L is for The Last Herald Mage . . . and Lizzy Borden (#AtoZChallenge)

The A to Z Challenge is a daily meme posting every day (except Sundays) in April. Check out the list of 1500+ participants below and follow along for 26 days (and 26 letters) of fun. The 2-letter code after each blog name may help narrow your choices - (BO) is Books, (WR) is Writing, (PH) is Photography . . . and, if you're concerned about those NSFW pages, (AC) is Adult Content.



For my theme, I'm going with a little author/title alliteration.



Today's challenge post is brought to you by the letter L, as in The Last Herald Mage by Mercedes Lackey. Back in my high school days, there were a bunch of guys who all read science fiction and fantasy novels, trading books back and forth, and recommending one another towards (or away) from certain titles. This was one several people warned me away from because (gasp!), they thought the protagonist might have been gay. Always somewhat the contrarian, I gave it a read anyway. Sure it was a bit melodramatic, but I liked the high fantasy elements, the fairy tale feel, and the ways in which Lackey deals with magic.



Many years later, I still count on Lackey from time to time for a classic, traditional fantasy read when I'm in the mood for old-fashioned elves, dragons, knights, and wizards.



To borrow an idea from several bloggers I've been visiting on the challenge, I've included a little musical accompaniment for the day, courtesy of Lizzy Borden. Straddling the blurry line between glam rock bands like Motley Crue and Ratt, and more theatrical bands like Alice Cooper and Kiss, Lizzy Borden only had a small number of radio-friendly singles, and are probably best know for their role in The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years.

αωαωαωαωαωαωαω

Click Here for the full list of blogs participating.

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Beloved Gomorrah by Justine Saracen (ARC REVIEW)

Not having read any of Justine Saracen's work before (despite having The 100th Generation sitting on my self for years), I wasn't quite sure what to expect of Beloved Gomorrah. It sounded like an interesting premise, one that I thought might be equal parts Clive Cussler adventure and part Dan Brown historical puzzle, with a little romance mixed in.



Instead, I found it to be a very down-to-earth story of relationships, ideas, and philosophies.



The underwater scenes are interesting, but very low-key, and even a shark attack fails to generate any real sort of drama or excitement. The treasure hunt itself is more of an accidental discovery, and one that (for my tastes, at least) is resolved a little too easily. I would have liked to see more of a challenge presented to Joanna and Charlie, especially with their subsequent dives, but I also understand that the search itself is not the focus of the story. It is simply a means by which the 'true' story of Sodom and Gomorrah can be revealed.



That brings us into the realm of ideas and philosophies (don't worry, I haven't forgotten about relationships). Saracen boldly suggests that rather than being sinful places of low repute, the two cities were actually highly civilized examples of tolerance and equality. They were places where people of all races and religions coexisted peacefully, and where the love of two people, regardless of gender, was respected above all else. It's a bold idea, and one that immediately brings to mind the Utopian ideal of Atlantis, but its the reinvention of Lot's story that really makes it work. Saracen not only turns the myth of 'one good man' on its head, she turns his wife (upon whom she finally bestows a name) into the heroine of the tale, and his daughters into innocent victims.



Although the contemporary portion of the tale doesn't precisely mirror the myth, it contains enough parallels to accentuate the injustices of the Biblical version. Saracen lays it on thick, (almost too heavy in fact) with examples of homophobia, religious intolerance, and child abuse. Unfortunately, she only skims the surface of these crimes, never giving them a chance to be fully explored. It robs the story of some of its potential to change attitudes and drive change, but it also keeps it from becoming too preachy, which is important to keeping the story accessible.



That brings us, finally, to the relationships.Beloved Gomorrah is a story of fathers (with Joanna's father influencing the course of her life and her career from beyond the grave, and Kaia's husband altering her relationship with her daughters through one terrible secret) of lovers (with Joanna and Kaia at the forefront, healing one another both physically and emotionally), and of friendships (with the unlikeliest of reluctant friendships being the glue that holds the climax together). The romantic element is important, and serves as a catalyst for the story, but it's not overwhelming.



Overall, it's a well-written story that lends itself to a quick, easy read, all leading up to a final scene of justice served that's suitably understated. Even if it wasn't quite what I had hoped for, and even if I felt it stopped shy of a few developments that could have pushed it over the top, it was still an enjoyable read, and one that has me curious to finally catch up with The 100th Generation.





