literature

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

The film adaptations of the first two installments of author Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson & the Olympians series seemed to amount to an orphaned franchise, but the Walt Disney Company, after acquiring 20th Century Fox, distributor of said movies, gave its crack at the fantasy novels in the form of a streaming Disney+ show. The first season adapts the inaugural book, The Lightning Thief, focusing on the eponymous dyslexic, attention-deficit twelve-year-old grade-schooler, expelled from school after a supernatural incident at a museum, whom his mother Sally begins to convey to Camp Half-Blood in a world where Greek gods and monsters are real.

While it’s been years since I last read the books and saw the films, I enjoyed the Disney+ adaptation, given its modern fantasy setting like the Harry Potter books and mythological influences. The episode titles hint at the show’s lighthearted nature (and borrow from a few chapter names in The Lightning Thief). Given that the length of all episodes totaled grossly outweighs that of the first cinematic film, it’s assumedly faithful to the source material, having excellent world-building and cast performances. Thus, I will continue watching this series as future episodes are released.

Conflagration

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

Conflagration: A Military Archaeological Space Adventure (The Zenophobia Saga Book 5)

Conflagration: A Military Archaeological Space Adventure by Craig Martelle
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The fifth installment of Craig Martelle and Brad R. Torgersen’s Zenophobia series opens with machines completing the construction of an artificial disc world. When the main chapters begin, Sankar the Tigroid seeks to rescue his love interest, Ausha, who seeks to destroy the Overseer. His fellow Tigroid Junak intends to destroy the adversarial vessel Direwolf as Akoni the Ursoid wants to discover the origins of the zenos. The enemy Tigroid Arbai yearns to provide nuclear power for the Golongans, yearning to enslave them also. Meanwhile, Sankar wants to show Qlovys evidence of the machine world, reaffirming his wish to rescue Ausha.

The crew of the Direwolf continues to provide the Combine with improved reactors while fearing that the Bilkinmore could match their unified forces. Arbai assists Commissioner Sachim’s Golongan forces, yearning to eradicate the Golongan People’s Revolution. Given a forthcoming revelation of the origins of life in the universe, the Oteran religious and institutional paradigms face endangerment. Arbai and her companion Yangis pilot the Blood Moon and prepare for battle with the Four-Claw while Akoni assists the Golongans in routing their communications. Sankar altercates with his former Goroid employer, Maglor, who urges him to resolve the situation on Golongal.

The Golongans continue to fight among themselves, while Sankar encounters Combine ships headed to the war-torn planet. Commissioner Sachim fears the enslavement of the Golongans, with the brush war upon the Cho-Ma risking eruption into a planetary crisis if the Golongan People’s Revolution receives zeno armaments. The Bilkinmore arrives, battling the Direwolf and Blood Moon, with each side alternating between getting the upper hand. Meanwhile, Ausha continues to explore the reaches of the universe, discovering from an Earthling that justice exists among Earth’s colonies. The fourth book ends with Sankar negotiating an alliance with the Earthmen.

Ultimately, while I have previously enjoyed fantasy and science-fiction literature featuring anthropomorphic characters, the fifth entry of the Zenophobia series, like its predecessors, didn’t completely click with me, given the absence of eBook quality-of-life features such as the Kindle X-Ray feature and no synopses of previous books or a clarifying list of dramatis personae. Other issues include little reminders of character races, the constant shift of perspectives within chapters, unexplained acronyms, and vague settings. I will read the sixth and final book in the omnibus collection I borrowed through Kindle Unlimited, but I won’t set my hopes high.

View all my reviews

God Emperor of Dune

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

God Emperor of Dune (Dune Chronicles #4)

God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Contemporary editions of this, the fourth main installment of Frank Herbert’s original Dune Chronicles, commence with a foreword from his son Brian, who found a draft at his parent’s home, which the author intended to be a bridging work into a new trilogy of the science-fiction series. The elder Herbert never finished the trilogy following God Emperor of Dune, with his son writing two novels, Hunters and Sandworms of Dune, from his father’s notes. The fourth entry supposedly marked a change in writing style for Frank Herbert, but it will still be familiar to series fans.

Leto Atreides II has reigned as the titular God Emperor of Dune for three and a half millennia, with his Golden Path supposedly necessary for humans to survive. Following Brian Herbert’s introduction is a speech excerpt from Hadi Benotto, who finds a storehouse of manuscripts composing the journals of God Emperor Leto II, with Benotto joining poet Rebeth Breev in reading a translation of said diaries. The actual action of the story begins with three hundred individuals on the run through the Forbidden Forest, with D-wolves pursuing and Siona Ibn Fuad al-Seyefa Atreides vowing to destroy Leto.

Leto’s lineage is reflected upon, with Arrakis during his lengthy reign terraformed, the desert of Sareer being the only arid portion of the planet. There are no melange-producing sandworms or any successful recreations of the geriatric spice, and without it, Navigators can’t fold space to expedite space travel, members of the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood can’t ordain Reverend Mothers and Truthsayers, and life expectancy is down. The God Emperor controls the melange and has maintained three millennia of his namesake Leto’s Peace, transforming from his human form into a giant pre-worm.

