Tag: the help desk

Forest of Memory by Mary Robinette Kowal

Forest of Memory by Mary Robinette Kowal

Katya lives in a futuristic world where everyone and everything is linked to the web. Her AI speaks in her ear and fills her vision telling her about the people around her, their histories, past business deals, and anything that could be of interest to her in her job as an “Authenticities” (basically antiques) dealer. One day, on her way back from a purchase, she sees a man shoot a deer (very illegal) and realizes that her connection to the web has crashed, leaving her marooned in the real world with a potential maniac. What’s he doing and is she going to survive?

I see where Kowal was trying to take this novella, but it didn’t really work for me. She wrote as her narrator, trying to recount a story without the use of computers, which, in this world is particularly difficult as everyone in the future uses computers to remember anything, and shows her discomfort at her disconnected state by inserting misspellings and typos. But, she didn’t do this consistently… it was just random enough for me to forget that she was using this device and say to myself, “Typo!” and then remember that it was supposed to be there. So, it turned into this annoying distraction.

I was most interested in Katya’s job as an Authenticities dealer, but, when Kowal moved the story off the grid, that essentially removed that element. In this passage, Katya’s analyzing a typewriter: “It looked to be from the mid-twentieth century, though without picking it up or using my loupe, I couldn’t confirm that. The fine dust caked into the grooves around the base seemed real enough, though. Most people who print fakes know enough to add dust to make it seem older, but they usually put it on too thickly and without regard for the use patterns of everyday objects.” pg 7, ebook. The parts that I loved the most read like a futuristic Antiques Road Show, which would have been awesome if the story had continued along that vein.

The novella reached for depths that it never really explored, but this passage caught my attention: “It feels like he wanted me there to bear witness, but maybe it was just an opportunity that presented itself because I stopped. If I hadn’t, if I had biked on through, would I have known that this was a cusp point in my life? Probably not. It makes you wonder, doesn’t it, how many other cusp points you sail through in life without any awareness.” pg 11 ebook. I do wonder about that. Life seems to be a series of stumblings and fortunate events but is it really as random as it seems? If you take one road, instead of another, does it even matter? Aware or not, life unfolds… I don’t know. What do you think?

What ruined this short read for me was that I didn’t get the ending at all. I essentially had to go back and read it all again, but then I still had a moment of “Huh?” Katya describes my over-arching feelings well: “There were so few things that made sense about the whole experience; I’m not sure why I expected events to suddenly appear orderly and rational now.” pg 25, ebook

I do not recommend Forest of Memory unless you’re looking for a puzzling sci fi read that raises the question of reliance on AI at the expense of everything else. And, if you find deeper meaning in it than I did, please do explain it to me. Thanks for reading!

Railsea by China Miéville

Railsea by China Miéville

“This is the story of a bloodstained boy.” That’s the first line of this strange and fantastical tale of giant creatures that “swim” in the earth’s soil and the brave and flawed “molers” who chase them for profit and life purpose. Miéville has created a dystopian world covered in railway ties with skies poisoned by chemicals and filled with monstrous, alien creatures who feast on those who get too close. But, there may just be something beyond the rails, if the characters in this story are determined and lucky enough to see their way through to the end of the world… Though based off of the tale of Moby Dick, Railsea is an engaging adventure and coming of age story that reads like nothing else I’ve ever experienced. Miéville has blended together steampunk, dytopian, and fantasy elements to create something completely different.

Sham is a boy on the cusp of manhood who can’t quite figure out what he wants to do with his adulthood: “Sham felt sure there was something he fervently wanted to do & to which he was excellently suited. Which made the more frustrating that he could not say what it was. Too vague about his interests for further study; too cautious in company, perhaps a little bruised by less-than-stellar school days, to thrive in sales or service; too young & sluggish to excel at heavy work: Sham’s tryings-out of various candidate activities left him het up.” pg 36, ebook. Anyone who has ever been lost about what path to follow in life will be able to empathize with Sham.

