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Lionel Davoust

Forfatter af Dieux Sauvages 1 - La Messagère du Ciel

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Image credit: By Damdamdidilolo - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49263226

Værker af Lionel Davoust

Associated Works

World without End (1994) — Oversætter, nogle udgaver520 eksemplarer
Sea without a Shore (1996) — Oversætter, nogle udgaver389 eksemplarer
Interfictions 2: An Anthology of Interstitial Writing (2009) — Forfatter — 98 eksemplarer

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'L'impassible armada' (rough translation: The heartless armada, or in this case, the "cold" armada) is a novella that was previously published in the collection [book:L'importance de ton regard|17973464]. Éditions 1115, speicalised in compact, pocket-sized publications, decided to republish it in an improved version. One of the other short stories, 'LÎle close', was previously republished in the SF-anthology Utopiales 2017 (see my review rel="nofollow" target="_top">here).

In 'L'Impassible armada', a story told from a first person perspective and focusing on only a few characters (the main one and his closest companions), a fleet is sailing up north, caught in the thick ice of the arctic region. Its mariners haven't seen any sunlight for a long time and this has its consequences. A lack of natural light, vitamin D, etc. is detrimental to one's health, mentally and physically. Not to mention the harsh conditions up north and not always having the right and healthy nutrition, which in turn has its effects as well.

However, that's not the only problem: there are pirates and the icy sea, or rather, ocean, has a vile way of "freezing" the sailors'/mariners' minds. Failure to resist the call can lead to sad, depressing consequences. Not to mention that these "frozen" men - they're all men, no women in sight - end up expressing themselves in a cold, harsh way about their comrades. As is said from a drunk person telling the truth, so it is with the "cold" mariners before they decide to meet their doom (They jump over the ship's rails, into the cold, dark water to end their suffering.).

Strangely enough, not everyone is touched by the ocean's call, or maybe some have the mental stability to withstand the call. Adding to the fleet's misery is the threat of pirates, who seem to have imprisoned/caught an important lady. And we all know when several men (of low/ordinary descent, it must be added) fight for the same woman (of high descent; contrast is key here)..., as Mr Davoust inserted with a wink. Despite the misery, the desired result doesn't turn out as desired, or at least not entirely.

The situation is so bad on one ship that the chaplain had to take over command, by his own decision, of course. But ultimately, a new leader had to be chosen, despite the group having been largely decimated. Who else but the main character, the so-called prier?

Now, what makes this version "improved", as I mentioned above? This newest edition contains handwritten notes/letters, dated (like in a diary; maybe they are diary entries, indeed) to indicate how long these mariners have been sailing up north. The cursive writing isn't always easily readable, I found, but that's one of the downsides of handwritten text. On the other hand, it gives the story that lively touch, not in the least when the more letters there are, the more ink stains and the more corrections each letter contains, as yes, in the end, something's got to give.

To round off, this is another recommended story by Lionel Davoust. Yes, even if it's not his best and has a few flaws. This is also one of his oldest stories, if I'm not mistaken, and the past few years, the man has really improved his writing. I'll join a few other readers who wrote (elsewhere on the WWW) that the story asks for more filling to turn it into a more complete/elaborate story. The various names (characters, ships, ...) are just there, but what's the real context here for those mariners sailing up north, waging war with pirates, ...?

Then again, maybe this story's purpose was philosophical/sociological/anthropological? How people (and mainly men, though perhaps the same can be said about women) behave when deprived of every comfort and living in each other's pockets (so to speak; what's the proper idiom/expression here?).

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Previously read:

* Le plateau des chimères (here)
* Une forme de démence (here and here)
* L'Île close (here)
* Les Questions dangereues (here)
* Port d'âmes (here)
* Contes hybrides (here)

To be read:

* La route de la conquête et autres récits (same world as 'Port d'âmes')… (mere)
 
Markeret
TechThing | Feb 28, 2022 |
'Les Questions dangereues' (translated: The Dangerous Questions) is a little story by the French author [a:Lionel Davoust|2820698|Lionel Davoust|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. It was previously published in 2011. This re-edition has been enhanced with a lengthy interview with the man, about his books, his take on literature, his inspirations, his characters, his influences overall, his work as translator, and more, including - obviously - some background info on this short-story.

