Book Review: Maiden of the Lux by Jada Fisher, Book 2 of the Dragon Guard

Maiden of the Lux by Jada Fisher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the second book of the series. It is set in an embattled city-state, surrounded by a bleak and hostile world, only protected by the shield of The Lux. Ten, the protagonist, is a servant girl, living in a society which is highly caste driven and dominated by the Great Houses, who are above both the servant class and the freemen class. From The Great Houses, the elites of society; religious, political, and the dragon riders who protect the city from the evils that lie outside the shield of The Lux.

In the first book, Ten tricks the Great House she works in and enters the qualification process to become a dragon rider. And she eventually makes it, with the blessing of her House lords and her family (also servants). And this despite the open hostility of those who wish to enforce the caste/social class distinctions of the state. This is not a surprise, as this type of story is the American conceit, that it is a meritocracy, and the dragon riders as a whole support her ascending by her merit.

This book is about what happens now that Ten is a probationary dragon rider, with its promise of entering the top rung of society based on merit (passing the tests and being accepted by a dragon). But here is where the traditional society hits back. And as being a dragon rider is by meritocracy, the conservative elements of society have to fight back in the shadows. The naive Ten has allies in her fellow new dragon riders, and through demonstration of bravery in battle, some current dragon riders. But the opposition is in the form of back stabbing, obstacles placed in the way of progress, gaslighting, and overt hostility.

Fantasy and science fiction have its power in that they can create a world and society that is not our own, but because people are people, has parallels. Here is a story of one who is rising above where she started, based on effort, determination, and hard won skill. It is recognized by the defenders of the realm, which maintains the meritocracy and offers the chance for her to demonstrate her worth, and she is not found wanting. But when she gets there, like many in our real society with similar stories, she finds that for every step forwards, there are those who will drag her down and put obstacles in her way, because they don't want a living story of someone rising to take their place and serve the society they are the elites of. Even those who would rather noone rises, because they did not.

This book really needs to be read following the first. The first book invests you in the characters (others beside Ten develop naturally), and build up hope and have you root for Ten and her drive and determination. This book will continue the stories of drive and determination, but, like many such stories in real life, includes a gut punch that you would not expect in a YA novel.

View all my reviews

Courage in Thirteen Lives

I paid attention to the Tham Luang Cave Rescue in 2018, not only because it was in Thailand, but also because of my background in both emergency response and in logistics (which was a major consideration in the rescue operation).  I used this as a white board exercise in my supply chain and logistics classes as a professor.  And a regular reminder for me is that I use the Saman WOD  (created by Crossfit Chamgmai), which memorials Saman Kunan, a Thai Navy SEAL who died in the line of duty during the rescue, annually as my birthday WOD.

Thirteen Lives is a documentary style movie about the rescue, told from the perspective of the cave rescue team.  With the access and active participation of the cave rescue team, it goes deep into the decision making and ethical dilemmas that those who were responsible had to address.

The choices in the cave rescue are well documented.  There was the local team, the Thai Navy SEALS.  Well motivated and trained, with the logistics planning expertise of a U.S. special forces unit to back them up.  But, their training and expertise where not in the hyperspecialized setting of cave rescue that they found themselves in.

The choices of the cave rescue divers was also well documented.  The need to work within the local system, which meant both the Thai civil and Thai military authorities (who were competing with each other in the way things things go anywhere in the world). The difficulties in just finding the team in the dark and flooded caves, then planning out how the boys would be brought out of the cave, with the host of ethical dilemmas that various aspects of that operation entailed.

But Thirteen Lives presents a profile in courage in the person of the governor.  Thirteen Lives presents him as a governor who is in his last days, and implies that it was not a glorious send off.  And that he was the apparent designated fall guy if things went wrong (with the foreign cave rescue divers being not too far behind, but that is a story that everyone is happy not to have to tell).

