Trey Stone's Blog, page 33

Book Review: Over A God’s Dead Body by Joel Spriggs

I won a free audiobook of this book by Joel Spriggs, and couldn’t wait to review it. I listen to quite a low of audiobooks, when I walk to and from work, at work, and usually at the gym, so I’m always happy to have more stuff to listen to.

This book is about… Gods. Mythological gods. Think, American Gods meets Harry Potter. Our main god (and one of the protagonists, among some mortal people) is Loki. The book follows him as he meets up with some ‘relatives’, and try to find Seth, the Egyptian god of chaos, on a university campus. Because shit is going down. Shit Loki wants to stop. And it’s absolutely hilarious.

Its not often I laugh out loud from reading (which is weird, because I laugh a lot), but this had me spit-laughing more than twice, which made working out really weird at times. But it’s such a well-written, funny book. It’s light, it’s fun, it’s entertaining. Spriggs has a way with words that pulled me in instantly, kept me invested, and made me want to keep reading. Maybe a few characters seemed a bit too quick on the uptake at times, (they seem awfully chill with the whole there-being-gods-and-magic in the world), but it’s still damn good fun.

And the production of this audiobook is really good as well, I have to say, the narrator did a great job (though I can imagine maybe a few Irish people will disagree with me). Makes me want to look into making audiobooks of my own stuff.

I can see this being a new big thing. In a few years I imagine this is a hilarious Netflix series, a mix between Community and Supernatural. Or like I said, American Gods meets Harry Potter. However you want to look at it, it’s awesome.

If you’re interested in finding out what kind of hell Loki and other gods from various mythologies could get up to at a college, you should definitely check this out. You’ll find Joel Spriggs and his work here.

About Not Finishing Books & Book Review: Dune by Frank Herbert

So… I for some reason thought it would be clever to read Dune. Over the years I’ve heard a lot about it. Supposedly one of the best Sci-Fi books ever, a masterpiece, a magnificent… something.

Lets get it out of the way. I liked it, I did. It’s well-written, it’s well-built, the world feels like one I’ve known for ages. I don’t know how he does it, but it’s almost like this is just a small story in a universe that has much that came before and after it. I’ve read a lot of novels in the Warcraft universe, and I’ve played all those games since I was little, and this feels a little like that. Like a novel set in the middle of something I’m familiar with.

But at the same time, this was incredibly boring. There’s lots of stuff going on, don’t get me wrong, but hardly any of it was even remotely interesting. I felt like I was being fed lore or background history, waiting for the real story to start.

I’m not sure why, I liked most of the characters (even though there are far too many of them. Took me ages before I could start making sense of who was who), I just wasn’t interested in what they did. And the few scenes that were supposed to be interesting died away with over-explained over-detailed descriptions. like the fight scenes. They read like an instruction manual, not an action scene.

Also, Frank Herbert really loved the word presently. (He said, presently).

But I figure I could use Dune as an example, to talk about something else. Because by now you’re probably wondering why I finished the book. Why I even bothered? Well, first of all, I kind of liked it, even though it was boring. There’s nothing inherently wrong with it, it’s just not super… exciting and gripping. Not all books need to be action-packed, I’ve read the Silmarillion as well, and that’s about as fast-paced as a dictionary.

I very rarely not finish books. They have to be properly unreadable before I put them away. That’s both because I’m slightly OCD (I don’t like to leave things unfinished), and because I take a while to make up my mind. People often say that the first page has to hook the reader, and I can honestly say I don’t think I’ve ever been hooked by the first page. Sometimes I’m halfway through a book before I even know what to think of it. Sometimes the ending can reveal things, or turn things around that makes me love it, even though I wasn’t super into it to begin with. (Or that can happen the other way around, I can hate it by the end).

Maybe it has to do with me loving thrillers, mystery, and horror. Imagine you put on a movie, a thriller that’s really slow and weird on the uptake. If you stop it after twenty minutes because ‘nothing’s happened’, you really don’t get the point of thrillers and mysteries. I played a video game called Bioshock recently. It’s talked about as one of the best games ever in the last decade. I didn’t think much of it, I actually thought it was really boring… until the end, when it got really good.

And I’m not saying you shouldn’t put down books if you’re bored. By all means, find something that excites you. I’m just explaining why I am the way I am, maybe reading a book all the way till the end, before I decide. I like to hold all the cards before I make up my mind. That’s all.

