Many readers of Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache/Three Pines books don’t know what to make of the newest installment in the series, The Long Way Home. Some found the conversations boring, others wondered where the action was, and quite a few Amazon reviewers just plain didn’t like the ending.
Me? I thought it was her best book to date.
And the ending made me cry. At one in the morning, when I finished reading the story and then tried falling asleep.
Except I kept thinking about the book. And when I woke up in the morning, I was writing a review in my head.
Redemption for… Gamache, Beauvoir, the Morrows and a couple of art professors
After the bang-bang, shoot-shoot excitement of the previous book, How the Light Gets In, and its facile ending, I wondered where Penny would go with this 10th book featuring Chief Inspector Gamache. Could she redeem her writing reputation with this new book?
Well, yes.
The Long Way Home is as much about Penny’s redemption as it is about Gamache’s and Peter Morrow’s… and the two art professors who are at the center of the story.
The usual cast of characters is present: Jean-Luc Beauvoir, Gamache’s son-in-law and police sidekick for many years, the artist Clara Morrow, Myrna the bookstore owner/psychologist, comfort-food dispensers and Bistro owners Gabri and Olivier, and Ruth, the famous poet. Armand Gamache’s wife, Reine-Marie, plays a bigger role in this book than in most of the others. And that’s not surprising, given the emotional and physical turmoil he was left to bear at the end of the last book.
The Gamaches have moved from Montreal to the village of Three Pines. Gamache has retired from the force, and is enjoying the peacefulness of his new life, after dealing with murder for so many years. He is also undergoing therapy with Myrna and daily confronting the fear and guilt that still linger after his injuries.
Revelations on a park bench
Very early every day, Armand Gamache walks over to the bench overlooking the village and opens a tiny book that he refuses to show anyone. He reads a few lines, comes to a bookmark placed there by his father and realizes he is not ready to go farther. Clara Morrow joins him on the bench and he senses she wants to reveal something important… but she stops before she can do so. Likewise, he is not willing to share what he is seeking: balm for his wounds.
The book he is reading: There Is A Balm in Gilead.
One day she tells him. Her husband, Peter, was supposed to have returned after a year’s trial separation – and didn’t. She would like Gamache to investigate why, fearing that Peter may have done harm to himself or that he didn’t love her anymore. She had an urgent need to know and, despite his fears about getting back into the investigation game, Gamache agrees to help her. In fact, all of their friends get involved in this intricate puzzle of the travels and whereabouts of Peter Morrow.
A breakdown? Or a breakthrough?
What I appreciated about “the long way home” that Penny traveled in this search for Peter was the intricate building of clues, the superlative dialogue, and the willingness of the characters to see past the obvious. The story essentially is a detailed travelogue into Peter Morrow’s mind and emotions.
If you’ve read any earlier books in the series, you’ll recall that Peter tended to play it safe and became bewildered and jealous when his artist wife, who took artistic chances, became more famous than him. As Peter unravels and then reintegrates the pieces of himself, we only see him through the clues he leaves. And through the feelings of those who love him.
The solutions to figuring out Peter’s whereabouts came partly through his credit card charges and partly through works of art he sent his nephew for safe-keeping. The Three Pines “explorers” who followed his tracks realized that Peter was either having a nervous breakdown – or a major artistic breakthrough.
Their first impression was negative, but when they looked more closely, they found things they hadn’t seen before. When they turned one of the pictures upside down, they saw a totally different work of art, evoking another emotion entirely. The “way home” to creative genius starts with a few painful steps, a few brush strokes on paper or canvas. Does Peter make it all the way? Well… that conclusion comes at the end of the book.
My summary: Louise Penny hits a home run with The Long Way Home
My previous favorite of the Gamache/Three Pines series had been The Beautiful Mystery. After reading the one in between that book and this one, I wasn’t at all certain that I’d continue following Louise Penny’s mysteries.
I’m very glad I did. This book kept me in a state of wonder all the way through. The relationships, the impeccable dialogue and the seat-of-the-pants journey made me a Louise Penny fan all over again.
The ending was tough, but the book was, after all, about courage, about facing our bogeymen, about redemption. About release, about coming home.
Chief Inspector Gamache books in order
I highly recommend that you read the Gamache/Three Pines books in publication date order. The relationships are such a part of each story and the characters grow (or regress) according to Penny’s story line.
Those of us who really get into these books almost feel like members of the village. We eat at the Bistro, buy our books in Myrna’s book shop, wave hello to Rosa the duck as she waddles after Ruth, the poet. We sink our tushes into the Adirondack chairs in Clara’s garden and feel the soothing peace that emanates from Three Pines (a village that, for some reason, does not appear on any map).
If you haven’t read the books, here’s the list in order of publication.
Still Life (start here to get a feel for the place and the characters)
The Aubrey-Maturin Series by Patrick O’Brian… with Reading Order List
H.M.S. Surprise by Logawi via Creative Commons
Master and Commander is the first book in Patrick O’Brian’s wonderful 21-book historical fiction series known as the “Aubrey-Maturin Series.”
