The Forgotten Beast of BookTube + Potentially Hot Takes (May Wrap-Up/Reviews)

[00:00:00]Hello, it's been a while. I'm going to start out talking about Patricia McKillip's The Forgotten Beasts of Eld because I feel like a forgotten beast on BookTube as it's been a while since I published this type of video. This was published in 1974 and it was the winner of the World Fantasy Award and I really like this author blurb on the back by A.C. Wise that says before Daenerys was Mother of Dragons, Sybel commanded beasts of all kinds. I like that comparison to Daenerys cuz even if you look at the image here on the cover, she somewhat resembles Clark's portrayal of Daenerys in the TV show A Game of Thrones, at least she does in my mind.

[00:00:37]This character, I think like Daenerys, is quite iconic. She is stoic and scholarly. She lives a solitary existence on a mountain with her crystal dome library living her best life and she has this special ability to communicate with the animals around her.

[00:00:54]So, she's surrounded by a menagerie, but her life is forever changed when a man comes to her one day and presents a baby, a baby boy for her safekeeping.

[00:01:04]And one of the things I appreciate about this character is she doesn't even understand how a human baby might be different than any of the other animals that surround her. She's a little bit offbeat in that way, but it makes sense given the fact she's lived alone. So, she has a certain ethereal, different quality to her mind. And what we learn is that this child is given to her for her safekeeping because the child might be the key to some political upheaval that might transpire and I will leave it at that. I will say that the plot of the story did go in a direction I did not expect and it showcased even more dimension to this character. And so, the story explores love and power and forgiveness and agency and it does so in a short page count. And while I really love the character of Sybel, um I think the other characters do show a range of emotion. Yet, at the same time, I don't know that I personally felt as attached to the other characters. This is more of your whimsical fairy tale-esque type of fantasy, and it's a type of fantasy that can be a bit hit or miss for people. I would say it's more atmospheric than what is typical in fantasy these days, or at least what I've come across in the last several years. And I do find that with this type of fantasy that does tend to be more atmospheric, it to me feels like it leans always leans a little bit more mysterious with the magic. Whereas, I feel like again, with a lot of modern fantasy that is maybe less descriptive, has less atmosphere, tends towards the harder rules variation of magic, hard magic if you will. And if I have a preference, it's certainly this type of fantasy. And please let me know if you disagree, and if you've come across exceptions when it comes to high atmosphere, hard magic, or maybe low atmosphere, and soft magic. I'd be curious to hear about that. I will say that as people might expect with atmospheric fairy tale-esque fantasy, the prose is gorgeous, and yet I don't think it's too heavy. I don't think the description is heavy by any means. I think it's very easy on the eyes. I did listen to the audiobook, and it was very easy on the ears, and easy to follow as well. This book was delightful and surprisingly dark at times as well. Now, this was not my first Patricia McKillip story. I've read several of hers much younger. I went through a phase when I was a teenager when I found her her books in the local library, and I would check one after the other and just enjoyed what I found. At the same time, um her stories just don't stay with me for some reason. I don't remember a single story from what I read of those stories I read years earlier. I don't remember anything about them at all, which is weird for me cuz I feel like I'm pretty good at remembering things, but with those stories I remembered nothing. And with this story, I think it was well worth my time.

[00:03:59]Uh and I know Patricia McKillip is getting more attention. I know Johnny Werts keeps shouting out Patricia McKillip books, but I don't know that this is the type of story that will stay with me over time. I guess only time will tell. So, I have a bit of that tug-of-war when it comes to her books.

[00:04:14]I'm somewhat drawn to them, and yet I don't feel they last for me. For right now, I'm just going to say this is more of a medium personal resonance. I can't say though that there's much to be appreciated in terms of her writing and in terms of that character again, but again, not not something that's sweeping me off my feet. Fool's Fate by Robin Hobb was published in 2003. This is book three in the Tawny Man trilogy, the final book in the trilogy, and it's also book nine in the Realm of the Elderlings. I do have a spoiler-filled vlog of my journey reading this book, which took up the whole month of May, and in fact, you can see footage of me in Costa Rica, which is where I was at the beginning of that month.

[00:04:56]This book has so much going for it. I think the biggest strength in Robin Hobb's writing, in my opinion, this is hard to pin down actually, cuz there are a couple of things that immediately come to mind, but I always gravitate to talking about her dialogue. Her dialogue is so incredibly revealing and poignant.

[00:05:16]It perfectly captures the character's blind spots and vulnerability, each character's blind spot and vulnerability. And it also, as I've said for Fool's Errand, it depicts such an in-depth interiority of the character of Fitz in a way in which we get a sense of the depth and well of emotion within Fitz that he himself is not even fully aware of. And in this book, we get greater insight into that development without saying more, but if you've read the book, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. I have to bring up the dialogue though. I don't think this is a strength that every fantasy author has.

[00:05:55]Many do have that strength, but Robin Hobb just has a special gift for it because she makes it so natural. Those in-depth conversations, those deeper important themes come through in the conversations, but in such a natural easy way. She just organically is able to bring those things forward, and I've noticed this probably throughout my journey with the Liveship Traders trilogy and this trilogy. It's been a few years since I've read the Farseer trilogy. Yet, everything comes back into this trilogy because you're picking up with Fitz in older age. And I have to say that for me, I think I resonate even more with Fitz, with older Fitz, than I do younger Fitz. And yet, he is still so imperfect, which I love. I love that he is somewhat of a fool, and I love the fool, as you all know, if you saw my thumbnail for for the second book, Golden Fool. This book takes place on a very different setting for most of the book. I think I could say that spoiler-free. And I wasn't sure I was into that setting for a while there, and I wasn't sure I was going to be totally gripped by the story at the beginning. I was I was engaged with it, but I wasn't feeling emotionally gripped by the story for a while. But then, in the second half, I was completely swept away. So emotional in moments. The themes, I think, are somewhat difficult to talk about in a way that doesn't bring up spoilers, but there is so much that is depicted in terms of love's choice and intimacy on the deepest level. I do go into depth about the themes at the end of my vlog, but I do go into spoilers to explain them. So, I I guess I just have to keep the the the themes very vague here. But again, I do think so much of it comes through in the dialogue again.

[00:07:35]And I will say at the same time when it comes to Hobb's prose, it flows beautifully. It's easy on the eyes, and I only read Robin Hobb with my eyes, or I only have so far, because I've heard that the audiobooks for this series are terrible. I went between the Kindle and physical version of this book. And yet, I also will say that there isn't a heavy dose of figurative language. Hobb is very light when it comes to that. There isn't a heavy amount of metaphor or simile, and yet there is still so much depth. There are still so many layers to unpeel when it comes to what she's trying to convey thematically. So, I am very impressed with this installment. I did have a couple of little nitpicks here and there, but they were very minuscule in the grand scheme of how this emotionally connected with me. And at the same time, I will say this, and this is probably one of my hottest takes ever. I don't know that I read Hobb for the fantasy elements. I appreciate the fantasy elements. In fact, I think that the magic and mythical creatures in the story deeply support the themes that are conveyed, but it's not like I am there for my imagination to explode open, and it's not that those elements are bad. I think the world building is good, but what I connect to are the human elements, almost like I would connect to a literary fiction piece. And yet again, the fantasy elements support that, but I'm not there for those things in isolation. I hope that makes sense. Let me know if I should clarify that further in the comments section below. So, I guess at the end of the day, what I'll say is that I deeply connected to this story. That connection got deeper and deeper as I went, and I think that's reflected again in the vlog. So, for me, definitely one of the most emotionally personally resonant stories I've read this year. The last time I did this type of video, I talked about reading Rita Hayworth and The Shawkshank Redemption, and how I was inspired to read that after watching The Shawkshank Redemption, the film, and much preferring the film over the book. I decided after that though, that I would go ahead and continue and finish the different seasons collection. So, we're We're to get into the three remaining stories. Starting out with Apt Pupil.

[00:09:39]Apt Pupil takes place in 1974. We're following a young boy who is an apt pupil. He is a great student, great kid, great son. His parents are proud of him.

[00:09:50]He goes and knocks on the door of a German immigrant man and accuses this man of being a Nazi war criminal and having a false identity. We come to learn that the facts of the matter and we are left wondering who is the greater monster? This young boy pretending to be an apt pupil or this German immigrant who is maybe in fact a Nazi criminal and who is the greater actor? And so the story is dealing with duplicity, blackmail, a certain type of bondage, a weird frenemy relationship. And the greatness of this story is the way that Stephen King starts out with something that's quite dark in nature and somehow makes it darker and darker and darker in tone as you go on in the story. It is certainly not a story to read if you need a character to root for. I will say that. But I did think it was pretty well researched when it came to the Holocaust. I will say that for myself, I am pretty picky when it comes to World War II fiction. Sometimes I love it and sometimes I really don't. And in this case, I'm somewhat in between. I think it was well written, but I didn't feel like this made any sort of deep impression on me in any way. Though I appreciated King's skill as a writer in this one. There was a film adaptation of Apt Pupil with Ian McKellen. And sadly, I will say that as much as I was looking forward to checking that out when I started this story, I lost interest after I finished it. I don't think I'll watch it. But let me know if you've seen it and what you thought. The next story, The Body, is a frame narrative. We have an adult character named Gordie who is a writer and he's reflecting on his past as a 12-year-old child in the year 1960 with his three male friends as they go on an expedition to try and discover the dead body of a child their age. The story is largely about that journey and about being 12 years old again, and there are a couple of nested narratives in the story as the main character is a writer.

[00:11:46]I did not care for those little stories, but there were a couple of gripping moments in the story. Uh this is also what the movie Stand by Me is based on.

[00:11:55]Uh a couple of things brought this into context for me. When I was watching Josh from Red Ferry Books do a fantastic of Hearts in Atlantis by King, and in that review, he talked about how King referred to the 1960s in his author's note as a special time that you almost wouldn't believe existed had you not lived in it. That time was clearly so important to King, and it's very well depicted in the beginning of this book when the boys are in the clubhouse and they're listening to the radio and they're hearing the music of the time and certain political references.

[00:12:27]They're playing cards, but another thing that brought this into context for me is the fact that I've read It by Stephen King, which is also told in a dual timeline from an adult's perspective and a child's perspective and and a friend group, if you will. There are so many similarities between this story and It in the sense that each of these kids comes from a horrific household of neglect and abuse and bullying. And in fact, the main character in this story, kind of like the character in It, characters in both stories have had a sibling who has died and parents who are grieving and neglectful as a result of that. And there's even a junkyard scene, which is in both stories. So, I felt like there were some parallels between this and It. Another comp title I have to bring up is Boy's Life by McCammon.

[00:13:12]That instantly came to mind because in McCammon's Boy's Life, it's also a frame narrative. We're also having an adult character reflecting on his childhood past and that time when you could ride your bikes till dark. And I think both stories have that kind of nostalgia to it, though The Body is a far darker, grittier, shorter version of that type of narrative. There are some dark things that happen in Boy's Life, but The Body, I think, is far darker. King stays true to the way the characters are brought up in the circumstances they are. He stays true to the time period, the socioeconomic status, and all of those factors. But, as a result of that, there is misogyny and homophobia in the story, and I think he was trying to do that deliberately to showcase that this is an abnormal or dysfunctional perspective.

[00:13:59]The problem I had with it, though, is that it's not just in the 12-year-old perspective, but it seems to also be in the adult perspective, as well, of Gordie as an adult looking back. And while I know where King stands about these topics, and while I know that depiction does not equal endorsement, I I just felt uncomfortable with it, just knowing how real those things are, I guess. It's always a reminder of how disturbing the world is, I suppose, and how much hasn't changed all these years later, while some things have. And the other thing I'll say is that I just didn't feel connected to this story. I don't think this is the kind of story for me, and I even felt that way with Boy's Life, even though I think Boy's Life is a far better story, and I enjoyed that much, much more. I still felt somewhat outside of Boy's Life. For some reason, I just didn't quite connect with it, and I'm not going to say it's because it's a masculine perspective, per se, because there've been plenty of other stories that have a masculine perspective that I've resonated with or enjoyed, but this one just missed the mark for me, personally. I would say, though, if you are into that type of exploration of what I mentioned, and that type of nostalgia, or that depiction of the 1960s, then maybe check this out. And if you enjoyed the movie Stand by Me, then maybe you would enjoy this, as well. This, like Apt Pupil, made me feel less and less inclined to ever watch the movie, so I probably won't at this point. The Breathing Method is the last story in the collection, and it is the only one not adapted to film, and hot take probably, but this is my favorite story in the collection. We're following a Brooklyn lawyer who enters this man's club, and he's greeted at the door by this man named Stevens, a man he suspects is much older than he appears, and I love the description of Stevens because while Stevens has a faint Brooklyn accent, he describes him as somewhat like an English butler. And right away my thoughts went to an English butler character, Stevens, in The Remains of the Day by Ishiguro. Is there a connection here? Probably not, but I couldn't help but think about it. I couldn't help but wonder for a second if Ishiguro had read The Breathing Method, but I love the mystery surrounding Stevens in The Breathing Method and the many inexplicable things about this man's club. There seems to be some mystery behind the mahogany walls, the crackling fireplace, the men who are flipping through the Wall Street Journal, and the wide array of books that don't seem to exist outside of this man's club. Uh so many interesting mysteries here, but one of the traditions of this man's club is that these men tell stories, and there seems to be a special one reserved for Christmas time. So this turns into the story of The Breathing Method. So we have another frame narrative or nested narrative in The Different Seasons collection, and The Breathing Method is told by a doctor character in the man's club. He talks about this beautiful actress who is pregnant, doesn't have a husband, which is quite scandalous, how he's going to help her through her journey of pregnancy while teaching her the breathing method, the Lamaze method.

[00:17:00]And the story takes a turn. I really like this story. I liked the description of the man's club, the atmosphere of it, the mystery of it, and even the story within it, The Breathing Method story, it is so far removed thematically from anything that has to do with this man's club, but I still enjoyed that journey and I enjoyed the journey back once the story was over and how this story ended.

[00:17:27]This one is certainly more horror-like than anything else in the collection and I resonated with it. That is it for this book update. As you can imagine, this was my favorite book that I read recently, Fool's Fate by Robin Hobb, but please let me know in the comment section below, have you read any of these books? Are you planning to read any of them? Or if you want to, please share with me a book that you deeply resonated with recently. I'd love to hear that in the comment section below.

[00:17:54]Have a great rest of your day. Bye-bye.

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