Miéville’s story, like Moby Dick has layers of meaning built into it: “Edging such places is the railseaside, called the littoral zone. Those are the shorelands. Port towns, from where transport, freight & hunting trains set out. Where lighthouses light ways past rubbish reefs breaking earth. “Give me the inland or give me the open rails,” say both the railsailor & the landlubber, “only spare me the littoral-minded.” pg 51 ebook. Clever, no? A warning, if you don’t enjoy reads where the author makes up words to tell the story, you may want to skip Railsea. There’s a bunch of creative adjectives and nouns mixed up in this one.

The religions of this world were a fascinating too. I wish Miéville had explored them more: “He muttered in his head to That Apt Ohm, the great rotund boss-god, one of the few deities worshipped across the railsea, whatever the peculiarities of local pantheons. Bollons was ecumenical, granted church-licences to any deities whose worshippers could pay the fees. But the disrespectful worship of That Apt Ohm was taken more seriously there, pursued with more verve, than at most stops on the railsea. Sham had no idea quite what, if anything, he believed, but there seemed little harm in a quick silent word with one of the few gods whose name he remembered.” pg 100, ebook.

Part of the homage to Moby Dick, finding a captain’s “philosophy”: “How many of these philosophies were out there? Not every captain of the Stereggeye Lands had one, but a fair proportion grew into a close antipathy-cum-connection with one particular animal, which they came to realise or decide-to decidalise-embodied meanings, potentialities, ways of looking at the world. At a certain point, & it was hard to be exact but you knew it when you saw it, the usual cunning thinking about professional prey switched onto a new rail & became something else- a faithfulness to an animal that was now a world-view.” pg 130 ebook. What’s your white mole?

I enjoyed Railsea but I can see how this writer might not be for everyone. He uses fragmented sentences and ampersands (&) to move the story along. The chapters are incredibly short which also kept the pace rolling but it could also be viewed as making the novel choppy. Sometimes, Miéville breaks through the fourth wall and addresses the reader directly. I thought that device was charming, conjuring up images in my mind of storytellers sitting in front of the fire or at a pub. But, again, this may not work for everyone.

Some read-alikes for Railsea: Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness or Under the Empyrean Sky by Chuck Wendig.  Thanks for reading!

Miss Jane by Brad Watson

Miss Jane by Brad Watson

Confession time: I picked this one up because of the cover. I do that sometimes. Who could resist that peacock? It’s an exciting method of book selection because I read novels I would have never considered otherwise and occasionally discover a gem. Miss Jane is, fortunately, one of those gems.

Miss Jane is about Jane Chisolm- an extraordinary girl born in the deep South in the early 19th century with a physical deformity so extreme that she can never have children or even control her bowels. Though Jane struggles with her handicap, it doesn’t define her and she manages to have a beautiful and meaningful life in an otherwise hardscrabble, country existence. Jane’s father is an alcoholic, brewing his own stuff during prohibition, and her mother is deeply unhappy with their relationship, her life, and the world. Jane’s sister, Grace, just wants out of her childhood home and will do anything to achieve that goal. Jane’s doctor, Dr. Thompson, delivers Jane into the world and then spends the rest of his life trying to help her improve the quality of her existence and to also educate the medical community about her condition (there was very little information on it at the time). Miss Jane is based on one of Brad Watson’s actual relatives and I found it to be a fascinating study of not only the South at the turn of the century, but also how poor farming communities handled day-to-day drudgery, poor prospects, and major differences of mind and body.

The farm and nature portions of the story read a lot like a southern, more adult version of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books, which I’ve always loved, so I guess it’s no huge surprise that I enjoyed this as well. I also loved the way that he wrote about dogs on the farm. Here’s Mr. Chisolm and his hound:“You got the face of bored sadness,” he said to the dog. The dog didn’t take umbrage. Came over beside his left foot and plopped down with a heavy sigh as if he were the one going through all the trouble on this evening.” pg 16 ebook. The peacock from the cover makes an appearance in the story as well, but that has a lot to do with Jane’s condition and I’ll let Watson tell you that detail in his own, lovely way.

