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Change #2
Elegy Beach
Thirty years ago the lights went out, the airplanes fell, the cars went still, the cities all went dark. The laws humanity had always known were replaced by new laws that could only be called magic. The world had Changed forever. Or had it?
Fred grew up in a fishing village off the California coast, playing in abandoned buildings and rusting supertankers. He has no nostalgia for the remnants of his father's civilization, and seeks to make his own mark in the world by learning the science of magic, which leads him and his friend Yan to discover how to reverse the Change.
But Yan's recklessness and his growing obsession with humanity's former powers forces Fred to take a stand against his friend -- and sets him on a journey in which the return of an extraordinary figure from his father's haunted past is inextricably bound with this world's future.
Fred grew up in a fishing village off the California coast, playing in abandoned buildings and rusting supertankers. He has no nostalgia for the remnants of his father's civilization, and seeks to make his own mark in the world by learning the science of magic, which leads him and his friend Yan to discover how to reverse the Change.
But Yan's recklessness and his growing obsession with humanity's former powers forces Fred to take a stand against his friend -- and sets him on a journey in which the return of an extraordinary figure from his father's haunted past is inextricably bound with this world's future.
424 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 13, 2009
52 people are currently reading
545 people want to read
About the author
Steven R. Boyett
21 books110 followersSteven R. Boyett is the author of Ariel, Elegy Beach, Mortality Bridge, Fata Morgana (with Ken Mitchroney) and numerous stories, articles, comic books, and screenplays.
As a DJ he has played clubs, conventions, parties, Burning Man, and sporting events, and produces two of the world’s most popular music podcasts: Podrunner and Groovelectric.
Steve has also been a martial arts instructor, professional paper marbler, advertising copywriter, proofreader, typesetter, writing teacher, and Website designer and editor. He also plays the didgeridoo and composes electronic music.
As a DJ he has played clubs, conventions, parties, Burning Man, and sporting events, and produces two of the world’s most popular music podcasts: Podrunner and Groovelectric.
Steve has also been a martial arts instructor, professional paper marbler, advertising copywriter, proofreader, typesetter, writing teacher, and Website designer and editor. He also plays the didgeridoo and composes electronic music.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 88 reviews
December 21, 2009
Magnificent and worthy sequel to Boyett's cult classic Ariel. Boyett's grown as an author in the time since, and he tries some experimental things here that I don't always like, but which effectively convey how much the world has been transformed by the Change. I love the tension between the children of the Change and those of the old world, and wish Fred (the protagonist) had fought harder to show his father that the new world was pretty kickass too. Most interesting scene, IMO, was the magical "rave" that the kids had developed, showing that the world's shift to magic need not revert it to medieval cliche; these are still 21st century people, just dealing with a different kind of tech. This whole "magic as new technology" theme got carried through the story in really innovative, sometimes frightening ways.
In fact, the only weakness of the story was the reunion of Pete and Ariel, because both characters had changed so much, grown so bitter with their troubles, that they sort of weighed the story down. Like watching the reunion of old lovers who've grown apart -- never fun to see, and a little depressing. Worse, they served as a constant distraction from other relationships that I wanted to see more of (Pete and Fred, Ariel and Fred, Fred and Yan). On the other hand, I was very glad to know what had happened to both characters after the previous book. So I'm not deducting any stars for that segment of the book, because it served its purpose. And because I'm wholeheartedly recommending this book anyway -- it's that good.
Also note: I think it would work well as a standalone, for those who haven't read Ariel.
In fact, the only weakness of the story was the reunion of Pete and Ariel, because both characters had changed so much, grown so bitter with their troubles, that they sort of weighed the story down. Like watching the reunion of old lovers who've grown apart -- never fun to see, and a little depressing. Worse, they served as a constant distraction from other relationships that I wanted to see more of (Pete and Fred, Ariel and Fred, Fred and Yan). On the other hand, I was very glad to know what had happened to both characters after the previous book. So I'm not deducting any stars for that segment of the book, because it served its purpose. And because I'm wholeheartedly recommending this book anyway -- it's that good.
Also note: I think it would work well as a standalone, for those who haven't read Ariel.
December 9, 2010
You don't need to have read Ariel first, not really; this is a sequel of sorts, but it's also a standalone novel (and one that happens to contain a quick synopsis of Ariel tucked away inside to boot). But I'd still recommend seeking out Boyett's first stab at the world of the Change anyway.
Elegy Beach is rightly named, though that fact doesn't really become apparent until later in the book. To start with, Fred is just a young apprentice in the sleepy Southern California coastal town of Del Mar, a thriving post-Change community that's gotten used to not having cars and electronic devices around anymore—the surfers even manage to ignore the sea serpents that mate just offshore, most of the time. Fred keeps busy in Mr. Papadopolous' shop, casting glamours and making potions, whipping up little unicorn-shaped homunculi to order for the town's sillier inhabitants. But that's before he and his friend Yan decide, as teenagers will, that the old folks are full of it, and determine to go about the practice of magic systematically, following logical principles that (you'd think) someone would have gotten around to trying long before.
This project, despite some stunning successes, does not go as well as Fred and Yan expect.
Though it was definitely readable before then, this book really didn't take flight for me until about Chapter Fifteen. One of Boyett's better techniques is writing sharp-edged banter, and it's not until then that we start getting exchanges like this one:
The flow of language in general is much smoother here than in Ariel—which is to be expected; Boyett wrote that one when he was 19, and if he'd learned nothing in the meantime, that would've been tragic. "Nowadays I write with the ear as well as the eye," Boyett says in the aforementioned Afterword, "for the rhythm of English is heard and not seen." He never quite gets up to the level of seemingly effortless lyricism that Peter S. Beagle sustains in The Last Unicorn, perhaps, but then very few books do.
A couple of things about Elegy Beach did annoy me, in fact. One that annoyed the hell out of me, and I don't know whether it was a stylistic choice or just some sort of bizarre search-and-replace error, was that there were almost no question marks in the book! Not that characters asked no questions... it's just that their questions were usually punctuated as statements. Repeatedly. Could you pass the salt. Where is Waldo. Please sir may I have another. And so on... What was Boyett thinking there. I dunno.
Another, lesser issue I had was with the inconsistencies (unnecessary ones, I think) between this book and its predecessor. In Ariel, the Change happened sometime in the 1980s... young Pete Garey uses a library's card catalog at one point, an action that now seems quaint, and other textual points make it even plainer that Ariel's change is in our past. In Elegy Beach, though, the Change (must have) happened much, much later... music stores sold CDs, and at one point a solar-powered iPod appears—which, unless I'm very much mistaken, pushes the Change at least very slightly into our future!
I don't want this quibbling to put you off—in fact, I found Elegy Beach to be an engrossing and satisfying read, just about all the way through, and when it starts living up to its name there are poignant passages of sheer beauty, stirring events and dramatic confrontations and, yes, more snappy banter. It suffers only in comparison with the unattainable ideal image of itself that I'd had before I started reading, a unicorn of a book which now, older and more scarred by the world, I cannot seem to touch.
