Excerpt: Arrow of the Mist by Christina Mercer

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Arrow of the Mist by Christina Mercer
Published: 2013, Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Series: Not yet titled, #1
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Goodreads · Amazon · Barnes & Noble

Synopsis:

Terror strikes the Celtic inspired kingdom of Nemetona when barbed roots breach the veil of a forbidden land and poison woodsmen, including 15-year-old Lia’s beloved father. Lia and three others embark on a quest to the forbidden land of Brume to gather ingredients for the cure. But after her elder kinsman is attacked and poisoned, she and her cousin, Wynn, are forced to finish the quest on their own.

Lia relies on her powerful herbal wisdom and the memorized pages of her late grandmother’s Grimoire for guidance through a land of soul-hungry shades, trickster creatures, and uncovered truths about the origin of Brume and her family’s unexpected ties to it. The deeper they trek into the land, the stronger Lia’s untapped gift as a tree mage unfolds. When she discovers the enchanted root’s maker, it forces her to question everything about who she is and what is her destiny. Ultimately she must make a terrible choice: keep fighting to save her father and the people of the lands or join with the power behind the deadly roots to help nature start anew. (Goodreads)

Excerpt:

Granda Luis halted and turned Dobbin to face his troop. The chilled air tugged at his cloak and swept through his winter white hair. His eyes shone from his face and the young trio drew their horses back a few steps.

“We’ve a straight and narrow trail ahead. We’ll go in single file—”

“A narrow trail?” Lia cut in. “But, I thought it’d be some kind of, well, secret passage or something. How is it that only you and Grandma made it through the fog safely? Why didn’t others just follow behind, track your steps?”

“There were many who tried.” His voice turned morose. “Even after all m’warnings. Men hovering in the wooded outskirts, creeping in the grasses, waiting till I was snug enough within the fog before charging in behind me, their lives over before I could utter a word. Because you see, as with most gates, there are guards.”

Lia’s eyes widened. She cast a glance at Wynn, whose jaw hung, and at Kelven whose face was like stone. 

Granda Luis added, “But not to worry, our passage was assured long ago.”

Lia opened her mouth, but held her tongue as Granda turned Dobbin around and headed him toward the perilous boundary. Guards? How is that possible? The notion of it chilled her like an icy deluge. Then the words from the Grimoire echoed inside her head: 

Fogged, bogged gates of Brume, barrier to my home;

Timeless, faceless watchers loom, but I am allowed to roam.

“Come on, Dobbin. ’Tis all right, boy, steady now,” Granda Luis cajoled. Dobbin snorted and flipped his head up and down. “I was afraid o’this. He’s strong as a bull, but nervous as a cat, nothing like his fearless sire who’d brazen out the fog without a wink. Come on, boy, walk!” He struggled to move Dobbin forward, but the animal reared and the other horses backed away.

Kelven rode up and neared the anxious horse. “Luis, sir, I think I can help.” He dismounted Koby and commanded him with a mere nod, and his mount stood stock-still.

Kelven approached Dobbin and whispered words that Lia couldn’t make out. He placed one hand on Dobbin’s muzzle and used his other to caress the sorrel-colored mane. Dobbin settled, finally stilled, and whinnied softly. Lia reveled in Kelven’s poise, her fears ebbing like a receding tide.

Kelven reached into his leather jerkin and brought out a carrot, feeding it to the calmed animal while he stroked his coat. “If you’ll allow me to lead as we go through this fog, we could pull him through to the other side. He’d feel better, I think, following another horse in.”

With his brow knitted, Granda Luis replied, “All right, but listen to me carefully; you must stay to the trail, keep your eyes to it at all times, as that’s the only way to ensure we don’t get lost in the mists. I’ll be stopping us mid-way to leave a few offerings.”

Well, that might explain the separate pack of ale and bread, Lia surmised. Then she shuddered to think about what sort of creature could subsist in the fog.

Ropes connected the small band, led by Kelven astride his horse Koby, with Wynn and his dapple-gray Nolan bringing up the rear. The procession eased into the mists, and the air turned frigid, like the breath of a cave.

Merrie’s ears twitched and she snorted. Light dimmed to mere shadows and Lia barely made out Dobbin’s tail swishing in front of her. She pulled her cloak tighter, leaving only her face exposed to the chill. The wall of fog enveloped them, with only the horse’s rhythmic hoof beats to break its eerie silence. 

