Top 10 Literary Characters Who Would Make Excellent World Leaders
Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Ten Characters Who Would Make Great Leaders (Leaders of what? That’s your decision. Who could lead a country, an army, a book club, a classroom, etc. Or maybe characters that would be trendsetters?)
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This topic was more challenging than I expected to be, and I think many of the characters I’ve chosen are on the young side, so we’ll just have to imagine that they have future careers as world leaders (Presidents, Prime Ministers, etc.)
Top 10 Characters Who Would Make Excellent World Leaders
1 and 2. HERMIONE GRANGER & MINERVA MCGONAGALL from the HARRY POTTER series
Both of these woman who intelligent, resourceful, brave, and loyal, all qualities that I think would make either of them ideal candidates to lead a nation.
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3. RHYSAND from the A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES series
With the selflessness he shows when it comes to his own people, Rhysand has already demonstrated that he has what it takes to be a great leader.
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4. KATNISS EVERDEEN from THE HUNGER GAMES series
Katniss had what it took to lead a rebellion. Does she have what it takes to lead a nation? I think so!
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5. STARR CARTER from THE HATE U GIVE
She’s incredibly brave, intelligent, and she cares about justice. I think now that Starr Carter has found her voice, she could have a long career in making that voice heard and could be a very powerful world leader.
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6. ATTICUS FINCH from TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
He’s smart, compassionate, and is very persuasive and eloquent speaker, all qualities I hope to see in a leader.
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7. MATILDA WORMWOOD from Roald Dahl’s MATILDA
Matilda is intelligent, clever, and most importantly, she’s a fighter and doesn’t give up. I think that kind of determination would make her an ideal leader when she grows up.
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8. ROBERT LANGDON from Dan Brown’s ANGELS & DEMONS
Robert Langdon is another character who is intelligent, resourceful, and willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for the better good. I could easily see him as a candidate for President.
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9. DIANA PRINCE from WONDER WOMAN: WARBRINGER
Duh, she’s Wonder Woman! She’s born to lead and she’s a major badass too!
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10. JUSTYCE MCALLISTER from DEAR MARTIN
Justyce is smart, he’s an excellent public speaker, and one of his heroes is Martin Luther KIng, Jr. I could see Justyce using the tragic events that took place in Dear Martin and using them as a catalyst to begin a career in politics or in some other area of social justice where he could take a leadership role and be a champion of social justice and equality.
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Question: What literary characters do you think would make excellent world leaders?
The Bookish Libra reviews ARTEMIS, an exciting new sci-fi thriller set on the moon
Artemis by Andy Weir Also by this author: Project Hail Mary
Published by Crown Publishing Group (NY) on November 14th 2017
Genres: Science Fiction
Pages: 384
Source: Netgalley
Amazon
Goodreads
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
MY REVIEW:
Andy Weir’s The Martian was one of my favorite reads from last year, so I was so excited to receive a review copy of his latest novel, Artemis. I wasn’t convinced that it could possibly live up to the thrill of The Martian because, seriously, how do you top a survival story about an astronaut who is stranded on Mars? But hearing that Artemis was a sci-fi thriller about carrying out a heist on the moon (!) gave me hope that Artemis would be just as entertaining a read for me as The Martian was. And I’m excited to report that it came pretty darn close!
Artemis is actually the name of the city on the moon where the story is set. Aside from the fact that it is covered by domes to compensate for the lack of gravity and to keep out troublesome space dust, Artemis is pretty much just like your average city or town on Earth. Artemis has touristy areas because of course going to the moon is a huge attraction for those who can afford it. It also has residential areas for those who reside on the moon full time. Artemis also has a similar class system to what is on Earth, where the rich live well and the poor do what they can to scrape by.
