Auralia's Colors

Auralia's Colors (The Auralia Thread Series #1) I read this book a couple of months ago when I first received it. Knowing I was to post a review, I picked it up, thinking to skim through it and bring the plot back to mind. But you do not skim Auralia's Colors. The story draws you in and you are once more in a familiar world where colors are more than colors and the characters are so finely crafted you recognize them as people you met before. From the first page you are intrigued and promised a truly magical story. From the baby whose hands sculpt air, to the old reprobates whose hearts are softer than their rough speech. Mr. Overstreet does not waste words or confuse the reader with long passages of explanation. He uses a poet's touch to craft the tale in such a way that the reader supplies his or her own wealth of imagination to see the House of Abascar and its layers of social interaction. This is a book to read, put away, and then find again with the anticipation of enjoyment. Donna Swanson http://windfallow.wordpress.com

Some book reviews are harder than others. This is such a one: Auralia's Colors, first in the Auralia's Thread series by Jeffrey Overstreet (WaterBrook). Mind you, the book has many merits and has received numbers of complimentary reviews. So my difficulty in reviewing Auralia's Colors is not because I think it lacks merit. The truth is, I admire the book ... but I don't love it. I wanted to. I wish I did. But perhaps others of you will. The Place. The story is set in a location known as The Expanse. The area was divided into four houses, each with it's own set of governing customs and rules. One of the houses, Cent Regus, was poisoned when its people meddled with magic. Now they have devolved into beastmen who attack and raid citizens of the other houses. In the particular House our story is concerned with, those caught committing a crime, if not imprisoned or executed, are condemned to become gatherers living in camps outside the protective walls--and therefore vulnerable to attack. Because of a ruling made by the Queen of the House, it is now against the law for average citizens to own anything colorful. The Story. Two thieves going about their duties as gatherers discover an abandoned baby girl. They take her into their camp where she grows up. Eventually she tells them her name is Auralia, though she doesn't know how she knows this or where she came from. Soon she displays remarkable independence, going off into the forest on her own where she finds colors. From the things she finds in nature, she weaves colorful hats, scarves, and the like. When these items are discovered by the king's men, trouble is afoot. That's the bare bones of the central action, though there is much more going on, especially revolving around the young Prince Cal-raven, Queen Jaralaine, the beastmen, an ale boy, Captain Ark-robin, the stonecrafter Sharr ben Fray, and the shadowy Keeper, present in all children's dreams but outgrown by most adults. Strengths. There's much to love in this book. There is some beautiful writing, for example. The "faith elements" are embedded in the story through types and suggestion. I have to admit, this is my favored way for a writer to display his Christian worldview, because it allows the reader to mine the story for meaning. I find it to be much more enjoyable than having the meaning handed to me. The plot is not predictable. Yes, there are some events that one can foresee, but rarely do they play out as you might expect. So why didn't I love it? Weakness. Pure and simply, I did not love any of the characters. I was interested in some, and that kept me reading, but in the end, I didn't feel invested in what happened to various ones. Perhaps this was because of the omniscient point of view. I have begun to suspect that the omniscient narrator voice keeps readers at arm's distance, and I'm used to being wrapped inside a character. There may be something else, however. I honestly couldn't say who the protagonist of the story i

I loved this book. The main character is a both unique and very real young girl, and I got caught up in her journey as well as the other characters she comes into contact with. The prose is so rich that I had to read it slowly to savor it. But it is not so wordy that it is difficult to read. Rather the vivid details are a delight. I liked how the use of color is used to portray the transforming power of art and beauty. Even though I am a bit of a neophyte when it comes to fantasy fiction, I found this book an enjoyable and rewarding experience, and it makes me want to read more in this genre.

At a live podcast Jeffrey Overstreet described how he came on the idea on a hike with his wife, overlooking a lake. He had an image of a woman with a coat of splendid colors, and she had come to bring it to a city where no color is allowed. He had to know her story, and so was forced to write this book. Overstreet's wife is a poet who helped him hone every word, and it shows. Every word drips honey. This is a work of art. The fantasy is so full you have to put the book down every few minutes, to contemplate the tapestry you've been drawn into. I am transported into another land, into myth on the level of George MacDonald. Overstreet has an ability to paint a convincing image for the people who have no color, and then bring to life unknown colors through sheer description. He has a phenomenal commitment to true fantasy, and not the humdrum of today that exists merely as a dry husk of a once great genre. Overstreet's very names evoke new thought and let your mind ride the winds of imagination. The book ends well, answering all questions, and yet leaving much unanswered as future hope. I want more, and am thankful there are three more books coming. Yet I felt satisfied at the end of this book, as after a good meal. But it was not merely my literary palate that was satisfied. For there are depths upon depths in Overstreet, and the spirit is stretched as well, through labyrinthian pathways of unexpected discovery. Don't wait. Don't walk. Run, and get this book, and know what true pleasure is.

I became a fan of Jeffrey Overstreet after reading his book on film, Through a Screen Darkly, and subsequently become a reader of his blog, Looking Closer. Auralia's Colors is the first in a proposed series of four, to which I say, "Bring it." It's an astonishingly accomplished debut, and falls prey to none of the lazy traps to which fantasy writers are prone. The characters are strong, the concept and plot inventive and original, and the prose is lyrical. Here's a sample: "The child's words, an empty chant, made Auralia recoil. A sudden fear swept over her, and she climbed off the stool, dragging the cape toward the questioner as if to save her from a chill. 'Nobody owns the colors. Can't you see? They're free. They're what trees do. They're what water and sky do. Fields. Hills. Mountains. No matter how much you give them away, there'll always be more.'" Auralia is a fresh creation, a character that I can't compare to any I've seen in the fantasy literature I've read. She's not the stereotypical fierce hoyden or pampered princess, nor is she the wise and mystical Galadriel-type. She's a child of nature stepping into destiny with a confidently unsure step, if that makes sense. She doesn't know who she is or where she came from, but she can't deny the purpose and passions that animate her any more than the trees can deny giving their colors. Overstreet credits Patricia McKillip's The Book of the Atrix Wolfe as an influence in his foreword, and I would say that's the author I'd most closely link him to, of the ones I've read-I've not read Guy Gavriel Kay yet, whom Overstreet also mentions. I put it in my Young Adult category not because I think it's written for a teen audience, but because teens who love to read and enjoy books about magic are likely to enjoy this book. Especially the girls. The highest praise I can give this book is to tell you that it took me forever to read, by Superfast standards, anyway, because I was so enthralled by the story and the world he was creating that I wanted to stay in each sentence a little longer than usual. [...].