Grasping for the Wind

Book Review: Midnight Never Come by Marie Brennan

* Genre: Historical Fantasy
* ISBN: 031602029X
* ISBN-13: 9780316020299
* Format: Paperback, 400pp
* Publisher: Orbit
* Pub. Date: June 2008

Historical Fantasy is a difficult subgenre in which to write. The author must both create a story using the elements of fantasy, like wizards, elves, and faerie beings, and must try to maintain historical accuracy for the period of history in which the novel is set. It is a tricky business, but Marie Brennan, a relatively new author whose books are being published by Orbit, manages to pull it off rather well in Midnight Never Come, her tale of Elizabethan intrigue and faerie power.

The author, who has a degree in archeology and folklore, is uniquely suited to write a book of this stripe. She has the research acumen and the creative spark to write such a tale. And Midnight Never Come is the better for it.

Midnight Never Come is set in the latter days of the reign of Elizabeth the First, Queen of England, sometimes called Gloriana. Her court has been one of internal peace, even as outside enemies have threatened, but under her reign England has prospered. Michael Deven is a young man who has come to Elizabeth’s court to seek personal advancement. Coming from humble beginnings, he has managed to become one of the Queen’s personal bodyguards. But that is not quite enough to make his fortune in a court where one’s job can cost more than to maintain that what one makes. So Deven seeks out Sir Francis Walsingham, queen’s spymaster. What occurs brings Deven into a close contact with the realm of the Fae, a shadow court that exists beneath the streets of London, and separate from it in time and space. Lune is a courtier of that shadow court, a Machiavellian world whose queen derives great pleasure from causing emotional and physical pain in her subjects. Lune is very much like Deven, seeking advancement in her own court. But the two of them soon discover a secret that could destroy both courts, as well as Lune herself, and they must race against time to solve a riddle and overthrow the evil Faerie Queen Invidiana.

Many readers of historical fantasy will enjoy this novel, as the Elizabethan courts are not an area of history in which very many fantasy writers have set their novels, preferring the court of another queen, Victoria, as seen in books like Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell and the steampunk subgenre. Brennan worked very hard to both use characters from history, make them a large part of the story, but without compromising our understanding of them as historical personages. Walsingham and Elizabeth are not just background characters placed on the back cover blurb to generate reader interest, but take real, actual roles in the story. Brennan also manages to make historical facts, such as the beheading of Mary Stewart and the attack of the Spanish Armada integral parts of the story. Both are necessary to the story, and Brennan doesn’t shy away from telling the whole story of Elizabeth’s reign. This is no slice of history story, which ignores all that has come before to tell a tale in a particular historical setting but without reference to its causes. Brennan has done the research, and her history is accurate.

Brennan’s wholly made up characters, and her fictional Faerie Court will appeal to readers of Neil Gaiman. Like him, Brennan has brought the magical into the mundane, and interwoven it into the very fabric of what we know to be true. Her characters Deven and Lune are believable and easy to become attached to. Their fates become ones the reader will care about, even as they try to reconcile her magic to his practicality.

If the book falls down a bit, it is in Deven’s rather casual acceptance of the Faerie Realm. Although he had been searching for it without knowing it, when he discovers its existence, his reaction was overly subdued, and Brennan might have done better to show the reaction of a character who up until that point had never believed such a thing existed. Readers may also find the ending unsatisfying. Brennan does not go for a typical destruction of the evil as might be found in a standard epic fantasy, and those looking for a story in which the evil villain dies horribly will likely be left unsatisfied. That is not to say that the ending is disappointing, in fact, it comes in line with many of the folk tales and legends on which it is based in many ways replicating the sense of sadness mixed with hope many of them evoke.

And that, ultimately, is the true feel of this novel. It is a protracted fairy tale. Readers familiar with Andrew Lang or the Brothers Grimm will notice that Midnight Never Come has much the same tenor as their works. It could also be likened to some of the Greek myths. In fact, Brennan makes a nod to some of those myths by having some of the characters share names with some of the human heroes of the Greek sagas.

Written in five acts (really sections of the book), it also brings to mind comparisons to Shakespeare and Marlowe's fantasy plays. Brennan has chosen to write the tale a sequence of scenes, each introduced by a particular date, sometimes current and sometimes past. Although written in prose, the reader can almost see the novel being staged, with scenes moving in and out from the wings, or even relying wholly on the power of the actor's to evoke the imagination.

I highly recommend Midnight Never Come to any lover of stories about the Fae, those interested in historical novels of Elizabethan England, or those who enjoyed or still enjoy fairy tales and myths. Brennan’s ability to maintain historical accuracy while writing an exciting and fast-paced novel filled with elves, fairies, the Wild Hunt, and brownies makes this story worth reading.

More about Marie Brennan can be found at her website. Or you can check out supplemental material for the novel at the Midnight Never Come website.

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Book Review: The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt

* Genre: Steampunk, Fantasy
* ISBN: 0765320428
* ISBN-13: 9780765320421
* Format: Hardcover, 592pp
* Publisher: TOR
* Pub. Date: June 10, 2008

The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt is a steampunk tour de force. Endlessly inventive and as intricately plotted as George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, The Court of the Air is a tale no reader should miss.

On the surface, this stand-alone tale is ostensibly about two orphans, Molly and Oliver. Gifted in different ways (one through science, the other through magic) these two are forced on the run. These two story arcs move separately from each other, only crossing paths indirectly for most of the novel, although they the do meet once, near the end of the story. They strange gifts of each must be called upon when they find they are the last, best hope for the salvation of mankind from the forces of evil.

Part Fahrenheit 451, Animal Farm, and Victorian era novel, The Court of the Air is both a challenging and entertaining read. The former is most evident early in the book. Hunt wastes no words in trying to explain the history of the setting, nor does he try to give reasons for the technology the reader will encounter. For the reader this may cause some difficulty, since the setting is wildly different from our own, and Hunt throws a lot of creative word usage at the reader right from the beginning. The latter is a result of Hunt’s action. It is almost non-stop, and as the byline on the front of the novel states, the tale truly is “a fantastical tale of high adventure, low life rouges, and orphans on the run.” The reader can’t help but be excited as Molly and Oliver move from scene to scene, finding dangers ever more harrowing. Their ultimate triumph comes all the more sweetly as a result.

Like most steampunk novels, the story is based on a Victorian technology, the era of steam and gas, when most machinery was mechanized and humanity yet lacked the silicon chip. Robots exist, but they are sentient and are known by the name “steammen” for the way they survive by eating coke and giving off steam from their boilers, much like a semi from its exhaust pipe. Other, stranger races exist in The Court of the Air but in this story, they are mostly background, with only a few characters from those races (graspers, craynarbians) rising to the level of actually being named. There is also magic, a sort of fairytale type that creates strange powers in humans who are affected by it, as in Oliver’s case.

Although the technology is Victorian, the politics are not. The majority of the story takes place in Jackals, described in the novel as a people having “the power to overrun the whole continent, but they would rather potter about their gardens cutting their hedges into fanciful shapes, slap each other with debating sticks, and stop every our to brew pot of caffeel.“. Sounds a lot like England, which is also the home of Hunt. Rather than take the Victorian period politics and reproduce them, Hunt has actually taken the politics of the time of the French Revolution, and readers will see an obvious corollary in the politics of the “communityists” and that of the revolutionaries of France, as well as those of the Russian Revolution. It is here that the comparisons to Fahrenheit 451 and Animal Farm come about.

Like all great English novels, The Court of the Air is partly a satire. Many of the great novels point out fallacies or inconsistencies in the lifestyle of the period. Dickens, Austen, Defoe, and Trollope all in their own way made evident the good and the bad of the time of England’s history in which they wrote. And The Court of the Air does much the same. Readers of English classics will notice many references to characters or events from those same novels. In fact, Molly’s story in some way echoes that of Moll Flanders a work by Daniel Defoe and Oliver’s has some similarities to Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. Many of the names in the The Court of the Air will remind the reader of other novels.

In essence, there are two story arcs occurring in The Court of the Air. One is a political satire, pitting capitalism against Marxism. The second, and by far the one with the most page time, is the adventures of Molly and Oliver, as they race against time to save their world from a horrible death. And yet, though these two plots may be strange bedfellows, they are interwoven so cleverly, that they seem as one.

Hunt does have some difficulties in his writing. Readers will notice the use of a few deus ex machina. Oliver is saved by the appearance of a Loa, and while exciting, was an obvious way for Hunt to change the direction of the story. And his sudden change from confused boy to superhero is a bit abrupt, especially as its occurrence coincides with a gift he receives that seems to make him brave. Molly is once saved by a character who makes an appearance in the early pages of the book, and then disappears forever, and at the end of the novel I was left wondering where she went, especially as she was not the type to shrink from a fight (Hunt’s second book The Kingdom Beyond the Waves does revisit this character, but this is not made clear in this book). But although Hunt uses these salvations from above, they don’t detract from the story. Readers will also note that at the beginning of the tale, Hunt doesn’t seem to know what story he is trying to tell. Molly’s story especially wanders around until Hunt finally settles on her role in the adventure. But although the reader may feel that some of the scenes are unnecessary and wonder why Hunt included them, by the end of the tale it becomes a little clearer, and Hunt does manage to redeem what seems to be the plot meandering.

The Court of Air is a complex and convoluted novel. Hunt’s world building is exquisite, and I’ve never read another novel like it. It is exciting and fast paced, with myriad plot twists and turns, interesting characters, and fantasy world that manages to blend the modern and the fantastical all into one package. The best comparison to make is not to another novel, but rather to a video game. The Final Fantasy games (especially VII, X and X-2) kept coming to mind as I read Hunt’s novel. Like them, The Court of Air is always full of adventure, with a unique and detailed world. I highly recommend this book to all readers. It is already on my best of the year list. I think the only way to top it will be with the next book by Stephen Hunt, set in the same world and with some of the same characters, but still a stand alone novel, called The Kingdom Beyond the Waves.

Stephen Hunt is also the chief editor of SF Crowsnest, a monthly e-zine of news and articles in the Science Fiction and Fantasy genre. Full disclosure – some of my articles have appeared at SF Crowsnest.

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Book Review: Shadowmarch by Tad Williams

* Genre: Epic Fantasy
* ISBN: 0756402190
* ISBN-13: 9780756402198
* Format: Hardcover, 672pp
* Publisher: DAW Hardcover
* Pub. Date: November 2004
* Series: Shadowmarch Series, #1

When Tad Williams left epic fantasy to write is Otherland series, I was deeply saddened. Williams is an excellent author of the standard epic fantasy. And while his books are long, they are never dull. When I tried to read the Other land series (and remember, I was a young boy at the time) I just couldn’t reach the same level of enjoyment as in reading the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy. So when I found out that Williams was returning to true, straightforward epic fantasy with the publication of Shadowmarch, I was excited.

Shadowmarch is everything an epic fantasy should be. It is grand in scope, has characters that grow and change over the course of its length, and includes fairies, dwarves, and a medieval setting. Shadowmarch is the common name for the castle that stands on the edge of the Shadowline, a barrier erected by the Quar, a conglomeration of fantasy species fleeing the steady onslaught of man. Barrick and Briony Eddon are the twin children of Olin, King of Shadowmarch (more properly known as Southmarch). As the narrative begins, we find that Olin has been captured by a rival king, and the twins’ brother Kendrick fills the vacancy as prince regent. Barrick and Briony are therefore free to be young children. But through a sequence of terrible events, the rule of Southmarch is thrust upon Barrick and Briony’s shoulders. Something they are very much unprepared for.

Williams weaves many plots and subplots into the story. The most pressing is the fact that the fairies are leaving their home behind the Shadowline and seeking revenge on mankind for taking away the land that once was theirs. But woven into and throughout these tales are several subplots, which as the narrative unfolds in later books, may become a much larger piece of the puzzle. There are at least two significant mysteries, one having to due with what happens to Kendrick, and the other with the strange madness that seems to beset Barrick. And behind it all is the story of Chert, a Funderling, and the foundling Flint. I suspect that Flint and Chert’s story may be much more than what occurs in this first novel.

In fact, it is Chert and Ferras Vansen who provides the true hero for the story. Briony and Barrick, while brave, are befuddled and confused, in many ways still selfish children who are easily led by others. Those two have to grow into the ruling of Southmarch, and it is a painful process to read. But Chert the Funderling and Ferras Vansen the captain of the guard are the true heroes. Selfless, giving, brave, loyal and honest, it is the simplicity of Chert’s love for Flint and Vansen loyalty to the crown that are the most uplifting parts of Shadowmarch. Chert’s and Vansen’s characters made the novel a great read, even if they are but minor characters in the whole of the story, at least for now.

Williams continues to write with grace, and on occasion he brings his characters to philosophical insight that resonated with me, as in the following lines from the novel:

[Barrick] realized that every one of these men lived inside his own head just as Barrick lived in his, and that all of the hundreds of people waiting anxiously on the stairs outside the temple for a glimpse of the nobility of Southmarch lived within their own thoughts as well, as completely and seperately as Barrick himself did. It's as if we live on a thousand, thousand different islands in the middle of an ocean, he thought, but with no boats. We can see each other. We can shout to each other. But we none of us can leave our own island and travel to another.

You will perhaps understand Barrick’s depression. Williams captures the feel of it eloquently and accurately. And you will understand the skill with which Williams creates characters who we can relate to, even if we think their actions foolish or brash. (As I often did about Barrick and Briony.)

There are a few times where Williams’s narrative falls apart. In one instance, Briony forgets to do something significant, and her forgetfulness felt somewhat contrived. There are several times when two characters in different subplots – Chaven and Beetledown - who have been gone for several pages (and their absences are explained and purposeful, it is their reappearances I am questioning) appear at just the right time to make things right. It feels too convenient in both cases, although that might be me being too critical.

And Shaso’s (a minor character) inability to relate certain events because of a word of honor lacks believability, especially in light of the events and the elevation of Briony and Barrick to the regency of Southmarch. Even the most honorable of men would have told the story outright to his supreme rulers, no matter his debt of honor. For one of the subplots, and a significant event near the end of the book, it was necessary that Shaso not say what he knew, it is just that Williams doesn’t make Shaso’s unwillingness to talk believable enough, although it is easy enough to let slide in a suspension of disbelief. This is especially egregious since Williams so often makes his characters so believable and compelling. Were it not for that, then this incongruity might have slipped the reader’s notice.

Shadowmarch is an epic fantasy in all respects. It breaks no new ground (although the ending is surprising in its details, if not an unexpected outcome) but uses all the elements of a Tolkienesque world to present themes of coming of age, friendship, heroism, and loyalty. All are themes that readers of epic fantasy expect from their novels and that they will find in abundance in Shadowmarch. If you enjoy epic fantasy, or enjoyed Williams prior epic fantasy trilogy, you will find reading Shadowmarch a pleasure. I did.

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E-zine Review: Flashing Swords #9

An e-zine for fans of swashbuckling adventure and sword and sorcery, Flashing Swords is in its Renaissance. Several years ago, this little quarterly e-zine was spearheaded by Howard Andrew Jones, now an editor at the critically acclaimed Black Gate, but through a series of unfortunate circumstances, was forced to shut down. When a new editor (who goes by the name Crystalwizard) stepped up to the plate, Flashing Swords was able to see a small revival, even top the point of spawning its own small press, Flashing Swords Press, whose first anthology The Return of the Sword I reviewed recently.

(In the interest of full disclosure, Flashing Swords republishes some of the material from this blog on its homepage.)

Flashing Swords Issue #9 is a wonderful collection of stories. Purchasable either as a print-on-demand title, or at a much cheaper rate in e-book format, ($9.97 for a print version, $7.00 for a pdf) this issue demonstrates why sword and sorcery can be much more than Conan style stories (although it is that too). The collection contains 12 stories, 4 poems, 2 interviews, and one nonfiction piece about the British in Zululand. (See a complete list at the end of this review.)

Although due to time constraints I was unable to read the entire zine, I did pick out a few of the most interesting stories, which I review below.

First is Wesley Lambert’s poem “The Reluctant Viking” a funny little poem, one could almost see the wolves of the sea chanting this tale in their mead halls during long winters.

“The Plague Ship” by Liane Whittier is a pirate story with ghostly elements, this tale borrows heavily from The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Even so, Whittier writes well, and her story is able to have its own unique twist. This story does not have a lot of action, but rather relies on the reader’s desire to know what happens next to keep the story moving. Although the ending is anticlimactic, Whittier does create enough sense of danger throughout the story to keep the reader’s attention.

Joseph A McCullough V writes a historical fantasy tale called “Death’s Head”. It is a story about the narrow line between demons and angels. While not answering the question, it wonders at why God would allow demons to exist. It is a different take on demonology stories, and for that it is worth reading. It has lots of action at its ending, and its sharp shooting protagonist makes for an interesting character.

“Tyler’s Bed and Breakfast”, by Lyn Perry is ghost story set in our own time. Its action comes from a retelling of past events, but in The Sixth Sense style, it has a spooky ending. It is a good ghost story for reading aloud around a campfire.

As you can see from the stories I’ve spotlighted, Flashing Swords e-zine is more than what is generally considered sword and sorcery. And they do that as well, as well as publish longer novellas in serialized form. The stories are illustrated with excellent black and white art throughout, by several talented artists and they add panache to the story.

The editors might need to be more careful about ensuring the stories are spell-checked, as I saw several instances of homonyms or homophones being were their counterpart should be, but for the most part the stories are very well laid out and edited. Flashing Swords doesn’t publish just anything that is submitted, and it is obvious they are careful to weed through their slushpile for short story gems.

If you enjoy action/adventure stories, sword and sorcery, or enjoy stories like those found in Black Gate here is a regular way to get those tales. Flashing Swords' Renaissance is a in full swing, and I suggest that all fans of adventure fiction get on board.

What follows is the Table of Contents for Flashing Swords #9:

"The Shores of Limbo" by SC Bryce
"The Reluctant Viking" by Wesley Lambert
"Mightier Than the Sword" by Bill Ward
"The Plague Ship" by Liane Whittier
"And the Wind Sang" by Bradley H Sinor
"An Eyrieman Foresees His Death" by Elizabeth Barrette
"Offering" by Aurelio Rico Lopez III
"Will, the Maniac" by Washington Allston
"Zeerembuk" by Steve Goble
"Duel Song: Ahrzhuna Lux" by David M Pitchford
"The Porvov Switch" by Seth Skorkowsky
"Death’s Head" by Joseph A McCullough V
"Tyler’s Bed & Breakfast" by Lyn Perry
"Interview with Janrae Frank"
"Cold Fire" by Brian Dolton
"Like Ink in Rain" by Elizabeth Barrette
"The British Redcoat in Zululand" by Joseph A McCullough
"Interview with Bruce Durham"
"The Night of the Meld" by Bruce Durham

Posted by John at 02:08 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Posted to Anthology/Short Fiction | Fantasy
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Book Review: Bloodheir by Brian Ruckley

* Genre: Epic Fantasy
* ISBN: 0316067709
* ISBN-13: 9780316067706
* Format: Paperback, 528pp
* Publisher: Orbit
* Pub. Date: June 2008
* Series: The Godless World, #2

Often, the second book in a trilogy is accused of something called “Middle Book Syndrome”. The idea is that the second book in most trilogies is mostly filler and very little plot movement really happens. And often it is true. But if anyone accuses Brian Ruckley’s second book in The Godless World trilogy, Bloodheir of suffering from middle book syndrome, I’m afraid I will have to scoff in his face.

Bloodheir moves the story from the personal to the epic. In the first book of the trilogy, Winterbirth most of the story was about the harrowing near escapes of its protagonists, with occasional insights into the minds of the villains. While that sort of writing style continues in Bloodheir the action moves out from the immediacy of survival for the heroes and catching them for the villains into grand political machinations and sweeping battles. Some of the minor characters who were encountered in the first book, such as Taim Narran and some of the Inkallim, move out into the fore, and add more dimensions to this epic fantasy.

As the story begins, Orisian is now Thane of the Lannis–Haig Blood, but his lands have been overrun by the forces of the Black Road. He and his sister Anyara are all that is left of his Blood, and very few of his people are still free. Meanwhile, the na’kyrim Aeglyss – one of the few people in the world able to access the Shared – survived his torture at the hands of the White Owl kyrinin and appears to have become more powerful. But his mind is broken, and he begins to use his power to try and take of control all the world. Orisian is forced to choose between fighting for his people and fighting for all people everywhere. It’s a hard choice, and his eventual decision may have disastrous results.

Whereas in the first novel, Ruckley focused on the battle between the Black Road and the True Bloods, to the point where the reader almost forgot about the magic aspect of the story, this second novel centers much more on the magic of the Shared and the rise of the strange and powerful race known as the Anain. Those who read the first book hoping and finished it hoping to find more magic will get a healthy does of it here. The Shared is an interesting concept, the idea that the magic is a part of everyone, but only a few, the blending of two races known as na’kyrim, are able to tap its power, and even then only in limited fashion. The reader begins to see that the battle Orisian and Anyara are fighting is much more a dispute over land, it is a struggle against a horror once known and vanquished that appears to be rising again.

Ruckley’s characterization continues to be good. He refuses to have his characters make sudden, abrupt changes in personality, instead opting for slow changes. They way they change, and the way they behave becomes believable, and they continue to react to their environment in believable fashions. That is not to say that some of the characters, mostly in supporting roles, are two-dimensional – like Aweult – but for the most part their reactions are believable. In particular, the way that Ruckley describes two loves intrigued me as a reader. Orisian’s love from afar of E’ssyr reminds me very much of myself as a youngster, and Orisian’s reaction and behavior are very much in line with how a young man might act when he feels desire for a woman he respects and whom he refuses to force into love with him. Mordyn Shadowhand and Tara’s love for one another as a married couple is well-written as well. The passion and loyalty they feel for one another is a tangible thing, and anyone who has ever experienced it in real life will see that Ruckley was able to capture that feeling in truth. And these are but minor parts of characterization in the grand scope of the story.

For those who felt that there was an excessive amount of description in the first book, they will find that the sequel has toned down the descriptions of grand vistas, and instead focused much more on action and battle sequences. These are described in bloody and violent detail from the point of few of the characters, and there is enough gore to satisfy any bloodlust.

The events described continue to get progressively worse for the supposed heroes as they move forward. Rather than leave a light at the end of the tunnel, as many books with middle book syndrome do, Ruckley chooses to leave his characters on the edge of a precipice, having few successes and almost no resources. I thought this to be refreshing, as the reader still is unsure who will win in this story, the villains or the heroes. If the novel fulfills the standard epic fantasy trope, our heroes will win, but just how and if are still very much in question by the end of this novel, which is much of the reason why I enjoyed it so much.

I highly recommend you read Bloodheir and its prequel Winterbirth. This second book cannot be read without reading the other, but ach one has its own strengths and weaknesses, although of the two, I think Bloodheir the stronger. It is full of the action one expects of an epic fantasy. Ruckley’s novels are some of my favorites, and I have little bad to say about them. If I did, it would be a critic being a nitpicker, trying to find something wrong with the novel so he could be said to have fairly reviewed it. Ruckley’s novels are some the few that I can find nothing wrong with whatsoever, in my own not-so-humble opinion. If you enjoy epic fantasy, you should not be disappointed by Winterbirth or Bloodheir.

Visit Brian Ruckley's website for supporting information for the books, read an interview I did with him here, or listen to him read from Bloodheir here.

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Book Review: Misspelled edited by Julie E. Czerneda

* Genre: Short Fiction, Fantasy
* ISBN: 0756404754
* ISBN-13: 9780756404758
* Format: Mass Market Paperback, 48pp
* Publisher: Penguin Group (DAW)
* Pub. Date: April 2008

I like themed anthologies. I like it when and editor takes a topic or notion and collects a series of stories around it. It allows me as a reader to have general background on the tale, and provides for easier reading of short fiction. In Misspelled, Julie E. Czerneda has collected 17 humorous tales about what happens when a spell goes wrong. The collection has some creative tales, as well as several brand new voices who have never been published before. It is an entertaining collection.

Lesley D. Livingston takes the title of the anthology literally and writes a story that is both about a spell going wrong and Freudian slips of the tongue. “Trippingly Off the Tongue” works out well in the end for the protagonist, although its ending is a surprise. Livingston’s tale is probably not the one I would have chosen to lead the anthology off with. The plot is a little difficult to follow (it’s a bit like trying to listen to that Micro Machines guy back in the early nineties) due to its speedy dialogue. Too many ideas are introduced all at once, and I was a bit overwhelmed.

Kristine Smith writes a tale about preparing a house for sale in “8rms, full bsmt.” Some houses just happen to have doors to hell, and that’s where wizards come into play. Smith’s tale is appropriately humorous in this day of the subprime crisis, but I’m not really sure where the spell goes awry in this tale.

“Eye of the Beholder” by Kevin G. Maclean is a cautionary tale about getting what you ask for. Sometimes, you see, beauty really is in the eye of the beholder. Maclean has written a fairy tale turned on its head. I can honestly say, I didn’t see his ending coming (though I should have).

“Cybermancer” by Janet Elizabeth Chase mixes together the worlds of technology and witchcraft. An interesting combo, as in there are so many ways both can go wrong. Chase’s protagonist is not the most likable character, but she does do the right thing when her poor sister is dragged into Hell. I like this one for its particular creativity, and it is one of the few to incorporate technology in this anthology.

Marc Mackay writes a schoolyard tale about messing with things you know nothing about. “Eye of Newt” shows how two young girls learn that sometimes just because something is traditional, doesn’t mean it is useless. This story had a superfluous (implied) lesbian relationship that was unnecessary to the story and ultimately distracting. Had Mackay left it out, his story would have been stronger.

“Chafing the Bogey Man” by Kristen Britain is a hilarious take on the sport of golf. Britain’s poor protagonist makes a huge gaff in his struggle for retaining lost glory, with hilarious results, including the appearance of a rather strange garden gnome.

“A Perfect Circle” by Kent Pollard is another story that incorporates technology. This one does poke a little fun at the MMORPG culture. Having played more than one of them myself, I smiled at Pollard’s good-hearted jabs. His story takes the meaning in misspell literally, with the problem of the story being caused by a spelling error.

First time author Kell Brown’s “Reading, Writing, Plagues” suffers a bit from his lack of explanation. I understood the action as he related it, but I’m still not sure exactly how the misspell took place, even if I am able to identify its results. Brown would do well to work on setting the stage a little better in his tale. Still, it is a classic wizard’s spell gone awry tale, and I’m sure readers will like it.

John Zakour’s “bubblegum for the brain” style of writing holds true in his story “Totally Devoted 2 U” in which a love spell gives the conjurer more (or less, depending on your take) than she bargained for. Like Maclean’s tale above, Zakour’s is a cautionary one. I have liked Zakour’s writing for some time, and he is an excellent humor writer. This one does not disappoint in any respect.

“The Mysterious Case of Spell Zero” is a Sherlock Holmes style mystery tale. Except in this case, the two protagonists solve mysteries involving spells. I found Rob St. Martin’s tale to simple for the genre it is emulating, lacking in any real mystery. The solution is arrived at almost as soon as the problem exists, and so lacks any drama.

“Crosscut” is a story about a fantasy writer who is down on her luck. Demons and writing don’t always mix well, but for the writer protagonist in this tale, the misspell ends up much improving her life. S. W. Mayse’s tale finds laughter in the joy of relief from worry. This is one of my favorites of the collection.

“Bitch Bewitched” tells its entire story from the perspective of a dog. Doranna Durgin’s story is cute, and has puppies and babies in it, so it plucks a little at one’s heart strings. The ending leaves room for more of the story to be explored, and I wonder of Durgin plans to write more stories about the magical border hounds. I'd be sure to read them.

Morgan S. Brilliant’s tale of young adults and their parents is apropos. Relationships are quirky little things as “The Witch of Westmoreland Avenue” knows all too well. For a first-timer, Brilliant writes a solidly entertaining tale.

Being a Quality Assurance Mage isn’t all it’s cracked to be as Kate Paulk makes painfully clear in “A Spell of Quality”. Sometimes Mages call up forces they just can’t handle, and it isn’t even their fault. This story is a bit on the gruesome side to be truly funny, but is still an enjoyable tale.

“Demon in the Cupboard” reminded me too much of my own life. I’ve been told more than once to leave my wife’s kitchen alone and suffered to consequences for not listening. Imagine how much worse it might be if your wife was a which. Nathan Azinger’s protagonist doesn’t listen to his wife, and trouble ensues.

Jim C. Hines should be a familiar name to many of you by now. “Untrained Melody” is another of his humorous tales. I had never thought that a bard could be an accordion player too. Worse yet, his heroine is an untrained bard. It takes the help of a flute playing dwarf to undo the evil the heroine has done. As always, Hines stories bring a smile to my face.

The concluding tale, “Yours for only $19.99”, was another favorite in the anthology. Shannan Palma tells a story about what happens when doing magic without first reading the instructions. Fortunately, it all works out for the young girl who wanted a fairy tale life. Sometimes, reality is better than any story.

Misspelled was an enjoyable and entertaining collection of stories. Even those tales that I had trouble with were still creative enough to entertain. The stories cover a wide spectrum of thoughts on the topic of spells gone awry. I recommend Misspelled as excellent escapism.

Posted by John at 04:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Anthology/Short Fiction | Fantasy
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Book Review: Obsidian Ridge by Jess Lebow

* Genre: Sword and Sorcery, Media Tie-In, Forgotten Realms
* ISBN: 0786947853
* ISBN-13: 9780786947850
* Format: Mass Market Paperback, 313pp
* Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
* Pub. Date: April 2008
* Series: Forgotten Realms Citadels Series, #2

In a writing style throwback to the adventure stories of Robert Howard and others of his generation of sword and sorcery writers – light on dialogue, big on action - Jess Lebow has brought some of the adventure back to the Forgotten Realms campaign setting in his latest novel, Obsidian Ridge. Foregoing character introspections (except to a limited extent) Lebow allows the action to drive his narrative. It is much like the early Ed Greenwood, when he first began writing media tie in novels for his Forgotten Realms campaign setting.

Obsidian Ridge tells the story of three primary heroes. The Claw is the king’s assassin, whose bladed gauntlets remind me of nothing less than Wolverine. And the Claw uses them to equal effect. Mariko is the king’s daughter, but she is also a budding spellcaster and damsel in distress. Korox, King of Erlkazar - a newly formed nation that broke off from Tethyr - is forced to make a decision about whether or not to give up his daughter to the arch magus Xeries, master of a floating mountain in the sky called the Obsidian Ridge. Twisted in body and mind, Xeries threatens to destroy all of Erlkazar if he does not receive Mariko for his payment. But there are other forces at work. The criminal underworld of Lhorbauth – capital of Erlkazar – has captured Mariko and holds her for ransom from a desperate king. The king and the Claw must find Mariko, all the while wondering whether or not to turn over Mariko to the evil Xeries.

As you can see from the synopsis in the previous paragraph, there is a lot of potential for action in the story, and Lebow leverages it to the hilt. The story is light on dialogue, and instead moves from action sequence to battle scene, from battle scene to fight scene, with a dose of mystery thrown into the mix rather than conversation to move the narrative forward. The identity of the Claw, and the king of the underworld both remain a significant mystery for a large part of the story, although the astute reader will guess their identities quickly.

Although it is action that drives the plot, there is some time given over to introspection. Korox especially wrestles with what it means to be king. But Lebow’s skill is not in getting us to emotionally connect with the characters, rather it is in giving us heroes that we cannot help but cheer for. Reading Obsidian Ridge was like watching a football game in which you know nothing of the players except their names. As you watch, the announcers give you little tidbits of information about the players, and you appreciate them, but that isn’t why you tuned in. You tuned in because you needed something to cheer for, to watch one team beat another. In Obsidian Ridge you want to watch the team of Korox, Mariko, and the Claw beat Xeries and the criminal underworld. What you learn of their characters in the meantime is interesting, but is not why you choose to read the book.

The novel has flaws. It is a simple plot, and Lebow uses deus ex machina a few times. The Claw and Mariko get out of a few scrapes a bit too fortuitously and this can seem a little contrived. When the plot tries to zig or zag, it is usually pretty obvious where the author is going, and when a surprise does occur, it is because the reader had little foreshadowing and so had no reason to expect it.

If you enjoy dialogue as part of the story, Lebow uses only what he must. The story is mostly told through a description of events as they unfold. Characterization is simplified and the motivations of the characters are not in any way complex – except for Korox. He alone really struggles with himself.

I don’t think that this novel makes a good entry point for new Realms readers. It explains little of the Realms mythos, and in fact only has a very few mentions of the standard races and denizens of the realms. Even those are usually part human, part something else. A little prior knowledge of the Realms would stand the reader in good stead for understanding the Realms story Lebow has written. The book could have been placed in another setting other than the Realms and still have been essentially the same story. I do recommend it for all Realms readers to add to their collection. It is not a stand out novel, but neither is it mediocre, and so it fits snuggle into that area of fiction that is best classified as an enjoyable read.

In Obsidian Ridge Jess Lebow took a difficult topic - it is part of the Forgotten Realms The Citadels series, where the writers try to write a story about fortresses and castles - and made an interesting story of it. It has inescapable dungeons, a love story, truly evil villains, battle and fight scenes, and a hero who uses gauntlets as weapons. What more could you ask for from a sword and sorcery novel?

Posted by John at 10:33 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | Forgotten Realms
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Book Review: Return of the Sword edited by Jason M. Waltz

* Genre: Sword and Sorcery, Short Fiction
* ISBN: 097957885X
* ISBN-13: 9780979578854
* Format: Paperback, 344pp
* Publisher: Flashing Swords Press, an imprint of Cyberwizard Productions
* Pub. Date: March 2008

The Return of the Sword is the first anthology published by the newly minted Flashing Swords Press, itself the publishing arm of the formerly defunct and recently revitalized Flashing Swords e-zine. Giving itself the byline “An Anthology of Heroic Adventure” Return of the Sword is editor Jason M. Waltz’s collection of 19 new stories, one classic reprint, and one article that look at the character of the hero, particularly as he appears in the sword and sorcery subgenre of fantasy. In Waltz’s introduction to the anthology, he writes that “heroes continue to do the ordinary in extraordinary times and do the extraordinary in ordinary times.”

The stories contained in Return of the Sword manage to show that truth in many ways, with varied success.

The anthology begins with a female protagonist in “Altar of the Moon” a story by Stacey Berg that thinks about the problems inherent in the magical weapons that heroes use. What this hero is forced to do to quell the magic in her sword may surprise you. Berg’s writing is fluid, and this very short story is an interesting take on the magical weapon trope.

“The Wyrd of War” by Bill Ward is a graphic battle story. It is sad for its protagonist and the ending will wrench you heart. Ward has his protagonist make a fearsome decision, one I hope no one in this modern age must face, although I fear that in some ways it is more common than you think. The story has repercussions in the euthanasia debate. (Likely this is something the author did not foresee, but I came away thinking about it.)

“The Last Scream of Carnage” by Phil Emery uses strange word placement, replacement of quotes with italics, and a sense of raw emotion to tell the story of a heroes sacrifice. Waltz’s “editors choice” it is the most groundbreaking story in the anthology. Although groundbreaking in style, I found its narrative difficult to follow and I did not enjoy this story, for all its creativity.

I also disagree with Waltz’s decision to have an “editor’s choice” since in reality, he chose all of the stories contained in the anthology, and to elevate one above all the rest is unnecessary and distracting. His job as editor is to choose stories readers will enjoy, not tell us which one we should like best, as our tastes are not necessarily going to conform to his. His “editor’s choice” decision led to this story being the only one that is illustrated and I’d like to say I feel slighted on behalf of the other writer’s who contributed work to this anthology.

“The Battle of Raven Kill” by Jeff Draper is a story of self-sacrifice. The story is one man’s last stand against a horde of barbarians. Draper weaves an elegant and protracted fight scene that is thrilling to read.

Nicholas Ian Hawkins’ “What Heroes Leave Behind” is about an aged warrior. Tolasun is a hero who has lived longer than his legend. Hawkins writes a believable tale about a warrior who comes full circle, and how when heroes die, there are those who will pick up the mantle. The “shadow” that is part of the story is nicely woven in, and Hawkins makes that spectre an interesting and unique foe.

“Fatefist at Torkas Nahl” is an alright tale. David Pitchford pits the leaders of three opposing armies against each other, a unique type of battle, but it was overly complex, and the Fatefist himself was inexplicably obtuse. This story was neat to read, but I turned its final page not feeling that I had really been told much of a story, just a sequence of events.

Ty Johnston delves into the hero versus fate story with “Deep in the Land of Ice and Snow”. It is a story that has some of the feel of legend. Ultimately though, this story would have better served as a prologue to a larger novel or novella.

“Mountain Scarab” looks into the “knight in shining armor” story. Although in this case, the knight is less than shining, and his reasons for saving the fair damsel are unknown even to him. Jeff Stewart is reprising a character that he has used before, but he story is enjoyable and the way the protagonist wins his battle is quite different if a little too much deus ex machina.

Angeline Hawkes “Lair of the Cherufe” was the least likable story of the anthology. There are glaring plot holes in her story (such as the need for the blood of royal virgins to satiate the monster’s desire. If this were true, it is unlikely the king would ever have let his daughter near the man who worshiped the monster!) It is also is two stories crammed together into one. One is about the search for a sword and the other the killing of the monster. The sword is necessary for the second to be completed, but the tale of its finding either needed to be expanded to hold more interest or done away with altogether. Hawkes also throws in new confrontations with no foreshadowing. (The guardians of the lava monster.) The story ended up being poorly written even in a subgenre that is deeply tolerant of such things as I have mentioned.

“To Be a Man” by Robert Rhodes is a little crude in its content, but it is an interesting flip-flop of the barbarian chases damsel tale. The laughs Rhodes gets for his tale are more likely ones of discomfort that true laughter. Still, it is unique and there are many men who would not have done as the protagonist did for the entire world.

A collection and expansion of some of his blog posts, “Storytelling” is a nonfiction article by E. E. Knight which has a lots of very specific tips and tricks for the budding writer. With several novels to his credit, Knight’s advice is worth reading for any aspiring writer.

James Enge gives readers of Black Gate a new Morlock Ambrosius story in “”The Red Worm’s Way”. Though not as strong a story as those in Black Gate is still true to form and continues to entertain. New readers of Morlock should go back and read the first stories in Black Gate.

“To Destroy all Flesh” by Michael Ehart is another story with female heroes. Though this story is not particular exciting, it serves as an excellent introduction to Ehart’s characters, stories if whom have recently been collected into a single volume. I was intrigued enough that I might want to read Ehart’s other stories. His writing is fluid and his characters heroic with a twist.

Thomas M. MacKay looks at the use of rage by the hero in “Guardian of Rage”. MacKay is using a character from other stories he has published and unfortunately what results is a character that those who have not read those prior stories can get attached to. While I applaud the protagonist’s heroic actions the element of rage that MacKay introduces is not distinguishable from the standard behavior of the hero and so adds little to the story.

Christopher Heath tackles the stereotype of the “brute barbarian” in “Claimed by Birthright”. Heath’s story owed as lot to the Conan tales (he even uses the word “Cimmerian”) but twists it just slightly to allow wit combined with brute force to win the day. Not a stand out story, but still solid and entertaining.

Nathan Meyer’s “The Hand that Holds the Crown” is a story about betrayal. There is actually no clear hero, and I am a bit surprised it was included in this anthology. Still, it is a story with not one, but two surprising twists, and I enjoyed how it ended.

“The Dawn Tree” by S.C. Bryce is another story about betrayal, but this time about a hero being tricked into betraying himself. This was an excellent story, and Bryce’s concept of the Dawn Tree ushering in the new epoch is creative.

Allen B. Lloyd and William Clunie’s collaborative story “An Uneasy Truce in Ulam-Bator” is the only truly humorous tale in this collection. It introduces two characters that Clunie and Lloyd plan to write more about. I look forward to the stories these two will tell with this unlikely pair of companions.

Steven Goble writes a tale of a heroes driving force in “The Mask Oath”. In this case, it is not revenge that drives the hero. This is a tale of the noble hero, whose heroism comes from honor, justice, and love of country. It subtly praises the characteristics we prize so highly in our own armed forces.

“Valley of Bones” by Bruce Durham is a story about the front line soldier. The heroism and selflessness displayed by the protagonist is the same we all would aspire to have in our own lives. Durham’ story exemplifies how anyone may be a hero given the right motivation and the right set of circumstances, the type of hero who says that “I only did what anyone would do.”

The final story in this anthology is one of Harold Lamb’s Cossack historical fantasy stories. This is good story for people unfamiliar with Lamb to read to get a sense of those prolific but until recently forgotten author. Now, thanks to Howard Andrew Jones and Bison Press we can read the stories of Lamb again, or for the first time.

Overall, this anthology is enjoyable. It has some stories that are less the stellar and I have pointed them out as well as I could. Readers should also know that although this story is about heroes, it is also mostly about heroes of the sword and sorcery variety. These are the heroes who most often tend to fight for gold, women, and glory. So in some ways, the stories can get repetitious because the same tropes are encountered again and again. This does not mean that he stories are poorly written, quite the contrary, but the reader might want to break up the reading of these stories.

If you like sword and sorcery fantasy, you will like this anthology. If Conan style stories bore you or seem to simplistic, there are no stories here for you. Everyone who writes will benefit from E. E. Knight’s writing suggestions, but they can be found in another form on his blog. Overall, I enjoyed the anthology and read through it quite quickly, proving to me that I was having fun. And that is what this first offering from Flashing Swords Press is meant to do. Return of the Sword is meant to entertain, and it succeeds, for the most part.

Posted by John at 10:50 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack | Posted to Anthology/Short Fiction | Fantasy
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Hidden Reality: An Interview with Michelle Sagara West

Michelle Sagara West is a prolific author under several pen names. In our interview, she talks about being a bookseller, writing a prequel, and how she wants to write characters who are real and behave in realistic ways. A very knowledgeable writer who employs beautiful language even when she is just doing an interview with a lowly blogger like me, Michelle West is an author you should look into reading.

Be sure to read my review of The Hidden City, where Michelle comments on my review and talks more about writing real characters.

Grasping for the Wind: Besides being a writer, you are also a bookseller at Bakka-Phoenix in Toronto. Do you find that rewarding? Any memories of a favorite sale you made?

Michelle West: I love, love, love working in a bookstore. I think I always have (I've worked in bookstores, changing employers, without a break since I was sixteen years old.)

Part of the reason that I started writing novels was indirectly because of that. I had taken creative writing before, in both high school and university, and I had mostly concentrated on poetry or the type of dense prose that is almost poetry, but as I wasn't going to follow an academic career track, this didn't seem like anything I could do as a career; I still write poetry, but with one exception, have never tried to get any of it published.

I knew that I would never make enough to live on as a bookseller; the income is middling retail, even working full-time, and while it seemed like a lot at sixteen, once I actually had to pay rent and do things like eat, it wasn't.

So... I thought about the things I could do, and love, that I could combine with bookselling so that I could pull my own weight, and I decided that I would try to write fiction, for publication.

But yes, I find it rewarding. Because it's a job that involves books. Books and reading have always been enormously important to me. I love being able to figure out what customers like to read, and I love being able to match them with books they will love (even if they're books that I personally don't or can't love in the same way). It's the best part of the job. It does mean, though, that I'm thoroughly broken of the habit of shoving my books into the hands of people whose taste I don't have any sense of, because I feel, on some level, that I should only be giving them things I have some sense they'll love. And frankly, Military SF readers are not going to love my books, as a single example.

I think possibly one of my favorite sales -- and these blur over time -- was to a retired older gentleman who came into the store when the three people working were all women who were significantly younger than he was. He was polite, but he was so very hesitant because we were all girls.

I understand that some people would find this irritating; we didn't because he was of a generation in which it was probably extremely rare to run across women who adored the genre he loved -- and he approached with that hesitance to ask me if maybe I had heard of a couple of authors (Alfred Bester, A.E. Van Vogt, Asimov), and of course, I had. When I started to answer, he relaxed completely, and just started to talk. His grandson was interested in SF, and he was hoping to find some of the books that he'd loved and read in the original to give to his grandson. We did find a couple of those (with some argument over the best of the Besters, but it was a friendly argument), and then I gave him a few more recent novels as well.

He bought those, and he thanked us for our time, and he left -- but for some reason that particular sale stays with me.

For more of West's thoughts on bookselling read her interview with Jim C. Hines.

GFTW: Your latest novel, The Hidden City, is a tragic novel. Why did you decide to write a novel so filled with tragedy, but with the faintest hint of hope?

MS: I'm not quite sure how to answer this, because I had no intention of writing a novel that -was- a tragedy.

I've written the six-book series, THE SUN SWORD, and one major plot thread was not addressed by the end of it: the House War, which would be the war for control and rulership of House Terafin, the most powerful of the Houses in the Empire. I wanted to write about the House War, and I intended to write in the present of the current time-line, with flash- backs to the early years of the den, as a braided narrative.

This was the plan, but when I started to write the first book of what I thought was two books, the start of the book was from Rath's viewpoint. A little bit about this.

I will start a novel many times, from different viewpoints and during different events, trying to find my way into the book. I have false positives sometimes, if I'm writing something I really like, but when I actually have the start of the book in hand, I know. With HIDDEN CITY, the start of the book, unfortunately, was Rath's viewpoint.

For a variety of reasons, and attempting not to spoil, this meant that the braided past/present narrative structure was not going to work. Which meant that I could either give up on writing about the den's past, or I could write a book (or two) about it. And in the end, I chose to write about the den's past.

