literature reviews | St. Gallen's Scribblings

The Legend of Whomper: Dreamcrafter

The Legend of Whomper, Book 3: Dreamcrafter by Chris Farrington

The third installment of author Chris Farrington’s The Legend of Whomper series opens with the titular protagonist, a chubby blue fox, seeking a healer for his instructor, the Edgemaster (or just “Edgemaster” as he’s awkwardly called throughout the graphic novel). After finding a temple of healers in comas, Whomper dreams of interacting with the rabbit Remmy, one of the eponymous Dreamcrafters, with he and Skyla flying to the jungle to another shrine where they sleep and enter the Dreamscape. Whomper reunites with Remmy while dreaming and is shown a system of visible dreams and nightmares where he can battle imaginary monsters.

Grescam, the Dreamdragon, attacks the dream city of Lagos-4 with Whomper and Skyla training so they can better deal with him. This includes tasks such as the fox fighting a doppelgänger in his dreams. Grescam reappears, after which Whomper travels to the god Lord Hypnos’ chamber, where the backstory on the Dreamdragon is revealed. Meanwhile, Remmy and Skyla battle the Lord of Nightmares, and Whomper retaliates against the Dreamdragon with help from a mystical hammer called the Dreamsmasher. After the conflicts, Whomper and Skyla travel to Hammer Forge, where the latter goes to a bar to discuss her lover’s youth.

The third entry concludes with an entertaining look at Whomper and Skyla in prehistoric life, followed by a nice anecdote featuring minor characters. In summary, I enjoyed this graphic novel, an excellent continuation of its predecessors, given the second entry’s foreshadowing of its events. As before, Farrington’s character designs are cute, colorful, and unique, even if the story isn’t wholly family-friendly. Moreover, issues from its precursors return, like awkward dialogue and punctuation errors. Furthermore, all text is capitalized, making it vague whether important terms are capitalized at their beginnings. The story also didn’t fit my entire iPad, but I would recommend installment number three to those who enjoyed previous books.

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Emancipation

Posted on February 15 by Remy St. Gallen

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

The sixth and final entry of Craig Martelle and Brad R. Torgersen’s Zenophobia series opens with a pre-prologue excerpt where Sankar, the Tigroid protagonist of the entire saga, recovers an old computer archive. The following prologue sees a robotic Swarm moving through outer space, with the main chapters seeing Sankar conversing with Colonel Callahan, a member of the fabled Ur-Race, who knows humans will be surprised by the existence of the zenos. Callahan provides his fleet of Confederation vessels, which Sankar’s love interest, Ausha, fears will conquer the zenos, regardless of whether they win the war against the forthcoming machines.

An outpost in the middle of space has zenos from the primary races in living conditions divergent from those on their homeworld, which the Devourers target. The adversarial Direwolf damages the Bilkinmore while the machines attack the Golongals on their homeworld. Sankar ultimately finds himself in alien surroundings, with a mystical cute responding to one’s genetic makeup introduced as a MacGuffin. A brief focus goes on an elderly Golongan woman named Bela (alternatively spelled Bella), who became tired of the Oligarchy and the Families, consequentially coming out of retirement.

Dekron becomes a notable enemy in the latter half of the novel as a female named Diio survives the wreck of the Direwolf when it crash-lands. Ausha, Sankar, and a random stranger named Zee find themselves in a collapsing building, having to deal with Dekron, who pleads for his life. One chapter features Maglor the Goroid surveying the decimated colony of Ommo and expressing his love for Olympus Alloy. On Golongal, Cho-Ma Continent’s Army contingent defects to the Golongan Peoples Revolution, while the stranded Diio tries to find help by taking another spaceship she happens to find.

Back to Dekron, he yearns to prevent his enemies from escaping, having his subservient robots chase them. Diio finds herself in the darkness, hearing a transmission implying that Ocklar could be going through torture. The fate of the Direwolf is settled, with Sankar and Zee rushing through the capital city of the planet Artemis IV, with Ausha’s life imperiled, but the cube is her possible salvation. A moment of limbo comes for Sankar, who eventually meets Pacjolal, after which the war against the machines concludes. The epilogue sees Sankar and Ausha on Earth, walking along a beach.

