2018 reading challenge: a book with your favorite color in the title

Under the Green Star by Lin Carter

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Very much an homage to the style and stories of Edgar Rice Burroughs and if it hasn't started out taking place in the 1970s I would have thought it had been written by Burroughs. I have to admit that this very much felt like a reimagining of the John Carter of Mars books, which made it not feel "fresh" to me.

I loved the Barsoom series and read them all when I was a teen, so this felt like a visit to the old neighborhood that has undergone redevelopment.

The main character has been crippled and has spent his life on Earth in a wheelchair or on crutches. He finds himself a man of leisure so spends his time researching metaphysical ideology of the Tibetan Yogis and such. One day he puts his studies into practice and astral projects himself out of his body and finds himself drawn to a distant star in the sky. This green star has a world orbiting it that draws him down, where he finds a population of people that are elfin like tree dwellers. As he explores the civilization in spirit form he suddenly finds himself pulled into the preserved body of a famous hero of legend, where his spirit takes up residence and he must become the great and mighty Chong.

The story was very typical of the "space and sword" genre. It was a quick read but I can't say that it left me wanting to track down the next book in the series.



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2018 reading challenge: A BOOK SET IN A COUNTRY THAT FACINATES YOU

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


An absolutely, wonderfully told fairy tale. I have been fascinated by Russian and Slavic tales and stories for some time and this had all the elements that made this perfect. The young girl, made motherless at an early age (in this case birth) who has always been seen as odd. The overly doting father who wants the best for his children who remarries to provide a good female influence in the house. The step mother who for some reason doesn't like the girl. Creatures/spirits/fairies/sprites of the house, farm and countryside that come to the girl's aid. The girl who overcomes all the challenges in the end and grows into herself and does what needs to be done.

The language of this book was very evocative of submersing me into 16th century Russia and the reader (I did the audiobook) had just a way that kept me wanting to her tell me more.

I highly recommend this book to any who are interested in fairy tales, supernatural stories, or Medieval Russia.



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