Assaph Mehr's Blog, page 41

Book Review: Nine Perfect Strangers, by Liane Moriarty

Rather uncharacteristically, I read this international best seller soon after its release (following a binge of childhood-era fantasy, cause hey! squirrel!). I was drawn by several factors: Aussie author (a neighbour, one suburb over), worldwide success, and — not in the least — Moriarty’s hilarious author’s bio.

I wasn’t entirely sure what I was getting into (beyond a vague “contemporary literary fiction” label), but it fit my mood so I delved right...

Patrick Jensen (of The Neuromorphs, by Dennis Meredith)

Dear readers, tonight with me is a retired SEAL who has stumbled on shocking evidence that rogue programmers and Russian mobsters are reprogramming helper androids to take over humanity. He’s here to tell us about his team’s efforts to combat the rise of hive-minded species.

Tell us a little about where you grew up. What was it like there?

I grew up in a small town in the backwoods of Washington State, and my Dad worked for a lumber mill there. He was quite the outdoorsman, and t...

Amazon is Evil. Authors are Starving. We’re All Gonna Die! (A rant)

I’ve come across this article, and I’d like to call bullshit: The Disastrous Decline in Author Incomes Isn’t Just Amazon’s Fault, which in turn is based on this survey: Authors Guild Survey Shows Drastic 42 Percent Decline in Authors Earnings in Last Decade.

Go ahead. Go read it (at least the first link) and come back, so we can analyse.

You’re back? Good. Let’s rant.

I have two objections, that should make everyone with common sense and a high-school level math...

Livio Marchiori (of EVO, by Diane May)

Dear readers, tonight with me is homicide detective Livio Marchiori from Verona, Italy, who is currently working on a case which threw the beautiful city of Romeo and Juliet into panic. Captain Marchiori is one of the best detectives in town, his rate of solved cases being the highest in Northern Italy. He is now facing The Hypnotist, a serial killer whose modus operandi borders the supernatural and who is as elusive as a ghost, and is here to tell us a little bit about himself and his inves...

Encouragement

Last year, I’ve posted my review of Wizard of Earthsea around the net, and this happened:

This was on BookBub. Ms Le Guin (the author of Earthsea) was an accomplished and prolific Sci-Fi & Fantasy author and an outspoken advocate on social issues, whose books deeply influenced my adolescence. So, naturally, this was all very squee-worthy.

Now, what’s the likelihood of Ms Le Guin visiting BookBub and interacting with reviewers? Not high, especially considering that she passed...

Jarrod Torrealday (of The Outworlders Saga, by Joseph Malik)

Dear readers, tonight with me is a cross-dimensional champion. Taken from Earth to a strange new world, this former Olympic saber hopeful and medieval weapons expert was  tasked to be an adviser to the war council for a magical realm teetering on the edge of collapse.

We wanted to meet Jarrod Torrealday since we first read his book, and finally caught up with him at his castle home in the Wild River Reach at the end of this past autumn, between his two book adventures.

Tell us a little about...

Writers of the Future

WotF Contest

Writers of the Future is a respected Science Fiction and Fantasy short-story contest for new authors, that has been running since the mid 1980’s.

It’s free and open to authors who have not been professionally published. Some very well known authors in SF&F have started their way with wins there (Patrick Rothfuss, anyone?), and the list of past and present judges is awe-inspiring.

Why am I bringing this up? Because Girl on Fire, one my short Felix mysteries, has r...

Benji Fisher (of Mermaids Are Real, by Bo Wu)

Dear readers, tonight with me is a young boy who grew up by the sea. Used to surfing with dolphins and some odd things encountered underwater, he’s come here to tell us about how his life changes following a recruitment speech from an octopus the night before his thirteenth birthday.

What was it like growing up in Beech Mill?

I liked the town much more than the growing up part. It’s hard when you stick out and all everyone else is trying to do is conform. I think no matter where you ar...

Book Series Review: God Stalk / Chronicles of the Kencyrath, by P.C. Hodgell

God Stalk is another book I remembered very fondly from my teenagehood (I even had a limited-edition hardcover), and recently re-read to see how it withstood the test of time (as well as comparing older and contemporary young-adult fantasy). I enjoyed it tremendously — and kept reading through the series. Some of those volumes I’ve now read for the first time.

Below are my thoughts of the series broken by books, for prospective readers.

What to expect

God Stalk is a highly enter...

Vladimir Taltos (of Jhereg series, by Steven Brust)

Dear readers, we are excited and proud to host tonight a character out of one of fantasy’s longest running series! He is a wizard, an assassin, a crime baron, and a foreigner. He climbed his way to the top against all odds, in a society controlled by a different race. We wanted to speak with him since we first read his books. Please welcome Vlad Taltos!

Tell us a little about where you grew up. What was it like there?

I grew up in South Adrilankha, the Easterner’s district. What...