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Middle Light #1
The Gaslight Dogs
At the edge of the known world, an ancient nomadic tribe faces a new enemy-an Empire fueled by technology and war.
A young spiritwalker of the Aniw and a captain in the Ciracusan army find themselves unexpectedly thrown together. The Aniw girl, taken prisoner from her people, must teach the reluctant soldier a forbidden talent -- one that may turn the tide of the war and will surely forever brand him an outcast.
From the rippling curtains of light in an Arctic sky, to the gaslit cobbled streets of the city, war is coming to the frozen north. Two people have a choice that will decide the fates of nations -- and may cast them into a darkness that threatens to bring destruction to both their peoples.
A young spiritwalker of the Aniw and a captain in the Ciracusan army find themselves unexpectedly thrown together. The Aniw girl, taken prisoner from her people, must teach the reluctant soldier a forbidden talent -- one that may turn the tide of the war and will surely forever brand him an outcast.
From the rippling curtains of light in an Arctic sky, to the gaslit cobbled streets of the city, war is coming to the frozen north. Two people have a choice that will decide the fates of nations -- and may cast them into a darkness that threatens to bring destruction to both their peoples.
359 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
14 people are currently reading
946 people want to read
About the author
Karin Lowachee
62 books352 followersKarin was born in South America, grew up in Canada, and worked in the Arctic. Her novels have been translated into French, Hebrew, and Japanese, and her short stories have been published in numerous anthologies and magazines, some of which were edited by John Joseph Adams, Nalo Hopkinson, Nisi Shawl and Ann VanderMeer. When she isn't writing, she serves at the whim of a black cat.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 124 reviews
August 9, 2010
I mulled over this novel all weekend, avoided writing a review or rating it until I could cogently summarize my reactions. A four star rating in this instance, while warranted, doesn't accurately reflect my feelings. I didn't like this story, but I loved the writing. Vivid, sometimes visceral, yet sparse descriptions etching indelibly my imagination. Canine metaphors aptly placed and finely tuned.
On the surface, Gaslight Dogs might represent the clash between the pioneer spirit of exploration, conquest and manifest destiny and the ancient aboriginal desire to preserve, protect and accept the surrounding environment. Lowachee adds a touch of supernatural to the mix with stunning effect.
On the surface, Gaslight Dogs might represent the clash between the pioneer spirit of exploration, conquest and manifest destiny and the ancient aboriginal desire to preserve, protect and accept the surrounding environment. Lowachee adds a touch of supernatural to the mix with stunning effect.
August 12, 2010
Have you ever heard Inuit thoart singing? I recently heard a musical composition for Nanook of the North, and it incorpated the style. If you are a Westener, it's strange, very beautiful, type of music. It's almost like purring cats, except it's not; it really sounds like walking on the snow and ice, but only more so. It's tough but beautiful, but different than the beauty of bagpipes, very different, less warlike and more nature like Apparently, it also could be a dying art form. It is less well known than the Native Americans/First Nations pipe music and Inuint art.
The Gaslight Dogs is like that style of Inuit music, the thoart music. Dogs is a book about cultures, about belonging, about empire, and about belief. Lowachee draws from Inuit culture in her depiction of native people, and from British culture for the invaders. This, however, is not "white man goes native and saves the natives" storyline that we have all seen and read one too many times (the last one came out last year, earned a lot of money, maybe you saw it? And why, is it always men saving the natives?) Both cultures are depicted in a non-romantic and brutal way. It is a brutal beautiful book.
The Gaslight Dogs is like that style of Inuit music, the thoart music. Dogs is a book about cultures, about belonging, about empire, and about belief. Lowachee draws from Inuit culture in her depiction of native people, and from British culture for the invaders. This, however, is not "white man goes native and saves the natives" storyline that we have all seen and read one too many times (the last one came out last year, earned a lot of money, maybe you saw it? And why, is it always men saving the natives?) Both cultures are depicted in a non-romantic and brutal way. It is a brutal beautiful book.
November 8, 2013
My updated review/article about this novel is now up at Tor.com and my own site, http://farbeyondreality.com:
http://farbeyondreality.com/2013/11/0...
http://farbeyondreality.com/2013/11/0...
April 11, 2010
For me Gaslight Dogs was a study in contradictions. The writing, poetical throughout, sometimes got on my nerves with the vagueness of it. The characters, while completely and totally believable and real, never reached out and put their hands into my chest and squeezed my heart, despite their circumstances.
The story, while interesting, never quite seemed to understand where it was going.
The story starts with a Aniw (think inuit) girl taken forcibly from her village for killing a soldier who broke into her home and may or may not have tried to rape her (the vagueness of what he was doing sets the theme for the entire story). A general of the western-analog people (the soldiers) has learned of the spirit dogs that the Aniw can call upon and will force the girl to teach his son about Calling them.
But the son, a captain in the army, doesn't want to learn. And mixed up in this are multiple currents regarding colonialism, appropriation, racism, and prejudice.
Those parts were very interesting, indeed, and while I never felt close to the girl or the captain, I did care what happened to them.
Where my frustration lay was in the lack of activism the girl seemed to have (granted she was imprisoned and far from her tundra home, but she just went along with everything) as well as the captain. And, disappointingly enough, the story never quite resolves the issues of her exile, the captain's spirit dog, the war their cultures are having, or how they will escape the general's nefarious plans. At the end, the story peters out and we're left with the two main characters riding off into the wilds in different directions. Very unsatisfying and not at all the kind of payoff I wanted after spending so much time in their angst and thoughts.
As a contemplative book on themes of prejudice and colonialism, Gaslight Dogs is a winner. As a full-formed narrative, look somewhere else.
This Book's Food Designation Rating: Those single slices of layer cake you find wrapped up at the grocery store that look so good and rich but when you open it and put it in your mouth it turns out to be not at all the taste you were looking for.
The story, while interesting, never quite seemed to understand where it was going.
The story starts with a Aniw (think inuit) girl taken forcibly from her village for killing a soldier who broke into her home and may or may not have tried to rape her (the vagueness of what he was doing sets the theme for the entire story). A general of the western-analog people (the soldiers) has learned of the spirit dogs that the Aniw can call upon and will force the girl to teach his son about Calling them.
But the son, a captain in the army, doesn't want to learn. And mixed up in this are multiple currents regarding colonialism, appropriation, racism, and prejudice.
Those parts were very interesting, indeed, and while I never felt close to the girl or the captain, I did care what happened to them.
Where my frustration lay was in the lack of activism the girl seemed to have (granted she was imprisoned and far from her tundra home, but she just went along with everything) as well as the captain. And, disappointingly enough, the story never quite resolves the issues of her exile, the captain's spirit dog, the war their cultures are having, or how they will escape the general's nefarious plans. At the end, the story peters out and we're left with the two main characters riding off into the wilds in different directions. Very unsatisfying and not at all the kind of payoff I wanted after spending so much time in their angst and thoughts.
As a contemplative book on themes of prejudice and colonialism, Gaslight Dogs is a winner. As a full-formed narrative, look somewhere else.
This Book's Food Designation Rating: Those single slices of layer cake you find wrapped up at the grocery store that look so good and rich but when you open it and put it in your mouth it turns out to be not at all the taste you were looking for.
July 10, 2010
Whew! What a book! I loved it, although it took me a little while to orient myself in this strange world. All right, there are references to different races, the Boots - representing Caucasians, and the Aniw, obviously related to Inuit. Other than that, the world is very strange indeed. But it soon became tangled in my psyche and I found myself being horrified, saddened, frustrated, maddened, and frightened. The writing is beautiful. The author uses words like an artist -- to wit: The rage at the repudiation boiled deep and stinking in the general, some hidden sulfur preparing to shoot forth in his direction. And: In the creeping night the green grass was now black and blue, as though bruised by the feet that had trod upon it all day.
Be warned: there is no HEA. Too many dark forces at work for that.
Be warned: there is no HEA. Too many dark forces at work for that.
April 17, 2022
https://undertheradarsffbooks.com/202...
The Aniw people live in the North sheltered from the horrors of the known world until one day southerners arrive and they carry guns. Sjenn is a young spiritwalker of her tribe with a huge responsibility on her shoulders to protect her people. When her family is threatened, Sjenn is overcome with rage and releases The Dog within spilling blood. The clash of two cultures, war, politics, and magic are at the crux of this story and you have better buckle your seatbelt for a wild adventure.
Jarrett is a captain in the Ciracusan army under the leadership of his father the General. When news of a northern expedition has gone wrong resulting in the death of a beloved priest, the whole fort is seekeing answers. Taken prisoner in the raid is Sjenn and her spirit animal, but this not seen as a nidernce but an opportunity for Jarrett and the General. Sjenn with be returned back to her people once she teaches the ways of the Middle Light to Jarett and thus begins our journey of discovery, history, and pain. The Middle Light is the plain where people encounter the spiritwalkers and there inner beast. Many surpirses to be seen here. From the artic north to the Gaslight streets of Ciracusa, this wild tale has one just begun.
First thing that immediatly jumps off the page to me is Karen Lowachee’s writting style. Writting a style reminescent of the 1800’s and not being the simple breezy descriptions of today. The words are dense but never confusing and always pushing forward in a fluid manner. The story is told through the eyes of Sjenn and Jarrett but this is very much a story of discovery. Sjenn learning about the Middle Light and the secrets of her dead father and Jarrett the secrets of his inner self and what his father has been keeping hidden from him. Politics, religion, and power will show there true colors by the end and I can’t wait to read what comes next.
With that being sad, I need to shed show light on a few things. The middle section of this book can feel quite slow and it may seem like not much is happening. I never completley got this feeling myself, but just keep this in mind. Also, although this is the first book in a planned trilogy, the second book in the series is not yet availible. Although this story I classify as grimdark, there aren’t too many dark scenes and it more a story of cultures and secrets. I hope this review will bring more attention to the great author Karen is and I look forward to starting here Science Fiction book very soon. Until then, stay safe my friends.
Cheers!
The Aniw people live in the North sheltered from the horrors of the known world until one day southerners arrive and they carry guns. Sjenn is a young spiritwalker of her tribe with a huge responsibility on her shoulders to protect her people. When her family is threatened, Sjenn is overcome with rage and releases The Dog within spilling blood. The clash of two cultures, war, politics, and magic are at the crux of this story and you have better buckle your seatbelt for a wild adventure.
Jarrett is a captain in the Ciracusan army under the leadership of his father the General. When news of a northern expedition has gone wrong resulting in the death of a beloved priest, the whole fort is seekeing answers. Taken prisoner in the raid is Sjenn and her spirit animal, but this not seen as a nidernce but an opportunity for Jarrett and the General. Sjenn with be returned back to her people once she teaches the ways of the Middle Light to Jarett and thus begins our journey of discovery, history, and pain. The Middle Light is the plain where people encounter the spiritwalkers and there inner beast. Many surpirses to be seen here. From the artic north to the Gaslight streets of Ciracusa, this wild tale has one just begun.
First thing that immediatly jumps off the page to me is Karen Lowachee’s writting style. Writting a style reminescent of the 1800’s and not being the simple breezy descriptions of today. The words are dense but never confusing and always pushing forward in a fluid manner. The story is told through the eyes of Sjenn and Jarrett but this is very much a story of discovery. Sjenn learning about the Middle Light and the secrets of her dead father and Jarrett the secrets of his inner self and what his father has been keeping hidden from him. Politics, religion, and power will show there true colors by the end and I can’t wait to read what comes next.
With that being sad, I need to shed show light on a few things. The middle section of this book can feel quite slow and it may seem like not much is happening. I never completley got this feeling myself, but just keep this in mind. Also, although this is the first book in a planned trilogy, the second book in the series is not yet availible. Although this story I classify as grimdark, there aren’t too many dark scenes and it more a story of cultures and secrets. I hope this review will bring more attention to the great author Karen is and I look forward to starting here Science Fiction book very soon. Until then, stay safe my friends.
Cheers!
May 16, 2018
Stories about indigenous people should always, always be written by those indigenous people. Never by those who are not of that ethnicity. This book underscores why.
While this story is meant to be about a fantasy land, it's a pretty heavy handed metaphorical take on USA/Native American colonial history but with a steampunk fantasy twist. It reinforces colonial violence against indigenous people and justifies cultural appropriation of indigenous culture (traditions, beliefs, etc.) by white people. All the while using the term "abo" as a descriptor without understanding or reference to the fact that it is literally an ethnic slur used against aboriginal people (predominantly in Australia but probably also other places as well).
I don't recommend this book at all - instead support the works of actual indigenous people writing on their own cultures.
While this story is meant to be about a fantasy land, it's a pretty heavy handed metaphorical take on USA/Native American colonial history but with a steampunk fantasy twist. It reinforces colonial violence against indigenous people and justifies cultural appropriation of indigenous culture (traditions, beliefs, etc.) by white people. All the while using the term "abo" as a descriptor without understanding or reference to the fact that it is literally an ethnic slur used against aboriginal people (predominantly in Australia but probably also other places as well).
I don't recommend this book at all - instead support the works of actual indigenous people writing on their own cultures.
May 10, 2010
This book was a bit of a disappointment for me. The concept was fascinating, but the execution poor and often wandering. The characters were believable but their conversations were constantly described with very forced battle metaphors, and their convictions were often replaced with what was need for the plot. The plot itself seemed to be only half thought out, and where many intriguing issues were raised, none were dealt with to any satisfaction. I kept waiting for this book to make good on it's promises to be awesome, and was bitterly disappointed by the blunt ending. I assume there must be a sequel, otherwise it left everything off mid-thought.
June 3, 2020
In 'The Gaslight Dogs', Karin Lowachee has built a powerful, convincing vision of a world in the throes of a familiar colonial conflict, has populated it with real people who have very little in common except their enforced servitude and then added an original, credible supernatural twist that gives the story its edge.
The first thing that hit me about 'The Gaslight Dogs' was the quality of the writing. Language here isn't a thin skin stretched over the bones of a clever plot, it's an invitation really to see the world that Karin Lowachee has created, to take in its sights and scents, its beauty and its ugliness with the fresh eyes and nose of a stranger. It's not language designed to get you to the next piece of dialogue or the next action scene as competently as possible. Nor is it purple prose of the over-long self-indulgent guitar solo kind. Its language that says: take the time to take in the place or you will not understand the journey.
