Lara Lee's Blog, page 28

Book Review: Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini

[image error]Why have I never heard of this book before!!! Seriously one of the best books I have EVER read, and I downloaded it on Kindle for free as a lark. This book was written in the 1920 and should be included on the lists of classics that everyone should read. From the first sentence of the book, I was hooked, line and sinker:

“He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad.”

From then on, I couldn’t put the book down. André-Louis Moreau is one of the most fascinating characters in literature. I say that with confidence having read a ton of classics. It is a revenge story tempered with a love story that takes place in the years leading up to the French Revolution. The intelligent and witty André-Louis compels you through each of his many adventures with numerous twists and turns that will both surprise and delight. He goes from country lawyer, to revolutionary, to comedic actor, to fencing instructor, then to a member of the government, before throwing everything to the wind. To list the events of this plot would be to rewrite half the book. The audacious intensity of this character had me captivated throughout without pause, and his development as he discovers both himself and his own motive is remarkable. The conclusion stunned me with its genius and was one of the most satisfying endings I have ever read in this sort of story.

I honestly don’t have a single criticism of this novel and wish one day to write something approaching the greatness of this work. I will most likely read this again, and I rarely read anything twice. I am confident I will be just as delighted the second, third, and fourth time I read this. Goodness! I still have goosebumps from the book even as I write this. If you haven’t read it, you really must! It is truly amazing!

Book Review: All Things Now Living by Rondi Bauer Olson

[image error]All Things Now Living by Rondi Bauer Olson is a young adult science fiction novel. Amy is a sixteen-year-old girl whose father shoves her into the dome-locked world of New Lithisle with coding to stop the dome from collapsing. She doesn’t realize this is his purpose since she was raised by her mother and community to believe all those in the dome are soulless animal people doomed to die in God’s judgment on them. The people inside this isolated world were genetically modified to fight a pandemic, but the genetic experiments didn’t stop. Amy must unlearn her prejudices and the truth about the dome, its people, and even herself before she and everyone in the dome die.

This is a fast-paced action novel that keeps the reader fully engaged from beginning to end. I saw one review complain about the love interest developing too quickly, but I think that it is paced as quickly as a lot of books I have read. I am pleased that this book isn’t centered on the love interest, but does use it to propel the change in Amy’s worldview. The story resolves in the end, but there is much about the greater world and the future for Amy that can be explored in a fascinating sequel.

My main complaint is the withholding of information both to the reader and between the characters. This does create tension, but I feel like this is entirely unnecessary. Explaining more and creating stronger curiosity could accomplish the same thing. There is so much about this world I would like to know. If the book replaced the strange dreams with more information about the world and all that was going on, it would improve the book considerably. This is a picky point, but one that I would like to see in the sequel.

So, I do recommend this book to fans of soft science fiction as an enjoyable read. It is a near future almost dystopian, almost cyber-punk story that will keep you interested and entertained.

Pre-order The Shadow of the Gryphon for Kindle!

 

[image error]The Shadow of the Gryphon is now available for pre-order on your Kindle. The release of the ebook comes out July 24th. I am hoping the paperback version will be available closer to that date as well. With the move, some things are taking a little longer to finish.

The audiobook for Gryphendale was due to come out Monday, but because of the actress’s illness, the audiobook has also been delayed. I am hoping to have that out as soon as possible.

There are lots of great things to look forward to as well! If you have noticed the header image on my blog, the sequels in the Truthseeker trilogy are close to complete with the covers already designed. Lots of things are planned for the rest of 2018 and on into 2019.

 

Pre-order The Shadow of the Gryphon here!

 

 

 

 

Book Review: How Fiction Works by James Wood

[image error]How Fiction Works apparently thinks of itself as the modern replacement for E.M Forester’s Aspects of the Novel and debates with that classic continually. Though this book has some good observations, it is quite a bit more academic and gives higher value to high literature that I am confident I would not enjoy by his descriptions and excerpts. I find value in this book as a sparring partner and worth reading if that is what you are looking for. It most definitely does not replace Aspects of the Novel, though. Most of the topics in this book are very abstract, things like: does a fictional character really exists, or does irrelevant details in a novel reflect reality. The history of consciousness in the development of modern novel writing was surprisingly interesting to me. I think this book would be very useful for a literary critic or one genuinely interested in the psychology of books. For the average writer, this book is probably a pass.

Cover Reveal: The Shadow of the Gryphon

[image error]The Shadow of the Gryphon is coming July 24th! This is the first book of a new trilogy that takes place thirty years after the story in Gryphondale. It is a new adventure with a host of new characters that can be read alone, but I am sure that once you finished it, you will want more!

Join three travelers on a witty adventure set in an exotic fairy world. An unusual brownie adventurer named Arthur, and the twin princes, Timothy and Nathaniel, join forces to travel to the underside of their coin-shaped world to break the curse that has turned Nathaniel’s fiancee into stone. Arthur must face his traumatic past as he leads Nathaniel and Timothy on the same journey that killed his friends more than forty years before, getting them all stuck far from home with only one impossible way home. Things continue to go wrong when they learn that this curse is just the beginning of more significant problems threatening to destroy the Guardian of the Ocean. Struggling through a debilitating injury, Nathaniel must risk everything to save the ones he loves. Timothy must let go of his dark magic past to use his fire magic against the alliance that threatens to destroy the world with water. Even if they succeed, death might be their only reward.

