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Fantasy

LootCrate: Time

Thursday, October 22, 2015 by Tse Moana Leave a Comment

With the theme being Time, I couldn’t not get this box. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to the expectation. There were only four items in this box, which is really not enough. Maybe these items are higher value, but the box as a whole feels like a lesser value to me with so few items.

I love the sonic spork, using the Eleventh Doctor’s sonic screwdriver for the handle. Also a hit is the Funko Pop of Dr. Emmet Brown from Back to the Future. I don’t know much about that franchise. I am pretty sure I’ve seen all of the first movie at some point, and parts of the other two, but most of my knowledge of it is from pop culture memes. So this Pop wasn’t on my wishlist or anything, but he looks awesome and I’ve been wanting another general scifi Pop to go with Robby the Robot (Forbidden Planet).

Then there was a miniature replica hooverboard from Back to the Future. It looks nice, and comes in a pretty box, but that’s about it for me. This will be going in the gift box, as will probably the t-shirt. It’s from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Again one of those movies I think I’ve seen, but not sure. Plus the shirt is kinda tight compared to the one that was in the Fantasy Crate.

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Posted in: General, Photos Tagged: Fantasy, Funko, Geeky Stuff, LootCrate, Movies, Photos, Review, Scifi, Subscription Boxes, TV

Frisia Fantasia @ Elfia Arcen 2015

Monday, September 21, 2015 by Tse Moana Leave a Comment
Posted in: General, Photos Tagged: Elf Fantasy Fair, Elfia, Eva & Jarig, Fantasy, Friends, Frisia Fantasia, Julius & Anneke, Mellien & Bas, Photos, Re-enactment, The Farm

Elfia Arcen

Monday, September 21, 2015 by Tse Moana Leave a Comment

I had an amazing weekend at Elfia in Arcen. The atmosphere was great, the whole thing looked fantastic and our camp rocked.

Friday morning, Mellien and Bas picked me up and we drove to The Farm. There we packed up the rented van, Harry’s van and Anneke’s car. Bas had to go to work and would join us in the evening. With the whole group, the packing was done quickly, and we were on our way. All together we were ten people and three dogs.

After arrival, we had some trouble finding our designated camping site. With some help of the organisation, we found it. They had moved us to a better spot. We were now across from the main stage behind the line of food carts. So our back was towards that, and we faced a beautiful pond. The build of the camp went very smoothly and before long we were ready. The visitors wouldn’t be there until Saturday so we could relax for now.

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The next morning, before the festival opened its doors, Jarig and I went to walk their dog. The park around Arcen Castle is fantastic and very elaborate. The big glass building is a greenhouse that also features a Jurassic Park bit complete with fake dinosaurs.

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When we returned it was time to get the picture going. This meant find something to do all day so you’re useful, while having fun and presenting an interesting and pretty picture for the crowd. I mostly held fire watch where I kept the fire going and watched the food we were cooking. Beyond ourselves, the camp is dressed up with many accessories that make it feel even more alive. When the visitors stop and want to know more, or are impressed, you know you’ve done a good job.

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It’s important that the camp always looks complete and lively. We get the free entrance in return for doing just that. So, during both days we took turns going out for a bit to stroll the festival grounds, take a look at other stands, maybe buy some stuff. Every one has something they can do that is sort of authentic to the middle ages. Julius gives little workshops in blacksmithing. Anneke cooks for all of us. Margreet spins wool, Harry does some wood working. Mellien does little felting workshops. Eva varies but this time around it was needle felting. Jarig, Bas and I don’t really have a niche, so we do whatever needs doing. Bas ended up assisting with the Blacksmithing a lot. And I did fire and tried my hand at some wood working with the small axe on the second day. This was quite fun to do, and I think I want to do that more often.

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The evenings are almost an event on their own. After the visitors have gone, the music has died off, the sky has grown dark. Candles are lit, the fire is still burning. There’s a quietness but all around you hear the different camps still living. The last evening we sat around the fire for quite some time.

