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A colony spaceship from Earth runs into trouble and crash-lands on an unknown planet. The people are torn between doing their best to settle and survive and trying to get their spaceship fixed so they can go on to their original destination-- a colony planet already checked out by Earth explorers, with a mining outpost and communication links back to Earth. A small team goes on an expedition to a nearby mountain in attempt to get a sense of the size of the planet and use the stars to determine their location in space, but the world begins to affect them-- especially once they encounter a strange pollen with a powerful, hallucinogenic effect. One person also has a mysterious encounter with a telepathic alien; to this alien race, humans minds are like a door barely ajar which is only slightly more open when under the influence of the pollen, but the aliens sense that humans may be dangerous and keep their distance. Ultimately, this book is a tale of survival and adaptation to a completely new environment.

Most of the book follows geologist Rafe MacAran. He's the one who leads the expedition to the nearby mountains, and he quickly falls in love with this undiscovered planet. There's a lot of conflict between the crew of the spaceship (who didn't plan to be colonists) and the others; the spacefarers are afraid that by reverting to lower levels of technology they will become savages, so they do everything in their power to fix the spaceship, and when that fails they begin trying to encode ever last bit of knowledge they can into a computer, to preserve it for later generations. Eventually, they recognize what Rafe figured out more quickly-- it is better to adapt to this new world and let their descendants develop technologies apropriate to this different world.

There are some interesting social/cultural points in the midst of this. One of the colonists is a "Reformed Catholic" priest, and he has to deal with whether or not a religion based on events that happened on a different planet is relevant here (and his own faith is shaken by the horrific things he did under the effects of the hallucinogic pollen. Also interesting is the women who struggle with not wanting to have children-- for their colony to survive and prosper, they need as many children as possible from all the fertile women, but many of those women have been psychologically ingrained with no desire for children, because they grew up on an over-populated planet and chose careers (like crewing a spaceship) where that makes sense.

I appreciated the fact that Bradley avoids easy answers. This is most apparent in what looks like an obvious romantic pairing early on-- in fact, it does not result in quite the usual story-book ending. I think the same holds true for the other issues in the book, too.

Title:	Darkover Landfall
Author:	Marion Zimmer Bradley
Date published:	1972
Genre:	Science Fiction
Series:	Darkover
Number of pages:	160

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It was good that I wasn't deterred by the embarrassingly corny 80’s cover on this book (not the one shown), because it was worth reading. This is a back-and-forth, roundabout story that centers on Sheryl, her unexpected pregnancy while in high school, and her mother’s decision to immediately send her to live with an aunt hundred of miles away. Rick, the boyfriend left behind, has no inkling of what has happened and grows increasingly frustrated when his calls and visits to her old house go unanswered. Thinking that her mother is keeping Sheryl from him against her will, he stages a coup of sorts, enlisting the help of several friends. They arrive at Sheryl’s house at twilight with makeshift weapons, and Rick roughly demands to see her. The neighborhood men are roused to stave them off with garden tools. That Night harkens back to time when households mingled in their neighborhoods: children playing outside with each other, fathers chatting at the mailbox, mothers dropping in to chat (do people do that anymore?). McDermott skillfully fleshes out the drama and interest in a seemingly dull suburban street.

The novel is narrated in the first person by a 10-year-old neighbor girl of Sheryl’s, never named, who is nevertheless a keen observer and often privy to her parents' thoughts on neighborhood events. The nonlinear narration makes room for instructive flashbacks and premonitions as well as future reflections. There are several variations on the theme of the salvific properties of love: Sheryl is saved through loving, Rick is saved by being loved, women in general are saved by having and loving children. Throughout the book, there are examples of the paradox of maternal love. The pure, intense, life-giving love of a mother often or always ends in disappointment, and a mother’s love cannot save her children. Even the fulfillment of maternal love, well-adjusted and happy adult children, ultimately renders the mother unnecessary. Though I wasn't convinced that these themes were universally applicable, they worked well in the novel and made a complete and compelling story.

