Book Log 5/2012 - Cory Doctorow: Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town

This hard-to-categorise book probably should come under the heading of just plain weird. Weird but fascinating. Alan appears to be human but isn't. His father is a mountain, his mother is a washing machine and his six brothers are, variously: a seer, an island, an undead homicidal maniac and a set of three Russian nesting dolls. All their names change sentence by sentence. Alan may be Ashton, or Abe or anything beginning with A. The seer brother has a range of names beginning with B and so on and so forth.

There are various different plot strands involving Alan and his present life in modern Toronto and his childhood living in a cave inside his father in remote Kapuskasing in Northern Ontario. In the present Alan works with his punk friend, Kurt, to set up a wireless network to give free internet access to the residents of his home area in Toronto using only reclaimed technology recovered during Kurt's dumpster diving expeditions. We also meet Alan's house-sharing neighbours, a bunch of disaffected youngsters, and also see Alan's childhood in flashbacks. We learn about Danny's (literally) murderous behaviour and how Alan feels responsible. When Danny (Dave, Don, Dwight or anything beginning with D) comes back from the dead and starts to stalk Alan and threaten Alan's friends and family, something has to be done.

In the meantime Alan has become involved in the problems of the neighbours, in particular Mimi who, like Alan, isn't quite human, (she has wings), and Krishna her unpleasant boyfriend who is one of the few who recognises the not-quite-humans trying to fit in to society.

The plot strands do mesh, but only in the messiest, most chaotic way, pretty much like life. There is a revelation at the end, but that part feels a bit rushed. It's not a comfortable read. Despite some minor gripes it's fascinating and totally original and kept me turning pages.

Now that I've finished it, however, I think I need a little lie down in a darkened room. My brain is still spinning.

Book Log 5/2012 - Cory Doctorow: Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town

This hard-to-categorise book probably should come under the heading of just plain weird. Weird but fascinating. Alan appears to be human but isn't. His father is a mountain, his mother is a washing machine and his six brothers are, variously: a seer, an island, an undead homicidal maniac and a set of three Russian nesting dolls. All their names change sentence by sentence. Alan may be Ashton, or Abe or anything beginning with A. The seer brother has a range of names beginning with B and so on and so forth.

There are various different plot strands involving Alan and his present life in modern Toronto and his childhood living in a cave inside his father in remote Kapuskasing in Northern Ontario. In the present Alan works with his punk friend, Kurt, to set up a wireless network to give free internet access to the residents of his home area in Toronto using only reclaimed technology recovered during Kurt's dumpster diving expeditions. We also meet Alan's house-sharing neighbours, a bunch of disaffected youngsters, and also see Alan's childhood in flashbacks. We learn about Danny's (literally) murderous behaviour and how Alan feels responsible. When Danny (Dave, Don, Dwight or anything beginning with D) comes back from the dead and starts to stalk Alan and threaten Alan's friends and family, something has to be done.

In the meantime Alan has become involved in the problems of the neighbours, in particular Mimi who, like Alan, isn't quite human, (she has wings), and Krishna her unpleasant boyfriend who is one of the few who recognises the not-quite-humans trying to fit in to society.

The plot strands do mesh, but only in the messiest, most chaotic way, pretty much like life. There is a revelation at the end, but that part feels a bit rushed. It's not a comfortable read. Despite some minor gripes it's fascinating and totally original and kept me turning pages.

Now that I've finished it, however, I think I need a little lie down in a darkened room. My brain is still spinning.

Book Log 6/2012 - N. M. Browne: Wolf Blood

It's taken me a while to get to read brownnicky's 2011 book from Bloomsbury, Wolf Blood. I held off while I was revising my magic pirate book because I knew she had a wolf shapechanger in her story and I didn't wan t to be unconsciously influenced when writing my wolf shapechanger. With the current popularity of werewolf books in urban fantasy it's hugely refreshing to find a werewolf that's very different from all the hunky, hairy beasties as seen in the Kitty books and even Patricia Briggs' excellent Mercy Thompson books (which I love BTW.) And Nicky's book is hardly urban.

Set in first century Britain as the Roman legions are advancing, It's beautifully and engagingly drawn with a tight focus on the two main characters, Trista, a British warrior seeress, and Morcant, half British, half Roman and as the story begins, a soldier in Rome's army. But that's about to change because Morcant, although he may not know it or like it, is a wolf shapechanger. The point of view, told in first person, shifts between Trista and Morcant though Trista probably tells at least two thirds of the tale.

