STARSWARM Character Symbols part 2

I have read enough of the book now to be able to continue this post. This is actually a pretty good thing to do specifically for this science fiction book and any particular novel that contains multiple characters so you can keep in mind who's who. Some times I think we do it subconsciously because if you ask any one to name all the Harry Potter characters they normally associate them with a certain event or physical characteristic. So I'm trying to do the same approach here.

3. Lara Henderson
She is the first human friend that Kip has ever had. She moved to the planet because her father was a researcher who had to travel to the planet Paradise. She is a flat character in my opinion because she hasn't really changed much by the end of the book in my opinion. But I think that's what Kip needs during the life changing events that occur. A steady rock I guess, but she seems a little bit more complex then a rock so maybe she is a dog. Not just any dog though, it has to be a dog that will stick with you through anything. For example she quick to support and help Kip when he needs it.

4. Marty
I for some reason could never find his full name, but that's okay he doesn't deserve it in my opinion because he was a bully and wanted one of Kip's dogs to be killed. He was introduced as one of the older kids who came to the planet and didn't want to be restricted by someone who was younger then he was. So to deal with that he bullied Kip. One example in the book was when "they just tossed his cap around and laughed....Kip fell and the others laughed (40)". The cap was really important to Kip because it has the radio transmiter sewn into the hem, so if the group were to get attacked, help would come as soons as possible. So as you can tell I despise Marty and just for a small spoiler he gets attacked by centaurs and dogs, so it gets balanced. I think he is a mosquito, because annoying and mean in the actions that he has displayed.

STARSWARM Character Symbols Part 1

Starswarm is a science fiction book. I don't like science fiction books. You would think that's a problem right? Well, not in this case (I actually like the book so far, thank you Jerry Pournelle). So to celebrate, I decided to go in depth with the current characters that I sort of know of right know. I say "sort of" because there is this one character that exsists in one of the other character's brain, but it's not the character's subconscious. It's complicated.

1. Kenneth Brewster

Other wise known as Kip, our main protagonist! At the begining of the book he is 9 years old and he may grow older as the book goes on, but I don't really know yet. He's really smart for his age becuase he has some sort of being in his head that answers all his questions and teaches him things. When you read the book the text font changes each time the being speaks and Kip speaks, so it's easy to tell who's talking when. When I think of Kip, I think of an owl. Owl's have those big eyes that make you think that they know more then what thier letting on and it doesn't hurt that it's also a symbol for the Greek godess Athena.

               2. Gwen
This is the esoteric being that resides in Kip's noggin. Kip doesn't know who she is or how she got in his head but he chose to listen to Gwen and does not tell any one about her. Kip has thought of many things that GWEN could be, for example he's thought "Why did Gwen change her comands?" (53). By using the word command that allows us to perdict that Gwen is a computer, or part of a computer. Another special thing about Gwen is that when you read the book, her lines are all CAPATALIZED. SO ITS REALLY EASY TO TELL WHEN SHE IS REPLYING TO KIP. Gwen is a straight forward type character because she never really expresses any emotion in her lines. She is monotone for many of her of lines, for instance when she helps Kip deal with a bully "IT IS RECORDED THAT CONSTANT WILLINGNESS TO FIGHT AND THE CONSEQUENT DAMAGE RENDERED...." (52) YOU CAN TELL BY HER sorry, vocabulary that she is very highly intelligent and that she doesn't show her feelings very much. So because of all this, I think her symbol is a grey cat. I specifically chose a grey cat because they can camflauge easily, like Gwen and they are very intelligent.

There are of course even more character's, but alas they have not been devloped enough in the section of the book that I am currently reading becuase they have just been added to the story. Once they are more developed in the story I think I will like to come back to blog part 2.

Starswarm - Jerry Pournelle Choice

I needed to start looking into different genres again. You know why? I've been getting into a cycle where I would read just historical fiction books and nothing else. That my friend is a problem. So lets make a list of genres I've been specifically been avoiding.

• sci-fi
• dystopian
• nonfiction
• mystery

So I guess I'll start with sci-fi and lucky for me, I have a book that's genre is sci-fi that I haven't got to; Starswarm. This book is purely science fiction, nothing else. You've got the main protagonist, Kip, living on a different planet with a computer chip planted in his brain. You also have giant aliens that attack if you manage to anger them. Perfect right?

The reason why I think I avoid those is because they seem to allow the imagination. This may be just for me but science fiction; can't relate, dystopian; love story, nonfiction; no imagination, mystery; ending has been solidified. Maybe by starting to read the books of that genre more, I could possibly learn to adapt my taste for these books. Wish me luck!

