Book Review: Brainwalker by Robyn Mundell and Stephan Lacast

I was given a free copy of Brainwalker by Robyn Mundell and Stephan Lacast in exchange for an honest review. This middle-grade, science-fiction, fantasy novel is the story of Bernard's unbelievable adventure into a new, unexplored realm. Bernard is the only child of two scientist parents. His father, a particle physicist, struggles to connect with and raise Bernard as a single parent; Bernard's mother died in a tragic science experiment while trying to discover the secret world of alchemy. Not only does Bernard struggle with his home life, but he does not fit in at school, either. After some stress-induced lashing out, Bernard is suspended from school. His father unwillingly picks Bernard up, and together they visit his father's work: a place that Bernard has always wanted to go, but his father has always been hesitant to take him due to the dangers involving the particle accelerator he works with. When Bernard sneaks away to see the particle accelerator, he is then transported through a wormhole into his father's mind where he discovers the Brainverse - a whole new universe and network of never-before discovered beings and creatures. With the help of these new friends (and enemies), Bernard must work through a brand new landscape and universe in order to unify the broken Brainverse, help his father heal, and get back to his own world and body.

With Robyn Mundell's background in acting, it is no surprise that the story holds many connections to other visual mediums. Specifically, this novel reminded me of an amalgamation of two television shows. Brainwalker reads like an elaborated episode of The Magic School Bus meets the sci-fi cult classic series Quantum Leap. 

(Side note: for anyone unfamiliar with these two magical 90's classics, you're now welcome: https://youtu.be/AarZbACsy1o and https://youtu.be/5ucjQ6TfM0A).

In terms of The Magic School Bus, Bernard is able to learn his school curriculum through more experiential learning. In school, his science teacher begins a lesson about how the brain works. Shortly after this, Bernard is not only transported through a wormhole into his father's brain, but the narrative then uses this mysterious and fantastical adventure to teach Bernard in a more experiential way about how the brain works. Through the beings, creatures, and environments that Bernard discovers in the brain, he learns how synaptic connections work (like lightening bolts between the dendrites and axons of the brain's cells), he learns that the left and right brain are polar opposites (intuition and creativity vs. logic and reason), and he learns that, in order for the brain to function properly and remain healthy, all parts of the brain must work together cohesively. While the authors give these functions and parts of the brains more fantasy-like names, they are all derivatives of actual scientific terms (the Intuit Holons live in the right brain, the Reezon Holons live in the left brain, the Great Arc that connects these two "communities" in the Brainverse is the corpus callosum, etc.). And, of course, there is no eccentric Ms. Frizzle or Liz to narrate the adventure, but it is simultaneously entertaining and educational nonetheless.

In connection to Quantum Leap, the incorporation of the wormholes and the idea of traveling from one large universe into a second universe inside of that first universe (universe-ception?) was reminiscent of the way that Dr. Sam Beckett traveled through time and inhabited new bodies to set historical mistakes right. When Bernard travels into the Brainverse, it is only his mind that comes through, and so he takes the form of a new body within the Brainverse in order to materialize and explore this new land. It is only after he has fixed the brokenness of the Brainverse that Bernard is able to go back to his home universe and his own body, just like Sam Beckett in the show.

One last connection I made was in the vessels which Bernard and the other Brainverse inhabitants use to travel through the Brainverse. For anyone who has read Fluke by Christopher Moore, the living transportation vessels in Brainwalker are highly reminiscent of the whale vessels in Moore's story: highly unique, creatively described, illogically deduced, yet compelling to read in such a story.

While the premise of the story seems to focus on education about how the brain works, there are also some hints at social implications throughout. As the Reezon Holons take nonrenewable resources (Energeia) from the Intuit Holons, operating under the premise the the Intuit Holons are uneducated and primitive beings from which the Reezon Holons evolved, the Intuit Holon population declines and their community and home begin to fear the danger of extinction. It is easy to see that there are close parallels between the struggles of these fictional beings to real-world genocide, environmental conservation, and the ignorance of the world in understanding differing cultures. While the story only tangentially explores these issues, this child-friendly platform makes a perfect jumping off point for conversation with children about what it means to be open-minded, empathetic, tolerant, and informed members of society.

Overall the story was a good read, though I was upset at the few plot holes that were left unanswered. For example, throughout the story, Bernard alludes to his deceased mother and the fact that she might still be alive and well in a separate universe. At one point, he even hears her voice. However, the authors never clear up this concept of whether she has actually died or if there is still a chance of his finding her in another place or time. As well, the ambiguity of the ending didn't sit well with me. After Bernard returns home from the Brainverse, his memory is seemingly wiped almost clean of his experiences; all that is left of his time spent in his father's mind are the burns on his hands. The authors leave it up to the reader to decide if his experiences in the Brainverse were real, or if he was actually knocked out in the infirmary the entire time and only imagined that entire venture. He retains some distant memories of what happened in his father's brain which implies that the adventure DID take place, but the story leaves off without him coming to the full realization of what those memories are. While some readers might appreciate these implications that can lead to individual deduction, I didn't like the unfulfilled sense it left me with in the end. I was hoping for one more page or chapter to tie it all back together.