Elegy Beach is rightly named, though that fact doesn't really become apparent until later in the book. To start with, Fred is just a young apprentice in the sleepy Southern California coastal town of Del Mar, a thriving post-Change community that's gotten used to not having cars and electronic devices around anymore—the surfers even manage to ignore the sea serpents that mate just offshore, most of the time. Fred keeps busy in Mr. Papadopolous' shop, casting glamours and making potions, whipping up little unicorn-shaped homunculi to order for the town's sillier inhabitants. But that's before he and his friend Yan decide, as teenagers will, that the old folks are full of it, and determine to go about the practice of magic systematically, following logical principles that (you'd think) someone would have gotten around to trying long before.
This project, despite some stunning successes, does not go as well as Fred and Yan expect.
Though it was definitely readable before then, this book really didn't take flight for me until about Chapter Fifteen. One of Boyett's better techniques is writing sharp-edged banter, and it's not until then that we start getting exchanges like this one:
"I have the coffee."I found this ironic, since Boyett's Afterword in the 2009 edition of Ariel talks about how that book didn't get rolling until Ch. 10.
"Your value to this expedition has already increased."
The flow of language in general is much smoother here than in Ariel—which is to be expected; Boyett wrote that one when he was 19, and if he'd learned nothing in the meantime, that would've been tragic. "Nowadays I write with the ear as well as the eye," Boyett says in the aforementioned Afterword, "for the rhythm of English is heard and not seen." He never quite gets up to the level of seemingly effortless lyricism that Peter S. Beagle sustains in The Last Unicorn, perhaps, but then very few books do.
A couple of things about Elegy Beach did annoy me, in fact. One that annoyed the hell out of me, and I don't know whether it was a stylistic choice or just some sort of bizarre search-and-replace error, was that there were almost no question marks in the book! Not that characters asked no questions... it's just that their questions were usually punctuated as statements. Repeatedly. Could you pass the salt. Where is Waldo. Please sir may I have another. And so on... What was Boyett thinking there. I dunno.
Another, lesser issue I had was with the inconsistencies (unnecessary ones, I think) between this book and its predecessor. In Ariel, the Change happened sometime in the 1980s... young Pete Garey uses a library's card catalog at one point, an action that now seems quaint, and other textual points make it even plainer that Ariel's change is in our past. In Elegy Beach, though, the Change (must have) happened much, much later... music stores sold CDs, and at one point a solar-powered iPod appears—which, unless I'm very much mistaken, pushes the Change at least very slightly into our future!
I don't want this quibbling to put you off—in fact, I found Elegy Beach to be an engrossing and satisfying read, just about all the way through, and when it starts living up to its name there are poignant passages of sheer beauty, stirring events and dramatic confrontations and, yes, more snappy banter. It suffers only in comparison with the unattainable ideal image of itself that I'd had before I started reading, a unicorn of a book which now, older and more scarred by the world, I cannot seem to touch.
February 24, 2018
Boyett's novel 'Ariel: A Book of the Change' has haunted me since the day I finished reading it. I've read and re-read it several times over the years, and at the oddest times I'll wonder "What ever happened to Pete? Where did Ariel go? Will they ever see each other again?" In Elegy Beach I have all my answers and I'm... conflicted. I mean, Pete was as I expected him to be... cold, hard, bitter, and yet somehow still the Pete we knew and loved. The plot itself is decent, but really incidental. This story is the closure we never got with Ariel. The author says as much in his note at the end. And that's fine... great, in fact. Because that's what I've been haunted by for the past three decades... how things turned out for our two favorite characters. This is the closure I've always wanted. I think what disappointed me the most (and there are **** spoilers ahead here, so be warned****)... was Ariel. She seemed to devoid of most of the emotion she exhibited in the first book. In some instances, she seemed downright cold. She wouldn't heal Pete or, as far as I could tell, even try to ease his pain. She didn't seem to care when the group drove through the "Change bubble" where the old laws still worked, and Avy came out of the other side changed, a part of herself missing. Hell, Ariel didn't even seem all that emotional about the death of her partner. Her sole purpose in going after Yan seemed to be revenge. And perhaps maybe self-preservation in the event he succeeded and the old laws of nature returned. Still... I enjoyed the book and was relieved to finally have closure. I won't be at the grocery store anymore and randomly think... damn, what happened after the events in New York? So there's that. And it's really a good story. So... four stars. Ariel got five, but then it's one of my all time favs. Well done Boyett, and thanks for putting my mind at ease, even if it took thirty years.
Incidentally, if anyone can explain the exchange at the end between Fred and Ariel, about Mila and the non-existent dog, I'd be grateful. I didn't get the cryptic message, I guess. Was there a dog, or wasn't there a dog? Was it even about the dog? Someone help a sister out.
Incidentally, if anyone can explain the exchange at the end between Fred and Ariel, about Mila and the non-existent dog, I'd be grateful. I didn't get the cryptic message, I guess. Was there a dog, or wasn't there a dog? Was it even about the dog? Someone help a sister out.
May 13, 2024
3.5 STARS
I read Ariel in the fall of 1985. I was a high school senior that year and I had recently finished Stephen King's post-apocalyptic classic ( it probably wasn't considered a classic in 1985) The Stand . Both books made an impression on me and I can remember reading them like it was yesterday instead of thirty-three years.
"The Stand" I have since re-read multiple times, but not "Ariel". I did write a review a few years ago of "Ariel" in which I stated that I did not want to return to the book since I was concerned that the fond memories would be dashed by the passing years. However Elegy Beach was a different story and I actually found myself want to revisit Pete and Ariel and see how the passing years have treated them. However, initially, I found myself with a twenty-something who wasn't doing much of anything.
Once again, the narrator is a young man in his early twenties, but this times it's Pete's son, Fred. Approximately twenty-five years have passed since the events in "Ariel" and a generation has come of age that has never known anything, but the world after The Change. Pete is now a middle-aged man with all the baggage that one accumulates while his son doesn't care about the world that used to exist and is ready to get on with his life.
Since it's been several decades since I read the first book I can't say if the sequel is more sophisticated, but I suspect it probably is. Steven Boyett wrote "Ariel" when he was in his late teens and early twenties (first couple years of college). Others have remarked that in many ways "Ariel" reads like a Young Adult book and that makes sense. He was a young adult when he wrote it so it's going to have that perspective and attitude. By the time he got around to writing Elegy Beach he was in his Forties. Decades of life are going to color one's perspective and one's writing is going to become more textured and complex. Life has a way of doing that to people.
In the afterword Boyett writes that initially Pete and Ariel were going to just be supporting characters to Fred, but that approximately halfway through writing the book Pete and Ariel's story joined Fred's story. It's this joining that gives the novel the star and a half. When Pete and Ariel step in the book finds its footing. It isn't bad, but it isn't as interesting when it's just Fred. His story lacks the adventure that that has made "Ariel" such a favorite. Fred has no familiar to interact with and he comes across as a bit of a slacker (I'm now Fifty so forgive me for sounding like a curmudgeon) trying to find his way. Not really all that engrossing until the elders get involved and then things start to pop.