The first choice he was presented with was to work with the foreign cave rescue divers while in the presence of the Thai Navy and SEALS who were eager to do the job.  On one hand, a provincial governor recognized that high profile foreigners dying looks bad to the Thais (who would be suspected of using amateurs and admitting lack of confidence). On the other hand, the loss of one of the Thai divers in the rescue was an indicator of just how dangerous and difficult this was.  Further tough choices came when the boys were found, and the cave rescue team provided very honest assessments on the options they had and their chances of success (noone thought their odds were good, and almost guaranteed fatalities).  And as the senior authority, he had to give the yes or no every step of the way.

But the most telling illustration of leadership in action was when the hydrology people explained what was happening with the rain on top of the mountain.  That water was seeping into the mountain and into the cave system (which is what happens in all mountains, this seeping happens in the hills leading into my backyard).  And that it could be possible to divert the water falling on the mountain so that it did not go into the cave system.  But "there was a price".  The water had to be diverted somewhere.  So the governor had to go to the villagers to ask to flood their fields in the name of a rescue effort that noone knew if it would succeed. So the villagers are private citizens, and there is no law that says that the governor can order them to take the damage, and certainly not for a mere chance of 13 lives (compared to the ruination of the villages that would be a guarantee)  So, with no time, he has to persuade the villagers to do this, with only promises that he will try to make things right in the end, succeed or fail (and remember, he is leaving his position when all this is over)  And this is the result of trust and leadership gained over time.

There are many images of leadership.  An alternative is to cut your loses and avoid the possibility of things that don't look good.  Which often leads to loosing everything for no gain.  And that was the alternative provided to this governor. But leadership is shown when you are willing to make difficult decisions.  And convince people that it is everyone's best interest that they sacrifice, on nothing more than a promise that they will all gain in the end. If not materially, then spiritually.  And Thirteen Lives tries to show this in a very real way.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by BBC News (@bbcnews)

Basement home gym - Summer 2022 version

 The end of 2021 was marked by a burst pipe in the basement, which ruined all of the flooring, but spared all of the equipment (as they were on top of mats so did not get soaked).  So, when insurance paid for new mats, this provided an opportunity to rearrange the basement gym.  Also, the big upgrade was the addition of the Whipr, a connected (i.e. bluetooth) multi-sport ergometer which sees regular use as a rower and ski-erg, and occasional use as a paddle (kayak/canoe) erg.

First, the equipment nook, which has the big changes from last year.

This side used to have the rack, a rower and the AirDyne.  Now, the flooring was replaced with rubber flooring to better withstand the heavier weights and equipment.  The treadmill was moved here, where the tougher rubber is a better floor than mats intended for martial arts.  

The Whipr is the big addition here.  The Whipr (https://whipr.com/) is a multi-sport ergometer. The most common version of an ergometer is a rower.  It measures power, and bluetooth enabled (FTMS) apps can use it to measure your force production.  My son and I both use it as a rower (not as good as a Concept 2, but better than any other non-fan/water based rower.  In addition, I regularly use it as a Ski-erg, and occasionally use it for canoe, kayak, or stand up paddle. (ski and SUP are mounted to the rack). The big benefit is that it measures distance and calories directly from force production, which rewards good form. (less capable machines measure stroke rate and estimate everything else from there).  Both the Whipr and the treadmill (Horizon T101 with a Runn sensor) are bluetooth enabled, so I use Kinomap to give myself a virtual course to row/run/ski/paddle on and keep track of energy and work.

The other major component to this corner is the CAP power rack.  It is designed for the barbell, in particular squats and bench press (I do deadlifts on the floor after folding up the treadmill and moving the rower).  I have a bar with standard plates (1" hole, contrast to Olympic plates with 2" hole).  It is adequate for the weights I use, because I don't plan on going that heavy (i.e. low 200lbs is going to be enough). The biggest thing lacking with a standard bar vs Olympic bar is that standard bars do not spin, so I really cannot do the olympic weights with anything serious. So my Olympic movements are done with sandbags or kettlebell.

