Book Review: AN EMBER IN THE ASHES (Book # 1) by Sabaa Tahir

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"Fear is only your enemy if you allow it to be... Too much fear and you're paralyzed. Too little fear and you're arrogant... Fear can be good. It can keep you alive. But don't let it control you. Don't let it sow doubts within you. When the fear takes over, use the only thing more powerful, more indestructible, to fight it: your spirit. Your heart."

It took me longer than usual to finish this book, mainly because I've been too anxious and distracted by what's going on in real life. But I'm glad I read it, it brought me much-needed *kilig* (that Filipino word for romantically associated thrills) and joy!

It's like Hunger Games meets Gladiator, with a bit of 1,001 Arabian Nights thrown in. Laia is a slave girl secretly working for the Resistance, while Elias is the deadliest fighting machine produced by the Martial Empire's military academy, and is one of four aspirants to be the next emperor.

Add a sprinkle or two of jinn and efrits, despicable bad guys, horribly violent action sequences that shocked me with their bloodthirstiness, and a love rectangle, and you've got a winner book! Will definitely get Books 2, 3, and 4!

It's still unclear to me why Laia is "the ember in the ashes." I'm hoping the next couple of books will clear it up for me.



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Book Review: ALL SYSTEMS RED (The Murderbot Diaries # 1) by Martha Wells

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"I don't know what I want I want... But it isn't that, it's that I don't want anyone to tell me what I want, or to make decisions for me."

My only complaint is that this wonderful novella is waaaay too short, less than 150 pages!! But oh, the action within! And Martha Wells has a wicked sense of humor as well.

It makes me think of Westworld: Robots evolving and gaining free will. Throw in incredible action sequences, an introverted "murderbot" who likes to download entertainment media to watch on her free time, and I'm hooked! Can't wait for this quarantine period to end so I can go buy Book # 2, and all the other books in the series!



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Book Review: MYTHAGO WOOD (Ryhope Wood Cycle # 1) by Robert Holdstock

Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"It was a world of mind and earth, a realm outside of real laws of space and time, a giant world."

I had no prior knowledge about ANYTHING when I started this novel, other than several authors, Neil Gaiman and Michael Moorcock included, highly recommended him (Gaiman wrote the introduction for this 30th anniversary edition).

And no wonder it won the World Fantasy Award in 1985!!

What if myths were real? What if Arthur, Robin Hood, and Guinevere all came from the racial unconscious of an entire people, and that they they took physical shape and form when enough people believe in them?

I'm loath to use the blanket term "fantasy novel" to describe this book, although undoubtedly, it falls under this genre.

But MYTHAGO WOOD is ever so much darker and heavier than most fantasy novels, closer to Ancient Greek tragedies than Shakespeare's Midsummer Night.

At its core is the relationship between two brothers, and how they sought out the answers to the mystery of their father's disappearance in the interim immediately after World War II.

"All that is in the realm has always been here."

Perhaps because the author was a scientist, the myth figures (or mythagos) in the book are presented in an anthropological and scientific way that made a great deal of logical sense. And somehow, this made the book a whole lot more scary, and epic.

Holdstock discusses how mankind has always had the need for myths, for heroes who inspire them to fight against invaders, or give them hope during desperate times. He shows in the book how myths change over time, perhaps in names, or in details, but that they gain power when people remember them. Holdstock's book is a testament to the way stories shape culture, and thus, the fate of a nation.

I'm fascinated by the premise, and wonder what it would be like if characters from Philippine myths and legends truly did come to life?

Enjoyed it enough to order Book # 2 of the Ryhope Wood cycle!



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Book Review: MELMOTH by Sarah Perry

Melmoth by Sarah Perry

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"I wonder, when God permitted us to fall, if He knew we'd fall so far."

