Phobia of the Day

Chaetophobia - Fear of hair.

Courtesy of phobialist.com 

Tamora Pierce, Part 1: The Tortall Universe

She gets ALL of the Stars!!

One of my all time favorite authors, Tamora Pierce, has written approximately 8 series of teen fantasy/fiction novels. The majority of her novels cater to women because her protagonists are females (with the exception of Briar from the Circle Universe). These “teen” books aren’t just for young girls going through adolescence. Women of all ages can enjoy them, too! I still enjoy reading them. My mum liked them, too! The Circle Universe is far more fantastical, but not any less well written and enticing. But, those are for another post. 

I love Pierce's writing style and stories so much; I’ve read almost everything she’s ever written. The only two I can think of, that I haven’t read, are two I haven’t had the chance to read yet. I’m going to review the Tortall Universe chronologically by plot. Spoilers for some things are inevitable, but do not affect reading the books. Plus, they do not need to be read in any specific order. I certainly didn’t! I read Daine, Kel, Alanna, Aly, and then Beka. You'll see!

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The Tortall Universe:

Tortall is a major country in this universe, where these books take place. It’s similar to the Middle Ages in the sense that it has a monarchy, court, nobility, knights, and such. It’s capital, Corus, is the main hub of power and society. Otherwise, it’s a completely different world.

Magic is something very real and practical to all Tortallans. Whether magic comes from the common herb-woman or a mage at the King’s court. Creatures from lore are also very present. There are many religious deities who often play a part in human lives. Sometimes they choose champions or use them to carry out their own purpose. Despite their power, they do not often mettle in human affairs, allowing humanity to shape the world.

The Series:

 Terrier (2006), Bloodhound (2009), and Mastiff (2011)

Beka Cooper Trilogy – George Cooper is caught stealing at the age of 6. His mother, ashamed, tells him the story about his famous ancestress, Rebakah “Beka” Cooper. Beka is a trainee for the Provost’s Guard – Tortall’s equivalent of a police force. In those days, trainees were called “Puppies” and guards were called “Dogs,” both of which were stationed in the “Kennel.” Beka struggles to make her home, the Lower City of Corus, a safer place. Using her street smarts and determination to succeed, Beka battles to protect what she loves from outside threats. These three books about Beka are written in a diary-style, unusual for Tamora Pierce. However, that doesn’t take away from the emphasis on the story. 

Alanna: The First Adventure (1983), In the Hand of the Goddess (1984), The Woman Who Rides Like A Man (1986), and Lioness Rampant (1988)

The Song of the Lioness – 200 Years after Beka Cooper, Alanna of Trebond has found herself in a predicament. Noble-born girls traditionally go to the covenant to learn how to be proper noblewomen and wives. Noble-born boys tend to become knights or study magic. Alanna wants to be a knight. Her twin brother, Thom, wants to study sorcery. The twins’ father is only concerned with his own studies and pays them little attention. The only solution is for Alanna to become Alan and go to the palace instead of her brother. Thom gets his wish, and goes to the temple to study magic. Alanna, disguised as a boy, must work through a world of men to earn her title of Knight. But, is she strong enough? Can she hide her femininity enough? Can she keep up this charade even when she befriends the handsome Prince Jonathan? What about George Cooper, the King of the Rogues? Can she help protect Tortall and her own family? 

Wild Magic (1992), Wolf-Speaker (1994), Emperor’s Mage (1995), and The Realms of the Gods (1996)

The Immortals – Veralidaine “Daine” Sarrasri is an orphaned girl who has an unusual gift of wild magic. Wild magic is not uncommon, but is a disregarded branch of magic. Her magic gives her a unique connection with animals. Her ability to talk to them is mistaken as insanity in her young age. But, eventually, Daine nabs a job with the royal horsemaster, which leads her to the mage Numair Salmalin: the most powerful mage in Tortall. Under his guidance, she learns to control her ability, something that is very important for herself and her companions. While the Carthaki nation is threatening war with Tortall and monsters on their doorsteps, Daine must learn to use her wild magic to help protect her new home and friends. In book one, Daine meets Alanna, which results in spoilers for The Song of the Lioness. As a reader, the reunion with Alanna brought a smile to my face. Tamora Pierce is said to be writing two novels about Numair’s life before meeting Daine.

The Protector of the Small consists of: First Test (1999), Page (2000), Squire (2001), and Lady Knight (2002)

The Protector of the Small – Keladry “Kel” of Mindelan is the first girl to follow in Alanna’s footsteps – legally. After a law is passed allowing girls to try for knighthood, Kel is the first to step forward. As she begins her training, she is constantly harassed, bullied, injured, and put on probation. Her training master doesn’t believe a girl will ever succeed as a knight. The young recruits must survive training, hazing, and bullying to move through the ranks. Kel must also endure these, but not alone. She befriends the wry Nealan “Neal” of Queenscove and Lord Raoul of Goldenlake, an old friend of Alanna’s. As she faces sexism and giant spidrens, among other creatures, Keladry fights to protect what she loves and for the title of “Knight”; something only one woman had done before. This series brings in spoilers for both The Immortals and Song of the Lioness. Despite that, the spoilers do not affect how one enjoys reading the series out of chronological order.

