{"id":4081,"date":"2017-01-20T05:00:17","date_gmt":"2017-01-20T13:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=4081"},"modified":"2017-01-15T07:39:37","modified_gmt":"2017-01-15T15:39:37","slug":"mark-reads-a-wizard-alone-chapter-9-part-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2017\/01\/mark-reads-a-wizard-alone-chapter-9-part-i\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads &#8216;A Wizard Alone&#8217;: Chapter 9, Part I"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In the first half of the ninth chapter of\u00c2\u00a0<i>A Wizard Alone<\/i>,\u00c2\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=H_vQt_v8Jmw\" target=\"_blank\">anger is a gift<\/a>. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read\u00c2\u00a0<i>Young Wizards<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>This is so good, and it might honestly become my favorite\u00c2\u00a0<i>Young Wizards<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0book.<\/p>\n<p><b>Mirrors<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The more I think about the world that Darryl designed to be his final stand against the Lone One, the more brilliant it becomes. Mirrors are a dastardly thing here, and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean that solely in a logistical sense. Though there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s that, too: the mirrors make it\u00c2\u00a0<i>actually<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0hard to make it through this endless, closed maze. But as Kit and Ponch began to explore the place, I could see why this would be so effective.<\/p>\n<p>The horror in this constructed world is in the reflections.<\/p>\n<p>The twisted images. The fractured ones. The alien ones. And most important, the Lone One will have to face who himself, over and over again. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll have to see Itself as It is, as It chose to represent Itself, as It has chosen to live. It will be\u00c2\u00a0<i>constantly<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0reminded of who It is. AND THAT IS HAUNTING.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m telling you, though, I did a\u00c2\u00a0<i>really<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0good job this time. The outside\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sealed: no one else can get it \u00e2\u20ac\u201c none of Its little minions can smuggle It energy. And no one can get out from inside, either; the barrier\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sealed. It should stay stuck in here with us for\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He sounded grimly satisfied. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A real long time. Could be forever.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Darryl created a (possibly) eternal trap for the Lone One. Which Ponch and Kit are now (possibly stuck inside as well.)<\/p>\n<p>Are you ready? You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i>Well, if he has to stay forever,\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>Ponch said,\u00c2\u00a0<i>then I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not leaving<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p>And he lay down beside Kit, huddling close to him, and started to wait for forever.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Anyone else imagine Seymour from\u00c2\u00a0<i>Futurama<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0here, but with Ponch in his place? No? Just me?<\/p>\n<p><b>Life as Usual<\/b><\/p>\n<p>I admire that Duane commits to the fact that Nita, Dairine, and their father\u00c2\u00a0<i>have<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0to continue with their responsibilities, despite that KIT IS GOING TO BE TRAPPED IN A FUCKING NIGHTMARE IF THEY DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T ACT. I struggled with this choice myself, and it was often very frustrating. I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t\u00c2\u00a0<i>want<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0to write scenes about this sort of thing because\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, all the action and intrigue was over\u00c2\u00a0<i>there<\/i>! How could I make going to class interesting and exciting?<\/p>\n<p>This is how. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about building an atmosphere. Its about finding inspiration and purpose in the mundane. Granted, Duane\u00c2\u00a0<i>also<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0made Mr. Millman an interesting character. So while I was eager for Nita\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s second trip into Darryl\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mind, I was intrigued to see how Nita would deal with that little \u00e2\u20ac\u0153magic\u00e2\u20ac\u009d slip-up during their last meeting. Thus, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s tension here; I desperately wanted to get past Nita\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s day at school, but then Mr. Millman started talking, and I was transfixed. First of all, I WAS JUST WRITING ABOUT TENSION AS A NARRATIVE DEVICE AND\u00c2\u00a0<i>LOOK WHAT HAPPENED HERE<\/i>. (Also, I ate a Trader Joe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pop-tart for breakfast so: totally on brand with review today.)<\/p>\n<p>Then, Mr. Millman casually eviscerates Nita, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m exaggerating, of course, but it was like the manifestation of that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I just came to have a good time and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m feeling so attacked\u00e2\u20ac\u009d meme. Nita just had to get through that card trick, and she would have been fine, but her anger over the pointlessness of the act spilled over. And why shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it? Nita literally had better things to do at that moment, and the whole thing was\u00c2\u00a0<i>absurd<\/i>. And yet?<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Let me suggest that when anger runs so close to the surface that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easily provoked by unusual circumstances, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re quite possibly not done with it yet.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p><i>Damn\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>straight<i>\u00c2\u00a0I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not<\/i>, Nita thought.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a good thing, not a bad thing, just what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Millman said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153But you might want to think about what result this kind of emotion has produced in the past. Or might produce again in the future.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Like Nita, I initially didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see the brilliance in what he said. (In hindsight, I now have this theory that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s actually a wizard, but is deliberately hiding it in order to provide Nita with the guidance that she needs.) It was a great way for him to point out that she still hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t dealt with the anger she felt, but I was still just hoping Nita would hurry up and get to seeking out Kit.<\/p>\n<p>And then, in a random moment in class, DIANE DUANE KNOCKS IT OUT OF THE PARK:<\/p>\n<p>Nita wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t used to thinking of anger as a tool. It had always seemed like something you didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to get accustomed to using, in case it started to become a habit, or started twisting you and your wizardry in directions you didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to go.