BOOK & BLOG

June 25, 2010

Books of the Week: Havemercy, Shadow Magic, and Dragon Soul, Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett

In preparation for the release of Dragon Soul, I reread the first two books in the series. Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett have definite been on my radar since their first book, Havemercy. It’s in the genre I know now is called Steampunk; at least, I think it is, because it’s about an unindustrial society that nonetheless has these amazing mechanized dragons. The dragons have been created by magicians on the side of Volstov, a city-state which has been at war with Ke-Han for decades. Ke-Han, on the other side of the Cobalt Mountains, is an Asian society which practices a very different magical system. In the first book we meet the dragon riders, a group of bold, dashing, and eccentric men who have the talent to be accepted by a dragon as its rider. The most important one, in terms of the narrative, is Rook, who is gorgeous physically . . . but a disaster socially. The other main characters (the story is moved along through several eyes) include the disgraced magician Royston and his new apprentice Hal, and Rook’s brother Thom, a scholar. We also meet characters who will be more important in Shadow Magic, General Alcibiades and Caius Greylace, both of whom were born with the Talent (magical ability). In Shadow Magic the war is over, and the Volstovic delegation has arrived in the capitol of the defeated Ke-Han to negotiate the terms of the treaty. Naturally, things don’t go as planned. The new Ke-Han ruler takes the opportunity to try to kill his younger brother, who escapes with his loyal retainer. I confess this is my favorite book. But I haven’t finished Dragon Soul yet, in which we again meet Rook and Thom as they search for pieces of Rook’s destroyed Dragon, Havemercy. I hope I come to enjoy Dragon Soul as much as the previous two entries.

Blog

It’s June, so instead of being deer season or football season, it’s – wedding season! Every time I go in one of the local stores, I check the “bride” shelves to see if I need to pick out any gifts. When I open our mail, I go to the calendar to mark the days various people we know are plighting their troth. Every time I attend a wedding, I swear to myself that I will offer my children money if they go to the justice of the peace or if they will restrict their ceremony to a family-only observance.

This year I’m getting a double whammy of wedding fever. Not only is this time so many people tie the knot, BFF Paula’s going to have a wedding in her family in the fall, so I’m learning a lot of modern wedding tips from her experiences in the wedding racket.

When I was growing up, back in the Jurassic period, a typical southern wedding consisted of: a church ceremony with four or fewer attendants, flowers, and the minister and organist. There was a rehearsal dinner the night before, and a modest reception afterward in the church hall. At the reception, there would be a bride’s cake and a groom’s cake, some peanuts or cheese sticks, and punch. The bride and groom would come in after about fifteen minutes of picture taking, and after an hour, the event would be over and everyone could go home to get about their lives. The bride and groom could change to leave on their honeymoon.

This seems to be the exceptional wedding now, rather than the rule. Weddings are either way up on the scale, or even plainer. I have become aware that I’m different from many other women, perhaps? Maybe I’m a Scrooge, or simply behind the times. Even in the south, wedding customs are definitely changing for the more expensive. I understand that couples want to have a day to remember, almost a fantasy day; and if they can afford it, more power to them. That’s a dream that just passed me by.

It has always seemed to me that the most important factor was definitely the wedding part, the actual exchange of vows and the pronouncement that now you’re man and wife. Aside from that, everything else is just ruffles, right?  But other people have a more ambitious vision for their big day. This is one of my limitations, and I’m just having to accept that.

But I’m going to tell my children there’s nothing wrong with a nice check.

Charlaine Harris