Coming-of-Age » Cybermage

Coming-of-age can carry a death sentance

This is in many ways a traditional story about a young boy who grows up not believing he has any powers and being given a hard time by his peers. He then discovers he has powers but it is gate magic and that carries a death sentence since Loke stole all the gates and cut the gods of from their powers centuries ago. He has to go on the run as an ordinary boy and learn about ordinary humans at the same time.

Danny North is the name of this likeable protagonist and it is wonderful to read about him discovering the world and getting a bit more balanced view of humans than his folks back home. He meets some interesting friends on the run and makes some startling discoveries. His clan of Northern gods or magicians as they call themselves is only one of many pantheons that live in secret on earth maintaining the little powers they have left.

The world building meshes well with known history and the magical system is well thought out and implemented. It feels like a lot of energy has been spent on making this a believable world and it shows.

There is also a parallel storyline on Westil, the home of the gods about a young boy who one day step out of a tree with no memory.

I have not enjoyed an Orson Scott Card book as much as this one since Ender’s Game. The Lost Gate is a great coming-of-age story about current day wizards with hints of a greater evil to come in the sequels. I have no idea when the second Mithermages book will be out but I will definitely go for it.

Information

Title: The Lost Gate
Series: Mither Mages book 1
Author: Orson Scott Card
Genre: Fantasy
Audiobook: 12h 21min
Publisher: Blacksone Audio (2011)
Order from: Amazon US | UK | Audible

Danny North knew from early childhood that his family was different – and that he was different from them. While his cousins were learning how to create the things that commoners called fairies, ghosts, golems, trolls, werewolves, and other such miracles that were the heritage of the North family, Danny worried that he would never show a talent, never form an “outself”.

He grew up in the rambling old house, filled with dozens of cousins and aunts and uncles, all ruled by his father. Their home was isolated in the mountains of western Virginia, far from town, far from schools, far from other people.

There are many secrets in the House, and many rules that Danny must follow. There is a secret library with only a few dozen books, and none of them in English – but Danny and his cousins are expected to become fluent in the language of the books. While Danny’s cousins are free to create magic whenever they like, they must never do it where outsiders might see.

Unfortunately, there are some secrets kept from Danny as well. And that will lead to disaster for the North family.

Orson Scott Card, a New York Times best-selling author, has won several Hugo and Nebula Awards for his works of speculative fiction. He lives with his family in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Information

Title: Guardians of the Phoenix
Author: Eric Brown
Paperback: 350 pages
Publisher: Solaris (2010)
Copy: Bought it myself

Order from: Amazon US | UK

Global warming has taken its terrible toll. The seas have dried up and deserts cover much of the Earth’s surface. Humankind has been annihilated by drought and the nuclear and biological conflicts following the Great Breakdown. Desperate bands of humans still survive. Some live far underground, away from the searing temperatures and ongoing conflicts on the surface; others scrape a living in the remains of shattered cities above ground. In Paris, Pierre lives like an animal among the sand-drifted ruins of the once great city. Near death, he faces a choice: join the strangers heading south in search of water, or remain in the city and perish. Guardians of the Phoenix tells the story of the last survivors on planet Earth, their desperate fight for survival and their last hope to save the world

I listened to the five Share novels more or less in one go. This is another story in the same Golden Age of the Solar Clipper universe. It focus on the coming of age of Otto the son of a Shaman on the planet St. Cloud and it also dives into the everyday lives of the working stiffs on the company owned planet. It all starts when the company announces new quotas.

Title: South Coast
Author: Nathan Lowell
Series: A Shaman’s Tale from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper 1
Audiobook: 15h 45m - 21 episodes of 45 minutes
Publisher: Durandus 2007
Genre: Science Fiction Fantasy
Free Online: podiobooks.com | iTunes

[goodreads' description] Otto is Richard Krugg’s only son and heir to the Shaman’s gift. The only problem is Otto doesn’t want it. He wants to be a fisherman. When company policies force unwelcome changes onto his life and threaten even the security of the village, Otto discovers that being a shaman isn’t optional.

Jimmy Pirano is caught between the devil and the deep green sea when new production quotas are handed down from corporate headquarters. Locked into a century of existing practice, Jimmy is forced to find new ways to fish and new places to do it in or face the very real possibility that Pirano Fisheries will lose the St. Cloud franchise.

Join Otto, Richard, and Rachel Krugg as they struggle with what it means to be the son of a shaman. Cast off with Jimmy, Tony, and Casey as they navigate the shoals and shallows of corporate fishery along the South Coast.

The Author

[wikia] Dr. Nathan Lowell holds a Ph.D. in Educational Technology with specializations in Distance Education and Instructional Design. He also holds an M.A. in Educational Technology and a BS in Business Administration. He grew up on the south coast of Maine and is strongly rooted in the maritime heritage of the sea-farer. He served in the USCG from 1970 to 1975, seeing duty aboard a cutter on hurricane patrol in the North Atlantic and at a communications station in Kodiak, AK. His shipboard experiences serve as inspiration for much of the shipboard life on the Lois McKendrick.

