Just the other day, I was chatting over lunch about Santa Claus. The person I was talking to is quite a bit older than I am, and she has a few kids who are grown up now. She was talking specifically about the time her son left a note for Santa and received a handwritten letter in return, and how excited he'd been to show it to everyone they knew, telling them that Santa was real.
Throughout this conversation, it was assumed that, at my age, I no longer believe in Santa Claus. But as I admitted to a friend of mine recently, I actually do. People laugh at me for it, but I don't really care. When I was a kid, there was no question that Santa Claus was real, and as I got older nothing really changed. Santa still brought me and most of my friends gifts on Christmas. When I have kids, I'm going to keep them believing in Santa as long as I can.
It isn't because I think I can get more presents, or because I'm 'childish' - I believe in Santa Claus because I want to. Some people might think I'm delusional, or clinging to the past, or probably just plain weird, and they can think that if they want. It really doesn't bother me. I believe in Santa Claus because I believe in magic. Where's the fun in a world without magic? A world where everything is taken at face value - there's no miracles, no wonder. The old house up on the hill isn't home to a ghost or a witch, the woods don't house talking animals and elves. Everything is exactly what it looks like and no more. Where's the fun in that?
Take it from a writing standpoint, and think about popular books. Take a look at your bookshelf, and I nearly guarantee you'll find at least one book that deals with something magical or fantastical. I'm not denying that realistic books are interesting, because I've read and loved many of them. But imagine, for a moment, all of your favourite books. How many of them wouldn't exist if there was no magic? If humans took everything literally, if there was no capacity for the fantastical or the unbelievable, what would there be? Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and even more wouldn't exist.
When you think about it, aren't books themselves a kind of magic? The fact that words on a page can conjure up such vivid images and stories within a reader's head has a magic of its own. The fact that someone can sit down in front of a blank page and create an entire world, with its own laws and features and cities and everything, is magical. If you ask me, books are evidence that magic exists. Not just books, but music and art and even more too, but books are my personal favourite.
So do I believe in magic? Of course I do. I'm a writer, a reader, and overall a book lover. So do I believe in Santa? Sure, why not? Certainly makes the world a bit more fun and a lot more interesting if magic and Santa Claus exist. I think it's an important lesson to learn, whether you celebrate Christmas or not. Even if you don't believe in magic in the sense of something supernatural or mysterious, if you've ever loved a book, you've experienced magic. If you've ever written or told a story, you've created magic.
If you ask me, magic is real. And everyone's experienced it at some point in their life. And there's still a whole lot more magic out there waiting for us all.
Thursday 24 December 2015
Wednesday 23 December 2015
December Book Review: Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes
Book Statistics (from Amazon):
Summary (from Amazon):
War brought them together. Love will tear them apart.
Princess Cleo of Mytica confronts violence for the first time in her life when a shocking murder sets her kingdom on a path to collapse. Once a privileged royal, Cleo must now summon the strength to survive in this new world and fight for her rightful place as Queen.
The King of Limeros’s son, Magnus, must plan each footstep with shrewd, sharp guile if he is to earn his powerful father’s trust, while his sister, Lucia, discovers a terrifying secret about her heritage that will change everything.
Rebellious Jonas lashes out against the forces of oppression that have kept his country cruelly impoverished—and finds himself the leader of a people’s revolution centuries in the making.
Witches, if found, are put to death, and Watchers, immortal beings who take the shape of hawks to visit the human world, have been almost entirely forgotten. A vicious power struggle quickly escalates to war, and these four young people collide against each other and the rise of elementia, the magic that can topple kingdoms and crown a ruler in the same day.
I found this book really interesting. It's a Young Adult novel focusing on four teenagers who live in a land formerly known as Mytica. It's now split into three separate kingdoms - Auranos in the south, Limeros in the north, and Paelsia sandwiched in between. Cleo - short for Cleiona, named for one of the goddesses of legend - is the princess of Auranos (the summary says Mytica, but her actual kingdom is known as Auranos), but she isn't the heir, because she has an older sister, Emilia. Magnus and Lucia are siblings, the children of Limeros' rulers. Magnus is the heir to the throne, and struggles with being expected to live up to his father's - the 'King of Blood' - reputation. Jonas is the son of a wineseller in Paelsia, the poorest kingdom, and is hardened from years of supporting himself and his family.
It took me a while to get into this book and be absorbed into its world, but once I did, I found myself riveted. While I liked the characters and enjoyed reading about them - although Magnus gives me a bit of the creeps - what really drew my interest to this book was the magic system, known as elementia. The beginning of the novel especially reminded me of other books I've read before, and the idea of magic based on the elements is by no means new, I think Rhodes really put a fresh spin on it. The idea of witches vs. a Sorceress was also very interesting, and I think was a good plot device, preventing anyone from having completely limitless power. I was especially intrigued by the idea of the Watchers, who watch over humans but have very little ability to influence them, other than visiting them in their dreams. I found Alexius, a Watcher who has been observing Lucia for years, one of the most interesting characters in this novel, simply because he is mysterious. It is hard to decipher exactly what his intentions are, and while he seems innocent, Rhodes also plants a seed of doubt that perhaps these Watchers are not as benevolent as they seem to be. In the interest of avoiding any big spoilers, I won't elaborate more on this, but I think the Watchers were a fascinating addition to this series and I am interested to see where Rhodes goes with them.
This book was recommended to me by my friend Max, who told me that it was a really good read, and then said 'prepare your feelings'. He was right. This book is quite an emotional rollercoaster. I found myself seething with anger, gripped by panic, and heart-breakingly devastated throughout the course of this novel. I have to say, Rhodes can be heartless. Most of the characters in this novel are completely broken at least once, if not more, by death, rejection, or disaster. I tend to be very emotional and get attached to characters in books easily, so I can't guarantee everyone this exact experience, but if you manage to get through this novel without panicking, getting angry, or being on the brink of tears, then you're probably a fan of George RR Martin. But honestly, if you know how to not let a book take over your emotions, let me know.
This book is definitely not for everyone. There's quite a bit of violence, and some other somewhat unsettling themes. I've heard this series described as "the YA 'Game of Thrones'", and while it isn't overly explicit in violence or particularly explicit in anything else, there are some themes and subjects covered that some people may find upsetting. I'd recommend doing your research and deciding what you can handle.
Overall, I found this was a very interesting read. There are three other books in the series currently out, but I'm not sure if that is the end of the series or if more books are planned. I have to thank Max for the recommendation, though, and I will be reading the rest of the series.
4.5/5 stars!
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