Trey Stone's Blog, page 39

Beta reading

Hey gang,

I’m looking for beta readers and critique partners – people I can share my work with to get feedback, ideas, and critique.

If you’re also a writer who’s looking for people who bounce your thoughts off of, and you’re interested in crime thrillers, how about you drop me a line? Let’s talk.

treystoneauthor@gmail.com

Book Review: The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm

I love Warcraft books. Not just because I love the Warcraft series, but because these books are to be the perfect idea of what a fantasy book should be. They flesh out what happens between takes of the MMORPG, World of Warcraft, yes, but they’re also their own adventure on their own (obviously).

The shattering sets up what happens between the third and fourth expansion of the game, The Wrath of The Lich King and Cataclysm. Without giving anything away, Cataclysm sees a lot of thing change in Azeroth, physically. (It’s kind of right there, in the name).

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The Wrath of the Lich King left the world of Azeroth recuperating from a war, against (you guessed it), the Lich King. If you’re interested in who he is, you can go back and read my review of “Arthas, Rise of The Lich King.” But it’s not really important anymore when we get to this book. It’s over, The Horde and The Alliance are done fighting, they’re going home, going back to being at peace, mending their wounded, picking up their old lives.

But there’s strange things happening. Natural catastrophes–floods, earthquakes, you get the gist. Thrall, Warchief of the Horde, and Shaman of the elements, decides to go to his homeland of Nagrand, to figure out how he can communicate with element and learn what’s disturbing Azeroth. He leaves Garrosh Hellscream in charge of The Horde. If you know anything at all about Garrosh before this point, you’re probably thinking “oh-oh.” Garrosh is an incredible warrior, no doubt about it, he’s probably also a great leader on the battlefield, when steel is clashing against steel and everything is chaos. But in a world of peace? A world of diplomacy and discussion? Not my first choice.

At the same time, Anduin Wrynn, Prince of, and heir to Stormwind, would-be leader of the Alliance, is learning his way in the world in Ironforge, hosted by Magni Bronzebeard, King of the Dwarves. But when an old relic is discovered, and a ritual is completed, Ironforge is turned upside down, Anduin caught in the middle of all of it. The worst of it is, it seems, the Prince has no way out of it.

I knew a lot of the plot of this from playing the game, but I love the attention to detail, and the fleshing out of the plot that these novels give you. It two opposing factions struggle with both separate and yet shared troubles, at the dawn of what will come to be known as The Cataclysm. And it’s glorious.

Book Review: Woodcutter by Shaun Baines

Let me make this clear – this is an excellent book.

True British crime, is what this is. We follow Daniel Dayton, younger brother of Scott, and son of Ed, head of the Dayton crime empire. Daniel has since left that life behind, wanting no part of it, but external forces and threats to the Dayton name forces Daniel back into the fold.

I think that’s as far as I’ll go – I’d love to say more but I need to restrain myself. This book is great, I’d love to drone on, that’s how much I like it. It’s the kind of book I could talk about for ages.

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Shaun is the kind of writer that makes you feel, and you feel a lot. There’s action, grit, suspense, but what grips me the most is the evil. Not an otherworldly, supernatural evil, but a pure, basic, human evil. There’s a rawness to it, making it so very dark. But at the same time it’s also emotional, both happy emotional and… other.

Reading this makes me want to be a better writer. I see a lot of my self in Shaun’s writing – I can compare it to my own. But he has a way with words, a way of putting a spin on things that just makes me go “damn…” (In a good way.)

I kept being surprised, being thrown off time and time again, just when I thought I’d cracked it. (This is a mobster crime story first, but also very much a mystery, so naturally I’m constantly working on trying to foresee how it ends. I couldn’t.)

I need to stop, because I’ll repeat myself. This is great. Absolutely fantastic. It’s the small details that make it, really. The ending particularly was brilliant. I caught on to it just a paragraph or two before it was revealed, and I think I audibly gasped when I understood what happened.