It is also the name of the adventure movie with Russell Crowe, although much of the action in the film was actually derived from books much farther down the list, especially Number 10, The Far Side of the World. So the 21 books are now known by the series title “Master and Commander” as well as “Aubrey-Maturin.” Not too confusing, I hope.
The Aubrey of the beloved books is Jack Aubrey, an officer of the Royal Navy whose heroic exploits we follow through 21 delightful books and much of the Napoleonic Wars. Stephen Maturin is his unlikely sidekick, confidant and best friend… the ship’s surgeon and an intelligence officer whose doings are not always known to Jack Aubrey.
So here we go… off to sea and the farther reaches of the earth. No Dramamine needed. Just bring your imagination and let’s see if I can convince you that Patrick O’Brian’s sea-faring adventures will keep you engrossed – I mean so completely engrossed – that it might be some time before you come up for air. There are 21 books in the series, after all… and not a moment to be lost!
[PS] If you get hooked on the series like I did, you’ll want to bookmark this page for future reference. Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin books are listed in order below.
[PPS] I don’t normally re-read novels, but this series is so good, I’ve read the entire series 3 times (so far). I catch a different nuance every time and it never, ever bores me.
Imagine yourself sitting in the music room of the Governor’s House on the island of Minorca in the year 1800, listening to a concert in which you are so transported by the music that your right hand moves in time with the violins – up, down, sideways. Ahhhh… bliss.
And then the concert-goer next to you has the audacity to suggest that you were not even keeping time with the music. And then as you gently, quietly hum in unison with the cello pom, pom-pom-pom, poom, your head bobbing in time, an elbow smashes into your ribs and an angry voice hisses at you to “shush.”
For Lieutenant Jack Aubrey, that was one more negative piled on to an already large heap that included his promised command of a ship being taken away at the last moment. Hopes high, then dashed low. A familiar theme throughout these books… and part of what keeps us readers engaged book after book.
But the news turns brighter when Jack receives a commission for a naval vessel – at long last. Not a war-ship, of course; rather a little transport sloop known as the Sophie. He will be its Master and Commander…not yet a Post Captain, eligible to command larger vessels, but it will do for now.
And the surly patron of the arts from the concert turns out to be a trained physician in need of transportation. As “luck” would have it, the Sophie’s previous surgeon has gone to another ship and so Stephen Maturin is invited to become the Sophie’s new surgeon. Stephen is not particularly adept at remembering where to stand when sails need to be raised or how to safely climb aboard the ship after a trip to port and, for a man with a command of so many other languages, the lingo of seamen seems to be somewhat beyond his ability to grasp. On the other hand, he performs wonderfully as a physician and surgeon, keeping wounded sailors alive better than most in his profession.
Jack Aubrey takes command of the Sophie, a rather sluggish boat with an under-manned crew, the remains of its previous crew who were not invited to join the departing captain on his new ship. But Jack is nothing if not resourceful and is able to call in a couple of favors to replenish his manpower, allowing him to set off on his first official voyage, that of convoying a small fleet of merchant ships to Cagliari, an island in the Mediterranean.
This is a humdrum routine for Captain Jack Aubrey, whose first task is to get his gun crews up to speed and his second, to outfit the Sophie to sail much faster. Daily practice at the fourteen 4-pounder cannons accomplishes the first mission. The second mission required a little delicate subterfuge with the navy stores, but it earned the Sophie a new mainyard and much more speed for Jack’s preferred plan of taking prizes. For Jack Aubrey is a master at capturing enemy ships, whether it is part of his naval orders or not. “Lucky” Jack Aubrey, they call him, for good reason.
On land, Jack does not function as well as he does at sea. Dr. Maturin, on the other hand, loves his opportunities to go ashore and find new specimens of flora and fauna to inspect and dissect. Maturin’s sea legs are a little slow in coming and the eye that is so keen at birdwatching does not always figure out what is happening in front of him on the ship’s deck, no matter how many times it is patiently explained by one crew member or another. This theme runs through all the books and makes the usually competent Maturin an entirely endearing character. Trepanning the gunner’s brain on the deck of the Sophie is child’s play compared to recalling the names of the 21 flags and multiple masts on the ship.
Aubrey lets his anger and impetuousness get the better of him on land, the main reason his promotions are always slow in arriving, but at sea he is a master in battle planning and quick life-saving action. Ineffectual as a sailor, Maturin otherwise is a master botanist, studious zoologist and resourceful ship’s surgeon. His intelligence work is merely hinted at in the first book, but his importance to government affairs becomes much more evident as the series progresses.
An invitation into the wonderful world of Aubrey and Maturin
Master and Commander lays the foundation for a deep understanding of man-of-war ships, of naval etiquette and bravery, of early 19th century medical procedures, of close and lasting relationships and long-into-the-night reading. The journeys of the Sophie and the adventures of her captain and crew are a captivating, colorful tapestry created by Patrick O’Brian’s dry, sly wit and exemplary writing.