Title:	That Night
Author:	Alice McDermott
Date published:	1987
Genre:	Fiction
Number of pages:	184
Notes:	Recommendation from Book Lust

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Set in a the western U.S. in a world where the Axis won World War II. The book follows a handful of different characters (all loosely connected to at least one or two of the others) struggle to survive in this crazy world. One key element is a recently published book, The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, written by the titular man in the high castle-- it tells of a world where the Allies won the war. This is a strange, foreign world (even though it is set in familiar cities)-- and a believable one.

One thing that makes the book so believable is the clear Asian culture-- not just in the Japanese characters, but in the Americans who have been living in the Japanese-controlled Pacific States. It is present in their clipped language and way of thinking, and also in the ever-present oracle, the I Ching that they all consult to try to make sense of what is happening.

This is a dark world. The Nazis have destroyed all of Africa; they have space travel and certain other technologies, but it's pretty clear that their advances are very limited and directed to specific ends. It's later revealed that they are now plotting to destroy Japan. The bleakness of this world is particularly brought home by the reaction of one character. During the course of the book, the current German Füaut;hrer dies and everyone is concerned to see who will be the next leader. The Japanese officials meet to be briefed on the possible & likely candidates. Tagomi is physically sick because he sees that there is true evil in the world, and it turns his worldview upside-down. Later on, Tagomi is forced to kill to defend himself and two others-- and this completely looses him from his moorings. At one point, when he is trying very hard to recover himself, he gets a kind of vision-- of our world, a world where there are now Japanese pedecabs in San Francisco but instead there are buses and taxis and a big freeway being built.

There are handful of characters, and they are all distinctly and carefully portrayed, and all compelling in their own ways. Robert Childan, the salesman of American antiques and historical treasures (like a Mickey Mouse watch) that the Japanese are buying up like crazy, who wants to be Japanese and longs for the delicate, beautiful Japanese women he can never have. The Jewish man, Frank Frink, who is fired and decides, with the encouragement and help of a co-worker, to start to create new American art. Frank's estranged wife Julia in Denver, who is being used by a Nazi operative as a way to get to the author of that subversive book, The Grasshopper Lies Heavy.

This is a very moving, thought-provoking book-- although it's hard to know how to make sense of it, particularly the ending. Julia finally meets the author, Hawthorne (who does not live in an enclosed, highly guarded castle at all), and asks him how he wrote the book. Eventually, he admits that he did it with the help of the Oracle, and when she consults the Oracle to ask why, the answer she gets is that it is all true-- that the Axis did not win the war.

Writing a book about, among other things, a subversive alternate-history book, makes you wonder about the purpose of the original alternate-history book-- is it to point out other possibilities, make us see things in our culture and our history that we can't see without this contrast? I'm not sure. I don't have any answers yet, but I think it bears thinking about.

Title:	The Man in the High Castle
Author:	Philip K. Dick
Date published:	1962
Genre:	Science Fiction, Alternate History
Number of pages:	259
Notes:	Hugo Award for best novel in 1962

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A classic! Meg Murray, Charles Wallace Murray, and Calvin are sent to rescue Meg & Charles Wallace's father. Mr. & Mrs. Murray are two brilliant scientists who have chosen to live in a relatively small town and do their work even though it isn't making them rich. Mr. Murray was working with some other scientists to discover if there is a way to travel through time and space instantaneously. Turns out there is. And he gets stuck in another place that is controlled by darkness. Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin (one of Meg's few friends) are taken by Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which to get Mr. Murray.

Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which are wonderfully memorable. They aren't actually human, so when they take human form it can be somewhat humorous. They can easily tesser (travel between space and time similar to the way humans walk), and aren't used to the limitations that humans have (like breathable air and three-dimensional space). But they are able to help these three quest in such a way that they can accomplish their goal. Mrs. Whatsit is the youngest and most able to easily relate to humans. She is able to explain things so they have chances to understand them, as well as help them feel comfortable. Mrs. Who has a harder time, so speaks almost exclusively in quotes (wonderful variety!). And Mrs. Which is in charge and has a hard time materializing, but knows what is truly vital for each of them to know and helps Meg to step up to the challenge of what must be done.