This story is really two linked journeys, neither of which is voluntary and both of which are shaped by the obsession of a ruthless powerful old man with an insatiable hunger for conquest. We start with Sjennonirk, a young Aniwi spirit walker who is taken in chains from her home in the Arctic and brought south to a city built of brick and lit by gas, where high walls block off the view of the horizon in every direction. Then we meet a Captain Jarrett Fawle, a young man who, uncomfortable and unloved at home, only feels free when leading his men to hunt and kill the aboriginal tribes as part of the push to expand his country's territory. He is sent home on leave and kept there until he complies with his father's will. His father, General Fawle, is the man whose plan for power effectively enslaves both Sjennonirk and Captain Fawle. He sees them both as commodities to be exploited and makes their freedom conditional on meeting his goals.
It's easy to see 'The Gaslight Dogs' as a story about the ruthless use of technology by colonial powers to gain territory, to paint a picture of genocide and environmental destruction but I see it as more than that. This isn't a 'good guys stand up to bad guys' kind of story. Nor is it the Star Wars fantasy of brave rebels opposing an evil empire. The power of this story comes from its refusal to move to that Big Picture, Sweep Of History perspective. It stays focused on Sjennonirk and Captain Fawle and the choices that they make. Neither is a hero. Neither wants to be on the journey that General Fawle has sent them on. In their different ways, each just wants to go home. Each of them both representative of and outsiders to their own cultures. Their struggle is not primarily a clash of cultures but of two individuals pushing against their fate.
It seemed to me that a lot of this story was about the power of belief. Sjennonirk believes in the power of her ancestral spirits. She feels the little wolf inside her and knows its hunger. Her world view is one of respecting the spirits who, through her and spirit walker like her, protect her people. She is hungry for nothing more than to live at home in peace. She is passive, stoic and pragmatic, except when her wolf wakes. Captain Fawle is not a believer. He does not believe in the Seven Deities of his people, nor in the destiny of his country, nor in the possibility of being loved by his father. He fills the hole where his belief should be by winning the respect of his men when on the frontier and with alcohol when at home in the city.
When 'The Gaslight Dogs' was published in 2010, it was billed as the beginning of the 'Middle Light' series. It works well as a standalone book but I still holding out hope that Karin Lowachee will find the time to come back to this world.
The first thing that hit me about 'The Gaslight Dogs' was the quality of the writing. Language here isn't a thin skin stretched over the bones of a clever plot, it's an invitation really to see the world that Karin Lowachee has created, to take in its sights and scents, its beauty and its ugliness with the fresh eyes and nose of a stranger. It's not language designed to get you to the next piece of dialogue or the next action scene as competently as possible. Nor is it purple prose of the over-long self-indulgent guitar solo kind. Its language that says: take the time to take in the place or you will not understand the journey.
This story is really two linked journeys, neither of which is voluntary and both of which are shaped by the obsession of a ruthless powerful old man with an insatiable hunger for conquest. We start with Sjennonirk, a young Aniwi spirit walker who is taken in chains from her home in the Arctic and brought south to a city built of brick and lit by gas, where high walls block off the view of the horizon in every direction. Then we meet a Captain Jarrett Fawle, a young man who, uncomfortable and unloved at home, only feels free when leading his men to hunt and kill the aboriginal tribes as part of the push to expand his country's territory. He is sent home on leave and kept there until he complies with his father's will. His father, General Fawle, is the man whose plan for power effectively enslaves both Sjennonirk and Captain Fawle. He sees them both as commodities to be exploited and makes their freedom conditional on meeting his goals.
It's easy to see 'The Gaslight Dogs' as a story about the ruthless use of technology by colonial powers to gain territory, to paint a picture of genocide and environmental destruction but I see it as more than that. This isn't a 'good guys stand up to bad guys' kind of story. Nor is it the Star Wars fantasy of brave rebels opposing an evil empire. The power of this story comes from its refusal to move to that Big Picture, Sweep Of History perspective. It stays focused on Sjennonirk and Captain Fawle and the choices that they make. Neither is a hero. Neither wants to be on the journey that General Fawle has sent them on. In their different ways, each just wants to go home. Each of them both representative of and outsiders to their own cultures. Their struggle is not primarily a clash of cultures but of two individuals pushing against their fate.
It seemed to me that a lot of this story was about the power of belief. Sjennonirk believes in the power of her ancestral spirits. She feels the little wolf inside her and knows its hunger. Her world view is one of respecting the spirits who, through her and spirit walker like her, protect her people. She is hungry for nothing more than to live at home in peace. She is passive, stoic and pragmatic, except when her wolf wakes. Captain Fawle is not a believer. He does not believe in the Seven Deities of his people, nor in the destiny of his country, nor in the possibility of being loved by his father. He fills the hole where his belief should be by winning the respect of his men when on the frontier and with alcohol when at home in the city.
When 'The Gaslight Dogs' was published in 2010, it was billed as the beginning of the 'Middle Light' series. It works well as a standalone book but I still holding out hope that Karin Lowachee will find the time to come back to this world.
January 3, 2011
What I wanted to read was a book about the girl on the cover (who by the way is well captured there). It might be steampunk or not - I thought it might be a different take on a situation similar to Kate Elliott's Cold Magic.
What this book is about is the manpain of a soldier who would just like to fight against clear-cut enemies on the frontier of his people (which feels like the American West, but isn't quite because supposedly the soldiers are invading their own former country). He keeps being overpowered and overruled by his intense, ruthless General father.
It didn't start out this way - the book starts from the viewpoint of Senn and how her Eskimo-inspired (Lowachee credits her experiences among the Inuit) culture suddenly gets invaded by these soldiers from the south.
This book never seemed to belong to the heroine because she is mostly shut inside cells, almost starving (because she isn't offered food she knows how to eat). Her alter-ego, the Dog that looks like a wolf, has more agency but they both think of each other as being a second soul. Also the Dog is a dog and so not something I can identify with.
If the general's son had been a more sympathetic character, I might have enjoyed the story more, but he is trapped, accepting, revulsed, used and abused. I don't need to read that in my fiction, especially not when the ending clearly shows that this is the start of the story and descent into darkness of a character who had no empathy with the girl.
Women are basically non-existing in this book. We get Senn, an old mother-subsitute housekeeper and a competent female priest that everyone else is afraid of. The interesting priest, Father Bari, basically dies at the beginning of the story.
Technically the story is well-written and draws you along, but it leaves me with a taste of bitterness and hopeless rage in my mouth. I don't need that in my fiction. I won't be reading on in this series.
P.S. I'll never understand what was "Gaslight" about the dogs, but I bet that name was a decision of the publisher.
What this book is about is the manpain of a soldier who would just like to fight against clear-cut enemies on the frontier of his people (which feels like the American West, but isn't quite because supposedly the soldiers are invading their own former country). He keeps being overpowered and overruled by his intense, ruthless General father.
It didn't start out this way - the book starts from the viewpoint of Senn and how her Eskimo-inspired (Lowachee credits her experiences among the Inuit) culture suddenly gets invaded by these soldiers from the south.
This book never seemed to belong to the heroine because she is mostly shut inside cells, almost starving (because she isn't offered food she knows how to eat). Her alter-ego, the Dog that looks like a wolf, has more agency but they both think of each other as being a second soul. Also the Dog is a dog and so not something I can identify with.