You will probably think this is slightly funny, but when I started the book, I felt that readers would find it less stressful because they already know who lives and who dies. My husband, however, pointed out that new readers wouldn't know this up front.

I never considered the book itself a tragedy, possibly because I've written so much about the den in the 'present'. I knew that where they came from was not by any stretch of the imagination what we would call a good life, but I also knew that they would see it from a different cultural context. So what I was concerned with, as a writer, was making their situation, and the subsequent way they came together as a family, more real.

You and I have talked a bit about action and consequence before. I don't feel the need to invent a new and interesting way to kill people, because I think the tragedy of death, and the way in which we're scarred by the things that don't kill us, don't require the All New Interesting Death option. What I do want, though, is some sense of the emotional aftermath of actions, because it's our -reaction- to tragedy that illuminates who we are. So, in your review, when you talk about the lack of actual action, you're touching on something that probably annoys some readers; it's not the action itself that interests me so much as what comes -of- the action.

And what comes of action is often the thing that is elided, so the actions themselves, which might be the same -- or far worse -- don't hit us as hard.

I also don't feel that I am doing anything darker in these books than other fantasists do; I think the possible difference is the protagonists live in their lives. They are not living quiet, happy lives when you find them, and they have no easy way of rising above the lives they lead because of their age and their situation. What they can do, though, is privilege the positive over the negative in the lives they are leading.

What Jewel offers them, and what they offer each other, is a better way of living, or a more hopeful one.

GFTW: Rath’s character was the most difficult for me as a reader to understand. What was your intent in writing about a character who could be so kind as to allow Jewel’s children to live with him, yet ignore them otherwise?

MS: I've learned, over time, that I can't actually predict which of my characters readers will love, and which they will hate, so I simply try to make the characters as real as I can, and let them stand on their own.

In this case, Rath is a person who has survived by wits and skill for a number of decades, in a variety of different social circumstances; he is not a very social man, and Jewel was therefore a surprise, to him. His reactions to her, which, over the course of the book become clear, stem from his past and his inability to accept that past for what it was.

But, it's less simple than that. What she is, he doesn't see clearly at first, because no two people understand each other perfectly on first meeting. Or second. I could argue that there are some people who can live with each other for years and never understand each other completely, because it takes a certain amount of will, intent, and attention. In part, and against his better judgment, he allows her to build her den because he's curious about where, and how far, she's willing to take things, and because he tells himself he can get rid of her -- and them -- at any time.

I'm not sure if I'm answering your question, because I'm not sure I entirely understand it =/. He was willing to take her in, but unwilling to let her get in the way of his life -- because, if he were being true to his own vision of himself, she wouldn't be part of his life. At all. And also because the type of work he does, if it can be called work, requires long stretches of time away from his home.

He ignores them because he doesn't want them to know, or be involved, in his work. He doesn't feel that this is cruel - why would he? He's not living in a society in which cruelty can be defined by neglect of this nature. Jewel's father loved her, but when the docks and ports were open, he was -never home- because if he were home, it would mean he had -no work-, which would mean starvation and death for the two of them. Even when her Oma died, and Jay was alone in the home for hours on end, nothing about her isolation could change the truth of that fact; her father -could not be home-.

Rath is somewhat similar, but were he inclined, he might use cash reserves to stay home; he's not. He uses the money for other elements (often unexpected) that his business might require (hiring Harald and his men, for instance).

In modern day life, this type of neglect might seem horrific. But even when my parents were children, it was frequently a fact of life.

GFTW: The Hidden City is a prequel to the other novels you have written set in the same world. Was it difficult for you to go back and write a story set in the history of your established characters? Did you have to do a lot of research back into what you had written before in order to remain consistent with the story you had already told, or was it easy to remember since you had been intimate with these characters for so long?

MS: The first word I wrote about Jewel and her den was sometime in 1994. I'm still writing about them now (the current work in progress is HOUSE NAME, sequel to HIDDEN CITY) in 2008.

So, fourteen years, more or less, and I think it would not be inaccurate to say that I'm not quite the same person I was fourteen years ago, because life experience does change the way you think and view the world.

I've always written -- usually briefly -- about elements of the den's past from the present. This is not hard because the past, the scene or scenes that I write, are not connected to anything -but- the character in the present; they're meant to underline emotion.

Since I had intended to write a braided narrative of past/present, to give readers a stronger sense of when the den was formed, and how, and why the current House War was so relevant to them as a whole, I didn't worry too much. When it became what it is now, however, it was significantly more difficult.

The whole paradigm of the past changes, because it's -no longer- the past; it's not used in small glimpses as a way of underscoring emotion in the now. The past -becomes- the now. And the now of story makes stronger demands on narrative structure because it has to work as a novel, it has to have the power of story and causality behind it.

Before I started, I read all of the books, and I made notes about anything I said. I missed a couple of things, and as usual, minor details shifted because I'm not very good at remembering things that are physical. I also discovered, to my surprise, that my writing style has changed over time; I hadn't expected this, although I probably should have, because what -I- remember about these books are the key emotional scenes that drove me to write them in the first place.

I then made a time-line of known events, and dropped those which simply didn't work. I didn't overwrite them, but there are a few places over the years where I have changed ages by a year =/.

But the hardest part about writing something like this? I know what's going to happen. Not only do I know (and this is not unusual), but I'm - stuck with it-. It's -already happened-.

So anything that the characters reveal, anything they grow into, ways in which they present themselves that I didn't expect or didn't fully anticipate can't actually -change- the events that are already writ in stone.

It's this last that makes it challenging and very difficult, because my normal writing process allows anything at all to change within the context of what I know about the world. Even if the story at the time requires that something in the middle of the book -has to- happen... I change it. I need to feel that the book itself is organic, and that
what happens is a natural extension of character and reaction.

Which, in books of this nature, I can't freely do with nearly the openness. Which is not to say that things did not occur which surprised me. Rath was a surprise to me.

GFTW: You have written many reviews for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. How do you approach review writing, and what do you do while reading a book to ensure that your review is well-written and thoughtful?

MS: First, I started reviewing because I needed to read, and every time I sat down with a book, I would look at the mess of my house or the words that needed writing or the children that wanted time, and I would put it down. A review column meant that it was work, so I could read without guilt.

Sadly, I am not making this up.

Both of my kids are older now, and I get much more of a chance to read, but because I still can't read as much as I used to before I had children, I don't finish anything I don't like. This means that in general, I'm going to be reviewing books for which I'm in some part the natural audience; I liked them enough to finish them, flaws aside.

So I start with a pile of new books and ARCs, and I just open them up and start reading. If for some reason I didn't care enough to finish a book, I obviously won't be reviewing it.

I consider the reviews I do to be entirely different creatures from critiques, the long and more detailed look at a book's themes, influences, and history. I love these, by the way -- but they're not, in general, what I write. I write reviews in large part as an extension of what I do at the store when someone asks for a book recommendation. Which means I have to have enough plot synopsis to give a reader an idea of what the book is about, without spoiling anything that might otherwise surprise them.

What I try to do with each review is think of who I'd be recommending it to, in store, because obviously I have no face-to-face time with the readers of these reviews. The review only has to (hopefully) speak to the possible audience for the book (or what I think is the possible audience, because after all is said and done, a review is simply an opinion).

I also try to match tone to content; if a book requires a great deal of thought and concentration, like Hal Duncan's VELLUM, I try to make that clear; if the book is possessed of strong narrative ticks (see VELLUM again), I also try to make that clear, because if you're doing things with narrative structure that don't follow a relatively straight line, that's where (in my bookstore experience) you'll lose the most readers; it's not the prose, and it's not even the felicity of characterization. But I adored that book, and it ate my brain for a couple of weeks, and I also made that perfectly clear.

For something like a Patricia Briggs book, which you can read at the end of a long and frustrating day, none of these things (except that I really liked the book) are going to be a problem; these reviews tend to emphasize the nature of the entertainment, and they deal with flaws (if there are flaws) that make the book less entertaining than it might otherwise have been.

Which is a long way of saying, it depends on the book .

If I were reviewing books I didn't particular care for, I would approach things differently.

GFTW: Finally, what has been a response from a reader that you particularly enjoyed getting?

MS: I think one of my favourite emails was one I received for BROKEN CROWN many years ago. In it, the reader thanked me because she said the book was the first fantasy novel she had read in over ten years in which the characters never felt out of character; that all of their many actions seemed entirely true to who they were, and none of those actions seemed to be undertaken at my convenience.

Actually, let me give you another: email I received after HUNTER'S OATH had been published. The email was not actually -about- HUNTER'S OATH, but it was written by a young woman who lived in Oregon. She had seen OATH, had picked it up, had put it down, had come back and picked it up, had put it down, and while she was in the process of doing this, she remembered the last book that she had done this with: my very first published novel, INTO THE DARK LANDS. It was a book that she'd read at 16 years of age, and she adored it.

So she picked up HUNTER'S OATH, and read the copyright page. And saw that it was, in fact, written by the same author as INTO THE DARK LANDS. Which is when she hunted down an email address for me. The email was long, and she'd read all of my novels, which she used as incentive to get through her exams. We corresponded for a number of years after that, before we finally fell out of touch -- but that first letter that she wrote almost justified the entire SUNDERED series for me, and at a time when I needed it.

Because in the end? I write books that I hope will move and affect readers in the same way that I am moved and affected by books that I've read and loved. I know that it's not possible for me to move everyone this way, but when it does work, it makes me feel as if I've achieved something that is valuable, or meaningful.

GFTW: Thank you very much for your time.

Posted by John at 12:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | Interviews
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Godspeaker: An Interview with Karen Miller

Karen Miller, is the author of the bestselling Kingmaker,Kingbreaker trilogy, a couple of Stargate SG-1 novels, and of several more novels in those worlds as well as all new ones to come, as she elucidates in this interview. One of my favorite authors, Karen's stories are the kind readers of epic fantasy will love. For more of my thoughts you can visit these other pages on my site.

Now, on to the interview.

Grasping for the Wind: You have stated elsewhere that you were trying to write a very different novel from the Kingmaker, Kingbreaker duology with Empress. How is it different?

Karen Miller: I think the main differences are found in the setting, which is a long way away from a medieval/renaissance/European influence, and in the tone, and in the central character. And the journey the reader takes with that central character, Hekat, is very very different from the one readers of the Kingmaker, Kingbreaker books undertake. There’s also less lightness, less humour, which is sad, but that’s the way the world turned out in the writing. This is a much tougher book to read, I think, because the world is harsh and the characters are pretty confronting. It’s risky, there’s no doubt about it.

GFTW: You have also said that you felt that Empress was a necessary addition to its sequels in order that we might better understand Hekat. Your sequels to Empress are supposed to be more like the Kingmaker, Kingbreaker duology in mood and tone. Why not just let the sequels to Empress stand alone as another duology?

KM: Well, the short answer to that is: Because that’s the way the story wanted to be told! *g* When the idea for this story first came to me, Hekat’s role in it was much briefer, but I quickly realised that wasn’t working. Basically, she demanded the stage. And I wanted to explore this culture, I wanted to show it in all its savagery and mystery. I wanted to do something different in the genre, and stretch my wings a bit. There was no way I could explore Hekat as a character if I didn’t make her the focus of the first novel, and show her in the context of her culture. And from the entire trilogy’s point of view, when we shift location to the cultures that flourish elsewhere, the reader knows exactly what’s coming. The threat has been made viscerally real. Now, whether or not that gamble pays off isn’t for me to decide, of course. I just have to keep my fingers crossed that readers are happy to go along for the ride!

GFTW: Empress is a very violent, very blood filled novel. This is different from your previously published work. Was it difficult to write something so very different from your previous imaginings?

KM: It was difficult in the beginning, yes. The writing style in Empress is different from my other work, the narrative rhythm is quite distinct, and many of the characters are quite challenging people to embrace. I battled my way through much of the first draft, coming to grips with the shifts in my regular approach and style, and in the vastly different tone of this story. But once I’d nailed down the first draft and turned to rewriting, I found the process went much more smoothly. I will say that the levels of violence and blood weren’t any part of the challenge. They are such an integral part of the culture that once I immersed myself in that world, it all flowed very naturally. When it came to writing Hekat, basically I just went to my dark side and abandoned all social restraints. In an odd way, that was very cathartic, once I’d given myself over to it!

GFTW: Although Hekat is a sympathetic character at the beginning of the novel, we have come to dislike her very much by the end. How were you able to write a character that rather than having an upward spiral toward a “happily ever after” instead moved on a downward spiral filled with selfishness and hate? Was it a conscious choice to send Hekat down that path, or was in a natural outgrowth of her character?

KM: Ah ha! My dastardly plan has been revealed! *g* Yes. Hekat was never intended to be ‘the good guy’ in this story. And that’s another reason for focusing so strongly on her in the first volume of the trilogy – one of the story threads is her downfall. Things could’ve worked out very differently, for everyone, if she’d made different choices. So yes, it was a conscious choice to send her down such a dark road. What she does affects her country, her people, and the people around her. It has an effect on the whole world. I wanted to explore what it’s like to take that kind of personal journey, and what happens to the people around you when you do. And she’s such a strong personality, she just forged ahead. There was never any question, for me, that she’d suddenly wake up one morning and renounce her bloodthirsty ways. She was never destined for happy ever after … and I find that quite sad, really.

GFTW: For all Hekat’s faults, she does produce a good son. Will we see more of him in the sequels?

KM: Absolutely. Zandakar has an integral role to play in this story, which is tied to the mystical vision his father had of him, in the godhouse of Et-Raklion. He’s massively important, and I’m very fond of him.

GFTW: Did you do a lot of research into historical cultures in order to create the barbarian society and religion of Mijak? Any society you particularly based it on?

KM: Yes, I did do a great deal of research, melding a lot of ancient cultures to come up with Mijak. The Hittites, Sumer, Mesopotamia, Persia, Babylon and Sparta, basically. I did a lot of reading, watched a lot of History Channel documentaries, and visited the University of Chicago’s antiquities museum (which is splendid, everyone should go there). And then I kind of mashed them all together and let them percolate into what became the world of Mijak. It was a lot of fun! Especially finding out about the Hittites. They were an amazing people.

GFTW: Why did you entwine your “magic system” so closely with religion? And why does the blood sacrifice requiring, scorpion worshipping religion play such a large role in Empress?

KM: Well, one of the themes of this trilogy is the role of religion in the life of a people. It gets explored in the sequels, too. I think religion, of any stripe, is a phenomenally powerful force for good and evil in the world, depending on how it’s presented, interpreted and acted out by the people practising it. In Empress, I wanted to make religion an absolutely indisputable fact, I wanted the idea of doubt to be impossible, and then to look at how that certainty might impact a culture. The supernatural elements of the Mijaki religion reinforce its power and its existence, so it was important to show it that way. Again, I don’t want to give too much away in terms of what’s revealed in the other two books … but I will say that my intention was not to push the idea that religion is a bad thing. I don’t believe it is. But I do believe it can be used badly, and Mijak is a prime example of that.

GFTW: Your Godspeaker trilogy is complete, having already been published in your native Australia and being published in the US and UK over the next year. What can you tell us about what you are writing right now?

KM: Well, right now I’m working on the next book in a new series that’s just launched here in Australia, and will be coming out in the US/UK next January. It’s written under a pen name, K.E. Mills, but it’s still me! We decided to go with the pen name because it is a series – standalone adventures with a continuing cast of characters – instead of a two, three or five book self-contained story arc. Also, the tone is very different again, especially from Empress, and the cultural background is more closely aligned with the Victorian era. This isn’t epic historical fantasy. It’s not comic fantasy, either, serious things still happen, there’s a lot of drama, but there is a lot more humour – mainly because of the way the characters interact with each other. Lots of banter. It’s called the Rogue Agent series, and the first book is titled The Accidental Sorcerer. I’m having a lot of fun with it, and getting back to that world is enormously entertaining for me.

After that, I return to the Kingmaker, Kingbreaker world for the first of the two-part sequel that explores what happened after the Wall came down. That’ll be followed by a standalone prequel, in which I’ll tell the story of Barl and Morgan. Plus there’s the third Rogue Agent novel to write, and another Stargate SG-1 novel … basically, I’m chained to a computer for the next two years! *g*

GFTW: You wrote a media tie in novel for the Stargate SG-1 TV series. Did you have to approach writing this novel differently from your other works? In what way?

KM: Yes and no. I take the Stargate books very, very seriously. I know there are people out there who think folk who write media tie-ins are hacks without standards, but I utterly refute that claim. I’ve been a fan of the show ever since it started airing, and I consider myself enormously fortunate to be allowed to play in that sandbox, with those characters. I believe I have a huge obligation to do the very best job I can – I owe it to the producers, the actors, the crew and the fans to pour my heart and soul into the Stargate stories I write. And I do. At the end of the day I might come up short, in some fans’ eyes, but if I do it’s not because I didn’t take the work seriously. So in terms of being rigorous in the writing and rewriting process, it’s exactly the same. It’s absolutely not the case of chucking down any old sentence and letting it sit there on the page like suet. I polish and rewrite till the very last gasp!

I do a lot of research. Some of that involves rewatching pertinent episodes (there’s a hardship!) and sometimes it’s regular-style research. I’ve just done my second Stargate novel, Do No Harm, which is out in a few weeks, and I had to do a lot of medical research for that one. I just can’t stress enough – I don’t look at media tie-in work as some kind of poor relation. It’s as valid as any kind of storytelling, in my eyes, and I work as hard at it as I do at my mainstream fantasy novels.

Probably the biggest difference is that with the Stargate novels, you’re working in a shared world with a common frame of reference. So there’s less world-building, less exposition, because the writer and the reader already have an understanding of the environment. So that simplifies the writing process to a certain degree. But to balance that is the complexity of getting the characters right, keeping them true to the characters we see on screen. That’s the biggest challenge, and the most fun.

GFTW: What has been a response from a reader that you particularly enjoyed getting?

KM: I had a lovely letter from a gentlemen recently, who wrote to tell me that his wife had thoroughly enjoyed the two Kingmaker, Kingbreaker books, was very disappointed that there were only two, and would I kindly rectify that as soon as possible. That really did tickle my funny bone! And of course, I was thrilled to be able to write back and say yes, there are more on the way.

GFTW: Thanks for your time!

Check out The Book Swede's interview on with Karen on Empress and various other topics.

Posted by John at 01:22 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | Interviews
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Book Review: Empress by Karen Miller

* Genre: Epic Fantasy
* ISBN: 0316008354
* ISBN-13: 9780316008358
* Format: Mass Market Paperback, 717pp
* Publisher: Orbit
* Pub. Date: April 2008
* Series: Godspeaker Trilogy

Empress, Karen Miller’s new novel, is shockingly different from her previous duology, the Kingmaker, Kingbreaker series. Where The Innocent Mage began sadly, but moved on to be more pleasant and into the eventual triumph of the hero, Empress does not. Empress begins on a low note, and progressively gets worse.

What Miller has done with Empress is show us the rise of a barbarian warlord. The culture she has created is violent, worshipping a scorpion god who craves bloody ritual sacrifice. The godspeakers, those who perform the sacrifice, are a police force, and a political entity separate from the warlord’s control, are the only people able to hear the god. But Hekat, a runaway slave girl, upsets that balance when she discovers that she can hear the god as well. Believing herself special, Hekat begins a slow climb up the social ladder of Mijak, seeking power both to satiate her lust for it, and as protection for herself.

In the meantime, a fellow slave, Vortka is also making the climb into the realm of the powerful, but through a slow process, unlike Hekat’s clawing. His rise is slower, and ends up intertwined with Hekat’s for better or worse.

Empress is a bloody, violent novel. Ritual sacrifice is common, and participants drink blood as part of the ritual. Others swim in pools of blood as they seek the will of their violent, unforgiving god. All “magic” comes only through the god’s power, and while it gives power and knowledge, just as often it arbitrarily won’t. It is a fickle god, seen as an impersonal force by its supplicants. Hekat revels in it, and although at the beginning of the book she is a sympathetic character, by the end we want to hate her. Yet she for all her success, she is a small child inside, her emotions are stunted and all she can feel is fear or hate.

The society that Miller has created is like the ancient Assyrian or Babylonian empires, with their city states that eventual become powerful nations. And the plot similarly follows their rise into power. Mijak eventually becomes a conquering nation, a barbarian horde subjugating all peoples.

Karen Miller’s next two novels are actually going to tell the central story of the trilogy. This first is the history of the character that will become the villain in the sequels, or at least so it seems. By the end of the novel, you will want to see Hekat’s destruction, along with her sons and Vortka. You know the ending is coming, and the final betrayal of Hekat results in some interesting possibilities for the sequel.

The novel is extremely long, and the style of writing can get annoying. Miller is writing a completely different novel from those she has previously published, and the structure of the world she has created has a lot of ritual dialogue which can get repetitious at times. Phrases like “may the god see you in its eye” or arrogant words that tell of the speaker’s triumphs or skills tend to wear on you after a bit. The reader would do well to take this novel in slow spurts, rather than trying to read it all at once. Otherwise, the repetitious dialogue that, while logical for the society Miller has created, is still a bit much to take.

The story itself is fascinating. Miller has replicated a culture that is difficult for modern people to understand. It is a culture where religion rules much of everyday life. And yet there is always the possibility present that this religion is actually a twisting of what might be a natural phenomena. Miller gives no answers as to the origin of the religion of Mijak, only presents its effects, but some of the elements of the story leave the veracity of that religion open to discussion.

Miller has really gone out on a limb to make Empress different from her Kingmaker, Kingbreaker duology. Although she continues to write a character driven novel, her characters are less enviable, and her world much more barbaric. It was fascinating to read the story of how an evil warlord comes to be an evil warlord. In this trilogy, the villain is not going to come into being fully evil, but slides down into it through a long, slow process, as a result of very human traits.

I enjoyed the novel. Although it could be repetitious at times, and the cadence of the story could be tiresome, it was still interesting to read. The idea behind it is different from the average epic fantasy novel. Rather than either celebrating heroism or evil, it shows the real, human emotions behind what we call “good” and “evil”. AS I’ve mentioned, it is extremely violent and bloody, so those with a weak stomach ought to avoid it. As well there is a liberal does of swearing and a few sex scenes (including a rape of a man!) so anyone offended by that ought to avoid it.

But for all that Empress is creative enough and different enough to make it enjoyable. I did not enjoy it as much as The Innocent Mage and The Awakened Mage perhaps because there was no character I was really able to root for, but its characters were interesting enough that I wanted to know what might happen to them. I recommend this novel, with the few caveats stated above, and look forward to seeing how its sequel looks at the enemies of Hekat and its portrayal of their characters.

For another interesting take on Empress, check out Chris, The Book Swede.

Posted by John at 03:32 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy
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Book Review: Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie

* Genre: Epic fantasy
* ISBN: 1591026415
* ISBN-13: 9781591026419
* Format: Paperback, 448pp
* Publisher: PYR
* Pub. Date: March 2008
* Series: First Law Trilogy

Say one thing for Joe Abercrombie, say he writes good fiction. Joe Abercrombie’s second novel in the First Law trilogy, Before They Are Hanged, continues the black humor and sardonic wit of his debut novel The Blade Itself.

In this second novel, the reader continues the stories of Glokta, Logen, Luthar, Ferro, West and Bayaz. Glokta has been sent to the far edges of empire to try and save a remote but important colony from being overrun by the Gurkish, a competing empire. Logen, Luthar, Bayaz, Ferro and several others are searching for the mythical Seed, a portion of the spirit world made real and solid in their own. West has been sent to the front lines in Angland to try and prevent its conquest by Bethod’s barbarian tribes.

These three stories move along apace, each separate from the other, but in some way connected that the author understands, but the reader has yet to. Before They Are Hanged will provide no answers, only more questions. Some of the events surprised me as a reader they would go one way when I expected quite another. Since this is a middle book in a planned trilogy, a few questions are answered (particularly about Bayaz’s history) although many more are created, and the final scene defied tradition by not wrapping up the narrative into a neat bundle for the next book. It leaves us still at loose ends, craving the next volume.

Say another thing for Joe Abercrombie, say he is funny. His twists on traditional fantasy tropes continue to entertain. Glokta continues to be my favorite character. His self deprecation and black humor (his personal thoughts are side splittingly funny) make his portion of the narrative Abercrombie’s strongest and finest. Logen is funny too. In his realistic and pragmatic view of the world, he is becoming less and less the traditional barbarian hero and more and more the world weary hero, desiring only to fight no more. By plumbing the depths of the characters, Abercrombie finds opposing aspects to our traditional understanding of the evil or good characters and brings them into the light in a humorous way.

The narrative surrounding Logen Ninefingers, Ferro, Bayaz and Luthar was perhaps the dullest. The companions are traveling across the world to seek the stone, and while Abercrombie does not dwell on their travel, most of the action sequences seem to be thrown in just to hold the reader’s interest, rather than being necessary to the plot. As well, what seems to be an interesting plot development between Ferro and Logen fizzles out by the end of the book, and what first appeared to be an attempt by Abercrombie to create strife between the companions turns out to do nothing other than allow an explicit sex scene.

West’s story is quite surprising. West is slowly transforming from the prim and proper soldier into a true hero, and the transformation takes a few unexpected turns. He develops relationships with the barbarians who are fighting against Bethod, and his discovery of nobility in them changes him profoundly from a good soldier to a great leader.

Say one more thing for Joe Abercrombie; say he is a master of character development. All of his characters change a lot over the course of the story. Although by the end of the novel, the characters seem to be back were they started at the beginning of the book in terms of action and sequence, their psyches have been developed, and significant changes have occurred in their reactions to events. The characters are never at a standstill, even if this book doesn’t seem to move the plot forward very much.

Although I know that Abercrombie continues to seek that all elusive ten of ten from reviewers, I have a couple of reasons not to give it to him for this novel. The first and most obvious is that I don’t use such a rating system for my reviews, so to do so know would really have little meaning. Secondly, Before They Are Hanged is a middle book by a debut author, and for this reviewer, if a writer cannot conclude his trilogy or series well, all that comes before might be fun to read, but will be forgotten by the reader. It is the epic conclusion that makes a series, and it will take a reading of Last Argument of Kings before such a determination can truly be made.

If you enjoyed Abercrombie’s first novel, then you will want to read this one. I don’t think Before They Are Hanged was quite as good as The Blade Itself although it still an entertaining read. Readers will need to read the first book in the series, as this is one of those trilogies that make no sense unless begun from the beginning. If you have been waiting to pick up this series, I recommend you don’t wait. Abercrombie’s debut trilogy (so far) is better than the work of many seasoned authors, and anyone widely read in the fantasy genre will enjoy his twisting of fantasy tropes. I continue to highly recommend The First Law Trilogy to all readers of fantasy, and many more readers besides. Say one thing for Joe Abercrombie; say his writing is worth the reading.

Posted by John at 12:39 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy
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Free Fiction: The Cambist and Lord Iron by Daniel Abraham

Bantam Spectra has made available the 2008 Hugo award nominated story "The Cambist and Lord Iron: A Fairy Tale of Economics" by Daniel Abraham to read for free. Personally, the subtitle is what intrigues me the most, and I plan to read this story in the very near future.

Posted by John at 08:49 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Anthology/Short Fiction | Business | Fantasy
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Book Review: Goblin War by Jim C. Hines

* Genre: Humorous Fantasy
* ISBN: 0756404932
* ISBN-13: 9780756404932
* Format: Mass Market Paperback, 336pp
* Publisher: Penguin Group (DAW)
* Pub. Date: March 2008
* Series: Jig the Goblin Series

Goblin War is a completely different novel from the first two novels in the Goblin Series, Goblin Quest and Goblin War. Those two books were constrained by the small world of the lair and its surrounding caves. The goblins never left the caves under their mountain, for all the adventures that they had. This meant that the second novel, while having a different set of circumstances, was much like the first in plot and style, and didn’t add too much that was new to Jig the Goblin’s story. But in Goblin War, author Jim C. Hines has Jig and many of his fellow goblins leave the cave for the wider world, a world that pretty much wants to destroy them.

Jig is trapped between two competing factions, both intent on wiping out he and his goblin clan. The first, the human rulers of the upper world, need slave labor to perform various tasks too dangerous for the morally superior humans. The second, and army of orcs, trolls, goblins, and one human hating tree (humorously likened to Shel Silverstein’s giving tree) bent on destroying the so-called “goodly” people.

In Goblin War Jig’s god, Tymalous Shadowstar, plays a much more significant role in the story. Each chapter begins with a history of how the forgotten god came to be forgotten, and why his worship was never picked up by some cult or other. They are so forgotten that even other gods have forgotten their existence. Hines’ explanation of the nature of the forgotten gods is one of the cleverest yet simple ideas I’ve seen in fantasy. The way that part of the story hinges on a clever loophole caused by word choice appeals to my own love of wordplay. It was wonderful to watch how Tymalous Shadowstar is revealed throughout the book, and he becomes a truly three dimensional character, not just an occasion for a disembodied laugh.

Jig, of course, continues to be in fine form. Whereas in Goblin Quest Jig is simply learning bravery, and then in Goblin Hero he is learning how to perform the actions of a hero, that selfless sacrifice so common the hero archetype, Goblin War relates how Jig steps into the mantle of leadership. He is no longer the lone hero, solving all problems on his own or with minimal help from a few companions. Now he is directing and changing the course of events by intentional decisions. Reading the progression of Jig over the course of the three books, you get a sense of how great men become great men (even when they are blue, pointy-eared goblins).

All in all, I think Goblin War is Hines' best novel so far. He has stepped out of the small confines of the goblin lair, and opened up a new world for Jig to experience. This novel has more elements for humor, more action, and more plot threads. Hines is growing as a writer. This growing skill and comfort with writing is allowing him to write more complex and funny novels. It is sad to think that for now, Jig is on a well-deserved hiatus. Hopefully Hines will return to Jig’s world, or in some way connect the novels he is currently writing now to Jig’s story. Either way, I would like to see more of Jig.

Goblin War is humorous adventure fantasy. It is lighthearted and fun to read, and is a safe purchase for older children who like to read fantasy. In fact, once I have my own children, I may use Hines novels to teach about the nature of heroism to them, because of the way he shows its natural progression throughout the book, while still being extremely entertaining. You will still need to know some of the tropes of fantasy to enjoy this tale, and it would be best to read the entire series from the beginning, else Jig’s decisions and some of the character references in the novel might not make sense. The second novel does have some repetitious characteristics from the first, but Goblin War is a different tale altogether.

Jim C. Hines Goblin Series are highly recommended as fun adventure tales, safe for kids, which will also leave many an adult with a smile on their face.

Posted by John at 01:08 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy
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Book Review: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

* Genre: Epic Fantasy, Coming of Age Fantasy, Literary Fantasy
* ISBN: 0756404746
* ISBN-13: 9780756404741
* Format: Mass Market Paperback, 736pp
* Publisher: DAW
* Pub. Date: April 2008
* Read an Excerpt

The Name of the Wind is a book that has been on everyone’s lips ever since its release last year. Patrick Rothfuss’ debut novel has become the standard by which a lot of other books are being judged, an unusual event for a writer who had only published a few short stories before writing a novel that in the mass market paperback edition amounts to over 700 pages. But these accolades are well-deserved, as I found out to my own great joy when I was given the opportunity (and I was to find, privilege) to read the paperback edition of The Name of the Wind.

The primary character of the story is Kvothe, an epic hero, a powerful fighter and wizard. But Rothfuss, rather than simply relating his tale in the traditional third person omniscient, has instead decided to relate the story as a history (a memoir if you will) of Kvothe himself.

Kvothe has risen from the mean streets to the highest levels of power, and all before his thirtieth year. Born to a family of traveling performers, Kvothe shows his genius early. After a tragic event occurs to his family, Kvothe is forced to survive on the mean streets of Tarbean, begging for his food. But an opportunity opens up, and he is able to seek an education at the University. Overshadowing all of this is Kvothe’s desire to find the Chandrian; evil beings who he believes had something to do with what befell his family. Intertwined into the narrative are a love story, petty rivalries, and the troubles the overconfidence of a young boy can cause.

Rothfuss novel is exceptionally written. The prose is never dull, pedantic, or obvious. The story flows naturally from Rothfuss’ pen, and its large size seems almost too short by its end. The Name of the Wind is the first book in what appears to be a trilogy, or perhaps a quartet of books, and readers should know that its ending leaves more questions than answers.

Some of Rothfuss transitions were difficult for me as a reader. They tended to be short and abrupt, with little or no foreshadowing of their coming (In a way, much like real life, but unusual for a story). In particular, the transition from Tarbean to the University, and then the transition from University to the events surrounding the dragon and back again all seem disconnected from each other. It’s as if the story of Kvothe at the University is a completely separate story from Kvothe of Tarbean and the dragon. The former is like a Harry Potter schoolyard coming of age novel, and the other, an epic fantasy in the Arthurian mold. Rothfuss has tried to mesh the two, and done a decent job of it, but the reader’s conception of Kvothe the student and Kvothe the hero are disconnected. This is something Rothfuss will need to address in the sequels.

But the strange transitions and slight disjointedness of the two sides of Kvothe’s character are the novel's only real flaws. Kvothe is a compelling character, the type of genius we all wish we could be. Rothfuss hits all the popular elements of epic fantasy. He has a gypsy corollary in the Edema Ruh, Kvothe’s people (always popular among epic fantasy readers). He has the poor boy living in squalid conditions learning street smarts and toughness. He has the schoolyard, an element that has become very popular since the Harry Potter novels. He has dragons (although their form is quite different that what you might expect) and he has magic.

The magic system Rothfuss has created is exceptional. Rather than trying to ignore science, as many epic fantasists do, or make magic an inborn ability where power is easy and comes cheap, Rothfuss has instead meshed the two into one. Magic in The Name of the Wind is a blending of science and miracle. Logic and skill play a large part, but there is also a sort of inborn ability which must be trained and honed to be able to do magic. Rothfuss uses scientific fact about chemistry, technology, and biology with mystical powers to allow his characters to have a systematized and codified magic, rather than a wild magic that happens at random. Magic is a learned trait, not the result of accident of birth, and Rothfuss’ magic system is a unique one, and makes the reading of The Name of the Wind a breath of fresh air among the sometimes repetitious and trope filled epic fantasy subgenre.

I highly recommend this book. I’ve already mentally added The Name of the Wind to my best reads of the year list, and it will take a truly exceptional work to supersede it. None of this novel really disappoints. It is full of adventure, intrigue, a complex love story, and a powerful magic. Its supervillians are truly evil, and although they appear but rarely in the story, Rothfuss has intertwined so many other plots filled with rivalry and jealousy that Kvothe never lacks for an evil to fight. The book has so many subplots and containers for the narrative that the reader never lacks for an exciting event. And Rothfuss writes so smoothly that your mind glides over the words like a swan through water. Don’t miss this one. In fact, put aside whatever you are reading now, and read The Name of the Wind. Everything else can wait.

Posted by John at 10:34 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy
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Book Review: Heroes Adrift by Moira J. Moore

* Genre: Romantic Fantasy, Adventure Fantasy
* ISBN: 0441015980
* ISBN-13: 9780441015986
* Format: Mass Market Paperback, 352pp
* Publisher: Penguin Group (ACE)
* Pub. Date: February 2008

Romantic fantasy often goes over the edge when it comes to sex. It usually ends up having at least one or more explicit sex scenes for its characters, and honestly, never real deals with the romance side of things. In essence, “romantic fantasy” is a euphemism for “bodice-ripper set in a world with magic”.

But occasionally an author avoids falling into that trap. Heroes Adrift by Moira J. Moore is such a novel. That is not to say the Heroes Adrift is a great novel, but it is good entertainment in the romantic fantasy subgenre. It’s the fantasy version of Ann Aguirre’s Grimspace.

Heroes Adrift is something of a misnomer of a title. It might make you think that the book is about heroes being on ships out at sea. (Yes, I get the subtler subtext, but I think that the title combined with the front cover make it misleading. A different cover with the title might have helped.) In reality, the story is about two heroes who are trapped on an island with a strange culture and what they must do to survive it. So rather than “adrift” it might be better to say “awry” or “astray”.

At any rate, this third book in the Heroes series leaves Dunleavy Mallorough and Shintaro Karish stranded on one of the Southern Islands. Sent their by the Empress to find long lost royal kin, Lee and Shintaro find themselves in a strange situation when they learn that their status as Source and Shield does not provide for their every need on this backwater island. Forced to gain coin, Lee and Shintaro join a traveling circus. Adventure ensues.

Told entirely from Lee’s point of view (a rather pessimistic but funny one) the plot is predictable. When the long lost descendant is revealed, it will come as no surprise to the reader. What makes this book enjoyable is the black humor of the culture shock Lee and Shintaro undergo. In addition, Moore has done a good job at focusing on the burgeoning romantic relationship between Shintaro and Lee, creating sexual tension without devolving into bodice-ripping.

The reader would do well to read the first books in the series, as there are multiple references to prior events with little or no explanation of the history. And if you are looking for a sword and sorcery novel, this isn’t for you. The story moves forward on the wings of Lee and Shintaro’s relationship, and their complete shock at finding themselves in a culture so different from their own. Heroes Adrift is well-paced, never bogging down, and not wasting time on unnecessary description. I was able to read it in an evening, and it was a pleasant way to spend the time.

Posted by John at 02:09 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy
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Book Review: Small Favor by Jim Butcher

* Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Fantasy
* ISBN: 0451461894
* ISBN-13: 9780451461896
* Format: Hardcover, 432pp
* Publisher: Penguin Group (ROC)
* Pub. Date: April 2008
* Series: Dresden Files Series
* Read an Essay by Jim's editor on Small Favor.

How does a pragmatic Chicago wizard take on one of the most powerful Fallen angels? It is this question which drives the action packed new novel from Jim Butcher, Small Favor. A novel of the Dresden Files, an urban fantasy series, Small Favor is the continuing adventures of Harry Dresden, modern wizard, and his host of friends as they take on the evil forces of Nicodemus and his wife Tessa. Forced by Queen Mab to fulfill one of the favors he owes her, Dresden comes up against the very creatures that have nearly killed him before, namely, the Fallen. Meantime, Titania, Queen of Summer, has ordered a hit on Harry, and her agents keep showing up at the most inopportune times.

Harry is a sardonic character, usually shooting his mouth off when he is in danger. But it seems to work for him as he escapes one trap after another. Although the marketing people have called The Dresden Files a fantasy/mystery blend this particular novel in the series is less mystery and more of a spy novel. Harry is a rough amalgam of James Bond and Jason Bourne, with a bit of Jack Ryan thrown in. He is loyal to his friends, deadly to his enemies, and for one reason or another, always in trouble with someone.

The novel is an enjoyable one. There are few plot twists, and even though this is the eleventh novel of the Dresden Files, as someone who had never read any Jim Butcher before, it was relatively easy for me to pick up. The story moves from action to action, with only a few pauses for introspection, rest, and even a little romance. Perhaps the most difficult part of reading a series so well-established was the references to past occurrences, and the introduction of characters whose background had been established in previous books. However, to recreate the backgrounds of some of the characters (Harry’s brother Thomas and his situation is still something of a mystery to me) would have unnecessarily slowed down the story. So as reader, I just picked up what I could, and enjoyed the story’s action otherwise.

Butcher’s writing is straightforward. He doesn’t delve into linguistic flourishes, or spend overmuch time on the setting. He doesn’t have to, as it is relatively easy for a reader to imagine a modern city like Chicago, whether or not we have actually been there. This is a novel that is read for entertainment purposes, something best read on the plane, the train, or a rainy afternoon.

Of particular interest to me, as a religious person, was Butcher’s integration of the Catholic faith into the story. Two of his characters are Knights of the Cross, who carry swords designed to fight evil, but whereas other writers of urban fantasy often use this as an opportunity to denigrate faith and elevate reason, Butcher instead give faith a fair shake. Harry respects the Knight of the Cross (one of them is a good friend) and although he doesn’t understand their beliefs, he respects them. This is rare in the paranormal/urban fantasy subgenre, where such characters either end up being evil, stupid, or an object of ridicule. Not in Small Favor, and my respect for Butcher as writer rose, especially when at a critical moment in which Harry finds himself wrestling with the issue of a good God allowing bad things to happen, Butcher doesn’t have his character simply write God off as a masochist. It’s nice to see faith having real power in a paranormal/urban fantasy novel.

I recommend this novel as one the best of the few paranormal/urban fantasy novels I have read. It’s right up there with Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere in creativity, even if its quality is a little lower. Butcher writes an entertaining tale, easily picked up and enjoyed. I would like the opportunity to read some of his epic fantasy novels, The Codex Alera series. If his urban fantasy novel (a subgenre I am not always enthusiastic about) can keep my interest and entertain me, then I think his works in my favorite subgenre are sure to excite me. If you’re looking for an easy, sit-on-the-couch-and-eat-chips book for a Sunday afternoon, Jim Butcher's Small Favor is a good way to go.

Watch the Dresden Files on the Scifi Channel. Or watch the trailer at Youtube.

Posted by John at 11:17 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy
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E-Zine Review: Flash Fiction Online

Flash Fiction Online is a brand new e-zine, edited by Jake Freivald, which publishes fiction of 1,000 or fewer words. They began publication in December of 2007. But even though they are a young e-zine (with possible print anthologies on the horizon) their commitment to meet the SFWA guidelines for being a professional market, results in Flash Fiction Online publishing work by some known authors, such has James Van Pelt, Carl Frederick, and Bruce Holland Rogers, that really doesn’t have place in other short fiction magazines due to the extremely short length of the stories.

Now, some of you reading this review are probably skeptical about the ability of any author, no matter how good a writer, to tell an entire story in under 1,000 words. I was until I read the April Issue of Flash Fiction Online. In the span of twenty minutes, my preconceived notions about story were challenged, and I was able to read five great stories. And each one took no longer to read than the average blog post.

Readable online in either HTML or PDF format, these stories are laid out clearly, in a readable format, with clever and excellent illustrations by R.W. Ware (who, by the way, is also a tattoo artist) to add to the panache of the e-zine. Additionally, each story has a short bio on the author, with a clever author photo that I think underscores the whole concept of the fiction being “flash” in nature. The entire site is very polished and professional, and even is set up with an RSS feed to allow readers ease of access to the stories.

In the April issue of Flash Fiction Online, Freivald collected five stories that were humorous in their content, playing on the fact that this month begins with April Fool’s Day.

“The Dyslexicon”, by Carl Frederick is a story written about a dyslexic robot that can’t fulfill his function due to his dyslexia. The story is populated by spoonerisms, homographs, and misspellings. In way, this story is both funny and sad, as it allows the reader to get a glimpse into the world of dyslexia sufferers. But it isn’t preachy, just funny. Sometimes the word equivalencies are hard to discern, and Fredrick might have done better to only play around with the words most obviously incorrect to readers.

“How Not To Stage a Play in the Aftermath of a Zombie Apocalypse” by Kurt Bachard wonders what life would be like after a zombie apocalypse in the world of the theatre. A “woe is me” type of story, it says an awful lot while using a true economy of words. In keeping with the economy of words, Bachard’s explanation of the directors special situation and retention of his humanity might have been better integrated into the narrative, rather than being separate paragraph. It is out of place and makes the narrative slightly choppy. Any theatergoer or amateur thespian will enjoy Bachard’s wry humor about the world of the stage.

“Call of the Wild, Line Three” by Dalton Keane was the funniest of the five. The idea of stockbrokers as a pack of wolves is apt and funny. Keane has transposed the hierarchy of the animal kingdom onto the world of business, and it results in a hilarious story. Of the five, this one was the only one that made me laugh out loud.

“Fast Living” by Hank Quense, while only a quarter of a page in length tells a story that (no insult intended) is like stories you read in the Reader’s Digest humor sections. The story may be short, but the punch line brings a smile to your face. It's a type of story called a Feghoot.

“Quiet Please” by Kevin Scott is a reprint of a classic story that qualifies as flash fiction, but that is now in the public domain. Each issue of Flash Fiction Online includes on of these classic reprint stories, many of them from authors that are obscure. “Quiet Please” was probably the most difficult of the stories to read, and I had to read it twice in order to get why the story ended the way it did. Once I did, I thought it a neat, quirky story about language barriers from the November 1961 issue of Word of If.

Flash Fiction Online is one of the few e-zines I plan to read regularly. The length of the stories makes it ideal for reading on the small screens of internet capable cell phones, iPhones, and any PDF capable eBook reader.

Additionally, Freivald is not overambitious, and doesn’t try to print every story he receives. This allows the reader to get a few good stories at the beginning of each month, but without having to sift through a lot of stories to find ones that interest them. Plus, you don’t have to wait overlong to get new stories (and a few articles) since publication is monthly. Lots of e-zines publish either bimonthly or quarterly, and it is often easy to forget check them. Flash Fiction Online has made that easy. I hope they are able to stay in business, as their unique style of fiction is a breath of fresh air, in the overburdened Internet.

With the easy to use RSS feed, I can read these short stories at the office on my coffee breaks. They only take five minutes or less to read, no matter your speed, and you can step back into your office work not feeling guilty about taking your employers time, but with the smile and feeling of refreshment that fiction lusually brings to your face.

Jake Freivald and Flash Fiction Online are providing an excellent service to all fans of short fiction, and I encourage you to take advantage of it.

