Book rec: The Lost Conspiracy (a/k/a Gullstruck Island) by Frances Hardinge

[amanuensis1]

Who was it who told me Gullstruck Island by Frances Hardinge was the most amazing book? In the U.S. the title is The Lost Conspiracy and you were right, this book was incredible. I'm bubbling over to share it with everyone.



First paragraph:

It was a burnished, cloudless day with a tug-of-war wind, a fine day for flying. And so Raglan Skein left his body neatly laid out on his bed, its breath as slow as sea swell, and took to the sky.

The concept of the extrasensory gifted characters is only the littlest tip of the iceberg; the worldbuilding in this book is gasp-inducing. From the mythology of the volcano gods to the way the island, the people, and the local pidgin get their names, everything is so clever I squirmed in delight with each new element. The revenge tattoos. Blissing beetles. The Ashwalkers, omigod, so original and so scary. And the way these concepts figure into the plot: How do you teach one of these gifted infants to tether its mind to its body? How do you make a promise to a god who cannot remember the past, only the present and future?

I can't believe this book was filed in the Juvenile section of my library. Not even Young Adult, but Juvenile. What on earth earns a book its categories? The story is so sophisticated I was having moments where I couldn't follow the twists and turns, the language is rich and demands you pay attention. It's way more advanced than a lot of "Adult Fiction" texts I've had shoved in front of my face. I dunno, would they have called it adult fiction if there had been a few "fuck"s in the text? Or a sex scene? Is that all that separates adult fiction? How is it done?

Comments

[talimee.livejournal.com]

I fear that it's enough to have a juvenile protagonist and/or fanatstic elements in the story for a book to be immediately banned into the juvenile/young adult section of a book store. Woe to the author who writes "only" children's literature like Astrid Lindgren, Michael Ende and Joanne Rowling.

But this book sounds interesting. I guess I'll have a look at it.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Juvenile protagonist, I suppose I can understand, but, fantastical? I have a harder time understanding that. Aren't there plenty of sf/fantasy books that are "adult"? I wonder if those come down to the age of the protagonist or the amount of cussin'/sex as well.

Makes me want to write juvenile protagonists who cuss a lot.

[effie-chan.livejournal.com]

So, how are the female characters handled in that book? Are they interesting and rounded characters? Because that's become a bit of a criterion for me when reading fantasy books...

Also have you read Malazan: Book of the Fallen? If so, what did you think of this series?

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

The book is ALL about the female characters. There are both important male and female characters, yes, but the females are the ones you'll remember.

I don't know that series but I'll go look it up right now!

[effie-chan.livejournal.com]

In that case I'll be sure to check it out. If you're interested in reading more fantasy with a feminist bent, have a look at Blag Hag. She has a post on her blog asking her readers to recommend books along those lines and I'm currently working my way through the works mentioned in the comment section there. Here's a link:

http://freethoughtblogs.com/blaghag/2011/12/feminist-fantasy/#comments

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Oh, wait, that series does sound familiar! *goes to check Kindle samples*

[a-big-apple.livejournal.com]

Actually, marketing has a lot to do with it. Children's and young adult books are frequently as, if not more, complex and layered than adult books--but books with young protagonists are usually marketed to young people. Libraries and bookstores don't generally decide where that line is (though in some cases they do decide to go against the marketing and shelve things outside of the target audience), it's all dependent on the publisher. Children's books are published by different departments of publishing companies, and usually have larger print and wider spacing. They also typically cost less on the consumer end, though I suspect the production costs are on par with adult books. At any rate, it's a misconception that good children's books are any less stunning than good adult books. The stigma that the industry labors under has always seemed ridiculous to me, when children's lit plays such a profound part in turning kids into the compassionate, reasoning, intelligent people we hope will run the world some day.

Tl;dr is that children's books are awesome. This one sounds very cool, I'll have to look it up!

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Believe me, you don't have to convince me of your tl;dr summary; I'm with ya! This is interesting stuff and though I might have guessed some of it, I had never made the connection about the larger print and wider spacing. I'd noticed it but not really paid attention!

I love what you say about lit shaping children. There's a quote I say all the time from the tv version of Arabian Nights: "Stories teach us how to live."

[a-big-apple.livejournal.com]

The print and spacing is something I noticed over time--children's lit was my higher education and now is my job, so when I pick up an adult book every once in a blue moon, it's suddenly obvious how much smaller and harder to read the print is! Lol. But generally the larger the print/wider the spacing, the younger the target reader.

"Stories teach us how to live." I like that! It's so true.

[cluegirl.livejournal.com]

You have no idea of your power over me. I have just bounced out to Amazon and ordered this book strictly on your say so. After Bridge of Birds, your book rec cred is golden with me!

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Ah ha ha! I have no fears that you will be disappointed. It's remarkable.

[ella-bane.livejournal.com]

Holy crap, that's an amazing first paragraph. I'm off to check it out. Thanks for this rec. :D

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

It's the sort of thing you find you want to read out loud, it's that lovely.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Bah, no ebook version! ...Oh hey, Gullstruck Island is out in ebook, just not the US version. YAY! How annoying is it that the ebook costs almost three dollars more than the paperback version? Grabbing a copy anyway! Thanks for the rec. :)

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Yes! After I read mine from the library I went to Amazon and bought my copy the same way. Thanks for alerting readers that you can get it that way!

[aliciajd]

Amazon has it in Kindle for $7.78, but it's only listed under Gullstruck Island.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Yes, I went and bought mine that way! Odd that the one is there, but not the other. (That's why I made sure to mention both books. Thanks for alerting readers!)

[miscellanny.livejournal.com]

It was me! I am just about to embark on my first re-read. And for the record, everything else so far by the author is thoroughly amazing; Fly-By-Night (which probably has a different name) was my first book of hers and it's unbelievably charming.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

It was you! Thank you so much, I might never have found this otherwise! My favorite reviews are ones like yours--"I cannot put into words why this book is amazing or even what it's about BUT IT'S THE BEST THING EVER JUST GO LOOK." No spoilers or preconceived notions beyond "IT'S WONDERFUL!" :D

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

HURRAH! I've been raving about Frances Hardinge for a while, but you would have taken the rec from someone more recently. EVERYTHING she has written has been a delight from cover to cover -- broad imaginative scope, rich and beautiful writing, male and female characters that are competent and independent, and in some of the books, loving parents who are real people. There are a small group of YA writers at the moment who I think are all brilliant, but I think she is the one who may end up being the Lewis Carroll of our age.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

I read Well Witched (Verdigris Deep) just after, and have Fly by Night and its sequel on my shelf right now! I believe what you say is true, true, true. She is remarkable. Really, TLC/GU was one of the richest books I've read in I-don't-know-when.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I feel as though we should have a little club -- People Who Know How Awesome Frances Hardinge Books Are. Probably need a snappier club name ...

[iibnf.livejournal.com]

http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2012/01/tiny-frog-is-worlds-smallest-v.html

They named a frog after you.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

*dies laughing* I thought this comment was SPAM at first! Awww, it's a cutie! Paedophryne amauensis. They're off by one letter but it's close enough, I will cuddle him and call him George!

[cellia.livejournal.com]

Ooo I am checking this out. Been so long since I got a book rec without a huge caveat attached!

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

*laughs* I can imagine; we're all so opinionated! Nope, no caveats at all for this one.