Nicole's Travel Guide to Canada: Vulcan & The Calgary Zoo

The last time I wrote about my time in Alberta, I gushed about the history, specifically the First Nations history of the southern parts of the province. Writing-on-Stone isn’t the only place like that, and certainly not the last time I’ll write about one either, but I like to sprinkle these travel guides with a variety of places. I want people to get a full picture of the places I’ve been, so I try and give you as many genres as possible. There are times where you just want to go somewhere simple and fun, which is why I’m here to suggest some options. ( The ones for today, staying in southern Alberta of course, are the town of Vulcan and the Calgary Zoo. )

Battered

The pain travels up
Hurting me so,
Never have I felt
So damn low.
The life I had
Went flashing by,
And I think in sorrow
“All this for a guy”.
On the floor
And bleeding out,
Yet he still kicks
Screams and shouts.
So I’m the victim
So I’m the prey,
And God only knows
He’ll kill me someday.
But I won’t leave
He’ll only chase me down,
No matter where I go
No matter the village, the city, the town.
I want to die
And not face this anymore,
Because I’m a woman
Broken, battered and tore.

Book Review: Chosen- PC & Kristen Cast

It’s been awhile since I’ve brought you back to The House of Night (both the series and the main setting inside said series). It’s been awhile since I went with the teen version of vampires, so I thought it might just be the time to come back to both. That’s why I’m continuing with the series. With all that in mind, I present you with a review of Chosen, book three in PC and Kristen Cast’s The House of Night series.

When we last left the series, Zoey (super almost-vampire extraordinaire) had just found out that the high priestess Neferet is bringing back dead fledglings and making them into monsters for unknown reasons. This included Stevie Ray, Zoey’s best friend. The book deals with Zoey trying to find a way to stop Stevie Ray and the others like her from losing themselves. Since she can’t let anyone else know about it, it mean keeping secrets from everyone, even as it chips away at the trust everyone has in her. Of course, it all explodes in spectacular fashion by the end.

I’ll be honest- I didn’t really like this book. It rates as an ‘okay’ 2/5 stars for me, but since I still want to review the rest of the series, I had to cover this one. It’s just a book that could also be titled ‘Zoey Makes the Worst Decision Every Time’ and that’s frustrating. It’s painful to read, because it’s hard to see the main character acting so stupidly. This is not a book with good characters (most of them are nothing but a cliché), but it’s a fairly solid one when it comes to plot (minus to ridiculous romance plotlines(s)). It gets the overall story going, setting up the Neferet vs. Zoey storyline nicely, and gives us a glimpse of just what’s at stake on a big picture level. That is important for any ongoing series. It might not be the best in the series, but it’s still a series worth reading.

Book Review: The White Queen- Philippa Gregory

Given how often I review a book about them, I wouldn't be surprised if you thought I had the opinion that the Tudors were the most interesting historical family out there. While I wouldn't necessarily disagree with that, I would like to point out there are many others, especially in British history. One of those was the Plantagenets, which is directly before and led to the Tudor line. Of course, when I saw it was my favourite historical fiction author who was writing a series about them, I was all over that.

In order to understand The White Queen, you need to at least catch up on the basics of the War of the Roses. Two royal families -Lancaster and York- were fighting over the English throne. There's a lot to go into, but what's most important to this book is Elizabeth of Lancaster, for she's the main character. It begins with one of her defining moments- recently widowed, knowing her side is going to lose, she sets up a 'chance' meeting with the York king, Edward IV to ask for leniency for her family. Edward is impressed with her bravery, and it goes further than that. Edward falls in love and they marry in secret. Surprising no one, that comes back to haunt them. When the Yorks win, Elizabeth becomes Queen, a title she needs to keep fighting for when people from all sides questions its legitimacy. By the end, with Edward dead and her basically trapped under sanctuary in a church, we see her suffer through what has become one of the major mysteries of English history- what happened to her sons, the princes in the tower?

As always, Gregory delivers on an amazing look at the politics that shaped the day. She gives us a character that is trapped in those politics, and yet is doing everything to not only survive, but come out on top. Elizabeth, for all her success and failures, is still able to play the game beautifully. The politicking, surrounded by the drama and romance, makes this a great story. The Tudors are great, but the Plantagenets are just as dramatic and intriguing. They created just as much of an uproar and shaped just as many powerful players. I highly suggest looking into them, and The White Queen is a great, entertaining starting point.

Book Review: Shogun- James Clavell

I know I mentioned, way back when I reviewed Arthur Golden’s “Memoirs of a Geisha,” that prior to reading, I had very little knowledge about that aspect of Japanese culture. When it came to Japanese early modern history, the same thing happened with James Clavell’s “Shogun.” I had kind of known that samurai were important and had a vague idea what a Shogun actually was, but that was about it. Post-Shogun, while I can’t claim to be an expert on that era of Japanese history, I do know a significant amount more than I did going in.

Japan during this time is feudal, and is in a perilous condition. There are internal dynastic problems, but most of all, is the coming of westerners into the very (very) inward looking Japan. The story is told from the point of view of John Blackthorne, a sailor on the first English ship to ever land in Japan (so far, it’s only the Portuguese who have had contact). Blackthorne ends up being shipwrecked, taken prisoner and eventually gets tangled up in a bid for power for the position of Shogun, the warrior/military ruler who controlled Japan. The way that Blackthorne gets involved in this struggle is far too varied, complicated and would take far too much space to explain here. Suffice to say, they make for an interesting plot.

It is the look into feudal Japanese culture that is the major interest in “Shogun.” There are so many aspects of Japanese culture that are explained- societal, political, cultural and economics- and does so in great detail. This book shows the complicated power structure in Japan, the samurai way of life and even important cultural niceties, such as the tea ceremony. The most interesting part is that it’s (for the most part) told from Blackthrone’s perspective. Like the reader, he’s a foreigner being introduced to these things for the first time.

A second aspect that of the book that is absolutely fascinating is the social struggle that takes place between the traditional Japanese ways versus the new western ideas being brought in. This struggle shows in many ways, including the attempts of the Jesuit priests to establish Catholicism in a land that has been dominated by Shinto and Buddhism for centuries. The best way that the general tradition versus new is shown in the relationship that develops between Blackthorne and Lady Mariko, a highborn Japanese samurai Lady (a relationship that any romance fan will completely enjoy).

“Shogun” is long and dense, and it took even me a fair amount of time to read. The sheer amount of history and culture and Clavell manages to pack into this book, not to mention the intrigue and extremely well written characters, made all the time spent reading it time well spent.