Artwork © 2008, R. W. Ware

Posted by John at 04:12 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Posted to Anthology/Short Fiction | Fantasy | General Fiction | Humor | Science Fiction
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Book Review: The Hidden City by Michelle West

* Genre: Epic Fantasy, Tragedy
* ISBN: 0756404703
* ISBN-13: 9780756404703
* Format: Hardcover, 615pp
* Publisher: Penguin Group (DAW)
* Pub. Date: March 2008

A lovingly written yet very depressing novel, The Hidden City is unlike any fantasy novel I have encountered. A tragedy with no pretensions to the contrary, this new novel by acclaimed author Michelle West visits pain upon its protagonists for over 600 pages.

The Hidden City is the beginning of a prequel to the events in West's earlier books in the Hunter series and Sun Sword series. It relates the events leading up the war for House Terafin.

Two characters drive the plot of The Hidden City. Rath is middle aged man who has turned his back on his family’s house, and now lives in the slums of Averalaan, scraping out an existence by discovering artifacts in the hidden city beneath the bustling metropolis. Jewel “Jay” Markess is an orphan, a ten year old girl to whom Rath is strangely drawn. After Rath takes her in, he discovers that she has an extraordinary ability, and ability which causes her to gather to herself other orphans, all damaged in some way. Rath, a solitary person by nature, and psychologically damaged himself by a sister much like Jay, find Jay’s gathering of other orphans an awful state of affairs, until she manages to save a young girl from the clutches of a renegade magician. This begins a sequence of events that leads to great pain for Jay, whom Rath has come to love, and an awakening of courage within Old Rath that he had long thought lost.

The story takes place entirely within the city of Averalaan, and while sitting squarely in the category of epic fantasy, with its medieval setting and magic use, it takes a turn and incorporates some of the darker nature of the urban fantasy subgenre. The young orphans of the tale are broken, one almost to the point of being irredeemable, but Jewel, the one bright light in the story, wants to heal them all. And with her assertiveness and confidence, such a thing is possible. It is Jewel who really makes this story a worthwhile read. Thoroughly human, she has the one thing that those around her do not have, hope. She is optimistic, even in the face of some of the worst powers of darkness, and when her own spirit could have been shattered by the events around her, she is able to stay strong.

Some readers have complained about West’s writing style. She tends to use a lot of semicolons and commas, making her sentences have a run-on feel, and requiring careful attention to their structure by the reader. This style makes the reader really have to focus all of his or her attention on the book, and even then the structure of the sentences can cause one’s mind to wander. The point of the sentence is sometimes lost or missed in all of the prepositional phrases and additions to the sentence. Readers should go into this book knowing that careful attention will be required to the book, and this is no easy or light read.

The story is dark and unforgiving. This is not an epic fantasy where all goes well or you can expect an ending that leaves the heroes happy and healthy. Of course, I expect that this is not the end of Jewel or Rath’s story, and it is left open ended so we know West will be continuing the tale. But for now, this tale is anything but happy, although it has its bright moments.

Much of the tale is about the characters learning about themselves or about dealing with their hurts or the hurts of others. Much of the story is about emotion and in reality there is little action to the story. There were perhaps three fight scenes, none described in any detail, but the repercussions and the personal insights taken from these events would continue on for the rest of the book.

The length of the story is daunting, and I think if I had known what the story would entail, I’m not sure I would have picked it up. This was also my first exposure to Michelle West, so I didn’t know what to expect in terms of style and content. But I am glad I read it. It is out of the ordinary for a fantasy tale, and is a Hamlet rather than a Henry V. Fans of tales of tragedy and loss will enjoy West’s new release, and I’m sure she will continue to please her legions of fans. Fans of epic fantasy that are looking for a tale where all is well at the end should shy away from The Hidden City. All though hope is ultimately the theme of the book, the sloth of despond that the characters must go thorough to get there is harrowing and depressing. For all its faults, it is a worthy addition to the fantasy canon, both for its unusual nature, and its deep meanderings into the human psyche on the subjects of pain, loss, and hope in adversity.

Posted by John at 02:39 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy
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Book Review: Madhouse by Rob Thurman

* Genre: Paranormal Fantasy
* ISBN: 0451461967
* ISBN-13: 9780451461964
* Format: Mass Market Paperback, 337pp
* Publisher: Penguin Group (ROC)
* Pub. Date: February 2008

Madhouse is one of those novels that you think has potential when you look at it, but just doesn’t quite meet your expectations after you read it. Rob Thurman is a good writer, and his writing style is easy to read and pleasant on the eyes and mind. Unfortunately, this third book about Cal and Nik Leandros is not well-plotted and suffers from an excess of innuendo.

The story is basic. Cal and Nik run a sort of supernatural detective agency in NYC. Nik is a ninja and Cal is a half monster/half human strong-arm. Together they are a pretty powerful pair. When a murderer from the past is reconstituted and begins his murderous rampage anew, they are hired to hunt him down and kill him (he isn’t human, although humans once thought he was). In the meantime, their friend the puck, Robin Goodfellow, is being hunted for a crime he committed nearly 8,000 years ago. Nik and Cal must save their friend and destroy the monster before they end up dead themselves.

The story is mostly action sequences punctuated by introspections from Cal Leandros. The novel is told entirely from his point of view. Cal suffers from having to live a life as a half monster and this is the primary motivation for the events in the books since Cal is doing his best to be a good person while avoiding becoming the monster his genetics says he is. Unfortunately for the reader, most of the angst is over events that occurred in the first two books, and while Thurman is able to relate the events that lead to the angst, he fails to re-build the requisite emotional aspect. In essence, readers know why Cal Leandros suffers so, but don’t emotionally connect with him in his troubles. (Unless the reader has read the first two books, which I hadn’t.)

The story is entertaining if you are the type of person who goes to movies to watch the fight sequences. Thurman is not attempting to write the next great novel, and to impose such standards on the book would do it a great disservice. But even as escapism it failed for me as a reader.

For one thing, Thurman never really explains how the monster underworld manages to stay undetected from the human world around it, especially since so many bodies end up lying around. There are too many monsters around for them not to be noticed. This may have been addressed in the first two books, which is all the more reason to read them in order, but it was not in this novel.

For another, the plot was overly simple and I got tired of the fight scenes being pretty much the same, albeit with different characters involved. There is little actual mystery in the story, although it is billed by the marketers in that way. The villain is known from the start, and other than Cal Leandros’ internal musings, the rest of the plot is fight scenes and characters teasing one another.

Finally, I did not enjoy the crude humor of Robin Goodfellow (honestly, there is only so many times an author can make the same joke before it gets tiresome) and there was rampant cursing and swearing. The latter is not so much a problem, as it makes sense for the life that Nik and Cal live, but it still could have been less common and still be a interesting.

The plot moves quickly. Thurman’s fight scenes are interesting. He is especially good at bringing the reader from a quick laugh down into the depths of despair. Other reviewers have called his novels roller coaster rides, and that metaphor holds true in Madhouse. In a way, the novel is a strange mixture of The Silence of the Lambs and the Tom Hanks Dragnet movie. It is both funny and deeply disturbing. That makes the novel unique, as does Thurman’s attempt to make the supernatural monsters different from their commonly accepted versions. Zombies are a naturally occurring species, not dead people come back to life, and other angels don’t exist, but a form of life that looks like them does. Hell is just another dimension, not a supernatural place, but it does have its monsters. This scientific take on the existence of monsters is different from the usual, and is something I think Thurman should be applauded for writing.

I thought this book to be merely okay. It could be funny in parts, and it has lots of action, so that is on the plus side. But the repetitiveness of the fights, the plot holes, and the need to have read the previous novels makes Madhouse a novel that I don’t recommend reading.

Posted by John at 11:22 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy
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Book Review: The Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells

* Genre: Steampunk, Fantasy
* ISBN: 0380788144
* ISBN-13: 9780380788149
* Format: Mass Market Paperback, 544pp
* Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers (Eos)
* Pub. Date: July 1999

Nicholas Valiarde is a young man bent on revenge. His adoptive father was executed for the horrendous crime of necromancy through the machinations of a crime lord in the Il-Rien city of Vienne. Since that time Valiarde, under the pseudonym Donatien, has been subverting the crime underworld to his own ends to take revenge on his father’s murderer. But Valiarde is forced to turn away from thoughts of revenge when bodies begin to turn up and they appear to have been used for necromantic magic. Further incensed by the fact that Nicholas’ foster father’s inventions seem to have been used to assist the evil necromancer and his cronies, Nicholas uses his wealth and influence to root out the evil sorcerer.

Set in a lush and vivid Victorian fantasy world, Martha Wells' novel, The Death of the Necromancer is a 1998 Nebula Nominee and the quintessential steampunk novel. Although /I have never liked the title of this subgenre, Wells’ novel does fit it. Vienne is very Victorian in setting, with carriages, underground trains, guns and other such items of that strange age, but with sorcery, the realm of faerie and strange doings mixed in. In a lot of ways, Vienne reminds me of London, with close knit streets, sharp divisions between upper and lower classes, and a criminal underworld unsurpassed in its evil.

Nicholas is a compelling character. Except for a few side forays into events surrounding his female companion Madeline, the story is told entirely from his point of view. Nicholas has also surrounded himself with an oddball cast of characters, from the actress who rejects her magical heritage, to the safecracker, to the not-so-disreputable former cavalryman. Add in some interesting enemies, including a spiritualist and a detective/doctor duo reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson and you get some interesting characterization.

Wells style of writing will seem a little odd. Although her prose is full of action, it is also wordy and has lots of commas and conjunctions, creating long sentences that slow the pace of the tale down considerably. Add in exquisite descriptions of the myriad settings and you get a slow-moving novel. But the descriptions are carefully written and not overdone, so while the tale has a slow cadence leading up to the climatic flourish, The Death of the Necromancer is not a tale that will bog the reader down. And yet, for all the description and wordiness of the tale, the action never lets up.

Nicholas and company move from one problem to the next, and Wells weaves several plots together, sometimes bringing in new information from unlikely sources, and creating events the reader would not have expected. For instance, in a mundane piece of foreshadowing, Nicholas’ birth family is mentioned. In the course of a normal novel, this would be an interesting fact, but only essential to the plot if it where a case of pig farmer turning king. Not so in this story. Wells then makes Nicholas’ family background a significant turning point much later in the book, a thing which leaves his life hanging in the balance.

Where the novel fails is in partly in Wells writing style, and partly in the rather unexceptional ending to both of Nicholas’ problems. Wells writes in such a way that I found myself easily distracted from her book even though I wanted to keep reading to find out what was to happen next. At times, my eyes would pass over a section of the novel, and I wouldn’t be able to remember what I just read. Not because nothing was happening, but because the way Wells writes requires more attention than the average mindless story. I found the ending to both of Nicholas’ problems to be rather anticlimactic. The final confrontation with the necromancer by Nicholas and Madeline didn’t really seem like much of a triumph and Nicholas final confrontation with his nemesis and father’s killer is was rather ho-hum to my mind. Others will likely disagree.

Even if I didn’t enjoy the ending overmuch, I did enjoy the ride. The Death of the Necromancer has so many plot twistings and turnings, and such interesting characters; it is easy to see why this novel made it on the Nebula ballot. I do recommend this novel for all readers who enjoyed Jonathan Barnes The Somnambulist or Gregory Maguire’s’ Wicked. Like those books, The Death of the Necromancer will appeal to those folks who like the blending of magic and technology that is so much a part of the steampunk subgenre.

I recommend it as a book that is out of the ordinary and unusually creative. If you are looking for something outside the traditional tropes of fantasy, Martha Wells The Death of the Necromancer is a good place to start.

Posted by John at 12:22 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | Science Fiction
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Blood is Deeper than Water: An Interview with Pamela Freeman

Pamela Freeman is a noted Australian author of children's fiction. Her first adult novel, Blood Ties (my review), is set for release in April 2008, with the sequel, Deep Water, in September or October of the same year. The final book in The Castings Trilogy, Full Circle, does not yet have a release date. As well as being a skilled epic fantasy writer, she is a mom, wife, and educator. She is also fastest responder I have ever interviewed. After I sent the questions to her publisher, Orbit, I had a response the very next day. And yet her answers are intelligent and full, suggesting to me that she is one sharp woman. I'm sure you'll agree.

GFTW: You are an experienced children’s fiction writer with seventeen books to your name. Is your approach to writing children’s fiction and adult fiction different? In what way?

Pamela Freeman: The main difference, I think, is length! That sounds facile, but it actually makes a big difference to how you work. Most of the children’s books I have written are under 30,000 words. Blood Ties is around 150,000. I can keep all the details of a 30,000 word story in my head quite clearly, but with a larger and far more complex narrative I needed to spend a lot more time thinking about plot and timing, particularly as I had two main narratives running over several years. I am learning so much through the Castings Trilogy about writing long complicated stories!

GFTW: Recently the blog SF Signal asked a few authors of young adult fantasy and science fiction about the explicitness of sex in young adult fantasy and SF. Where do you draw the line in your fiction?

PF: The only YA fantasy I have written was for the Quentaris series, which doesn’t emphasise that aspect of storytelling, so it didn’t arise for me. In my other fantasies, I have been writing for younger children and I don’t put much about sex in them because I don’t think they’re really all that interested in it – they want a different kind of action! I think the line for me is about storytelling – when the details about the sex get in the way of the story, then it’s bad writing. Are the details relevant to the character’s development? Do they illuminate aspects of character or do they set up further developments in the plot? Then, by all means, put them in. But if they’re just there to be ‘exciting’ then it’s bad storytelling.

GFTW: Blood Ties is your first novel for adults. Was there any fear or trepidation in making the jump from children’s fiction to the more critical adult world?

PF: Absolutely. That was why I wrote the book as part of a doctorate in creative arts – because I wanted some help in making the transition and I knew I’d get intensive supervision through a doctorate. I was lucky to have Debra Adelaide as my supervisor – a wonderful writer and editor. But don’t think that the children’s lit world isn’t critical! You are scrutinized and reviewed far more in children’s literature – every one of my books has been reviewed extensively, which is very unusual in adult writing, as you know.

GFTW: Blood Ties includes several vignettes of characters who are incidental to the story, but to whom you give a past or a future aside from their encounter with one of the three main characters. Where did the idea for this germinate?

PF: In fact, the stories came first, and the longer narrative came out of them. The very first story in the book, "The Stonecaster’s Story", was written in 1996! I gradually, over a number of years, wrote a collection of stories set in the same world and often with the same characters, but it wasn’t until much later that I realised the larger story which they fitted into.

GFTW: What do you think the vignettes add to your story?

PF: There are three things. Firstly, I wanted to give a sense of what it might really be like, living in a world where fortune telling is reliable and ghosts appear three days after the person dies. How would that affect ordinary people and their lives? The stories explore that.

Secondly, fantasy novels traditionally concentrate on people who are ‘special’. I wanted to show that everyone has a story, that everyone is worth listening to. It’s a democratic impulse, I guess.

And thirdly… well, there is a larger structural reason I have those stories there, but you won’t find out what it is until the third book! But I promise, there is a thread connecting them all.

GFTW: Blood Ties began its life as a paper you were writing for your Doctoral degree in Creative Arts. Did you have to make significant changes to it to get it ready for publishing as a marketable novel? What kind of reception did you get from your advisors?

PF: I did have to make changes to it to get it ready for publication – but probably not more than I would usually do once a manuscript goes to an editor. Mostly it was about pace – my advisor was far more interested in character than pace and I had to tighten up the first third of the book. I was worried at one point in the doctorate that I was writing a story no one would want – it would be too ‘literary’ for the marketplace and too genre for the literati. But fortunately that was just nerves, and I know that I am a much better writer after being challenged by my advisor to improve things like character development.

GFTW: The Travelers of your story are a race of people oppressed by the stronger and more prolific Actons. Why is racial oppression and the reactions to it the central theme of Blood Ties?

PF: Because I hate racism, I guess. Because I live in a society in which racism is alive and well, because decisions which affect people’s wellbeing are still made on the basis of race and culture, because it’s just not fair – and that is an anger that can keep me interested in a 450,000 word story, which is what the trilogy will eventually be.

GFTW: What is your response to some reviewers who might say that you resort to a little deus ex machina to give your characters powers not previously foreshadowed, or to get the characters to encounter one another?

PF: It’s deus ex lith or aqua with me! Yes, I do that, partly because I’m also interested in what it would be like to live with active gods, where you didn’t have to take deity on faith. Partly for fun – and you’ll note that I do it quite openly, that the interference is understood by everyone, rather than using some vague concept of ‘destiny’ which is the same thing working behind a screen, like the Wizard of Oz. I’d rather have the machinery showing, as it were, because it feels more honest to me.

GFTW: Your inclusion of ghosts has a mystical, ancestor worship feel. That, and the divination from the casting of the bones, is the extent of the magic use in the story. Why did you avoid writing a complex magical system?

PF: Why is hard to answer. I started the stories by writing about stonecasting, and that just popped into my head and sat there, fully formed. Everything else followed from that. I suppose the other, technical answer is that one of the issues I am exploring is about the oppression of hierarchy, through the warlords, and for that to work they have to be unchallenged in power. Any complex magical system suggests an ability to harness power, which sets up another hierarchical system (the whole wizard’s college/guild thing) which would be in opposition to or in cahoots with secular power… it starts becoming another story altogether, one which I am not currently interested in writing. Maybe another day…

GFTW: The ghosts are an interesting part of the story. You require that characters who cause death return to the spot where the killed, lest they be haunted by the specter of those murdered. What was your intent in including such a requirement for your characters?

PF: There are two intents, the main one being the necessity for personal responsibility for violence. It’s not enough to just come back – you have to acknowledge your role in the person’s death and offer reparation. The other intent is story-driven – the army of ghosts which is raised in Blood Ties must be laid to rest, and there has to be a way of doing that which gels with the rest of that universe.

GFTW: Bramble comes from a good family, Ash from one that couldn’t take care of him, and Saker from one that was destroyed. Family has a great deal of effect on the characters, even if most of the story occurs away from them. Why such focus on these relationships?

PF: ’Cause that’s how humans work. We are the results of our backgrounds, mediated by our own character and ability, and we take our memories with us wherever we go and whatever we are doing. I’m not sure I could write a fully convincing character if I hadn’t thought about their family and backstory.

GFTW: What has been your favorite reaction from a reader?

PF: Someone emailed me and told me I was now their favourite writer! That was a real buzz. I’ve always wanted to be the kind of writer where people wait expectantly for the next book, and a number of people have told me that they are hanging out for Deep Water to be published, so that is very satisfying – one of the good things about writing a trilogy.

GFTW: How do you balance raising your son and writing fiction?

PF: I write while he is at school. I have an alarm which goes off half an hour before I have to pick him up, so I don’t forget because I am caught up in a scene (which almost happened once). Occasionally I write on weekends, but mostly just when he is out of the house. And I teach at night, when his dad is home (BTW, I also teach an online writing course at the Sydney Writers Centre.)

GFTW: What can you tell us about the sequel to Blood Ties, Deep Water?

PF: In Deep Water, the Well of Secrets sets our characters off on new journeys, some physical and some mental. Bramble learns a lot more about Acton and the invasion of the Domains by his people. Things are not as history has represented them! Ash must discover why his father has withheld songs from him which are crucial to the safety of the Domains. We meet new characters who will play big roles in the story and discover new kinds of beings and powers operating in the Great Forest and the deep waters… and Saker’s ghost army is growing larger and stronger. It’s a more complex story and a faster pace than Blood Ties, and I hope it is full of surprises.

GFTW: Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.

PF: My pleasure!

Posted by John at 01:48 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | Interviews
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Book Review: The Golden Cord by Paul Genesse

* Genre: Epic Fantasy; Coming-of-Age Fantasy
* ISBN: 1594146594
* ISBN-13: 9781594146596
* Format: Hardcover, 399pp
* Publisher: Thomson Gale Group (Five Star Imprint)
* Pub. Date: April 16, 2008
* Series: Book One of the Iron Dragon Series

In his first full length fantasy, Paul Genesse straddles the line between young adult and adult fiction. The Golden Cord is the first novel in a planned five book series called The Iron Dragon series. In it, a young man by the name of Drake (foreshadowing, anyone?) has his life turned upside down by two events. The first is the loss of friends at a young age, the second the arrival of two dwarves to his remote village, dwarves who are traditionally hostile to humans like Drake. Acting as their reluctant guide, Drake must help the dwarves Bellor and Thor find a lost mine. Meanwhile, Drake is fighting his own internal demons over the loss of his friend Ethan.

The world of The Golden Cord is an interesting one. Genesse has made humans and dwarves the prey of such mythical creatures as dragons, manticores, griffins and wyverns, as well as creating a few interesting hybrids (like wingaturs, a dragon/minotaur mix). Humans and dwarves live in fear of the more powerful winged creatures, which can drop out of the sky at will on the ground bound peoples. I found this to be a creative setting, and I think Genesse does a good job in creating his plateau world. He struggles a bit with distances, or at least his map and his narrative don’t always coincide, but this is easily glossed over.

Like a similar novel for teenagers, Christopher Paolini’s Eragon, the author has tended toward over explanation, especially in dialogue. Genesse writes tight dialogue, but like many new authors he is afraid that his readers may not get the subtler subtexts of the dialogue and so will through in a following sentence explaining the fears and rationales of the characters, even though the dialogue was quite clear enough. In some ways, this will stand him in good stead with younger readers, as they have more difficulty with the nuances of story, but to adults I think it might be a turn off, especially since it might make the reader feel like Genesse doesn’t trust him to understand the story. Such trust is essential in fantasy fiction, where an author must bring his reader to a state of belief in his creation. But for the less abstract teens, such explanation will likely be of benefit.

Genesse himself admits that his story is on the border of young adult and adult fiction. This is partly because there is a love story intertwined into the narrative, and secondly because there is at least one rather sexual scene. Although the two characters don’t sleep together, one tries to tempt the other with her body, and Genesse doesn’t shy away from describing the reaction of the male character to the female one. This is not something a reader of twelve or fourteen should read, although a sixteen or eighteen year old should have no trouble. The male character ultimately does the right thing and his restraint is a good example of what a person should do in the face of temptation. There is some swearing in the story as well, so the novel works best for children in their latter teens and adults looking for an epic fantasy with the same simplicity of plot as Paolini.

The Golden Cord is a pretty good first effort from an author who had only written some good short stories in several Daw anthologies, as well as being a full time nurse in Salt Lake City. I enjoyed reading as Drake came of age, became a hero, and developed friendships with his racial enemies. There is only partial resolution of the events in this novel as it is part one in a trilogy, but it is still a satisfying one. The big picture of the Iron Dragon series becomes clearer and clearer as the plot moves along and I think the final battle, and the resultant heroism of Drake is likely to be enjoyable to most fans of epic fantasy.

The Golden Cord is an average novel, neither particularly bad nor particularly good. There are some plot inconsistencies (although I read an ARC copy, so these may have been rectified by time of publishing) but Genesse is a good writer, and his story never plods, nor does it get heavy handed or pedantic. The Golden Cord is a pleasant read, enjoyable and interesting. Drake is an interesting character, both broken and heroic all in one. Genesse has the potential to be a great writer in the future, although this novel is only giving us hints of that potential. I think young adults will enjoy The Golden Cord more than adults due to their ability to suspend disbelief more readily, so I recommend giving this novel to your teen who needs more reading material like Eragon.

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Book Review: Sojourn Volume 6 - The Bezerker's Tale by Ian Edgington and Greg Land

* Genre: Fantasy, Graphic Novel
* ISBN: 1933160721
* ISBN-13: 9781933160726
* Format: Paperback, 172pp
* Publisher: Checker Book Publishing Group, LLC
* Pub. Date: October 2007

I should have been prepared for this. After all, CrossGen did go out of business and that is hardly Checker BPG’s fault, but I am disappointed that Sojourn Volume 6: The Bezerker’s Tale did not complete the Sojourn story.

In this final (?) volume of the Sojourn graphic novel, Arwyn and friends go into the North, to seek the final piece of Adyn’s arrow. In the meantime, Mordath sets a bounty hunter on Arwyn’s trail, and then sets off on a mission all his own. In this volume of the Sojourn tale Arwyn really makes use of her arrows against a bezerker, an enspelled troll. The action in this volume is greater than in the last, and the fight against the bezerker long and protracted, ending in a way I could not have predicted.

This volume collects issues #31 through #34 of the original comic. Additionally, it also contains the prequel for the series, which introduces us to Mordath the warrior, who is later resurrected as Mordath the sorcerer. The prequel is interesting and really turns Adyn the Archer into quite an enigmatic character. I’d like to know more a lot more of his history, and his relationship to Arwyn.

The final issue (#34) lacked the coloring depth of the previous issues. The color reminded me more of original comics from the 1940’s than the more vibrant comics of our current age. The artwork seemed all washed out, rather then having the detail and vibrancy of the previous issues. This was something of a disappointment to me, since I had come to equate the Sojourn series with very vivid coloring. The rest of the comics continue that tradition, and I think that the impending bankruptcy of CrossGen might have had something to do with it.

The story is also incomplete. I’m sure that Ian Edgington and Greg Land have completed the tale, but unfortunately we do not have a complete story for the reader in printed form. My hope is that Checker will work to have the tale finished, now that they have the rights to the story.

Still, all in all, Sojourn Volume 6: The Bezerker’s Tale continues to provide great artwork and an interesting story with several plot twists, including new and unexpected characters. Although we are left wondering at the fate of Arwyn, Cassidy, and Gareth, characters whose stories I have come to enjoy, it doesn’t detract from the story, it only makes me wish it could be completed. I continue to recommend reading the Sojourn series to anyone who enjoys good comics with great color but who prefers traditional fantasy to the popular urban fantasy, manga, or the superhero tales more often found in graphic novels.

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Book Review: Blood Ties by Pamela Freeman

* Genre: Epic Fantasy, Literary Fantasy
* ISBN: 0316033464
* ISBN-13: 9780316033466
* Format: Paperback, 400pp
* Publisher: Orbit
* Pub. Date: April 7, 2008
* Series: Castings Trilogy

More often than not, writers of fiction for adults will make occasional forays into novels written for younger adults (Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, even George R. R. Martin) but rarely does it go the other way around. When it does happen, these books from writers of young adult fiction are derided as childish or overly simplistic. But sometimes, a jewel rises to the top. In the this new offering from publisher Orbit, Australian author Pamela Freeman has managed to make the leap from young adult to adult narratives effortlessly.

Blood Ties is the first novel in what is being called The Castings Trilogy, an epic fantasy set in a world where ghosts and prophecy are a part of everyday life. The story follows three characters: Bramble, Ash and Saker, all children of a subjugated race called Travelers. They have been oppressed for a thousand years by the blond haired and blue eyed Actons. As the story progresses, each character is forced to deal with what it means to be a part of a reviled race, while also coming to terms with what they can do about it. This sense of what to do about racial oppression. The little and big reactions to it are the primary motivators for the characters in this first book of The Castings Trilogy.

Bramble is of mixed blood, Traveler and Acton, but she looks like a Traveler. Forced to leave home for a crime she committed but would get no justice for, she takes the Road, as her ancestors have done ever since their subjugation. In essence, Traveler’s are like the gypsies many readers will be familiar with, and they are just as reviled in the world of Blood Ties. Much of Bramble’s struggle is about learning self-worth in the face of such aggression toward her. She also is seeking to avoid powerful men who use power simply for the sake of exerting control. Her aspect of the theme racial oppression is its effect on the weak.

Ash is a young man of full Traveler blood. Unable to learn his parent’s craft of music due to a horrible singing voice, he is apprenticed to a woman who trains guards named Doronit. Ash thinks he is being trained to provide safety for others, but he is in fact being trained to become a for-hire killer. His conscience causes him to struggle with this, but his gratitude to Doronit and lust for her keep him tied to her. In the meantime, he discovers he has powers over the ubiquitous ghosts that appear after the death of all people. Ash was my favorite character in Blood Ties. He is a little lost boy searching for a home.

Saker is the least explored character. His chapters are very short and his nature is little explored. He is the character that seeks revenge for past injustices. His skill as an enchanter makes that possible, and it seems that he is being prepared to become the face of evil for the trilogy.

Although by no means a slow novel (it does have quite a bit of action, although not usually of the sword and sorcery type), its primary focus is on character building and world building. Each primary character acts and reacts separate from the other, moving toward an ending where they finally encounter each other. The conclusion of Blood Ties is not any sort of climatic finale or final battle. The story simply ends by introducing us to a new character and preparing the set up for the next novel with an act that will likely lead to a confrontation of epic proportions in the next book.

Nor is there a primarily evil character. For the most part, evil is faceless and sense of racial oppression and injustice. By the end of the novel, evil begins to gain a face both Acton and Traveler. However, evil is in the eye of the beholder, and Freeman has worked hard to make her characters truly rounded by using the “stories” of the minor characters.

What makes Blood Ties so unique and makes it better reading than the average coming of age or standard epic fantasy, is the vignettes Freeman includes in the tale. In between the stories of Ash, Bramble and Saker are short stories that give the reader either a prehistory or post-history of some of the minor characters whose lives touch those of the primary ones. Each “story” as they are titled in the volume, is written as if the person writing it were telling you, the reader, the events that happened to them either before of after their encounters with Ash, Bramble and Saker. This unique writing technique does a great deal to flesh out the history of some of the minor characters. The chapters’ containing these “stories” are almost as exciting to read as the primary tale.

I loved reading Blood Ties. Although the majority of it is given over to character and world building, the world it builds is fascinating and the characters extremely compelling. The plot has a very nice ebb and flow of action and introspection, and Freeman has done well in keeping the reader’s interest. There is little wrong with the book, although some readers will likely be turned off by its pace, and the fact that there is no definable evil character, at least initially. Some readers will also be turned off by the theme of racial oppression. Yet I think that Freeman gives a rounded view of the topic and avoids becoming myopic. Travelers are not all good and Actons all bad.

The story contains a couple of rapes (not overly explicit, but key to understanding some of the characters) so it is not for children and Freeman likes to use the word “shagging” a lot. Of course, in the US it has less meaning than in Freeman’s native Australia. Finally, Freeman does resort to adding magical elements to her world just to get her characters out of dire situations. While consistent with the world, it sometimes seem like some of them were just a way for Freeman to get her characters out of tight spot.

If you like epic fantasy this is a good book to read. It is not preachy like Terry Goodkind and its world is unique from many others in the genre. It has none of the dwarves or elves you might expect from such but doesn’t really fit into another categorization. It is comparable in style to Jeffrey Overstreet’s Auralia’s Colors in its literary form. Fans of Karen Britain and Karen Miller will also like it, as it has a lot of horses and also has the same sort of mood in its feel. I highly recommend Blood Ties and I look forward to its sequel Deep Water.

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Book Review: Dragon Outcast by E. E. Knight

* Genre: Epic Fantasy
* ISBN: 0451461851
* ISBN-13: 9780451461858
* Format: Paperback, 368pp
* Publisher: Penguin Group (ROC)
* Pub. Date: December 2007
* Series: Age of Fire Series, #3

If you missed last year’s release of Dragon Outcast, turn around, go back to the bookstore and pick up this third novel in the Age of Fire series by E. E. Knight. As always, Knight brings us an action/adventure story filled with everybody's favorite fantasy creature, dragons.

One thing I have especially enjoyed about the Age of Fire series is that you could pick up any of the novels and start with it. You could easily read Dragon Outcast without having read Dragon Champion or Dragon Avenger and still enjoy it completely as a stand-alone novel. Yet if you have been fortunate enough to read the other books, then this it only increases the depth and breadth of the one you took off the shelf.

Each of the books begins at the exact same time and location, yet each follows a different dragon. In Dragon Outcast, we learn the story of the Copper, Auron and Wistala’s sibling who was denied the egg shelf. In the previous two books the Copper was given a villainous cast, as it was he who led the Dragonblade and the Dwarves to his family’s cave. But in Dragon Outcast, we learn that all is not as it seems, and that the Copper’s motivations were purer than you think. And most especially, we learn the fate of the Dragonblade, an enigma from the first two books.

Dragon Outcast follows the Copper as he grows from hatchling to full fledged dragon. Hideously scarred and damaged by being outcast from his family, the Copper is forced to make his own way in the world. Hearing of a glorious place called the Lavadome, where dragons live in peace together, the Copper seeks it out. His journey takes him underground from his parent’s cave to the very feet of the Tyr, the leader of the Lavadome. Yet his journey has damaged his body (eye, leg, and wing), and acceptance is hard to find in the body conscious society of the Lavadome. The Copper must make a name for himself, and what follows makes for an interesting story as he grows from drake into dragon.

Ironically, where in the previous two books E. E. Knight has Auron and Wistala spend a great deal of time seeking the company of other dragons and not finding it, the Copper, an outcast, finds it rather easily. Yet he is the least suited for it with his damaged body. Knight weaves and interesting dragon society, one that is believable based on the traditional nature of dragons. Their ferocity, their territorial nature, and their intelligence are all weaved into a culture that is both believable and perched on a precipice, ready to collapse at any moment. The Copper provides the catalyst for its change with his arrival.

This was probably the strongest book of the Age of Fire series. Knight has woven the plot tightly so that the story does not have the elongated feel of Dragon Champion or some of the random plot elements of Dragon Avenger. Knight perhaps could work on his action sequences a bit, as it was occasionally hard to understand how the action related to the space around the character.

I think at times that Knight also assumes we have knowledge we do not. His dialogue will sometimes be structured to hint at prior knowledge that he failed to give us earlier in the novel. Usually, I was able to infer the information, and it was usually something to do with dragon society that was not really important to the story anyway, but I would have appreciated an explanation.

All in all, Knight continues to be a wonderful writer. He has taken dragons and made them both more and less than what the fairy tales had given. Many stories of dragons make them majestic and helpful, or split them into “good” and “evil” dragons usually dependent on scale color. But Knight’s dragons are all of a whole, and color has nothing to do with personality. Good and evil designations are dependent on the nature of the dragon in question. The Copper is our hero, and anyone who has ever felt marginalized by the society in which they live will find they are very able to identify with the Copper’s struggles for recognition. I highly recommend you read Dragon Outcast. And if you have trouble finding the first two books, don’t worry, you can read this one and go back to the other two. The whole series is one of those rare ones that I will actually and go back and read, because each novel adds depth to the other. A re-read will only heighten the enjoyment of the first two novels. Here’s to the Age of Fire, a series of extraordinary novels!

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Book Review: Confessor by Terry Goodkind

* Genre: Epic Fantasy
* ISBN: 0765315238
* ISBN-13: 9780765315236
* Format: Hardcover, 608pp
* Publisher: Doherty, Tom Associates, LLC (TOR)
* Pub. Date: November 2007
* Series: Sword of Truth Series, #11

Confessor is the last book in Terry Goodkind’s epic fantasy/philosophy series The Sword of Truth. When the series began, many readers thought this book would be a great fantasy trilogy, short and sweet. It quickly blossomed into eleven novels, each 500 or more pages in length, and one novella Debt of Bones. Throughout that time, it generated a lot of criticism from fans of speculative fiction and professional critics. Yet each novel has consistently stayed at the top of many bestseller lists, alongside many “mainstream” books. It is a strange sort of situation. The series is both widely popular and particularly reviled.

This is, I think, because Goodkind placed a great deal of his personal philosophy of Objectivism into the books. Many of the characters stop often to extemporize on the virtues or faults of faith, reason, force and prophecy. Many readers objected to this, while others enjoyed it, and so the series became a sort of like it or hate type of reading. I always liked it. When I started reading the novels, I accidentally began with Stone of Tears, the second novel. But I was drawn in by both the story and the philosophy.

Confessor continues that trend, but as I have grown older and more critical (I was in my teens when I read the first books) I have begun to see why critics have so disliked Goodkind’s novels. Confessor concludes the story, finally solving the riddles of the chimes, the boxes of Orden, Jagang the dreamwalker, and Richard Rahl’s wizardly heritage. Yet it is also the culmination of Goodkind’s philosophy, and all the questions raised in the previous novels are finally given an answer in this final volume. But that answer was very unsatisfying to me. It exalts reason over faith, and it finally came to me why people so dislike the novels. Reason has been shown in this age of postmodernism to not be what people want anymore. They want both reason and faith, and since Goodkind rejects the notion that a person can have both, many readers are upset.

Confessor still draws the reader in, bringing up philosophical puzzles that agile minds will want to think about and address. The story continues to show Richard Rahl, the everyman, succeeding against impossible odds through his own force of will and not through mystical power (although that is part of the tale). This is compelling, especially to fantasy fans, who always want to imagine themselves as such a hero. This then explains some of Goodkind’s success. Yet Goodkind has given himself over to too much philosophizing. In the earlier books, the philosophy and the action was much better integrated than in Confessor. For instance, when Nicci is captured by Jagang she spends several pages berating the man and denigrating his philosophy. Jagang, the rapist and murderer just sits there ant takes it. He lets her finish and then brutalizes her. I just don’t see it happening that way. Jagang wouldn’t allow Nicci to speak ill of him, if he is as evil as Goodkind tries to make him.

Additionally, Jagang has gone from being the antithesis to Richard Rahl to being little more than a petulant child. His character is reduced to little that is interesting, and this bogs the story down.

In wrapping up the series, Goodkind is also forced to do a two-step to try and wrap up all the threads of his narrative. While he does so in most cases and everything does weave together in the end, I think he had to make some convolutions to get there, and it is relatively obvious to the reader. And, of course, Goodkind relies on his Richard rescues Kahlan, Richard loses Kahlan plot outline for this story as well. His problems for the character are once again regurgitated into the story and follow the same old plot line, if with new solutions and situations. It is still the same, and I find I have tired of Richard being successful in one thing and then losing again. Fortunately this was the conclusion to the series so for once Richard’s successes stay successes, albeit with a couple of setbacks.

I found the final conclusion rather unsatisfying. But then, I don’t really like the philosophy Goodkind espouses, so the triumph of reason over faith left me feeling a little hollow. And the heavy handed way he judged our world was annoying rather than motivating. Confessor was particularly full of philosophy, had a lot less action than previous books, made all faith blind and always on a level with brute force, and was simply too long.

Still, if you have been reading the series, you probably ought to finish it, but if you have not been reading the series, you could probably let it go entirely. If you are thinking of reading it, read Wizard’s First Rule and then the last three books Chainfire, Phantom, and Confessor and you would have essentially read the entire series. What happened in between those books is fluff and philosophy, and while interesting to some extent, you will rapidly burn out on rehashed plot. Sure, you wouldn’t have all the characterization or quite all the facts surrounding the tale, but it would be enough.

Confessor is the logical conclusion to the series, it just isn’t really all that fun. There are a few good action scenes, and of course we are glad for Kahlan and Richard, but sadly, Goodkind misses the point of faith. His disdain is a big turn-off and anyone who believes that faith is part of life is unlikely ever to enjoy the story. I appreciated the opportunity to read the series, and as a teen it was in some ways motivating, but as an adult I see the fallacy of the philosophy, the recycling of the plots, and the out-of-character actions of some of the characters. Would I go back and read The Sword of Truth series again? Yes, but only out of nostalgia, not because I believe the novels are of great value.

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A nicely done book trailer

I recently reviewed Maria V. Snyder's Poison Study. I was putzing around Youtube this afternoon (slow day) and found this neat little promo video for the novel.

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Book Review: The Prodigal Troll by Charles Coleman Finlay

* Genre: Epic Fantasy; Coming-of-Age Fantasy
* ISBN: 1591023327
* ISBN-13: 9781591023326
* Format: Paperback, 357pp
* Publisher: Prometheus Books (PYR imprint)
* Pub. Date: June 2005

Although many cultures have a similar story, the most famous prodigal is that of the parable of Jesus told in Luke 15:11-31. In it, a young man takes his inheritance, leaves his family and seeks his fortune in the wider world. He soon learns that the world is a cruel place and ends up returning to his father. The term “prodigal” eventually came to mean one who returned after a long absence, usually when after finding trouble apart from their families. The prodigal in Charles Coleman Finlay’s The Prodigal Troll is Maggot, a young man heir to power who ends up being reared by a lowly troll.

Similar to Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan of the Apes, Maggot is a human reared by a more bestial race. Finlay’s trolls are what we expect. Although not savage, they live in a primitive, subsistence life, and with the constant push of humanity into their territory, are slowly dying out. Maggot, being human finds that his nature is different from those of the trolls who raised him, as the find within his nature the desire to improve his life and those of the trolls who have become his family. Yet trolls do not seek to improve their lives, and when Maggot finds that trolls would rather keep the status quo than change, he leaves seeking both a mate and encounters with human culture.

Although Maggot’s seeking a mate drives much of the plot (the first true woman he sees he falls in love with, and his search for her is a great deal of the motivation for his continued interaction with humanity) it is really his interaction with the different societies of Finlay’s world that is most intriguing. This can really be broken up into three different cultures. The first is his life among the trolls. The second his life among the Gaelic/Native American tribal culture that is being overrun by the third culture, a western style medieval monarchy. Maggot interacts with characters from each and his feeble attempt to impose what he knows of troll culture onto human interactions creates both humor for the story and sympathy for his character.

Finlay’s exploration of the way humans interact with each other and the effect of war, love and the exotic on the human psyche is fun to read. Written in epic fantasy style, Finlay proves that epics do not have to take twelve volumes, or even a trilogy, to delve into the enigma that is humanity. Finlay writes with a wonderful cadence, inserting action at just the right moments, but allowing his characters time for introspection as well, but never so much has to slow the pace. The ebb and flow of the plot makes The Prodigal Troll a stay up all night read.

Although the novel is an epic fantasy in its formula, it is not formulaic. There is no pat answer to the questions it raises, and even the ending does not resolve in the way a reader comes to expect from epic fantasy. This is not to say that the ending is not satisfying (although in my opinion, it is a bit abrupt) just different from the standard. The concept of the “prodigal” has a lot to do with how the story is resolved.

At times, in battle scenes, I got a little lost as to the placement of characters, as perhaps too much is happening at one time. There are some elements, like the magic and the “Old Ones” that aren’t really explained, but in a sense that actually enhances the feeling of Maggot’s bewilderment. It is a violent novel, gruesomely describing some the horrors of sword and bow warfare. Weak stomachs beware. Maggot also learns languages a little too quickly to my mind, either that, or Finlay has failed to adequately make clear the length of time that has passed in which he learned it. This is a minor thing, but it stood out to me as a reader.

Readers of Black Gate will recognize some portions of the The Prodigal Troll, as it partially appeared in that magazine’s pages. Fans of Tarzan or the man-raised-by-wolves genre of story will love this addition to the canon. Finlay takes this genre and really uses it to explore and decry some of the excesses of the human race. Maggot is a part of humanity by nature, but very different form it by nurture and his outsider’s perspective on both human cultures glaringly portrayed humanity’s faults.

At the end of his acknowledgments to The Prodigal Troll, Charles Coleman Finlay asks if anybody is up for another book. My only answer to this question can be “yes, please.” Finlay writes entrancingly, and The Prodigal Troll, the first novel by this prolific short story writer, is a gem of the fantasy genre.

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Book Review: Goblin Hero by Jim C. Hines

* Genre: Humorous Fantasy
* ISBN: 0756404428
* ISBN-13: 9780756404420
* Format: Mass Market Paperback, 343pp
* Publisher: Penguin Group (DAW)
* Pub. Date: May 2007

Jig Dragonslayer has a new quest in Goblin Hero. This time, an ogre has come looking for his help. This is, of course, the last thing the diminutive Jig wants. Nonetheless, spurred on by his god, Tymalous Shadowstar, Jig finds he must accept the ogre’s request. But fighting pixies is not Jig’s idea of a good time, and in this sequel to Goblin Quest Jig must once again rely on his pusillanimous goblin brain to save everyone (including hobgoblins!) from the pixie invasion into the cavern complex the goblins, hobgoblins, and ogres call home.

Jim C. Hines uses his unique brand of humor to tell this funny adventure tale. Jig is his old self, a reluctant but effective hero. Yet Hines has also branched out and given the reader some new characters to enjoy. There is Grell, the ancient goblin nursery maid; Braf, the dumbest but biggest goblin in the lair; Veka the wannabe goblin wizard; and Slash, the hobgoblin with a strange fear for a warrior. Each of these characters will pluck a chord with readers of fantasy, and once again Hines has played with the tropes of fantasy to create a humorous look at what it means to be a hero.

Jig is once again the reluctant hero that readers of Goblin Quest will remember. But the new character that makes this story fun is Veka. A reverse Jig, Veka very much wants to be a hero, although she would like to be a wizard hero as opposed to Jig’s warrior one. As the story progresses it is Veka’s character that changes the most. She grows in her understanding of heroism throughout the novel, even with several misfires along the way. Watching the interplay between Jig and Veka, and the two different ways they approach saving the lair, made this book have more depth than its “humorous fantasy” label would imply. Hines is exploring the theme of heroism in Goblin Hero and Jig and Veka’s approaches show that often “there’s no wrong way to eat a Reese’s.”

Still, it is hilarious. Jig has a common sense approach to solving problems. This, when placed in juxtaposition to the idiocy of his fellow goblins, creates a lot of laughs. There is also the slapstick humor, especially when Braf hurts himself with his own weapon, or when Grell smacks the idiot goblins around with her canes. Smudge continues to play his role of sidekick to Jig, and the little fire-spider gets him out of one particularly tight situation.

