This is an adorable fairytale about a boy who leaves his (mostly ordinary) home village, and sets out on a quest through the (magical) land of Faerie, to find a fallen star. As such quests tend to go, he is not the only person looking for the star, and at the same time, two other groups set out, both seeking it for different reasons.
Often sweet, regularly amusing and occasionally slightly gruesome, this book juxtaposes the childlike telling of a fairytale quest, with hints of the more realistic, the more worldly, and certainly the more adult perspective. The story is incredibly easy to read, because it is told in language that is, if not simplistic, at least easily comprehensible. And the tale that is woven is a wonderful mixture of the best that fairytales have to offer.
The strengths of this book, and its main source of charm, come from the way in which the protagonist, Tristran Thorn, finds himself in totally new and unfamiliar circumstances and how he deals with them. With his goal always in mind, he trips and stumbles through semi-typical fairytale adventures (all with a slight twist, so as to hold interest). There are those that help and hinder. There are witches, and princes, a unicorn, and talking trees, and almost all of the woodland animals seem to be enchanted humans of some form or other. The picture presented of this world is beautiful and magical, and it is described and explored wonderfully through Tristran's unfamiliarity.
Where I felt the book fell down slightly was in conveying the interactions between characters. While I often dislike books that over-labour the love-story aspect of the tale, I felt this book completely glossed over it, so that although you can tell from quite early on how the story will end, you don't quite believe it until it has already happened. It made more of a brief encounter between two other characters than it did of the love story that the book was leading towards.
However, in spite of this, this book was a very entertaining read, told in elegant style and well worth reading.
Sunday, 27 January 2008
Saturday, 19 January 2008
Review of 'The Wasp Factory' by Iain Banks
The first person narrator of this piece is a sixteen-year-old boy, with macabre habits, strange fascinations, and dark secrets. Frank Cauldhame, as he is called, lives on a small island, just off the coast of Scotland, with his father. The island is his world, his domain. Within it, he believes he has almost total power. Frank also has an older brother, Eric, who does not live on the island. But Eric is coming home.
There is only one way to tell a tale from the perspective of a mind as unconventional as Frank’s, and that is in a completely matter-of-fact tone of voice, that makes every bizarre event and belief seem completely reasonable. Frank describes his day, his thoughts and emotions, and at times there is the strong sensation that he is an inevitable consequence of his past and upbringing.
Each event is described with precision, each ritual is mentioned with the assurance of someone that feels such things are completely necessary. The narrator alludes to much in the first chapters, but does not describe any of these things in full till much later. It is this curiousity, as much as anything, which draws the reader through the book. But these things, when finally revealed, do not disappoint.
While there is much about this novel that is almost otherworldly, or at the very least slightly dubious, as a horror novel, it is disturbing in its plausibility. The characters, while skewed from the norm, are definitely not outside the realms of possibility, which makes their actions all the more emotionally wrenching. From beginning to end, The Wasp Factory is intensely readable, and equally disturbing.
There is only one way to tell a tale from the perspective of a mind as unconventional as Frank’s, and that is in a completely matter-of-fact tone of voice, that makes every bizarre event and belief seem completely reasonable. Frank describes his day, his thoughts and emotions, and at times there is the strong sensation that he is an inevitable consequence of his past and upbringing.
Each event is described with precision, each ritual is mentioned with the assurance of someone that feels such things are completely necessary. The narrator alludes to much in the first chapters, but does not describe any of these things in full till much later. It is this curiousity, as much as anything, which draws the reader through the book. But these things, when finally revealed, do not disappoint.
While there is much about this novel that is almost otherworldly, or at the very least slightly dubious, as a horror novel, it is disturbing in its plausibility. The characters, while skewed from the norm, are definitely not outside the realms of possibility, which makes their actions all the more emotionally wrenching. From beginning to end, The Wasp Factory is intensely readable, and equally disturbing.
Review of 'Endymion' by Dan Simmons
Endymion is the sequel to Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion. Reading these two first makes everything much clearer, but I would not say it is completely necessary. Most of the necessary information is referenced somewhere within the book, although sometimes events that occurred in Hyperion/Fall of Hyperion that aren't important to the plot of Endymion are mentioned, which might be a little confusing without having read the first two books first. However, I will try not to spoil the plot of Hyperion in the review below:
Set 250 years after the end of ‘Fall of Hyperion’, this book picks up with completely different characters, a new world order, a completely different feel to the worlds. This is space opera in its richest form; a chase across planetary systems, new space drives, new technologies. The main characters include a child, a convict that narrowly escaped a death sentence, an android and a priest. Raul Endymion is the main character and the narrator. The story starts with an act of anger, of revenge. The harsh consequences lead Raul to meet a man that asks him to go on a seemingly impossible quest. And of course, he accepts.
The story gets increasingly improbable from there on in. But it is told in beautiful style, each new world described so as to make it seem completely believable. And all of the events fit seamlessly into the framework already described in the two Hyperion books. Each new twist of the plot draws the reader further into the story. This is one of those books you just don't want to put down. Each time it seems the pursuers are gaining, you worry for the main characters, you wonder how they can possibly escape in time. Occasionally you are lulled into a false sense of security, only to be shocked completely in the next chapter.
Endymion is beautifully written, wonderfully described. The leader is led through the story by a desire to know how Raul got into the situation from which he is writing, and by the tense, exciting events that are happening in his ‘past’. Perhaps Dan Simmons overuses the cliffhanger as a dramatic device, so that you are almost forced to read through the next two chapters before you even think about putting the book down. But if he is guilty of this sin, then he is acquitted by his skill at using the device. The two connected, interweaving narratives drive the reader through the world, seeing it from two jarring perspectives, and wishing the main characters forward, away from harm.
While I would definitely recommend reading Hyperion first, I can most assuredly recommend Endymion as a very worthwhile read. Dan Simmons has created a universe both beautiful and terrifying, and I believe that all science fiction lovers will revel in it.
Set 250 years after the end of ‘Fall of Hyperion’, this book picks up with completely different characters, a new world order, a completely different feel to the worlds. This is space opera in its richest form; a chase across planetary systems, new space drives, new technologies. The main characters include a child, a convict that narrowly escaped a death sentence, an android and a priest. Raul Endymion is the main character and the narrator. The story starts with an act of anger, of revenge. The harsh consequences lead Raul to meet a man that asks him to go on a seemingly impossible quest. And of course, he accepts.
The story gets increasingly improbable from there on in. But it is told in beautiful style, each new world described so as to make it seem completely believable. And all of the events fit seamlessly into the framework already described in the two Hyperion books. Each new twist of the plot draws the reader further into the story. This is one of those books you just don't want to put down. Each time it seems the pursuers are gaining, you worry for the main characters, you wonder how they can possibly escape in time. Occasionally you are lulled into a false sense of security, only to be shocked completely in the next chapter.
Endymion is beautifully written, wonderfully described. The leader is led through the story by a desire to know how Raul got into the situation from which he is writing, and by the tense, exciting events that are happening in his ‘past’. Perhaps Dan Simmons overuses the cliffhanger as a dramatic device, so that you are almost forced to read through the next two chapters before you even think about putting the book down. But if he is guilty of this sin, then he is acquitted by his skill at using the device. The two connected, interweaving narratives drive the reader through the world, seeing it from two jarring perspectives, and wishing the main characters forward, away from harm.
While I would definitely recommend reading Hyperion first, I can most assuredly recommend Endymion as a very worthwhile read. Dan Simmons has created a universe both beautiful and terrifying, and I believe that all science fiction lovers will revel in it.
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