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Monday morning we got up fairly early so we could pack up everything without having to hurry. In the afternoon we got back on the road to our Highland. Saying goodbye to Arcen for this year.

The stake I made. It needs some sanding to be nice and smooth and then it will be a gift for Nienke to hunt vampires with.

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Posted in: General, Photos Tagged: Elf Fantasy Fair, Elfia, Eva & Jarig, Fantasy, Friends, Frisia Fantasia, Julius & Anneke, Mellien & Bas, Photos, Re-enactment, The Farm

Leather and Fur

Thursday, September 17, 2015 by Tse Moana Leave a Comment

20150915_210459I’ve been packing to go to Elfia next weekend together with Eva, the whole family, Mellien and Bas. We’re spending the weekend doing a general fantasy-style medieval re-enactment there. We leave for Arcen on Friday and come back on Monday.

In between packing bags, I hit the crafting table on Tuesday. I made a quick-and-dirty apron from this large piece of old leather I have. It’s  just meant as an extra accessory during the weekend so it didn’t have to be perfect. Plus, I want to keep most of the leather in one piece for when I figure out what I really want to make out of it. Maybe a belt. A belt would be useful.

 

20150915_204134I straightened out the sides and edges so the piece flowed better. Then I used some of the cut bits to make a neck strap. I then braided rough thin rope to make two bits of thicker rope. That thicker rope I ran through two existing holes on the sides to create the closure. Quick, and easy.

While working on it, Milo was quite interested in the leather. He kept sniffing it and wanted to sit on it 🙂

Yesterday, I went to a Mazerunner marathon with Kim. The second film was pretty good. It followed the movie close enough. It missed some of the nuance between Thomas and Theresa but that is to be expected of a movie versus a book. I’m excited for part three next year.

And speaking of cats, to save me from a separate post just for this, here’s a ridiculously cute Monkey a few days ago.

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Posted in: General, Photos Tagged: Cats, Crafting, Fantasy, Milo, Monkey, Photos, Re-enactment

Nerd Block: August

Friday, August 21, 2015 by Tse Moana Leave a Comment

The third Nerd Block of my initial three month subscription. This one had an eighties summer mixtape theme and was a bit of a let down for me. I like the metal lunchbox kinda thing. Don’t know yet what to use it for, but it is useful for me. I’m not big into Ghostbusters so the exterior doesn’t really mean a lot to me. I do like the industrial look of it. The Ghostbusters plushie is okay, I’ll put it in the box for potential gifts.

The Game of Thrones coasters are very pretty, but not all that useful. They’re made of pretty flimsy pressed paper kind of stuff. If you were to spill on it, they’re ruined.

Of course an eighties box needs something Rubik. The choice here is a stress Rubik’s Cube. I’m pretty meh about it. I never have (or had) much use for stress balls and the like. Like the plushie, it’ll go in the gift box.

Then there’s a book of postcards. Normally this would be right up my alley. Except they are hideous. Now these are hideous on purpose, but that doesn’t really make it any better. I have no idea what to do with these. Maybe I can send some of these via PostCrossing at some point.

The one thing I did really love was the shirt. It’s a Ghostbusters shirt, so again, it doesn’t specifically mean anything to me. But I love the colours, the design and I am a big Bill Murray fan. It’s definitely a hit in a mostly miss box.

I have decided to stop the three month stuff and go month by month now. I’m also thinking of trying a LootCrate here or there in between, depending on theme of each.

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Posted in: General, Photos Tagged: Fantasy, Games, Geeky Stuff, Movies, Nerd Block, Photos, Review, Subscription Boxes, TV

LootCrate: Fantasy Crate

Saturday, July 4, 2015 by Tse Moana Leave a Comment

I currently have a three month subscription to Nerd Block and more than one subscription box at a time is too pricey for me. However, LootCrate was having a sale on some of their older boxes. And after going through the ones on offer I decided to buy the May LootCrate. This one had a fantasy theme and based on the image it had some good stuff in it. It came today, and I was not disappointed.