"Elegy Beach" is an ok book that gets better at the halfway point. It tends to drag at first, but gets better. I was happy to re-visit the world of "The Change" and enjoyed it. One can't go home again, but you can go back for a short visit and have coffee with your old friends.
I read Ariel in the fall of 1985. I was a high school senior that year and I had recently finished Stephen King's post-apocalyptic classic ( it probably wasn't considered a classic in 1985) The Stand . Both books made an impression on me and I can remember reading them like it was yesterday instead of thirty-three years.
"The Stand" I have since re-read multiple times, but not "Ariel". I did write a review a few years ago of "Ariel" in which I stated that I did not want to return to the book since I was concerned that the fond memories would be dashed by the passing years. However Elegy Beach was a different story and I actually found myself want to revisit Pete and Ariel and see how the passing years have treated them. However, initially, I found myself with a twenty-something who wasn't doing much of anything.
Once again, the narrator is a young man in his early twenties, but this times it's Pete's son, Fred. Approximately twenty-five years have passed since the events in "Ariel" and a generation has come of age that has never known anything, but the world after The Change. Pete is now a middle-aged man with all the baggage that one accumulates while his son doesn't care about the world that used to exist and is ready to get on with his life.
Since it's been several decades since I read the first book I can't say if the sequel is more sophisticated, but I suspect it probably is. Steven Boyett wrote "Ariel" when he was in his late teens and early twenties (first couple years of college). Others have remarked that in many ways "Ariel" reads like a Young Adult book and that makes sense. He was a young adult when he wrote it so it's going to have that perspective and attitude. By the time he got around to writing Elegy Beach he was in his Forties. Decades of life are going to color one's perspective and one's writing is going to become more textured and complex. Life has a way of doing that to people.
In the afterword Boyett writes that initially Pete and Ariel were going to just be supporting characters to Fred, but that approximately halfway through writing the book Pete and Ariel's story joined Fred's story. It's this joining that gives the novel the star and a half. When Pete and Ariel step in the book finds its footing. It isn't bad, but it isn't as interesting when it's just Fred. His story lacks the adventure that that has made "Ariel" such a favorite. Fred has no familiar to interact with and he comes across as a bit of a slacker (I'm now Fifty so forgive me for sounding like a curmudgeon) trying to find his way. Not really all that engrossing until the elders get involved and then things start to pop.
"Elegy Beach" is an ok book that gets better at the halfway point. It tends to drag at first, but gets better. I was happy to re-visit the world of "The Change" and enjoyed it. One can't go home again, but you can go back for a short visit and have coffee with your old friends.
December 23, 2012
Fred has grown up in a post-Change world. Magic has become a new tool for protection as well as for trinkets - but no one really understands the way it works. It's all part of the trading world that has become the commerce industry. He is 17 and apprenticed out to the resident caster, but he feels as though he has more talent than PayPay is allowing him to use. His best friend, Yan, is learning casting from Fred, but they're also going further and faster than PayPay would have allowed. They have a theory that magic is the science of the post-Change world. that it's similar to programming a computer, in that there is a language that the universe understands.
I really like the way magic is approached in this novel. It makes the very vague Change from the first book make a little bit more sense. They explain that somewhere in the world at 4:30 on the day of the Change, something - we don't know what - happened that changed the laws of physics. As the world rotated into that spot in the universe, the whole of the world changed. Some of the old rules of the world still applied, like gravity, but for the laws of physics just changed in such a way that magic became the new science. It became the new reality. I really like this approach. The author gets big props for this after how randomly vague the first book was. This was still vague, but in a more thoughtful, thought out approach.
Yan at one point in the novel is offended by what PayPay says, and burns down his shop. Finding this out, Fred kicks him out of town. This is when Ariel, the unicorn, returns. She has a story of caster who killed her mate, which from the kind of magic that was done, Fred assumes it was Yan. With Pete, Yan's father, and of course Ariel they head out to find and stop Yan. Finding his grimoire, Fred learns that what Yan really wants to do with the power that he has discovered is reverse the Change, in effect killing Ariel and all the supernatural creatures that came with her.
This book in some ways is leaps and bounds better than Ariel, in that it had a much juicier plot and it was less skittish about sex. It seemed like a much more grounded novel, even though it wasn't any less fantasy-driven. However, do you have any idea how difficult it is to read a book when the author doesn't always use question marks. It's hard to tell what is a question, versus a statement. Isn't it. He used them sometimes, but damn it was difficult to read other times.
A fun read, for sure, better than Ariel, but not really anything special at the same time.
I really like the way magic is approached in this novel. It makes the very vague Change from the first book make a little bit more sense. They explain that somewhere in the world at 4:30 on the day of the Change, something - we don't know what - happened that changed the laws of physics. As the world rotated into that spot in the universe, the whole of the world changed. Some of the old rules of the world still applied, like gravity, but for the laws of physics just changed in such a way that magic became the new science. It became the new reality. I really like this approach. The author gets big props for this after how randomly vague the first book was. This was still vague, but in a more thoughtful, thought out approach.
Yan at one point in the novel is offended by what PayPay says, and burns down his shop. Finding this out, Fred kicks him out of town. This is when Ariel, the unicorn, returns. She has a story of caster who killed her mate, which from the kind of magic that was done, Fred assumes it was Yan. With Pete, Yan's father, and of course Ariel they head out to find and stop Yan. Finding his grimoire, Fred learns that what Yan really wants to do with the power that he has discovered is reverse the Change, in effect killing Ariel and all the supernatural creatures that came with her.
This book in some ways is leaps and bounds better than Ariel, in that it had a much juicier plot and it was less skittish about sex. It seemed like a much more grounded novel, even though it wasn't any less fantasy-driven. However, do you have any idea how difficult it is to read a book when the author doesn't always use question marks. It's hard to tell what is a question, versus a statement. Isn't it. He used them sometimes, but damn it was difficult to read other times.
A fun read, for sure, better than Ariel, but not really anything special at the same time.
November 12, 2019
I must admit that I have rather mixed feeling about this sequel to Ariel. On an emotional, major-story-arc level, it turned out to be a satisfying sequel. Though the main narrator of the first book (Pak) isn't the narrator here, his story that began in Ariel does come to a satisfying conclusion. Ariel's story as well, for that matter is greatly enriched here. I think that it would largely work as a standalone novel, too - and actually, in many ways, it might be more satisfying as a standalone novel because I must admit that the minutiae of this as a sequel is a bit...irksome.
Basically, the premise of the first book is that in the 1980s a great Change occurred stopping all machinery and technology from working and magical creatures once again walked the land. This sequel, however, incorporates A LOT of post 1980s technology like solar powered iPods which feels like a huge disconnect. Also, I think that this would have been a stronger book with some research on urban neglect (like to read or even just watch that World Without Us series). I also feel like botulism would be a real killer if people are still eating 30+ year old canned food would be a bigger health problem. I know that this is a fantasy novel and that you should suspend disbelief, but this just felt like too much of a stretch - especially since the characters have names like Pete, Fred and Bob. Credulity can only be toyed with for so much before it crosses into being annoying.
