Book Description
Award-winning writer John Sayles's critically acclaimed novel explores fifty years of Cuban-American relations. Set in Miami in 1981, Los Gusanos is the vivid and moving account of one extended family’s life in Cuba and the United States. With pathos and understanding, Sayles introduces us to a memorable range of characters—young, old, black, and white—all of whom are struggling to make a new life in their adopted country while haunted by the memories of Cuba. Taking as its title the derogatory term Castro used to describe those who fled to Miami after he came to power, Los Gusanos is beautifully rendered; a deterministic study of who will be the casualty and who the survivor in a time of political upheaval.
Customer Reviews:
A story too complicated for its own good-- three-and-a-half stars.......2005-08-04
Sayles has long been one of my favorite movie directors, and I have intended to try one of his novels for many years now.
I have very mixed feelings about Los Gusanos as a book. I do not think that it is a success, although it has some spectacular sections and the quality of the writing is very high. Still, I am not sure that I would recommend this book to anyone who was not either a fan of Sayles as a director or someone interested in literature dealing with the Bay of Pigs.
Like many Sayles films, Los Gusanos is an ensemble piece. Reading the plot synopsis may give you the impression that the book is about Marta and her mission. Nothing could be further from the truth. Much like Joan of Arc (who she idolizes) Marta is nearly perfectly opaque-- her thoughts and motivations unclear. We are granted a look into the deepest thoughts and memories of many of the characters, making nearly everyone else more transparent than she. Even the stroke-disabled inarticulate father has his stream-of-consciousness fits of rage. Marta is cool, unapproachable, and we only really see her thinking when she mixes her voice with that of the diary of her dead brother.
It is an interesting thing that despite the resistance that Sayles clearly has to traditional narrative form, his films succeed the most (Lone Star, Passion Fish, Matewan) when we still have a central character or characters where the audience can fix their focus. One of the main problems with Los Gusanos is that this focus is lost, making the reading experience difficult and even occasionally broken despite the device of the new invasion. I found that I resented getting so close to so many characters who made only brief appearances. Villas is a good example of that-- I wanted so much more of his story than Los Gusanos gave me. A stronger central thread would have made this objection less serious, or even removed it altogether.
I also found the the device of switching between Spanish and English was at least a little bit irritating, particularly in passages where we know that the entire conversation was held in Spanish. It had the unfortunate effect of being the literary equivalent of giving the Spanish film characters a strong Spanish accent when they talk amongst themselves in English.
There are an awful lot of good things in this book, and if you are interested in reading it then please do not let this review dissuade you. Sayles has his usual glittering and objective eye for the politics of the situation-- seeing all sides clearly and seemingly without judgement. Like I said earlier, if you are already a fan of his cinematic work you should find a lot of the best elements back in this novel.
Marharwal's Picks.......2001-12-10
Set in Miami in 1981, but spanning six decades of a family's life in Cuba and the United States, Los Gusanos portrays a range of characters--old and young, black and white, men and women--all struggling to make a life in their adopted country while haunted by the memories of their lost island. Taking as its title the derogatory term Fidel Castro used to describe those Cubans who fled to Maimi after he came to power, Los Gusanos explores the elements that determine who turns one way and who turns the other--who will be the casualty and who the survivor--in a time of political upheaval. (...)
Exceptional book by a man with a great heart and conscience.......2000-03-16
I first became aware of John Sayles after seeing his movie "Matewan". I loved the movie; the union organizer, Joe Kenehan, is my all-time favorite movie hero (well, next to my boyhood hero, Shane). I've seen several other Sayles films since then, but Los Gusanos is the first book of his that I've read. It is, indeed, exceptional. It's sad that with all the attention that is given to Cuba and Castro, this book is not more widely read. I lived in Miami for 36 years - and, inevitably, read and heard innumerable opinions about Cuba - but until Los Gusanos I never encountered anyone who portrayed so well the complexity of the human beings involved. One cannot help but be interestd in - even like - many of Sayles's characters, yet none of them is perfect. Most are very imperfect. Some are despicable - both pro-Castro and anti-Castro types, though those terms aren't the best to use to describe these complicated, often torn people. So, I urge anyone with an interest in modern Cuba to read Los Gusanos. It will fascinate, disturb, and move you.
