I just finished reading Brandon Sanderson's The Rithmatist. It was a pretty good read. World building is definitely one of Brandon Sanderson's strong points as a writer. The Rithmatist is a steampunk/gearpunk YA novel that takes place in a world very similar to ours, but different. The United States is actually the United Isles. I believe there are about 60 islands total. We join the main character, Joel, at Armedius Academy, where they train Rithmatists to defend the world against wild chalklings--yeah, wild creatures made of chalk. But they're pretty dangerous. A couple of times, we find out what happens to someone attacked by these chalklings, and it's not very pretty. Like I said, Brandon Sanderson is great at building new worlds and then taking us into them.
That being said, I think I prefer his adult novels. The Mistborn trilogy is still my favorite, but I haven't yet been able to dive into The Way of Kings. I'm waiting until I graduate for that one--I think I'll need the extra time. And, getting back onto my train of thought, his YA novels aren't as compelling to me as his adult novels. The endings was still surprising and good (I've never been disappointed at the end of one of his books). I was pleased that things weren't wrapped up quite in the way that I was expecting. There was just enough resolution of conflict to satisfy me, but at the same time "the plot thickens."
I'm not quite sure that Joel has the voice of a 16 year old, especially since he often is accompanied by a girl of his same age, yet he rarely thinks about her in a romantic sort of way. Maybe there are some teenage boys that don't think about that, but I would guess that plenty do. He does seem to be pretty engrossed in Rithmatics, so perhaps that obsession pushes all romantic notions out of his head.
Those are my only complaints. I'm curious to see what happens in the next installment.
Brandon Sanderson is a pretty big name in fantasy these days, but if you do't know who he is, you should check out his website. And if you haven't read Mistborn, put down what you're reading (if it's boring) and pick that one up!
http://brandonsanderson.com/
Showing posts with label fantasy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fantasy. Show all posts
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Defining Moments
For my English class today, we did a radio session with The Apple Seed, which is basically an hour long show about story telling. We each took turns sharing our stories about defining moments in our lives. I'm not sure when they're going to air the show, but you're all welcome to listen to it. Here's a shortened link to get you to their website. http://bit.ly/1k9ZtaL
I'll give you the written version of my defining moment that I shared. Let me take you back to second grade, a little room filled with little desks filled with little people. It was time for our class to go to the library and check out some books. I remember distinctly thinking that I wanted a real adventure. I saw a lot of kids reading some picture books about dogs. As much as I love dogs, I did think, "I do NOT want to read a little dog book."
So I wandered around the library in search of something that would satisfy this book-craving that I had. I spotted a book that I had seen my older sister reading not too long ago, you might recognize the title, The Hobbit. Yeah, maybe a bit thick for a seven-year-old, but I really wanted to know what a hobbit was and what sort of things were going to happen in this story.
I took my book up to the librarian's desk and waited for her to check the book out to me. But she didn't. She looked at me, or perhaps towered over me is a better expression. I've always been on the short side, and when I remember this moment, it was like standing up to a mountain, and she peered over the edge of her gold-rimmed glasses. "You can't read that book." She said it simply, and my jaw literally dropped. What did she mean that I can't read the book? I didn't want to read any other book but that one! And I didn't even know that adults could tell children what books they could and couldn't read. The thought had just never occurred to me.
After a moment, she asked me to open it up to the middle of the book and start reading, and if I could read it then she would let me check it out. Fine! I thought, I will! And I did. And she let me check the book out. Now, I don't want you to think that I read and understood The Hobbit completely when I was seven because I did get bored halfway through and return it. But I knew that in another year or two, I would be able to finish it and enjoy it, and sure enough that's what happened.
So why is this a defining moment? I didn't realize at the time that the librarian was testing me and my knowledge of language when she had me read out loud. I thought that she was just being a malicious, evil librarian, but I don't think that was her intention. I realized though, that I was good at reading and that I really could read whatever I wanted. From that moment on, I just wanted to read more books, bigger books, more complex books. Of course, every book that I read had to be a fantasy, but I made an exception for the Nancy Drew books. I did like those a lot. But from that point on, I knew that I could read anything, and reading became a thousand different adventures.
Oh, and the school librarian never again questioned me about any book. I guess I made my point.
I'll give you the written version of my defining moment that I shared. Let me take you back to second grade, a little room filled with little desks filled with little people. It was time for our class to go to the library and check out some books. I remember distinctly thinking that I wanted a real adventure. I saw a lot of kids reading some picture books about dogs. As much as I love dogs, I did think, "I do NOT want to read a little dog book."
So I wandered around the library in search of something that would satisfy this book-craving that I had. I spotted a book that I had seen my older sister reading not too long ago, you might recognize the title, The Hobbit. Yeah, maybe a bit thick for a seven-year-old, but I really wanted to know what a hobbit was and what sort of things were going to happen in this story.
I took my book up to the librarian's desk and waited for her to check the book out to me. But she didn't. She looked at me, or perhaps towered over me is a better expression. I've always been on the short side, and when I remember this moment, it was like standing up to a mountain, and she peered over the edge of her gold-rimmed glasses. "You can't read that book." She said it simply, and my jaw literally dropped. What did she mean that I can't read the book? I didn't want to read any other book but that one! And I didn't even know that adults could tell children what books they could and couldn't read. The thought had just never occurred to me.
After a moment, she asked me to open it up to the middle of the book and start reading, and if I could read it then she would let me check it out. Fine! I thought, I will! And I did. And she let me check the book out. Now, I don't want you to think that I read and understood The Hobbit completely when I was seven because I did get bored halfway through and return it. But I knew that in another year or two, I would be able to finish it and enjoy it, and sure enough that's what happened.