No turning back now, Lia thought.  

Any fans of Arthurian legends out there? This excerpt (and the premise in general) reminds me a lot of the passage into Avalon!

Christina's Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter


Christina Mercer writes fiction in addition to mothering two young adults, a pack of large dogs, and about 100,000 honeybees. Her varied interests prompted her to study creative writing, earn her official degree in Accounting, become a CPA, acquire a certificate in Herbal Studies, and keep honeybees. She took Writer’s Best in Show at the 2012 SCBWI CA North/Central Regional Conference and was a semi-finalist in the 2010 Amazon Breakout Novel Award Contest. You can find her at www.christinamercer.com or working as the Reviews Director at www.indie-visible.com

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Excerpt: Blind Sight Through the Eyes of Aniela Dawson by Eliabeth Hawthorne

Today I'm pleased to partake in the blog tour for Blind Sight, a duology of novels written by Eliabeth Hawthorne and Ermisenda Alvarez. Below is an excerpt from the first novel, Blind Sight Through the Eyes of Aniela Dawson.

 
Synopsis:
 
Blind Sight tells the story of Odette Reyes, a blind girl who develops the ability to draw. In one volume, the story is told through the eyes of her brother Leocardo who thinks she's having premonitions. The other volume tells the same story through the eyes of her best friend Aniela who thinks she's a medium channeling voiceless spirits. Who is right? Whose eyes will you read through?

This is the prologue to Aniela's volume.

 
Excerpt:

A bundle of joy wrapped in a white feather boa streaked down the hall. Her long blonde hair flowed out behind her. Dressed in a vintage dress several sizes too large, Edaion’s youngest princess had just come out from playing dress up in her mother’s closet. Aniela wore oversized tortoise-shell aviator sunglasses and a necklace of pearls that dragged on the floor, threatening to trip her as she ran barefoot toward her sister’s room. The energetic four-year-old girl pushed open the bedroom door without knocking, still learning appropriate boundaries.

Seven-year-old Tatiana sat on her bed, her dark hair and dark eyes a stark contrast to Aniela’s baby blues. One of their mother’s favorite lamps levitated up and down; it moved slowly through the air. Tatiana never let it exceed six inches from the ground while she practiced her magic. All three of the Dawson children had inherited telekinesis from their mother. Tatiana specialized in large, heavy objects. Her twin, Theodore, who sat at Tatiana’s desk playing solitaire in the air, specialized in multiple small objects. Aniela had yet to develop a specialty.

“Hi Ana,” Theodore said. The door swung shut without any help from his sister.

“Hi Teo,” Aniela replied, sometimes still struggling with her t-h sounds.

Aniela tried to jump on her sister’s bed, but it was too high, causing her to miss and slide down until her feet once again touched the soft rug. She backed up and took a running leap. Aniela’s forehead smacked into Tatiana’s palm and she toppled backward onto to floor. Theodore frowned. His brow furrowed as he shook his head, but he did not comment as Aniela crawled up onto his lap instead. Much like his role in life, his looks fell somewhere between the two girls’. He had Tatiana’s intelligent brown eyes and Aniela’s light blonde hair. While he lacked Aniela’s innocence, he also lacked Tatiana’s smugness. He was the middle; one they could both enjoy.

“What do you want?” Tatiana droned in her ever present annoyed tone.

“Where does magic come from?” Aniela watched the lamp travel fluidly through the air as Tatiana moved it to the floor before answering.

“Everyone knows that a boat shipwrecked on the island and that one of our ancestors was the captain.”

“They were cursed for hunting on the island.” Theodore took up the story.

Aniela looked back and forth between her siblings, watching them trade off the conversation like a ball in a tennis match and quickly lost interest.

“I want to go to the park,” she announced.

“I’ll see if Marcus can drive us,” Theodore offered. Rarely did the king or queen have time to chaperone their children.

Simultaneously, and with practiced ease, the cards moved into a neat pile on Tatiana’s desk as Theodore picked Aniela off his lap and set her on the floor. Tatiana’s eyes flickered with new-found mischievousness as her twin closed the door behind him and waved Aniela over. Excited to be included, Aniela scrambled over, but Tatiana stopped her before she could climb onto the bed. She leaned in close, Tatiana’s voice barely more than a whisper. Something in her voice made Aniela feel the way she did before she snuck into their mother’s closet without permission.

Tatiana’s eyes glistened. “You know what we should do?”

“What?” Aniela bounced as she failed to contain her enthusiasm.

“We should play hide and seek at the park, but you know how Theo always finds you so quick?” She paused, lowering her voice. “So when we get there, you go hide, and I’ll give you a head start before I tell Theo it’s time to look for you.” If Aniela had known about Alice in Wonderland, she would have compared Tatiana’s smile to that of the Cheshire Cat’s.

“Okay!” Aniela agreed enthusiastically. She put her fingers to her lips and turned an invisible key, offering it to Tatiana for safekeeping. Tatiana did not play along, letting the would-be key fall onto the bed untouched.

“And no telling Theo,” Tatiana emphasized. “I’ll tell him, but before we go you had better put Mum’s clothes back where you found them.”

“Okay.” Aniela sprinted out of the room and back down the hall. She placed the clothes back in the trunk at the back of her mother’s closet, pearls and all. She then returned to Tatiana’s room to find Theodore waiting and Tatiana ready to go. They piled into a waiting car; Theodore placed himself between the two girls. The driver would stay with them in place of a bodyguard, for while no one had expanded on the subject, Aniela knew there was some kind of protection in place that made them unnecessary.

Aniela pressed her face to glass as she watched the houses go by. “We here! We here!” she celebrated.

Theodore helped Aniela as she fumbled to get out of the car.

“You’ll want to chew some gum after you smoke or Mum will smell it on your breath,” Tatiana told Marcus as she climbed out. He coughed and Theodore’s eyes narrowed. “What? It’s true!”

Once Aniela was freed from her booster seat, she shot out of the car and went to find a suitable hiding place. She looked around and chose the jungle gym. Hiding in one of the many colorful tunnels, she listened for either of her siblings to start counting. When she did not hear any, she assumed she was safely hidden. Excited about the game, she was determined to stay put, at least until her short attention span got the better of her. Her gaze fell on two boys sitting in the gravel near the swing set; one was holding a vehemently protesting cat while the other pulled its whiskers.

“Stop it! Stop being mean!” her voice echoed through the tunnel. She crawled out and ran back to the twins.

She pulled on the hem of Theodore’s shirt with one hand and pointed with the other. “Mean boys are being mean to a kitty!” she screamed and turned to Tatiana. “Fix it!”

Aniela’s anger elevated once Tatiana’s eyes fell on the boys, able to read her sibling’s mood whether she wanted to or not. She moved behind Theodore, pushing on his lower back and keeping directly behind him as if he were an impenetrable wall. Tatiana walked over with an intimidating gait, so quiet in her movements that despite Aniela’s yelling, the boys did not look up until her shadow was upon them. One look at her and they both shot off in the opposite direction, leaving the cat to run off as well.

“Awe!” Aniela yelled, “Kitty! Kitty come back! I wanna take you home! Tia get it!”

“Ana, don’t be silly. The cat is not going to want to be caught after that.”

“But I wanna make it feel better. Tia use your ma-muh…” she was muffled by Theodore’s hand cupping her mouth. She huffed at him, but his hand remained firm as he began forcibly walking her back to the car.

“Not a word until we get home,” he hissed.

Confused, she looked up at him, unable to understand why he was angry now that the cat was free, but he remained silent.

“Marcus, gum please.” Tatiana shot out a demanding hand between the front seats once she joined them. He handed her two pieces and she passed one to Theodore.

“I want gum,” Aniela whined. The first and only time she had been given gum, she had swallowed it.

“You’re too young,” Tatiana gloated, blowing a large bubble and popping it with her teeth.

“Am not!” Aniela puffed out her bottom lip and made sad puppy dog eyes at her brother who she no longer felt was mad at her.

Tatiana reached across Theodore and pulled one of Aniela’s shoestrings, untying it in one fluid motion. “You’re too young until you can tie your shoe.”

“I can,” Aniela shot, bringing her foot up close and playing with the laces. Her tongue wiggled around, poking out of the corner of her mouth in determination. It kept her busy the whole way home until eventually, Theodore reached over and helped.

“Ana, you still want gum?” Tatiana asked once they were home.

“Yes please!” she held out her hand expectantly.

“Here.” Tatiana took the piece of gum out of her mouth and placed it in Aniela’s hand. A familiar grin spread across Tatiana’s face.