This first book in the series introduces us to life on the shores of the Mediterranean in the year 1800 and to the very real dangers faced by captain and crew on the oceans of the world, especially in times of war – in this case, war with France and Napoleon. In fact, Jack and his crew are captured by the French toward the end of the book and must face a court-martial for the loss of their beloved Sophie, who now belongs to another navy altogether.
Ups and downs, like the waves on the ocean. High then low, with a few storms and calms interspersed. A life lived boldly. Loves felt deeply. Rewards given handsomely… or taken away by spite. A rich storyline, endearing people and so much to learn. My favorite combination for a fiction novel.
I hope you’ll decide to travel with Jack and Stephen and the Sophie and the Surprise and the loves of their lives… for they are coming into the picture, too. Come… the winds are in our favor – and there is no time to lose.
What’s a destitute sea captain to do when peace is declared? Hide from his creditors on land… or become a temporary substitute captain on another man’s ship? For Jack Aubrey, the choice is clear and he is given the acting command of an awkward vessel called the Polychrest, which had somehow acquired an alcoholic gibbon named Cassandra. New tensions between Aubrey and Maturin increase because of… what else… a woman. And not just any ordinary woman. Diana Villiers is an important part of the story and this second book sets that stage brilliantly.
Aubrey and Maturin’s main voyage in Book 3 is a long one: to deliver an emissary of the King of England to the Sultan of Kampong. Their travels take them by way of Bombay, India where Diana Villiers is now living. Jack Aubrey has been given command of an older but reliable vessel, H.M.S. Surprise and his completely competent capabilities at sea are proven over and over on this long, eventful trip.
The action in The Mauritius Command is based on real events during the Napoleonic Wars.
In the novel, the British Navy elevates Captain Jack Aubrey to acting Commodore of a small fleet aimed at taking over some harbors currently occupied by the French in and around the island of Mauritius (east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean). Aubrey, accustomed to being a hands-on captain of a single ship must now organize and placate a number of individual post-captains, each of which has his own advantages and idiosyncrasies.
Watching Captain Aubrey struggle with the politics of the situation and then rise to the occasions as needed is a treat. You feel like cheering by the end of the book when… (oh, I won’t give it away, sorry).
Dealing with Captain Bligh (he was a real naval officer and The Bounty was a real ship). Transporting prisoners to Australia. Spy stuff. Battles at sea. Shipwrecks. And rescues (sort of). Oh yes, icebergs, too. The action in this book never stops. It took me a while to catch up on sleep after staying up late reading this book.
The United States finally declares war on England, but many in the newly fledged country still have ties with Great Britain and aren’t happy with President Madison’s war, as they called the War of 1812 back then. Captain Aubrey and Stephen Maturin still haven’t made it home, and end up in the United States as prisoners of war after yet another naval battle in which the Americans were victorious. Their escape is fraught with danger, yet thrilling. Oh yes, Diana Villiers features prominently, which adds to the tension and suspense. Another book to keep you reading late into the night.
After escaping from America, Stephen urges Diana Villiers to marry him, so that she may not be an alien on British soil, subject to possible incarceration, since the two countries are at war. When she does not agree, other measures must be taken, including a trip to France, which is also at war with England. Stephen gives a talk at the Institut, and installs Diana with a friend for her own safety.
Jack, in the meanwhile, gets to know his children again, after such a long absence at sea. But, of course, duty calls (by way of Stephen’s intelligence work this time) and the two head for the Baltic on a delicate mission.
Threading their way through treacherous waters, the boat hits a reef and Aubrey and Maturin and their crew are once again in the hands of their enemies… this time the French. But you know that there are 21 books in the series, so an escape is made (this one rather unusual) and the pair are headed back to England once more, with Diana Villiers.
Stephen dutifully asks for her hand in marriage and she says……… (oh, c’mon, I’m not giving that away).
Because of his legal problems at home, Captain Jack Aubrey has accepted a commission to join the blockade squadron at Toulon. The ship he commands is the unseaworthy “Worcester.”
At least he has many of his former crew and Stephen Maturin joining him on this tedious work of sailing back and forth, back and forth… in perfect formation with the flag ship. Jack’s nemesis, Admiral Harte, gives incomplete details to Jack on a delicate mission… one that is bound to fail because of that.
Fortunately, Jack had demanded his orders in writing and he was later given temporary command of his beloved old ship “Surprise” for an even more delicate mission to determine which of three local leaders would best provide port privileges for the Royal Navy while thwarting inroads from the French at the same time. We get to see Aubrey-as-politician at work, with surprising results.
While waiting for refitting in Malta, the Surprise’s sailors become more and more dissolute, with money to pay for “fancy girls” and liquor. French intelligence, at the same time, is getting increasingly knowledgeable about Royal Navy affairs and Dr. Maturin, meanwhile, is entering into an interesting relationship with a would-be lady spy.