Hines still suffers a little bit when it comes to describing the space around his characters. By that I mean that it is not always clear who is standing where in relation to whom, and that it is not always clear which tunnel is branching off from which and in what direction. This was especially a problem for me in the first bottomless pit scene. I was not clear on how the action was flowing, and had a difficult time picturing the events in my mind. This was because I wasn’t sure who was where and whether tunnels were above or below one another, where the bridge was in relation to the action, and so on. Of course, other readers may have no problem, or be able to fill in the blanks with ease. For me, this was a difficult scene to enjoy, because I simply didn’t understand the spatial relationships.

And some readers may not find Hines humor all that humorous. You have to like the sort of “woe is me” attitude of Jig. Since you know all will turn out well in the end (it is a heroic fantasy, after all) you can smirk and smile at Jig’s complaints. I find this kind of thing funny, but others may not. Hines humor is not the satire of Terry Pratchett, or the sardonic thoughts of Robert Asprin. But if you enjoyed Pratchett’s Going Postal or Making Money the main characters share a lot in common, and the humor plays out similarly. Of course, Goblin Hero is a funny look at the dungeon crawl, whereas Pratchett is satirizing the postal service and banking world.

I recommend that any reader who thinks this book is interesting first read Goblin Quest. It will be necessary for the reader, as the back-story is an important part of Jig and Veka’s relationship. Goblin Hero is not one of those sequels that can be read without reading the first book. Besides, after reading those, you will be set up to read Goblin War the third book in the series, set for release in March. (Read an Excerpt) I do recommend that you read Jim C. Hines work. He is funny, his characters are ones you'll easily identify with, and his story has all the elements that make a dungeon crawl fun. The Goblin Series is a fun interweaving of a Dungeon and Dragons setting, Mark Twain’s wit, and Steve Martin’s slapstick all from one gifted author, Jim C. Hines.

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Jim C. Hines Week - Day 4

Continuing our trend of celebrating all things Jim, here are a few more things you may not have know about the man.

Congratulate Jim on his first Publisher's Weekly Review.

He has not one, but two stories up at AnthologyBuilder, the do-it-yourself site for fans of short fiction. I've been waiting on enough stories from folks I like to do my first personal anthology, with Jim's two I'm getting real close. If you haven't checked out AnthologyBuilder yet, it is a must.

Do you Librarything? So does Jim.

Watch this guy draw his version of a pic of Jig the Goblin on his computer screen!

Or check out this recent reading and interview with Jim at the Time Traveler Show.

For reviews of Goblin Hero check out: Monsters & Critics, Curled Up, and ScifiChick. Mine will be posted on Friday.

And of course, check out Jim's Site and LiveJournal Blog.

And for those of you who scrolled down this far, we have a special treat. Around noon pacific coast time, Fantasy Book Critic will begin a giveaway of all three of Jim's Goblin books. It is such a wonderful coincidence that FBC and I would be highlighting Jim at the same time.

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Never Challenge a Goblin to a Game of Rakachak: An Interview with Jim C. Hines

Jim C. Hines, author of the incredibly witty and full-of-pizazz* Goblin trilogy (Goblin Quest, Goblin Hero, and the forthcoming Goblin War, all from DAW books), talks with me about Jig Dragonslayer, writing, and a favorite role playing session.

Grasping for the Wind: Why is humor such an important part of a story?

Jim C. Hines: Without humor, the goblin books could get awfully depressing. Goblins are the underdogs. They lose nine out of ten battles, and they live short, violent lives. If I wrote the stories without humor, it would be nothing but a band of depressed emo goblins singing the blues while they wait to die. You need humor and ... let's call it pluck. Jig is far from thrilled about his situation, but he never gives up. The goblins are always scheming and plotting and defying their role as the underdogs of fantasy. That makes them a lot more fun to write about, and hopefully to read as well.

GFTW: Jig Dragonslayer is a self-deprecating character. His own heroism comes as a surprise to him. Why do you think causes characters like Jig to resonate with readers?

Jim: We might enjoy the superheroes, the unstoppable barbarians and uber-powerful wizards, but I think we can relate more to characters like Jig. He's the Charlie Brown of fantasy. Watching this poor runt fight and somehow manage to survive is a lot more inspiring than when Rambo-with-a-Broadsword does the same thing.

GFTW: Smudge is a non-speaking character, but he has a lot of personality. Did you find it difficult to make sure he didn’t drop out of the story?

Jim: I love that fire-spider, but there were a few times when I'd finish a scene and realize I had completely forgotten about poor Smudge. He's a great character, but he's also limited in what he can do, plotwise. I mean, there's only so much for him to set on fire. But Smudge is important, not only as a kind of organic Zippo lighter, but also because he's Jig's best friend. I might forget about Smudge, but Jig never will.

GFTW: How would you describe your writing process?

Jim: Ugly? Unstable? Painful? My path from idea to finished manuscript varies a bit depending on the story, but usually it involves a few outlines, a first draft of pure chaos and confusion, and several rewrites to finally figure out what the story's about and get it down right. But it works for me.

GFTW: Where did the idea come from to do the Monday LOL books at your blog?

Jim: Heh ... I had just discovered Cat Macros, and I was bored, so I decided to slap a few captions on books by myself and my friends. I posted them on LiveJournal, and the reaction was very positive, so I did a few more. If something makes people grin or laugh, I tend to keep doing it. I think I've done about 40 books all total. It's gotten to the point where I'll meet people at booksignings who say, "Nope, I've never heard of the goblin books. But aren't you the LOL Book guy?"

GFTW: Why do you choose to write primarily fantasy, even though your mainstream fiction has been well-received?

Jim: I haven't actually written a lot of mainstream stuff. One novel and a handful of short stories. I'm proud of them, but I have a lot more fun with fantasy. I love the magic and the wonder. I even love the clichés, the dragons and the shiny swords and the wizards. There are other genres and subgenres where I might be able to make more money, but I figure you've got to write what you love.

GFTW: You have said that you are taking a break from the Goblin stories to work with different characters. How are The Stepsister Scheme and the other Princess novels different from the stories of Jig?

Jim: The princess books are a bit more serious. Not completely serious, of course. I'm basically writing a mashup of fairy tale princesses and Charlie's Angels. But the characters are more complex, and I think the stories have a little more depth and power. Also, it was kind of fun to switch from Jig the anti-warrior to one of my princesses who's skilled enough to kill an armed and armored warrior with a spoon.

GFTW: You attend a lot of conventions. What do you like most about attending?

Jim: I mostly do the local conventions, for budgetary and family reasons. I've always been a bit of an introvert, so the first few times I went, I felt completely overwhelmed. These days, having met some of my fans and fellow writers, I love the cons. I love getting together with "my people," being able to make goofy jokes about Babel fish or quote Firefly with people who actually get it and don't look at you like you're from another planet. Watching your book sell out in the dealer's room is a nice bonus, and a good boost for the ego.

GFTW: You have mentioned that you used to play role playing games quite often. What is your favorite role playing game memory?

Jim: A friend spent a long time planning a major battle between our party and a Kraken. We had our little charms to let us breathe and move underwater. Each player was allowed to choose one other magical item for the battle. So after watching the rest of the party hack, slash, and fireball this huge monster to little effect, I swam up and tapped it with a wand of polymorph. Kraken fails magic resistance and saving throw, and I turn him into a butterfly. The gamemaster glares at me, hate searing the air between us, and mutters, "It drowns." I'll leave it to the reader to figure out which scene was partly inspired by that game.

GFTW: Any parting thoughts?

Jim: If a goblin challenges you to a game of rakachak, just say no. Trust me on this. Thanks for the great questions. I hope folks enjoy the books!

Keep the belly laughs coming by reading Jim's blog.

Also, read a pdf excerpt from his forthcoming novel Goblin War, set for release in March 2008.

---
*Jim says it is okay for me (a man) to use the word pizazz, "but the Code of Testosterone requires that you grunt a few times and scratch yourself while doing so. Belching is optional :-)."

(Author Photo © Craig Hebert)

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Jim C. Hines Week - Day 2

Here are some more great links with Jim C. Hines miscellania:

The Song of Jig as played by Tom Smith (this is a fun acoustic song!)

Read the first chapter of Goblin War.

Help add to Jim's Wikipedia page. (It is sorely lacking in good stuff.)

Read some praise from various authors and websites for the Goblin books.

The difference between Shrek and the Goblin books is right here.

Read a couple reviews of Goblin Quest by me, SciFi Chick, Infinity Plus, and GoodReads.

Lastly, for you those of you who are audio junkies, here is an interview with Jim at SFF Audio.

And of course, check out Jim's Site and LiveJournal Blog.

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Jim C. Hines Week

This week is Jim C. Hines Week at Grasping for the Wind. Goblin War comes out exactly one month from today, so each day this week I will be highlighting Jim in some form or fashion. (interviews, reviews and links to interesting material.)

First off, Jim is doing some highlighting of his own, and is running a LOL book cover caption contest for Goblin War.

Secondly, read my review of Bash Down the Door and Slice Open the Badguy, in which Jim tells the story of how Jig and Smudge first met.

Lastly, read these interviews with Tymalous Shadowstar and Jig the DragonSlayer, at Straight from the Barrel...

And of course, check out Jim's Site and LiveJournal Blog.

Stay tuned for more, including my interview with Jim and my review of Goblin Hero as well as lots of link love!

Feel free to submit your own Jim C. Hines material by emailing me through the link in the navbar, or placing the link in the comments below.

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Book Review: Bash Down the Door and Slice Open the Badguy edited by W. H. Horner

* Genre: Comic Fantasy, Short Fiction
* ISBN: 0971360855
* ISBN-13: 9780971360853
* Format: Paperback, 276pp
* Publisher: Fantasist Enterprises
* Pub. Date: May 2007

Laughter, they say, is the best medicine. But what kind of laughter? Nervous laughter? Belly Laughter? Or that sinister chuckle we all at least feel at someone else’s misfortune? Well, what ever kind is medicinal for you, you will likely find it in Bash Down the Door and Slice Open the Badguy and anthology of humorous tales of swords and sorcery edited by W. H. Horner. Horner was also the editor of Sails and Sorcery, and anthology which this reviewer called a bit of a “mixed bag”. But this collection, while published earlier, is a much stronger assortment of stories.

The introduction, by John Moore, gives a history of humorous swords and sorcery going back to Don Quixote. Unbeknownst to me, Don Quixote was a parody of a swords and sorcery romance akin to Le Morte D’Arthur. Moore concludes from the fact that if the first great European novel was a satire of a fantastic romance, that “all good fiction, after all, needs a reality check.” That fiction, and fantasy in particular needs life is more than the gloomy picture that the genre’s gloomy seminal works portray (think LOTR). I agree, for life, after all, is about humor as much as it is pain and tragic death.

All of these twenty-four stories are quite funny. All though not all are laugh out loud uproarious, they still bring a smile to your face, whether due to the ridiculousness of the situations, the satire, or the witticisms of the authors.

“Beerwulf” is a take on Beowulf from the monster’s point of view. When the armored and boastful hero steps into the lake containing the monsters he ends up having to be saved by them. Lawrence C. Connolly has written monster characters we can root for.

“A Different Shade of Knight” by Jason S. Ridler has a protagonist who finds favor with a small god of chance. This is unfortunate, as chance is a fickle god, and coincidences don’t always end in your favor. The humor of this story comes from the strange coincidences that occur to create highly improbable (even for a fantasy) situations.

“Assassin’s Playground” by A. G. Devitt has some hapless heroes misapplying half learned techniques to rescue a fair maiden. The humor is slapstick, reminding me of a Steve Martin film.

Not really a funny story, but an okay mystery is “Mistress Fortune Favors the Unlucky” by Eugie Foster (an Atlantan like myself). I think that with mention of bondage, flogging and other S & M sex references the author was trying to create humor through shock. This didn’t happen for me, although I did enjoy the mystery story that was presented.

“A Lesson in Heroics” reminds us that all actions have consequences. Especially when you fool with an old granny. The supposed heroes learn that true heroism requires chivalry, not just killing or capturing the bad guy. The moral lesson of Jeremy Yoder’s tale was great, and the little old lady who is the centerpiece of the story is a hilarious no nonsense woman.

A great story is Paul Crilley’s “The Ice Maiden Speaketh” a mix of letter format and narrative, Crilley’s story is creative. What happens when an evil overlord gets a midlife crisis? Does he write the “Dear Abby” of his local magazine? Crilley has a modern psychological twist to the evil overlord story.

Sometimes a friendship can be pushed too far. And sometimes the sidekick just doesn’t get his due. “Keep Coming Back for More” is more sad and anguished than truly humorous. Margaret Ronald didn’t really draw any laughs from me, although I did enjoy for the poor narrator’s cynicism about his constant resurrections, and ignoble deaths.

“The Great Thrakkian Rebellion” by Megan Crewe is a quick look at the reason why goblins, orcs and trolls so often work for evil overlords. Well, because they are just so easily led. A funny look at life in the trenches of an evil overlord’s minions.

“Always Read the Fine Print” is a good lesson to learn, especially in magic. L. L. Donahue’s magician just wants to give his niece a dancing bear. But dabbling in forbidden magics is forbidden for a reason. A satisfyingly ironic “spell gone wrong” story.

Sometimes even the characters know how the story is going to end. “Heard It” by Dale Mettam cuts right to the chase. Worldly-wise heroes know that one quest is often just the same as any other one. Mettam’s heroes have “Heard It” all before. A sideways look at the ridiculousness of the epic quest.

“Crossing Swords” by Murray J. D. Leeder was one of the stories I was looking forward to in this anthology. What does a sentient sword do? After all, they live for millennia, and even get used by some pretty idiotic heroes. A funny look at what sentience does to something without the ability to do anything for itself.

K. D. Wentworth is a notable author but I felt that “Hallah Iron-thighs and the Hounds of Hell” was rather a dull tale. The protagonists end up adopting a hound of hell, but Wentworth does little really with the possible implications of that, instead opting to move in a different and only slightly related direction. What humor there is comes from the interchange of Hallah and Gerta but beyond that the story wanders and ends abruptly.

Pity the poor famous person. “There’s Only One Dakon the Mighty” by Elizabeth K. Hopkinson picks up where most heroic tales leave off. After all, heroic success is bound to draw admirers, journalists, and politicians out of the woodwork. But heroes are not cut out for administrative work as Dakon finds out. But using doubles to meet all your obligations can be problematic too, as Dakon finds out. Sometimes, someone else is a better you. Confusion creates the hilarity of this story.

Jim C. Hines’ “Goblin Hero” is a must read story of course, especially because this gives us the back story for the relationship between Jig the Goblin and Smudge the fire-spider. Although this story was not as strong as the novels, it still had the same self-deprecating hero. I didn’t enjoy this story as much as the novels, mostly because I felt that based on the character first introduced in Goblin Quest that the events related seemed out of character. Jig’s behavior and actions are out of sync with the character we meet in the first novel. I would have made more sense for the Jig of this story to behave this way after Goblin Quest but not before.

“No Shit, There We Were” by Michael Brendan redeems the city watchman. Sometimes the heroes are just bullies with good PR. A story told from the city watchman’s point of view. Although this story wasn’t particularly funny, it was a nice look on the other side of the law from that of most fantasies.

In “But Before I Kill You….” Lindsey Duncan explores the need for love that even evil overlords have, especially if they are female. While I thought Duncan’s writing was a little rough (her sentence structures were a little annoying to me) her story was cute and sweet giving rise to a laugh of delight at the love sickness of her character. Duncan's story finds that while evil folk might be powerful, their own human nature is often even more powerful.

When working as a team, one should really work to get along. But the characters of “An Incident at Black Tongue Tavern” by Michael Turner fail to remember that truth and so end up cornering the righteous instead of the villains. This story panders to the men who enjoy their female heroines topless. Its one fight scene is a bit contrived, and the story has only a little forced humor.

In a standard sword and sorcery, the female characters are often buxom ladies in chainmail. But what happens when one culture finds what we consider ugly is in fact beautiful? How would that make the buxom ladies feel? Melissa Lee Shaw explores this in “Delilah’s Dames in Nomadsland”. As a man, the utter ridiculousness of finding an overweight small-breasted woman with a mustache beautiful made me laugh, especially when tanned, buxom women were there for the offing. (I know; I’m a sexist.) Shaw really turned the female character of sword and sorcery trope on its head, without changing the superficialities we love.

“The Atrocious Head-Bashing Troubadour” by C.M. Huard shows us the humor we can find when the mighty are brought low as a result of their own folly. The hero in this tale is plain-speaking, and reminds that reader that the powerful are not always the smartest of people.

“The Voice of Reason” by Ken Brady is another story about music. When a solitary woman has her solace interrupted by a goat headed man’s singing, she resorts to violence. But actions have consequences, as this lady finds out.

A heartwarming story of a landlady’s care for her favorite tenant is “In the Shit” by Barbara Davies. There are a few humorous moments (such as when the buff barbarian turns out to be gay) but for the most part this is just a nice little tale about helping out a friend in need.

Having successful fathers is not always easy, especially when he is a famous wrestler and you are a shrimp. But in “The Wrestler’s Apprentice” by Stephen Castillet, the hero uses brains over brawn, especially when he discovers that his companion on his quest is a metal man and a barbarian who has an allergy to violence. An eminently readable story, the jokes are obvious, but I have to say I really enjoyed the digs at union politics.

In the same vein as “The Ice Maiden Speaketh” is “The Order of the Crimson Tunic” by Kevin N. Haw. Written as the expendable henchman writing home to his mother, Haw provokes laughter by making the letters lighthearted while the henchman’s comrades fall around him one by one. This is a humorous ending to the dungeon crawl, and when the henchman wins out the end, a little cheer came from my lips.

“Just Temping” creates an alternate dimension story. The female protagonist is a human from our world and time, but the setting is a fantasy world. Susan Sielinski has her protagonist temp in for the position of evil overlord. But sometimes, doing your job well can land you in a lot of trouble. Sielenski’s story was the most creative and humorous of the bunch, and as the closing story, it let’s the reader wrap up the anthology on a high note of laughter.

I can honestly say that all of the stories were fun to read. The anthology is a solid collection. It was nice that while there was sexual innuendo it never devolved into explicit description, allowing the stories to maintain their lighthearted humor. And even though some of the stories use cursing, it was usually cleverly funny and appropriate or even accurate as with Barbara Davies’ In the Shit. (The solution to the problem of the story is literally going through a sewer and up into a water closet.)

All of the stories used different kinds of humor to produce the same reaction – laughter. Anyone who reads these twenty-four stories will find several that resonate with their preferred type of humor, whether satire, uncomfortable situations, a little potty humor, or a fine wit. I highly recommend this anthology for a good laugh when life has got you down. A dose of Bash Down the Door and Slice Open the Badguy and you’ll cheer up in no time.

The entire list of stories is below:

“Beerwolf” by Lawrence C. Connolly
“A Different Shade of Knight” by Jason S. Ridler
“Assassin’s Playground” by A. G. Devitt
“Mistress Fortune Favors the Unlucky” by Eugie Foster
“A Lesson in Heroics” by Jeremy Yoder
“The Ice Maiden Speaketh” by Paul Crilley
“Keep Coming Back for More” by Margaret Ronald
“The Great Thrakkian Rebellion” by Megan Crewe
“Always Read the Fine Print” by L. L. Donahue
“Heard It” by Dale Mettam
“Crossing Swords” by Murray J. D. Leeder
“Hallah Iron-Thighs and the Hounds of Hell” by K. D. Wentworth
“There’s Only One Dakon the Mighty” by Elizabeth H. Hopkinson
“Goblin Hero” by Jim C. Hines
“No Shit, There We Were” by Michael Brendan
“But Before I Kill You...” by Lindsey Duncan
“An Incident at Black Tongue Tavern” by Michael Turner
“Delilah’s Dames in Nomadsland” by Melissa Lee Shaw
“The Atrocious Head-Bashing Troubadour” by C. M. Huard
“The Voice of Reason” by Ken Brady
“In the Shit” by Barbara Davies
“The Wrestler’s Apprentice” by Stephen Castillet
“The Order of the Crimson Tunic” by Kevin N. Haw
“Just Temping” by Susan Sielinski

Posted by John at 11:05 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | Humor
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Book Review: Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

* Genre: High Fantasy, Coming-Of-Age Fantasy, Romance
* ISBN: 0778324338
* ISBN-13: 9780778324331
* Format: Paperback, 416pp
* Publisher: Mira
* Pub. Date: March 2007

I’ve always wondered who in their right minds would want to be the king’s food taster. After all, no matter how good the perks (rich food, cushy lifestyle) every meal could be your last. No food is that good nor is any king or general worth that much loyalty. Fight and die, sure, at least I have a chance at winning. But take the risk of eating poison, no way.

In this 2006 Compton Crook Award Winner, Poison Study, Maria V. Snyder (website; myspace) gives a plausible answer to this question. She even weaves an entire tale around a food taster’s life. Nineteen-year-old Yelena has been sentenced to death for the murder. She is given a choice, either serve as the Commander’s food taster, or swing from the gallows. She, of course, chooses to live. What she doesn’t know is that this means a life of captivity, fear of constant death, and involvement in political intrigue. It only gets worse when the reader discovers that Yelena is also being pursued by the father of the man she killed, a powerful General and ruler of one of the military districts that make up the military dictatorship of Ixia.

That’s right. I wrote “military dictatorship”. Snyder has done something I think is quite marvelous. Rather than use a standard setting for her fantasy tale, she chooses to place her characters in a country ruled by a military dictatorship. The Commander is the supreme ruler, but he, unlike other generals who have come to power, lives a spartan lifestyle, provides work and education for all people no matter their gender, and judges disputes fairly. Snyder has been innovative in choosing to have the political backdrop be different-yet-the-same for her fantasy tale. It is a medieval setting with a Napoleonic twist. Although the particulars of the setting are different, the overall tone of it is the same as any other high fantasy tale.

The plot is fairly simple. Yelena is moves through the story gaining and losing friends, discovering or gaining new abilities (she becomes an expert in poison and a good fighter), and ultimately pursues vindication for the murder she committed and freedom from the constrained life of the food taster. The story builds and builds till a climax is reached, finally pitting the heroine and her friends against all the evil arrayed against her. Snyder’s pacing and plot flow are very pleasant to read. It moves up and a down in with delicacy and action, with introspection and physical activity at just the right moments. Several subplots move within the tale as well. There is one apparent plot hole in two places in the novel, coming in the early chapters and related to the effect of poisons, but it comes to be answered in the way you might expect at the conclusion. So if you come across what appears to be a plot hole, wait, because all is answered in time.

The characters are what really make this work shine. There are two primary characters, Yelena and Valek. Valek is the Commander’s chief of staff, and the man who has put Yelena into the awful position is in, at least as concerns the food tasting. But he is also an assassin with compassion. He serves his commander ruthlessly but not blindly, and his empathy and care for Yelena give her a juxtaposition she is quizzical about for much of Poison Study. The story is told entirely through the heroine’s eyes, giving the reader the ability to empathize and agonize with her. Yelena becomes a character we care about, and would like to be. She is strong-willed and intelligent, but still a woman through and through. Snyder has created a well rounded character not too perfect but not grotesquely flawed either but simply a woman doing her best in difficult situations.

There are some issues I had with the book. First, Snyder does what many debut authors often do and overuses deus ex machina. By this I mean that whenever Yelena is in trouble, someone (usually Valek) shows up to save her. This took a little bit of swallowing because Valek, as the Commander’s chief of staff, would have been too busy to follow a lowly food taster around. This is kind of explained later in the book, but it wasn’t satisfactory enough for me. The other characters who pop up are a little more believable, but it still happens a few times too often.

Snyder also has Yelena become expert with the quarterstaff or “bow” as she calls it. But to my mind a bow is used for archery. I think what Snyder meant was a bō the Japanese name for a quarterstaff. Although as a writer of fantasy, Snyder has every right to call the weapon what she likes every time I read the word “bow” I would imagine archery, not a bludgeon, no matter the actions surrounding the word. This is a minor flaw, but one that bothered me.

Still, these are small things, and overall, Poison Study is both a strong debut and a well rounded novel. Interestingly, Poison Study includes a pretty good discussion guide in the edition I read. This would make the book good for reader’s circles and book groups. And since there is a significant (but not bodice-ripping) romance in the story, romance reader circles might want to turn to this novel as a way to broaden their reading, while still enjoying the element they most enjoy about their favorite genre.

I highly recommend that you read Maria V. Snyder's Poison Study. It’s a little different from the standard fantasy, but still fulfills all the expectations of the high fantasy connoisseur. You might also want to share it with your teenage children, as the study guide at the back would be a good starting point for family discussion. I thoroughly enjoyed this first novel in the Study series. It is creative without pushing the limits, has great action, a little romance, and some truly evil villains. All that one can ask for from a high/coming-of-age fantasy.

Yelena’s story continues in Magic Study.

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Free Robin Hobb Book

I didn't mention this last week, but I have been meaning to. Eos books is offering as part of their ten year anniversary a free e-book every two months for the entire year. The first book is Robin Hobb's Shaman's Crossing.

Posted by John at 08:25 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy
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Book Review: Bound by Iron by Edward Bolme

* Genre: Fantasy, Shared World Fiction
* ISBN: 0786942649
* ISBN-13: 9780786942640
* Format: Mass Market Paperback, 310pp
* Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
* Pub. Date: April 2007
* Series: Inquisitives Series

In Bound by Iron, Edward Bolme has written some unique characters in a plot with a surprising ending for this stand alone novel. In a story reminiscent of a John Grisham thriller, Bound by Iron begins with a murder and leads the heroes into a web of lies, deceit, and greed. Bound by Iron is the first novel in Eberron’s Inquisitives series.

Bolme’s inquisitives are three characters, acquaintances, who are working together to solve the murder of Torval Ellinger. Torval was a former Karnnathi soldier and member of the elite Iron Band company whose body washed up at the Korth docks. The story takes place two years after the end of the Last War. The primary character, Cimozjen is a former Iron Band leader who has the unfortunate luck of discovering the murder. Initially thought to be the culprit, he is exonerated and teams up with Minrah, an elven free lance journalist and extremely observant person. Finally, there is Four, a warforged that the two of them pick up during the search for the murderer of Torval.

Bolme explores the themes of justice, honor and righteousness in this novel. Cimozjen is a paladin, a warrior of the Sovereign Host whose sense of right and wrong is strong. Minrah the journalist, on the other hand, is what is often called a “chaotic good” character. She does not do evil things, but will do whatever it takes to get what she wants, especially in pursuit of a story, even to the point of putting her companions in harm’s way. Four, the warforged, provides a tabula rasa that the other two characters are trying to imprint with their own values. Each character walks away from the story being changed, for better or worse by their contact with each other.

At several points in the novel, Minrah and Cimozjen argue about truth and what is right. Cimozjen is a paladin, but he believes that his faith is freeing, not constraining. Minrah on the other hand, is a free woman, willing to sleep around, lie, and connive to get her story. The two have several debates about pragmatism versus doing the right thing, especially after Minrah tries to seduce Cimozjen, who is a married man. This was an element of the story I thought moved it beyond simple entertainment into the philosophical. Four would often cut in with a humorous comment at the end of Cimozjen and Minrah’s arguments, to add a little levity to the interchanges.

In Bound by Iron Bolme uses, to great effect, flashbacks to Cimozjen and Torval’s time together in the Iron Band. This gives the reader a more heartfelt connection between Cimozjen and the murdered Torval, and provides a reasonable explanation for Cimozjen’s drive to seek justice for his murdered comrade. Bolme also chose not to enter the mind of any of the villains, but only to sequentially tell the story as the three main characters experienced it. Additionally, while Bolme continues to subscribe to the theory that sometimes, things “just happen” in a story his coincidences are better tied into the story than in The Orb of Xoriat. When a key clue is discovered simply due to the characters walking about town, this seems unlikely but plausible. What before could be dismissed as deus ex machina in Bolme’s writing is not so easily labeled as such anymore.

Some readers will find the ending disappointing, but I thought it fit neatly in with the characters Bolme had created. They followed their beliefs to the end, even if that provided for an ending that was anything but the crowning of the hero. In a way, Bolme was reflecting the reality of the situation whenever a crime is committed. The resolution or punishment is never truly satisfying, and never really ends the evil.

This novel was a more enjoyable read that Bolme’s The Orb of Xoriat. The story has better continuity and the characters are more well-developed. I readily identified with Cimozjen and his quest for righteousness and justice, and his unwillingness to always be pragmatic. On the flip side, Minrah’s pragmatism did lead to some success. Four the warforged provided some humorous moments since he had no social graces and limited language skills.

I liked this Eberron novel. Some readers may find the dialogue a little contrived, but I didn’t. The mystery aspect of it was simple, so fans looking for fantasy noir won’t like this novel. It does give a soldier’s eye view of some of the major events of the Last War on the Eberron world. Cimozjen and Torval’s comradeship was a well-written aspect of the story, and in a way reminded me of Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front in the way it delved into the mind of the front-line soldier, if in a more simplified way. Even with the philosophical aspect, it was still a good adventure story with lots of sword action. Bound by Iron is a fun reading diversion. Its unique characters, unusual ending, and detailed fight scenes gave hours of reading enjoyment.

Posted by John at 10:25 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Christian SF&F | Eberron | Fantasy
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Jeff's Book Review Index

Jeff C at Fantasy Book News and Reviews has had to make a change to what he writes about due to the new bundle of joy in his life. He is therefore now collecting and indexing epic and heroic fantasy book reviews from the various sites like my own, Fantasy Book Critic, Fantasy Cafe, Graeme's Fantasy Book Review and others.

This will be a useful resource for those of you looking for reviews. I especially appreciate that he is only linking to our reviews, rather than copy them. Readers, you may find this a helpful resource if you are still on the fence about reading a particular book I reviewed. You can get some other perspectives.

Posted by John at 08:12 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy
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Weaving the Colors: An Interview with Jeffrey Overstreet

In one of the most enjoyable and well-answered interviews I have ever done, Jeffrey Overstreet has covered the gamut of topics from his debut novel Auralia's Colors to Christians in fiction to review writing methods. (Here is my review of his debut novel.) I hope you enjoy his thoughts as much as I did. For more of his thoughts, check out his oft posted to blog.

Grasping for the Wind: How did you become a fan of fantasy fiction, and why did you choose to write in this particular genre?

Jeffrey Overstreet: Do you remember those “long-playing records” that Walt Disney produced for each of their movies? You’d put the needle to the record and listen to a narrator tell the story, while excerpts from the movie’s soundtrack gave the characters distinct voices. That’s how I learned to read — listening to those records over and over again, on a plastic Mickey Mouse turntable. The needle was right under Mickey’s index finger on this plastic arm.

Most of those Disney stories were fairy tales. My family didn’t watch much television, and we didn’t go out for entertainment. So I found drama sitting in my room and listening to Pinocchio and Winnie the Pooh and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

Around the time I turned seven, my neighborhood librarian took me up to the next level, introducing me to J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, and Lloyd Alexander’s Chronicles of Prydain. Then came Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings (I’d read it through more than once by the time I was 10), and Richard Adams’ Watership Down, which remains my favorite novel.

I write fantasy today because those stories — whimsical and wild as they are — continue to speak meaningfully to me, as much as any more “realistic” or sophisticated art. Fantasy explores spiritual mysteries through metaphor, giving shape to ideas that we can’t easily express with everyday stuff. We invent fairies, monsters, elves, trolls, dragons, and magic beans to give shape to ideas and virtues and fears and wonders. And that helps us live more fully, engaging with realities beyond what we can see and hear and touch.

GFTW: Before writing Auralia’s Colors you were widely acclaimed for your movie-going memoir Through a Screen Darkly. Why did you choose to write a book about the simple pleasure of going to the movies?

Overstreet: Movies, like fairy tales, have had an enormous influence in my life, shaping ideas, inspiring questions, giving me an appreciation for beauty, and helping me understand how the world looks to my neighbors (who have often had very different experiences).

I grew up in a rather conservative community in which moviegoing was viewed as a suspicious, dangerous, “worldly” activity. But I also came to see that when we cut ourselves off from art for fear of “contamination,” we lose one of the greatest gifts humanity has to enjoy, something that helps us understand each other, something that humbles and inspires us.

So I wanted to share my own story about how movies have changed my life, how conversations with moviegoers, movie makers and movie stars have taught me a great deal about art and life. It was also a way to write a thorough answer to those who send me emails demanding to know how I can call myself a Christian and still be an enthusiastic fan of filmmakers like Woody Allen, Paul Thomas Anderson, Martin Scorsese, and Krzysztof Kieslowski.

GFTW: Auralia’s Colors, your debut novel, is a fantasy with echoes of the traditional fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen. Like their stories, your story is also an allegory. What moral or cultural truth are you trying to convey to your readers?

Overstreet: I’m glad you find echoes of fairy tales there. I suppose that’s inevitable, since I grew up on those stories.

But I don’t consider Auralia’s Colors to be an allegory at all. I did not intend to teach moral lessons or write a commentary on culture. I imagined a different world, threw in some characters, and then I started asking “What if?” The characters then led me into a story I hadn’t expected.

Now, that doesn’t mean readers won’t find anything meaningful in the story. The story reveals all kinds of things—and that just goes to show that art sometimes knows more than the artist. The characters in Auralia’s Colors are struggling with questions about freedom, responsibility, power, faith, and art. But I didn’t conspire to put any lessons in there. I discovered them after I stood back and thought about the story I’d written. I keep hearing from readers who are finding implications in the story I’ve never considered. That’s exciting.

I get bored with stories that can be boiled down to a simple meaning. In an allegory, characters are really just symbols. And the reader starts solving the puzzle: “Okay, so this character represents Jesus, this one represents Satan, this one represents a Christian, this one represents Judas, etc.” Allegories are like algebra. I’m more interested in storytelling. I do not have any characters that represent Jesus or God or anybody. Certain characters might behave in a Christ-like manner, or in a devilish way, just as many different characters in everything from The Lord of the Rings to Harry Potter to Buffy the Vampire Slayer have moments of Christ-likeness. But Auralia isn’t Jesus. The Keeper isn’t God.

GFTW: Much of your prose reads like poetry. A lot of the book is given over to descriptions of sight and sound, smell and touch. Why did you focus so much on the sensory aspects of your tale?

Overstreet: I grew up reading stories that had musical, poetic language. Literature wasn’t just meant to be read — it was meant to be read out loud. I want to write paragraphs that taste good and sound good.

Also, I’ve learned that natural beauty can make even the most ridiculous movie worth watching. I believe that nature “speaks.” I believe that the things God made mean something. It makes a difference if Auralia is running through a forest instead of a field or a canyon. And it matters what kind of forest that might be, what trees are there, what they smell like, and what colors are in their leaves.

When I read a story in which the author has paid attention to those details, I feel a much more powerful sense of immersion within that world. I’ve read a lot of forgettable fantasy novels. But I go back to Tolkien’s Middle-Earth, Patricia McKillip’s The Book of Atrix Wolfe, Richard Adams’ Watership Down, and Mark Helprin’s Winter’s Tale, because I feel like I’ve lived in those places.

GFTW: You are a vocal Christian who is unafraid to make your beliefs known. What effect has this had on the reception of Auralia’s Colors both in the Christian and secular marketplace?

Overstreet: It’s too early to say, I think. I’m encouraged, because I’m getting mail from all kinds of readers, all ages, and very different worldviews. Some Christians write stories to “present the Gospel” or “convey a message,” but I don’t. Some people write for Christian readers; I don’t. I want to write books that I would have enjoyed reading, and that I think others will enjoy. I think everybody likes a good story. People are drawn to excellence.

If there is some truth to a work of art, or some beauty, poetry, and passion — that’s can give the audience an encounter with God, even in the artist doesn’t believe in God. I’ve read an awful lot of Christian books that were poorly written, derivative, boring, and sloppy. That doesn’t do me any good. And my faith has been encouraged and transformed by artists who would never call themselves Christians. It doesn’t matter much who is writing the story — it’s the story that matters. It doesn’t matter what color that candle’s made of — it’s the light and the heat the draws people in. You’ve probably heard it said, “All truth is God’s truth.” I would add that all beauty is beautiful because it reflects God’s glory.

I hope that Auralia’s Colors has enough in its pages to give people an engaging and meaningful experience. We’ll see what happens.

GFTW: What effect does your Christian faith have on your writing?

Overstreet: Because I believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead after we killed him, I believe that there’s hope, even hope that death does not have the final word. I believe there’s meaning in the world around me. I believe that there are, as Hamlet said, “powers in heaven and earth” that we cannot fathom.

If I believe those things, how can I write a story that isn’t hopeful? I would have to tell a lie. I can’t help but write stories in which there are powers greater than the characters, powers in conflict.

But no, I don’t deliberately write “Christian stories”, just as I don’t bake “Christian cookies.” I just want to write a good story. And I think all good stories draw us because they reflect God’s glory… even if they’re shelved somewhere outside the “Religion” section at Barnes and Noble.

GFTW: Your novel lacks any clearly defined “evil” characters or clearly defined “good” characters. Why did you avoid the standard good vs. evil theme of fantasy?

Overstreet All of my favorite stories avoid dividing their characters into false categories of “Good Guys” and “Bad Guys.” I don’t believe in “Good” and “Bad” people.

I believe that all of us were designed by God, in God’s image, and that we have “eternity written in our hearts.” That means that everybody will give evidence of goodness in some way, even the worst villains.

But I also believe that we are all broken, deceived, and depraved in our appetites. Thus, even the best heroes will have moments of doubt, make mistakes, and sometimes behave irresponsibly.

When we insist on stories in which there are “bad people,” and suggest that the solution is the elimination of those “bad people,” that can carry over into devastating behavior in the real world. We live in a culture that perpetually abuses labels and categories for the sake of judging other people. Genocides begin with the idea that we can divide people into the “good” and the “bad.”

Now, in stories for small children, I think it’s useful to have simplistic “good guys and bad guys” because you are giving children figures that represent fears they must overcome, or virtues they should strive to imitate. But when storytelling becomes more sophisticated, it’s important to discourage any interpretations that will cause people to judge others and exalt themselves.

GFTW: My favorite quote from the novel is on page 254. “You want a gift from the king? Hear this: if you allow Abascar freedom, some people will choose what they shouldn’t. … But take away that freedom, and no one has opportunity to choose what they should.” Why is having a choice so important?

Overstreet: Wow, that’s a question that would take a book to answer! Here are a few thoughts:

In Auralia’s world, the king and queen of House Abascar take away their people’s power of creative expression. And they also forbid them to tell certain stories. The people of Abascar become resentful, because they are not able to ask certain questions, investigate mysteries, and express the mysteries within themselves. They can’t be human.

The king tells them that the world outside is dangerous, so he makes them stay inside the walls. And the world is dangerous. But if the people are forced to obey the king, without any choice in the matter, they have no chance to develop discernment. And worse, when they become afraid of the world around them, they become starved for beauty. Sure, they might be safer from some dangers inside of Abascar’s walls, but by walling themselves off from the world they’re creating an enclosed space, and new dangers will arise and flourish within that space. Worse, the people remove their chances of making a difference beyond the walls, so the world outside just spirals out of control.

It reminds me a bit of my own experience growing up. I was taught to avoid the world beyond the church because there were so many temptations out there. But as a result, my Christian community became rather isolated and had very little effect on the surrounding culture. We talked about “loving our neighbors,” but in truth, we were repulsed by our neighbors and we tried to create a society in which we could live apart from them. And guess what? Temptations and sins of all kinds festered within that community, so we were fooling ourselves by thinking we could withdraw from “the sinful world.”

We need freedom. And yes, freedom is dangerous, which is why we also need to be responsible and discerning.

GFTW: The ale boy, one of your primary and perhaps most interesting characters, lacks even a name. Why did you choose to make him nameless throughout the novel?

Overstreet: The reason is rather simple: I liked the sound of it.

It kindled my curiosity. And while some storytellers like to solve of the mysteries for the reader, I prefer reading books that leave mysteries, big and small, for me to ponder. This is one of those small mysteries in Auralia’s world.

As I began to write Auralia’s Colors, the ale boy was a minor character. My friend Danny Walter is an actor who pays close attention to characters and their voices. He started asking me questions about the ale boy. I started exploring possibilities, and realized that the ale boy had a much bigger part to play in the story.

I’m finishing the sequel, Cyndere’s Midnight, and I’m still discovering more about the ale boy. He has a particular call that he’s following, and it’s leading him into some rather horrifying places.

GFTW: What has been your favorite reaction to Auralia’s Colors from a reader or critic?

Overstreet That’s a tough question. I’ve been bowled over by the enthusiasm in the letters I’m receiving.

I thought I had made up the name “Auralia.” I experimented with combinations of letters from other names and words I like: aura, Laura, Leah. But then I received a letter from someone named Auralia. She bought the book simply because her name was on the cover! She informed me that the name means “golden lion of God.” That kind of freaked me out. I had no idea.

I had to chuckle when a fellow at Amazon gave the book a low rating because it reminded him of the writing of George Macdonald. Hey, I’ll take that as a compliment!

But my favorite responses have come from two extraordinary artists whose work has not received the kind of attention it deserves. They both wrote to say that they felt related to Auralia, because of her relentless creativity and her frustrations at how others take what she does for granted. That made the whole project worthwhile.

GFTW: What can you tell us about the sequel to Auralia’s Colors, Cyndere’s Midnight?

Overstreet: You could call it my version of Beauty and the Beast. But my version has two beauties and a whole pack of beasts.

Auralia’s Colors focuses on House Abascar. Cyndere’s Midnight takes you into a world of monsters — the ruins of House Cent Regus, where people have fallen under a curse that turns them into murderous beasts. You’ll catch glimpses of these beastmen in Auralia’s story, and you’ll learn about the mysterious monster who crept into Auralia’s hideaway in the first book.

It’s also about House Bel Amica, the wealthy and powerful society beside the sea. You’ll meet the heiress to the throne, Cyndere. Cyndere has the scandalous idea that there is a better way to deal with the beastmen than just hunting and killing them.

Things get out of control quickly when Auralia’s Colors bring together the heiress and a beastman, as well as the ale boy, Cyndere’s beautiful helper Emeriene, an ambitious soldier named Ryllion, and that dreamer from House Abascar named Cal-raven.

GFTW: Beyond the usual authors recommended (like Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Madeline L’Engle) whose works would you recommend that fantasy enthusiasts read?

Overstreet: When I first read Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin, I was enthralled. And I ended up marrying the woman who first recommended it to me. It’s set in New York, but it’s a New York so richly imagined that it’s a whole new wonderland. Helprin writes so beautifully that it could make you want to just give up writing.

I love the way Guy Gavriel Kay tells a story. In books like Sailing to Sarantium and The Lions of Al-Rassan, he imagines new worlds, but they’re firmly rooted in the details of actual human history. He gives us many different perspectives on a single world, from the rich to the poor, the young to the old. That is not only creative, but it’s compassionate. It trains us to consider other people’s perspectives, which is good for our hearts.

I also recommend Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast, for his exaggerated, spectacular descriptions; Mary Doria Russell’s The Sparrow, a powerful work of “theological science fiction”; and a little-known story by Michael Ende called Momo, which is a fairy tale just waiting for someone to turn it into a fantastic feature film.

GFTW: As a professional movie critic, what advice would you give to people (such as myself) on the best way to critique a work of art like movies or literature?

Overstreet: I spend quite a few pages in Through a Screen Darkly telling stories about what I’ve learned about writing film reviews. And I’ve included a guide there for movie discussion groups. I highly recommend starting a movie discussion group. We learn a lot about each other when we compare our responses to a work of art.

There are a lot of questions to consider when watching a movie, or reading a book for that matter: Don’t just ask, “Did you like it?” Talk about what worked and what didn’t. Ask what the artist’s intentions seemed to be, and then weigh whether you thought those goals were achieved. Consider the film’s intended audience: Who are they, how old are they, and will this film serve them? Consider the technical aspects of the film: Whose performance was memorable, and why? What did the filmmaker’s choices regarding color, design, editing, and music do for the film? Did anything in the work draw too much attention to itself?

But I’d also encourage people to examine their own feelings about the film. It may have been powerful, but did it reveal anything true? If it was disturbing, why did it disturb you? Was it a film condoning evil, or was it exposing evil so we can understand both good and evil better? Did it make you feel good? If so, how? Was it sentimental, or honest? Was it telling us what we want to hear, or was it telling the truth? Did it preach its message, or did it show us something and let us think for ourselves?

GFTW: Any parting thoughts or comments?

Overstreet: If anyone is interested in discussing Auralia’s Colors… or movies for that matter… everyone is invited to visit me at LookingCloser.org. That’s where you’ll find my archive of film reviews, and my blog, which I update almost every day.

GFTW: Thanks for taking the time.

For more, read Fantasy Debut's Interview with Jeffrey Overstreet.

