Venom and Song - CSFF Blog Tour Day Two – or – “Don’t You Forget About Me.”

Continuing on with my discussion of Wayne and Christopher’s portrayal of the young teens, this scenario reminded me, of all things, the 1985 John Hughes flick The Breakfast Club. For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, The Breakfast Club was about a group of high school students from radically different cliques, a princess, a nerd, a jock, a rebel, and a “basket-case,” all thrown together for one Saturday in detention. As one of the characters points out, they would be unlikely to ever mix in a normal, everyday high school setting.

In this book, the elven lord Tommy voices similar concerns. The seven of them spent much of Curse of the Spider King apart, in other countries actually. In Venom and Song, they not only have to get along, but form a family of sorts. The heart of this conflict comes during the training of their unique gifts, when the character of Grimwarden puts the group in situations when they must work together. Needless to say, it’s tough going at times. Sometimes their personalities rub each other the wrong way. However, they progress from being just merely successful at their tasks to realizing the enormity of the conflict around them, and they eventually start to unite around a common desire to protect their newfound homeland.

There’s also an added bit of tension that goes beyond the usual good versus evil plot. As I mentioned in my COTSK review, there is a hint that the elves had wronged the Gwar race at some point in the past. Well, the teens find out what that is, and it causes a brief rift between them and Grimwarden. Added to that, there is also some intrigue involving the elven leadership, who aren’t of one mind on how to deal with the Spider-King. At least one faction wants to break off the lords’ training and attack the Spider-King head-on. I liked these subplots because it forced the teens to think more about what they’re fighting for, instead of just taking orders like mindless robots. There’s also an interesting question about whether the descendants of those that committed horrible crimes should be held accountable for their ancestors’ actions. Grimwarden gives a good speech on this point. It’s an important question, because so many conflicts today are birthed out of grievances from the past, sometimes the distant past.

Also, the actions of the elves are another reminder of the vigilance people of good conscience must have toward their own society. No nation or people is perfect, and sometimes even leaders may do what they think is the right thing, but it results from faulty reasoning and it turns out to be very wrong in retrospect. Sometimes a failure to be vigilant can let wickedness spread, causing good societies to rot from within.

Next time, more observations on Venom and Song!

* Venom and Song - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400315069 (or an alternate link of your choice)
Authors’ blogs
Wayne Thomas Batson – http://enterthedoorwithin.blogspot.com/
Christopher Hopper – http://www.christopherhopper.com/blog/


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