After finishing this series, I can honestly say that it fell short of my expectations since while I usually enjoy novels starring animal characters, all six stories suffer from most of the pitfalls that plague literature of its kind. That the collection doesn’t utilize the Kindle X-Ray feature greatly mars the experience, given the near-total absence of reminders of the species of the various characters or various terms and entities, along with the constant leap in perspectives within the same chapters. In the end, Emancipation is an appropriate title for the conclusion of the Zenophobia saga since I am glad to be free from reading it and will happily avoid anything the authors have written or will write in the future.

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Heretics of Dune

Posted on February 12 by Remy St. Gallen

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

When author Frank Herbert wrote his famous Dune series, he had nothing in mind for its success or failure, with the initial installment of his franchise having been the product of six years of research and a novel of ecological and human concern. Publishers turned it down twelve times before its official publication, with the author noting that he wrote parts of its sequels before the first Dune story. As with its predecessors, the penultimate entry of his series before his death contains various philosophical quotes commencing each chapter that provide good insights into the society of the Known Universe.

Heretics introduces the twelfth Duncan Idaho, a twelve-year-old, with Reverend Mother Schwangyu observing his behavior on planet Gammu, once Caladan. The Mother Superior Taraza effected the creation of the twelfth clone, with the Sisterhood dreading another Kwisatz Haderach, vowing not to take the clone to Rakis, formerly Arrakis or Dune. In the meantime, a girl from the former desert world named Sheeana Brugh learns to control sandworms, with the late God Emperor Leto II, fifteen centuries dead before the book’s timeframe, predicting a sandrider.

Reverend Mother Taraza has a meeting with a woman who had borne nineteen children for the Bene Gesserit, Darwi Odrade, on the Chapter House planet. The latest Duncan clone gradually gains memories from prior incarnations, such as being a ghola, with backstory given on the Bene Tleilax, divided into Face Dancers that serve as mules submissive to Masters. Also introduced is the Weapons Master to Duncan, Miles Teg, who didn’t want to come on assignment to Gammu, but Taraza personally requested him, with background given on him as well like his wife’s death thirty-eight years past, and grandchildren through his daughter Dimela.

The eleven-year-old Sheeana has been with the priests on Rakis for three years and is interested in the planet’s desert environs. She befriends a worm and names it Shaitan, with her regular wormriding causing disdain among the clergy overseeing her growth. Miles Teg receives additional backstory, being a Mentat, with one of his earliest memories being a dinner with his brother Sabine, whom he adored. Time skips also occur sporadically, with Duncan turning fifteen. However, some inconsistencies appear, like a mention of him at a younger age than the twelve years he starts at.

Some familial revelations sporadically come throughout the story, with other characters introduced, like Tylwyth Waff, a Tleilaxu Master of Masters. Teg ultimately finds himself on the run from adversaries late in the novel. After I finished, I found this to be another enjoyable series entry; however, better definitions of unique terms like no-ships and no-globes, the former vessels that can turn invisible, would have been welcome. The novel further emphasizes human interest more than science fiction. Even so, it’s a good yarn, likely to be relished by series enthusiasts; however, newcomers to the Duniverse will likely want to start from the beginning.

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The Foundations of Trauma and How to Heal from It

Posted on February 12 by Remy St. Gallen

I expressed interest in this guide from The Depression Project since I had experienced my share of trauma throughout my lifetime, especially when I accustomed myself to the World Wide Web as it was gaining ground, even before the widespread use of social media. The introduction defines trauma not as an event but rather as how an event overwhelms the body’s capacity to process what is happening. Part one details how to map and regulate the nervous system; chief nervous components include the ventral portion that dictates one’s presence, the sympathetic sector that focuses on mobility, and the dorsal area that involves emotional shutdown.

Part two assists readers in creating dorsal toolkits, opening by mentioning both negative physical and mental feelings when the area is in shutdown mode. Comfort activities can counteract shutdown, including diaphragmatic breathing, telling oneself grounding statements to remain in the present, and aromatherapy. The chapter further suggests techniques like mindfulness exercises (which encompass what one feels, hears, smells, and tastes), gentle mobility like stretching or swaying and connecting with others who register as safe for oneself. Other methods include finding positives in the current environment and journaling things for which one is grateful.

The third section aids the reader in producing a “sympathetic toolkit” to counteract situations like one’s system being mobilized by racing thoughts, with several viable strategies to help one restore their system to safety. The chapter suggests positively reframing racing thoughts and asking the golden question: “If a friend were in my position, would I be telling them the same negative things that I’m currently telling myself?” The book defines cognitive distortions as twisted thought patterns grounded not in reality but in bias, and filter thinking focuses solely on the negative. The final part focuses on anchoring oneself in a mentally safe spot.

