To the kingdom of darkness

Jack tried to recollect his memories once again. He was inside a cave-and everything was pitch black around him.
He could not see anything-only his senses are telling him that something horribly unpleasant is going to happen.
What he could think was that he had opened the lid of the trunk-it was a free fall for him through the trunk, like he had fallen for eternity and now he is there –a sensation of chill is passing through his spine. He can feel rattling –a rattle snake? How it could be? Will the end come this way? Away from family-nobody knows where-the venom of poisonous snakes will make him blue.
Soon he realized that not one-but countless baby rattles are crawling-crawling around him. Suddenly he felt that the ground below him trembling. The baby rattles were away from his body. It was a sensation of relief for him-but it was too short lived. Soon in the flickering light he can see a monstrous snake-a rattlesnake of the size of a gigantic python! Its head looked larger than a soccer ball-all he could see that two cruel eyes are looking at him-like two burning coals.
The gaze is hypnotizing-soon he is going to lose his consciousness!
Wishapick (Touched by the Spell) by M.M.Alllen is an absorbing tale of fantasy-a type of tale that have mesmerized the younger generations for thousand of years-classic, timeless. It is a story where reality of rattlesnakes have been merged into fables, where small innocent possums led an uprising …… it has a flavor of its own!
Little Jack’s father has gone to the stars and with his father disappeared from his life the fun, the adventure and the joy! The life is now so boooring! He gets irritated when his mother told them the story of the breath of all god things. Is it possible? Can there be existence of such ridiculous thing? He does never believe and gets more itchy seeing that her little sister do believe it by heart! But he loved the mysterious gigantic black trunk in their house. It is locked and never got opened by their mother. Its contents are shrouded in mystery. What could be inside? Jewels of Cleopatra-sword of Julius Caesar-or the harp of Athena-anything can be inside. He thought and thought-but there should be some limit to imagination. When he got fade up with imagination, he decided to open it up. Secretly-of course, as his mother would have never allowed him to . And what happened is entirely beyond his guess-
‘With a loud creak, the lid opened up. Jack edged away from the trunk. He felt a soft breeze blow over him. He stepped back close to the trunk. The breeze, warm and inviting, was coming from inside. He peered in. nothing to see-it was pitch- black. Then he saw tin lights, little stars, deep in the trunk, but he couldn’t see the bottom. He felt an uncontrollable urge to jump into the trunk. ‘
And eventually heart won over the brain –and he jumped. Is it a fall like the fall through the rabbit hole? Or he fell to another time-the trunk opens the doorway to time travel?
And what has happened to his little sister in the meantime. Well-some strange happenings were around her-which is best enjoyed when read from the original text-so I will not go into details. But after some events and anti-events-just like matter and anti matter-she discovered herself to the edge of the iron trunk-pen and inviting-and a ladder is prepared to take her into the deep of mystery. And she accepted the invitation.
Both have landed to the strange kingdom of Wishapick-but to different locations-after all, it is ‘wish-a-pick.’ Jack –as we already know is in the den of the mighty king –the lord of the rattlesnakes-Sirus, while his little sister has landed to the pathway of little Dr. Tumalum-the possum and the dentist of the kingdom. As both jack and lily went on to discover-that the king is on a dangerous ploy. He is in a mad game to cover the whole kingdom with darkness. A deep melancholy has now covered the entire kingdom. When there is no light-can there is happiness? The only hope to the subjects of the kingdom is the queen-who is a source of light herself and lights the gardens of the subjects when there was no king’s man to look around.
‘When the dark came upon us so quickly, many of us were frightened. We didn’t understand why it had come. Many who lived in Wishapaick all their lives ran away in fear, and we forgot the name. In the beginning of the dark days, some of us remembered. But we thought we had been completely abandoned, and eventually all memory of the name was known was lost to us, and we quickly forgot how to summon the Breath. Some are chosen to always remember the name. even if they can’t recall it in a particular moment, it will come back to them through the Breath.’
But things are getting hot-as the mighty powerful king with his army of hawks and royal guards and legendary toves proves out to be too strong compared to the subjects. But it is existences of life for the residents-either defends or get wiped out! Against the magical might of the king-they too now have a weapon-Jack-whose destiny is to help them out in this magical battle. Here magic will meet magic-as iron cuts iron-with the help of breath of all good things. Now the question is-will Jack believes in himself?
Allen has created some absolutely adorable characters-imposing human characters in their nature has imparted a new dimension in the story telling.
However after finishing the book one idea has crossed my mind. In our minds lives evil intent like the king Sirus. He always wants that our mind to be remained in darkness! And there is a continuous struggle between darkness and light-ignorance and knowledge.
The struggle has probably started from the dawn of civilization-and will probably continue till the holocaust!
And who should win? Well-it is up to you to decide.

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Man versus machine or man and machine?

Lifemaker by Dean F. Wilson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Darkness is everywhere- and the human species is on the verge of extinction.
The human civilization has long stopped the wheels of progress- the entire world is foggy now- a natural civilization has been replaced by an artificial one, literally.
A new rule of darkness, a new rule of tyranny has prevailed over the human society. Where women are no more giving birth to natural human children- but instead giving birth to custodians of this tyrannical rule- sadly enough who are not from the species Homo sapiens!
Only a few members of the species- still the leftovers- are resisting the rule of Iron. But their voice is too feeble to be heard amid the clattering of wheels in the factories of the Iron world- producing drugs for the demon rulers. Ironical enough, the drug hope is essential to the survival of the new species- crushing the hope of rebirth of a new human order.
It is the story of the future- the future where human values are valueless, human lives are uncertain and human dignity holds no meaning. It is the story of the future when man redefines the meaning of struggle for existence.
Under this backdrop of grief and despair- starts the story of the ‘Lifemaker’- book two of the trilogy series ‘The great Iron War’ by Dean F. Wilson.
Let us recollect some memories of the past events. The remaining human population-known as ‘pure’ was on a desperate bid to throw off the Iron regime of the land of Altadas- locked horns with the cruel regime in a bloody battle-or more precisely in a series of battles. When the plan of the coupe failed-the members of the resistance under the able guidance of General Rommond were forced to flee the land in a specially designed advanced submarine called the ‘ Lifemaker’. The submarine is life maker in the literary sense-it contains women from the land who are still capable of giving birth to human species.Also on board is Jacob- a man who have long forgotten to dream, who was a man whom the world may call outlaw- but somehow who is in a thread in this fight of survival of the humanity. Taberah is there –the lady leader in this crusade against the tyranny.
I do not know why-but while reading the narration- a picture of Noah’s ark was floating before my eyes. The same mission within the mind of the old man-as our fighters of the resistance- only the society has been more complex with flowing time!
“If there had been anyone left in Dustdelving to witness the Lifemaker’s descent, they would have seen the water swiftly displacing, until the massive silver hull, a thousand feet in length, was nowhere to be seen. There was no one there to watch, however, though in time Rommand was certain that there would be, and his old headquarters would be reduced to flames.”
It was destruction all around and vibrations of life amid destruction- can be heard!
“We have thirty four pure on board’ he said, ‘and they are as precious a cargo to us as anything else we have. I apologise, of course, for speaking of them as a commodity, but the reality is that they are more valuable than anything else we have-even our own lives.”
The journey of the submarine under the sea has made me remember the adventure of captain Nemo. Leaving aside the distinct features of two books- the description of the world under the water is enough to make you imagine sharks are circling round your sheep- unknown monoesters are popping out of the dark, ready to tear you apart…. it is the call of the unknown that stormed the blood of those who are on board-on a quest to uncertain future or in a stricter sense to a more definite future, perhaps.
“On the sixth day of their journey, the Lifemaker entered an area of the sea where a large sunken city sprawled before and around them.
‘Attention all crew and guests of this vessel’. Rommond announced over the intercom’ we are passing through the old world now, the old time. Take a moment please, to remember it, to acknowledge it, to honour it, and to see it in your minds an example of the very thing we are striving for.’
Lovely narration-poetic language makes the reader forget the boundary line between imagination and reality- speculation and real science. At a point past, present and future overlaps- where the commander remembers the days of his fight back- the moment when he left behind his comrade who was instrumental in the resistance against the cruel regime. Jacob remembers the days of his not so glorious past and the tough days of his struggle before the Iron king took over. Spidery web of thought compels him to think-were the human rule was good at all?
The journey of the submarine indeed turned out to be a stormy one- where something just goes wrong and suddenly the future of the human kind seems bleak. is it a mechanical fault or a sabotage? Dean makes us float in doldrums- standing in a dilemma where all the king’s men are not loyal and not all the king’s enemies are foes. Like the characters of the story who are in the periphery of light and darkens- readers are kept at guessing throughout the whole story. All Invaders are not demons and all humans are not angels- our protagonist has the realization!
But still a mission is a mission and it is to be accomplished at nay cost. Will they be able to reach the goal? Or the cruel rule will make them obliviate from the minds of the generation to come?
The first two books of The Great Iron War stress the importance of the machine. Tanks or submarines- whichever it may be! But at some points of the story these lifeless machines get synonymous with the emotions, joy, hope, despair of the human soul. At these points the machines no longer remain lifeless metals-but an integral part of human endeavour against all odds.
Human endeavour that has the potential to walk towards a new dawn – amid all odds!

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