Shade's Children by Garth Nix

5 out of 5

Garth Nix, a young adult fantasy writer, is easily my favorite author over the last few years. I just reread Shade's Children in an effort to sate my interest in his short list of novels. Although Nix's other books are all classically characterized as fantasy, I found this one more intriguing since it fell a bit over the line of science fiction in my opinion. I enjoy science fiction more than fantasy because it begins with a tangible basis in subjects and places I am familiar with. Fantasy can be disorienting.

I'm not sure why I'm so drawn to dystopian chronicles, but this story was exactly what I favor; featuring the the abandoned earth, after the 'Change', as a playground for otherworldly creatures. There is no human left alive over the age of 14 except for the refugees who find shelter with a resonance of human personality left in a computer by the name of Shade.

Children are the easy resource of the invading creatures and thanks to the 'Change Talents' they now possess, some escape, survive and resist. Shade is an eerie benefactor though and you get the distinct feeling throughout the story that there is no safe place.

I fell easily in love with the characters (although the underdeveloped grammar of the character Gold Eye can become tiring) and found myself physically rigid in anticipation of their safety. I was drawn in by the survivalist theme and the unraveling reasoning behind the occupation of the creatures.

All in all, I would call this book a page turner, as with everything I've read of Garth Nix. I'm not sure I can be deterred by any theme or genre Nix chooses, I just enjoy the writing too much.

The Time Traveler's Wife

5 out of 5

I absolutely loved this book. I found myself reading at times I had set aside as 'rest' times. A love story I found every bit as exciting as the Twilight saga without the teen aged ache, heroine addiction feel.

Since this book is about a man that time travels, his existence overlaps with both the woman that he loves and his own existence, in a severely random pattern. The flow of the book is chronological; each chapter begins with the date, and Henry and Clare's age or ages. In addition, there are paragraph headings to let you know which voice is currently telling the story. I've never read a novel written through the eyes of two different people in first person. The majority of the story is told by Henry, since the time traveling happens to him.

I felt a real sense of vulnerability in the descriptions of Henry's lack of control. The character equates the experience of time traveling to '...listening to a car radio that's having trouble holding on to a station.' Although he may not be able to control when and where he goes, there is a pattern to why. He finds himself visiting people and places that were, are, will be significant; including painful events.

Throughout the story, these two characters take turns being the one who knows the other intimately as their ages crisscross; old to young in most cases. Clare grows up knowing Henry as an adult, then when she reaches adulthood, she meets him in the present - before Henry is even aware of her existence. I cannot conjure the mental flowchart it must have taken to birth the concept for this story.

This love story compasses that long-forgotten brand of longing in young-hearted love, love that encompasses the realities of life, and how people persist through the craziness that comes their way. The characters contemplate quantum mechanics, Zen koans, and religious and existential beliefs in trying to decipher what causes episodes of time travel. Their chronicle was a tangent relation of danger and excitement. Heartbreak and relief. Brutality and honesty. Wanting. Energy.

My only negative comment is that in the brief moments they spoke French or German, I was left wondering things that not even Google could answer. I was, however, highly inspired to look up a lot of the musical references. If I have ever heard music while reading a book, I did while reading The Time Traveler's Wife. Two words: Violent Femmes.