sharhzai is plotting something against Ysandre, and is suspicious of everyone and everything, especially Phedre.

Duc Percy de Sommerville: The commander of the Queen’s Armies, he took over at Troyes-le-Mont after the death of the Duc D’Aiglemort, and was there when night that Melisande escaped.


Plot: Phedre is once again drawn into the web of Melisande Sharhzai’s schemes as a mysterious package arrives at her home in Montreve, drawing her and a reluctant and resentful Joscelin, along with her chevaliers, to La Serenissima on the search for Melisande. While Phedre makes a pretense of being courted by Servio Stregazza, she starts to see the undercurrents of intrigue that wind from La Serenissima back to Troyes-le-Mont. But before she can get work back to Ysandre back in Terre D’Ange, she is betrayed in the worst way, and sent to the lonely, maddening prison of La Dolorosa to rot. Hope is revived when Joscelin comes to her rescue, but an accidental turn causes Phedre to be tumbled into the sea, to be rescued by the likes of an Illyrian pirate and his crew. Now using her new found friends and allies, Phedre attempts to get word to her queen and prevent an attempted assassination before it is too late.

Themes:

Be careful of who you trust: One of the key themes in this book is in knowing who to trust and who not to trust. Phedre, who has grown enormously since the first book, still has problems in implicit assumptions on the trustworthiness of people, and in at least two cases in the story nearly has everything fall to ruins because of her implicit trust in people, (much as with Melisande in the first story). This is both boon for Phedre, as that means she has very near and dear people in her life, but it also tends to get her in trouble. It’s something that everyone must learn to deal with at some point in their lives growing up.

You always hurt the one you love: In Phedre’s case, she likes to be hurt, but sometimes it isn’t good for you, and it isn’t good to hurt them back. Often we let our own problems and issues cloud our minds from what is really important in any situation, that we love them and they love us, and that in the end is enough. And because of that, Joscelin and Phedre have to do a lot of painful soul searching and live with some hard truths before it all comes to right again. But in the end, their love comes out stronger for it.

Respect the faith of others: One of the things the D’Angelines do that I so respect in this book is that they are very aware of the fact that theirs is a young faith in the grand scheme of world religions. Perhaps it is built into the mythos of Elua, the bastard grandchild of the One God, which you must respect the more ancient beliefs and customs of those around you, as they were here first, and have as much claim to their believers as Elua does to his. Because of this, Phedre doesn’t turn her nose up at the worship of Asherat of the Sea, (a type of Venus/Lilith/Earth Mother worship), but respects that this is but another form of the story of the same Earth Mother who birthed Elua, her peoples’ progenitor. Likewise she respects the mystic beliefs of Kazan and of the people of Kriti, knowing that there is power and strength in their beliefs as sure as the power in her own. The fact that she doesn’t dismiss or belittle them, but accepts them as valid in their own right gives Phedre the ability to accept other cultures on face value, rather than through the lens of her own prejudice and perceptions, (though she is a bit stuck up about D’Angeline art, I must say, LOL.)

Accepting who you are, but also accepting those that you love for what they are: It’s one of those painful things you learn as you grow up, that there are things about yourself that you do not like. Teenagers are the worst in this aspect, but even young adults. Many of us hate the fact that we think we are either too fat, or too tall, or that we aren’t ‘cool’ enough. It’s hard reconciling who and what we are, our true selves, to the world’s expectations of us. Even worse is when the people who care for clash with those perceptions as well, which cause us to question even more and to search for ourselves in different ways. Some of us, like Joscelin, seek out those answers through religion. Others, like Servio, fight against what we are, and become angry about everyone and everything. It often takes many trials, but eventually people figure it out, sometimes it is quickly, and sometimes it takes years. But in the end, they can find contentment, something we find with Servio’s aunt and uncle, who live beyond the politics of La Serenissima, even though they are involved in it. They are unconventional by the standards of their culture, but they find personal happiness, and this is all any of us can ask for.

Every book sucks somewhere: Unlike Kushiel’s Dart, Which had it’s plot primarily in three locations, (City of Elua, Skaldia, and Alba), Kushiel’s Chosen is a whirlwind of places, torn between Montreve, the City of Elua, La Serenissima, Kazan’s Island, Illyria, Kriti, back to Illyria, and then again to La Serenissima, before the march through northern Caerdicci Unitas, (Italy), back to the City of Elua. I got fairly travel sick just reading the book. There was so much going on that I felt a bit spun around, and wondered how much more you could possibly fit into one huge book. While the plot worked well, it was a lot of stuff going on, and sometimes I felt like I wanted Carey to just get to the point already.

I was also not terribly sure what the point of the Yeshuite subplot was, save to show Joscelin’s trouble coping with the choices he had made in the first book and Phedre’s return to Naamah’s Service. I find the Yeshuites interesting, especially as they do figure prominently in later books, but it’s a tad confusing as to what their purpose in this one was. I feel as if Carey is building up to something with the Yeshuites, (indeed, you see more and more of this as the books progress), but it’s not clear at this moment, so part of you is asking yourself, “Um, OK, but why?” Perhaps I should just be patient. Still, I like the Yeshuite subplot a lot, but like the Jews of Frank Herbert’s Dune novels, I’m kind of scratching my head as to why they are there.

What did I like: Well, everything else! One of the things I love about Carey’s handling of sex and sexuality in these books is that it is so tastefully done. No, it’s not prudish in the least bit, but it isn’t graphic or obscene. It isn’t a trashy romance novel with Fabio on the cover. There are no ‘throbbing swords of masculinity’. Because of the language she uses and the way she writes it, it makes this aspect of D’Angeline culture seem very natural and normal. The fact that they embrace love in all of its forms, even the physical, mean that things we in our society would blush at, they talk about with a frankness that would shock our Puritan souls. But she does it well, and she does it in such a way that it is believable that they would react that way.

This book also gives us an even further glance into the complex politics of D’Angeline society. We see how the courtiers to Ysande’s court react to Phedre when she makes her grand entrance into the Midwinter Ball, and we see how they turn from her when she is supposedly ‘out’ with the Queen. As the politics of the D’Angeline court begin to take more of a precedent in the later books, it is interesting to see how Phedre perceives and plays it as opposed to later on down the line when it is Imriel, her foster son. We also are beginning to see some of the fault lines in the political system that Melisande is using to her advantage, things she pushes or plays with to gain what she desires. Such as the fact that despite her exile, she is fully aware of how a Cruithne husband to the Queen of Terre D’Ange will upset many nobles who will not appreciate a half-Cruithne child of the union ruling over the Land of Elua. They would perhaps welcome a pureblooded child of the line of Elua, and she knows of one such person, far from his homeland, who would appreciate the chance of returning to the place he was exiled from in triumph. This extra layer of politics adds depth to the world we got to know in the first book, and sets up the intrigues that we begin to learn better in the later books.

How would I rate this wormy book: I would rate this book as a big, FAT WORM. I don’t think it is as strong a book as the first one, Kushiel’s Dart, but it is a wonderful read, and it gets us further into the world of Terre D’Ange and the people outside of the borders of the country. It’s a good follow up to the wonderful first story.