Quicksilver: A Question

In Quicksilver by R. J. Anderson, there is not a strong spiritual thread to speak of.  

Do you think a strong spiritual thread is necessary for a good book? Why or why not?

Quicksilver: A Review

Title: Quicksilver
Series: Companion to Ultraviolet
Author: R. J. Anderson
Genre: YA Science Fiction/Psychological Thriller

Ratings: Craft—4, Content—3,

Overall—3.9 out of 5 stars

 

Excerpt from the prologue, “Aliasing” of Quicksilver:

(Spoiler alert: This beginning gives away some of Ultraviolet.)

On June 7, the year I turned sixteen, I vanished without a trace.

On September 28 of the same year I came back, with a story so bizarre that only my parents would ever believe it and a secret I couldn’t share even with them.

And four weeks later I woke up in my hometown on Saturday morning as Victoria Beaugrand and went to bed that night in another city as a completely different person.

That last part wasn’t as bad as you might think. There’s something exciting about reinventing yourself, even if it means leaving all your friends and the only life you’ve ever known behind.

My only fear was that I might not have made myself different enough.

When an investigation raises some uncomfortable questions, a teenage girl assumes a new identity in a new city.

 

The Craft: While I didn’t enjoy Quicksilver quite as much as Ultraviolet, this novel remains a fast-paced and enjoyable read.

For while both familiar and new characters grace the pages, this story excels in its plotting. Stakes rise at every turn. Unexpected twists keep the reader unbalanced. Tension pulls every nerve taut and then stretches them even further. I admit, one subplot did wrap up a little too conveniently for my taste, but otherwise all the ends tie together in a surprising and climatic way.

Those elements, mixed with a strong narrator voice and good character development on multiple levels, will keep you turning the pages late into the night.

The Content: Like R. J. Anderson’s other books, Quicksilver carries a light hand thematically, the worldview forming more the foundation than the focus of the story. Rather, she tends to raise questions, in this case about obedience, trust, protection, freedom, and love.

Personally, I would have loved to seen more development with the spiritual thread and verse from Isaiah. I believe it could have added another dimension to the story, with it affecting the character as well as the plotting, even if only to raise more questions. Instead, its truth seemed to become lost within the story. However, I also understand that sometimes the character and plot, and sometimes even publishing constraints, will not permit such development, and that this is a personal taste I have concerning books.

Beyond that, there is little to denote. There is a light romantic thread, which is kept low-keyed; no magical elements, with the unusual attributed to science; and little violence, except one attempted suicide and for a few brief, but necessary pages at the climax.

Summary: Quicksilver is a heart-pounding and mind-bending read. Recommended for teens and adults, especially those who enjoy a strong suspense element.

Ratings: Craft—4, Content—3, Overall—3.9 out of 5 stars

Additional Danger Points of Science Fiction (Repost)

Science fiction is a boundary-pushing genre.

This can be good. It can make us rethink our suppositions. It causes us to reexamine why we believe what we do.

However, once you start pushing boundaries, it can be easy to step over the edge. So here are a few additional areas to be aware of in science fiction: 

Rationalization: Science fiction is the genre of logic. So it excels at providing explanation—including for the kind of behavior that shouldn’t be excused or explained away.

 

Paranoia: Because the premises are set in our world, the extremes portrayed sometimes seem more plausible and likely to happen than they really are. So fear results. Don’t believe me? Think of our fear of "Big Brother" . . . just because of 1984.

Cynicism: Not all questions have explanations. Not all problems have a clear or easy solution. Reality can be harsh, and the best of men are depraved. Science fiction depicts all this and can trigger deep cynicism about people and the world around us.

 

Despair: Science fiction isn’t known for its happy endings. Why? Because science fiction tries to deal objectively with the world it sees—a world wherein God does not exist. And even science fiction, if it’s honest, must admit our situation is hopeless without some outside intervening factor.

The Crystal Portal: A Question

One of the things I struggled with in The Crystal Portal by Travis Perry and Mike Lynch was the caliber of the writing. It stopped me from absorbing the story and kept the truth they were trying to convey from sinking in very far.

When has poor craftsmanship gotten in the way of you absorbing something good in the past? What does this reveal about why craftsmanship is important?

The Crystal Portal: A Review

Title: The Crystal Portal
Series: Book #1 (?)
Authors: Travis Perry & Mike Lynch
Genre: Adult Fantasy/Multiple Dimensions
 
Rating: Craft—1, Content—3,
Overall—2.5 out of 5 stars

Booktrailer:

 An elf, a robot, and a 1^st-century Jewish boy join forces to stop the destruction of a kingdom made of crystal.

 Excerpt from Chapter 1 of The Crystal Portal:

Lehkahn’s eyes were half-open in the dreamless sleep of the elves. Dreamless, he nonetheless saw something not there—something part imagination, part memory. His wife stood before him, smiling, holding their infant son.

Something moved in the corner of his right eye. Before his heart’s next beat, he was on his feet, his sword yanked free of its sheath, ready to destroy whatever enemy prowled this place.

“Hold it, hold it,” whispered Char in the common tongue. “It’s just me.”

