Second Breakfast

These are the first two installments in a four-book series by Abraham, for whom this is his first series (he’s published some short fiction as well).  I’m quite impressed with these first two installments, which have an original style and tone, and are not burdened with the usual tropes of medieval European fantastic literature, or a retelling of LOTR or some variation on Arthurian tales.

Abraham’s milieu is an Asian-inspired place, a loose federation of feudal city-states whose people live in allegiance to their local Khai, a semi-dynastic ruler.  The Khai and their cities are protected and supported by the andat, who are a spiritual being who are created and controlled by so-called Poets, who bind the andat for the duration of their lives.  The andat are embodiments in human form of a particular idea, described and bound through the precise and complex grammars of ancient languages.  The two that we encounter in these two books are Removing-the-Part-that-Continues (aka “Seedless”) and Stone-Made-Soft.  Both have tremendous power in their very limited sphere, and represent sort of the “weapons of mass destruction” that the cities of the Khaiem hold and wield to keep themselves safe in a world of hostile powers.

The first two books center around a particular character, Otah, who is a “surplus” sixth son of one of the Khaiem.  According to tradition, only the first three sons can inherit their father’s chair, and the younger sons can either accept ritual branding to denounce their claim, enter the Poet’s school (sort of the priesthood), or be hunted down and killed by his elder brothers.  Deciding that none of these choices are acceptable, he changes his name and goes into hiding.Events involving geopolitics, the andat Seedless,  various plots, and the impending death of Otah’s father make this self-imposed exile impossible, and a complex and interesting story unfolds through the first two books.

Abraham’s writing is spare and lean.  He sketches character, places, ideas with a great economy of words, with a good balance of characterizations, description, and narrative.  The andat are the only element of the fantastic here — the overall narrative more about relationships, choices, and consequences than about magic or the great “saga” themes.  That is in itself an achievement in an fantasy genre littered with “me too” authors.  If I have a complaint, its that perhaps Abraham’s writing is a bit too spare.  I would have liked more time with these characters, places, and ideas.  I guess that’s why I’ll have to wait for the next two books.

Highly recommended.

Yes, muppets (well, Avenue Q I guess)…

This is the second time I have read Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” trilogy. I picked it up a few years ago at the prompting of a scholarly friend of mine who was trying to find adult folks who had read, what they thought of it, and what they thought it meant. I enjoyed them as good fantastic and children’s literature (and a good adventure story), but boy I can’t say I entirely got what Pullman was getting at with this Victorian yarn involving an alternate world where humans have animal/daemon companions (an extension of the soul?), adults who behave abominably toward children, talking warrior-bears, magical “Dust” falling from space which is imbued with all sorts of meaning, and great deal of metaphysics.
What prompted to to re-read “The Golden Compass” this time is that New Line Cinema has made it into a film set for release this December (website, IMDB). Based on the previews and stills, this looks to be a visually beautiful adaptation of this book, and should be exciting to watch.

But even after a second re-reading, I still don’t feel like I quite understand what Pullman is doing. The Lyra protagonist character is interesting and sympathetic, and she thrives despite being ignored by and used as a pawn in a complex game played by her mother and father. What’s most interesting I think about the book is Pullman’s creative use of langauge as a means of establishing the “alternate” feeling of his world, which is much like ours in geography and peoples, but different in some important ways that is revealed as the story unfolds. He does do a good job of treating his intended young readers as intelligent people, so there is no special exposition except for a one-sentence introduction, and it takes a little patience initially to figure out what is going on and why.

But underlying this whole story is a big set of questions about good and evil, God and humanity, and the relationships between all of them. And after reading the three books the first time, I can’t say I really recall feeling like I knew what Pullman was getting at. Hopefully this time ’round I’ll be clever enough to appreciate it.

I kid you not.

www.mormonsexposed.com

Mostly Safe for Work

This book is sub-titled “A Novel of the Dominion”, which makes me think that this is the beginning of a series. There’s certainly enough interesting material here to warrant further development, and Kadrey’s quirky style is interesting and fun.

The basic premise of this book would be familiar to Neverwhere fans, but with a definite Buffy/Angel flavor. Spyder Lee is a tattoo artist in San Francisco. After a mugging by a demonic attacker in a back alley, Spyder discovers that the world is far different than he imagined it to be, full of angels, demons, and a variety of strange monsters. Infected with magical sight which reveals these wonders, he is unable to return to his former life.

He is thrust into a metaphysical conflict that takes him to the depths of Hell itself, and he ends up playing a pivotal role in a battle for control over the netherworld.

Spyder is a reasonably entertaining anti-hero, but the most interesting character I think here is Lucifer, which Kadrey portrays in a particularly sympathetic manner, and who seems like much more of a “nice guy” (or at least an understandable one) than I’ve ever seen before. Subversive? Perhaps.

It reminds me of this little gem, which I’ve quoted elsewhere:

In his Bostan, Saadi of Shiraz stated an important truth
when he told this miniature tale:

A man met another, who was handsome, intelligent, and elegant. He asked
him who he was. The other said: “I am the Devil.”
“But you cannot be,” said the first man, “for the Devil
is evil and ugly.”
“My friend,” said Satan, “you have been listening to my
detractors.”

- Idries Shah Reflections, (taken from Burke, James / Ornstein The Axemaker’s
Gift)