Book Review: Dust of 100 Dogs

Aka, the book my mom kept trying to steal from me when we were on vacation, no idea why she found this book so interesting based on the blurb on it's back cover. Then again, I don't know why I was interested by this book either, I remember coming across it in a bookstore years ago, thought it looked interesting and just now found it at my local library. I suppose part of the interest for me was because the blurb seems to give away the entire plot of the book so I was wondering what was left to tell.

Dust of a Thousand Dogs by A.S. King

Part of the reason I was initially attracted to this book (in the bookstore) was because of it's cool design. It's only three colors, very graphic and really fits the book well, plus that's a pretty neat font used for the title (also a little unusual to see the title placed in the lower right hand corner of the cover, usually it's right at the top). So the cover itself is eye-grabbing and really stands out compared to other YA titles.

Summary: Emer was originally born in Ireland at the time of Cromwell and saw her family home destroyed while she escaped and eventually became a pirate terrorizing the Caribbean. However, right after burying some treasure, she was killed and cursed to live the lives of 100 dogs before being reborn again as a human. It’s now the 1970s and she has finally been reborn as a human (named Saffron) who remembering every single life she’s had before and determined to escape her deadbeat family and reclaim her treasure.

The Good: It seems that the book gives away it’s entire plot on the back cover but proves that knowing what happened (the facts) isn’t the same as knowing how it happened (the reason), in a way it shows that you can still enjoy a story even if you know almost all of what is going to happen. The book uses a lot of flashbacks to tell the story and, in an unexpected twist, shows that Emer and Saffron are not the same person unlike most stories where a reincarnated person is exactly the same. Emer is certainly a part of Saffron but they are still two separate people, Saffron doesn’t mind her visitor/former self living with her and seems to have simply accepted that she knows all the things that Emer does. Because of all the flasbacks this story is more of a historical fiction work which covers two very different time periods, 17th century Ireland and the Caribbean and 1970s through early 1990s America which is an unusual combination for a book written only a few years ago*. Emer and Saffron carry the story so well that book is a really interesting and engaging read.

The Bad: A few things about the ending seem unexpected or just a bit too convenient for some of the characters (almost an inverse deus ex machina since it makes things harder for Saffron/Emer ). It also provides a much needed climax for the story since in the current timeline the story is already in the 1990s and most of Saffron's problems have been (at least temporarily) taken care of yet something still needs to happen at the end to wrap everything up. It’s not a plot heavy book, it’s very much a character book instead and at times it feels more like a very strange slice of life story. The interludes the include dog training advice/snippets from Emer's 100 lives as various dogs sometimes felt rather strange and out of place, the story would have functioned perfectly without them. 

I ended up liking this book more than I thought I would (just because I had no idea how much I would like it) and wouldn't mind buying a copy of it someday for an e-reader or such. Makes me wish I had more historical fiction to read as well, for some reason that genre just isn't as popular in young adult (or if it is it's something more along the lines of ROMANCE, INTRIGUE.... in the 1800s!), although it is entirely possible that in my years of wandering through bookstores and libraries that I've just missed all the historical fiction they have.

*by which I mean, it's rare to see what is technically historical fiction books that are only set a few decades ago (instead of some more "romantic" era).

 

Book Review: Tyger Tyger

This is another book which was recommended to me from The Enchanted Inkpot (well, I believe so, when I went to delete it off of my "to-read" list it was rather high up on it so I've had the recommendation for a while). Not much else to say about it, except from the title I was expecting it to be a book dealing with an Indian setting/mythology (or maybe even something dealing with the British in colonial India) but apparently I was thinking of the wrong country that starts with the letter "I".

Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton

  While the cover of the book makes sense (I'm assuming this is an image of the entrance into Mag Mell) the title doesn't make much sense to me. The poem "Tyger Tyger" is only mentioned twice throughout the entire book and doesn't have a lot of special meaning either time, it's a strange name for a book.

Summary: Teagan lived a happy life with her family, a normal life, but when they take in her cousin Finn strange things, things from fairy tales and her mother's past, begin to happen and Teagan has to go on a journey to salvage what parts of her life she's left with.

The Good: It was a nice surprise to learn that Finn was not a "bad boy" or even a "jerk with a heart of gold" character (as his status as the love interest would initially suggest) but it actually a nice guy and doesn't try to hide it. The revelations about Teagan's family was a nice twist but had enough foreshadowing that it doesn't jerk the reader out of the story or feel unbelievable and it also explains a few things.