In addition, the identity of a traitor in the naval hierarchy is revealed, but the only ones who know who it is… are us readers. I won’t divulge what happens to “that scrub Admiral Harte” in the book, but Jack’s nemesis finally gets what’s been coming to him through 8 previous books.
Captain Jack Aubrey receives an unexpected commission in his beloved ship Surprise that will take him to “the far side of the world” protecting British whalers from the American ship “Norfolk.”
By the time I was halfway through the book there had already been a pregnancy, two suspected murders, storms and the taking of a prize.
If you saw the movie, you’ll have heard about the ship’s “Jonah.” That’s here, too.
The action in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is taken from more than one of Patrick O’Brian’s books and primarily from #10 The Far Side of the World. Russell Crowe dyed his hair blonde and gained weight for the role, creating a very good facsimile of how I envisioned Captain Jack Aubrey. Paul Bettany as Dr. Stephen Maturin was altogether too good-looking for the part, given the descriptions of Maturin in the books. But he was still a good foil for Aubrey’s ebullience and sense of duty.
The movie is definitely worth seeing to get the flavor of the times and the sense of being at sea in the early 1800s, without all of the conveniences we now enjoy for our comfort and safety. Captain Aubrey was known for thinking on his feet and Crowe portrays this very well in the film.You can almost smell the gunpowder from the cannons in the battle scenes and I can still see Jack Aubrey with tongue in cheek discussing the “lesser of two weevils” with the officers at dinner.
If you’ve read any of the books, you’ll appreciate seeing how the movie portrayed Captain Aubrey’s steward “Killin” and also his coxswain “Bonden,” both of whom were very well cast. Tom Pullings, too. The replica ship Surprise used in the movie is now on display at the San Diego Maritime Museum.
UPDATE: I watched the film again last year (had to get a DVD copy from the library; mine was a videotape and my VCR is long gone) and so much of the action feels just like O’Brian’s descriptions in the books. Lots of material from the books is crammed into the movie, but I enjoyed seeing these “old friends” in action, rather than just imagining them.
Books 11-21 Are Listed Below:
I included Amazon links for the first 10 books in the series, but for the next 11, here’s a direct link to Amazon’s listing of the Aubrey-Maturin books on Patrick O’Brian’s author page.
(11) The Reverse of the Medal
(12) The Letter of Marque
(13) The Thirteen Gun Salute
(14) The Nutmeg of Consolation
(15) The Truelove
(16) The Wine-Dark Sea
(17) The Commodore
(18) The Yellow Admiral
(19) The Hundred Days
(20) Blue at the Mizzen
(21) Unfinished final book **
** Patrick O’Brian was working on book “21” when he died in 2000. Diehard Aubrey-Maturin fans were grateful for these few chapters of what, we’re sure, would have been a glorious closing to the Aubrey-Maturin tales.
I re-read Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander for our book club… and got so caught up in the story again, that I devoured the entire series – for the second time. Here’s my review of Book 1.
Outlander is the first in a series of eight books (so far) written by Diana Gabaldon. I was introduced to this wonderful series by a librarian sometime in the 1990s, when only the first two or three of the books were in print. Then had to wait what seemed like eons for the next one to be released.
Outlander was back on my mind because it was our book club choice three months ago. Luckily the member who suggested the book gave us lots of warning and, at 850 pages, we needed it. I downloaded the book to my Kindle so I could savor the story at my leisure, without worrying about getting it back to the library in 4 weeks. What am I saying? There wasn’t even a copy available in the county’s entire library system… they were all out. It’s that popular.
Categorizing Outlander is not easy, to be honest. We could call it historical fiction, fantasy, romance, or adventure… and, in fact, it is all of those. Spanning the years from 1743 to 1945… Outlander takes us from the edges of World War II in Europe back to the Highland uprisings of the 1740s and the Battle of Culloden (in that order).
Oh… did I mention the time travel? The standing stones?
Claire Randall, the heroine of the story, accidentally slams back in time from 1945, having just completed her stint as a wartime army nurse, to the year 1743 when she happens to run into a man who was her husband’s great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather. His name is Black Jack Randall… the “bad guy” of the tale. But she is rescued from the clutches of this nasty fellow by James Fraser, a Highlander who is younger than Claire by a few years… and who is one of the most memorable characters ever written into an historical fiction adventure. The relationship between 20th century Claire and 18th century Jamie turns into one of the best love stories – ever.
Diana Gabaldon is a fabulous story-teller
Diana Gabaldon’s story-telling is so adept that you feel completely engaged in the deep, deep love that develops between Claire Randall and Jamie Fraser… a love that grows over the entire series. I don’t want to give too much of the story away if you haven’t read the books yet, but you must trust me on this one. If relationships are your thing, this is one of the best-developed I’ve come across in a series of novels.
