Review - The Tombs of Atuan

The Tombs of Atuan (Earthsea Cycle #2)
by Ursula K. LeGuin
150+ pages

Description via Goodreads

The Earth is beautiful, and bright and kindly, but that is not all. The Earth is also terrible, and dark, and cruel. The rabbit shrieks dying in the green meadows. The mountains clench their great hands full of hidden fire. There are sharks in the sea, and there is cruelty in men's eyes. And where men worship these things and abase themselves before them, there evil breeds...(118)

We meet up with Ged again, on another journey--but not at first. The majority of this short book is dedicated to introducing the character Arha, the High Priestess of The Nameless Ones in the Place of Tombs. She is a living artifact of an old, somewhat forgotten religion and even less relevant to the kingdom of the Godking that rules today...Ged, enters the book much later.

I thought the role of religion in this adventure was interesting. The worship at the Place is very dark in nature. It involves frequent human sacrifice and trips into a labyrinth of tombs and treasure, where no light is permitted. Arha is able to discern that religion means different things for different people. For some it is a pathway to power, for others it's a way of life and for others it's just something to do because there is nothing else to do. Gradually, she uses this realization to form opinions of her circle of acquaintances, and decide who is friend and who is foe. Ged, an outsider, nonbeliever and heathen wizard, whom she discovers in the tombs one day turns out to be friend. He defies everything Arha was told--he lights the darkness. He shows her there is more out there than what is suppressed in the dark labyrinth. He returns her name, Tenar, to her, and frees her from the Place...it was no surprise that some of her fellow temple-folk turn out to be foes. 

Plot-wise I didn't enjoy The Tombs of Atuan as much as I did A Wizard of Earthsea, but I think the language in this one is more friendly, and easier to read. I found Ged's origin story in A Wizard of Earthsea to be more compelling than Arha's...she comes across as a very self-righteous, condescending and self-centered character, which can be traced directly to her upbringing. As The Eaten One, she is told the darkness is her domain, and placed on a pedestal. Yet still she is just a girl, young and dumb, with no grasp on how vast and different the world is. Sequestered at the Place, she only knows what the other priestesses have taught her...which is religious worship (until she meets Ged) 

At the end of The Tombs of Atuan, Arha still has much to learn about herself. Whereas, by the end of A Wizard of Earthsea, Ged had matured substantially...but Ged also had the freedom to go on a journey of self-discovery. Arha is just now finding this freedom and perhaps in the third book of the Earthsea Cycle, Arha will experience something more.

The Tombs of Atuan

Four stars.

Review - Who Fears Death

Who Fears Death
by Nnedi Okorafor
350+ pages

Description via Goodreads

I vividly remembered the sensation of having my forehead caved in by a large rock. It didn't hurt as much as it should have. It just felt like I was suddenly...exposed. A rock destroyed my nose, bloodied my ear, buried itself in my cheek. I was conscious through most of it (p.128)

Who Fears Death explores dark subject-matter and in its own way, sheds light upon the conflict that plagues the storyline. In post-apocalyptic Africa, widespread enslavement, genocide and rape are a norm in many regions. So much so, that it has become a myth of human existence that many people believe in. The central conflict is between the Nuru, a light-skinned people, and the Okeke, a dark-skinned people. In the West the Okeke are enslaved to the Nuru, who are gradually expanding their realm of hate into parts of the East. In this expansion, rape and genocide occur often. Nuru men kill Okeke men, and rape Okeke women simply because they can. Sometimes these rapes produce children, half-bloods known was Ewu. They are considered to be children of violence and are frequently outcast by either side. The main character, Onyesonwu, is one of these Ewu. This story is about her journey to death, and the mystical things that happen along the way.

Who Fears Death contains somewhat vivid descriptions of death, murder, rape and genital mutilation. These descriptions hold the book together and keep the reader engaged. Without them the rest of the narrative is rough. Many of the characters lack depth, and even though it's supposed to take place in post-apocalyptic Africa, as a reader, I don't get that feeling. The reader is frequently presented with folkloric tangents that are supposed to explain why certain things are the way they are. However, for the most part they muddle up the narrative and stall  forward progress of the book. For a very long time, I was confused as to what the true purpose of Onyesonwu's quest was. Was it to defy cultural norms, to become a great sorceress, to kill her biological father, to rewrite the Great Book? Maybe a combination. I don't know...I was only sure of one thing: her death. 

