Queen of the Damned

Queen of the Damned picks off from the cliff-hanger from a previous book by Anne Rice, The Vampire Lestat. The book describes Lestat’s journey into the world of music and the power it has over the Original vampires, Akasha and Enkil, the fabled parents of all vampires.

The story is told from the perspective of various vampires, old and new, Marius, Pandora, the Twins, Khayman and Lestat himself as well as many minor vampires who don’t survive long enough to witness the end. The main focus however are the Immortals themselves, their origins and their present. Akasha and Enkil, rules of Khemet torture the red-haired Twins, Meharet and Mekare, and get cursed in return with an evil spirit. The people rebel against the rulers and murder them. The evil spirit merges with Akasha creating the first immortal. Enkil inturn is saved by Akasha and transformed into a vampire. Thus begins the creation of vampires – Khayman, Lestat, Meharet and Mekare, Pandora and countless others.

The story then moves in the present, following Akasha’s wake from slumber by Lestat’s music. Akasha then starts destroying the newer vampires in order to create a new order where she will be worshipped as a Goddess. She is ofcourse thwarted in her attempts by the Twins. The books are too textual with the author describing pointless newbie vampires instead of sticking to the storyline.

Unless you are an avid reader of vampire lore, one can get lost trying to piece together the story from various chapters with so many moot sub-plots involved. This was the beginning and end of Anne Rice’s books for me atleast, unless I decide to plow through 2 other titles that I mistakenly bought while in India. Not worth the read unless you really like reading vampire fiction!

Wildwood Dancing

This book came highly recommended by a blogger in her Once upon a time challenge post. Being partial to fantasy fiction I promptly looked it up B&N and purchased it.

Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier is quite long in prose, a typical trait of fantasy fiction per my observation. So summarizing this particular story is actually a herculean task, one that merits a cup of coffee and intense thought process. It took me about a month to get through this book which is saying a lot!Marillier plays around with the concepts of alternate universes and the portals between Earth and these worlds, of evolved humanoid life forms and  of course the complexity of human emotions and choices made based on the emotional states by the subjects or the protagonists of this story.

The story is about 5 sisters – Tatiana (Tati), Jenica (Jena), Paula, Iulia and Stela, who discover a portal to a fairy realm and are granted access to participate in the revels by the fairy queen Illeana. First half of the book describes their experiences in the fairy realm and sets pace for the plot. During one such revels, the sisters meet the Night People or commonly known as Vampires in modern day fiction and the eldest sister Tati is instantly drawn to one of the Night People much to the displeasure of Jena.

Jena, the 2nd oldest, takes care of the house in the absence of their father, and is a constant worrywart much to the consternation of her sisters. Her companion and advisor is a frog called Gogu who can communicate telepathically with Jena. As Jena is pre-occupied with dissuading Tati to get over Sorrow, the sisters are paid a surprise visit by their cousin Cezar, who is bent upon taking over the household, the ancient castle Piscul Dracului. Jena fights against the domination of her cousin in vain, and in a desperate bid to thwart his plans of destroying the fairy realm, accepts Tadeusz’s (Leader of the Night People) offer to look into the mirror of Draguta. But the events that unfold as a result of her decisions lead to a completely different set of consequences.This is literally the crux of the plot.

My first impressions of this book were that this one is a prolonged mix of Pride and Prejudice meets The 12 Dancing Princesses kind of fairytale and it is typical too. The characteristics of Tati, Jena, Paula and Iulia meet those of Jane, Elizabeth, Mary and Kitty. The only difference here is Jena is an extreme worrywart and most often ends up meddling in affairs that aren’t her concern. Most often than not Jena comes across as annoying and bossy than being level-headed and this is shown when Gogu’s true nature is revealed to her by Draguta.

Marillier depicts the fairies and the Night People in shades of grey instead of the stereotypical Black and White frame. When Jena approaches Illeana and Tadeusz, their reactions to Jena’s outburst and questions is quite different from what you’d expect.

The most complex character of this book however, is Draguta, the witch of the fairy realm. She is introduced into the plot as someone evil as Cezar believes that she killed his older brother Costi. She is feared by the humans and the fairies alike but as the plot unfolds her true nature is unveiled. She is not evil but a formidable, cunning yet wise woman who aids in transforming Jena, Tati, Sorrow, Costi and Cezar to better beings. She uses their most desired wish to teach them lessons of life and holds the answers to their questions.