I’ll mention, too, that the history is well-drawn and accurate. The adventures are gripping, the battles heart-wrenching, the “evil-doers” as nasty as you like. The story drew me in and hasn’t let me go 15 or more years later. I’ve been waiting, like the rest of Gabaldon’s legion of fans, for the new book to come out. It’s finally here… and I’m reading it with relish. This is a story worth following, in other words.
Intrigued? You can check out some of the 14,546-plus reviews by clicking on the book’s cover, above or right here.
Outlander series – books listed in order
Outlander
Dragonfly in Amber
Voyager
Drums of Autumn
The Fiery Cross
A Breath of Snow and Ashes
An Echo in the Bone
Written in My Own Heart’s Blood
Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone (release date 11/23/2021)
If you’re not familiar with Highland history or the Battle of Culloden, the videos in this documentary will fill in some of the blanks.
Are you collecting the Starz DVDs? Here they are for Season 1
“A Discovery of Witches” – Book 1 of the All Souls Trilogy
In A Discovery of Witches, author Deborah Harkness presents a plausible story of the relationships between the three (sub)species of witch, vampire and daemon… including their battles and their loves. I’m still wondering how I missed hearing about the book when it was released in February 2011.
I first “discovered” A Discovery of Witches in Barnes and Noble one Friday evening in July 2012 when I was desperate for new reading material… and the library was closed. The author’s new book, Shadow of Night, had just been released, with a prominent display in the bookstore. And beside it… paperback copies of Book 1, with the words “New York Times Bestseller” emblazoned across the top.
I left the shop with a new book to read – about witches. Right up my alley (but that’s another story).
In my review of A Discovery of Witches, I’ll give you a short synopsis of the story and my thoughts on the subject matter: an inter-species relationship between a witch and a vampire.
I’ll talk about why I was so engrossed in the story that I flew through book one and ended up buying the second book, too. (And eventually, the third book.) This is a complex, conceptually intriguing trilogy of books that I’m already wishing would go on longer. In other words. I really, really like these stories.
How a reluctant witch begins exploring her witchy heritage
Graphic: ArtbyMichelle and ClipartPal.com
The witch in A Discovery of Witches, Diana Bishop, looks like – and is – a college professor, who is more likely to be carrying a briefcase than a broom.
Not that brooms don’t enter into it. Diana comes from a powerful witch lineage, including her late mother and her very lively aunt. Aunt Sarah most definitely uses brooms for magic. And has a cat “familiar” named Tabitha. And a sentient house with a mind of its own. Diana’s ancestor, Bridget Bishop, was executed for witchcraft in Salem. Pretty powerful credentials for a woman who does NOT want to be a witch.
Most of the first book in the All Souls Trilogy revolves around this basic problem. Diana has repressed her witch powers to the point where she cannot wield them effectively. And as she discovers, she has very powerful potential, if she learns to use it. If she wants to use it.
This book is not just about witches, however. Equally important in the story is a 1,500-year-old vampire named Matthew Clairmont who, against his better judgment, falls for the young professor. Now, typically, vampires and witches are like oil and water. They don’t blend well. Plus… vampires need to feed on blood, and witches don’t like to be filling stations for other species.
But you’ve heard of the concept called “soul mates,” I’m sure, and this is what Diana and Matthew discover about themselves and their relationship.
Matthew Clairmont is a vampire who knows his lineage and his powers
Graphic: michelleart on Hubpages
The story begins with Diana in the Bodleian Library at Oxford University doing historical research on alchemy. She requests a book called Ashmole 782 and, as she holds it in her hand, she realizes that she has unlocked something previously hidden within the book. As a college professor who doesn’t want to mess with otherworldly “magic,” she returns the book immediately… and then spends the next few hundred pages looking for it again.
A few dozen other people also want to understand the contents of this historical tome, including a vampire she encounters in the library. (This is Oxford University, you know. All kinds of witches, vampires and daemons browsing the books there, amongst the more mundane humans.)
Daemons, by the way, are not devils; rather they are creative, artistic beings living in a no-man’s-land between madness and genius. You never know for sure what they will do for you… or to you. They feature peripherally in the first book and in a much more prominent (and really interesting) way in Shadow of Night.
After quite a bit of sparring and fencing, Diana and Matthew start gravitating toward each other and eventually recognize that they are somehow bound together and so begins a conceptually fascinating and romantic story about an inter-species relationship.
Except Matthew has been researching Ashmole 782 since the mid-1800s and is convinced that it holds the key to understanding the origins of all organic beings on planet Earth. He thought it was possible that witches, vampires, daemons and humans originated from common ancestors and have more in common with one another than is currently allowed for.
Diana, meanwhile is uncovering more and more of her magical powers, but does not know how to control them. And in 21st century England, it is wise not to draw too much attention to the fact that you are a witch… or a vampire or daemon, for that matter. It turns out that Diana has heightened powers in a number of areas, including “witchfire” and “witchwater” which occasionally turn themselves on when she is least expecting them.