\u00c2\u00a0<i>But if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re careful,\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>she thought,\u00c2\u00a0<i>if you stay in control, if you manage it carefully enough \u00e2\u20ac\u201c maybe it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s okay to use it just every now and then. Maybe managing it, rather than letting it manage you, is the whole idea \u00e2\u20ac\u201c<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Women are told to be less angry. Non-white people are told to be less angry. Queer folks are told to be less angry. Many societies devalue anger for insidious reasons, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\u00c2\u00a0<i>precisely\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>why I love this as much as I do. Within reason, with understanding and awareness, anger is an incredible tool to have. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a motivational factor. It provides purpose and focus, and I am going to be\u00c2\u00a0<i>endlessly<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0pleased about this.<\/p>\n<p><b>Focus<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Because in just a matter of a single page, the pacing for this chapter ramps up into a beautiful, beautiful thing. Nita sacrifices much here: she knows her school and her father will be disappointed and upset at her for skipping class. She knows that what she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s doing is risky, but\u00c2\u00a0<i>it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all for Kit<\/i>. There is an impressive amount of growth within this chapter for Nita, namely in how she realizes that her grief has kept her back from helping her best friend right when he needed her most:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Kit had come right out and said that he wished he had backup on this job. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d ignored him, and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d gone ahead with what he was doing and got himself in too deep.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Now, I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel like Duane blamed Nita for feeling said, nor was she trying to say that Nita should not have grieved. This came off as more nuanced; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about how\u00c2\u00a0<i>Nita<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0went too deep herself, how she wallowed for the sake of it at times, and how she couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see how badly Kit needed her help. I love how deeply\u00c2\u00a0<i>A Wizard Alone<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0is dependent on\u00c2\u00a0<i>The Wizard\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Dilemma<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0in this realization. As Nita puts it:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Well, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d been in too deep herself, not long ago, unable to see the trouble she was getting into\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 and Kit had pulled her out. Now she was going to be able to return the favor.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>IT HAS COME FULL CIRCLE.<\/p>\n<p><b>The Kernel<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Well, in more ways than one. First, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s acknowledge the fierce hilarity of Nita using her anger to\u00c2\u00a0<i>literally put herself to sleep<\/i>. I want to be this spiteful some day, GIVE ME THIS POWER. But Duane commits to Nita\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s epiphany, and anger is the means by which Nita is able to think of and execute a plan to not only find Darryl\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s world, but to get inside of it. She seeks out the world\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s kernel!!! I loved how this also allowed the reader to get a better sense of Darryl\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mind, of his power, of how\u00c2\u00a0<i>unique<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0he was as a wizard. That Mobius strip is probably how he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s able to appear in two places at once; his power conduits are the biggest Nita\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ever seen; and how\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s this for another surprise?<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>She reached into the tangle of coiled light and hooked a finger under one tightly braided chain of characters that glowed calmly right at the kernel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s heart: then pinched it between thumb and forefinger and teased it a little ways out of the kernel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s main structure. It was the core representation of the Wizard\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Oath, the heart of an Ordeal; and it was complete.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN??? Why didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t anyone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s manual say that Darryl had completed his Ordeal??? THIS IS SUCH GREAT NEWS. Which is then coupled with the heartbreak of Darryl\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s parents, who are lost and unsure of what to do with their son. We finally get confirmation that this is the voices that Kit and Nita have heard while inside Darryl\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mind. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an interesting choice because we haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seen Darryl\u00c2\u00a0<i>in\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>the world in a long time. Is he completely non-responsive? We can only guess from context clues, and even then, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not sure guessing is a good idea, since it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s too easy to assume stereotypes here.<\/p>\n<p>But all four of the beings Nita expected to find are in this maze. Given that Nita has the kernel, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll theorize that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll use it to get Kit and Ponch out. As for Darryl? Well, for those of you who are reading along with me, your guess is as good as mine. I have no idea how Duane is going to tie all of this together.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ELe8IckaKFQ<\/p>\n<p><b>Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&#8211; <b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/markdoesstuff?ty=h\" target=\"_blank\">I am now on Patreon<\/a>! There are various levels of support, from $1 up to whatever you want! You&#8217;ll get to read a private blog, extra reviews, and other such rewards. I POST A LOT OF CUTE PHOTOS, OKAY. Think of it like a private Tumblr blog that only SPECIAL PEOPLE get to read.<\/b><br \/>\n&#8211; I have updated my list of conventions and events for the remainder of the year and much of next year.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/tour-dates-appearances\/\" target=\"_blank\">Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page.<\/a><br \/>\n&#8211; My <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/calendar\/embed?src=815s3sbr8clhdi9tn8k7r3tim4%40group.calendar.google.com&amp;ctz=America\/Los_Angeles\">Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0<b>My next Double Features for Mark Watches have been announced <a href=\"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2016\/06\/here-is-the-updated-mw-double-features-schedule\/\">here.<\/a><br \/>\n<\/b>-\u00c2\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/markdoesstuff\">Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0I&#8217;ve got a community page up that I&#8217;m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the first half of the ninth chapter of\u00c2\u00a0A Wizard Alone,\u00c2\u00a0anger is a gift. 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":[523,510],"tags":[513,511],"class_list":["post-4081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-wizard-alone","category-young-wizards","tag-diane-duane","tag-mark-reads-young-wizards"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4081","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=4081"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4081\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<!-- WP Super Cache is installed but broken. 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