I haven’t played Dungeons & Dragons (yet), but I love this shirt! The bow tie is nice, also. I don’t know if I’ll ever really wear it, but it makes for a good addition to a geeky wardrobe.

The flashdrive looks awesome. Too bad it’s a bit on the low side (only 4GB) to be really useful. The Princess Bride playing cards have fantastic art and the luggage tag will come in handy. I’m aiming for a visit to the UK again next year 😀

Game of Thrones magnets look nice on the fridge accompanying the Monty Python magnetic poetry from my recent Nerd Block. The inflatable crown is awesome! It fits nicely and once I was done wearing it, it became the hat for the stuffed plush reindeer head on my wall.

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Posted in: General Tagged: Fantasy, Games, LootCrate, Movies, Photos, Review, Subscription Boxes, TV

Prezzies

Saturday, December 27, 2014 by Tse Moana Leave a Comment

20141222_112029After Christmas dinner it was time for prezzies. First we exchanged gifts with my parents, and after they left, Nienke and I continued the unwrapping party with our gifts for each other.

We’d already given each other one of the prezzies the day before, but now it was time for the rest. We usually set a budget, and always go over, but I think we never went quite as far over as we did this year 😀

Mom and Dad gave me the CD with the soundtrack of Guardians of the Galaxy. A definite hit as the songs keep getting stuck in my head 🙂 I got Mom a bath set with lotion and fluffy things, and for Dad dried meat sausages, he always likes a good sausage.

Nienke gave me awesome things! Starfleet Academy and Medical Academy buttons, a necklace of the Elven brooch given to the Hobbits, a colouring book and a cute story book, a letter E, and the best thing ever: a USS Voyager model kit. I’ll have to order paint first, but I can’t wait to build it.

I got Nienke a Comic Con Exclusive Buffy Pop Vinyl, the eleventh Doctor’s sonic screwdriver, a 1:64 model of the Impala from Supernatural along with a replica of Dean’s necklace that Sammy gave him, blue fuzzy gloves, a guitar stand and the unicorn plush from Despicable Me. The cats each got a toy, as well.

Then tonight Kim came by to watch the Olivier B. Bommel movie Als je begrijpt wat ik bedoel and then we saw Flushed Away before also exchanging gifts.

I’d gotten both Nienke and Kim a chocolate bar, and gave Kim a set of mugs with owls on it, as well as a bracelet with a Mockingjay pin. I’d also gotten some toys and candies for her cats. She got me chocolate, fudge and a Pop Vinyl of Invisible Bilbo!

Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack

Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack, true to its name

 

Starfleet Academy departmental buttons

Starfleet Academy departmental buttons, Starfleet Medical Academy button and a Star Trek general button

 

Lord of the Rings Elven brooch necklace

Fantastic Lord of the Rings Elven brooch necklace

 

Undead Pets book

A cute little book about Undead Pets

 

Feel Good colouring book

Very pretty Feel Good colouring book

 

USS Voyager model kit

Best gift ever 😀 USS Voyager model kit!

 

Invisible Bilbo!

Invisible Bilbo!

 

Chocolate hippos! And fudge *swoon*

Chocolate hippos! And fudge *swoon*

 

Posted in: General, Photos Tagged: Books, Christmas, Crafting, Dad, Fandom, Fantasy, Food, Friends, Funko, Holidays, Kim, Mom, Movies, Music, Nienke, Parents, Photos, Scifi, Star Trek

Blog About Me [12/52] Ten Books I Love

Monday, September 16, 2013 by Tse Moana Leave a Comment

I have read so many books in my life, it’s hard to narrow them down to just ten that I love. In the end, the books (or series) listed here are ones that have influenced me, or those that just make me feel good, or just have this undefinable thing. Also, they’re in no particular order.

Toekomsttrilogie, Thea BeckmanThe Future Trilogy by Thea Beckman: Kinderen van Moeder Aarde, Het Helse Paradijs & Het Gulden Vlies van Thule.

I read these while in elementary school. I read a lot of more fantastic books and historical ones, so when I first picked up Kinderen van Moeder Aarde (Children of Mother Earth), it seemed like the perfect book. I had experience with Thea Beckman’s historical books which I really liked, and this had fantasy and scifi stuff in it. So I took it home from the libary, and I think I finished it in one day. I became near obsessed with it. Went back to the library at my first opportunity and got the other two parts Het Helse Paradijs (The Hellish Paradise) and Het Gulden Vlies van Thule (The Golden Fleece of Thule). I copied the map, wrote down things from the books to create a reference for myself to this world Thea had created and I spent so much time in my head creating more stories and exploring the world. I would periodically borrow them from the library again, to reread them. These books really jump started my interest in world building and cartography.

I haven’t read them in a good number of years now, not since I stopped having a library membership. Weirdly enough, I only added the books to my permanent collection about a year and a half  ago.  They’re currently on my to be (re-)read pile. I estimate I’ll get around to them sometime next year 😀

 

Discworld ShelfThe Discworld series by Terry Pratchett.

I was first introduced to the Discworld series in my first year of High School. I started out, if I remember correctly, with a Dutch translation of Witches Abroad, which I really liked. Over the next few years I read more Dutch Discworld, and even bought a few. However, it wasn’t until I’d started reading in English and picked up my first original Discworld, that I truly fell in love with the series. I started reading them all in English, including those I’d already read in Dutch. And I started collecting the books. Terry manages to do something that, I find, is a tricky thing to do. He writes “funny books” that are so multi layered with references to so many things and manages to tell very serious stories through this. His main characters are some of the best I’ve seen. And the ever evolving nature of the world of Discworld is a joy to experience.

 

Belgariad/Malloreon, David EddingsThe Belgariad/Malloreon series by David Eddings.

This series really cemented my love of more traditional fantasy. I read them in Dutch first, starting in the first year of High School, like with Discworld, including the companion novels about Belgarath and Polgara. I bought English versions of the companion novels some years ago and really enjoyed rereading them. I managed to snag a complete collection of both the Belgariad and the Malloreon in a second hand book shop a year or two ago and jumped on it right away.

Fortunately, upon rereading, I still loved them as I did before. The base story is a quintessential one in Fantasy: peasant boy finds out he is descendant from an old line of kings and needs to reclaim his heritage and defeat the big evil. The way in which it was dressed up, though, really did it for me. There’s prophecy and wizards and fascinating other party members and tertiary characters, and a cool magic system, old gods, powerful women and so on. In the second series, the Malloreon, the story repeats itself. And the books get some crap for that. Except that’s a major part of the overall theme. The base concept behind the whole series is that history basically keeps repeating itself until we can finally make the universe right again. The second series therefore has many parallels with the first, and I think that makes it a better series.

 The Giver, Lois LowryThe Giver by Lois Lowry.

Another book I first read in elementary school. My first experience with more dystopian elements and more scifi than fantasy. It made such an impression on me that I kept looking for the book for years, on and off. I remembered parts of the plot and then I’d think, “I wanna re-read it.” But I could never remember the title or the author. So it was years before I used The Google to try and find it. And then I found it, and I was ecstatic 😀

The bits I kept remembering over the years were things I wouldn’t right away associate with a children’s book, which technically it is. A very rigid control of society. Everyone does things exactly like this, and no deviations are accepted. Those that deviate, or can no longer contribute to society are killed off. Of course that is done in a perfectly sterile manner, with a ceremony and all, but the effect is the same. And I was appalled by that, and it opened for me the doors to dystopian fiction, especially featuring children or teens. That’s probably why The Hunger Games resonated with me as they did.

 

Articles of the Federation, Keith R.A. DeCandidoArticles of the Federation, by Keith R.A. DeCandido.