The planet their father is imprisoned on is controlled by IT. Everything is regulated .. what houses look like, and when children play, and what they play with, and where people work, and what they wear, and what in rhythm they breath. Meg, Charles Wallace, Calvin, and Mr. Murray have to fight IT .. and they do so by not giving in to the rhythm. By speaking against it. By not fitting in. By choosing to stand out. By exhulting in differences. How sweet .. that those who are different and not willing to lose their identity are able to break free and bring freedom to others.

Title:	A Wrinkle in Time
Author:	Madeleine L'Engle
Date published:	1962
Genre:	Young adult, fiction
Series:	Time Quartet
Number of pages:	190
Notes:	Repeat reading

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The return of Cloak & Dagger! Dagger has been badly injured by someone who looks an awful lot like Cloak, and she's lying in the hospital in a coma. Something jogs Dagger's memory, and he remembers the runaways (the Pride wiped Cloak & Dagger's memories before so they wouldn't send Captain America or someone like that to interfere). He brings them to New York to help investigate and clear his name, since no one else believes he's innocence.

The escapes in NY are pretty entertaining. Gert's dinosaur gets turned into a terrier so she'll be less conspicuous; the kids have run-ins with folks like Spider-man and Wolverine (Molly's apparently stronger than he is). They track down the dealers of a drug that temporarily gives the user superpowers, and then figure out that Dagger's got a stalker who works at the hospital, and they get there in time to clean things up.

Karolina leaves for some interstellar adventures early on in this volume (hope we get to hear more about that), but before she does the fact that she's a lesbian is made very clear. She seems to feel like more of a weirdo and an outcast over that than the fact that she's an actual outer-space alien.

Title:	Runaways Volume 5: Escape to New York
Author:	Brian K. Vaughan
Date published:	2006
Genre:	Young Adult Graphic Novel
Series:	Runaways
Number of pages:	144

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This book is written by a man who received a vision from God. Or rather a number of visions. About the future .. and the spiritual battle that is happening and will happen. The imagery is very vivid and easy to picture. Somewhat reminiscent of Pilgrim's Progress or Hind's Feet on High Places where creatures/characters are given names of sins and ways of living. The vividness of the landscapes and battles that take place are a bit disturbing, but that seems as it should be.

There are five sections, describing a journey with various stages. The main battle on the plain, climbing the mountain to arrive at the garden of God, returning to battle as seasoned warriors, being guided by Wisdom, experiencing the treasures of heaven, the throne room of the Lord, and a challenge for the future. In his introduction, Joyner is careful to remind readers to check the images and ideas with the Bible .. to be careful what they believe and how they live. I'm glad for this. The ideas and images are helpful and encouraging, but as with anything need to be taken in carefully, prayed over, and only then acted upon. This book is both cautionary and encouraging, with words of truth and an awareness of what the battles that are to be fought now and in the future are actually about. And a needed reminder that we do not fight against flesh and blood, but against the rulers and powers and principalities .. on the side of the One who already stands victorious!

Title:	The Final Quest
Author:	Rick Joyner
Date published:	1996
Genre:	Prophetic Vision
Number of pages:	170
Notes:	Borrowed from Diane

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Kind of a reboot of the "Runaways" series. Their villainous parents are dead, and the runaways have escaped from their various foster situations and found a new home base (an old parental lair under the La Brea tar pits museum). Their parents used to keep tight control on the crime in L.A. (they had the monopoly), but with their death new villains are moving in-- so the kids are doing their part to try to keep it under control. One of the subplots is a group of former teenage superheroes (now forming a recovery-type organization) are trying to catch the runaways to keep them out of this life that's not for children. There's also a new, interesting kid thrown into the mix.

Future Gert shows up, and before she dies she warns them about a future supervillian who will/has destroyed the Avengers and all the main heroes-- and he's a kid in L.A. now. They take off to find Victor Mancha, and when they do his power starts manifesting and he learns that his father wasn't dead like he thought, but is actually (what else) a supervillain. Eventually, there's a big showdown and they figure out Vic was actually built (but given memories to think he was normal) by the evil robot Ultron. The Runaways hold their own in the fight-- which makes you wonder, are they really that much more talented and clever than any of the other heroes around (young or otherwise), or if there's something else going on.

The group of former teen-heroes and their group ("Excelsior") is pretty funny, and would probably be even more so if I was more familiar with the characters.

