Hello Again

I do realize I've been gone an incredibly long time, so long that I imagine anyone who was reading this has long since stopped checking. Hopefully, a few of you subscribed to the feed and haven't deleted that feed. Hopefully, I'll start posting some reviews again.

I am long overdue for a review of May Bird, Warrior Princess and will rectify that as soon as I find my copy of the book (I'm afraid it may have dissappeared back into the pit that is my daughters' room). It is also about time that I reviewed book two of the Monster Blood Tattoo series: Lamplighter. To that end I picked the book up at my local library and plan on reading it as soon as I possibly can.

Meanwhile, I've been plowing through The Squire's Tales series by Gerald Morris. This is one of the absolute best series I've ever read for young readers; strong characters of both genders and excellent moral lessons are all wrapped up in fun Arthurian adventure tales with a smidge of romance to make them that much more delectable. I can't recommend these books enough, truly. I'll write a collective review when I'm done with the last book (I can't wait to finish).

I hope that I can get back into the swing of things ASAP, and somehow find the balance between working, raising my children, taking care of the household, AND writing reviews. Wish me luck and I hope to see you again soon!

The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman

I daresay it is rare for a young adult or children's book to find huge acclaim in both the literary and popular worlds. The critical success of the Harry Potter series is just a small part of why YA and children's fantasy have become so well-known and well-loved in the past decade. Neil Gaiman is certainly no stranger when it comes to critical success, his adult novels and comics are widely praised. He's no slouch when it comes to the younger set either. I have read Coraline, InterWorld, The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish, The Wolves in the Walls, and Stardust, of course; I have yet to be disappointed. So, it is really no surprise that his most recent book has received such acclaim.

I have been looking forward to The Graveyard Book for quite some time, as I am an avid follower of Gaiman's blog. However, I knew little about the premise until the book won The Newberry Award. Since then, Gaiman has been everywhere talking about both the movie adaptation of Coraline, and The Graveyard Book. He talked a great deal about how he was inspired by two things - his son riding his tricycle in a graveyard and Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. It didn't take long for me to notice the similarities between the two stories, and I think The Graveyard Book definitely benefits from the inclusion of a similar plot line, but they are two very different books and The Graveyard Book stands firmly on its own as a great piece of Children's Literature.

As the story goes, a family is murdered in their sleep by a mysterious man in black. However, the murderer doesn't finish his job because one individual was missing - the young son who has toddled down the stairs, out the house, and up the hill to a graveyard. Here, the boy finds sanctuary amongst the tombs and gravestones with the loving, but very much deceased, Owens' couple who decide to raise him as their own son. They name him Nobody, Bod for short. As there are some things ghosts cannot do, it is decided that Silas, who is neither living nor dead, should be Bod's guardian.

Bod grows up quite contentedly in the graveyard; he is allowed to roam almost freely through the entire reserve - but he is not ever to leave the graveyard because beyond the front gate, the ghosts cannot keep him safe. Therein lies the theme to the tale. Just as The Jungle Book portrayed mankind and civilization as incredibly dangerous compared to the relative pastorality and simple rules of the jungle, so too does The Graveyard Book. Ghosts, being already dead, are no danger to Bod (though certain other things do exist that can do him harm). It is the living that pose a danger, and so he lives out most of his years fading away from human eyes. However, one cannot exist completely ignorant of the truth outside the gate and occasionally, Bod's lack of knowledge and need for companionship gets him into trouble.

It was a great pleasure to read The Graveyard Book, and it is now nestled happily in my daughter's hands. She had some trepidation over how scary a story set in a graveyard might be (which is odd, because she loves zombie movies and enjoys the May Bird books), but I assured her that it is no scarier than anything she's already read before - which is to say, it isn't really scary at all. I can imagine some younger children might be a bit scared of the imagery in the very beginning when the family is murdered, but Gaiman is very careful with his language and it is perhaps almost too glossed over. The supporting characters are all lovely, and I couldn't help but try to assign them parts from The Jungle Book (I think Silas is Bagheera, but it has been a while so don't take my word for it). As some things were revealed I had to do a facepalm for not having figured them out on my own, but that's one of the things that makes Neil Gaiman a masterful storyteller: all the clues are there if you bother to look for them.

