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Buggers attacked earth, and all humans have banded together (sorta) to fight these aliens. There is a school for brilliant children to prepare them to lead the fleet to save humanity. Ender Wiggin is a third child with an older brother who goes beyond mean and an older sister who loves him dearly. (In a time when usually only two children are allowed per family, because his older brother and sister showed such promise, the government asked for a third child.) He passes all the tests and is taken away from all he knows to the school in the sky for training children. The core of the training happens in the battle room, where armies of children fight one another with lasers in null-gravity to learn and practice tactics, following, leading, winning. Ender is the best. At everything.

Through conversations (which precede each chapter) between adults who lead the various schools for children and control their lives to a large extent, the reader learns more about Ender. Like the fact that his older brother was too vicious and his older sister was too soft, so they hoped that Ender would fall in the middle. But that's not exactly true .. they wanted to someone who would be brilliant and able to win, but able to empathize. And Ender is able to do that. Able to understand his enemy completely and empathize -- and in that moment he defeats the enemy. Which is what the military needs to win, but is not the kind of person Ender wishes to be. One character says that we are all tools, and we are given the opportunity to choose who will use us. Which seems somewhat pessimistic, but also somewhat true -- as humans we are gifted and given certain abilities, and we are given the choice of what side we will serve -- if we will serve ourselves and seek pleasure, power, fame, money .. or if we will submit to God and seek Him instead of selfishness. At the conclusion, Ender has reached a certain peace about his life and what he has become - that he is not perfect and that in spite of both the evil and good that he has done he will continue to live each day and seek to do good. Enough hope for today.

Title:	Ender's Game
Author:	Orson Scott Card
Date published:	1977
Genre:	Science Fiction
Series:	Ender
Number of pages:	324
Notes:	Repeat reading

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Will Stanton has been deathly ill-- so sick that he's forgotten what he is (an Old One), and the prophecy that he was entrusted to remember (at the end of Greenwitch). To recover from his illness, he's sent to an uncle's farm in Wales-- which is exactly where he was intended to be. While there, he meets and befriends an unusual boy named Bran, Bran's dog Cafal (apparently named for King Arthur's dog?), gets a lesson in Welsh pronunciation. Oh yeah, and while he's there he also faces off with the powerful Dark Lord, the Grey King, recovers the golden harp and awakens the six sleepers who will fight for the Light in the coming battle.

Bran is an interesting character-- and one of the most astounding things here is his identity. It's not made completely clear, but he seems to have more power than Will (or perhaps just a different kind of power?). It turns out that he is Arthur and Guinevere's son brought forward in time-- Guinevere was afraid that because she had been unfaithful to Arthur before he wouldn't believe that this was his son. But, Merriman/Merlyn seemed to take full advantage of that and brought Bran forward into time so the light would have another champion, another Pendragon to help them fight the Dark when it came rising.

I know I read this book before, but this wasn't what I remembered at all. Sure it was a long time ago, but shouldn't I have had some idea of the gist or main characters? I vaguely remembered something about wolves-- for some reason I thought maybe the Grey King was a wolf (we never see him, but he's a powerful Dark Lord). I guess I must have been remembering the milgwyn, the huge, gray, powerful ghost-foxes that serve the Grey King. The milgwyn are altogether too clever-- and it's very upsetting the way they are able to manipulate an angry human and a faithful dog to the destruction of one (perhaps both, in a way).

Title:	The Grey King
Author:	Susan Cooper
Date published:	1976
Genre:	Children's Fantasy
Series:	The Dark is Rising Sequence
Number of pages:	208
Notes:	repeat reading

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Having heard some of Billy Collins’ poetry before, I picked this volume off the shelf at the library. It is a collection of his “Greatest Hits.” I’ve always been intimidated by poetry, so I was encouraged near the beginning of the book with his poem titled “Introduction to Poetry.” In it, he asks readers to “take a poem/ and hold it up to the light/ like a color slide,” and laments that many people want to manhandle a poem: “beating it with a hose/ to find out what it really means.”