Another odd cohesion error is that in the first book, pollution was "cured"... yet its corruptive force played a rather large role here! Boyett made his thoughts known on being against sequel, and though I did enjoy this, I think that maybe he should've stuck with his guns and just wrote the book that he wanted to write...
Oh - one last odd thing - when the numbers were written in this book, they were missing hyphens!! So odd and distracting!! And the overall pacing of this book is rather uneven...
Basically, the premise of the first book is that in the 1980s a great Change occurred stopping all machinery and technology from working and magical creatures once again walked the land. This sequel, however, incorporates A LOT of post 1980s technology like solar powered iPods which feels like a huge disconnect. Also, I think that this would have been a stronger book with some research on urban neglect (like to read or even just watch that World Without Us series). I also feel like botulism would be a real killer if people are still eating 30+ year old canned food would be a bigger health problem. I know that this is a fantasy novel and that you should suspend disbelief, but this just felt like too much of a stretch - especially since the characters have names like Pete, Fred and Bob. Credulity can only be toyed with for so much before it crosses into being annoying.
Another odd cohesion error is that in the first book, pollution was "cured"... yet its corruptive force played a rather large role here! Boyett made his thoughts known on being against sequel, and though I did enjoy this, I think that maybe he should've stuck with his guns and just wrote the book that he wanted to write...
Oh - one last odd thing - when the numbers were written in this book, they were missing hyphens!! So odd and distracting!! And the overall pacing of this book is rather uneven...
December 27, 2009
I first read Ariel A Book of the Change a year ago. "What a wonderful world Mr. Boyett has written for himself," I thought," I hope he does something else with it." Well, this long awaited sequel to Ariel does not disappoint. The author's writing style has certainly matured over the years without losing it's sense of innocence and wit. There is an alarming tendency in the fantasy genre for a series set in the same world with characters that carry over from episode to episode to gradually become less satisfying the farther the series goes. I'm not sure if this is due to the reader getting past the honeymoon phase with the characters or world, or maybe that some authors get a little, ummm, comfortable with their characters and plot arcs and archetypes etc. Boyett walks a fine line here, with enough nostalgia to satisfy those who just wanted Ariel 2: Revenge of the Unicorn, while still covering some new ground.
However, I do have a few minor quibbles that knocked my rating down a bit. CAUTION: HERE BE SPOILERS! The Change originally seemed to be dated to the publication of the original book in 1983 TO ME, yet there are Starbucks and iPods in sections. A case can be made for the Change to have happened in 2000, or 5 years in the future, or whenever, but stil, and I repeat this is just a personal opinion, it proved a bit of a bump in my suspension of disbelief when I got to those points. Yes, I know what you are thinking, talking unicorn, no problem, but an iPod lost in time and I'm put off? That's why it's a minor quibble.
Quibble the Second: Bob. Really? The character is fine, just his introduction and subsequent integration into the party seemed really, really forced and magicked. It felt as though Boyett might have written himself into a corner, and hoped we wouldn't notice the big bootprints of awkwardness that led to the next room as we passed through to get to the really good stuff. Other than that though, he was, errr, ok. I guess.
Quibble C: Little heavy on the foreshadowing with Pete. Was not surprised or startled at all, and almost said,"finally..." to myself towards the end.
As I said before, all minor, some probably imaginary on my part, I forgive you, Steve. HERE ENDETH THE SPOILERS
If I had the option, I would have given this book a 4.5, but since there are no half stars I will have to say a 4. I don't read a whole lot of fantasy, but the few that I do manage to read are awfully good, as was this. There is enough backstory given in the book to read it cold, but I recommend you go read Ariel first, especially since Ace published a nice paperback reissue not too long ago, and some of the funnier touches are better appreciated with it fresh in your mind.
One last little note: I noticed Cory Doctorow did a blurb for the book, and while I know he covered Steven Boyett on Boing Boing for both his writing and his podcasting (he does Podrunner, if ya didn't know), I can't help but think that he only did it because Disneyland is mentioned. J/K Cory.
However, I do have a few minor quibbles that knocked my rating down a bit. CAUTION: HERE BE SPOILERS! The Change originally seemed to be dated to the publication of the original book in 1983 TO ME, yet there are Starbucks and iPods in sections. A case can be made for the Change to have happened in 2000, or 5 years in the future, or whenever, but stil, and I repeat this is just a personal opinion, it proved a bit of a bump in my suspension of disbelief when I got to those points. Yes, I know what you are thinking, talking unicorn, no problem, but an iPod lost in time and I'm put off? That's why it's a minor quibble.
Quibble the Second: Bob. Really? The character is fine, just his introduction and subsequent integration into the party seemed really, really forced and magicked. It felt as though Boyett might have written himself into a corner, and hoped we wouldn't notice the big bootprints of awkwardness that led to the next room as we passed through to get to the really good stuff. Other than that though, he was, errr, ok. I guess.
Quibble C: Little heavy on the foreshadowing with Pete. Was not surprised or startled at all, and almost said,"finally..." to myself towards the end.
As I said before, all minor, some probably imaginary on my part, I forgive you, Steve. HERE ENDETH THE SPOILERS
If I had the option, I would have given this book a 4.5, but since there are no half stars I will have to say a 4. I don't read a whole lot of fantasy, but the few that I do manage to read are awfully good, as was this. There is enough backstory given in the book to read it cold, but I recommend you go read Ariel first, especially since Ace published a nice paperback reissue not too long ago, and some of the funnier touches are better appreciated with it fresh in your mind.
One last little note: I noticed Cory Doctorow did a blurb for the book, and while I know he covered Steven Boyett on Boing Boing for both his writing and his podcasting (he does Podrunner, if ya didn't know), I can't help but think that he only did it because Disneyland is mentioned. J/K Cory.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 30, 2010
First, in terms of style, this book was a little disappointing. I understand it's a first-person account from a 17 year old, but some of the dialogue was just so horrible! And there were some confusing parts. Perhaps they were supposed to be ambiguous because our narrator is not fully matured yet or whatever, but it was weird. As a reader, I just found those moments a little bit discordant.
Second, the content was actually pretty good. It was an interesting take on a post-apocalyptic world, where technology has stopped working almost entirely and magic has displaced it. Obviously, Boyett is arguing that magic and technology can't fully coexist with each other. Or, perhaps, humans and technology and magic can't fully coexist with each other. You see this more with Yan's horrible desire to combine the two. In any case it made for a very Book of Eli setting. There are wide expanses of wild land and then small, but intense concentrations of people. As well as the usual wandering bandits, riffraff, and crazies of course.
It's also interesting that there is the theme of entitlement. Pre-Changers, the people who remember the world as we know it, are struggling with the next generation, trying to inspire in them the pioneering spirit that so characterizes the human race. At one point, Pete argues that all the next generation is ever going to aspire to is living in the carcasses of the last. I think it's an apt description for the upcoming generations now. We're losing the ability to appreciate what came before us. I feel like a lot of the younger kids aren't fully understanding the impact of the Civil Rights Movement or the Vietnam War.
