My lovely wife surprised me this morning by getting the Sportsnet+ app so I could watch the FA Cup games. We had gotten rid of Sportsnet and TSN our two sports networks in Dec because we weren't using them. But when the FA Cup 3rd round started up this weekend, Sportsnet was showing pretty well all of the games. So early this morning I've been enjoying all of the games. Arsenal and Manchester United tied at 1-1 at the moment as the 2nd half winds down. Thank you sweetie! đź’•
Clyde and I went out to the book store yesterday as a couple of my book orders had arrived. A new author for me; historical fiction + zombies. Sounds interesting.
New Books
"Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania—derailing the War Between the States and changing the nation forever.
In this new America, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Education Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead.
But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It's a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.
But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston's School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose.
But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies.
And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems."
"After the fall of Summerland, Jane McKeene hoped her life would get simpler: Get out of town, stay alive, and head west to California to find her mother.
But nothing is easy when you’re a girl trained in putting down the restless dead, and a devastating loss on the road to a protected village called Nicodemus has Jane questioning everything she thought she knew about surviving in 1880s America.
What’s more, this safe haven is not what it appears—as Jane discovers when she sees familiar faces from Summerland amid this new society. Caught between mysteries and lies, the undead, and her own inner demons, Jane soon finds herself on a dark path of blood and violence that threatens to consume her.
But she won’t be in it alone.
Katherine Deveraux never expected to be allied with Jane McKeene. But after the hell she has endured, she knows friends are hard to come by—and that Jane needs her too, whether Jane wants to admit it or not.
Watching Jane’s back, however, is more than she bargained for, and when they both reach a breaking point, it’s up to Katherine to keep hope alive—even as she begins to fear that there is no happily-ever-after for girls like her."
Women Authors Whose Works I've Been Enjoying - Octavia Butler
 |
| Octavia E. Butler |
"Dawn the first book in Octavia E. Butler's Xenogenesis trilogy (also known as Lilith's brood, it seems). In some ways it reminded me of Ursula LeGuin's Left Hand of Darkness (mainly the human / alien sex component... that being if I recall Darkness correctly as it has been a few years since I last read it)
The story is set after Earth basically destroys itself after a World War. Surviving humans, including protagonist Lilith, have been removed from the planet by an alien race, the Oankali, and placed in hibernation. The aim appears to be that the Oankali will awaken and train certain humans, once again Lilith, to return to Earth and teach the others in hibernation to survive on what remains of the planet. Secondly, they will be linked in some sensory way to the Oankali, who will also come to Earth. This is a special segment of the Oankali, the Ooloi, who are bi / multi sexual???
We focus on Lilith for the first half of the book, her trepidation at finding herself alone on a space ship trying to discover who the Oankali are and what they want from her. She is bonded to Nikanj (the short form of his / her name), who is still a child but with her help will become a full-fledged Ooloi and then be able to mate with his two husbands / wives. (Confused??)
Lilith is then put in charge of a group of 40ish humans who have been hibernating for many years. Gradually she awakens them, tries to teach them about the Oankali, about what is required of them on Earth, etc. Like most humans, they are suspicious, of Lilith (is she a traitor to humankind, is she really still human??) and of the Oankali. They look different! Earth people must be suspicious of that, right?
It's all a fascinating, differing kind of Sci-Fi story. The interactions between humans and aliens, the distrust, the attempts by humans to escape, the links between humans and their Oankali 'mentors / mates'. Quite an interesting, at times very grim story. It ends, like most series, somewhat on tenterhooks. What will happen to Lilith? What will happen to mankind? How will we work with or not work with the Oankali as humans try to make a new life on Earth. Well written, a page-turner and a thoughtful, excellent first book in this trilogy. (4 stars) Now to find Adulthood Rites..."
"Adulthood Rites by Octavia E. Butler is the 2nd book in the Xenogenesis trilogy. I think it's also called Lilith's Brood. Not that it matters, eh? It's a complex story (series) and I readily admit there is lots I don't understand; difficulty trying to wrap my mind around the alien species. Like what's the difference between Oankali or Ooloi, or even the shipborne Akjai??? I get the gist of it, and it doesn't affect my enjoyment of this story.
