Welcome To the Cedar Grove

From The Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have.

Only when I stop collecting evidence
do the stones begin to speak.

-Close your eyes, and bring into focus one thing you know from reading or studying that has helped you. Note where it comes into your awareness. Does it come alive in your head, in your heart, or in your stomach?

The reading for this entry is indeed very lovely, but as the man himself said, we have touched on the subject of 'knowing' many times before in our journey of discovery… but since the overarching thing in this is reading, indeed he says 'I've always been a reader,' I want to take about reading and books and things… just because… I feel… I need a break from all the deep stuff I've been looking at in the last few days… so pull up a chair into the reading nook, and lets have-at it. :D You might want to bring a drink and a snack too, because I suspect this might be a long entry.

First of all though I do want to take a moment to talk about a book that is perhaps one of the ones that has touched me the most through the years – (though I find truths and teachings in most things I read, somewhere along the line) – to the point that, even when I 'lost custody' of the books in when I split up with Alex, I went out of my way to find and buy the books again for myself, so that I could have them, and read them over again. The book series I'm talking about is the Duncton Series, by William Horwood, and I have reviewed the first book here. There has been much talk of love, and unconditional love and the nature of love, and of faith in these journal, and you could do worse than read these books for a beautiful exploration of these concepts. In writing this series, Horwood had a flash of genius, in my opinion.

I love reading – between reading and writing I could quite easily become a hermit in a cave… doing a little of both each day. As well as a library that covers most of my bedroom walls, (well, the bookshelves around the walls anyway), I'm enrolled in Librarything's Members' giveaway program as well as the Early Reviewer program too… as such, members (usually the authors) and publishers give books for free so that real readers can review their works. I make requests of books that seem interesting to me from their blurb, and sometimes I 'win' a copy of the book, and sometimes I don't. When I do I read and review. Most of these books are in electronic format, and that's just fine with me. I have hardly any space left for print books anyhow – and the ones I do have, I either haven't read yet, or are keepers that I know I'll want to read again at some point. Me… I have a book problem.

And right now, it is a bit of a problem too… because I don't do nearly enough reading, (there aren't enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do), and I've fallen very behind with what I want and need to read. Just because I can – Here is a list or two behind the cut:

( Reading List )

Phew – quite the list. To be fair, I read very quickly when not constantly disturbed by parental visits about faulty PCs… so two or three days at most will see a book devoured – but it would make my life a whole lot easier if the Kindle for PC reader had text-to-speech like the actual kindle.

While we're on the subject of books and book reviews, I'd encourage everyone to take a look at the way mirrani formats the book reviews that she does when she posts them to Livejournal. I'm impressed by the amount of information she includes. She is far more organised than I, in these things :D

So… I have a lot of reading to do… plus the books around my room, which number somewhere in the hundreds – and the books I have on my kindle too. I did mention I have a book problem, right?

Happy reading, folks… oh, and recommendations are always welcome.

"You know the irony of all this," Tarja remarked to the young rebel, "is that we've started a war despite ourselves. When the Karians learn that their envoy was killed on Medalon soil they'll be over the border in an instant. The alliance is well and truly broken."

Tarja to Ghari, in Medalon by Jennifer Fallon.

Imagine if you will a country in which division of 'church' and 'state' is absolute. In fact, in which, in times past there was a secular campaign to drive out any and all association to faith and rule of law in anything other than the state. Thus you have the province of Medalon. Ruled by a twofold organisation, the 'Sisterhood of the Blade' and the 'Defenders' The male and female ruling and policing hierarchy… where the First Sister's rule is law, and the Lord Defender's sword (and those of his men) protect her right to rule.

Now picture this province being sandwiched between the 'Monotheistic' Kariens in the north, and the Pagan Hythrian and Fardohnyans in the south, add in a pinch of pagan resurgence in the province itself, and you have a recipe for disaster that's simply divine, (pun intended!)