I only had one disappointment in the entire story, but it is so near the end that I won't say too much about it. Gaiman just decided to resolve a certain plot point in a way that I would not have. This is not to say it was a bad choice or the wrong move, I'm just a sappy romantic and this resolution didn't appeal to that part of my nature.

The true moral of this story is that we all must grow up and leave the safety of ours homes at some point. Bod's tale, even if it is set in a graveyard with a non-traditional family structure, is no different from that of any other boy or girl who packs up their bags and heads off to college. We can only hope that most children are as well prepared as Bod is - when the time is right.

A Book Review Meme

John from Grasping for the Wind has come up with a book review meme! In his own words:

Here is how it works: Find a favorite book, movie, or videogame review (Science fiction and fantasy related) that you have written, no matter where it was posted, and add it to the following list. Make sure to repost the whole list, because in doing so, we accumulate what the reviewers themselves think is their best work, and give each other some linkages, increasing everyone's rankings.

I am slowly trying to build up a following to this little review site of mine, which is why I'm more than happy to get free advertising from Grasping for the Wind. It's a fantastic review site with a lot of followers because John's reviews are very high quality. Anyway, so I'm adding my review of May Bird and the Ever After - Book one of Jodi Lynn Anderson's May Bird series. I loved the book and it's the type of review I hope to continue writing for this site.

The Book Review Meme @ Grasping for the Wind
1. Grasping for the Wind - INFOQUAKE by David Louis Edelman
2. Age 30+ ... A Lifetime of Books - A COMPANION TO WOLVES by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear
3. Dragons, Heroes and Wizards - ASSASSIN'S APPRENTICE by Robin Hobb
4. Walker of Worlds - THE TEMPORAL VOID by Peter F Hamilton
5. Neth Space - TOLL THE HOUNDS by Steven Erikson
6. Dark in the Dark - GHOST STORIES OF AN ANTIQUARY by M.R. James
7. A Dribble of Ink - THE SHADOW OF THE WIND by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
8. Fantasy Book News & Reviews - EMPRESS by Karen Miller
9. Fantasy Debut - ACACIA by David Anthony Durham Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Overall Review Afterthought
10. Against the Nothing - MAY BIRD AND THE EVER AFTER by Jodi Lynn Anderson.

Review Information

This is a post to inform you of what I will happily review for people on Against the Nothing, and how to send me those books that you want reviewed.

Hopefully, by now, the fact that this is primarily a Children's and Young Adult Fantasy Book Review Blog is obvious. So my review guidelines are pretty straightforward.

Everything MUST BE for Children/Young Adults (preferably 14 and under)

Genre:

Fantasy

Urban Fantasy

Horror

Magical Realism

Publishing Information:

Advanced copies, printed manuscripts provided they are being published by a publisher, or any other form of unfinished work that has yet to be released to the market. (No electronic please)

Small Presses

Large Presses

Self-published works from places like Lulu, PublishAmerica, Xilibris, etc. (providing you understand that I don't well tolerate poorly edited works and might very well toss the book aside if I don't like it).

Graphic Novels or artistic books related to genre.

Oh, and I don't speak/read any language other than English so keep that in mind.

Want to send me something?

Wonderful! I'm too lazy to go the library anyway (kidding).

Use my email: dark_honor@(no spam)hotmail.com (remove "no spam") and tell me what you'd like to send to me. If I'm interested and not overloaded then I'll be in touch with my mailing information. I don't want my address on here for obvious reasons and it changes occasionally anyway, but I would be happy to read your work.

Publishers, authors, editors, etc. may send me books. Just email me and I'd be happy to work with you!

I'm looking forward to turning this blog into a great resource for everyone interested in Children's and Young Adult Fantasy!

May Bird Among the Stars

May Bird Among the Stars, by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Book two of the May Bird series picks up right where the first left off, with May Bird, Somber Kitty, Pumpkin, Beatrice, and Captain Fabio on a train headed towards North Farm. North Farm is the home of the Lady who sent May Bird the original request for help, and the only one knows how May Bird can get home to her mother. But the Lady isn't all sweetness and light, but a balanced force of nature who may or may not be willing to grant May's wish. However, the group is about to encounter a Bump on their journey, and the forces of Bo Cleevil are aligned behind them. Meanwhile, May Bird's mother, Ellen, is about to find the lake in the woods that took her daughter away from her.