But I think the strongest theme in the book is the acceptance of loss. Constantly, these characters are having to deal with loss. The loss of life as they knew it, the loss of friends, sons, fathers, the loss of innocence. Not all of it is dramatic or intense or even remarked upon. Sometimes, it's just time moving on while people are struggling to just stay in place.
But seriously, a smart-ass unicorn? Sorry, but it was kind of annoying. Then again, I'm not really that accepting of characters like that at all, even if she weren't a mythical, immortal creature who is usually portrayed as beautiful and wise.
Second, the content was actually pretty good. It was an interesting take on a post-apocalyptic world, where technology has stopped working almost entirely and magic has displaced it. Obviously, Boyett is arguing that magic and technology can't fully coexist with each other. Or, perhaps, humans and technology and magic can't fully coexist with each other. You see this more with Yan's horrible desire to combine the two. In any case it made for a very Book of Eli setting. There are wide expanses of wild land and then small, but intense concentrations of people. As well as the usual wandering bandits, riffraff, and crazies of course.
It's also interesting that there is the theme of entitlement. Pre-Changers, the people who remember the world as we know it, are struggling with the next generation, trying to inspire in them the pioneering spirit that so characterizes the human race. At one point, Pete argues that all the next generation is ever going to aspire to is living in the carcasses of the last. I think it's an apt description for the upcoming generations now. We're losing the ability to appreciate what came before us. I feel like a lot of the younger kids aren't fully understanding the impact of the Civil Rights Movement or the Vietnam War.
But I think the strongest theme in the book is the acceptance of loss. Constantly, these characters are having to deal with loss. The loss of life as they knew it, the loss of friends, sons, fathers, the loss of innocence. Not all of it is dramatic or intense or even remarked upon. Sometimes, it's just time moving on while people are struggling to just stay in place.
But seriously, a smart-ass unicorn? Sorry, but it was kind of annoying. Then again, I'm not really that accepting of characters like that at all, even if she weren't a mythical, immortal creature who is usually portrayed as beautiful and wise.
March 25, 2010
The sequels are never as good as the original. In the case of "Elegy Beach", I'm tempted to make an exception. It has the punch of the original (familiar characters return) with a new cast of magicians and nefarious gangsters of the Rasputin kind. There are some great moments in this book that when you reach them it's like a old friend stopping in for a chat over tea. Much of this tome feels like that and it's a welcome feeling.
The are moments of friendship rekindled, fears reborn and ultimately the question of returning everything to normal runs center to the end of this story. Instead of bashing you head in with the ideas it allows you to think on your own as the drama plays out as you read. I had a hard time deciding if the events had happened to me...what would I do?
Would I inspire to restart the industrial revolution in favor of the magical one that was now shaping the earth from coast to coast? It's a pretty fun question and the book exacts its point fairly cleanly. I enjoyed the ending as it gives us hope and a happy ending. It doesn't shy away from the reality of life and what it means.
I enjoyed it and would pick it up again to read through all the things I enjoyed and even some that I may have missed.
The are moments of friendship rekindled, fears reborn and ultimately the question of returning everything to normal runs center to the end of this story. Instead of bashing you head in with the ideas it allows you to think on your own as the drama plays out as you read. I had a hard time deciding if the events had happened to me...what would I do?
Would I inspire to restart the industrial revolution in favor of the magical one that was now shaping the earth from coast to coast? It's a pretty fun question and the book exacts its point fairly cleanly. I enjoyed the ending as it gives us hope and a happy ending. It doesn't shy away from the reality of life and what it means.
I enjoyed it and would pick it up again to read through all the things I enjoyed and even some that I may have missed.
May 13, 2010
I think the forewards and afterwards to this and Ariel are required reading. These books are such intimate works by Boyett, this novel is essentially a grown-up reflection on the adolescent dreams and feelings of the first one.
One thing that isn't entirely clear to me is why (spoiler!) reversing the Change is automatically considered a bad thing. Reading this, that wasn't axiomatic at all. For one thing, all of the magic users ply their craft literally on the ashes of the old world (propane stoves, for example). They might seem to have to have it made right now but sooner or later that stuff is going to run out, and then what? It seemed to me that the only reasons not to attempt reversing the Change were because 1) Fred's generation didn't like the idea and it would be a big adjustment for them and 2) Ariel and other improbable creatures would wink out of existence. Maybe I was too sympathetic to Old Pete but neither one of those things seemed like particularly difficult sacrifices to make.
One thing that isn't entirely clear to me is why (spoiler!) reversing the Change is automatically considered a bad thing. Reading this, that wasn't axiomatic at all. For one thing, all of the magic users ply their craft literally on the ashes of the old world (propane stoves, for example). They might seem to have to have it made right now but sooner or later that stuff is going to run out, and then what? It seemed to me that the only reasons not to attempt reversing the Change were because 1) Fred's generation didn't like the idea and it would be a big adjustment for them and 2) Ariel and other improbable creatures would wink out of existence. Maybe I was too sympathetic to Old Pete but neither one of those things seemed like particularly difficult sacrifices to make.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 4, 2011
It was a page-turner, and the world was better thought-out and/or described than it was in "Ariel".
There were some authorial mannerisms, though, that started annoying me early on and got increasingly irritating as they went on and on and on. The worst was the lack of question marks after most questions, both in dialog and in interior monologue. Did he think this was a clever trick when used over and over and over again. Did he think it added to the uniqueness of the voices when pretty much everyone did it. Was it the goal to make it seem like everyone spoke and the narrator thought in a robotic monotone. -Et cetera.
Combined with sentence fragments that could well have been crafted into actual sentences... well the voice was grating early on and just got worse.
Decent plotting, reasonably well-thought-out world, poor characterization, and really annoying voice; obviously, my personal take on it.
There were some authorial mannerisms, though, that started annoying me early on and got increasingly irritating as they went on and on and on. The worst was the lack of question marks after most questions, both in dialog and in interior monologue. Did he think this was a clever trick when used over and over and over again. Did he think it added to the uniqueness of the voices when pretty much everyone did it. Was it the goal to make it seem like everyone spoke and the narrator thought in a robotic monotone. -Et cetera.
Combined with sentence fragments that could well have been crafted into actual sentences... well the voice was grating early on and just got worse.
Decent plotting, reasonably well-thought-out world, poor characterization, and really annoying voice; obviously, my personal take on it.
May 28, 2013
I cried so many tears in the last 50 or so pages of this book, its amazing I didn't pass out from dehydration. A worthy sequel to one of my favorite books of all time.
Read
January 2, 2021If you've been wondering for the last thirty years whatever happened to Pete and Ariel, from Boyett's novel of The Change, then this is your opportunity to find out, in a story set thirty years later in that world. The novel takes place for the most part near Del Mar, California, from the viewpoint of Pete's son, Fred. Yes, Pete named his son after his sword; something Freudian there, perhaps.