He currently lives far from the sea in the plains east of the Rocky Mountains with wife and two daughters.

Information

South Coast is the first book in a series. Book two is still in the works. South Coast is a spin-off to the Share series (my reviews of them ), set in the same universe but focused on St Cloud, a single fishing planet and the coming of age of Otto Krugg, the only son of Richard Krugg and heir to the Shaman’s Gift.

In Cape Grace, the planned second book of Shaman’s Tales, we’ll meet Otto’s daughter Sarah Krugg and see what happens when the Shaman’s Gift takes an unexpected direction.

World Building

A fascinating part of the Share books was the Whelkies and their shaman origin and here we learn about them and the Golden Age version of shamanism as Otto learns from his father and nature. According to the author Whelkies are based on the idea of the Native American Zuni fetishes. He liked the idea of having a similar kind of idea based on the wood and shell available on the beaches along the South Coast of St. Cloud. They are a very neat story telling tool both in the Share books and here as the protagonist get to give the important people in their lives the appropriate Whelkie that ‘represents’ their inner self.

I like the way this book takes us to a company owned planet and we get to experience firsthand how it is. In the Share books we saw the trade-between-the-stars part; here we get to see the ‘production line’.

Plot

This is a very character driven story, Otto’s coming-of-age story is central to the book but the obvious obstacle is the mysterious quota changes made by the Company. They set impossible quotas to fill and the local company representatives and everyone involved has to figure out ways to solve the problem. Otto’s mother gets to go back to the sea she loves but his father also has to go as they stretch every resource available to fill the quota.

Characterization

As usual the characters Nathan Lowell creates are easy to relate to and central to the narration. Characters and his narrative voice is Lowell’s greatest strengths. You’ll notice that he is a people person and that working with people with special needs shines through in his stories. Nathan’s books give me a warm feeling because of the positive attitude and the down to earth narration. His people feels real; like he is telling a friend about another real living person he meet. That includes most of the characters in the book.

I love coming of age stories and Otto’s journey to become a shaman is a good one. I especially liked the way his gift started to present itself and his inner dialog.

My View

Another great ‘working-stiffs’ science fiction by Nathan Lowell with wonderful characters and a beautiful coming of age story that expands the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper universe. Good composition of music and narration and told in Nathan Lowell’s own captivating voice. South Coast is a standalone novel and an excellent start if you want to start with Nathan Lowell. It is not a book for the action craving but if you like a strong character driven tale it is a book for you.

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Mercantile adventures in the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper is an entertaining listen and the audio book is free. Be warned that this is a really capturing story, when you begin listening to it you might not stop until you listen to all the books in the series as I am doing.

Title: Quarter Share
Author: Nathan Lowell
Genre: Mercantile Science Fiction
Audiobook: Podiobook (Free Online Audio Book) | iTunes
Paperback: 282 pages
Publisher: Ridan Publishing, 1 edition (April 10, 2010)
Order: Amazon US

The Golden Age of Sail has Returned — in the Year 2352

When his mother dies in a flitter crash, eighteen-year-old Ishmael Horatio Wang must find a job with the planet company or leave the system–and NerisCo isn’t hiring. With credits running low, and prospects limited, he has just one hope… to enlist for two years with a deep space commercial freighter. Ishmael, who only rarely visited the Neris Orbital, and has never been off-planet alone before, finds himself part of an eclectic crew sailing a deep space leviathan between the stars.

Join the crew of the SC Lois McKendrick, a Manchester built clipper as she sets solar sails in search of profit for her company and a crew each entitled to a share equal to their rating.

This is a marvelous story, I like coming of age stories and this is a mesmerizing one. It is also a nice change to have an everyday story about a young boy learning the ropes in the mercantile fleet in the 24th century during the golden age of the solar clippers. It’s a workplace tale where Ishmael plunge into a world he doesn’t know anything about and he has to learn it from the bottom as a quarter share mess boy. But he is not without talent and he finds he loves it there out in the deep dark. His way to assure he can stay there is endearing and ambitious.

The characters is at the center in story, they are detailed, warm and easy to love. I wouldn’t mind at all working on the SC McKendrick it seems a nice place to be in much like the company I work at myself.

World building is not very extensive outside the ship and the trade but it isn’t any problem, you feel that the important part is the enclosed ship society, everything outside change as the ship moves and are not really important to the story.

Quarter Share is available for download now (Podiobook). And I am happy it is a series so I can enjoy it long time (I am listening to chapter 4 of Half Share book two of the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper). As of today you can also get it as a paper back.

Quarter Share is a mesmerizing tale of a young man coming of age and finding his place as a crewman aboard a solar clipper. Call me Ishmael works real well and makes me smile every time Nathan says it. Make sure you have free time and download the book is my recommendation.

The series: