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rhetoricandlogic · 5 years

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Everyday Magic: Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett

Martin Cahill

Mon Aug 20, 2018 1:00pm

If there’s one thing I’ve learned reading Robert Jackson Bennett, it’s that when you think you know what he’s going to do at any given moment, you’re most likely going to be wrong. You think he’ll go right; he goes left. You think he’s going to climb a fence, and instead he barrels right through. Most often, when he hits a dead end and you suspect this is where you catch him, he grins, steps onto the empty air and begins to walk into the sky.

And in his latest novel, Foundryside, Bennett is firing on all cylinders, taking what at first seems to be something a little standard, a little rote, and infusing exhilarating new life into it through expert writing, complicated and distinct characters, and an intriguing, deadly, wonderful new city called Tevanne, where reality can be shuffled like a deck of cards, provided you can justify it.

See, in Tevanne, there exists a form of magic called scriving. Utilizing a complicated alphabet left behind by ancient, almost mythological figures called the Hierophants, mankind has figured out how to imbue everyday objects with something akin to sentience and convince these objects to do work for them. Some scrivings can convince wheels to move across flat surfaces as though they were rolling downhill. Others tell a sword that it is as sharp as ten blades in one, capable of cutting through nearly anything. Others tell a candle that it can never burn out. And in this world of scrivings, the four major Merchant Houses all vie for dominance in their enormous campuses, while outside of them, people like Sancia Grado cobble together enough to survive.

At least Sancia has a unique skillset: she’s a thief of high regard, and she’s damn good at what she does. Foundryside starts with her breaking into the docks of the Merchant Houses and working to steal something for what seems like a client in one of the rival houses. But what she finds inside is unlike anything she’s ever seen. A golden key of incredible power, and its own unique personality, one could say. Unsure of letting it fall into the hands of a House, even her client, Sancia stumbles into a plot years in the making, which could spell disaster for everybody in the city, if not the world. She’s going to have to use her own special abilities, the key around her neck, and anyone willing to help a thief from Foundryside, to stop it.

While on the surface this seems like a story we’ve seen before, Foundryside is immediately infused with Bennett’s eye for unique systems of magic, what makes people complicated beyond just being good or bad, and a city that has been pushed so far past being a capitalist dystopia, it’s a wonder it’s still functional. Sancia has what is essentially an invisible, chronic illness that only gets worse the more she pushes herself. She steals to make enough money to survive, and this latest operation can maybe get her enough to see if her illness can be treated. She runs through the maze that is Tevanne at a careful speed, never above causing destruction to get what she needs, but also trying very hard not to get anyone killed in the process. She’s a loner by necessity and by choice, though from the minute she finds this golden key, Bennett begins to challenge not only everything she knows, but everything she has come to learn and think about herself. She must ask for help. She must try to do the right thing. She must stay and fight. The success of Foundryside can be found in the slow way Bennett peels back Sancia’s character, revealing hidden layers and a history of pain, oppression, and violence that she tries to hide from everyone, even herself. While saying more would potentially spoil some things, the central message of Sancia’s character arc is one I should’ve seen coming, didn’t, and was devastated to read, finally realizing Bennett’s goals for her. Sancia’s journey is wonderful to watch, and her potential narrative paths for the sequel are fascinating. I can’t wait to see where Bennett takes her.

Bennett’s depth of character doesn’t just begin and end with Sancia, though. Tevanne and the entirety of Foundryside is populated with rich, complex people, like Gregor Dandolo, son of a Merchant House matriarch who seeks justice in a city that would sooner ignore crime than fight to stop it. Or Orso Ignacio, the Dandolo Hypatus, who fled one Merchant House for another, who struggles to unlock the mysteries of the Hierophants along with his scriving assistant Berenice, whose mind is even faster and sharper than his own. There’s Estelle Candiano, sold off daughter of a House Merchant lord, whose history with Orso is complicated, and whose scriving talents are ignored because she’s a woman in a city run by foolish men. And then there’s Clef. But the less said about him, the better; I’ll simply say he’s one of my favorites in the novel, for obvious reasons. Foundryside lives and dies on its characters, and Bennett’s novel more than thrives with the people he focuses on.

Foundryside is an excellent first novel in what promises to be another home-run series for Bennett. His characters are smart and engaging, his world is complex and dark though not without hope, and his story packs a punch, especially as we rocket toward the sequel in the closing pages. If you’ve never read any of his work, or worried it may not be your thing, trust me: Foundryside is your thing, and you’re going to enjoy your time here. Just keep watch out for any scrivings. Those things really do turn up in the darnedest places.

#Robert Jackson Bennett #Foundryside #mahreviews

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moonlightxarcher · 4 years

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Selene’s Log, Day Three (Part Two)

Update, 10:15 am.

“With a crazy start like that, ya might think thingzz would die down, but on our way to look for this Ilima guy, Selene ran into thizz group of Alolan Meowth cauzzing big trouble!” The Dex’s screen lights up with the footage of a trio of dark-furred Meowth swiping money and other items from the locals, dashing off through the maze-like grass-lined fences around town. Roto’s camera pans over to Selene, whose eyes have narrowed in a determined glare. “Between her arrowzz and Strix’zz Leafage,” the Dex continues narrating, the footage shifting to show the trainer and Pokemon in question brandishing their weapons of choice and loosing their attacks, “They managed to box those feline thievezz in! But the darnedest thing happened-” A white blur dashes through Roto’s view, slamming into the side of one of the Meowth, its form smashing into a nearby tree and crumpling on the ground.

Roto scrambles to get a better shot, Selene running into the frame with Strix hot on her heels, and they all lay eyes on a regal looking dog with shaggy white fur. “This Furfrou here was apparently a bit of a local vigilante of sortzz, though not so much of an illegal vigilante, I guess, since the police officers we spoke to didn’t consider its actionzz criminal. Anyway, Selene and this Furfrou struck up a partnership, since, see, after they all beat up those Meowth, they found some Team Skull Emblemzz craved into the collars they wore. Neither Selene, nor Furfrou wanted to let those hooliganzz get away with causing more trouble, so they decided to handle them together.” Roto displays a few stills he captured of the two high-fiving and investigating the surrounding streets.

The scene shifts to the front of a Malasada Shop, where a pair of Team Skull Grunts are seen harassing a guy at the entrance. The white blur of the Furfrou dashes into view, knocking one of the Grunts on their and interrupting the conversation. It’s the usual shit you get with petty thieves, claiming that it ain’t their fault that they have to do this sorta stuff. Nonetheless, Selene and Furfrou battle the Grunts, on the condition that they can face her two on one if they agree to come with her to turn themselves in if they lose.

“Safe to say, Selene and Furfrou kicked their buttzz all the way back to their mommazz!” The Dex chuckles mechanically, amused grins flashing on his screen. The footage shifts to the researcher and the dog taking the Grunts to the local police department and the Grunts getting cuffed. “With that all taken care of,” Roto continues, the scene shifting to another angle as the Fufrou rolls a Pokeball towards Selene with her nose. “We got another member of the team! Turnz out Furfrou enjoyed working with Selene so much that she wanted to stick around permanently. Besides, there’s plenty of other Team Skull Gruntzz out there to take down, right? Can’t be locked up in one town.”

Furfrou’s data flashes up on screen.

Name: Lupa

Gender: Female

Nature: Modest

Characteristic: Strongly defiant

“Ya know that Ilima guy we were looking for? Turns out he wazz watching the whole thing! He wanted a tazzte of the power Selene had to offer and challenged her to a battle. It...” The footage plays out, with Ilima having the upper hand practically the entire time, despite having only a Yungoos and a Smeargle compared to Selene’s five equally potent teammates. Selene does pull through in the end, with Strix getting a clutch critical hit on Leafage to knock out her foe’s Smeargle, but it came incredibly close. “...didn’t go azz well as she’d expected.”

“So, even though Ilima cleared her to attempt hizz Trial in the Verdant Cavern, she wasn’t exactly keen on fighting another foe that strong without doing some sincere training of her own.” A small montage of footage plays out, with Selene and her teammates taking on various Trainers and wild Pokemon around Hau’oli City. “We even caught another team member- our sixth!” the Dex adds excitedly, practically fast-forwarding the footage in his enthusiasm to reach the part of the clip where they took on a lazy Drowzee relaxing against the base of a berry tree.

As Selene and her team members test out various attacks against the slumbering Hypnosis Pokemon, her annoyed mutters can be heard as she scoffs off to the side, “How is this thing taking our blows so well? It must have Snorlax blood with how bulky the damn thing is...”

“She did manage to capture the Drowzee... after a while.” Roto sighs as the scene shifts to a single unbroken Pokeball surrounded by four others shattered around the tree. The lone ball shakes thrice and then clicks. The Drowzee’s data flashes up on screen.