Average customer rating:
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Hellboy: El Gusano Vencedor/ Hellboy: The Conqueror Worm (Hellboy)/ Spanish Edition
Mike Mignola
Manufacturer: Public Square Books
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ASIN: 1594970297 |
Book Description
At the end of World War II, American costumed-adventurer Lobster Johnson led an Allied attack on Hitler's space program, but not before the Nazis were able to launch the first man into space. Now, after sixty years, Hellboy and Roger the Homunculus, who's been implanted by Bureau scientists with a bomb, travel to a ruined castle in Norway to intercept the returning capsule and its single passenger, the Conqueror Worm! 2001 EISNER WINNER, BEST LIMITED SERIES
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Manga Terror vol. 3: El nino gusano/ Manga Terror vol. 3: Bug Boy/ Spanish Edition
Hino Hideshi
Manufacturer: Public Square Books
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1594972605 |
Book Description
A spine-tingling new Manga series from Japanese horror masters Senno Knife and Hideshi Hino. Senno Knife takes on Japanese urban legends in the horror compilation, Falsas Apariencias. In the first story, Mantis Woman, Chiaki wonders why decapitated bodies are turning up at her school. But she gets in over her head when she goes alone to investigate! And be careful what you wish for when wish-fullfillment comes from Hell's Gumball Machine. A total of six short stories are in this collection.
Book Description
Titans of Chaos completes John Wrights The Chronicles of Chaos. Launched in Orphans of Chaosa Nebula Award Nominee for Best Novel in 2006, and a Locus Years Best Novel pick for 2005and continued in Fugitives of Chaos, the trilogy is about five orphans raised in a strict British boarding school who discovered that they are not human. The five have made incredible discoveries about themselves. Amelia is apparently a fourth-dimensional being; Victor is a synthetic man who can control the molecular arrangement of matter; Vanity can find secret passageways through solid walls; Colin is a psychic; Quentin is a warlock. Each power comes from a different paradigm or view of the universe. They have learned to control their strange abilities and have escaped into our world; now their true battle for survival begins. The Chronicles of Chaos is situated in the literary territory of J. K. Rowlings Harry Potter books and Neil Gaimans American Gods, with some of the flash and dazzle of superhero comics.
Customer Reviews:
Slow finish.......2007-09-13
Not as good as the first two books. Most of the important resolutions happen near the beginning of this book. It takes a long, long time to wind down. Still, it was pretty good. The conclusion was satisfying, and the problems were well resolved w/o resorting to mass shifting.
A weak finale for a promising series........2007-09-03
This, the last book of the "Chaos" trilogy, takes what should have been the final 4 chapters of the previous installment and spreads them unbearably thin. Rather than a swift and powerful conclusion you get a shockingly long morass of increasingly obscure nonsense. Unless you enjoy trying to juggle 30 or 40 mythological bit-part characters (who often have multiple names, yay!) while the internal logic of the story is taken beyond the breaking point, give this book a pass and make up whatever ending you'd like for Amelia and crew.
If you liked the first two, you're going to buy it anyway..........2007-05-21
Reviewing the third book in a trilogy is a bit of an exercise in futility, but here goes...
The first half of this book is plotless wandering through what are known in the Role-playing game world as "Mini-quests", but it picked up my interest again about halfway through, just in time to lose it again on a climactic battle that is a study in the definition of the word "Overblown".
But,if you read the first two, then you just GOTTA know what happens to Amelia and her friends, so go ahead and get it, you don't really have a choice.
Grand and sweeping.......2007-04-30
Like everything John C. Wright writes "Titans of Chaos" the conclusion of the Chaos trilogy is grand and sweeping. A mixture of science fiction and fantasy the action and characters in this book really unique. Titans of Chaos is also the best book in the series. The first two books while also excellent brought the plot and the characters along, "Titans.." gives us the five orphans with a fuller realization of the powers of the various paradigms as they fight to find out what factions among the Pagan gods are working to kill them.
John C. Wright imagination is is full bloom in the ways that their various paradigms are used together and the myriad ways in which they are used. I found myself rushing through the story to get to the end and at the same time dreading finishing this unique trilogy. As you read you get totally swept along in his imagination and his ability as a master storyteller.
All Powers Have Their Limits?.......2007-04-29
It is my considered opinion that Mr. Wright could use a touch more discipline in his writing. His early works, particularly the Golden Age trilogy, were incredible--absolute must reads. He has virtually created a new genre--modern mythology. If it weren't for Google, I'd have been lost in the dazzling, non-stop introduction of characters, themes, and ideas grabbed from history and polished up for a new era.
"Titans of Chaos" is the conclusion of the Chaos trilogy of which, the first volume, "Orphans of Chaos," seizes the reader from the beginning with a complex web of characters new and familiar. Five children are coming of age and realizing that they are not British subjects but rather the descendants of gods from various dimensions and realms, each of whom has particular powers that are neutralized in some fashion by a mysterious cabal that wishes to contain the powers these children represent. Though hinting at an epic confrontation of powers, the first volume came to the abrupt end all too common these days as publishers seem to be unwilling to publish one book when they can publish three.
So, in the second volume, "Fugitives of Chaos," Mr. Wright has his five protagonists make a break for freedom, which is somewhat complicated by the fact that his characters don't know who they are running from nor where they might run to. The book didn't seem to follow the same path as had been mapped out in the first volume and suffered from certain excesses not relevant here.
Yet based upon the strength of prior works, I signed up to get my copy of "Titans of Chaos" hot off the press. It is a much better work than the second volume but seems as though the author tossed off a chapter at a time without any sense of when or how things would wrap up. "Titans" is almost a stream-of-consciousness version of storytelling. Thus, the Chaos trilogy is completely unlike the Golden Age trilogy in which the ending was foreshadowed by a conversation that takes place in the very first chapter of the first book. Much of the power of the Golden Age trilogy was found in the fact that Mr. Wright knew where he was going and it was quite a ride.
In "Titans," the development of several of the characters ends as the narrative focuses much more closely on Amelia Windrose. Clues and hints to Amelia's background and purpose never quite pan out and the ultimate battle involved an entirely new character who had not even been hinted at in the first volume--it was also strangely anti-climactic. And why, after the reader has invested so much in these characters, must the author present as the ultimate ending of a story involving the interplay of gods, powers, principalities, etc.--good and evil incarnate--going to end in a tawdry, though (thankfully) implied rather than explicit, episode of adolescent fornication?
I am and remain a huge fan of Mr. Wright; however, his gifts as a writer evidence that he is capable of much, much more. Another reviewer has likened the Chaos trilogy to a Harry Potter for adults--yet what is fascinating about the Potter books is that each book adds to the prior, that the author gave out just enough hints in earlier works to make the journey endlessly inventive and interesting; they have a destination. The destination of Chaos promised to be a confrontation between powers that predated the Earth itself, or possibly a discourse on the Promethian gift that so defines humanity. It promised to be more than what it was and that has left this reviewer terribly disappointed.
Nevertheless, I recommend this work as head and shoulders above most other offerings of the genre and will eagerly await Mr. Wright's next effort.
Book Description
Wright’s new fantasy, which began with Orphans of Chaos, and continues in Fugitives of Chaos, is a tale about five orphans raised in a strict British boarding school who begin to discover that they may not be human beings. The students at the school do not age, while the world around them does. The orphans have been kidnapped from their true parents, robbed of their powers, and raised in ignorance by super-beings no more human than they are: pagan gods or fairy-queens, Cyclopes, sea-monsters, witches, or things even stranger.
The five have made sinister discoveries about themselves. Amelia is apparently a fourth-dimensional being; Victor is a synthetic man who can control the molecular arrangement of matter around him; Vanity can find secret passageways through solid walls where none had previously been; Colin is a psychic; Quentin is a warlock. Each power comes from a different paradigm or view of the inexplicable universe: and they should not be able to co-exist under the same laws of nature. Why is it that they can?
The children must experiment with and learn to control their strange abilities in order to escape their captors. Something very important must be at stake in their imprisonment.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent.......2007-09-13
This was as good as the first book. I was kept interested in the resolution of all the problems, and he introduced new, interesting problems. The characterization was excellent, and the pacing was also good.
Better than the first book.......2007-03-16
After reading the first book in the series (Orphans of Chaos) I wasn't very impressed. It was a good book, but I wasn't sure if the next book would be worth the effort.
Fugitives of Chaos is much better than the book before it. Even if you only kinda liked the first book, I recommend that you read this one. The technobabble is still there (but less of it), and the story goes a little smoother.
A zinger Book Two of the CHAOS Trilogy!.......2006-12-14
ORPHANS OF CHAOS introduced five boarding school students who discovered, beneath a physical and conditional facade, they were far greater beings than the awkward human teenagers they thought themselves. They were actually gods (as in Greek; as in thought to be mythical and thus unreal by twenty-first century earth dwellers; as in not unreal at all in this John C. Wright universe) taken hostage in a Titanic war! Spying on their "elders," the band of five learned of the Machiavellian motives for their forced confinement and amnesia. They fought their captors valiantly but appeared vanquished as Part One cliffhung.