Anyway, I’m giving Dune some credit, seeing as it’s written in the ’60s. And in one sense, I do still like it. I think maybe I’ll read it again in a few years (even though I rarely do that), and we’ll see. But if you’re looking for a grand, well-written Sci-Fi adventure, with massive world-building and cool characters, maybe give this a go. Hopefully you’ll be less bored than I was.

 

Book Review: Pallbearer by Shaun Baines

This is the second book in the Dayton series, after Woodcutter, and also the second book I’ve read in the series (would you look at that).

As with the first book, we follow the Dayton family, or should I say what’s left of them after what happened in the first book. I’m not sure how much more I want to say about the plot, but Daniel Dayton is trying to scrape together a life for him and his daughters while his former associates do what they have to do to get by. And at the same time, there’s some new players on the field…

I’d say this book is darker, faster, cleverer, and generally better than the first one, and that’s not to say the first one isn’t good. But here we’ve taken it a step further, we’re on a different level now and you notice it straight away. More grit, more darkness, more death.

Baines writes thrillers just the way I like ’em: with enough pace, plot, and mayhem to keep your interest piqued from page one, but at the same time with little enough back-drop and fluff so that it doesn’t feel bogged down. You’ll be invested without feeling like it’s a chore to keep reading; emotionally captivated without being overwhelmed. And did I mention that the book is really good?

This series is in a particular type of gangster-mystery genre where you know what’s going to happen, you can see it all unfold, but at the same time you don’t really know how it’s going to happen. Most people’s motivations aren’t hidden (let me repeat that: most), but we’re not really sure how they’re going to go about doing what they’re doing. There’s an openness to people’s motivations, just not the way they go about realizing them. It’s awesome, I love it.

And the ending… I don’t even know what to say. It caught me off guard.

As I said, this is the second book I’ve read in the series and I can wholeheartedly recommend both. If you’re looking for some British grit from the heart of Newcastle, check out Shaun Baines.

Writing Habits and the Arctic

Hey guys. Just a little update: the arctic is amazing. It’s cold (but surprisingly warm), it’s beautiful, it’s quiet, and it’s just overall fantastic. (I’m not overly fond of the midnight sun, but ah well.)

Of course, I miss my wife. A lot. She misses me too, but overall we’re doing pretty good. It’s different this time (we’ve lived apart before), and we’re handling it awesomely. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not a bit rough some days.

When I’m not talking to her, I’m working, working out, or writing. I plan to spend a lot of time outdoors, both through work and on my free time, but right now it’s mud season, and I haven’t had my rifle training yet. (Yes, that’s a thing, there’s polar bears here – you’re not allowed to leave town without at least one rifle in your party.)

So while I’m waiting for the snow to melt and the mud to dry up so I can hike around, I’m writing. I’ve gotten into a pretty decent schedule, drafting a new book while I await feedback on one that’s basically finished. It’s awesome, it’s going so well right now. I don’t feel like it is when I sit down to do it, but when I’m knee-deep in it, it’s great (please hold this against me).

I’ve also, for some reason become inspired to write more short stories. Both in the sense that I’m inspired to write more short stories in general, and to write about this place. This vast, icy desert… it does something to you. I’m not sure how to describe it (cue joke about Trey sucking at description), but it’s very unique. Tranquil, is a good word I suppose.

Point being, I’m writing more short stories. I’ve set aside one day a week to do that, and I like the change of pace.

All in all, with the exception of missing my wife terribly, this new deal is pretty great. I’m in a beautiful place, and the change of scenery has really made me more motivated to write. I can live with this.

Book Review: Second Skin by Cal P. Logan

*Disclaimer: I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book, and I’m leaving a voluntary review.*

The kind of all-encompassing, enveloping fantasy that drags you in.

It’s a subtly built world, but a massive and detailed world nonetheless. It’s difficult with a shorter story, to paint the type of full picture you’d be able to in a massive epic novel – but damn, Logan does it. With small drips and hints, picked up as we walk through the landscape and setting of the story, and little bits of history and culture interlaced in the dialogue and narrative, you’ll feel like you’ve been reading this since you were little.

The fact that its first-person makes it different from the regular fantasy I read. That and the plot itself, gives it a emotional vulnerability I’m perhaps more used to seeing in other genres – and it’s awesome. It make it so real, so relatable, so close to something I feel I recognize.