A sequel to this book is Cybele’s Secret which seems to be based on Paula’s adventures and I definitely don’t intend to even touch this book.

So pick this book only if you have enough patience to understand and analyze the characters and especially if you really dig into fantasy fiction with lots of romance and adventure.

New Moon

Prompted by my cousin’s excellent review I decided on impulse to watch this movie in the theater. As anyone who read the Twilight saga is well aware by now, the movie is a make of book 2 where new friendships are forged in the wake of a terrible heartache for a supposedly heartless vampire and a totally doped high school girl.

As the movie progressed, I thought Bella looked like someone who was high on grass or whatever drug and looked like a desperately drowning damsel who wasn’t even capable of breathing without her vampire love interest Edward. I mean people go through break ups but her emotions seemed a bit too overdone.

I confess that the only reason I even sat through the whole seemingly soggy drama is the part of Volturi. I really wanted to see how that whole episode would look in real-time and actually that was the best and the most liveliest part of the movie. The werewolf and vampire fight wasn’t really impressive for me though.

And so the film ends with the Volturi’s ultimatum to Bella’s life. And I fled as soon as the doped couple moved out of Volterra. Tyler Lutner looked every bit the character of Jacob Black while Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart looked totally doped and goofy. According to grapevine, the two actors are dating and I guess a huge part goes to all that emotional roleplay that they had to do to make the movies convincing enough!

The Battle for Gullywith

I’m still unsure as to how I ended up picking this particular fiction piece by Susan Hill but I’m sure it had something to do with the enchanting book cover. The cover pictures a haunting castle rising out of the waters.

I liked Susan’s Hills work “Mrs. deWinter” which was a sequel to “Rebecca” by Daphne du Maurier. So I suppose I must’ve subconsciously picked this one up. Only it wasn’t really a great story to begin with…

Ever faced with a house which refuses to welcome you in and gives you cold shoulder at every turn? Every seen any mysterious stones that prick you with vengeance? or Did you come across blue bats or tortoises whose eyes glow in the dark? No?? Then you need to read Gullywith to even believe that!

Olly Brown is your typical school lad who is upset with his parents for uprooting him from London to a town rather burrough called Fiddleup. But they aren’t even moving to Fiddleup..they are moving into a small castle/mansion called Gullywith which has been in desolation for over a century. Not to be dampened by his parents’ eccentricities, Olly tries to fit in with the unwelcoming mansion and its cold interiors and surrounding only to be pricked by angry little stones. He soon learns that Gullywith is part of an even larger castle that has sunk into the Withern Mere, a mysterious and forboding lake. The castle belongs to the stone people ruled by an ancient stone king who claims dominance over Fiddleup and the Withern Hills including Gullywith. There is a battle brewing with the stone people on one side and the mysterious Nonny Drever, blue bats and the tortoises on the other side, and the stone people are out to get the Great Book that is supposed to ensure them victory.

Now Olly aided by his classmates KK, Zed and Xylo try to thwart the stone king’s attempt to take over Gullywith and the village. In the end, the stone people make peace with the Olly and his friends and the castle sinks once again into the Mere. Now how all this comes about is what is described in this book.

Its not really as enchanting as Inkheart or Harry Potter nor as adventurous as other fantasy fiction. I could get to the ending by simply skimming through most of the pages in no time and that is saying something about this particular book. While Olly Brown is a well balanced character his parents weren’t really in the element they should ideally be in. I mean who would want to leave everything in the city and move to a village to a tumbledown mansion just for the sake of living in rustic environment??!

His Dark Materials

I still wonder what prompted me to pick up ‘Northern Lights’ the first book of this dark trilogy by Philip Pullman at a bookstore but whatever it was it was a bad choice. For whatever reason this trilogy has been called ‘His Dark Materials‘, it comprises the titles – The Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. All these 3 elements are quite fascinating on their own but combined they seem to make a deadly boring combination.