Crime Files - Jeremy Brown Vocabulary

Jargon - terms that are specifically used for a certain group.
Prepare for this book's jargon. You won't understand half of the terms in the book if you don't watch Investigation Discovery. So let the night mares begin and your fear of walking in dark consume you. I'm going to tell you about one of the best "who done it" books ever!(in my opinion).
This book's jargon is based on CSI vocabulary; asphyxiate, autopsy, EMT, hemorrhage, homicide and much much more. Luckily for the faint, there is a glossary on the back section of the book to help you out.
One of the made up characters of Brown is Laura Crown; the forensic pathologist of the team. She is "quick to recite the qualifications of a forensic pathologist should anyone refer to her as a ...coroner."(3). Many of her lines are filled to the brim with CSI jargon. For example "Amanitin and phalloidin,"she said." (57). What? Lets see amanitin and phalloidin, those words are not part of my vocabulary. Then if you read on in the book it will tell you that those were two types of poisons that you would find in mushrooms. Good to know right?

Those are death cap mushrooms, and if you were to soak them in alcohol, the amanitin can be removed. So don't eat them!

Shadow Prowler - Alexey Pehov Symbol

The Shadow Prowler by Alexey Pehov is a fantasy book with magic, ogers and elves. So as you can suspect there are going to be many symbols referenced in the book. However the main character in the book, Harold the master thief, has no magic skill unless you count stealing a scroll “a magic ability”. Harold has a religious belief that there are gods that watch and interact with humans, sort of like the Greek Gods and particularly has a main belief for Sagot .

Sagot is the god of the thieves and has interacted with Harold many times in his life without knowing it. To remind you Harold is considered a master thief, so he had to learn skill to pull off the large charades. Doing large scale bank robberies and stealing from royalty is not what a normal pick pocket off the streets can do and For was Harold’s teacher, apparently “the most successful and talented thief of all…” (134). Sagot actually came to For in human form and told him to take Harold as an apprentice. Then Sagot came into Harold’s life again when he was trying to get tips on how to survive in the Forbidden Territory.

Now, back to For. For is a retired master thief that works as priest for Sagot’s shrine, which has gone missing a long time ago. Sagot’s shrine is a giant statue of the god, so how could it have moved? Magic. That’s the only explanation there is. Magic is the reason because once Harold actually makes it to the Forbidden territory; Sagot’s statue is sitting right at the exit of the territory. Sagot is a symbol because it gives Harold a small piece of hope, in a world where everyone is trying to kill him.   

Shadow Prowler - Alexey Pehov About the Author

To start this off, this isn't my copy of the book so my knowledge of the book is pretty limited. Other than the first 30 pages I can't tell you much about the context or the reason it was written and stuff. The one thing I can tell you is that the book is a Fantasy novel (my guilty pleasure), and it's going to have magic going on. That's not a lot.

So I researched it.

There were some obvious things that I found like, he's Russian and that his focus is fantasy and sci-fi. There were also things that I had no idea about. For instance this book, Shadow Prowler, was one of the best commercially accepted book in Russia and he also completed the series in the next 4 years, completing the trilogy. Also there is one fact that I would make me read every book this guy has written. He was born on my birthday. I've got a successful author born on my birthday! (happy dance). Of course that may not be a good enough reason for you to read it. So go find an author who was born on your birthday. Who knows, you just might like their style.

The Help - Katherine Stockett

In my opinion, The Help is one of the best example of karma. So because of that I think that the theme of the book is what comes around goes around. The Help is a fictional story that takes place in the 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi so segragation was very much an issue in the book. The book is narratated by 3 main characters of the book; Aibileen Clark, Minny Jackson and Eugenia Phelan (Skeeter).
The first two characters are both African American employed maids that work in a white household. Aibileen is a nice kind middle aged woman who had suffered the loss of her son a couple years ago, she also said to be sitting next to God's ear because her prayers are always answered in some way. An example of the theme happening to Aibileen is that after her son died, she began to be really look into religion to find an answer and peace, which then people began to notice that whoever she put on her prayer list was benefited some way.
Minny on the other hand, is probably the most funniest, sassiest person you will ever meet. Having many mouths to feed in her family causes her to be under a lot of stress and has no time to waste making her not really care what she says to other people (it's gotten her fired from 19 jobs). Her example of the theme is the most funniest part of the book. During most of the book, Minny is working for  Miss. Walters, who I think treated her terribly, and when Minny quit after being hired by Celia Foote, she does it in a way that no one else would dare to do. She bakes a pie and swears to Miss Waters while she is eating the pie and tells her to eat her waste. Which she actually is because Minny baked her poop into the pie.
I was planning to continue writing about the theme and applying it to Eugenia, but I decided that I have released enough spoilers  in this post so I'll just leave you with  the trailer for the movie, by the way I think it's already on DVD or VCR, your choice.