If this is Shaun’s first book, I’m incredibly impressed. It’s such a naturally gripping book, nothing over the top, no flashing lights or clichés, just pure genius.

I’m happy I got to read this. I think you should too.

Woodcutter by Shaun Baines.

The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger by Stephen King

This is another bonus review. One I’ve made time for on my own, between takes, and I offer it here, for you to enjoy.

It’s about time, isn’t it? I claim to be a fan of Stephen King’s work–of all of his work, yet I’ve never read a single one of his books. I didn’t even read this one, I listened to it as an audio book. I started reading IT once, ages ago, but I never finished. I promise I’ll get back to it.

But of course, I’ve seen a lot of the movies. It’s weird, for even though I could name probably a dozen of King’s movies, I hadn’t heard about The Dark Tower series until a few years ago.

It was such a strange revelation. King wrote a series? A dark western-mystery? Why have I never heard of this? Where has this been all my life?

But as soon as I heard of it, I knew I had to read it. I put it on my list. It was happening. And now it finally did.

I’ve had a lot of time for myself this year at work, driving a lot. So I decided to sign up for audible and give it ago. I’ve never been a big fan of audio books. Maybe because in 2009, I totaled a car while listening to Dan Brown. (No offense Brown). It had nothing to do with the audio book, I ended up on the edge of the shoulder and couldn’t get back onto the road. I drifted into a ditch and straight into a mountain wall. I was fine–we both were, me and my girlfriend. But CD no. 6 of Brown’s book didn’t make it. It was lodged, and died with the car. I still probably have all the other CDs somewhere.

I listened to a few audio books since then, but not many. I made the mistake of listening to Silmarillion on audio book. Yeah–I know. Not a clever choice. I don’t retain any of that book, at all.

But let’s get back to The Gunslinger. To begin with I was very confused. I’d seen the movie beforehand, and for some reason I thought the movie was the first book. I realize now, having done some research, it’s not. The movie is supposedly set after the novels. Fine, doesn’t matter to me. At least The Gunslinger makes more sense that way.

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I wasn’t aware that this is five shorter stories, later combined to a novel. I liked that, I felt it made it seemed like I knew a lot more about Roland, about Mid-World about everything than was actually ever told to me. As if these were all stories I knew well, having been told countless of times before, hearing them again as an adult.

I can finally honestly say I’m a fan of King, (finally having read something of his). I like the way he writes, the way he words himself, the little… tricks and tools he uses. I recognize some of my own writing in it, which obviously is extremely motivating. It’s like knowing that someone like King does a thing, makes it okay, regardless of what people say.

I’ve already started the second book, and I plan to listen to all of them. The second one is better, in my opinion, nearly from the start. It’s a bit more coherent when it’s not several smaller stories. Also there seems to be more action, more stuff happening right off the bat, compared to the wandering, storytelling and philosophizing in The Gunslinger.

As soon as I’m done with The Dark Tower series, I plan to keep listening to the classics, IT, The Shining, Dreamcatcher, Carrie–as many of them as I can. I know I’m late to the party, I’m trying to make amends.

What’s your favorite King story?

Book Review: Champion’s Rising by S.F. Claymore

Minor spoiler warning – very minor.

This is a fantasy novel where we follow Prince Snarmis Sigmus of Psykoria, from being a young, gentle prince, to becoming a battle-hardened warrior, when monsters suddenly begin attacking the realm of Psykoria.

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I’ll start with admitting I thought this book was a bit slow. It’s until after reading a fifth of the book that I felt stuff started to happen–before that we’re mostly begin fed backstory, learning about Snarmis, his father-the king, Psykoria, and how things are and used to be. And even at the 20% mark, it’s slow going. I appreciate Claymore has spent a lot of time building an incredible world, but at times I felt it was revealed very synthetically.

So I didn’t throw myself over this. But I’m very happy to say that it got better, and it got better fast and the pace quickened-and it stayed that way.