As you can gather from the cover, the story is to some extent based on [b:Les Trois Mousquetaires|956321|Les Trois Mousquetaires|Alexandre Dumas|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1541569925s/956321.jpg|1263212] by [a:Alexandre Dumas|4785|Alexandre Dumas|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1279049943p2/4785.jpg]. This book, which isn't among the favourites of Lionel Davoust, as you can read in the interview - has been on my TBR-pile for quite some time and I will come around to reading it.. some day. Not only does the story take place in roughly the same period - in this case 1637 -, but Mr Davoust also invested a lot of effort in adapting his writing style. As English can be lush, stylish and eloquent, so can French.

The language used and applied here, the vocabulary, the grammar, ... quite simply a lust for the eye and mind. I often criticise the French language for being too long-winded, too wordy - why use 30 words to say something, when you can use 10? (in a manner of speaking) -, but here I genuinely had an exquisite time reading this story. Should you want a comparison, then I think that [b:The White Company|93063|The White Company|Arthur Conan Doyle|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328864559s/93063.jpg|785960] (by [a:Arthur Conan Doyle|2448|Arthur Conan Doyle|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1495008883p2/2448.jpg]; reviewed here) and [b:Ivanhoe|15994726|Ivanhoe|Walter Scott|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1405869464s/15994726.jpg|1039021] (by [a:Walter Scott|4345|Walter Scott|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1204065181p2/4345.jpg]; on my TBR-pile) are fine examples, at least in the English language.

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The story itself revolves around the death of the personal doctor (Jean Lacanne) of her Majesty the Queen, Léonie Lebensfreude de Légatine-Labarre, at the funeral of Sigismond Frédéric. King Louis-Charles XXVI had no interest whatsoever to leave the premises.

Mancequetaire (a musketeer fighting with [the divine power of] words) Thésard de la Meulière decides to investigate to find out whodunit. The assassin manages to escape, leaving no traces, except for an extract of a poem. Thésard hides this evidence, reveals it only much later to Batz d'Arctangente. And so the detective story begins.

No swords, only words to defeat an opponent or obtain important information with regards to the events. Weapon of choice: a libram, a book of Questions and Answers. That's how one engages in a duel. Words are more powerful than weapons, a saying which more than applies here.

Politics also play a role, England vs France, not only through the character of Fall Leadenweather, who translated the work of François-René de Spline, 'Mémoires d'Hécatombe', of which a batch was due for shipment to England. A hecatombe is not only a sort of offer that was practised in old Ancient Greece, but also a term for a massive extinction with regards to biodiversity. This is also part of the interview in this re-edition.

And so, it comes to a fight to the death, when de Spline and de Meulière fight one another, only with unequal weapons. de Spline also has a sword, with which he stabs his translator, Fall Leadenweather. Luckily, she isn't badly hurt, and in the end, she can escape with Thésard, back to the hotel of Batz d'Arctangente. Later, the Queen receives both Fall and Thésard at her château.

Oh yes, de Spline perishes, as does his work, by the very cloud-like demon he summoned to annihilate Thésard de la Meulière. England and the rest of the world are saved from his life-threatening work, which would have given its readers neurasthenia, if I understood it all correctly.
It would not be a good story, if it didn't end well, of course, even if there is plenty of room for a sequel or bigger story.

Lionel Davoust used his imagination to play with words and names, of course. Libram is a neologism, Latin meets World of Warcraft. The real word is either Liber or Librum. Names: Sigmund Freud, Charles de Batz de Castemore (aka d'Artagnan), François-René de Chateaubriand (and his work: 'Memoires d'Outre-tombe'), Fall Leadenweather (a play on words about the English weather), Jacques Lacan, ... Just read the interview. ;-) However, it's nice to have such little, historic titbits in a story.

To keep it short, despite this lengthy review about a short-story: Very much recommended, not only if you do or don't like 'The Three Musketeers' - maybe this story can help you appreciate Dumas's work -, but also if you love languages, if you love the French language, if you love Lionel Davoust, or for any other reason.

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I was sent this book by Éditions ActuSF for review. Many thanks to them for the trust.

