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Jamie (131 KP) rated And I Darken (The Conqueror's Saga #1) in Books
Jul 15, 2017
Well developed characters with complex relationships (1 more)
Engaging story
What if Vlad the Impaler was a girl? An engrossing historical dark fantasy
I was surprised to find that the story had two main characters, Lada and her younger brother Radu. The story is told from their alternating points of view from childhood up to early adulthood. The siblings are sent from their homeland as hostages to the sultan to ensure their father’s loyalty. The story follows the siblings through their journey of self discovery as their fates become entangled with Mehmed II, the virtuous son of the sultan with dreams of conquest.
Lada is fierce even from a young age, a vicious child that is often described as being ugly. She is abrasive and domineering with an intense hunger to claim and rule over what she views as hers. She is frustrated by the limitations placed on her for being a woman, craving power and freedom given to her brother for the simple fact that he is a man. Lada wrestles with her femininity, at some times rejecting it entirely and at other times trying to accept herself and her needs as a woman. She idolizes her father and later the janissaries, wanting desperately to be recognized and accepted. Lada seeks to return home to her mother Wallachia, her birthright.
In stark contrast to Lada, he is sensitive and beautiful. As a child he cried easily and like his sister he also desperately sought affection and acceptance from others. Beginning with their father, their nursemaid, Lada, and eventually Mehmed. While Lada seeks power through brute strength Radu finds a means to his ends through manipulation, using his attractiveness to gain the respect and trust of the people around him. Radu finds his home in Islam and the empire under the watchful eye of the father, the Sultan.
The parallels between Lada and Radu are a subversion of the classical gendered stereotypes placed on men and women. The bonds between Lada, Radu, and Mehmed were incredibly complex and toxic for all involved. The book doesn’t shy away at all from the hideous aspects of love and jealousy and gives an honest and intimate portrayal of the characters as they stumble into adulthood.
This book is loosely based on three very real historical figures: Vlad the Impaler, Radu the Fair, and Mehmed II. Despite this, the book is in no way to be considered to be historically factual, as noted by the author. Lada’s gender change aside there is definitely many pieces of history that are changed deliberately to make room not only for a new romance but also for a more neutral portrayal of the character. This is definitely a medieval fantasy and alternate history book which I’m quite frankly fine with and was able to enjoy just the same. The setting and characters were fairly convincing for the time period and appreciated the research and detail that was put into the book to make it at least believable.
I expected a little more war and battle in this book but there was actually next to none. There was much more focus on the political aspects of the story which I think was alright considering the ages of the main characters. I do expect to see more combat in the next book though, so maybe Lada will actually be the brutal warrior princess she was destined to be.
Despite my mild complaints about the historical aspects of this book I thoroughly enjoyed myself reading it. I was initially intimidated by the page count for this book but found myself flying through the pages. And I Darken is masterfully written and really polished compared to a lot of YA literature. Definitely one of my favorites and I am absolutely ecstatic to continue the series.
Lada is fierce even from a young age, a vicious child that is often described as being ugly. She is abrasive and domineering with an intense hunger to claim and rule over what she views as hers. She is frustrated by the limitations placed on her for being a woman, craving power and freedom given to her brother for the simple fact that he is a man. Lada wrestles with her femininity, at some times rejecting it entirely and at other times trying to accept herself and her needs as a woman. She idolizes her father and later the janissaries, wanting desperately to be recognized and accepted. Lada seeks to return home to her mother Wallachia, her birthright.
In stark contrast to Lada, he is sensitive and beautiful. As a child he cried easily and like his sister he also desperately sought affection and acceptance from others. Beginning with their father, their nursemaid, Lada, and eventually Mehmed. While Lada seeks power through brute strength Radu finds a means to his ends through manipulation, using his attractiveness to gain the respect and trust of the people around him. Radu finds his home in Islam and the empire under the watchful eye of the father, the Sultan.