Ultimately, I found this to be an illuminating read on overcoming past trauma and learned the critical sectors of the nervous system, alongside terminology for negative thought patterns. However, I was aware of techniques to counter negative feelings, like deep breathing and journaling. I also didn’t care much for the segments that involved providing answer lists in between subsections. As the guide further notes, not every strategy will work for every person; as an autistic, I often struggle with attempts to remember the multitude of methods to counteract whatever hinders my thoughts. Regardless, this is an insightful resource for those wrestling with post-traumatic stress.

Star Wars: Ahsoka (novel)

Posted on October 14 by Remy St. Gallen

Ahsoka by E.K. Johnston
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Author E.K. Johnston dedicates this canon Star Wars book to the Royal Handmaiden Society and writes in her acknowledgements section that she wanted to write a Star Wars book, receiving input from the Lucasfilm Story Group to formulate a story about Ahsoka Tano, who in The Clone Wars CG series left the Jedi Order towards the end of the conflict that rages between the second and third Episodes of the film franchise. The novel opens with a look at the past, when Ahsoka Tano exchanges taunts on the burning planet Mandalore with the former Sith Lord Maul, thought dead after The Phantom Menace but confirmed alive with prosthetics in The Clone Wars.

Given the decimation of the Jedi Order after the Clone Wars concluded with Chancellor-turned-Emperor Sheev Palpatine’s Order 66 to have the clone soldiers turn against their former Jedi commanders, protagonist Ahsoka feels alone but actually appreciates solitude, living in the Outer Rim of the galaxy near the Fardi family on the world Thabeska under the alias Ashla, as the first Empire Day indicating the anniversary of the Republic’s transition into the Galactic Empire comes. She quickly involves herself in technological repair work, occasionally missing the droid R2-D2 and her former master, Anakin Skywalker.

However, Imperial Stormtroopers seeking survivors from Order 66 quickly force Ahsoka to resettle on Raada, with occasional Jedi mind tricks furthering her survival. One of her friends, Kaeden, an orphan with nothing to his name, is captured by soldiers and interrogated about the former Jedi’s whereabouts, with another antagonist, the Sixth Brother, spearheading the search for her. The story concludes with Ahsoka recruited by Alderaan Senator Bail Organa into the Rebel Alliance and her adoption of the name Fulcrum. Overall, this canon Star Wars novel is enjoyable, despite minor confusion regarding character fates and their names, but is recommended easily to series fans.

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The Demon Hunter

Posted on October 12 by Remy St. Gallen

The Demon Hunter by Duncan M. Hamilton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The third and final installment of author Duncan M. Hamilton’s Blood of Kings trilogy opens with a foreword indicating that it occurs in the same universe as his other trilogies. The story begins in the past, with two warriors, Giffrid and Abrecan, ready to end the war they are fighting against their nemesis, Fenerik. The chapters afterward begin with the dramatis personae discussing how best to protect the last blood-bearer, Conrad, versus the forces that would seek to eradicate him. He and his companions investigate demon magic, with Conrad able to read some ancient writing and having some magical capability.

His companions suggest formal magical training, with Conrad taught towards the end of the novel to get in touch with a mystic power known as the Fount. He and his older companions break into the mansion of the Count of Streblano, seeking to purloin an ancient text during one of his parties. Among the characters, Luther travels to patrol the Frontier, where he regularly encounters demons that have begun to amass. Conrad and his allies then explore the nether regions of the castle where he had his swordsmanship instruction, with one of the rooms there said to harbor ancient magic.

Meanwhile, Conrad’s old rival Manfred runs a criminal organization, having gotten his start from the demonic Isgurin, and goes on an expedition to seek mystic artifacts. Conrad and company ultimately discover Manfred’s intentions and pursue him, engaging some of his men in combat. Isgurin brings Manfred before his master, Fanrac, who wants to restore his ancient empire. The final confrontation with Fanrac arrives, with the reunion of Conrad and Manfred not being happy, either. The novel settles the fate of its various luminaries, with a wedding in the mix.

Overall, I enjoyed reading the final installment of Hamilton’s fantasy trilogy; I would gladly check out his other works, provided they occur in the same universe as the Blood of Kings series. I could easily visualize the action and scenery throughout the story and genuinely experienced a sense of foreboding as Conrad and his companions explored dark underground paths; the continued rivalry between Conrad and Manfred resolves satisfactorily. The anticlimax and alternation of character parties within chapters were perhaps my most pressing issues with the story; however, fantasy literature enthusiasts will likely enjoy the trilogy.