Aniela’s jaw dropped and her nose wrinkled in mortified disgust. Saliva pooled in the palm of her hand as it slid off the damp wad while she stared at it until Theodore took it from her. Aniela wiped her hand on Theodore’s shirt and he made no signs of minding, but as soon as Tatiana started to do the same, he gave her a dark glare and she wiped her fingers on her own shirt instead.

Theodore took Aniela by the hand and walked her to her room. “Stay. I will be right back and we can talk about why I had to cut you off in the park,” he commanded. He closed the door behind him. She waited for his footsteps to fade down the marble hallway before tiptoeing out of her room and back into her sister’s.

“What now?” Tatiana groaned.

“Why can’t we use magic outside?”

Tatiana had been lying on her back but rolled over on the bed before she answered. The same grin she had worn that morning pulled at the corners of her lips. “If you use magic, or mention it outside the house, in the middle of the night, when the lights are out and you’re sound asleep…”

“You just don’t!” Theodore interjected firmly. The door to Tatiana’s room had swung open so forcefully it collided with the wall, cutting Tatiana off mid-sentence. “Inside is one thing, but outside it is forbidden.” Theodore informed Aniela before Tatiana could continue.

Tatiana pouted and rolled back over, but Aniela could not help but worry where the story had been going. All sorts of terrible scenarios played through her vivid imagination involving monsters in the closet or bugs that came and carried people away in their sleep, but she did not want to know badly enough to ask Tatiana to continue. Theodore took her by the hand, this time more gently, and led her back to her room.

“Ana, don’t let Tia scare you. Magic is not scary; it is a gift. You will understand when you are older. For now, you do not want to get in trouble, do you?”

Aniela shook her head.

Well, I'm certainly intrigued! Thanks to Eliabeth and Ermisenda, I now have my own copy of Blind Sight Through the Eyes of Aniela Dawson to read. I hope you enjoyed reading this excerpt. To learn more about this duology, be sure to check out the blog tour link below.
 

 

This post is part of the Blind Sight Blog Tour. Blind Sight is an urban fantasy novel written in two volumes, each telling the story through a different character's perspective. 

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Review & Giveaway: Fraction of Stone by Kelley Lynn

Fraction of Stone blog tour is hosted by Xpresso Book Tours

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Fraction of Stone by Kelley Lynn
Published: March 21, 2013, Sapphire Star Publishing
Series: Fraction, #1
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Source: eArc for blog tour
Goodreads · Purchase

It seemed like such a simple answer. The world is dying. He could save it. The heroes in all the stories he'd ever heard always saved the world. Always. Why should this be any different? Because in the stories the heroes saved a world worth saving. 
 

Synopsis: 

There is only one among the Tarmack nation with the ability to wield magic, eighteen-year-old Rydan Gale. He lives like a prince, cherished for his talent to bend the fabric of the universe to his will. In the war against the Liasam, he is their ultimate weapon.

The Liasam have a source of magic as well, but Akara’s mastery of her power is rudimentary at best. With a brilliant display of fire-rain Rydan’s side wins the war, giving the Tarmack sole control over dwindling resources due to the natural disasters ripping apart the earth.

When Akara is sentenced to death, Rydan questions the motive, and discovers the leaders of the newly unified nation fear magic above all else. With  war a memory, his skills no longer needed, Rydan suspects he is next. Throwing away every comfort, he pulls Akara from the flames of her execution and their lives as fugitives begin.

Both have a tattoo on the back of their neck, the mark of an extinguished tribe. They discover the natural disasters plaguing the world are due to the tribe’s demise and only Rydan and Akara can save the crumbling world.

But the greatest obstacle for saving mankind isn’t the bizarre creatures and determined men hunting them.

It’s that Akara doesn’t believe the world is worth saving.

Review:

What makes Fraction of Stone such a fascinating book is Lynn's narrative decision to choose two completely different characters as narrators, effectively pitting them and their beliefs against one another. As the synopsis reveals, Akara, one of the protagonists, can be viewed as an anti-hero. She has suffered in so many ways throughout her life and simply wishes for respite through death, fully aware that her refusal to save herself and aid Rydan most likely means the end of the world itself. Rydan, the other narrator, is much more of a traditional hero who champions his beliefs that the world needs saving and is willing to shoulder the responsibility that comes with being one of the last people left who has magic. The dynamic between Akara and Rydan is wrought with tension and ultimately the best part of this novel.

Although ambitious in her attempts to create a story with two very different protagonists, I found myself having varied opinions of execution of Lynn's characters. First of all, Akara's character is wonderfully constructed. All of her life she's been lead to believe that she's too stupid to control her magic, and that her magic is a curse. Aside from one or two failed attempts to train her when she was a child, no one has since treated her as anything other than a dangerous and deadly weapon, only to be used as a last resort in the war against Tarmack. When readers first meet Akara, she is so physically and mentally exhausted that she cannot even recall her own name. Akara's journey throughout the book is a painful one, as even the wildly optimistic and happy-go-lucky Rydan begins to realize just how damaged Akara really is by the years of neglect and abuse in the hands of the Liasam nation. Her gradual development towards an acceptance of self and better understanding of others is painfully slow at times, but that makes it all the more realistic. While I am not saying I like my characters to be damaged necessarily, I think Akara's damages are well drawn out and really do emphasize the great questions at stake: How do we determine whether others are worth saving? When should we be selfish about our own needs, and when should we care about the needs of others?

Against Akara I'm afraid that our other narrator, Rydan, is not nearly as impressive. The intricacies that make up Akara's character fall flat against Rydan, as does his sense of voice. Respected for his magic and the role only he can play in Tarmack's war against Liasam, Rydan has led a life of privilege. That's fine and understandable, but it certainly made him a rather bland character. After saving Akara from eminent death, Rydan does begin to question his life and the future plans that Tarmack has for him, now that the war is over. His characterization and development throughout the novel felt very formulaic to me, however. Ultimately I just wasn't quite convinced of the authenticity of his character.

I really liked how Lynn focuses on climate change, an issue that's in the forefront of our modern, present-day minds, and made it relevant in the world of Casden. The war between Liasam and Tarmack is primarily due to a struggle for diminishing resources in a world that is literally crumbling around everyone. Over the course of Rydan and Akara's journey, readers are shown a world ruled by the chaos of nature, where one moment the sky will be clear, and the next a massive tornado or hurricane will appear. The novel's explanation for the increase in mass destruction? The elimination of the Namaqua people, the people who once possessed magic. For in Casden, magic is what knits the very fibers of the world together. Akara and Rydan (well, more Rydan) realize that as the last two possessors of magic, they are the only people who can prevent the self-destruction of the world and must travel across the land to bring together the broken pieces of the magic-possessing Gia Stone. 

In some instances Fraction of Stone does read like a debut. The dialogue itself is very stilted and forced. Much of it is used for unnecessary explanations, instead of simply allowing the readers to infer bigger concepts and meanings. Even in a pseudo-medieval fantasy world, I could not buy that the characters would really talk the way that they do. A good portion of the plot also relies heavily on coincidental meetings, especially with the "determined men hunting them." I could not quite buy all those chance meetings, nor did I truly understand why Tarmack was so dead-set on Akara's execution. I understand that through the death of one sacrifice Tarmack would try to peacefully acquire Liasam. But since there are only two magic-bearers left in the world, wouldn't it make more sense to allow Akara to live? This issue is raised in the book, although I wish it had been give a little more precedence.

Despite a few misgivings I had with Fraction of Stone, I did enjoy the fresh perspective that Lynn offers on sacrifice, personhood, and identity. Akara's characterization was a delight to read, even if Rydan's was not as much, and I ultimately found myself very curious to see how (and if) the two of them would be able to save a world that wants to deny and eradicate their existence. I felt like the ending, while a bit open, could have still effectively concludes Rydan and Akara's story arcs, so I am interested to see where Lynn takes their story next.


As part of the blog tour, you can enter for a chance to win one of five ebook copies of Fraction of Stone.
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Kelley's Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

During Kelley Lynn’s last year at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, while pursuing her degree in Chemical Engineering, the voices in her head got the best of her. Surprisingly, they didn’t want to talk about process flow diagrams and heat capacity. They preferred the fantastical. So instead of turning to her Thermodynamics book, Kelley brought up a blank page on her computer screen and wrote. 

Come graduation, not only did Kelley have a diploma and, thankfully, a wonderful job, but she had a new obsession as well. Amidst the order and exactness that came with the nine to five, Kelley found a way to create; to determine the rules of a world and take her characters to the limits of what was possible. Perhaps she has a slight control complex. 

The first in the series, Fraction of Stone, was born on an airplane and took ten days to write. It probes the question, should the world be saved if there’s no one in it worth saving? 

When briefly managing to quiet the voices, Kelley participates in softball, soccer and volleyball. (You probably don’t want her on your volleyball team. Unless you want to laugh.) She lives with her sister and her dog who can attest to the chair that has Kelley’s butt print permanently pressed into it. Depending on the weekend, you might be able to hear Kelley sing for an area classic rock band. 

Kelley Lynn is a member of the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators.

Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book as part of a blog tour hosted by Xpresso Blog Tours but that in no way influenced by review. The quote is from an advanced copy of the novel and is subject to change in the finished copy.

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Guest Post: The Science of Interchron

Today I'm thrilled to welcome Liesel K. Hill to my blog as part of the Persistence of Vision blog tour. Read my review of Hill's debut here. I really enjoyed her take on a "futuristic dystopian fantasy with elements of science fiction and romance" and am so pleased to have her here speaking about the scientific elements of the book.

While my debut novel, Persistence of Vision, is not a hard-core science fiction novel (anyone can understand it, even without a physics background) it does have some scientific elements. I studied science for a while in college and, while the day-to-day basics and laboratory stuff bored me (which is why I didn’t pursue it as a career) the idea of where science meets consciousness fascinated. In other words, where the physical meets the metaphysical. Because of this, higher-tiered science concepts caught my attention. Stuff like quantum mechanics, deep-space cosmology, and nuclear chemistry. (Don’t worry: no way I’m cool enough to know how to make bombs.)

The concept for my story is based heavily on quantum physics. “Quantum physics is a branch of science that deals with discrete, indivisible units of energy called quanta as described by the Quantum Theory.” (source: library.thinkquest.org)

It deals with concepts that are hard to wrap your head around because they can’t be seen or conceptualized in a tangible way. But in my mind, that makes them more interesting. I wanted to bring these concepts to readers in an interesting and understandable way. Stir in some good old-fashioned emotion from compelling characters and voila! You have an intriguing story.

There’s something called the Quantum Enigma. I won’t explain it in detail because it’s highly scientific and will reveal the desperately pathetic extents of my geekdom, but to put it very generally, it says that the scientific properties of our macroscopic world—that is, the real world we all see and observe—don’t apply to the unseen (microscopic) world. Particles can often have opposite and contradictory properties at the same time.

Furthermore—and here’s the kicker—particles aren’t defined until a being of higher intelligence (i.e. a human) observes them. That’s right folks! When you observe a particle, you actually create its properties. I know it sounds like magic, but I swear it’s true. Look it up if you don’t believe me. This leads to the supposition that the real world as we know it doesn’t exist without our observation of it. Now, this freaks the crap out of physicists, my friends. So, they ignore it and pretend it’s not true.

Meanwhile, it’s awesome fodder for science fiction stories. Will my stories always be one hundred percent realistic? Mmmm, probably not. Will any story that deals with time travel and weird brain science always be hole-free? I’m gonna take the fifth on that one. But, the fact is that we don’t understand such things. We don’t have the technology to measure them and the human brain doesn’t have the capacity to fully understand them, which means writers like me get a (somewhat) free pass.

So, put on your thinking caps, sports fans. The twisted-ness of Interchron has only just begun. :D

Really interesting stuff, am I right? Thanks, Liesel!

Liesel's Website / Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest

Liesel K. Hill graduated from Weber State University with a degree in Creative Writing. She writes across three genres: scifi/fantasy, historical fiction, and crime drama. She comes from a close-knit family of fourteen and has very traditional views and values. She loves story-telling in all its forms, playing with her nieces and nephews, talking movies with her siblings, and any recipe with ‘dark’ and ‘chocolate’ in the title.

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Review: Persistence of Vision by Liesel Hill

Persistence of Vision by Liesel Hill
Published: January 29, 2013, Tate Publishing
Series: Interchron, #1
Genre: Adult Dystopian, Science Fiction
Source: ebook for review from author
Goodreads · Amazon · Barnes & Noble

"Whether collectivism works or not, there will always be one or a few people at the very top making the decisions, holding the power, controlling everything below them. The question is not which is better, collectivism or individualism. The question is, are you willing to submit completely to another human being and let them live your life for you?"

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I ended up enjoying Hill's debut. The cover does not help out the book, nor does the synopsis accurately convey what Persistence of Vision is really about, in my opinion. What I found in Persistence of Vision was a well-written, quite readable, and thought-provoking novel that defies easy classification, or even easy explanation.