Here’s Dr. Thompson, trying to understand the attitudes of the country folk he treats: “Sometimes he was astonished how often he forgot people’s cruel ignorance, people who’d never been anywhere but the little hamlets where they were born, raised, and would die. Not that he hadn’t known plenty of so-called sophisticated people with the same attitude.” pg 39 ebook. Dr. Thompson is a complicated character. He’s highly educated and open minded, but prone to indulging in vices like Mr. Chisolm’s homemade alcohol and prostitutes. Dr. Thompson sees the worst of those he treats- the abuse and neglect- but also their sacrifices and loves. At first, it seems that he only cares for Jane as a medical oddity, but as the story progresses, he comes to love her as a father figure.

In some ways, the isolated world that Jane grew up in was perfect for her. Take the description of her grade school: “It was a small school that took the community children all the way from first grade to high school graduation, and there were not many enrolled, so the environment was relatively intimate, like some great, overgrown family, in a way. The children seemed to know and understand one another like siblings, whether lovingly, or with hostility, or with the purposeful ignoring of this one or that.” pg 58 ebook. That’s the positive and negative of growing up in a small town- that everyone knows everyone else’s business.

Jane’s struggle to fit in is written very beautifully by Watson: “She’d never put a word to the sadness she could sometimes feel, especially in the last couple of years, that would linger at the edge of her thoughts like the invisible ghost of someone she thought she recognized but didn’t know who it was, some kind of familiar she couldn’t quite grasp.” pg 127 ebook

Or this: “She stayed so busy and tired that it seemed like time didn’t matter anymore. Didn’t so much pass as disappear, like memories neglected and forgotten. Years can slip away in such a manner, in such a life.” pg 156 ebook.

A read-alike for Miss Jane: Bull Mountain by Brian Panowich, a story about a family in the deep south but much more violent and with drugs.

Thanks for reading!

Conjured by Sarah Beth Durst

Conjured by Sarah Beth Durst

Eve can’t remember who she is or where she’s from, but there are government agents with her, protecting her. They say that her mind holds the key to solving the case(s) of a serial killer, but she can’t even remember her own parents. How is she going to help save others when she can’t even recall what happened last week? And, why is she able to make birds fly out of wallpaper? That’s not normal… is it?

Conjured is a fluffy, young adult fantasy that tip-toes around the horror genre but, mainly, remains safely in the real world of amnesia and teenage angst. This book suffers from a glacial pacing but the mystery part of the story really took me by surprise. As I mentioned, the horror elements in this story are minimal but there are some brief and not terribly graphic descriptions of blood, mental anguish, bondage, imprisonment, physical violence, and creepy circus folk.

My favorite parts of this book happened during Eve’s blackout moments or visions. They read like scary fairy tales: “It always begins with ‘once upon a time,’ my dear. That is how it is, even if ‘once upon a time’ is now.” Gnarled hands separate the strands of my hair and wind them around knuckles. “A witch…for of course there was a witch. There always is, isn’t there? She had stars in her eyes and dust in her hair. She heard the sounds of the forest when she moved and the ocean when she spoke.” pg 14 ebook. The visions set the tone of this story. They’re like nightmares for Eve- profoundly disturbing, but not real. Or are they?

I loved that Eve took a job as a library assistant. The craziest things happen at the library but it was also a place of safety for her when she couldn’t remember anything else: “Libraries… they’re the places with stories,” Eve said. Closing her eyes, she tried to summon up a memory of a library. Shelves of books. Sunlight falling across a table. She saw spiral stairs. It could have been a real place, or Malcolm could have shown her a picture at some point. It felt like a real place.”pg 17, ebook

The extraordinarily slow unfolding of Eve’s background was frustrating:“You can’t do any magic here. There is no magic in this world- that’s why this place is safe for you.” She held her face still. Another hint about her past. He had told her so much in those few sentences, more than he’d ever told her before. There is no magic in this world, she thought. I’m from another world? pg 21, ebook. I don’t know… you tell me!

