Unlocking the Air: Stories
Ursula K. Le Guin
Summary (with spoilers):
Not a complete summary, but here are a few of the stories I enjoyed.
"Limberlost" - A novelist ventures to a writing convention in the wilderness, which she later realizes is in the same location as a camp she visited as a girl, and has a conversation with a poet.
"Ether, OR" - This story switches between many point-of-view characters, all who live in or near the town of Ether, which keeps shifting location. Much of it is centered around a woman who works in a grocery store and has had several husbands. There's a girl who wants to be a truck driver, and a farmer.
"Unlocking the Air" - Follows the actions of a mother and daughter living in a country in rebellion. The title refers to the practice of shaking keys in the air during a protest.
"Daddy's Big Girl" - Jewel Ann grows to be 45 feet tall!
"Olders" - One of the only stories in this collection with a fantasy feel. A doctor accompanies a wounded man back to his home island. The man never wakes from his comma, but instead begins to turn into a tree, as is common for people of his line.
"The Poacher" - A different telling of "Sleeping Beauty." A peasant boy finds a giant thicket of thorn bushes, and after years of hacking his way to the middle, he finds a castle and grounds where everyone is in an enchanted sleep. He spends his life there, knowing that one day a prince may come to break the enchantment, because the enchantment is not there for him.
My Thoughts:
It's difficult to critique a book of short stories that were published in previous publications (and not written with the idea of a cohesive collection in mind.) Although written with the skill of a master writer, many of these stories didn't grab me as Le Guin's science fiction tends to do. I came to the end of several stories feeling that I hadn't gained much from them, although all were well crafted. A good example of this is one of my least favorite stories in the collection, "The Professor's Houses," which describes a professor's hobby of building doll houses and furniture. It felt to me that this story was trying too hard to be "literary" and didn't present any interesting ideas.
I did enjoy many of the stories, especially those with a more fantasy bent. Le Guin writes with a style that I love; she makes me feel as if I am experiencing those worlds, as if I am embodying, not so much the characters, but the places she describes. It's one of the reasons she's my favorite author.
In the last story in the book, "The Poacher," when the boy makes it through to the other side of the thorns to reveal a castle, it was as if I too had broken through a thicket, because it was only then that I remembered I had read this story at a younger age, perhaps 13 or 14. It's always strange reading a story you read years before, especially if you last read it as a child.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
The Assassin's Apprentice
The Assassin's Apprentice
Robin Hobb
In case you missed the first post, everything will be FULL OF SPOILERS!!!
Summary (with spoilers):
The book begins when Fitz, the illegitimate son of Prince Chivalry, is deposited at a castle. He's swiftly put into the care of Burrich, the stablemaster, and forms a bond with a dog named Nosy. After it is revealed that Chivalry has abdicated his right to the throne, the group travels to Buckkeep, the seat of King Shrewd and his sons, Verity and Regal. From here, Fitz has a series of adventures, as he is trained in the art of assassination by Chade, befriends a town girl named Molly, and is told by Burrich not to use the Wit, which is a magical ability that lets him connect with animals. Burrich severs the connection between Fitz and Nosy, implying that Burrich has killed the dog. Also, Chivalry mysteriously dies. When the Red-Ship Raiders start Forging citizens (turning them into zombie-like people without empathy), Fitz and other illegitimate royal children are trained in the art of the Skill by Galen, an abusive teacher who beats up Fitz. Fitz is given another dog, Smithy, by Patience, the wife of the late Chivalry. As a final test of the Skill, Fitz is taken to a distant location and left on his own. Guess what, it's right near the town of Forge, home of the first people to be Forged! Fitz hurries home, because Burrich and his dog Smithy have been attacked, which Fitz gleans through his use of the Wit. After dispatching with some Forged zombies, he makes it home, to discover that Smithy has died. Meanwhile, Verity is using the Skill to hold off the Red-Ship Raiders, but Shrewd decides that he should take a wife. All of the courting is handled by Regal, since Verity is too busy, and when the wedding day comes, Regal has to stand in for Verity as the groom. Fitz and ensemble travel to the mountainous region of the bride, but Fitz has a secret task, to assassinate the brother of the bride. Only it turns out the task is not so secret after all, since Regal has told everyone that Fitz is an assassin. The bride ends up poisoning Fitz, but the brother comes to Fitz with a purge, saying that he'll support the Six Duchies, so there is no need to kill him. However, Regal insists that the deed must be done, giving Fitz a packet of poison. Fitz goes to the brother and reveals the whole plot as they share wine. But wait, it turns out that the wine they were drinking was poisoned! The brother dies, Fitz is set up to take the fall, and through the Skill he also learns that Galen is planning to kill Verity. Things are looking bad for our hero, but at least he discovers that his old pal Nosy, instead of being dead, is actually alive and well in this mountainous kingdom, where Burrich shipped him off to those many years ago. Fitz and Regal have a showdown in the baths, where Burrich is clubbed and Fitz is almost drowned in a pool. (He's having trouble physically after drinking the poisoned wine.) However, he's able to contact Verity using the Skill for the first time, warning him of the plot against his life, which results in Verity draining Galen his energy using the Skill, thus killing Galen. All seems right again in the kingdom, except that Nosy valiantly gives his life to save Fitz from drowning. (That's right, they let you know the dog isn't actually dead, as you've thought for the entire book, only to kill him off again a few pages later.) There's also some political intrigue stuff, like, "how much did King Shrewd know about this plot?" etc.