I started reading this book during a ghastly three-hour ride covering the four-and-a-half kilometer distance to work, but had to stop because it was creeping me out (even though I began it in broad daylight!). Tried to pick it up again later that evening but apparently I can't read Gothic novels at night, so I said to myself I'd finish it on the Lord's Day for good measure.

And oh my goodness, it is truly painful to read. It is, to put it simply, a book on pain. On the agony of the body... and the tortures endured by a guilty soul.

This is my second Sarah Perry novel (I enjoyed THE ESSEX SERPENT immensely), and while I think T.S.S. was better written, I liked the story of MELMOTH more.

Perry uses the "tale-within-a-tale" frame narrative, as different characters from different times spoke of the haunting figure, the Wandering Jew, condemned to forever walk the earth, bearing witness to cruelty and depravity as punishment for denying Our Lord.

I never expected that the protagonist's backstory (and arguably the most haunting episode in the novel) would take place in Manila! From the Vltava to the Pasig River, from Charles Bridge to Aurora Boulevard... this novel is sweeping in scope. Fentanyl features quite prominently, too, as did overrun Filipino jails and the suffering of innocents within.

"And if there is only us, we must do what Melmoth would do: see what must be seen -- bear witness to what must not be forgotten."

While reading the descriptions of some of the most horrific, shameful events of human history, I did wonder if the author knew firsthand of the pain she was describing.

And true enough, this article proved my guess was correct:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...

And now I can't wait to read Charles Maturin's 1820 novel, with the same title!



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Book Review: ERMITA: A FILIPINO NOVEL by F. Sionil Jose

Ermita: A Filipino Novel by F. Sionil José

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"I can see... my country dying slowly... the fissures that divide us, isolate us from each other, are insidious and deep -- a government of men who in their greed think only of themselves, a people grown obsequious and pliant, vegetables without a sense of outrage. How then can we protect ourselves from our leaders and most of all, from ourselves?"

I was born in Ermita. There is a hospital there that I've frequented ever since early childhood, so it sort of feels like home. I thought I'd read this book while waiting for a doctor's appointment.

Ermita is an amazing place. Where else can you find that heady mix of beauty and corruption? One can inhale history, along with Manila air pollution, in every breath.

So it was with this book. There's much to love, but also some things to dislike.

I loved the historicity of it... the raw, bare naked truth of it. The city and its people were painted in harsh, unforgiving terms. The intellectuals, the users, the greedy conmen (and con women!), the sinners and the virtuous nuns. They seemed so real to me! Especially the protagonist, Ermita Rojo, a woman forced to earn her keep in a less than honorable way.

The first half of the novel was especially strong! F. Sionil Jose captured this reader's complete attention with the swift narration of traumatic events in World War II. Boom bam boom, MANY IMPORTANT THINGS HAPPENED! I had to catch my breath at certain moments, I was unprepared for that much drama, that fast, that early on! I was so caught up in this other world that I had to be called several times before I could mentally break away (with much anguish!!) and go inside the doctor's office when my turn finally came. Haha!

That being said, I confess I disliked the male gaze when it came to describing the women's bodies... perhaps because it was written in an earlier time (1988)? It's just that... well, with the subject matter of the book being what it is, there were so many scenes that infuriated me! And I suspect, other female readers.

"What is being destroyed now is not just a place but a nation, because its people have lost their beliefs and all they have now is a price."

The novel reminds me of the plot of GONE WITH THE WIND, but it is ever so much more complex. And don't go into this novel expecting a Hollywood, romance-novel Disney-film happy-ever-after conclusion.

By choosing the "ending" he did, I think the author wanted to show how Ermita Rojo's story is like that of our country's... it's still going. It hasn't ended. We are still being asked to choose, like Ermi Rojo had to choose: patriotism or comfort? Ideals or luxury?

There are no easy answers. And ERMITA is no easy read. But I'm glad I read it (finally!!), and it won't be my last F. Sionil novel, that's for sure!

Have you read any books of F. Sionil Jose's? Which one was your favorite? Let me know!



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