Trickster’s Choice (2003) and Trickster’s Queen (2004)

Tricksters – Alianne “Aly” of Pirate’s Swoop is 16 years old and daughter to Alanna. Aly’s parents refuse to let her work as a Tortallan spy, so Aly leaves home…only to get captured by pirates and sold into slavery in the Copper Iles. There she makes a bet with the trickster god, Kyprioth, to protect the children of the Balitang family. As Aly befriends Nawat Crow, a crow turned man, she finds out there is a far greater conspiracy in the Copper Isles. Can she protect Sarai and Dove Balitang? Can she protect herself? This series of two books is also known as Daughter of the Lioness for … erm … obvious reasons.

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Pick up any of these books for a fantastic read! You will not be disappointed. All of the covers have been remade so they can republish the series. As an owner of the original covers... it makes me feel really old. Haha!! Some of the old covers were better than the new ones! But, also, some of the "2nd Edition" covers were better than the originals and  the new ones. Some make the books look really girly and "teeny-bopper." Don't be dissuade by them! The content is really good!

The Circle Universe will be reviewed in another post… Purely because there are so many in the Tortall Universe and this post is already 2-pages long in Word without aesthetic editing

Happy Reading!

-Isabel

Phobia of the Day

Decidiophobia - Fear of making decisions.


Courtesy of phobialist.com

Phobia of the Day

Arachibutyrophobia - Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of one's mouth.

Courtesy of phobialist.com

Excuse the Absence!

I've had a pretty chaotic week! After I'd gotten back from Easter shenanigans at a friend's house, the game began. Indeed. Humans vs Zombies week began. The Apocalypse came to my campus.

Humans vs Zombies originated in Goucher College where a bunch of students came up with this eccentric game. It became so popular that it is now played in hundreds of communities and colleges nationwide. More information can be found on their website http://humansvszombies.org/.

HvZ is like a giant "big-kid" game of tag! Humans wear bandanas as armbands and Zombies wear them as headbands. It starts with an OZ - Original Zombie - who tags as many Humans as they can, infecting them. Those tagged by the OZ immediately become Zombies. The OZ wears an armband for the first 24 hours of the game, or until they tag 10 Humans. A tag is quite literally a tag. A Zombie has to chase after the Human and tag them.

Tags, for Zombies, equate to kills for food. A Zombie must "feed" or be "fed" every 48 hours, or they will stave to death. That is the only way to "lose" HvZ. Sometimes some Humans equate becoming a Zombie with losing.. That's not the case. In fact, living without the paranoia of getting mobbed by Zombies is a rather nice feeling. One can only lose if they do not tag anyone.

Tags are regulated through the website hvzsource.com. Every human has an ID number, which they carry with them at all times. So, when they are tagged by a Zombie, that Zombie enters the ID number into the website. When submitting the tag, the Zombie is able to "feed" two other Zombies as well. By feeding fellow Zombies, you increase the survival time of the horde.

Humans are not defenseless! They are allowed to use Zombie repellent. Nerf Darts and balled up socks can stun Zombies for 10 minutes. Typically Humans will stock up on both and fortify themselves in no-play zones. Many Humans will create packs or squads to protect each other and attempt to survive longest. It all becomes about who you know and where they are. By building up one's social network, a person can survive for quite a long time. This is a game of networking and social capital. You don't want to protect someone who can't protect you! Ultimately, you'll get killed for it! But, as a Zombie, you contact your Zombie friends and create a horde. Your horde will go to the missions, or go out Human hunting with you. Both parties are stronger in groups than alone.

Anywho, so this was the game that was played for a week, with missions to keep up excitement. It was supposed to span from Monday to Sunday, but us Zombies took out too many Humans. On Friday, our Moderators gave 7 Zombies (chosen from a lottery) revives, and the ratio of Humans to Zombies was relatively equal: 52:48 or so. But, then came the Friday evening mission. It was a glorious last stand for the Humans, and a magnificent win for the Zombies. 20 or so Humans versus 15 Zombies, maybe fewer. Strategically, the finale was definitely in our (Zombies') favor. So, the game ended earlier than intended.

I was sore, I was tired, I was bloody exhausted... But, HvZ was the most fun I'd had in a while. I met some fantastic people and bonded with some I already knew. Being a Zombie was tons of fun! Sprinting after Humans while going to class made the mundane ... absolutely wicked. So, spread the word! Maybe you can get one started in your community! At home? At camp? Family gatherings? Anywhere!! Check humansvzombies.org and hvzsource.com and find a game near you!!

More books to come! =)

Happy Hunting!
-Isabel

A Children's Book is not Always for Children!

A bit of a rant!

JK Rowling Writes an Adult Novel? I know! Surprised me, too! But, then again, she's such a good author, I'd probably read anything she published. I understand her need to break away from Harry Potter and start something new; something fresh. To be completely honest, I feel kind of proud. 

But, that's not why I'm here. There was a comment left by someone on that post that said the following:

I still maintain that the last 3 books of the Harry Potter series were not children’s books. J.K herself said that a person should not be any younger than Harry is in the books when they read them. It always bugs me when I see them in the children’s section. Those and Phillip Pullman’s Dark Materials. When are people going to realize that just because the main characters are children doesn’t mean the books are for children.

And thanks to that comment, here’s a brief rant on something that irritates me. 

What makes a children’s book a children’s book? So many people classify books with children as the protagonists as children’s books. But this is not the case! Think about it!! Was Harry Potter a children’s book? No! It was a young adult book at the very least! It’s dark! So dark! Lord Voldemort murders Harry’s parents when he’s an infant, and tries to kill Harry for 7 YEARS! He’s 11 when he first battles Voldemort. Eleven! There’s something about that fact that makes me hesitant to consider that as children’s literature. He watches people he loves die and or suffer. He’s told he’s the only one who can destroy an all-powerful dark lord at a young age. Yeah, it’s fantasy-fiction, but that’s a dark world for a child to be exposed to. I’m not sure that it’s an appropriate book for a 4 year old.

I started Harry Potter just after 1^st grade, so I was about 6 or 7 at the time. And maybe that’s a decent age to start. But, there were a lot of things I didn’t understand. Granted, JK Rowling writes for all ages, and with some experience I understood everything. But, I think about things like His Dark Materials and how Lyra’s only 11 as well. That series couldn’t ever be a children’s series! When the Magesterium kidnaps children, Lyra’s best friend gets taken. When she goes to look for him she finds out <they kill children’s daemons to “save” them, which pretty much destroys the children>. Not only that, but <Mrs. Coulter is in charge of the operation and Lyra's mother>. I dunno, there’s something about these books that just doesn’t make them child friendly. It’s like when I read The Shining in 7^th or 8^th grade. Another one! Danny is only 7 or 8, if I remember correctly! Here’s a note for those who thought the movie was scary: it’s not even close to the scariness that the book is. I’m serious. I couldn’t sleep for at least a week after reading the book. When I saw the movie? Completely unfazed. Yeah, Jack Nicholson’s creepy and a great actor, but nah. Didn’t get me as much as the book did. I mean, seriously, <the entire book, you have no idea he’s going crazy>.

Would one consider Grimm’s Fairytales to be children’s literature? No! Of course not! It used to be, but at the same time, it was ageless. The original fairytales we carry so near and dear to our hearts, thanks to Disney, are so much darker and bloodier than we know them to be! I’ve read so many things that are considered to be “children’s” literature, and it’s a shame to see what fantastic work gets shunted to the sections where their demographic will never look for them. It’s rather depressing! Just because the main character of a book is a child does not mean the book is a children’s book! Pick it up! Give it a try! Take The House of the Scorpion for example! Matt is a genetic clone. He is treated like crap. He’s locked away until El Patron has a use for him. Eejits are worked like mindless zombies. It’s a terrible world and not one built for a children’s novel.

If you haven’t read my post about The House of the Scorpion, click here!

There is a theory that due to the Internet and text-messaging and all those shenanigans, that children are now unable to separate from their parents. The whole "being hounded by mum and dad" idea, I suppose. Maybe it doesn't matter anymore? Maybe we're all just really big children because of all this new technology. I somehow can't imagine that. The children in these books grow up so quickly, and we're being restricted somehow. And, yeah, a lot of us "teens" or "young adults" are just really big kids. But, that doesn't mean we can't reach that individuality that so many characters do. Would anyone's character develop if mum and dad held our hands all the way through adolescence? Probably not! I'm just thinking of Buster from Arrested Development. I think, in this society, we can't consider ourselves children. Thanks to technology, we grow up much faster than before. Yes, mum and dad are just a text or phone call away; but, you're still more-or-less on your own. But, a child is still a child. Becoming an adult, in my opinion, is not stripping oneself entirely of that childishness. I believe that you have to understand it, embrace it, and indulge it. Everyone is childlike. Everyone can identify with a child.

Don’t let age brackets deter you! Row! Row! Fight the power, and grab yourself a good ol’ “children’s” book and see what it’s like. You decide! 

Happy Reading!

-- Isabel

Phobia of the Day

Alektorophobia - The fear of chickens.


Courtesy of phobialist.com