Helen Lowe's Blog, page 193
February 19, 2014
“The Girl With All The Gifts” by M.R. Carey — Reviewed by Karen McMillan
The Girl With All The Gifts
by M.R. Carey —Reviewed by Karen McMillan
“This is a mind-bending thriller, with aspects of horror, set in a dystopian world that is completely unputdownable and refreshingly original.
Every morning 10-year-old Melanie waits in her cell, eager to go to school and see her favourite teacher, Miss Justineau. The Doctor in the facility refers to her as ‘our little genuis’, but that doesn’t stop Sergeant training his gun on her each morning as two soldiers strap her into...
February 18, 2014
Another Terribly (Un)Important Thought On Writing…
On January 23 I shared an initial “Terribly (Un)Important Thought” on writing. 
Here’s another — and subject to the same codicil: ‘from my experience of the art’ (which may not reflect anyone else’s.)
We hear a great deal about the importance of routine and writing every day — and while I don’t deny that having a routine is important, I actually think mixing it up with a change of scene or variation of the conditions in which we write, but particularly locale, can be equally beneficial, if not...
February 17, 2014
Tuesday Poem: “walking into the nor’easter”
walking into the nor’easter –
on the horizon
Horomaka* or cloud?
© Helen Lowe
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* Horomaka is a Maori name for Banks Peninsular
Toward the end of last year I spent upward of 5 weeks in a remote coastal location, working on my current book.
I also wrote a number of haiku during that time, which I am currently featuring in the Tuesday slot. As these are works in progress, your feedback/critique is welcome.
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To read the featured poem on the Tuesday Poem Hub and other great poems from fellow Tuesday poet...
February 16, 2014
Epic Lists
On I posted a roundup of where to find “recommended reading” lists on my blog, mostly around the SFF genre. To check out that post, click on:
Recommended Reading
If you want to delve deeper, several of the posts under Epic Fantasy (look under Categories in the far right side bar) contain (sometimes slightly cleverly disguised) discussions on books I’ve liked. Specific posts to start with include:
Six Great Heroines Of SFF, Part 1
Six Great Heroines Of SFF, Part 2
February 15, 2014
Comment Of The Week: From Michelle Elvy
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This comment came to me via email from Michelle Elvy who is a fellow Tuesday Poet and–as you may have gathered ) reading HEIR aloud to her daughter. As always, a great thrill to know that my story (and storytelling) is finding favour!
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February 14, 2014
“It’s A Chicken’s Life” — A Short French Horn Composition By David Muller-Cajar
Here’s something fun — an original composition for French Horn composed by David Muller-Cajar:
Titled “It’s A Chicken’s Life” I enjoyed it: well worth a listen!
February 13, 2014
A Geography Of Haarth: North Gate
The Wall of Night Series map; design by Peter Fitzpatrick
The A Geography of Haarth post series is traversing the full range of locales and places from The Wall of Night world of Haarth. Each locale is accompanied by a quote from either The Heir Of Night, The Gathering Of The Lost, or both.
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North Gate: the northern exit from the River city of Ij, on the island known as The Sleeve
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“Although long, the island of The Sleeve was also narrow and the walk from the bridge to the North Gate was short....
February 12, 2014
The Skiffy and Fanty Show Talks New Zealand Speculative Fiction (Yay!)
The latest Skiffy and Fanty podcast, No 193 in fact, is now live and focuses on New Zealand speculative fiction — with fellow interviewees, Norman Cates (president of SFFANZ, also Worldcon in NZ in 2020, and a WETA type) Stephen Minchin (SteamPress) and myself.
The Skiffy and Fanty co-hosts are Shaun Duke and Julia Rios.
Check out the fun here:
193: New Zealand Speculative Fiction with Helen Lowe, Norman Cates, & Stephen Minchin
Or go straight to the podcast, by clicking HERE
February 11, 2014
Big Worlds On Small Screens: Rebecca Fisher Discusses “The Legend Of Korra”
by Rebecca Fisher
Introduction:
My very first contribution to Helen’s blog was to wax lyrically about how much I loved Avatar: The Last Airbender, one of my favourite shows of all time. Too often people dismiss animation as being incapable of mature storytelling, but Avatar is up there with the very best the fantasy genre has to offer in regards to its plotting, characters, and world building.
So I was as delighted as anyone at confirmation that a sequel series was in the works, even more so whe...
February 10, 2014
Haiku: “finishing the book”
finishing the book –
night and day
the ocean’s roar
© Helen Lowe
—
Toward the end of last year I spent upward of 5 weeks in a remote coastal location, working on my current book.
I also wrote a number of haiku during that time, which I shall be featuring here over the next few weeks. As these are works in progress, your feedback/critique is welcome.
—
To read the featured poem on the Tuesday Poem Hub and other great poems from fellow Tuesday poets from around the world, click here or on the Quill ico...