“Char,” Lehkahn said in a soft voice, sheathing Eleutherotes—called in the Black Rock speech the Liberator. “I didn’t hear you. No son of men has ever approached me before without me hearing him.”

“You were sleep.”

“True. Yet your stealth increases. Well done.”

The Craft: The Crystal Portal is one of those stories that promises so much . . . and fails to live up to expectation.

The unusual combination of characters and worlds set the stage by providing an intriguing premise. The settings built are complex, unique, and vivid. The cast, while not providing an instant connect, are still varied, for the most part, and likeable. There is even a decent plot with potential for plenty of tension.

But all the potential is lost beneath choppy writing and poor scene construction. The opening chapter confused me, not setting clearly (at least for me) which character I was supposed to be interested in. Far too much of the story summarized, told rather than shown. Important events are summarized in narrative. Many of the flashbacks were unnecessary; the plot could have been arranged to show them in sequence and in real time. The scenes shown in real time often are slow, even boring, and far too frequently recapping events already covered. In short, I was jerked around the story and never able to sink into the experience of the events. On top of this, the ending doesn’t satisfy. Rather than concluding, it just . . . stops. More than that, it ended at a time when I felt the story was just starting to gel.

As a result, I walked away disappointed and unsatisfied with my reading experience, truly wishing I could say otherwise.

The Content: The Crystal Portal has some good thematic material about standing against evil, following through with what God has asked of you, and the need for each other. Unfortunately, just like with the great premise, the choppy writing causes these and the other good things this story has to say become lost, impacting the reader very little.

Summary: The Crystal Portal is a story of great potential, both in craft and content. Unfortunately, that potential goes unfulfilled due to poor storytelling.

Rating: Craft—1, Content—3, Overall—2.5 out of 5 stars

Topical Gray Areas of Science Fiction (Repost)

In addition to the personal limitations already listed, often readers have questions concerning specific content issues of a genre. So here are some of the most common areas with how frequently these elements occur in science fiction: 

Language: Moderate to High

Cussing, swearing, and other foul language saturates our society today. Science fiction often carries the same, as its worlds are often patterned after contemporaneous times. In addition, the removal of accountability to God, the lack of the sacred, and the devaluing of human life provides little reason to curb language.

Violence: High

Society and technology at its extremes naturally lends itself to higher levels of violence, whether in the form of dictatorial society or biological warfare. On the flip side, technology can provide “cleaner” violence—less gore and blood—than its fantasy counterpart. 

Sexuality: Moderate

Romance and sexuality aren’t usually the main plots in science fiction—something about mixing the unpredictable affairs of the heart with the logical progression of science—unless you’re dealing with a romantic subgenre. However, they do surface in subplots, and these worlds, with few moral bounds, often open the door for promiscuity.  

Magic/Supernatural: Low

Most science fiction has little use for the supernatural. Scientific explanation is what’s demanded, and the supernatural and magical can’t be explained. Most of the time the closest this genre gets to the supernatural is the unnatural powers of an alien race.

False Religions & the Occult: Low

False religion and the Occult rely on the supernatural. Science fiction rejects the supernatural. So if false religion or the Occult show up, the portrayal is often negative.

 
Other Worldviews: High

Humanism dominates this genre, and as a result, its amoral views spawn many other problematic worldviews (often in their extreme forms), such as feminism, atheism, homosexuality, environmentalism, and romanticism.

Dreaming Bigger

Have you ever allowed yourself to dream? Really dream? The world is so big, and the God we serve is so much bigger still. Anything is truly possible with Him.

Is it because—could it be—you haven’t dared to dream big because you are afraid? Afraid of turning out to be nothing special, afraid of failing, afraid of expectations, afraid of losing attention and people’s praise, fear of responsibility?

Legitimate fears, all of them. If we dare to discover what we are truly capable of and dare to push our boundaries, we can no longer claim ignorance and are responsible for maximizing our potential. If we dare do our best on a regular basis, we do often lose attention (the squeaky wheel gets all the oil, after all), and why would praise you for doing what they’ve come to expect of you? It is so much easier to cultivate low expectations in others, so we can easily exceed them and gain praise.

Likewise, if we dare pursue excellence and succeed, we must bear meeting those higher expectations and risk disappointing those expectations; failure is now easier than praise. For if we dare to reach high, we will, at some point fail. We don’t like failure because it reminds us we are human . . . fallible . . . limited. Just like anyone else. And if there’s one thing we don’t want to be, it’s like everyone else.

No, it’s so much easier to never try. Safer, more comfortable. And we can always nourish the hope of “I might have been ________, if I had _______,” and no one can contradict it, for we speak in terms of possibility, not reality. Yes, it’s definitely safer to live with potential than to live out our potential.

But that was never God’s plan. He created each of us unique. He expects each of us to live out that uniqueness to the fullest extent and even beyond, for unlike humanity, He refuses to lower His expectations just because we refuse to try and meet them. He knows whom He created us to be, and yes, He created us to be someone more than we are capable of being. Is that because He wishes to see us fail? No. He wishes to be the One to do the creating. The only way that is possible is by us releasing ourselves to His touch, to His dream—His BIG dream—for us.

So will you? Will you release yourself to Him, to dream His dream for you?