Ashling by Isobelle Carmody

This review was originally written in 2007.  It was moved from my general blog to my book review blog.

I have now finished re-reading Obernewtyn, The Farseekers, and Ashling and I enjoyed them just as much the fourth or fifth time through. There is so much there. The story is complex, the characters are complex and there is so much to think about. The only problem is that I can't seem to find The Keeping Place - the fourth book. I know I had it, but it isn't where is should be, with the other Carmody books, filed under C (and next to Orson Scott Card). Oh, dear, I hope I don't have to buy it again - it is only available from Australia and that makes it expensive.

I am not going to give a summary of Ashling, since it would only make sense if you have read the first books. Obernewtyn is the one to start with. It is a post-holocaust book, where the world is very slowly recovering from "The Great White", a nuclear event that left much of the world destroyed and radioactive. In this world, mutants are put to death, books and machines are destroyed, and life reverts to a middle ages like agrarian culture - deeply religious and superstitious. But some children are born with powers that make them extraordinary. If those powers are discovered, the children are in extreme danger, as they are considered to be offenses against God (Lud). One such child, Elspeth, is discovered by the woman who runs a remote facility, designed ostensibly to try to heal the children. Elspeth is taken there and discovers that the truth is far more sinister.

When I talk about these books and the fact that the children have special powers, I don't know exactly how to convey them. They are not like the powers of the cartoon characters, such as the mutant ninja warriors. One of the special powers is the power to "beastspeak" - talk to animals. Another is the power of farseeking - finding someone who is far away and sensing what they sense.

I think one of the reasons that these books appeal to me so strongly is that the characters feel (and are) different from most of society. Whereas their powers should gain them respect and allow them to help society, they are instead forced to hide and deny their abilities, or face death.

I also like the complexity of the story - not only do the characters have great depth, but the setting and the background story is very complex. It is like being transported to a world that both is, and is not, similar to ours and living there for the duration of the book.

Highly recommended.