Also some hints of mysterious villains-- either new ones, or maybe the Pride is not as dead as we thought they were.

Title:	Runaways Volume 4: True Believers
Author:	Brian K. Vaughan
Date published:	2006
Genre:	Young Adult Graphic Novel
Series:	Runaways
Number of pages:	144

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This is a quietly charming book featuring Eliza Birdwell, a modest wife, mother, and Quaker preacher, and her husband Jess, who owns a tree nursery. This collection of stories gives glimpses of unique moments in their life together, first as a young but established family and later as they reach their 80s. The stories are not continuous but they do manage to cohere naturally and effectively. Eliza and Jess’s relationship, though occasionally jarred by conflict, is marked by compassion and good humor. Their accommodation of the other’s inclinations and preferences is touching. Plus, several of the stories are downright funny.

The two chapters devoted to Lady, Jess’s horse, are particularly funny. Serious-minded Eliza has a prejudice against Jess’s “fast-looking” horse even though he’s shown himself a failure in racing: Jess is trying to live down being passed by the Methodist preacher the previous Sunday. So, in a lucky encounter, Jess mischievously trades him away to obtain Lady, an ugly, awkward looking horse who has plenty of pluck and doesn’t let any other animal pass her on the road. Jess’s triumph the next Sunday over the Methodist preacher pleases him but mortifies Eliza with the impropriety of a race on a First Day. And she the Quaker preacher!

But the joyous thing about Eliza is that she isn’t prudish and self-righteous. Throughout the book, she shows herself to be down-to-earth, gracious, and also subject to unneighborly reflections at times. Her stout faith in God allows her to love others freely and to be her own unique self. Though she is profoundly disturbed when her oldest son declares his intention of joining a militia during the Civil War, she quietly cares for his needs without censuring him. Similarly, Eliza has a practical and contented approach to her daily work, and it is clear that her Christian faith and Quaker sensibilities inform her ministrations to both her family and congregation. A delightful book.

Title:	The Friendly Persuasion
Author:	Jessamyn West
Date published:	1945
Genre:	Historical fiction
Number of pages:	228

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This book took me a couple of months to finish, although I read the bulk of it in a couple of weeks, a chapter many nights before I went to bed. Chittister takes the Rule of St. Benedict that guides the lives of Benedictine monks, and puts it into everyday language, seeking to apply it to the lives of Christians .. even those who are not monks and will not be. Many of the chapters begin with stories or images from her time in the monastery (since she is a nun), which helps to connect abstract ideas to daily life. And Chittister takes care that things don't remain abstract, but gives concrete examples wherever possible.

I don't like to highlight or underline in books, but I will write down quotes if the author hits a nerve or makes me verbally agree. (Yes .. sometimes I do make sounds to myself when reading..) There have been two or three books that are full of these quotable lines, and this definitely fits in the category. Whenever I sat down to read, I'd automatically grab the journal my quotes go into, because I knew I'd need it.

Each chapter is about a specific topic, ranging from prayer to humility to hospitality to stability .. all sorts of characteristics and practices which help to define Benedictines -- but also can help to define all those who follow Jesus. One recurring idea is that our definitions have been skewed. For example .. humility often is taken to mean 'someone who thinks lowly of themself' but Chittister says "humility comes from understanding my place in the universe" (p55). If someone is a gifted artist and they don't do art and don't use art to refresh their spirit, to speak to those around them, and to glorify themselves .. they aren't being humble. Understanding who I am and who God is .. that's humility. Throughout the ideas Chittister covers, one theme is that of right understanding. We are to seek to be humble, but if we don't know what that really means our seeking may be taking us further from God. We are called to obedience, but if we don't know what that honestly means, we can easily obey ourselves instead of God. Chittister powerfully reminds us of the reasons the Benedictines have been around for so long .. their focus is on God, and they work hard to stay connected as communities, to value one another, to speak and live truth with one another .. so that God may be glorified. This is a book worth reading.