Overall, a fun read that I can see being educational for children, for parents to read TO their children, and possibly even find use in elementary or mid-grade science courses as supplemental materials in lessons about the brain.

Book Review: Rune Hunter by Amelia Wilson and J. A. Cummings

I received an ARC of Rune Hunter by Amelia Wilson and J. A. Cummings in exchange for an honest review. Rune Hunter is the third title in Wilson's Rune Series, but the first to incorporate a coauthor. This series is a paranormal romance that incorporates elements of Norse mythology, vampires, faeries, witches, werewolves, and many other supernatural beings. The previous stories in the series detail the meeting, relational development, hardships, obstacles, and extraordinary abilities of Nika Graves and Erik Thorvald. This third installment in the series is a continuation of the building love story and ensuing hardships that fall upon the couple as they continue their love and life together within the mortal and immortal realms in which they live.

Readers of Amelia Wilson's work will recognize much of this story as akin to her particular style. Most of her stories contain many of the same elements of soulmates, the power of love to overcome all obstacles, and the intermingling and clash of supernatural creatures within one realm all compiled into a quick-paced, easy read.

I was, however, somewhat disappointed at the drastic differences in this new title in comparison to the first two titles in the Rune Series. I have read almost all of Amelia Wilson's previously released titles (Rune Series, Wicked Vampire Series, A Vampire in Disguise Series, and the only released title of the Cursed Angel Series), and as such am very familiar with her writing. I am not, however, familiar with the writings of the coauthor J. A. Cummings, and I believe it is the incorporation of the coauthor into the new title that effected such noticeable changes.

This series was much heavier on the romance and incorporated more explicit sexual content than any of Wilson's other titles. I am not sensitive to this subject matter, nor am I easily offended, so the incorporation of this sexual content didn't bother me, though it did seem out of place to incorporate it so much more into the third title of a series when it wasn't so present in the previous two books. Also, many of her other series books seem to pick up right where the last title left off. This one, however, seems to have some time progression between the end of book two (Rune Master) and this third book. As such, there seemed to be some missing content in the story line that I felt could have been more deeply elaborated in the beginning of this book. As well, this title introduced a plethora of new mythical and magical creatures that were not present in the first two books, and many of which are not featured in any of her other titles. There was very little description and development of these newly-introduced creatures, some of which I had never experienced in any other context before, and so had trouble figuring out their powers, abilities, places in the supernatural hierarchy, and importance to the overall story. I would have liked to have a bit more explanatory narrative on these new creatures to have a better grasp of the full development of this world. Finally, the ending of the novel felt rushed and inauthentic to the characters. Throughout the series, Nika and Erik work together to maintain unity and cohesion among both human and supernatural creatures, ensuring that no one person or species overpowers or oppresses any others. Without revealing spoilers about the ending of this book, it will suffice to say that the moral compass of Nika and Erik seems to shift slightly at the conclusion of the book which presented itself more like a digression from their previous character development.

Overall, the story is compelling and reads quickly. It is entertaining and provides a paranormal, romantic, escapist story line for readers who prefer this genre. It was not, however, what I expected of the title. I am hoping that the fourth installment in the series will clarify or clear up some of these seeming incongruities and continue to look forward to Wilson's future work.

Book Review: The Wolf of Dorian Gray by Brian Ference

Author Brian S. Ference shared with me a copy of his debut novel The Wolf of Dorian Gray in exchange for an honest review. Obviously, his work is derived from Oscar Wilde's classic The Picture of Dorian Gray. Despite having earned a B.A. in English and pursuing a career teaching English literature and composition at the secondary level, I never read Wilde's original tale. Despite knowing the basic premise of Wilde's original story, I felt it was only fair to go back and read the classic work of literature in order to write a thorough and accurate review of Ference's work.