Leto needs an Ixian Royal Cart to move about, with a woman named Siona being crical, and Leto’s D-wolves being an extension of his purpose. Her father, Moneo, serves as an advisor to Leto, who meets with the latest incarnation of Duncan Idaho. Most chapters begin with excerpts from the God Emperor’s private journals, with plenty of politicking and a marriage proposal throughout the novel, which is ultimately surprisingly good for a transitory novel and contains a little more science-fiction elementality than human interest, being recommended to fans of the prior books.

View all my reviews

Exodus

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

Exodus: A Military Archaeological Space Adventure (The Zenophobia Saga Book 4)

Exodus: A Military Archaeological Space Adventure by Craig Martelle
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The fourth installment of Craig Martelle and Brad R. Torgersen’s Zenophobia series opens with a probe flying through space and the Tigroid Sankar cramped in a holding cell. In the meantime, the enemy vessel Direwolf is stranded in Hinteran space, with another Tigroid, Arbai, wanting to meet the head of the Golongans, another race the aliens had contacted. Next, Doctor Muni analyzes a server in her Oteran computer lab, with a signal leading her to call General Chayken. Arbai eventually meets Commissioner Sachim, while Chayken meets Sankar and wishes to remove the price on his head.

Arbai meets Sachim and wants to help his rebellion as the members of the Veracity Corporation worry about their companion Sankar, fearing he is dead. However, he reunites with them, after which they fly to Golongal and battle Arbai’s forces. Another Tigroid, Ausha, reveals her backstory as a Cadet-Trainer, after which comes a meeting with Commodore Qlovys at a hidden shipyard. The Bilkinmore reenters Golongan space, with its passengers eventually joining the battle among rival factions like the Golongan Peoples Revolution, intelligent machines led by The Overseer, and various religious factions.

Although this entry of the Zenophobia series, like its predecessors, shows promise, given its animal-populated cast, vibrant setting, and intricate backstory, it disappointed me. For instance, a synopsis of prior entries, a list of dramatis personae, and clear indicators and reminders of the species of the various characters would have been welcome. The absence of the Amazon Kindle X-Ray feature hampers the fourth installment as it does previous entries. Thus, I found myself rereading pages, given some confusing dialogue and sudden scene or perspective changes within chapters. Most who enjoyed the last books may appreciate this one; however, while I mostly like books with anthropomorphic characters, I found it inaccessible. 

View all my reviews

Children of Dune

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

Children of Dune (Dune Chronicles #3)

Children of Dune by Frank Herbert
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the third entry of Frank Herbert’s original Dune Chronicles, Stilgar, Naib of the Sietch Tabr, raises the orphaned twins of Paul Muad’Dib and Chani, named Leto and Ghanima, who are nine years old at the beginning of the story. In Paul’s absence, his sister Alia rules the Imperium and wants to groom Leto as her successor to the throne. In the meantime, a wanderer known as The Preacher roams Arrakis, spreading his teachings. Furthermore, Princess Wensicia Corrino, daughter of the deposed Emperor Shaddam IV, wishes her son Farad’n to overthrow Alia and regain control of the Imperium. 

Throughout the story, Alia finds herself possessed by the spirit of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, with her nephew embarking on a quest across the desert, experimenting with melange trances and communicating with the sandworms, which eventually begins to alter his body chemistry. Jessica further trains Farad’n in Bene Gesserit teachings, intending him to marry Ghanima, who at one point seeks advice from her missing father’s consort Irulan, the eldest daughter of Shaddam IV. During his desert excursion, Leto receives help from his father’s advisor Gurney Halleck, House Atreides’ War Master.

Farad’n himself consults The Preacher, with a kidnapping of Jessica plotted, the mother of Paul yearning to banish Wensicia. Duncan Idaho is further involved in the plot against the twins, and throughout the novel come several deaths and revelations of things such as the identity of The Preacher. While it’s obvious who this mysterious wanderer is from the beginning, the third entry is still enjoyable, with plenty of political intrigue and hints of what will come in further books. However, like its predecessors, it borders more on human interest than science fiction.

View all my reviews

The Small One

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

Based on the Christmas novelette of the same name by Charles Tazewell and the first and only Disney animated project directed by Don Bluth before he went rogue (having worked small parts on some of the studio’s prior animated features), the short film focuses on a Galilean boy who seeks to sell the eponymous donkey, past his prime. However, no one except a tanner takes interest, though the boy eventually sells him to a notable historical and religious figure. I found it enjoyable and tender, with a beautiful titular theme song and solid voice performances that don’t seem out of place in the Israeli setting.

Daily Prompt, 12/25/2023

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

How are you creative?

I do at least one piece of anthro art a week, and I’ve continued to work on my prequel fantasy novel, which started as a rewrite of my original book, though the prologue got so long that I decided to make it a story of its own.

Here’s some of the art I’ve done recently:

And here are my 2023 art summary and art vs. artist: