Welcome to a Book of Many References

 No, I'm not talking about Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentleman (the graphic novels not the movie).

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned I was reading a book called Persephone's Station by Stina Leicht. I recently finished it with a 5 star (it was actually 4.5 stars, but I rounded up since you can't leave a 0.5 on GoodReads) rating. 

I wont this book from a GoodReads giveaway and was very excited to check out the slightly over 500 page novel that is described as a mash up of Casablanca meetings The Magnificent Seven - though I would say that that reviewer missed the more obvious Seven Samurai comparison. 

It also takes place in space.

The first thing I want to note about this novel is that it is very female and very queer. All of the main characters are either women or non-binary. There are several prominent lesbian or bisexual characters and the main character lives next to a gay couple. There is representation for everyone in this story.

And yes, the story is very racial diverse as well.

The main plot revolves around three point of view characters. 

The first is Rosie, a non-binary character who owns Monk's Bar and may or may not be the head of a mafia. There's a lot more to Rosie than first meets the eye. For starters, they've been helping to hide a highly advanced civilization on the colonized world they live on. They are basically the Rick character from Casablanca.

Next, is Angel. An ex-marine with a past. She can't return home, so she's found a place for herself working for Rosie. Her team is quickly framed for the assassination of a high ranking corporate vice president and need to take a dangerous job while laying low. Angel and her crew are the Magnificent Seven/Seven Samurai piece of this story. She even has a ship called Kurosawa (the director of Seven Samurai). 

Finally, we have Kennedy Liu. She's a highly advance Artificial Intelligence (AI) that's been programed to have empathy and has a human body. This isn't a spoiler, we learn this right off the bat. She also has AI sisters who don't have a body, but she can "talk to" when connected to their world's version of the Internet. I found her to be the least interesting of the three main characters and wasn't sure of her point to the plot until the very end.

There's also a point of view chapter with a person named Paulie - one of the native sentient people known as the Emissaries hiding on the planet the majority of the story takes place on. She's more of a secondary character and is the opening point of view chapter.

Though not a point of view character, but still important is our antagonist/villain, Vissia. Vissia is behind the assassination Angel's team is blamed for, the person trying to wipe out the Emissaries, and the person behind the murder of Kennedy Liu's creator (I'm going to also not count this as a spoiler because its a given early in the story). She also has a connection to Rosie - who is actively working to stop Vissia's hostile take over.

All in all - Vissia is bad news.

The story kick's off when Angel's team is hired by Rosie to assassinate the head of another crime family. The back and forth here is reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes and Star Wars with the former being directly called out in text (and an appearance by someone called Mrs. Hudson). Angel's team pull off the assassination, but uh oh, someone else was also killed during the deed. Rosie takes the opportunity to hire Angel and team to protect the Emissaries before Vissia shows up with a squad of mercenaries to destroy one of their cities (Seven Samurai/Magnificent Seven references away). Meanwhile, Rosie takes the opportunity to end Vissia's plans.

Oh, and Kennedy Liu is looking for another sentient AI system and gets mixed up in the excitement. 

It's not that complicated of a plot with each event flowing into the next in a way that makes sense in-universe. I found it a thrilling read - though slow early on. The world building is fantastic and I really want to read more stories from it. There's a lot of background stuff (and a few characters) I haven't touched on that I want to have information on. 

What got me to knock off that half a point though was the ending. It felt a little rushed and though it made sense in-universe, seemed anti-climatic - almost an afterthought compared to the middle part of the story. There seemed to be more focus on the references rather than neatly tying the plot together in a way that feels satisfying.

This is very much a space opera fantasy. I do recommend it and hope to read more from the author. It's got great representation and world building. There's a lot of fun references and Easter eggs if you're looking for them, but they can be distracting in the early part of the book. And the final third of the book isn't nearly as good as it's setup. 

If you pick up a copy, let me know what you think.  

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Welcome to Folklore and Mythology Part 8: Guiding Mentors

What do Obi-Wan Kenobi, Albus Dumbledore, and Merlin have in common?

Hint: it's not just the awesome supernatural powers.

They're all mentors to the young protagonist of their respective stories. Obi-Wan is a mentor to Luke, Dumbledore to Harry Potter, and Merlin to King Arthur (unless it's the BBC TV version in which case BFFs for life!!!). They teach their respective charges important lessons and guide them in their journey to become heroes.

Mentors often represent the older generation in stories. They have the wisdom of a long life and teach the younger generation what they probably should and should not do. Mentors aren't infallible beings either. They are known for making mistakes, mistakes that the hero may have to face and rectify for the mentor.

The mentor is often known to die before the end of these stories.

I often took that trope to show how the older generation (the mentor) will eventually have to make way for the younger generation (hero) to take charge of society (narrative). This trope is seen in Harry Potter, Star Wars, Buffy, and even Lord of the Rings (though Gandalf is eventually resurrected).

Chiron is one of the most famous mythological mentors in Western culture (much like Merlin, but he lives in his story). He was responsible for teaching many of Greece's greatest heroes including, Achilles, Ajax, Jason, Theseus, and, of course, Heracles. It's Heracles who is ultimately responsible for Chiron's death with a poisoned arrow, allowing Heracles to exchange Chiron's life for Prometheus's (versions of this story vary and I'm using Wikipedia as my main source as I can't find my mythology book with this story in it).

Chiron and Achilles

Mentors don't even have to be "good guys" necessarily, though this is a more modern trope. They just have to be guiding force and teacher to the protagonist. In the Anime/Manga Black Cat, the hero, Train, is trained by the man who murdered his parents. The man takes Train in with the explicit purpose of teach Train how to kill him one day. Train eventually grows up to become one of the best assassins in his organization.

Another example of this modern trope would be Littlefinger from Game of Thrones choosing to look after and mentor Sansa Stark. He mentor's Sansa in the art of The Game of Thrones so that she will survive and possibly win. He is without doubt a morally ambiguous character (even by his universe's standards), but that doesn't stop him from trying to teach and guide Sansa in the world she has found herself in. Just don't think too hard about his creepy attraction to her because she looks like her dead mother.

Even villains need mentors.

Darth Vader had Darth Sidious. Sauron had Morgoth. Light had Ryuk. Each teaching and tempting them to the ways of the villain.

Mentors are as important in mythology and folklore as they are in our modern society. Seriously, one of the first pieces of advice I was given when I joined the workforce was to find a good mentor to teach and guide me. Every few months Business Insider usually has one or two articles about how to find good mentors. Even I wrote a blog post about this in the first year of starting this blog (I'm not sure how good it is anymore, but click here if you're curious).

People can have many mentors throughout their life. Mentors can be relatives, family friends, teachers, or complete strangers who live on an island and you have to seek out because someone told you to. They pass on wisdom and knowledge, but ultimately it is up to the person to decide what they do with these lessons.

I am still at a time in my life where I still feel that I would benefit from having a mentor. I wouldn't feel comfortable being a mentor myself, but that's not often my decision to make. Mentorship is often an inevitable part of a person's life cycle. At some point I will likely have to pass on my knowledge to someone else. I will eventually be a member of the older generation.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Until next week.

Welcome to the Evolution of the Princess Factor

Princesses, I can't seem to escape them in popular culture. In almost any high fantasy book or fairy tale I've picked up features at least one princess. Fantasy anime and RPGs love having a secret princess show up somewhere in the plot. YouTubers have analyzed why princesses are hated and Tumblers have argued which one is the best. Not to mention the Disney company has created an empire off of the princess narrative.

There's a lot of princesses out there. Lord of the Rings has Eowyn. The Princess Bride has Buttercup. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind has, well, Nausicaä. Nintendo still capitalizes on Princess Peach and Princess Zelda, despite them possibly not being princesses. For Zelda it's at least implied that she's the daughter of someone else ruling the kingdom, so I'll give her a pass. As I have never seen a King or Queen of the Mushroom Kingdom, I'm going to have to assume that it's a vanity thing with Peach. The same thing applies to the My Little Pony Princesses in Friendship is Magic.

I grew up in the United States, so I didn't really understand the fascination with princesses (or royalty in general). That's not to say I didn't enjoy stories that featured royalty, I just didn't really understand what all the fuss was about. Then I took a few courses on popular culture and European history and I started to understand why they featured so heavily in American culture. 

Most American children, I assume, are introduced to princesses through Disney movies. I know I was. Snow White, Cinderella, and Princess Aurora make up the "Classic" Disney Princess line up. It has since expanded, mostly thanks to the Disney Renascence, to include Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana, Rapunzel, Merida, Anna, Queen Elsa (despite having a completely different title), and hopefully Moana. That's a lot of princesses in a short period of time and it's not even including the princesses who get ignored by the Disney company (sorry Eilonwy and Kida, but your movies didn't do well enough to include you).

I was at the right age for the Disney movies that came out in the 90s and I still watch a lot of them today. However, I can see where some people might not like the princess movies as much. Or at least think they are the best role models for little girls. After re-watching The Little Mermaid for the millionth time in college, my roommate and I came to the agreement that Ariel and Eric are the dumbest Disney protagonists out there. I've also found myself agreeing more and more with King Triton over the years. Seriously Ariel, you are sixteen, listen to your dad. He just wants what's best for you.

Heck I've started agreeing Zazu in the Lion King. He's really not the buzz kill I remember from when I was a kid. He is just trying to teach Simba and Nala that being an adult requires a level of maturity and responsibility they don't have as kids. It isn't all fun and games. I must be getting old if I'm agreeing with Zazu. 

Since the passing of Carrie Fisher, there's been a growing movement to get Princess Leia canonized as a Disney Princess. As I'm still not sure how monarchies work in the Star Wars universe (for example Queen Padmé Amidala is technically democratically elected, but still has the title queen), I'm not sure if she would actually count as a princess. However, she was the first princess that I was introduced to in popular culture who didn't act like a stereotypical princess. In the first movie she ends up saving Han and Luke while they are trying to save her. In the later movies she's one of the top rebel leaders. Damsel in distress, Leia is not.

Moana is the latest female heroine to be called a Disney Princess (though she hasn't been canonized yet) and I personally think she is the best one to date. Though Moana denies her status in the film, Maui points out that she "wears a dress and has an animal side kick" which, in his opinion, automatically makes her a princess. What makes Moana's story different from her predecessors is that she isn't interested in finding love or seeking adventure which leads to a boyfriend. Her movie is about balancing her responsibilities to her people and accepting who she is.

I could find dozens of other examples of princesses who challenge and defy the stereotypes that I've been exposed to. I can also name dozens of examples of characters who exemplify the princess stereotypes, but that fact doesn't stop me from loving the stories or characters. What's important is that the story is engaging and the characters are interesting. And if those two criteria aren't met, then they're probably not the best written stories to begin with.

The princess narrative has changed a lot since Snow White and it's not just Disney who are making these changes. People want new stories and characters that reflect the modern way of thinking. Women's roles in society have changed. Snow White was the scared young girl lost in the woods (yeah she was 14 in that movie, I'm still a little weirded out by that fact) and the victim of her jealous step mother. Moana is a responsible leader who saved her people. Both are interesting characters who have an engaging story to tell. I doubt the princess character is going to go away anytime soon, especially not in fantasy stories, but we're going to continue to see changes to them. 

You know, the live action Beauty and the Beast is coming out soon and I've heard they're making some small changes to Belle's character. It'll be interesting to see how she will be portrayed after 25 years.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me. Until next week.

Welcome to the Beyond

If you guys haven't guessed from the title, I just saw Star Trek Beyond. It's a fun movie (and a little bitter sweet since the deaths of Leonard Nimoy and Anton Yelchin) and I enjoyed it. Star Trek, both the original and The Next Generation, were a big part of my childhood, much like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Sailor Moon, Pokemon, and of course Star Wars.

It's possible that all of the Fantasy and Science Fiction stories helped shape my crazy imagination. Like many kids, I wanted to be one of the "good guys" who fought the "bad guys". I wanted to do amazing deeds that required a lot of courage and prove how awesome I was (think kid logic, which includes slaying dragons and being able to build a super computer). I wanted to explore the unknown from the far reaches of space to the depths of the deepest ocean.

I will defeat the dragon!

The adventures my fictional heroes went on we're awesome and I wanted to be a similar hero (well at least a good mix of the diplomatic Captain Picard, the kicka$$ nature of Captain Kirk, the kindness of Harry Potter, and the loyalty of Luke Skywalker) who went on similar adventures.

