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This novel is set in an interplanetary society on the brink of a galactic war over the precious Elixir, which extends the life of those who drink it (it reminded me a bit of the spice in Dune. Most of the action takes place on the downtime outpost planet Mutare-- "downtime" because of the apparently relativistic time effects in this planetary system: time on Mutare and other downtime planets passes more slowly relative to the time of the Hub and the central worlds. The two main characters, Calla and Jason, were lovers years ago; Jason joined the rangers and came to Mutare, and Calla stayed with the Praetorian Raiders. Because of the downtime effect, only ten years have passed for Jason, while it has been thirty years for Calla. Calla has been chosen to protect their society from a suspected traitor because of her genetic singularity: she is immune to the Elixir, and therefore cannot be bribed by it.

I know of Cynthia Felice only through her collaborations with Connie Willis, and after reading Light Raid, I decided I should check out some of her work. Downtime was the only book by Felice that I could find in the libraries I have access to, and I had trouble finding much information on her, or even a cover image for the book, online. I enjoyed the book, and the end certainly reeled me in and made me keep reading, even though I correctly guessed some of the outcomes.

One thing that bothered me in this book was the use of technical terms. Felice seems to throw you right into the middle of this society without any definitions or terminology, and you have to pick things up as you go-- which is mostly do-able (and certainly preferable to reading a slow, boring introduction to the society structures and technologies). It's easy enough to figure out that the decimvirate is a council of ten, and from the references in the text I eventually understood that the stellerator was some kind of vest worn to protect humans from the cosmic radiation on Mutare. It's clear that this society has highly advanced genetic sciences, and also that they are heavy into protocol-- each person must wear a "nomenclator" that transmits their name, rank, accomplishments, etc. to those they approach. One of the odder things was the use of "jelly beans" to store and transport information. The one time Felice does go into detail is about the production of Elixir, and then it was far more detail than I really wanted-- although I understood the point she was trying to make, which is that making the Elixir is a very difficult, complicated process which can easily be disrupted.

An interesting subplot revolves around the strange danae, a species indigenous to Mutare; they are hunted for the valuable fragrant crystal contained in their bodies, but Jason, who is the Ranger-Governor of Mutare, does his best to limit this hunting, becuase he suspects that the danae may be sentient. Because of the themes of environmentalism and caring for other creatures, I was strongly reminded of Anne McCaffrey's The Coelura. The danae are actually pretty interesting; they communicate mostly by Psi, and the nymphs must go into a cocoon phase before they will emerge as a full-fledged danae. The interesting bit about this last part, as Jason eventually discovers, is that when a nymph cocoons with a dying danae, the new danae shares the memories of the old one.

One peculiar thing that I might not have noticed if I hadn't been reading the book of Esther the same day I finished this book... Calla has a gallows built on Mutare, so that when she eventually chases the traitor back to Mutare, he will know that she had planned it all along. This is suspiciously reminiscent of the gallows that Haman built for Mordecai, although here it plays out slightly differently, and Calla is certainly not a despicable character like Haman.

An entertaining read. In spite of the strange technology, there is plenty here to fascinate. I found the parts of the story set on Mutare, and the concern with a traitor in their midst, more compelling than the space battles. I was intrigued by the politics of this war more than I expected to be, and enjoyed Calla's surprising plan-- because she is immune to Elixir, she is one of the only ones who can think clearly and respond decisively in the face of this threat.

Title:	Downtime
Author:	Cynthia Felice
Date published:	1985
Genre:	Science Fiction
Number of pages:	246

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Glimpsed through these poems, Luci Shaw seems to be the kind of person who notices things, and often those things remind her of aspects of her faith; she sees graffiti when she is driving on the freeway, and it makes her think of the rain falling on her windshield as love graffiti from God; she sees a house being built, and when it is finished, she remembers the "secret trees" that are now hidden, the wood timbers that form the structure of the house; she notices a sign posted on the roadside where an auto accident caused someone's death, and she meditates on it; she picks up a starfish, and wonders if fish swim through the milky way or stars glimmer under the sea.

Most of the poems in this collection are fairly short, and generally not too difficult to understand. Shaw's poetry tends, at times, to be more conventional in form, and this seems to be more the case in the older volumes, but her language is always beautiful, and the content is inspiring, or thoughtful, or fascinating. A few poems are quite playful (like the person developing wings and no longer quite held by gravity in "Aviation Symptoms"), some are more serious. In some poems, Shaw meditates on passages of scripture, familiar Biblical stories, or theological points-- but they are always connected to her own life, made personal; others are explicitly rooted in her personal experience, or written for specifical people in her life.

