Beth Tabler's Blog, page 144
January 25, 2023
SIX ELEMENTALS INTERVIEW WITH TIM HARDIE
Six Elementals Author Interviews will introduce prospective readers to some of the best writers in their genre you may, or may not, have heard of, via a series of six questions. I encourage you to check out the work of these phenomenal creatives! Links to their websites and purchase links will always appear, accompanying the interview. Check them out!
I am extremely honoured today to be interviewing the award-winning fantasy author Tim Hardie! Tim’s published works are: Hall of Bones and Sundered Souls.
P.L.: Thank you so much Tim, for joining me on Six Elementals Interviews! And huge congratulations on Hall of Bones reaching the finals of the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-off this year (SPFBO7)! Very well deserved! I truly enjoyed Hall of Bones, and it’s obvious the SPFBO Judges did too! What’s it been like to be part of SPFBO, to be one of the 10 out of approximately 300 writers to reach the glory of the finals, and experience this kind of success with your debut novel?
Tim: Hi PL. Thanks so much for inviting me to take part in an interview. I don’t mind admitting when I found out Hall of Bones had made it through to the finals I was absolutely stunned. Don’t get me wrong, I think Hall of Bones is a good book and the longer the process went on, I knew a semi-finalist spot was a possibility. However, the competition in SPFBO is fierce and the level of talent on display is incredible. When it comes down to it luck plays an enormous part in the contest, making it both exciting and unpredictable. Lots of good books didn’t connect with that initial reviewer and I’m well aware Hall of Bones could quite easily have been cut in Phase 1.
Ultimately, I feel both fortunate and privileged to have made the finals. Yes, I believe Hall of Bones deserves its place but so did lots of other books that didn’t make it through. Being part of this competition and seeing my book in the list of finalists is amazing. I think all of the finalists are now (as at 10 th December 2021 when I’m writing this) waiting with some trepidation for those first finalist reviews. SPFBO is a very public contest. The level of exposure it provides is the real prize but there’s obviously a risk some reviewers will not connect with our novels in the way we’d hoped. So to try and answer your question, it’s a real mix of emotions if I’m being completely honest, although it’s definitely one of the real highlights of my short career as a published author.
P.L.: Having read it, I feel strongly that Hall of Bones is a very worthy finalist for SPFBO! I loved the unexpected twists and turns in Hall of Bones, the depth of the characters, immersing myself in the world building (especially the history of the clans), and of course your stellar action scenes? What was your favourite aspect of writing your award-winning book? Characters? Dialogue? Themes? Plot twists? Battle scenes? World-building?
Tim: Those elements are found in Hall of Bones (and The Brotherhood of the Eagle Series ) because I love them all! Writing a novel is really a case of combining your favourite ingredients, whilst trying to produce something fresh and new. I think world building is important, because the setting and history shapes the characters and how they interact with each other and the wider world. I build that as a canvas and then I work out my principal characters and a broad outline for the story. The novel starts to take shape from there. Many of those plot twists were as much a surprise to me writing the book as they were to the reader. Characters take on a life of their own and they can drive the plot in unexpected directions. Those are my favourite moments – when my own writing surprises me.
P.L.: As you know, I’m all about the characters, and yours are outstanding, really compelling (Etta the Crone probably being my favourite)! The Brotherhood of the Eagle series, with Hall of Bones as the first instalment, is Norse-inspired. Have you always been interested in Norse Mythology and the Norse world? What fascinates you about it?
Tim: I describe Hall of Bones as Viking-inspired fantasy, because it doesn’t draw on Norse mythology at all. I’ve borrowed from the Viking culture whilst combining this with my own magic and mythology from my fantasy setting, the world of Amuran. Hall of Bones just happens to be set in a region with similarities to Viking culture. Beyond their borders are a much wider range of peoples, cultures and fantasy races.
Whilst I’m interested in Norse mythology it’s definitely not something I would hold myself out as an expert in. In fact, when I was working on the initial concept for Hall of Bones , I steered clear of re-reading Viking myth and legend. I didn’t want my books to be too heavily influenced by those stories, even subconsciously.