The teenage love story in Conjured is cute and very John Green-esque:“Because when I’m with you, I feel whole,” he said. “Because with you, life doesn’t feel brutish and short. It feels beautiful… and short.” pg 176 ebook.

So, if you can tolerate an extremely slow reveal, pick up Conjured. Some read-alikes: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (circus themes, slow story) or Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace (a girl is asked by a ghost to help him find someone he’s lost).

Thanks for reading!

Shutter by Courtney Alameda

Shutter by Courtney Alameda

shutterMicheline Helsing is the last of the line of Van Helsings, of monster slaying fame. In this version of the tale, Micheline slays ghosts and otherworldly beings by capturing their visages on film, thereby taking away their power and banishing back to the realms where they belong.

One night, Micheline and her team has a mission go awry and now, because of a curse, they are going to die. Unless, they can find the ghost that caused the sickness, rid the world of it, and save themselves. The clock is ticking…

Shutter was a Brom Stoker award nominee for Best First Novel. That’s what drew me to this creepy tale.

Horror isn’t my usual genre and the scary parts of this tale really scared the heck out of me. If horror is your thing, this one might not be scary enough. Reading is such a personal experience, you know? It’s hard to predict.

Alameda was at her best during the truly terrifying moments, which, in my opinion, were the undead creatures and anything scenario involving a mirror. Everybody has mirrors in their homes. What if, hypothetically, these were portals into other worlds and *things* could come crawling out of them into this one- eeeeeek!

I didn’t enjoy the so-so character building, teen angst or abusive relationship with the father. That could be a potential trigger too.

Micheline is the type of teen heroine that I met in the Divergent trilogy and wasn’t impressed with then: not trusting anyone in authority with her problems even though they could potentially help her, throwing herself into life threatening situations without proper planning and, therefore, putting her friends in danger too, and pining for the lantern-jawed guy with the ridiculously pumped up fighting skills.

If it wasn’t for the insanely entertaining parts with the ghosts, mirrors, strong friendships with her team and tragic back story, this would be a two-star book instead of a four. But, I believe that its positive attributes outweighed the negatives. Again, reading is such a personal trip. You may disagree. And that’s ok.

For a debut book, Shutter is really very good. I read the last couple chapters of this in a rush because I was terrified for the well-being of the main characters.

If you love young adult horror tales, you should give this one a read. Some read-alikes: Jackaby or 13 Days of Midnight. Shutter is scarier than either of those, but they have similar themes.

Thanks for reading!

The Red Queen by Christina Henry

The Red Queen by Christina Henry

redqueenThe second book in The Chronicles of Alice is scheduled to be published on July 12th.

Though it lacked the grittiness and extreme horror of Alice, Red Queen is a fantastic second effort by Henry. We’re reintroduced to Alice and Hatcher as they escape the City and make their way into the wilderness, on a hunt for Hatcher’s long lost daughter, Jenny. Magic, danger, and monsters wait on the path ahead, but those things are nothing compared to what Alice and Hatcher bring with them in their own damaged and twisted minds.

Cheshire, one of my favorite characters, gives a quick summary of the first book in the beginning of this one, in case you didn’t get a chance to read it:“Hatcher and Alice escaped from the hospital, and traveled through the Old City in search of their pasts and in search of a monster called the Jabberwocky who made the streets run with blood and corpses.” The girl shuddered. “I know about him… What about Alice? Did she have a happy ending?” “I don’t know,” Cheshire said.”

Henry weaves enough of the classic tale into her story so that you know that it is a retelling, but still manages to introduce enough original elements in to make it feel entirely new. Like the toll that magic takes on the people who wield it, something that Carroll never addresses: “Maybe power corrupts them,” Alice said. It was a frightening thought, one that made her suddenly reluctant to try any magic at all. She’d spent years under the influence of drugs that made her think she was insane. She was only just learning who Alice was, what it was like to be her own self. She would rather use no magic at all than become some one unrecognizable.”