Title:	Wisdom Distilled from the Daily
Author:	Joan Chittister
Date published:	1990
Genre:	Spiritual
Number of pages:	207
Notes:	Part of InnerChange reading

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The runaway children finally find out how their parents came to be supervillains and join together in the Pride, and have a showdown with their parents-- and the powerful beings they answer to. All along there have been hints that one of the runaways was a traitor to the rest, was still faithful to their evil parents; the parents argue over who it might be, all wanting to claim their own son or daughter as the one. This volume brings that story arc to a powerful and satisfying conclusion-- we find out who the traitor is, why they've done what they did, and their ultimate reward for such a betrayal.

When they first ran away from their parents, they stole a secret book and a decoder ring. Alex has been steadily working on translating it, and as he does the children learn the story of the Pride-- how their parents were recruited by an ancient, evil, giant race called the Gibborim to serve them and help them purify the earth-- by eventually destroying all of humanity. These six couples were specifically chosen for their diverse skills and origins, and after supplying the Gibborim with blood sacrifices for 25 years (to increase their power), six of the twelve would be given a place (and immortality) in the new, purified earth. In the meantime, they would all have power and prestige in human society for those 25 years.

Their underground hiding place is discovered, and after being rousted out, they decide to go after their parents. Alex determines that another rite is about to occur-- their parents will be delivering to the Gibborim the soul of the young woman they murdered. But they will be unarmed, so the kids make a plan and go after them.

And it all goes perfectly according to plan. Someone's plan. But that someone is actually the traitor. (Don't read this if you think you might read the books!) And once I knew the answer, everything made perfect sense. I was shocked and surprised, but everything made sense (the sign of a well-written twist). Even the fact that, when the kids first run away and decide to give themselves new codenames because they no longer want their identities defined by their evil parents, Alex chooses not to take one (although he gives a believable rationale for it). Alex is the strategic & tactical genius-- and he planned the whole thing from the very beginning. He purposely showed the other kids the blood rite (he'd discovered it the year before), and manipulated them into cleverly "finding" the gifts and tools of power from their parents. He even knowingly brought a vampire into their midst to toughen up their fighting skills. In watching his parents, he had discovered that two of the couples were planning to kill all the others so that they and their children could be the six immortals in the Gibborim's new earth. So, he maneuvers all of this (quite cleverly) to save his parents.

Unfortunately for him, he underestimates the skill of his team, and they manage to overpower him. The youngest and strongest, Molly, destroys the soul that was to be delivered to the Gibborim-- and rather than let his dad take the brunt of their displeasure, he offers himself and is destroyed. The other children escape the Gibborim's underwater citadel before it explodes and (presumably) kills their parents.

After they've taken down the Pride on their own, Captaim America shows up to take care of things-- not that there's much left for him to do. The kids are all sent to foster homes or schools appropriate to their powers and abilities-- but at the end of the book the meet up and runaway again, because they'd rather be together. Sets up further adventures neatly-- but I don't mind, because I want to read more of them.

Title:	Runaways Volume 3: The Good Die Young
Author:	Brian K. Vaughan
Date published:	2005
Genre:	Young Adult Graphic Novel
Series:	Runaways
Number of pages:	144

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In hiding from their parents and trying to live on their own, the runaways come out of their hiding place to find some food. They see a convenience store robbery in progress and decide to use their powers for good and stop it. They run into Topher, a young man their own age who says his parents forced him to rob the store-- since he's in the same boat they are, they take him back with them. Later, the super-duo Cloak and Dagger, themselves once runaways, come to L.A. to try to find the kids, who they think are murderers and kidnappers.

The Runaways are adapting to their new powers and new understanding of the world & their parents. The introduction of Topher causes all kinds of problems-- social friction between the different girls who think he's cute, but even worse conflict when they discover he's actually a vampire. He's over a century old, and he can handle Gert's velociraptor without losing his breath. They eventually defeat him, although almost by accident. The alien, Karolina, draws her power from the sun-- so when he bites her, she tastes like sunshine and it burns through him and destroys him. (Hmm, reminds me in a small way of Robin McKinley's title character Sunshine.)

The Runaways also have a run-in with Cloak & Dagger, a super-duo from back east (Alex calls them "B-list," which kind of offends them, but I don't think I've heard of them before). An enterprising L.A. policeman called them in, thinking-- who better to find super-powered runaways than one-time runaways and orphans who are now practicing superheroes? (His bright idea later gets him into pretty severe trouble with the Runaways parents, the Pride). The kids are pretty much beaten and captured by Cloak and Dagger, but the duo quickly realize the kids are innocent, and promise they'll send help to take care of the Pride.