The Bad: One problem with kind of setting is that, well, it doesn't make a lot of sense. Once the lead character learns how to see the supernatural they see tons of creatures everywhere causing tons of trouble and, more likely than not, killing people. So, why aren't there more unexplained deaths in these settings or a more superstitious public? The setting isn't just a backdrop for the characters to act against, it's something that should motivate and interact with them and, in this case and like so many others, it just doesn't work the way it should. Other complaints include that the characters actions don't always make sense (why are they even trying to enter Mag Mell if they know that they shouldn't be able to get in? Do they only do this so that they can show later that they can and that there is something going on that they don't know about?) and the relationship between Finn and Teagan ends on a rather weird note (due in part to Teagan having a sudden bout of insecurity about herself*).

The book is set to be the first in a series (don't know how many books) but honestly I don't feel an urge to read the next books, partially because it works really well as a self-contained story. Just take out the last few lines and there's no sequel hook at all, but it's also because for me this was only an okay book. Alright but not fantastic, if my grumbling over certain tropes hadn't already clued you into that, and with that, I'll be back Sunday with a new review folks, see you then!



*bit of a spoiler here but that's why this is in a footnote. One trope I really don't like these days is when the protagonist finds out that they're not quite human/not all human/not human at all and breaks down having an existentialist crisis because of it. It's perfectly understandable that a character would be thrown by the revelation and confused but when they start questioning everything about themselves, everything they've ever thought or done, because of this one thing, that's when it gets annoying. This applies to many other characters as well by the way but, it seems stupid for them to think that they're a different person just because they know more about themselves, they still have the same thoughts, emotions, feelings, hopes, desires, ect after all don't they? Just wanted to get that rant out, the tomato in the mirror trope is being used a lot these days and that part of the trope just bothers me every time it comes up.   

Movie Review: The Secret of Kells

When I really got into anime four years ago I was only interested in Japanese animation and didn't bother to look at animation from the rest of the world. After all, I had been generally unimpressed with American animation for years and didn't know that much about animation from the rest of the world, but recently I've become curious about what the rest of the world is producing. The funny thing is that I still find out about most foreign animation through anime websites like this movie. I believe I heard about it when it was nominated for an Oscar, looked at the trailer, thought it looked fairly cool, and then forgot about it. But recently I was browsing through Netflix and came across this streaming and got around to watching it with my mom and I think we both enjoyed it.

The Secret of Kells

Summary: Brendan is a young monk in an abby in a remote village in Ireland who wants to become an illuminator. He clashes however with his uncle, the Abbot Cellach, who is obsessed with building a wall to surround the village and protect it from Viking attacks. 

The Good: The movie has a much more cohesive plot line than I thought which, while basic, works and makes this a movie, not just a very nice looking series of images. Upon browsing tvtropes I discovered a lot of little details in the movie I hadn't noticed earlier (like a lot of references to Irish fairy tales and poetry) so this was a well thought out movie as well. Also, I remember when I was a kid I could always find a fantasy or two set in Ireland but that's not the case these days so it was nice to have a little nostalgia moment while watching this. I can see myself enjoying this movie as a kid (even if it would've scared me a bit*) and being able to recommend a movie to a wide range of age groups is a good thing.

The Bad: One thing that did bother me about the movie was how most of the movie seemed to take place over a few days and then towards the end there's a five or ten year time skip and then the movie ends. It's a bit jarring, if necessary, and I really don't know how to pace that bit better but it did seem odd. There were also a few things about the movie, mostly small references but one or two things considering Aisling as well, that I didn't understand until I looked them up. This isn't a bad thing per say, but people who are big fans of Irish mythology are going to enjoy this movie more than someone who isn't.

The Art: If you're watching this movie, chances are you're watching it for the art and it's very interesting to look at. I'm not sure if the whole movie is CGI or a CGI/traditional animation combination but the animation itself has a different kind of movement to it than I'm used to seeing in either US or Japanese animation. The art itself is very stylized and detailed while still using very basic shapes (visually the most similar thing I can think of is Kemono no Souja Erin/Beast Player Erin's more stylized sequences) and is simply gorgeous. I would recommend this movie to people based on the art alone and wouldn't mind buying this on Blu-Ray just so I could stare at the imagery again.

The Music: I didn't notice that much music in the movie actually, I'm sure there was plenty of background music but I was too distracetd by the visuals to hear it. The one bit that stood out was Aisling's song about Pangur Bán and while that was a neat song I didn't really get it until I discovered it was partially in Gaelic (well, I still don't understand what she was singing but point made). If I saw the movie again I'm sure I'd notice the music more but the visuals really outshone it. 

Sorry if this review sounds a bit disjointed, I've had a headache for most of the day so it's a little hard to focus but I really wanted to get this review done and out of the way. Originally I was hoping to get two done today and tomorrow but it looks like that won't be happening. I'll get at least one done tomorrow and fingers crossed that it'll be two but no promises!


*But honestly that's more because I was easily freaked out as a kid, you'd laugh if you heard how long Fern Gully gave me nightmares....