To me this reads like an 80’s D’n’D novel, like an old-school text-based RPG. There’s dragons, daemons, dwarves, werewolves, vampires, and some kind of elven race. It’s like every element of the fantasy genre mashed together. It’s a bit cartoony, and a bit over-the-top–no one hardly ever dies, even though they’re constantly stabbed, cut, kicked, blasted with fireballs, arrows or other magic. And the good guys always find a way. I should clarify that I don’t mean any of this to be negative, it’s just observation, and it was just a bit unexpected. But I liked it, mostly. I reckon this would be well suited for a younger audience.

Sometimes I could get a little bit bored with the big fighting scenes, they seemed to go on for ever, warriors parrying this way and that, blocking here and there, and constantly finding renewed energy to just carry on a tiny bit longer. And the protagonist would often have lengthy conversation while fighting – couldn’t they save it for after?

But don’t get me wrong – Claymore’s made an amazing world here, a magical and beautiful place, one would which I thoroughly did enjoy (in case you’re confused about that). But I tend to like my fantasy a bit darker and colder. So I suppose I’d recommend this to anyone who prefers the opposite. Enjoy.

Champion’s Rising by S. F. Claymore

 

Arthas: Rise of The Lich King by Christie Golden

This is a special one. I’ve been waiting to read and review this for ages, and it’s special in that it’s not one I’ve been asked to review. This is one of my bonus reads.

As long as I can remember I’ve been a fan of the Warcraft series. From Warcraft: Orcs and Human through to Warcraft III: Frozen Throne and World of Warcraft, and every book and eventual movie since.

I’m working my way through reading all the main novels, always reading at least a few of these books. In general, I always read many different things, an eBook on my phone, one on my work phone, one on my tablet, one on my laptop, a physical book, plus (at the moment), an audio book. I don’t know why I’d skipped this book, but I finally got round to finishing it. And it was magnificent.

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Golden has always been my favorite Warcraft novelist. No offense to any of the others, but there’s just something about her writing that I love. At the same time, Arthas is my absolute favorite character in the Warcraft universe. I don’t care if he’s a villain, if he’s evil – he’s just the coolest. So of course I’m incredibly happy that Golden ended up writing this particular book.

For those of you who are not familiar with Warcraft, or Arthas, I’m not going to bore you with lore. I could go on for hours. Google it if you’re curious, but I’ll say this – Arthas’ story is one of the best character arcs there ever was. From young human prince, to adolescent Paladin of the Light to eventual Lich King of the Scourge, his journey is incredible.

The book is in three parts, roughly divided into: (1) Young Arthas and the coming of the Scourge, (2) Arthas as a Death Knight, and (3) Arthas’ final quest for power. It’s a long, rich book, detailing so much more than I thought it would – much of it is exactly the same as I remember it from the games, yet there’s so much more, so many nuances, details making it come alive.

Some of the best parts of this book was when there were lines, actually lines of dialogue, that I recognized from the games. I vividly began to remember The Culling of Stratholme, walking through the wastelands of Northrend, the Battle at Quel’Thalas – it was like being retold my favorite bedtime story from a lifetime ago.

And of course, the book is good. Actually good, not just for people who love Warcraft. If you’re looking for a mightily powerful fantasy series, one that will keep you going for years, one that also has a multitude of games to keep you sated, look no further. Christie Golden has been writing for many fantasy and sci-fi series for a while now, and for good reason. Her writing style is captivating, emotional, funny, and never boring. You’ll keep reading till the crickets come out, and then some.

I’ve already began a new Warcraft novel, and though it’s going to be a while until I’m done with it, I still can’t wait to tell you about it.

Book Review: Remnant: The Clans of Arcadia by Arwen Chandler

In Remnant, we follow Karn Elohite, son of the chieftain of his clan, sworn enemies of the Maekel clan who has recently came into possession of great destructive forces. It becomes Karn’s quest, chosen by his clan’s goddess, to stop them at all costs.

