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Notes from the Burning Age

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There's enough in NFTBA to satisfy SFF fans but I hope that when NFTBA is officially released that its also marketed to entice fans of spy thrillers as they'd be best pleased with this offering from Claire North. A riveting tale of subterfuge and deadly self-indulgence” ( Publishers Weekly, starred review) from award-winning author Claire North, Notes from the Burning Agepresents an extraordinary vision of the future that puts dystopian fiction in a whole new light. North, Claire (11 May 2019), The Pursuit of William Abbey, ISBN 9780356507439 , retrieved 1 December 2019 Claire North's new SF is climate-punk without as QUITE an uber-bleak outlook as usually comes with such cli-punk SF. Lots of intrigue, repressed societies, quasi-religious cultural restrictions that summon up the monsters that burned the old world, but still enough technology going around to make this world quite interesting and believable. When things are good, we find ourselves wondering - what more? And what will I lose if I do not get more now? It is a trait that pushed mankind across the oceans and out into space - what is out there, what else? It is one of our most beautiful qualities and has for millennia served us well in finding new ways to live better. But like all things, it is neither good nor bad, but what we make of it."

Twenty years after his childhood disaster, Ven is a lay investigator for the Temple, searching out the old archives, stored in electronic drives that are carefully preserved and that contain all the secrets of the age of exploitation. Then he turns himself into a spy to expose the inner workings of a rival faith, known as the Brotherhood, that tries to revive the old beliefs that humans could indeed conquer the earth. Though most people are happy to accept what they have so as not to anger the kakuy, there are others eager to regain the many ancient technologies, however destructive, and the power and gender structures of a strong man, and subservient others, including the earth, from the pre-Burning days. People survived and reestablished towns and cities, and developed new technologies that were less damaging to world. Along with the rebuilding, people developed a stronger sense of the interdependence of everything, personified by the planet’s earth, sky and water spirits, who had become fed up with our heedless destruction of the very things keeping us and every other thing alive and poisoned us, drowned us and burnt us to teach us a lesson. Those left behind became more careful of their use of planetary resources and of cautious of repeating old, climate destroying mistakes, and gave thanks to the kakuy. Notes from the Burning Age is a dystopian novel of espionage and subterfuge. A world readying for war over differing philosophies and pursuit of power, Ven is an inquisitor whose knowledge of languages of the past can be used to translate documents from the Burning Age. The notes from the past provide a look into happier and sometimes simpler times, but also provide information of nuclear war, disease, and other weapons that the Brotherhood seeks to harness. Since the Burning Age of environmental destruction, can society move on or will they be damned to repeat it?

Notes from The Burning Age is set in a future post-apocalyptic time and there are subtle links to our existing geography. Most of the book takes place around a city called Budapesht, which resembles the spelling of present-world Budapest. The establishment of the Temple and their priests for conserving knowledge points to religious beliefs in the area and I found the commentary around the kakuy not being gods interesting.

On the other hand, Georg is a powerful entity in and of himself. He is resourceful, secretive and manipulative. He is a puppet master and most people don’t even know what he is making them do. He is the perfect mafia warlord. Notes from a Burning Age is a stunning achievement. The stories included clash, intersect, conflict, and betray each other for precedence. The sheer lyricism of CN's writing softens somewhat the harshness of the dystopian narrative of subversion and betrayal in a future jostling to organize itself after the great burnings. The Burning Age of the title? That's us. That's today. The period of human history when we decided that the earth and everything on it was a resource that could be exploited without consequence, mastered by men and machines and nations that became increasingly insular and increasingly desperate as those resources began to run dry.Synopsis: The “Burning Age” is our near future when the Earth itself rebels, using mystical nature spirits called the Kakuy “angels, or devils, guardian voi or djinn of fire and sea” to wipe away humanity by fire, plague, or simple physical stomping at bodies. Ven was once a holy man, a keeper of ancient archives. It was his duty to interpret archaic texts, sorting useful knowledge from the heretical ideas of the Burning Age—a time of excess and climate disaster. For in Ven's world, such material must be closely guarded so that the ills that led to that cataclysmic era can never be repeated. a b "Telegraph Family book club: Exploits of a Teen Queen". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 16 June 2008 . Retrieved 17 December 2014.

Everything after is a dance: Ven and Georg and Yue, trying to start a war, trying to prevent one, trying to protect the world, trying to free it. As a whole, Notes is a novel of cycles, of transitions. It is about the terrible cost of disposability, the burden of secrets, the power of faith and recycling. But more than that, it is a top-tier spy story, a very physical war story, a mature love story, unromantic in the way that it doesn't lie or add glitter to anything. It begins as an idyllic homage to A Canticle For Leibowitz, becomes a Cold War mole-hunting LeCarre pastiche and ends in an Ayn Rand-vs-Margaret Atwood philosophical cage match. Cycles within cycles, all of them brilliant, horrifying, cool. Story: This was an absolutely fascinating listen. I thought it would be a little heavier on the climate, but glad when it turned out to be more of a spy novel. The writing is clever and the storyline suspenseful. The characters are well-developed and the dialogue is full of philosophical contemplation and intrigue. Very thought provoking and enjoyable! (4.5 stars) The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August (as Claire North) nominated for the BSFA Award for Best NovelVen was once a holy man, a keeper of ancient archives. It was his duty to interpret archaic texts, sorting useful knowledge from the heretical ideas of the Burning Age—a time of excess and climate disaster. For in Ven’s world, such material must be closely guarded so that the ills that led to that cataclysmic era can never be repeated. North has an amazing imagination and this is certainly fully displayed in this dystopian tale of our world in the distant future after it has been ruined by the way we treat it. Most technology has been discarded and even reading about its history is heresy. Energy sources are renewable and unreliable. Of course politics are just the same and are really the basis for the whole story. Notes from the Burning Age by Claire North is about a utopian society built from the ashes of a burning world. Scholars and archivists of the Temple have long searched and collected artifacts from our present age, preserving the knowledge so it may not fall into the wrong hands. The world has been at peace, keeping these spirits (“kakuy”) at bay. But man is bound to get greedy and want more. There will always be people for whom equality and equity are not enough, people who need praise and power, and that will be the downfall of utopia. Thoughts on Notes from the Burning Age From one of the most imaginative writers of her generation comes an extraordinary vision of the future. I admired Ven as the protagonist. He is knowledgeable and sharp. He has a high intellect and the best way to describe him would be that he has spunk. He knows what he brings to the table with his knowledge of multiple extinct languages, everything he learned when he was at the Temple about the artifacts and archives, and he is willing to bargain for it. He is the perfect example of someone who might repeatedly be called a coward for not taking action but is truly very observant and looking for the right opportunity to make his move.

The two main characters--Ven and Yue--grew up in the same small village and are united by a shared childhood tragedy. A forest fire claimed the life of Ven’s best friend, Yue’s But when the revolutionary Brotherhood approaches Ven, pressuring him to translate stolen writings that threaten everything he once held dear, his life will be turned upside down. Torn between friendship and faith, Ven must decide how far he’s willing to go to save this new world, and how much he is willing to lose.

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Webb was educated at the Godolphin and Latymer School, London, and the London School of Economics. [ citation needed]

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