This post is part of the CSFF blog tour for January 2008. Read posts from these other participants in the tour:

Brandon Barr Jim Black Justin Boyer Grace Bridges Jackie Castle Carol Bruce Collett Valerie Comer CSFF Blog Tour D. G. D. Davidson Chris Deanne Jeff Draper April Erwin Marcus Goodyear Andrea Graham Jill Hart Katie Hart Timothy Hicks Heather R. Hunt Becca Johnson Jason Joyner Kait Karen Carol Keen Mike Lynch Margaret Rachel Marks Shannon McNear Melissa Meeks Rebecca LuElla Miller Mirtika or Mir's Here Pamela Morrisson Eve Nielsen John W. Otte John Ottinger Deena Peterson Rachelle Steve Rice Cheryl Russel Ashley Rutherford Hanna Sandvig Chawna Schroeder James Somers Rachelle Sperling Donna Swanson Steve Trower Speculative Faith Jason Waguespac Laura Williams Timothy Wise

(Photos © Fritz Liedtke or Jeffrey Overstreet)

Posted by John at 10:55 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack | Posted to Christian SF&F | Fantasy | Interviews | Literature and Language
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Book Review: Auralia's Colors by Jeffrey Overstreet

* Genre: Fantasy
* ISBN: 1400072522
* ISBN-13: 9781400072521
* Format: Paperback, 336pp
* Publisher: WaterBrook Press
* Pub. Date: September 2007
* Series: Auralia Strand Series
* My Interview with Jeffrey Overstreet

In the story of Esther, a young woman marries a king and changes the kingdom for the better, at least in the case of the Jews, the lowest caste. Auralia’s Colors, by Jeffrey Overstreet, is reminiscent of this story from the Old Testament. As with Esther, Auralia is a young woman of beauty and talent that changes the society that shuns her so much that it can never return to the way it was.

Overstreet, a nonfiction writer known for his movie reviews and perspectives on art and entertainment, has turned to fantasy for his first foray into fiction. A psychological and emotional story, Auralia’s Colors tells the story of Auralia, a foundling gifted with the ability to weave the items of the forest into beautiful cloths. House Abascar’s attempt at creating equality by removing colored items from all people and only distributing it by the king’s favor has only deepened the gulf between the poor and the rich. People have become more selfish as they have sought to curry the King’s favor an the caste system has only become more deeply striated. Auralia’s ability with color upsets all that the people of Abascar had come to know in the last twenty years since color had been outlawed, and this fragile house, led by a drunken king, is unlikely to withstand the torrent her power unleashes.

More a series of character studies than a comprehensive novel, the narrative follows Prince Cal-raven, his betrothed Stricia, the ale boy, Auralia, and a few others as the seek to live in the deeply broken society of House Abascar. Each character suffers under various pressures and each reacts differently. Some rise to heroism, some devolve into selfishness, and some becoming something more than they thought they were, and all because Auralia had walked through their lives.

The novel focuses on the emotions and reactions of the characters not description of the events that occur. I felt that the narrative was thinly woven together and that I didn’t really know what was going on throughout the story. It made the narrative seem broken and disjointed, as most the action was seen only through a veil of thick emotion, making it harder to understand what was going on. Overstreet prefers to use metaphor and simile to describe what is going on, rather than using direct description. This gives the novel the feel of poetry, but for those readers who are dense with poetry, this is more frustrating than entertaining. Additionally, Auralia’s Colors has lots of things happen, but it seems as if Overstreet kept changing his mind as to what story he was trying to tell. Is it the story of the ale boy? Or Auralia? Or Prince Cal-raven? I couldn’t tell, and the lack of clearly defined hero or heroine was unexpected and difficult for me as a reader. In fantasy, writers usually have a clearly defined evil, and a clearly defined good, even when an anti-hero drives the narrative. Auralia’s Colors is weaving together several lives into a garment of brilliant colors that will change the future of House Abascar irrevocably. The disconnected threads of the story are only brought together in the final few chapters.

But some readers may like this fact. It is often very hard for people to know what is evil and what is good. When should a subject break a king’s laws? At what point has benevolence moved into dictatorship? And is it the place of the king to create equality among his subjects? Overstreet brings this third question to the fore on page 254, “You want a gift from the king? Hear this: if you allow Abascar freedom, some people will choose what they shouldn’t. … But take away that freedom, and no one has opportunity to choose what they should.”

If as a reader you are looking for a philosophical novel this book will be good for you. It addresses themes of right and wrong, government and the people, hope and despair. But it should not be a book the reader picks up expecting to read quickly or easily. It will make its readers think and will challenge them as they turn the pages.

Auralia’s Colors is very well-written. Although its narrative seemed to lack cohesion (it doesn't, it just seems to) for its majority, the questions about life it raises are worth exploring. Although none of the characters are particularly compelling, the interplay between them is. The tapestry woven through their stories is beautiful and is completed through a cataclysmic event that brings all the threads together. The descriptions have the feel of poetry and the narrative is vibrant with color. Auralia’s Colors is the first in a series of books that weave together the threads of different lives, changing the world and society that they are a part of into something completely new. I recommend Auralia’s Colors as a good but challenging read.

You should also read the reviews by Graeme's Fantasy Book Review, Fantasy Debut, Fantasy Book Critic and OF Blog of the Fallen, as their perspectives are quite different from mine.

This post is part of the CSFF blog tour for January 2008. Read posts from these other participants in the tour:

Brandon Barr Jim Black Justin Boyer Grace Bridges Jackie Castle Carol Bruce Collett Valerie Comer CSFF Blog Tour D. G. D. Davidson Chris Deanne Jeff Draper April Erwin Marcus Goodyear Andrea Graham Jill Hart Katie Hart Timothy Hicks Heather R. Hunt Becca Johnson Jason Joyner Kait Karen Carol Keen Mike Lynch Margaret Rachel Marks Shannon McNear Melissa Meeks Rebecca LuElla Miller Mirtika or Mir's Here Pamela Morrisson Eve Nielsen John W. Otte John Ottinger Deena Peterson Rachelle Steve Rice Cheryl Russel Ashley Rutherford Hanna Sandvig Chawna Schroeder James Somers Rachelle Sperling Donna Swanson Steve Trower Speculative Faith Jason Waguespac Laura Williams Timothy Wise

Posted by John at 10:29 AM | Comments (9) | TrackBack | Posted to Christian SF&F | Fantasy
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Book Review: Bad-Ass Faeries edited by Danielle Ackley-McPhail (et al.)

* Genre: Fantasy, Short Fiction
* ISBN: 1892669404
* ISBN-13: 9781892669407
* Format: Paperback, 216pp
* Publisher: Marietta Publishing Company
* Pub. Date: May 2007

Although I disapprove of the title, I still found Bad-Ass Faeries edited by Danielle Ackley-McPhail, to be a pretty good collection of stories. At least, that’s true if you discount the one or two stories that really boiled down to faerie porn. Which, ironically, is part of the humor in the story by Den C. Wilson, Heart of Vengeance (Well, elf porn, anyway). All, in all though, the collection is pretty good. It is targeted in its concept, but broad in its application. There are science fiction stories, high fantasy stories, westerns, and even a couple of noir mysteries. And yet all center on the faerie race, at least as a starting point.

Divided into five sections, these nineteen stories are short, roughly six to ten pages in length, but without the text being too small to read. The illustrations appear only at the beginning of each section, with each story’s first page sitting in frames. The frames do cause some odd sentence breaks at the end of the pages, due to the way the frame is laid out, but it is not really a problem. I disliked the illustrations throughout and on the cover. Although they were three dimensional, they looked more like an art student’s sketches than professional work. This will be a turn off to the casual reader, but I suggest reading some of the stories before judging on the basis of illustrations and cover.

Rather than summarize all nineteen stories, I’d like to focus on a few I enjoyed. Den C. Wilson’s Heart of Vengeance takes an ironic look at the types of folks who end up at science fiction and fantasy conventions. Even better, this is one of the rare few that works with faeries outside of the usual standard Celtic and or Western style fairy.

House Arrest by Keith R. A. DeCandido takes the traditional brownie story and turns it on its head. What happens, after all, when a house fairy doesn’t get his milk? This story had, for me, a surprising ending and I thought this to be a clever little story.

The Last Night of the Lazarus Brothers by C. J. Henderson was one of the noir mysteries. The ending ultimately surprised me, especially since I thought that this story was just going to be standard Christian bashing, but ended up being quite different. The answer to "who did it?" is a neat little twist.

There were several I thought ruined the value of the anthology as a whole. They wanted more to talk about sex than to really tell a story. Those kinds of stories belong elsewhere, in collections for people who like that sort of fiction. Obviously, a sexual reference or two is not what I am writing about. There were two in particular that I felt elevated the sexual aspect of the story from simple being an element of the story or creating tension in it to faerie porn. Snow in July by Jeff Lyman uses a very descriptive sex scene to have two characters relate to each other. One character seduces another to sex in the air, and then forces that other character to fall by stopping beating her wings. The intent was to have one character teach another about danger. Well, the danger could have a occurred simply by holding another and stopping the wing beat, no sex needed, especially not when words like “thrust” and “foreplay” enter into the narrative. Well, that makes t more porn than story for me at least.

This was only the most egregious use, Pennidreadful by Lorne Dixon was also more crass about sex than was necessary to make the story interesting. In this case, we do hate Pennidreadful the character more as result, but there were other ways to show her evil nature or selfish need than to have her masturbate. This was a poor choice for inclusion.

Many of the stories are good, and the reader will have to take the good with the bad. The good stories are worth it to pick up this anthology and Danielle Ackley-McPhail, the chief editor, made some good choices. All of the editors included their own stories in the collection (the others are L. Jagi Lamplighter, Lee Hillman, and Jeff Lyman) something I usually dislike editors doing.

Bad-Ass Faeries is an eclectic and interesting collection that succeeds despite the dirty minds of some of its contributors. None of the stories is the same and several have very neat take on fairies. If you like faeries you’ll enjoy this collection, although as the title intimates, these aren’t your normal faeries.

The entire list of stories is below:

"Bad-Ass Faeries" by Monica Richards
"Image"Futuristic Cybernetic Faerie Assassin Hasballah" by Adam P. Knave
"Make Love, Not War" by Lee C. Hillman
"Heart of Vengeance" by Den C. Wilson
"Ballad of the Seven Up Sprite" by Brian Koscienski & Chris Pisano
"Snow in July" by Jeff Lyman
"House Arrest" by Keith R.A. DeCandido
"A Pressing Problem" by Donald W. Schank
"Hidden in the Folds" by Jesse Harris
"Pennidreadful" by Lorne Dixon
"On Oberon’s Throne" by L. Jagi Lamplighter
"Sally Smiles" by James Chambers
"The Faerie Queen of Lo Mein" by Vincent Collins
"Hollow Dreams" by Elaine Corvidae
"Wings of Soul" by R. Allen Leider
"At the Crossroads" by Danielle Ackley-McPhail
"Down These Mean Streets a Faerie Must Go" by John Sunseri
"ENDGAME" by Patrick Thomas
"The Last Night of the Lazarus Brothers" by CJ Henderson

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Book Review: The Tales of the Last War edited by Mark Sehestedt

* Genre: Fantasy, Shared World Fiction
* ISBN: 0786939869
* ISBN-13: 9780786939862
* Format: Mass Market Paperback, 352pp
* Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
* Pub. Date: April 2006

When Wizards of the Coast’s new shared world, Eberron, first came out, there was some doubt as to whether Eberron was really any different from Forgotten Realms or Dragonlance. After all, the same races appear and lots of the magical abilities are the same, so what makes Eberron so different? The Tales of the Last War, edited by Mark Sehestedt, answers that question in spades.

The first Eberron novel I read, The Orb of Xoriat by Edward Bolme, gave a fair impression of how the world of Eberron was unique. The lightning rail, the airships, the dragonhawks, and the nation-states were fair example of some of the differences. But one thing that The Orb of Xoriat did not do was delve deeply into the war-forged. These sentient machines are so completely alien to either of Wizard’s other popular worlds that these alone give it uniqueness. Add to that that nations, rather than city states are the powers, and that elemental magic, rather than standard wizardry is the more common use of magic, and the world is unique enough to be considered its own.

The Tales of the Last War is a collection of short stories (including one from the creator of Eberron, Keith Baker) that show the variety of the Eberron world. All of the stories are set during or just after the Last War, the “war to end all wars” whose earthly counterpart is none other than our own World War I. The kingdom of Galifar has been torn apart into competing nations (fall of Rome, anyone?) and in one case, Cyre’s, the nation has been completely obliterated near the close of the war.

Many of the stories center on refugees from Cyre or Cyre during the war itself, as in many cases it is Cyre against everybody else. This collection will really give the reader an excellent introduction to Eberron as a campaign setting. And for those readers who read my review of The Orb of Xoriat by Edward Bolme, you will be please to note that he tells another story of Teron the monk in The Weight of Water which tells a story about how a little can do a lot. My favorite story of the lot was The Veiled Charge since it got deeper into the lightning rail concept, one of the most unique features of Eberron. (The lightning rail is essentially a train run by electrical elementals.)

• Death at Whitehearth by Keith Baker uses the characters from his Dreaming Dark trilogy to give us a glimpse of the war-forged and explore the idea of sentient tools. Keith’s writing in this story was little rough, but the plot twist was unexpected.

• Death Before Dawn by Paul Crilley is a straight up mystery has an obvious conclusion, but is still nice to read.

• The Blade of the Flame by Tim Waggoner was a good story because it dealt with the difference between possession by evil spirits and disorders of the mind. The two are not always easily separated, and this is question that has plagued religions since the dawn of neuroscience. Interesting approach to Eberron, since the world is on the cusp of moving into an “Age of Enlightenment” in some ways.

• Distant Fires by Aaron Rosenberg was not really a story I felt belonged in this collection, but was still an okay read.

• The Veiled Charge by David A. Page was great because it really got into the lightning rail concept. It also explained better how the world of Eberron reacts with other planes of existence. In Forgotten Realms, the line is thin, but in Eberron it seems to be much thicker, although not impassable.

• The Weight of Water by Edward Bolme is a great story about how a little ingenuity can often trump brute physical force. Continues the story of Teron the Aundarian monk.

• War Machines -- 992 YK by Ian Burton-Oakes has war forged as its primary characters so like none of the other stories provides a window into their way of thinking.

• Call of the Silver Flame by James Wyatt a good introduction to some of the history of Eberron. For those who like vampires in their fantasy, this one’s for you. Is a precursor to Wyatt’ Draconic Prophecies trilogy.

• Flight of the Righteous Indignation by Ari Marmell is a horror story that can only be described as Alien for Eberron.

This collection is an excellent way to get into the world of Eberron and get a really broad bird’s eye view of what this relatively new campaign setting has to offer. All of the stories are entertaining. Some are mysteries some straight up action/adventure stories, and even one that is a bit of a horror story. I enjoyed the read. It took only a few hours to read through, and Sehestedt organized them well, from beginning to end, so that it is easy for the reader to learn more about Eberron with each successive story. I now wish that I had read The Tales of the Last War before reading The Orb of Xoriat, just so that the world would have been more familiar to me, even if it meant reading the story of Teron out of order. If you like shared world fiction, or even just good fantasy short stories, this is a collection worth reading.

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Book Review: The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes

* Genre: Urban Fantasy, Mystery
* ISBN: 0061375381
* ISBN-13: 9780061375385
* Format: Hardcover, 368pp
* Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
* Pub. Date: February 05, 2008

"Be warned. This book has no literary merit whatsoever. It is a lurid piece of nonsense, convoluted, implausible, peopled by unconvincing characters, written in drearily pedestrian prose, frequently ridiculous and willfully bizarre. Needless to say, I doubt you'll believe a word of it."

Any novel that warns you, up front and without any real apology, that it will be a bad a piece of fiction, certainly piques my interest. In The Somnambulist, Jonathan Barnes does just that. Told entirely as a history from a witness to the proceedings, this novel, while unoriginal, was still fun to read.

Those moviegoers who saw The Illusionist or The Prestige (also a book by Christopher Priest) will be delighted with Barnes’ tale. The chief character is Edward Moon, a magician and conjurer whose sidekick is the mute and amazingly impervious Somnambulist. Like the characters in those movies, Moon has a gift for observation, a skill that in Victorian London gives provides him with the diversion of amateur detecting. His methods are similar to those of his contemporary Sherlock Holmes, although Barnes does not write of them in any detail. When two brutal murders occur that seem unexplainable by Scotland Yard, Moon is brought in to help solve them. In the meantime, the Directorate, represented chiefly by the albino, Skimpole, wants to have Moon work on a separate case that the Directorate believes means that the city of London’s survival itself is at stake. Moon is convinced that the two cases are connected and sets out to discover the truth, along the way meeting the stranger characters of Victorian London such as a bearded lady, a man traveling backward in time, a famous poet, and a human fly.

What Barnes has done with his novel is not truly original. Like Christopher Priest’s The Prestige and The Illusionist starring Edward Norton and Jessica Biel, Barnes novel is a gothic Victorian tale centered on the character of a magician. Also copying Neil Gaiman’s novel and miniseries Neverwhere, The Somnambulist uses the characters of London’s history (Gog and Magog, Lud) as part of the warp and weft of the story. He even goes so far as to introduce a pair of murderers that are very nearly carbon copies of Gaiman’s Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemaar. This will make the novel appeal to fans of those books and movies certainly, but it makes me wonder at Barnes ethics.

Still, the novel is very fun to read. The story is fast pace and exciting. The identity of the villain is not revealed till late in the book and I must confess, I was surprised at who it was, although it should have been obvious. This is a mark of a good mystery. The scenes are varied and interesting, but not always well-connected. The ideology of the villain is fantastic and humorous. It provides a few chuckles through the narrator’s sardonic wit.

Barnes has a great facility with the English language. All though not difficult to understand or verbose, Barnes is not afraid to use large words where a simple one would work. Take the title for instance, The Somnambulist. Somnambulism is essentially sleepwalking, but sleepwalking is not really a part of the story, but the word is interesting. It does provide some of the metaphor for the story, as Moon's name, the Somnambulist and a character called the Sleeper all relate back to the title. It is also the name of Moon’s conjuring assistant, who is a minor character throughout the story, but who plays a vital role in the climax. The title is actually really unrelated to the story, having only a tenuous connection to the plot, so I do feel that the publishers did the book a disservice by calling it that. Barnes’ use of weird and wonderful words gives the story a panache that greatly enhanced my enjoyment of it.

Although the story is unexceptional in plot, the characters are interesting if lacking in depth (but I was warned about that, after all.). All are the dregs and outcasts of London society, or at least those on their way out, such as Moon. Choosing such characters story drive the story adds a bit of penny-dreadful sensationalism to the novel. The only characters whose psyches we really explore are Moon’s, the narrator’s, and Skimpole’s and those really only on the surface. Barnes is telling a mystery/adventure story in the setting of Victorian London so the reader should approach this as a story that is fun to read but in any way philosophical.

Barnes’ use of the first person narration and the memoir style of writing are part of the fun of reading it. I spent a goodly portion of the book wondering who the unreliable narrator was, and the reveal of who he is in fact is rather fun scene. The narrator interjects, to humorous effect, several times into the story. It reminded me a lot of the novel I, Strahd in its style although with a more humorous cast. I’d like to see Jonathan Barnes use this style again, as I think he cleverly uses it.

I thought that this was very fun to read. Barnes has a wit and humor of the type I enjoy. The novel is that type of story that author John Zakour would call “bubblegum for the brain”. It is entertainment for a horrible-no good, very bad day. Fans of Gaiman’s urban fantasy will enjoy this novel (although they should be aware that there are some very suspicious similarities) as well as any moviegoer who enjoyed the mystery of The Illusionist (though it is not quite so clever). There are a lot of correlations between this book and Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell although where that was literary in form (and massive), The Somnambulist is pulp fiction (and short).The Somnambulist is a comedy and a farce, written to make its reader’s laugh. If you are looking for some light entertainment this is an excellent novel to pick up.

Posted by John at 03:37 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | General Fiction | Mystery
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Book Review: Robin Hood and the Beasts of Sherwood by Clayton Emery

* Genre: Historical Fantasy
* ISBN: 0595206433
* ISBN-13: 9780595206438
* Format: Paperback, 240pp
* Publisher: iUniverse, Incorporated
* Pub. Date: January 2002

Robin Hood and the Beasts of Sherwood is an unusual novel. It is a strange hybrid of genres, part fantasy, part history, and part mystery. Clayton Emery avoids the standard tropes of the Robin Hood mythos and creates something entirely new to add to the Robin Hood legend.

In Emery’s Robin Hood, the defeat of the Sheriff of Nottingham did not result in the Merry Men’s return from the forests of Sherwood to the realm of civilization. After the previous, cruel Sheriff’s death, he was simply replaced by a kinder, although just as Norman, new Sheriff. Guy of Gisbourne still lurks in the shadows, trying to kill Robin and gain Marian for himself. And King Richard has not yet returned from his incarceration in Austria, his ransom not yet paid. Robin and his band of Merry Men turns out to be twelve men and their families, along with a few others living a subsistence life in the forest of Sherwood. This setting is a far cry from Howard Pyle’s rendition of the legend or the Errol Flynn movies.

Robin and Marian are leading their small company as best they can. But Guy still seeks their destruction, albeit without the help of the Sheriff of Nottingham. Seeking out a hedge witch, Guy has her create a beast, a boar with supernatural speed, strength, and power over the weather. In the meantime, a false Robin Hood is killing and raping poor peasants in the forest of Sherwood, blackening Robin of Locksley’s good name. Adding misery to trouble, Robin is called to fulfill his vow of fealty to the King, and attend him in London, bringing his band with him, effectively ending their life in Sherwood. Robin and Marian are forced to confront all of these threats to their way of life, even to the point of calling upon the magic of faerie and Hern the Hunter to help.

Emery’s Robin Hood and the Beasts of Sherwood was first published in 1988 by Baen Books and then republished in 2001 by the iUniverse. Emery has created a series of mysteries involving Robin Hood and Marian which have gained some popularity among historical mystery fans (read this one or this one for free). But Robin Hood and the Beasts of Sherwood is more of a fantasy and action story than a mystery. Effectively, Emery is creating a situation which will lead to the breakup of their way of life. A future historical fantasy novel involving Robin and Marian is planned for release in 2008 as an ebook. He is also the author of many Forgotten Realms and Magic: The Gathering novels and short stories.

This novel fails in three ways. First, there are a plethora of spelling and or grammatical mistakes. For instance, the author uses “breath” when he means “breathe” or forgets a possessive noun such as “he” or “she” when it is needed in a sentence. This is probably a result of it being self published in this new edition (iUniverse is a self-publishing company) more than anything. Self-editing is never perfect, and this shows clearly why that is the case.

Secondly, Emery has a fascination with genitals and sex. At the beginning of each chapter, Emery describes the beasts of Sherwood, deer, badger, bird, and shows the forest of Sherwood through their eyes. This is neat idea and one of the strengths of the novel. But more often than not, these opening scenes are in some way related to sex. Here is the opening sentence to chapter six. “The young buck sniffed the doe's vagina and licked at her urine.“ For the story, this is an unnecessary thing and could have been written in another way. As well, interactions between women and men in Clayton’s story always have sexual tension. Of course, in some places this makes sense, such as when a man and woman compete against each other in sword bout. But other times it is not needed and serves no purpose for the story.

Thirdly, Emery likes to sidetrack his story by having his characters tell short stories. Sometimes in a novel this works, but more often than not it is sidetracking and filler for the novelist. Although two of the stories do have something to do with a subplot, and one provides an unlooked for solution to a problem, Emery would have done better to simply allude to the events related, rather than tell the entire story. It is almost as if he wrote this back story for the novel and wanted to make sure wit was included. Or perhaps his novel was too short and he needed to flesh it out. Either way, it is a detractor to the narrative.

Robin Hood and the Beasts of Sherwood has some successes as well. Opening each chapter with the point of view of a different beast of Sherwood was a clever addition to the narrative, and Emery uses it well, for the most part. Emery also doesn’t fall into standard tropes of the Robin Hood mythos, and so adds reality to the story, without taking away from the legend. Unlike other writers who have sought a historical basis for Robin Hood, Emery chooses instead to embrace the realities of England in the twelfth century while adding a dollop of the unreal to keep the feel of legend in the story.

Robin Hood and the Beasts of Sherwood is in a category of fantasy all its own. It fits into none of the generally accepted genres or subgenres and is interesting enough for that fact alone. Although I disapprove of some of the inclusions of Emery, I still found that I couldn’t put the book down. I just had to find out how Robin and Marian were going to get out of the mess Emery had backed them into. Robin Hood fans will probably not like Emery’s take on their favorite legend, nor will fans of fantasy find enough of the fantastic to sate their appetite. The history is mere background and lacks any real depth, so fans of historical fiction will not enjoy it much. If you can find Robin Hood and the Beasts of Sherwood I can’t recommend that you read it. But if you do choose to read it, you will wonder why you can’t seem to put it down even with its annoying flaws. I certainly did.

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Another interview of mine posted at SF Crowsnest

My interview with John Joseph Adams, slush editor at The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction has been re-published in this month's SF Crowsnest.

Posted by John at 10:41 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | Personal Journal | Science Fiction
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GRRM, Elizabeth Bear, Hal Duncan, and Tolkien

Elizabeth Bear has posted the full text of her short story "Tideline" at her website. It was originally published in Asimov's Science Fiction.

George R. R. Martin has posted an excerpt from A Dance With Dragons involving Jon. Now if he would only finish the dang thing!

A discussion has been sparked by Hal Duncan over at Omnivoracious about how SF and Fantasy are really all the same thing.

Oh, and Happy Birthday to J. R. R. Tolkien!

Posted by John at 08:34 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy
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A Year of Reading 2008

This is a continually updated list of all the books I have read in the year 2008. Links are to reviews I have written for some of these books. You can also look at my list for 2007.

January February March April May June
July August September October November December

January

Series 65: Uniform Investment Adviser Law Exam Manual by Kaplan Financial
The Prodigal Troll by Charles Coleman Finlay
Instant Knowledge by the editors at mental_floss
The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes
In The Beginning by the editors at mental_floss
Eberron: Bound by Iron by Edward Bolme
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
Bash Down the Door and Slice Open the Badguy edited by W. H. Horner
Hunter's Run by George R. R. Martin, Gardner Dozois and Daniel Abraham
A Bit of Madness by Emmanuel Civiello and Thomas Mosdi
Goblin Hero by Jim C. Hines
The Shadow and Night by Chris Walley
Dragon Outcast by E. E. Knight

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

January February March April May June
July August September October November December

Posted by John at 02:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Blogging | Business | Christian SF&F | Eberron | Fantasy | Forgotten Realms | General Fiction | Graphic Novels | History | Humor | Literature and Language | Mystery | Nonfiction | Politics | Religion | Science Fiction | Travel | Young Adult/Children's Literature
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A Year of Reading 2007

The Year is Done! I hope you had a great one and have high hopes for 2008. Below is a list of all the books I read in 2007 (I like to keep track because I am just that hyper-organized). The final five have reviews written that I just haven't posted because every review deserves a suitable amount of time at the top of the blog. You will see them in January of 2008.

January February March April May June
July August September October November December

January

Tuf Voyaging by George R. R. Martin
Condensed Knowledge by the editors at mental_floss
Crown of Stars by Kate Elliott
In the Ruins by Kate Elliott
Gifts by Ursula K. Le Guin
Changing Planes by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson
The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke
Monks and Mystics by Mindy and Brandon Withrow
Outposts: Journeys to the Surviving Relics of the British Empire by Simon Winchester
Dying of the Light by George R. R. Martin
Life@Work by John Maxwell
The Children of Men by P.D. James
Forgotten Realms: Frostfell by Mark Sehestedt
The Druids by Peter Berresford Ellis

February

The Magic of Recluce by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
Forgotten Realms: Sacrifice of the Widow by Lisa Smedman
Dragon Champion by E. E. Knight
Forgotten Realms: Double Diamond Triangle Saga by Various Authors
Outwitting History by Aaron Lansky
Forbidden Knowledge by the editors at mental_floss

March

Three Blind Mice and Other Stories by Agatha Christie
Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories by Agatha Christie
Rome 2006 by Rick Steves
Supplement to the Italian Dictionary by Bruno Munari
Keats and Italy by Various Authors
The Last Sin Eater by Francine Rivers
Teacher Man by Frank McCourt
Night by Elie Wiesel
Dachshunds for Dummies by Eve Adamson
Legend by David Gemmell
Midshipwizard Halcyon Blithe by James M. Ward

April

Forgotten Realms: Depths of Madness by Erik Scott de Bie
The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories by Agatha Christie
The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
Shakespeare's Kings by John Julius Norwich
On Becoming a Leader by Warren Bennis
The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain
Black Gate: Issue 10 Spring 2007 by John O'Neill (ed.) and Howard Andrew Jones (ed.)
Forgotten Realms - Unclean: The Haunted Lands, Book I by Richard Lee Byers

May

Dragon Avenger by E. E. Knight
Eldest by Christopher Paolini
Scatterbrained by the editors at Mental_Floss
The Prestige by Christopher Priest
Real Estate Finance for Investment Properties by Steve Berges
The Clerk's Tale by Margaret Frazer
The Bastard's Tale by Margaret Frazer
The Hunter's Tale by Margaret Frazer
Forgotten Realms - The Gossamer Plain: The Empyrean Odyssey Book 1 by Thomas M. Reid
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The King's Buccaneer by Raymond E. Fiest
The King Beyond the Gate by David Gemmell
The Unhandsome Prince by John Moore
A Fate Worse than Dragons by John Moore
Maskerade by Terry Pratchett
The Truth by Terry Pratchett
Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett

June

Interesting Times by Terry Pratchett
The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Night Watch by Terry Pratchett
Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett
A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
The Restorer by Sharon Hinck
Another Fine Myth/Myth Conceptions by Robert Asprin
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Father of Dragons by L. B. Graham

July

Black History Through Blue Eyes: The Debt the World Owes to Africa by James Seymour
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Forgotten Realms: Scream of Stone, The Watercourse Trilogy Book III by Philip Athans
The Case of the Missing Books by Ian Sansom
Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees
Dangerous Visions edited by Harlan Ellison
The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
The Widow's Tale by Margaret Frazer
A Rhyming History of Britain by James Muirden, David Eccles (Illustrator)

August

More Than A Hobby by David Green
Real Estate Investment Trusts: Structure, Performance, and Investment Opportunities by Su Han Chan, John Erickson, Ko Wang
Tipperary: A Novel by Frank Delaney
Explorer's House: National Geographic and the World It Made by Robert M. Poole
Forgotten Realms: The Howling Delve by Jaleigh Johnson
A Life Well Spent: The Eternal Rewards of Investing Yourself and Your Money in Your Family by Russ Crosson
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
The Telling by Ursula K. Le Guin

September

Black Gate Issue #11 by John O'Neill (ed.)
The Surrogates by Robert Venditti, Brett Weldele
Shadowstorm by Paul S. Kemp
Forgotten Realms: Swords of Dragonfire by Ed Greenwood
Forgotten Realms: Shadowstorm by Paul S. Kemp
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
Honored Enemy by Raymond E. Feist and William R. Fortschen
Murder in LaMut by Raymond E. Feist and Joel Rosenberg
Forgotten Realms: Storm of the Dead by Lisa Smedman
The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What it Means for All of Us by Robyn Meredith
The Innocent Mage by Karen Miller
Union of Renegades by Tracy Falbe
Winterbirth by Brian Ruckley

October

Wind Follower by Carole McDonnell
The Sagittarius Command by R. M. Meluch
The Summoner by Gail Z. Martin
Making Money by Terry Pratchett
Crystal Rain by Tobias Buckell
Goblin Quest by Jim C. Hines

November

Scarlet by Stephen R. Lawhead
The Princes of the Golden Cage by Nathalie Mallet
Green Rider by Kristen Britain
The Phoenix Unchained by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory
Forgotten Realms: Stardeep by Bruce Cordell
The Awakened Mage by Karen Miller
Forgotten Realms: The Orc King by R. A. Salvatore
Ragamuffin by Tobias Buckell
A Prayer for the Damned by Peter Tremayne
The Blue Haired Bombshell by John Zakour
Hedge Hunters by Katherine Burton
Sails and Sorcery: Tales of Nautical Fantasy edited by W. H. Horner
Shimmer, The Pirate Issue edited by John Joseph Adams

December

Eberron: The Orb of Xoriat by Edward Bolme
Sojourn: The Sorcerer's Tale by Ian Edgington and Greg Land
Across the Face of the World by Russell Kirkpatrick
Forgotten Realms: Crypt of the Moaning Diamond by Rosemary Jones
Fellowship Fantastic by Martin H. Greenberg and Kerrie Hughes
Genetopia by Keith Brooke
The Tales of the Last War edited by Mark Sehestedt
Bad A** Faeries edited by Danielle Ackley-McPhail
Robin Hood and the Beasts of Sherwood by Clayton Emery
Tides by Scott Mackay
Auralia's Colors by Jeffrey Overstreet

January February March April May June
July August September October November December

Posted by John at 11:10 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack | Posted to Business | Christian SF&F | Fantasy | Forgotten Realms | General Fiction | Graphic Novels | History | Humor | Literature and Language | Mystery | Nonfiction | Politics | Religion | Science Fiction
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Book Review: Fellowship Fantastic edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Kerrie Hughes

* Genre: Fantasy, Short Story
* ISBN: 0756404657
* ISBN-13: 9780756404659
* Format: Mass Market Paperback, 320pp
* Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) - DAW
* Pub. Date: January 02, 2008

Fellowship is usually defined as friendship or a close association of person who share a similar interest. In fantasy, the most revered fellowship is Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Ring, a disparate group of people united in common cause. But Fellowship can come in many forms; it can be a close friendship of two people, as sisters or boon companions. Or it can be a group of people who never knew one another before, but through tragedy form lasting bonds to one another. Or it can even be two people who find mutual benefit in using one another and so remain closely tied. Sometimes, it is even interspecies.

Each of these styles of fellowship and more are represented in Fellowship Fantastic, a collection of thirteen stories by experienced authors, gathered under the editorial skills of Martin H. Greenberg and Kerri Hughes. Each of these stories is a treat to read, and Greenberg and Hughes have chosen well in the stories they included. Each story is derived from a different subgenre of speculative fiction, and each looks at the idea of fellowship and its meaning from varied perspectives. Although the cover of the anthology might lead the reader to think that the majority of these stories are about childhood friendship, this is not the case. In these stories, the authors have explored adult friendships, both in group and two person settings.

For readers who enjoy short fiction, this anthology is one of those rare collections that lacks a truly “bad” story. Each story is well-crafted, although some more than others. Paul Genesse explores the connection between two friends that are Almost Brothers in his epic style fantasy. Donald J. Bingle’s The Quest will ring true with anyone who has participated in online gaming, and the transfer of virtual sacrifice into reality is a compelling argument for the value of friendship that can be taught through such games. Sweet Threads by Jody Lynn Nye, shows the reader that where one person cannot succeed alone, two can overcome any odds in her fantasy. In the science fiction story Trophy Wives Nina Kiriki Hoffman asks what can happen when two people share not just friendship, but a mind to mind link. Christopher Pierson’s Eye of Heaven shows just how the bonds of friendship, loyalty and trust can survive even past death. Overcast, by Alan Dean Foster wonders at the unique relationship between a man and his pet, even a pet that can throw lightning. Brenda Cooper’s Friends of the High Hills creates a pseudo Celtic story that brings the world of magic close to our own, and describes how the bonds of family exist even between worlds. Scars Enough is a haunting ghost story in which Russell Davis delves into a betrayed friendship and the aftereffects of betrayed trust. Steven Schend weaves interplay between two friends whose viewpoints on magic, religion, and science put them on opposite sides of a playing filed in Concerning a Gambit on Fraternity. Fiona Patton returns to The County to tell another story of the strangely magical families and the comradeship between brothers in Revenge is a Dish Best Served with Beers. S. Andrew Swann creates an alternate literary history for Holmes and Watson – er, excuse me – Helms and Wilson in the murder mystery The Enigma of the Serbian Scientist. Cirque de Lumiere by Brad Beaulieu finds that even antagonistic fellowships can be important. And Friendly Advice by Alexander B. Potter reminds the reader that even when used by them, a friend will stick by those who broke their trust.

As a reader, there were two I found particularly enjoyable, and one that I greatly disliked. To me, Friends of the High Hills lacked cohesion. Cooper had so many characters moving in and around each other, and behaving strangely that I lost the flow of the narrative and couldn’t get it back again. That, coupled with the predictable final revelation, made for a mundane and uninteresting story. For instance, while the girls were on the run from Grandma Nelson, it would have been reasonable to assume that Grandma, in her desire to return the girls to her own world, would have been single minded in her doggedness to catch the girls. Yet she stops to have tea and chitchat. This didn’t make much sense. Also, the magical Grandma Nelson seems easily to be able to find the girls, yet she does chase and lose them. This event is hard to understand if it is true that she is able to magically locate them, as seems implied in the text. This was probably the poorest story in the bunch, although female readers who have a sister will resonate with the theme.

The best stories in this anthology were The Quest and The Enigma of the Serbian Scientist, which is odd, considering that neither is truly fantasy in the strictest sense. Bingle’s The Quest gives the reader an example of modern day heroism, of personal sacrifice for the greater good. Like many real stories coming out of the War in Iraq, one person sacrifices himself for the good of his group, saving them from certain death. The Quest is especially poignant in that it creates heroes out of a traditionally derided group of folks, the online gamers. Gamers are often accused of being false heroes, of creating fantasy situations of heroism in order to boost self-esteem. But what if that desire to be a hero was translated into a real world situation? Bingle does this in The Quest and the sacrifice related in the narrative was heart wrenching.

The Enigma of the Serbian Scientist by S. Andrew Swann reintroduces the historical figures of Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison, in a murder mystery that can only be solved by an alternate Sherlock Holmes. The stories connection to fellowship is tenuous, as it builds on the readers’ prior knowledge of the relationship between Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, renamed Helms and Wilson in this story, but it is still interesting to read and is an unusual choice for this collection. Therefore, if nothing else, it stands out for its distinctiveness as well as its craft.

Ultimately, anyone who has ever enjoyed the closeness of fellowship and friendship in any of its forms will find a story that resonates clearly in their hearts and minds. Greenberg and Hughes have collected thirteen stories that cover many speculative fiction genres, but that all explore the unique relationship that is a fellowship. These stories are comrades in literature, each supporting the others weaknesses, and filling in the gaps as to what fellowship means for the human heart.

I recommend this anthology. The stories are solid, written by authors widely acknowledged as accomplished in the art of the short story. The reader will not be taking a chance on new authors only beginning their craft. Greenberg’s legendary editorial talent shines through, and Kerrie Hughes is an editor who understands what it means to tie stories in an anthology together while still maintaining distinctiveness in the telling. You will not be disappointed should you choose to read this anthology. Share it with your friends and revel in the fellowship.

(Where possible, I have linked to the author's website so that you can find out more about them.)

Posted by John at 11:22 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy
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Sword and Sorcery in History

Joseph McCullough is beginning a series on sword and sorcery in history at the Black Gate website. The first sword and sorcery character is Hereward the Wake from the 12th century manuscript De Gestis Herwardi Saxonis (The Exploits of Hereward the Saxon).

Posted by John at 10:58 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | History
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Neil Gaiman Coraline Sneak Preview

Neil Gaiman has a preview up of the movie for his children's horror story, Coraline. It looks like it will be pretty fun to watch, although I have usually been disappointed by Gaiman's screen works. (Still haven't seen Beowulf, so that doesn't count.)

Posted by John at 09:58 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | Young Adult/Children's Literature
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Book Reviews by Title

These are the my book reviews, categorized alphabetically by the title. (Click here for categorization by author.) "The" doesn't count towards the title.

You can also subscribe to an RSS feed of my reviews at librarything.

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

A

A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
A Rhyming History of Britain by James Muirden (author) and David Eccles (illustrator)
Across the Face of the World by Russell Kirkpatrick
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
Are Women Human? by Dorothy Sayers
Auralia's Colors by Jeffrey Overstreet
The Awakened Mage by Karen Miller

B

Bad-A** Faeries edited by Danielle Ackley-McPhail (et al.)
Badger's Moon by Peter Tremayne
Bash Down the Door and Slice Open the Badguy edited by W. H. Horner
Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie
Beyond the Summerland by L. B. Graham
Breach the Hull edited by Mike McPhail
A Bit of Madness by Emmanuel Civiello and Thomas Mosdi
Black Gate: Issue #11 edited by John O'Neill
Black History Through Blue Eyes: The Debt the World Owes to Africa by James Seymour
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
Bloodheir by Brain Ruckley
Blood Ties by Pamela Freedman
The Blue-Haired Bombshell by John Zakour

C

The Children of Men by P. D. James
The Clerk's Tale by Margaret Frazer
Confessor by Terry Goodkind
The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt
The Crown of Stars Series by Kate Elliott
Crystal Rain by Tobias Buckell
Condensed Knowledge by the editors of mental_floss

D

Dangerous Visions edited by Harlan Ellison
The Dead Guy Interviews by Michael Stusser
The Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells
Dragon Champion by E. E. Knight
Dragon Outcast
The Druids by Peter Berresford Ellis
Dying of the Light by George R. R. Martin

E

Eberron: Bound by Iron by Edward Bolme
Eberron: The Orb of Xoriat by Edward Bolme
Eberron: The Tales of the Last War by Mark Sehestedt
The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What it Means for All of Us by Robyn Meredith
Empress by Karen Miller
Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Explorer's House: National Geographic and the World It Made by Robert M. Poole

F

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
Fellowship Fantastic by Martin H. Greenberg and Kerrie Hughes
The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
Flash Fiction Online, April 2008 edited by Jake Freivald
Forgotten Realms: The City of Splendors by Elaine Cunningham and Ed Greenwood
Forgotten Realms: Crypt of the Moaning Diamond by Rosemary Jones
Forgotten Realms: The Gossamer Plain by Thomas M. Reid
Forgotten Realms: The Howling Delve by Jaleigh Johnson
Forgotten Realms: Obsidian Ridge by Jess Lebow
Forgotten Realms: The Orc King by R. A. Salvatore
Forgotten Realms: Road of the Patriarch by R. A . Salvatore
Forgotten Realms: Shadowstorm by Paul S. Kemp
Forgotten Realms: Stardeep by Bruce Cordell
Forgotten Realms: Swords of Dragonfire by Ed Greenwood
Forgotten Realms: Unclean by Richard Lee Byers

G

Genetopia by Keith Brooke
The Gift of Pain by Paul Brand and Philip Yancey
Glory Road by Robert Heinlein
Green Rider by Kristen Britain
Goblin Hero by Jim C. Hines
Goblin Quest by Jim C. Hines
Goblin War by Jim C. Hines
The Golden Cord by Paul Genesse
Grimspace by Ann Aguirre
Growingold with B.C. by Johnny Hart

H

Hedge Hunters by Katherine Burton
Henry V (Classical Comics Edition) by William Shakespeare
Heroes Adrift by Moira J. Moore
The Hidden City by Michelle West
Honored Enemy by Raymond E. Feist and William R. Fortschen
Hood by Stephen Lawhead
Hunter's Run by George R. R. Martin, Gardner Dozois, and Daniel Abraham

I

Infoquake by David Louis Edelman
The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain
The Innocent Mage by Karen Miller
Iron Man: Beneath the Armor by Andy Mangels

J

J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography by Humphrey Carpenter
The Junior Books by Dave Ramsey

K

Klasssic Koalas: Ancient Aboriginal Tales in New Retellings by Lee Barwood
Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan
The Know-It-All by A. J. Jacobs

L

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin
Legend by David Gemmell
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson
Life@Work by John C. Maxwell

M

Madhouse by Rob Thurman
Magician by Raymond E. Feist
The Magic of Recluce by L. E. Moedesitt Jr.
Making Money by Terry Pratchett
Master of Souls by Peter Tremayne
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
Midnight Never Come by Marie Brennan
Midshipwizard Halcyon Blithe by James M. Ward
Misspelled edited by Julie E. Czerneda
Monks and Mystics by Mindy and Brandon Withrow
Moon Gate by David Weldon and William Proctor
More Than A Hobby by David Green
The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson
Murder in LaMut by Raymond E. Feist and Joel Rosenberg

N

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Night by Elie Wiesel
The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

O

On Becoming A Leader by Warren Bennis
Outposts: Journeys to the Surviving Relics of the British Empire by Simon Winchester
Outwitting History by Aaron Lansky

P

Phantom by Terry Goodkind
The Pendragon Cycle by Stephen Lawhead
The Phoenix Unchained by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory
Phytosphere by Scott Mackay
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
The Prestige by Christopher Priest
The Princes of the Golden Cage by Nathalie Mallet
The Prodigal Troll by Charles Coleman Finlay

Q

R

Ragamuffin by Tobias Buckell
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
The Restorer by Sharon Hinck
Return of the Sword edited by Jason M. Waltz
The Rick Steves' Travel Guide Series by Rick Steves
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Robin Hood and the Beasts of Sherwood by Clayton Emery
Rolling Thunder by John Varley

S

The Sagittarius Command by R. M. Meluch
Sails and Sorcery: Tales of Nautical Fantasy edited by W. H. Horner
Scarlet by Stephen Lawhead
Shadow in the Deep by L. B. Graham
The Shadow and Night by Chris Walley
Shadowmarch by Tad Williams
Shakespeare's Kings by John Julius Norwich
Shimmer, The Pirate Issue edited by John Joseph Adams
Small Favor by Jim Butcher
Smoke in the Wind by Peter Tremayne
Sojourn: The Bezerker's Tale by Ian Edgington and Greg Land
Sojourn: The Sorcerer's Tale by Ian Edgington and Greg Land
The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes
The Summoner by Gail Z. Martin
The Surrogates, Vol. 1 by Robert Venditti

T

Teacher Man by Frank McCourt
Thud! by Terry Pratchett
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Tides by Scott Mackay
Tipperary: A Novel by Frank Delaney
The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn
The Truth by Terry Pratchett

U

Union of Renegades by Tracy Falbe

V

W

Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse edited by John Joseph Adams
Wind Follower by Carole McDonnell
Winterbirth by Brian Ruckley

X

Y

Z

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Posted by John at 07:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Business | Christian SF&F | Eberron | Fantasy | Forgotten Realms | General Fiction | Graphic Novels | History | Humor | Literature and Language | Mystery | Nonfiction | Politics | Religion | Science Fiction | Young Adult/Children's Literature
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Book Review: Crypt of the Moaning Diamond by Rosemary Jones

* Genre: Fantasy, Shared World Fiction
* ISBN: 0786947144
* ISBN-13: 9780786947140
* Format: Mass Market Paperback, 320pp
* Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
* Pub. Date: November 2007
* Series: Dungeons Series

What happens when an writer who works for an opera company turns to writing fantasy? Does the story take on qualities of the epic? Do people take forever to die? Or does everyone just walk around singing loudly and wearing funny costumes? If these are questions you have asked yourself (or even if they aren’t) you ought to turn your attention to Crypt of the Moaning Diamond by Rosemary Jones. An opera writer and first time novelist, Jones has created a dungeon delving story both humorous and out of the ordinary set in the Forgotten Realms mythos.

