Sunday, August 19, 2012
Realmwalkers - reading
Finished "Realmwalkers" by E.V. Medina and Jack Shepherd. If you are a fan of Rachel Aaron's Eli Monpress series, you may also like this story. In my review of Aaron's work, I said the powerful characters stopped just shy of calling the king "dude." In Realmwalkers, Alain is so unbelievably powerful, and his companions refer to him as several versions of "dude." This grated on me. It doesn't help that he's homophobic, and for one of the good guys, seems pretty disrespectful to those around him. For example there was a missed opportunity for him to leave his "starblade" behind out of respect for the queen rather than being the only one to wear a weapon in her presence. There is also little element of actual risk in the story that it dulls the tension. Death is quite casual since you can be brought back from it.
Some of the other terminology could be owned better by the authors. Calling some characters "females" was awkward, as was the name of Alain's several powers, such as "white hand within measure at need." It didn't give me a good sense of what the power was, or that it grew organically in the world. It sounded more like it was being scientifically classified.
An epic battle was fought, but the details provided were not the details that would have excited, robbing the scene of its impact. When the goddess showed up, her presence was not revered by her faithful so much as she was held up as just another powerful being in the fight (but the focus was on Alain).
Overall I wanted to like Solita, her companions and her plight, and appreciate the world for what it was, but couldn't.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
Thank you for your frank and critical opinion of the book, Realmwalkers. I regret you didn't find anything enjoyable about it.
To say I didn't find anything enjoyable about it would overstate the negative. Like I said at the end, I wanted to like Solita. I wanted the story to be about her finding her way and working through her problems, not being led around by the overpowered Alain. She has potential to be an interesting, evolving character. Luci as well, to a lesser extent, though her problems were more just inconveniences. But with Alain and the archons, nothing was truly difficult for them. It made it difficult to sympathize. For someone else's take on it, read pages 10-13 of this: http://jordanmccollum.com/guides/Character%20Sympathy.pdf
Since I'm the one who created the Three Realmwalkers, I think I should chime in here too. And now that I've finished, I see I've done my usual and "waxed elephant" (sic ;) ) about things: giving a long discourse when a short one probably would've done better.
I'm actually surprisingly pleased at your reaction to Alain Harper. The danger I feared is that as one with such strong Jungian ENFP or Ne'fi preferences (the codes come from the Myers-Briggs grid, but the theory behind that grid plays heavily in my side of the novel), he would be seen as being "too nice" - and considering how he developed from roots you might not expect over many years and many mutations in my mind and on the page, that was a real risk. The strange but true story of his origins (in a literary sense) is found on my dedicated blog, here:
http://portaloflight.wordpress.com/2012/05/01/how-i-created-alain-harper-part-01/
Subconsciously, I wanted Alain to be just a bit "edgy" - drawing upon his subconscious mind just enough as sort of a "Dark Protector", a quasi-INFJ with all the potential judgmentalism that implies. Yes, that means some people in Tiaera, and some readers, will find him somewhat annoying. Good. I mean them to - without their losing sight of his fundamental good will, or of the fact that he can get well and truly ashamed when he realizes just how annoying he can be despite himself. This was a first effort in writing at such length about him and as he matures as a character, I hope to bring these aspects of him out more.
(Cont'd.)
I mean all three Realmwalkers to be very powerful characters and as such, they work better as (on a smaller scale) Christopher Robin did in the Pooh Books: not usually the instigator of the action so much as the pivot of the action against which the actions and morals of others can be measured. I didn't fully succeed in this aim in REALMWALKERS but it is possible and one author-cartoonist who does this very well is the creator of THE OSWALD CHRONICLES (online).
Alain's Metacosmic Realm does classify powers (mental and mystical) rather rigorously and something like "Within Measure at Need" makes sense in its own framework. Another author would approach the subject differently, obviously.
Were Hilo Whitemoon a real person, he'd probably take your reactions to his "cheerleading" of Alain (in mild surfer lingo, no less) with a bellyful of laughter. I grew up with a mother of the same personality type and now have several close friends, including a girlfriend, of the same type. Hilo's praise of Alain is small potatoes compared to this latter ESFP's praise of me (but then, she used to be a cheerleader IRL). Hilo's extravagance combined with teasing is completely true-to-life in its overall character as to how an ESFP reacts to an ENFP he or she deeply respects - if anything I underestimated its full verbal potential.
Some people I know find Jesus Christ, especially as portrayed by the apostle John, difficult to empathize with for much the same reasons. But like his thinly disguised Lord, Alain Harper is meant to seem transcendent because he is transcendent - to an extent not revealed in REALMWALKERS but hinted at sufficiently to make the point. To make him more fallible would take away the fundamental thing that makes him what he is where he comes from: the Locus and Steward of the Metacosmic Realms. Again, it's hard to write well about a character like that dramatically but I enjoy the challenge.
I do sympathize with your critique overall and learn from it, but there is one thing I'll really take you to task for. How interesting that you take one word in one paragraph and jump all over it. I knew someone would eventually, but that shows you don't understand Alain, me, the Bible, homosexuality or people's reactions to the latter for what they are. One doesn't have to have a "phobia" about something to find it utterly reprehensible. But you also don't have to take such a stand and wish anything other than healing instead of harm for such people, or for anyone else who breaks God's law which is given for our good and not for our destruction. That's Alain's stand (and he has the power to do something about it), and it's also mine. Disagree if you like, but for your own sake, please don't fall into this world's false propaganda in the process - that would be fighting a (non-applicable here) stereotype with a stereotype, at best. Some real and fictional people do wish harm for all the wrong reasons but Alain Harper isn't one of them, not on any issue whatever. And neither am I. I was taught better than that.
Cordially all the same,
John Wheeler (writing as Jack Shepherd)
I thought your review and our responses to it could be good to put in context on my blog:
http://portaloflight.wordpress.com/2012/08/23/realmwalkers-we-respond-to-a-review/
My intuition tells me not to do this, that it will be ultimately fruitless, but obviously I didn't listen.
In my review, I said Alain was unbelievably powerful. Your stated intent was to have Alain be "just a bit 'edgy'" and feared he would be seen as "too nice." In my view, Alain (mostly, though interaction with the two archons contribute as well) had one primary role in this story: destroying suspension of disbelief, early and often. That you were surprisingly pleased at my reaction to Alain tells me you missed the damage I claim Alain did to the story. I fully expected most if not all of the challenges faced by the characters to be sidestepped or ignored by this powerful character, and such was the case. In fact, I recall a moment in the story where it was explicitly stated that Alain would have the power he needed at the moment he needed it (unless I misread it), pretty much spelling out how problems would be solved. But you say I missed the point why Alain is so powerful. You're right - I don't see the need for such a powerful character when trying to tell a story. Perhaps on this we will simply agree to disagree.
Otherwise, the story was caught between science fiction and fantasy, a fact given on the back cover. The trouble was, the science fiction elements were superfluous and, while present in different forms throughout, could have been integrated into a fantasy genre using consistent terminology that would have enhanced the immersion. That there was a network of (had to look this up) "mechanoids" that seemed only to serve the same purpose that a well-written spy could have is one example. There was a sprinkling of religious references that detracted in the same way. I recall "ark of the covenant" was just punny.
And the language of the archons was neither fantasy nor plausibly science fiction. I reiterate: the "dudes" grated. It spoke to an immaturity of the supposedly ancient characters, and another wedge between them and me. Even the way Alain's powers were classified was clumsy to translate from words into concepts. A paraphrasing of this might be a character warning others of a "spherical conflagration at range" rather than an incoming fireball. I privately told EVM about the issues I had with (what I think of as) dark elves riding (what I think of as) unicorns in a fantasy setting. Immersion breakers can come from lots of places.
Now to the "single word" issue around homosexuality.
I characterized Alain as homophobic in my review when I said, "It doesn't help that he's homophobic." You took exception, saying, "How interesting that you take one word in one paragraph and jump all over it. I knew someone would eventually, but that shows you don't understand Alain, me, the Bible, homosexuality or people's reactions to the latter for what they are." That's a lot of presumptions for one sentence, and has some telling overtones. Nevertheless I will address them, as well as the reasons I called it out.
Let's establish the starting point by examining the paragraph in question (reproduced here under fair use without permission from the authors):
Despite the Undying Singer's relatively laissez-faire policy as the overall patron of the ship, he could not and would not tolerate certain deeds by the Frenchmen and Tiaerans on board. They included murder, kidnapping, severe types of cursing invoking deity or parentage, gross and repeated carelessness leading to the death of another crewman, adultery, homosexuality, bestiality, rape and participation in any of the cults of Ludovique. - Realmwalkers, page 215, text copyright 2011 Elva V. Medina and Jack Shepherd
* Murder, kidnapping, bestiality, rape: check.
* Cursing is only language, but on Tiaera words have magical potential, so: check.
* Participating in the enemy's cult: check.
* Carelessness leading to death: Death seems to be 99% meaningless in this world, especially with healers around, and they were on the ship. But okay, death is an inconvenience to the efficiency of the ship.
* Adultery: This could lead to a comically disingenuous crew that might even fit in with the book in its current form. But okay.
* That leaves only homosexuality.
Allegedly, Alain comes from a non-medieval culture that has developed space and/or interdimensional travel, or had it thrust upon them but they are able to master it. Sufficiently advanced. Further, Alain is portrayed with sufficient parallels to us - humans (and Frenchmen) on Earth - that I have no problem measuring him against my own cultural beliefs.
That established, what am I accusing him of? Homophobia. Let's examine a definition from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homophobia:
Homophobia is a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). Definitions refer variably to antipathy, contempt, prejudice, aversion, irrational fear, and hatred.
You said, "One doesn't have to have a 'phobia' about something to find it utterly reprehensible." The definition agrees with you as it relates to homosexuality, but still classifies the latter as homophobic.
It could be just the word itself that triggered it for me. Had Alain referred to "buggery" or "sodomy" (often referenced in sailing histories and stories, and frequently hypocritically) I would probably have had less of a reaction. But "homosexual" is a relatively new word here, dating back to the mid-late 1800s, so to me, it means it was carried into Tiaera by Alain.
And you're right - it was a single word in a single paragraph, a paragraph that had no impact on the rest of the story. It makes me wonder why you were compelled to include it? Was it just to show that Alain was laying down the law? Was it your own need to inject your beliefs? If I am to give you a literary criticism, it would be that this is one of many examples where you tell rather than show.
Let's get back to your earlier statement, the one I said was loaded with presumptions. You said, "you don't understand Alain, me, the Bible, homosexuality or people's reactions to the latter for what they are." This is why I believe this discussion will ultimately be fruitless. You've read a whole lot into very few words and drawn a long line of conclusions about me. Were I to pick one word to describe my impression of you thus far it would be "narcissistic." But that's only an impression based on limited interaction through your writing here and in the links you provided.
I have no credentials to present regarding my understanding of anything in your list. I have a technical degree (BS), not one in religious studies, human sexuality or Alain Harper. But I like to think I have an informed opinion on things, including what I think is false propaganda and what is sincere. The Bible is a weird book to use to establish things like traditional marriage and proper sexual behavior, but a great many people still use it for just that. Hopefully you aren't thinking about Leviticus and the abomination chapter or we're all going to Hell. But that's the thing about using the Bible to support an argument. It's difficult to establish a good context for the discussion and use it properly. The other problem is that it's just a book, written by man, translated repeatedly, interpreted repeatedly, misread, misquoted, misused.
Regarding homosexuality and people's reactions, the American Psychological Association does not attribute sexual orientation to anything unhealthy. Mmm... Science. http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/sexual-orientation.aspx
Post a Comment