C.A. Gray's Blog, page 20
February 1, 2023
The Snow Queen by KM Shea
This week’s podcast comes from this blog review of The Snow Queen.
The post The Snow Queen by KM Shea appeared first on C.A. Gray.
The House of the Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne
Today’s podcast comes from this blog review of the House of the Seven Gables.
The post The House of the Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne appeared first on C.A. Gray.
January 27, 2023
The Salt Fix
Fabulous! Best medical book I’ve read in awhile.
This book casts serious doubt on the prevailing dogma that salt is the enemy, particularly in hypertension and cardiovascular disease. The studies (as in several other areas of prevailing medical dogma) have long been conflicting at best, and pointing in the exact opposite direction at worst. The author did address some of his theories as to why that might be, but I paid less attention to this part than I did to his actual arguments. As a naturopathic doctor, this has already affected advice I’ve given to patients, and has given me new treatment insight in a few resistant cases. It’s also changed my own practice prior to long workouts and sauna sessions–pretty sure I’ve been low in salt for awhile, myself!
After listening to the audiobook, I also purchased the kindle version just so I could gain access to his bibliography. Highly recommended.
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The Druid
What is it about Jeff Wheeler stories? They’re sort of like watching episodes in a favorite fantasy TV series in which each episode is a standalone with different characters, but they’re all set in the same fantastical setting. They all feel about the same, and while all the characters are believable, they’re also interchangeable. There isn’t anything particularly memorable about any of them… they all just feel like “me,” in some strange way (at least the “me” in my own head). They’re all the “straight man” as opposed to the caricature; ordinary people who react to extraordinary circumstances. I think I read recently that the more fantastical your world and setting, the more “ordinary” your characters needed to be in order to avoid detracting from the story itself. At any rate, it somehow works. I haven’t any idea the chronology from one series to the next, but it doesn’t matter.
This story follows Aylin (spelling? I listened to the audio version), a “wretched,” or an orphan, who is a servant at the Abbey. In this, like in one of his other series, Aylin is gifted with the Medium despite being a wretched. She is conscripted by the Aldermaston to extract information from a Druid whom they consider to be a heretic, to find the location of his lost magical tome, and warned at the beginning of her service that he’s likely to confuse her and make her believe that he is good while the Aldermaston is evil. From the way the narrator reads the voice, as well as his figures of speech, I think the Druid is going to turn out to be the same character who is essentially Merlin in other books.
Of course (and I don’t even feel like this needs a spoiler alert as it’s obvious from the beginning), Aylin ends up siding with the Druid, and believing that it is indeed the Maston order, headed by the Aldermaston, that has become corrupted. It isn’t until the end of the story that the Druid trusts her with the location of the tome (he is still held captive himself). As she journeys to find it, she is pursued by those who are good but misguided, and who believe that she has betrayed them all.
One of the things that I love about Wheeler stories is the fact that they are all so inherently spiritual. His “Medium” (and in other series, “Fountain”) are basically God, and in this story, the Mastons are like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. The Druid is “one of the original twelve,” which I assume alludes to the twelve apostles (except again, different world). Biblical stories are alluded to and specific biblical passages are quoted explicitly, but referenced as coming from “the tomes.” And there’s always a mentor figure who imparts spiritual and moral truth to the main character, which translates well to our experiences of our own world. The stories are just so rich and multifaceted–more than just entertaining.
My rating: *****
Language: none
Sexual content: none
Violence: fantasy only
Woke content: none
January 19, 2023
A Conflict of Visions
An insightful modern-day philosopher! Awhile ago, I spent some time trying to articulate (to myself, anyway) what it was that fundamentally divided liberal and conservative thought, and why it was that it seemed there was nearly no overlap between them. The conclusion I came to, which even still felt somewhat incomplete, was that the difference had to do with whether or not one believes that man is sinful. If he is, there is fundamental evil that needs to be accounted for with checks and balances. If he is not, then utopia is possible and we should by all means shoot for it.