Set in an alternate Earth-like universe with its own Oxford university and all, the story revolves around the adventures of a girl named Lyra Belacqua who resides with the professors at Oxford courtesy her often aloof uncle, Lord Asriel. Her curiosity often lands her in trouble much to the reluctance of her spirit daemon, Pantalaimon. Oh yes, in this universe your spirit or daemon as it is called assumes a physical form, an animal that closely represents your inner attributes…. so in any case here’s how the story goes

1. The Norther Lights

There are unexplained disappearances of children near the university and rumors are abound that it is the work of a squad associated with the Church who are experimenting with separating the daemons from the children. When Lyra’s friend Roger disappears, Lyra sets out in search of him and is captured by the leader of the squad, Mrs. Coultier. The Dean of Oxford gives Lyra an Alethiometer that will guide her on her journey. As the story progresses, it is revealed that Lyra is the illegitimate daughter of Lord Asriel and Mrs. Marisa Coultier, and her parents in their own selfish ways try to protect Lyra from the church but Lyra being precocious tries in vain to save Roger with the help of her friends Serafina Pekkala, Iorik, Grumman and Lee Scoresby. Doesn’t work ofcourse, instead Lord Asriel successfully opens a portal in the multiverse and proceeds into an alternate world of Cittagazze.

2. The Subtle Knife

Here Lyra follows her father into the city of Cittagazze where she befriends Will Parry who is looking for whereabouts of his father. Lyra and Will start searching for the whereabouts of Dust, a curious material that streams through the universes and is highly concentrated around the children. In this quest, they befriend a scientist, Dr. Mary Malone who is also researching on the dust. Meanwhile, Mrs. Coultier catches up with Lyra through her friend Lord Boreal who holds Lyra’s Alethiometer ransom for a strange yet powerful knife that can create and close portals as well as cut through any material. Will and Lyra retrieve the knife but when the knife chooses Will as the next bearer, they escape with it.

On the otherhand, Lyra’s friends from book 1 – the headwitch Serafina Pekkala gathers the rest of the witches and Lee Scoresby to help Lyra in her quest. There is a prophecy at work here which says Lyra will be the next Eve (never understood the concept till date). To conclude, this book ends with Lyra being kidnapped by her mother while Will after a tragic parting with his father Grumman leaves in search of Lord Asriel with 2 angels – Balthamos and Baruch.

3. The Amber Spyglass

This is where the book gets fast paced as all the elements from the previous 2 books conglomerate in a complex and utterly fascinating plot. The events move at a faster pace with Will and Lyra meeting the Mulefa who provide them with an amber glass through which they can actually view the Dust (Hence the title Amber Spyglass I suppose!) On one side you have the army of heaven preparing to wage war under the leadership of the archangle Metatron who is acting as the God (the actual God or the One is locked away in a secret chamber and is quite lost). The good side or the better side is Lord Asriel’s party who are trying to stop the heavenly angels from preventing dissemination of awareness and knowledge. After an ardous journey, Will and Lyra reunite under Lord Asriel’s army and in a twist of fate or surprise, Asriel and Marisa Coultier sacrifice themselves to stop Metatron from winning the war. Will and Lyra sacrifice their love for the obvious betterment of all the portals and return to their respective homeworlds to build a better republic.

The theme of the series seems to emphasize the Church and how it opposed other religions and culture often going as far as to destroying them permanently or even defaming them. Here I’m simply quoting history which has actually occured…how else would you explain the disappearance of many ancient artifacts and documents of knowledge or the burning of the great library at Alexandria.

As for the protagonists of this series, Lyra comes across more as a mischievous child full of curiosity but as the series progresses her curiosity tones down just a bit but deep down her thirst for adventure much to the reluctance of her daemon is still present. Will Parry comes across first as a angry young teen who is concerned about his mother’s health while also trying to find whereabouts of his father. And like Lyra, Will undergoes a tremendous transformation once he comes in possession of the subtle knife. He becomes more responsible and mature but sometimes ends up risking everything for the sake of Lyra.

The most curious and fascinating characters though are Lord Asriel and Marisa Coultier. Both of them love each other yet work on opposite sides during the war. They even stoop to the extremes to outwit each other but Asriel seems more forgiving than Marisa. Its not until the very end that you realize which side Marisa’s allegiance lies. I thought the first book to be an interesting read but as the series progressed realized that there are pages that you could simply skip to reach the ending. More than this, the whole series has a philosophical angle imbibed in it where the author explores theories of multiverses as well as portals not to mention the existence of the god particle in depth.