Just another dent in the damage...

Growing up with Enid Blyton never made me much of a reader! Being as slow at reading as I am never much helped the situation either. I’m slow, I’m lazy and bore easily. If a book doesn’t capture my wandering mind within the first couple of pages I probably won’t bother picking it up again. It’s an odd predicament to be in as a librarian ey… Someone who you’d expect to know all about the art of reading, who’ll recommend text after text after text. Well seen as I’m not a public librarian this doesn’t so much bother me.

I remember some joker’s look of disgust in one of my classes when I said ‘I don’t really read much fiction’. After she demanded to know why I want to be a librarian when I don’t read fiction I realised she wasn’t much worth my time after that. I don’t think we actually did speak again. Shame. I’m sure her insights into the classics might come in useful one day (pah). To be honest I don’t think I could think of anything more boring than listening to her whine on about the history of English literature. 

Anyway I suppose my real reason to write about my reading habits (other than to slag off old class mates) was to talk about Trudi Canavan. On the days I do decide to read fiction, I tend to stick with the fantasy side of sci-fi. I’m into anything with socerers, magic, weird animals and other worlds. I especially like strong female character types and enemies who turn out not to be enemies but rather the saviours (if you get what I mean). So what Trudi Canavan brings to the genre is truly spot on. I didn’t think life got much better after reading The Black Magician’s Trilogy but then I read Age of the Five and good lord it’s like the best trilogy EVER. I totally couldn’t put it down and cursed my eyes when they were too sleepy to stay open. What I liked about this was how Trudi created a world, much like our own, with religious fanaticism (Rian of the White), atheism (the heathen Dreamweavers – in the sense of turning from the gods rather than the affirmation of their nonexistence) and polytheism (the Circle versus the Pentadrians). Yet in making the gods of the story real beings it became a story more concerned with questioning whether to undoubtingly follow and trust the gods’ will rather than mystical inflection and rightful sucessors. She imagined a world where gods were created from immortal humans and were therefore equally guilty of mistakes in human nature: manipulation, desire, corruption, greed etc etc. It was perfect! Totally perfect and for those of you who like a bit of romance thrown in, there was that too! I never thought of myself as an old romantic but the tale of Leiard and Auraya was overwhelming (seriously).

 

I’m also pleased to see she’s in the process of writing another trilogy called The Traitor Spy, set in The Black Magician’s Kyralia (about Sonea and Akkarin’s son) but I’d much rather she’d throw another Age of the Five in the mix. Although it’s nice to be left wondering how life turns out for The Wilds, I’d love to read more about Mirar and Auraya. Although there’s no plan as yet I’m hoping one silently pops into her head and she decides that we all need to know how life turned out for the immortals. But until then roll of Febuary 2009… I NEED The Magician’s Apprentice.