The poem "The Omnipresence" seems emblematic of Shaw's outlook, as seen through the poems collected here-- she looks carefully and observes is around here, and she sees evidence of God everywhere.

Reminders flicker at us from
odd angles, nor will he be ignored;
we sight him in unlikely places,
oaths and dates and empty tombs.
God. His print is everywhere,
stamped on the macro- and the microcosm.
Feathers, shells, stars, cells speak
his diversity. The multiplicity of
leaf and light says God. Wind,
sensed but unseen, breathes the old
metaphor again. Seasons are his
signature. The double helix
spells his spiral name.
Faith summons him, and doubt
blows only the sheerest skein
of mist across his face.

Title:	Polishing the Petoskey Stone: New and Selected Poems
Author:	Luci Shaw
Date published:	1990
Genre:	Poetry
Number of pages:	266
Notes:	Repeat reading.

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This is book number two of three, although only two are written yet. Paolini is a young writer whose work is worth reading. Eragon is a young man who has had to mature rapidly due to recent events, along with his dragon Saphira. They are part of an epic clash between the false king and the other races (elves, dwarves, varden(rebellious humans), and a few others to boot). Good against Evil. This book has similar elements to other fantasy books. One enjoyable element is multiple stories going on at once. As readers, we get to follow Eragon as he increases his knowledge and preparation to be a dragon rider like those in legends. We also follow his brother Toran, who has plenty of adventures saving his village from the Ra'zac and leading them on a long journey. We also follow Nasuada, the leader of the varden, as she prepares for war.

All the books I've read with dragon riders (and there are quite a few..) include a deep connection between the dragon and their rider. Both are sentient and have their own personalities and opinions, but they are able to know each other and become one in ways no one else can. One deep human desire is to be known. To not be alone. To be loved completely. To be understood. One woman I respect said something to the effect of 'we all sleep in our own skin at night,' which is true. No matter how deeply I know someone or am known by them, I can never be fully known except by an omniscient God.

One of the elves says to Eragon "every other elf and I could use magic to satisfy our desires -- and some do -- but then what meaning is there in life?" (p303) They have many abilities and long life, so they don't have to do any work. But without that, life has no purpose or pleasure. So they spend time perfecting certain skills, such as improving their swordsmanship, learning how to be a metalworker, or how to singing beautiful patterns out of trees. It is easy to think that without work, our lives would be much easier and better. But we were made for work. Work is good for us - partially so that we might enjoy the play better. Play and rest are necessary parts of our lives, but so is work and improving our skills and character and habits. (Which works best with the power of the Holy Spirit instead of just human will power).

Title:	Eldest
Author:	Christopher Paolini
Date published:	2005
Genre:	Fantasy
Series:	Inheritance
Number of pages:	668

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When I first came across this book, I was mildy interested in it because it was by the author of Blue Moon Rising, which is a marvellous book. It was only later that I learned that the two title characters, Hawk & Fisher, are actually the Prince Rupert and Princess Julia from Blue Moon Rising; they have taken new names and travelled far from the Forest Kingdom, gotten married, and become Captains in the Guard of the city of Haven. It's a little interesting to see the same characters further on in their lives, and in a very different setting... and if you're familiar with the darkness and the demons they've faced before, then you're more likely to understand why they are so capable and unfazed by the horrors of Haven, a city full of corrupt politicians and drug trafficking, alongside wizards and vampires and unfair companies who use zombies to get work done during strikes.

The adventures of Hawk and Fisher are quite fascinating, and will keep you both wondering and enthralled. The first major case is a locked-door mystery with magic involved-- while Hawk & Fisher have an isolation spell to keep all the suspects within a manor house overnight, and a truth-spell to help them track down the murderer, they also have to deal with magical beings and the clever manipulation of magic that was used to accomplish the initial murder. In the second book, Hawk & Fisher are assigned to protect a political candidate for the Reform party-- and end up uncovering plenty of secrets (everyone has at least one). In the third book, Hawk & Fisher have an even stranger murder to solve-- someone has been killing the supernatural beings on the Street of Gods, and they have to figure out who quickly, before all the other beings begin a God War.

The mysteries are all tightly plotted, and the resolutions make complete sense within the world of Haven. Green's writing is not very literary, and sometimes seems a bit formulaic (his description of each new character always seems to be organized the same way, and even the volumes are structured similarly). However, he does have a wry, humorous tone which I find enjoyable.

One oddity: when they took new names, Fisher gave herself a first name, Isobel; but apparently Hawk never chose one (or, at least, we never hear about if he did).

Title:	Swords of Haven: The Adventures of Hawk & Fisher collects Hawk & Fisher (1990), Winner Takes All (1991), and The God Killer (1991)
Author:	Simon R. Green
Date published:	1999
Genre:	Fantasy / Adventure / Mystery
Series:	Hawk & Fisher
Number of pages:	540
Notes:	Repeat reading of Hawk & Fisher

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A young boy, named Palmer, has his ninth birthday and is finally accepted by the gang in his neighborhood. The gang consists of three boys his age, named Beans, Mutto, and Henry -- and at his birthday party they give him his new name -- Snots. He gets to run with them and play with them and tease others - to be part of the group. But there are things about this group and his town which he can't stand. The largest is that every year they have Family Fest and the last day consists of a contest to see who is the best sharpshooter - and crates full of 5,000 pigeons who are the targets. At ten, all the boys in town get to be wringers, to make sure that the pigeons are really dead. Palmer dreads this day and all it entails.

In sharp contrast to this gang of boys, across the street from Palmer is a girl named Dorothy. She is confident in who she is and doesn't need the approval of others like most of us do. Our American culture is obsessed with approval and appearances and convincing other people to like us. To have a nine-year-old girl who is confident in herself is a gift -- and a challenge. This seems to be a theme in Spinelli's work -- challenging young adults to speak up for themselves and to care less about other's opinions and more about truth (Stargirl, Maniac McGee).

Palmer, of course, as the protagonist, must change through the events that take place in his book. As humans, when we change, we effect change in others too. True to his style, Spinelli's allows the reader to see some of the effects. Another agent of change is a pigeon. This is beautiful because in the town, pigeons are despised, but Palmer gets to know one and to see the gifts he has to offer. Humans naturally place people and things in categories (such as 'us' vs 'them', or 'good' vs 'bad'), but when one gets to know individuals those categories cannot stand. We are all sinners in need of grace. Both grace and hope are always beautifully present in spinelli's books.

Title:	Wringer
Author:	Jerry Spinelli
Date published:	1997
Genre:	Young Adult, Fiction
Number of pages:	228

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Patricia McKillip's books are magical and wondrous, and among her many fine works, this one stands out. It is a fairy tale, but one written for and about complex, adult characters with both troubles and joy. How many fairy tales do you know of where the prince is a widower, driven nearly mad by the loss of his wife and newborn child? The story is spun into motion by Brume, the oldest and most feared witch in Serre, who lives in her house made of bones, and along with the mysterious and beautiful firebird, she is at the heart of the magic in Serre which propels the story and makes healing possible.

Where do you hide your heart? What does it look like, and what is it worth to you? This book repeatedly brings up the idea of the heart, in many different ways. Prince Ronan, when he is bargaining with Brume for his life, decides to give her his heart in payment-- he is so wounded by his grief that he thinks he would rather live without it. When Princess Sidonie learns this, she secretly steals away to deal with the fearsome Brume-- because, she says, while Ronan may be able to live without his heart, she cannot. These issues of the heart also touch on the wizard Gyre, who escorted and protected Sidonie on her trip from Dacia into Serre-- because years ago he had found and stolen the heart of a fearsome monster. And of course, there is the beautiful firebird, whose song and lovely form ensorcel people so, because they look and sound like the desires of your heart.

Part of the story is told through the experiences of the scribe Euan, in Sidonie's home kingdom of Dacia. Euan is hired by the wizard Unciel, who is recovering from a difficult battle which nearly destroyed him, and which, for a time, he refuses to talk about. This is, of course, the monster whose heart Gyre stole-- Unciel defeated the monster only by becoming the monster, which nearly destroyed him; the magic of Serre eventually allows a possibility for Unciel to heal from this ordeal of self-destruction. Euan is an interesting character, and the first time I read the book I wondered why McKillip wasted time on him; he is not merely a scribe, but also a dreamer and a lover of language and story, and I see now that his presence in the book allows McKillip to write more about the power of words and tales. And this is more important, because of the kind of land that Serre is.