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I’m happy to say that this was another book I just absolutely loved. It’s fantasy, no more no less, and it reminds of Lord of the Rings, A Song of Ice and Fire, Eragon, and many more. It’s not as massive as those mentioned above, (at least not yet), but that doesn’t mean it’s short. It’s concise, and to the point – there’s droplets of backstory and fleshing out of the world of Arcadia as we go a long, but not so much that it becomes exhausting. It’s a quick mistake to do in fantasy, I find, to attempt to create a great big world in an instant, instead of letting it happen naturally.

I was impressed with some of the world building in this book – the magic system for one is quite unique (at least to me). The world feels organic and natural, and it’s very well developed. (I also quite enjoyed the many references to other great fantasy worlds).

This is clearly built up to be a series, and the book ends – not necessarily on a cliffhanger – but with more to be revealed. There’s a great build up of mystery and intrigue toward the ends, some questions being answered, but at the same time eventually leading to more questions.

There’s quite a bit of romance, perhaps enough to warrant the book being categorized as fantasy/romance, and though I didn’t mind it, (it’s clearly a huge part of some character’s story), I felt like maybe it overshadowed other plot lines. Even the gods of this world are romantically intertwined.

To conclude, Chandler writes with passionate determination, making for a gripping, action-filled fantasy epic, with interesting, relatable characters, and an enticing plot. It’s a rich, complex story, packed into concise and beautiful book – one I’d recommend to any lovers of the genre, particularly if you like a flavor of romance.

Check it out why don’t you.

Book Review: The Lights Will Never Fade by Jackson Paul Baer

(As per usual, minor spoilers might be floating around down here)

Plot: 18-year old Peyton Hamilton–after a horrible family tragedy–has her entire life turned around when she’s forced to move in with Aunt Charity.

I tend to elaborate on the plots, but let’s just say there’s trauma, there’s horrible pasts, there’s beautiful futures, and the unfolding of a great relationship between (semi-estranged) aunt and niece.

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I’ve read one other book by Baer. I liked it, I really did, but there were things about it that made it difficult to get into, stylistic characteristics that (for me), made me take a while to get excited about.

But this time I came prepared. I knew about Baer, I knew about how he writes (which is bloody beautiful by the way), and I dove in head first, knowing what to expect.

Boy was I wrong.

This book was better. Let’s just get that out of the way. I enjoyed this much more than the first one, no offense to the other one. In fact, I read this book in one sitting (I’m not even exaggerating, I only got up to go to the bathroom once.)

But let’s get back to how wrong I was. The first book was beautiful and horrible at the same time,  but by the end of it, it was all about the relationship between the characters. I could tell straight away this was similar, I recognized the pattern, and waited for the thrilling, exciting, mysterious plot to ensue.

And it scared the living hell out of me. I’m not saying it’s a horror, because, well maybe some would say it’s borderline, but I wouldn’t. It’s not that typical, creepy, horrifying type of scary. It’s just… people-scary.

The first book was a good, semi-memorable read. This second book made me a fan. Baer is a unique writer, able to mix the mundane and the horrible in a… relatable fashion. I recognize things in this writing, in this book, real things. It’s a thriller mystery, yes, but at the same time it’s a drama, comedy and love story.

I don’t know what more to say. I’d love to tell you all about the great plot twists, when Peyton did this and this, the truth about Aunt Charity, and how the ending turned out.

But I won’t

Go read it.

Let’s Talk About Spoilers

Don’t worry, I’m not actually going to spoil anything spoilable.

But spoilers fascinate me. Me – I don’t mind. You could tell me whatever you want about a book, movie or video game, in fact I often invite it – and I wouldn’t care.

I like the knowing, I like the anticipation, and though I understand a lot of people feels like it’s spoiling the surprise I don’t see it that way.

It’s like going to Paris when you’ve never been. You either come there completely unaware, and you see this beautiful city, or you research it before hand, and know that you’re going to a beautiful city.

