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"This superb collection...brings together tales of urban romance and political strife from the beloved Uruguayan writer. The fictions, most only a few pages long, are masterful in form, at once succinct and evocative. Many of the early tales...are reminiscent of Kafka-though with none of the weighty mood. Benedetti's language is light and playful..., full of humorous generosity to the reader." --Review of Contemporary Fiction
"What remains...is the singular and surprising nature of Benedetti's stories." --The New York Times Book Review
Benedetti's early work (1940s and 50s) was rooted in and reflective of the middle class milieu of Montevideo. Like all successful regionalists, his keen eye and ear for local ideosyncracy could be bitingly on- target, while transcending the specific to express universal themes. The upheavals of the 1960s added a political focus that was sharpened when he was exiled (and his work banned) as a result of Uruguay's 1973 coup. His writings on political repression and on expatriate life display the same combination of dry irony and warm compassion as his earlier work; while themes change, there is a continuity of artistic vision.
Having enjoyed Benedetti in Spanish, I can recommend this collection. It offers a good cross-section, ranging from 1949 to 1987. I paid particular attention to translation on three of my favorites: "The Budget," a wickedly funny sendup of stultified bureaucracy; "Requiem Over Tea," a beautiful, sad story as told by a 13 year old; "Just Kidding," the chilling tale of a joke gone awry in the era of wiretaps and detention. Throughout, the author's original rythms, his strong sense of narrative voice, and distinctive use of vernacular came across very well.
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gripping series about a young woman thirst for revenge against the backdrop of emerging interstellar war! Andrea Flores, a married young woman and mother of a infant daughter sees her life shattered; when offworld terrorists attack killing her husband and infant daughter! Now Andrea becomes a hardened avenger who seeks vengeance against the killers.Andrea must leave Earth and go to the alien Jod homeworld and join their elite military service called Tenebrea in the hopes of finding the killers! She endure a harsh training and prejudice of the Jod in her struggle and finally going undercover to the terrorists' homeworld, Cor Ordinate and lead a rebellion of clones! The authors have written superior military sf saga about a young woman who immediately gets our sympathy in her struggles to find justice for her murdered family. The authors' world-building skills are above-average in creating Jod civilization and fascist Cor Ordinate.I especially like the rugged scenes of the training of Tenebrea and finally gripping battle scenes upon Cor Ordinate.Bring on the next Andrea Flores novel, I want more!
Cor Ordinate
homeworld
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Nothing to do with Halpern, I promise.
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The characters are a blend of purpose and psychosis. Andrea is downright scary, irreverent, yet oddly maternal-perhaps fiercely maternal? I would not want to catch her in a dark alley in a bad mood. The description of her cutting the Cor Hunter's throat is chilling-although strangely just. Her chance encounter with Cor Hunter's children is a sobering comment on the violence that had forever change her life.
Far from predictable, the plot carefully prepares the reader for twists yet to come in rest of the trilogy. I can't wait to find out what happens to the sympathetic although often cruelly pragmatic K'Rin. Will Andrea's only ally, H'Roo-Parh, reconcile after he rebukes her for her brutality. Will the clone Tara get tough and do what she needs to do? Will Brigon, sort of a clone bandit, leave the wilderness to join the resistance? Will Andrea's rage go over the edge to insanity? I see hints that Andrea and Brigon's rocky start portends a deeper interest.
The treatment of clone technology is accurate and troubling. The Quazel Protein operates much like the protein that causes mad cow disease. Where do Dawson and Graham get their material? I checked their reference to the stranger-than-fiction Bat Flower--origin India, Earth. It's real.
All in all, this book is a must read for anyone who wants a page-turner that makes you think.
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The tension heightens when Gwendolen finally marries Grandcourt, and both she and the reader realise she has made the most ghastly mistake. Brilliantly, Eliot portrays in disturbing detail the psychological twists and turns of the relationship, as the 'powerful' Gwendolen finds herself trapped by a silent sado-masochist. Grandcourt is actually shown to do very little out of place - which is the achievement - and we are left to imagine what Gwendolen must be going through in the bedroom. We become enmeshed in her consciousness - not always a pleasant experience. It is a brave novel for its time.