Sowell’s volume here greatly clarified my own thinking on this subject. He calls conservative thought the Constrained Vision, and liberal thought the Unconstrained Vision. By this he seems to mean whether or not each side believes that man has any inherent limitations. Those who are conservative, do; those who are liberal, do not. The consequences of these philosophies are wide and varied, and have defined political divisions for hundreds of years, apparently.
One with the Unconstrained Vision will believe that it is possible for man (or at least an intellectually elite man) to create a utopia for the rest of humanity. He will be capable of accounting for all eventualities, make the best and most far-sighted of choices for his fellows, and will ultimately create equality of outcome. And indeed, the Unconstrained Vision is all about outcome. It’s “the end justifying the means” in that regard. If the end goal is worthy, it doesn’t matter what one has to do to achieve it. Morality is subjective to the almost omniscient intellect of the superior elite ruler. (Reminds me of Nietzche, though I probably haven’t earned the right to make that comparison, since I haven’t actually read Nietzche.)
By contrast, those who hold the Constrained Vision believe in equality of process, rather than of outcome (which the one with the Constrained Vision doesn’t think is possible anyway, since there are always numerous unforeseen consequences of any given action–sort of like side effects of a drug). He believes that mankind is inherently wicked, and that the only way to prevent a man from pursuing his own ends at the expense of others is to create a system which prevents it, as well as to incentivize “good” behavior so that men will be inclined to choose it. This doesn’t mean that one with the Constrained Vision believes that man is incapable of goodness, but merely that it isn’t something that can be relied upon.
Sowell argues that these are the two extremes of a continuum, and almost no one is entirely one or entirely the other. But the utterly contradictory views of the two are the reason why it is so difficult for liberals and conservatives to find common ground on a wide spectrum of issues. Their worldviews make it such that those with the Constrained Vision view the Unconstrained (for the most part) as well meaning but misguided, while those with the Unconstrained view the Constrained as either idiots or as morally reprehensible.
My rating: *****
Language: none
Sexual content: none
Violence: none
Woke content: none (it was written in the 80s anyway)
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January 9, 2023
Review of The House of the Seven Gables
First: what a fabulous title! I don’t know what it is about it… so intriguing and mysterious.This definitely isn’t the kind of story I would have picked up on my own, though. My husband read and loved it, but it’s a ghost story which isn’t my usual fare. When we traveled through Salem recently, we almost toured the House of the Seven Gables, though–and I thought I would read the book beforehand so that I’d have some context. We didn’t end up going and I didn’t get to the book until after we’d come back home anyway, but it was still October and a ghost story seemed appropriate, so I gave it a shot. Frank had warned me that it started off very slow, but the prose was so beautiful that somehow he didn’t mind. I felt the same way, though since a good half to 3/4 of the book was just character building, it did get a bit long even then.The “prologue” begins at the time of the Salem Witch Trials, when one of the judges, Judge Pinchon, condemns one of the victims, Matthew Maule, because he covets his property. (This reminded me of King Ahab and Naboth’s vineyard in 1 Kings.) Just before he hangs, Maule pronounces a blood curse upon Pinchon and his entire family line, that he will “have blood to drink.” Later, the judge hires one of Maule’s relatives as his architect to construct the House of the Seven Gables on the Maule property, ironically enough… and no sooner is it finished, then the judge is found dead, having apparently very literally choked upon his own blood in a strange respiratory illness.Fast-forward through the centuries to the last of the Pinchon line. Hepzibah and her brother Clifford are sympathetic and down-and-out characters, but their cousin Jeffrey is also a judge, and the spitting image of the one who condemned old Maule. Jeffrey sent Clifford to prison in order to protect himself from taking blame for a crime that he in fact committed, and all but destroyed Clifford’s sanity, while Jeffrey himself rose to prominence, wealth, and esteem. Meanwhile, another young cousin, Phoebe, comes to stay with Hepzibah and Clifford, and a daguerreotypist comes to visit as well, and tells Phoebe the history of the old home. He turns out to be a descendant of Maule, himself.While there are no overt ghosts in the tale, the implication of a spiritual force of “karma” is strongly implied. The story is not so much grim as just atmospheric, and it does end happily, against all odds.My rating: ****Language: noneSexual content: noneViolence: not exactly present, though there is a bit of gorePolitical content: none (historical)The post Review of The House of the Seven Gables appeared first on C.A. Gray.