The first book, Dawn, dealt with Lilith herself. She wakes up on a spaceship and is used by the Oankali to wake up other humans that are kept in stasis on the ship. Basically there was a nuclear war on Earth, destroying much of the planet. The Oankali, removed as many humans as they could, started a process of bringing the planet back to life and then wanted Lilith and other humans to repopulate the planet. This meant breeding with the humans themselves, making human / Oankali constructs. Mankind is basically made sterile, so they can't breed and create new 'strictly' human children.
So now we move to Adulthood Rites which focuses on one of Lilith's children, bred with two Oankali beings. This would be Akin, at this point before metamorphosis, a human / Oankali boy. He looks mostly human at this point. His main Oankali characteristic is his tongue, which he can use to taste and sample humans, plants, etc. It's unknown what he will look like when he completely metamorphoses (*sp?). At some point he is kidnapped by a group of 'Resisters' who want to sell him to other human villages. Many humans have divorced themselves from the Oankali and want to live normal human lives on Earth; even though they can't breed amongst themselves. Hence the desire to have human construct kids. (Got it?)
Akin lives for a year or more with a village, a child of Tate and Gabe. While there he begins to understand their desire to be human. This will help him decide what he wants to do with his life when his metamorphosis is complete; that being to help humanity survive. And that's the crux of the story; Akin's growing up and his plan to save humanity, with or without Oankali assistance. It's a rich, fascinating story. At times very depressing as we see how humans still want to kill each other to get what they want. But at the same time, there is optimism and hope and a possibility for mankind to survive into the future.
Akin is an excellent character and there are others who stand out, especially Tate. We don't get much of an appearance from Lilith in this story. She's kind of persona non grata with the 'humans' because they think she betrayed them. It's a fascinating look at the future and also such an interesting Sci-Fi story. Well-written, strong character development and just a real great page - turner of a story. Now to find a copy of Imago the final chapter in this trilogy. (4.0 stars)"
"From the award-winning author of Parable of the Sower : After the near-extinction of humanity, a new kind of alien-human hybrid must come to terms with their identity -- before their powers destroy what is left of humankind.
Since a nuclear war decimated the human population, the remaining humans began to rebuild their future by interbreeding with an alien race -- the Oankali -- who saved them from near-certain extinction. The Oankalis' greatest skill lies in the species' ability to constantly adapt and evolve, a process that is guided by their third sex, the ooloi , who are able to read and mutate genetic code.
Now, for the first time in the humans' relationship with the Oankali, a human mother has given birth to an ooloi Jodahs. Throughout his childhood, Jodahs seemed to be a male human-alien hybrid. But when he reaches adolescence, Jodahs develops the ooloi abilities to shapeshift, manipulate DNA, cure and create disease, and more. Frightened and isolated, Jodahs must either come to terms with this new identity, learn to control new powers, and unite what's left of humankind -- or become the biggest threat to their survival."
"When global climate change and economic crises lead to social chaos in the early 2020s, California becomes full of dangers, from pervasive water shortage to masses of vagabonds who will do anything to live to see another day.
Fifteen-year-old Lauren Olamina lives inside a gated community with her preacher father, family, and neighbors, sheltered from the surrounding anarchy. In a society where any vulnerability is a risk, she suffers from hyperempathy, a debilitating sensitivity to others' pain.
Precocious and clear-eyed, Lauren must make her voice heard in order to protect her loved ones from the imminent disasters her small community stubbornly ignores. But what begins as a fight for survival soon leads to something much more: the birth of a new faith...and a startling vision of human destiny."
"In an "epic, game-changing, moving and brilliant" story of love and hate, two immortals chase each other across continents and centuries, binding their fates together -- and changing the destiny of the human race (Viola Davis). Doro knows no higher authority than himself. An ancient spirit with boundless powers, he possesses humans, killing without remorse as he jumps from body to body to sustain his own life. With a lonely eternity ahead of him, Doro breeds supernaturally gifted humans into empires that obey his every desire. He fears no one -- until he meets Anyanwu. Anyanwu is an entity like Doro and yet different. She can heal with a bite and transform her own body, mending injuries and reversing aging. She uses her powers to cure her neighbors and birth entire tribes, surrounding herself with kindred who both fear and respect her. No one poses a true threat to Anyanwu -- until she meets Doro. The moment Doro meets Anyanwu, he covets her; and from the villages of 17th-century Nigeria to 19th-century United States, their courtship becomes a power struggle that echoes through generations, irrevocably changing what it means to be human."
No comments:
Post a Comment