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Other Davoust stories on my TBR-list:
* [b:Port d'âmes|27073267|Port d'âmes|Lionel Davoust|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1444481289s/27073267.jpg|47115464]
* 'L'Île close' in [b:Utopiales 2017|36427232|Utopiales 2017|Dominique Douay|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1508229613s/36427232.jpg|58126781]
… (mere)
 
Markeret
TechThing | Jan 22, 2021 |
Having read only some short-stories by Mr Davoust's hand, which were published in [b:Fées et Automates - Anthologie des Imaginales 2016|29848394|Fées et Automates - Anthologie des Imaginales 2016|Jean-Claude Vantroyen|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1460013912s/29848394.jpg|50209665] (2016; see my review here) and [b:Destinations - Anthologie des Imaginales 2017|35004321|Destinations - Anthologie des Imaginales 2017|Stéphanie Nicot|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1493381757s/35004321.jpg|56282674] (2017; see my review here), and the republished and enhanced version of [b:Les Questions dangereuses|43231975|Les Questions dangereuses|Lionel Davoust|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1544791608s/43231975.jpg|61513229] (2018; see my review here), I found it time to finally read one of his novels.

As his most current work is a series (of which part 3 will very soon see the light of day), I wanted a stand-alone novel. Port d'âmes (Haven of Souls, roughly translated) was my only option.

It's a story in which corruption and political power are central, next to friendship, love, fighting for your beliefs, ... It's also a story about growing up, finding your way in life, ...

The events take place a long time ago, a steampunk-setting, a (neo-)victorian setting, I would say, judging by the descriptions of the world, the characters' clothes, and so on.

Rhuys ap Kaledán (this reminds me of the Italian metal band Kaledon, one of my favourite bands) is the son of Brevel ap Kaledán, a baron who seems to have accumulated a lot of debt towards Armitán Gheze, a wealthy entrepreneur with eyes and ears across the country, in a manner of speaking. To pay off the debt, Brevel has no other option than to send his son, Rhuys (then 8 years old, if I'm not mistaken), on a ship and works his a** off for ten years. After this period, Rhuys would be a free man, Mr Gheze promised. This sort of debt repayment reminds me of [a:Andreas Eschbach|40381|Andreas Eschbach|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1200336594p2/40381.jpg]'s excellent [b:Die Haarteppichknüpfer|1864677|Die Haarteppichknüpfer|Andreas Eschbach|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1189407892s/1864677.jpg|622728] (English version: [b:The Carpet Makers|171125|The Carpet Makers|Andreas Eschbach|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1376431574s/171125.jpg|622728]), which I reviewed back in 2012.

And so it begins. Much spoiling coming up.
After his experience at sea, having learned a lot and worked hard, Rhuys is now free to seek new endeavours... in Aniagrad, a city where everything can be traded, even your memories. Aniagrad is a place where one must be careful, for deception and danger lurk around every corner. One of his shipmates, a veteran and long-time visitor of the city of Aniagrad, shows him around a little, including the Market. There, the less fortunate (or rather, poor) people have set up their tents and booths to sell their creations, souvenirs, and anything that can be sold, no matter how qualitative.

When Rhuys meets a woman who offers him a deal, he decides to take his chance and try this kind of "trade". She sells her own memories in return for a large sum of money per session. It doesn't take long for Rhuys to become a regular client and even have feelings for this woman, even if he doesn't even know her. It won't be the last time that Rhuys's doings cause some frustrations.

Because that's, at least for me, the main problem with this book: the character of Rhuys ap Kaledán. He's very young when he has to bust his a** off to repay his father's debt towards Armitán Gheze, who seeks to destroy, or rather, take over the House of Kaledán, including its estates, its name, its influence, everything. Rhuys won't have any of this, even vows to restore his House's name and integrity. The kid has a lot of imagination to suddenly set all this as a goal. He's naive in his decisions and actions. One example being falling in love with a woman selling her soul (pieces of memory) for money. Another is trying to restore his House (Kaledán) without even knowing what it takes to do this, since he was taken away at a too young age.

How does Rhuys survive in Aniagrad? He has some money left over from his work on the ship, and as luck is on his side, despite Gheze's people chasing him whenever they can, he/Rhuys meets up with Edelcar Menziel, also an entrepreneur and an old friend of Rhuys's father. He made sure that, as House Kaledán was ceasing to exist, a small fortune could be stored away at the one bank in Aniagrad. This money would then be transferred to Rhuys.