I can honestly say that this book is better the Gryphedale in all respects, even though I still love my first novel. Pre-orders will be open soon, and I will announce it on my blog as soon as it happens.

 

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Book Review: Aspects of the Novel by E.M. Forster

[image error]Aspects of the Novel by E.M. Forster is not a how-to-write book. It is a collection of lectures delivered in the 1920’s by Forster at King’s College in Cambridge. The point of the book is to discuss what makes a good fiction novel work. I was introduced to this book from multiple directions at the same time. The primary place that piqued my curiosity was in Ursula Le Guin’s Steering the Craft where she used it as a debate partner. I am thrilled I did read it, and I think there is a good reason why it is considered a classic. Sorry, Ms. Le Guin!

Forster breaks down the novel into its various parts: Story, People, Plot, Fantasy, Prophecy, and Pattern/Rhythm. Most of the sections are obvious on what it covers, but it still has profound insights into story vs. plot, flat characters usefulness as supporting characters, and what makes an excellent round character.

As a fantasy fiction writer, I was curious about his sections on Fantasy and Prophecy. I was amazed to see that this had nothing to do with myth or fairy tales. A novel like Moby Dick would have both fantasy and prophecy according to his definition. He discusses the fact that fantasy always requires that we pay something extra, going beyond the norm and mundane. Prophecy asks for humility and a suspension of the sense of humor because it makes us feel and sense beyond what can be articulated.

His chapter on prophecy seemed especially pertinent to Christian fiction writers. He shows and explains the difference between preaching and feeling the truth through abstraction. As a writer, I can have a character dream and then tell them what it means and how to feel about it. Or, as a writer, I can have my character dream and then have that dream alter them without explaining to the reader why. This second option is what Forester calls prophesy. We can preach a message is our story explicitly in dialogue, or we could follow St. Francis of Assisi’s advice to preach always and only use words when necessary.

 

I found myself stretched and excited by Forster’s insights. I highly recommend this book to everyone, even if you aren’t a writer. Learning to read closely is a skill that all can benefit from and to see beyond an action-packed plot can produce great rewards.

Comicpalooza!

 

 

[image error]Yes, the picture is of me sword fighting! Yay! This year I went to Comicpalooza in Houston Texas with my Dad. He has been to a few of these sort of conventions in various cities around the country. We had a full day of geeky fun, mostly me dragging him around to the next shiny thing I spotted. I have never been to any sort of sci-fi or fantasy fan conference like this, but I was glad I went. Not only did I get three free swords and dagger fighting lessons, but I also talked to authors, sat in sessions about writing, and shopped all sort of random useless, envy-worth junk. Did I mention how much I liked the sword-fighting? The cosplay was inspiring enough to [image error]tempt me to grow some elf-ears for next year, and I was impressed at how much random geek knowledge I possessed. From lego sculptures to stars signing autographs, I was struggling to find time to do everything. I seriously had the most fun that I have had in a [image error]long time! As a writer, I felt inspiration from all the fans, the vendors, the classes, and the award-winning authors arguing over what their panel was supposed to be about. The world of make-believe is alive and well with a bright future full of more fun. These conferences were nearly unheard of twenty years ago, but I can’t imagine them going anywhere anytime soon. Where else can you see Dr. Strange, Mary Poppins, and Sailer Moon in the same room? I even bought myself a sharp pointy thing for my future costume. Did I mention the sword fighting?

 

 

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Book Review: Steering the Craft: A Twenty-First-Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story by Ursula K. Le Guin

[image error]Steering the Craft: A Twenty-First-Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story by Ursula K. Le Guin is a fantastic book, but don’t read it thinking it will teach you how to write a novel. Instead, read Write and Revise for Publication by Jack Smith to learn how to take an idea from an outline to a novel. Then, when you finish with that, buy this book, Steering the Craft.

In Steering the Craft, Ursula Le Guin talks about all the things that make good prose such as the sound of the language, rhythm, descriptions, story verse plot. She brings up all the rules we have heard over and over again such as: show don’t tell; write in active voice, not the passive voice; don’t use “be” verbs; and more — and then tells you how to break them. She talks about grammar only to explain how not to be afraid of the semicolon or comas. She slices through so much of the bad advice I see over and over again online with an effortless logic that had me laughing at the truth of her statements. This is not a humorous book, but I tend to laugh at things gives me relief. Writing as contortionist around such arbitrary rules is tough! This book gives you the license and freedom to use all the tools the English language provides without fear or guilt.

This book is orchestrated in such a way that it could be used in a writing group. Every chapter has exercises at the end to help you explore and learn the concepts by doing them. I am not a great team player, but I can see these activities would be beneficial for me to do on my own. I intend to go back and do them.

