TABLAY - Katrina F. Olan {Review}

"Zeros and ones. I think of the monitors. In life, there is only death and survival. Today, I refuse to be a zero."

I'm going to start this off by saying that mech (and scifi in general) is not my usual cup of tea but for some reason, I got really hooked when I first learned of Tablay during Komiket (which I wasn't able to attend huhu)

Bulk of it may be because of my natural inclination towards mythology - especially that of the Philippines. Plus, it's always refreshing to discover new local writers! Particularly someone who is so hands-on (I mean, have you seen the marketing for this book?! More on that later!)

That's why when I discovered the online purchase form of Tablay (you can check it here and order yours today!), I ordered mine immediately.

And boy, reading it during #BuwanNgMgaAkdangPinoy - specifically for #Wikathon and #RCReadathon2020 Pinoy Creators Edition Bingo - was such a good decision! Word vomit Thoughts below :)

*Spoilers ahead! Will be hidden (drag-select to view) but proceed with caution!

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New Intramuros: a hyper-technological smart city surrounded by heavily armored walls. Beyond it, vast mountains and jungles teeming with hostile machine life called aswangs. For over a century, the Philippine Mech Force has been fighting the aswangs with mechs of their own—and talented pilots to fly them.

Anya grew up watching her father, the famed General Armin Valerio, lead the charge during Operation Tablay—an all-out bombing campaign aimed to annihilate the aswangs once and for all. Everything changed when the operation failed, leaving her father an incapacitated man.

Fourteen years later, Anya Valerio enters the Philippine Mech Force as a pilot with hopes of restoring her father’s honor. She quickly becomes a rising star. However, when she finds out a dark secret about the aswangs, her view of the war changes. Now it’s up to Anya and her partner—the reserved but brilliant engineer, Chino Jose—to stop the fight before the consequences are irreversible.

Tablay is Filipino for electric charge. It is the soul of the city, the mover and shaker of machines, the spark between two hearts. But most of all, Tablay aims to shine light on the relation between technology and our society’s ethical choices.

Reading Tablay was definitely an experience. It even kept me up til 5am (on a Monday!) because I just couldn't put it down. I think this is mainly attributable to the seamless narration that Kat got pinned down. It's an easy book to fly by, with less than 200 pages. 

I'd say the biggest strength of the book was its fantastic world building. It is reminiscent of dystopian cities (my younger dystopian self fanatic says hi) but at the same time, gave us something new (I mean, the old meets the new because a re-imagination mixing mythology and tech?)

MEET THE CAST:

I really liked the way the characters are brought to life (in text and its ~official artworks!)

What I enjoyed the most about our protagonist Anya is that I related to her HARD - the idealistic naivety paired with the feeling that you have to constantly prove yourself? I feel you girl huhu my overachieving self is attackedt.

Pvt. Anya Valerio

While Tablay was told in Anya's perspective, the other characters felt very solid and their voices distinguishable from one another. 

I enjoyed all of Totoy's scenes and his friendship with Anya was a joy to read! Also, let it be known that I am SOFT for Sgt. Benjo Parazo huhu (spoiler: KAT HOW COULD YOU DO THAT)

(L-R) Pvt. Totoy Magdangal, Sgt. Benjo Parazo

I also love, love, love how we have such empowered women who are strong in their own ways (The badass Colonel Datu, smart-as-heck chief engineer Shalimar, the Editor-in-Chief Ethel, strict but loving Dr./Tita Clara, and even a female president!)

(L-R) Col. Darlene Datu, Engr. Shalimar Madzhar, EIC Ethel Benavidez, Dr. Clara Valerio

Next up is the soft cinnamon roll that is Engr. Chino. Quiet and often reserved, I always get excited seeing him get excited whenever he talks about the things he's passionate about (aka love it when he talks nerdy 👀) moreso, when he slowly became more confident and had the guts to pick a stand (huhu bb boi all grown up!) 

Contrary to most reviews I've read, I actually liked the lowkey romance aspect between Anya and Chino. We stan supportive, nerdy bois in this household! Besides, you'll get to see how both of them aren't completely in over their heads. This is evident when Chino didn't pull the entire drop-everything-now-because-I-love-her stunt. In fact, his reactions were very in-character as the logical, science-and-tech guy. Same with Anya, who knew the value of proper timing. I stan a girl who has her priorities in check!

