In the ninth chapter of\u00c2\u00a0High Wizardry<\/i>, I have yet again reached a point where I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know how I would ever describe this sequence to a total stranger. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read\u00c2\u00a0Young Wizards<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
This series is truly going to be an experience for me, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it?<\/p>\n
How? How do you begin to even\u00c2\u00a0conceive<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0of a character visiting a silicon planet, plugging their computer into it, causing the planet to freak out, and then offering themselves as a conduit so that said silicon planet can EXPERIENCE SOMETHING OTHER THAN ITSELF FOR THE FIRST TIME? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even know, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just so rare (at least in my reading\/watching experience) to see science fiction that tackles silicon lifeforms! I admit that this made this section a bit challenging to read because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been YEARS since I last took a class relating to biology or chemistry, so some of the science went right over my head.<\/p>\n
But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s okay because it didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t distract from the story itself. I understood what was happening even if some of the details escaped me. THe planet was\u00c2\u00a0alive<\/i>, possibly roiling with a monocellular organism embedded into the surface of the earth. Thus, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why Dairine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s computer nearly burst once it was connected to a local source of power. Up to that point, it was highly likely that these life forms had NEVER INTERACTED WITH ANYTHING EVER. Ever! And then a computer connects to it, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got information of galaxies and universes and species and cultures and art forms and the entirety of wizardry, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just too much for this silicon planet to handle.<\/p>\n
And I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ignore how adorable that very concept is. The planet is overjoyed to just\u00c2\u00a0talk<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0with something, even if it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just basic binary or in series. Yet I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t realize just how much joy the planet felt until Dairine offered herself up to it. Dairine gave up her body so that the planet could have\u00c2\u00a0senses<\/i>. CAN WE JUST REMIND OURSELVES WHAT A HUGE THING THIS IS. She gave a\u00c2\u00a0planet<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0FEELINGS.<\/p>\n Joy, it was simply\u00c2\u00a0joy<\/i>, joy at discovering meaning: joy so intense that all Dairine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s muscles jumped in reaction to it, breaking her out of the connection and flinging her face down on the glazed ground.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This makes perfect sense to me. I get it, and I felt a wave of happiness wash over me when I read it. But how the hell could you possibly explain this without context? I love that Duane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s books reward you for the journey by including things that are strange and ethereal and otherworldly, yet they still fit perfectly within the story. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s beautiful, simply put, and while I have no idea where this is leading and why this planet is part of her Ordeal, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m thankful that she ended up there.<\/p>\n At the same time\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to happen once the planet knows everything the computer does? We get a preview of that here, and I sensed from the computer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s reaction to Dairine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s request that it was probably a bad, bad idea. Yet there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s that moment of calm where Dairine watches the sun rise, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so awesome, and I was tricked into thinking everything was fine until:<\/p>\n And then the crust cracked upward in jagged pieces, and the\u00c2\u00a0something<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0underneath pushed through and up and out.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n As far as I can tell, the silicon earth gives \u00e2\u20ac\u0153birth\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 a computer. With fourteen legs. A computer. A COMPUTER. In a way, that makes a lot of sense! The planet interacted with a machine made of a lot of silicon, so it probably tried to emulate it. But that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make the sight of this thing any less difficult to cope with. Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, Dairine literally is all, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M OUT, PEACE, GONNA SLEEP THE SHOCK AWAY.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t blame her! Her day has been so ridiculous that the word \u00e2\u20ac\u0153ridiculous\u00e2\u20ac\u009d doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even fit anymore. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s beyond absurd. And unfortunately, this is just the start: the Lone Power snuffs out most of the sun over the silicon planet.<\/p>\n THE LONE POWER IS COMING.\u00c2\u00a0NO<\/i>.<\/p>\n Diane Duane is still offering a massive discount on the first 9 books in the\u00c2\u00a0Young Wizards<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0series just to this community, so please take advantage of this deal while you still can:<\/b><\/p>\n http:\/\/bit.ly\/markreadsYW<\/a><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Ucgznap4r4M<\/p>\n Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n – I am now on Patreon<\/a>! There are various levels of support, from $1 up to whatever you want! You’ll get to read a private blog, extra reviews, and other such rewards.<\/b> In the ninth chapter of\u00c2\u00a0High Wizardry, I have yet again reached a point where I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know how I would ever describe this sequence to a total stranger. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read\u00c2\u00a0Young Wizards.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[516,510],"tags":[513,511],"class_list":["post-3879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-high-wizardry","category-young-wizards","tag-diane-duane","tag-mark-reads-young-wizards"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3879"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3879\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n– I\u00c2\u00a0will be at numerous conventions in 2016! Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page.<\/a>
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next Double Features for Mark Watches have been announced here.<\/a>
\n<\/b>-\u00c2\u00a0Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"