I read a lot of tie in fiction, books written about, and taking place in, universes from other properties. Mainly movies and TV shows. One of the bigger properties I read in, is Star Trek. The expanded universe of Star Trek spans so much space and time, and goes so much deeper than can be shown in just the shows and movies. Articles of the Federation is on my most loved Star Trek books because it tells the story of background characters, the ordinary people of the Federation. It details a year in the office of Federation president Baco and how she deals with all the crap going on. Diplomatic ouvertures, threats of war, the press, all in a context of the Star Trek future. I’ve heard it described as a cross between the West Wing and Star Trek.

 

Little Women, Lousia May AlcottLittle Women by Louisa May Alcott

I’ve read this book so many times. I always wanted to be Jo, when I was a kid, because she was tough, and a writer and got to do her own thing in a time where that wasn’t generally allowed. I also watched the various movies repeatedly, and the cartoon series that was made of it and this all became this awesome amalgamation in my head. Historical time period, costumes, and awesome actors/cartoons to represent the characters.

 

 

Dinotopia, James GurneyDinotopia by James Gurney

Oh! The illustrations! I looooove worldbuilding so very much, and the illustrations bring alive the world of Dinotopia so much. It’s a historical fantasy thing, where people in the past get stranded on this deserted island. Only it’s not so deserted as first thought. There live people there, in harmony with intelligent dinosaurs. And they have this whole pretty advanced society with even a dinosaur assisted military of sorts. I still have to get my hands on some of the additional books, and a proper copy of this in English.

 

Rowan, Henk KroesveldRowan, een verhaal uit de middeleeuwen, by Henk Kroesveld

One of the better historical youth books I’ve read. It tells the story of thirteen year old Rowan who needs to leave his home town for a while after an altercation with the bailiff. When he comes back again, he finds his home locked up, the plague is active in his town. He has to leave again, and find his own way in the world and he does this, among other things, by becoming a healer and learning about herbs and such.

 

Tigana, Guy Gavriel KayTigana by Guy Gavriel Kay

A glorious fantasy novel about memory, and music and how history is written by the victors. After a devastating war, the losing side gets erased from the history books. The magic-wielding tyrant makes it impossible for the name of the losing province to ever be said, and even remembering it. In this way, the people slowly forget their own history. Only a small group of rebels manages to precariously hold on to their past and sets out to reverse the spell.

 

Vrijheid als Prijs, Catherine ChristianVrijheid als prijs by Catherine Christian

Another historical novel. The first I read about Roman times. It tells the story of rich young lady Clyta, her sort of foster brother Flavius and the slave they get for their combined 10th and 12th birthday, Hillarion. It chronicles the lives of these three as Clyta and Flavius get married and Flavius goes into the military. It’s been a while since I read it, so I’m not sure anymore how, but Flavius dies, and Hillarion ends up being sold, and Clyta falls onto poor time. Hillarion eventually becomes a gladiator, also gets married, and finally manages to buy his freedom and settles on a small farm. In the mean time Clyta has gotten herself sold into slavery causing Hillarion to work and buy her free as well. Late in life, finally, he and Clyta reunite and life out their lives on his small farm.

 

Posted in: Blog About Me, General, Photos Tagged: Blog Prompts, Books, Dystopia, Fantasy, History, List, Literature, Me, Scifi, Star Trek

Around the Internet V

Thursday, July 5, 2012 by Tse Moana Leave a Comment

In case you have aspirations to take over the world or have other nefarious plans, here’s some pointers.

1. My Legions of Terror will have helmets with clear Plexiglas visors, not face concealing ones.

32. I will not fly into a rage and kill a messenger who brings me bad news just to illustrate how evil I really am. Good messengers are hard to come by.

58. If it becomes necessary to escape, I will never stop to pose dramatically and toss off a one-liner.

76. If the hero runs up to my roof, I will not run up after him and struggle with him in an attempt to push him over the edge. I will also not engage him at the edge of a cliff. (In the middle of a rope-bridge over a river of molten lava is not even worth considering.)

For more tips on how to be a successful Evil Overlord, check out the full list.