The parallels between Lada and Radu are a subversion of the classical gendered stereotypes placed on men and women. The bonds between Lada, Radu, and Mehmed were incredibly complex and toxic for all involved. The book doesn’t shy away at all from the hideous aspects of love and jealousy and gives an honest and intimate portrayal of the characters as they stumble into adulthood.
This book is loosely based on three very real historical figures: Vlad the Impaler, Radu the Fair, and Mehmed II. Despite this, the book is in no way to be considered to be historically factual, as noted by the author. Lada’s gender change aside there is definitely many pieces of history that are changed deliberately to make room not only for a new romance but also for a more neutral portrayal of the character. This is definitely a medieval fantasy and alternate history book which I’m quite frankly fine with and was able to enjoy just the same. The setting and characters were fairly convincing for the time period and appreciated the research and detail that was put into the book to make it at least believable.
I expected a little more war and battle in this book but there was actually next to none. There was much more focus on the political aspects of the story which I think was alright considering the ages of the main characters. I do expect to see more combat in the next book though, so maybe Lada will actually be the brutal warrior princess she was destined to be.
Despite my mild complaints about the historical aspects of this book I thoroughly enjoyed myself reading it. I was initially intimidated by the page count for this book but found myself flying through the pages. And I Darken is masterfully written and really polished compared to a lot of YA literature. Definitely one of my favorites and I am absolutely ecstatic to continue the series.
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Louise (64 KP) rated And I Darken (The Conqueror's Saga #1) in Books
Jul 2, 2018
First I would like to say a massive thank you to Goodreads as I won myself a copy on one of their giveaways( Aren’t they great!)
And I Darken is a new Historical fiction/Re-telling of Vlad the Impaler but gender swapped. Goodreads have it listed as being a fantasy, but there is no magic or any paranormal goings on whatsoever…glad we got that cleared up.
Our story follows Ladislav (Lada) and Radu Dragwyla the descendants of Vlad Dracul, Prince of Wallachia. Vlad is a vile human being and uses his own children for bargaining with the Ottoman Empire, there lives are at risk if he does not keep to the treaties terms. Living in the Ottoman Empire is risky for Lada and Radu, Lada could easily be married off to some suitor for allegiance or killed whichever is easier for the Sultan. Running the grounds they bump into a young boy the same age as them, only to find that he is the Sultan’s son Mehmed. Mehmed is a lonely boy with only his tutors for company so he befriends them both and shares all his education and time with them, which in turn takes them out of the spotlight.
Lada is a very strong character, she is a force to be reckoned with. She is brutal,fierce and just a total badass throughout the book. Being born a woman is one almighty struggle to be taken seriously in the 1400’s. She knows that she is the rightful heir of Wallachia at the young age of 11. She wants to impress her father with her fighting skills and there is a point when she thinks she has, but the only thoughts her father has is marrying her off to a suitor and being a dutiful wife. Lada is very family orientated and has a very unique relationship with her brother Radu but she will never show any emotion as this is a sign of weakness and she is perceived as a cold-hearted bitch.
Radu was always a disappointment to his father, weak,cowardly and clinging to his nursemaids side infuriated Vlad. Radu was the more emotional of siblings, even though he was not great at fighting he had a devious and cunning mind that made him equally as dangerous as Lada.
My feelings towards the characters changed a lot throughout the book at first I thought Lada was just a psychotic child but realised she is trying to prove herself as being fierce. Radu he was very sweet throughout the book and always wanted his sister to just open up and tell him she loved him and for him to tell her his secrets and feelings. The main point is that they are flawed and this is what makes characters great.
Mehmed just annoyed me and he got in the way of Lada’s plans.
The book does contain romance, a love triangle where no one expresses their love for anyone as they are too scared of the consequences or that it will stop them from their goals in life. So the romance is frustrating to say the least.
This book has a lot of political intrigue,so be prepared for wars,treaties,soldiers and their ranks. This is Historical fiction but as in the author’s notes at the end it is not accurate and a lot is made up. Religion is also touched upon, mostly Islam with Christianity but it’s not too in your face or info dumping. The book is nearly 500 pages long! I felt it could have been shorter. I enjoyed the relationship between Radu and Lada,it was a very different set-up from what we are used to. This did take me a little longer to read as in places it was very slow and I found myself getting bored.
