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Intriguing scenario

31/8/2018

K’yra – Hunting for Unity
by K W Austin

A fantasy that will stay with me after the storylines of other novels are forgotten.
The journey begins in London when a young woman drives home from work at night, crashes her car, and wakes up in another dimension or time (it is explained further on) minus her memory.
In this much-changed world, known as K’yra, she discovers two groups of inhabitants.
Skeraans are human though there are superficial differences between them and Kiya, as the girl becomes known there. Skeraans live in villages relatable to past tribal hunter-gatherer societies of Earth – low on technology, high on superstition.
Kehans are huge bearcats that can talk, their highly-developed intelligence allowing them to understand philosophy and science, but it is theoretical learning as their paws don’t allow practical application of their knowledge.
Skeraans and Kehans are enemies. However, there is a more dreaded foe and threat that they share.
The central theme is can Kiya, the ex-Londoner, bring the two together, and is this the reason she has been transported to this alien existence?
The dislocation of the two worlds and Kiya’s initial loss of memory of the former complicate the telling of the story. Not all traps are avoided and in places more explanation would help fill gaps, but the intrigue of the overall scenario persuades one to skim over problem areas and concentrate on the action.
The age of the main character suggests the book is intended mainly for a YA readership but it should have appeal to some older fans of fantasy also. The prose is easy to read.
Visually it’s an attractive book, with clear print on good quality paper, though skimpy gutters make it more suited for sitting up rather than in-bed reading.
The story is complete in that there is resolution, but at the end it is clear that a follow-up is intended.

Review by Alderaan Hoth

Title: K’yra – Hunting for Unity
Author: K W Austin
Publisher: Fraser Books
ISBN:9780994136039
RRP: $25
Available: http://www.nationwidebooks.co.nz/product/kyra-hunting-for-unity

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Complex subject

14/8/2018

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Cry the Wounded Land: Conversations About Maori, Pakeha and the Land
by Mark Holloway

First up, I have to declare that I am not a practicing Christian so will inevitably view this book in a different way to those who are strongly engaged with Christianity.
I became interested in the book because I wanted to explore another perspective on this country’s troubled race relations. Conversations with God on colonization was definitely an alternative view. It reminded me of how difficult it is to articulate the complexity of cultural interaction from first encounter to the present time. Add more recent immigrants and the complexity intensifies.
Mark Holloway, as author, has structured the book in an interesting way. The structure allows a supposed ill-informed protagonist to question the big questions of the day with an All-Knowing Divine Being. This removes responsibility for attitudes expressed by the protagonist. And because God is All-Knowing it also validates God’s explanations.
The structure reminded me of metaphysical poetry where a lover addresses an absent loved one. The addressee is elevated to a state of perfection and the one doing the addressing to a state of subservience.
By using this as a device the writer separates the two key speakers into an All Knowing (God) and a Not Knowing (mortal) narrator.
Occasionally I found myself thinking that the mortal voice sounded like the God voice. This gave the impression that the human voice was, in fact, coming to his own conclusions. Not a bad thing, I dare to suggest. However, this contrivance reminded me that the God voice and the human voice were, in fact, authored by the same writer.
On other occasions, the human voice sounded apologetic and almost child-like.
For example: ‘But God, when Pākehā see this conversation they will say that I have made it up because…(142). In this instance they are discussing the gnarly problem of Maori crime statistics.
On other occasions God’s answers sometimes sound like a parent chiding a child.
An example of this is: ‘Who on earth are you whites to think that a brown mind cannot think and dream like yours?’ (146)
My overall reaction to this book was a sense that more could have been done to delve beyond the superficial and to explore in greater depth the complexities behind New Zealand’s colonization story. However, as a conversation between an inferior and a superior being I expect that there is little opportunity to go deeper. After all, God’s answers are final and ultimately not to be questioned.

Review by Suraya Dewing

Title: Cry the Wounded Land: Conversations About Maori, Pakeha and the Land
Author: Mark Holloway
Publisher: Freedom Assignment
ISBN: 9780473398156
RRP: $19.99
Available: bookshops

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Whimsical anecdotes

7/8/2018

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Globetrotting on a Shoestring
by Lynley Smith

This is a small book of only 120 pages, written in the format of short whimsical anecdotes drawn from the author’s experiences while travelling the world.
Lynley was an ESOL teacher and journalist who, late in life, decided to research the life of a distant relative, Jane Haining, a Scottish woman who was named a British Hero of the Holocaust. She was sent to Auschwitz for trying to protect the Jewish students at a school in Hungary where she was matron, and there she died.
The author’s travels on this journey took her to Scotland, Poland, Hungary, while later adventures saw her in Israel, China, USA, Australia, Africa and Columbia.
She always tried to travel using the cheapest fare available and chose to stay at the cheapest hostel possible, hence the title of the book. It is not a ‘how to’ book, but by reading some of the anecdotes the reader can perhaps avoid some of the difficulties she encountered.
It is an easily read, friendly book. This impression is enhanced by the non-standard type font chosen, which gives the impression that is a book of personal adventures, not a formal travel guide. The illustrations take the form of caricatures, and also add to the intimate feel of the book. Some may not appreciate these things, but I think they enhanced the atmosphere of the stories.
For me, the highlights were her visit to Auschwitz, which wrenched her soul, and her visit to Kenya where she was able to spend time with a woman who she had sponsored as a child, and who had now grown into adulthood with her own husband and family. The family lived in absolute poverty, but were still gracious enough to extend enormous hospitality to her.
Her descriptions of meals in China were very entertaining, especially the ones where she ate insects.
Lynley had a daughter living in Columbia and her description of the underlying drug culture she found there is very graphic.
There is a constant thread throughout the book of being guided and protected by her Christian Faith, many times she was faced with difficulties, but she was always confident that she would be aided to overcome them, and she invariably was.
There are two issues that need addressing if the book is ever reprinted, her use of the term ‘Maori Wars’ is no longer acceptable; better terminology would be ‘New Zealand Wars’, or ‘Land Wars’. The second is that the plural of Maori is Maori, not Maoris. It was strange that an experienced journalist and teacher would use these terms, and for me they jarred.
Overall it is a good, if somewhat light read which I found quite entertaining.

Review by Harold Bernard

Title: Globetrotting on a Shoestring
Author:Lynley Smith
Publisher: Wild Side Publishing
ISBN: 9780473429775
RRP: $24.99
Available: bookshops

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Intriguing scenario

Complex subject

Whimsical anecdotes

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