{"id":4464,"date":"2018-02-22T05:00:03","date_gmt":"2018-02-22T13:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=4464"},"modified":"2018-02-19T18:06:30","modified_gmt":"2018-02-20T02:06:30","slug":"mark-reads-games-wizards-play-chapter-11-part-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2018\/02\/mark-reads-games-wizards-play-chapter-11-part-i\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads ‘Games Wizards Play’: Chapter 11, Part I"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the first part of the eleventh chapter of Games Wizards Play<\/i>, Nita, Kit and Dairine deal with the results. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Young Wizards<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

I was first invited to The Losers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Party in 2013 by George R.R. Martin himself. I was incredibly nervous that year, as I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d never attended a Worldcon before. I met George at the reception prior to the Hugo Awards Ceremony, and my friend introduced me as someone who had never been to a Hugos ceremony. He said the nicest thing to me then: that even if I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t win, no one could take away the experience of getting to be in that room. It did wonders for my nerves, and hours later, when I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t win in the Fan Writer category, he tapped me on the shoulder. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Congratulations, loser,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said, and he handed me a black badge ribbon.<\/p>\n

It read: HUGO LOSER.<\/p>\n

That was the first time I got to attend one of the infamous Hugo Losers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 parties. That year\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand correct me if I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m wrong!\u00e2\u20ac\u201dI believe it was in a hotel room in a nearby hotel? I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t remember where the party was in London in 2014, but in 2015 and 2016, the parties were INCREDIBLE and BEAUTIFUL LOCATIONS. (And holy shit, the food\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.) The point being: Duane says that Losers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Party for the Invitations is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153not\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6a party for<\/i> the losers, as it happened, but one in their honor: a general celebration of what had happened that day, and a place for those who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d attended the Invitational to relax and let off steam.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pretty much what Losers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Parties are like, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. The Hugos can be damn nerve-wracking, and having a space to actually eat some food, get a drink, and just wind down after such a stress-inducing environment is a real treat. Plus, you feel special! The party isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t open to everyone, and I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even count how many friends I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve made at them.<\/p>\n

So I love that this has been incorporated into the world of the Young Wizards<\/i> books, and that it appears here as a chance for Duane to delve even deeper into the emotional complications of the Cull\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s results. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s impressive that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s practically no joy here aside from Penn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, which\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s complicated, of course. He might be overjoyed by making it to the next round, but Nita still can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t muster up any excitement. Aside from a very brief appearance at the opening of chapter eleven, Penn isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t here in the text. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s off celebrating! Which he should be doing, but the awkward possibilities of the future are undeniably a part of this, too. That goes for Nita and<\/i> Dairine, and it was not more obvious than when Lissa bailed on Nita to give Dairine space. Both of these sisters are so uncertain of their mentees, but for entirely different reasons!<\/p>\n

Admittedly, because of my natural bias in favor of Mehrnaz, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m more invested in what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s happening to her, but that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a criticism of this story. I JUST WANT TO PROTECT HER FOREVER AND EVER!!! At the same time, I recognize what a strange and fulfilling place we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re at within this story. It would have been so much easier for Duane to write a story about these two young wizards facing momentary roadblocks and overcoming them. However, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m much more interested in this complex fabric of emotions. What if a victory is almost Pyrrhic in nature? What if Mehrnaz\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s success is at her own expense? What if Penn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s success is at Nita\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s expense? How do you deal with something like that<\/i>?<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m glad that the Callahan sisters have one another through this. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel like they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever been closer, you know? Plus, I feel like they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to need<\/i> this closeness. I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even addressed their difficult conversation about Roshaun, who still haunts Dairine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s heart on a daily basis. Even that<\/i> was a challenging moment, one that got a little uncomfortable at one point. But Dairine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s openly talking about him now, and I think that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s progress. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s better than keep it all to herself, right?<\/p>\n

I AM VERY EMOTIONAL ABOUT ALL OF THIS, OKAY.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/youtu.be\/B4AJc8O04KM<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– My YA contemporary debut, ANGER IS A GIFT<\/a>, is now available for pre-order!\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"