The world that Hatcher and Alice inhabit feels like the real world in that, there are no guarantees of happily ever after for the main characters. It’s reminiscent of George R.R. Martin in that, Henry makes you feel truly concerned that either Alice or Hatcher are going to be struck down at any moment. But, Henry actually manages to tell a story in 300 or so pages, something that Martin can’t do. Not that I’m bitter or anything… : “The world gobbles us and chews us and swallows us,” Hatcher said, in that uncanny way she had of reading her thoughts. “I think happy endings must be accidents.” “But we hope for them all the same,” Alice said.” I do too.

Alice really comes into her own in this story. She’s brave, but fragile- a damaged hero but resilient. If you’re looking for a strong female protagonist, you’ll find one in this book: “Alice thought, my magic doesn’t seem to be good for much at all. And there is no one who can help me learn, for all the Magicians I have met have been mad or cruel or both. I was mad once too, but it doesn’t seem to have taken properly. I didn’t come out of the hospital with any powerful powers.” Or did she?

This passage summed up the book for me: “This is really all very strange,” Alice murmured. “One of the strangest things I’ve seen, and I have seen lots that is strange. More than my fair share, as a matter of fact.”

Highly recommended for adult readers who enjoy dark fairy tales, magic, and transformation through suffering. I’ve really become a fan of Henry and I can’t wait to see where she takes this story next. If you enjoyed this tale, you may want to try The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins or The Circle by Mats Strandberg.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ace Publishing for a free digital ARC of this book. And, thank you for reading!

Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse

Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse

Girl in the Blue Coat is a beautifully written, young adult book about a terrible moment in history- the German occupation of the Netherlands. Hanneke is a young woman who runs black market goods to people in her town not only so that her family can eat, but also to thumb her nose at the Nazis who have taken so much from her and her people. The mystery portion of the book begins when one of Hanneke’s clients asks her to find a Jewish girl who disappeared from the safe house where she had been hiding.

I found myself drawn into this story for many reasons. First, Hanneke is a strong, female protagonist who doesn’t wait for other people to solve her problems- I liked that. Also, Girl in the Blue Coat does an excellent job of keeping the reader guessing. Just when I thought I had things figured out, Hesse changed it up. In addition, I cared about the characters in the story and I wanted them to succeed. It reminded me a lot of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak- same time period, different country.

The strength of Hanneke: “I can feel myself getting sucked into this mystery… Maybe because it’s another way to flout the rules. But maybe because, in a country that has come to make no sense, in a world I cannot solve, this is a small piece that I can. pg 45-46

The complexity of Hanneke’s emotions in a world divided by war: “Here is the thing about my grief: It’s like a very messy room in a house where the electricity has gone out. My grief over Bas (young man she lost to the war) is the darkness. It’s the thing that’s most immediately wrong in the house. It’s the thing that you notice straight off. It covers everything else up. But if you could turn the lights back on, you would see there are lots of other things still wrong in the room. The dishes are dirty. There is mold in the sink. The rug is askew. Elsbeth (former best friend) is my askew rug. Elsbeth is my messy room. Elsbeth is the grief I would allow myself to feel, if my emotions weren’t so covered in darkness.” pg 104

Hanneke’s growing self awareness because of her struggles: “I watched a whole afternoon unfold under my nose, and I misread everything that was happening, from start to finish. All the clues were in front of me, but I still didn’t see them.” pg 125

How Hanneke’s country has changed because of the occupation: “The prisoners follow, carrying suitcases, disheveled and tired like they haven’t slept in days. The crowd is big, maybe seventy people, and the soldiers march them down the middle of the street. It’s a lovely winter day in Amsterdam, and though there are other people on the street, couples like me and Willem, nobody acts like the forced parade of people is out of the ordinary. Our sense of ordinary has become horrifying.” pg 212

If you enjoyed Girl in the Blue Coat, you may want to pick up The Book Thief by Markus Zusak or The Bishop’s Wife (Linda Wallheim Mystery, #1) by Mette Ivie Harrison.  Thanks to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for the advance reader copy of this book.  And, thank you for reading!