My Thoughts:
PROS:
-An engaging fantasy novel
-Liked the little stories/notes at the beginning of each chapter
-Interesting to see another world, with its magic system
-Fairly exciting throughout
CONS:
-Uses some common fantasy tropes (Fitz is illegitimate, but wait, he has super powerful magic)
-Leaves some ends hanging (where did Molly really go/what's happening with the raiders) but those will probably be addressed in further books, since this one is part of a series
-Seems like the book tries to cover too much set up at once (Fitz is learning to be an assassin, but he's also learning the Skill, but he also has the Wit)
-For the love of Pete, why are all of the dogs so ill-fated?
Overall, I thought the book was fun to read, and I enjoyed stepping into a new world.
Robin Hobb
In case you missed the first post, everything will be FULL OF SPOILERS!!!
Summary (with spoilers):
The book begins when Fitz, the illegitimate son of Prince Chivalry, is deposited at a castle. He's swiftly put into the care of Burrich, the stablemaster, and forms a bond with a dog named Nosy. After it is revealed that Chivalry has abdicated his right to the throne, the group travels to Buckkeep, the seat of King Shrewd and his sons, Verity and Regal. From here, Fitz has a series of adventures, as he is trained in the art of assassination by Chade, befriends a town girl named Molly, and is told by Burrich not to use the Wit, which is a magical ability that lets him connect with animals. Burrich severs the connection between Fitz and Nosy, implying that Burrich has killed the dog. Also, Chivalry mysteriously dies. When the Red-Ship Raiders start Forging citizens (turning them into zombie-like people without empathy), Fitz and other illegitimate royal children are trained in the art of the Skill by Galen, an abusive teacher who beats up Fitz. Fitz is given another dog, Smithy, by Patience, the wife of the late Chivalry. As a final test of the Skill, Fitz is taken to a distant location and left on his own. Guess what, it's right near the town of Forge, home of the first people to be Forged! Fitz hurries home, because Burrich and his dog Smithy have been attacked, which Fitz gleans through his use of the Wit. After dispatching with some Forged zombies, he makes it home, to discover that Smithy has died. Meanwhile, Verity is using the Skill to hold off the Red-Ship Raiders, but Shrewd decides that he should take a wife. All of the courting is handled by Regal, since Verity is too busy, and when the wedding day comes, Regal has to stand in for Verity as the groom. Fitz and ensemble travel to the mountainous region of the bride, but Fitz has a secret task, to assassinate the brother of the bride. Only it turns out the task is not so secret after all, since Regal has told everyone that Fitz is an assassin. The bride ends up poisoning Fitz, but the brother comes to Fitz with a purge, saying that he'll support the Six Duchies, so there is no need to kill him. However, Regal insists that the deed must be done, giving Fitz a packet of poison. Fitz goes to the brother and reveals the whole plot as they share wine. But wait, it turns out that the wine they were drinking was poisoned! The brother dies, Fitz is set up to take the fall, and through the Skill he also learns that Galen is planning to kill Verity. Things are looking bad for our hero, but at least he discovers that his old pal Nosy, instead of being dead, is actually alive and well in this mountainous kingdom, where Burrich shipped him off to those many years ago. Fitz and Regal have a showdown in the baths, where Burrich is clubbed and Fitz is almost drowned in a pool. (He's having trouble physically after drinking the poisoned wine.) However, he's able to contact Verity using the Skill for the first time, warning him of the plot against his life, which results in Verity draining Galen his energy using the Skill, thus killing Galen. All seems right again in the kingdom, except that Nosy valiantly gives his life to save Fitz from drowning. (That's right, they let you know the dog isn't actually dead, as you've thought for the entire book, only to kill him off again a few pages later.) There's also some political intrigue stuff, like, "how much did King Shrewd know about this plot?" etc.
My Thoughts:
PROS:
-An engaging fantasy novel
-Liked the little stories/notes at the beginning of each chapter
-Interesting to see another world, with its magic system
-Fairly exciting throughout
CONS:
-Uses some common fantasy tropes (Fitz is illegitimate, but wait, he has super powerful magic)
-Leaves some ends hanging (where did Molly really go/what's happening with the raiders) but those will probably be addressed in further books, since this one is part of a series
-Seems like the book tries to cover too much set up at once (Fitz is learning to be an assassin, but he's also learning the Skill, but he also has the Wit)
-For the love of Pete, why are all of the dogs so ill-fated?
Overall, I thought the book was fun to read, and I enjoyed stepping into a new world.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Getting started
This is just a blog to help me keep track of the books I've read. I've found that I have a terrible memory for books; I forget almost all plot points and characters a few months after I've finished reading a work. Once I finish my next book, I'll provide a summary with lots of spoilers (so I can remember what happened in the book) and my thoughts about the book.
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