Young Adult Fantasy

Dec 28 2011

Skellig by David Almond

I picked up Skellig by David Almond at Half Price Books for a dollar.  I believe I was vaguely aware of it being a young adult classic (the edition I picked up is the Printz Honor hardback after all) but it sat on the shelf for quite a while as I stumbled on numerous references to its quality and meaning to read it.  Finally the mood struck and I read it.

Description:

Cover of "Skellig"

Cover of Skellig

Ten-year-old Michael was looking forward to moving into a new house. But now his baby sister is ill, his parents are frantic, and Doctor Death has come to call. Michael feels helpless. Then he steps into the crumbling garage . . . What is this thing beneath the spiderwebs and dead flies? A human being, or a strange kind of beast never before seen? The only person Michael can confide in is his new friend, Mina. Together they carry the creature out into the light, and Michael’s world changes forever. . . .

I really should have read this book a long time ago.

It is a simple and yet powerful story of friendship, family, compassion and faith. It is written with directness and yet somehow also manages to be mysterious and keep the magic just off stage – and thus the reader yearning for more – until the end. Almond doesn’t insist that the story be “explained” or that everything be wrapped up neat and tidy by the end – the mystery is allowed to be just that, a mystery.

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By Kevin Holtsberry • Reviews • 0 • Tags: , , , ,

Dec 12 2011

Fly Trap by Frances Hardinge

I loved Fly By Night so when I saw a sequel had been released I knew I needed to read it right away.   And if you enjoyed the first book I think you will enjoy Fly Trap as well. It is full of the same dry humor, word play, imaginative characters, fascinating world building and intricate plots.

Having barely escaped the revolution they had a huge (if accidental) part in causing, sharp-eyed orphan Mosca Mye; her guard goose, Saracen; and their sometimes-loyal companion, the con man Eponymous Clent, must start anew.

All too quickly, they find themselves embroiled in fresh schemes and twisting politics as they are trapped in Toll, an odd town that changes its entire personality as day turns to night. Mosca and her friends attempt to fend off devious new foes, subvert old enemies, prevent the kidnapping of the mayor’s daughter, steal the town’s Luck, and somehow manage to escape with their lives—and hopefully a little money in their pockets.

In the eagerly awaited sequel to Fly by Night, acclaimed storyteller Frances Hardinge returns to a vivid world rich with humor, danger, and discovery.

This one has a serious idea below the surface as well: that treating people differently based on arbitrary standards warps and poisons society. Hardinge powerfully portrays how society becomes stratified with those in power using fear to divide and conquer. Keep Reading

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Dec 3 2011

Modernism, Liberalism & Tolkien

I posted this on my Tumblr blog but thought it worth reposting here as I find it fascinating.

Alan Jacobs is great blogger. He may not want to embrace that label but his Tumblr blog is full of interesting links, thought-provoking analysis and great quotes.  A great example is his post in response to Adam Gopnik’s New Yorker piece on high fantasy for young adults.

What really struck me was his conclusion on Tolkien and modern liberalism:

Modern liberalism likes to think that all our problems are epistemological: we are afflicted by never knowing with sufficient clarity what we ought to do. Our fictions tend to reflect that assumption. Tolkien, not being a modern liberal, thought it more interesting to explore situations when people know what they need to know but may lack the strength of will to act on that knowledge. He might say, and with some justification, that contemporary literary fiction is not simplistic in regard to such problems but oblivious to them.

What say you? True? Fair?

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Sep 8 2011

Blood (Mercian Trilogy #1) by K.J. Wignall

I had a hard time collecting my thoughts on Blood, the first book in the new Mercian triology by Kevin “K.J.” Wignall. I re-read it just to get a stronger sense of my reaction.  I am biased as I am a big fan of the superbly named (although initialed in this effort) Wignall. I enjoyed this book, and think it will make for an interesting series, but it was hard getting my head around it as it was just so different than his previous works.

Here is what I said about his last book (Who is Conrad Hirst?)

Wignall writes psychological novels that have the action, tension and pace of the thriller or espionage genre but the style and depth or more literary works. His sparse and sharp prose somehow adds to both the thriller and literary aspects. His focus on the world of hit-men and his almost amoral perspective add a dark or icy edge; if I may mix my metaphors.

At first I thought he would be taking this same approach to a vampire story – and that would work, right?

But this young adult novel didn’t have that same feel for me (perhaps because of its audience). The lead character, Will, could easily have been that icy cold exterior with the philosophical interior but instead what struck me was this epic sadness coupled with a deep sense of honor and decency. He is trapped in this tragic way and instead of embracing the power and giving into it he seems determined to just endure.

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Aug 29 2011

Breath of Angel by Karyn Henley

 

As regular readers of this site know, I am intrigued by imaginative young adult fantasy and almost anything that deals religious and mythological themes.  So I was intrigued by Breath of Angel.  Here is the book trailer for the visual among us:

Here is the publisher’s description for the textual:

When Melaia, a young priestess, witnesses the gruesome murder of a stranger in the temple courtyard, age-old legends recited in song suddenly come to life. She discovers wings on the stranger, and the murderer takes the shape of both a hawk and a man.

Angels. Shape-shifters. Myths and stories—until now.

Melaia finds herself in the middle of a blood feud between two immortal brothers who destroyed the stairway to heaven, stranding angels in the earthly realm. When Melaia becomes a target, she finds refuge with a band of angels attempting to restore the stairway. But the restoration is impossible without settling an ancient debt—the “breath of angel, blood of man,” a payment that involves Melaia’s heart, soul, and destiny.

This seemed like it had a lot of potential.  And upon reading the first book in this series, I think it did/does. But for me, the story never lived up to the potential.  The first chapter is so well done that you want that kind of suspense and tight story telling to last – but it doesn’t. Instead the story seems to lose its power as it continues and never really regains the power it showed in that great start.

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