This book covers themes such as sibling rivalry, relationships, families, romance, feminism, sexism and politics
<img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1476160834l/22817331.jpg"; width="120" height="180"/>
Now I Rise is the second installment of the And I Darken saga which is due to be released in June 2017 which I will be reading as I am interested in what is going to happen next with Lada.
Overall I rated this 3.5 out of 5 stars
And I Darken is a new Historical fiction/Re-telling of Vlad the Impaler but gender swapped. Goodreads have it listed as being a fantasy, but there is no magic or any paranormal goings on whatsoever…glad we got that cleared up.
Our story follows Ladislav (Lada) and Radu Dragwyla the descendants of Vlad Dracul, Prince of Wallachia. Vlad is a vile human being and uses his own children for bargaining with the Ottoman Empire, there lives are at risk if he does not keep to the treaties terms. Living in the Ottoman Empire is risky for Lada and Radu, Lada could easily be married off to some suitor for allegiance or killed whichever is easier for the Sultan. Running the grounds they bump into a young boy the same age as them, only to find that he is the Sultan’s son Mehmed. Mehmed is a lonely boy with only his tutors for company so he befriends them both and shares all his education and time with them, which in turn takes them out of the spotlight.
Lada is a very strong character, she is a force to be reckoned with. She is brutal,fierce and just a total badass throughout the book. Being born a woman is one almighty struggle to be taken seriously in the 1400’s. She knows that she is the rightful heir of Wallachia at the young age of 11. She wants to impress her father with her fighting skills and there is a point when she thinks she has, but the only thoughts her father has is marrying her off to a suitor and being a dutiful wife. Lada is very family orientated and has a very unique relationship with her brother Radu but she will never show any emotion as this is a sign of weakness and she is perceived as a cold-hearted bitch.
Radu was always a disappointment to his father, weak,cowardly and clinging to his nursemaids side infuriated Vlad. Radu was the more emotional of siblings, even though he was not great at fighting he had a devious and cunning mind that made him equally as dangerous as Lada.
My feelings towards the characters changed a lot throughout the book at first I thought Lada was just a psychotic child but realised she is trying to prove herself as being fierce. Radu he was very sweet throughout the book and always wanted his sister to just open up and tell him she loved him and for him to tell her his secrets and feelings. The main point is that they are flawed and this is what makes characters great.
Mehmed just annoyed me and he got in the way of Lada’s plans.
The book does contain romance, a love triangle where no one expresses their love for anyone as they are too scared of the consequences or that it will stop them from their goals in life. So the romance is frustrating to say the least.
This book has a lot of political intrigue,so be prepared for wars,treaties,soldiers and their ranks. This is Historical fiction but as in the author’s notes at the end it is not accurate and a lot is made up. Religion is also touched upon, mostly Islam with Christianity but it’s not too in your face or info dumping. The book is nearly 500 pages long! I felt it could have been shorter. I enjoyed the relationship between Radu and Lada,it was a very different set-up from what we are used to. This did take me a little longer to read as in places it was very slow and I found myself getting bored.
This book covers themes such as sibling rivalry, relationships, families, romance, feminism, sexism and politics
<img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1476160834l/22817331.jpg"; width="120" height="180"/>
Now I Rise is the second installment of the And I Darken saga which is due to be released in June 2017 which I will be reading as I am interested in what is going to happen next with Lada.
Overall I rated this 3.5 out of 5 stars
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Cody Cook (8 KP) rated A Black Theology of Liberation in Books
Jun 29, 2018
James Cone is considered to be the founder of Black Liberation Theology, a variant of the Liberation Theology movement most widely connected with South American theologian Gustavo Gutierrez. Liberation Theology emphasizes those biblical concerns that white European flavored Christianity has often looked over– concerns like justice and liberation for the oppressed and downtrodden (Luke 4:16-21, Matthew 25:31-45, etc.). Though these emphases are quite important, in Liberation movements, they can often drown out other, extremely vital, elements of the Christian faith, as they clearly do in Cone’s Black Liberation Theology.
