The Beauty of Words  

Posted by: Viki in

For the second time that evening, Balbina was pushed to the ground. She found herself with a mouthful of dirt, peering up at her breathless, laughing assailant.

"P-p-pthuth," she spat. "...Piper!"

Piper did not look drunk. She looked ecstatic.

"Bally!" she cried. Piper pulled Balbina up and into the bushes, clamping a hand over her mouth. Balbina did not struggle. Resistance was usually futile.

"Something amazing has happened," said Piper gleefully, once they were well covered by leaves. She let go of Balbina. "I've had a vision!"

/A.P. Hill, Thorns - Chapter Three: Midnight Meeting/

Beauty comes in many forms and shapes. It’s not just a pretty face coming across you on the street, or a piece of shiny jewelry, a lovely shade of make-up or even a brand new handbag. Beauty is something that pleases a part of us and thus each of us define it differently. I, for example, love gadgets and electric devices so when I visit an electronics store I’m surrounded by beauty. It’s the same with art supplies: whenever I enter an art store I have trouble deciding where to look first because I consider even a clean sheet of paper or a brush-pen beautiful.

Also, I’ve always valued a great read, be it something deep and philosophical or something adventurous and fun. A good novel pleases many parts of me, therefore I value it greatly and, as an artist, beauty-blogger and admirer of anything that has aesthetic and intellectual merit, oftentimes I wish to share it with my friends. This is what I set forth to do in today’s post.

In October, I came across Thorns, the first and so far only “free illustrated serial online fantasy book” which is written by A.P. Hill who, by the way, is not only a brilliant writer but also a very talented artist and a fellow DeviantART member, submitting her works there under the name Thundercake. I can’t exactly remember how I came across her work (most probably through DeviantArt) but I do recollect that I was instantly hooked thanks to her creative way of writing and subtle but great sense of humor. The universe she created in her story enters the minds of its readers and appears in vivid and colorful images, while the characters come alive on the pages and become parts of our everyday lives. With every exciting chapter I read I began to like the story more and more, and I eagerly await the next one.


Allow me to quote the author:
” A young girl who failed to become a sorceress and was bound by a spell to slavery tricks an entire university of sorcerers into believing she's the avatar of a goddess. She leads a group of them on a journey to find the one spell that could free her from her bonds, in a complex hoax involving goddesses, lies, betrayal and a terrifying mist that threatens to wipe out all magic on earth.

Thorns evolved from an intense, epic, indigestion-related dream into an illustrated novel by a series of small miracles. Its protagonist, Piper Pax, is neither hero nor villain, but instead occupies the border between good and evil, human and sorcerer. Thorns is a novel about self-realization, morality, and insecurity in a constantly changing world.
Set in a universe where sorcerers rule over the human race, and indeed consider themselves a different species from those who cannot do magic, the world of Thorns is a place of sharp divides and boundaries. Harsh punishment awaits those who step outside of normality. Against all odds, Piper must lie her way to the literal ends of the earth. Lying to those who oppressed her is easy - lying to the people she cares about is the real challenge. (It doesn't help that she's hopeless at magic, either.) „

Miss Hill’s previous words sum up the story very well, and I don’t think I could add anything else to it without giving too much away. She’s also done some excellent illustrations for her novel which can be viewed in her DeviantART gallery.

(Both images in this post are copyright of A.P. Hill!)


Thorns is a bi-monthly web-novel, and although it is aimed at young adults I strongly believe that people all ages will find it an entertaining and often thought-provoking read. It is written by an author who is passionate about her work and who possesses a wonderful talent for making her text flow smoothly and balancing the funny and the serious, the emotional and the factual, and who can also create round characters who, even though not one of them is without flaws, will very soon grow on you.

I strongly encourage you to give her novel a try and read it, after which you are free to share your thought with the author in the novel’s blog or in the guestbook.

You can find Thorns at www.thornsbook.com

Enjoy!

 

This entry was posted on Monday, January 14, 2008 and is filed under . You can leave a response and follow any responses to this entry through the Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom) .

4 megjegyzés

Nice drawings and the novel definitely seems interesting.
Thank you for sharing that with us.
I'm thinking about posting an interview with you about your draws, what do you think?
kisses

Seeker
It is a very exciting read!

An interview? I'd love to! Though I'm definitely not that good of an artist... :blush:

Love,
Izar

Could have not said it better myself! Beauty does come in ALL forms! :)

Thank you so much for your warm, inspiring and encouraging words, it is amazing how low people can be especially in this internet world where mostly everyone is anonymous hiding behind a computer monitor, but it's with great people like you which makes everything so much more enjoyable!

You're welcome Vanessa!

It's really not worth being rude when one can give and gain so much here on the Net. I can only feel sorry for people who don't understand that. They're missing out on something great.

Don't mind that poor thing, she obviously doesn't get it either. The important thing is that you and so many more people do and they do great things here which I'm happy to be part of.

*hug*

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