Diana’s powers do not remain secret from the other witches in the region for long and this creates an extremely dangerous situation for her, especially in light of her forbidden relationship with a vampire. After a few terrifying encounters, each escalating as her own powers become more apparent, Diana and Matthew figure that the only way to get the training she needs is to travel back in time to the Elizabethan period, where Matthew has a home from the days when he served Queen Elizabeth I (remember he’s 1,500 years old).
Matthew is convinced that this is the only way for them to find powerful witches to guide Diana’s magic. They might even find the original manuscript of Ashmole 782 before people tore pages from it and messed with its magic. A two-fold mission, an extremely dangerous venture… but staying in the 21st century has major disadvantages, too.
A Discovery of Witches ends with Diana and Matthew stepping into the unknown, not being remotely sure that they will land where they hope to.
How DO a witch and a vampire “get it on” together?
Witches and vampires had been told for generations that “their kind don’t mix.” In fact, there is a joint group called the Congregation that enforces the rules set down for the deportment of witches, vampires and daemons.
As a vampire, Matthew shows very great restraint when it comes to his food menu. Deborah Harkness does not skirt around the fact that vampires need blood for strength and survival. And she explains carefully and sensitively that, with vampires, procreation is not managed the way humans and witches create babies. Vampires reproduce themselves through the taking of another’s blood.
While in France, Matthew and his mother, Ysabeau, take Diana on a “hunting” trip so that she can see for herself how her husband feeds himself. Fortunately, a deer’s blood will sustain them almost as well as human blood, but it is still quite a sight to see your boyfriend with his teeth tearing into a dying stag’s neck. Diana is a pretty tough lady, though, and accepts this aspect of Matthew’s life.
But vampires can sometimes get into a feeding frenzy where they cannot control themselves and Matthew is very afraid that his emotions might get the better of him if he moves too quickly into a physical relationship with Diana. She’s not worried. He is, because it happened to him once before. To his credit, he holds back with Diana until he is very, very sure of his ability to restrain himself completely.
In A Discovery of Witches, the embraces and kisses are intense, the sex non-existent because of a question no one knows the answer to: what would a child of a female witch and a male vampire be like? How safe would it be for a witch to carry a half-vampire within her womb?
All of these questions are raised and play an integral part in the story. Along with magic, time travel, politics, ancient societies, and family squabbles. And I’ve only scratched the surface.
I believe I mentioned that this is a conceptually intricate and intriguing book. You can’t skip sections because of the inter-relatedness of the various issues and plot lines. The writing is pretty doggone good, too. And the wait list at the library will be much shorter than it was in July, when I was 256 on the list for Shadow of Night.
If you haven’t read A Discovery of Witches yet, and if you enjoy a well-written “historical fantasy,” this book is definitely worth a look. Happy reading!
Generations ago, the world suffered an upheaval of some kind. Everything about the “old world” has been forgotten, the memories obliterated. Your current world in an underground silo is all that exists… as far as you know.
If you were born and lived your whole life in the lower third – the down deep – between floors 97-144, you’re likely a farmer, mechanic or supply employee. You may not ever have made the climb to the top to look outside the very few sensor windows existing above ground.
Workers in the “mids” – levels 49-96 – are in charge of the smaller hydroponic gardens and animal farms. Like the families below here, a trip to the top of the silo might happen once every few years.
The upper levels contain the mayor, the sheriff, medical facilities and the information technology department. IT looms large in the life and lie of the silo.
Because there is no way to safely expand the silo, marriages and births are “won” through a lottery system. The land outside is known to be toxic… and is only seen through the aboveground sensor windows at the very top, on level one.
How a novelette became a trilogy
This silo world came to life in 2011, when Hugh Howey self-published a Kindle novelette that he called “Wool.” (The link goes to the free Kindle edition of the novelette.)
Wool was so popular with Amazon Kindle readers that Howey was urged (by his fans) to write more about the people who inhabited the multi-level silo which encompassed the entirety of their lives. The original 58-page novelette became a 5-part “Wool Omnibus” which is what I’m reviewing here. It’s Part 1 of the “Silo Saga,” and was followed by Shift and Dust to complete the trilogy.
Parallels with Thom Hartmann’s The Crash of 2016?
If you read my review of Thom Hartmann’s book “The Crash of 2016,” you’ll likely see come of the parallels occurring in our own world – right now. And that’s what makes this dystopian fiction book worth drawing to your attention. It’s a great read for sure, but it’s also a brilliant reminder to not take everything we’re fed at face value.
Wool is about political control, worker subjugation, reinventing history, hubris… and courage.
It’s about Sheriff Holston, who finally understood some of the truth – and wanted out… even though he knew it meant forfeiting his life. The powers-that-be decided that he’d become too dangerous and consigned him to certain death outside the silo, “cleaning” the sensors through which they caught glimpses of the outside, toxic world.
