“Our lives are all different and yet the same.” (Anne Frank)
This week at the Broke and Bookish the topic for discussion is:
Ten Books That Celebrate Diversity/Diverse Characters
- In Midnight’s Silence by Teresa Frohock a book where the main character is not only a mixed race (Daemon/Angel) but he is also gay and partner to one of the nephilim (part angel/part human).
- The Tower Lord by Anthony Ryan – in which we meet the character Reva who seeks revenge for her father’s death. Reva has been brought up in the religion of the World Father, she’s a conflicted character – being a lesbian and strict worshipper of a faith in which same sex relationships are not tolerated.
- Half a King by Joe Abercrombie – in which the main character Yarvi was born with one of his hands badly deformed and in a world where your sword arm is valued above everything else this definitely places him at a disadvantage in this harsh world.
- The Copper Promise by Jen Williams – Sir Sebastian is a fallen knight who was cast out of his order because he’s gay – he is a fantastic character to read about and a strong favourite of mine.
- The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller – unsurprisingly a book about Achilles and his lover Patroclus.
- Zoo City by Lauren Beukes – in which the main character is a South African woman called Zinzi who has been ‘animalled’ – by way of punishment for a crime she has been convicted of. This is an alternate South Africa where criminals are magically attached to an animal familiar.
- Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey – in which the main character Phedre has romantic connections to both a male and female character during the story. Terra d’Ange was created by Elua who is known for his motto “Love as thou wilt”.
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon in which the main character suffers from certain behavioural difficulties that are never particularly named but appear similar to Aspergers or Autism.
- A Game of Thrones by GRRMartin – Tyrion Lannister – also known as the ‘imp’ or ‘half man’ – Tyrion is a dwarf, born to the powerful house of Lannister – he doesn’t really need any introduction! Definitely one of my favourite characters from the series.
- The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N K Jemisin – Yeine is half Arameri and half Darre – born to a mother disgraced and cut off from her own royal beginnings for marrying beneath her status. Yeine is looked down upon and despised by her Arameri relatives who consider her to be little short of a barbarian.
In Midnight’s Silence by Teresa Frohock
In Midnight’s Silence is a short story which brings to us a wonderfully strange world where Angels, Daimons and Los Nefilim roam amongst us.
The main characters of the story are Diago, Miguel and Raefael and the story starts in Seville during the 1930’s. At the start of the story Diago returns to his apartment to find evidence of a struggle and his partner Miguel missing.
I’m not really going to elaborate on the plot but will say this is incredibly easy to read. The writing flows well and appears effortless and Frohock manages to bring to us a strange tale of abduction and threat, filled with revelations and creatures of myth and lore with a number of new elements brought into the equation for good measure.
Hidden in plain sight are Angels, Daimons and Los Nefilim (characters born of a liaison between angel and human who act as a sort of police agency controlling the Daimon’s behaviour).
So, apart from the excellent writing which contains a wealth of imagination making it difficult to believe that this is only a short story (100/130 ish pages I think) what else did I love about this story. Well, firstly, having read Miserere and the Broken Road I can unequivocally state that the author is an expert at conjuring other worlds populated with creatures straight from hell! Speaking of which, her books always seem to have a religious theme and yet they never have a ‘preachy’ feel. She has a great ability to literally suck you into whatever situation she creates and she manages to write these deliciously creepy elements along the way that will have you looking over your shoulder as you read! I particularly love the scenes with the Golem.
In terms of characters we have this wonderful blurring of the lines between good and bad where the angels in the story come off a little less ‘angelic’ than you might expect. Okay, the Daimons are pretty much a bunch of nasty characters as you would expect but even so! The surprise element of the book is that Diago is neither Angel or Daimon but a combination of the two. Up to this point he’s refused to take sides but this is about to change.
On top of this the story brings up some really interesting and new (for me at least) ideas in terms of the immortality/rebirth of angels and the carrying over of scars from a previous life.
This is a book very much about choices – difficult and heart wrenching choices and impossible situations that you really can’t see a good ending to.
The only criticism that I can make is that I wanted more – luckily there is more to follow so that’s basically a win!
I received a copy of this from the author. The above is my own opinion.
‘There is a fell voice on the air. It’s Saruman!’