FUGITIVES OF CHAOS portrays the fives' struggle to regain lost memory and powers, escape their god-too jailers, and penetrate the maze of politics and strategy underpinning the cataclysmic struggle between Cosmos and Chaos that holds the key to their fate.
Or perhaps it is the reverse, and the five "young people" hold the true key to the fate of the struggle between Chaos and Cosmos? They may also be mankind's and all life's only hope for survival!
Victor, the "robot" man; Amelia, the dimension-crosser; Vanity, the dream tunneler; Colin, the psychic; and Quentin, the witch (he may really be a she), all risk life and limb to breach the boundaries of the only place they remembered as home -- the old-fashioned school by a fishing village called Abertwyi. Believing themselves freed, they experience bits of the world such as hitchhiking, "Jerry's Fine Cafe" on Christmas, Paris stores, Vanity's magic sea craft, and luxury on "The Queen Elizabeth II" sailing for New York.
As in ORPHANS, FUGITIVES serves up a cornucopia of sci-fi/fantasy ideas. Since all five "teenagers" interpret the world from their own separate paradigms, they describe their perceptions differently. Amelia, for instance, is the geometrician of the group, while Colin reckons through the psychic's angle of personal responsibility. These differences require a great deal of group communication to enable understanding and cooperation.
Indeed, a large component of both CHAOS books published thus far is talk; the old writer's saw about showing rather than explaining isn't always observed. Not only "must" the five engage in long discussions with each other, but the sheer complexity of Wright's theme relegates other gods besides the teens to protracted explications. Although Amelia is the primary first-person narrator throughout the novels (so far anyway), other characters tell of adventures they had away from Amelia. Vanity, for instance, tells her companions about overhearing two Cosmos-camp gods -- Boreas and a Centurion Infantophage -- speculate at length about which Chaos god might try to seize the throne of "the entire sidereal universe." This dialogue means to enlighten the readers, along with the five, about the cast of potential threats in and the direction of the third volume of CHAOS. It does, but keeping track of all those gods (a single entity is often referred to by several monikers) is a bit mind-spinning for readers less conversant than Wright with mythology.
And since the young heroes of this trilogy are ostensibly teenagers, they retain that maturity level by and large. So, there is a lot of adolescent ribald ribbing and sexual innuendo (though serious sexual aggression is left to the "adults" and even then is more threat than act), as well as general silliness and cluelessness. Usually, this banter is welcome, but at certain crises stages where the five waste precious time debating and smart-mouthing, one wonders why their adversaries don't press full advantage to smartly subdue them! One wants to cuff the kids into faster action. At least, I did.
The concluding threat in FUGITIVES OF CHAOS is a beaut! The five do engage in a bit of their usual fumbling and arguing, but they spring to action pretty fast. And what action. Kudos to the author for a riveting springboard into TITANS OF CHAOS. I can't wait. April 2007 isn't that far away.
An Unpleasant Detour.......2006-12-06
In Fugitives of Chaos, Mr. Wright has delivered his first disappointment of eight published works. In earlier reviews of Mr. Wright's books, I have stated that Mr. Wright could make compelling reading out of a plumbing manual. Despite his talent, however, this book lacks focus and discipline. Rather than provide the occasional frisson of sexual tension that would be appropriate in a coming-of-age tale, this book veers purposefully into the pornographic; disturbingly so for a work that is expected to reach the young adult audience.
Orphans of Chaos introduced us to five apparently young and immature immortals each discovering their unique and fantastic powers. The first book centered on the powerful adolescent desire to escape from the domination of the adults--who are also immortals from the mythological pantheon. However, as far as advancing the story, there was nothing new or noteworthy in this second volume. Our heroes basically run around a bit and flash the naughty bits. Worse, the salacious sections don't add anything to the story. OK, Grendel is bad and we can stipulate that the young men are attracted by the young women. This book has none of the wonder of the first, none of the sense of discovery or of adventure.
Though disappointed, I will continue to recommend the first book in the series. Hopefully this book represents a detour and can be put back on track with the third book. This second installment was just sloppy--Mr. Wright can do much, much better than this.
More Powers, More Dangers, & Orphans On the Loose. AMAZING!.......2006-11-20
SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST BOOK IN THE TRILOGY--ORPHANS OF CHAOS-- AHEAD:
If you read part one, Orphans of Chaos, then you already have an idea of what mythy delights, brainy goings on, teenage angst, sea monster & Colin sex-on-the-brain subplots, super suspense, life-and-death battling awaits you in part two of the Chaos Trilogy: Fugitives of Chaos...