Jazz Bashara, the main character, is one of those poor residents who does what she can to scrape by. She works as a porter, delivering goods to residents all over Artemis, but the job barely pays her rent. Jazz has dreams of a bigger and better life for herself and so she has a side “job” working as a smuggler to bring in a little extra income. Street smart and incredibly resourceful, Jazz has somehow managed to corner the market on smuggling in contraband goods from Earth. For those who are willing to pay, Jazz can get them pretty much anything they want.
Jazz is a pretty fascinating character in the sense that she doesn’t really seem to have any qualms whatsoever about engaging in criminal activities. It is this quality that makes her the ideal candidate for a scheme that one of her wealthy regulars is planning. It’s a dangerous job, practically an impossible one, really, and one that could get her deported back to Earth if she were to get caught. That said, however, if Jazz can pull it off, the payoff is a truly life-changing amount of money. It may be “Mission Impossible,” but Jazz would do pretty much anything to secure that kind of income for herself.
She agrees to the job, but quickly realizes that she is in over her head. What starts out as a challenging heist soon lands Jazz at the heart of a conspiracy to take over control of Artemis itself. How will she get herself out of the mess she has landed in and what will happen to Artemis if the conspiracy is actually carried out? It’s a real nail biter!
Jazz was, by far, my favorite part of Artemis. I just found her so intriguing. Jazz, who is in her early twenties, has come to the moon from Saudi Arabia. She is living on her own after a falling out with her father over some poor choices she has made in her young life. Jazz is both intelligent and street smart, and she’s very resourceful. I loved that even though she was resorting to less than legal means to supplement her income, she totally owned it and was unapologetic about what she was doing.
I also enjoyed the father-daughter dynamic between Jazz and her dad. Jazz is not a practicing Muslim, but her father is and he’s very religious. Because of this, some of Jazz’s lifestyle choices have created friction in their relationship. I thought Weir did a wonderful job of portraying the nuances of this strained relationship: the awkwardness, the disappointment, the longing to reunite, and beneath it all, the unconditional love. I loved all of the father-daughter scenes. They were written very realistically and tugged at my heartstrings.
I also loved the action and pacing of the novel. Just like with The Martian, I devoured this book in about a day. Weir does a fantastic job creating an exciting balance between “science talk” and intense, action-packed scenes as Jazz sets out to complete “mission impossible” and then especially once that initial mission goes haywire and spirals into something else entirely. I always feel like I’m learning a lot while being thoroughly entertained at the same time when I’m reading one of Weir’s books.
Finally, the world-building was fascinating as well. I loved Weir’s vision for what a city on the moon might actually look like and I thought the shout-out to so many famous astronauts by having the different compounds named after them (Armstrong, Aldrin, etc.) was very cool. As Jazz walked us around the city of Artemis, Weir’s attention to detail was just impeccable. He really thought of everything when it came to how people could actually eat, sleep, work, shop, and otherwise function as a society on the moon. As much as I loved Weir’s attention to detail, I will confess I wish he had come up with more imaginative names for their main food staple (“Gunk”) and for their smartphone equivalent (“Gizmo”). I don’t know why, obviously a personal quirk with me, but those names just irritated me every time they came up throughout the novel.
As much as I enjoyed Jazz’s story, I did have a couple of minor issues with Artemis.
The first is that, at times, Jazz reminded me a little too much of Mark Watney, the main character from The Martian. It was especially noticeable when I first started reading because their use of humor and sarcasm was so similar. My first thought was “Hey, Mark Watney’s on the moon now!” Once I got to know Jazz better, it wasn’t as noticeable, but I still wish their voices were a little less similar. Some of Jazz’s jokes, in particular, sometimes sounded to me more like something a teenage boy would say rather than a 20-something woman. It didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the story, but it did give me pause a few times because it felt like the joke didn’t quite fit the character, if that even makes sense.
Another issue I had was with Jazz and her pen pal from Earth. The main action of the story is periodically interrupted by letters to and from this guy in Kenya. Aside from establishing that he was her contact for the contraband she’s smuggling, I just felt like they were in the way and didn’t add much to the story. I’m sure they probably won’t bother others, but that element of the story just didn’t quite work for me.