All of these great adventures have conflict. Star Wars was probably my introduction into the "good versus evil" narrative. Luke and his friends were the good guys fighting the evil empire. Similarly Sailor Moon was also a classic fight between the good sailor scouts and the evil forces of the negaverse (Luna has the best pronunciation of this). Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings are also good examples of the good versus evil narrative (Harry versus Lord Voldemort and the Fellowship/free people of Middle Earth versus Sauron), but there was also something a little more complicated about them.

Lord of the Rings taught me about the importance of friendship (Legolas and Gimli) and that the hero sometimes comes back with scars that will never fully heal (Frodo). Sure the good and evil ideas are a little too separated with the stereotyping of the different races (see World of Warcraft if you want a good representation of orcs by the way). However, Lord of the Rings made it very clear that not all heroes leave their adventures unscathed.

Harry Potter taught me a lot about the grey areas of "good" and "evil". The story taught me that just
because someone might have been a Death Eater didn't mean that they continued to be after they learned a hard truth (looking at Snape and Regulus Black). It taught me that heroes and mentors are important, but even they have flaws (Sirius Black and Remus Lupin). The books also taught me that you can't necessarily trust those in authoritative positions (Umbridge) or that people you think are very wise can make very bad mistakes (Dumbledore).

Pokemon was one of those rare gems that defined a generation. It emphasized team work and friendship. Sure there were "bad guys" (yeah Team Rocket was pretty bad for stealing rare Pokemon), but Jesse, James, and Meowth all had a great backstory that told the viewers why they were doing what they were doing. Yes, they were in the wrong most most of the time, but you couldn't help sympathizing with them once you learned more about them. However the overall theme of Pokemon was one of exploration and friendship.

Star Trek, though, is a whole other can of worms. If Star Trek taught me anything, it was to continue to explore and never outgrow a sense of wonder and curiosity. Well, those are the biggest things I took away from it as a child.

The other major thing that Star Trek taught me (rather than all of the other previously mentioned franchises) was to not fear the unknown. Think about it, the purpose of Star Trek was the explore the unknown. They had no idea if the next day would be their last, not because someone was actively trying to kill them, but because of an unknown entity accidentally killing them or a delicate diplomatic situation. Captain Kirk and Picard always seemed to get out of the toughest situations. They had a great crew and a ton of pseudo-science techno babble to back them up. Heck, Captain Kirk didn't even believe in the "no win situation", while Captain Picard went up against the Borg, an enemy that could adapt to any situation.

As a child the "good versus evil narrative" of Star Wars and Sailor Moon was easy to understand and recreate. As an adult, the unknown of Star Trek and grey areas of Harry Potter are what resonates the most with me. Yes, the new Star Trek movies have their "bad guys", but what made the show great doesn't necessarily make a great movie. The TV shows, though, had a lot more to them. While the Harry Potter universe keeps expanding and the "happily ever after" I long for seems more and more out of reach.

As much as I'd like to say that there is a "bad guy" or "bad situation" in my life that I need to defeat, there aren't. My main source of conflict is the "unknown" (which I believe I've written about before), myself (I am my biggest critic after all), and the grey areas that don't seem to have a solution. Which makes Star Trek, the show, a lot more relatable than many of my other childhood fantasies. They solved their problems through creativity, diplomacy, and a little bit of intense action.

There are many days where I ask myself "what the hell I think I'm doing." I wonder why I'm not the explorer or hero I always dreamed I would be. Then I remember that I have bills to pay and plants to water. As much as I'd love an unexpected adventure (like Mr. Bilbo running off with the dwarfs of Middle Earth), I know that I have responsibilities that need to be taken care of. I might not be as free spirited as I want to be, but at least my imagination fills in the gaps.

Though I still don't know what my future holds (although there is that trip to Iceland coming up), I don't think I'm unprepared for it. I may love my routines and stability, but what would life be like without the unknown showing up to spice things up? The stories I grew up with helped to shape who I am as an adult. Hopefully I make good decisions.

After all, I still have a lot of living to do. I can only do my very best, continue to learn, and admit when I've made a mistake. Maybe I will leave a legacy behind, maybe I'll be forgotten with time. The Universe will just have to wait an see. In the words of Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: "To infinity and beyond."

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off), please like, share, and/or leave a commend. I love hearing from my readers and I hop you guys love hearing from me. Now, go revisit your childhood, before reality sets in.