If the general's son had been a more sympathetic character, I might have enjoyed the story more, but he is trapped, accepting, revulsed, used and abused. I don't need to read that in my fiction, especially not when the ending clearly shows that this is the start of the story and descent into darkness of a character who had no empathy with the girl.
Women are basically non-existing in this book. We get Senn, an old mother-subsitute housekeeper and a competent female priest that everyone else is afraid of. The interesting priest, Father Bari, basically dies at the beginning of the story.
Technically the story is well-written and draws you along, but it leaves me with a taste of bitterness and hopeless rage in my mouth. I don't need that in my fiction. I won't be reading on in this series.
P.S. I'll never understand what was "Gaslight" about the dogs, but I bet that name was a decision of the publisher.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 3, 2017
Karin Lowachee's writing is filled to the brim with powerful storytelling enriched by poetic, expert prose, and this book is proof of that. The care that goes into each and every word of her writing leaves me speechless. And the characters... their struggles, their reluctant unions, how human and authentic they feel... at times in this book it was almost overwhelming. I often had to set it down just to catch my breath.
I love Sjenn, her peaceful strength, her morals, her refusal to accept the violence that was coming into her land. I found her to be the perfect anchor to Jarrett's (understandable) bitterness and hostility. Their journey from the comfort of their known worlds into each other's was both beautiful and devastating. The layers of emotion and human struggle are piled thick, and I know it will take me a long time to fully process it all.
And that ending? My heart! I know there's been mention of a second book and a third. If it's really happening I know it's probably years from being published but I need the second book now. My advice to readers is to buy this book now but hold onto it until #2 is published. Maybe #3 as well.
Wait, what am I saying? Read this book!! You can read it again when #2 is out. Because if you wait, you're going to be screaming just like I am. Why did I wait so long to read this book?!
I have such hope for these characters, and they are going to be on my mind until I can finish their story.
I love Sjenn, her peaceful strength, her morals, her refusal to accept the violence that was coming into her land. I found her to be the perfect anchor to Jarrett's (understandable) bitterness and hostility. Their journey from the comfort of their known worlds into each other's was both beautiful and devastating. The layers of emotion and human struggle are piled thick, and I know it will take me a long time to fully process it all.
And that ending? My heart! I know there's been mention of a second book and a third. If it's really happening I know it's probably years from being published but I need the second book now. My advice to readers is to buy this book now but hold onto it until #2 is published. Maybe #3 as well.
Wait, what am I saying? Read this book!! You can read it again when #2 is out. Because if you wait, you're going to be screaming just like I am. Why did I wait so long to read this book?!
I have such hope for these characters, and they are going to be on my mind until I can finish their story.
August 14, 2010
I really don't know what to say about The Gaslight Dogs. I read a lot of books in a wide variety of genres/styles. I have never read anything like this book. I don't think I ever found the terror that I should have felt. The scenes that should have frightened me just broke my heart. The one thing the author never does is give everything away. Even though the book seems to have a definitive ending, by the end, there are still many unanswered questions. I am looking forward to reading the next installment, but will be okay if there isn't one. I kind of like that I can use my imagination to fill in the blanks.
August 15, 2010
I wanted to like this book, I really did. The concept is fantastic, but unfortunately the execution left something to be desired. The writing is clunky, and while the reader creates a decent connection with the female character, but the male character (as far as I can tell she is not intending on their relationship to be romantic) remains cold and distant, an idea rather than a person.
I also hated the ending, as it seemed like a cliffhanger ready for a sequel rather than a proper ending.
I also hated the ending, as it seemed like a cliffhanger ready for a sequel rather than a proper ending.
March 7, 2011
There are two POV characters in this book. One is an Aniw (based on the Inuit) ankago, a woman with shaman-like powers. The other is a Ciracusan (the invaders of this America-analogue continent) army captain. Both of them spend about 80% of their time whining.
To be fair, they have a lot to whine about. However, that neither justifies them nor makes this book any more interesting.
I kept reading this book mostly because the world was interesting, and a little bit because the characters were interesting. However, I didn't learn enough about the world, and the characters were simply never proactive. I am actually wracking my brain for a time when one of the characters did something that wasn't compelled by another character, a government, or the spirits inside them, and I can't think of a single one. Unless you count doing something in spiteful reaction to being told to do the opposite thing, which I don't.
I was interested at first in the ankago magic (Sjennonirk, the ankago, doesn't like that word, but it seems to be the most appropriate to use when reviewing the book), but it was explained insufficiently for me, and what I did learn sounded like a pretty ineffective and useless system. It was also disappointing to have the Aniw character ripped from her land nearly at the beginning of the book and therefore see almost nothing of her culture.
Even with outside forces pushing the characters along, the plot seemed interminably slow, which made more sense after I reached the end and realized there would have to be a sequel (I've now learned that it's the first book in a trilogy). There were several interesting developments, actually, in about the last thirty pages, but considering how slowly the plot moved in this book, I have no expectation that the next will be worth my time or effort.
Additionally, the prose is a bit overwrought, and there are many very strange word choices. I might call it poetic if the odd choices made sense to me and helped describe what was going on more evocactively, but most of the time, they don't. As a random off-the-top-of-my-head example, a tracker's walk is described as a "pony gait." Now, surely ponies go "clip-clop" while the tracker goes "..." because he's a tracker?
To be fair, they have a lot to whine about. However, that neither justifies them nor makes this book any more interesting.
I kept reading this book mostly because the world was interesting, and a little bit because the characters were interesting. However, I didn't learn enough about the world, and the characters were simply never proactive. I am actually wracking my brain for a time when one of the characters did something that wasn't compelled by another character, a government, or the spirits inside them, and I can't think of a single one. Unless you count doing something in spiteful reaction to being told to do the opposite thing, which I don't.
I was interested at first in the ankago magic (Sjennonirk, the ankago, doesn't like that word, but it seems to be the most appropriate to use when reviewing the book), but it was explained insufficiently for me, and what I did learn sounded like a pretty ineffective and useless system. It was also disappointing to have the Aniw character ripped from her land nearly at the beginning of the book and therefore see almost nothing of her culture.
Even with outside forces pushing the characters along, the plot seemed interminably slow, which made more sense after I reached the end and realized there would have to be a sequel (I've now learned that it's the first book in a trilogy). There were several interesting developments, actually, in about the last thirty pages, but considering how slowly the plot moved in this book, I have no expectation that the next will be worth my time or effort.
Additionally, the prose is a bit overwrought, and there are many very strange word choices. I might call it poetic if the odd choices made sense to me and helped describe what was going on more evocactively, but most of the time, they don't. As a random off-the-top-of-my-head example, a tracker's walk is described as a "pony gait." Now, surely ponies go "clip-clop" while the tracker goes "..." because he's a tracker?
August 24, 2014
I chose this book for a challenge on the steampunk genre. It was listed on the listopia "Best Steampunk Books". From what I understand of steampunk, this did not meet the criteria.
The setting was a meld of 20th century Inuit life with Victorian underground and the wild west according to the author. There was a large paranormal element in that the story centered around people who were able to shapeshift into their spirit animal. But there was no technology, unless you count the gaslights that lined the streets of the city.