If you enjoy good science fiction and badass protagonists, I’d definitely recommend reading Andy Weir’s Artemis. While fans of The Martian might not find it quite as riveting as Mark Watney’s survival story on Mars, they should still find Jazz Bashara’s lunar adventures to be quite entertaining. I’d also recommend it to those who haven’t yet read The Martian. It might prove to be even more entertaining to those who aren’t tempted to compare Artemis to The Martian.
GOODREADS SYNOPSIS
Jazz Bashara is a criminal.
Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you’re not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you’ve got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent.
Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down. But pulling off the impossible is just the start of her problems, as she learns that she’s stepped square into a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself—and that now, her only chance at survival lies in a gambit even riskier than the first.
About Andy Weir
ANDY WEIR built a career as a software engineer until the runaway success of his debut novel, THE MARTIAN, allowed him to pursue writing full-time. He is a lifelong space nerd and a devoted hobbyist of subjects such as relativistic physics, orbital mechanics, and the history of manned spaceflight. He lives in California.
Book Review: The Tethered Mage by Melissa Caruso
The Tethered Mage by Melissa Caruso Series: Swords and Fire #1
Published by Orbit on October 24th 2017
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 480
Source: Netgalley
Amazon
Goodreads
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
MY REVIEW:
Melissa Caruso’s novel The Tethered Mage is an engaging YA fantasy that has a little bit for everyone. There’s incredible world building, an intricate magic system, and lots of political intrigue. There’s also forbidden love, plenty of action scenes, and a wonderful cast of characters, with badass females leading the way.
Note: There may be some minor spoilers. The magic system is so unique that I felt like I had to explain some of it in detail to illustrate just how profoundly it impacts the lives of the main characters as soon as the novel begins.
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The novel is set in the world of Eruvia, primarily in the city of Raverra. Raverra is significant in that the governing body of Eruvia, the Empire, is seated there. The cities of Eruvia live in relative peace, although that peace is dictated primarily by the fact that Raverra controls the majority of the rare magic that exists in their world and can therefore weaponize it at any moment if any kind of civil war were to break out.
The system of magic in Eruvia is quite intriguing, especially in the sense that those who have the magical powers don’t have free will to use their magic as they choose. Because those who possess this rare magic are “mage-marked” by a colored ring around their irises, they are identified at an early age, taken away from their families, and conscripted into service for the Raverran Empire as what are called “Falcons.” The magic of these Falcons is unpredictable and often destructive, so the Raverrans take their control of the Falcons even further by using a bracelet called a “jess” to suppress the magic. Whoever places the jess on a Falcon’s wrist becomes bound to that Falcon, and thus becomes a “Falconer.” Each Falconer is then able to control his or her falcon’s magic using special words that unleash or suppress it. The Falcons themselves are little more than tools of the Empire.
When The Tethered Mage opens, Lady Amalia Cornaro, scholar and heir to one of the seats in Raverra’s governing council, is on her way to purchase a rare book when she encounters a young woman named Zaira, who is being accosted by a group of rough looking men. Amalia looks to intervene but before she can do anything, Zaira suddenly turns into the equivalent of a human blow torch and starts going after her attackers with a wall of fire. Recognizing the signs of warlock magic, a Falconer appears on the scene and seeing Amalia, hands her a jess and implores her to put it on Zaira to suppress her magic before she burns down the entire city. Desperate to save Raverra, Amalia readily agrees and slaps the jess on Zaira, only to fully appreciate the consequences of her actions afterwards. She is now bound to Zaira for life and is in control of her fire power.
Chaos ensues because no one on the ruling council is supposed to function as a Falconer, as having control over a Falcon’s magic could be perceived as an unfair advantage. The problem is that once the jess bond has been established, there’s no way to undo it. Amalia is also the sole heir to her family’s council seat, so she has no choice but to be both Falconer and council person when her time comes. What was already a political tightrope walk just got even more complicated. One wrong move and that tenuous peace between cities could go right out the window, especially if others feel threatened by this new fire power Amalia has inadvertently given to the Empire.