Fred is apprenticed to the resident spell caster in town, nicknamed Pay Pay, and is chafing a bit at the pace that he's being taught. He and his friend, Yan, have begun experimenting with spell casting, working from some "libbed" grimoires. There's a type of spell called a stasis spell, that turns objects into shimmering silver statues, basically, and which is impervious to all forces. No one has ever figured out how to remove a stasis spell, but it's theorized that time doesn't pass inside of the spell, so there would probably be all kinds of nifty uses for a counterspell, especially in a world without refrigeration.
One of the things that Boyett gets into a bit more in this novel is the idea that some of the old laws of physics still seem to work, while others don't, though the characters never exactly figure out why one thing is allowed and not another. Simple pumps still work, while gears will not (I think Boyett violates this in one scene where they jump into a car on a grade and use it to coast downhill faster than their enemies can run - the steering still works - aren't there gears in a steering box?). Not quite sure why crossbows still work, if they have to be cranked to cock. Some minor inconsistencies here and there, but it doesn't really distract from the story.
Fred and Yan eventually come up with a way to create a stasis spell with a flaw in it that will allow it to be removed at a later time. They take some of these pre-packaged spells to a local flea market to drum up business. The great thing about these spells is that anyone can use them, if they have the unlocking words. Yan's experiments finally get out of hand when he takes revenge on Pay Pay after he figures out the password to some of his and Fred's new toys, and Yan burns down his shop in retaliation. Fred confronts him and tells him he must leave town before Fred has to tell his father and the rest of the town who is responsible for the fire.
Yan leaves, but continues to work with magic, finally discovering a way that he thinks he can reverse The Change. No one, least of all the magical creatures, thinks this is a good idea. Around this time, Ariel shows up, and the big reveal, which we readers probably already have figured out is that Fred's dad is Pete from the earlier book. Yan has killed Ariel's companion, another unicorn, and stolen his horn. Unicorn horns are objects of great power, and it's part of the spell he is building that will destroy the world as we know it now.
And so the quest begins, not so much different from the quest in Ariel. Pete, Fred, Ariel and Yan's father decide they have to stop the rogue magician before he can complete his evil plot. They set out on a long journey to the villain's lair, with plenty of magic and mayhem along the way.
Nice to finally wrap the story up, after all these years.
Fred is apprenticed to the resident spell caster in town, nicknamed Pay Pay, and is chafing a bit at the pace that he's being taught. He and his friend, Yan, have begun experimenting with spell casting, working from some "libbed" grimoires. There's a type of spell called a stasis spell, that turns objects into shimmering silver statues, basically, and which is impervious to all forces. No one has ever figured out how to remove a stasis spell, but it's theorized that time doesn't pass inside of the spell, so there would probably be all kinds of nifty uses for a counterspell, especially in a world without refrigeration.
One of the things that Boyett gets into a bit more in this novel is the idea that some of the old laws of physics still seem to work, while others don't, though the characters never exactly figure out why one thing is allowed and not another. Simple pumps still work, while gears will not (I think Boyett violates this in one scene where they jump into a car on a grade and use it to coast downhill faster than their enemies can run - the steering still works - aren't there gears in a steering box?). Not quite sure why crossbows still work, if they have to be cranked to cock. Some minor inconsistencies here and there, but it doesn't really distract from the story.
Fred and Yan eventually come up with a way to create a stasis spell with a flaw in it that will allow it to be removed at a later time. They take some of these pre-packaged spells to a local flea market to drum up business. The great thing about these spells is that anyone can use them, if they have the unlocking words. Yan's experiments finally get out of hand when he takes revenge on Pay Pay after he figures out the password to some of his and Fred's new toys, and Yan burns down his shop in retaliation. Fred confronts him and tells him he must leave town before Fred has to tell his father and the rest of the town who is responsible for the fire.
Yan leaves, but continues to work with magic, finally discovering a way that he thinks he can reverse The Change. No one, least of all the magical creatures, thinks this is a good idea. Around this time, Ariel shows up, and the big reveal, which we readers probably already have figured out is that Fred's dad is Pete from the earlier book. Yan has killed Ariel's companion, another unicorn, and stolen his horn. Unicorn horns are objects of great power, and it's part of the spell he is building that will destroy the world as we know it now.
And so the quest begins, not so much different from the quest in Ariel. Pete, Fred, Ariel and Yan's father decide they have to stop the rogue magician before he can complete his evil plot. They set out on a long journey to the villain's lair, with plenty of magic and mayhem along the way.
Nice to finally wrap the story up, after all these years.
April 6, 2020
This is definitely one of those books that stays with you after you've read it and hits hard and deep for an emotional level and impact.
I read the original, unrevised Ariel many years ago. Recommended to me by a friend. That book was a very good romp and read and then hits you at the end.
Elegy Beach feels as if it hits harder and deeper.
I will talk about the magic. Going back to Ariel, one-day magic returns to the world and science and the laws of physics as humanity understood them stops working. Chaos ensues.
In Elegy Beach, we follow the next generation where one person decides they want the "Old World" of Science and Physics back, at any costs and length.
I'll mention that as I don't see how one half-grown boy will manage to figure out and undo something so cosmically huge. Now maybe, if an idea borrowed from the Borderlands series where done where a ward is made to have a "pocket of the mundane" exist. I just don't see a half-grown boy doing it so easily. Especially with how haphazard of what works and doesn't work for it to be magic, science or it's just really simple a wheel is going to turn because it's round and pulled by a horse. A fire will start because that's what happens when you strike flint and steel together.
They can get a Goodyear Blimp to fly because it's "simple enough"
While I find the explanations for magic a bit clunky and what will and won't work when science and physics involved inconsistent.... I totally get where if characters don't know, to me, there's just a sense of inconsistent.
The emotional toll, impact and journey hits hard and is very somber.
One of those books that will just stick with you, becoming a part of your soul.
I read the original, unrevised Ariel many years ago. Recommended to me by a friend. That book was a very good romp and read and then hits you at the end.
Elegy Beach feels as if it hits harder and deeper.
I will talk about the magic. Going back to Ariel, one-day magic returns to the world and science and the laws of physics as humanity understood them stops working. Chaos ensues.
In Elegy Beach, we follow the next generation where one person decides they want the "Old World" of Science and Physics back, at any costs and length.
I'll mention that as I don't see how one half-grown boy will manage to figure out and undo something so cosmically huge. Now maybe, if an idea borrowed from the Borderlands series where done where a ward is made to have a "pocket of the mundane" exist. I just don't see a half-grown boy doing it so easily. Especially with how haphazard of what works and doesn't work for it to be magic, science or it's just really simple a wheel is going to turn because it's round and pulled by a horse. A fire will start because that's what happens when you strike flint and steel together.
They can get a Goodyear Blimp to fly because it's "simple enough"
While I find the explanations for magic a bit clunky and what will and won't work when science and physics involved inconsistent.... I totally get where if characters don't know, to me, there's just a sense of inconsistent.