 

If, however, you’d rather be a successful Vampire, these tips might be more up your sleeve.

3. The Hero will come armed with holy water, a cross and a stake. I will come armed with a 5.56 mm assault rifle and grenades. If the Hero has to cross open ground, there is no better way to reach out and touch someone than with a sniper rifle.

25. I will get a voice coach and change my name. “Hi, I’m Bob,” is less suspicious than “I…….am……Dra. ….cu…..la.”

54. I will not send bodies or parts thereof of former friends, relatives, mentors or lovers to the Hero in order to demonstrate my complete mastery over life and death.

 

To check your real life smarts, spend some time on You Are Not So Smart. To let the writer talk for a minute:

The central theme of You Are Not So Smart is that you are unaware of how unaware you are. There is branch of psychology and an old-but-growing body of research with findings that suggest you have little idea why you act or think the way you do. Despite this, you continue to create narratives to explain your own feelings, thoughts, and behaviors, and these narratives – no matter how inaccurate – become the story of your life.

You seem to be able to see other people deluding themselves all the time – your friends, your family, celebrities, politicians. The mental pratfalls of others seem so obvious, but you have a hard time seeing those shortcomings in yourself. You Are Not So Smart is a fun exploration of the ways you and everyone else tends to develop undeserved confidence in human perception, motivation, and behavior.

They’ve been doing podcasts lately, so those are on the first page, but do click through to older posts, there’s a lot of textey goodness too.

 

A new study has determined that gaydar is real.

Our research, published recently in the peer-reviewed journal PLoS ONE, shows that gaydar is indeed real and that its accuracy is driven by sensitivity to individual facial features as well as the spatial relationships among facial features.

See the article in the NY Times for an explanation, and if so desired you can check out the scientific paper on the link above. It is freely available.

 

Finally, to destress. Poke the Penguin.

Posted in: General Tagged: Fantasy, Homosexuality, Link Dump, Mind, Science, Supernatural, Webfun

Book Club: 2011-01a // The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms

Wednesday, February 2, 2011 by Tse Moana 1 Comment

Finished my first Book Club book, albeit a little late (and I haven’t even started on Dust yet, fortunately I’ve read it before). This first book was N.K. Jemisin’s The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.

Synopsis

The book is about (and narrated by) Yeine Darr, the still fresh ruler of the small country Darre, up north. Her Arameri mother ran away from her homeland; and her father, the king of the world; when she was young to marry a non-Arameri. So Yeine, although raised Darre, is also half Arameri. And as the book starts, her mother has recently been murdered and she has received a summons from her grandfather to come to the capital city of Sky.

Once there, she learns that her grandfather, Dekarta, is getting older, and has designated her his third heir besides her two cousins. Over the next days, Yeine strives to learn more about the circumstances of her mother’s death, since she is convinced one of the Arameri family has done the deed, or at least ordered it done.

While working on this, Yeine meets that which allows the Arameri to rule the world: captive gods, used as tools and weapons after they were conquered by their brother/uncle, Bright Itempas. The gods want to be free, and they convince Yeine to help them pull this off. When Yeine learns that her purpose is not to be a true contender for the throne but instead a sacrifice necessary to transfer the power, and that the gods have been using her for longer than she thought, matters get complicated.

Review (there will be spoilers but I’ll try not to go overboard)

I’m a bit in two minds about it. It has intriguing world building,with the many, many small(er) lands overruled by Sky only because they have the captive gods to do their bidding and thus force them to behave. I also liked that, despite worshipping of Itempas becoming mandatory, the different lands keep their culture. Too bad we were not really exposed to any of it, not even the cultures of Darre and Sky, beyond superficial glimpses here and there. Although we do see more of Sky, than of Darre.

