Book Review: The Hollow Sun by D.L. Wainright

I recently finished The Hollow Sun by D.L. Wainright.  It is the first installment in the Hollow Sun series, and Wainright's first novel.


TheHollowSun.com
Twitter: @thehollowsun
Facebook: The Hollow Sun Series
Goodreads

Disclaimer: The author is a friend of mine, and I have known about some aspects of the book over the years as they were writing it. However, my love and loyalty to my friends does not over-power my sheer book nerdiness, and therefore this revue is my honest opinion. Friends come and go, but stories are forever!!


Description from the back cover:
Lucy Kincade is used to darkness, having lost her father in an accident when she was a child. Nothing, however, has prepared her for just how dark her reality will become. The truth should be an illuminating thing; but for Lucy, the more she discovers the more the light is leeched from her world. There's the monster who smiles at her from behind a human face, the friends who had lied about what they truly are, and the allies who promise protection while hiding bloody knives behind their backs. Just when she thinks she knows what's real, she's only found another layer of secrets waiting to be unraveled.

A supernatural fantasy book that drags you in, gets you hooked, and may have you running to your library's research section.

The story is about Lucy, a goth teenager just trying to get through school and enjoy life with her friends. But things start to change and she learns that the world around her is not what is seems.  Not only do things like vampire and werewolves exist, but they are a lot closer to home than she could have imagined. As she is learning about all the supernaturals in the world, she is also learning about herself and the father she'd lost so many years ago.  And this lesson is taking her on one hell of an adventure.

Wainright's story about teen Lucy and her discovering the secrets of the people and the world around her is laced with mythology and folklore from around the world.  And unlike most popular supernatural YA fiction, this folklore isn't pulled from film, tv, or the author's own creations.  More than once I found myself looking up some of the creatures and stories referenced because I wanted to learn more about it.  And more than once I was wishing that there was a nerdy community out there to discuss ideas and theories floating in my head about Lucy and her world! Told from her perspective, the reader is taken on the same journey that Lucy is on, discovering the truth about who her friends are, her family, and who she can and cannot trust.  The characters thwart the usual teen novel character tropes, while at the same remain familiar. You may see your own friends and enemies within them. If your friends and enemies are werewolves and vampires, that is.

The book is a fairly quick read, though sometimes I found myself stopping and finding passages to re-read to clarify the details in my head.  But mostly in the same way I would in an Agatha Christie story.  It combines the usual supernatural teen fantasy elements with folklore and has the feel of a mystery novel at the same time.  Almost like the Harry Potter series, even the most banal tidbit may end up being important later on.

So, I guess it's clear that I really liked this book. Ok, more like LOVED it.  The one complaint is that the sequel isn't ready yet, and I'm pretty sure D.L. is never going to let me read any bits before it's done, knowing how I want MOAR.

I would recommend this book to: teens and young adults; anyone who likes supernatural fiction; anyone who watches Supernatural; lovers of YA novels;  parents who don't want their kids reading Twilight; people who read Twilight and want less sparkle with their vampires; people who generally want supernatural fiction YA stories with a strong female lead and fewer Hollywood tropes; anyone who has ever argued about the historical folklore behind the Dracula stories; mythology and folklore nerds (I know my people are out there!), historically accurate goths; the curious folks.

Please go read this book so that I can talk about it with people!!!! It's no fun when the only person you knows whose read it is the author!!

Also, my friend totally finished that book he's been researching and writing for a long time, and I am so excited! Mostly because it's good. It would suck if I didn't like it. But how great is it to get to fangirl your friend?

Towel Day Inspiration

For those who are unaware, May 25th is Towel Day. You carry your towel with you. It is in loving tribute to British author Douglas Adams and his book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. wiki entry on Towel Day. Now, being one who has never read Douglas Adams, I don't tend to remember such events until my Twitter feed bombards me with DON'T PANIC entries and pictures of people with towels. This year Towel Day came during a particular shitty time for me. Everything kinda sucks in life right now. A death in my family has caused issues between people Instead of grieving I am cleaning out my loved one's home and coping with relations that I'd like to turn over me knee. I am planning and packing for a long trip this summer that is more than a little intimidation and scary. My home is filling up with my deceased family member's stuff. And reading just hasn't been happening. My reading of Cucuteni information has stagnated, and two books (TWO!) that I began in the last month lie unfinished. They just didn't do it for me. One takes too much thought and the other just isn't written well at all (and I should have realized that before I started, so bad on me). So, inspired by folks going to work with towels over their shoulders I am now reading Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Finally.

This is one of those books that has transcended being a story and become a phenomenon. In the geek world, where I have found myself since college, it is considered a necessity. It's bad enough that I haven't read the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy. It was sacrilege that I hadn't read Hitchhiker's. Just now, being only a few chapters in, so many phrases and references made by friends make sense!