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Aftermath: Empire’s End

Posted on October 6 by Remy St. Gallen

Empire’s End by Chuck Wendig
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the final installment of author Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath trilogy of canon Star Wars novels, the remnant of the shattered Galactic Empire has gathered on and over the remote planet Jakku, where they attempt to make their last stand against the New Republic. The novel opens with an intro set aboard the Second Death Star above Endor, where Admiral Gallius Rax talks to Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine. When the main chapters commence, Norra Wexley and her companions attempt to lure bounty hunter Mercurial into a trap due to his dealing with Imperial Admiral Rae Sloane, with fellow bounty hunter Jas Emari headed to Jakku.

Han and Leia continue to anticipate the birth of their first child, realizing that the New Republic looks weak after the events during Liberation Day on Chandrila, which harbors the Galactic Senate. Temmin Wexley wants to join his mother Norra on her forthcoming mission to Jakku, although she refuses initially. Disaster strikes when the spaceship Moth enters the airspace above the planet, where the Imperials shoot at the vessel; Norra and Jas escape in an escape pod that lands on Jakku, where they wander its wastes. Afterward, Han Solo plots to penetrate the Imperial blockade to rescue them.

As with its predecessors, the third Aftermath novel features several Interludes between the main chapters. The first features the Wookiee Lumpawaroo, son of Chewbacca, traversing the jungles of Mount Arayakyak, the Cultivating Talon, on his homeworld of Kashyyyk. Another occurs in Theed City on Naboo, where a youngling meets Jar Jar Binks, one on Tatooine with a Huttlet named Borgo, and one on the planet Christophsis, where fledgling Jedi seek kyber crystals necessary to the construction of their lightsabers; the Galactic Empire also used the minerals to power the lasers of both Death Stars.

On Jakku, Imperial stormtroopers hold Jas and Norra prisoner, although Sinjir comes to the rescue. Part of the plot further involves Niima the Hutt, with whom Rae Sloane interacts. Meanwhile, Chancellor Mon Mothma faces electoral competition from Senator Tolwar Wartol, with the legislature initially opposing intervention in the Imperials amassing on Jakku; however, suspicion of corruption emerges among the dissident votes. The battle for Jakku transpires late in the novel; the fate of the Imperial remnants is ultimately settled, with the father and son Brendol and Armitage Hux traveling beyond the galaxy to ponder the Imperials’ next course of action.

Overall, the conclusion to the Aftermath trilogy is an enjoyable read, with fans of the Star Wars franchise sure to delight in the old and new characters central to the series, with plenty of science-fiction action towards the end. There’s also occasional insight into the political mechanisms of the New Republic, without offending anyone in real life with certain ideologies. The mention of Grand Admiral Thrawn is a nice nod to the now-non-canon Legends chronology, too. However, those deeply unversed in the series might not grasp the appearances of the various alien species, and reminders would have been welcome. Regardless, the trilogy did well to begin to fill the temporal gap between Episodes VI and VII of the Skywalker Saga films.

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The Banneret

Posted on September 28 by Remy St. Gallen

The Banneret by Duncan M. Hamilton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The second entry of author Duncan M. Hamilton’s Blood of Kings trilogy opens in Ostenheim several years after its predecessor, with Manfred, who served as a rival to the main character Conrad when they were squiring, visiting a lawyer. The sequel follows the parallel storylines of Conrad and Manfred, with the latter seeking power through demonic medallions and contacting a demon named Isgurin. Manfred seeks a group known as the watchers who protect the blood bearer, with his goal of killing them before aiming for the life of the one whom they protect.

In the meantime, Conrad’s protectors, Nicolo, Qenna, Franz, and Petr, a former Grey Priest, ride to Ostbrucken, which seems abandoned, deemed to be the work of demons. Conrad is celebrating becoming a banneret, becoming inebriated but finding demons in a warehouse, which he attempts to subdue. However, his attempts fail, with Heidi the Intellegencier bailing him out of jail. Conrad ultimately reunites with his protectors, who visit the estate of a recently deceased count, after which they travel the seas via the Albatrossand reach Ostenheim themselves.

