I read Kiss of the Fur Queen by Tomson Highway last semester for an English course focusing on First Nations fiction. I also wrote my term paper for the course on the novel, exploring how redemptive arts expression can be for emotional trauma. Unfortunately, I am finding it difficult to write a review for the blog having studied it so closely for class, my term paper, and the final exam.

The official blurb from the publisher focuses more on the mysticism of the story and Cree culture. But I found the story to be enjoyable, linear, and compelling. Both brothers were compassionate, intriguing, and unique. The story is loosely based on Tomson Highway’s own experiences in residential school with his brother, Rene Highway.

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This is the first book of fiction by Stuart Clark, a well-known UK astrology journalist and astophysicist professor. The Sky’s Dark Labyrinth is the first of a trilogy of novels inspired by the history of trying to understand the Universe.

Called The Copernicum Trilogy, the first book (The Sky’s Dark Labyrinth) portrays the struggles of Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler, and Galileo Galilei. The second (The Sensorium of God) focuses on the story of Isaac Newton and his contemporaries such as Edmond Halley, and the third (The Day Without Yesterday) addresses Albert Einstein, Edwin Hubble, and George Lemaitre.

At the dawn of the seventeenth century everyone believed that the sun revolved around the earth. Yet some men knew that the heavens did not move as they should, a heresy punishable by being burned alive. As Europe convulsed in conflict between Catholic and Protestant, these men prepared to die for that truth.

German Lutheran Johannes Kepler is convinced that he has been given a vision by God when he becomes the first man to distill into mathematical laws how stars and planets move through the heavens.  Galileo Galilei, an Italian Catholic, will try to claim Kepler’s success for his own Church, but he finds himself enmeshed in a web of intrigue originating from within the Vatican itself.  Both men struggle with themselves, with the evidence and with the forces of reaction changed not simply themselves but our world. They become trapped by human ignorance and irrational terror to the peril of their lives and those of their families in one of the darkest, yet also one of the most enlightening, periods of European history.

From the UK publisher, Polygon, an imprint of Birlinn & from Stuart Clark’s website

Despite the scientific and mathematical subject matter, the novel has accessibility and doesn’t get too technical regarding the scientific observations during that age. Unlike other historical periods, there are journals and accounts of what Kepler and Galileo observed and studied, which I think makes the story all the more interesting. Instead of relying on letters and court rumours like many of the fictional Tudor-era novels, many 16th century scientists published their thoughts and conjectures regarding the Universe.

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Give a book! If you need some great (newish, Canadian) recommendations, check out the Advent Book Blog.

The Advent Book Blog is now in its third year and this is my second year participating (if I recall correctly). This year I’ve recommended The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay, but there are now hundreds of titles and authors recommended by readers with a Digital Handsell. Go check it out and read / share / buy an awesome book!

I had the opportunity to meet Ami McKay at a recent reading called Incite: An Exploration of Books and Ideas, organized by the Vancouver International Writers Festival and the Vancouver Public Library. The event was fantastic (as always) and Ami was super sweet. I had an ARC of The Virgin Cure which she signed and she even knew who I was from Twitter! How awesome is that?

Incite (November 9): Hal Wake fields questions for Ami McKay and Frances Greenslade

Kynship is the first book in The Way of Thorn and Thunder series by Daniel Heath Justice, published by Kegedonce Press, an Aboriginal owned and operated publisher.

The Everland has been home of the forest-dwelling Kyn and the other Eld-Folk since time immemorial, a deep green world of ancient mystery and sacred shadow. The wyr-powers of the Kyn and their kith have preserved this lush region from the ravenous greed of Humanity for over a thousand years, since the catastrophic Melding that merged their world with the mortal world of Men.

But the wyr powers are now under siege, for the assimilationist Kyn Shields seek to purge their people of the wyr, seeing only savagery in its mysteries and in its guardians, the Wielders. As the power of the Shields grows—and as the hungry eyes of Men turn once more to the Everland and its rich bounty—the leaders of the seven nations of the Folk gather together to seek a way of surviving the growing storm.

