Bookmarked: RWB's Harrison James recommends sci-fi

Harrison James, RWB First Soloist (David Cooper)

It's that time of year - time to see The Nutcracker ballet as performed by Winnipeg's own Royal Winnipeg Ballet.

Harrison James is dancing the role of the Nutcracker Prince in this holiday classic.  He was born in New Zealand.  That's where he started dancing - at the age of five!   

Since he joined the RWB a year ago, Harrison James has risen through the ranks and he is now First Soloist. This season, he was chosen to dance the title role in Svengali, by renowned director Mark Godden.

SCENE wants to know what personalities in Manitoba like Harrison James are reading. We discovered he has quite a fascination for science-fiction.

I've actually been caught in between books. I turned the last couple of pages of Mystic and Rider by Sharon Shinn a couple nights ago in bed and the second book in the series is now staring at me from my bedside table.

Mystic and Rider is your classic fantasy book following an unlikely team of the King's most elite guard and a selection of mystics (magicians of sorts) as they complete a secret mission for the King. Their journey leads them in all sorts of directions to encounter numerous different challenges as love begins to blossom between two of them.

Although I've had plenty of amazing reads from other genres I always end up coming back to science-fiction books. It fascinates me endlessly to so easily step into someone's imagination and discover what kind of a world they have created.

I love to just step away from reality sometimes, especially when the body is aching all over after a hard day of work in the RWB studios!

I am especially fond of trilogies and series that develop certain characters over more than one book. I tend to get attached to my favourite characters and every now and then find myself pining for someone in a particular story that I had finished several weeks before.

I found this book in my usual way. Wandering up and down the science-fiction aisles of the Millennium Library and selecting anything that catches my eye.  Taking two steps this way or that way will land me in completely different universes. In this case I'm already in love with a leopard like creature and a mystic that controls fire. I know I'll miss them both once I finish this series!

Pictured above:
Harrison James (David Cooper)
Mystic and Rider (Publisher Ace MM)