However, the idea was that Rhuys would invest a portion of the money in Menziel's project: converting a specific substance/plant/dug (the process being very ancient, yet forgotten as time passed by) to create magical machines. All this is not really a secret, but Menziel and the other investors and participants are careful with their actions and meetings. The city's governing power has eyes and ears in every corner.

Aniagrad is a city of freedom, everyone can undertake business, but there are unwritten, severe rules that can ruin one's business in the blink of an eye. The local militia (police) is very watchful, will intervene when necessary, but will not punish or write a ticket, so to speak. When you violate the unwritten laws, you will be arrested and taken out or offered the alternative punishment: become an informant/reporter. Become part of Big Brother and betray your fellow-citizen: your friends, your family, your colleagues at work, ..., because you will have no other choice when being an informant.

Anything can be bought and sold, not only with money, but also with lies and deceit. Rhuys was warned for the city's treacherous nature. And he will soon enough experience the wrath of the governing power.

As Rhuys invests in the conversion project of Menziel, both become good friends. Menziel sees him as the son he never had, or rather, the one he lost, but loved dearly. Rhuys has many more meetings with key persons in the project. And that's when he realises something's wrong, but what? Correction, having undergone several Transfers (with the seller of souls mentioned above - I forgot her name, sorry. No, wait... Vibeka. Oh yes, she's apparently a famous poet in Rhuys's country; this little secret is uncovered when she read one of Rhuys's few books he took with him so many years ago)., these memories survive inside Rhuys and influence his thinking and acting.

As push comes to shove, and keeping up appearances is a heavy undertaking, Rhuys finds out that Menziel isn't completely honest with him, nor are the others. Menziel's partner in crime is involved in drug-trafficking, especially if it's used in an illegal way. The man is arrested, which leaves just Rhuys and Menziel to continue the project. Not much later, Rhuys finds out that Menziel as well was in the know of this trafficking.

When Rhuys finally is free again, that is, no longer associated with the project (as the governing power sent out its swat-teams to undo all of the work, destroy the underground laboratory and supplies, he can't enjoy this new freedom for long. Armitán Gheze has tracked him down again and sent out his people to get hold of him. Rhuys and Gheze meet again and surprisingly enough, Menziel is also present, next to Gheze. Gheze's power is endless, judging by this final confrontation.

But, deus ex machina (no?), Rhuys has taken his precautions on an administrative level (whilst continuing the visits to his so-called girlfriend, although the feelings aren't mutual, not on a love-level). He didn't only secure his money at the bank, but also, one way or another (my memory fails me at this point, because it's been a little too long, since I finished the book, to remember it all), managed to sell/transfer his participation in the conversion project to someone else. In other words, Armitán Gheze is indeed powerless with regards to Rhuys and the Kaledán name. Rhuys is free for all eternity. In fact, he's so free and so self-sufficient that he managed to liberate Vibeka from her sorry enterprise (selling her soul/memories for money, to lead a life away from civilisation, to be ignored, as past experiences have had a dramatic effect on her). He brought her to an older couple, where she would be able to recover and regain strength and vigour. Rhuys would make sure she was taken care of. And so the story ends on a romantic note, with two souls having found each other.


Theme-wise, this is a wonderful story, although it's not exactly a happy one, what with all this deceiving, betraying, poverty (physically and spiritually), and so on. Aniagrad is a hard place to live in, despite its "false" freedom to do business and lead a fulfilling, "successful" life. While the book ends on a positive note, it's overall very dark and discouraging. But well-written, of course. The first half was pretty good. The second half was not as satisfying, mainly because of Rhuys ap Kaledán.

My biggest issue, like a few other readers, was with the characters of Rhuys and Vibeka, whose role was minor, yet important for Rhuys, as she helped him see light at the end of the tunnel, despite all the problems and difficulties. Rhuys, being the main character (protagonist), isn't the most believable character. Very naive in his beliefs, knowing nothing about politics, about leading a House. He's also very sloppy, as he believes no one will find out he broke in by using certain tools, for example. Another such problem: all of a sudden, our little son of a baron has found the right shops for this or that tool or other product. All of a sudden, the lad has acquired the skills of Sherlock Holmes. How he did it, is not mentioned. Not that an author should mention everything, not at all. But Rhuys can do, purchase and acquire many things in a very short period of time. While remaining naive and at times annoying.