Published March 19th 2013 by Bold Strokes Books

Paperback, 288 pages

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Waiting On Wednesday - Beloved Gomorrah by Justine Saracen

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.



This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:



Beloved Gomorrah by Justine Saracen

March 19, 2013

Bold Strokes Books



What if the ancient cities synonymous with depravity were in fact a paradise of harmony? What if the “one righteous man” who escaped their annihilation was a murderous fanatic, his “angels” genocidal terrorists, his daughters the victims of incestuous rape? Justice is a long time coming, but finally the serene waters of the Red Sea give up the ancient secret of a holocaust and of a millennia-old lie. Undersea sculptor Joanna Boleyn and film actress Kaia Kapulani discover that righteousness can conceal its own depravity, that art tells more truth than scripture, and that challenging authority can be mortally dangerous.

I spotted this one on the NetGalley website last night, and it definitely caught my eye. Saracen seems to have an interesting flair for archaeology, history, and mythology, and I like the suggestion of how she's subverted the biblical tradition here.

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The Breeders by Matthew J. Beier (REVIEW)

For a book I almost gave up on after the first 100 page, The Breeders turned out to be a rather engrossing read. I still think it's a bit over-the-top in its satire, and too extreme in its swing towards homosexual tyranny, but Matthew J. Beier has written a politically charged sci-fi thriller that manages to both provoke and entertain.



In Beier's bleak future, humanity is struggling to recover from the brink of extinction, brought upon itself by overpopulation, religious oppression, and civil war. It's a theme that's been written about countless times before, usually with society reacting by outlawing procreation or enforcing sterilization. Beier does all that, but then goes even further, putting homosexuals in power, giving them the ability to reproduce artificially, and genetically modifying the few heterosexuals kept around for emergency breeding purposes.



Just to add another layer of significance to the tale, Beier also deals with the theme of sexism as well, establishing lesbians as second-class citizens within the homosexual majority. As the story begins, humanity is on the brink of another genetic leap forward, ready to do away with the spare heterosexuals - and, it is suggested, the lesbians - altogether. Led by the tyranny of the United Nations, change is in the wind, and rumours of the Antarctic 'haven' established for fertile heterosexuals actually being an execution camp are running rampant.



It's a terrifying place to live, as we discover when Grace (already the victim of a dyke gang rape gang) begins bleeding one day while shopping. At first, she's terrified that her impossible menstruation will doom her to exile, but when she discovers she's already pregnant, her new fear is death. Fortunately for Grace, the father is a responsible, slightly older gentleman who is already part of a cynical, conspiracy-minded, band of would-be political activists. With no other choice realistically available, they choose to run . . . to become breeder fugitives.



Like I said, the satire is extremely heavy, so it does take a little bit of intellectual rationalization to get into the story. Make the mistake of taking Beier's future as a plausible course for humanity, as I originally did, and the book collapses under the weight of its own reversals. Take it, instead, as a magnifying mirror for the ugliness of society today, and the book falls into place. What makes it so chilling is not just the parallels between now and then, but the glimmers of possibility in where good intentions have gone so horribly wrong. Intellectually, some of what the UN has imposed upon humanity makes sense from a survival standpoint - it's the extremes to which their hate-filled, fear-mongering agenda have been pushed that is the problem.



Despite the heavy handed satire, the polarizing political themes, and the social commentary inherent in the tale, this is also a story of characters, and that's where most readers will find their way into the story. Beier fully fleshes out his characters, giving them lives and personalities beyond the page. What he does with the family dynamic, exploring mother/mom and father/dad relationships, as well as sibling rivalries that cross lines of gender and sexuality, is fascinating. Grace's parents are a perfect example, with one ready to sacrifice almost everything to save her, and the other ready to toe the UN-mandated line of social morality. His portrayal of the underground resistance is quite original, and the worst of his villains are entirely despicable.



I suspect heterosexual and homosexual readers will have a very different reaction to the first few chapters, with some marginalized members of society experiencing a schadenfreude kind of moment, but I think Beier does an amazing job of bringing the two diverse groups together by the end, showing us that we're not so very different after all - for good, or for ill. It's a very dark tale, with most of the hope to be found in the heart of the reader, as opposed to on the page, but it absolutely succeeds in making you think (and rethink) how we treat one another, and just where we may be headed.

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