Review: Wolf Hollow

I read a sneak preview of Wolf Hollow and I was not impressed. Even so, something about the book stayed with me, nagging at the edge of my thoughts, until I bought a copy and finished reading it yesterday. I was impressed by the book.

Annabelle and her brothers travel from their grandparents' farm where she and her family live through the woods surrounding Wolf Hollow where previous generations of farmers in the area dug pits and baited them with poison to kill the wolves plaguing the region. The woods around the path are dark and full of shadows, the shadow of wolves prowling long ago and the shadow of an incorrigible girl sent to live with her grandparents nearby. Wolves come in the four-legged and the two-legged variety and Betty was a two-legged wolf.

Incorrigible is a pale word, a safe word to describe a predator and predator may be a little too strong to describe a girl who delights in bullying anyone -- and everyone -- she considers vulnerable. Betty thought she rendered Annabelle vulnerable by threatening Henry and James, Annabelle's younger brothers. That worked for a while. Annabelle offered Betty a penny that Betty threw away because a penny was not good enough. Betty expected more from someone who had as much as Annabelle did. Betty demanded something more, something substantial, and Annabelle would get it or her brothers would suffer.

Betty made good on her threat by seducing Henry and James close to her to pet the bunny she found. The boys were delighted, petting the wild bunny in Betty's life, a bunny she controlled with her fingers around its fragile neck. Annabelle shooed the boys off to school and faced the bully who responded by slowly squeezing the life from the bunny and throwing it down at Annabelle's feet. There was no doubt that Betty would hurt Henry and James if Annabelle didn't find something to placate Betty.

Every lie Annabelle told her parents about her day from the first encounter with Betty demonstrated how far off the path she had wandered. Betty got worse with each day. Annabelle wasn't alone, not since Tobias told her he'd seen everything when he gave the tossed aside penny back. When Ruth, Annabelle's best friend, was blinded by a rock thrown at a local German farmer Betty blamed Tobias and Tobias took the blame for the wire stretched across the path that could have killed Annabelle's brother instead of cutting his forehead open. The lies and the danger increased, not only to Annabelle, but to Toby because he was alone, a casualty of World War I wandering about the area carrying three rifles strapped to his back, taking photos with a camera that belonged to Annabelle's mother, and living rough in a converted smokehouse. Betty claimed she was afraid of Toby and Toby was following her, and then Betty goes missing.

Wolf Hollow is as much about the power of lies as it is about the courage of a 12-year-old girl in standing up for a neighbor when the adults have already judged someone guilty. Lauren Wolk takes her time building the background for her coming of age story, illuminating the times and the characters in shadows and light, giving the reader time to get invested in the outcome. Even when Betty's guilt is apparent, Wolk allows Annabelle's feelings for Betty change and mature as Annabelle steps in to protect Toby. It is not only Betty's bullying that takes center stage, but Annabelle's strength and her relationships with her family and her friends that truly stand at the heart of a childish conflict that quickly escalates to affect the world where Wolf Hollow's history and presence remains. Wolf Hollow is a complex and deeply texture tale of truth and lies and how lies can quickly become a truth that can destroy as well as explain. 5/5 stars. Don't let the slow beginning fool you; there is plentiful meat on these bones.

That is all. Disperse.

Serious Leaks

 Huma's Sep 3, 2016, Emailed Letter to her brother, Hassan

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Presumedly, Huma's emailed letter was part of the 650,000. Per SuperStation95, this is a "leak" by the NYPD.

This is not a WikiLeaks release -- and nor has it been shown on mainstream news outlets, such as CNN or any other Mainstream Media news outlet ().

So I don't vouch for its reliability. That doesn't mean it's not reliable, but it does mean there is no confirmation yet. It is what it is, as they say.