It was an absolute joy to sit down with Anderson's characters again. May Bird has gained more confidence in her abilities, but she bears a large burden for such a young girl. Not only is she terribly homesick, but she's sure her actions will get her friends into danger, and their fate may very well rest in her hands. May Bird Among the Stars is such a great blend of the terrifying and the absurd, that some moments have you shuddering and others have you laughing. There's a wonderful scene where May Bird sings songs from The Sound of Music to distract a group of goblins, a species that just LOOOVES musicals. Classic stuff! Woven within these absurdities are cultural references (it is a realm of the Dead, after all... think how many historical figures you can throw in just for fun!) that will both educate and delight.

I was actually warned, when I first bought the May Bird series, that though the first book was fantastic the rest just didn't hold up. I have to disagree entirely. From an adult stand point, this is actually a stronger book. It's more interesting in terms of character and plot development. Essentially, it's a much more richly literary novel. This is not to say that the first is worse or the second better - they were both incredibly good reads. However, I felt much more absorbed in the characters' adventures through the Afterlife, struggling with familiar self-doubt (that even plagues the arch-villain), and trying very hard not to lose track of what's important.

I can't wait to read book three and find out if May becomes the young woman I know she can be!

Foundling

Foundling, by D.M. Cornish

This is a repost of a review I wrote for Fantasy and Sci-Fi Lovin' Book Reviews but I'm reposting it here because I absolutely loved the book and wanted to share it on a review site dedicated to younger readers.

This book begins a planned trilogy called Monster Blood Tattoo published by the Penguin Group. D.M. Cornish has created a world called the Half-Continent that’s almost as rich and complex as anything by J.R.R. Tolkein or Frank Herbert, however it doesn’t read like anything quite so fantastical. This work is rooted in period maritime romances (not in the lovey dovey romance sort of way either) like Treasure Island or the Horatio Hornblower adventures – all without ever going out to sea! The feel is entirely Victorian; from the detailed maps and the extensive “Explicarium” (over a hundred pages!), to the heavy cover and parchment-like pages, this book just screams rousing adventure and it does not disappoint.

“Rossamünd was a boy with a girl’s name.” Thus begins D.M. Cornish’s debut novel following the adventures of the titular Foundling. What unfolds in the pages of this book have a great deal to do with that first line. Rossamünd Bookchild is not exactly girly, per se, but he is the sensitive sort: trusting, naïve, and almost unerringly polite. These qualities make him endearing to most of the people he meets, aside from a few monsters. However, the monsters aren’t exactly whom you might expect them to be. Cornish created the perfect awkward coming-of-age tale, in which a boy discovers that the monsters we are taught to fear are not necessarily the monsters that we should fear.

Rossamünd was left on the doorstep of Madam Opera’s Estimable Marine Society as a baby, but has reached an age when it is time to be chosen for a respectable career. Though he has dreamed of becoming a “Vinegaroon” (the term for navy men who sail the Vinegar seas) all his life, he is enlisted by the Lamplighters whose job it is to light the lamps (obviously) on the Wormway. A few things hint that he is no ordinary Foundling, from the circumstances of his discovery to the seemingly unusual kinship he has with the Dormitory Master, Fransitart, of Madam Opera’s Foundlingery. These subtle intonations, his practically Dickensian orphan status, and his shy bookishness make him an easy hero for a young adult fiction. Rossamünd’s journeys takes him from the steps of the Foundlingery to his new home at Winstermill, but let’s just say he has a few missteps along the way (or rather just one really big one). Through his adventures he meets some incredibly colorful characters, whose detail is augmented by the fantastic sketches of the author himself (who began his career as an illustrator).

Foundling is a compelling romp through a rich landscape. It is easy to empathize with Rossamünd even when he does something silly. The occasional use of (what I think is) Latin and other exotic terms creates an adventure within the adventure – I’ve never met a definition I didn’t like and I found myself looking things up with as much (or more) frequency as Rossamünd does in an almanac he carries around with him. Aside from a few marginally flat characters that left me wanting more, my only complaint is that I can’t read the follow-up novel, Lamplighter, until I go buy it. Cornish’s prose easily flows off the page, and sets just the right tone for its young adult audience. The use of thick accents for many of the characters and the frequent unfamiliar terms may prove difficult to a younger reader, but add appropriate authenticity to the world of the Half-Continent. D.M. Cornish has written a novel that is perfect parts adventure and heart that is an amazingly satisfying read. Foundling is a book you shouldn’t miss.