It opens with Trista, a trained warrior woman, currently a slave of a rival tribe where she disguises her combat skills and bides her time until she can escape. Free at last Trista stumbles through the dangerously cold winter night and, exhausted, comes across two Roman soldiers, one of whom is Morcant. Trista can see the wolf, but Morcant is unaware of what he is until things come to a head. With the wolf inside him free and getting stronger, Morcant can't return to his legion so the two go on the run together, uneasy companions at first, fearing both Roman and British.

There's plenty of action and a fair amount of bloody carnage as Trista and Morcant battle their way through dangerous situations to reach Caratacus, leader of the British, and take a stand against the Romans. The plotting is tight and exciting, but it's the characters and developing relationship between Trista and Morcant that's at the heart of this story. Trista has been damaged by her dark visions, the loss of her husband in battle and her subsequent captivity and ill-treatment. Morcant, although legally a citizen of Rome, is neither accepted by his father's people nor his mother's. As a shapechanger people fear him and as a wolf he's also outside the pack. Trista and Morcant have more in common with each other than with anyone else, though their road isn't smooth.

I think this is supposed to be for the 10 -12 age range, but it reads more like a YA. Though this isn't unusual as N. M. Browne's other excellent historical fantasies, (Warriors of Alavna etc.) similarly read 'older' to me. This is beautiful, literate and very focused writing with a remarkable amount of realistic detail and absolutely believable magic. The description, while never laboured, is so sensual that you can almost taste and smell this book.

I've recently re-read Rosemary Sutcliff's Eagle of the Ninth trilogy and N. M. Browne is easily the modern day inheritor of Sutcliff's historical-literary crown.

Book Log 6/2012 - N. M. Browne: Wolf Blood

It's taken me a while to get to read brownnicky's 2011 book from Bloomsbury, Wolf Blood. I held off while I was revising my magic pirate book because I knew she had a wolf shapechanger in her story and I didn't wan t to be unconsciously influenced when writing my wolf shapechanger. With the current popularity of werewolf books in urban fantasy it's hugely refreshing to find a werewolf that's very different from all the hunky, hairy beasties as seen in the Kitty books and even Patricia Briggs' excellent Mercy Thompson books (which I love BTW.) And Nicky's book is hardly urban.

Set in first century Britain as the Roman legions are advancing, It's beautifully and engagingly drawn with a tight focus on the two main characters, Trista, a British warrior seeress, and Morcant, half British, half Roman and as the story begins, a soldier in Rome's army. But that's about to change because Morcant, although he may not know it or like it, is a wolf shapechanger. The point of view, told in first person, shifts between Trista and Morcant though Trista probably tells at least two thirds of the tale.

It opens with Trista, a trained warrior woman, currently a slave of a rival tribe where she disguises her combat skills and bides her time until she can escape. Free at last Trista stumbles through the dangerously cold winter night and, exhausted, comes across two Roman soldiers, one of whom is Morcant. Trista can see the wolf, but Morcant is unaware of what he is until things come to a head. With the wolf inside him free and getting stronger, Morcant can't return to his legion so the two go on the run together, uneasy companions at first, fearing both Roman and British.

There's plenty of action and a fair amount of bloody carnage as Trista and Morcant battle their way through dangerous situations to reach Caratacus, leader of the British, and take a stand against the Romans. The plotting is tight and exciting, but it's the characters and developing relationship between Trista and Morcant that's at the heart of this story. Trista has been damaged by her dark visions, the loss of her husband in battle and her subsequent captivity and ill-treatment. Morcant, although legally a citizen of Rome, is neither accepted by his father's people nor his mother's. As a shapechanger people fear him and as a wolf he's also outside the pack. Trista and Morcant have more in common with each other than with anyone else, though their road isn't smooth.

I think this is supposed to be for the 10 -12 age range, but it reads more like a YA. Though this isn't unusual as N. M. Browne's other excellent historical fantasies, (Warriors of Alavna etc.) similarly read 'older' to me. This is beautiful, literate and very focused writing with a remarkable amount of realistic detail and absolutely believable magic. The description, while never laboured, is so sensual that you can almost taste and smell this book.

I've recently re-read Rosemary Sutcliff's Eagle of the Ninth trilogy and N. M. Browne is easily the modern day inheritor of Sutcliff's historical-literary crown.