Here's the relevant portion of the SuperStation95 article:

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NYPD Won't Abide FBI/DOJ Corruption

Acting on a complaint, the New York Police Department began investigating former US Congressman Anthony Weiner on alelgations he was "sexting" a 15 year old girl in North Carolina. Weiner is the estranged husband of close Hillary Clinton aide, Huma Abedin.

The Special Victims Unit (SVU) obtained a search warrant and seized Weiner's laptop computer.

Upon examination NYPD found a trove of 662,000 e-mails showing Weiner engaged in all sorts of sexual activities via the Internet.

Within that pile of e-mails were about 11,000 which bore the addresses of "state.gov" meaning the US State Department. Among those State Dept. e-mails were some items marked "Classified" and others marked "Top Secret." The NYPD then contacted the FBI, concerning these State.gov emails and the Bureau has since re-opened its investigation into Hillary Clinton.

The emails were forwarded by Huma Abedin from her secure US State Department e-mail address, to her non-secure Yahoo.com email address. But unknown to Abedin, her un-secure Yahoo account and other personal email accounts, were programmed to "synch" to computers at home. One of the computers at home which was part of that synch process was Anthony Weiner's laptop. So Weiner's laptop got all the state department emails, and all the emails his wife Huma sent / received involving anyone else!
NYPD made clear they would not sit-idly-by and allow the information in these emails to be "buried." They made clear there were terrible crimes evidenced in those emails, and the Department expected very prompt action by the FBI in securing Indictments of Hillary Clinton and others. NYPD warned the federal government that if timely Indictments of Hillary Clinton and here co-conspirators were not forthcoming, the NYPD would release information on its own about some of the things contained on that Laptop.

NYPD gave the laptop to the FBI on October 3. Today is November 6 and the feds have now announced they will not charge Hillary Clinton.

It seems the NYPD appears to be proceeding with "leaks" of its own.

According to SuperStation95 sources in New York, below is purported to be an e-mail from Huma Abedin to her brother, from less than two months ago, seized from Anthony Weiner's laptop:

>> ON SEPTEMBER 03, 2016 AT 8:57 PM. HUMA ABEDIN @YAHOO.COM WROTE:
>> SORRY FOR MY LATE REPLY, HASSAN. YES, LET ME
>> TELL YOU ABOUT HER. THE WOMAN IS SO ODD, SO STARVED FOR
>> VALIDATION, SO TORMENTED AND VAIN IT IS A CONSTANT
>> SURPRISE TO ME THAT ANYONE TAKES HER SERIOUSLY.
>> EVERYONE ON THE TEAM KNOWS HOW UNWELL SHE IS, BUT
>> THEY’RE MORE DETERMINED THAN EVER TO SEE HER WIN. THIS
>> WOMAN THAT HAS A DOZEN SEIZURES A DAY. THIS GODLESS
>> SHRIEKING MALCONTENT PASSED OUT IN HER MEDICAL VAN.
>> THIS WALKING CADAVER. SHE’S NONFUNCTIONAL. HASSAN,
>> NOBODY CARES. WE SOBER HER UP FOR SPEECHES AND
>> INDULGE THE PRESS CORPS WITH CHEAP SENTIMENT. THE FIRST
>> FEMALE PRESIDENT. THE LAST GLASS CEILING, ETC. THEY TRIP
>> OVER THEMSELVES LINING UP BEHIND HER. SURELY THEY KNOW
>> IT IS NOT HER THEY’RE GETTING. IT’S THE ONE IN THE CORNER,>> THE QUIET HELPER, YOUR SISTER HUMA. YOU ASKED ME ONCE
>> HOW I DID IT. HOW DID I TAKE THE CASTLE? HASSAN, I DIDN’T
>> TAKE IT, THEY GAVE IT TO ME. YES, THERE WAS A COST. I WILL
>> ADMIT, SUBJECTING MYSELF TO AW AND WJC
>> IS MORTAL TORTURE. BUT I DO IT
>> GLADLY, BROTHER, EVERYTHING THEY ASK OF ME, HOWEVER
>> SICK AND DEPRAVED. I DO IT, AND I SMILE, REJOICING AT THE
>> THOUGHT OF WHOSE GLORY I SERVE.