Many poems are full of whimsy and mischief. “Another Reason Why I Don’t Keep a Gun in the House” slowly exchanges the annoyance of the neighbor’s dog for the notion that Beethoven included a famous barking dog solo in one of his symphonies. In “Victoria’s Secret,” Collins devotes his full poetic powers (tastefully, of course) to the seductive models in a lingerie catalog that arrives at his house. And I laughed out loud at the lines written about the habits of earnest and discerning students, the ones who scribble comments and notes in the margins of books. “Marginalia” ponders the marks other people have made:

trying to imagine what the person must look like
who wrote “Don’t be a ninny”
alongside a paragraph in The Life of Emily Dickinson.

My favorite poem was “Picnic, Lightening,” which begins with an expression of academic resignation to the fact of our own death, unrealized perhaps, but coming:

the instant hand of Death
always ready to burst forth
from the sleeve of his voluminous cloak.

Yet, the narrator is beguiled from dwelling on this stark fact by the myriad tiny marvels of the world, evident in the soil he is working, teeming with activity and detail; the sun on the rocks, the clouds in the sky, and the sounds of the birds. The last two stanzas speak very poignantly of the contrast between the awareness we have of death and the sensual charm of earthly life:

and all I hear is the rasp of the steel edge
against a round stone,
the small plants singing
with lifted faces, and the click
of the sundial
as one hour sweeps into the next.

This poem, like so many in the collection, is a tender and matter-of-fact tribute to the tension we experience between vague mortal sadness and the joy of life.

Title:	Sailing Alone Around the Room
Author:	Billy Collins
Date published:	2001
Genre:	Poetry
Number of pages:	172

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With the final chapter titled, “The Great Plain Drinks the Blood of Christian Men and is Satisfied,” can anyone be in doubt of a happy ending? This book is an illuminating portrayal of the life, hardships, and sheer pluck of the early settlers of the Great Plains. Translated from the Norwegian, it is nevertheless a very American book – the events and experiences could have occurred in no other place but the unsettled Great Plains in a young United States. Norwegian pioneers immigrate to the US with the sole purpose of founding homesteads and new family histories – kingdoms, perhaps – in the vast, solitary, virgin soils of the Dakota Territory.

During the 1870s, many Mid-western states, like Kansas and Nebraska, had already made successful bids to enter the Union, while the Dakota Territory had held territory status only a few years and its prairies were still largely untouched. Per Hansa and his wife Beret, along with their four children, leave Norway by boat, expecting never to see their homeland or their families again, and travel via Atlantic Ocean, Canada, Great Lakes, and Chicago to arrive finally in Minnesota. There they buy a rickety wagon and a pair of oxen (horses would have been better but they are too expensive), and travel hundreds of miles with three other families to the Dakota territory, where they claim less than 200 acres as their own. Much hard work ensues.

As a record of the first determined human encounter with an ancient land, this book is fascinating. Rolvaag creates unforgettable images of a vast prairie with tall native grasses, without trees, a formidable silence pervading all. There were no birds. How does one steer the right course in such an ocean? And to witness first tilling of the deep prairie soil (Midwestern soils are among the richest in the world) is at once thrilling and heartbreaking.

Then, the book is a masterful chronicle of all the things that must be done, on a household level and a regional basis, to make the place fit for civilized habitation. So many things are needed, especially before the first crucial harvest: farming implements, flour, salt, clothing, seed, wood fuel, a house, a doctor! And they are obtained only with a difficult, multi-day journey to town and much expense.

Per Hansa and Beret are an interesting study. It is invigorating to see the profuse energy Per Hansa has for shaping his homestead: he bounds from height to height, in delights over the fertility of the soil, the unparalleled opportunity for influence over one’s own destiny, the good fortune of having good neighbors, the joys of good crops, healthy children, and earthly pleasures of soil, wind, rain, and sun. Beret, on the other hand, is frightened of the place, not only because of its extreme remoteness, but also of the demonic influences she perceives in the land. The presence of Sioux Indians in the area, the lack of churches and other “civilized” society, the savage pursuit of the necessities of life – all these she attributes to the work of Satan. This contrast plays out through the novel, reaching a climax and a charming resolution...until the conclusion sneaks up quietly, stealthily, and (let’s face it) sadly.