Either way, whether or not I’ve seen pictures of it and read about it before hand, none of that is going to spoil my experience.

So for me, spoilers is not an issue, except for when I’m writing reviews. I always leave a warning at the top of the post that I might be spoiling something, because I never know how much a person would like to know about a book they’re potentially going to read. And obviously, I want to be able to talk about the book.

So where do we (or rather, I,) draw the line? How much am I allowed to tell you? A good rule of thumb is to check the blurb of said book – anything that’s stated there is obviously fair game.

But often I want to elaborate more, and it’s usually only because I want to tell you how good a book is. I don’t intend to spoil for you, no matter how little I care about spoilers, I would never dream of taking the anticipation away from you.

But I want to be able to tell you about all the cool things I read about. What the characters did and how the plot gripped me in and threw back and forth, and how great it all was. Is that okay?

Using Harry Potter (the first book) as an example, how far should I be allowed to go? Harry learns he’s a wizard, Harry goes to Hogwarts, Harry meets so and so, and the horrible past about the death of his parents is revealed. Is that saying too much?

I’m rambling now, so I’ll leave it there. Just know that I never intend to spoil anything for you, and if you feel I do – let me know, and I’ll try to do better next time.

Book Review: Jack The Ripper Live and Uncut by Matt Leyshon

As always, minor spoiler warning.

Plot: Carl Axford, investigative reporter is sent down a long and winding rabbit hole, leading to the unveiling of one of the world’s largest mysteries: the identity of Jack The Ripper.

The long version: Axford is enjoying the fruits of his most recent labors, having won a Worth Bingham Prize for investigative journalism, when he starts receiving some mysterious letters. After decoding them,  they lead to the meeting of the mysterious sender of the letters, which in turn leads to Axford being kidnapped. He’s taken to an underground facility where it’s explained that (though they kidnapped him), they’d like to hire him. Because of his particular skills, they need him to investigate something, and it’s not just anything. The corporation who’s taken him deal in cold cases, specifically those who are very old, and they have technology to enable their agents to get to these places – places of the past. They want Axford in particular, to go back to late 19th century London – to catch Jack.

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As you can imagine, regardless of how suspicious all of this sounds, Axford can’t let this chance past him. Who wouldn’t want to go back to witness a historical event like this, or simply to go back in time in general. Especially when Axford learns that, due to the technology that enables all of this, he won’t be in any danger, in fact, he won’t even be seen at all.

Axford does what any investigative reporter would, he does all the research he can before his departure. You think it wouldn’t be difficult catching a killer that is well documented, wouldn’t you? Simply show up where said event is supposed to happen, and observe. But it’s not that easy, there’s a lot of things to distract you when you go back in time, plus there’s always the issue of the authenticity of the historic record.

I really liked this book, it’s a new take on an age-old concept. Time travel is always fascinating but the historical and investigative aspects of this book just continues to add on top of everything. And if you thought that would be enough to keep you entertained, there’s also the issue of the time travel corporation’s real intention. Why did they want Axford? Why do they need to figure out who Jack is? And why… isn’t this the first time they’ve tried.

The book features a lot of photos, maps, drawing and clues, often on top of Chapter headings, and at first it caught me a bit off-guard. There’s often not any description of what the map is (though I can see what they are), so at first I wasn’t sure why they were important. Was I supposed to notice something in particular, or are they just decorative?

Leyshon writes well and the book is meticulously planned out and researched, and it was never dull or slow. If not for a little bit of overuse of exclamation points and all caps, there’s really nothing that pulls you out of Leyshon’s fantastic mystery.

By the end of the book, I wanted to know more about the “bad guys” their intentions and motivations, not because they weren’t explained, but probably because I… tend to like villains. They’re very often the more interesting characters I find, and I want to know as much as possible about them. That’s not to say I didn’t like the ending, it was all brilliantly pieced together, and I wasn’t disappointed.

All in all, recommended if you’re a fan of historical mystery thrillers.

Go check it out.