Wilde's classic story takes place in 19th-century Victorian England. Prior to the beginning of the tale, a dashing young man, Dorian Gray, befriends artist Basil Hallward who, in true artistic fashion, becomes obsessed with Gray as a model for his art, and so paints many portraits of him. At the opening of the story, Hallward is working on his final portrait of Gray as the culmination of his talents and the best work he has ever produced. In the opening scenes, Gray sits for Hallward as the artist puts the finishing touches on the painting. Also in attendance is Lord Henry Wotton - a well-to-do member of society with nothing better to battle ennui than to question, criticize, or contradict anything set before him. In their first conversation together, Lord Henry Wotton induces Dorian Gray to think deeply about the meaning of life, personal pursuits of pleasure, and other philosophically hedonistic ideals. This, in turn, corrupts Gray, being a very young man and only just emerging into adulthood. As such, when the painting is finished, Gray realizes that this portrait and this point in his life is the pinnacle of his existence. He begins to question what more there is in store for him from here. If youth and beauty are all that matter in life (as the mental seed planted by Wotton was sure to imply), then Gray believes it must be true that his only purpose is to pursue life's greatest pleasures from here on out. Internally, he has a moment of existential crisis in which he prays to keep his youth and beauty forever if only the picture would age instead of the realistic reversal.

As the story progresses, Dorian Gray and Lord Henry Wotton continue in their friendship. Gray seeks out the romantic pleasures of life, pursues and loses love, betrays some of his friends, commits heinous and immoral acts, yet never seems to age. The surrealism of his continued youth is sometimes questioned by those around him, but it only serves him well as his garish charms circumvent any consequences that might otherwise befall his ignoble pursuits. While Gray remains vividly young, Hallward's painting of him begins to, disbelievingly, change. Gray realizes that with each act he commits against someone else, the picture magically alters to represent his inner-self and soul. The more Gray carelessly moves through life, the more grotesque the picture becomes until he can no longer stand to look at it and he refuses to let anyone else see it. In the end, he is consumed by his guilt, his vanity, and his immoral behavior emphasizing Wilde's warnings about the shallow and unscrupulous nature of society.

Personally, I don't read many classics as the classical style of writing can come off as rather archaic to a contemporary reader. In this particular work, as with many others of this time period, there are points at which the philosophical dialogue and elaborate imagery seem to continue on far longer than necessary. I felt myself checking out of many of these longer passages and sometimes even skimming over large chunks of descriptive narrative. It is definitely a novel that shows its time.  However, the story itself is highly original and the plot line is what kept me reading through to the end. Wilde's work has continued to remain a classic piece of literature whose morals and themes still hold true for society. In the 21st-century, selfie-driven social media culture that we live in today, it is easy to see how these life lessons still bare food for thought for any contemporary reader.

Upon my reading of Ference's rendition of Wilde's story, the immediate differences I recognized were that Basil Hallward and Lord Henry Wotton were exchanged for female characters though retained their same personalities from Wilde's original version. It was unclear why Ference chose to make these character changes which didn't feel as if they added anything of substance to his work. Many of the remaining characters retained their original names - Dorian Gray, Sybil Vane, James Vane, etc. - which made the change the opening two characters even more confusing. It seemed that, in the beginning of the writing process, Ference intended to change the characters, then went in a different direction for the duration of the novel.

One aspect of Ference's work that I favored over Wilde's original was its brevity. While Ference retained much of the classical style of Wilde's writing, much of the philosophical dialogue, the incorporation of Victorian and romantic elements, and many of Wilde's same themes about vanity and the consequences of unbridled hedonism, Ference did so in a way that I enjoyed much more as a reader. Unlike with Wilde's work, I did not find myself checking out or skimming over parts of Ference's story in the same way. Ference was able to incorporate the style, imagery, and dialogue in the essence of Wilde without the tangential and seemingly interminable passages that Wilde's original work employs. As such, from a cognitive standpoint, Ference's work kept me more engaged throughout.

WARNING: SLIGHT SPOILERS: Another clear addition to Ference's novel that did his work justice was the Gothic incorporation of the titular wolf. Instead of just a portrait of Dorian painted by the artist, the portrait also contains an abandoned wolf cub that Dorian Gray rescued from the wilderness. As such, throughout the progression of Ference's novel, it is the wolf who becomes more and more evil and grotesque both in the painting and in the reality of the novel. It is also the wolf who commits many of the heinous acts that Gray originally commits himself in Wilde's story, causing Gray to question his actions not based on his own vanity, but rather out of his care for the good of society that the growing wolf continues to terrorize. As a fan of the horror genre and of supernatural elements incorporated into surreal settings, I could appreciate the addition of the werewolf-esque creature into Ference's retelling of Wilde's story.

I was somewhat disappointed to see how closely it followed Wilde's original. There were points at which I felt like I was re-reading the same story almost word-for-word. The few digressions from the original that Ference chose in his own title did not change the heart of story in any way, which made his work feel somewhat unoriginal at many points throughout.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed Ference's work. His writing style was much more readable for me and the incorporation of even more paranormality into Wilde's already Gothic tale made it all the more enjoyable. My only qualm remains that the story feels a bit too mirrored at times to Wilde's original, and, as such, lacks some of the intended creativity. Ference's story does have a sequel, though, and I hope this second book emphasizes more of his own innovation in the story line while maintaining all the traits of this first piece that one can appreciate as a reader.