The sequel climaxes at a gambling establishment and the estate of the Count of Urveni, where Manfred and Conrad have a reunion that isn’t necessarily tearful. Overall, the second Blood of Kings book is enjoyable like its predecessor, with plenty of action and development, alongside parallel narratives that aren’t too difficult to follow, even if the breaks between characters happen within the same chapters when separating them would have been preferable. Regardless, I enjoyed this niche fantasy novel and look forward to reading the concluding entry of its respective series.

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Beastars, Volume 19

Posted on August 16 by Remy St. Gallen

BEASTARS, Vol. 19 by Paru Itagaki
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Like its precursors, the nineteenth volume of the Beastars manga opens with a synopsis of recent events and a visual summary of the chief characters. The main action continues Legoshi the gray wolf’s training with the rabbit Kyu, which he is reluctant to go through given his reluctance to fight back against females. Then comes the revelation that Gohin, a giant panda, who had trained Legoshi before, had rescued Kyu from the black market, after which the wolf and rabbit concur that Melon, a half-leopard, half-gazelle, must be defeated, with a backstory involving his leopard mother revealed as well.

The lion-populated black-market gang, the Shishi-gumi, wish to off Melon, choosing one of their members, Agata, to assassinate their leader. Coincidentally, the melon fruit from which the half-herbivore, half-carnivore received his name becomes popular in the city where the manga occurs, with Legoshi informing the current Beastar, the horse Yahya, that he wishes to confront the gang leader on the forthcoming Meat Day when rival mafias in the black-market engage in turf wars. Legoshi informs his friend, the red deer Louis, of his inventions to confront Melon, during which he hears unfortunate news of his adoptive father, Ogma.

Louis later goes to the Wisdom Soul Festival, where herbivores pray for protection from carnivores. There, he reunites with Haru, who notes that her relationship with Legoshi changed her perspectives and that she had promised Melon at her university to let him devour her. Legoshi then tries to sign up for the Mead Day turf wars. However, he must compete with Melon in a quiz show-like setting and answer questions correctly about animal society or risk death. The nineteenth volume concludes with Kyu attempting to write a letter to her rescuer Gohin, and how her attempt to attack a giraffe with his neck in a cast proves a turning point in training Legoshi.

After the main narrative are anecdotes of Legoshi’s “sideburns,” Louis perusing Ogma’s photographs, the Wisdom Soul Festival, Itagaki’s work-at-home attire, and two of Legoshi’s former roommates taking jobs. Overall, this volume of the Beastars manga is enjoyable as its predecessor; its animal characters are developed well alongside plenty of action. However, the story of Kyu training Legoshi somewhat parallels that of Gohin training him, and the mangaka, as before, ignores the gray area between carnivores and herbivores the real world knows as omnivores. Regardless, I recommend Volume 19 to those who have read and enjoyed the preceding entries.

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Eulalia!

Posted on August 14 by Remy St. Gallen

Eulalia! by Brian Jacques
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Although this yarn of Redwall, written by the late Brian Jacques, occurs chronologically well beyond its initial entry, it contains a structure like the stories that occur beforehand. However, the setting this time is the mountain stronghold Salamandastron, where a Badger Lord tells a story to his daughter. The first chapter after the prologue introduces some of the main antagonists aboard the Bludgullet, spearheaded by the vulpine Captain Vizka Longtooth, with his entourage known as the Sea Raiders. The badger Gorath also plays a significant role, being a refugee who takes solace in the stories of Redwall and Salamandastron.

Gorath quickly finds himself a prisoner of Vizka’s forces, with the hare Maudie of the mountain sanctuary tasked with finding a badger lord to bequeath the legendary fortress. Maudie finds herself the hostage of sand lizards. Meanwhile, Redwall is relatively at peace, although the vermin kidnaps one of its residents, the hedgehog Orkwil Prink (initially expelled from the Abbey due to his thievery, a first among the “good” creatures). The hares of Salamandastron, among them Maudie, who gets in trouble for serving soup too hot, eventually rendezvous with the shrews of Guosim, its current Log-a-Log Luglug.

Another group of adversaries arises, the Brownrats led by Gruntan Kurdly, with a power struggle between his forces and Vizka’s. Gorath soon meets Orkwil and goes with him to Redwall, where the badger remains abed for much of the book. Gorath meets other badgers like the female Salixa, eventually accepting his destiny as heir to Salamandastron. Several well-described battles round out the nineteenth story, and as with its predecessors, plenty of good poetry is present. Overall, this is another enjoyable tale of Redwall, although, like most of its predecessors, most of its elements are derivative, such as depicting specific animals in black-and-white terms.

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