When last we left our intrepid orphans-who-are-not-orphans, or even human, for that matter, they had been foiled in their daring and delicious attempt to escape from the British boarding school-that-is-no-mere-school and the menacing staff-who-are-also-not-made-up-of-humans. We got to follow the youth-who-are-but-are-not-really-young through the sometimes humorous, sometimes scary, always fascinating discovery of their identities and powers.
But, having been foiled, they have had their memories of the previous weeks erased.
Fortunately, our plucky and fast-thinking narrator, Amelia, who is really Phaethusa (daughter of Helios and Neaera), and who can see and pass into the fourth dimension--and see such things that will blow your reading wee mind--well, Amelia is not long for the land of amnesia. And good thing, too. Because it wouldn't do to have her forget all the amazing stuff she found out in part one.
To catch you up to speed: The headmaster Boggins is really Boreas, the North Wind, who, when he spreads his wings in his pirate pants is something of a sexy bad boy. The staff includes a siren, a witch, a Cyclopes, an Atlantean, and Grendel (yeah, that Grendel, as in BEOWULF). And they are all keeping the "orphans" as hostages, pawns in a Cold War of sorts between Olympians and Titans. As long as the Olympians hold the kids hostage, the Titans do not make a move on Earth or Olympus.
But the kids are sick of being hostages. They want to go home.
If they go home, all heavens and hells and dimensions break loose.
Oh, isn't your mouth just watering?
Note: A review of the Greek mythological stuff you learned in school--or that I hope you learned in school--would not be amiss, particularly the stories relating to the Titanomachy, the war of the Titans. The names comes fast and furious in part one, and if you have forgotten your Hesiod or Homer or Bullfinch's or Hamilton or etc, you may have to read slowly to get your bearings. But once you do, part two is a snap. John C. Wright's prose is clean and brisk and brimming with pertinent dialogue, so you'll be oriented soon enough.
So, our brave and gifted would-be-aviatrix Amelia, at the close of book one, manipulates the chemical with which she's about to be injected so that it has free will. Yes, the chemical intended to blank her memory of knowledge and escape and capture is now able to decide what it will do within Amelia's body.
ENTER BOOK TWO, wihch for some reason doesn't have the glossy cover like book one. What up with that?
"I was dead for about half a day."
Amelia reawakens, memory gone, so much that it's quite suspicious.
Then, "Her arm liked her. Her arm was friendly. A warm, tail-wagging, puppy-like, unabashed friendliness radiated from one motionless spot above her elbow."
The chemical doesn't act against Amelia and the memories return.
The orphans now proceed, in their usual ingenious and fun-to-follow fashion (with all attendant subterfuge and danger), to find ways to break the blocks one each of them, one by one, so that they can recapture their knowledge and powers. It's not a simple process. As the story unwinds, Amelia finds herself once more at the mercy of Grendel, who is in some serious me-wanna-her-for-missus groove and carries Amelia to his lair. You get to find out more than you may want to about the life of a man-eating sea-dwelling groom. Heroic feats gain them freedom. As fugitives, on the run across Britain, across the world, they must grow in their skills, and fast and remember promises made and oaths taken. They become crucial as they face tough decisions while evading eavesdropping winds and spirits. And they must survive the deadly fury of a terrifying sea monster, because if they don't survive, the whole Earth is doomed.
War is coming, again. Titans and Olympians. And five kids-who-are-not kids are smack in the middle of the power plays. Good thing they are formidable kids.
I was actually breathless during one part of their daring escape scene--where they attempt to recover the items of power discovered in Orphans--and would just start reading aloud to my husband. And those discussions about who trumps whose powers, the dialogues about paradigms? Superb!
I found only one scene uncomfortable. And those of you who've read it can probably guess which one. (Hint: Sappho might have approved.) Seemed a tad on the gratuitous side. But, that's my only quibble. I thought the evolution of the five in part two was terrifcally well done, and the cliffhanger ending is making me totally nuts.
Which is good. Means I want more. And I don't always want more.
Gosh, do I really have to wait FIVE MONTHS for the conclusion? :::biting nails:::
Average customer rating:
- Super Reader
- multi-dimensionally dissappointing
- Excellent story, really should be 1 single book
- delightfully creative
- Fantasy with appeal for non-fantasy readers
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Orphans of Chaos
John C. Wright
Manufacturer: Tor Science Fiction
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Fugitives of Chaos (Tor Fantasy)
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Titans of Chaos
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ASIN: 0765349957 |
Book Description
What if your teachers taught you everything–except who you really are?
For Amelia and her friends, the strict English boarding school she lives in is all she has ever known. The sprawling estate, bordered by unknown territory on all four sides, is both orphanage, academy, and prison. The school has a large staff, but only five students, none of whom know what their real names are, or even how old they are.
Precocious and rebellious, all five teenagers are more than just prodigies. Amelia can see in four dimensions. Victor can control the molecular arrangement of matter. Vanity can find secret passageways where none existed before. Colin is a psychic. Quentin is a warlock.
And, as time goes by, they’re starting to suspect that none of them are entirely human . . .
John C. Wright previous fantasy novels, the Epic Chronicles of Everness, were lavishly praised by both readers and reviewers. Now he embarks on an ambitious new saga that explores the overlapping boundaries of science, mythology, and the imagination.
Customer Reviews:
Super Reader.......2007-09-01
Zeus is gone, and the power struggle between Hephaestus and Mars is ongoing, and threatens to breakout into war.
The previous rulers, Uranus, Saturn and their ilk, are not gone for good. This is particularly the case for some of their descendants.
Five children of this earlier time of Chaos are being held at a boarding school in an unassuming part of England by an assortment of forced servants and minor deities. They are drugged and otherwise kept oblivious, but as they get older, they beging to discover their powers and legacy.
An escape attempt is averted, as they really don't know what they are doing, and their captors have long been ready for them.
As Amelia, the master of space and time is told : "You are a dangerous and super-human being, child, and we must take what steps we can."
Not often you get this sort of thing talking about conic sections and the integrations of hypercubes, that is for sure.
multi-dimensionally dissappointing.......2007-06-13
Beginning the book, I was nervous that the different qualities of the children would turn out to make them one more version of mutant superheroes. But the opening is good, appealing, atmospheric. And the book builds well at the outset, developing characters with mystery and interest. Then we encounter the ancient gods who speak smart-aleck and the relationships with the "young adults" becomes only puerile and lascivious. Ponderous physics speculation became the high point. I got halfway through; I see other reviewers say it ended on a cliffhanger. I will not waste more time with it. The sexual mores especially were disturbing, the lack of a world with any interest just depressing.
Excellent story, really should be 1 single book.......2007-05-25
While the story in interesting and involved, it ends quite abruptly where it started. Be advised that readers should probably buy the series together as a set if they actually want resolution.
delightfully creative.......2007-05-01
This was my first John Wright book, but it won't be my last. It stands out for the way Wright infuses a strangeness into everything--the characters, the setting, and the way magic/science works in it. The seeming normality at the beginning makes discovering the lurking strangeness even more wonderful.
When I read the reviews before reading the book, I worried that there might be too much quasi-philosophical discussion about the different paradigms (magic/science/dimensional topography/etc.) each character represents, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the dialogue moved right along, and the discussions help the plot rather than obscure it.
On the other hand, the plot doesn't actually move very far, nor is there too much action/suspense. Read it if you want curiousity and wonder, but not if you mainly want plot and action.
Fantasy with appeal for non-fantasy readers.......2007-04-05
I gave up on the fantasy genre long ago. I have nothing against it; I just stopped enjoying fantasy even before the end of high school. This is the first fantasy novel I've picked up in over 20 years, and I did so specifically because I liked Wright's SF novels so much. I'm glad I did.
This fantasy is grounded in our present, in Greek and other mythology, and in science, so it provides you with some reference points rather than abandoning you out on the Windy Sands of Mrrhkyirgh or some other implausible fantasy location. The realities of the school, on which the book focuses at the beginning, provide grounding for and contrast against the fantasy elements that are later introduced. The characters are interesting, although at certain points of the novel they undergo some abrupt and jarring changes that don't ring quite true. The plot is interesting, and sets up some good possibilities for the next book. This is a good choice for casual readers of the fantasy genre.
Books:
- Lost Echoes
- Love Her Madly: A Novel
- Magic's Promise (The Last Herald-Mage Series, Book 2)
- Monkey Hunting
- No Time to Die
- Not a Good Day to Die: The Untold Story of Operation Anaconda
- Novels of Testimony and Resistance from Central America
- Outside Valentine: A Novel
- Over Her Dead Body
- People Who Don't Know They're Dead: How They Attach Themselves To Unsuspecting bystanders and what to do about it
Books Index
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