The rest of the novel concerns the eponymous Daniel, his discovery of his identity as a Jew, and his final mission to devote himself to his race. It is thought-provoking, and interesting, and much has been said about how the way the novel is really two stories. The problem really is that the Gwendolen part is so well done that a reader feels disappointed to leave her and join the less enthralling Daniel.
The ending doesn't quite thrill as other moments of the book do, and there is an over-long section relating the conversation of a philosophy society, but, thanks to Gwendolen and Grandcourt, it stands out as one of the most memorable pieces of literature in English. Take away the 'Daniel' part and it is Eliot's masterpiece - and great material for the cinema. Maybe it's because she played the aforementioned Emma, but Gwyneth Paltrow could do a fantastic job as Gwendolen - just imagine her playing the great scene where the melodramatic diamonds arrive on her wedding night, and she goes beserk and throws them around!
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The story picks up with Andrea Flores and renegade clone Tara in mid-flight away from the wreckage they generated on Cor. Blowing up the clone institute seemed the only way to buy time for mounting a full offensive against the Ordinate's NewGen clones, but it also blew Andrea's cover and K'Rin's plans for mobilizing the Jod Council in secrecy. Under ambitious Admiral Brulk, the Ordinate traces the saboteurs back to Jod and seizes the initiative. Accusing Jod of incitement to war, Cor gains a political weapon in lieu of the NewGen forces it lost.
Still too closed-minded to understand the real threat, Jod Council leader Pl'Don sees the Ordinate mess as an excellent opportunity to destroy his long-standing opponent K'Rin, along with the Tenebrea and the entire Rin clan. Expecting to take a Council seat as leader of any potential fight against Cor, K'Rin instead finds himself and most of his men taken by surprise and packed off to a prison planet. Worse, a traitor in K'Rin's ranks has told Pl'Don about the Tenebrea's use of the illegal Quazel protein; with no access to the necessary counteracting enzyme, the prisoners are doomed to a gruesome and lingering death.
Cooling her heels in a hidden outpost with fellow Tenebrea H'Roo and escaped clones Tara and Eric, Andrea is spared from Pl'Don's trap. She and her companions are now the Tenebrea's best hope. There's hope for her, too, as-almost against her will-she finds herself beginning to care again about the fates of those around her. Suddenly her life's mission of killing as many Ordinate as she can is sidelined by her need to spring K'Rin and the Tenebrea. She does return to Cor as she promised outlaw clone Brigon in Entering Tenebrea, but it's to recruit his assistance in the great escape rather than to fight the Ordinate. Meanwhile, Cor is preparing to sandbag Jod in pretty much the same way that Pl'Don took out K'Rin and most of his men-a nicely ironic touch.
The story lines in Tenebrea's Hope are much more scattered than in Entering Tenebrea. Where most of the action in the previous book was focused on either Andrea or K'Rin, those perspectives are joined here by alternating sections centering on Pl'Don, Brigon, Brulk, and a number of other minor characters as well. The increased plot complexity helps to conceal the believability issues that still crop up from time to time, but the transitions are choppy and continuity sometimes suffers. As in the first book, the characters and situations are absorbing enough to ensure that most readers will be back to see how all those cliffhangers are resolved in the final installment of the trilogy.
This story is so incredible that I was so caught up in it, I actually forgot where I was a couple of times. I was sad I reached the end of the book, and desperately wanted to climb back into Andrea Flores' world.
It's beautifully written. The characters are multi-dimensional and endearing, the imagery evokes pictures in the mind that are fascinating, and the story has so many twists and turns it keeps the reader on his/her toes. Roxann Dawson and Daniel Graham make a superb team. I thought Ms. Dawson was one of the most gifted Star Trek actors ever, and her talents continue to deliver.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading both "Entering Tenebrea" and "Tenebrea's Hope".
Captivating, edge of your seat suspense and a spectrum of emotions was felt, as I became a sideline character cheering on Andrea Flores in her quest.
I wait with bated breath to read the third book in this tantalizing trilogy, "Tenebrea Rising". I look forward to seeing Roxann Dawson and Daniel Graham at the NYC Convention where I will wait in line yet again to be the first to obtain a signed copy of the final book in this intoxicating trilogy.
KUDOS TO THE AUTHORS..............
Bonnie K. FitzPatrick