It took me a bit to get past the strangeness of the names. It would have been nice to have a glossary that would identified the structure of the months and days of the weeks. I had no frame of reference when a week day was named. Was that one day, two days, three days away?
Once I got past that, I was able to focus on the story. It started out quite well with the POV of Sjenn. I was drawn into her story and eager to learn about her spirit animal.
The story switched to the POV of Captain Jarrett. At first, his story was quite interesting as well. But then it dragged on, switching between the two POV's. It seemed to me there were some inconsistencies. At one point, Sjenn's "Dog" (her spirit animal) had wandered with Jarrett's. She did not know what had transpired during that time. Yet, later in the book, she had total recall when her Dog was free. There was no explanation of the significance of the Dog's bite. I began to weary of the story.
I wish the author had stuck with Sjenn's POV, and had fleshed out the significance of the spirit world. She could have treated the Dog as a character in the story, perhaps even switched between Sjenn's point of view and the Dog's. I finished the book feeling quite disastified. It had possibilities that didn't come to fruition.
The setting was a meld of 20th century Inuit life with Victorian underground and the wild west according to the author. There was a large paranormal element in that the story centered around people who were able to shapeshift into their spirit animal. But there was no technology, unless you count the gaslights that lined the streets of the city.
It took me a bit to get past the strangeness of the names. It would have been nice to have a glossary that would identified the structure of the months and days of the weeks. I had no frame of reference when a week day was named. Was that one day, two days, three days away?
Once I got past that, I was able to focus on the story. It started out quite well with the POV of Sjenn. I was drawn into her story and eager to learn about her spirit animal.
The story switched to the POV of Captain Jarrett. At first, his story was quite interesting as well. But then it dragged on, switching between the two POV's. It seemed to me there were some inconsistencies. At one point, Sjenn's "Dog" (her spirit animal) had wandered with Jarrett's. She did not know what had transpired during that time. Yet, later in the book, she had total recall when her Dog was free. There was no explanation of the significance of the Dog's bite. I began to weary of the story.
I wish the author had stuck with Sjenn's POV, and had fleshed out the significance of the spirit world. She could have treated the Dog as a character in the story, perhaps even switched between Sjenn's point of view and the Dog's. I finished the book feeling quite disastified. It had possibilities that didn't come to fruition.
May 7, 2012
This is frequently cited in lists of not-stupid book covers. (The person depicted is female, armed, not helpless, not half-naked, not contorted, and not acanonically Causasian. She *does* have tattoos but they're plot-significant.) Unfortunately, after all that, she's not the protagonist of the book. Her dog arguably has more of a plot role than she does.
The protagonist is Captain Fawle, the requisite disenchanted soldier in a story about white folks in a fantasy-US-western-frontier. This appears to be a Thing now (Felix Gilman, Richard Calder, the prologue of that Kris Saknussemm one) and I am having more misses than hits with it. (I liked the Gilman.) This one is mostly a miss. Fawle is ordered by his chilly martinet of a father to learn native-style spirit-walking. He is assigned two helpers: Keeley, from a local tribe, and Sjenn, from the North. She's the one on the cover with the spear and Dog. Nobody likes the arrangement, but it's the General's army, so Fawle gets to figure out his own Dog. Local politics intervenes, and things go very downhill. Set up for book two.
I like the good guys well enough; the antagonists (including General Daddy) are fascinating; and the prose is frankly gorgeous. However, the story never grabbed me. Nobody (not even the white guy) has a chance to *do* much beyond coping with the next life-wrecking plot complication. It's a familiar sort of setup for a (probable) trilogy, but I like a few more petty triumphs before (metaphorically) the Breaking of the Fellowship and Sean Bean getting scragged.
The protagonist is Captain Fawle, the requisite disenchanted soldier in a story about white folks in a fantasy-US-western-frontier. This appears to be a Thing now (Felix Gilman, Richard Calder, the prologue of that Kris Saknussemm one) and I am having more misses than hits with it. (I liked the Gilman.) This one is mostly a miss. Fawle is ordered by his chilly martinet of a father to learn native-style spirit-walking. He is assigned two helpers: Keeley, from a local tribe, and Sjenn, from the North. She's the one on the cover with the spear and Dog. Nobody likes the arrangement, but it's the General's army, so Fawle gets to figure out his own Dog. Local politics intervenes, and things go very downhill. Set up for book two.
I like the good guys well enough; the antagonists (including General Daddy) are fascinating; and the prose is frankly gorgeous. However, the story never grabbed me. Nobody (not even the white guy) has a chance to *do* much beyond coping with the next life-wrecking plot complication. It's a familiar sort of setup for a (probable) trilogy, but I like a few more petty triumphs before (metaphorically) the Breaking of the Fellowship and Sean Bean getting scragged.
September 22, 2010
It's never a good sign when the first words I want to put in a review are 'I wanted to like this, really I did...'.
For the purchase of this particular book, I blame Amazon's recommendations system, which kept flagging 'The Gaslight Dogs' as something I might be interested in. I had a few quid spare on a gift certificate, so I went for it, thinking it sounded interesting but was sadly disappointed by the reality of the book itself.
The book is set in a world where a military system is expanding into the unknown and encountering various tribes, one of which is the Aniw. They live in the far north, accustomed to the harshness of the environment there. One of our protagonists, Sjenn, is something of a mystic and shaman with the Aniw and finds herself in conflict with her would-be invaders when she kills a man who breaks into her home.
There's more to 'The Gaslight Dogs' than this, of course, as Sjenn has a secret that her captors are both intrigued by and wish to exploit. Unfortunately, Sjenn seems to spend her time wandering in a fatalistic haze, while the other main character just comes across as petulant and self-absorbed. In all, I got about halfway through before I decided I just didn't care any more about either of them and the denseness of the prose wore me down. I'm afraid Ms Lowachee is not a writer whose further work I'll be considering, given my experience with this book!
For the purchase of this particular book, I blame Amazon's recommendations system, which kept flagging 'The Gaslight Dogs' as something I might be interested in. I had a few quid spare on a gift certificate, so I went for it, thinking it sounded interesting but was sadly disappointed by the reality of the book itself.
The book is set in a world where a military system is expanding into the unknown and encountering various tribes, one of which is the Aniw. They live in the far north, accustomed to the harshness of the environment there. One of our protagonists, Sjenn, is something of a mystic and shaman with the Aniw and finds herself in conflict with her would-be invaders when she kills a man who breaks into her home.
There's more to 'The Gaslight Dogs' than this, of course, as Sjenn has a secret that her captors are both intrigued by and wish to exploit. Unfortunately, Sjenn seems to spend her time wandering in a fatalistic haze, while the other main character just comes across as petulant and self-absorbed. In all, I got about halfway through before I decided I just didn't care any more about either of them and the denseness of the prose wore me down. I'm afraid Ms Lowachee is not a writer whose further work I'll be considering, given my experience with this book!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 15, 2010
Wonderfully original and beautifully done! I have never read anything by Lowachee before now, but will definitely be seeking out her other books.
I've always been fascinated by the Arctic and so when I heard about this book I absolutely had to have it. The two POV characters are fully realized, and the occasional use of present tense in certain segments of the book is perfect.