Title:	Runaways Volume 2: Teenage Wasteland
Author:	Brian K. Vaughan
Date published:	2004
Genre:	Young Adult Graphic Novel
Series:	Runaways
Number of pages:	144

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A group of six teenagers living in L.A. see each other once a year when their parents get together for some kind of yearly business transactions (they've never paid much attention). Because they're bored, they decided to spy on their parents-- and are surprised to see their parents in strange costumes. At first they think they've discovered their parents are superheroes, but then they see their parents murder a young girl their own age in some kind of rite, and realize their parents must be supervillians. After they decide to run away, the call to mind all the "lies" their parents told them-- the kind of things parents stereotypically say, whether super or not. When they realize their parents are evil, one of the girls responds, "Well, duh. I've known our parents were evil since I was five."

Once they get over their shock, the kids plan to turn their parents in to the authorities-- but even in a world of superheroes, their story sounds crazy. And what's more, the police, media, etc are all in the pocket of the Pride, their parents secret organization. As a group they stop by their different houses and make discoveries-- about their parents, about their own legacies of power. When they realize they can't turn their parents in, and aren't strong enough to beat them, they decide to lie low-- and also to do some good, to compensate for their parents evil-doing.

The kids and their parents are a great mix of different kinds of heroes/villains. The mafia kingpin parents have no super-powers, but their son Alex is a tactical & strategic genius. One couple are magicians, another aliens (their Karolina had unknowingly worn a charm bracelet to suppress her appearance all her life), another are mutants, and another set are genius inventors with all kinds of crazy gadgets (their son steals powerful gauntlets & x-ray goggles), and yet another are time-travellers who left their daughter a genetically engineered velociraptor telepathically tuned to her.

Fun, quick read. The books are paperback-size, so they seem even shorter than trade paperback comicbook collections usually do. Lovely artwork-- I especially liked the issue covers; realistic and beautiful without being too much different from the way the characters were depicted throughout the book.

First heard of this series because Joss Whedon is writing the new issues. This is good stuff.

Title:	Runaways Volume 1: Pride and Joy
Author:	Brian K. Vaughan
Date published:	2004
Genre:	Young Adult Graphic Novel
Series:	Runaways
Number of pages:	144

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Another book in the Time Quartet, telling a story of the Murray family. The other three center mainly around Meg & Charles Wallace, so to have this one be about the twins, Sandy and Dennis, is a bit surprising. The last time I read it, I didn't enjoy it all that much -- it's still not my favorite, but it was worth reading again. Sandy and Dennis, the 'normal ones' in their brilliant, eccentric family accidentally go into the lab and mess with their father's experiment. Living in Maine in winter, they type in that they want to go someplace warm and sparsely populated -- and the program delivers. But it's not exactly what they were looking for.

L'Engle has taken this book as an opportunity to explore the time of Noah. With nephilim and seraphim on the earth, people who are smaller and live ages longer, desert, and some people with clarity to hear the ancient songs well. These two twins are blessed to be introduced to one of the families on the oasis which is full of kind people -- although they have interactions with many who are less kind. The twins are tall for their age, but in comparison to the people of the time they are sent back to -- they are giants. But giants without wings or special powers, as opposed to the nephilim and seraphim. Interesting to imagine and read about what these angels might have looked like and acted like and been.

The twins have a part to play in bringing peace to the families. One stays with Noah's father, Lamech, and the other with Noah and his large family. Lamech and Noah have had a disagreement and will not speak to one another -- but through conversations with the twins and God speaking, they both set aside their pride and come together. What a joy to see that happen -- because so often it does not. Even though the twins (and those who hear God speak) know the flood is coming, being able to see and help bring peace is beautiful. No matter what tomorrow may hold, there is space for living well in today. For choosing wisely and encouraging others to live wisely. For living in today and trusting God to take care of tomorrow.

Title:	Many Waters
Author:	Madeleine L'Engle
Date published:	1986
Genre:	Young Adult, Fiction
Series:	Time Quartet
Number of pages:	310
Notes:	Repeat reading

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