Monday, September 19, 2011

Darkborn and vision

One of the questions I saw on one of the blogs (I think it was erotica author Delilah Devlin's) that I visited today asked what you would do if you were only able to see for 1 hour a month which was ironic considering I was reading Darkborn by Alison Sinclair at the time.  The intriguing premise to this story is that there are two societies coexisting but never crossing paths because one cannot tolerate the light and implied but not yet stated, the other cannot tolerate the dark.  Those who exist during the dark hours are necessarily the Darkborn and are physically blind yet can "sonn" which allows them to perceive far more than mere sight would allow.  The presence of two babies who are ostensibly Darkborn yet possibly sighted forms the nexus for the upheaval and violence that permeates the entire book.  A complicated relationship between mages and the Darkborn populace as well as a nebulous threat from beings known as the Shadowborn gives depth to the story which follows the Hearne family as it becomes the center of a whirlpool of upheaval and potential destruction of society as they know it.  Great secondary characters as well as a nice facility for world-building make this an intriguing read and whets the appetite for the other two books in the trilogy.  My Goodreads review:  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6314019-darkborn

I have always had a secret fear that I will lose my vision and be unable to read therefore the story resonated with me on a visceral level because these people use their own version of Braille and operate independently through the use of a different sense so they are by no means handicapped in the strictest sense of the word.  I did not enjoy the one or two audiobooks that I tried because they seemed so slow and I always fear that the voice of the narrator will destroy the story for me because I will find it to be inadequate or inappropriate for the story that I am reading.  I already find it irksome to compensate for my bifocals and often end up removing my eyeglasses entirely when I read.  Anyway, if I only had an hour of vision per month, I probably would spend it outdoors, reading and staring at my loved ones.

2 comments:

  1. My hubby had cataract surgery a few years ago on both his eyes and afterwards he said he hadn't realized just how much he had been missing out on. Here recently I've noticed that smaller print is harder for me to read so I may have to get reading glasses...Oh the trials and tribulations of old age...lol

    I would probably do the same as you..spend time out doors reading and spending time with my family.

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  2. Yep, and going from the computer to the iPad to a print book...my poor eyeballs are not sure what focal length to get used to!

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