The ending was a shocker and a cliffhanger and yet now that I've thought about it, it feels like it couldn't have ended any other way and I'm surprised I didn't see it coming. I understand that there is a sequel in the works and can't wait for it to be published!
I've always been fascinated by the Arctic and so when I heard about this book I absolutely had to have it. The two POV characters are fully realized, and the occasional use of present tense in certain segments of the book is perfect.
The ending was a shocker and a cliffhanger and yet now that I've thought about it, it feels like it couldn't have ended any other way and I'm surprised I didn't see it coming. I understand that there is a sequel in the works and can't wait for it to be published!
February 3, 2017
Great start for the series. Some interesting and original world building and deep characterization. Karin Lowachee's writing is incredible, as usual. Looking forward to the next in the series.
April 20, 2012
I have been referring to this as "the problematic colonialism book". I mean that in both senses. It is a book all about how colonialism screws people up, and it's a book where I think some of the colonialist narratives are not examined.
A friend pointed out that the story makes a lot more sense when you realize it's Canadian, and not American fantasy -- that is to say that the fantasy countries are deeply informed by the Canadian experience of contact with original inhabitants. There are snow-dwellers who hunt caribou, and copper-skinned woods-dwellers, and at least two factions of white people attached to shoes and guns and proselytizing and all that.
The story is about a young not!inuit with a tangible spirit animal which can leave her body. Through a series of unfortunate events, she is kidnapped and taken to an industrial-age city, where a crazy meglomaniac is trying to use her magical powers for Bad Ends.
The story is about the unfortunate son of the meglomaniac who is almost as whiny as Harry Potter circa book 6. He never knows what's going on, has a very brittle kind of strength, and may have been one of those kids who took up bullying because it was better than feeling powerless.
The story is about a domesticated abo who is carefully analyzing his masters between forelock tugging.
The story is about Benedictines and Jesuits, although not really, of course, and about the city and the wild, and about madness and compliance, and the dark heart of men.
Also, this story is half a book. It's got a very slow start, then a long ramp up, and right at the crisis moment for all the characters.... you realize the book is over. GAH. I expect that the next book in the series will be along eventually.
Almost everyone in the story is a pragmatist, in their own way. I suspect that this is why it is hard to identify with any of the viewpoint characters. We are used to a diet of protaganists who are at least heroic in their own mind. None of these protaganists is, as near as we can tell.
Read if: You have tolerance for a book with an ending like a New Yorker short story, you like thinking about colonialism, you like magic systems that are not the boring semi-feudal wizards (and in that case, allow me to recommend Death of the Necromancer or Tinker again).
Skip if: You need sympathetic viewpoint characters, you don't want to deal with a very slow start, you hate interrupted stories.
A friend pointed out that the story makes a lot more sense when you realize it's Canadian, and not American fantasy -- that is to say that the fantasy countries are deeply informed by the Canadian experience of contact with original inhabitants. There are snow-dwellers who hunt caribou, and copper-skinned woods-dwellers, and at least two factions of white people attached to shoes and guns and proselytizing and all that.
The story is about a young not!inuit with a tangible spirit animal which can leave her body. Through a series of unfortunate events, she is kidnapped and taken to an industrial-age city, where a crazy meglomaniac is trying to use her magical powers for Bad Ends.
The story is about the unfortunate son of the meglomaniac who is almost as whiny as Harry Potter circa book 6. He never knows what's going on, has a very brittle kind of strength, and may have been one of those kids who took up bullying because it was better than feeling powerless.
The story is about a domesticated abo who is carefully analyzing his masters between forelock tugging.
The story is about Benedictines and Jesuits, although not really, of course, and about the city and the wild, and about madness and compliance, and the dark heart of men.
Also, this story is half a book. It's got a very slow start, then a long ramp up, and right at the crisis moment for all the characters.... you realize the book is over. GAH. I expect that the next book in the series will be along eventually.
Almost everyone in the story is a pragmatist, in their own way. I suspect that this is why it is hard to identify with any of the viewpoint characters. We are used to a diet of protaganists who are at least heroic in their own mind. None of these protaganists is, as near as we can tell.
Read if: You have tolerance for a book with an ending like a New Yorker short story, you like thinking about colonialism, you like magic systems that are not the boring semi-feudal wizards (and in that case, allow me to recommend Death of the Necromancer or Tinker again).
Skip if: You need sympathetic viewpoint characters, you don't want to deal with a very slow start, you hate interrupted stories.
March 28, 2017
This book has a serious identity problem. Its cover looks like historical fiction, and the description shows it has a paranormal element. Which is cool. But the only historical aspect here is the Ainu (spelled Ainw in the book); the settlers from overseas are clearly meant to represent white colonials, but I don't see anything historical about them other than their Victorian-inspired design aesthetic. It strains credulity even as an alternate history because nothing indicates a clear break with actual history. The publisher is calling the book fantasy, which isn't untrue, but what subgenre of fantasy? People online are saying it's steampunk, but it has no steam-based technology. So what is it? Paranormal pseudo-alternate-history fantasy?
On top of the confusion caused by its lack of discernible genre, this book ticked absolutely none of my boxes. I adore Lowachee's sci-fi work, which is why I picked up this book, but everything about it fell flat for me. It's like it was written by a completely different person. The writing is overly detailed, and I skimmed entire pages without missing anything, yet the war that the colonials are involved in isn't fleshed out enough to be interesting. The dialogue is forced and repetitive. But the real disappointment for me was the characters.
The Ainu woman with the dog spirit inside her is terribly cliche: of course non-white women commune with nature and are fearful but reluctantly helpful to invaders. Haven't you see Pocahontas? And the insomniac white Captain OF COURSE wants nothing to do with her because natives are crazy and he'd rather whine about how life is unfair and General Daddy won't let him have any fun. General Daddy is an overbearing military widower who Does Not Care about his son; as a matter of fact, he's going to use him in a magical military experiment. Nice. The friendly priest with a fascination with anthropology gets murdered, and a seemingly evil (or at least hostile) priestess with likely connections to General Daddy is appointed in his place... which clearly means trouble for the two main characters. But they're so unremarkable, I don't actually care. After 125 pages, I was ready to abandon them and end this misguided mess of a novel.
On top of the confusion caused by its lack of discernible genre, this book ticked absolutely none of my boxes. I adore Lowachee's sci-fi work, which is why I picked up this book, but everything about it fell flat for me. It's like it was written by a completely different person. The writing is overly detailed, and I skimmed entire pages without missing anything, yet the war that the colonials are involved in isn't fleshed out enough to be interesting. The dialogue is forced and repetitive. But the real disappointment for me was the characters.
The Ainu woman with the dog spirit inside her is terribly cliche: of course non-white women commune with nature and are fearful but reluctantly helpful to invaders. Haven't you see Pocahontas? And the insomniac white Captain OF COURSE wants nothing to do with her because natives are crazy and he'd rather whine about how life is unfair and General Daddy won't let him have any fun. General Daddy is an overbearing military widower who Does Not Care about his son; as a matter of fact, he's going to use him in a magical military experiment. Nice. The friendly priest with a fascination with anthropology gets murdered, and a seemingly evil (or at least hostile) priestess with likely connections to General Daddy is appointed in his place... which clearly means trouble for the two main characters. But they're so unremarkable, I don't actually care. After 125 pages, I was ready to abandon them and end this misguided mess of a novel.