Ivy is the leader of the Siegebreakers, a small band of sappers who hire themselves out to armies needing to have walls come a’tumblin down. Ivy’s crew consists of a 300 year old dwarf who loves dogs, the dog Wiggles, two sisters with very different mothers, and a goat footed thief. Additionally, they have a tag along, a Procampurian knight whose rigid sense of honor provides a great deal of humor to the pragmatic Siegebreakers. When the group falls into a vast and ancient crypt during one of their siege breaking attempts, they are forced to find a way out. But it isn’t all that simple. The crypt is vast, and a crazy wizard is down there with them, in search of a treasure with a great deal of power. In the meantime, the water level is rising beneath their feet, even as the heroes move deeper into the ground.

Unlike the other stories in the Dungeons series, Crypt of the Moaning Diamond is humorous rather than serious. In fact, it reminds me a lot of Jim C. Hines’ Goblin Quest in that way. The humor is different though. Where Hines chose a strange character and made him into a hero, thereby providing humor at the ridiculousness of the situation, Jones’ humor is more relational. Ivy and Sanval (the Procampurian gentleman) flirt with each other, albeit unconsciously. Since Ivy chooses to be pragmatic and dresses comfortably, whereas Sanval is all spit and polish with a strong sense of honor, the attraction of polar opposites provides great humor. The two sisters in the Siegebreakers fight like family always does, yet step to the plate when the protection of each other is needed. And then there is Wiggles, the bone loving white ball of fluff, who sees undead as a snack. Add to that love poetry writing bugbears (“a good thump-thump beat is necessary” apparently) and you can’t help but snicker each time you turn the page.

Jones also never lets up on the action. Moving through the crypt, the Siegebreakers encounter enemy after enemy, all with the knowledge that if they don’t hurry, they’ll drown in the rising water. This pacing keeps the novel interesting and never bogging down in detail. Her battle scenes are innovative, often finding unusual or pragmatic solutions where other authors tend to over do it in order to add to the “epic” nature of the narrative. (i.e. it is easier to break a trap than try to solve it.)

Jones would do well to vary her word choices a little bit. In a battle scene where one character is wielding a shovel, she kept repeating the word “shovel” to describe the weapon. If she had tried a little harder, she could have found other words to use in her sentences. In the span of two pages (pages 74 and 75) she used the word “shovel” 8 times when it would have been possible to use “weapon” or “makeshift bludgeon” in its place. In a fight scene, an author ought to use synonyms more often, since the reader’s reading pace often picks up at such points, and the overuse of a word becomes more obvious. This detracted from some of the action scenes.

Since each of the novels in the Forgotten Realms: Dungeons Series is a stand alone novel, it is relatively easy for the reader to pick up this novel. Add to that the fact that Rosemary Jones doesn’t rely heavily on the mythos of the Forgotten Realms, except to give setting and background to her story and any reader can easily enjoy it, even if he or she rarely read novels in shared world fiction. Of all the debut Forgotten Realms authors that have come out in recent years, I think I enjoyed Rosemary’s writing the best. She reminds me a lot of Elaine Cunningham in writing technique. Both writers create relationships between their characters, as well as writing sword and sorcery action, and those relationships make the novels all the more fun to read, as the reader becomes invested in the people he or she is reading about.

So in answer to the opening questions, I would say that yes, a writer with a familiarity with opera has some knowledge of the epic, and that when such a writer turns to fantasy, she is able to bring that knowledge into her story. There was some loud singing in Crypt of the Moaning Diamond but it wasn’t pretty and the characters weren’t wearing funny costumes. But Jones understands narrative, and knows how to make a story interesting, skills she seems to have refined as a writer surrounded by music. I think Rosemary Jones is an excellent addition to the cadre of Wizards of the Coast writers, and I hope she continues to write stories like Crypt of the Moaning Diamond for the Forgotten Realms.

Posted by John at 05:13 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | Forgotten Realms
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The Tiefling and the Gnome

This is a great little animation on one of the major changes in the Dungeons and Dragons Fourth Edition. Quite funny. Favorite character: The badger.

HT: Bruce Cordell

Posted by John at 11:38 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Eberron | Fantasy | Forgotten Realms | Humor
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Sir Gawain Gets a Facelift

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is one of the seminal poems of English literature. This little known Christmas story was once translated by J.R.R. Tolkien. But it has always been somewhat inaccessible due to the 14th century English it is written in. An "energetic, free-flowing, high-spirited version" by Simon Armitage is now available according to this NY Times article.

Beyond your experience with the work, what is your opinion on "readable" translations of such works? (Beowulf, anyone?). Does such a translation help or harm the work?

Posted by John at 03:46 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | Literature and Language
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GFTW's Favorite Reads of 2007

Well, all, time for my first ever favorite reads of the year. In 2007, I read a lot of books (and since it ain't over yet, will read several more).

This is not a list of books published in 2007, but rather a list of favorite books I read this year. After all, truly great books are good no matter when you read them. Books are listed in no particular order of importance as they are all worth reading. Find the reviews here.

1. Midshipwizard Halcyon Blithe by James M. Ward - how can you not like an 18th century based fantasy world with sailing ships made out of sea dragons?

2. Dragon Champion by E. E. Knight -A revival of the dragon in fantasy novels. Proof that dragons are not overdone or tropes in fantasy, but still have a lot left to give reader and writer.

3. Father of Dragons by L. B. Graham - A little known author, his story is both Christian allegory and great narrative. This is book four in a series that begins with Beyond the Summerland. Also great reading for the youths in your life.

4. American Gods by Neil Gaiman - Need I say more?

5. The Surrogates by Robert Venditti - the only graphic novel on this list, it has already been optioned for a movie starring Bruce Willis and was one of the most unusual stories I read this year.

6. The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie - My post about the use of swearing in fantasy and science fiction was prompted by this novel and the discussion it created really put me on the internet map. Not only that, it is just a great novel that needs to be read by everyone. A funny and pithy novel, you won't regret reading it.

7. Shadowstorm by Paul S. Kemp - Giving shared world fiction validity as literature is Paul S. Kemp, and his novel about competing powers, the nature of people, and the forms of evil shows the naysayers just how wrong they are. This is the second novel in a series encompassing these themes.

8. The Innocent Mage by Karen Miller - a brand new voice in the US market, Karen's books came at just the right time for me, and while flawed, were a great read.

9. Crystal Rain by Tobias Buckell - Great author, great story, original thinking and approach to SF.

10. Children of Men by P.D. James - The seminal novel about humanity and reproduction. Not matter your opinion about abortion and/or the choice vs. life this is a must read. Don't see the movie, it sucks.

This year saw a lot of change for this blog. Around about October, it really found its voice as a fantasy and science fiction review blog, and I can honestly say, I haven't had so much fun with a hobby, ever. Meeting all the great authors, the other blogger reviewers, and building relationships with publishers has been some of the most rewarding "work" I have ever done. Thanks to all of you who read and support this blog!

Posted by John at 12:20 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | Literature and Language | Science Fiction
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Book Review: Across the Face of the World by Russell Kirkpatrick

* Genre: Epic Fantasy
* ISBN: 0316003417
* ISBN-13: 9780316003414
* Format: Mass Market Paperback, 736pp
* Publisher: Orbit
* Pub. Date: January 01, 2008
* Series: Fire of Heaven Trilogy

Marco Polo is probably the best known traveler in the world (okay, maybe only after Rick Steves) but the epic nature of his journey from Europe into the very heart of China, and back again is something that is inspirational. You can see elements of the beauty and grandeur of such travel in The Hobbit, when Bilbo Baggins travels there and back again. And in the same tradition of epic travel, seeing sights and undertaking impossible odds is the debut novel from Russell Kirkpatrick, Across the Face of the World.

Having gathered a following in his native New Zealand and Australia, Kirkpatrick has jumped the pond to the United States as part of Orbit’s breakthrough into the US market. Across the Face of the World is a novel filled with lush scenery, the clash of climate and geography, and the characters who must brave the elements. Kirkpatrick, a geographer by trade, has brought that skill to bear full force in Across the Face of the World. The setting is rich and detailed. Kirkpatrick is well versed in the nuances and effect geography has on a people and this comes out in detail in novel, the first in a trilogy.

The story’s primary character is Leith, an amalgam of Kirkpatrick’s own life experiences, who is the runty child, the dork who stands on the edge of the playground, waiting to get picked for sports. Leith has an older brother named Hal, a crippled foundling with mystical abilities. When Leith’s parents are taken captive by evil swordsmen, he and his brother are forced to embark on a journey to both rescue them, and warn the rest of Faltha that and army unseen for one thousand years has returned, and is bent on vengeance and conquering.

The majority of this 667 page novel is the journey of Leith, Hal, and the companions they bring along with them. Kirkpatrick does an excellent job of giving us scale, as rather than glossing over the rigors of the journey with phrases like “several weeks later” he really pushes the reader to feel the aches and pains of a winter journey through snow clogged passes, with the inevitable squabbling of a company made up of two old men, a girl, a cripple, and a couple of brash men making the journey even more difficult.

As I mentioned before, the scenery is lush, and lovingly portrayed. Sweeping vistas, rushing rapids, and precarious terrain are all described in great detail. Almost too much detail in a way. Kirkpatrick obviously loves geography, and all his mountains are named, all his rivers have a story, and all have some unique feature that must be described. It can get a bit tedious.

The irony is that while each mountain has a name, each region of the map a story, the characters rarely have names, are more often called by their professions, and there are so many that it is often difficult to keep them straight in your head. Kirkpatrick will also switch point of view from one paragraph to the next, and the relaxed reader will likely miss the transition, causing a bit of confusion till your mind catches up with your eye.

Christians, and those from a Christian cultural heritage, will see a lot of imagery and language gleaned from the Christian faith. There is one god of the world, a rebellious immortal evil character (i.e. Satan), and the rest of us lowly peons just trying to make our way in the world. But readers should be careful before they call this novel a Christian one. It simply borrows from the experience of the writer, but is more deist in tone than Christian. God is absent in this story, and men are left to make their own way in the world against an overwhelming evil. I mention this specifically because the story does spend significant time addressing issues of faith, although Across the Face of the World raises more questions than it answers. So readers should be careful before they try to peg the story as Christian. It is a quest novel, and in this day and age, a great deal of our questing comes in the form of questions about belief and faith, something Kirkpatrick recognized and has incorporated into his work.

This novel has beautiful, Tolkeinesque settings. If you enjoy reading fantasy for the setting and physical world building that the author attempts, than this novel just might be one you enjoy. If you are looking for something original in plot or story, this is not the book for you. Kirkpatrick’s novel is very closely modeled on Tolkien to the point that the two plots follow the very same story arc. That said, Kirkpatrick’s world is his own, the quest is significantly different, and where Tolkien relies on character, Kirkpatrick relies on setting and events to drive the story forward. There is little fighting, although there are small adventures and strange encounters along the way.

To be fair in describing the characterization of Across the Face of the World, it is written in such a way that we are given flashes of the characters, rather than the slow building and revealing of their natures that is more common in fiction. It can be disconcerting to the reader, who might think that the characters are flat and uninteresting. But it is simply that the reader is not allowed to plumb the depths of their soul, but is instead only allowed to see the nature of the characters in their reactions to events and their behavior towards what is going on around them. Kirkpatrick was probably partly forced into this because their are so many characters, and rather than focus on one, he gives the reader glimpses of all so does not have the pages to show all of their nature. (If he had tried to really plumb the depths of all the characters, Kirkpatrick would have to be another Jordan, Martin, or Goodkind, with long novels in long series, in order to complete the narrative.) So we get flat seeming characters, mostly because it is hard for the reader to keep them straight in their minds, not because they lack emotion or reactions.

Ultimately, I can only put some force behind a recommendation. The novel is a long one, so it is daunting to slower readers, and lacks enough action to keep fast readers riveted. It was rather easy to put down Across the Face of the World and turn to doing other things for me, and I even found myself skipping descriptions of some of the setting towards the end of the novel. There is simply too much of it, and not enough character. (Although the character of Stella is a surprisingly strong female character, one who is definitely not relegated to the role of love interest or foil for men. Yet the story does not give us enough of her to really feel connected.) Kirkpatrick has built a world but has failed to people it with characters the reader can identify with, save perhaps Leith to a small extent. I would say that for the most part, this is one novel you can avoid and not really feel the loss too keenly.

Posted by John at 10:49 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy
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Folks just love ASOIF

Posted by John at 08:17 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy
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Fairy Tales are Violent

Here's a mother's reaction to doing a school project on Sleeping Beauty. And everyone thinks fairy tales are all sweetness and light. Not so, not so.

Posted by John at 08:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy
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Book Review: Sojourn Volume 5 - The Sorcerer's Tale by Ian Edgington (author) and Greg Land (penciler)

* Genre: Graphic Novels, High Fantasy
* ISBN: 1933160446
* ISBN-13: 9781933160443
* Format: Paperback, 172pp
* Publisher: Checker Book Publishing Group, LLC
* Pub. Date: July 2007

Once upon a few years ago, I picked up a graphic novel called Sojourn at my local B&N. Although generally not a graphic novel reader, I needed to try something different, and Sojourn purported to be a high fantasy comic, something that was rare in an age of rising popularity for the superhero, steampunk, and manga style comics. Four graphic novels of the web based comic by writer Ian Edgington and penciler Greg Land were published. And it was good.

Then the publisher, CrossGen, ran into financial difficulties and closed up shop. My four collections of Sojourn issues sat forlorn on the shelf, and me, a completist, stared in frustration at the incomplete story. I even considered selling the books to a used bookstore. Then I find out that Checker BPG, a little graphic novel publisher that finds out of print, out of the way comics for republication, had bought the rights to the CrossGen collection and was planning on finishing the Sojourn story. And it was good.

Sojourn tells the story of blond-haired Arwyn the archer, a woman of great combat skill (and quite a looker too) whose family is killed when an ancient evil from the past, Mordath, returns to wreak vengeance on the Five Lands. The only thing that can stop him is the very arrow that killed him years ago, but that arrow has been split into five pieces, scattered throughout the five lands. In order for Arwyn to get her own vengeance on Mordath, she must recover the five arrow pieces and recombine them. Other characters, such as the humorous adventurer Gareth and the sassy thief Cassidy, round out the narrative and provide the story’s humor.

Sojourn is a high, epic fantasy that is first rate. Although the overall plot is uncomplicated, there a twists and turns that make the story appealing, as well as some unique characteristics. For instance, the main character is an archer. Archers have not been the heroes of any stories I have read since reading Robin Hood as a child. Most heroes use either sword, magic or stealth in the majority of high fantasies. The evil race of trolls who serve Mordath are a long-lived race. This is an attribute not often assigned to evil races in high fantasy, who tend to live short, brutish lives. You also won’t find any elves or dwarves though you will find winged humans and shape-shifting dragons.

Sojourn Volume 5: The Sorcerer’s Tale, collects issues 25-30 of the Sojourn story. These were the final issues but four to be posted online by CrossGen. However, Checker BPG, in its own completist way, is currently working on Sojourn Volume 6: The Beserkers Tale with a new author (Chuck Dixon) to eventually finish the story.

Any reader can start with volume 5 of Sojourn, as the book gives a synopsis of the story so far. Since it is not a complex plot, a new reader can easily join the story.

The artwork is superb. Greg Land is one of the best pencilists in the world of graphic novels (although there is some controversy about that), and his characters are exquisitely detailed and placed in beautiful settings that the colorists have filled vibrantly. The artwork only loses that vibrancy in issue 30, when Land takes a vacation and a guest penciler takes on the art. Issue thirty lacks the photo realism of the first 29 issues and creates more rounded art lacking in the vibrant detail of Land’s original work. This is unfortunate, as reading Arwyn’s story was much like watching a movie, because the artwork was just so detailed. The newer rounded and less detailed characters of issue thirty, as well as the bland settings, detract from the story. Since this is the wrap up to this collection, it was poor way to end this volume.

I highly recommend this graphic novel. The artwork is great, and the story is interesting as well as being a rarity of genre in the graphic novel publishing world. If you are a high fantasy fan, you will enjoy this story and artwork as it will fulfill all your expectations of what a high fantasy should look like. If you can find the original publications, you will appreciate it even more, though it is not essential to enjoying this volume and the ones to come. Sojourn is my favorite graphic novel series, and I am very glad to see it back in publication. Sojourn is back, and it is good.

Posted by John at 11:36 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | Graphic Novels
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Cheerfully Bad News

This is really sad. Terry Pratchett has been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. In typical Pratchett fashion he tells his readers "Frankly, I would prefer it if people kept things cheerful, because I think there's time for at least a few more books yet :o)."

To learn more about early onset Alzheimer's read here. Or read this interview with a Mayo Clinic neuropsychologist.

Alzheimer's is a terrible disease, but if anyone can take it with good grace, it is Terry Pratchett.

'His philosophy was a mixture of three famous schools -- the Cynics, the Stoics and the Epicureans -- and summed up all three of them in his famous phrase, "You can't trust any bugger further than you can throw him, and there's nothing you can do about it, so let's have a drink."' - Small Gods

Posted by John at 12:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy
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Brandon Sanderson to complete Wheel of Time

"Tor announces that the final novel in bestselling Robert Jordan's legendary Wheel of Time® fantasy series will be completed by author Brandon Sanderson

New York, NY: Friday, December 7, 2007

Tor Books announced today that novelist Brandon Sanderson has been chosen to finish the final novel in Robert Jordan's bestselling Wheel of Time fantasy series. Robert Jordan, one of the greatest storytellers of the 20th and early 21st centuries, died September 16th after a courageous battle with the rare blood disease amyloidosis.

The new novel, A Memory of Light, will be the twelfth and final book in the beloved fantasy series which has sold over 14 million copies in North America and over 30 million copies worldwide. The last four books in the series were all #1 New York Times bestsellers, and for over a decade fans have been eagerly awaiting the final novel that would bring the epic story to its conclusion."

Read the rest of the announcement.

Sanderson's reaction:

"I'm both extremely excited and daunted by this opportunity. There is only one man who could have done this book the way it deserved to be written, and we lost him in September. However, I promise to do my very best to remain true to Mr. Jordan's vision and produce the book we have all been waiting to read."

Posted by John at 04:33 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy
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E. E. Knight on Morality in Fantasy

E. E. Knight, author of the Vampire Earth and Age of Fire novels, writes about "A Need for Creed" at the Black Gate website. Knight uses Star Wars, Carl Jung, LOTR, and Star Trek to conclude that "we all need ideals, gods and heroes to look up to who offer us answers and examples to the Big Questions about right and wrong, life and death. Nature abhors a vacuum, even a spiritual one." And so fantasy and science fiction step in, for many, to fill that gap. Interesting thoughts.

Posted by John at 03:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | Literature and Language
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Magazine Review: Shimmer, The Pirate Issue edited by John Joseph Adams

Through various and sundry circumstances, which I won’t bore you with here, I was able to get a copy of Shimmer Magazine’s Pirate Issue, guest edited by John Joseph Adams. These ten stories and 1 interview are well written, and were good choices for a speculative fiction magazine’s issue on pirates. The fantasy, horror and/or sci-fi elements were neatly incorporated into the pirate stories.

If the editing has one failure (and this may be the fault of the submissions, not the editor) it is that the stories lack any real multiculturalism. Pirates have existed in various cultures at various times, and this issue would have been a great opportunity to explore that. Yet all of these stories see pirates in the 18th century Atlantic sense, in the Blackbeard’s and the Captain Kidds of the pirate world. Chinese pirates, so interestingly depicted in Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End, are absent, as are Arabian pirates of the Sultanates and the Mediterranean pirates of ancient times. This is a detriment to the issue as a whole.

However, that is a minor flaw, and overall these short stories are quite varied in their approach to pirate stories. John Joseph Adams was invited by the editors at Shimmer to be the editor, and his skills at choosing good stories that have plots, characters, and are under 5000 words shows through.

I must warn you, that in order to describe these stories, it is likely that I might give away something that makes spoils it. Such is not my intent, but it is hard to evaluate a story of so few words well without giving something away. However, I will endeavor not to ruin these good stories for you.

The first story, A Hand for Each by J. Kathleen Cheney gives the reader a horrifying new look at the origins of Davey Jones. I have to say that I was horrified by the end, as I had come to like the protagonist, and the end he meets is rather a sad one.

Captain Blood’s B00ty by Jeremiah Tolbert (the 00’s are zeroes, but that is hard to tell, it might have helped if the title had been published with a slash through the zero, so it didn’t look so much like an O. It took reading the story to get the cleverness of the title.) is a science fiction story, of Internet piracy. Tolbert cleverly weaves all the stuff geeks, nerds, and dorks will readily recognize into the narrative. If you spend any amount of time on the computer, or have played Dungeons and Dragons in the past, you will like this story for the creative way that Tolbert uses magic and technological terminology (words like sprog and MMORG or Truename-enabled). If it fails in one respect, it is in the key to the story. The special program/magic ability that the protagonists are seeking is not explained very well, and I didn’t really understand how it worked. To tell you what it did would ruin the story, but lets just say I’m not really sure how the application of it solved the problem of the narrative.

In Melinda Selmys’ The Blackguard of God, we are reminded that even the worst of pirates needs absolution. This story is a sort of morality play, teaching the reader that before we judge another man’s deeds, we must first walk a mile in their shoes. It is a very short story, but the point comes across loud and clear.

Mikal Trimm decided to set his story Come to the Islands in the present time. Trimm provides a magical explanation for the overwhelming urge that pirates of yore had to collect gold, and the protagonist falls prey to very same spell. This story ends loaded with possibilities for what might happen in the future to the protagonist, although it doesn’t look like the story of his life will end well. This story was okay in my opinion, but seemed to be more of a prelude to a story, rather than a story in and of itself. It really ends where it should begin, in my opinion.

The Barbary Shore by James L. Cambias tells a story of space pirates who enact their piracy from the safety of earth. In a not to distant future, these pirates use satellites to seek and destroy their prey. The underlying thrust of the story is the antagonism that occurs when a lover is scorned. The two characters have a personal stake in the battle between their satellites, and Cambias does a good job of telling that story. I dislike the way the story ended. I felt that the final section of the story including a phone call was unnecessary. The section before had ended strongly and positively and had I been asked, would have said to end it there. The last part of the story adds nothing either in characterization or in plot and so should have been left out.

Pirates by Adeline Thromb, Age 8 by Marissa K. Lingen is way too much like the essays I once read in my teaching days. And that is exactly the intent. The story is written from the perspective of an 8 year old, complete with illustrations. The idea is cute, and the story is creative, but Lingen doesn’t pull off the age eight mentally perfectly. Several sentences and spellings (oh, did I mention we have eight year old spelling too?) are to adult in phrasing and correctness to have been written by an eight year old. Some are also too abstract for an eight year old to even consider putting in an essay. The story is cute though.

Jill Snider Lum sends Blackbeard to hell in The Sweet Realm. While giving the reader a history lesson in the life of Edward Teach, the famous pirate Blackbeard, we learn that pirates can be stereotyped too. Lum cleverly tells this story of hell and reincarnation. It has an overt political message I found annoying rather than funny. Your political affiliation will determine how funny you find this story by its end. But you don’t have to take my word for it; Shimmer has made her story available for free at their website.

The Furies by Rajan Khanna tells the story of pirates who prey on pirates. Although this story ends rather painfully (at least for men), Khanna’s narrative is plausible, and the righteous anger exhibited by the Furies makes the supposed villains more sympathetic than the protagonist. That, is, until the really painful end.

Justine Graykin adds to the legend of Captain Hook with The Perfect Hook. Like Peter Pan, her story is of an alternate reality. But the protagonist is unusual in that she is a plump, middle-aged mother. Setting up a juxtaposition between wanting to relive her glory days as a young woman and her current responsibilities, Graykin gives her character vibrancy and kinship with the reader. When the protagonist makes her choice, I applauded it. This was one of my favorite stories of this issue.

The final story, Hard Times for Bartleby Crow by Grant Stone, was I think the poorest choices to include in this issue. The story lacked a real problem, and while it was interesting in its take on the mice that so plagued 18th century ships, I felt no connection either to Bartleby Crow or the mice. It is a ghost story of a sort, and a story of madness. Still, it lacked any sort of real plot. This is probably the one I would have replaced with another story.

The illustrations throughout this issue were very well done. They had detail and connected very well with the stories. The cover was appropriate and appealing, with a simple graphic design that grabbed the eye without shouting too loud. Inside, the layout was excellent, the stories very readable and the binding solid (it had a graphic novel sort of binding). It was held easier in the hand than a mass market paperback, and each story is just the right length to get you through lunch at the office.

You can watch a reading of the first few paragraphs of each story at Youtube, with the illustrations providing the visual aid. The website also has bonus material on the issue that is accessible with the password contained in the print magazine. There are also author readings on audio of the stories, and the ability to buy electronic versions of the magazines. The website is superb in its offerings and meshes nicely with the print magazine.

The issue also includes an interview with the founder of The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. This is appropriate, as it was their letter incorporating a piracy theme to the Kansas School Board that really brought them into the mainstream knowledge of many people. Although a couple of the questions seem redundant, it is still an informative and interesting interview with the strange and satiric organization.

John Joseph Adams and the team at Shimmer have put together an enjoyable issue with some creative takes on the topic of piracy. As mentioned before, only it lack of multiculturalism really detracts. There is foul language (appropriate for a pirate issue!) and some sexual innuendo, so this is an issue for mature readers. All the other elements fulfill the mission of the magazine and provide entertaining reads for the speculative fiction crowd.

Posted by John at 01:45 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy
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Book Review: The Orb of Xoriat by Edward Bolme

* Genre: Shared World Fiction, Fantasy
* ISBN: 0786938196
* ISBN-13: 9780786938193
* Format: Mass Market Paperback, 310pp
* Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
* Pub. Date: October 2005
* Series: Eberron: War-Torn Series, #2

The Orb of Xoriat is Edward Bolme’s first full length novel in the Eberron shared world. This relatively new Dungeons and Dragons roleplaying world is best described by Bolme himself. ‘Imagine a fantasy world crossed with interwar Europe, and you’re pretty close. Battles and wars are not driven by lofty ideals like “good vs. evil” but rather by basic concepts like “us vs. them.”’ (from his website) As I read The Orb of Xoriat, I couldn’t help feeling like this unique world is something like what late Victorian Europe might have been like if Tolkien’s races had actually existed. Ultimately, the stories contained in Eberron are more about the interplay of nation states and the people who live within them, than about dungeon delving or world saving heroics. Wizards describes the world best at their website. "The world of Eberron is ravaged by centuries of war that have only recently ended. Enemy nations that fought each other to a standstill over countless, bloody battlefields now turn to subtler methods of conflict. The assassin's dagger replaces the warrior's sword, and the conspirator's whisper speaks more loudly than the general's bellow."

The Orb of Xoriat, second in the “War-Torn” series, relates the story of the orb, an artifact of immense power that can open a gateway to Xoriat, the Realm of Madness. When the Orb is stolen from its secret hiding place, a human monk and a gnome illusionist are forced to join forces to track down the thief who stole it. But their relationship is anything but friendly, and even should they recover the orb they will still have to battle each other for control of it.

Teron the monk represents the Monastery of Pastoral Solitude, the ancient order of monks once nearly wiped out by the use of the Orb in the Last War, who have been hiding the orb for many years. Praxle is the gnomish illusionist whose University once possessed the orb, and whose morality leaves him no compunction at using any method to retrieve it. Each of these characters has a support character as well. Teron has a strange cat named Flotsam who is unnecessary to the narrative but provides great side stories and humanizes the remote Teron. Jeffers, Praxle’s butler, is a half-orc more cultured than his master. His role is larger than Flotsam’s and he turns out to be quite an interesting character, even without being one of the leads. The juxtaposition of his orc nature and his cultured attitude and behavior provides a few laughs throughout the story. There is, sadly, no real strong female character, although the thief of the story is female. Yet she only provides a look into the opposing side’s ideology for the reader, and is not a truly strong character in her own right.

Bolme’s two great strengths in this novel are his ability to make a mundane event turn into a crucial one without the reader realizing it and his eloquent battle descriptions. For instance, when Teron snubs a girl in a tavern, most readers will think nothing of it. Yet that snub turns into a crucial event later in the story, without which the plot would have gone completely differently.

As to the latter, it is obvious that Bolme has had some martial arts training, and this comes out in his descriptions of the way that Teron fights. His hand and foot strikes are believable actions. Often in stories with monks as main characters, the monks are superhuman, always dodging blades and rarely getting slashed. Bolme has disdained that to create believable fight scenes in which the unarmed monk is hurt by those with swords and knives. It is a pleasant change from the superhuman monk, whose lack of damage against armed foes can get rather tiresome.

The novel has a couple of faults as well. Firstly, when Bolme is using dialogue to describe the back-story for the world of Eberron, the dialogue can get a bit stilted and wooden. It feels contrived. While that back-story is needed, Bolme’s delivery of it draws the reader out of the story rather than in. This is unfortunate as without it, the reader will be unable to understand the context of the world of Eberron.

Secondly, the thief in the story, called The Shadow Fox, simply disappears from the narrative at one point, with no explanation as to the how or why. Since the thief up to that point had been a major part of the narrative, even a character whose mind the reader had entered, it was odd when the character is simply dropped from the story. It is as if the ending was changed by Bolme, and he forgot to write a conclusion to the role of this particular character.

This was still a good introduction into the world of Eberron. I have not yet read any other novels in this world and it was easy for me to dive right in and understand the context of the world with little to no trouble. Additionally, Bolme has a flair for the dramatic. He even wrote in one scene involving a train like structure and a dragonhawk that put me in mind of the final scenes of the first Mission Impossible movie, and it was near the beginning of The Orb of Xoriat, not the end. The narrative only got more exciting from there.

I would recommend The Orb of Xoriat to anyone looking to enter the Eberron world. It is a good story that deals with themes of trust, duty and feelings of inadequacy. Both Teron and Praxle are flawed characters, but it is the decisions they make that make them good or bad, not events or prophecy. Although there is an element of events being arranged to a pattern, the characters still must make their own choices and live with the consequences, as with Teron’s snub of the tavern wench. Bolme is good at making the incidental have consequence, and creates supporting characters that are as much fun to read about as the leads. That’s a rare skill. The Orb of Xoriat is a fun adventure novel filled with action and intrigue. Sword and Sorcery fans will enjoy it, and anyone playing Eberron ought to read it to add to the depth of their gaming experience.

SIDE NOTE:10% of all proceeds from the sale of this book are given by the author to World Vision to support their work in Darfur, greater Sudan, and refugees in Chad. Wizards of the Coast is giving a matching gift as well. So by buying this volume you get a good read and support a worthy cause. That's a wonderful twofer.

Posted by John at 05:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Christian SF&F | Eberron | Fantasy
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Short Fiction Reviews at The Fix

If you are really into the short fiction side of fantasy, horror, or science fiction then you need to check out the online review magazine, The Fix. It covers anthologies, magazines, e-zines , poetry, and even has its own unique content. This is a nice resource for those who cannot afford to subscribe to every magazine in print or online. It is easy to find out if a particular issue is a pass or a buy and which magazines are worth the subscription cost. Although it is not yet comprehensive, it is getting there, and the fact that is entirely free is a plus. This could very well become the #1 stop for short fantasy fiction reviews.

Posted by John at 03:59 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy
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Book Review: Sails and Sorcery edited by W. H. Horner

* Genre: Fantasy
* ISBN: 0971360898
* ISBN-13: 9780971360891
* Format: Paperback, 420pp
* Publisher: Fantasist Enterprises
* Pub. Date: August 2007

When it comes to fantasy anthologies, the short stories can often be hit or miss. You might get some great stories worthy of a Nebula or World Fantasy Award, or you might get a real dog, better for wastepaper when training your new puppy. Even when anthology has well known names, the editor (poor soul) might have been forced to take some of their not-so-good work, just so he/she can use their name on the cover. So when a reviewer like me takes on the task of reviewing an anthology, it can often come with some amount of trepidation.

When I first began reading Sails and Sorcery, I began to think to myself that my trepidation was justified. The initial stories contained in this 28 story collection were at best average and at worst, rather dull. While some of the stories had really good ideas and exhibited creativity the execution was uniformly bad. Bu before I get into that, let me first tell you, dear reader, what Sails and Sorcery is.

Sails and Sorcery is an anthology subtitled “Tales of Nautical Fantasy”. If that isn’t enough to go on for you, let me describe. Essentially, all of the stories contained in this novel mix together seafaring when sails ruled the waves, with the fantasy elements often closely associated with the sea such as selkies, water wizards, sea sprites and the like. Of course, because of the creativity mentioned before, some of these stories get real creative, and mix new elements of fantasy and seafaring to create some pretty neat stories. Chun Lee, in the story Stillworld: Sailing to Noon even manages to weave in an element of science fiction and star travel with the story (although the execution was a little rough around the edges). But still a creative concept in the main. But the majority of the story sticks to fantasy and seafaring, shunning any sort of science fiction elements and giving the reader straight up fantasy with magic, ghosts and all the great things that differentiate it from its kissing cousin science fiction. So Sails and Sorcery is what the title claims, the cleaving together seafaring and fantasy.

Now, one might imagine that after reading so many seafaring stories, that the reader might get a little burned out, or find some repetition in storytelling. And you would be right. But fortunately, W. H. Horner, the editor, did a smart thing, and put the average to poor stories in the front of the volume, and the great stories to the back. At about the thirteenth story (Cassias Song by T. Borreegard) the quality of the tale telling really picks up. In the remaining 15 stories you have such short story luminaries as Paul S. Kemp (The Spinner), Elaine Cunningham (a ghost story called Dead Men Tell No Tales, Lindsey Duncan (Currents and Clockwork), and James M. Ward (with a Halcyon Blithe story). Their stories are filled with the quality tale-telling I have come to expect. They are masters of their crafts, and have given Horner some good material to include in this anthology from a rather small and unknown press. There are also a few other notable authors who I had not heard of before, but whose stories I enjoyed Renee Stern (Hostage), Chris Stout (a chilling tale called The Medusa), Danielle Ackley-McPhail (a selkie tale called Consigned to the Sea), and Jeff Houser (Rum Runners the only humorous tale in the bunch, with a great ending I didn’t see coming) all tell a great story.

As I’ve said, anthologies can be hit or miss. You have twenty-eight stories to choose from in the collection. Some are poor, some of average quality, and some were a real treat to read. And that is the way of anthologies. But the one thing all these stories do have is the desire to reach out and create stories that really explore the mysteries of the briny deep. Each tale, whether a horror, word and sorcery, epic style, or humorous really brings out the sound of the call of the sea. For some it is doom, for others it is the way to happiness, to other treasure, and still others the path of true love. But to each of the characters and stories in Sails and Sorcery: Tales of Nautical Fantasy, the sea has meaning, and its power and vibrancy are deeply entwined into the human experience exemplified by these tales.

I can recommend some of the stories, some with trepidation, and some I would say pass on. But once thing is certain, some of these stories feel like Robert E. Howard stories, some have the ethereal feel of a Neil Gaiman tale, and some are truly unique in my experience.

The illustrations by Julie Dillon (who also did the cover) are great, and really set the mood for the stories that follow without giving anything away. Although the opening on for The Spinner by Paul S. Kemp has the central figures amputations on the wrong sides. That's a little bit of an oops, but doesn't detract from the quality of it or the other great black and white illustrations.

I did not like the font setting for the titles that Horner used, as it felt rather gothic, not really like I would picture a seafaring font. Perhaps a ships wheel for O's might have captured it a little better. But then again, maybe that is just too corny. Still I didn't like what was used, as it would be better for a series of gothic tales in my opinion. Still, it is well laid out, and easy for the eye to read.

The book might be little hefty in price ($23 US) for the quality of the fiction here, but then again, that is less than a dollar a story not including the forward and afterword, so maybe not so much. The anthology varies so wildly from good story to bad that you are simply going to have to take the dross with the gold, if your interest is at all piqued. I won’t recommend you read this unless you really want to. My reason for doing so was the so many of my favorite Forgotten Realms authors were appearing in it, there were also a few authors whose work I had read in Black Gate, so I thought I would give it a shot. I was rewarded by those authors as I had expected. Along the way, I found a couple others whose other work I want to look into, and there are a few who I will avoid like the plague from now on, unless something drastic happens.

So I think I will give this anthology an overall rating of 5/10 as it is about a 50/50 split between good and bad stories. You will have to decide if the voyage through Scylla and Charbydis is worth the treasure contained herein.

Posted by John at 01:18 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy
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GRRM Author Q and A

Powell's has a Question and Answer with George R. R. Martin about Dreamsongs Volumes I and II. He makes a few book recommendations and explains what Dreamsongs is.

Posted by John at 10:43 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | Interviews
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Organic Storyteller: An Interview with Stephen Lawhead

Stephen R. Lawhead, author of The Pendragon Cycle, The Song of Albion Trilogy, and the new King Raven Trilogy, accepted my invitation for an interview. From his home in Britain, he answered a few of my questions about his writing, often disagreeing with the form of my questions. I tried to pin him down and make him give purpose to his stories but he made sure I knew that he is, first and foremost, a storyteller. But don't take my word for it, just read on.

Grasping for the Wind: Thank you for agreeing to an interview, I’ve been a fan ever since my father gave me a copy of The Paradise War when I was twelve. At one point, I was even jealous of my younger brother, who shares your first name. Your work has had a profound effect on me, and spearheaded my own interest in Celtic history.

GFTW: The King Raven Trilogy, your newest epic, is a retelling of the Robin Hood legend. This story has been told and retold in movies and books. What is unique about your take on this age old legend?

Stephen R. Lawhead: I’m trying to take the legend back to the time and place where it began – not where it ended up. As with the legends of King Arthur, the old stories of Robin Hood have passed through many hands and have been used in many ways since they were first told. In King Raven, I show what the original context of the tales might have been and let the political and social realities of post-invasion 11th Century Britain influence the stories we’ve received.

GFTW: You have written science fiction, fantasy, and historical novels. Which genre have you preferred writing in and why?

SRL: I still have a soft spot for good SF. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of it around just now, and the readership for it is miniscule. As a writer, SF is a tough sell in today’s market. I blame the movies and TV. On the one hand, movies can dazzle visually with great effects and convincing sets, etc. – providing a look and atmosphere that is very difficult to compete with on the written page. On the other hand, Hollywood often forgets to tell a coherent, compelling story. In far too many filmic treatments, it’s just the same old shoot-em-up dressed in space gear.

Having said that, I consider fantasy and SF simply different sides of the same coin – imaginatively speaking, there is very little difference. One deals with an imagined future, the other often with an imagined past. The imaginative mechanics, if you will, are very similar even if the conventions driving the two genres are slightly different.

GFTW: Some readers and critics have argued that the King Raven trilogy does not classify as fantasy, although major retailers shelve it that way. What is your opinion on the genre of this trilogy?

SRL: I don’t know why some folks get worked up over this question. If the story is fun to read, exciting to think about, and provides an enjoyable experience that lingers long in the reader’s mind – what difference does it make, in the end, whether it was shelved in the Historical or Fantasy section?

In actual fact, the shelving has a lot more to do with marketing precedence than genre classification. In other words, my books started out being shelved in the fantasy section and that is where people have learned to look for them, so that is where the bookstores will put them no matter what is between the covers.

GFTW: In your novels, you often deal with the themes of honor and faith. What is the relationship between these two, and why do you wrap your stories around them?

SRL:First off, let me say that I don’t ‘wrap my stories around’ anything… at all …. ever. They are not ‘means to an end’ whatever some might think.

I look at my stories as living things, organisms that have grown up out of the soil of their creation and taken on a life of their own. Their make up, personality, or whatever you want to call it, is inherent in their being, it is in their flesh and bones. My stories are not soapboxes for me to stand on and shout my opinions to the world. There are no messages pasted on, wrapped up, or otherwise added on. If they speak to a reader, they speak out of their own organic being. And, I find, that often has more to do with the reader him or herself, than with anything I might have done as a writer.

GFTW: Scarlet, the second book in the King Raven trilogy, is told from the perspective of Will Scarlet. He relates the events to a scribe while awaiting hanging. Why did you choose to write Scarlet from this perspective, when the first book, Hood, was written in a more traditional present tense narrative, as the events occurred?

SRL: Simply put, this is how the story came to me. Contrary to what many people may think, I don’t sit down at my desk one day and say: ‘This story will be cast in the present tense using the second person plural to illustrate the dissociation and fragmentation of modern conscience from communal …’ or whatever. There might be some writers who do that – and academics like to play that game – but I don’t. Instead, I spend a little time listening to the voice of the story and trying to find a way that best captures what I hear on paper. So, Will Scarlet speaks in his own voice in this book and it seemed right to let him do that.

GFTW: In Scarlet, you have Will Scarlet, a Saxon, joining a band of native British against the Normans. Was Saxon and British cooperation common in the days after William the Conqueror’s Norman invasion?

SRL: Extremely common. They were two peoples oppressed by a common enemy, and both suffered as conquered peoples, as victims under a harsh regime.

GFTW: You create and interesting interplay between Will Scarlet, and Odo, the priest transcribing his story. What was the purpose of this back and forth exchange?

SRL: Purpose? That’s a little like asking a painter what was the point of making the sky that colour blue? As an artist, I saw Will and Odo a certain way; how those two characters interacted was part of the story so it had to be told just that way. Again, I don’t think in terms of purposes, of using stories to further some external agenda or advance some message of my own. I’m mainly interested in finding ways to allow them to achieve their full potential as stories.

GFTW: How much time did you spend researching the Robin Hood story before beginning your tale?

SRL: There are two levels of research involved, I think. On one level, I’ve been researching British history for over two decades now, and the result of living, traveling, and working in Britain informs much of the book. On another level, I started reading specifically on Robin Hood about two years before beginning to write, and the research continues even as I go along.

GFTW: You ascribe to the Christian faith. What effect has this had on your writing?

SRL: Faith affects everything! No doubt it has affected my work in ways I’m not even aware of. Among other things, I think it makes me a little more sensitive and empathetic to issues of faith that were extant in the times I write about. I’m able to recognize and explore Christian themes in a way that non-Christian writers simply cannot because they are outside of it, because they nurse a prejudice against it, or because they lack that empathy and intimate understanding. My own faith enables me to embrace certain realities of the human condition that other writers shy away from. Thus, contexts, issues, elements of the medieval world (and religion was a very big part of it) can be woven naturally into the fabric of my stories.

GFTW: What has been your favorite response from a reader?

SRL: Wow!

GFTW: Looking out to the horizon, what projects other do you have in mind? Could we ever see an anthology publication of some of your early short works?

SRL:Not a chance. It isn’t that I’m unwilling, it’s that there are no early short works. I write novels, and everything I’ve written has been published – beginning with the Dragon King Trilogy (now re-issued in hardback) through to Scarlet.

GFTW: What advice would you give an aspiring writer?

SRL: Read! Read everything you can get your eyes on. Read widely. Read deeply. But read, and pay attention to what works in a story and what doesn’t.

GFTW: Thank you for taking the time to do this interview. Blessings on your future endeavours.


Other Books by Stephen Lawhead:

This post is part of the CSFF Blog Tour for Stephen Lawhead in November 2007. Click the links below to see what other participants are saying about Scarlet and Stephen Lawhead's King Raven trilogy.

Trish Anderson Brandon Barr Wayne Thomas Batson Jim Black Justin Boyer Grace Bridges Amy Browning Jackie Castle Valerie Comer CSFF Blog Tour D. G. D. Davidson Chris Deanne Jeff Draper April Erwin Linda Gilmore Beth Goddard Marcus Goodyear Andrea Graham Jill Hart Katie Hart Sherrie Hibbs Timothy Hicks Christopher Hopper Becca Johnson Jason Joyner Kait Karen Dawn King Tina Kulesa Mike Lynch Margaret Karen McSpadden Melissa Meeks Rebecca LuElla Miller Mirtika or Mir's Here Eve Nielsen John W. Otte John Ottinger Lyn Perry Deena Peterson Rachelle Cheryl Russel Ashley Rutherford Hanna Sandvig Chawna Schroeder James Somers Rachelle Sperling Steve Trower Speculative Faith Robert Treskillard Jason Waguespac Daniel I. Weaver Laura Williams Timothy Wise

Posted by John at 10:00 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack | Posted to Christian SF&F | Fantasy | General Fiction | Interviews
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Classifying The King Raven Trilogy by Stephen Lawhead

TOMORROW: An Interview with Stephen Lawhead

Historical fantasy might be called the red-headed stepchild of two genres of writing. The first, historical fiction can be straightforwardly defined as a story set in a historical context, using all the strictures imposed by reality, but that has a narrative that cannot be factually substantiated. In essence, historical fiction is fiction within a known historical context. The second parent of historical fantasy is fantasy itself. Fantasy has been broadly defined, but can really be boiled down to the use of magic in fiction. That magic may take many different forms, but ultimately, fantasy has some element in it that goes beyond the borders of science into the spiritual or unknown realms. This is what we call magic or miracle, and is what makes a fantasy different from all other genres.

