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Författarblogg om mitt skrivande, mina böcker och annat.
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Book review:
THE
MIGHT (2015) by Siri Pettersen
(Book 3 of the RAVEN RINGS trilogy)
(Original Norwegian title: EVNA)
I have read the original
Norwegian edition of Book 1 and 2 in this series. I was thoroughly
hooked, and had to read the 3rd
and concluding book. (Which is no small feat! There's not much modern
fantasy that I enjoy.)
THE MIGHT is not in any way a
”standalone” novel. The only proper way to read it is as the
final part of the epic fantasy story of Hirka, a teenage girl who
becomes a woman in her quest to survive and master a strange and
often hostile world.
The brisk writing style, rich
worldbuilding and complex characterizations are still as good as in
the previous books. In fact, the ”shades of gray” in the
characters become even subtler. As a writer, I really appreciate how
Siri Pettersen doesn't settle for cardboard characters or
simplistically evil villains.
For example: A neat twist among
many is when a particularly nasty villainous figure turns out to be
driven not by hatred or lust for power, but rather by a
dispassionate, bureaucratic fixation on ”order.”
Though if
you want fiery passions, bursts of magical power, epic battles,
showdowns with destiny, strange imaginary worlds and great upheavals,
then THE MIGHT delivers in spades. I won't spoil the ending, but I
think it should satisfy most readers.
The plot element called
”The Might”, which is sort of this trilogy's equivalent to The
Force in STAR WARS, was the part I found the most difficult to
understand. So I focused on finding out how well it was used and
depicted as a part of the story.
The plot focuses more
intensely on The Might in this book, and how it might be used as a
force for change. Here an overt message emerges: even in a fantasy
setting, one cannot escape politics.
The Might is power, but
it can't be made to vanish like Tolkien's famous rings – and people
want that power to feel truly alive and free – so it has to be
channeled. That's where Hirka changes from being merely a person
gaining power, to a woman with a political vision – and visions are
important to people, for good and ill.
It's only fair to
mention that there's more sex and mature content in the third part of
the trilogy, but most of it is only implied. Again, the author knows
when to be subtle.
Look – I don't need to convince you to
read THE MIGHT. I only need to convince you to start on the first
book of the trilogy, and the rest will happen by itself. Let me just
say that I heartily recommend the trilogy as a whole, for both
teenage and adult readers of all stripes.
The Raven Rings Trilogy is
a captivating experience with its own original vision, confidently
written and very
entertaining.
- Read my review of Book 1, ODIN'S CHILD, here
- Read my review of Book 2, THE ROT, here
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Get my old Science Fiction novel ALIEN BEACH for FREE during the weekend December 11-12, 2021
(Note: Actual deadline depends on your timezone, so you may still be able to download the book on Sunday morning)
Link:
http://amazon.com/gp/product/B0047GMEHA/
Summary of the novel ALIEN BEACH:
"A VISIT TO THE ISLAND CALLED EARTH...
What might have happened if aliens had visited our world, the real world, in the very recent past? What would NOT happen?
On a tiny Pacific atoll nicknamed ALIEN BEACH, a group of men and women come face to face with amphibian visitors from space.
They must learn to understand these enigmatic visitors, before the planet is thrown into a war that cannot be won... and in doing so, come to understand themselves.
ALIEN BEACH was originally released as a Web serial in 1999."
___
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Long after our civilization has disappeared, a strange new age arises from the ruins...
This is DARC AGES.
https://www.amazon.com/DARC-AGES-Book-One-Illustrated/dp/1520157495/
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Book review:
I, ROBOT (1950) by Isaac Asimov
An enormously influential classic.
This book is a collection of short stories published between 1940 and 1950, connected by the common theme of how intelligent, benevolent robots enter human society and gradually gain more influence. .
In these early robot stories, Asimov introduced the Three Robot Laws - a programming which (presumably) prevents robots from becoming a menace. The Three Laws have since become a common trope in the SF genre. .
You can read I, ROBOT mainly as a series of detective stories where the prime suspects are robots, and the human investigators must figure out the logical explanation of a robot "malfunction."
These robot mysteries are entertaining, but seem rather simplistic today. (And the depiction of female characters have in some cases aged badly.)
I enjoyed I, ROBOT when I was a kid. I've been asking myself: is it "relevant" today? Perhaps, because robots really are starting to enter our daily lives - though not quite in the way Asimov imagined in the 1940s.
One issue I have with the robots depicted in I, ROBOT is that they are just too flawless to be believable. This has become much more glaring after the year 2000, when real nanocomputers, "expert systems" and self-driving vehicles are being developed.
We can see clearly now that in the real world such machines would "fail" a lot more than the author allowed them to do. The complexity of the real world could frequently overwhelm even the most "logical" robot. (Don't get me started on how an Asimovian robot might handle the infamous "Trolley Problem"!)
Recommended only as light entertainment from the days of old, but should not be taken seriously now.
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Jag har skrivit historier sedan jag gick i skolan. Jag började med noveller, och det tog lång tid innan jag var redo att skriva en hel roman.
Sedan 2004 har olika förlag gett ut mina romaner och antologier/tidskrifter där mina noveller ingår.