All is not well in the peaceful province of Medalon. The ordinary citizens are unhappy (yes, yes, you expected to hear that the peasants are revolting, didn't you?) It's all because the cliché that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely just happens to prove very true within the Sisterhood, where the First Sister is so blinded by her own arrogance that she plays right into the hands of those that would see their own agenda furthered, their own supremacy secured… and caught in the middle of it all, two unsuspecting youngsters – who just happen to be 'related to' the First Sister herself. You'll excuse my language, I hope, but she really is a ruthless bitch.

What I both loved, and loathed about this novel, the first in The Demon Child trilogy, is that there's no relief or salvation by deus ex machina – because whenever the gods do intervene, it just causes a whole heap more trouble for the poor protagonists. It's gritty, it's dark – though with enough humour scattered around so as not to drive the reader toward suicidal thoughts – and a refreshing work of fantasy where magic stays, for the most part, in the background, and it's the schemes and struggles of the ordinary people that provide the joys and pains of the story. The treatment of the 'gods' and 'demons,' and a race of demi-humans called the Harshini, (a peaceful race that used to live in Medalon until the Sisterhood drove them out, who provide an interesting balance within the novel,) is very interesting. It could be the subject of a debate all of its very own, but doesn't intrude on the story. The characters are as they are, true to their beliefs, refreshingly so at times, and that makes for some interesting conflicts and character development. There are also plenty of skeletons in various closets which add further complications.

The writing is tight and well paced, despite the book being over 600 pages in length. It certainly doesn't feel that way, as the novel moves from event to event to event – and exposition is given through dialogue for the most part, and the occasional character memory. It's overall a very well crafted book, and I look forward to reading the second book of the trilogy.

We both have what we wanted, said a dragon in a sleepy satisfied tone.
Try though she would in all the years she and M'hall were the Weyrleaders of Benden, Torene was never sure which dragon had spoken. Or to whom. from The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall by Anne McCaffrey.

Dolphins, Dragons, Holds and backstory...

From a writer's perspective, one needs to understand where one's characters, and the history of the world in which they live, are coming from, and knowing how long it can take to create or visualise this backstory when the world is new and alien, and it's people as unusual as the world itself, I understand that this is an investment of a great many hours. So, perhaps a writer can be forgiven for wanting to share these snippets of backstory with a loyal readership, no?

That is as may be and all to the good, but please do so in a way that is as engaging and affirming as the novels themselves. Show the reader what is happening, do not just tidy up the notes you made as backstory and publish them, telling us, lecture style, what happened when the volcanos errupted, or the old holds filled to overflowing meaning that new must be established.

If I were not as involved in the life stories of the dragons of this world, then First Fall might well have killed the series of books for me... but because I am, I ploughed through, filling in the gaps in description and engagement with my own experience of Pern; with what I know, and feel and believe. The one good thing to come out of reading this, I'm now more interested in reading of the Dolphins of Pern - which just happens to be the next book in this series.

I waited a long time for it to be my turn to read this Pern offering... and I was disappointed.

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In our room, Nefertiti stood in front of the mirror. She pushed her dark hair from her face, imagining herself with the crown of Egypt. "This is it," she whispered. "I will be the greatest queen Egypt has ever known." Nefertiti by Michelle Moran



The greatest queen? Certainly the greatest spoiled brat. I suppose given my almost visceral reaction to Nefertiti it has to mean that the book could not have been that bad.

The book tells the story of Nefertiti's meteoric rise to the position of Egypts best known queen (and Egypt's abandonment of Amun in favour of the Aten, under Akenaten's rule), as seen from the eye of her sister, Mutnojmet. If, by the end of the book, your heart is not /bleeding/ for Mutny, then I would be very surprised. She's treated apaulingly by her self centred sister, and as the true obedient daughter, puts up with it for the sake of her family's position at court for a good two thirds of the book. Even when she finally gets 'free' of her sister's tyrrany, she's not truly free. Her fate is still bound up with that of Egypt's queen's.

While I ended up wanting to put Nefertiti across my knee and spank her, I did, in the end, enjoy the book. Not one for strict scholars of history, but a good enough, entertaining story. The writing style is easy enough, without losing any of the engagement, and where historical facts have been 'moulded' to fit the necessities of the story, though anyone with a knowledge of the history will spot these points, it's also easy to see why they have been written as they have. It doesn't detract too much from the story. It's not one of the best written books I've ever read, but it's not one of the worst either.

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"Even now, American tourists spend large amounts of money bribing tomb guards to allow them to sleep overnight in the pyramids in the belief that this might extend their lives." Wollington: Sphinx by T.S. Learner.

It took me a little while to figure out why the book bears the title that it does, because I couldn't remember seeing a sphinx pay a significant role in the story. I was so lost in the narrative that I'd totally overlooked it. It's there - trust me.

From the beginning of the story, to the end, it gripped me, keeping me wondering whom was on whose side; from where would the danger next come. Once the story got going, I really couldn't put the book down.

Although the novel is couched in the mythology of Egypt and the politics of the recent past, the story doesn't lose the reader in either, and by the end of the story, with the final events that provide the denouement, if your heart doesn't go out to Oliver - the character whose journey the story follows - then either you missed something, or the book's simply not your cup of tea.

A final note, just to prove that the modern day 'First Medjai' gets everywhere, one of the acknowledgements made by the author is to Doctor Zahi Hawas.

And then there was the third complicating circumstance. A truly interesting circumstance. One of the women had recently been pestered by a young geneticist named Angus Nairn who was trying to carry out blood tests.
The Marks of Cain by Tom Knox.

This is one that I read this month. Can you believe that? I actually read a book. Actually it's not fair to say that, because I've been reading a lot of books on Kindle for PC. I mean to review those kind of as a series when I get to the 'end' of them.

The Marks of Cain was a little bit slow to start with, and left you wondering how and where the two strands of the story's plot would join together, because it was obvious that they would, somewhere along the line, and while it was an interesting and imaginitive use of some historical paradoxes and facts and things that shouldn't have happened but did, the story suffered from what I'm going to call the 24 syndrome.

You know how, in the TV series 24 that Jack and co have a really bad, unrelenting day from start to finish? Well that's pretty much the life of the characters in this story. The enemy/antagonist just keeps on turning up, and they never get a moments peace. You know it's going to happen, and you just keep waiting for it to happen, but when it does it just makes you groan, because, please /no/ one individual has eyes that far and wide - I don't care /who/ he is or what organisations he has in his pocket. That for me was something that took away from the story.

Unfortunately, too, the ending smacked a little of 'deux ex.' Either I /missed/ the clues as to what was going on all through the story, that led to this ending, or it was just an ending that came out of the blue, a plot device that existed only in the author's head/outline, and never in the text, and without reading it again, I couldn't tell you which - and as far as that goes, it was good to read the book once, but a second time might be pushing it.

Every colour, even the sombre grey of the rocks, seemed as bright and glowing as jewels. Whenever they came to a clearing or a mountain meadow, the sun poured over her like water; she could swear that she felt it dripping and running down her arms.
Dawnspell: The Bristling Wood by Katherine Kerr.

It's been a while since I've done one of these, so this is likely to be shortish and sweetish.

Reading this book reminds me why I loved this series so much the first time I read them, and I don't think I got much further than this the last time. I remembered some of the events in this instalment but not all, so it's possible that I didn't get to the end last time. The Bristling Wood continues the tale of the exiled prince, Rhodry, and his lover, the Silver Dagger's daughter, Jill, (a silver dagger in her own right), and their watchful 'soul mate' Nevyn - and if you wonder, yes, that is a play on words, since Nevyn means 'no one' and that's the way the old Dweomer-man considers himself.

