Ravens in Sarah Fine's Servants of Fate book series

I've been listening to the Servants of Fate book series written by the talented Sarah Fine. Since these audiobooks are very well performed, the story truly carries me out to the future it describes: "a broken landscape carved by environmental collapse".  The setting is a crude Boston future, where water and resources are scarce and people have a very tough time surviving. The characters are very well fleshed out and the paranormal romance story is solid. I really enjoyed these first books and I am looking forward to read the last instalment (coming sept 2015, very soon!). 

In this world, there is a family called the Ferrys, who are tasked with carrying the dead to the afterlife: once humans are “Marked” by fate, the powerful Ferrys are called to escort the vulnerable souls to either eternal bliss or unending fire and pain. In this context, you may wonder how they do the whole ferrying: with a scope, a jewel that they carry on their neck and is pretty much an intra dimension portal.  Also, they run a company called Psychopopms Incorporated - which made me smile every time I heard it, as it made sense of the trade the Ferrys have: a Psychopomp is a mediator who escorts newly deceased souls from Earth to the afterlife.

What has caught the most my attention on this series is the cultural depictions of the ravens. The scope/jewel has one carved. All the Ferrys have a tattoo of one on their back, suffused with magic and made through a ritual that marks them as a member of this tradition. I imagine how pretty they must be and how they must look!

These are some cool raven tattoos I found online:

Both from: http://tattooartclub.com/men-tattoos/cool-examples-of-raven-tattoo-designs/

I have always wondered about ravens, its symbolism as a mediator animal between life and death. The anthropologist Levi-Strauss describes that as a carrion bird, ravens became associated with the dead and with lost souls. It is strange though, that since ravens are not present in my geographical location, they have some historical/literary/media traditions that even I feel familiar with. 

One clear example of how I've been exposed to these cultural depictions is in Edgar Allan Poe's poem: The Raven, here this animal is a messenger of a 'Nevermore' nature, an ever-present being that delivers sadness. 

"Tenniel-TheRaven" by John Tenniel - lib.udel.edu. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tenniel-TheRaven.jpg#/media/File:Tenniel-TheRaven.jpg

When I lived in Vancouver I was exposed to a certain degree to the Pacific northwest coast native art. Particularly, Bill Reid's sculpture Raven and the First Men, located at the UBC Museum of Anthropology (I went to do grad school there, so I saw it with frequency), this was also an image that was printed in the $20 Canadian bank note (It has since changed to a new note without the raven).  

It is beautiful, and so detailed!

From: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Raven-and-the-first-men.jpg

Recently, we have the Game of Thrones always quick messengers of good and bad news... send a raven is ever present in these books.    

From: http://ow.ly/QoQxT

I really enjoy finding in the books I read cultural depictions and allusions of historical and mythological nature.  

That time a book made me uncomfortable

Sins & Needles by Karina Halle
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Beware, this is more of a personal reflection than a review

Drug cartels suck.
The exotification of the drug cartel culture sucks.

Living in a country tainted by this socio-political-economic issue has taught me a lot about this reality, and guess what, it sucks.

So what does this relate to my opinion about Karina Halle's book?

EVERYTHING

Literature is a excellent communication medium. An author's ability to describe what they think and imagine to a wide audience is a trait I admire. I find it fascinating that within stories you're able to both let your heart and mind fly. You can learn new things, cry, rile up, forget, remember... Etc. I've mentioned before that reading is simultaneously a space and place. However, books are also mediums for (re) production of representations of society. I'm a trained anthropologist, thus my brain is usually in observe-analyze-question mode.
Halle's book -and so far what I've noticed about
The Artist Trilogy- touches the themes of drug lords and all the socio-cultural issues that is surrounds in a too cliché-romantized way. For example, Javier is this dark God just because he is sexy and dangerous. This is not okay. This drug cartel reality is definitely horrible and sad. I am not advocating for denying it's existence, quite the contrary, I view the role of authors feeding our brains with lots of real life issues. I read a lot about bullying, inequality, racism and violence, both in my fiction reads and my non-literary life. I embrace the need to highlight how these are part of or society and I am a strong believer that these issues must be addressed; either by studying them, creating strategies to find solutions or alternatives... advocating for change or simply WRITING about them, making an issue known is a very important step. But here is exactly why I feel that this series does not contribute to any of the above scenarios for change, it simply stereotypes them in a fantasizing way. I've witnessed the horrible effects, the violence produced by drug cartels and its culture. I have seen the aftermath of bombings (cars, airplanes and buildings). So much to the point these horrific events have been naturalized in my surroundings, making it an everyday life experience of my friends, family and people in my country.

It bothers me to read about Javier and how simple Ellie points out his murderous ways. I don't know how else could it be written, but I felt uncomfortable reading this book. I skimmed the prequel: On Every Street and I read the blurb of the sequels. By then I had enough.

This is why my 2 star rating does not reflect the literary prowess of the author, jut the plot of this book and its development. I am a Karina Halle fan. I really enjoyed the book Donners of the Dead and I am happily waiting (or crying because it will end) for the final book of the awesome  Experiment in Terror series.

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body ink - book inspired

Mhhh I'm getting that ink bug again.... What better thing to carry than your own personal book!

A letter for Rule

Rule by Jay Crownover

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Dear Rule,

I was in your head for some time these last few days. I have to admit, you taught me stuff, you gave me hot sexy images and you made me wonder a lot about relationships. You... you... tattooed, pierced up guy... *sigh*
What a complex book character you are.
I was worried about many things from the beginning of our acquaintance. Specially the predictability of your actions/thoughts. However, the cleverness and sincerity of your choices and emotions changed my mind.
I am sorry for your losses.
I am happy for your eagerness and willingness to try.
I am awed about your capability to transform your views of sex and love. I consider very high on my list of things to admire about you: how much you respect Shaw, her decisions and uniqueness.
Let me emphasize, dear Rule, in how much I was impressed with the way you decided to take up this thing Shaw and you had, and infused it with so much respect, care and work; even though you were unexperienced in relationships. And your previous examples were not my cup of tea.

I had some good moments using Google to find out about piercings; specially searching a Jacob's ladder and a apadravya. Wow. No words. Yup, I was too shy to admit that I was curious. Thanks for clarifying some of this stuff.

Please tell Shaw it was also a pleasure to meet her. Tell her she made me reflect a bit on my own way of perceiving the world; specially her acceptance in others. She has a handful when faced pleasing the ones around her instead of herself, however I admire her for trying. I wish I could have her gift of understanding events and the ability to focus on the real causes behind them. She is very smart and strong. I appreciate to see her being a very focused woman with high esteem who is willing to fight for what she wants and who she wants.

So, dear Rule, this was a good time we had together. I really hope you're doing great in your tattoo shop, that you and Shaw are still keeping up with all that hot fun sex and that your hair colour matches your blue eyes.

Please know that I'll keep you guys close to my heart and I can't wait to hear about Jet and Rome's life.

Sincerely,

Lina

P.S. can we schedule and appointment for a tattoo soon? I'll be cool with anything except Casper the ghost. I know it's special for you!


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Behold: my new tattoo

It's gorgeous

A beautiful tattoo

On yours truly! Here is a sneak peak pic ;)

Body Ink

Tattoo designs :)