As the Calligrapher writes: read and speak your mind.

[talkstowolves]

Just about a year ago, I reviewed The Aphorisms of Kherishdar by M.C.A. Hogarth, saying: "It is remarkable to me that M.C.A. Hogarth is not more widely spoken of than she is, for she is writing some of the most imaginative social (and alien) science fiction currently out there. If I were forced to use one word to describe her as an artist and a writer, it would be -- ascending. If I were to use one word to describe her latest offering, The Aphorisms of Kherishdar, it would be -- illuminating."

Well, Hogarth has accomplished something remarkable again, in a companion volume to The Aphorisms of Kherishdar; where the Aphorisms were scribed mostly in light, The Admonishments of Kherisdhar were painted mostly in darkness. Still, a fair share of grace infuses each collective work, making this new slender volume just as worthy a read as the previous installment.

I'll let haikujaguar (the author's Livejournal) tell you what it's about:

In Kherishdar, when a person commits a crime, they become their sin....

Suicide. Rape. Child Abuse. Addiction. Twenty-five crimes. Twenty-five stories. Twenty-five narrators... and one minister over them all, to judge, convict and Correct the faulty: the priest who serves Shame.

This companion volume to The Aphorisms of Kherishdar explores the wayward and their journey back to society, offering another glimpse into the Ai-Naidari culture.

A darker, more difficult glimpse—

Without Shame, there is no Civilization.


Just as with The Aphorisms of Kherishdar, the Admonishments is available in its entirety, freely, online. If that's the case, why should you purchase it in hardcopy? Well, for me, there's nothing like holding a book in one's hands. But, further, this book posesses artwork available nowhere else, as well as a truly gorgeous layout. (You can see more at Hogarth's post on the matter.) I'll be reviewing this collection formally once my own copy arrives.