Trading in Danger

Elizabeth Moon’s first Vatta’s War novel, Trading in Danger, is not your average space opera. Its’ protagonist, Kylara Vatta, in not automatically the best at what she does. In fact the novel starts out with her expulsion from an officer’s training academy.

Kylara is a very well intentioned person. In fact she is known for getting herself into trouble while helping others. She is also the scion of a very wealthy interstellar trading family, and is desperate to make her own way. Unfortunately due to Kylara’s abrupt exit from military life, that option is taken away from her.

Instead Kylara’s family takes pity on her and sends her off on a “milk run” with an old ship and a very experienced crew. Luckily they expect her to take some initiative and use this as an opportunity to actually make something of herself. What no one expects is that things are definitely not what they seem anymore.

This novel was first published in 2003 and it definitely feels more like a novel from a previous literary era, yet there are still signs of the changes that were occurring in the genre around that time. There is plenty of danger and action, but it is somewhat more blunted or perhaps less viscious than danger in the current literary era. However it is still an enjoyable read.

While this novel has a sound plot arc all its own, Trading in Danger is very definitely the opening act in a much larger saga. This is both the training ground for Kylara as a captain, and a carefully crafted method of giving the reader a lot of background and backstory before the real story arc gets going in the following novel. This is, of course, only my surmise as I have not yet read the next novel. This doesn’t take anything away from Trading in Danger as it is a novel that could stand on its own quite well.

Trading in Danger is a fast paced and fun read. The characters are well crafted and easy to connect with. There are plot twists that the reader doesn’t see coming, and plenty of action. Moon has done a great job building a universe and setting the stage for actions yet to come. I give this novel a 3.5/5.

The Color of Magic/The Light Fantastic

I am choosing to review The Color of Magic and The Light Fantastic (both by Terry Pratchett) together, because they are for all intents and purposes one novel. These are both the first two Discworld novels published, and also the only two novels which have a narrative continuity. There are many novels about the same characters throughout the series, but all the others have a distinct story arc all their own.

That being said, at many times The Color of Magic and The Light Fantastic seem more like collections of narratively continuous short stories than true novels. I am not sure whether this is Pratchett just finding his legs as an author, or an attempt to make the novels feel more like a travelogue.

After all this is what they essentially are, the telling of the adventures of Two Flower, the Discworlds first and likely last tourist, and Rincewind the unsuccessful wizard. While both novels do at times feel like a series of short stories, each does contain both a fully realized story arc and the overall plot of the two novels together.

These two novels are much more similar to straightforward fantasy than Pratchett’s later works. I suspect this is for two reasons. Firstly, at the time these were written no one else had taken a satirical look at the genre. Secondly with the main characters being Two Flower and Rincewind there was not much need to stray far from the beaten path. By this I mean these two characters themselves are such a humorous and satirical study in characters that none of the deeper nuances were required.

Granted the very notion of the Discworld, even as it was portrayed back then, is in itself a summation of what Pratchett has become known for. At the same time the structure of the world and its’ characters is much more rigid and closer to a “true” fantasy novel. That is to say the wizards are defined by their “level” in magic and the actual use of said magic is much more pronounced. By the time we reach Unseen Academicals almost no magic is actually “used,” in fact magic is more of a state of mind than an actual occurrence.

What is very interesting going back to these novels is how much of what was yet to come was already in place. In revisiting them I can see the origins of many characters and plot lines, even as far flung into the future as Tiffany Aching. However, the sooner to follow characters like Death and the Witches are much more realized.

While these novels, viewed from the vantage point of today, are clearly not Pratchett at the peak of his skill they are still wonderful novels. I doubt anyone could have foreseen that the Discworld series would grow to become what it is now, but thank goodness they have! Rereading is often the true test of a novel for me, as the first time through I am often in such a hurry to follow the plot line that I miss the nuances and subtleties. I can say with no qualms that The Color of Magic and the Light Fantastic are both worthy of multiple rereads and, it goes without saying, first reads. I give these two books a 3.5/5.

The Loving Dead

In general zombie novels are not my first choice of reading material. However, I felt I must take advantage of the free online serial release of The Loving Dead by Amelia Beamer. While this novel has now been published, in the weeks leading up to publication it was released one chapter at a time on Beamer’s website. As this is her first published work as a fiction author this was probably a good idea.

Aside from the fact that this is a story about zombies (zombies seem to have almost as great a draw as vampires) I am afraid this novel may suffer from how region specific it feels. The setting is the Oakland Hills and Berkeley, California. This is near my home town and while it was pleasant to read about landmarks and such that felt familiar to me, I can’t really see it playing well among people that don’t know the region.

Also the characters are a little too strongly Northern Californian to settle well with the majority of readers. In fact this whole novel really felt like nothing so much as a direct representation of Beamer’s personal fantasies set down on a page. While I am sure Beamer has no desire to be attacked by a zombie, everything else with the exception of one or two graphic incidents very much felt like strong personal desires.

The actual quality of the writing was not that bad. Far better even than several massively popular authors of today, cough Stephanie Meyer cough. However the storyline needs much work and perhaps even a trip back to the drawing board.

Like most zombie tales, the unwitting populace is suddenly besieged by people turned into unthinking killing machines. Perhaps this novel is meant to portray the usual zombie tale in an ironic or sarcastic light. Unfortunately if this was Beamer’s intent she fell far short of the mark. The Loving Dead includes such uber-kitschy notions as the zombies being controlled by the sound of a cracking whip, even one from (massive free product placement) an iPhone app.

Then to make matters worse, just when the story was actually starting to roll a bit, after 15 or so chapters of nearly nothing but down home references and Northern California in-crowd feelings, Beamer wraps up the main story arc in a neat little bow and jumps into the future with an epilogue.

I actually felt this could be classified as a fun little read until this time jump occurred. There was really no resolution or true climax, merely a sudden and very cliché ending and then the epilogue. To make matters worse, the epilogue not only finished the cutesy little packaging job, but also out of nowhere tried to make a major parallel between zombies and discrimination against those of homosexual orientation. Beamer goes so far into this parallel as to name an anti-zombie law Prop 8.

In my opinion Beamer broke nearly every law of writing in this novel. There is nothing that will make the characters or the story appealing to the public. The novel is rife with brand names. The story spins it’s wheels for chapter after chapter, then suddenly resolves. Finally the epilogue introduces new concepts so abruptly and tactlessly that it essentially appears to be little more than propaganda. I give this novel a 2/5.