Historical fantasy is a mixture of these two genres. From the historical fiction side, it takes a historicity and factuality that is provable through historic writings. From fantasy, it takes the elements of magic and miracle to put a spin on the historical context.

The Arguments For:

Stephen Lawhead’s King Raven trilogy is an arguably an example of historical fantasy. I say this for three reasons.

First, The King Raven trilogy is based on legend. While most of the other elements in the story (the setting of Wales, the politics of the time, many of the characters) are real and did exist, the Robin Hood legend is itself lacking proofs at this time. Legend is itself a subgenre of myth, and while more like a historical fiction than a fantasy, usually contains enough of the ethereal to find a home in fantasy classifications. In this way, The King Raven trilogy is both a historical fiction and a fantasy, as it simply is a unique telling of an age-old legend.

Second, although some might argue otherwise, The King Raven trilogy contains elements of magic. It is subtle, but it is there, and even though its role is limited, the very fact that Hood and Scarlet contain it in them makes them fantasies by default. This is the magic evidenced by Angharad, the banfaith of the Grellon (Robin’s merry men). Banfaith is term used to describe the female Celtic oracles consulted by Druids. They were similar in purpose to the Oracle of Apollo as it was their job to provide divinations and prophecies to those who asked. Angharad provides these very services in Hood and Scarlet, and therefore add the element of magic needed to be classified as historical fantasy. Additionally, when Bran becomes King Raven, he takes a different aspect of something darker and more powerful than a human. This is a magical event as it is described by Lawhead, and William Scarlet notices the marked difference between King Raven and Bran in character, stature, and power. It is that power that adds the magical element needed. Bran becomes superhuman when he becomes King Raven and in that transition is the magic element needed to classify the King Raven trilogy as fantasy.

The final reason that The King Raven Trilogy can be described as historical fantasy is simply the social aspect of the book’s classification. First of all, the publisher has chosen to classify it as such and so the book sellers have placed the books in the fantasy section of their stores. And while some readers may not like that The King Raven trilogy has so much basis in fact and only small elements of magic, the majority of readers have classified the works as fantasies, albeit historical ones. These two subpoints then show that no matter what you may think, the most widely accepted classification among publishers, sellers and readers is as historical fantasy, not historical fiction.

The Arguments Against:

For the first, some would say that legend is just a form of historical fiction. Usually, legends revolve around a real person, for whom the stories simply got out of hand. (Some would argue that Christ, King Arthur, and Buddha are such people.) This then is not fantasy, but rather an out of proportion fiction based in reality. I would argue against this as most fantasies are based in reality, but it is where they depart from the laws of science or add superhuman characteristics to the protagonists that they become fantasies. Robin Hood’s story is debatable, as to my knowledge; there is nothing superhuman or magical about his story, so in truth we still have not answered the question.

The second point, that the depiction of Angharad the banfaith provides the necessary element of magic to call The King Raven trilogy a fantasy may be explained away by calling it common sense or intuition. Much of Angaharad’s divination may seem based in common sense, or the dreams of someone mulling over a problem. I know for me that at times I have gone to sleep with a problem on my mind and woken up with the solution in hand. Was this magic? Not likely, it was probably my unconscious mind working at the problem as I slept. It was only with the fresh dawn that I could see the answer that I already had in mind. This is a valid argument. After all, Angharad’s premonitions are logical conclusions based on the danger they found themselves in. This I cannot dispute other than to say that in creating a Celtic style oracle, Lawhead is equating Angharad with the magical and miraculous art of divination and prophecy and so seeks the fantasy designation. The argument against the superhuman nature of Bran is can be summed up simply as poetic license. Some readers might argue that Lawhead is simply trying to describe how Bran and the Grellon manipulated existing fear and rumor to their own benefit and Lawhead is giving voice to that. This is a valid point as well, but I think the careful reader will note that Lawhead makes a point to show the distinction between Bran and King Raven and in so doing makes the argument against invalid.

Conclusion:

I would conclude that The King Raven trilogy is a historical fantasy, albeit one whose fantasy elements are subtle. As to whether historical fantasy really belongs as a part of the fantasy genre, I leave those arguments to others. My opinion is that once something adds magic or miracle to a story, it becomes a fantasy, not matter the intent of the author or the classification ultimately given it. (i.e. Gregory Maguire’s books are fantasies although they are often placed in the general fiction section of most bookstores.) The King Raven trilogy, although historical in setting and time, primarily following all physical laws, has some element of the mystic and the ethereal, and therefore must be deemed a fantasy.

This post is also part of the CSFF Blog Tour for Stephen Lawhead in November 2007. Click the links below to see what other participants are saying about Scarlet and Stephen Lawhead's King Raven trilogy.

My review of Hood.

My review of Scarlet.

Trish Anderson Brandon Barr Wayne Thomas Batson Jim Black Justin Boyer Grace Bridges Amy Browning Jackie Castle Valerie Comer CSFF Blog Tour D. G. D. Davidson Chris Deanne Jeff Draper April Erwin Linda Gilmore Beth Goddard Marcus Goodyear Andrea Graham Jill Hart Katie Hart Sherrie Hibbs Timothy Hicks Christopher Hopper Becca Johnson Jason Joyner Kait Karen Dawn King Tina Kulesa Mike Lynch Margaret Karen McSpadden Melissa Meeks Rebecca LuElla Miller Mirtika or Mir's Here Eve Nielsen John W. Otte John Ottinger Lyn Perry Deena Peterson Rachelle Cheryl Russel Ashley Rutherford Hanna Sandvig Chawna Schroeder James Somers Rachelle Sperling Steve Trower Speculative Faith Robert Treskillard Jason Waguespac Daniel I. Weaver Laura Williams Timothy Wise

Posted by John at 10:33 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack | Posted to Christian SF&F | Fantasy | Literature and Language
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Book Review: Scarlet by Stephen R. Lawhead

Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Historical Fantasy
ISBN: 1595540865
ISBN-13: 9781595540867
Format: Hardcover, 512pp
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Pub. Date: September 2007
Series: King Raven Trilogy Series, #2

In literature, there are several key scarlets: The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Scarlet Letter, and Scarlett O’Hara of Gone with the Wind. But none is better known than Will Scarlet, companion to the infamous Robin Hood, the outlaw who robbed from the rich to give to the poor. But in most versions of the Robin Hood story, Will Scarlet is a two-dimensional character. Although his relationship to Robin Hood is often a turning point in many narratives (see Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves) his characterization is minimal at best. (Although the Will Scarlet of Robin Hood: Men in Tights is probably the funniest rendition.)

Stephen Lawhead first tackled the Robin Hood story in Hood, the first book in the King Raven trilogy. In it he imagines an earlier Robin Hood who is not a Saxon lord, but a Welsh one. Giving him the name Rhi Bran (meaning King Raven) the outlaw becomes a man thrust from his rightful kingdom, forced to prey on the Norman conquerors who stole his land from within the forest of the March. For Lawhead’s reasoning on why he set this story as a Celtic one, rather than in the traditional Nottingham of the East Midlands, see his essay at the end of Hood.

In Scarlet, Lawhead picks of the threads of his story where he left off in Hood. Bran and his Grellon (or merry men) are in hiding. Meanwhile, William Scatlocke, a forester, is thrust from his livelihood when his lord and master backs the wrong prince for the throne. Forced to become a wandering laborer, Scatlocke (also known as Scarlet) hears rumors of Bran and determines to seek him out. What follows is a series of adventures and narrow escapes reminiscent of the traditional Robin Hood story, but with a realism and historical accuracy lacking in the Errol Flynn version.

Lawhead’s Scarlet is the key protagonist of this novel. While in Hood, the story is told primarily from Rhi Bran’s perspective, here we have the story as told by Will, as he relates the occurrences to a priest named Odo. Three quarters of the novel is told in this way, with a few chapters stepping outside of Will’s memories and into the minds and hearts of the villains, in order to give us a full and round story. The final quarter of the story is told in traditional first person style, as seen through Will’s eyes, because he is no longer in a position to relate his story to Odo. This way of telling us the story gives a picture of Will as a simple and loyal man, a talented archer, who loves a woman very deeply. In this, it seems it was Lawhead’s intention to give us a picture of a common man of the time shortly following the invasion of the Normans into England.

Included in the narrative is a telling of the story of Manawydan and Pryderi, an ancient Celtic tale of the Mabinogion, by Angharad, the banfaith of the outlaws. Lawhead has oft used the old Celtic tales to provide metaphors for the story he is telling. He did it in the Song of Albion trilogy, as well as The Pendragon Cycle. It gives the reader a taste of the Celtic storytelling tradition. Although for some these secondary tales might seem out of place in the novel, or might be decried as just filler, I think that Lawhead is giving us a taste of how much the oral storytelling tradition was a part of life for the Celts and Britons. It informed and changed people, and was a way of passing down wisdom from one generation to the next, much like sermons and wisdom books do today.

Although the storyline is fast moving (helped along by the short chapters) the entire novel does have the feel of filler. Although Bran and his band are still seeking the return of Elfael, his rightful kingdom, not much happens to make us think that might happen till near the end of the book. In the meantime, the outlaws make a few forays against the current rulers of Elfael, Count de Braose, Abbot Hugo and the Sheriff de Glanville, but in truth I as a reader never really felt that the characters were going to meet with any success, in their goals.

The reader will have to read Hood in order to understand even the minutest part of Scarlet. I was disappointed that Bran and Merian’s relationship was not developed more. Bran, after reading Scarlet, seemed a flat character, distant and removed from Will Scarlet. Although I understand Lawhead’s intent to give dimensionality to Will Scatlocke, and to give the reader a feeling of a common man’s lot, I think that by doing so, he lost some of the personality of Bran in the bargain. After Hood, Bran was the person the reader was most in tune with, and the person the reader most identified with. But because we see the world through Will’s eyes, Bran becomes distant, and his struggle is no longer our struggle. That loss hurts the story.

There is gain in knowing more about the historical context and the personal struggles of an average Saxon, as well as learning more about the political and religious machinations of the day, and the story of Will Scarlet does that well.

The novel is well-written; it is fast paced, with excellent fight scenes, and makes a good lunch hour read with its short chapters and varying perspectives. Odo provides a surprising character and interesting plot twist that makes this book even more fun to read. And of course, this is still the legend of Robin Hood, even if the setting is different, so many of the adventures are in the vein that fans of the Robin Hood legend have come to expect. Arrow flights abound, close shaves are common, and brazen acts of valor are to be expected.

Scarlet makes for a good read, although it is not Lawhead's best work. Fans of Robin Hood will enjoy Lawhead’s unique take on the legend, as well as his commitment to historical accuracy. Fans of fantasy will question the novel’s fantasy label, as well they should. But there is an element of magic in the person of Angharad and in the strange King Raven that Bran becomes when on a sortie, so the fantasy fan will not be disappointed. Fans of historical novels of medieval times will find much to love in both Hood and Scarlet, and Lawhead devotees (such as myself) are going to find all of the same things they have always loved about Lawhead’s writing in Scarlet. This is a novel worth your time. The legend of Robin Hood is brought closer to its historical truth, and given an added Celtic flair that only Stephen Lawhead can provide.

Read my review of Hood here. (BE WARNED. It was one of my first, and isn't very good.)

This post is also part of the CSFF Blog Tour for Stephen Lawhead in November 2007. Click the links below to see what other participants are saying about Scarlet and Stephen Lawhead.

Trish Anderson Brandon Barr Wayne Thomas Batson Jim Black Justin Boyer Grace Bridges Amy Browning Jackie Castle Valerie Comer CSFF Blog Tour D. G. D. Davidson Chris Deanne Jeff Draper April Erwin Linda Gilmore Beth Goddard Marcus Goodyear Andrea Graham Jill Hart Katie Hart Sherrie Hibbs Timothy Hicks Christopher Hopper Becca Johnson Jason Joyner Kait Karen Dawn King Tina Kulesa Mike Lynch Margaret Karen McSpadden Melissa Meeks Rebecca LuElla Miller Mirtika or Mir's Here Eve Nielsen John W. Otte John Ottinger Lyn Perry Deena Peterson Rachelle Cheryl Russel Ashley Rutherford Hanna Sandvig Chawna Schroeder James Somers Rachelle Sperling Steve Trower Speculative Faith Robert Treskillard Jason Waguespac Daniel I. Weaver Laura Williams Timothy Wise

Posted by John at 10:43 AM | Comments (11) | TrackBack | Posted to Christian SF&F | Fantasy | General Fiction
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Book Review: The Orc King by R. A. Salvatore

* Genre: Fantasy, Shared World Fiction, Sword and Sorcery
* ISBN: 0786943408
* ISBN-13: 9780786943401
* Format: Hardcover, 346pp
* Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
* Pub. Date: September 2007
* Series: Forgotten Realms Transitions Series, #1

Picking up where The Two Swords left off, The Orc King continues the adventures of Drizzt Do’Urden and the Companions of the Hall. King Obould Many-arrows seeks to create a kingdom of orcs, at peace with its neighbors, a thing unheard of in Faerun. Tosun Armgo continues to seek to be a new Drizzt, a dark elf of good character while fighting off the advances of Khaizid’hea the evil sentient sword. And Wulfgar, recently widowed sets out to find his lost daughter Colson.

R.A. Salvatore has been writing in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for 20 years. Widely acclaimed for his creation of the dark elf Drizzt, he brought shared world fiction into the mainstream of genre fiction. (If such a thing can be said, it does seem like an oxymoron in some ways.) His novels are sold all over the world, and Drizzt is almost as recognizable a character as Gollum or Captain Kirk.

But (and remember this but comes from an amateur) for all his accomplishments, it seems that Salvatore cannot get out of a writing rut, when comes to his characters. The Sellswords Trilogy was received poorly, by even his most loyal readers (I among them) as it did little with its potential. With the return to the story of Drizzt, Bruenor, Catti-brie, Wulfgar and Regis, the hope of many of his fans would be that his creativity would sparkle once again. But The Orc King didn’t. Oh, it has the classic Salvatore elements. The Orc King has the great fight scenes both personal and on a larger scale that first drew his fans in. His continues the tradition of Drizzt’s introspections at the beginning of each section, setting up the stage for the following chapters. But what he does not do—and this is where the novel fails—is create a new behaviors for his characters or really make them grow.

In The Orc King, Wulfgar is still the introspective former captive of Errtu. Salvatore had already destroyed all that had made Wulfgar a great character to begin with. His had aged from a brave and intrepid youth into a simpering self-pitying character (for all his protestations otherwise). Wulfgar again leaves the Companions of the Hall, the very people who can help him, and sets off on his own, certain that this is the right course. He was just as certain a few books ago, and that certainty left him a wino that had lost Aegis-fang. I have always been of the opinion that this character development was one of Salvatore’s poorest choices in his writing. The Orc King continues Wulfgar’s lack of growth, to moving beyond the events of his past to happiness in his future. Wulfgar, as the reader will find out, always thinks the grass is greener somewhere else, and for some reason Salvatore won’t change that part of his character. Perhaps the next novel will show a change, as Wulfgar does move to greener pastures, but I don’t hold my breath.

The behavior of Bruenor is also odd. This odd dwarf king, who befriended a dark elf in the very first Drizzt novel, can’t seem to get over his prejudice of orcs. Now, I don’t know about you, but that seems odd to me. Obviously, Bruenor’s prejudice is necessary for the story, but it seems out of character for someone who not only saved a dark elf, but befriended him. Always Salvatore has made it clear that the “goodly” races fear dark elves more than any other of the “evil” races. Yet Bruenor can’t see good in an orc. This just seems out of character. Salvatore does try to explain it away by having Bruenor seem to be deluding himself in hope that Obould’s goal of a peaceful kingdom is not true but I just don’t buy it as a reader who has devoured all the Drizzt novels. It seems out of character.

All right, enough vitriol. Yes, the two characters were either annoying as in the case of Wulfgar, or out of character as in Bruenor, but this is not the whole of the novel. Salvatore is continued to address the themes of prejudice. Once, he did it on the personal level with Bruenor and Drizzt, now he is dealing with it at the community level. Dwarves and orcs have always despised one another, but in The Orc King, an intelligent orc sees the need for peace between the two races, so that both may flourish. (There are hints of ongoing conflicts in the world today.) This is an excellent theme to write about in a shared-world filled with so many races. Salvatore’s choice of using Drizzt and his companions, who had so eagerly slain orcs in previous novels, to help King Obould realize his dream is appropriate.

And of course, Salvatore continues his trademark battle and fight scenes descriptions. Of the many fantasy authors I have read, few hold a candle to Salvatore’s depictions. He so well describes the actions of the characters, and sets up the setting beforehand, that is almost impossible for the reader not to visualize the events as if they were happening in front of our eyes. For that alone, any Salvatore novel is worth the small amount of time it takes to read. I may not like some characterization or some plot, but each fight or battle scenes rouses my spirit afresh. Undeniably, Salvatore has a gift for pacing his novels, always knowing just when the reader needs some good old-fashioned hacking and slashing.

The Orc King is, for all its faults, still a great read. Drizzt Do’Urden is a hero of righteousness and truth, and no reader can help but root for he and his team. Salvatore’s novels are always exciting. This novel being the first in a trilogy called Transitions, the reader can expect (I hope) to see some significant changes to the Silver Marches and to the way that orcs at least are characterized in future novels. I hope that Salvatore really puts his characters through the wringer in this trilogy and makes them into better people than they already are. I am looking forward to the next novel. It appears that Wizards of the Coast and Ed Greenwood have big changes in store for the Forgotten Realms with the new 4th edition, and Salvatore is giving us intimations of that, perhaps is even now writing the novels that will help change the face of Faerun forever. Don’t read this novel for your first foray into the Forgotten Realms, but fans will enjoy, though probably not love this one. It is no Sojourn or The Crystal Shard, but it is fun to read and is a welcome return to the Drizzt legend for all Salvatore’s readers.

Posted by John at 01:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | Forgotten Realms
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Week Long Conversation with Christopher Moore

Barnes and Noble is hosting a conversation with Christopher Moore Dec. 10-14 on its new forum, Center Stage. The forum for it is already open for posting questions. There is also a forum post listing his books that is open for conversation. You can also subscribe to the RSS feeds and keep track of the conversations without having to return to the website.

If you don't know who Christopher Moore is, first, where have you been? and second, here's a synopsis from the forum opening post.

"Moore has been compared to such luminaries of irreverent literary humor as Kurt Vonnegut and Douglas Adams, yet Moore clearly follows a demented logic that is all his own. Since the publication of his debut novel Practical Demonkeeping in 1992, he has been staking out a place for himself as the grand jester of contemporary literature. But where does an author start when drumming up ideas for madcap tales with titles like The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove and The Stupidest Angel? 'Usually from something I read," he explains on his Web site, chrismoore.com. 'It could be a single sentence in a magazine article that kicks off a whole book. Ideas are cheap and easy. Telling a good story once you get an idea is hard.'"

Posted by John at 09:28 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy
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Book Review: The Awakened Mage by Karen Miller

Genre: Epic Fantasy
ISBN: 0316067814
ISBN-13: 9780316067812
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 712pp
Publisher: Orbit
Pub. Date: October 2007
Series: Kingmaker, Kingbreaker Series, #2

One theme drives the plot of Karen Miller’s The Awakened Mage, sequel to The Innocent Mage and concluding volume of the Kingmaker, Kingbreaker duology, friendship. That friendship is exemplified in the sometimes tenuous, but always interesting friendship between Gar and Asher. In the first novel, the two formed an unlikely pair. Gar is a magickless prince, unable to serve as King of Lur, since the King is also the WeatherWorker and maintainer of Barl’s Wall, the only thing keeping the evil of Morg at bay. And there is Asher, the intelligent and wily fisherman, who only seeks to serve the kingdom and his friend.

The story of The Awakened Mage (also called Innocence Lost) picks up where its predecessor left off, not wasting text space on retelling the story, as it is assumed the reader already knows all the events that have led to this point. (I suggest you read no further in this review if you don’t want the plot spoiled from the first novel.) The King and all his family except Gar are dead, and the magician Durm is the puppet of Morg. Morg has planted the seed of power in Gar, timing it to disappear when it would be most disastrous for the kingdom. Now King, Gar must protect the kingdom from the racist and power hungry Conroyd Jarralt. But when Asher, the Innocent Mage of prophecy discovers his own magical powers, the whole Kingdom of Lur is thrown into chaos, just as Morg wants. The only solution will be for Asher to get help from Dathne and the Circle.

This time, Miller has worked hard to go from tragedy to even worse tragedy. Gone are the happy times of the first novel, and all that is left behind is darkness. Gar and Asher’s friendship goes through some horrendously trying times, even up to the point of breaking. Miller really dives into the friendship, giving it a great deal of stress, twisting it and tying it into knots to see just what will break Gar and Asher apart. And if there is one thing it is magic. Gar’s jealousy of others with magic and Asher’s newfound ability in it really push the characters over the edge and their friendship into turmoil.

Whereas The Innocent Mage had a more lighthearted tone, The Awakened Mage is much darker. Things go from bad to worse; to even worse, and when redemption finally dawns, the reader will be glad of it. But this does make for some great reading as we wonder just how Gar and Asher will find their way out of this mess and ultimately defeat the evil magician Morg.

Miller continues to write in an engaging style. Relying almost completely on characterization (there are no fight scenes in this one folks) to move the narrative forward, she makes the characters so arresting that we just have to find out what happens to them next. Several surprising plot twists occur in this novel. Miller jerked left when I would have jerked right, and I think that the novel is the better for it.

The ultimate solution to the problem of Morg is a bit trite, and I felt that Miller alluded to the tug and pull of prophecy versus free will, but never really dealt with the issue, leaving a small vacuum in the story. When the final battle comes, Miller betrays her inability to write fight scenes or even spell battles. She does, however, kill off characters we have come to know and love, and doesn’t let everyone get off free and clear, so that makes up for the lack of action. Since Miller did such a good job of making the reader invest in her characters, even the minor ones, the shock of their deaths gives the final scenes the punch they need to make for a really great ending, even if the fighting itself lacks luster.

This novel really does end the Kingmaker, Kingbreaker duology in the only way it could have ended and still be a heroic fantasy. Miller is great at building suspense, and when the dam breaks, and we reach the climax of the story, our hearts bleed for the characters.

I highly recommend that you read the entire Kingmaker, Kingbreaker duology. Both are mass market paperbacks, so the $6.99 price for each is small compared to the enjoyment you will get out of reading them. I actually regret that Orbit did not put The Innocent Mage and The Awakened Mage out in hardback format, so that I could give them a pride of place on my bookshelf next to my George R. R. Martin, Stephen Lawhead, Terry Pratchett, and Terry Brooks. Although Karen Miller’s novels are nothing like these authors, her arresting writing style, superb characterization, and creative plot twists make her one of the best writers working in the field of fantasy today, and so deserve a special place on any fantasy fan’s bookshelf.

Posted by John at 12:51 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy
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Character Flaws and Ideology: An Interview with Bruce Cordell

Bruce Cordell, Game Designer for Wizards of the Coast and Forgotten Realms author, answered a few of my questions about his latest novel Stardeep (my review) and spoke on the need for characters who are flawed in fantasy fiction.

Grasping for the Wind: Tell us a little about how you came became a Dungeons and Dragons fan, and the path you took to becoming a game and novel writer.

Bruce Cordell: During a late '70s Boy Scouts summer camp, I stumbled upon the older scouts huddled around a lantern-lit picnic table playing a wondrous game. The DM described how an ogre was eating dwarves like a cartoon cat eats a fish, then throwing each denuded skeleton behind him into a large pile. The PCs studied this tableau from hiding, worried that they were next. It was beyond anything I had ever imagined I could interact with. I was instantly hooked on D&D.

On the novel side, I've been a reader since I was old enough to pick up books my Mom bought home every two weeks from the library--science fiction and fantasy novels all. The idea of becoming a writer struck me in high school, and that's when I began writing short stories. Like most writers, I have a folder filled with unpublished short stories, many of them with politely worded rejection letters.

Anyway, it was D&D that turned out to be the key for me writing novels. Years of kind editorial advice prepared me to be a writer with a modicum of knowledge of the craft. Now, continued editorial advice continues to sharpen my pen, or so I hope. So I've been lucky in a lot of ways.

GFTW: What prompted you to do work for your local humane society, and blog so often about science related issues?

BC: I have a soft spot in my heart for animals. Unlike people, they can never be their own advocates. I can hardly bear to read a story or watch a television show with an animal in it, for fear it'll turn out badly for the creature in question. My wife is the same, and when she worked at the Humane Society a few years ago, it was easier than ever for me to become involved.

On science, well I have a degree in biology, and in fact thought I'd be a scientist studying longevity and aging, not a writer. Despite enjoying writing and story design, I also still really love science, and fantasize about going back to school to get a degree in physics or rocketry, or refreshing my biotech skills. In the meantime, I read science magazines and listen to science podcasts like a fiend.

GFTW: You have written several novels for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, but tell us a little about your latest, Stardeep.

BC: Stardeep tells many stories, including the little-known history of the Keepers of the Cerulean Sign and their long-standing pledge to protect Faerun from a threat few realize it once faced, and could again. One of the underlying themes of the book looks at the value sacrifice for something you deem more important than yourself--another is how strongly held beliefs can sometimes sway your ability to discern actual truth. These themes only became apparent to me after I finished writing. Mainly, I wanted to write a story about Kiril and how she got to be a foul-mouthed, alcoholic elf with a blade whose power seems matched only by its self-importance.

GFTW: In Stardeep, Kiril Duskmorn (a character who also appears in Darkvision) is the primary character. Why did you choose to delve more deeply into this character?

BC: She's a flawed character, more flawed than she originally seemed in Darkvision. I wanted to show everyone exactly what she had gone through, and how she reacted to that crisis, and what steps she was finally willing to take to atone for her past. And, if once all was said and done, she could really change.

GFTW: In Stardeep, your villain is only misguided, not truly evil, although his actions have evil consequences. Why did you avoid the standard good/bad dichotomy of other fantasies?

BC: While fantasy gives us sharply defined Evil and Good, we all know reality rarely works like that. Well-meaning folks who decide to do 'whatever it takes' to achieve their ends sometimes blind themselves by adopting dogma of their own creation or someone else's. Once a policy is set in stone without recourse for self-correction or external balance, such folks can step across the line and become threats as large or larger than what they claim to oppose. I'm not saying I don't have stories that rely on Evil (far from it), but when I can throw in a character or two whose ideological fervor oversteps their ability to weigh options, I will do so, because, really, one man's flawed character who ultimately fails to find redemption is another man's villain :-).

GFTW: Almost all of your stories and novels have an element of martial arts in them. Why is this?

BC: I've been studying Muay Thai and jujutsu for several years as much to maintain fitness as out of a desire to make fight scenes in my stories are as realistic as possible. I've also taken some Jeet Kune Do, which uses swords--I may take up that more for future characters who rely less on martial arts and more on swordplay.

GFTW: Do you find it difficult write female characters like Kiril?

BC: In broad ways, no, not really. In certain aspects, yes. But I think the female perspective in a book with multiple characters is vital for story balance, so I'll always brave potential difficulties. Thankfully, I have a female editor who will tell me if I've gone completely off the rails on a female character's POV.

GFTW: Most of your novels are written in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, although as an employee of Wizards, you have the opportunity to work in any of their worlds. Why choose to write in the Forgotten Realms setting?

BC: Well, at first it was chance. Now that I've established myself in the Realms, it would be hard to switch to another shared-world. I've grown to really care for the place and become invested in it, not only on the novel side, but also the game-design side. So, in the medium-term you'll find my future novels remain set in Faerun.

GFTW: You usually tackle parts of the Forgotten Realms that other authors overlook. Is this a conscious choice, or is it just that you write about these areas in your game designs and so are familiar with the material?

BC: A conscious choice--I can do more with areas that have seen little previous ink. Of course, being a game designer, I am also in a good place to use my own inventions (the specifics of Deep Imaskar and vengeance takers, for instance), to flesh out my stories.

GFTW: What is your response to those critical of novels set in shared-world settings?

BC: Well, a long while back I read some stinker shared-world stories, so I can understand some criticism. But I'd say, hey, that was 20 years ago. Try some novels being written by new authors and old authors who've grown in their craft. Paul Kemp springs to mind as a fine example. I'd say, try one of the latest Paul Kemp novels and see what you think of shared world novels. Well, probably first I would say try Stardeep and judge it on its own merits, and look, I have a copy right here on my book shelf . . . :-)

GFTW: What can you tell us about your sequel to Stardeep and the continuing adventures of Kiril Duskmorn?

BC: Well, it is too early to say much, but I can say I have a trilogy of books coming out that picks up a few of the story lines and characters of Stardeep, potentially including Kiril in some guise. Stardeep thus serves as a prequel, but one actually written in correct chronological order.

GFTW: Without violating any non-disclosure agreements, what can you tell us about the effect that the 4th edition of D&D will have on the Forgotten Realms?

BC: Like the rest of the game, 4th edition rules will breath fresh life into the various character classes, as well as provide new characters options. 4th edition realms will be more about players as heroes facing big threats, not ungodly powerful good-guy NPCs facing threats.

GFTW: Thanks for taking the time to do this interview. I look forward to your next novel.

BC: Thanks John, I enjoyed our talk, thanks for the opportunity :-)

Posted by John at 03:22 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | Forgotten Realms | Interviews
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Book Review: Stardeep by Bruce R. Cordell

Genre: Fantasy, Shared-World Fiction
ISBN: 0786943386
ISBN-13: 9780786943388
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 320pp
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Pub. Date: October 2007
Series: Dungeons Series

Kiril Duskmorn, who first appeared was in Darkvision, has returned. Bruce Cordell, Forgotten Realms author and Wizards of the Coast game scribe, has written Stardeep, a novel that delves into the Dungeon at the heart of the drunken star elf. Compelled by a love lost, and a self-righteous sentient sword, Kiril must return to the Dungeon of the Traitor to fulfill her role as a Keeper of the Cerulean Sign. Once a star elf, the Traitor gave himself to an evil, primeval influence and has since been confined and magically bound in a pocket dimension, guarded by magical and mundane guards. But when the traitor influences one of his guardians, it is up to Kiril and Raidon a half-Shou, half star elf with a desire to know his mother’s past, to stop him.

Bruce Cordell has always been able to reach into the lesser know areas of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, and give us a story about characters and powers rarely seen. Drawing on his own expertise as a campaign setting writer, he weaves a tale that adds depth and breadth to the Forgotten Realms history. The star elves are a secretive an little known race, making a few minor appearances in more recent novels, but in Stardeep more of their history is explored, especially the enigma of the Blade Cerulean, Kiril’s sentient sword.

The novel is an addition to the Dungeons series. A set of four stand-alone novels, the narratives center around a dungeon of some sort. Cordell’s dungeon is Stardeep, the prison of the Traitor, the only name he is ever called in the book. Cordell has two primary characters, Kiril and Raidon. Whereas Kiril seeks to fulfill duty long abandoned, Raidon is seeking his mother, a star elf. A martial artist, his skill is in his hand fighting, which is quite vividly depicted and well described by Cordell. It is rare that a martial artist is a major character in a fantasy novel, as most readers prefer the sword slinging hero, but Raidon’s fight scenes make a compelling case for why they should appear not just in Asian themed fantasies.

Cordell does have some supporting characters as well. A thief and a sorcerer, I think that one of the great failures of this novel is that they are not really developed, and exist only to add magic and thieving skills to Raidon and Kiril’s skill set. Cordell tends to over focus on his primary characters, while only using the support characters as cannon fodder, or to cast the odd magical spell. This is somewhat rectified in the case of he thief, Gage, as he does provide a small plot development, although all it really provides is a way for Cordell to introduce knowledge the primary characters couldn’t have otherwise gained. Adrik, the sorcerer, has one excellently written scene near the end of the novel, but otherwise provides little color to the novel, and could have been forgone entirely.

But for all the lack of character depth in the support characters, the two primary ones are much deeper. Kiril is a torn and broken woman, always questioning herself. Raidon is a sympathetic and noble hero whose concern for the welfare of others drives him on. Cordell puts both these characters through unique torments out which each becomes stronger.

The best part of the novel is Telarian, the supposed villain. In a misguided attempt to help, the diviner causes a great deal more trouble than he realizes. This is a good example of how the ends don’t always justify the means. Cordell really plumbs the depth of what that means, and how a misguided attempt at doing good can do so much harm to so many. To tell you more would ruin the novel, but in this one, our heroes and villains, while identifiable, all have bits of good and bits of darkness in them. It’s a yin and yang fantasy. In its style, content, characterization and all other elements, the entire novel shows that there is a little bit of good in everything (actions, words, deeds) as well as a little bit of bad.

Yet, as with most Forgotten Realms stand alone novels, this is a sword and sorcery novel. The non stop action is what drives the narrative, and Cordell provides detail of the Forgotten Realms world that only a setting writer can give. The text is chock full of fight scenes and magic battles, and the ending has a couple of pretty surprising twists.

Forgotten Realms fans will enjoy Stardeep. Those who love novels with elves will drool over this one. I recommend this as a good shared-world novel. It has fun action, unique characters, and a setting little explored, even by other Forgotten Realms authors. And if you enjoy it, Cordell has announced that this is not the end of Stardeep's characters. His next novel will continue their stories. I for one am looking forward to it.

Posted by John at 12:34 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | Forgotten Realms
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Arabian Mystery: An Interview with Nathalie Mallet

Nathalie Mallet, debut author of The Princes of the Golden Cage (my review), answered a few of my questions about her Arabian fantasy/mystery.

Grasping For The Wind: Thank you for taking the time to do this interview. Your novel was one of the best mystery/fantasy blends I have ever read.

Nathalie Mallet: Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it.

GFTW: You have written a blog post to explain the origin of The Princes of the Golden Cage, but could you give us a quick review of where this novel came from?

NM: The idea came from a documentary I saw some 12 years ago—which, funny enough, I remembered while soaking in my tub. It was a series on the great palaces of the world. The episode in question recounted the story of a palace where princes were imprisoned until one was chosen as heir to the throne. Although the details of the episode were still a tad vague in my mind, I knew I had found something. It wasn’t one of those Archimedes’ “Eureka” moment, but it was darn close.

GFTW: Why did you choose to write this novel entirely from a first person perspective?

NM: I thought a first person perspective would best fit this story. As readers can only see what Amir sees, it makes for a tighter plot…therefore a better mystery.

GFTW: Was there any sort of historical precedent for this tale of a Sultan’s sons trapped in a gilded cage?

NM: Absolutely! The Kafes, which literally means “the cage” in Turkish, really existed. Those princely rooms/cells are located in the Topkapi palace in Istanbul and are visited by thousands of tourists every year. In the Ottoman Empire, the Sultans’ eldest sons weren’t automatically destined to the throne, instead the Prince who had managed to prove himself the most apt to govern in the eyes of his father was chosen as the next ruler. Needless to say, that made for constant warring among the Princes, which threatened the stability of the country. The Kafes was then instituted as a solution. Later, the Ottoman succession rule was changed and the Kafes was abolished.

GFTW: Was it a difficult thing to mesh the facts of history with the fantastic elements you wanted to include?

NM: To a certain point it was. Because I loved all those fascinating cultural details so much there was the temptation to add too many of them into the story and bore readers with it or to stick too close to the historical reality. After all this is a fantasy, and as such I needed to construct a new world and give it its own set of rules, but at the same time I wanted to retain that Arabian Nights flavour, because it evokes such a strong imagery in people’s minds. It was a question of finding the right balance.

GFTW: The Princes of the Golden Cage is a subtle blend of mystery and fantasy. When you began writing, was it your intent to write a mystery or a fantasy?

NM: I knew this story was going to be a mystery from the beginning. For a short period of time, I considered making it a straightforward historical mystery. Then I came to my senses and just wrote what I really love—and that’s fantasy.

GFTW: Prince Amir is a strange character. While he takes care of his sick brothers, he has a great amount of disdain for servants, even beyond his mistrust of them. Why did you give Amir this particular flaw?

NM: I purposely wanted my protagonists to be flawed because normal people are flawed and sometime we all behave irrationally—although we don’t like to admit it. Amir’s mistrust of servants was something that made sense to me, because paranoia was prevalent amongst the Kafes’ princes, and Amir had to be a product of his environment. Don’t forget that the Cage is all he knows. Also when considering that the division of classes still exists today; one has to assume that most princes of that period must have been imbued with a healthy sense superiority and self-importance. So yes, Prince Amir believes servants and commoners to be his inferiors, and that’s the sort of prejudice he will have to grow out of, or at least reevaluate, once he leaves the Cage and Telfar.

GFTW: Which great detective of literature (i.e. Hercule Poirot, Sherlock Holmes, etc.) do you think Prince Amir is most like?

NM: I adore Sherlock Holmes. He’s my favorite of all detectives. But I would be hard pressed to compare Amir with him or anyone else for that matter. Honestly, I can’t really find a good comparison with my prince, and that’s okay with me.

GFTW: The grammatical structure of your sentences has been pointed out by more than one person (including me), as flawed. What is your response to such criticism?

NM: I agree with most of it. As English is my second language, moreover it is a language I’ve been writing in for slightly less than four years, I know it is far from being perfect, and probably will never be. But it will improve. When I decided to begin writing and chose to do it in English instead of French, I knew that mastering the grammar was going to be my biggest obstacle. French would have been far easier. However, the American market for Science Fiction and Fantasy is so vibrant and open one can hardly blame me for taking that route. I certainly don’t regret it.

GFTW: What has been the best response to your novel that you have received?

NM: It has to be when Jason Williams at Night Shade Books said they loved The Princes and would like to see a sequel.

GFTW: What can you tell us about the sequel, The King’s Daughter?

NM: Well, it has a Russian-inspired setting and the magical elements and legends in the sequel are drawn from Northern folklore. The tone of the story is a bit different. Now free, Amir travels to the icy kingdom of Sorvinka. But after committing a series of faux pas, Amir sees only one way to redeem himself in the eyes of the King. He must solve the mystery surrounding the disappearance of the Sorvinkian Princess, if he wants to win the King’s favor…and the hand of his beloved. It is in this book that Amir’s true nature and purpose is revealed…much to his chagrin.

GFTW: The King’s Daughter looks like it will be set in a different culture. Is it your plan to set each of you mystery/fantasy novels of this series in a different culture?

NM: Yes. It gives me an excuse to explore a different culture with each new book. Also I thought Amir should see the world he lives in.

GFTW: You were recently at the World Fantasy Convention. How was it? Did other authors have anything to say about your debut novel?

NM: It was great! I loved it. I met wonderful people, went to several readings and panels. I’m always interested to hear about other authors’ personal experiences and new projects they are working on. Also The Princes of the Golden Cage was well promoted by Night Shade. A good amount of people received the book, and many authors told me they were reading my book and enjoying it. Charles Coleman Finley, which I met for the first time at the convention, told me that he started reading it and couldn’t put it down until he was finished. He mentions it on his blog, The prodigal blog. It gives me goose bumps every time I think about it.

GFTW: Thanks again for taking the time to do this interview. I look forward to seeing more stories in this vein from your pen.

NM: The pleasure was all mine.

Posted by John at 12:00 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | Interviews
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Fairy Tales for the 21st Century

The Guardian has posted three modern fairy tales by Audrey Niffenegger, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Hilary Mantel. They are rather funny.

And in that vein, Powell's Books has a review of Neil Gaiman's American Gods posted.

Posted by John at 10:26 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy
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Book Review: The Phoenix Unchained by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory

Genre: Epic Fantasy, Coming-of-Age Fantasy
ISBN: 0765315939
ISBN-13: 9780765315939
Format: Hardcover, 398pp
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC (TOR)
Pub. Date: October 2007
Series: Enduring Flame Series, #1

If you are tired of all the gritty realism or the attempts to challenge the fantasy tropes that seem to be popular in fantasy fiction these days, then turn to my old friends, Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory. Lackey is best known for her Valdemar series, and the two authors together have written the New York Times best-selling fantasy series The Obsidian Trilogy. Writing straight up epic fantasy that uses all the favorite elements of fantasy readers everywhere, Mallory and Lackey give us a wonderful break from the “fantasy as literature” crowd and returns us to the “fantasy as great escapism” clique.

In a not much heralded release in October, the two authors returned to the setting of The Obsidian Trilogy to begin a new saga, The Enduring Flame. The first novel in the series, The Phoenix Unchained, tells the story of two friends, one the Harbormaster’s son, the other the son of a minor noble, whose friendship is put through some grueling tests.

One thousand and eight years since Kellen the Poor Orphan Boy drove back the Endarkened, High Magic has ceased to be practiced. Wildmages are still born and continue to serve the Balance, but High Magic has left the minds of men. When Tiercel attempts a spell of High Magic, all unknowing of its effect, he sets forth a chain reaction that forces he and his friend Harrier to leave the city of Armethalieh and seek the help of a Wildmage. Along the way they meet a centaur, put up with some snooty elves, and befriend the most powerful dragon who ever lived.

The Phoenix Unchained is the first novel in a trilogy, so much of the story centers on character building. The theme of friendship is central to the story, and it is tested many times throughout. Harrier and Tiercel must overcome many obstacles, not the least of which is Tiercel’s impending death if he doesn’t find a teacher of High Magic. The two characters are different, and this difference makes them both close and causes friction between them. The narrative is a journey story, and so in it, we watch the growth of these two young men as they cross the continent, searching for the answers that will save Tiercel’s life.

Lackey and Mallory have done an excellent job of giving us a story that is simply a joy to read. They mix into the narrative the creatures of myth and legend like fauns, centaurs, pixies, and elves in such a way that the reader is immediately comfortable with their presence. They are old and familiar friends whose characters we have seen in a thousand tales. And this makes the novel fun to read. With just the right pacing, interesting characters, and sense of danger around every turn, fantasy fans will feel like they have come home after wandering in a desert.

Since The Phoenix Unchained is the first book in a planned trilogy, readers will find that more questions are raised than answers are given. The final scene of the novel raises an even greater question than that of Tiercel’s survival. Although the novel puts the imminent death at the forefront of the reason for the action, I felt that it didn’t really seem to affect the characters too deeply. Oh, it got mentioned on occasion, but none of the characters seem to fear its possibility too deeply. That harms the motivation of the story to some degree. And since this is a collaborative effort, there are a couple of places that there are plot holes. A few things are left unexplained, or characters act out of character based on what had come before, and I would chalk this up to the writers forgetting what another had written. Still, it doesn’t harm the enjoyment of the story, and most readers who aren’t critics will even notice.

The authors have done well in giving us the character of Bisochim. The villain in the story, he is a complex character who seeks to restore what he sees as the Balance. And yet, in doing so, he is wooed to the dark side. His motivations are good, but his methods are dark and dirty. He exemplifies the situational ethics of Joseph Fletcher. And in him, we postmoderns will see ourselves.

But we will root for Tiercel and Harrier as they encounter strange situations and are attacked from afar by Bisochim. The friendship of these two is sorely tried, and we will find ourselves wishing for a friendship like theirs, or appreciating the one we have that mirrors it. At its core, this is a novel about friendship, duty, and the existence of right and wrong. All of which are appealing themes to fantasy readers. With a quickly moving plot and Lackey’s characteristic and comfortable style of writing, spotted with humor, the reader will be able to sit back, relax, and enjoy some good old-fashioned escapism. The Phoenix Unchained will find favor with all those fantasy readers who are looking for a good book to curl up with at the end of a long day.

And if you are a Mercedes Lackey fan, check out her free podcast of TWO science fiction novels created with Steve Libbey.

Posted by John at 10:07 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy
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Free Will Fantasy: An Interview with Brian Ruckley

Brian Ruckley, author of the Nordic/Scottish fantasy Winterbirth, graciously answered a few questions about his novel that I had, and talked a little about Bloodheir, the sequel forthcoming in 2008 from Orbit Books.

Grasping for the Wind: For those unfamiliar with Winterbirth, could you give a brief synopsis of the novel?

Brian Ruckley: I’m terrible at doing synopses. How about this: An old, unresolved conflict is renewed, and amidst the resultant mayhem and conspiracies and competing interests, a new and bigger – and at first largely unrecognised – threat starts to emerge. There are battles and pursuits and deaths, big mountains and lots of bad weather.

GFTW: Your novel is modeled after Nordic/Scottish and Germanic tribal cultures. Did this require a lot of research?

BR: I’ve got to admit I’m not big on the whole research thing, at least in the sense of doing specific research for specific purposes. There’s only one scene in Winterbirth that I did some specific background reading for, and that’s the festival that gives its name to the book: I went off and read a little bit about ancient pagan Winter festivals, just scavenging for ideas really.