April 10, 2010
If you're expecting that this book may be part of the same sci-fi series as Karin Lowachee's last three publications (Warchild, Burndive and Cagebird), it's not. It's a fantasy, and a really interesting one. It also appears to be the first of a set or series, as well, as it ends with a cliffhanger. (Arrrgh! :D)
I heard something about steampunk... also, I think, a misleading idea. Think Inuit and Old West Rangers, and the effects of colonialism. Wrap that up with some "magic" -- though Sjenn would disagree -- and a really diverse set of characters, and you'll have a closer idea of what to expect from "The Gaslight Dogs".
I didn't feel quite as immersed into these characters as I did with her previous books. This could be many things: from the fact that it's written in third person vs. first person, to the fact that there are more characters in this story and she's setting it up to delve into these characters through multiple books, rather than having to fully flesh out the character in one open/end book. Another reason I feel this way: the characters of this story have such a different voice/existence from the hectic drive of her sci-fi characters; inevitable if you consider their experiences, but somewhat less engaging if you're in for the short haul.
It was a very interesting and unique fantasy, and I'll happily read through the series as it's published.
I heard something about steampunk... also, I think, a misleading idea. Think Inuit and Old West Rangers, and the effects of colonialism. Wrap that up with some "magic" -- though Sjenn would disagree -- and a really diverse set of characters, and you'll have a closer idea of what to expect from "The Gaslight Dogs".
I didn't feel quite as immersed into these characters as I did with her previous books. This could be many things: from the fact that it's written in third person vs. first person, to the fact that there are more characters in this story and she's setting it up to delve into these characters through multiple books, rather than having to fully flesh out the character in one open/end book. Another reason I feel this way: the characters of this story have such a different voice/existence from the hectic drive of her sci-fi characters; inevitable if you consider their experiences, but somewhat less engaging if you're in for the short haul.
It was a very interesting and unique fantasy, and I'll happily read through the series as it's published.
December 19, 2011
Uuuuuuuuuummmmmmm. I'm not quite sure what to say about this book. I feel really complicated about it. First off, I thought the writing was overdone and sometimes repetitive. Overly flowery language and descriptions like, "Feeling a tongue of cool air tickle the back of his neck, as if the commotion one street over somehow pushed a reminder to his reluctant stance, Jarret shouldered open the gate and stepped through." All that just to go through a gate? After I'd already been told how very reluctant he was in twenty different ways before he even got to the gate? Also, everything in this book is shadowy. Very, very shadowy. So many shadows. It got on my nerves. Especially since I absolutely adored the Warchild trilogy. I was deeply disappointed in this writing.
Then I thought about the fact that Lowachee's bio says she's "worked in the Arctic," and feel really complicated about that, cuz even though she's not white, I don't think she's Inuit. But she's anthropologically 'lived among', and that makes me skeptical as a reader, no matter who it is.
And that might have been fine, cuz I do think it's possible to write well about culutres that one doesn't come from, but then I thought about why this particular story is being told about Native people, and how it reinforces a lot of stereotypes and reinscribes a lot of the same old literary tropes about Native folks, even while it critiques colonization and racism in a way that at least let me finish the book:
Tragic/Doomed, Connected with Nature, Victimy/Passive (Sjenn) vs. Violent and Bloodthirsty (Qoyotariz), and the Displaced Tragic Mixed Blood (Keeley).
I just don't know. What I do know is that this is not the book I had hoped it would be. At all. And I feel very disappointed. Sigh.
Then I thought about the fact that Lowachee's bio says she's "worked in the Arctic," and feel really complicated about that, cuz even though she's not white, I don't think she's Inuit. But she's anthropologically 'lived among', and that makes me skeptical as a reader, no matter who it is.
And that might have been fine, cuz I do think it's possible to write well about culutres that one doesn't come from, but then I thought about why this particular story is being told about Native people, and how it reinforces a lot of stereotypes and reinscribes a lot of the same old literary tropes about Native folks, even while it critiques colonization and racism in a way that at least let me finish the book:
Tragic/Doomed, Connected with Nature, Victimy/Passive (Sjenn) vs. Violent and Bloodthirsty (Qoyotariz), and the Displaced Tragic Mixed Blood (Keeley).
I just don't know. What I do know is that this is not the book I had hoped it would be. At all. And I feel very disappointed. Sigh.
January 6, 2017
This book had so many issues, I don't even know where to start.
The plot was that "white people" (generic fantasy Europeans) came to "North America" (generic fantasy New World) wanting to use the magic of "Native Americans" (generic native people) to win their wars. The fantasy layer was so thin, I never for a moment thought she wasn't writing about Europeans' abuse of Native Americans. It didn't help that she said that outright both in the forward and afterward of the book...
While I sort of liked the story idea, and the worldbuilding had a couple of interesting details, I couldn't have cared less about any character in this book. Every single one of them was, at best, a cardboard cutout and completely uninteresting.
Supposedly this was a steampunk book, and while I'm not an expert on steampunk, I would have guessed this were a romance book before I guessed steampunk (and there was not one single bit of romance in it). The characters had guns (which fit the Europeans-come-to-New-World time period), and a train was mentioned once (but no character saw or or in any way interacted it -- it had a one-sentence mention that it existed). That was the grand total of tech in the world.
I was considering abandoning it at many points, and eventually went to the Amazon page to see what others thought. When I saw other reviews saying there was "no ending" to the book, I almost gave up for sure -- the lack of ending in a book to try to force the readers to buy the rest of the trilogy to find out what happens is one of the things that annoys me most of all. However, in this case, the ending worked for me. It was an open ending (as fit the story), not a "cut off in the middle of the story, see book two to continue!" kind of ending.
The plot was that "white people" (generic fantasy Europeans) came to "North America" (generic fantasy New World) wanting to use the magic of "Native Americans" (generic native people) to win their wars. The fantasy layer was so thin, I never for a moment thought she wasn't writing about Europeans' abuse of Native Americans. It didn't help that she said that outright both in the forward and afterward of the book...
While I sort of liked the story idea, and the worldbuilding had a couple of interesting details, I couldn't have cared less about any character in this book. Every single one of them was, at best, a cardboard cutout and completely uninteresting.
Supposedly this was a steampunk book, and while I'm not an expert on steampunk, I would have guessed this were a romance book before I guessed steampunk (and there was not one single bit of romance in it). The characters had guns (which fit the Europeans-come-to-New-World time period), and a train was mentioned once (but no character saw or or in any way interacted it -- it had a one-sentence mention that it existed). That was the grand total of tech in the world.
I was considering abandoning it at many points, and eventually went to the Amazon page to see what others thought. When I saw other reviews saying there was "no ending" to the book, I almost gave up for sure -- the lack of ending in a book to try to force the readers to buy the rest of the trilogy to find out what happens is one of the things that annoys me most of all. However, in this case, the ending worked for me. It was an open ending (as fit the story), not a "cut off in the middle of the story, see book two to continue!" kind of ending.
September 26, 2010
This is a radically different alternate history continuity. The alternate Europeans are more mysterious than the alternate Inuits because we have no idea what they left behind in their native Circusia. So we can't be certain about what motivates them. What seems familiar about them may not be familiar at all.