The emotional toll, impact and journey hits hard and is very somber.
One of those books that will just stick with you, becoming a part of your soul.
September 19, 2021
This is the 2009 stand-alone sequel to Ariel, a book the author wrote a lifetime ago in 1983, and although it has a bit of crossover in its cast, gives us a lot of new faces and entirely new locations, and really dives deeply into an ingenious magic system that underlies the interesting premise. The author revisits the world he created for Ariel, one where mythical creatures roam, guns and gunpowder no longer works, what's left of humanity clings to small coastal towns for safety and community, and magic is real. The author digs deep here to flesh out an incredible magic system and explanation, which I appreciated, but there were some similarities to the first novel which weighed down both the plot and the pacing.
Towards the last half of the novel I started to really speed up reading through elaborately detailed descriptions of clearly real-world places that we did not need, there were some spots throughout the book where there was so much showing it became telling, and was uninteresting skim-fodder for me. I'd prefer it if he stayed focused on the characters and what's going on in their heads versus explain the entire layout of a building that's only gonna pop up for a few minutes.
Rapid-fire witty repartee throughout (thank the unicorn) kept the dialog moving, and the stakes seemed sufficiently high for all involved, but again, the end of the book sort of fell apart for me with quick, unsatisfying wrap ups and characters just disappearing in the night. Overall a slightly better book for me than the original, but I think if a 3rd book in the series popped up, I'd give it a pass.
Towards the last half of the novel I started to really speed up reading through elaborately detailed descriptions of clearly real-world places that we did not need, there were some spots throughout the book where there was so much showing it became telling, and was uninteresting skim-fodder for me. I'd prefer it if he stayed focused on the characters and what's going on in their heads versus explain the entire layout of a building that's only gonna pop up for a few minutes.
Rapid-fire witty repartee throughout (thank the unicorn) kept the dialog moving, and the stakes seemed sufficiently high for all involved, but again, the end of the book sort of fell apart for me with quick, unsatisfying wrap ups and characters just disappearing in the night. Overall a slightly better book for me than the original, but I think if a 3rd book in the series popped up, I'd give it a pass.
August 28, 2020
Thirty years ago the lights went out, the airplanes fell, the cars went still, the cities all went dark. The laws humanity had always known were replaced by new laws that could only be called magic. The world had Changed forever. Or had it?
'Elegy Beach' is a sequel to Steven R. Boyett's 'Ariel: A Book of Change' after a 26-year interval. In 2009, which there is a second mass reproduction of the book, he started to write Elegy Beach. 'Ariel' which was originally published in 1983 was never meant to have a successor but the skeptical mind of the author wanders the thought of 'spellware'. The so-called 'spellware' (software micro spell) was used by Fred, Pete's son in casting spells with his friend Yan. However, Yan's obsession to power and using it to alter the Change drives Fred to stand against him. Fred's journey in stopping Yan accompanied by Pete, Ariel, Dr. Ram (Yan's father), Avy (a strange werewolf) and Bob (a centaur) will take the readers to a whole new level of fantasy, adventure and life. There are parts that I laugh myself out and it is very hard to stop once you start turning the pages. Honestly, there are some events that I totally feel lame and unconnected to some parts. It's funny, elegiac and heartfelt that one might need a tissue at the end.
'Elegy Beach' is a sequel to Steven R. Boyett's 'Ariel: A Book of Change' after a 26-year interval. In 2009, which there is a second mass reproduction of the book, he started to write Elegy Beach. 'Ariel' which was originally published in 1983 was never meant to have a successor but the skeptical mind of the author wanders the thought of 'spellware'. The so-called 'spellware' (software micro spell) was used by Fred, Pete's son in casting spells with his friend Yan. However, Yan's obsession to power and using it to alter the Change drives Fred to stand against him. Fred's journey in stopping Yan accompanied by Pete, Ariel, Dr. Ram (Yan's father), Avy (a strange werewolf) and Bob (a centaur) will take the readers to a whole new level of fantasy, adventure and life. There are parts that I laugh myself out and it is very hard to stop once you start turning the pages. Honestly, there are some events that I totally feel lame and unconnected to some parts. It's funny, elegiac and heartfelt that one might need a tissue at the end.
May 24, 2020
Well that was a journey
A five star rating from me is very rare . I read Ariel when my son was young then got him to read it when he was 12 . It is his favourite book of all time ,what this says of him or I ,I have no idea . I see Elegy Beach through my 1990 eyes and it blew me away . Fred ,the son not the sword is growing up in this world which to his father and others was a world of change but to him is just his world. Spellware ,what a concept . I wish I was a writer because my mind is going 1000 miles an hour with where this could take Boyett's world. Read this tragedy, is it ?
A five star rating from me is very rare . I read Ariel when my son was young then got him to read it when he was 12 . It is his favourite book of all time ,what this says of him or I ,I have no idea . I see Elegy Beach through my 1990 eyes and it blew me away . Fred ,the son not the sword is growing up in this world which to his father and others was a world of change but to him is just his world. Spellware ,what a concept . I wish I was a writer because my mind is going 1000 miles an hour with where this could take Boyett's world. Read this tragedy, is it ?
September 8, 2023
It was interesting read esp if you read the first novel (and afternote) recently and is very aware the first novel was written + set in the 80s and the sequel is set later on in same amount of time as it took for publication. The narrative feels like a parallel of the father's journey only with more emphasis on how the magic system works in this changed world and how the new gen people like Fred harness it. Those are some O_O looking centaurs too! I think Fred is sort of similar to his father (as a young adult) only took up mage route. Interesting but also bittersweet to see Pete older and obviously time has taken a toll on the body + mind.
April 19, 2018
Steven Boyett crapped all over a piece of remarkable luck with this book. Ariel was a work of forgivable self indulgence. Or maybe it was celebratable for its self indulgence: the inescapable self indulgence of a child.
With its title, I was hoping Elegy Beach would have been written by a grown up, but I don't take away any sense of maturity from the story. Spoiled. Entitled. Self important. Those are the words that bubble up in my gut at the end of last page.
This is a sequel written less out of love and more out of resentment, and it's terribly disappointing.
With its title, I was hoping Elegy Beach would have been written by a grown up, but I don't take away any sense of maturity from the story. Spoiled. Entitled. Self important. Those are the words that bubble up in my gut at the end of last page.
This is a sequel written less out of love and more out of resentment, and it's terribly disappointing.
August 18, 2020
Friendship, Love, Magic.and a Road Trip.
In 1983 Boyett published Ariel. One day all technology dies, and magic and magic creatures appear. Pete and the unicorn, Ariel befriend each other. Now 30 years later, Pete's teenage son Fred and his friend Yan are taking a scientific approach to magic unbecoming powerful magicians. But Yan wants to bring back the old scientific road, and leaves. Ariel returns and Pete, his father,Ariel and Yan's Father leave town to find and stop Yan. That is the adventure, but really it is a story about loss. Very well written.