Name: Baku

Gender: Male

Nature: Lax

Characteristic: Sturdy body

“We’re lucky he doezzn’t seem to mind helping uzz out after we interrupted hizz nap. That Baku is pretty strong, I’d hate to be on hizz bad side. Maybe he doezz have some Snorlax in him, could explain the appetite too. Never seen a Pokemon that small eat thrice their own body weight in berriezz.” The Dex shivers slightly, beeping lowly.

“Later that night, me and Selene were heading back to the Pokemon Center to heal up the team when she ran into Lillie. I’ll let her take it from here...”

---

Update, 9:34 pm.

Lillie’s frantic voice called out to Selene as she ran towards them, nearly falling to her knees and panting when she reached them. “I... can’t... I can’t find her. I... I lost Nebby!” The girl looks near tears, which Selene promptly wipes off with her thumb.

The smallest smile cracks her impassive face as she mutters softly, “Then we will just have to find her. Where did you last see her?” she asks, wanting to get straight to business and forgo excessive crying.

Lillie nods and points toward the north exist. “Just outside of town. We were going to gather berries from some of the trees out there, and I thought I put her back in my bag after we did, but when I got back to the Center in town, she was nowhere to be seen!” She seems about to break into tears again, but manages to calm herself down enough.

Selene scratches her chin, seemingly wondering how to approach this, when Roto pipes up, his red arm-like appendage falling into frame as he raises his equivalent of a hand. “Oo! I have an idea. How bout we split up! Me and Selene will head up Route 2, and you can check in town. Nebby mighta came back here after she got separated from you, right? So we should check both placezz.”

“That sounds like a plan,” Selene nods, azure eyes darting to Lillie to see what she was thinking about this.

The younger blonde seemed to hesitate for a second, but she nodded, her eyes narrowed in determination. “Right! I’ll see if I can find Professor Kukui or Captain Ilima. They might be able to help too.”

And off they run.

A slightly shaky cam captures Selene as she runs off, searching for any signs of the spacey cloud Pokemon known as Nebby. Strix doesn’t seem to have much luck either, as each time Selene calls out for a status check, she receives a single hoot- negative, nothing so far. This wild Swanna chase goes on for awhile before Strix perks up, her head swiveled toward the neighboring cemetery. “Did you hear something?” Selene calls out, her owl cooing in affirmation.

Roto follows them, the camera panning around to catch a beautiful view of the full moon hanging at just the right point above the tombstones to coat them in a pale, effervescent glow. It was beautiful, even her could admit that. As they close in, the noise Strix heard can be picked up by the Dex and Selene- a twinkling coo like falling stars.

“Nebby!” Selene’s eyes go wide at that, and she darts off through the maze of graves and fences towards the back end, her Dex floating not too far behind her. Finally, the camera lands square on the little space cloud, dancing and cooing as she plays with a nocturnal bat Pokemon.

“Well, hello little ones,” coos Selene, reaching out to pat the heads of both the Zubat and Nebby. Part of her wished to admonish them for worrying herself and Lillie, but they looked so cute playing together she couldn’t help herself. “Were you taking care of our Nebby for us, Zubat-chan?” she asks, gently scratching the blind Pokemon beneath her chin.

She receives a happy low shriek in response, the little Poison/Flying Type nuzzling into her touch. Selene smiles softly. “I will take that as a yes.”

Several calm moments pass, the group gathered there merely taking in the cool night breeze. Though Roto does capture an odd moment where Nebby busts her head against Selene’s arm, and the researcher looked a bit more... startled than normal. “Roto-san?” she mutters lowly, tossing her head over her shoulder toward the floating Dex. “Did you... Never mind. Let’s take her home.”

He still catches her barely audible mumble- “I thought... I heard someone say thank you...”

---

“We brought Nebby back to Kukui’zz lab, where Lillie thanked uzz both profuzzely. Selene tried to be all modezzt about it, but I think she shoulda taken a bit more pride in what she did! She helped a friend find someone dear to her, that means a lot!” Multiple thumbs-up flash on screen. “Not that we didn’t get anything out of it. Nebby’zz new friend didn’t want to leave, so she decided to stick with uzz!” He shows a small clip of the Zubat clinging to Selene’s arm before she gets the idea and taps her head with a Pokeball.

Zubat’s data flashes on screen.

Name: Carmilla

Gender: Female

Nature: Docile

Characteristic: Mischievous

“Lookzz like that the lazzt of the log for tonight. Selene wanted me to procezz some of the footage while she got situated in her cot. I think I’ll power down for the night and hit the hay myzzelf.”

End Day Three.

#[Selene's Log]#[Day Three]

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