EDITOR'S NOTE: In the email above "AW" is likely meaning Anthony Weiner, and "WJC" is likely meaning William Jefferson Clinton

FBI Announces NO CHARGES for Hillary in "new" E-mail Investigation! Now E-mail "Leaks" from Anthony Weiner Laptop begin from NYC

Review: The Bear and the Nightingale

Russian fairy/folk tales are not all about Baba Yaga. The Russian steppes are full of spirits and beings at peace with the people and waiting for the right opportunity to feed on fear and repay with fire and ice.

Vasilisa Petrovna is the last child born of a line that began with a ragged commoner who appeared out of the woods and ended up in the royal family. One of her daughters became the wife of a northern boyar and gave him three strong sons and a beautiful daughter who had none of the gifts their grandmother passed on, at least not until the winter when she tells her husband she is determined to give birth to the child she carries, the last child. Vasilisa's mother fulfills her promise to her beloved husband that she will see the child born, entrusting her other children to her old nurse, Dunya, and to her husband.

It takes Vladmirivich four years of Vasya's wildness before he travels to Moscow to marry once again. Anna Ivanovna is a fearful, and some say mad, wisp of a wife who gives her husband a pale but beautiful daughter and brings a proud monk determined to make his mark in the northern wilderness. Instead, the monk, a gifted artist dedicated to God and painting icons, brings fear and sows the seeds that will bring fire and death.

Vasya sees and knows the domovoi, the household spirits that protect her father's home, land, and animals. Anna Ivanovna sees the spirits as well. She is after all a child of the wild, ragged commoner that was mother to Vasya's mother as well. Anna, however, is a devout Christian and has always been afraid of the demons she sees while Vasya, an ugly frog of a child, feeds and cares for the household spirits. It is Vasilisa Petrovna's gifts that make the people under the monk's control believe she is a witch and haunts the monk's dreams and will lead to a confrontation with the Midwinter King, Frost, and the bear that feeds on fear and brings fire and death.

The tales of Baba Yaga were some of my favorite stories growing up, so it was with relish I dove into Katherine Arden's novel rooted in Russian folk tales. The Bear and the Nightingale is a departure from western fairy tales and rooted in traditions that few westerners know or have heard. That does not diminish their power or their magical fascination. The frozen reaches of northern Russia are full of magic and conflict that have yet to be thoroughly plumbed, let alone scratched. Arden's story of upyry, domovoi, and the life of early Rus' while still under Mongol control is bright and magical. The landscape is a world of the seen and unseen, a world far from the centers of power where new gods struggle to replace the old golds and where the old gods still inhabit the minds and hearts of the people.

The Bear and the Nightingale is as much a tale of magic as it is a treatise on the clash of beliefs, the magician offering change in much the same way as the magician offered new lamps for old to capture the power of Aladdin's lamp. Vasya shares her food and her strength with the fading household spirits to stand on the side of tradition. The Midwinter King foresaw Vasilisa Petrovna's importance in the coming struggle when he made her father promise to give her the amulet, his bride gift. Arden's novel is the discovery of the Arkenstone among a dragon's hoard easily worth 5/5 stars.

That is all. Disperse.

Review: The Return of Sir Percival

The legends of King Arthur, Merlin, Guinevere, and the knights of the round table have all been written. The cast of characters was set long ago and so has their rise and their fall. The promise that King Arthur will come again when there is great need is a promise as old as the legends of Merlin and his powers until now. Camlann was not the end of Arthur or his knights or the enduring legacy of chivalry and adventure nor are the legends entombed with Arthur on the Blessed Isle or with Merlin locked away in the tree where Nimue bound him at Morgana le Fey's behest. There is more yet to be told.