Cleaning, of course, was the euphemism for capital punishment, a way to keep the inhabitants fearful of rocking the status quo. There was no jail time, not judge and jury. Just “cleaning.” The tools used for scrubbing the windows were wool pads, hence the name of the novel.
The cleansing of toxic gunk on the window sensors was cause for celebration for those left inside – safe for now – as long as they didn’t think too much. With each cleaning, they were afforded a clearer glimpse of the outside world they had never experienced and would not, unless they actually expressed an interest in doing so. Or broke some other rule.
Verbally longing for freedom meant certain death
As the novel unfolds, the ugly truth behind this certainty stirs something in both the inhabitants of the silo… and in the readers who can’t help rooting for the underdogs underground.
The deaths of a “good” mayor and decent deputy sheriff make waves… a little. The subsequent elevation of Juliette Nichols from the down deeps of Mechanical to Sheriff up-top was not what the unseen powers had in mind and so she earned a quick demotion to “cleaner.” Questioning the rules was not allowed. Too much chance of instigating an uprising.
I’ve glossed over a few key elements, because they are what make the book fascinating reading. Does Juliette stop to clean the sensors, like all the other cleaners before her? Does she make it to safety, unlike all the other cleaners before her? Are there more silos out there? And what the heck is IT’s role in all this?
Characters you can identify with
You’ve got to read to book to know what happens… to get a glimpse of the real villains in the story; to see who step up to become heroes; to watch individuals consider the costs of thinking for themselves, of overturning all they have been taught to believe.
Books like Wool make me wonder when and if I’ll ever step up and take a stand for something that I think is right. If I’ll be able to write about it without concern for the consequences.
It worries me that I identify with people stuck underground in a silo.
I’d love to hear what you gleaned from the Wool story. Was it an interesting read, a mild ah-ha or a boot to the rear? Or all three? Thanks.
I read The Hunger Games trilogy from two perspectives: that of senior citizen… and also a 1960s hippie. I was impressed on both counts.
Reading The Hunger Games
I may be a senior citizen now, but I’m also a counterculture hippie-type person from the 60s. So I read and then reviewed The Hunger Games trilogy from two perspectives. Old fogey me and rebel hippie me. Quite a head trip, I can tell you. In other words, these aren’t your ordinary cookie cutter-type book reviews.
One viewpoint says, “Why rock the boat? I’m on social security, for heaven’s sake!” The other side of me doesn’t like what I see happening in society today… any more than I did in the sixties.
Did The Hunger Games books awaken that? Or did I choose to read the trilogy because of that?
And another thing… I usually get my books from the library. I actually purchased ALL 3 books in this series, because I couldn’t wait for the library to catch up with my reading.
Something’s afoot.
My Review of The Hunger Games – Book 1 of the Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
Why this book got me thinking…
The Hunger Games begins a little slowly, actually. So slowly, that I had to ask my son if it picked up some once I got into it. “It’s a good book, Mom,” he assured me so I kept reading. And found my head twisting round and round with the bizarre turns of events that kept showing up.
The books could be classified as Science Fiction or Fantasy, and I wonder if author Suzanne Collins is a bit of a mystic herself. Like J. K. Rowling, whose Harry Potter books books hit a chord with kids and adults alike… Collins portrays circumstances and characters that we all recognize… or that we live within. The controlling, centralized institutions, the hard-scrabbling general population, the very young who recognize injustice when they see it and, thankfully, haven’t yet made themselves “put a lid on it” as their elders have done.
The Game of Thrones series is also heading in the same direction, where the youngsters are the courageous ones who are willing to risk, well… anything… to make things right again, while the adults are hanging on for dear life to whatever they have left.
Okay, three series that have made me think – Potter, Thrones and Hunger Games. The fact that all three of these book series have been made into popular films says something. The fact that all three series were best-sellers for months on end says more. People are resonating with the stories in them.
And maybe taking hope.
A prophetic view of our future?
I wondered if the books were written as reminders not to cave in to lemming mentality… even though it’s easier. When we go along with things – even though they don’t feel right to us – a piece of our integrity gets chewed off. Do young adults have enough experience yet to know this? They are the intended audience for The Hunger Games, after all.
The books also drive home a couple of other points: when we ignore the suffering of others and hide behind our shutters, we lose a bit of our humanity. And when we let ourselves be walked all over by our governments and public institutions, there goes our freedom out the door… in fiction and in real life.
Katniss Everdeen, the young heroine of The Hunger Games hasn’t yet had the training to stifle her sense of what’s right. Luckily, she’s a plucky thing and paid attention when her dad taught her to use a bow and arrow. She’s responsible for feeding her family most of the time, even as a young teenager. She has learned a few survival tricks that serve her well at the Hunger Games, where it’s every person for himself until you’re the last one standing… literally.