The Last One by Alexandra Oliva

The Last One by Alexandra Oliva

Twelve contestants go on a survival reality show.  It’s a brutal competition and the only way off the show is to say the safe word.  While the filming is taking place, something terrible happens in the real world… and no one tells the contestants.  Will any of them survive?  And, if they somehow survive, will they have a home to go back to?

In the book blurb, The Last One is compared to Station Eleven and The Passage neither of which I liked very much. I thought Station Eleven was boring and The Passage is the Game of Thrones of dystopian literature, it goes on and on and on… Unlike the other two titles, I think that The Last One got the mix of action to number of characters just right. If I had to pick the book that I think it’s most like, I would compare it to Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood but with far more like-able characters and a much more optimistic world view.

The Last One is told through a first person, present narrative and a third person flashback, alternating viewpoints between chapters. I was a bit frustrated with that set up until the timelines began to converge towards the end of the book, because Oliva kept putting in foreshadowing, but then not delivering on it until a couple chapters later- just long enough for me to completely forget about it. I’m much more of an instant gratification kind of reader, but I managed to push through it and really started to enjoy the novel despite the style of storytelling.

Mixing reality television with the end of the world was brilliant because the mind set of the people in the reality shows is already in survival of the fittest/game mode. I completely believed the mental breakdown that Zoo suffered when she tried to figure out where the game ended and reality began. She was put in a situation where she wasn’t supposed to know what was going on and then, she didn’t even know when exactly, no one knew what was going on. This type of world ending felt much more believable than the descent into chaos in World War Z or Station Eleven because of that slow transition to a different world provided by the reality tv show setting.

Also, anyone who’s ever watched reality tv will immediately grasp the archtypical roles that Oliva uses to label her characters and it makes it simple to keep a rather large group of people straight in your mind. Fans of Big Brother, Top Chef, The Jersey Shore, and any of the countless other offerings of that genre will eat this up.

What I loved most about this book is that it was so easy to put myself in Zoo’s shoes. In this passage, she’s talking about her reluctance to go on the show: “It didn’t used to be so difficult to leave, but it was different before I met my husband. Before- leaving Stowe for college, that summer hiking hostel to hostel across western Europe, six months in Australia after graduating from Columbia- my fear was always tempered by excitement enough to tip the scales. Leaving was always scary, but it was never hard. But this time I not only left familiarity behind, I left happiness. There’s a difference, the magnitude of which I didn’t anticipate.”advance reader, pg 24-25

Cooper, aka Tracker, was also so relatable. He reminded me of various people that I have known in my real life: “Cooper was kind of like that at first. Standoffish. I don’t know what drew me to him so strongly from the start. No- I do. His air of almost freakish competence. The way he scanned each of us, assessing without looking for allies, because from the moment he leapt into that tree it was clear he didn’t need anyone but himself. I bet his entire adult life has been like that: needing no one, being needed by no one- existing without apology and accomplishing wonders. I’d never been around someone so supremely independent before and was fascinated.” advance reader, pg 38

The reality show mentality begins: “Waitress’s animosity doesn’t surprise Exorcist, but Rancher’s agreement does, as do the many nodding heads around the campfire. Briefly, he looks into a camera lens, as though accusing the device of having put the others up to this. Indeed, that’s exactly what he’s doing; he thinks they’re performing- like he is. But the truth is most of the contestants have in this moment forgotten that they’re being recorded. An ancient instinct is kicking in, not so much a survival-of-the-fittest mentality as an unwillingness to carry an able but lazy individual.” advance reader, pg 174

Zoo’s confusion between reality and reality television makes for some really intense, introspective moments: “I wonder how I’m being portrayed now. I know what my role was when we started. I was the earnest animal lover, always cheerful and up for a Challenge. But now? Will they cast me as off my rocker? Probably not; that’s Randy’s role, with his stupid gold cross and his tales of possessed toddlers. But whoever I am now, I’m no longer who I was. I wonder if I can even do that anymore, be that person grinning until her cheeks ache. It was exhausting, as exhausting as this endless trekking, in its own way.” advance reader, pg 185 After awhile, I started to wonder if Zoo would ever accept what was really happening to her or choose to keep soldiering on and never come back from the world that she was building in her head. I liked her enough though, that I was cheering for her sanity, every step of the way. That’s the sign of a good book, I think.