Engr. Chino Jose

My favorite part about them is seeing their dynamics grow which was very much manifested on the stark contrast between their first rodeo (spoiler: with Chino doing all the preflight check himself and Anya calling him out) and months later when they found their working groove together (spoiler: I really appreciated them partnering up and doing the check together, it's such a small thing but gaah! MY HEART)

Also, heh Chino really knows the way to Anya's heart (spoiler: go give your girl her own mech, will you? I'll take one Diwata please!)

HOW IT WENT:

Plot-wise, it was interesting enough to keep me hooked despite the usage of known tropes that other might find predictable. I was excited to see how it all unfolds in the end!

Truthfully, I feel like the book would've benefited being a bit longer and more fleshed out especially the last Phase. Also, despite the book being relatively short, it took place over a span of long times and the time jumps were a bit jarring. A lot can happen in months, and I wish we got to see more of that (or the easier solution would be having the timeline trimmed down)

Another reservation I had was Tito Cesar/General Nicanor's arc. Admittedly, I appreciated the book's honest attempt at portraying that things are not always black and white especially during wartime; that some people may share the same ideals and goals but conflict comes when there's friction in their means of achieving their objectives. 

General Cesar Nicanor

I just wish Nicanor didn't get off the hook so easily and gave Anya a bit more time to process her emotions (spoiler: he made an attempt to you and your father's lives, how can you forgive that easily huhu)

What I appreciated plot-wise though, is that it tackled relevant societal issues we see in the present day. Environment degradation & indigenous people displacement (#DefendAncestralLands), societal class divide, and government propaganda (Yup, Tablay really said 'and that's on #DefendPressFreedom')

Reading this in time of the pandemic, I can't help but notice some parallels like a media agency being railroaded by the government because it reports The Truth (ahem #ABSCBNFranchiseRenewal), and that particular scene when Anya needed to be "quarantined" with the doctor fully covered because the "disease" is airborne? Eerily familiar considering Tablay was published way before COVID-19.

The ending was hopeful (and readers, it's HFN) It DOES open a potential for a sequel, so hmm hopefully we get to see what happens during the aftermath of Bakunawa? And maybe we'll also get to see (spoiler: Anya's mother?) I was kinda expecting a more elaborate backstory on that haha

Overall, Tablay is a story of fighting for what is right even if it isn't necessarily easy and even if it runs counter to everything you've believed in for so long.

It is a great attempt at Filipino scifi and now, I'm actually interested to pick up more SFF. If you have recos, let me know!

And can I just say how I will always gush about Tablay's marketing and advertising? I guess that's one of the perks of the #BuhayAhensya. Branding on point!  Man, Kat really pulled out all the stops from start to end - even sending out the books in a creative way (makes unboxing it so exciting, feeling like you really are part of the mech force) Even the book's social media pages are ON BRAND. The cover IS GORGEOUS as well as the rest of the artworks found within the book and its social media pages.

Talk about immersive experience, amirite?

There's also a LOT of supplementary materials which I eagerly went into, right after reading. Personal favorite is the "Letters During The Aswang War" because it HITS THE FEELS and made the war feel more real as seen through the eyes of characters outside the main story. "Apoy", a radio play of chapter 11 was REALLY GOOD TOO - it gave me goosebumps (contains spoilers though!)

Other supplements include short story readings (#TablayAfterHours), fanfiction, its very own book trailer, and AN ACTUAL AUGMENTED REALITY (AR) FILTER ON INSTAGRAM whaaa- Actually, just go check out Tablay's Facebook page and take in all the extra content because you'll surely be in for a treat (see how EXTRA everything is!)

One minor thing but I personally think that the book can go through another quick round of editing since I saw a few typos and spelling misses somewhere.

If you've reached this part, lol congratulations and thank you for reading through this jumble of thoughts review haha now go and read Tablay next!

Sugod, mga bagong bayani ⚡

4/5 rating

Katrina F. Olan is a copywriter based in Manila. She crafts commercial scripts for TV, Radio and Digital Films, and ideates creative advertising campaigns for top brands like Uniqlo, Cignal TV, Shell and Century Tuna. Kat was the student Philippine country representative to the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity 2018, and the first Filipino student of the Google Creative Campus that same year.

Beyond work, she is an independent author with two books: Tablay, a Filipino sci-fi novel, and Skies Above, a steampunk fantasy book. She is also active in the local komiks scene. Kat loves video games, travel filmmaking, digital art and hosting Dungeons and Dragons games.

One day she hopes to put an independent storytelling agency, a D&D-themed cafe, and pilot a real mecha.

Connect with her through the book's official social media pages at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and get your own copy of Tablay here!