Ever since Maggie and her brother were drugged and found in a hotel room with half a day of their lives unaccounted for, she's felt a void in her life. She remembers being in Las Vegas, finding a man who seemed to stand against the movement of the crowd on a busy street, and sitting down at a bar with her brother. Then she and her brother were found in a hotel, each with no memories, strange marks on their bodies, and, for Maggie, flashes of inexplicable memories.

A year later, Maggie is at home minding her own business when strange men with spiderweb face tattoos try to kill her. She is saved by the very same man she saw standing alone on that crowded street in Las Vegas. He asks her to trust him, to go with him to escape more of the mysterious spiderweb men, and Maggie agrees. Soon they find themselves transported into a future where massive collectives have taken hold over society, forcing people to join and lose their freedom and sense of individuality. The man, Marcus, who saved Maggie and had her transported to this future is part of an underground resistance effort and lives with like-minded individuals in Interchron, a underground cave society. Interchron is more than just a safe haven, but a place where leading resistance members plan on how to save individuality and humanity itself. Maggie learns not only that last year she was an active member of the resistance, but also that she's an essential part of a prophecy for how to save the future of the world. 

As I've mentioned in previous reviews, I absolutely love "chosen one" stories, especially when the chosen one has the role so unexpectedly thrust upon his/her shoulders. Maggie resides in the current day but, because her brain structure fits that of one of the key players in the prophecy, others named in the prophecy transport her through time in the hope that she'll help lead humanity to salvation. Persistence of Vision certainly fits my criteria and, even better, it's a well-done prophecy. It is by no means easily understood, but, as the story continues, more and more aspects become apparent to Maggie and the readers.

Perhaps what Persistence of Vision does best is examine so many philosophical and moral questions. From Maggie's forgotten year at Interchron to ideas of individualism and the power of the collectives, Hill's book made me contemplate the driving forces behind humanity's existence. Is is enough to live but have no semblance of self or personal desires? To have no true purpose in life? To forsake everything for community? The collectives have tried to argue that life is better and simpler within them, but the truth of the matter is that they continue to join with other collectives, continuing to limit the choices of people within them. And collectives have become militant, rounding up individuals and forcing them into the collective mind and killing those that resist. Persistence of Vision makes a very strong case for how a fulfilling life should be one not dictated by others.

It's clear that Hill has thoroughly researched many of the scientific and philosophical concepts present in this book. In particular, in this futuristic world people have become quite adept at recognizing others from their brain chemistry and using mental manipulation for tasks in the physical world. It is a jarring juxtaposition between the scientific advances of this world and the societal regression due to the prevalence of collectives. At its core, the novel is about the importance of individuality, and Hill uses her characters, their extraordinary powers, and their relationships to give examples of what would be lost if the collectives win.

Although it makes complete sense within the context of the novel, Persistence of Vision does include a lot of telling rather than showing. Much of what Maggie (and, through her, the reader) learns about the future world of Interchron and the collectives is revealed through conversations with team members. Because of Maggie's memory loss, she has to relearn everything about this world and, while the worldbuilding itself seemed somewhat solid, Hill relies far too often on dialogue being the only means of information dissemination (and perhaps even reveals too much information for the first book in a series). It would have been more powerful if Maggie could have experienced more about this new world first-hand — although it's possible that this will in fact be the case for future novels within this series.

Another minor issue was the use of narrative voice. For the majority of the novel, Hill employs a pretty formal third-person past tense limited narration focused on Maggie. Instead of having one consistent narrative voice throughout, however, there are select chapters and sections told from other characters. They mostly inform the readers of events going on where Maggie herself is not present, physically or consciously. One minor narrator is a man who has just forcibly left a collective and its influence, and that was certainly interesting to read. I do believe, however, that none of those extra narrators are necessary. Persistence of Vision is Maggie's story, focused on her learning about her role in a prophecy that could save the future of individualism. While I could certainly identify Hill's reasons for these sections, those plot points could have been added to the story in other ways that would not compromise the narration.

Overall, I was impressed with how thought-provoking the novel is. More than the characters, plot, or narration, Persistence of Vision is a novel that asks its readers to focus on bigger questions of morality and freedom of individuality. It asks the questions worth asking and, over the course of the novel, demands that Maggie and readers begin to answer them.

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