One major issue for Cone is one of authority. The experience of one group of people (the oppressed) becomes equivalent with universal truth, and not simply an important concern in Christian theology. In other words, Cone makes his own experience the judge of who God is and what God is for. While “white” (a term used by Cone not so much to reflect skin color but an oppressor mentality) Christianity commits this grave error without realizing it, Cone does so with full knowledge. So, for instance, while a conservative “white” theologian would say that his own views and actions *should* be directed by the scripture (whether or not he does in fact direct them by this standard), Cone makes the judgement of the oppressed black community the ultimate truth for them– and if mass violence against whites is decided by the group as the best means to effect their liberation, so be it. Cone explicitly distances himself from the approach of King, identifying more with the violence-prone philosophy of the Nation of Islam as propounded by Malcolm X. If someone criticizes his approach, he seems to assume that they’re doing so as a “white” oppressor and should be ignored– an oppressor has no moral right to question the rightness or wrongness of the actions of the people he is oppressing. This of course ignores the criticisms of violence, even from the oppressed, of black Christians like Martin Luther King Jr., Desmond Tutu, etc. Cone is also unfortunately either unfamiliar with or unconvinced by pacifist Christian claims to be committed to peaceful action, since he equates non-violence with inaction and acquiescence. While he is absolutely correct in seeing liberation as an important theme in the Christian faith, he, like “white” religionists, allows his own experience and emotions to determine what is right and wrong to the point of supporting evil in the interest of what he feels is best for his community. However, what can’t be said of Cone’s position on violence is that it is radical, because it is emphatically not. The political heroes of most white Americans are men who used violence to gain political autonomy. Thus, it is not radical for black men and women to look up to figures like Malcolm X and James Cone who advocate doing the same thing if it seems necessary for freedom and self-determination; it is merely status quo. The problem is that Jesus calls all men and women, regardless of color, to rise above the status quo and the myth of redemptive violence.
Seizing on that point, one major problem with Cone’s view of violent revolution is that when oppressed people rise up through violence, they become the oppressor– co-opting the tools of oppression and dehumanization. “Blacks” become “white” through the use of violence. Cone seems unaware of (doubtful) or unaffected by the history of the Bolshevik, Cuban, or French revolutions, wherein the oppressed quickly became the oppressors and became twofold more a child of hell than their oppressors. His view also reshapes Nat Turner, the slave who claimed to have been directed by God to murder white women and children, into an unqualified hero. Cone’s system re-establishes and re-affirms oppression– it does not end it.
For Cone, God is black and the devil is white, because God supports the oppressed and the devil supports the oppressor. But in so closely identifying God with blackness, the actions of those in the black community are now above being questioned, just like the actions of white enslavers were, according to them, above being questioned because they aligned themselves with God and those whom they oppressed with the devil.
What Cone is really trying to get at is that since Jesus supports the cause of the oppressed, the oppressor must so distance himself from his oppressor identity that he becomes indistinguishable from the oppressed– willing to suffer along with them– if he is to be Christ-like. In other words, the “white” must become “black.” Cone says that God can’t be colorless where people suffer for their color. So, where blacks suffer God is black. Taking this logic, which is indeed rooted in Scripture, where the poor suffer, God is poor. Where babies are killed in the womb, God is an aborted baby. Where gay people are bullied, God is gay. It is our obligation to identify with the downtrodden, because that’s what Jesus did. Paul, quoting a hymn of the church about Jesus, puts it this way:
“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
‘Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!'”
–Philippians 2:5-8
Jesus not only gives up his power to express love to the powerless by identifying with them, He also takes on their sin and suffers with and for them. This is the essence of the gospel, and it often gets lost when we translate it into our daily lives. For Cone, this important truth gets lost in the banner of black militantism and the cycle of violence. For so many American Christians, it gets lost when they reduce the political nature of Christianity to scolding those whose private expression of morality doesn’t line up with theirs. We refuse to identify with sinners (which is a category we all fit into) in love.
