Theme Thusday -- Perelandra by C.S. Lewis

Hosted by Reading Between the Pages

Rules:

*A theme will be posted each week on Thursday
*Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading that features the theme
*Post it and don't forget to mention the author and title of the book
*Event is open for the whole week
*Link back to Reading Between the Pages

This week's theme is male person.

All things are by Him and for Him.  He utters Himself also for His own delight ans sees that He is good.  He is His own begotten and what proceeds from Him is Himself.  Blessed be He!

~page 186, Perelandra by C. S. Lewis

This is the second in Lewis' Space Trilogy.  I'm really glad to be finished with it.  It just dragged on and on for me.  I got bogged down in Lewis' long descriptions -- though I have the feeling that many sci-fi fans probably eat them up.  In addition, the theology that is a big part of the book is simply not where I'm at faith/spirituality-wise these days and I think that probably added to my dissatisfaction with Perelandra.  I'm not going to read the final book in the trilogy.

Book Beginnings and Friday 56 -- Faerie Winter by Janni Lee Simner

Book Beginnings on Friday is a meme hosted by A Few More Pages. Anyone can participate; just share the opening sentence, or two, of your current read, making sure that you include the title and author so others know what you're reading.

The woman who would become my mother backed trembling away from the the man who would save her life, and I did not know why.  

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice. Check out the rules and join in the fun.

Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
Turn to page 56.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog. Post a link along with your post back to this blog.

Only there was no fire, not anymore.  Kate looked at Ethan, frowned, and drew the blanket away, spreading it on the ground in front of him.  The boy's chest was blackened as well, and the touch of wool on his burns would hurt him more than the cold.

Faerie Winter by Janni Lee Simner is the sequel to Bones of Faerie.  One of the things I liked about Bones of Faerie was its unique combination of the faerie world with a post-apocalyptic world.  In Faerie Winter, Liza's community is still picking up the pieces after war between the humans and the Faerie.  Now that she's brought her mother back from the land of the Faerie, Liza encounters a new set of problems when a young firestarter seeks refuge in her town.  In the course of trying to get help for him, Liza learns more about the cause of the war and meets the Faerie Queen for the first time.

3.5/5 stars.

Teaser Tuesdays -- Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB @ Should Be Reading. To participate, all you have to do is the following:

• Grab your current/upcoming read
• Open to a random page
• Share 2-3 "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers!

A planet no human being has ever been on before.

  

The boy stands up.  He's so tall, it doesn't feel fair to call him a boy, but at the same time, he's got a bit of a baby face, as if he's never seen or done anything to make him grow up, to make the angels of his face sharpen with the harshness of age.

page 88, Across the Universe by Beth Revis 

This one has been making the rounds among YA readers.  Amy is a teenager who, along with her parents, was cryogenically frozen and place upon Godspeed, a spaceship on its three hundred year journey to a new planet.  When she wakes up early, she is quickly thrown into several mysteries -- including the question of who unplugged her, nearly causing her death. 

I was not nearly as captivated with Across the Universe as I expected to be.  In fact, it's one of the few times, when reading a YA book, that I think maybe I understand the reservations of YA-skeptical adults -- I was aware, with Revis' book, that I am older than her target audience -- I felt a disconnect that I seldom experience with YA fiction, but perhaps it happens more often with other adults than it does with me.  Nonetheless, I will want to pick up the sequel when it comes out . . . And it brought some of the same large issues to the surface that Battlestar Galactica does for me.  3.5/5 stars

The Bronze and the Brimstone by Lory S. Kaufman

In The Bronze and the Brimstone, the second in the Verona Trilogy by Lory S. Kaufman, we return to 14th century Italy where Hansum, Shamira, and Lincoln are continuing to figure out how to survive in a world that is very different from their homes and lives in the 24th century. 

It is always interesting to see how an author will handle (or ignore) the need to orient new readers to what is happening in a given series.  I won't give away how Kaufman chooses to do this in The Bronze and the Brimstone, but I thought it worked well. 


I continue to be intrigued with Kaufman's idea of what a post-apocalyptic utopia would look like and how society would choose to educate their children about what came before.  All children go to History Camp, where they experience life as their ancestors did (think colonial Williamsburg but less touristy and more mildly boot camp-ish).  In The Lens & the Looker (Book 1 in the Verona Trilogy), History Camp doesn't seem to be having its intended effect on Hansum, Shamira, and Lincoln but when they are kipnapped and taken to the real 14th century Verona, it's a different story.   

And now, in The Bronze and the Brimstone, the adventures continue.  Hansum continues his work with the ruler of Verona, introducing gunpowder and cannons before their time with all of the danger that comes along with them.  Meanwhile, the Black Plague has begun its deadly tour of Europe and Pan, the a.i. who was with them from the beginning, is suddenly no longer around to help. 

