Saturday, December 04, 2021
The Star Shard
by Frederic S. Durbin
First read in March of 2012.
on my shelf
LibraryThing link
Labels: FredericDurbin, OnMyShelf
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
Dragonfly
by Frederic S. Durbin
First read in April 2003.
on my shelf
LibraryThing link
First read in April 2003.
on my shelf
LibraryThing link
Labels: FredericDurbin, OnMyShelf
Saturday, August 13, 2016
A Green and Ancient Light
I'm tempted to call Frederic Durbin the master of setting. I loved his description of an October evening in Dragonfly. I wanted more stories that explored the world of the Rake in The Star Shard. Now, in A Green and Ancient Light, he dropped me into a small seaside village and a secluded grove filled with bizarre statues that I delighted to explore with the hero. It's a tale of a nine-year-old boy who is spending the summer with his grandmother while his mother cares for his infant sister and his father is away with the war. Which war is never specified. Neither are the names of the country, village or even the characters.* An enemy pilot is shot down nearby and is discovered by Girandole, a friend of the grandmother. Girandole has a name because he's somewhat unusual. Since Grandmother doesn't consider the wounded pilot an enemy, she treats his wounds and the trio hide him out in the grove. The grove itself is a puzzle, perhaps connected to a world of legend. The story then is a blend of the task of hiding the pilot and unraveling the mystery of the statuary.
I didn't find the story as compelling as Mr. Durbin's previous novels. However, I can't help but love how Mr. Durbin made it all so real, mixing in small little mundane details while still keeping a sense of mystery and magic. It's definitely a book worth checking out.
___
* I don't know why he redacted all the names, but it does make for a second mystery to unravel. The clues are all there, though I have to confess that I didn't really puzzle out where the story took place before I read the answer in the acknowledgements.
LibraryThing link
I didn't find the story as compelling as Mr. Durbin's previous novels. However, I can't help but love how Mr. Durbin made it all so real, mixing in small little mundane details while still keeping a sense of mystery and magic. It's definitely a book worth checking out.
___
* I don't know why he redacted all the names, but it does make for a second mystery to unravel. The clues are all there, though I have to confess that I didn't really puzzle out where the story took place before I read the answer in the acknowledgements.
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut, FredericDurbin
Sunday, March 11, 2012
The Star Shard
by Frederic S. Durbin
Ah, what can I say about The Star Shard? Shall I tell about Cymbril, the enslaved chanteuse? Or perhaps the exotic sidhe child, Loric? The wise and mighty Urrmsh? The loquacious Byrni? The dark Eye Women? No, I guess if I'm going to hold forth on The Star Shard I must begin with the Thunder Rake. Ah, the Rake. The setting for this tale of captivity. Think of a traditional marketplace, with all its sights, sounds and colors. Pack it all up on a large ship, put the ship on wheels, supply the ship with massive forked oars that bite into the soil and drag the ship along. That's the Thunder Rake. Way cool, if you ask me. Of course, there was a voice in the back of my mind that pointed out that the Rake was probably quite impractical from a technological and economic standpoint. But the rest of my mind told him to shush, because we were enjoying the story. Oh, yeah, the story. Like I mentioned above, you have this orphaned slave girl, Cymbril. She's the property of the Rake's owner, Rombol, and her main job is to sing for the crowds whenever the Rake crawls into town and sets up their market. It's not a horrid existence, but slavery can make any life bitter. Cymbril's a curious child, given to explore the Rake and its mysteries when she can. But those wonders all fade to the mystery of Rombol's latest purchase, Loric. Rombol buys the boy for his innate ability to see in the dark, so he can act as a guide for the Rake on it's nightly journeys. At first, Cymbril plots to get a chance to talk to Loric, but once she does that, the two start to plan an even more risky enterprise...
The Star Shard was quite enjoyable to read, not only in its original incarnation in Cricket magazine, but also as this expanded novel. I did feel slightly let down--the world Mr. Durbin has created really calls out for more stories, perhaps a sequel or two. So go out and my multiple copies so that the publisher will start nagging Mr. Durbin to write some more.
