Crystal Singer

Crystal Singer Anne McCaffrey Date: 12 November, 1985   —   $6.29   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Science Fiction

Killashandra Ree has just completed final examinations, and has been told that after a decade of hard work, her voice is simply not up to being featured as a star performer. A secondary, perhaps, or a choral leader, not not first, and definitely not solo. For Killashandra, this is intolerable, so she seeks out a new profession where she can be first. This comes with discovery of crystal singing, a highly secretive guild whose members are bound to a particular planet.

This is an enjoyable sample of McCaffrey's work, and is set in a world that is congruent with her "Ship Who..." series. It's very readable and a lot of fun. My low rating merely reflects the fact that I'm beginning to get bored with it.

The Wicked Day

The Wicked Day : Book Four of the Arthurian Saga (The Arthurian Saga, Book 4) Mary Stewart Date: 1983   —   $10.17   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Fantasy

Mary Stewart got herself into a bit of a quandary: she removed her principle narrator, but she left the story unfinished. Worse still, she discovered that when she started research that the whole Mordred-as-supreme-villan thing was a later invention, and yet she had set up the traditional evil-bastard-son plot. And worst of all, Mordred as evil didn't pass the smell test, since Arthur treated him with great honor and trust, which seems impossible to reconcile with a version set on bringing Arthur down.

So she did the best she could with what she had, and instead of exploring the possibility that Mordred and Arthur had fought and fallen in the same battle— but not on different sides— she went with a more traditional interpretation, where Mordred is the villain, but not through his own agency or plan. His early upbringing, away from his mother Morgause, is enough to shield him from her machinations, and he is more clear-sighted than his half-brothers, the Orkney children. However, he has a longing for power, enough for a handful of confusions to make it seem as though he seizes at it later.

While this is well-written, and a good portrait of a sympathetic Mordred, it encapsulates the reason I'm not fond of Arthurian myth. Namely, this is an extremely sordid tale, because as much as happy tales have been grafted on to Camelot, they couldn't do much with the ending, and the ending is always that Arthur dies and the country falls apart for centuries. Whee.

The Last Enchantment

The Last Enchantment : Book Three of the Arthurian Saga (Arthurian Saga, 3) Mary Stewart Date: 1979   —   $10.17   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Fantasy

Merlin is getting old, especially in a time when life expectancy was not what it is now. This novel details many happenings of Arthur's reign, including the advent of Guenevere, who will come between Arthur and his best friend Bedwyr. (Lancelot was a French graft, as was Galahad.) However, this is again the story of Merlin, this time the story of Merlin's fall. Stewart gave him quite a bit of dignity, based on the fact that his fall was caused by a lady who immediately stepped into Merlin's place as Arthur's adviser; given the strong affection between Arthur and Merlin, it does not seem likely that Arthur would so complacently take the advice of someone he believed responsible for Merlin's death. Therefore, the giving of powers to Nimuë (also known as Niniane) is something Merlin himself decreed, though even Nimuë herself admits that the last taking was unfortunately rough.

Though Merlin survives being walled up in the cave (after falling into a deathlike coma), his purpose upon emerging is clear: he wants to fade out of the story, and leave the guardianship to others.

The Hollow Hills

The Hollow Hills : Book Two of the Arthurian Saga (The Arthurian Saga, Book 2) Mary Stewart Date: 1973   —   $10.47   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Fantasy

Stewart continues her Arthurian saga through the eyes of Merlin in this book. This one details the stratagems that Merlin goes to to hide the young Arthur but still have him raised in some manner of nobility, and of the raising of Arthur to kingship at a very young age due to the early death of Uther. (In this version, the kingship passes directly; a reasonable supposition in an age when strength ruled more often than "right".)

This series is engaging for the portrait she paints of Merlin. He is a good storyteller and extremely fond of the young boy king, an affection that is returned. The tales of Arthur's Companions are told at one remove, which is probably just as well, as Stewart herself explains that the Round Table (in this version, a round room) was the medieval equivalent of a soap opera setting— here's the characters, now hang a story on them. Most of the popular Round Table stories are grafts, and when attempting to imbue the time with a sense of realism (well, with a bit of Merlin's magic thrown in), one has to be careful about which stories one employs.

Holding Wonder

Holding Wonder Zenna Henderson Date: June, 1972   —   used only   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Science Fiction

This is a collection of stories from the creator of The People, characters who are pretty much human except for powers such as telepathy and telekinesis (and, oh, the fact that they came from a distant star.) The People have to hide their abilities because of the times they live in; though they are people of deep (and vaguely Christian) faith, they are often burned as witches or shunned for other reasons.

Similar sensibilities permeate the stories in this collection. Primary characters are often teachers dealing with strange children, such as the folks in "The Closest School" who have to deal with enrolling a furry alien child, or the teacher in "The Believing Child" who has to talk a girl into changing several boys back from being rocks. Some of the stories dance on the edge of reality; a particularly sad example deals with a child in a family that is breaking apart, because reading between the lines tells you every part of a sordid tale that some children have to deal with in their lives.

Several stories deal with the threat of nuclear war, but in a way that indicates that the dangers might not just come from a fractious mankind, but might be something stranger and less preventable; whether a meteor strike or the Hand of God smiting the wicked, these stories seem to say, this is our world now and we must deal with it. Most of the stories are set in the West, southern Colorado or Arizona, perhaps. It's never specified, but the terrain tells its own tale.

These are classic stories that have been long overlooked. Zenna Henderson's work is full of hope and the possibility (if not always the reality) of redemption, and is perfect reading when you're feeling a little down about the state of humanity. Buy it when you can track it down.

Spindle's End

Spindle's End Robin McKinley Date: 2000   —   $5.85   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Fantasy

Where Beauty and Rose Daughter were retellings of Beauty and the Beast, Spindle's End is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty. It is set in a country where magic is in the air, literally, and fairies to help control the dust problem are common. When the queen finally has a child, fairy godmothers are invited, and everyone hopes that the dire Pernicia who stood against the country's queen so long ago, is truly dead and no longer a problem. Naturally, this is not the case, and a young fairy from a distant town takes the child away to hide her, as ordinary folk are probably the best method to hide the child from Pernicia's search.

Rose grows up with many fairy gifts in strange ways— what good is a pleasant singing voice if you're tone deaf?— and as ordinary as she believes she is. But when the dire date approaches for the curse to be fulfilled, she plots with her fairy "cousin" and "aunt" to fool Pernicia and her magic, and fight her way through a hate that has four hundred years to grow strong. As is typical with McKinley, Rose is a strong character, and makes for entertaining reading.

Rose Daughter

Rose Daughter Robin McKinley Date: 1997   —   $5.85   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Fantasy

That Robin McKinley loves the story of Beauty and the Beast is obvious, as she has told the story not once but twice. However, the two versions are not completely congrous, and this version is a little more adult, with roses as an allegory for love (not romantic love per se but necessary love). There's also a lot about gardening, something McKinley has been doing a lot of in her life. And the sisters are obnoxious to start off with but become more reasonable as time goes by, something commesurate with the vast changes in their life.

There's a lot more pettiness in this version, as the cityfolk turn their backs on the family when their social status falls apart. Likewise, the eldest son of the squire in the town they move to is very conscious of his status and provides a sense of danger there. And the origins of the Beast are a little clearer in this version; and Beauty's choice is slightly different than the traditional one, because she has more of a choice in this version.

I tend to read both versions at once, one right after another. What can I say, I like Beauty and the Beast too.