We follow an assassin, Vincent, who’s tasked with finding, seducing, and killing a witch. The witch’s identity is known, but her methods are not. How does she commit the evils she does, and where can Vincent find proof? Vincent isn’t one to question the authorities  who give him his missions, but before long he finds himself being pulled in two directions. What if the witch isn’t who they think she is, what if she isn’t evil?

Logan’s writing is poetic and beautiful, lavish and delicate. At some points it’s a bit slow for me, but that’s just a matter of taste. I prefer that rapid punch to the teeth, the kind of quick-fire storytelling that gets you rolling and keeps you rolling faster and faster, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the intricacies of a well-told slow burner like we’ve got here. It’s inspiring.

This is a short read (took me about 30-40 minutes I think), but at the same time it’s a massive story. It feels like there’s so much in either ends of it. As if this is just a side-quest in massive video game. From the beginning you know to expect a mystery, a sudden twist in the narrative (believe me, there’s a myriad of things to keep you wondering), but it’s not until the very end you really know what’s going to happen.

I’m happy to say I liked the ending, a lot. I often don’t, because I often feel they’re too predictable, that many authors don’t dare go that extra mile. Not the case here.

A brilliantly executed, and magnificently constructed short story. Well done, Cal.

I’m excited to announce that this story is also published today, for the first time. And seeing as it’s release day I know for a fact that it’s also free (trust me, I know a guy). So why don’t you go and grab yourself a copy? You’ll find it here.

And you can check out Cal P. Logan and his writing here.

Life Changes & Writing

If you follow me on Twitter, you might remember two months ago that I had an interview for a new job. And that I got said job. Since then, I’ve basically been waiting for it to start (I got a few months to get my everything sorted), and now the time has come.

Oh, did I forget to say?

The job is in the Arctic. Yeah – you read that correctly. I’m moving to the Arctic. Today.

The job starts on Monday, and for an entire year I’ll be the king of the north, living among icebergs and polar bears. It’s going to be amazing. From about now until August, the sun never sets, and then from November till February, it never rises. I’m really looking forward to the darkness (if you didn’t know, I absolutely love the cold and darkness).

On top of amazing, it’s also going to be rough. My wife’s not joining me so we’ll be apart for a year with the exception of a couple of visits during the summer and Christmas. But a year is nothing, we’re used to being in a long-distance relationship, hell, we lived in separate countries for three years. One will go fast. But of course, I’ll miss her like crazy. She had the option to come and join me (without a job though), but she’d freeze to death in the -25 C / -13 F winter.

I’ve been a bit stressed lately because of all this, and haven’t gotten as much writing and reading done as I wanted. This is all going to change as soon as I get up there. With nothing to do except work and working out, nowhere to go, and no one to keep me company, I imagine I’ll get LOTS of writing done.

I’m hoping to have my second book published soon. I haven’t set a date, but I hope it’s out by the end of the summer, and it’s definitely going to be out this year. I’m already busy writing the next one, my third book and the third in the series. It’s exciting. It’s all falling into place, and now that I get up to the frozen wasteland in the north, I’ll have lots of time to get it done.

I’m also going to be reading more. I’ve sent up all of the unread books I had lying around and my phone is loaded with indie books. I’m looking forward to getting to so many of them, and I’ll probably swap between reading a physical book and then an indie on my phone. I’m really excited.

All in all, it’s going to be good with a change of pace –  even though it’s going to be hard to be away from my wife. But it’s what we do, it’s why we don’t have kids or pets. We promised to always encourage each other to follow our dreams, and it’s not like she isn’t planning on leaving the country in the opposite direction.

I’m excited – both for my personal life, and my writing.

I’m going on an adventure.

 

Book Review: On Writing by Stephen King

I’ve been a fan of Stephen King since before I started writing, almost since as long as I’ve been reading, even though I only recently started to read his stuff (I know, it’s weird). All of his great books, albeit in movie form, scared the shit out of me when I was younger, and I’m loving the remakes.

So far the only King books I’ve read are The Dark Tower series. Even though I feel like I’ve been a fan of King for ages, I’ve never read any of his stuff. I think I started IT ages ago, but I was daunted by how freakishly long it is, and put it away (I’ve bought a new copy and it’s just sitting here, waiting its turn).