But I repeat, this was a good story... aside from Rhuys's character.
… (mere)
 
Markeret
TechThing | Jan 22, 2021 |
Lionel Davoust has rapidly become one of my favourite French authors, or at least a French author who occupies some places in my book collection, as you can see here (because of Goodreads' way of ordering, anthologies are not shown).

In his latest publication, Contes hybrides (Hybrid tales), Les Éditions Mille Cent Quinze (1115) chose three previously published stories, each having a length of about 40 pages:

1) Le Sang du large (2010) (previously published in [b:Contes de villes et de fusées|17973480|Contes de villes et de fusées|Lucie Chenu|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1369377129l/17973480._SY75_.jpg|25197062])
2) Point de sauvegarde (2011)
3) Bienvenue à Magicland (2015) (previously published in [b:Trolls et Licornes - Anthologie des Imaginales 2015|29909012|Trolls et Licornes - Anthologie des Imaginales 2015|Jean-Claude Dunyach|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1460550814l/29909012._SY75_.jpg|50284915])

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1) Le Sang du large (2010)
The first story, Le Sang du large, tells the tale of a writer, Paul Whittemore, who seeks to realise the imaginary. Does the imaginary exist? If I can think and write about it, then surely reality must follow? There has to be more to life than what man goes through day in, day out. The writer's spouse has left him, because of his fascination with the imaginary. And so, our writer seeks a way out of his misery.

It isn't until one dark day that a mermaid has come onto land to sing her song. Drawn by the unreal sounds, Mr Whittemore decides to seek their source and is dumbstruck when he observes the creature from his stories. Experiencing a writer's block, he wishes to get in touch with this mermaid, touch her (if only to invalidate his insanity and convince himself of his conviction), but she doesn't let him. One day, contact is established, but this only happens on dark, depressing days (if I understood correctly). Mr Whittemore pleads to be saved, to be taken to the magical world whence she came, but his request is denied. The opposite happens: As the mermaid sees the writer in distress, she decides to sacrifice her way of living to provide him with a renewed sense to live, a renewed kind of inspiration. But this change comes at a terrible cost for her.

A beautiful tale about the relationship between the imaginary and reality. Who needs whom? Does one need more than the other? Does one need the other to validate one's own existence or the other way around? Or do both keep each other alive, as a sort of yin and yang?

2) Point de sauvegarde (2011)
In this little SF-ish story, three American cyber-soldiers (more android than human) are sent out on a mission, somewhere in South America (the time of the Incas, Aztecs, ...) between Maraä and Barcelos in Brazil. They are to reconquer a secret place, said to be currently occupied by the local rebels. They are in direct contact with the mother-ship for data, instructions, aid, and so on. The mission is not without danger, however, so they must be vigilant at all times. Each of the three has his own speciality and his own personality; they need each other to successfully accomplish the mission. Each of these soldiers were given a new chance at life, after they committed vile crimes (like taking out your father for having raped your sister, and while you're at it, the rest of the family for having kept silent about it all).

Their personalities and brains were copied to be transferred into robotic bodies, before the criminals were put to justice for their crimes (i.e. death row). All is not well from the start for the new cyber-soldiers. Barely landed, they are to take cover and proceed carefully. The calmest of the three is taken out very soon and not much is left of him. This makes the other two suspicious, concluding that someone must have informed the rebels of their coming. As the two remaining soldiers proceed towards the facility, the ancient temple, the defences are less and less apparent or present. The place is said to have been holy to the local people, hence the lack of resistance. It is believed that holy powers will make the soldiers stay away and abort their mission.

During their patrolling, their minds are being messed with. Strange happenings, weird messages appearing and disappearing, ... enough to go mental, despite the spartan training they've undergone. Everything is centred around the mission, soldiers are always to follow that credo: the mission is key.

As the examine their new surroundings and go deeper inside the temple, the events become more and more horrific. US GO HOME is a message that appears suddenly. "US, go home!" is a possible answer, but it isn't until they've seen themselves lying dead deep inside the temple, that the message is decoded as "We want to go home!", where the 'We' are the previous versions of the remaining two soldiers.

The strange element in this story is that when our soldiers are killed, they respawn at their last save, like in a video game. And that's what it is: "real" soldiers (although they are a digital copy of their former human versions) being used, abused and re-used to become lean, mean fighting-machines. Time and again. Re-spawn, redo the mission until satisfactory. Reset memory, do not object, only obey!