So why is this a defining moment? I didn't realize at the time that the librarian was testing me and my knowledge of language when she had me read out loud. I thought that she was just being a malicious, evil librarian, but I don't think that was her intention. I realized though, that I was good at reading and that I really could read whatever I wanted. From that moment on, I just wanted to read more books, bigger books, more complex books. Of course, every book that I read had to be a fantasy, but I made an exception for the Nancy Drew books. I did like those a lot. But from that point on, I knew that I could read anything, and reading became a thousand different adventures.
Oh, and the school librarian never again questioned me about any book. I guess I made my point.
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Why Fantasy Matters Too Much
I thought that today would be pretty ordinary and boring, wake up, go to the gym, get ready, go to campus to do research, blah, blah, blah. It was pretty ordinary and boring up to that point, doing some research on campus, because it just so happens that I'm doing research for my senior English paper and the subject matter must have something to do with fairy tales. My class is actually called, "The Fairy Tale," so I'm not kidding.
I'm in one of those predicaments where I feel like I've been writing too many papers, and my creative energy feels like it's draining fast. In this class, which I enjoy more than any other, why is it that I can't think of a good paper topic? Everything about this class is fascinating and interesting, and in all of the everything, it's so hard to settle down on a specific something. But my fancy was struck the other day by a particular retelling of the "Hansel and Gretel" story, but this one was set in modern Italy.
Perfect, right? I guess, for those who don't know me very well, I lived in Italy for a year and a half, and I love love love most Italian things. This fairy tale was particularly interesting, though. Unlike most of the fairy tales we read in class, this one read just like a middle-grade novel, except it was only six or seven pages. I knew that some of the fairy tales were not originally meant for children, but the fact that I have not yet read a fairy tale in that class where the child was the hero (until "Nino and Nina" by Gianni Rodari) made me wonder if, in fact, most fairy tales were actually intended for adults.
I began looking for the origins of the middle-grade novel. When exactly did people start writing for kids, and were fairy tales an influence in that? It may not sound like a paper topic yet, but I'm working off of this idea. And, getting back to when I was starting my research in the library, I stumbled across an article called, "Why Fantasy Matters Too Much," by Jack Zipes, a well-known name in the field of folklore. I don't have too much time to summarize the article, but I'll share some of my favorite quotes from there:
"It is through fantasy that we have always sought to make sense of the world, not through reason. Reason matters, but fantasy matters more" (78).
"In fact, much of what we call fantasy is predictable schlock and tritely conventional because it lacks critical reflection and self-reflection and appeals to market conditions and audience delusions" (81).
"If fantasy can be subversive and resistant to existing social conditions, then it wants to undermine what passes for normality, to expose the contradictions of civil society, and to right the world out-of-joint-in the name of humanity" (82).
"It's effect [the effect of the fantastic] cannot be totally predetermined or determined, except to say that a reader and viewer will always be impelled by the dynamics of the fantastic to reflect seriously and imaginatively about the customary ways she or he engages with the world" (83).
"Hope for change can only be created if the fantastic illuminates and exposes delusion" (83).
Of course, he uses the term fantasy in a broad sense, with many different meanings, but it does make me pause and consider the literature that we read and print. To what end does it serve? Do we, as individuals, use fantasy to be deluded or enlightened?
I'm in one of those predicaments where I feel like I've been writing too many papers, and my creative energy feels like it's draining fast. In this class, which I enjoy more than any other, why is it that I can't think of a good paper topic? Everything about this class is fascinating and interesting, and in all of the everything, it's so hard to settle down on a specific something. But my fancy was struck the other day by a particular retelling of the "Hansel and Gretel" story, but this one was set in modern Italy.
Perfect, right? I guess, for those who don't know me very well, I lived in Italy for a year and a half, and I love love love most Italian things. This fairy tale was particularly interesting, though. Unlike most of the fairy tales we read in class, this one read just like a middle-grade novel, except it was only six or seven pages. I knew that some of the fairy tales were not originally meant for children, but the fact that I have not yet read a fairy tale in that class where the child was the hero (until "Nino and Nina" by Gianni Rodari) made me wonder if, in fact, most fairy tales were actually intended for adults.
I began looking for the origins of the middle-grade novel. When exactly did people start writing for kids, and were fairy tales an influence in that? It may not sound like a paper topic yet, but I'm working off of this idea. And, getting back to when I was starting my research in the library, I stumbled across an article called, "Why Fantasy Matters Too Much," by Jack Zipes, a well-known name in the field of folklore. I don't have too much time to summarize the article, but I'll share some of my favorite quotes from there:
"It is through fantasy that we have always sought to make sense of the world, not through reason. Reason matters, but fantasy matters more" (78).
"In fact, much of what we call fantasy is predictable schlock and tritely conventional because it lacks critical reflection and self-reflection and appeals to market conditions and audience delusions" (81).
"If fantasy can be subversive and resistant to existing social conditions, then it wants to undermine what passes for normality, to expose the contradictions of civil society, and to right the world out-of-joint-in the name of humanity" (82).
"It's effect [the effect of the fantastic] cannot be totally predetermined or determined, except to say that a reader and viewer will always be impelled by the dynamics of the fantastic to reflect seriously and imaginatively about the customary ways she or he engages with the world" (83).
"Hope for change can only be created if the fantastic illuminates and exposes delusion" (83).
Of course, he uses the term fantasy in a broad sense, with many different meanings, but it does make me pause and consider the literature that we read and print. To what end does it serve? Do we, as individuals, use fantasy to be deluded or enlightened?
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