Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey

I was unsure how I wanted to follow up last week's wonderful series of books, and I thought, why not go back to my roots? .  I have read the entire series every year since I snuck my father's Science Fiction Book Club copy of Dragonflight in the summer of 1969. Since that time I have worn out 6 hardbound copies of 'The Dragonriders of Pern', a collection comprised of the first three books based on the fantastic Weyrs of Pern, and the people and their dragons who live within them.   I can't tell you how many fellow Pern fanatics tell me the same thing, 'When I think of dragons, I think of Pern'.

Anne McCaffrey's 1968 novel, Dragonflight was the first book in the original trilogy, and is the book that launched an empire that now encompasses 22 novels (plus 2 more in the works) and several short-stories.  In 2003 McCaffrey began writing with her son, Todd McCaffrey and in 2005 Todd took over the series, and has acquitted himself well. I am still buying and enjoying the new entries in the series!

Dragonflight began life as a short story for Analog, 'Weyr Search' which appeared in the October 1967 issue, followed by the two-part 'Dragonrider', with the first part appearing in the December 1967 issue. In 1969 the two award winning short stories were combined into the book Dragon Flight, and was published by Ballantine books.

Pern is a planet inhabited by humans. In the forward of the book, we find that he original colonists were reduced to a low level of technology by periodic onslaughts of deadly Thread raining down from the sky. By taming and bonding to the indigenous flying, fire-breathing dragonettes called Fire-Lizards and then making genetic alterations to make them larger and telepathic, the colonists gained the upper hand. The dragons and their riders destroyed the Thread in the skies over Pern before it was able to burrow into the land and breed. The Threads would fall for fifty or so years, and then there would be an interval of 200 to 250 years.  However, an unusually long interval between attacks, 4 centuries in duration, has caused the general population to gradually dismiss the threat and withdraw support from the Weyrs where dragons are bred and trained. At the time of this novel, only one weyr, Benden Weyr, remains (the other five having mysteriously disappeared at the same time in the last quiet interval).  The weyr is now living a precarious hand-to-mouth existence, due to a series of ever weaker leaders over the previous fifty or so turns (years).

The story begins with Lessa, the true daughter of the dead Lord Holder and rightful heir of Ruatha Hold.  She was ten years old the day her family's hold was overrun by Fax, Lord of the Seven Holds.  Out of everyone in her family, she is the only full-blooded Ruathan left alive, and that was because she hid in the watch-wher's kennel during the massacre.  Now she is a drudge, working in the kitchens or her family's rightful home.  However, Lessa is gifted with the ability to use her mind to make others do her will; grass grows where it should not, and nothing grows where it should.  Every day of her life since the day Fax massacred her family she has used that power in secret to undermine him.  Now the mighty Fax only visits Ruatha when he is forced to, and has left the running of the hold to a series of ever more incompetent warders. Things have become quite grim there under Lessa's vengeful care.

Unbeknownst to Lessa, the dreadful menace of thread is about to make itself known once again.  This time, however, there is only one undermanned weyr to combat the menace, and only one Queen Dragon to propagate the species. Jora has died, and her dragon is only hanging on until her eggs are ready to hatch.  The Dragon Rider F'lar, rider of Bronze Mnementh, has brought his wing of dragons to Ruatha hoping to find a woman who will be a the Weyrwoman of Pern.  Fax despises the Dragon men, and is spoiling for a reason to kill him.  However, he unwillingly makes the pilgrimage to Ruatha, bringing all of his ladies, including his pregnant wife, Gemma.  When they arrive in Ruatha, the hold is a filthy disgrace, the food is unfit and tensions are high. Lady Gemma goes into labor during the disgusting meal that is all that the warder can scrape together.

Lessa secretly uses her abilities to manipulate F'lar into a fight to the death with Fax, with the eye to claiming Ruatha for herself, as was her right and due.  Before the fight, Fax is maneuvered into renouncing his claim on Ruatha, but to her chagrin, it is only in favor of Lady Gemma's babe, should it live.

This is where the story really begins.  At this point in the book, I am completely enthralled; and my own work, dishes and other domestic tasks fall by the way until I turn that last page!

The action is vivid, the people and the dragons are clear and distinct as characters.  The social and political climate on Pern is clearly defined.  Each of the characters is fully formed, and the reader is completely immersed into their world. The way the dragons teleport, and their telepathic conversations with their riders makes for an ingenious twist in this seductive tale. And speaking of seductive, what I love the most about the entire series is the frank sensuality that never disappoints me.  Anne McCaffrey never drops into long graphic descriptions of the sex that is frequently part of her stories, and yet she manages to convey the deeply empathic and intensely sensual connection that the riders and their dragons share.

Even though I have read the entire series every year since 1983, I find myself fully involved in the story.  Every year there are new books to add to the series, and now if I were to sit down and begin reading the series it would take me two full weeks to get through it!

This is the colorful book cover as was published in 1970 by Corgi.  I never liked this cover nearly so much as the green one that is at the top of this post, though I did have several copies of this particular book.

This book changed my life as a reader of fantasy and science fiction.  I found myself incessantly combing the book stores for new stories by Anne McCaffrey, and eagerly read anything that even remotely promised to be as good as this book.  I read many great books in the process; some were just as groundbreaking, and some were not so good, but even after all these years, this book stands as the benchmark beside which I measure a truly great fantasy.

'Dragonflight' has captivated generations of fans, and was the first adult book my youngest daughter ever read once she left the Beverly Cleary books behind, having simply snuck it off my shelf (I wonder where she got that notion). My children are firm fans of Anne McCaffrey's work, and so are my granddaughters! I inadvertently raised a fan-club! As a family, when we think of Dragons, we think of Pern!

Imago Chronicles: A Warriors Tale, L. T. Suzuki

Just like every other obsessed, fanatic reader of High Fantasy, I am always on the lookout for that one special book that presages the advent of a new classic series in the genre.  In my opinion, L. T. Suzuki has written that book in Imago Chronicles Book One: A Warrior's Tale.

Over the last few months since I began blogging on what I consider to be the best fantasy reads that  come across my Kindle, I have read, on average, 4 fairly good books for every one really good book that made the blog; but 'fairly good' is not good enough for me to call a book 'Best In Fantasy'. Hence, my frequent excursions back to my library of classics. In order for a book to be featured here, I have to LOVE it!   In 'A Warrior's Tale', Suzuki has written a book that stands beside the works of my beloved heroes of modern fantasy Jean Aul, Mercedes Lackey, and David Eddings.  Imago now ranks as one of my all-time favorite epic fantasy series.  And now, joy of all joys!  Books 1,2 and 3 have been optioned for a major motion picture trilogy!

And now the story:

In an intriguing twist, A Warrior's Tale begins with the end.  Taking shelter from a freak blizzard, Nayla Treeborn, half elf, half human and not fully either, huddles next to the corpse of a dead soldier; using his body and the now un-needed cloaks of other dead soldiers to shelter her from the killing weather.  As she shelters there, she finds herself thinking about her life to that point; going back to a day when she had been a child the mental and physical equivalent of a mortal 12 year old, but was in reality 37 years of age.

Nayla's father, a high Elf and the Steward of Nagana, Dahlon Treeborn, despises her for reasons which are not made clear in this book.  He has punished her for publicly disagreeing with him; nearly beating her to death.  Joval Stonecroft discovers her, dreadfully mutilated and bloody and is horrified. Healing her as well as he can, he spirits her out of the elven city of Nagana to the human city of Anshen, home of the legendary Kagai Warriors.  Taking the name of Takaro, the young girl embarks upon a lifetime of training, eventually becoming the only female Kagai Warrior ever accepted into the brotherhood.  When at long last she reaches womanhood, not only is Takaro fully trained in the manly arts of the warrior, but she is also a woman fully trained in the womanly arts as a spy, a courtesan and an assassin.

In book 1 of the series the main antagonist is Eldred Firestaff, a sorcerer who combines the nicer qualities of Lord Voldemort (Harry Potter) with the personal charm of Ctuchik (The Belgariad), and who is an immortal tool of evil, resurfacing every generation or so.   Each time he comes back, he uses the armies of the weak Emperor of East Orien as his power-base in his eternal quest to conquer the world of Imago. However, in this first book of the series, although the battles with this slippery and long-lived villain are colorful and intense, they are almost secondary to Nayla's personal battle for acceptance and with her own inner demons.  This book is concerned with fleshing out Nayla and really whets your appetite for the rest of the tale!

As a half-caste, Takaro/Nayla ages much more slowly than humans, and much more quickly than elves.  During the course of the story she outlives three of her Kagai Masters, all of whom live to be very old men.  She also outlives their grandsons and their grandson's grandchildren, yet at the end of the book she appears to be a woman of about twenty-five years of age. Her wisdom and abilities are that of a warrior at the prime of life, and she becomes the most respected of the fierce Kagai Warriors.  When her father is maneuvered into asking for the finest Kagai Warrior to train his own warriors, Nayla finds herself back in Nagana, and her father is forced to suffer her presence there; a situation that is bad at best.

The world of Imago is clearly drawn, and is every bit as compelling as that of Tolkien's Middle Earth. Here we have two distinct cultures living side-by-side in peace and harmony for generations; coming to each other's aid whenever the other is threatened.  Loyalty,  honor, hard-work, love and family are the central facets of the human society that Nayla/Takaro finds herself adopted into as an abused child, and these values are echoed in the society of the Elves.  Within each society, the political and social divisions are clear and the differences between Elves and Men are well drawn and consistently portrayed throughout the drama that unfolds. 

Suzuki is herself a master of the martial arts, being a practitioner and instructor of Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu; a system that incorporates 6 traditional Samurai schools and 3 schools of Ninjutsu.  As one who was once a mere grasshopper in the obscure art of Shou Shu, I fully appreciate the wisdom and experience that the master crafts into the fabric of this tale.  Every element of this story evokes both the martial and the spiritual aspects of the culture of Imago; every element is vivid and believable to the reader.

With each book in this series, I am drawn deeper into this amazing and very real world of Imago.  In book 2 of the series, Tales From the West we find out more about the real evil that threatens Imago, and discover who or what is behind the sorcerer Eldred Firestaff.

I know I am repeating myself, but Suzuki has created a masterpiece in this series.  I have been compelled to read every single volume in the series (when I should have been  researching other books for this blog).  Work-ethic aside, the most recent installment in the series, 'Destiny's End' calls to me, and I must quit working now, and curl up on my sofa for a good long read.

Rick Riordan, Son of Neptune

The Son of Neptune – Rick Riordan



As many of you know, I love everything Percy Jackson, and last Sunday I was privileged to hear author Rick Riordan speak in Olympia Washington at an event promoting the local Timberland Library. He spoke in an outdoor plaza to a crowd of about a thousand avid fans. I was also quite inspired by his ability to motivate the young authors in the crowd. Unfortunately, I was not able to get my copy of ‘The Son of Neptune’ signed, as I didn’t know about the event in advance and didn’t realize that I would need a ticket, but I felt good about the whole event despite that disappointment. Riordan is an extremely funny man; personable and quite humble about his success. 

The Son of Neptune opens with Percy Jackson picking up where he left off in ‘The Lost Hero’. In that book, Percy had disappeared, and the tale revolved more around Jason Grace. This tale starts with Percy suffering from Amnesia and being hunted by two gorgons who refuse to stay dead whenever he kills them. All he knows is that he is looking for some one named Annabeth. As he is running from the gorgons he rescues an old bag lady who turns out to be the Roman Goddess Juno. She gives him the choice of remaining where he is and being safe or going to the Roman camp for demi-gods where he must save the gods but could regain his memories. Percy being Percy, he opts for his memories.

The Roman camp is quite different from the Greek Camp Half-blood, and Percy doesn’t know why he feels like everything is all wrong. There are Lares (household gods) and the camp is divided into legions in the same way that the Roman Army was. The military culture of the Romans is alive and well in this camp.

Here is where we meet Hazel, a daughter of Pluto and a girl whose darkest secret is her talent of creating precious metals and jewels spring from the earth comes with a curse for those who find them. We also meet Frank Zhang, a son of Mars and a gifted archer. His golden arrows are very unique, and he too has a dark secret.

Mars sends them off on a quest to Alaska, to rescue Thanatos, guardian of the underworld. During the quest we learn that the ancient Goddess Gaea is plotting to destroy the Gods, and how the demi-gods like Percy are supposed to stop her.

First they travel up the coast, to Portland, Oregon looking for Phineas, and on to Seattle, Washington where they discover that Amazon.com is run by Kindle-reading Amazon Warriors!

Continuing with his third-person narrative as he did in The Lost Hero, Riordan switches perspective from Percy to Hazel and to Frank, giving a well rounded view of what is going on with each character. I felt completely involved with them and learned a lot about Roman Mythology that I had never known. I also discovered that my birthday (which I share with Mercedes Lackey) falls on the Feast of Fortuna, which begins at sundown on the 24th of June.

Riordan neatly answers some of the questions that were raised in the first book, and of course, raises more. I laughed out loud several times, and held my breath as the heroes made their way through the dangers set before them. I highly recommend this book to everyone who loves an epic adventure, epic mythology and likes their epics with a modern twist!

Losing Beauty, Johanna Garth

As the title of this blog  proclaims, normally I read epic fantasy and science fiction. However this week I am blogging on a tale that is very different from my favorite epic hack-and-slash-fest type of saga.  Stay with me - I haven't lost my love of all things Tolkien, just temporarily branched out a bit.

Losing Beauty by Johanna Garth is an urban fantasy in the broadest sense, being a modern take on the Hades - Persephone tale.  I am a sucker for mythology of any sort, and Greek mythology offers a lot opportunity for new retellings, as Rick Riordan has shown us in his Percy Jackson Series.

I met Johanna in the course of business since we are both published by Fantasy Island Book Publishing.  I was intrigued by the cover of her book, and when I bought the Kindle book I found myself completely absorbed in her tale.

The story begins with Persephone Campbell, a girl with a problem. Persey is a beautiful girl, and everyone loves her. Even as a child, people find themselves telling her their  problems: terrible things which no normal person would ever tell anyone, much less a child. Even so, people can't resist telling her their deepest and darkest secrets; a thing which continues into her adulthood. Her ability to draw the deepest secrets from people is strange, and it emerges that she was adopted as a baby and her father was listed as 'unknown'.

Three men love her to the point of obsession. After high school, Persey marries her high-school sweetheart, Aaron Strait out of a sense of duty, more than anything else.  She loves her husband, but she realizes that her love for him is not the sort of love that a wife should feel for her husband. Still, she does love him and remains a loyal wife.

Persey goes to work for the same company as Daniel Hartnet, a man with an uncanny ability to read people, that he calls his crap-o-meter. This ability to read motives is every bit as uncanny as is Persey's ability to draw out secrets. He discovers that he can't read Persey, and that really intrigues him.  He soon becomes obsessed with her, but like the moderately decent man he is, he respects her commitment to her marriage.

Johanna Garth draws her characters well. Haden is a bad man, selfish and focused only on his own desires but quite seductive and very compelling.  Daniel Hartnet is not lily-pure in his motives, but he is a basically good man and also quite seductive.   Aaron is a simple, high-school jock-made-good; a man who is solely driven by his desire to protect and provide for her; and she is completely aware of that. Aaron becomes very successful, and on the surface everything looks perfect.

What she does not realize is that she is the one true love of Haden, also known as Hades, God of the Underworld. He has followed her progress since her earliest childhood, grooming her to be his wife in various different guises. He has even posed as the coach in her highschool. There is no length that he won't go to to have her.  When she marries Aaron, Hayden puts a terrible plan into action, using all of his resources as Lord of the Underworld; and soon she finds herself tied to the last person she wants to be tied to.  That is where the adventure really begins.

Persey is a nice girl, but her secret ability is hard for her to bear; and she feels that she is responsible for a tragic event that is the sole responsibility of Haden. He, of course, uses her insecurity to bind her to him even more tightly.
Johanna Garth has written an urban fantasy that is sophisticated, and romantic. It is a wonderful adventure that takes Persey from rural america to New York to Asia, and has many twists and turns that are quite unexpected. The ending was quite unexpected! 

While this book was a real dip into uncharted literary waters for me, I freely admit that I had a great time reading this story and highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good romantic urban fantasy. I am now a fan! I will definitely be reading anything Johanna Garth writes!

The Gateway, Glen G. Thater

The Gateway by Glenn G. Thater

This was one of those weeks in which I only had time to read one book and what a book! Thater starts out running and the action doesn't stop.

In ‘The Gateway’, indie author Glenn G. Thater has created a mythology and a world that feels as real as that of Tolkien’s Middle Earth.  It begins with a Foreword that uses the intriguing plot device of purporting to be the culmination of years of research into the existence and mythology of a ‘legendary’ figure, Lord Angle Theta.  That foreword hooked me immediately, history and mythology geek that I am.

At the outset, Brother Clarendon Eotrus attempts to discover what happened to his father, Lord Aradon, who has mysteriously vanished along with his rangers into a strange fog. They had gone to investigate in the daylight hours why horrible and mysterious noises emanate from the Vermion Forest at night, driving the residents mad. Those who live in Dor Eotrus must stop up their ears with wax in order to sleep. 

Joining Clarendon are Gabriel Garn, the wizard of Dor Eotrus and several other amazingly fleshed out characters; including a wonderfully cranky Gnome named Ob, who is one of my favorite characters in this tale.   Lord Angle Theta and his servant, Dolan Silk also join the quest. Theta is mysterious and enigmatic; appearing out of nowhere for the sole purpose of joining the quest, having been'led' there. It turns out that he is a reknowned knight and is old friends with Gabriel Garn. He is a man with arcane knowlege, who knows that the barriers are breaking down between the Worlds of Chaos and the human world of Midgaard.  He has come to stop it.

The plot moves along at a good pace, with the back-story presented in such a way that it does not interfere with the action; and there is a great deal of action.  The battles are bloody and messy; and one thing leads to another with vengeance. The quest to find the missing Lord of Dor becomes the desperate need to stem an otherworldly invasion which will plunge the world into darkness should evil prevail.

There are characters whose passing in battle made me shed a tear.  Thater had made them so real to me that I felt real sadness at their fate.

The line between good and evil is at times blurred, as motives among the questers are revealed.  It is a gritty and often violent tale, one that will not appeal to the squeamish.  The descriptions of both action and place are detailed and graphic, and if at times the dialog is somewhat confused as to whether it is old English or modern English, it is nonetheless a gripping tale.

This is a short tale by most standards, and speed-reader that I am, I read it in one evening. It will appeal to all of those who love adventure and mythology, especially Norse Mythology.  All in all I found this to be a good story, and well worth reading. I love a good epic quest tale and I loved ‘The Gateway’ by Glenn G. Thater. I will definitely be buying the next installment in the series.

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David Eddings, The Belgariad; and Neil Hancock, The Circle of Light

Pawn of Prophecy – David Eddings – The Belgariad

The Belgariad is series of 5 books by the late David Eddings. This series of tales takes a kitchen boy, Garion, from the gawky age of 15 to manhood, and meeting his destiny in a prophesied battle with Torak, the demented God who had cracked the world.

The first book is called ‘Pawn of Prophecy’ and was first published in 1982.  I was hooked immediately. 

Pawn of Prophecy opens with a brief prologue which details the war of the gods.  It then jumps the kitchen of Faldor’s farm in the country of Sendaria, where Garion toils away in obscurity under the watchful and loving eye of his Aunt Pol.  A chance visit by an old story teller, Mr. Wolf changes everything, and Garion finds himself and his Aunt leaving the farm in search of something which has been stolen; traveling in the company of Durnik the Smith, and Mr. Wolf. 

As they travel, they meet up with Silk, a Drasnian spy, and Barak, Cherek Warrior.  Garion soon finds out that no one is what they seem to be.  Silk is actually Prince Kheldar of Drasnia; and Barak is actually the Earl of Trellheim of Cherek.  Only Durnik is who he always was; a good honest man of Sendaria, who just happens to be in love with Pol.

Not long after they leave Faldor’s farm they are arrested and brought to King Fulrach, who insists that Aunt Pol and Mr. Wolf go to a meeting of Monarchs in the northern country of Cherek. Once in Cherek Garion’s talent for trouble kicks in, and he finds himself involved in a series of dangerous adventures. 

Toward the end, of Pawn of Prophecy, Garion witnesses his Aunt Pol resolving a problem, and at that point he discovers that in reality his aunt is Polgara the Sorceress, who is 3000 years old; and Mr. Wolf is Belgarath the Sorcerer, Polgara’s Father who is 7000 years old.  He begins to doubt his actual relationship to Pol, and becomes angry that she had not been truthful with him and troubled because he now doubts everything he has been told. He worries that he is an unwanted burden to her.  He discovers that Belgarath is in reality his grandfather, just many generations removed; that he is the ultimate grandson of Belgarath’s other daughter who had been the first queen of Riva.  He then accepts Belgarath, calling him Grandfather. 

As I said before, this is book one in a series of five amazing books, covering Garion’s journey into adulthood and taking him to the meeting for which he was born.  They are none of them long by today’s standards; and they comprise a wonderful, absorbing series that is great epic fantasy at its best.   I highly recommend this series of books to anyone who loves great adventure, mystery, epic battles and of course, sorcery.

Neil Hancock – the Circle of Light – Greyfax Grimwald

This week I was saddened to hear that one of my all time favorite authors, Neil Hancock had passed away in May of this year.  I read his epic fantasy series, the Circle of Light beginning in 1977 when he first published ‘Greyfax Grimwald’. 

Hancock’s books are written out of chronological order; with the first series of four books being actually the end of the story. They deal with karma and the cycle of death and rebirth.  There is a strong spiritual overtone to his books.  The characters are talking animals, elves, dwarves, men and wizards; and there is a wide river that runs though all the realms: Calix Stay.  Once swept into it, characters find themselves on the next step in their journey to enlightenment. 

The technology of Hancock’s books is interestingly mixed – at some points it is a mix of swords and magic and the technology and horror of World War I. There are terrifying beasts, and there is true evil that must be dealt with.  The plot twists are surprising.  Politics, religion, sorcery and their place in the cycle of death and rebirth are the core of the series.  Jealousy, love, greed, hate and forgiveness also figure prominently in setting the backdrop of the action.

One issue that some have had with this series of books is that the plot is hard to follow at times if one is unfamiliar with the basic tenets of Buddhism; but despite that issue, the characters and the vividly drawn worlds they inhabit compel you stay with it.

These thirteen books have been out of print since 2004, and are now set to be reprinted in three groups of four by Tor within the next few months.  I will be getting my Kindle download, you can be sure of that!

'First Chosen', M. Todd Gallowglas; and 'Whatever Became of the The Squishies' by Claire Chilton

First Chosen by M. Todd Gallowglas

An indie author, M. Todd Gallowglas has written a compelling tale in ‘'First Chosen (Tears of Rage)’.  The world in which he sets the tale is a vivid, complex world; one in which theology and politics are so intertwined that it is hard to tell where one leaves off and the other begins. The intense theology insures that there is an element of horror in this very dark tale.

Unbeknownst to the main protagonist, Julianna, she has been chosen from birth to free Grandfather Shadow.  He is one of the Eldar Gods who were on the losing side in war of the Gods and are reputed to be the Gods of Evil. The God known as All-Father Sun is now the supreme power in the pantheon, with all of his challengers long-ago imprisoned and unable to interact with the world directly.  The All-Father’s adherent’s are in political power, thus those who follow the old gods must do so in secret.  From the outset, Gallowglas makes it clear that nothing is that black and white.  Both sides in this war of the Gods commit atrocities in the name of their faith. Both sides have strong, compelling characters and each side is comprised of fervent believers who will do anything to advance their cause.

Julianna’s willful desire to celebrate her 21^st birthday her own way has serious and unintended consequences.  The party becomes the scene of a violent battle, and she is kidnapped along with her friends.  Many terrible things occur during the ensuing battles, and at the end of it, Julianna frees the God, and by his hand she is made his High Priest, the Lord Morigahn.  This ordeal is only the beginning of her epic struggle.  By becoming the high priest of Grandfather Shadow, she has been given knowledge and abilities to help her win the war on his behalf.  She is also given a guard, Faelin who is the direct manifestation of the God, but knows it not. Faelin must both guard and instruct her in her tasks as the divine representative of Grandfather Shadow.

Gallowglas' characters are fully drawn and fleshed out; even to the minor characters. I found myself feeling shock and disbelief when several minor characters are killed early on.  The battles are believable, and the consequences of each decision made by all the protagonists are well plotted.  The reader becomes swept up in the emotions of each moment.  There are numerous characters, and while it is sometimes difficult to keep them straight, all the characters are fully drawn; even to the minor characters.  Readers who stick with it will be rewarded.

This is definitely an adult tale, for readers who enjoy a dark complex tale with a good back-story. 

‘Whatever Became of the Squishies’ By Claire Chilton

UK indie author Claire Chilton has a hilarious take on racism and high school in her book, ‘Whatever Became of the Squishies’.  Carla Mainston is the only purple girl in the colony of Derobmi, where the main skin color is lime-green everything is sparkling clean.

Originally the world of Dumfolab was settled by a mysterious, mythical people whom the modern cultures refer to as ‘The Squishies’.  These soft-skinned people had lived in a world that was an environmental disaster and had worn special protective suits, each one colored to indicate their main area of work.  As time went on their soft, pliable (and most likely squishy) bodies had changed, and the hard, colored suits had become an integral part of them.  Now the denizens of Dumfolab are born  with hard skin which is the color of their ancestors’ suits.

Unfortunately, the main source of employment and, indeed all occupations in the colony of Derobmi are centered around Cleaning.  Cleaning, soap products, the making of and the using of said products, all of Derobmi society revolves around these things. Every aspect of cleaning is taken seriously, and careers are made or broken by the perceived cleanliness of the average Derobmi home.  Carla is a rebellious girl, and is suffering from the double curse of being both a teenager and a purple teenager at that!  She has been labeled a trouble maker all her life, and is living up to the label in spades.

If it wasn’t for bad luck, Carla would have no luck at all. If any simple endeavor can go badly and get her in trouble, it definitely will. Carla has even been to reform school, which was where she managed to bring the school to its knees.  He mother loves her, but harbors a secret which will soon come out, and Carla will become the focus of a power struggle between warring colonies.  She is suspected of having super-abilities because of her heritage, and the wonderfully evil Lord Foamy wants them.  Unfortunately the only talent she has for sure is that of chaos, and she has an abundance of that.

Chilton manages to take racism and teenage-angst and lay it out with all its unfairness and ugliness and create a story that keeps you laughing.  The villains are evil, the good guys are not so completely good that they aren’t fun, and the plot moves along quite quickly.  There many unexpected plot twists in this tale.

All in all, I found this to be a well plotted, humorous young adult novel, suitable for any reader.