A Shadow In Summer by Daniel Abraham

Synopsis From Dust Jacket:

The city-state of Saraykeht dominates the Summer Cities.  It's wealth is beyond measure; it's port is open to all the merchants of the world, and it's ruler, the Khai Saraykeht, commands forces to rival the Gods.  Commerce and trade fill the streets with a hundred languages, and the coffers of the wealthy with jewels and gold.  Any desire, however exotic or base, can be satisfied in the soft quarter.  Blissfully ignorant of the forces that fule their prosperity, the people live and work secure in the knowledge that their city is a bastion of progress in a harsh world.  It would be a tragedy if it fell....

I briefly considered adding in the rest of the synopsis that the book gives but it would have been 4 more pharagraphs before I got to what I thought of the book.  I wish that publishers would keep some of the secrets of the book off the dust jacket, if they want us to read everything in the synopsis, they they shouldn't publish the entire book.  So now that I got that off my chest, I will let you know what I'm thinking after finishing this a few weeks ago.

This was a fantasy series and an author I was not familiar with but I found the hardcover at The Dollar Tree for $1 so I thought I would at least give it a try.  The worst that could have happened was that I wasted a dollar.   Well I'm glad to say that while I may not have loved the book I don't think my money was wasted.

I'm not sure you could call a story that mainly takes place inside the bounds of one city to be epic fantasy but it did have all the other elements.  A strong cast of characters that you really do end up liking, even the "bad" ones and a unique magic system that I found to be an intersting take on a society with limited magic. 

I guess I should explain the "magic" first.  The book takes the premise that all magic is put towards capturing an idea and turning it into human form.  One of the oldest andats, what they call the captured ideas, was Rain, but when she escaped she was recaptured as Falling Water and so on and so on.  Each idea can only be captured once by any given name.  Hence the poet is trained to verbalize that idea in a different way.  The current adant in this book is named Seedless, because the concept they turned into a andat was taking what makes something reproduce away.  Hence cotton seeds can be pulled out of large bales of cotton with one command or an entire nation of pregnant women could have their babies pulled out of their wombs.  You can see why each city-state has a poet-sorcerer who has command of one of these andats.  With that much power you can assure the peace and tranquility of your city.  It's a brilliant idea that I'm really interested in exploring further in the rest of the books.

The main protagonists are two young men, Otah and Maati, who were current and former "apprentices" to the poet-sorcerers and Amat who was the buisness manager of one of the major trading houses along with her assistant Liat who is involved with both of the young men.  Their role is to save the city from being destoryed by those who want to see Seedless disappear for forever and want to conqueor the city.  They are an interesting group of characters and for the most part they are believable in thier roles and you find yourself cheering for them without even realizing that you liked them. 

The only other thing I wanted to touch on with this book was the very Asian feel the characters had in name and in title.  Appearance is never really discuess within the book but between the characterization, the formal bowing and hand posing which they use to convey emotion or intent, and the formal tea taking all lend that "Asian" feel as well as a sense of refinement to the book that I was not expecting.  Now this could be the fact the book I read before this one was set in Ancient Japan, but I think it was intentional on the authors part, at least I hope it is.

This is the first book in a quartet and I am looking forward to the rest of the books to find out how their journey finishes.

Billie Myers sings "Tell Me"

I've always liked this song more than "Kiss the Rain" which was her big hit of the album.

Start of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics

Today marked the begining of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and I couldn't be more excited.  I have been an Olympics junkie since I was a kid and I still feel like  I'm my son's age when I sit down in front of the TV and watch some of the best atheletes in the world compete in some amazing sports.

Sadly with the death of Georgian luger, Nodar Kumaritashvili, during a training run today, they are getting off to a depressing start but I know the rest of the athletes will, in part, dedicate their own competitions to the memory of a young man who paid the ultimate price to fullfill his dreams.

I'm getting ready to watch the opening ceremony with my son and hopefully I will get to watch a few games of curling, don't ask.  So for the next 16 days I will be spending all my free time, watching some of the best athletes in the world go for their dreams and hopefully my son will learn that reagardless of where the athletes place, it's the journey and dedication that counts most. 

Besides, the mascots this year are awfully cute.

Sumi: a thunderbird that enjoys alpine skiing in Whistler

Quatchi: a Sasquatch, and a cute one at that

Miga: a cute, huggable, dance-crazy, flying sea bear

The Dragon Scroll by I.J. Parker

Synopsis From Back Cover:

In eleventh-century Japan, Sugawara Akitada is an impoverished nobleman and earnest young government clerk in the Ministry of Justice.  On his first official assignment, he is sent from the captial city on a nearly impossible mission to the distant province of Kazusa to discover why tax convoys are disappearing.  In the politically murky world of the Japanese court, he has been set up to fail.  However, the ever-resourceful Akitada, his elderly servant, Seimei, and his impudent bodyguard Tora, are determined to fulfill their mission and discover the truth in a town of dangerous secrets.  In an adventure filled with highway bandits, unscrupulous politicians, and renegade monks, The Dragon Scroll introduces readers to the captivating world of ancient Japan and an irrepressible new hero.

Now after reading that synopsis you would think this is a book full of wonderfully fun characters set in a totally unfamiliar world to most readers, and you would be half right.  This is an unfamiliar world to most of us and because of that I find myself not really caring for the characters all that much.  The men tend to be sexist and overly hung up on "class" and how people fit into categories that are neither flexible or forgiving.  The women are either meek and seeking protection from the men or devious vixens bent on eliminating anything in their way.  Now there is one exception to that last part and for that I'm honestly grateful to the writer. Ayako is actually a fearless "warrior" woman who teaches martial arts and sleeps with whoever she chooses to, but in the end she is still forced to play by the rules and marry a man that is acceptable class wise as opposed to who she might really want to be with.