But yeah, I read The Dark Tower and I realized I’m a fan of King’s writing as well. Other than the fact that I think he goes overboard on length more than a few times (which isn’t really a problem, but sometimes a bit annoying), I actually write very similar to King I think. Situation-driven suspense, spending time on the small stuff instead of the big firefights. Not overly complicated sentences or difficult words. Short and to the point.

I’d mentioned for my wife that I was looking for this book and on her way home from Gatwick airport, London, she popped into a bookshop and asked for it. She told me the woman who worked there looked like she was 400-years old. But she said she had a copy of my book. They found it in the back of a shelf, lying behind a row of books on display. The last one. I think it was meant that I should have this one.

As an indie author, I like reading books on writing, but I hate it when they get too textbook. One of my current favorites is Dennis Hays’ The Fiction Writer’s Handbook. I like it because it does what it says on the tin, no more, no less. And I figured a writing book by King that’s half memoir? Must be good.

And it is. I liked the biography part to begin with, King has lived some life, and it’s really interesting to learn about. His first success, his mother’s death, his troubles with substance abuse – it’s all great. I feel like I know him now.

And I think he’s a good teacher, when it comes to the On Writing part. He doesn’t force anything over your head, he says what’s good, what’s bad, but then points out this is his opinion. I’m sure that there’s lots of people who don’t like King’s writing. I do (except that there’s sometimes far too much of it cramped into the same book), and I’d like to understand how he does the things he does. I feel like my suspicions were true when I said that I think I write similarly to King, because after reading how he does stuff I feel like I do it much the same way.

This book is excellent if you’re a writer, of any caliber. New, old, doesn’t matter, this will teach you stuff. You might even like it even if you hate Stephen King, but I suppose it’s more interesting if you like him and his work. Hell, you might even like this book if you’re not a writer, just a fan of King.

Go check it out.

Book Review: Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin.

I finally got around to reading this after getting it for Christmas, and I’m so happy to finally read some G.R.R. Martin again. I’m not going to complain that Winds of Winter isn’t out, at this point I’m not even expecting him to finish it, and it’s not our place as readers to demand that he does. He’ll do want he wants to do, and we can only hope.

A lot of people are complaining that Fire & Blood isn’t a novel, it’s a history book (and it’s true, it is). I get why you might be annoyed by that if you weren’t aware, but it says so right there on the cover: “A History of the Targaryen Kings from Aegon The Conqueror to Aegon III.”

I absolutely loved it regardless, not only because I love the A Song of Ice and Fire universe, but also because I love a good history book. There’s a lot of telling and very little showing in this, but it’s still brilliant. Sure, there’s lots of names and places and events that will fly by your head because their just told in passing, but the big picture here is awesome.

You get a completely different idea of Westeros and Essos when you read this, who built what, how things came to be, who followed who to sit on the throne. In one sense it’s world building on display. Jaehaerys I, The Old King for example, was responsible for a lot of the development of infrastructure in Westeros. I loved reading about him, and Maegor the Cruel, and the Dance of the Dragons. There’s a lot of things here that will sound very familiar if you’ve seen the show and/or read the other books, and it’s awesome to see it fall into place.

Sure, I really do hope Winds of Winter is going to be finished at some point, because I’m really looking forward to it. I miss the gang, you know? Now more than ever, since Game of Thrones is about to close, I’m aching to get more of those story. In the meantime though, I was very happy to read this, and I’m looking forward to the second part (because of course, Martin didn’t want to put it all in one book now, did he?)

If you know what you’re going to, this book is magnificent. Be warned, it’s a history book (bordering on text book), so don’t expect a novel. But I promise you, if you love the Song of Ice and Fire universe as much as I do, you’re going to learn a lot from this, and probably love every second of it.

Also, the illustrations are fantastic.

Book Review: You Only Die Once: A Short Story by Jaka Tomc

This is, as far as I know and remember, the shortest story I’ve read and reviewed. Short stories are something else. They’re like an exam, where you have to cram everything you know into a much shorter time-frame. You’ve got to state your claims, put forth your argument, and prove your point much more quickly than in a novel.

Well, I absolutely loved it.

You Only Die Once is a biography of sorts, a 1st person narrative where we’re being told someone’s whole life’s story in the span of 15 minutes. It’s a mix between history and confession, going through this person’s upbringing, trouble past, love life, horrifying truths about their adult life, until we reach the end. It’s moving, heartbreaking, terrifying, and mysterious all at the same time.