A short-story to demonstrate how vile war is. No one wins, there are only losers. The biggest one being the soldiers themselves, as they are subjected to all the misery, rules, and so on. Without technological aid, they are lost. The more technology, the less human instincts and skills are of use and thus the more they become defunct. Ergo, the more you become a puppet of the system, which also counts for other professions, as many experience day in, day out.

3) Bienvenue à Magicland (2015)
This is the story of an animal caretaker, a troll, in a zoo of fantastic creatures: Magicland. One species is unicorns. Unicorns are his favourite animal and one day he hopes to be promoted to performer, to assist the animals in their performances for the public. He does have one problem, though: He can't stand the people's (including kids's) ignorance and often idiotic questions about the animals and especially the unicorns. People also don't read the explanatory panels that are placed nearby.

"Can we hug them?"
"Oh, look at those crazy horses!" (never, ever, call unicorns horses! Or face the wrath of Garam, the caretaker. They resemble horses, but are of a totally different species.)
"Do you feed them every day?"

As he hasn't found a way to properly and politely deal with these kinds of questions and comments, he has regular appointments with a psychiatrist, who takes notes as Garam puts forward his case and concerns. His role is to make Garam reflect on his behaviour and seek his own answers to change course a little bit and enjoy his profession and life more.

Garam once read an epic story on unicorns and how the main character was also fascinated by them. He takes this character and the story as a guideline, as a way of living, of adoring these animals. Garam the troll may, in all his passion and admiration, come across as aggressive, anti-social, and what not. But in his explanations (the animals are there to bring a sense of wonder to the people, to instil happiness and joy), it seems he does have an altruistic side. His biggest wish would be if everyone or more people would be amazed by these animals and not reduce them to the level of a horse. Unicorns have horns, golden hooves (at least the star of the team - see also this page), are nobler and more graceful than horses. Besides, horses are herbivores, unicorns are carnivores and they will devour you if they don't like you. Which is part of the romantic idea Garam has of unicorns. In the book he read, the character is killed at the horn of a unicorn, as a sort of perfect death for one passionate about this species. Garam pursues more or less the same ideal.

One evening, as he and his tutor Knut - Garam aspires to be like Knut - leave the premises, they are awaited by protestors, who claim that the animals should not live in captivity, they belong in nature. While Knut and Garam were trained to keep calm and move on, at some point, Knut doesn't hold it any more. Garam keeps his cool, as instructed by Knut. Ultimately, Knut got fired and Garam was promoted, albeit not as Garam has imagined it. And that's how, one day, a little girl admiring the unicorns asks for some information. Garam explains his work, but it's not that what the girl is after. Satisfying a child is difficult, but he succeeds by directing her to the shop for a fluffy unicorn, something that makes her day.

There is some mental communication later between Garam and Ellaria. He thinks he'll die a death like in the story, but the opposite is true. The next day, people report having seen a dangerous, white creature out in the wild. Is it Ellaria? Is it another unicorn? Fact is that it was caught and brought to Magicland, the only place where unicorns can be taken care of and live in captivity.


This story was divided into four parts: the four seasons. That's how we follow Garam the caretaker and his view on the world, on the people who daily visit Magicland to admire its animals. And ask sometimes idiotic questions, out of sheer ignorance or maybe just they don't know any better. Ultimately, they too make sure that Magicland continues to exist, that Garam and co. have a job. It's a circle.

Of course, reality and fiction are two different kinds of settings. Life can become dangerous or unpleasant when the two get mixed up and you lose your calm. That doesn't mean you can't have ideals in life. One needs ideals, goals, passions, ... a drive that keeps your life and vitality going.

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'Contes hybrides', three stories that describe how fiction can influence or be involved in daily life. Three stories that also convey how important fiction (or the imaginary) is in real life. Which takes the upper hand? How does one influence the other? What are the consequences? Does that make us less or more human?

Once again, Lionel Davoust scores; three times, even. Short-stories are a domain in which he excels, although his latest series (Les Dieux Sauvages, to count five books when done) is also very successful, judging by the various reviews.
… (mere)
 
Markeret
TechThing | Jan 22, 2021 |

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