Published: April 06, 2010
Words: 13,809 (approximate)
Language: English
ISBN: 9781452346953

Description

For the Ai-Naidar, caste and tradition are not the shackles that imprison the spirit but the silences that make sense of the music of their lives. The Aphorisms of Kherishdar collects 25 short tales about what it is to have an Ai-Naidari soul: to find comfort in tradition, law and structure; to revere interdependence over individualism; to know one's place... to always have one. Illustrated.

Tags

fantasy, aliens, philosophy, meditation, flash, conlang, linguists, wisdom tales

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Reviews

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Review by: Lynn E. O'Connacht on March 24, 2013 :
If I've ever read stories as gentle and meditative as these, it's been so long ago that I don't remember it. I wish I had an idea of what to compare this collection to because I'd like more stories like these, please, world.

Word and language lovers will be delighted by the format of these pieces. Each tale starts with a (conlang) word and its definition and then proceeds to tell a short story revolving around the concept. It's a /gorgeous/ idea and incredibly well executed.

The stories themselves are brief and, if I'm brutally honest, ultimately unsatisfying in the way that stories that make you go "But I want more!" tend to be. Hogarth's introduction to Ai-Naidar society is even more subtle than in her Jokka shorts and the glimpses we get are fascinating. We learn very little about the narrator, but we learn enough and there's a definite overall line running through these tales.

The writing is as gorgeous as ever. It's lush and vivid and a delight to read. The stories... aren't quite comfort reading in their content, but that's exactly how I wound up experiencing the collection: as something soothing and warm. They're delightful little gems, reflective and multifaceted and my only regret in reading this is that the stories and the collection aren't longer.
(reviewed long after purchase)

Review by: C.R. Chapman on Feb. 25, 2012 :
This was my first exposure to the Ai-Naidari, and I was immediately hooked. The Calligrapher is a character I find positively fascinating, and the little bits of his life written down in these Incense Stories only found me hungering for more. For the most part light-hearted and uplifting, these stories are nonetheless thought-provoking, and a book I find myself coming back to re-read again and again.
(reviewed long after purchase)

Review by: Eric Hinkle on Dec. 05, 2010 :
Truly one of M.C.A. Hogarth's stranger and greater books, the Aphorisms are essentially wisdom stories or parables from a very alien culture and species. It was an experimental work by her, written with input from people on the author's LiveJournal, and it was very successful. The Ai-Naidar are simultaneously very alien and very understandable. Make no mistake, this is not a book that would get far through mainstream SF publishers; but if you want to see an alien culture through its own eyes in quick and enlightening stories, then you WILL want to read this.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

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