The book continues its presentation of the elves of this land as being something slightly less regal than those you might find, say, in Lord of the Rings, a little more adventuresome, not quite as wholesome, but fun none the less. Salamander features very much in this novel, which also starts to unfold more of the deep complexities of the politics of the many demesnes, and the racial differences and rivalries. However it does this in a way that doesn't bog you down in the boring side of the politics of it, and by the end of the book there's so much going on it leaves your head spinning.

There's a resolution of sorts at the end of the book, of course there is, but it does leave you hungry for more, and to find out just how the characters are going to 'get out of this one' as it were. Well worth reading, but do start that the beginning of the series. Trust me. It's worth it.

Talon was once a Celt Warrior cursed by his ancient gods. Following the murder of his sister, the dying Talon had made a deal with the goddess Artemis. He had been given one act of vengeance against the clan who betrayed him, in exchange for his soul and his eternal service as a Dark-Hunter.

Night Embrace by Sherrilyn Kenyon

I think I have to echo what I said about the first of this series of books that I read. The perfect book to read if you want to switch off your mind and enjoy a little bit of 'fluff.'

Talon is interesting as he's the moody 'immortal' protector type... and is quite well written in that respect. In fact this book did have a little bit more substance to it than the last one, and the characters did seem to have developped some thought the course of the series. Funnily the one that grabbed my attention was not the one the book was written about, though I see that the latest hardback novel by Kenyon is titled, and probably all about, that particular character. If the character development has continued, that will probably be worth looking at.

Blankly, Covenant stared into the pooled hurt of her eyes. He felt benumbed with pain and grief and wasted rage, and did not understand why she castigated herself... Stunned and Empty, he led her onward into the night until she had cried out her anguish and could stand on her own again. He wanted to weep himself, but in his long struggle with the misery of being a leper he had forgotten how, and now he could only keep on walking.Lord Foul's Bane by Stephen Donaldson.

Hurray! I made it to page 237... okay so that's only just over half of the book, which is the first in a set of seven... but hey - it's further than I got the last time I tried to read it. You see... after about thirty pages of dealing with this man's depression/anger/bitterness etc about his lot in life, I start to get a little fed up with his constant whining, and that makes the job of wading through Donaldson's fluted language - albeit very literary - just that little too much to bear.

The premise is brilliant, and I really do wish I could finish it, but after having been stuck on the book for four months - reading another book while this one was unfinished - and not being able to face reading LFB because I wasn't enjoying it, I figured enough was enough. Put in a sticky page marker, and maybe come back to try and finish it at a later date.

"Who is this God science? Who is God who offers his people power but no moral framework to tell you how to use that power? What kind of God gives a child fire but does not warn the child of its dangers? The language of science comes with no signposts about good and bad. Science textbooks tell us how to create a nuclear reaction, and yet they contain no chapter asking us if it is a good or a bad idea." Angels and Demons by Dan Brown.

I have the honour of reviewing this book, actually had the pleasure of reading most of it too. Someone we know said that we should read this one before we even thought about reading that more famous book of his. So that's what we did. Actually it wasn't the first of his we read. Cody, way back in 2006 read Digital Fortress and really enjoyed it, so we had kind of highish expectations of the book even without the hype of that other one. The subject matter it deals with too, is an interesting one, for me and several others of Cedar. Science vs Religion... does it truly need to be such a dichotomy of thought, or can the two sometimes walk hand in hand?

As far as a thriller went, it was... well I'd not say that it was the best one we've ever read. There were a few unexpected twists, but not much. Much of it was predictable - or maybe that's just my suspicious mind. That's not to say it was in any way boring. It did keep me wanting to read on, trying to figure out how he would get from point A to point B.

As I said there are a few surprises, which obviously I'm not about to spoil... and if you like religious lore, and are interested in things like procedure and due process, then this is probably a book that you'd enjoy reading. My overall impression was that I enjoyed it, and would recommend it for a read maybe one time, but I probably wouldn't read it more than once.