One major issue for Cone is one of authority. The experience of one group of people (the oppressed) becomes equivalent with universal truth, and not simply an important concern in Christian theology. In other words, Cone makes his own experience the judge of who God is and what God is for. While “white” (a term used by Cone not so much to reflect skin color but an oppressor mentality) Christianity commits this grave error without realizing it, Cone does so with full knowledge. So, for instance, while a conservative “white” theologian would say that his own views and actions *should* be directed by the scripture (whether or not he does in fact direct them by this standard), Cone makes the judgement of the oppressed black community the ultimate truth for them– and if mass violence against whites is decided by the group as the best means to effect their liberation, so be it. Cone explicitly distances himself from the approach of King, identifying more with the violence-prone philosophy of the Nation of Islam as propounded by Malcolm X. If someone criticizes his approach, he seems to assume that they’re doing so as a “white” oppressor and should be ignored– an oppressor has no moral right to question the rightness or wrongness of the actions of the people he is oppressing. This of course ignores the criticisms of violence, even from the oppressed, of black Christians like Martin Luther King Jr., Desmond Tutu, etc. Cone is also unfortunately either unfamiliar with or unconvinced by pacifist Christian claims to be committed to peaceful action, since he equates non-violence with inaction and acquiescence. While he is absolutely correct in seeing liberation as an important theme in the Christian faith, he, like “white” religionists, allows his own experience and emotions to determine what is right and wrong to the point of supporting evil in the interest of what he feels is best for his community. However, what can’t be said of Cone’s position on violence is that it is radical, because it is emphatically not. The political heroes of most white Americans are men who used violence to gain political autonomy. Thus, it is not radical for black men and women to look up to figures like Malcolm X and James Cone who advocate doing the same thing if it seems necessary for freedom and self-determination; it is merely status quo. The problem is that Jesus calls all men and women, regardless of color, to rise above the status quo and the myth of redemptive violence.
Seizing on that point, one major problem with Cone’s view of violent revolution is that when oppressed people rise up through violence, they become the oppressor– co-opting the tools of oppression and dehumanization. “Blacks” become “white” through the use of violence. Cone seems unaware of (doubtful) or unaffected by the history of the Bolshevik, Cuban, or French revolutions, wherein the oppressed quickly became the oppressors and became twofold more a child of hell than their oppressors. His view also reshapes Nat Turner, the slave who claimed to have been directed by God to murder white women and children, into an unqualified hero. Cone’s system re-establishes and re-affirms oppression– it does not end it.
For Cone, God is black and the devil is white, because God supports the oppressed and the devil supports the oppressor. But in so closely identifying God with blackness, the actions of those in the black community are now above being questioned, just like the actions of white enslavers were, according to them, above being questioned because they aligned themselves with God and those whom they oppressed with the devil.
What Cone is really trying to get at is that since Jesus supports the cause of the oppressed, the oppressor must so distance himself from his oppressor identity that he becomes indistinguishable from the oppressed– willing to suffer along with them– if he is to be Christ-like. In other words, the “white” must become “black.” Cone says that God can’t be colorless where people suffer for their color. So, where blacks suffer God is black. Taking this logic, which is indeed rooted in Scripture, where the poor suffer, God is poor. Where babies are killed in the womb, God is an aborted baby. Where gay people are bullied, God is gay. It is our obligation to identify with the downtrodden, because that’s what Jesus did. Paul, quoting a hymn of the church about Jesus, puts it this way:
“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
‘Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!'”
–Philippians 2:5-8
Jesus not only gives up his power to express love to the powerless by identifying with them, He also takes on their sin and suffers with and for them. This is the essence of the gospel, and it often gets lost when we translate it into our daily lives. For Cone, this important truth gets lost in the banner of black militantism and the cycle of violence. For so many American Christians, it gets lost when they reduce the political nature of Christianity to scolding those whose private expression of morality doesn’t line up with theirs. We refuse to identify with sinners (which is a category we all fit into) in love.