May Bird and the Ever After

May Bird and the Ever After, by Jodi Lynn Anderson

I purchased this book for my daughters a few months ago at their school's Book Fair and I've been dying to read it ever since. I'm a sucker for good cover art and the May Bird titles have some of the best - dreamlike and dark, it sets the perfect tone for the book.

May Bird is a ten year old girl with some serious self esteem problems, a general lack of confidence, and a penchant for eccentricities. Her only companion is a hairless cat named Somber Kitty, whom she doesn't particularly care for because he isn't her old cat. May Bird wants nothing more than to make friends, but she's a decidedly strange little girl and doesn't quite know how to fit in. Meanwhile, her mother is concerned about her daughter's social ineptitudes and though she doesn't mean to, she hurts May's feelings quite deeply. When she starts handing May brochures to a private school in New York and suggests that they move to the big city, May is desperate to prove that she is capable of making friend's at school so that she doesn't have to leave the beloved woods around her home.

Everything changes when May finds a 50 year old letter, in a pile of rubble, addressed to her. Inside is a map and a solemn request for May's help. She follows the map to a hidden lake deep within the woods, but when she falls in it opens the door to an entirely different realm - The Ever After.

May Bird is such a desperately kind and earnest young girl that I couldn't help but sympathize with her plight. Most of us have been in a position where we didn't quite fit in, May's situation is a somewhat extreme version but not ridiculously or unbelievably so. She's a child of a single mother, a mother who is desperate to keep her daughter healthy *and* happy but her methods are those of desperation. However, it is obvious that May truly loves her mother - she often relays her mother's words of wisdom, things like "You don't make friends, they just happen". These truisms pepper the book and May uses the memory of them to help her on her dangerous journey through the Ever After - a world populated by ghosts, ghouls, bogeys and the evil Bo Cleevil, but also by friendly House Spirits and lonely souls.

Throughout her journey, May discovers she is a courageous and capable young woman, and that her mother was right - friendship just happens and it's up to you to just let it.

The secondary characters are equally fantastic, some are less developed than others but usually only because they either don't stay long or appear late. May's House Spirit "Pumpkin" is an extreme version of May who you can't help but pity, but his steadfast loyalty to May is heartfelt and inspiring. Interspersed with their journey is Somber Kitty's journey, who is desperate to find May, if for no other reason than to love her. Meanwhile, the Bogeyman and associated lackeys are some of the most terrifying creatures I've ever heard described and I couldn't help but picture Guillermo del Toro's monsters from Pan's Labyrinth while reading about them. Young children will likely be kept on the edge of their seat, but not in a bad way. Every time May's situation seems desperate, she finds her courage and fights back (with the help of her friends) and nearly got me to yell out "Ha! Take that!" on numerous occasions.

I genuinely recommend this to anyone who enjoys YA fantasy. Amazon has it categorized in the 9-12 slot and I generally agree - but if you have a younger advanced reader then go for it! It deals with some of the more difficult issues a young girl faces and I think they are important ones. I can only hope that my daughters enjoy the books enough to learn the same lessons that May Bird does.

And now book 2 and 3 of the series awaits me!

In Which I Begin

This is just the beginning, I hope, of a blog dedicated to Children's fantasy and science fiction. I have two daughters whom I hope to entice with the amazing literature that I enjoyed as a child and that I still enjoy. Fantasy and science fiction transports readers to the realms of the impossible and the improbable, where your intelligence and imagination are the only tools you need to survive.

I have named this blog "Against the Nothing" because the most influential novel I read as a child was Michael Ende's The Neverending Story. Likewise, the concept of the "Nothing", a horrifying entity that is destroying a realm populated by characters from children's imaginations, is exactly why I think children's fantasy and science fiction is so important. It's rather like the myth that says "Every time you say you don't believe in fairies, a fairy dies"; Every time a child is denied the chance to imagine something, the nothing grows stronger and our world is a little bit worse off for the lack of that dream.

Plus, this blog gives me a good reason to steal my daughters' books away from them (after they're done, of course) and read them to my heart's content.