Born into a town dominated by the Shield creeds, Tarsa, a headstrong Kyn warrior, awakens to the long-suppressed wyr-ways after an act of courage goes horribly awry. Exiled from Red Cedar Town, and struggling to understand her new calling as a Wielder, Tarsa is swept into a dangerous world of political and spiritual struggle, where the old wyr-ways clash with the fragmenting intrigues of the “civilized” Shields and their allies.

As the Everland is torn apart by treachery and the ever-encroaching threat of Humanity, the Redthorn Wielder and her companions fight both flesh and spirit to heal their wounded world. Never since the Melding have the Folk faced such danger. Will their roots hold fast, or will they be lost upon the storm?

From Daniel Heath Justice’s website

First off, I appreciate the message and the discussion behind Kynship. Daniel Heath Justice is a Cherokee author and wrote Kynship as a loose allegory for the Trail of Tears, the expulsion of Native American people from the southeastern USA in the 1800s. Also, using native tradition of subverting gender and the belief in a third gender, Justice makes an interesting statement about what is considered “normal” for the Everland Folk compared to Men. We also discussed the binary of “savage” versus “civilized” society.

However, I have to be honest, if I didn’t have to read it for class, I probably wouldn’t have picked it up, much less finished it. As a designer, I had aesthetic issues with it from a publishing standpoint. The typeface is serif but a little too fancy, the leading is too small, and there are next to no margins (whitespace) around the text area—which all detracts from the ease of reading.

But as for the content, I just found the story long-winded, directionless, and (most of all) there was too much telling instead of showing. I read that Justice wrote it as a single story but it was split into three volumes for easier consumption. Unfortunately I don’t think they reworked the telling of the story to reflect this setup because Kynship ends with no real conclusion and with the main character (Tarsa) recently departed on a quest. In my opinion, it would be more useful for them to end just as Tarsa is about to leave, thus creating a more compelling cliffhanger between installments in the series.

Overall, I can appreciate the intent of Kynship, but it was not overly exciting for me. The issues that Daniel Heath Justice raises are excellent for discussion, but it just wasn’t compelling from a reader standpoint. There were some interesting characters developed and I would be curious to hear more about Quill and Tobi, but wasn’t particularly fussed about anyone else.

I got this book through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewer program. It is from Orca Books, a local BC publisher with a lot of unique lines of books. A couple years ago I read First Time by Meg Tilly which was from the Orca Soundings imprint. The Next Sure Thing is part of the Rapid Reads. Rapid Reads are short novels and non-fiction books designed for reluctant or low-literacy adult readers.

Cree Thunderboy has a knack for picking winners. But can he pick the next sure thing?

Cree Thunderboy wants nothing less than to be the next great blues man. But, playing to tiny audiences in shabby rooms like Shelly’s Crab Shack, his career is stalled. Then at the race track he meets Win Hardy, a seemingly charming rogue who spots Cree’s knack for picking winning horses. He offers to record his first CD and send him on tour, as long as Cree can keep coming up with the hot tips at the track.

Things are looking good for Cree until he discovers Win’s connections to the mob and his violent response to anything that doesn’t go his way. And when things inevitably go bad, Cree discovers that in life and in gambling there is never really the next sure thing.

From the publisher, Orca Books

Richard Wagamese is an Ojibway author and well-known storyteller, which shows in The Next Sure Thing. The story is fast paced, well-written and engaging. You’ve got the appropriate amount of foreshadow, plot twists, and a strong narrator. It certainly meets the Rapid Reads objective of being accessible both on a literary level and a narrative level.

I would definitely recommend this for reluctant readers and due to the age of Cree, it would even be a suitable book for teens. However, if you’re looking for something that reflects Richard Wagamese’s skills as a writer, you may be better off selecting something else from his wide repertoire.

Finished novel on October 23, 2011