Friday, November 20, 2009

Shield of Stars

Author: Hilari Bell

Genre: Fantasy Adventure

Series: Shield, Sword, and Crown (book #1)


Summary

(Note: Since a good synopsis of this book already exists at barnesandnoble.com, I copied the following section from that site. My own evaluation of the book starts with the section "Positive Elements.")


Weasel fumbled the cloth aside. It was a shield, steel plate over dark wood, with rotting leather straps. It looked old, and battered, and real.

A former pickpocket, Weasel is the type of boy most people would avoid. Certainly, no one would ever trust him -- except for one man. Justice Holis took Weasel off the streets, gave him a home, a job as his clerk, and a key to his house. Weasel's new life may be a bit boring, but for the first time someone actually cares about him.

Now Justice Holis is the one in trouble. Arrested for treason, he will surely hang unless someone saves him -- and that someone can only be Weasel. But what can one boy do? Not much without help.

So with a mysterious girl named Arisa by his side, Weasel goes in search of the Falcon, the most dangerous bandit in Deorthas, but also the one person who would be able -- and possibly willing -- to stage a prison break.

But Weasel's fate changes when he stumbles upon a shield. Could this be the one said to have been lost for centuries, the one that bestows power on whoever holds it? If so, Weasel, once a lowly pickpocket, could be the most powerful person in the land.


Positive Elements

In spite of his line that he cares about himself first, himself second, and nobody else, Weasel goes to great lengths to free the man who gave him food, shelter, and a second chance at an honest life. He also chooses to rescue Arisa after she is captured by the palace guard, rather than abandoning her to continue his quest to find the Falcon. This decision results in positive consequences for Weasel. Weasel and Arisa have a discussion where she tells him, “…if you see injustice, if you see that things are wrong, you have to care! You have to try to fix them.” Throughout the story, Weasel prefers to use his wits instead of violence to solve problems. When violent acts occur (see summary below), Weasel often wishes there had been another way. At one point, he deters Arisa from killing some sleeping guards.

Spiritual Content

While we aren’t given specific dates, the context of the story seems to take place in the Middle Ages. Worship of the “One God” is becoming more commonplace, especially among the townspeople. “The God be praised” or “the God be thanked” were phrases thought or said by different characters. When Arisa asks Weasel if he is a follower of God, he recalls early memories of cold, stone walls, hard benches, and an old man talking on and on while his mother told him to keep quiet. He tells her that since God didn’t save either of his parents, he doesn’t figure he owes Him anything. At one point when Weasel and Arisa need a safe place to hide, they go to a church that opens its doors each evening to provide food and shelter to the poor and homeless. The church is involved in organizing the rebellion against the current regent, and when Weasel and Arisa meet with the priest (whom Weasel knows through jobs for his master), he is in the process of burning all his evidence and preparing to leave the city lest he get captured like the other conspirators. The priest relates seeing three parallel shooting stars that he believes were a sign from God that He is taking a hand in the current events.

Most of the country-folk secretly worship the old gods, more out of custom or superstition than real faith. For example, farmers post a straw doll (representative of a god called the “Lady”) on a fencepost near their crops to bring her blessing on them. There is a group of people in the country who call themselves “The Hidden.” The townspeople suspect them of kidnapping small children and sacrificing them to the gods, though there had not been a proven case in several hundred years. Arisa uses a deck of arcana cards to tell Weasel his fortune on two occasions. Most of the cards contain an image of one of the old gods and each card delivers a message to the hearer. (see "Conclusion" for further discussion) When Weasel expresses his doubt of the ethics of fortune-telling, Arisa says only those who have “withe” (meaning 'one with the earth or with earth magic') can accurately interpret the cards, and she had been told she has this.

Sexual Content

A drunk patron in a tavern asks Arisa why she is dressed like a boy. While suggesting how she could better dress, he runs a hand over her breasts.

Violent Content

On different occasions, members of the palace guard cuff both Weasel and Arisa in the head. One blow to Weasel knocks him out, and a blow to Arisa leaves her face black and blue. Arisa demonstrates fighting skills that make Weasel wonder who she really is. In self-defense and on different occasions, Arisa administers a groin kick to an adult male, breaks three fingers of an adult male who touches her inappropriately, stomps on and breaks a guard’s foot, and slashes an officer’s arm with a knife. The Falcon kills the unlawful regent with a gunshot to the head. Weasel observes that the bullet hole above the regent’s eye is smaller than he expected, but that the entire back of the regent’s head appeared to be missing.

Drug/Alcohol Content

Weasel and Arisa stay in taverns/inns along their journey. Weasel puts half a bottle of sleeping syrup into a cask of ale in order to drug the guard so he could free Arisa. He is concerned the dose may be too high and fears he might poison the guard (something he does not wish to do).

Crude/Profane Language

The words “arse” and “bastard” are used once. Weasel calls the young prince a “withless piece of sludge.”

Other Negative Elements

Before going to work as a scribe for the judge, Weasel survived as a pickpocket. He uses this "skill" a number of times during his search for the Falcon. Road bandits justify their thievery by putting their bounty toward funding the rebellion against the regent. They contrast what they do with what the royal guard does when they use force to arrest people for not paying their taxes, and then live a life of luxury.

Conclusion

The arcana cards seem to play an important role in the story, as both times Weasel hears his fortune, several pages are devoted to the interpretation of the cards. I didn't know what to make of the fact that the last card turned over for Weasel was the card for the "One God," called "the god of the book." The image on the card is a book representing knowledge, scholarship, and all the good works of man's intellect. Arisa explains that in the past, the "One God" was considered one of the lesser gods because His only interest was the affairs of men. As He became more popular, His priests changed His name from "the narrow god" to the "One God." In my opinion, the author does not make her beliefs about God very clear in the story. I felt confused as to what to think about God by the time I finished the book. There were several passages that made me think she respects God and His church, but then the main character has negative memories of attending church, and he tells his friend he didn't think he owed God anything. At one point of desperation, Weasel does give some thought to learning how to pray, but nothing more is said about this. In addition, God was just one of many other gods on the arcana cards. The message on His card didn't seem to carry any more weight than the messages on the other gods' cards.

While overall this book does contain a positive message of loyalty and friendship, I would not recommend it due to the confusing message it delivers about God.



No comments:

Post a Comment