Michael’s Comments (group member since Sep 06, 2012)

Michael’s comments from the ELEVEN READER'S CLUB group.

1) Poignant line: "Not that. Not that. He wanted to be home. Try it all again, make better choices..."

2) Juniper - An evergreen shrub or tree of the cypress family that bears aromatic berrylike cones
"Hissed again, at bare feet, bare legs, bare thighs beneath the calf-length shift, and spiny junipers, but stopped short of cursing the bush"

Metamorphosis- A change of the form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one, by natural or supernatural means.
"She stretched over the lake bottom, the soft silt, the heavy wood, tree and boat undergoing slow metamorphosis"

Earthbound - Attached or restricted to the earth
"Stupid earthbound creature, Ghatai snarled in her mind"

3) Personification - "'Atalissa!' they cried, and arrows hissed"

Imagery - "Archers, former sisters, one heavily pregnant, swung to the sides and took aim."

4) Obviously with this being the last part of the book, the climax finally comes into play, and all the plots connected. I enjoyed this part the most, as most of the action and plot movement happens in this part of the book. I was though, a little disappointed with the ending, as it was more anti-climatic than anything.

1) Poignant statement
"Once he was lake-god and man and devil in one, he would draw the others to him as fish are drawn in a net, and make them his"

2) Fleeting - Lasting for a very short time
"Whoever it was, divination only rarely pinned them down, and then briefly, almost as briefly as those fleeting touches of the goddess"

Rebuked - Express sharp disapproval or criticism of (someone) because of their behavior or actions
"but she looked more smug than rebuked, as though she thought she'd scored a point in some game"

Concealment - Keep from sight, hide
"Her right course lay in action and openness, not in waiting and concealment"

3) Imagery - "His eyes weren't green, but mottled light brown flecked green and yellow, like sunlight on a pebbled stream in the mountains"

Simile - "Hot though, not brook-water cool, burning like the glare on the water, watching her."

4) This section was very entertaining, as the main part of the plot finally begins to blossom, through one of the antagonists close companions working their way into kidnapping the main character.

1) Poignant statement
"She screamed at the wrenching in her leg and Tsuzas dragged her more securely into his embrace"

2) Feeble - Lacking physical strength
"But her own body was in the way and she only flailed feebly as a child, trying to strike him again"

Impolitic - Not judicious; unwise
"It might be impolitic. I didn't realize we were at war with Narvabarkash"

Comprehensible - Understandable
"Her voice echoed from the roof and the walls, layered itself, became barely comprehensible; music, or mad muttering."

3) Personification - "Dark water untroubled by any wind but still shivering, rippling."

Onomatopoeia - "With a HISS of indrawn breath"

4) I enjoyed some parts of this section because they actually had some comedic element in them, however, not much happens in this section, and I felt that the main plot of the story moved very slowly.

1) Strong/Poignant statement
"The voice, if it was a voice, was almost affectionate but at the same time mocking. There was a breath on his ear, on the nape of his neck, someone there, a cool hand cupping the side of his face"

2) Fabled - Mythical, imaginary
"Stone ran forever, under desert and forest and river and the fabled ocean"

Incarnate - Embodied in flesh; in human form
"The child is not a creature with two souls as you have become. She is the goddess incarnate."

Accumulation - The acquisition or gradual gathering of something
"Buried under the floor of his forge like some talisman, and would not hand it out to be taken with the rest of their slow accumulation of weapons to the hidden sisters in the villages"

3) Imagery - "He cut the palm of his hand, not deeply, but enough for the blood to well up quickly, clenched that hand around his talisman-stone and helpd it out to watch the gleaming drops spatter onto the dusty hilltop."

Simile - "The camel rose like a small, ungainly mountain"

4) During this portion of the book, I found the plot to start picking up, as something actually happens, and the main character falls deathly ill. Overall, I enjoyed this section.

1) Poignant statement:
"He lies" Otokas growled. "He'll eat her alive"

2) Three new words:
Paramount - more important than anything else
"Tamghiz had made the Green Banners the paramount clan on the Great Grass, and made the shaman's cult of the beat he followed the paramount faith over all the gods of the hills and the goddesses of the waters"
Mortality - The state of being subject to death
"He had learned patience humans could not imagine, and if that was the price demanded by her mortality, he would pay it."
Affinity - A spontaneous or natural liking or sympathy for someone or something
"He had always, even when he was mere mortal human wizard, had an affinity for the skies, an understanding of the heavenly dance."
3) Two examples of literary/rhetorical devices:
Imagery : "Wizards, even the least, carried the scent of magic with them: earthy, cool, damp, like water on stone, spiced with the tang of fire and frost."

Simile : "Gods and Godesses simply...lost interest, like children bored of playing house, echoing their parents' strength."

4) Overall, I was disappointed at the pace of the book in the first part, it moved very slowly in my opinion.

Michael Li
The book that I have chosen to read is “Blackdog” by K.V Johansen. When choosing my book, I generally enjoy any type of genre. “Blackdog” by K.V Johansen is a fantasy novel. The idea of reading this novel came to me when I first read the synopsis. I found this novel even more interesting when I read some reviews and an excerpt of the actual novel online. The style of the authors writing was interesting, and managed to keep me wanting more once I finished the excerpt. The style of writing was not the only thing that convinced me to read this book; it was also the setting of the book. “Blackdog” is set in a secondary world, where gods and goddesses walk on hills and rise from rivers, a goddess is reborn as a mortal female child, her guardian known as Otokas is also reborn, but in the form of a dog. I was also attracted to this book because of the influence of magic and Tibetan-style religion within the book and the excerpt.
It was not the author at first who piqued my interest for this book, but once I researched the book and the author a little more, I decided that I would read this book. K.V. Johansen in 2012 has received honorable mention for The Black Box in the Ontario Literature Association Best Bets for 2011. She writes for several age groups, ranging from children to adults. Due to the excerpt and the author’s writing style, I was convinced to read the book “Blackdog” by K.V. Johansen.