What does this mean for Amalia? For her future? For Zaira’s future? The two women are destined to stay tethered together until death, whether they get along or not, and Zaira is no trusting young child like the typical Falcons who come in for training. Will Amalia be able to break through Zaira’s initial defenses and mistrust or are they destined to barely tolerate each other?
Zaira was actually my favorite character in The Tethered Mage. She has spent her life living on the streets as a thief and up until the moment Amalia straps the jess on her, has managed to hide the fact that she is mage-marked and actually a rare Fire Warlock. She is furious at Amalia for trapping her into serving the Empire against her will and goes out of her way to be difficult. She’s street smart, feisty, and truly has no filter, which makes for some comical scenarios since Amalia has to take her everywhere she goes, even to court. I also liked Zaira’s perspective on the laws in Raverra when it comes to the mage-marked. All of those who were taken as children seem to just accept it for what it is and are used to it, but as an adult being forced into service, Zaira is quick to point out just how unfair it all is, that her life is basically over now aside from serving the Empire.
In addition to Zaira, there are many other fantastic female characters that I also liked. Lady Amalia of course is fascinating to watch as she attempts to juggle all of the roles she is forced to play throughout the story. I also enjoyed watching her try to figure out how to break through Zaira’s thorny exterior so they can at least tolerate each other now that they are stuck with each other.
Lady Amalia’s mother, the Contessa, is another fabulous character. She is one of the most powerful people in Raverra and she is someone you do not want to cross.
In addition to these wonderfully drawn characters, I also thought the system of magic, which I’ve already described above, was very well thought out by the author. I loved the intricacies of the magic itself – the way some of the powers are more destructive as with fire and storm warlocks, while other magical abilities have more to do with science and alchemy. I also enjoyed the exploration of the ethics of Raverra with respect to the control of the magic. Who are they to decide that a person shouldn’t be in control of their own magic and that they have to serve the Empire?
There’s also a budding romance in The Tethered Mage and I liked how the author handled it. It was subtle and didn’t overshadow the rest of the story, and it was also more interesting than the typical romance: 1) because it’s a forbidden romance because the couple is unevenly matched in terms of social standing, and 2) because the one who forbids it is the Contessa and as I’ve already mentioned, she is not someone you want to cross, if at all possible.
One issue I had with The Tethered Mage was the heavy emphasis on politics and political discussions, particularly in the middle of the book. I could see this aspect of the book being what will either make or break this story for some readers. I personally love politics and reading about who may be plotting against who, and what they’re going to do about it, etc. But even as much as I enjoy that kind of plot development, I started to get tired of all of the sitting around discussing and wanted them to just do something. I had a moment where I thought about giving up on the book, but I pushed through since I had been enjoying it so much prior to the lull in the action, and thankfully, the action picked back up soon after.
With its fascinating cast of characters, incredible world building, intricate magic system, and its emphasis on political intrigue, The Tethered Mage is the perfect introduction to Melissa Caruso’s Swords and Fire series. I look forward to reading the next installment when it becomes available.
GOODREADS SYNOPSIS
In the Raverran Empire, magic is scarce and those born with power are strictly controlled — taken as children and conscripted into the Falcon Army.
Zaira has lived her life on the streets to avoid this fate, hiding her mage-mark and thieving to survive. But hers is a rare and dangerous magic, one that threatens the entire empire.
Lady Amalia Cornaro was never meant to be a Falconer. Heiress and scholar, she was born into a treacherous world of political machinations.
But fate has bound the heir and the mage. And as war looms on the horizon, a single spark could turn their city into a pyre.
The Tethered Mage is the first novel in a spellbinding new fantasy series.
About Melissa Caruso
Melissa Caruso is the author of THE TETHERED MAGE, first in the Swords and Fire trilogy, out now from Orbit books.