In the first half of the eleventh chapter of Wizard\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Holiday<\/i>, Nita no longer ignores the suspicion she has that something is wrong with Alaalu. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Young Wizards<\/i>.<\/p>\n
The answer was right there the whole time. ALAALU IS TOO PERFECT BECAUSE IT CAN NEVER CHANGE. <\/i><\/p>\n
This is a very philosophically dense chapter, an exploration of some intense and heavy topics relating to humanity, evolution, and failure. I respect that Duane respects us, too. While this was a challenging read, it was still entertaining, horrifying, and wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t watered down for the reader. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot to take in, sure, and I hope I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not simplifying it too much in this review, but I love that an author can tell their readers, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hey, this is a lot, but I trust that you are along for the ride.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
And what a ride it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been so far! This isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the first time that Duane has addressed this theme, but y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll never really tire of stories about trusting one\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s instincts. We saw that earlier with Dairine, though it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s used in a different context. Regardless, this is still an important part of wizardry:<\/p>\n
She had mistakenly, but purposely, deactivated one of a wizard\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s most useful tools: the hunch.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
And what is a hunch? An instinct. A quick and quiet judgment based on experience, knowledge, wisdom, and critical thinking. We get hunches because our conscious or subconscious mind is putting the pieces together and suggesting that maybe, maybe<\/i>, we actually know what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going on. I see hunches and instincts as survival methods, you know? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s how my brain or even my heart protects me. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t go there. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do that. Think twice about this decision. Remember the past.<\/p>\n
In Nita\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s case, her hunch was absolutely based on instinct. Broken record time, cousins, because I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m gonna repeat something I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve said before: the serialization in this series is downright incredible. Her mind pieced together events from the past couple of years, and that means for us, Duane manages to pack in threads from at least four other books (perhaps all<\/i> of those that came before this) in order to bring Nita to her epiphany.<\/p>\n
Something is very <\/i>wrong with Alaalu\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s kernel.<\/p>\n
And where else could they go to learn more? It was unavoidable that Nita and Kit would have to talk to the Lone One, but that didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make the scene any less disturbing. (Or insightful, if that matters, and I think it does.) For all the grandeur and spectacle we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen every time someone faces off with the Lone Power, it was astounding to me to see how little of those things were here. Oh, the Naos was gorgeous and eerie, and there was certainly some drama to the approach, but in the end, the Lone Power was trapped on a chair, and this part of It had been there for thousands<\/i> of years.<\/p>\n
It certainly explains the snappy way It spoke while in the form of Esemeli. How would anyone feel about being a historical tourist attraction for that many years? But this is the Lone Power we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re talking about; I expect It to be rude. Deceitful. Cruel. Dishonest. Yet that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what is so unsettling about what unfolds here. As Kit and Nita question the Lone One about Alaalu, the Choice the Alaalids made all those years ago, and the problem with this planet, I stopped seeing a reason for the Lone One to lie. Do I trust the Lone One? HELL NO. Initially, I saw the whole set-up as part of a trick. Why else would the Lone One talk about Its past with Nita and Kit? Or reference the change made after Dairine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Ordeal? Or talk about how frustrated It was with being trapped on this world?<\/p>\n
I assumed that it was setting them up for a con. Soften them up, make them slightly sympathetic to It, then ask for help, and make it seem like they were doing something good. And that was my theory right up to the point where the Lone One spelled out what was wrong with Alaalu:<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s some room for small, personal change\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 just. But as for the big changes that every species needs to go through every now and then, to avoid stagnating and just dying away \u00e2\u20ac\u201c those are all shut away from them. They can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t evolve<\/i>. And you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen what their world\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s become as a result! It hardly even counts as a world anymore. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a theme park. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve turned it into \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcNice Land.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I truly believe the Lone One is telling the truth. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen all the signs of it, and it explains this obvious cultural prejudice that Quelt exhibited. Of course nothing feels wrong to her, and of course she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still bothered by the subtle sense that she should be doing something she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not. She can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t truly grow.<\/i> That means that these people might make small changes in their life, but there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no real development. Same with their government; farming; society; schooling; knowledge. Without the ability to evolve, their stagnation means a slow, undeniable decline. Oh, entropy isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t gone; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just stretched out over a massive length of time. And instead of becoming better or progressing, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve basically stayed the same.<\/p>\n
Imagine if our own history did the same! What if we were the same as humans three thousand years ago? What if that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the best we ever knew? Sure, there wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be much strife, but would there be much life<\/i> either? Progress isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t always a good thing, sure, and many times, progress comes at the expense of other people. But I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like to think that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re still barreling forward towards something better, you know? What if that possibility didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even exist?<\/p>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a truly frightening thing to think about because at some point, Nita and Kit are going to have to tell Quelt the truth. That means that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be given a responsibility that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s greater than anything faced in a long, long time. Horrible things are going to happen to the Alaalids, to a people who have no real experience with high-level strife, with destruction, with existential conflict. Can you imagine trying to convince a people to accept that into their lives?<\/p>\n
But they have to do it. They have to find Druvah, and they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re gonna have to help Quelt understand why this is a bad thing. First, however, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re gonna manipulate the Lone One a bit, and lord, I cannot wait to see what comes of that.<\/p>\n
I am thrilled to confirm that I will be a Guest at CrossingsCon 2017! Badges are now available, so COME HANG OUT WITH ME THIS SUMMER<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n
http:\/\/youtu.be\/eP5PYNwHGXU?a<\/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. I POST A LOT OF CUTE PHOTOS, OKAY. Think of it like a private Tumblr blog that only SPECIAL PEOPLE get to read.<\/b>
\n– I have updated my list of conventions and events for the remainder of the year and much of next year. 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. My next Double Features for Mark Watches have been announced here.<\/a>
\n<\/b>– Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a> I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the first half of the eleventh chapter of Wizard\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Holiday, Nita no longer ignores the suspicion she has that something is wrong with Alaalu. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Young Wizards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[525,510],"tags":[513,511],"class_list":["post-4135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wizards-holiday","category-young-wizards","tag-diane-duane","tag-mark-reads-young-wizards"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4135","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=4135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4135\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}