Book Review: The Naming Song, by Jedediah Berry
The Naming Song by Jedediah Berry is an intriguing, engaging journey of enigmas, as much of this world has been an enigma to its inhabitants. Some kind of cataclysmic trauma has struck the world with collective amnesia, or transformed it beyond recognition, so that the words for all things have been lost. Now, diviners of the Names committee dream up words for people, objects, activities, and other concepts, and couriers deliver these Names; in so doing, they define and solidify the Named. The Named find it difficult to clearly perceive the nameless and their ways. So the only courier who is nameless, who is the protagonist of this book, is unique, merely tolerated for her utility under the protection of Book, the chair of the names committee. She rides the Number 12 train and delivers words to people in towns along the route. “She delivered stowaway. … The watchers were happy to have a word for those people. Easier to catch them that way.” There are also Sayers who say the laws that the Named must follow, and there is a Deletion Committee who decide when words are no longer appropriate, and must be unnamed; this includes Names of people, who are never seen again after that. Not all welcome this shaping of the world through defining it with names. The nameless, including people and monsters, have been attacking the Named – or is it the other way around? War is brewing. Meanwhile, the unnamed courier is lonely, missing her long-absent sister, Ticket, so she finds companionship with a patchwork ghost who draws and keeps records, with a small, furry beast who drops in on her occasionally, and with her lover, the diviner Beryl. But some time after she is attacked by a group of masked nameless people, and barely makes it back to the train, she is joined by a new companion: a monster who resembles her sister. The courier herself is put under investigation and flees. She and some of her companions join the Black Square Show, a traveling troupe of players who reenact the stories of how the world was made, and she keeps getting into trouble and finding out things. Eventually, that war that has been brewing comes to a head, and she has to choose sides. I loved this book. It’s very much its own thing, but it reminded me of some great books I’ve read (see below). The third-person prose is fairly simple and direct, even when describing the nebulous, but it expresses complex concepts well, as the courier begins to understand more and more of the world, its history, and the forces that move it. This helps make the courier very easy to empathize with in her questionings and evolution. I really enjoyed following the courier’s journey in this book, both physical and mental, through mysteries, through self-knowledge and growth, and through understanding of her world. It has interesting ideas, and it’s a really good read with a very satisfying conclusion. The Naming Song will be released Tuesday, Sept. 24, and can be preordered here. Content warnings: Violence, death, oppression, memories of childhood trauma. Also, there are some fairly horrific concepts in this book, such as calibration, what’s done to ghosts so that they become obedient servants, and even worse things that are done to ghosts and monsters. But it’s not a horror novel; it’s an adventure of travel and mysteries. Comps:Wheel of the Infinite, by Martha Wells: the traveling troupe, the puppet, and the regular redrawing and renewal of the worldA Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula K. LeGuin: having power over someone or something by knowing its true nameNinefox Gambit, by Yoon Ha Lee: Calendrical redefinitions of reality Disclaimer: I received a free eARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.
442. Red Dawn (1984) — Torture Cinema #118
https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/sand-f-episode-442-red-dawn/SandF_Episode_442_Red_Dawn.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSS80s politics, weird story choices, and Wolverines!!!, oh my! Shaun Duke, Alex Acks, and Paul Weimer join forces to discuss 1984’s most memorable jingoistic nuclear war film, Red Dawn. Together, they discuss the film’s history and impact, just what it takes to be a Wolverine, what the 80s were like, and so much more! Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the episode!
At the Movies #79: I Am Mother (2019)
https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/sandfatthemovies79iammother/SandF–At_the_Movies_79–I_Am_Mother.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSRobots, twisted motherhood, and Swankery, oh my! Shaun, Jen, Alex, and Paul join forces to discuss the truly compelling science fiction film, I Am Mother (2019). Together, our ragtag survivalist bunch talks about the film’s approach to motherhood, the power of independent SF cinema, the meaning of the film’s ending, and so much more. It’s a spoilerrific podcast, folks, but you know you won’t be able to resist. We hope you enjoy the episode!
Book Review: The Silver Scar by Betsy Dornbusch
Betsy Dornbusch’s The Silver Scar distills her epic fantasy skills into a potent single-volume epic set in a post-apocalypse Colorado. Post-Apocalypse Colorado is a hell of a place. There are Wiccans and Indigos in the mountains, some of whom still engage in eco terrorism. The communities of Denver and Boulder, fortress cities in this fallen age, are bastions of a Christianity that has gained its taste for crusade against the benighted people around. There are slavers who come up from wealthy and powerful Mexico, an additional complication for whose would trade and travel in this fallen world. Technology has somewhat fallen—bullets are expensive, so medieval weaponry and armor are much easier to make. Horses are as common as solar powered motorcycles and trucks (drays).
Book review: The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf by Ambelin Kwaymullina
As I mentioned back in June, whenever I attend a convention I always like to review something by one of the Guests of Honour. Last week my home con, Conflux, played host to Ambelin Kwaymullina, author of The Tribe series. The Tribe begins with The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf. An environmental catastrophe called The Reckoning has visited our world. 300 years on, society has reconfigured itself, striving to preserve the Balance with the natural world. However, some people argue the Balance is upset by the presence of individuals possessing special powers—those with the ability to heal, control the elements or see potential futures. These individuals are assessed and either granted an Exemption or deemed an Illegal and kept in Detention Camps.
Book Review: STEEL VICTORY and STEEL MAGIC by J.L. Gribble
This Sunday I featured Steel Blood for my first offering in the ‘A Book By Its Cover’ series of humorous fake reviews. I haven’t yet read this third volume in J.L. Gribble’s Steel Empires series, but I have read the first two novels, Steel Victory and Steel Magic. Seems the perfect time to write real reviews on them. In the most general sense, at least one part of that Steel Blood cover-inspired ‘review’ is correct. The Steel Empires series is a fusion of many different genre elements that make it hard to precisely classify. Urban Fantasy/Alternate History is the publisher’s cover labeling, and indeed the series overall recalls elements of The Southern Vampire Mysteries series by Charlaine Harris (the basis of True Blood), built into an alternate history world. But added into this melting pot one can also find dashes of post-apocalyptic SF and Steampunk. All of these elements don’t mix equally, or as successfully, but on the whole the two novels have character-driven and plot-driven fun that is as solidly written as the most popular urban fantasy series out there.