Title:	Giants in the Earth
Author:	O.E. Rolvaag
Date published:	1927
Genre:	Historical fiction
Number of pages:	453
Notes:	Translated from Norwegian

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Eragon discovers a polished blue stone which turns out to be a dragon, and finds himself fighting against the empire. As a young man, both he and his dragon, Saphira, have much to learn. Brom the Storyteller (who is much more than he appears) from the village comes with them and instructs Eragon as they travel, seeking revenge for the death of Eragon's father. There are of course various other creatures, including elves & dwarves and an evil race called the Urgals. This is an enjoyable story, although not much about it is either surprising or unusual.

Protagonists generally undergo so changes, but in this story the changes are extreme. A young boy who becomes a young man; who helped with farm chores and learns fight with a sword; who didn't believe in magic and who quickly becomes magically powerful; who felt fairly alone in the world to having a deep solid relationship with a dragon; who felt unimportant to someone every power in the empire wants to influence and control. It's a good thing that changes this large and fast don't happen to most of us -- we often don't have a 'Brom' to prepare us for what is to come, or a 'Saphira' to help us stay sane and honest. Change happens, but often so slowly that we can barely perceive it until we look back on who we were in comparison with who we have become.

Title:	Eragon
Author:	Christopher Paolini
Date published:	2002
Genre:	Young Adult, Fantasy
Series:	Inheritance
Number of pages:	497
Notes:	Repeat reading

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Willis' writing is superb, with believable characters, intriguing ideas, and questions worth asking. Joanna Lander is a psychologist studying near death experiences who is asked by Dr. Richard Wright (interesting name, eh?) to join him in some scientific research. She reluctantly agrees. Another 'doctor' believes persistently that NDE's are full of hope, light, angels, life reviews, etc. (10 key elements), and will not believe that it can be anything other than a spiritual experience. As Joanna and Richard delve further into their research (especially when Joanna also becomes a volunteer for the procedure) their results are both confusing and frightening. Because death and dying are something they are confronted with in people they know, the humanity and individuality of people are not, by any means, lost to them or the reader.

When Joanna 'goes under', she sees a place that is familiar but she isn't sure why. To do her research, she gathers about her a few wonderful characters. Maisie, a young girl with a serious heart condition who is fascinated with disasters because death for her is a reality. Maisie faces death and talks about hard realities, but also is a little girl who wants to make sure that if she dies somebody will be able to identify her. Experiencing fears with a stubborn, strong little girl deeply enhances both Joanna and the story. Kit is a young woman who lost her fiance and is slowly losing her uncle to Alzheimer's. She too knows what it means to face death honestly -- to live in today wisely. Kit has come through loss and because of this brings endurance and hope to the story. Kit's uncle, Mr. Briarley, is the one who gives Joanna the clues she needs to understand what actually occurs in an NDE. due to the NDE's that Joanna experiences, she sees Mr. Briarley in both his state now with Alzheimer's, and also as he would have been without the Alzheimer's -- a contrast which is painful to see, but honest. Vielle, Joanna's best (and only?) friend also ends up helping to discover truth. Vielle works in the ER as a nurse, so also knows what death looks like, as well as hope. Very notable that so many of those involved in the research (unofficially) don't have false assumptions about death being something to go looking for or to be glad for.

One aspect I appreciated this time around was the playing both with time and possibilities. Throughout the book in conversations, the main characters will imagine options for dialog, but then say something else. As the reader we see both the idea and the actuality, which creates an interesting space between reality and possibility. This space is also created with the NDE's -- descriptions are often so vague that little can be known for sure, and both the characters and readers are unsure what is true, what is fabrication (made up), and what is confabulation (filling in the gaps). Part three of the book introduces an element that messes up the time continuum even more. Joanna's thoughts are jumbled, mixing present with near past with distant past with future, in ways such that even she is not sure which is which. The way this uncertainty is carried throughout the book is a nice theme.