I’m not quite as lazy as that might make me sound, though. In another sense, I do mountains of research, it’s just that it’s cunningly disguised as recreation. I’ve been interested in history for a long, long time. I read lots of history books, on everything from archeology through Roman to World War II. I wander around museums whenever I get the chance. I visit historical sites, watch history documentaries on the TV. It all soaks in, bit by bit, so my brain’s a bit like a saturated sponge, full of little bits of info on ancient cultures. All that stuff seeps out again and informs what I write.

GFTW: Although none of your characters can be classified as truly good or truly evil, you chose to make the villains of your tale the Gyre Bloods, who follow a twisted belief (The Black Road) rooted in fatalism. Why was this fatalism cast villainously?

BR: Oh, that’s a good question, at least in the sense that I could go on at some length in answering it (which would not be universally regarded as a good thing, I’m sure – so I’ll try for the shortish version of the answer). When the very first ideas for this story were starting to simmer in my brain, I (in my infinite wisdom) had a pet theory that there were too many fantasy stories in which prophecies of one kind or another were central drivers of the plot (this was quite a long time ago – there are fewer of them around these days. Prophecies have gone out of fashion a bit.). I figured that every time a prophecy shows up it raises an obvious question about the role of free will in all these imagined worlds, since it at the very least implies an element of inevitability about what’s going on.

That started me off thinking about choice, predestination and all that and I settled on the idea of giving the ‘villains’ their fatalistic creed, which includes a prophecy of sorts and which explicitly denies the significance of individual choice in the world. There’s no black and white struggle between absolute good and absolute evil in the story, but I do think one element of the story that’s going on in the background is a struggle between the various forces (not just the beliefs of the Black Road, but also the burden of personal and cultural history, social structures etc etc) that undermine the notion of free will, and on the other hand the idea that individuals can rise above such forces and make independent choices that have meaningful consequences.

All of which makes the book sound considerably more serious and weighty than it really is, but that kind of stuff was certainly at the back of my mind when I was writing it.

GFTW: Some have said that your book moves slowly because you spent so much time describing the scenery. Yet, you once told me that you worked very hard on setting the scenery. What is your response to such criticism?

BR: It’s true that I did put quite a bit of thinking effort into the landscapes and the whole environment of the world while I was writing: my feeling was that if those aspects of the world (along with the politics and the societies) came across as realistic and plausible and vivid, it would make it that little bit easier for readers to believe in the whole story. Most readers I’ve heard from seem to have enjoyed that aspect of the book. It may not work for everyone, of course, and I’d be crazy to think it would.

Where I’ve seen questions raised about the pacing it’s related more to the start of the book, where I’m laying out some of the threads of the story that I then start pulling together later on, and that’s perhaps a slightly different issue. I can, with hindsight, see the point that’s being made, although again it’s something that a lot of readers seem to have differing opinions about. But like any piece of well-intentioned criticism, I note it and ‘take it under consideration’ as they say. I’ve always thought that for any aspiring writer, one of the most important things is to learn how to be constructively critical of your own writing, and to deal with criticism from others with a reasonably open mind. That doesn’t change once you stop being an aspiring writer and become a published one. Not if you want to learn and improve, anyway.

GFTW: You have mentioned that Taim has become one of your favorite characters, even though he is a minor one in Winterbirth. Why is that? Can we expect to see more of Taim in the sequels?

BR: Taim certainly has a rather bigger role in the second book: he’s more directly involved in what’s going on. I think he appeals to me because I see him as a more or less unambiguously decent man who’s just trying to do his best in difficult circumstances (extremely difficult circumstances in Book Two, unfortunately for him!). He doesn’t have a self-serving agenda in quite the way a lot of the other characters do. Although, as you mentioned, straightforwardly good or evil characters are a bit thin on the ground, I see Taim as a basically good guy, whose motivations revolve around things like loyalty and service and family ties rather than personal advancement. Plus, he really knows how to handle himself in a fight, as he finally gets to demonstrate a bit in the second book, and that always makes a character fun to write, if nothing else!

GFTW: I have to admit, your elf-like race, the Kyrinnin, made me angry. They were so alien and so other. They didn’t behave like elves, and were very different from the fantasy stereotype. Was it difficult not to fall into the trap of making another elf race? How difficult was it to make the Kyrinnin seem alien and other than human?

BR: I certainly wasn’t trying to make anyone angry, but I certainly was trying to make the Kyrinin a bit unfamiliar, so I’ll take your reaction as a sign that I was somewhat successful in that! It may sound odd, but my way of making them seem ‘other than human’ was to borrow from human cultures. Tolkienesque elves were one element in their inspiration, but a lot of what I think people find distinctive about them is actually drawn from the real world, it’s just that it’s not drawn from the traditional, medieval European sources of a lot of fantasy. They’re a real mixture, but there’re bits of Native American culture in there, bits of prehistoric European hunter-gatherer society and so on. All in all, I’m not sure their attitudes and culture are really any less ‘human’ than those of the humans appearing the story, it’s just that they’re attitudes and culture that we’re not so familiar with in fantasy fiction or in the history we learn about at school.

GFTW: In another career, you are an environmental writer. What effect has this had on the story of The Godless World?

BR: I’ve done all kinds of environment-related work, and although it’s not actually a significant part of my working life right now it remains a major interest of mine (and I may well look to do more work in that field in the future). It certainly influenced the setting of my story: British – especially Scottish – landscapes and wildlife (and weather!) are the basic models for those of the Godless World. In some ways, they’re a version of Scotland I’d quite like to live in: the mountains and the forests are bigger, there are still bears and boars and wolves wandering around (unlike Britain where we decided a long time ago that we didn’t really want to share our island with such inconvenient co-habitees thank you very much). If it wasn’t for all the sword-waving fanatics and vicious Kyrinin I also populated it with, it’s a place I’d certainly like to visit.

GFTW: What can you tell us about the next installment in The Godless World trilogy, Bloodheir?

BR: Well the most important thing about it (as far as I’m concerned, anyway) is that it’s finished and scheduled for publication next year. I think the very end of Winterbirth gives a pretty strong indication that the rules of the game all the competing factions think they’re playing are about to change, so I guess you could say Bloodheir is about how the various players react to (or resist) the changes and their gradual loss of control over events. The stakes get higher, the battles get bigger, and I don’t suppose it would come as a huge surprise to anyone who’s read Winterbirth to hear that not all the characters make it through to the end of Bloodheir in one piece.

GFTW: Why should readers pick up your rather hefty tome?

BR: Assuming that making me happy is, not unreasonably, insufficient motivation in itself, I guess I better think of another reason … I’d say anyone who likes their fantasy with a hint of realism to it should give it a try. It’s got a bit of politics, a bit of magic, a bit of fighting, so there’s plenty of stuff in there that’s potentially pleasing to all sorts of readers. Plus it’s got a raven-haired warrior-woman wielding two swords at once, a snowbound ruined city high in the mountains, wardogs and a castle in the sea (kind of). It’s starting to sound quite good even to me …

GFTW: If a reader wanted to read more Brian Ruckley between releases of The Godless World trilogy, where might he/she look?

BR: I’d be enormously flattered if anyone felt sufficiently motivated to try and find more stuff I’d written, but the truth is they’d find the pickings rather slim. There’s some little snippets of writing and background info on the Godless World lurking on my website in the Gazetteer section (www.brianruckley.com/gazetteer.htm); most of it’s in the form of notes, but there are one or two short bits of ‘writing’ (and more to come in due course). And there’s always my blog (www.brianruckley.com/news.htm).

As far as other fiction is concerned, I suspect it would take a major and highly determined detective effort to track it down. I did have a couple of short stories published in British magazines in the 1990s. Anyone who stumbles across a certain back issue of The Third Alternative (I think it was #20), for example, could find therein a story of mine called ‘Gibbons’, which I’m reasonably proud of.

GFTW: Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. I’m eagerly anticipating the release of Bloodheir here in the US.

Posted by John at 10:17 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | Interviews
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Book Review: Green Rider by Kristen Britain

Genre: Epic Fantasy
ISBN: 0886778581
ISBN-13: 9780886778583
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 480pp
Publisher: DAW
Pub. Date: April 2000
Series: Green Rider Series, #1

Sometimes it is good to go back and read the fantasies of my youth. When I received an advance copy of The High King’s Tomb by Kristen Britain from DAW, I knew I needed to go back and read the preceding two books to remind myself of the story and to get that rush of enjoyment that rereading can provide. And that meant going WAY back. Green Rider, the first novel of this series, was originally published back in 1998!

Green Rider tells the story of Karigan G'ladheon, a young student and merchant’s daughter, who is thrown out of school for besting a noble’s son in combat. Rather than seeking justice, she runs away, not knowing that in fact she is running toward her destiny as a Green Rider. Green Riders are the King’s messengers, people endowed with magical abilities that allow them to serve their king in this capacity. In the world of Green Rider, magic used to be commonplace, but by Karigan’s time it had fallen into disuse, and was limited to the Green Riders and a few others. Karigan, as she runs home, runs into one of these Green Riders as he dies from arrow wounds right at her feet. But before he passes, he asks her to fulfill his mission, and get the message her carries to King Zachary. Karigan agrees, and is thrust into a race for her life as she is pursued by the killers of the Green Rider, who have ancient magic on their side.

Green Rider is an epic fantasy in the traditional sense. It is based on a medieval European world with magic as a part its fabric. Karigan is a reluctant hero bent on saving her country, for love of it, and in hopes of returning home to the father she loves. However, Green Rider wanders in that intent. It seems that when Kristen Britain began writing, she didn’t really have a direction for the novel, and by the time she discovered it, she chose not to go back and remove the portions of the book that don’t add much to the story. In essence, the story lacks continuity, and Karigan is sent on side quests or meets characters or finds back-story to other characters that have little to do with the story as a whole. For instance, one whole chapter is spent on Stevic G'ladheon, focusing on him as he looks for his daughter. I assume that this was to give the reader insight into his character. But while he has a minor role in the final end battle, and the character building chapter might be helpful, we really can glean enough of his character from Karigan that it was unnecessary to spend a chapter on his search. There is also the time when Karigan spends the night in a Green Rider cabin in the woods. While this give us a little background about the Green Riders and Captain Mapstone, it does not tell us something we don’t hear about before or after, and therefore could have been removed from the story.

Terry Goodkind had a great deal of effect on Britain’s writing. She lived with the Goodkind’s during the writing of this novel (even going so far as to name a river in the story Terrygood), and that effect can be seen. Those who like Goodkind’s novels are likely to see his influence in the style of writing. It also feels a bit like Kate Elliott’s novels, both in tone and setting.

Karigan is all Britain’s though. Karigan’s character is Britain herself, making this novel more like a strange memoir than a fantasy. When Karigan struggles with being thrown out of school, the reader will almost feel that Britain is telling her own story. This personal depth of feeling adds a great deal to the emotional thrust of the story. Karigan’s fears and troubles will be understood be the reader, especially those of a female persuasion. Britain hints at possible rape (one wonders if there might be some of that in her own past) when Karigan is captured, although she avoids it by providing an antithesis female character who stops it before it goes too far, but who is also evil in a sense, although that perception changes as the story progresses.

Britain is also an early environmentalist. At one time, she worked for the National Park Service, and her love of nature and the desire to preserve it comes through in the story pretty obviously. In particular, the way she describes the lumberjacking town of North shows her contempt and disapproval of the way we treat our forests. It does not detract from the story in any way, though it doesn’t really add much to it either.

But for the most part, this book is a straight epic fantasy. There is an elf-like analogue in the Eletians and evil races like the groundmites. The novel does end without wrapping up all of the issues, although Karigan ends up playing the hero, albeit reluctantly. This sets up the next novel, First Rider’s Call, released in 2003. (Kristen Britain is a writer of George R. R. Martin slowness, but for the most part it’s worth the wait.)

I reluctantly recommend this novel. I feel that you could probably read First Rider’s Call without reading Green Rider, and not feel that you have missed overmuch. If you want some more back story on some of the characters of First Rider’s Call and The High King’s Tomb, then you might want to read Green Rider, but you could probably skip it. It is a decent novel, somewhat exciting; with some interesting characters (I love the Berry sisters). However, its slow and wandering plot line bring it down from a great novel to just a fine one. If you want to read Kristen Britain, I recommend beginning with First Rider’s Call.

Posted by John at 09:51 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy
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Book Review: The Princes of the Golden Cage by Nathalie Mallet

Genre: Mystery, Fantasy
ISBN: 1597800902
ISBN-13: 9781597800907
Format: Paperback, 256pp
Publisher: Night Shade Books
Pub. Date: August 2007

Nathalie Mallet’s debut novel, The Princes of the Golden Cage, hits the ground with both feet and takes off running. From the very first page the action is heart-pounding, the intrigue mysterious, and the story creative.

Prince Amir and his brothers are all sons of the Sultan and his harem. Due to divisiveness and strife between warring brothers generations ago, the Sultans now place all their sons in a specially designed section of the palace that closely resembles a prison. In it, they are treated like princes, but are never allowed to leave. Added to the lack of freedom is their fear of each other. In this cage, each brother is seeking to become the next Sultan, but in order to do so, one brother must kill or subdue all the others through sanctioned combat. Amir has never sought to become Sultan and has kept his head down and in his books. But events out of his control are catching up with him. A killer of a magical nature is stalking the halls of the princes’ cage, and its victims die horribly. When Amir is fingered as the culprit, he must team up with his blond haired brother Erik to solve the unsanctioned murders before he loses his head or falls victim to his brother’s murderer.

Mallet has created a medieval Arabian setting reminiscent of the tales of Scherezade in the 1001 Arabian Nights. In fact, as the story is written, it could have been one. Amir relates the events from his own perspective, and the reader almost gets a sense of him relating the story of these events to us over a campfire years later. Mallet has a conversational style of writing that leads the reader to feel that Amir is talking to us, giving us the play by play of the narrative. This made the reading light and easy. Its first person perspective is a help, not a detriment, as it also allows Mallet to keep a sense of mystery in the story, as the reader only knows what Amir knows.

And for this story, that sense of mystery and intrigue is essential. Mallet does a great job of creating varied characters, all of whom provide excellent suspects. Nor does she resort to deus ex machina to solve the mystery she creates. Amir follows a step by step trail of clues that lead the reader to a fitting and surprising conclusion. After I finished the book, I thought back on the story, and saw all the clues that Mallet had given me, but that I had glossed over in choosing other suspects as the murderers.

And this is a mystery fantasy novel. A peculiar subset of the fantasy genre, it combines a mystery with the magical elements of fantasy. Often, this results in a story that sets up a deus ex machina type solution. Some magical element is forgotten or not known about by the reader, and ends up being the key to the solution. Most mystery readers dislike this, as we prefer to follow a trail of clues to the solution to the mystery. Mystery fantasy novels are often unfair to the reader, who at least wants a fighting chance of guessing “who did it” before the conclusion of the novel. Mallet gives you that chance, but weaves the clues to the solution so subtly into the narrative that you will most likely miss them when you read it.

The Princes of the Golden Cage does suffer some first novel jitters. I found the grammatical structure that Mallet uses occasionally jarring. (I used to be an English teacher, and am very in tune to such things.) Mallet is a Canadian, and her English is different from my American version, so it is possible that her structure might just be chalked up to that. However, I got used to it after a few pages, and while I recognize that I might not have put together a sentence the same way she did, it is not wrong per se. Most readers who haven’t been English teachers would even notice. I also noticed a few odd mistakes. At one point she mentioned the word “Slovakian” to describe people from a foreign country, but previously she had established people from that country with a different name.

Still, the action was a lot of fun to read. Her fight scenes, while short, really get your heart pounding. There is a love interest in the story as well, and she is not some mewling sycophant. In fact, most of the primary women characters are strong, each in their own way, and do not take a back seat in this story of dueling princes. The magical elements are a part of the story, but do not drive the narrative, something that is essential when writing a mystery with fantasy elements. It is the mystery and Amir’s character that make the story as fun to read as it is. I especially appreciate Mallet avoiding magic as the only solution, instead relying on a combination of Amir’s intelligence, the help of his friends, and one magical element to provide the ultimate solution to the story.

Nathalie Mallet provides several surprises and plot twists that I, an avid reader of both mysteries and fantasies, did not see coming. Yet she gave me all the clues I needed to solve the murders long before the solution was actually given. Her weaving of the clues into the story was well done. Fans of fantasy will enjoy the Arabian Nights feel of the story. If you have enjoyed the Dabir and Asim stories of Howard Andrew Jones you will like this tale as well. I highly recommend this debut adventure / mystery tale. The Princes of the Golden Cage is a well crafted and enjoyable story.

Posted by John at 09:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | Mystery
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SF with an Accent: An Interview with Tobias Buckell

Tobias Buckell is the author of Crystal Rain, Ragamuffin, and the forthcoming Sly Mongoose, as well as many other short stories. He is also a professional blogger and blog consultant. He agreed to an interview after I read and reviewed his book Crystal Rain (which he was nice enough to sign and send to my home for free, along with Ragamuffin.) His writing is unique in SF, as I think this interview makes clear. I highly recommend this new science fiction author from TOR.

Grasping for the Wind: For those who don't already know, could you give us an account of your unique upbringing?

Tobias Buckell I grew up in Grenada, and moved to the British and then US Virgin Islands with my family. I finally ended up in Ohio my senior year: quite a change! My mother's side of the family is a family of sailors. I'm the third generation of a boat-centric lifestyle that began when my grandfather moved his family aboard a yacht and sailed down the Thames for the Mediterranean and then eventually the Caribbean. My biological father is Caribbean, so many of my relatives hail from Grenada. Both sides are scattered all over the islands and the US now.

GFTW: Where does your interest in SF come from? Do you have any heroes of the genre?

TB: As pretty much a single working mother mine taught me to read fairly young, and introduced me to novels. On a boat there's no cable, and even transmitted TV was fuzzy at best. And with batteries, who wants to drain them? I got into SF thanks to Arthur C. Clarke. I read one of his novels at 6 or 7: Childhood's End. It had an enormous impact on me, I felt like my mind was being stretched and my perspective on everything changed for a couple days. I loved adventure literature, mysteries, even Westerns (which seemed strange and exotic to me), but I really kept coming back for that 'big idea' kick I first got off Clarke.

GFTW: Much of the dialogue in Crystal Rain is a patois, a subtle blending of languages common in the Caribbean. As you were writing it, did you ever have the fear that readers might find it too difficult to understand?

TB: You know that's always a risk. But by the time I was writing that novel I'd written a number of short stories experimenting with different ways to portray the rhythms and sounds I grew up hearing around me. I chose not to use a direct phonetic spelling, like many do when trying to depict a dialect or patois, because I felt that would slow readers down and distract them (I still struggle to read some James Herriot at times). If a word had an English analogue, then it would be spelled the same. It was structure and grammar that I aimed to replicate the experience.

I do get some readers who react negatively to it. I get charged with 'bad English' or that it is challenging, but most people find that they slip into reading the dialogue and enjoy it.

GFTW: Crystal Rain is primarily an adventure story, although you do touch on the themes of culture and belief and how they interact. This is especially evident in the relationship between John deBrun and Oaxyctl. Was there any reason you wanted to address these particular themes?

TB: I always seek to entertain first, so the adventure is always dripping and packed full. But I do have some secondary themes running throughout. The belief question that Oaxyctl faces is an interesting one. Here he has what he thinks is a god asking him to do something almost immoral. Who would defy the divine? Oaxyctl struggles with it. It's the Abrahamic dilemma but with Aztecs: Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son, and he eventually firms up his mind to do it. An immoral act becomes moral when his God asks him to do it. Of course, his son is spared, but I thought it would be very tense to give the same problem to Oaxyctl in this novel. I also wanted to give readers a character who represented the Aztecs as not a faceless evil, but a complicated and quite human group.

GFTW: Crystal Rain is filled with mysterious characters, whose past is shrouded in mist. Was it difficult to keep from giving away too much of the back-story before the appropriate moment in the narrative?

TB: It's always a give and take sort of thing. You go through a lot of edits where you try and strike the right balance. In Crystal Rain I kept the back story as buried as possible until further into the book because I feel it helped ease readers in, and it also meant that the focus remained on the adventure and characters.

GFTW: Crystal Rain is a stand-alone novel. Did you intentionally try to avoid writing a series, instead setting your novels in the same universe, but with different stories? Are you planning to create an over-arching storyline?

TB: I'm trying to write each novel as a stand alone event with varying stories and a varying motley assembly of characters. Ragamuffin follows Crystal Rain, but so far people have read it without reading Crystal Rain and enjoyed it enough to seek out Crystal Rain. I'm trying to make each book stand alone because as a reader I just hate missing out because I got the wrong book in the series.

GFTW: You have been a blogger since before the term was even invented. What effect do you think the medium has had on literature in general and speculative fiction (fantasy and SF) in particular?

TB: I have a friend who once remarked that I was the first person she knew to say I had a 'blog' instead of 'online journal.' I started with a GeoCities account back in 1998 to impress a professor and get a better grade. Now, 9 years later, I make about half my income doing professional blogging and consulting.

As for effect, I'm thinking that at the least it's given new writers a total leg up. They have access to information and resources I could only have dreamed of. Online communities, market listings, articles about how to write, and writers blogs where they can watch what writers are doing every day. It's very nifty. For me I've enjoyed the increased sense of community and being able to keep up with writers from all over the world, I think there is more cross-fertilization and discussion going than when I was breaking in.

GFTW: What can you tell us about your upcoming project, Sly Mongoose?

TB: This is the third book in this loose collection of novels. It features a Venus-like planet: hundreds of degrees hot on the surface, crushing pressure, and acid rain. But at 100,000 feet you avoid all that. And with a greenhouse atmosphere all around, breathable air is a lifting gas. So if you fill up a large structure with air it floats. So you get Cloud City, but with scientific justification. You also get to have airships galore, so I had a lot of fun chasing airships, creating armadas of airships, and tossing hapless characters into the great big mix. It was really just a very fun setpiece that I got to explore.

I'm working on a final editing pass, and then it's on to working on my fourth book.

GFTW: Any plans to release an anthology of your short stories? Or is there anyplace someone craving more of your writing can go to find your short fiction?

TB: Wyrm Publishing (they put out Clarkesworld Magazine) is doing a 500 copy Limited Edition of a collection. Tides From the New Worlds will be out this winter, I think January. It can be preordered at: http://wyrmpublishing.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=10.

The art will be by Brian Dow, I am looking forward to it and am very excited.

GFTW: In a fight between Pepper and the Terminator, who would win?

TB: It would be a very tough call. I think Pepper has a bit more style, but he's not running on a nuclear battery thingey like the Terminator is, but he does have a strong survival instinct. I'd say it'd be close, no matter which way.

GFTW: Thanks for taking the time to do this interview with me. I wish you blessings for your continued success.

TB: No problem, thank you for all the questions.

Read more about Tobias Buckell at: Pat's Fantasy Hotlist and A Dribble of Ink

Posted by John at 12:47 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | Interviews | Literature and Language
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A Christian's Thoughts on Pullman's Atheism

I went to school with this blogger, who is now a librarian I believe. She has some interesting thoughts on Pullman's atheism and his antagonism towards C.S. Lewis. However, she also appreciates the books as literature. Read it here.

Posted by John at 03:28 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Posted to Christian SF&F | Fantasy
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Book Review: Goblin Quest by Jim C. Hines

Genre: Comic Fantasy
ISBN: 0756404002
ISBN-13: 9780756404000
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 352pp
Publisher: DAW
Pub. Date: November 2006

Joining the ranks of comic fantasy authors like Terry Pratchett, Robert Asprin, Esther Freisner, and Piers Anthony is relative newcomer Jim C. Hines. His dungeon delving novel, Goblin Quest, brings a jovial and ironic spirit to the ranks of fantasy fiction.

Jig, a young, scrawny, and near-sighted goblin is content to work with muck. It keeps him out of the way of the rougher, tougher goblins, all brave warriors willing to dies to protect the lair. But through unfortunate happenstance, Jig finds himself the prisoner (although they call him a guide) of a band of adventurers seeking a magic wand, said to guarded by a dragon and hidden in the tunnels beneath Jig’s home. Forced to be their guide, Jig uses his intelligence and cleverness to fulfill the mission, even against his own will.

Goblin Quest is a funny novel, but not in a ha- ha sense. Where Terry Pratchett uses word play and satire, Piers Anthony uses ridiculous situations and strange characters, and Robert Asprin mocks tropes to create comic fantasy, Jim Hines has chosen to go another way. His novel is an adventure quest and takes place entirely within one dungeon. It has the feel of a role-playing game or early computer game. In order to both create an adventure story and create humor at the same time, Hines has blended together a does of pessimism and irony.

Take for instance Jig, the main character through whose near-sighted eyes the entire story is told. Jig is a goblin. Generally not the hero of fantasy stories, goblins usually provide sword fodder for the real heroes. Usually stupid and clannish, goblins are a fantasy staple. Nearly every epic adventure has them, but they are usually used by authors to provide a small fight scene, or to add to the hordes arrayed before the true heroes. But that is not the case here. As the story of Goblin Quest progresses we come to find that the real hero is Jig. It is his intelligence, quickness of response, and fortitude that best serve the adventurers through their quest. Neither the prideful fighter, the half-mad wizard, the detail-oriented dwarf, nor the elven thief really make success possible. It is only Jig, the lowly goblin.

While the rest of his clan lives up to the stereotypical goblin, Jig breaks the mold. Yet he cannot believe in his own success. It is here that Hines create the comic element of his fantasy. Jig is a pessimist. He always see the worst in the situation. Now, in other situations, that pessimism might add a dose of doom and gloom, but Hines weaves it into humor. At the very same time that Jig looks down on his own abilities, he does what none of the other stronger, supposedly smarter adventurers could. This provides humor. It also provides irony, as Jig compares himself often to the other fighters, and then often one ups them.

At times, I felt that Hines was not descriptive enough of the setting. I couldn’t always get my bearings, or always understand how a character had moved from one place to another. This is a difficulty to expect when the author relies on only on point of view. While it has some detrimental effect on the novel as a whole, it does not ruin the story, or break the flow of the narrative significantly.

This novel is best read by those familiar with the fantasy stereotypes. Hines’ humor is dependent on knowing the usual role of goblins in fantasy, and someone unfamiliar with this “dark race” will not get a large part of the irony. However, it can be read as a fun adventure story, a sword and sorcery story like Robert Howard’s Conan or some Forgotten Realms novels. The writing is good, Jig’s characterization is consistent and compelling, and the back-story unusual. Best of all, Goblin Quest has a surprise ending that even the most hardened of fantasy readers might react to with shock. I recommend Goblin Quest for those looking for more light-hearted fare within the fantasy genre.

Posted by John at 11:32 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | Humor
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Greenwood Publishing Group - Literary Criticism

In my web meanderings, I came across an interesting website. Greenwood Press publishes books of all genres and stripes, but the primary focus of all of them is to produce reference titles for libraries. As stated on their website:

The Greenwood Publishing Group is one of the world's leading publishers of reference titles, academic and general interest books, texts, books for librarians and other professionals, and electronic resources. With over 18,000 titles in print, GPG publishes some 1,000 books each year, many of which are recognized with annual awards from Choice, Library Journal, the American Library Association, and other scholarly and professional organizations.

But the best part for all the fantasy and science fiction critics out there is that they have a whole section devoted to literary criticism of authors, the genres, and comparative studies.

Now, because these are reference titles meant to last a while, they are rather hefty in price. (One book, the Greenwood Encyclopedia of Fantasy and Science Fiction costs $394.) Yet, this is a good jumping off point for those looking for literary criticism of the genre that is hard to find on bookshelves. (They also have UK pricing, by the way.)

I was particularly interested in Fantastic Literature: a Critical Reader that traces literary criticism of fantasy and scifi all the way back to Plato!

Again, the primary focus of these volumes is for libraries and classroom settings. But if you are looking for literary criticism on fantasy and science fiction, this will at least give you some titles to look for from a reputable publisher.

And of course, there is also this useful Amazon.com list. Or this one (which includes some of the Greenwood publications).

Posted by John at 01:49 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | Literature and Language | Nonfiction | Science Fiction
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Cup O'Links III

Lots of interesting things in my Google Reader last week. I was away at a conference, so didn't have a whole lot of time to post or read, sorry about that. I've got a review of Crystal Rain by Tobias Buckell coming soon, as well as several DAW releases. I've also got Nathalie Mallet's Princes of the Golden Cage in the queue. While your waiting for my dazzling insights, you can check out this other great stuff.

For you writers, Mental Floss has a humorous look at Writer's Block in two volumes. Volume I and Volume II

Pat has an interview with Katherine Kurtz.

Fantasy Book Critic has an interview with R.A. Salvatore. That is really cool. I've been a Salvatore fan for forever. Robert is really fortunate.

FBC also has David Craddock's heartfelt memoir to Robert Jordan.

Joe Abercrombie is holding a contest for three unbound proofs of Last Argument of Kings.

Paul S. Kemp has some interesting thoughts on the first novel and the learning curve.

And check out this compendium of pictures of beautiful libraries. I'm green with envy.

and on a more personal note, my wife remembers our first "non-date".

Posted by John at 11:39 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | Forgotten Realms | Literature and Language
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Book Review: Making Money by Terry Pratchett

Genre: Humor, Satire, Fantasy
ISBN: 0061161640
ISBN-13: 9780061161643
Format: Hardcover, 384pp
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Pub. Date: September 2007
Series: Discworld Series

Once again, Terry Pratchett delivers the one-two punch of satire and action that makes his novels so much fun to read. A modern Oscar Wilde, Terry Pratchett originally began writing in order to poke fun at the fantasy genre, to attack its tropes and stereotypes. Over time, his writing style changed and his satire began to see the ridiculousness and humor in culture at large. In the past few years, he has poked fun at the government, particularly Western style democracies, republics, and parliamentary systems through stories told in the allegorical city of Ankh-Morpork.

Making Money, and its predecessor, Going Postal, satirize the banking industry and the postal system respectively. The primary character of both is Moist von Lipwig, a former swindler and con man who thrives on risk and danger. In Making Money, Lipwig has successfully brought the post office back from ruin. Now, lost in the tedium of the everyday, he seeks thrill and adventure, even going so far as to try “extreme sneezing”. Vetinari, benevolent tyrant that he is, finagles a way to get Lipwig placed in charge of the royal bank and the Ankh-Morpork mint. The rest of the story follows Lipwig through a series of misadventures, including a return of a character from his less than legal past, Golems, and the ever-smoking Adora Belle Dearheart as they revive the failing banking industry.

As always, Terry Pratchett provides pleasant and humorous escapism in Making Money. As someone in the finance industry myself, I thoroughly enjoyed his riffs on shareholders, banks and the very concept of money. In essence, Making Money is a primer on basic economics, dressed up in a clown suit.

Pratchett’s wit continues to be sharp, although a consistent reader of Pratchett’s novels is likely to see the reuse of some old jokes and a formulaic plot line. Yet Pratchett’s formula allows for a one a year novel publishing, something his fans appreciate. It should also be remembered that Pratchett almost single-handedly created the fantasy as satire/humor genre and has given it credibility, so he has the right to use a formula that he created. (I say this in response to those who complain that Pratchett has gotten too formulaic. To be honest, I enjoy the predictability of his novels. It allows me to pick one up, enjoy the humor in it, and return to it time and again as a release from the stressful and overly serious world. His humor is medicinal, and if a formulaic plot is what is required to get my medicine, I don't really mind.)

The first few chapters seem to move slowly. Pratchett seems to be off his game humor wise. The jokes are distant and the pacing seems off. But by the third chapter, Pratchett returns to his humorous prose, snapping off witticisms and creating the ridiculous situations that his readers have enjoyed since The Colour of Magic.

Pratchett also delves a little more deeply into the character of Vetinari, stripping away some of the enigmatic nature of the character, which I think ruins the effect the Tyrant of Ankh-Morpork used to create in the novels. Vetinari is humanized a little bit, and that detracts from the novel as a whole. By giving Vetinari understandable emotions, we see him less like the all-powerful man whose finger is on the pulse of the city life, and more as a human person dependent on the success of others to keep the city running. This is not an helpful element in the Discworld narrative, and Pratchett would have done better to forgo it.

While the reader is unlikely to find anything really new or innovative in Making Money, he or she will be able to return to the easy comfort of the Discworld, and fill a lazy Sunday afternoon with humor and smiles. This is not Pratchett’s best work, so those new to Discworld would be better off reading Small Gods, Men at Arms, or Going Postal first. Fans of Pratchett will enjoy the novel, as I did, although the might be disappointed at the formulaic nature of the novel overall. Still, it is fine reading, easy to speed through, with good pacing and great wit.

Posted by John at 09:48 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | Humor
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The Frog Prince (Revised)

Miss Cellenia has a post containing some new takes on an old theme. In the Frog Prince we all know and love, the young princess learns not not judge a book (or in this case, a frog) by its cover. Through a dash of daring, the young princess gains a husband. What if if the kissor is a feminist or an engineer?

Posted by John at 08:35 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy
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Cup O'Links II

Lot's of goings on in the fantasy world over the weekend.

Neil Gaiman writes on article in the Guardian on how he came to write a fairytale for adults (Stardust).

SQT has an interview with Nathalie Mallett. Now I really want her publisher to send me a copy. Hopefully its in the mail already.

Graeme asks why we love the stereotypical dragon, even when we disdain other fantasy tropes.

The Guardian describes the anti anti-religious bias towards the Philip Pullman movies. I did mean to write it twice, I thought it was quite clever actually.

Doris Lessing, a feminist and dabbler in science fiction, wins the 2007 Nobel Prize for Literature.

Posted by John at 01:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy
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Non-English Speaking Fantasy Authors

So, we often talk about how a fantasy author has been translated from English into a multitude of languages. It's considered a mark of success when an author can say that I've sold a million copies in English and have been translated into ten languages including German, Russian, and Swahili.

But what about the other direction? Are there any fantasy / scifi authors originally published in German, Russian, or Swahili who were later translated into English? I'm sure if there are any they have most likely considered that a success.

Yet I can think of only one. Jules Verne was originally published in French. Yet his works are considered classics, and are so old as to have jumped the barrier from science fiction to mainstream fiction everyone knows about, so he doesn't really count to my mind.

Several of the readers of this blog come from all over the world, or they or their families are new transplants to the US. So my question to you is; What fantasy authors have you heard of that were not originally published in English, but were eventually published in it? (Notice I said English, so that automatically excludes British lit).

Put the names and country of origin in the comments below. Put in a link to the work if you can find it. Are there any at all?

Posted by John at 08:40 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy
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A Free/Downloadable Short Story by Neil Gaiman

Although I've been too busy to pick up a copy of Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things, a collection of short stories by a modern Edgar Allen Poe, turns out I can read the Hugo Award winning A Study in Emerald without leaving my computer. If you click the link it will take you to a pdf of the story. The file is about 5.10 MB, so it may take a while to load depending on your connection. Don't be fooled by the newspaper looking layout, that is a nod to the basis for the story, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's A Study in Scarlet, (also downloadable) a Sherlock Holmes mystery that was first serialized in a newspaper. Bibblioaddict has an excellent comparison between the two stories.

Posted by John at 08:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | Literature and Language
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Fairytales

Amy, who went to the same undergrad college I did, and is a budding writer herself, addresses the world of faerie in this blog post. I thought it quite insightful, and she even links to a nice pdf of her senior thesis on the topic of faeries and imagination. I plan to get around to reading her paper very soon. In the meantime, perhaps you ought to check out her thoughts. I think they really hit the mark on why we enjoy fairytales so much, especially as young children.

Posted by John at 12:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | Literature and Language
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Cup O'Links

Lots of interesting stuff going on the web lately.

Check out Michael Stusser's (author of the Dead Guy Interviews) interview with George Washington. Washington debunks the cherry tree myth, and the explains what was up with the wooden teeth!

Joe Abercrombie opines on the nature of maps in fantasy fiction.

Jason at Dragonmount describes Robert Jordan's funeral, including some pictures of his home and workspace.

Jerry Spinelli, author of Maniac Magee, answers a few kids' questions at Powell's books. If you are a child of the 80's you remember having to read that book about the kid who is always running. I get tired just thinking about it.

Ursula K. LeGuin has an excellent tongue-in-cheek story/essay on genre fiction.

Posted by John at 02:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | History | Literature and Language
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Book Review: The Summoner by Gail Z. Martin

Genre: Epic Fantasy
ISBN: 1844164683
ISBN-13: 9781844164684
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 640pp
Publisher: Solaris
Pub. Date: January 2007
Series: Chronicles of the Necromancer Ser.

The Summoner is a novel with an interesting concept with only fair execution. An epic fantasy, The Summoner, the debut novel of Gail Z. Martin, intrigued me from the moment I heard of it. Often in epic fantasy, the necromancer (a mage with the ability to commune with or raise the dead) is an evil character. Martin decided to turn this on its head and make the necromancer character the hero of the story. I thought that was a creative idea, a new take on an old story. And it was. But I still found reading it a lot like reading some of Robert Jordan’s books from the middle of the Wheel of Time series. A lot of actions are described, but not a lot of plot progress is made.

The Summoner tells the tale of Martris Drayke, second son of the king, who sees his family murdered, and is subsequently forced to flee to his uncle’s kingdom. Unbeknownst to him, he is a summoner, a necromantic mage with power over spirits and the undead. Meanwhile, Kiara, princess of Isencroft, seeks to save her dying father and her ailing country by going on a Journey to seek help.

The majority of the story follows Martris (Tris) as he wanders around his own country trying to get to his uncles’ kingdom of Dhasson. During this time, he encounters restless spirits who have been wandering the earth since the last Summoner, his grandmother, died. Each encounter leaves him with more knowledge about his abilities, giving the story a sort of coming-of-age feel as well as the epic it is marketed as.

The idea of the novel itself is fantastic. I mean, who hasn’t thought about why necromancers are always evil? Martin has managed to create a novel with a magic system that allows for a necromancer to be a good rather than evil character. Vampires even, are neither good nor bad, simply different. This is a neat idea. Her history of how all this came about is also rather creative and the enigma of the Sisterhood provides some interesting back-story. However, that back-story is not set far enough in the past, and it causes some of the sweeping changes that occurred after only fifty years a little hard to believe, even for a fantasy novel.

Tris and Kiara are both interesting characters, and much of the story is told from their perspectives. They become the most fully-fleshed and rounded out characters of the story. However, Martin makes a mistake in introducing so many characters that she does not have the time to really give them personality. Most of the characters are stereotypes, or provide a plot twist without any characterization. leaving them seeming flat and unreal. Harrtack, Soterius and Carroway could all have been combined into one character without detriment to the story and would have then been able to be more than uninteresting secondary characters. The character Vahanian obviously gained Martin’s interest as she wrote him, and he becomes a character of some complexity as well.

But Martin tried to do too much too quickly in this novel. Too many characters are introduced without giving them personality, and some characters disappear out of the narrative for hundreds of pages and then suddenly reappear to make a comment that could have been made by any of the characters. When three significant characters go missing (one the brother of another character) the group of characters we follow seem wholly unaffected by the loss and never wonder about their fates, even after the immediate danger has passed. This, combined with the flat nature of the characters makes it hard to feel any real empathy for them. The lack of empathy makes the reader care little for what happens to them and so care little for the direction of the story.

Ultimately, it is the lack of empathy for the characters that brings The Summoner down from really great novel to only a fair to middling story. Conceptually, it is great. The writing is only acceptable, not great. The story takes far to many pages to bring Tris to adulthood and a realization of his power, lacks enough foreshadowing to make the revelations interesting, and has a tendency to be rather redundant. The redundancy appears in Tris or Kiara realizing some truth about themselves, and then it being reiterated a few pages later, for no particular reason. It is as if Martin doesn’t think the reader got the idea that Tris could see spirits, and so we are told many times that he can see them and, “not just on Haunts”. The reader feels treated like an idiot, and the redundancy adds pages without adding value.

The plot moves slowly, the characters are only half-formed, there is an excess of redundant statements or story arc, and I as a reader just could not find myself identifying with Tris in any significant way. The Summoner is a great concept whose writer and editor simply couldn’t bring themselves to cut some of the less necessary subplots and merge unnecessary characters into one. The end result is a book that will leave readers feeling that they read a long book where very little really happened.

Posted by John at 04:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy
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Gresham and Lewis

Was CS Lewis a great scholar? Undoubtedly. Was he a great writer? No honest scholar today can doubt that for a moment. Now some of his stories are moving into the medium of film, he is becoming more known throughout the world, greatly accelerating a trend that has been slowly happening over the 40 years since his death. Was CS Lewis a great teacher? That, I think, is also unquestionable: he taught at Oxford and Cambridge universities, and teaches on today through his books. Was he a great theologian? Many of today's finest Christian scholars strongly believe so. Although he would never have laid claim to any of those titles, nor perhaps even have accepted them from others, he was all of those things and a great deal more besides.

Douglas Gresham remembers his stepfather C.S. Lewis in this article in preparation for the re-release of the play Shadowlands, a fictional account of Lewis' life.

Posted by John at 01:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | History | Literature and Language
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Shadowbred Test Drive

If you haven't read much Forgotten Realms in the past, this is a good (and free!) way to get an introduction. Or, you can try out the first five chapters of Twilight Falling, book one of the Erevis Cale trilogy.

You'll be hooked, I promise you.

Posted by John at 01:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | Posted to Fantasy | Forgotten Realms
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Book Review: Wind Follower by Carole McDonnell

Genre: Epic Fantasy
Pub. Date: June 2007
ISBN: 0809557797
ISBN-13: 9780809557790
Format: Paperback, 248pp
Publisher: Juno Books an imprint of Wildside Press

The standard fantasy is usually set in a world based on medieval Europe. Sometimes you get a Greco-Roman base, or the rare Asian/Chinese setting as with the Tales of Otori novels by Lian Hearn, or the Arabic tales of the Arabian Nights. But no one, to my knowledge, has ever based their fantasy novel on a medieval Africa. Some have used Africa’s jungles as the setting for a story, but its characters were usually white adventurers and the black natives were the evil ones (think Indiana Jones).

Carole McDonnell (website, blog), in her fantasy Wind Follower, has turned all of that on its head. Based on an African medieval culture (and by medieval I mean between ancient and colonial) with its own kingdoms, culture, and politics, Wind Follower uniquely portrays some very human struggles.

The story follows a married couple, Loic and Satha, as they find themselves embroiled in a cultural and spiritual war. Ancestor worship is common in this world, and politics is a highly complicated affair with many detailed rules and customs. Beyond that, there are three distinct races, with different skin colors and personality types. Each tribe and clan shows a fierce loyalty to the others of their groups, and the smallest slight can lead to petty vengeance. When Satha’s honor is ruined, Loic seeks murderous vengeance.

Wind Follower is so unique in my own experience that I find it hard not to gush all over this novel. The tribal system is vividly portrayed by McDonnell, showing her intimate knowledge of African tribal systems, and the customs she gives the peoples of Wind Follower, while frustrating, are ones commonly ascribed to tribal cultures around the world. As is common with such systems, ancestor and spirit worship rules their daily lives. Loic has rebelled against that system, embroiling him in a spiritual war from which only the Creator can save him.

McDonnell packages the novel as an oral story being told by the same Loic and Satha who lived the events described. But unlike the thin veneer of storytelling common in other fantasy books (i.e. the prologue and epilogue mention the book being written down or transcribed from the words of the characters in their old age, but the rest of the book is standard third person) the oral nature of the telling of the book is embedded into its very fabric. Each chapter is told either from Loic or Satha’s perspective, each one alternating with the other. At times, the storyteller will make an aside that fills in gaps in the story, but doesn’t break the flow of the narrative. Some readers will find this hard to understand, (I had to keep reminding myself that this was an oral history of sorts) especially in the initial pages, but will settle in after the first or second chapter. This is a creative way to structure the novel, and it is done very well. I felt I was sitting at the feet of Loic and Satha as the told me the story of their lives.

The story is sexually and violently graphic. McDonnell has not feared to display wonderful acts of love and gruesome acts of violence in a disturbing and pointed way. She did not shy away from depicting any of the horrors of the evil spirits, or the sinful acts of man. Yet she does it in such a way that you are emotionally wrapped up in both the wonders and horrors of the events surrounding Loic and Satha. When they react in predictably human ways to both good and bad events we empathize to the point of remembering situations our own lives.

Some of the things about the novel that are difficult are its oral storytelling, as I’ve already mentioned, but that can be overcome with familiarity. There are a few major grammatical mistakes towards the end of the story, which interrupt important events, and are jarring for the reader.

McDonnell unashamedly calls this novel a Christian fantasy, and while that is not evident on the cover or in the back blurb, McDonnell's Pentecostal Christianity is part and parcel of the entire story. Those readers who are not Christians may be offended by the obvious references to a Creator and a Savior, a Trinitarian God, and the evil spirits (i.e. demons) who are at war with Him. However, I found that of all the explicitly Christian fantasies I have read, this one has best weaved the author’s worldview into the story without becoming preachy. The story stands alone as a good fantasy, even without the references to God. A Christian will enjoy the Scriptural elements of the novel, and dislike the explicit sex and violence, whereas the non-Christian may find those things powerful, while being offended by the Christian aspects of the story. Wind Follower is not a book that can be pigeon-holed and every person will find something he or she loves, and something he or she dislikes. And that is Mcdonnell’s greatest triumph. No matter your reaction to the novel, you will be called to an emotional response of some kind to the characters.

Other readers may be offended by the portrayal of the Angleni, a white skinned conquering race of people. However, white readers should not be offended. McDonnell does not, in the book hold up any one race as better or worse, In fact, Loic is light skinned and Satha very dark skinned. The theme o