In 1983 Boyett published Ariel. One day all technology dies, and magic and magic creatures appear. Pete and the unicorn, Ariel befriend each other. Now 30 years later, Pete's teenage son Fred and his friend Yan are taking a scientific approach to magic unbecoming powerful magicians. But Yan wants to bring back the old scientific road, and leaves. Ariel returns and Pete, his father,Ariel and Yan's Father leave town to find and stop Yan. That is the adventure, but really it is a story about loss. Very well written.
July 11, 2017
This book an its companion Ariel. How to explain them. Centaurs and unicorns and werewolves, oh my. Ok, so fantasy. Wait, no, it's apocalypse. No, crime drama. Um, high fantasy. Oh, coming of age tale. How do you mix all this together? This author somehow successfully manages it. Highly enjoyable books.Zaza
October 17, 2017
I did not read 'Ariel', so I came into this novel with no knowledge of "the change". The story was good, but about 100 pages too long. I'm generally a fast reader, but parts of the book just seemed to linger on...and on...and on.... I found the magic concept very interesting and would love to see it explored in another work.
July 6, 2017
Every bit as good as the first novel Ariel. Steven Boyett has a gift of creating a world that pulls you in and keeps your imagination running wild the entire time. I can't wait to read his next novel in the series.
August 8, 2017
I'm so glad I had read Ariel first (about a year ago). I didn't realize this was the sequel until I was quite a ways into it, I just thought it was another book by the same author. What a great story!
September 15, 2017
Not as compelling as the first book, Ariel, but I'm not in high school anymore either.
April 23, 2018
A really good, solid read. I read Ariel first, but this really is the best thing I’ve read by Boyett.
September 10, 2018
BAD- DIDN'T READ
September 16, 2019
Deep
This author is unique. He blends sci-fi with a deep introspective look into humanity. Read it. Read Ariel first though.
This author is unique. He blends sci-fi with a deep introspective look into humanity. Read it. Read Ariel first though.
October 29, 2024
Excellent wrap up to an earlier story line
August 5, 2020
Elegy Beach is the sequel to Ariel: A Book of the Change, and you might call it “Ariel, the Next Generation,” except it isn’t quite like that at all. Yes, the protagonist is the son of Pete Garey, the protagonist (and not quite hero) of Ariel, but the writer takes his own sweet time getting around to admitting that yes, Pete went and had a mini-me.
The main plot of the story revolves around Fred going on a quest to stop his friend and fellow magic-user Yanamandra Ramchandani from accomplishing his goal of “correcting the Change” and turning everything back to “the way it was.” (An act that would kill a lot of creatures and people who wouldn’t be able to survive or even exist under the “old system.”)
Accompanying him on his quest is our friend from the previous book, Pete, Dr. Ram (Yan’s father) and Ariel, who turns up to let everyone know that Fred’s ex-friend is Up To No Good. On the way there are adventures and fights and obstacles to overcome and allies to gather as Fred and company travel cross country to where Yan’s lair is. There’s also great deal of sarcasm, the discovery that Ariel actually kind of stinks at being a unicorn (Pete obviously didn’t raise her right), bad jokes and extremely unhappy reunions.
I had a more or less mixed reaction to the sequel. On one hand, it’s a very entertaining story with interesting characters. On the other hand, there were also a few bits that threw me almost completely out of the story. The primary one is that the “fix” is too easy and too simple relatively speaking. It seems like something as big as having the rules of physics/reality suddenly (or not so suddenly) changing would require a greater effort or risk than seems to be indicated by the story line. The secondary one involves the anachronisms. Ariel roughly took place in the 80s (around the time the book was written in fact). In an effort to not appear to be “dated,” Elegy Beach’s Change apparently happened some time during or after the 90s. I feel that this was a mistake on the author’s part to “update” the setting. (Logically and thematically, it’s an alternate reality where the laws of physics have been changed from a specific point in time, suddenly changing the point in time when it occurred so as not to appear “dated” doesn’t actually make sense within the context of the story.) The third is a bit more subtle. Boyett’s mentioning of a group of Voudou practitioners Pete was helped by while he was wandering may seem offensive to those more familiar with it. Boyett does make a stab at admitting it’s a religion, then fails by turning the loas into a kind of demon, and giving the group traits similar to a cult (brainwashing, coercive membership, threats of group or divine disfavor if a member tries to leave, etc.). I found this to be off-putting, but not bad enough to entirely stop reading–your mileage may vary.
Despite the problems I found, I truly enjoyed this book. The rocky relationship between Fred and Pete was interesting and complicated, and nicely balanced with the more positive relationships Fred has with Dr. Ram and Paypay, the man who taught Fred magic. I also enjoyed the interactions between Pete and Ariel, and Ariel and everyone else.
The main plot of the story revolves around Fred going on a quest to stop his friend and fellow magic-user Yanamandra Ramchandani from accomplishing his goal of “correcting the Change” and turning everything back to “the way it was.” (An act that would kill a lot of creatures and people who wouldn’t be able to survive or even exist under the “old system.”)
Accompanying him on his quest is our friend from the previous book, Pete, Dr. Ram (Yan’s father) and Ariel, who turns up to let everyone know that Fred’s ex-friend is Up To No Good. On the way there are adventures and fights and obstacles to overcome and allies to gather as Fred and company travel cross country to where Yan’s lair is. There’s also great deal of sarcasm, the discovery that Ariel actually kind of stinks at being a unicorn (Pete obviously didn’t raise her right), bad jokes and extremely unhappy reunions.
I had a more or less mixed reaction to the sequel. On one hand, it’s a very entertaining story with interesting characters. On the other hand, there were also a few bits that threw me almost completely out of the story. The primary one is that the “fix” is too easy and too simple relatively speaking. It seems like something as big as having the rules of physics/reality suddenly (or not so suddenly) changing would require a greater effort or risk than seems to be indicated by the story line. The secondary one involves the anachronisms. Ariel roughly took place in the 80s (around the time the book was written in fact). In an effort to not appear to be “dated,” Elegy Beach’s Change apparently happened some time during or after the 90s. I feel that this was a mistake on the author’s part to “update” the setting. (Logically and thematically, it’s an alternate reality where the laws of physics have been changed from a specific point in time, suddenly changing the point in time when it occurred so as not to appear “dated” doesn’t actually make sense within the context of the story.) The third is a bit more subtle. Boyett’s mentioning of a group of Voudou practitioners Pete was helped by while he was wandering may seem offensive to those more familiar with it. Boyett does make a stab at admitting it’s a religion, then fails by turning the loas into a kind of demon, and giving the group traits similar to a cult (brainwashing, coercive membership, threats of group or divine disfavor if a member tries to leave, etc.). I found this to be off-putting, but not bad enough to entirely stop reading–your mileage may vary.
Despite the problems I found, I truly enjoyed this book. The rocky relationship between Fred and Pete was interesting and complicated, and nicely balanced with the more positive relationships Fred has with Dr. Ram and Paypay, the man who taught Fred magic. I also enjoyed the interactions between Pete and Ariel, and Ariel and everyone else.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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