It's on my shelf
LibraryThing link
Ah, what can I say about The Star Shard? Shall I tell about Cymbril, the enslaved chanteuse? Or perhaps the exotic sidhe child, Loric? The wise and mighty Urrmsh? The loquacious Byrni? The dark Eye Women? No, I guess if I'm going to hold forth on The Star Shard I must begin with the Thunder Rake. Ah, the Rake. The setting for this tale of captivity. Think of a traditional marketplace, with all its sights, sounds and colors. Pack it all up on a large ship, put the ship on wheels, supply the ship with massive forked oars that bite into the soil and drag the ship along. That's the Thunder Rake. Way cool, if you ask me. Of course, there was a voice in the back of my mind that pointed out that the Rake was probably quite impractical from a technological and economic standpoint. But the rest of my mind told him to shush, because we were enjoying the story. Oh, yeah, the story. Like I mentioned above, you have this orphaned slave girl, Cymbril. She's the property of the Rake's owner, Rombol, and her main job is to sing for the crowds whenever the Rake crawls into town and sets up their market. It's not a horrid existence, but slavery can make any life bitter. Cymbril's a curious child, given to explore the Rake and its mysteries when she can. But those wonders all fade to the mystery of Rombol's latest purchase, Loric. Rombol buys the boy for his innate ability to see in the dark, so he can act as a guide for the Rake on it's nightly journeys. At first, Cymbril plots to get a chance to talk to Loric, but once she does that, the two start to plan an even more risky enterprise...
The Star Shard was quite enjoyable to read, not only in its original incarnation in Cricket magazine, but also as this expanded novel. I did feel slightly let down--the world Mr. Durbin has created really calls out for more stories, perhaps a sequel or two. So go out and my multiple copies so that the publisher will start nagging Mr. Durbin to write some more.
It's on my shelf
LibraryThing link
Labels: FredericDurbin, OnMyShelf
Friday, October 28, 2011
Dragonfly
by Frederic S. Durbin
First read in April 2003.
Somebody (besides me) should really declare this book the official novel of October.
Still on my shelf.
LibraryThing link
First read in April 2003.
Somebody (besides me) should really declare this book the official novel of October.
Still on my shelf.
LibraryThing link
Labels: FredericDurbin, OnMyShelf
Saturday, April 05, 2003
Dragonfly
by Frederic S. Durbin, illustrated by Jason Van Hollander
I'm told that the author is going to be reading this review, so it will have to be a positive one. Fortunately, I don't have to lie. Dragonfly is a great read. The premise is nothing new--a child has adventures in a mystical realm. But unlike Dorothy, Meg Murry or the Pevensie children, Bridget Anne (also known by the nickname Dragonfly) heads down to a dark realm--the essence of Hallowe'en. Not quite hell, but much closer than any other "faerieland" of which I've read. But it's not all blackness, either. There is love and hope and faith amidst the suffering and death. Mr. Durbin does a very good job of bringing the story to life, weaving together the plot and characters. Nothing is wasted--details that I just thought of as embellishment suddenly turn out to be important to the plot. One of the folks who reviewed Dragonfly at Amazon.com said that the book reminded him of Ray Bradbury. Me, I was reminded of C.S. Lewis, partly because of the basic premise, partly because of the underlying Christianity of the heroes. (And partly because the only Bradbury I can recall reading is Farenheit 451.) But despite Mr. Lewis' skill in portraying good and evil characters, his fiction comes across as a weekend gardener--a tad dirty, but still very prim and proper. Dragonfly, to continue the metaphor, is more like a real farmer, for whom sweat and dust are a part of daily life. I really enjoyed reading this and I'm going to put it on my shelf so I can read it again. I suspect it will only get better the second time around.
LibraryThing link
I'm told that the author is going to be reading this review, so it will have to be a positive one. Fortunately, I don't have to lie. Dragonfly is a great read. The premise is nothing new--a child has adventures in a mystical realm. But unlike Dorothy, Meg Murry or the Pevensie children, Bridget Anne (also known by the nickname Dragonfly) heads down to a dark realm--the essence of Hallowe'en. Not quite hell, but much closer than any other "faerieland" of which I've read. But it's not all blackness, either. There is love and hope and faith amidst the suffering and death. Mr. Durbin does a very good job of bringing the story to life, weaving together the plot and characters. Nothing is wasted--details that I just thought of as embellishment suddenly turn out to be important to the plot. One of the folks who reviewed Dragonfly at Amazon.com said that the book reminded him of Ray Bradbury. Me, I was reminded of C.S. Lewis, partly because of the basic premise, partly because of the underlying Christianity of the heroes. (And partly because the only Bradbury I can recall reading is Farenheit 451.) But despite Mr. Lewis' skill in portraying good and evil characters, his fiction comes across as a weekend gardener--a tad dirty, but still very prim and proper. Dragonfly, to continue the metaphor, is more like a real farmer, for whom sweat and dust are a part of daily life. I really enjoyed reading this and I'm going to put it on my shelf so I can read it again. I suspect it will only get better the second time around.
LibraryThing link
Labels: FredericDurbin, OnMyShelf
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