We are all familiar with the story of how Mordred broke the fellowship of the Round Table and how Guinevere took her vows and remains a nun in the service of God while Lancelot roams the world in search of the Holy Grail ever out of his reach as he does eternal penance. The table was broken and all that remains are legends about the nine ladies who escorted King Arthur to rest on the Isle of Avalon and bright Excalibur returned to the Lady of the Lake. All that remains is shadow and the dream of Camelot and, according to S. Alexander O'Keefe, The Return of Sir Percival who was sent on a quest to find the Holy Grail.

In O'Keefe's version of the end of Albion, Sir Percival returns to England after ten years a man seeking the peace and comfort of home without the Grail. Sir Percival knows that the Round Table and King Arthur are no more. All is gone and he missed his chance to fight alongside King Arthur and die protecting his king. He failed his king and returns a changed man, scarred in pursuit of his quest and even more devout in his faith than when he left.

Sir Percival brings a companion, a black warrior, Capussa, the likes of which no one in Albion has ever seen. Expecting peace and quiet, Sir Percival instead finds Saxon and Norse raiders preying on the people and peace and quiet must be won by force of arms even as they cross the channel. Sir Percival's battle is not yet over. He must free the land of invaders and Queen Guinevere in exile in the Abbey Cwm Hir and restore the queen to her throne. The journey he intended to finish in quiet retirement still has long to go before he lays down his arms.

It didn't take long to put aside all I thought I knew of the Arthurian legends set in stone as I began to follow O'Keefe's vision of life after Camelot. At first I was disconcerted and unwilling to accept this new version of the gilded dream of Camelot, Arthur, and Guinevere. Disappointment quickly gave way to growing excitement as I followed Sir Percival's path. I enjoyed Capussa's bluff and ready wit and Sir Percival's economic dispatch of the Saxon marauders. Morgana, I soon learned, was not Arthur's half sister, but a Roman sorceress from Constantinople sent to plunder Albion of its silver for Roman coffers and the people to feed the slave markets of the Empire. Merlin, also of Rome, had disappeared and Morgana was not the only one intent on discover where he had gone to ground after Camlann.

One knight remained, Sir Gawain, hidden by black armor and in forced service to Morgana, her war master. How had a knight of Arthur's round table come to ally himself with the king's greatest enemy? So much was changed, and not for the worse.

O'Keefe's vision of Albion after the fall of Camelot is truly unique, not only in the retelling, but in what happens after the fall of the Once and Future King and his company. Guinevere is no longer the unfaithful wife of Arthur nor Lancelot her lover, having betrayed Arthur and forfeiting his honor. The tragic tale of Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot is quite different from what has been accepted as the thread of truth in the legend and rendered in new colors with a very different and promising future.

Guinevere is a queen in exile attended by two women, a wild young noblewoman not too shy to speak her mind and an aging nun. She rules her kingdom through a bishop stealing from her to enrich himself. King Arthur's wife died in childbirth and the king's marriage to Guinevere was a political alliance. Lancelot is a proud knight jealous of his fame, a bit of a taskmaster and Gawain a handsome womanizer often drunk. Only Percival seems true to the legends but only because not much was written about him. He is young, a proven general, who taught the peasants to fight in the Roman manner, and who it turns out is secretly in love with Guinevere, as was Gawain.

The battles and character of the rest of Camelot's denizens take on a wholly different aspect and are richly described in this new version and may more closely resemble the history of the time and place where the man who becomes the Arthur of legend actually lived. The Return of Sir Percival gives new life and a brighter prospect to the legend that is a delight for romantics and students of battle tactics and warfare. O'Keefe has even imagined a greater destiny for the Grail and a story that adds texture and depth. The Return of Sir Percival is well written and well imagined, peopled with nuanced characters and set squarely within the history of the struggle for Britain's identity. A solid effort that adds luster to the Arthurian legends to delight a whole new generation of followers, 5/5 stars.

That is all. Disperse.