For me, the beginning of the book was very dynamic and intriguing. It faded in the middle because of the reasons mentioned above, and picked up a little towards the end. I found the actual ending to be anticlimactic, ambiguous and escapist. In some cases that works. In this case, not so much. With that said, I'm glad I read this book. It's unlike most of speculative fiction I've ever read.

I read this book for A More Diverse Universe Blog Tour. You can check out other book reviews here. 

Who Fears Death

Three stars

Review - Ready Player One

Ready Player One

Ernest Cline

350+ pages

 

Description via Goodreads

When I dropped a quarter into the left coin slot, the game emitted a familiar electronic bea-wup! sound. I tapped the Player One button, and the first maze appeared on the screen. I wrapped my right hand around the joystick and began to play, guiding my pizza-shaped protagonist through one maze after another. Wakka-wakka-waka-wakka (222)

 

Charming. Funny. Entertaining. Fun. An ode to 80s pop culture.

 

This is about an adventure in the life of Wade Watts, an eighteen-year old gamer and 80s pop culturist(?), on a mission to find Halliday's egg. Halliday's egg will bring him fortune, fame and the means to move out of his aunt's trailer. However, Wade is not alone in this quest--he must compete with billions of other "gunters" to find this egg, which can only be found through something of a virtual scavenger hunt...using 80s references as clues.

 

The idea behind the story is very interesting, refreshing even. A game within a story, a game within a game, blurring the line between virtual and reality. An escape from reality is a prevalent theme here, as well as, connecting people who are otherwise disconnected in their actual lives. Wade Watts is young, immature and surprisingly, vulnerable. He airs out his insecurities, (physical and emotional) and reveals weakness. It's not something I see a lot. Very uncharacteristic of male protagonists I've come across. He's very smart, dedicated and a little awkward--overall a likeable guy.

You know you've totally screwed up your life when your whole world turns to shit and the only person you have to talk to is your system agent software (237)

Cline utilizes first person narrative fairly well. He's super descriptive in his explanation of the chaotic, rogue, resource-deprived cities of the future and the the inner-workings of OASIS, a game-like interface used to educate, conduct business, work and participate in extracurricular activities. Basically, people sit on their asses all day, instead of engaging people in reality...why does that sound familiar?...But Wade aka Parzival (his OASIS I.D, sort of like a Gamertag) informs the reader again and again that reality sucks.

 

If I had to pick on something in this book, it would probably be the dialogue--it's really cheesy and elementary at times...I would like to think it would've worked  since Wade is a socially awkward, insecure nerd, whose brilliant thoughts don't always translate into well-articulated conversations. And the book is a little heavy on tell-not-show description, which leads me to another thing. The 80s references. I understand they were essential to the hunt, but it gets tiresome--quickly. At first it's like "Oh yeah, I remember that song" or "Oh yeah, that movie was pretty funny haha", but after 300 pages of it...you just don't care anymore.

I created the OASIS because I never felt at home in the real world. I didn't know how to connect with people there. I was afraid, for all of my life. Right up until I knew it was ending. That was when I realized, as terrifying and painful as reality can be, it's also the only place where you can find true happiness. Because reality is real. Do you understand? (364)

I really liked the main antagonist, the IOI, a huge global corporation trying to control the flow of information for everyone. They'll stop at nothing (including murder) to find Halliday's egg and control OASIS. I also liked that Wade doesn't lead triumphantly the entire way. He needs help, he falters, he encounters obstacles. In the end he learns a valuable lesson about the perks of living and participation in the real world...although he does only learn it through a virtual scavenger hunt...hmm.

 

It's a fun read about adventure and self-discovery in the context of 80s video games. But you don't need to be a gamer or familiar with the 80s to enjoy it.

 

Ready Player One

  

Three stars.

