What’s in a Keek?

I was told I was living in the technological dark ages by my, recently turned 60, father, last week. I laughed it off, because I think it’s hilarious that my dad knows more about modern technology than I do.

What he actually said was “I sent a picture of my birthday cake to your phone.” To which I had to tell him my phone only did text messaging and phone calls. His answer was “Well what’s the point in that.” See, technological dark ages.

I guess if I were to go the ‘smart’ phone path, I’d be a little intrigued by some of the strange things people do with them. Things that have little to do with actually making a phone call.

Like Tweeting. Up until a couple of years ago this was something cute little birds did at 5am to drive you up the wall, letting the world know that the sun is rising. It is now a way for politicians to lose voters, pop stars to snipe at each other and for book lovers to brag about their latest acquisition.

The restrictions on tweeting (I do the tweets for the burn bright book club from my computer) are a mystery to me. How can one person possibly spark such an uproar in 140 characters? What would happen if we were allowed, say, 200 characters; would that be enough to create world war 3?

Apps or applications are a screaming hit. Angry birds, fruit ninja and whatever else is hot right now is right at your finger tips to keep little kiddies occupied.

Then there’s the whole FaceBook from anywhere idea. I will admit I am extremely addicted to FB. After fighting it for so long, the thought of being able to access it even when I’m out in public, scares me a little. I would be mostly concerned with the privacy settings as some people on my friends list end up having their location posted when they go out in public. Which to me screams… HEY I’M NOT HOME! ROB ME! See, I may be a little paranoid. But just because I can’t see them doesn’t mean they’re not out to get me.

Youtube is filled with people making videos from their ‘smart’ phones. School children fighting, how make-up lasts through a normal day, and just generally random silliness caught on camera and uploaded for the world to see.

But finally there is the joy that is Keek. This concept as a viewer is cute, as a contributor, the thought of only having 36 seconds to get a point across seems impossible to me. But people do it. The woman who has me going back to keek regularly lately is the youtube sensation katers17 http://www.keek.com/Katers17 She’s a British chick in California working and living with her boyfriend who is also a rather famous YouTuber. Unlike so many other keekers (is that even a word yet) she goes out of her way to keep things cheery and light. We all need a little of that every once in a while. And quite frankly 36 seconds sure is the epitome of little.

While I can still remember a time when you either used a phone box, or you waited until you got home to call someone, this whole idea of being connected to everybody every hour of every day both excites and exhausts me.

What’s your favourite thing to do on your ‘smart’ phone?

Burn Mark is the first novel in a planned series set in an alternate, present-day London. It’s a world where witches are both feared and revered. They must be registered with the government, tested for the strength of their ‘fae’ and bridled with iron. Unregistered witches are illegal and – sometimes – dangerous. The worst witch crimes (treason, terrorism and first-degree murder) are punished by a government department called The Inquisition by balefires – the burning of a witch at the stake in the centre of London and televised live across the country.

But like any well – or ill – intentioned law, there’s another side to the argument of protecting against witches, and protagonist Gloriana Starling Wilde (Glory for short) was born right into the thick of it. Covens. In Powell’s world, a coven of witches isn’t all pointy black hats and eyes of newt, but families of organised crime who’ll do anything just to survive and keep their fae from the cruel and often corrupt Inquisition. The side-effect is a mafia-type lifestyle of power, deceit and danger set between the upper and lower classes. Glory comes from a long line of powerful witches and can’t wait for her fae to kick in so she can help restore her coven to its rightful place in society.

The second protagonist in Burn Mark is Lucas Stearne, son of Ashton Stearne, Chief Prosecutor of the Inquistional Court. Lucas has his life firmly mapped out in front of him as a Witchfinder for the Inquisition. That is, until the day he unexpectedly turns fae.

Burn Mark skips between both Lucas and Glory’s points of view. Most of the time it’s very clear whose mind the reader is in, but occasionally it can get a little muddled, particularly early in the book. This makes for a couple of confusing paragraphs as we try to figure our way through a fairly large cast of characters. That said, both Glory and Lucas are very different; one from a lower working class family with a history of crime links, the other from a privileged background of private schooling and society parties. The two are great characters – faulty, believable and easy to empathise with. The banter and tension between the two of them is both fun and frustrating as they figure out how to trust each other (and they must) when they were born natural enemies.