Finally, I loved this moment, when Zoo’s happy mask begins to crack on the television show and how she’s received: “Waitress is shocked, as are Rancher and the camerman. The producers will be shocked too, and the editor, who will work so hard to explain away this moment. But there is at least one viewer who won’t be shocked: Zoo’s husband. He knows this secret competitive side of her, her impatience for wallowing and delay. He also knows how fear can turn her mean.” advance reader, pg 221. Ah marriage, the ultimate reality show.

There’s a lot more to The Last One that I’m not going to talk about here because I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone. It’s a great book. I recommend it for readers who enjoy dystopians, for television watchers who enjoy reality shows, and for anyone who has ever wondered about their capacity to survive the end of the world. Could you be as strong as Zoo? Could I? I wonder…

Thank you to the Goodreads First Reads and NetGalley for advance reading copies of this book.  And, thank you for reading! The full text of this review has also appeared on my public library’s blog : ofplblog.info

Morning Star by Pierce Brown

Morning Star by Pierce Brown

The Red Rising trilogy, of which Morning Star is the third book, is a gritty space opera in a futuristic universe.  Mankind has genetically engineered themselves into classes based on colors.  Each color has a specific function, which individuals can’t refuse to fulfill, in society.  The Golds are at the top and the Reds are at the bottom.  Everyone inbetween these two polarities suffers as well…

One word to describe this whole trilogy: INTENSE. It draws you in. It makes you keep reading when you should be going to sleep. It transports you to another world. My husband was laughing at me: sitting in my favorite chair, gasping in surprise or groaning in despair at the incredible turns in this story. I had to keep putting my hand over the page so that my eyes wouldn’t skip ahead and spoil it. Seriously. This book is that good. Its predecessors are also enjoyable, but this one absolutely brought the thunder. I loved it. Sci fi/fantasy fans, read them. Right now!

Brown waxes on a bit in Morning Star but I loved it. His style is reminiscent of Dan Simmons- meandering, bordering on repetitive, but I forgive him. It’s worth it. I’m going to share a couple of my favorite passages now, to give you a taste of the poetry of Brown’s story. No spoilers, I promise.

Darrow, throughout the course of the story, has become a severely damaged hero: “He wants pity. My pity was lost in the darkness. The heroes of Red songs have mercy, honor. They let men live, as I let the Jackal live, so they can remain untarnished by sin. Let the villain be the evil one. Let him wear black and try to stab me as I turn my back, so I can wheel about and kill him, giving satisfaction without guilt. But this is no song. This is war.” pg 35 That’s part of the larger question that Morning Star seeks to answer. Has Darrow’s spirit been crushed by the cruelty of the Golds? Read it and see.

Darrow describing desperation at living in a world that is not free, where your birth determines not only your place in society, but your ultimate destiny: “I feel like a prisoner who spent his whole life digging through the wall, only to break through and find he’s dug into another cell. Except there will always be another cell. And another. And another. These people are not living. They’re all just trying to postpone the end.” pg 71

Man’s insignificant place in nature: “Mars is over our heads, consuming and omnipotent. …I wonder… if the planet does not mind that we wound her surface or pillage her bounty, because she knows we silly warm things are not even a breath in her cosmic life. We have grown and spread, and will rage and die. And when all that remains of us is our steel monuments and plastic idols, her winds will whisper, her sands will shift, and she will spin on and on, forgetting about the bold, hairless apes who thought they deserved immortality.” pgs 145-146

One last passage, about love, because I am a romantic sap: “I was going to say something important. Something memorable. But I’ve forgotten it in her eyes. That gulf that divided us is still there, filled with questions and recrimination and guilt, but that’s only part of love, part of being human. Everything is cracked, everything is stained except the fragile moments that hang crystalline in time and make life worth living. pg 443

If you enjoyed Morning Star, you may want to try Gemsigns by Stephanie Saulter or The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch.  Thanks for reading!