Kadamba of Gentle Humilaith

Kadamba of Gentle Humilaith (Cosmic Library #2) by Mirti Venyon Reiyas (CreateSpace, 2012, 132pp.)

This second stand-alone installment in Reiyas’s Cosmic Library series deals with the effects of the malicious Thorn Virus spawned by the mischievous kinkas, a malignity which is gradually suffusing the universe—both people and things—with ill-will and unscrupulous behavior. On planet Ethera, Kon Fu-Zed, the ambitious director of an aerospace travel company, has plans to develop the previously untouched continent of The (pronounced “thay”) into an animalline-hunting theme park. He also can’t wait to try out his brand new invention, the “Whe-pin,” a devastating weapon which would be the nightmare of any endangered species. He appoints Tahdi Bellevue, an employee, to lead a surveying expedition. But when Tahdi lands on The, he meets Neelaiyahay, a half-tiger, half-human being who opens his eyes to the ecological consequences of Kon Fu-Zed’s plans. In the end, Tahdi and Neelaiyahay must defeat not only the physical manifestation of the thorns (which are clogging up inter-dimensional gateways), but convince Kon Fu-Zed that razing everything green to the ground is not beneficial to anyone in the long run.

As I finished Kadamba, my initial reaction was: “Well, that was okay. Things certainly happened, but at the same time, the events weren’t very...dramatic.” Then I  remembered seeing something on the author’s website about the name she has assigned for this particular genre: “Positive Young Adult Romantic Adventurous Fantasy.”

Ah, I thought. That explains it. The Cosmic Library series is one that keeps the conflict on a juvenile reader’s level while exploring interesting ideas. There are no cars and trucks exploding, nor people massacring their families and then setting themselves on fire. The series shuns violence, and instead choses to focus on the importance of choosing the path of positive thinking over that of negative (if you’ve ever taken a yoga class, you’ll know what I’m talking about).

Now, some of the best psychological fiction has no “action,” but instead mediates on the characters’ internal struggles. In this regard, however, Kadamba loses some points. Although I liked the relationship between Tahdi and Neelaiyahay, I didn’t feel like I got to know them, or the other characters, as well as I could have. Recommended for Ages 12-14, and for adults who are tired of the graphic violence in the media.

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Unique Ideas, Narrow Target Audience

Ephemerine Tree (Cosmic Library #1) by Mirti Venyon Reiyas (Self-Published, 2012, 166pp.)

Eda, a young woman from planet Artea, is enlisted by Rainyun, a light-being from the Ephemerine Realm, to help steer her world away from environmental disaster. Reiyas produces a very creative piece of work to provide a unique, cautionary tale. Artea—and the rest of the galaxy, for that matter—is suffering from the use of the destructive tachyonic particle inverse dematerializer, a device built to extract electricity-producing potrillion juice from ocean caves at the expense of the environment. While the dematerializer seems to be a stand-in for fracking, the author is able to make it part of a very believable universe. While this short novel is great to read for its ideas, its focus on spiritualism and New Age principles may not appeal to mainstream readers looking for a face-paced action tale. Recommended for Ages 12-Up.

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An Original Jumble of Genres

Xor: The Shape of Darkness by Moshe Slipper (CreateSpace, 2012, 296pp.)

What starts out as just another ordinary day for Lewis Nash comes to a screeching halt when someone blows his house up, killing his adopted father. Not long after that, he learns that his biological parents aren’t ordinary people like everyone else—they are Lord and Lady Shaper from planet Xor. What exactly is a Shaper, you ask? It’s a person who can change the shape of things around him, more or less. And Xor? Xor is a place where magicians and robots coexist, a world whose peace is threatened by the fearsome Realm Pirates. Ordinarily, the Lord and Lady Shaper would put a stop to that—only, they’ve recently gone missing. Now that he’s come of age, Lewis learns, the entire planet is counting on him to stop the Realm Pirates from taking over Xor with their wave of darkness—only here, the “darkness” is not only literal, but metaphorical.

Robots and Magicians? Does that make it fantasy, or science fiction? Maybe both. Yet fans of either will both enjoy this very original jumble of genres that touches on important themes without getting too serious for young readers. Recommended for Ages 9-12.

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Richly Imagined and a Delight to Read

The Prince Who Fell from the Sky by John Claude Bemis (Random House Books for Young Readers, 2012, 272pp.)

On an Earth where mankind has been wiped out by a nameless catastrophe, only animals remain. The bears, coyotes, rats, dogs, and other woodland creatures are subjects of the Forest, living cheek by jowl among the ruins left behind by the fabled “Old Devils.” But mankind, it appears, hasn’t completely disappeared for good. When a spaceship crash-lands in a meadow, killing all aboard except for a small boy, the lonesome she-bear Casseomae rescues the young’un and treats him as her own cub. Some animals, however, fear the child as a sign that the dreaded Old Devils are due to return and reclaim the Forest. Determined to protect her newly adopted “cub” from hostile parties, Casseomae sets out to find a place where she and her ward can live in safety. A truly creative story that straddles the line between fantasy and science fiction, The Prince Who Fell From the Sky is richly imagined, as well as a delight to read. Recommended for Ages 9-12.

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