The Sword and Laser discussion

I was able to find a Kobo version of this book at my local library, so I scrambled to get a library card and set up Overdrive on my Kindle Fire. It isn't a very long book, approximately 7 hours.

I found that it wasn't very dark, or dismal, or too dystopian. The part that has most people despairing--about Metis and other native/first nations being harvested--is relegated to (mostly) back-story. I found it more like The Ten Thousand Doors of January than Parable of the Sower .

Dimaline writes very believably and I could see very clearly the scenes she was setting. Examples such as (view spoiler)[pointing to (something) with their lips (hide spoiler)] and (view spoiler)[the scene where someone leans forward on their fists on the bed like a resting gorilla, where the shoulders were raised near the ears (hide spoiler)] and I could absolutely see that and understand what the body language is conveying.

Also, the narrator, Meegwun Fairbrother, was VERY good. I'm very happy they picked someone from First Nations to narrate.

If you like anything with a Native American/First Nations/Metis feel, this is in your wheelhouse. It's definitely in mine.

I went ahead and gave this 5 stars. I'm happy I made the extra effort to find this in audio, which is my preferred method for consuming media.

ETA: I filed this in both Tom and Veronica for the S&L goals. LOL. It's dystopian, which is generally filed under Sci fi/speculative, but the concept of Native marrow being linked to dreaming was more like Jade City and California Bones, so I filed it under both. :)

Fight Me.

Was a fast read the whole everyone else stopped being able to dream was very thin and the explanation about why they needed bone marrow was even thinner. However the chemistry between the characters was enjoyable. The ending was very abrupt I expected more I was reading digital version and didn't realize the book was already over.

I was expecting something darker too, but found the characters likable and the hopeful conclusion satisfying.

I was a little confused by the presentation of dream concepts, but the writing flows nicely and kept me interested.

I also didn’t find it nearly as dark as other dystopias/post apocalypses, probably because current Native Americans/First Nations peoples lived through an apocalypse and many still live in a dystopia, so there’s a sadness and acceptance about these sorts of things inherent in the culture.

The particular style of storytelling I’m familiar with, too, having consumed copious amounts of aboriginal tales from the Americas, Celts, and Africa. They all have that “the world is mysterious and has dark corners” feel to it. That flavor doesn’t always play well with SF or the modern world, but the rise of Magical Realism as a genre gives us a model to hang onto.

Weirdly, I felt like it was darker than I’d expected. I found that there was so much hopelessness within the book, to me this shadowed even the uplifting parts. Maybe because I hope people are better than show here, despite what history shows us.
Edit: Actually, thinking about it more, I think this books seemed bleak to me for the same reason isn’t didn’t to Trike - groups like the ones in this novel have already been so appallingly treated in the very recent past (or it still goes on) and that is very upsetting to me. It makes it harder to distance myself from the dystopia of it all.

I agree with the op though - the narration is excellent!

I finished the book a few days ago and have to say I hugely enjoyed it.

It was refreshing to read a story where the "plot" was firmly in the background, and the focus was very much on the characters and their development. Those portraits were excellent and I got a very strong sense of their struggle to survive.

I didn't have any expectations going into the book and certainly didn't find it bleak. The fact that (view spoiler)[French was reunited with his father (hide spoiler)] and (view spoiler)[Miig and Isaac were reunited \o/ (hide spoiler)] made (view spoiler)[the ending practically sugar coated. In hindsight it felt like a Hollywood movie ending. Hmmm (hide spoiler)]

Good choice - 5 stars from me and I am looking forward to the next guest pick

If you liked TMT, I recommend her follow-up book Empire of Wild, which is Fantasy rather than SF but still features First Nations characters and themes. I think her writing really leveled up for the second book.

Cheers Trike. Added to my TBR pile :-)

Trike wrote: "If you liked TMT, I recommend her follow-up book Empire of Wild, which is Fantasy rather than SF but still features First Nations characters and themes. I think her writing really l..."

I liked that one too.

John wrote: "I finished the book a few days ago and have to say I hugely enjoyed it.

It was refreshing to read a story where the "plot" was firmly in the background, and the focus was very much on the characte..."

Actually I found this all a bit too "tidy" in the way those subplots all worked out

I didn't find this book as dark as I originally expected. I do know that some of the dark atmosphere of Parable of the Sower stuck with me when I started TMT. The closeness of the "family" alleviated some of that for me, and I think, as Tom mentioned, the fact that it was not so literally close to home (although the fact that it was in Canada, which seems to this American to be more woke, was kinda disheartening). It was also figuratively not so close to home in that I didn't see parallels every which way with 2020. As they pointed out in the podcast, the apocalypse had already happened, unlike PotS, so it didn't feel like the world was tumbling further and further into chaos. The terrible-history-reoccurring aspect, and the fact that forever after they would be a hunted people (unlike PotS), kept it plenty dark for me, though.

I really appreciated the glimpse into a recreated indigenous life, it felt like a realistic mesh of acceptance of what is, combined with fighting to reclaim lost heritage. I don't know if "Story" is a traditional practice, but it made sense that they understood so clearly that they needed to keep a line of continuity going. They knew it could be too much for the youngest ones, but that they also told them it was not yet time for them to hear these things, not like mom and dad pretending everything was ok until the kids went to sleep.