The Hunger Games are just that – annual events with untrained, unwilling “gladiators”… who are forced to participate in a cruel tradition meant to keep the general population under control. At the same time the games provide bloodthirsty entertainment for the privileged classes of the Capitol… the seat of power of Panem, a geographic area previously known as North America. Each of the twelve districts of Panem is required to send one male and one female “tribute” to the Games, where they will need to fight tooth, nail, claw and hammer to stay alive. Their ordeals are unimaginable. Their courage unbelievable.
The Hunger Games got me thinking… and remembering. The marches for peace and civil rights. The non-violent methods of Martin Luther King, Jr. The counterculture thinking of the 1960s. And I wondered what happened that so much of it has slipped away in the name of… what? Security? Or maybe lack of energy from the aging process?
Where did our – MY – rebellious spirit go?
Reading The Hunger Games brought some of that back to me.
This old fogey is starting to remember. And so, it seems are a few others. “Occupying” is not a new idea at all. Many of us remember taking part in “Sit-ins” way back when.
On the other hand, maybe the fascination with “young adult rebellion” books is just a cyclical thing, where younger generations have to push against the status quo regardless of the reasons why.
I don’t know… but it seems that the books are hitting home with the older generations, too. Or perhaps Suzanne Collins is just a great adventure writer and once the story’s over, we go on to other things.
We’ll see.
Catching Fire – Book 2 of The HungerGames Trilogy
Catching Fire starts up where Book 1 left off. Katniss and her Hunger Games partner, Peeta Mellark, are back in their District – Number 12 – thinking to live the good life… for the rest of their lives.
Well, whatever’s left of their lives, at any rate.
Katniss is well aware that she is in disfavor with the powers-that-be in the Capitol and that they will stop at nothing to destroy her. But even she couldn’t have imagined what they had in store for her.
If you have not read the books yet, I ain’t givin’ away the plot, sorry. But your jaw will drop and your heart might flutter some when you see the lengths to which the status quo will go to when threatened.
Catching Fire – even more than The Hunger Games – stirred the rebellious spirit within me, as I witnessed (in my mind) the courage of people with nothing left to lose. There’s always a straw that breaks the camel’s back, whether it’s a tax on tea or making people face the severest horrors imaginable – twice.
So rebellion spreads in the districts, fueled largely by the intransigence of young Katniss, whose actions in Book 1’s Hunger Games have triggered an uprising she hadn’t intended.
The ending of Catching Fire caught me by surprise.
When I reflected back a bit, I remembered little snippets that gave tiny clues as to what was going on beneath the surface, but, because the books are written from Katniss’ perspective and understanding of events, I didn’t figure things out any better than she did.
And Katniss, having been left out of the secret loop on purpose, is ticked, royally.
And on that note, the second book ends. Our young rebel is rebelling against the rebels.
And now it’s on to Book 3 Mockingjay to see where it all leads.
You must read Mockingjay to complete the series… but it hurts
On Amazon.com, the book Mockingjay has much lower ratings than the first two books in the series. There are a couple of reasons for this. After the long build-up in The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, the climax in Mockingjay winds the series downward with outcomes that most of us wish hadn’t happened.
The agonies suffered by Peeta and Kinnick, for example… two stalwarts we’d grown to respect and maybe love. The loss of so much life in the name of revenge. Katniss knew her rebellious actions might cause trouble for a lot of people, including her family, but even she wasn’t prepared for what happened in the final assaults on the Capitol.
The second reason I think the reviews were less enthusiastic for Mockingjay is the many pages devoted to Katniss’ inner anguish and introspection. In the first two books, she is larger than life – the type of heroine you’d see in an action movie. In the third book, Katniss turns inward much more. She second-guesses her motives, loses hope and becomes depressed to the point of stupor.
Spunk gone, guilt rampant
Katniss’s final act of rebellion is one that should have ended her life. It didn’t, but the Katniss we got to know is gone forever. And readers didn’t seem to like that one bit.
The epilogue seemed like a throwaway to most readers, myself included. Those two pages more or less stripped the life out of the story at the end. On the other hand, we didn’t have to live through two sets of Hunger Games and, from Katniss’ perspective, perhaps safe and normal felt more like “life” than facing death minute-to-minute as the girl who kept “catching fire.”
For me, Mockingjay was the most gut-wrenching of the three books in the Hunger Games trilogy. It asserts Suzanne Collins’ anti-war message the strongest. So I’d give Mockingjay higher marks than most readers, because the author reflects my thinking so well in this.
I hope you’ll leave your comments about the series below. Am I off the mark… or on?
Closing thoughts…
As each new movie in The Hunger Games trilogy comes to theaters and then to DVD, interest in the series is renewed. If you have not read the books yet… or held off, like I did, thinking they were about violence without reason, I hope my reviews have encouraged you to view the books in a new light.
I originally wrote these reviews in 2012, the year I finally read the books. This article appeared first on Squidoo, then Hubpages and has now migrated where it belongs – on BarbaraCasey.com.