Darre is a matriarchal society, with a strong warrior culture, and men are protected as prize horses. Of Sky we only see what is going on there, the actual lands surrounding it, hardly even mentioned. The city, however, is Arameri only. The only people allowed there (overnight, anyways) are family members. And that means that down to the last servant, everyone has Arameri blood. The level of purebloodedness is indicated by a marking on the forehead. And in turn, that marking determines how much control the person has over the captive gods. To be in Sky, at night, without a mark is very dangerous.

Yeine gets a fullblood mark, even though she technically is a halfblood. This makes her power over the gods almost absolute, only Dekarta can overrule her. At least, that’s the plan. Except that by the time she gets the marking she has already agreed to assist the gods, and her marking has been neutralised by them. The gods have agreed not to harm her.

I found the idea of a god killing his sister and enslave his brother and his children into human captivity refreshing. I don’t think I’ve read something like this before. It also made the desire of these entities to be free again, and how far they would go for it, much more believable. After all, they are gods, they made the universe, they were free to take whatever form they choose, and now they’re stuck on a planet, in a shape that is more or less unchangeable, and that for centuries.

The characterisations of  the captive Nahadoth and Sieh were well done, they really became people to me, with a history and feelings and good qualities and flaws; as did Yeine. With the other characters, however, I felt this much less. While I get that not every character can be as well fleshed out, it was disappointing that most of the often used secondary characters felt like cardboard to me. Viraine was okay, but Scimina… She’s Yeine main rival for the throne, yet she never becomes more than the standard villain-because-we-need-one. What drives her, and her treatment of Nahadoth, is never made clear. Relad was very promising in the beginning, but got neglected later on, which made his sudden semi-importance near the end come out of the blue.

Then Yeine herself. While we get a good idea of her personality and her appearance, the way her culture has influenced her versus how things are in Sky gets glossed over. I presume this has a lot to do with her mother’s influence on her, who was after all the heir to Sky untill she ran off, but Yeine shows remarkably little cultural surprise to how basic things work in Sky. Even something as seeing men being treated as something other than a show horse, to be kept at home and safe, should have taken some adjustment after growing up in a culture like hers.

For me the biggest turn-off however, for at least the first half of the book, was the jumpy narrative. The story is told as a big flashback, but is often interspersed with short bits of Yeine in the present just talking. Most of this are loose remarks, disjointed comments, and often she will later remember or forget something she mentioned earlier. These bits were terribly off putting at first as they interrupt the flow of the story, and their purpose is unclear. All it did for me was annoy me. Halfway through, though, when we learn that Yeine is sharing her body with the soul remains of the goddess Enefa, things change a bit, and for the better. From that point on, the interruptions become more and more internal dialogue between Yeine and the soul of Enefa, and they start to frame the story better.

In the last few chapters, as the end ceremony takes place and, of course, nothing goes as planned, it all finally fell into place. The pace of the plot picked up, and when Yeine died and became the goddess Enefa… That for me felt as the beginning of a story. It sort of worked as the ending, but it somehow made the rest of the story very trivial and more a too long prologue. The other bits that happened, with Kurue and Viraine, felt a bit like Jemisin pulled a rabbit from her hat. Viraine… it was to be expected that he would do something, that he had something to hide was pretty clear throughout the book, but Kurue came out of nowhere.

Bottom Line

I liked the book, even though the narrative threw me off. It was because of that mostly that it took me way longer than normal to finish the book. I’m interested in the sequel, but as I read that this has a different heroine, I’m not sure I will actually pick it up. I want to know more about Yeine’s adventures as a goddess, and more about Naha & Sieh. The review at Jawas Read, Too, gave the book a 7, and that’s a grade I think is quite fitting.

Links

Book Club Blog Review/Discussion

N.K. Jemisin’s website

In Short

Pro: Nahadoth & Sieh. You should read the book just for them.

Con: Jumpy narrative, not always very cohesive, and sometimes slow-moving.

ISBN: 9780316043915

Posted in: General Tagged: Book Club, Books, Family, Fantasy, Mythology, Review, Self-Discovery
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2017 Reading Challenge

2017 Reading Challenge
Erik has read 24 books toward his goal of 75 books.
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