Review - A Wizard of Earthsea

A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle #1)
by Ursula K. Le Guin
Pages: 180+

Description via Goodreads

…a man: who, knowing his whole true self, cannot be used or possessed by any power other than himself, and whose life therefore is lived for life’s sake and never in the service of ruin, or pain, or hatred, or the dark (195)

A Wizard of Earthsea is a science fiction/fantasy bildungsroman and origin story of Sparrowhawk (also known as Ged) the greatest voyager of Roke. The reader follows Ged from his humble beginnings as a nobody to his first obligations as wizard. 

Sparrowhawk or Ged, is very interesting character. He’s the last born and natural loner. Left to his own devices in a small, boring village, he finds creative ways to cultivate his mind. For example, learning charms from his witch-aunt: calling goats, healing spells, patching leaky roofs etc.  However, simple charms aren’t enough for Sparrowhawk, future dragonlord and Archmage. Eventually he takes up an apprenticeship with a Master Wizard, but impatience and immaturity rule over him. So the Master Wizard sends him to the Roke School of Wizards, famous throughout all Earthsea.

 Ged begins his adventure talented but immature and flawed. Along the way, he learns the importance of balance, not letting one side overwhelm the other.  He develops the courage and wisdom to finish what has been started. The major conflict jumpstarts when ego leads Ged to summon a power he doesn’t understand and cannot control. He creates a gateway for a shadow to enter the world. This is not just any shadow…it’s everything dark. On his journey to understand the shadow and his connection with it, he matures greatly. What begins as a source of self-inflicted damage and destruction of Ged becomes a passage to wholeness and adulthood.

There were many elements and little details that intrigued me… I like the idea of limits; knowing them and testing them--be it the power of a spell or sailing the seas to the edge of the world. Ged is a wizard, but he is also a human with weaknesses. I really like the dark invitations: the huge elder dragon on the isle…the hidden stone that was before all things. Both had knowledge of the shadow, knowledge that Ged needed, but their power was sinister and untrustworthy. I also like the importance of names. Knowing a true name grants one the ability to speak to, connect with, and in some instances control something or someone else. I’m hoping all these things will be further explored.

I’m looking forward to the other adventures of Ged. 

A Wizard of Earthsea

Four Stars.

Review - The Left Hand of Darkness

The Left Hand of Darkness
Author: Ursula K. Le Guin
Pages: 300+

Publisher's Description:

'On the planet Winter, there is no gender. The Gethenians can become male or female during each mating, and this is something humans find incomprehensible. The Ekumen of Known Worlds has sent an ethnologist to study the Gethenians of their forbidding, ice-bound world. At first he finds his subjects difficult and off-putting, with their elaborate social systems and alien minds. But in the course oa long journey across the ice, he reaches an understanding with one of the Gethenians -- it might even be a kind of love..'

My thoughts:

I really enjoyed reading this book. The world and story Le Guin creates is so creative and original, and the subtle details make the characters believeable...If you've ever been in bone-chilling weather, the description of the weather and Genly Ai's (principal character and ethnologist) reactions, on the planet Winter will ring true.

Genly Ai meets a variety of Gethenians during his stay on Winter, many of which are high-ranking officials/diplomats who will heavily influence his task of recruiting the nation of Kardhide to what I took to be a inter-cosmo/galaxy union of planets who all seek the trade, knowledge and innovation of all other members...sort of like the EU, but with planets. However, there is one problem: the nation of Karhide is at odds with the neighboring country of Orgoreyn. This produces a lot of tension around Gethenian elite and produces an equal amount of uncertainty for the ethnologist; making his task all the more difficult.

When I first started reading the book, and learned the Gethenian race was ambisexual, dual-gendered, androgenous until a cycle of kemmer, I was unsure of where the story was going...but as the story continued I quickly discovered that differences between aliens/races of men only matter on the surface. In fact, besides being nicknamed, 'the pervert', Genly Ai is treated with utmost respect for the majority of the novel...until an unfortunate turn of events.What mattered in the end, was friendship, loyalty and honesty.

Nothing negative to say about this novel...My favorite part is easily the impossible trip Genly Ai has to make near the end. It is here when true friendship is discovered and with a bit of luck, life manuevers out of the deathly cold grip of Winter.

 The Left Hand of Darkness

Five stars