Helen Lowe's Blog, page 132
November 13, 2015
What I’m Reading: “Thief’s Magic” by Trudi Canavan
Last Sunday, I owned up to Trudi Canavan’s Angel of Storms being the latest book on my teetery-tottery TBR table.
Which is great, but it spurred me on to seize the first book in Trudi’s new Millenium’s Rule series from the middle of that precarious pile — and yes, total collapse did almost ensue — and Start Reading.
So that’s what I’m busy reading this long weekend (yes, it is a long weekend here — Canterbury Anniversary Day, no less.)
In last weekend’s post, I linked to an early review of An...
November 12, 2015
“The Matter Of Britain”: Arthurian Fantasy
On Wednesday I posted on Mary Stewart’s The Hollow Hills and how I feel it is still standing up well to the test of time.
I also mentioned that I regard “her Arthurian Fantasy trilogy, The Crystal Cave (1970), The Hollow Hills, and The Last Enchantment (1979) … [as] … one of the early defining works in the swathe of Arthurian-based works for adult readers that dominated 1970s and 1980s Fantasy literature—with the theme continuing to maintain traction through into the 1990s.”
The Arthurian cyc...
November 11, 2015
About The Characters: Meet The Minor Players in “The Wall Of Night” Series — Korin
USA
UK/Aus/NZ
There’s less than three months now until Publication Day for Daughter Of Blood — which has inspired me to spend some time with characters from The Wall Of Night series, in the same way I featured worldbuilding in A Geography Of Haarth.
I’ve been focusing on minor players for now, because: “I think it’s the presence of the smaller characters that “makes” a story, creating texture around the main points of view.”
Today’s character is:
Korin: a guard serving the House of Night
‘Ben...
November 10, 2015
Tales That Stand The Test Of Time: Mary Stewart’s “The Hollow Hills”
A few weeks back I was talking Gorgeous Words & Barbara Hambly’s The Ladies of Mandrigyn. Hambly is regarded by some as an underrated Fantasy writer, but for me she is an author whose books stand the test of time.
I’ve read a few other books lately that fall into that category, like Mary Stewart’s The Hollow Hills (1973.) I’ve talked about Mary Stewart’s writing before, chiefly in the context of her romantic-suspense thrillers such as Madam, Will You Talk?
But I feel that her Arthurian Fantas...
November 9, 2015
The Tuesday Poem: An Excerpt From the Tao Te Ching, by Lao Tzu
XLVII
Without stirring abroad
One can know the whole world;
Without looking out the window
One can see the way of heaven.
The further one goes
The less one knows.
Therefore the sage knows without having to stir,
Identifies without having to see,
Accomplishes without having to act.
from the 1963 Penguin Classic edition of the Tao Te Ching;
translation D.C. Lau
—
The Tao Te Ching is one of my favourite philosophical texts. Although, like many such works, it is frequently cryptic and contains l...
November 8, 2015
“Daughter Of Blood” (The Wall Of Night Book Three) Now Stars On My Website!
UK/AU/NZ
USA
Daughter Of Blood, The Wall Of Night Book Three, is coming — on 26 January, in both the US and UK.
To herald this awesome event, I’ve now given Daughter Of Blood star billing on my website.
The publication date, together with both the US and UK covers, are highlighted on the home page, here.
And there is now a dedicatedDaughter Of Blood page, joining those created previously for The Heir of Night and The Gathering Of The Lost — exciting!
To add to the fun, there’s a brand-new exc...
November 7, 2015
Just Arrived: “Angel Of Storms” by Trudi Canavan
I do love it when a weighty, book-shaped parcel arrives with a thump in my post office box.
And then there’s the fun of deploying the craft knife on the cardboard wrapping until the book is revealed — and this week, it’s Angel of Storms, the second novel in Trudi Canavan’s latest series, Millenium’s Rule.
I love the cover, too, it’s eerie and atmospheric, and speaks to me as a reader of both mystery and the storms of the title.
My TBR table is getting a little overloaded again, I have to say...
A Fun Quote From F. Scott Fitzgerald
“An artist is someone who can hold two opposing viewpoints and still remain fully functional.”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1896 – 1940
—
Although perhaps he should have said “two or more opposing viewpoints” … 
November 5, 2015
A Summer Convention in Spokane — June Young Reports On Sasquan, the 73rd World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon)
When June told me that she and her partner, Simon, would be heading to the 73rd convention, Sasquan, in Spokane, I put in a special request for a report back on June’s Worldcon experience. We agreed that it would focus on June’s personal experience of the Con (“Con” is established shorthand for a Science Fiction-Fantasy convention), as one NZ fan attending her second Worldcon — and “first ever” SFF convention in the summer months.
It sounds like she and Simon had a wonderful time — I hope you...
November 4, 2015
About The Characters: Meet The Minor Players in “The Wall Of Night” Series — Khorion
USA
UK/Aus/NZ
With less than three months now until Publication Day for Daughter Of Blood, I’ve been inspired to spend some time with characters from The Wall Of Night series, in the same way I spent time on the worldbuilding in A Geography Of Haarth.
I decided to start by focusing on minor players to begin with, because: “I think it’s the presence of the smaller characters that “makes” a story, creating texture around the main points of view.”
Today’s character is:
.
Khorion: Lieutenant of t...
