I read 50 of the Time Magazine's 100 Best Fantasy Novels- I found them, well.... Part 2
Continuing from right where we left off ....
#4 Trail of Lightning
Based on Navajo mythological fiction, the
story features Maggie Hoskie (anticlimactic name, I know), a monsterslayer with (collective groan) a tragic past.
After her abandonment by her mentor, Maggie sinks into desolation and loneliness, shunned by the locals for her disturbing powers. Only, when someone starts creating cannibalistic monsters, Maggie tries to find the culprit, with the help of the charming Kai
Arviso, who has mysterious powers of his own. The post-apocalyptic world is where the true heart of the novel lies, where monsters roam the drought-struck lands of the Navajo reservation. The bizarre blend of the mythological and mundane
The author manages to coax old stock figures (hint: the lonely assassin, the enigmatic companion) into likeable main characters, with a sprinkling of rather cringe humour .
The book has, as previously mentioned, gun-slinging and knife-throwing action of the best kind. Fast and bloody. The story takes us over the sweeping reservation, in a series of well-written encounters. However, the overall plot wasn’t as stellar, more-or-less mediocre, and unsurprising.
In spite of that, the novel makes it to the list for the sharp uniqueness of it’s setting.
#5 Empire of Sand
Mehr, the protagonist is a young girl born into privilege, with a powerful noble for a father. Yet, her mother is one of the Amrithi, the tribesmen hunted relentlessly by the Emperor. After she unintentionally causes a scandal, she draws attention from a cult of mystics. She is unwillingly coerced into their service, and is taken far away, deep into the desert heart of the empire, where the magical daeva roam the sands.
Here, Mehr meets the magnetic Maha, the immortal god-emperor who founded the very Empire, and Amun, another Amrithi pressed into the service of a god emperor they do not worship.
Mehr battles to escape the Maha, who cruelly uses her people to add to the glory of the Empire. In the end, she will have to make a choice… her people or the Empire
Contrasting with the previous book, Empire of Sand is wonderfully subtle. It is crafted brilliantly, forming a delicate balance, that, in less deft hands, could have come crashing down. It balances Mehr’s pragmatism with her desperate longing for freedom.
The novel foregoes the normal sword-swinging, magic-wielding battles. Instead, Mehr rebels in quieter ways, with deceptive words and gentle manipulation.
The story is set in a land somewhat like the Mughal Empire. The power dynamics, from the court politics to Mehr’s standing in the palace, to the scenes with the Maha are all too realistic.
The magic system is based on blood, where the Amrithi dance rites to influence the dreams of Gods.
This lush, dreamy tale feels like being swept away across the sands of the deserts and deserves a try.
#6 The Princess Bride
Though definitely a children’s novel, the Princess Bride almost managed to entertain me as a kid, so I think it’s definitely worth giving to a younger sibling, aged 8-10. I think this is a refreshing bit of satire amongst the huge heap of sappiness and mushiness that is childrens' literature.
It has an unconventional style. Narrated in third person, but interjected with the author’s commentary, while the author pretends to be a harried abridger, who is cutting the dull bits out of a lengthy tome by a fictional “Samuel Morgenstern”.
(Embarrassingly, I didn’t get this until well into the novel. Cringe.)
So, she is to be married to Prince Humperdinck. (Honestly, when choosing a ridiculous name for the character, couldn’t the author pick one that was easier to spell?!)
But, before the wedding, she is kidnapped by a trio of criminals. The clever, crippled Vizzini, the super-strong Fezzik and the grandmaster swordsman Inigo Montoya, who has (Not again!) a tragic past, and (No, don’t even say it!) a thirst for revenge, only to be rescued by a mysterious masked vigilante.
The novel is quite entertaining, with a good amount of humour and has a reasonably good plot for a children’s novel. It’s characters are coin-flat (for satirical purposes) and the read does not have a real moral (thankfully, I honestly don’t know why we give kids only novels with morals, I used to hate them viscerally)
But the best thing about the novel is its satire of overdone tropes and it’s self-mocking humour.
#7 Get in Trouble
The Two Houses is a chilling ghost story told on a futuristic spaceship
The Summer People feels like a fairytale castle slipped into a grim, gritty urban neighborhood
The Valley of the Girls has the uber-rich and careless play around with Egyptian mythology, and is a twisted, creepy tale.
A strikingly unique work, the book won the Pulitzer Prize. The book is formless, lacks definite plot, is vague and RIDICULOUSLY unsatisfying. It’s also quite dark and bitter. Probably that took away some of the popularity it deserved. Still, read it with an open mind and a loose hold on reality.
Well, on that reassuring note, I wind up. Check out Part 3 for more.
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