I've found it difficult to place these books in a certain age category.  The reading level is very accessible yet there are certain things that seem meant for an older audience.  My guess is that Kaufman is writing for a high school age audience.

3.5/5 stars

The Lens and the Looker by Lory S. Kaufman

Let me just start by saying:  With The Lens & the Looker, Lory S. Kaufman begins a YA trilogy that is post-dystopian -- definitely not the norm these days! 

I'm a sucker for time travel and so I was interested to see what The Lens and the Looker would be like.  It's set in a 24th century where humans have partnered with artificial intelligences to create a harmonic society.  From the back cover:

To make equally perfect citizens for this world, the elders have created History Camps, full-sized recreation of cities from Earth's distant pasts.  Here teens live the way their ancestors did, doing the same dirty jobs and experiencing the same degradations.  History Camps teach youths not to repeat the mistakes that almost caused the planet to die.  But not everything goes to plan . . . three "hard cases" refuse the valuable lessons History Camps teach.  But when they are kidnapped and taken back in time to 1347 Verona, Italy, they only have two choices:  adapt to the harsh medieval ways or die.


I will be looking forward to reading the second book in the trilogy, The Bronze and the Brimstone.

Theme Thursday -- Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner

Hosted by Reading Between the Pages

Rules:
*A theme will be posted each week on Thursday
*Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading that features the theme
*Post it and don't forget to mention the author and title of the book
*Event is open for the whole week
*Link back to Reading Between the Pages


This week's theme is Female Person [description of a woman/girl]. 

Cover of Bones of Faerie

A huge metal arch stretching from river to sky and back again.  A dark-haired young woman, her face streaked with tears, walking toward the arch's base, closer and closer until it towered above her like a giant curving mirror.  She walked on, stepped through the mirror's bright surface, and disappeared.  

~page 88 Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner


I enjoyed the way Simner combined post-apocalyptic/dystopian elements with a heavy dose of magic in this young adult novel.  I've got the sequel, Faerie Winter, on hold at the library and look forward to it!
 

Out of the Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis

I'd never read any of C. S. Lewis' fiction for adults before picking up Out of the Silent Planet -- the first in his Space Trilogy.  Dr Elwin Ransom(modeled after Tolkien, by the way) is on a walking holiday when he is abducted by a former schoolmate and his (evil-scientist-)physicist partner and taken to the planet Malacandra.  When Ransom escapes his human captors, he has to figure out how to survive in an alien (so to speak) environment and distinguish friend from foe.  Being a lover of language and linguistics, I enjoyed watching Ransom (a philologist himself) begin to consider the way language works on Malacandra.  I will probably want to pick up the final two (Perelandra, That Hideous Strength) at some point as well.

All Clear by Connie Willis

I've just finished All Clear by Connie Willis -- the conclusion of the time-travel/WWII/great characters story she began in Blackout.  With both books, I felt a little muddled and confused at times.  Not only does the reader go back and forth between 2060 Oxford and WWII-era England, but that reader must also follow the pathways of a given character at various points during various years.  I couldn't decide if I was confused because I'm dumb, because the reader is supposed to be confused (which I'd be okay with), or because I should be less ignorant of WWII history/European geography.  I'm guessing that it may be a combination of all three.  ;)

Nonetheless, it all largely came together for me by the end of All Clear and I'm glad I persevered.  Willis' storytelling is rich and the conclusion so satisfying.  I'm a big fan of what ifs to start with and that is a part of the appeal but there is more than that to my enjoyment of her books.  And of course I was amused by the brief cameo of a certain mystery author in her role as a dispensary worker.

Friday 56 and Book Beginnings -- Blackout by Connie Willis

Hosted by Katy.

How to participate: Share the first line (or two) of the book you are currently reading on your blog or in the comments. Include the title and the author so we know what you're reading. Then, if you feel so moved, let us know what your first impressions were based on that first line, and let us know if you liked or did not like the sentence.

Colin tried the door, but it was locked.  The porter, Mr. Purdy, obviously hadn't known what he was talking about when he'd said Mr. Dunworthy had gone to Research.


I have a lot of fun with time travel and I enjoyed this one.  I will say, though, that it was hard for me to keep up with exactly who was when and how that compared to the other characters -- Thiswhere was a book that needed the name of the chapter (for example "En Route to London, September 17, 1943) at the top of each page.  All Clear is Collins' follow-up/conclusion to Blackout and I'll be putting it on hold at the library as soon as there is space on my account!



Hosted by Freda.
Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Link it here.

His first instinct was to put his hands out in front of him and feel his way forward, but this was the southeastern coast of England.