January 2, 2023
Review of The Snow Queen Saga
A fun, clean fairy tale retelling! Best listened to, I think, rather than read.
I don’t know the actual Hans Christian Anderson version of the Snow Queen; all I know is “Frozen.” This duology (it’s two novels and one set of short stories, which I didn’t read) is similar to “Frozen” in feel but completely different in plot. The Snow Queen is actually Princess Rakel, who was (as in “Frozen”) banished because she was feared for her magic. She did build an ice palace, and finally was enticed to use her power on behalf of her people to help them expel an existential threat. She meets her cast of colorful characters — her exuberant and flirtatious best friend Phile (who takes the place of her sister Anna), the various men of her military, and then the even more powerful enemy warrior, Farrin Graydim (good name!) who turns out to be the love interest.
Somehow I didn’t feel compelled to attend to the details of the story too closely, I just kind of got an overview of the overall feel of the story. It was sort of like putting on a movie I’ve seen a hundred times as background noise. I got the general gist that Rakel was misunderstood but had a heart of gold, and lowered her defenses quickly at the first sign of affection from anyone around her. The people always adored her. I wasn’t terribly clear on who was attacking her city or why, only that she had to defend them, the bad guy was nasty but he’d lured Farrin to his side because Farrin had a rough past. But Farrin was so clearly in love with Rakel that it didn’t take much for him to switch sides, if only she convinced him that she wanted him to, and that she forgave his past misdeeds.
I wasn’t into the story enough to make me want to listen to all the short stories afterwards, but it was a fluffy, feel-good listen.
My rating: ****
Language: none
Violence: none
Sexual content: none
Woke content: none
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December 30, 2022
The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber
This week’s podcast comes from this blog review of The Ballad of Never After.
The post The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber appeared first on C.A. Gray.
Let It Snow
Another winner from Beth Moran! I just love these feel-good chick lit Christmas stories, all set in Sherwood Forest.
This one follows Bea, a local weathergirl on the news channel who has been in love with the same on-again, off-again boyfriend for most of her life. Adam is a would-be rockstar who always seems to put his career ahead of her. Meanwhile, her family runs a school for troubled kids (Adam was one of them back in the day), and her anal mum is terribly excited that for the first time in years, Bea will be home for Christmas. She’s planned activities every second of every day, including their yearly talent pageant put on by the students of the school.
When Bea arrives, she finds that she’s seated next to Henry, the boy whom her family has declared that she will marry most of her life, even though (she thinks) they’ve always intensely disliked each other. Henry is a physics nerd… only suddenly, he grew up to be quite good-looking. Also, she realizes that most of what she thought she knew about him was wrong. Like, maybe what she took to be arrogance was actually shyness. As she begins to contemplate all of this, she gets a call that she’s been selected to interview for a national weather position–the only problem is, the interview is in Scotland, and it’s on Christmas Eve. One thing leads to another, and Henry ends up offering to drive her.
The story is quite episodic (as all of Beth Moran’s books are), so I won’t go through all of the episodes that make up the rest of the story from here. Ultimately, it’s all about relationships, and how Bea learns who she is, what she wants out of life, and what really matters to her. The romance between her and Henry is just so sweet and endearing–it feels sort of like a Sandra Bullock movie.
My rating: *****
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December 23, 2022
A Conflict of Visions, Thomas Sowell
This week’s podcast review comes from this blog review of A Conflict of Visions.
The post A Conflict of Visions, Thomas Sowell appeared first on C.A. Gray.