You never know, in Serre, when and where a tale will become true.

This is a book worth reading and re-reading, worth thinking and dreaming about. It is beautiful and mesmerizing and powerful-- especially the strange connection between the heartbreakingly beautiful firebird and the hideous and terrible Brume, something which is all the more mysterious and magical because it is never fully articulated.

Title:	In the Forests of Serre
Author:	Patricia McKillip
Date published:	2003
Genre:	Fantasy
Number of pages:	295
Notes:	Second reading. Christmas present from Sapphire.

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This sequel to The Dragons of Autumn Twilight finds the same group of companions continuing their adventures, trying to defend their land from the encroaching armies of the DragonLords and the Dark Queen. This time, the friends end up getting split into two groups, both looking for two of the remaining "dragon orbs". I found myself enjoying this book more than the first-- maybe because I was able to just enjoy the adventure and not pay too much attention to the language and phrasing (since the authors apparently didn't).

It's hard to have much drama when the characters nearly die all the time-- and you know they are pretty much all going to survive, because of the kind of book it is. This time there was a bit more drama, since at least some of the characters thought that their friends were dead (even though, as the reader, you know better). It also bothers me a bit that each female character is seemingly more gorgeous than the last. How can all of them be the most beautiful woman the other characters have ever seen? It doesn't make sense. Another annoyance-- the characters didn't seem to behave consistently. For instance, the careful and cautious leader Tanis, suddenly unable to control his passion? Or the light-hearted kender Tasslehoff, who was previously described as unafraid of death, now piteous and fearful? If it was written carefully, showing a fearful kender could be used to demonstrate how dire their situation really is, but it was not handled that way.

There were some fun twists to this story, though-- some of which I was able to guess ahead of time (for instance, a silver dragon masquerading as a "wilder elf" and falling in love with one of the companions-- given away to the reader by her inability to see in the dark). The living nightmare caused by an elflord's failure to control one of the dragon orbs was also an interesting episode.

One final nitpick: the title isn't really justified here. While this book introduces three new kinds of dragons, it is unclear which is the wintry, nocturnal breed. In addition to the red and black dragons we met before (I suppose the reds are supposed to be autumnal), in this book there are blues (which seem to breathe lightning) and whites (the most wintry of the dragons, they breathe ice and fog instead of fire). Also, we meet one silver dragon-- the kind that helped save the world from evil dragons in the past. I think titles should matter, and in this series they seem to have simply chosen seasons and times of day to mark their books, and they march forward with them, without really justifying the title in the book itself.

Title:	Dragons of Winter Night
Author:	Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
Date published:	1985
Genre:	Fantasy
Series:	Dragonlance Chronicles
Number of pages:	399
Notes:	One of G's books.

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One of my favorite books ever. Willis is brilliant, writing a book with time travel, history, romance, mystery, and comedy. Ned and Verity are both time travelers from the 21st century, doing research for a big project that is taking place in their present. This research involves living in the 1940s, and they get caught up in all sorts of adventures. The book has strong connections with Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat (To say Nothing of the Dog) as evidenced by the title, as well certain structures and characters. The Victorian Era has enough structures in place that makes for some wonderful comedy, jokes, and awkward moments, which Willis makes the most of.

At the same time Ned and Verity are traveling between past and present, the people in the present are discovering new things about 'The Net' (their method of time travel to the past), with some wonderful far reaching ideas. Nothing is as simple as originally hoped, because everything is connected. 'The Net' or time-space continuum has a mind of its own, in that it fixes problems and changes history so that the future isn't affected, but time travelers don't know what things are changing or why, or how to help the situation. In fact, they may think they are helping when really they are doing no such thing.

The Bishop's bird stump is also a main player, funny as that may sound. It is hideous. During Victorian times, certain things were 'beautiful' or at least attractive to someone with good taste... but not in the present. The idea of something so ugly having importance and affecting so many lives (for good or ill) is interesting. I'd like to think that my life is affected by beauty and light and life, but sometimes the opposite of those also has a strong impact. Lives can also be changed for the better in reaction to things which are ugly or dark or lifeless. I highly recommend this book to anyone!

Title:	To Say Nothing of the Dog, or, How we found the Bishop's Bird Stump at Last
Author:	Connie Willis
Date published:	1998
Genre:	Science Fiction
Number of pages:	493
Notes:	Read this out loud as a family a few years ago.

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