Now this isn't the fault of the charcters, the time the story is set in is to blame.  This was a time period where women had their place and class was so culturally ingrained that it's part of who they are.  It's not fair to read a book, set in another time and place, and judge it by todays' standards equality and social justice.  Of course it's always easy to say that, then to actually, on some level, not react to what you are reading using your own moral compass.

Now, after all that, if you think I didn't enjoy this book, then you are very much mistaken.  Regardless of what I think of Akitada as a person, I found this to be a wonderfuly crafted mystery filled with missing gold and murder all around.  The author has crafted a wonderfully intricate story with so many layers, you aren't really able to see how they work together until the story is over.  Once the "solution" is sprung on you, you may just end up kicking yourself in the ass for not figuring out why the prologue was important or relevant to the rest of the story.

I'm really looking forward to the rest of the series, one of which I've already read, but will be reading again in order.  Because of that unfair advantage I can tell you that Akitada does become more likeable as the books go on and as he matures.  I would recomend this series to anyone who enjoyes a well crafted mystery set in a beautifully imagined world.

This will fall under the Thriller & Suspense Reading Challenge 2010 hosted by Carolyn of Book Chick City.

Word Verification Balderdash

For those of you unfamiliar with the greatness that is Balderdash, here is what you do. You write down all the word verifications you come across as you are commenting on other people's blogs. Then you play balderdash with them. Now for those of you who don't know how to play, you take a made up word and come up with an authentic sounding definition of it. Do this for a week and post your best ones on Thursday.

Come back and leave a link to your post and I will add it to the bottom of the post.

Here are mine for this week:

Cryptoy:  New line of desinger toys marketed to the Goth demographic.  Some of the first ones are a remote control coffin with rattling bones, a Graveyard version of Monopoly, and a fortune telling shrunken head.  The will be hitting the shelves of the retailer Hot Topic within the next few weeks.

Shashaw:  The prison where deposed Shas are held while waiting execution.  Their cells are well furnished with all the food and concubines they can desire in order to make their last days as pleasent as possible.

Lovdom:  Pleasure domes where all you romantic fantasies come true.  They were built by the Ronsom corporation a few years ago as a way to control an ever disruptive population.  The domes are filled with all the romance that anyone would desire.  Candelight dinners, long walks on the beach, picnics in a field of clover, or even a wonderous Summer time hot air balloon ride with the man or woman you want.  There is a darkside to them as well.  Once the romance fades, which it often times does, the client normally ends up in a deep state of despair and unhappieness.

Barwat:  New bar stool designed to send a small electric shock up the back of the patron once the bartender thinks they are drinking too much.

Here are some other players this week:

Alexia's Books and Such...

My World

Favorite Fictional Character --- Flipper

How could you not fall head over heels in love Flipper or want to be those two boys who got to grow up around a dolphin that was not only highly intelligent but a lot of fun. 

This was one of my favorite show growing up eventhough it only lasted for 3 seasons, it has left a lasting impression on me.  For those of you who aren't familiar with the show, the basic premise was a single father who was a game warden raised his two sons by himself.  Flipper was a cross between friend, pet, and mascot.  He helped them out with their adventures and was always there to lend a helping flipper (yes the pun was bad, sorry). 

I always wanted to join in on the adventures and swim with this amazing animal who almost seemed human at times.  I find myself wishing they made more shows where an animal was the central character.  There was an innocence about them that is missing in today's television, and it's sorely missed.
 

Houses of Stone by Barbara Michaels

Synopsis From Dust Jacket:

When young professor of English Karen Holloway happens on a privately printed volume of verse dating from the early nineteenth century, it's all in a day's work.  But when a battered manuscript bearing the same mysterious attribution, "Ismene", turn ups, Karen realizes that it is an important discovery that could be the makin of her academic career.

Karen immerses herelf in a headlong search for the true identity of the unknown author, tracking the provenance of the manuscript to Virginia's historic Tidewater region.  She is not alone in her quest; academic rivals shadow her steps, trying to gain possession of the valuable manuscript, and the locals are more inquisitive about her activities that seems natural.

Fortunately, Karen has the help of her eccentric and able mentor, Peggy, whos historical expertise proves to be invaluable.  And, as she painstakingly deciphers the crabbed, charred pages, she begins to wonder whether she has the assistance of Ismene herself.  Is the tale of Gothic horror that Ismene tells not a novel but a memoir, the very possession of which may jeopardize Karen's life?  Ismene's legacy calls out from the past, form an eerie world fraught with terrifying impressions of fire and ice that will not die until the painful truths that inhabit the houses of stone are revealed.

This was my first Barbara Michaels book and I'm so mad at myself for not reading her earlier.  This book hit all the right notes as far as atmosphere and character development.  While I was reading the book I found myself getting lost in the serach for Ismene's real identity.  I found myself jumping at the wailing heard in the woods, my heart started to beat a little faster when Karen's aparment caught fire and she had to jump for it.  I anticipated every clue that Karen dug up about Ismene and her life and I cheered when she finally solved the identity of the author.

Barbara Michaels is a wonderfuly descriptive writer who manages to capture every nuance of a rundown manor house, the cut throat world of academia, and the all too difficult paths that two people can take to find eachother.  The only quibble I have is that I found the ending rather rushed as if the author ran out of space to fully flesh it out.  Overall though I found this to be a wonderfuly written mystery and I'm now a Barbara Michaels fan for life.

This will qualify for the Thriller & Suspense Reading Challenge 2010 sponsored by Carolyn of Book Chick City.