This book makes a lot of sense once you are already writing and discover that something just doesn’t sparkle. It is specifically for fiction writers and covers a lot of the vague frustrations of crafting elegant sentences, paragraphs, and chapters. I honestly would understand how vital her advice in this book was before I started writing. It is like learning to paint or play an instrument; certain lessons on make sense after you have been doing it some. So if you are a writer, I highly recommend this book!

Book Review: Write and Revise for Publication by Jack Smith

[image error]I have read a few writing books, and I think this is one of the better books out there. It is optimistic and encouraging. Rather than telling you all the things you shouldn’t do when writing fiction, Jack Smith focuses on all the options of what you can do. The book could be summarized as saying whatever you do, do it intentionally and with focus. I felt like this book took everything I learned about writing in high school and college and then enhanced it with purpose.

Write and Revise for Publication by Jack Smith creates a 6-month plan for taking an idea and crafting it into a full-length novel. He covers techniques for brainstorm ideas because you will need more than one idea for a book. I have heard it said that you need probably six or so ideas for a good novel. Then, he talks about outlining, but it isn’t required. In the end, he suggests plowing ahead and writing anything, and everything thinks of for your story as fast as possible. It is only in the revision process in which the book becomes good. This summary covers only the first few chapters. The rest of the book includes how to revise your writing to make it polished.

Write and Revise for Publication is a great first book, but I would highly recommend that beginning writers do not stop here. I would use this book as a launching point to then pursue books that tackle your more specific writing issues in depth. Your manuscript will be a readable novel by the end of the 60 days, but it most likely will need still another level of polish and sparkle to sell really well. Again, we all have to begin somewhere, and so this is the book I would offer as the perfect starting point. Great book!

Book Review: Choice of the Mighty

[image error]Those who follow my blog know that I do book reviews, but I don’t post or review every book I read. I post about book that gets me really excited. Sometimes I say both good and bad things about the books, but these books stick out from the blah of average writing. I received Choice of the Might by Kenyon T. Henry as a review copy. I often read these books and post reviews on GoodReads and Amazon; this is the first time I was so excited about one to post a more extended review on my blog. I find lots of books good and interesting, but that is typically all I have to say about most of them. This one was a wow, and my husband is probably sick to death of my talking about it. That means you all get to hear my opinion on it, and if you don’t decide to rush out and buy it by the end of this post, you’re missing out.

This Christain urban fantasy/spiritual warfare novel was probably one of the most fun books I have read in a couple of years! Seriously, if I could give it a bonus star, I would. If you like Frank Peretti’s novels, you will love this one more. I had flashbacks of myself in high school reading under the covers all night and trying to take my math exams the next day with no sleep; it was that good.

I started this book mildly intrigued by the whole David’s Mighty Men of Valor idea. The concept of them passing on the torch to their child and continuing as a secret society in the modern day world is something I had never seen done, so I was expecting some cool creative mystery and intrigue. Secret societies are a fun standard fantasy theme. I was taken entirely by surprise by how much I really liked all the characters and how many times I was surprised and delighted. I have read a lot of books and to surprise me with who is really the good guys and who is really the bad guys the way this book does is just awesome!

Most Christain fiction likes to draw a line in the sand and say these are the people to root for and these are the villains. In this book, it isn’t so clear. You think it is at the beginning. I thought I had picked out the sides pretty early on, but then I found myself questioning things. A few surprises I did figure out before they were revealed and others just slapped me across the face. Looking back, though, the clues were there.

I was dragged along without the artificial relationship conflicts and brattiness that so many authors today think drive stories. Instead, I was compelled the same way the main character was compelled, I wanted to learn more and make a choice. The main character Stephen deals with very believable (for fantasy) internal conflicts. Nothing is just thrown in for suspense sake. He doesn’t just burn bridges for the sake of it. I love honest disputes that have nothing to do with people just being jerks.

I the fact that all the characters were very human with flaws and mistakes. No one is perfect, and their merit as Christians doesn’t come from their perfections. The significant mistakes various characters make or have made carry heavy consequences, but God redeems those mistakes for those who turn to him. All the characters are compelling, complex, and surprisingly human and likeable. To be honest, I really liked Vincent. Almost anything I say about why would probably ruin the fun of learning about him. Still, I was entirely prepared to see him as a flat, dull character at first, but it turns out, he is one of the most complicated in a very believable way.

This is a story about redemption, but not is a cheesy preachy sort of way. The character really struggles with significant character flaws, mistakes, guilt, hang-ups, anger, and all the other things real people feel all jumbled up. At the same time, this is an optimistic book in which I felt like I could conquer the world by the end.

I loved how many times I was reading along expecting typical Christian fantasy tropes and then get sideswiped with a twist I hadn’t expected. Even at the very end, I was trying to hurry through the last chapters because I had people waiting on me, and then I got slapped in the face with a tremendously delightful surprise. Well done! I didn’t see some of the events in the last chapters coming, and yet it was always there.

Fantastic beginning, a focused middle, and a resolution at the end that finishes this story arch and yet has me eager to buy the next book so I can see what this character does next in a new conflict. If the next book is as good as this one, Mr Henry has found a loyal fan. Well done!

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