Attached to the rack are rings and a cable pulley.  The rings replace a cheap suspension trainer, which was starting to fray.  I got better quality, but not willing to spend on a name brand trainer, I got rings instead. The wider webbing should make it last longer.  I do dips, rows, and presses on this. The instability due to not being anchored to the ground makes for a good challenge.  The cable pulley was an experiment.  Basically, it allows for using weights where the direction of resistance is more horizontal than normal with free weights (where resistance is toward the ground).  But I get much of that from the rings.

Also attached to the rig are the ski and SUP brackets for the Whipr.

The ski attachment is mounted on top of the rack using 3/4" webbing.  I mounted initially using a buckle, then wrapped the webbing like a big, repeated clove hitch.  Done twice, it is a very stable setup.  As the skierg movement is complementary to the rower movement (anterior chain as opposed to the rower posterior chain), this is a good complement to the rower. Also good if my legs are torched and I need something reasonably easy that is upper body cardio.  The paddle and SUP are also good for that in addition to the rotation stimulus they provide.

The SUP bracket is mounted to the lower rail of the power rack.  It took me a while to realize that I needed to have the hook and brace on the webbing in this order for it to work, or the brackets would slip off if any force is applied for any reasonable length of time.  I also have to put a couple spare mats under the bracket so support the Whipr base unit so it does not flop around.

\

The other corner has the kettlebells, dumbbells, AirDyne, and punching bags.  The plate loaded kettlebells (variously Fitness Gear at Dick's sporting goods, or Apex, but made by the same company as Marcy.  They have a base weight of 20 pounds, but can be loaded with up to 4 5 pound standard weights. So this is my usual weight for StreetParking Crossfit-style workouts, with the weight depending on my abilities for the movement in question. The pair of 30 pound dumbbells is an aspirational weight.  For static moves, I am able to use these. But for olympic moves overhead (e.g. clean and press or snatches) I'm not there yet.  But I've been using these for dumbbell strength focused workouts.

While the rower and treadmill are our cardio implements of choice, I get a lot of use out of the AirDyne.  The rower, treadmill, and skierg all are more technique driven while the AirDyne is more mindless (since the machine guides the motion along a fixed path). So for pure mindless work capacity, it is the goto. But also light mindless work (like taking a work break) it is good for moving when I want to listen or watch something.

The next corner has homemade PVC dip bar, parallettes, a stepper, wobble board, and a set of sand kettlebells and medicine balls.  The dip bar is for dips and inverted rows, especially if the dip bars we have for the power rack are being claimed. The parallettes are for pushups (easier on the wrists) or as an obstacle for hop overs.  The sand kettlebells are mostly for my son(11). They are 10, 15, 20 pounds. We have another set, but they are scattered in rooms around the house for quick study/work breaks.  The medicine balls are used as wall balls. My daughter (8) uses the sand kettlebells and medicine balls for carries around the basement.  Last in this corner as the AV cart.  I have a monitor with an Amazon Fire attached which uses two bluetooth speakers for music when working out.  Also here are foam rollers and lacrosse balls for mobility, the fan for circulation, and whiteboard and cleaning supplies.

Last corner are the jump ropes and sandbags.  We have jump ropes for both of the kids and myself, all sized appropriately (with a little bit of growing room set up for the kids.).  I have two sandbags, one at 40#, one at 65#.  I generally use the 40# bag for anything with serious volume.  Then we have shelves with the TKD gear.  I don't do TKD much anymore (a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic), but my son still does so he uses the space for practice.