I’ve read Tomc’s writing before, and it’s really good. It’s emotional and gripping without being overly bombastic or drawn out. It’s short and to the point, but at the same time it takes its time to make those points.

The story is the exactly the same, gripping and emotional, but without lingering too long in one place, never really settling long enough for you to start asking questions. You’re being pulled along this life, shown its ups and downs, the good and the bad, until you’re at the end and you’re thrown out the door. It’s a quick, “Here’s all you need to know, goodbye.” And I loved it.

You Only Die Once is a moving short story about someone’s life passing before their eyes, and I can honestly say it’s made me more interested in reading short stories in the future. Well done, Jaka Tomc.

You can find Jaka Tomc and his literature here.

 

 

Afraid Of Feeling Proud

My buddy Cal, @CalPLogan, inspired me to write this post, after I read something on his blog. You can read Cal’s post yourself here, but the short story (and what inspired me), is that Cal wrote a short story. One that he’s really proud of. One that according to him, is: “[…] one of the best things I’d ever written. I knew it. I felt it in my blood.”

It takes guts to say something like that. Writers are, like so many other kinds of artists, their own worst critics. I know from experience, that I love to hate myself. To hate the work I do, to never think it’s good enough, or will ever be good enough. Thinking that everyone’s doing so much better, everyone is so much more capable. When I say it takes gut to say those things, I mean to ourselves, not to others. At least that’s how I experience it.

So I wanted to try and do what Cal did. I want to try to be that honest with myself, to take a moment, however brief, to just admit that I’m doing all right. God knows I spend far too much time doing the opposite. It’s weird actually, sometimes I’ll even catch myself doing it. I’ll think to myself, This is shit. Then a split second later, I’ll think, What? Why? This is all right, isn’t it? I usually settle for, Maybe…

But I’ve been working on project-in between-projects lately. Last year’s NaNoWriMo project to be precise. (If you don’t know what NaNoWriMo is, it’s this whole thing where you’re supposed to write a novel in a month. I tried it out last November, and if you’re interested you can read about it here). Anyway, I did that, back then. I wrote a full first draft. In a week. It was a good challenge, a good experience, and when I was done I realized that the story was pretty okay as well. It wasn’t too bad, do you know what I mean? There was something there.

I picked it up again a few weeks ago, because I’m waiting for feedback for my main WIP, and I couldn’t be bothered to write the sequel in that series yet. My NaNo project was only 41k words, a novella by most standards, so I figured I could go over that again.

So I did. Revised, edited, fleshed it out a little bit. It went pretty fast, actually. For once I was excited to do edits (if you don’t know me I absolutely hate edits. More than I hate the sun, which if you don’t know me, I really do.)

But my novella was all right. Going through it was fun, almost simple. The story was so well put together, more so than I could remember. When I got toward the end, I was *big breath*, really, really proud. I think I actually jerked my head back at a particular scene, and thought, This is really good…

I’ve been struggling to define it, but I think I’ve settled on it being a dark, psychological thriller, bordering on horror. And it’s really good. I’m so happy with it. Of course, I’m proud of my main WIP as well, if I wasn’t I wouldn’t be writing it. I’m not going to be that guy who hates absolutely everything he does and thinks it’s all shit. It’s just that often I feel it could be better, I struggle to be happy with it. I think it has to do with my WIPs, though not super long, are bigger in scope. There’s more stuff you have to be careful about, more things to tie together. But with this novella, I wrote it really fast, it’s a kind of simple, straightforward story, and it just works. Really, really well.

When I tried to analyze all this, I realize I’ve edited it really fast as well. Usually I work on my things over quite a long while, dragging it out by working on multiple projects and reading a lot in between. I’m not in a rush, they’ll be ready when they’re ready. But the novella wasn’t like that, and apparently it worked. It worked really well.

I’m looking forward to sharing this story with the world, to the point where I can’t wait to get it out there. But of course I’m going to, it still needs some work and I’m not one to rush. I’ll leave it for another while, have another look over it, and see where we stand.

Point being? Take some time and remind yourself that you’re good at stuff. Take some time to be proud of things, if not everything, all the time. I know I don’t do it too often, and I think it’s because I have this weird association between pride and smugness. I think I’m too afraid to be seen as a guy who gloats (which is probably one of the most unappealing characteristics a person can have), that I don’t dare feel pride, even at the best of times.

But I did it now, and I’ll make sure it lasts for a while. I’m proud of my novella. And maybe even a little excited…