Midnight Robber

Rating:
Summary: spicy like jerk
Review: I thought i'd come to an end after reading all of Octavia E. Butler's books, ending my enjoyment of cultural inspired sci-fi. Then I found Nalo Hopinkins first- BROWN GIRL IN THE RING now MIDNIGHT ROBBER,YO MON! She's a good read, Nalo mixes it up like a pepper pot. Her worlds are a good portion folklore, fantasy and well told story. The story is of Tan-Tan the robber queen. Tan-Tan is taken by her father whom she loves blindly and trust without question. Off to the half way tree,they go as fugtives from the law. Tan-Tan has entered a world without the comfort of her nursie and the Nansi web. She now must rely on her own eyes , ears and wits. OUI? what achild gonna do? Live that's what Tan-Tan does she's befriended by a creature of this new world- Chichibud. Not just any old creature, Tan-Tan finds out later as she finds out a lot of things in her new world of violent outcasts. Tan-Tan becomes a woman on half way tree. Her experiences are explosive, heartful and sorrowful as well. I'm not going to say the book is excellent, I'll just say open a frosty ginger beer get comfortable and step into the world of TAN-TAN THE ROBBER QUEEN. PEACE MON.

Rating:
Summary: Tan-Tan the Robber Queen
Review: On the Caribbean-colonized planet Toussaint, Tan-Tan is the daughter of a city mayor whose jealousy gets the better of him. Committing a terrible crime, he flees to Toussaint's dark sister New Half-Way Tree, and takes Tan-Tan with him. Tan-Tan and her father settle among the other criminals and aliens in a small settlement run by a bisexual warlord. When her father crosses the line too far in his abuse of her, Tan-Tan embraces the spirit and lore of the Robber Queen and fights back. Fleeing for her life, she lives among the aliens they call the douens, where she slowly heals and tries to find herself. As her past stalks her present, Tan-Tan is forced to choose whether to fully embrace the lore of the Robber Queen if she's to have a future of any sort. Taking the rhythms and patois of Caribbean literature and setting them in the realm of science fiction, Nalo Hopkinson has created an intriguing tale of a young woman healing her scars and finding inner strength. While this is not a new story, the details and storyweavings are, and those are the strong points of "Midnight Robber". The circular storytelling was distracting for me, as were some of the meanderings into Tan-Tan's daily struggles to survive. What kept me going was not only the science fiction world Hopkinson created for this story, but also the idea that storytelling would set Tan-Tan free.

Rating:
Summary: Nalo Hopkinson Surely has Stolen a Torturer¿s Tongue!
Review: With a voice and a world-building style startlingly different from the usual SF or Fantasy author, Ms. Hopkinson transports readers into an altogether different sort of future. The story is of Tan-Tan, a young girl growing up on the Caribbean-colonized planet called Touissant. There she lives in relative wealth and comfort, until her father flees the authorities, and the two become exiles in the strange, and unforgiving world of New Half-Way Tree. It is in this realm of strange creatures, and hard-bitten men and women that Tan-Tan must come of age, and discover her own story. The struggle is a long and arduous one, and persevering against all the odds will cost Tan-Tan a great deal more than she imagines. It is this struggle and her growth into adulthood that allow her to take possession of the Robber Queen myth for herself.

There is so much here that is impressive. Ms. Hopkinson's skill with world building is a treat. So much of the standard fantasy and SF scenarios and metaphors are cleared from the field, and a wealth of mythology, story telling and culture from the African and Caribbean worlds are set in place. The result is a departure from what this genre usually has to offer, a deft weaving of myth and technology a grittier and oft-times harsher world-view. The narrator's poetic voice and author's skilled use of language serve to cement the landscape and confirm that the reader has departed from the tried and true paths, into the wilds of another culture, another realm, where anything might happen. The Caribbean flavor of the language is spicy and powerful-strong and primal. These are storyteller words, delicious to read aloud and savor. And Ms. Hopkinson is able to paint her story with this language without making the read ponderous or awkward. Ms. Hopkinson provides a much needed voice in the realm of women's and multicultural fiction. There is not enough representation of African or Caribbean voices or main characters in today's SF and Fantasy, and this author's efforts are helping to help fill the gap. She's a strong writer, with a lot of potential and a hungry audience waiting for her to fulfill that potential.

Beyond the praise, however, I didn't feel that MIDNIGHT ROBBER was quite the story it could have been, despite all that is wonderful about it. Ms. Hopkinson sets up readers for an exotic and flavorful feast-but does not pace the meal well. The story seems to be forever waiting to start. So much goes on, and there are magical breaks of story telling from the narrator, but these stories and the life of Tan-Tan don't really meet up until the last bit of the book. The narrator refers to telling an anansi story, but I felt the spider's web somehow got disconnected-and didn't quite make the tapestry they were aiming for.

At the opening of this tale, Ms. Hopkinson introduces Tan-Tan's father, Antonio as a complex and interesting character involved in political intrigues and a troubling love life. Yet, these first scenes and actions seemed to have relatively little to do with the story that develops. Antonio fails to remain interesting, instead becoming a vehicle by which Tan-Tan is swept into the world of New Half Way Tree. The world of Toussaint, as compared to New Half Way Tree, where two thirds of the book takes place, was actually the more vivid and fascinating world. New Half Way tree seemed simplistic by comparison. Simplistic and brutal. Characters tended to be less developed than their environment. Ms. Hopkinson's debut novel, BROWN GIRL IN THE RING was more complete in regard to story and pacing. The villains were obvious, the goals were comprehensible and the outcome satisfying. In MIDNIGHT ROBBER these lines are not as clearly drawn-and didn't allow for a comfortable conclusion. The story begs for a sequel, for the rest of Tan-Tan's magical and legendary heritage to be revealed.

Similar to her debut novel, Ms. Hopkinson has created a story is strongly feminist in tone. It's refreshing to see strong women characters that face the world on their own terms and it's beneficial for young readers to have another type of heroine to identify with. However, I must contend that Ms. Hopkinson's male characters in this story are almost entirely vilified and/or emasculated. There is no male protagonist in this book that commands respect or admiration. Nearly all the men are full of villainy and corrupt thoughts and motives. I think it a disservice to Tan-Tan's character that there is not any male characters that come close to being a match for her-either as allies or adversaries. It would allow for a more powerful story. A word of warning to readers, this is not a light or sweet book. It deals with dark and violent imagery and actions. Rape, murder and treachery are all part and parcel of this story. It is not a "fairy tale" in the way so many readers are exposed to them today, but it has a lot in common with the older, darker fairy tales that are their origins. At its heart it is a story of survival and overcoming obstacles; it is a story about human perseverance and the power that resides in one's self.

Personally, I think it would be worthwhile to see a story set solely in the world of Toussaint-there are so many elements of the lifestyle and technology that exists that Ms. Hopkinson only touches on in passing, and I would enjoy seeing them explored further. I can only hope Ms. Hopkinson's writing will improve and that she will continue writing, I feel she has a lot to offer her readers and look forward to her future endeavors.

Happy Reading! -shanshad ^_^