Thanks for reading about my  home gym.  It has come a long way from when we moved in and all we had were mats and a set of spin-lock dumbbells.  But like all good home gyms, we built this up a little at a time and we have most of what I can think of.  Some things that come to mind are increasing weight on the kettlebells (will need an additional one), and a spin type bike.  (we can dream, right)

Youth competition during COVID-19

 For all the bad behaviors that surround youth competition, both of us believe that there is high value in competing as youth (and just to get it out of the way, none of the value comes from winning, except that winning enables more competing)  Competition exposes the kids to a realizing that there are standards of excellence beyond what they see every day, and to work towards a goal beyond matching those immediately around them.

The first value is the value of comparison.  In a local group (like a school), it is easy compare yourself only to the people around you.  It is also easy to believe that the people around you are your competition.  But that is patently false.  The people around you will become your friends and colleagues. And just as in the real world, the successes of those around you translate into your own circle improving as you spur each other on to excellence and share the attitudes and practices that bring you there. In youth competition where you see the same people again and again, your local competitors also become this community.  The contrast that often happens with those who only see their local area is that success is resented (especially when that success occurs outside the local group), and attacked by those who would withhold resources, denigrate, and pull back those who do well in the larger world for a variety of reasons.  

A second value of competition is to experience the ebb and flow of training/preparation cycles.  The competition itself is a mere moment in time.  The value of the competition is the preparation that leads to it.  While in school, the performance is the goal in the forms of frequent tests, the time domain is too small to reflect real life.  In competitions, the training cycle (in all fields that I know of) is measured in months.  And there is a flow of months leading up to a competition, then a rest immediately following, because human beings cannot sustain a constant high level of pressure indefinitely. This sense that we live beyond the immediate moment is not found in normal school settings (which focuses on the next test) or in normal free play (which only exists in the moment).

 

A third is an appreciation for excellence and details. In every aspect of life, there are skills that can be mastered. And doing so is through practice, repetition, and focus on details that can be improved.  And this is always grinding work.  But they payoff comes later, as the preparation cycle continues and these details are put together into a larger whole, the mastery of the details leads to performance in the field that is a thing of beauty and wonder.  And as you get better, you recognize that the struggles you went through, were shared by fellow competitors and the models of greatness in their own preparation cycles.  And this becomes the inspiration for the next training cycle, recognizing that the improvements in the details at the beginning of the cycle leads to the performance at the end of the cycle.

All of this was magnified during COVID-19.  With the lockdowns and cancellations of events due to both the pandemic and the constant political fighting between those who valued the health and safety of the kids and those who wanted to ignore the whole thing, many activities who attempted to ignore the pandemic were caught in the consequences, leading to turmoil.  Similarly the schools, so school based activities were curtailed.  Our school district had a cyber program, but it was taught in a way that isolated the students.  So students only interacted on their own initiative (or there parents).  And this magnified the tendency in our school district that growth was an individual activity (and it was everyone for themselves).  So we actively tried to create this environment where my kids would be able to compete and be exposed to the larger world.

Over the last two years, we were able to do this in a broad range of forums. My son qualified for his Tae Kwon Do organization's district championship tournament (based on a NASCAR like point system from local tournament results).  This surprise greatly improved his motivation to continue martial arts training.  He also was a member of teams in regional math competitions, with his team placing in both pandemic years.  While math is an individual activity, we were able to create online practice/prep sessions so that the team members could meet each other and get used to each other's personalities before the actual competition.  Robotics was mostly in-person team, with an organization that took COVID-19 seriously so their competitions went as normal. While the science fair this year was in person, all of the hard work was done while he was in virtual school (unfortunately we were not able to form a community around this during the preparation period).  My daughter has participated in harp recitals and judging along with submitting works of poetry to various forums.  Both of them walk away from each round of competition and judging with excitement for that field.

What we saw was how motivating it was for our kids to be involved in something where they are evaluated against an outside standard.  And it really needs to be an outside standard, the kids are understandably jaded by the feedback they get from the people in their everyday life because it feels mundane (and they also have figured out that the feedback is not objective because there are other motivations).  These competitions are something to look forward to and the preparation/training cycle becomes a way of marking the seasons, which is how personal growth works in real life.