Review
“At least be gloriously inaccurate” - Gribaldi Strangely, and this is after spending a couple of minutes checking, Guardian Of The Dead is the first Allen and Unwin publication we've reviewed here at ScaryMinds. Either this means we suck, the obvious answer, or as Shane Jiraiya Cummings is apt to put things, it's impossible to cover all releases in the dark genre this year. Whatever the case, Guardian Of The Dead is the debut novel from Kiwi Author Karen Healey and demonstrates yet again that a major Publisher is prepared to give local talent a go rather than simply tossing foreign works onto the table and telling us to either lump it or go watch the tellie instead. So standing ovation to Allen and Unwin for supporting the local market and also to Karen Healey for knocking one out of the park with a very strong first up novel. Let's crack open the door to reality and see what might be lurking in the mist. Ellie Spencer is a seventeen year old school girl who is doing it slightly tough. Her parents are on the big OS tour after her mother survived a battled with cancer, Ellie is at the prestigious mixed boarding school of Mansfield in Christchurch New Zealand, and she's having a problem meeting new people due to issues with her self worth. On the bright side best friend Kevin is asexual, she has agreed to choreograph the fight scene for a Canterbury University stage production, and the school “bad boy” Mark has taken an interest in her. Just when Ellie thinks her life can't get much more complicated she discovers she is the resident Buffy and the Hellmouth is about to open in her hometown of Napier. If you count having limited magical powers and the ability to get your Kung Fu on as being Buffy attributes, and ripping out Maui's hook as opening the Hellmouth. Any-ways Ellie is going to have to put everything on the line in a battle with mythical Maori creatures for the continued survival of all things good, which here means the North Island of New Zealand and more importantly the Hawke's Bay Magpies! Guess I'll get a couple of things out of the way upfront that may be problematic to a few Readers. Guardian Of The Dead is written in the first person narrative form, so everything is from the perspective of our lead character Ellie. Thankfully Author Karen Healey nails this, characterisation is one of the strong points of the novel. You are going to like Ellie and be hoping she gets her rewards by novel end. Healey isn't going to let you off that lightly of course, not everything in life is wine and roses. The novel locations are notably Kiwi, we travel from the Evil Empire of Canterbury, to the art Deco capital of the world Napier, and that immensely meaningful place in Maori mythology Cape Reinga, (the place where the souls of the dead fling themselves off on their journey to the afterlife according to Maori mythology, update there for ScaryMinds readers who haven't been paying attention). And if we have to be pedantic then Guardian Of The Dead is a Young Adult novel, though personally I thought Karen Healey touched bases with all the requirements for a YA read and then took things to the next level to high five older readers as well. The Author is taking a lot of risks with her debut novel and leaves herself open to attack from the more Political Correct in the Audience. Ellie has a weight problem and poor self esteem as a result making for a strange role model for young women reading the book. However Karen Healey does ask if beauty is skin deep and makes Ellie's weight challenges less of an issue than say a copy of Cosmo would. Certainly Ellie Spencer is much more of a all rounded character than the simpering Bella Swan, and the beautiful people are shown to either be monsters or to not be of much value when push comes to shove. Likewise the deep delving into Maori Mythology is likely to have screams and howls of anguish coming regarding cultural insensitivity, or whatever the current buzz world is. Personally I think any exposure of Aotearoa's unique belief systems is to be applauded. Rich tradition there folks, rather than point fingers over the top of chardonnay bottles, go read up on the oral traditions. Karen Healey is to be applauded for taking some risks rather than throwing a parlour room pseudo horror read onto the table. Interestingly Karen Healey twists and changes myths to meet her narrative requirement while giving herself an out by allowing that people bring their own belief systems into the legendary mists. Australian Author Alan Baxter also went with this approach in his Realm Shift novels. It's an intriguing idea and opens the floor to a hell of a lot of possibilities. Personally I liked how Healey present Maui, a sort of Maori equivalent of the Norse Loki, and the Taniwha, oh I don't know, a water dragon perhaps, in a slightly different light to what most readers may have experience previously. It's this twisting of the creatures of traditional oral tales that adds a bit of spice to Guardian for mine, sort of like if an Aussie writer included zombified Roos in their tales of dark intent. Oh wait a couple have already! Out of space here and I have made a pledge to try and stick under the word limit. Karen Healey writes in a solid no nonsense fashion, drags you into her narrative, and ladles enough plot onto your plate to make Guardian Of The Dead an excellent debut novel. I thoroughly enjoyed it and have no hesitation in recommending the novel. A very strong first up novel, we may just have found our dark genre Katherine Mansfield, fingers crossed. Can we expect A Taniwha At My Table in due course? Guardian Of The Dead has been published in Australia by Allen & Unwin. The A&U page for the novel is right here. For those who may want to read a bit more about Karen Healey, then check the official author site click through, or Karen's online Journal.
ScaryMinds Rates this read as ... Simply an excellent debut novel signaling a strong new talent is emerging.
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Disclaimer: Please note this review reflects the opinion of the team at ScaryMinds and should in no way be construed as
representing the views of the AHWA Shadows Award Judges. This review is for the edification of ScaryMinds readers and does not constitute a
“literary criticism” or any other criteria the Shadows Judging panel may take this year.