I am a fool and an idiot for not reading this earlier. Adams's humor is the kind that I adore, that makes me smile no matter what. And right now I need that. The only downside at the moment is that my copy of the book is the Ultimate Guide, including all the related Hitchiker's books. So it's a very large tome-o-funny. Can't really lug it about, so it is a read-at-home book. Not so bad, though. Gives me that break when I need it most.

So, don't panic, folks, and remember your towel.
http://towelday.org/

Eddings

Reading characters

I began reading David and Leigh Eddings's The Elder Gods after I heard of his death. I was very saddened by his passing. His novels, particularly his large series about Belgarion, have meant a great deal to me. I had read v. little medieval-style fantasy before my best friend sort of forced me to read the Belgariad. Now, I'm hooked. And, of course, sad that it's over.
Reading The Elder Gods has actually made me homesick (booksick?) for the world of the Belgariad, and missing some of the people in it. Eddings built worlds and people that stay with you. I dare you not to crush on Silk, adore Barak, want to bitch slap C'Nedra or fall in love with Durnik and plot to steal him away from the most powerful sorceress in multiple worlds. Dare you. Of course the story is important and well developed, but the characters are the shinging stars. Eddings used archetypes for his characters, so they always feel comfortable and familiar to begin with. From there he makes them lovable. So you keep reading. You want to see more of Barak and his jovial nature, and you wonder about all the mischief Silk can get in to. And you cry a little when they die, and a little more when they fall in love with someone who isn't you (What, besides incomparable beauty, a big heart, and nearly more power than the gods does she have that I don't?! I'm younger, you know!).

So, in the current series there are of course characters written to win you over. One that stands out to me already (about a third of the way in) is Red-Beard. Do they know that I adore the jovial big guy? They smarter than he looks burly one? Is that why they (David Edding's ewife, Leigh, now gets double billing - she's been helping for years!) keep writing this character in to the stories? It's the guy you always want a to have a pint with. That's who Barak is. That's who Red-Beard is. He makes me remember the good times I strike>had read with him. I keep fearing this means he will die when the big war comes. It's good story telling - not everyone you love can live in the end. ::sigh::

After this first Dreamers book, I think I'll go back and finish the Mallorean. I really need to close the door on that story. I need to know how it ends - how they catch Zandramas, how Belgarian gets Ce'Nedra and their son through it. Who dies. Who Belgarath and Beldin insult and how. It makes me laugh and tear up all at once.

Goodbye, Mr. Eddings. You are missed. Perhaps Leigh will write some more on her own.

Griffin & Sabine - the artful correspondence

Griffin & Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence

I have just finished reading Nick Bantock's mystical Griffin and Sabine series about two artists who carry out a spacial correspondence and relationship. I had though the series was only three books, but just today learned that there are more, in the Morning Star trilogy! This makes me so very excited - I was happy with the ending of book three, but crave more!

A co-worker introduced me to this author after I saw the beautiful cover of a non-fiction book of his, Urgent 2nd class, which is about making things from ephemera. She recommended the Griffin and Sabine books. The art alone got me hooked.

The story of these two is told almost exclusively through their letters and postcards. The reader is more like a voyeur catching glances of their private thoughts as the mail passes through. It begins when Sabine finally gets the courage to send a postcard to Griffin, who lives in England halfway across the globe, to tell him that for years when he draws she can see through his eyes. No, this is NOT you average love story. They write back and forth and the mystical, psychic connection turns into a powerfully emotional one. But Griffin is troubled, and the reader is always a little unsure of whether both characters really exist, or if Griffin is just crazy. Plans to meet in person fall through and Griffin's mental health is, well, fragile. There are little notes of non-correspondence storytelling at the ends of the books, but the rest is through each character's point of view. The structure of this form makes the reader focus more on each word to try and decipher what is happening.

My favorite part of this series is the way in which Bantock tells the story. You have more depth and view than if it were from one person's, but are limited by not having the omnipotent angle. I love that he is re-thinking the concept of storytelling. When historians do research they look for 'primary sources,' and personal letters are often the important means of learning the stories of the past (history is just storytelling, in a way). Bantock applies this to fiction and fantasy. The artwork, too, is worth reading this series for. These two artists make their own postcards, and their letters and envelopes are also lavishly created in beautiful colors and images. He is so detailed that the handwriting is different, and even the artwork of each has its own character. You know who wrote each letter or postcard just by the style of it.

I highly recommend this series to anyone who loves ephemera, art, letters, or a good mystery. The books are short and can be gone through in a single sitting, but they leave a longer effect of almost childlike glee.