The beginning of Burn Mark is a little slow, but well worth persevering. This was mainly due to a heap of information ‘dumping’ on the backstory and world. It was probably the quickest way for the author to get a lot of information to the reader, but it was also a lot to consume. However, once settled in the world and the characters (there’s a lot. Witches and Inquisition, both) Burn Mark becomes a serious slippery slope of conspiracy and betrayal. Powell’s witches and their fae (not magic. Fae) are unique – I’ve not read anything similar before. Their witchwork is inspired by hoodoo and African-American folklore rather than Harry Potter, and actual historical events are worked into the story too… Queen Elizabeth 1 a witch, anyone? I really enjoyed that this was a world where Facebook is still a place to check someone’s relationship status, and refugees and religion divide public opinion just as they do in our world today.

Burn Mark is to be followed by book two in the series: ‘Witch Fire’, due around May this year.

Burn Mark by Laura Powell

Published by Bloomsbury

ISBN – 9 781408 815229

Paperback, 403 pages.

Today Krista and Burn Bright talks to German book blogger Wiebke at

1book1review

New book review every Friday.

And random other things about books. I talk about books.

I read almost everything, but probably less crime fiction and chic lit than others.

The secrets of the past meet the shock of the present, in a page-turning exploration of human nature and divine intervention—and of the darkest corners of the human soul.

Having heard a great deal of praise from Misty over at The Book Rat regarding this debut novel, I was interested in picking it up, just to see if I found it as original and intriguing as it claimed to be.

Madapple certainly has a unique set-up, structurally. It opens with a flashback that seemingly offers little, but in fact provides many hints as to later plot points (yes, I am proud of myself for recognising them immediately) We then jump straight into the middle of a court proceeding, in which our heroine Aslaug is on trial for a double – possible triple – murder. This court case, relayed via transcripts, features in fragments throughout the narrative proper, and often provides tasty little teasers into the action to come. It’s an incredibly effective device, even if I wonder at how many times a lawyer can possibly object to the ‘relevance’ of an answer!

The central story focuses on 17 year-old Aslaug and her far from typical coming-of-age upon the death of her protective and deeply troubled mother, with whom she spent her childhood living in isolation. As a protagonist, Asluag has an incredibly definitive narrative voice, shaped largely by her unconventional education steeped in botany (each chapter title is a different native plant/flower) religion, mythology and science. The reader immediately empathises with Asluag if for no other reason than her extreme ignorance as to her own past, the wider world and to humankind, and upon her encountering the characters of The Pastor, Sanne and Rune, you know that conflict is sure to arise and revelations are to be made.

From the outset, I had already set up some parallels in my mind between this title and The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches (check it out!!) and indeed, they did prove to have similar tones and a few matching themes and narrative strands. But I think because I had already experienced plenty of ‘shocking revelations’ in the latter, and in my recent readings of fairy tale retellings, then some of the more horrific elements of Madapple failed to have quite as big an impact as perhaps intended. Some reveals I predicted early on, and so when they eventually made their appearance, I was left feeling a little disheartened with how they measured up to my expectations. That said, there are most definitely aspects of this novel that might prove difficult for some to read about, so just note that there is some darker content touched upon.

Character-wise Madapple has a rare distinction in that I found every single character to be – to some extent – mentally, emotionally and morally unstable, and thus I was often questioning the reliability of Asluag’s narration and the testimonies of others. I am not dismissing this, for in having me second-guess almost everybody it certainly made for a more active association with the material! However, I will say that, despite wanting the best for Aslaug on principle, I ultimately struggled to relate to anybody or find them truly sympathetic – and it also meant that the somewhat ‘happy ending’ left me feeling uneasy, dissatisfied and a tad concerned.

Madapple is both a dense and gripping read, and undoubtedly crosses over into some very interesting territory. I would highly recommend it to anybody seeking a change from the more standard YA fare.

Madapple – Christina Meldrum

Knopf Books for Young Readers

ISBN: 0375851763

May 13th 2008

410 pagesmore details…