I had a hard time orienting myself at first in what seemed to be my own country. Then I realized that the Canadian author had created an alternate Canada. Then it all started to make sense.
Lowachee says in an online interview that she doesn't write to make statements. Readers discover messages in her work that she didn't intend. I think she works with themes on an unconscious level which makes for better fiction than someone who is actively preaching at us.
I have seen the complaint that the character of Sejonnirk is too passive. I think that someone who receives spirits has to be open to them, listen to them and be willing to do their bidding. It's a passive calling, but one that I respect immensely because it's such an important part of our human heritage.
I have also seen complaints about Lowachee's dense prose. I would call it lush and elegant. I have to say that compared to the textbooks that I read for grad school this prose is not dense. Poetic metaphor is not anywhere near as difficult for a reader to penetrate as technical jargon. I guess it depends on what you're accustomed to reading. For me, this style of writing was a lovely vacation.
I had a hard time orienting myself at first in what seemed to be my own country. Then I realized that the Canadian author had created an alternate Canada. Then it all started to make sense.
Lowachee says in an online interview that she doesn't write to make statements. Readers discover messages in her work that she didn't intend. I think she works with themes on an unconscious level which makes for better fiction than someone who is actively preaching at us.
I have seen the complaint that the character of Sejonnirk is too passive. I think that someone who receives spirits has to be open to them, listen to them and be willing to do their bidding. It's a passive calling, but one that I respect immensely because it's such an important part of our human heritage.
I have also seen complaints about Lowachee's dense prose. I would call it lush and elegant. I have to say that compared to the textbooks that I read for grad school this prose is not dense. Poetic metaphor is not anywhere near as difficult for a reader to penetrate as technical jargon. I guess it depends on what you're accustomed to reading. For me, this style of writing was a lovely vacation.
May 11, 2012
Loooooove the cover. Love the premise - spiritwalker girl from Inuit-like culture is abducted and taken to equivalent-1800s America so that insane general can have her teach spiritwalking / dog spirit to his estranged son, a captain in the army.
First part of the book I enjoyed and rushed through, with Sjenn's story as she struggles with the demands of her 'little spirit' and her dead father's spirit, and tries to understand the 'Boot People' who have captured her. The stars in my rating are for her part of the story.
Then the narrative swaps over mostly to Jarrett Fawle, the captain, who is (in my opinion) a nasty, bitter, resentful, self-involved, entitled jerk. His daddy didn't love him oh woe, no one else has ever suffered like him but he has to keep obeying his horrible father against his own will and better judgement, and he doesn't care what happens to anyone else, except for how their suffering is less than his. In an interview included with the pbk, the author says he's her favourite character - how can she not notice how unpleasant he is?
I disliked him enough that I started to notice the writing (if you're reading quickly and with interest you can miss a lot of infelicities) which tried for a sort of formal 19th c. feel, but ended up stilted and with weird word usages. I could excuse the odd word choices in the narrative, but in speech they were just wrong and clunky.
Argh. So much promise. So much fail.
First part of the book I enjoyed and rushed through, with Sjenn's story as she struggles with the demands of her 'little spirit' and her dead father's spirit, and tries to understand the 'Boot People' who have captured her. The stars in my rating are for her part of the story.
Then the narrative swaps over mostly to Jarrett Fawle, the captain, who is (in my opinion) a nasty, bitter, resentful, self-involved, entitled jerk. His daddy didn't love him oh woe, no one else has ever suffered like him but he has to keep obeying his horrible father against his own will and better judgement, and he doesn't care what happens to anyone else, except for how their suffering is less than his. In an interview included with the pbk, the author says he's her favourite character - how can she not notice how unpleasant he is?
I disliked him enough that I started to notice the writing (if you're reading quickly and with interest you can miss a lot of infelicities) which tried for a sort of formal 19th c. feel, but ended up stilted and with weird word usages. I could excuse the odd word choices in the narrative, but in speech they were just wrong and clunky.
Argh. So much promise. So much fail.
April 6, 2011
(3.5. Where are my half-stars?!? Waah.)
Sometimes in a dream, I feel like I have cotton balls stuffed in my ears and the wrong end of a pair of binoculars taped to my eyes. The dream is vivid, and it's lovely or horrible, but I feel distant from it and have trouble connecting.
That's how I felt while reading this book. A sense of place leaps off every page; Lowachee imbues the book with myriad sensual details. And I found the characters intensely real and engaging and the tension between them crackling (with almost every combination of major characters, thrown fists and tongues down each other's throats seemed equally likely outcomes).
Still, something about Lowachee's narrative style created, for me, a sense of distance from the story and the characters living it. As much as I enjoyed the book and the tale it told, I could never immerse myself as fully as I like to, and I can't quite figure out why. I don't see that as a failing of the book as a book: it was clearly either a conscious authorial choice or Lowachee's usual style (this is the first of her books I've read); it just didn't quite resonate with me.
Sometimes in a dream, I feel like I have cotton balls stuffed in my ears and the wrong end of a pair of binoculars taped to my eyes. The dream is vivid, and it's lovely or horrible, but I feel distant from it and have trouble connecting.
That's how I felt while reading this book. A sense of place leaps off every page; Lowachee imbues the book with myriad sensual details. And I found the characters intensely real and engaging and the tension between them crackling (with almost every combination of major characters, thrown fists and tongues down each other's throats seemed equally likely outcomes).
Still, something about Lowachee's narrative style created, for me, a sense of distance from the story and the characters living it. As much as I enjoyed the book and the tale it told, I could never immerse myself as fully as I like to, and I can't quite figure out why. I don't see that as a failing of the book as a book: it was clearly either a conscious authorial choice or Lowachee's usual style (this is the first of her books I've read); it just didn't quite resonate with me.
May 19, 2010
meh. Flashes of interesting stuff, but it dragged. I don't much like books about analogies to collisions between native/aboriginal cultures and 19th century analogs. The Eskimo analog culture bored me when it didn't annoy me.
I suppose it says something mildly positive about Lowachee's ability to invoke the alien that I did eventually finish it.
I may have had some unfair and probably irrelevant sense of comparing it to Pullman (whose Dark Materials books to me consisted of a brilliant first book, an ok second book and a totally unreadable third book.) I imagine the publicists/cover art was intended to evoke that, but it did this book no favors for me.
I suppose it says something mildly positive about Lowachee's ability to invoke the alien that I did eventually finish it.
I may have had some unfair and probably irrelevant sense of comparing it to Pullman (whose Dark Materials books to me consisted of a brilliant first book, an ok second book and a totally unreadable third book.) I imagine the publicists/cover art was intended to evoke that, but it did this book no favors for me.
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April 17, 2010I am about halfway through this, and I am afraid I'll have to either put it on hold, or mark it as 'did not finish'. I really wanted to like this book. I mean, fantasy/steampunk with Inuits? How great is that? Unfortunately, it's just isn't as good as I was hoping it would be. The characters are uninspiring, the story is not bad but does not grab, the writing style is occasionally poetic, but mostly infuriating (I am still not sure I understand this sentence, for example: 'A rare enough quality in some men, and it made him tolerable to those who weren't as faithful and likeable to those who were'(p. 16)). Anyway, the author gets big points for a great idea, but no points for execution.
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