Title:	Passage
Author:	Connie Willis
Date published:	2001
Genre:	science fiction
Number of pages:	780
Notes:	second reading

Categories:connie willis, science fiction

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The Arthurian grail that the Drew children found in Over Sea, Under Stone is stolen from a museum, and they end up going back to Cornwall during their spring break, along with Great Uncle Merry. Conveniently, Will Stanton's also on spring break, and his American uncle is in the country and offers to take him down to Cornwall. While they are there, it is time for the spring ritual of the Greenwitch.

Only women are allowed to the making of the Greenwitch (a huge structure of wood and stone that they build and then throw into the sea), and rarely are foreigners even allowed to get close, but Jane is invited to come-- and she senses the power and loneliness of the creature the structure represents. Before they throw it into the ocean, the women all touch the Greenwitch and make a wish-- and on impulse, Jane wishes that the Greenwitch would be happy. This sensitive and unselfish act rewards her greatly.

When the Simon, Jane, and Barney found the grail there was also a manuscript in a lead case-- the key to decipher it. In their attempts to keep the grail from the agents of the Dark, the manuscript was lost in the ocean. In this book, we discover that the Greenwitch has a "secret"-- something she holds very precious. The Lady of the Sea and the Greenwitch are both part of a wild magic that doesn't answer to Light or Dark-- so while both sides work their magic and ask or demand that she give it back, she is powerful enough to refuse them. In the end, she gives it freely to Jane, because Jane was kind to her.

Some interesting ideas about art... Barney is beginning to develop into an artist (like his mother, and as it was predicted briefly before). The grail-thief and would-be Dark lord lures the two brothers into his tinker shed, and uses Barney to read the future and how he may command the Greenwitch. It's never mentioned why he chooses Barney, but I wondered if it might be because as an artist he would be able to see things others couldn't. Interestingly enough, the agent of the Dark is also a painter-- Barney sees his work and senses the genius and power of it, but also a wrongness and a malevolence. Even better, the man's spells to command the Greenwitch are done through painting-- which seems so perfect and plausible.

An entertaining, if brief, entry in the Dark is Rising sequence. The Drew children finally meet Will Stanton (and sensitive Jane is the first to notice he is older than his years), and the poem on the manuscript found with the grail sets up Will's quests for the rest of the series.

Title:	Greenwitch
Author:	Susan Cooper
Date published:	1974
Genre:	Children's Fantasy
Series:	The Dark is Rising Sequence
Number of pages:	147
Notes:	repeat reading

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Will Stanton is the youngest of a very large family, the seventh son of a seventh son, and as he celebrates his birthday on Midwinter's Day (just turning 11), he learns that he is the last of the Old Ones-- an ancient and powerful beings that fight against the Dark-- and that the Dark is rising again. As the Dark's power grows between Midwinter and the twelfth day of Christmas, Will is given a quest to find the six ancient signs, emblems of power made of (or representing) bronze, iron, stone, wood, fire, and water. Once they are collected and joined, they will help drive back the dark. His mentor and teacher is another Old One, Merriman Lyon-- known as Great Uncle Merry to the Drew children in Over Sea, Under Stone, and in fact we learn in this book that the Arthurian grail the Drew children helped find is another contested emblem of power.

One of the most interesting characters is the Walker. Among their other powers, Old Ones can move in an out of time. Merriman brings a 16th century mortal, one of his liege-men in that time, forward through time to help with a particular task, and this turns out to be more than the mortal can bear. This man betrays the Light and becomes the Walker, tramping and surviving through the centuries carrying a sign to give to Will in his own time-- used by both Light and Dark, he still clearly has choices to make about who he will serve.

Herne the Hunter and his white hounds make an appearance near the end of the book, which made me think of Dogsbody, although they are portrayed rather differently here. Neither a servant of the Light or the Dark, he hunts the dark out of England and to the edge of the world, effectively driving it back for a time.

I read this series at least once a long time ago, but when I came across some news about this book being made into a movie, I had only the vaguest recollection of what the books were about-- so I decided it was time to re-read them.

Title:	The Dark is Rising
Author:	Susan Cooper
Date published:	1973
Genre:	Children's Fantasy
Series:	The Dark is Rising Sequence
Number of pages:	232
Notes:	Repeat reading. A Newbery Honor book.

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