16 July 2015
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Extreme weather, Fantasy Review Barn, Tough Travelling
The Pass of Caradhras – Lord of the Rings
This week over at the Fantasy Review Barn we are once again on our travels through the tropes of fantasy guided ably by our fearless leader Nathan. The topic this Thursday is:
EXTREME CLIMATES
Perhaps the handsome prince lives in a castle surrounded by green countryside and sunny days. The rest of the land is forced to deal with freezing cold, searing heat, and every other extreme climate mother nature can throw at you.
- Seven Forges by James A Moore – the Seven Forges is a large, previously unexplored mountain range. The country is barren and the weather is fierce and cold and inhabited by massive and savage creatures.
- Storm Glass by Maria Snyder – in which a magician called Opal is sent to help the Stormclan – people who tame the raging sea storms using glass orbs
- Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson – a planet swept by the most fantastic storms!
- Lord of the Rings – Mount Doom! Don’t really need to say more!
Tis all for me this week – although can we just end with:
Books, books, books
14 July 2015
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Last 10 books acquired, The Broke and the Bookish, Top Ten Tuesday
This week over at the Broke and Bookish the topic is :
‘Last Ten Books That Came Into My Possession’
This is a nice and easy one! Although I do keep promising to cut back on my book buying and try to reduce my stacks it never quite works out!
- A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab – bought
- Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel – bought
- The Fifth House of the Heart by Ben Tripp – review book
- Dawnbreaker by Jay Posey – review book
- Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray – review book
- Shifting Shadows by Patricia Briggs – gift
- The Boy Who Wept Blood by Den Patrick – gift
- Relic Guild by Edward Cox – gift
- The Razor Cure by Daniel Polansky – gift
- Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine – bought
What’ve books have you recently acquired that you’re excited about???
Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey. Read along conclusion
This week is the conclusion of our readalong. I’m away at the moment so this post won’t have links and pictures. This week our host is the lovely Lisa. Beware of spoilers. Q&A below.
1. Isidore d’Aiglemort comes back into play for the battle against the Skaldi, and Phedre takes a huge risk to turn him from an enemy back into an ally – to a point, at least. And d’Aiglemort’s one demand is to have Waldemar Selig left to himself on the battlefield… What were your thoughts on Terre d’Ange’s unlikely hero, when all the dust settled?
Well. He’s a difficult one. In one respect he was a back stabbing traitor but on the other hand I couldn’t help cheering him on when he fought Selig. I have to say that in that respect he did redeem himself in my eyes although I confess that i wasn’t surprised that he met his end. And it would have been impossible to totally trust him again so he kind of went out on a high note.
2. After the war, we get a wedding! Ysandre and Drustan survive to unite their people after all. Did you think they’d both get this far, and do you have any thoughts on how this union (political, romantic, or both) might turn out?
I did think they would get this far and I was kind of pleased for them both because apart from all the politics of court they seem to have the makings of a lovely romance in the making.
3. Melisande is finally discovered, and brought before the Queen to be punished for her treason. Though, of course it’s not as simple as that with her… Were you surprised at all when she escaped? And do you have any ideas about who might have aided her?
In a way I’m not surprised that she escaped. It was a bit easy though and I would have liked a bit more detail. But she makes a good baddie and so it’s no surprise that Carey wants to keep her in the picture.
4. Ysandre and Drustan aren’t the only ones to get their happy ending – well, up to a point, anyway. Phedre and Joscelin try on the quiet country life, and it goes well for a while… Once again Phedre is unable to forget, or be forgotten by, Melisande – wherever she is. Do you think Phedre will return to her old life, as we leave her contemplating? If so, is her choice the right one?
Again. I would have liked a bit more detail here. The happy ending with Joscelin felt a little lacking somehow. But that being said perhaps if we’d had too much of a happy ever after then it would be difficult to believe that Phedre would want to return to her espionage. As it is this is a perfect set up for book 2.
Extras. That scene where Selig captures Phedre and tortures her. Eugh! Part of me just thought ‘how could you’. It was interesting that there was no tender feelings or remembrances.
Sorry about the brevity and any typos.
We’re all considering reading book 2 so if you want to jump aboard then watch this space or leave me a comment and we will add you to the list.