The decision to use the Viking setting really was a bolt from the blue. The idea just popped into my head as I was thinking about starting a new writing project. I’d finished my first novel but I wasn’t completely happy with it, so I decided I needed to start again with a new storyline and a different set of characters. That previous novel had a character from Laskar (the Viking equivalent region of Amuran) and that got me thinking about setting the whole story there. As soon as I had the idea for Hall of Bones , something clicked. I did some very basic research on Viking culture as part of the world building process and worked out the overarching plot. After that, I dived into the story and by about a quarter of the way through I knew I was onto something.
P.L.: Viking, and Norse inspired fantasy is all the rage, so no doubt your series will continue to be very popular! You have a very well-known and illustrious literary agent in John Jarrold, who has many successful traditionally-published authors as clients, and some of the other top Indie fantasy authors as well, such as Ben Galley. What’s it like working with an agent of that calibre? We presume you plan to query some of your work, since you have enlisted John’s services. You’ve self-published the first two entries in The Brotherhood of the Eagle, but how long will you remain self-published?
Tim: I’m enormously fortunate to work with John – he’s one of the best agents in the business and he’s been an important influence on my writing. I set out to become traditionally published mainly because I didn’t really understand back then that there was an alternative. I have vivid memories of submitting my sample manuscript to John and the excitement when he asked for the full novel. It was Christmas time when he got back in touch with an offer of representation. That was a real turning point, when I realised writing had gone from being a fun hobby (which it still is) to something I could consider doing professionally.
John helped me edit Hall of Bones and his input was vital, polishing my voice as an author and ironing out a host of annoying verbal tics. It was great fun going out to publisher submission, although Hall of Bones didn’t get picked up in the end, despite getting some excellent feedback. That was the reason why I went independent, because I felt the book was good enough and it deserved to find an audience. I should explain here that I did this with John’s full cooperation – after all, even as an independent author there are elements of the business where having representation is incredibly useful. John’s a consummate professional but the reason I enjoy working with him is he’s incredibly supportive, evidenced by the way he always gives time to encourage and advise new writers. When I went indie with Hall of Bones we agreed we’d also try the traditional route with a new novel I’d written, called A Quiet Vengeance . That story, based in a setting inspired by the Middle East and North Africa, is currently out to query with publishers in the UK and US. We’ll have to see what happens.
Obviously I’m now a finalist in SPFBO as an independent author. I know a lot of my fellow writers are fiercely pro-indie and wouldn’t even consider traditional publication. Their reasons are totally valid – creative freedom, full control of your business, a larger slice of royalties and so on. I’ve enjoyed all of these myself as an independent but I don’t believe it’s an intrinsically better route to releasing novels. Traditional publication also has its advantages, the main one being the (currently) greater reach of bookstores, which gives you access to a wider group of readers. We can be so wrapped up in the Amazon distribution system and its equivalents it’s easy to forget the majority of readers do not consume eBooks (my main source of royalties).
At the moment, you have two competing business models, which are both jealously guarding their respective territories. So much of this is wrapped up in the evolution of the high street and whether eBooks continue to secure a growing share of the overall book market. In the future, I think we’ll cross a threshold and start to see these models coming closer together. From my perspective, I’m keeping an open mind. I enjoy being indie but if a traditional deal was put on the table I’d give it serious consideration.
P.L.: I have no doubt, if that’s what you want, a traditional deal will be coming your way one day soon, due to your immense talent! Please tell us a bit about Tim Hardie, the man. What is your other work besides writing? Any other hobbies or interests you’d be willing to share?
Tim: Like virtually all authors, I have a day job that pays the bills. That’s a really important point for readers to remember. Most authors do this because they love writing, not because they’re making £1,000s every month from their novels. I’ve had a long career in Local Government, working on projects in various legal, commercial and management roles. It’s been a rewarding and interesting career. Originally I used writing as a way to relax and do something different, away from the pressures and challenges of my day job. Over the years, as I started to improve, I realised writing was something I was able to do well, so I now balance both those careers alongside family responsibilities.
Writing is my main hobby, mainly because of the amount of time it takes up. And when I refer to writing, I now mean all the other things that go with a writing career. So that’s interviews like this, blog posts, commissioning cover designs, social media, short stories, newsletters, building and maintaining my website, designing marketing materials and all the associated administration of running a small business. I’ve got to a point now where I’d say it was 50% writing and 50% all this ‘other stuff’. That feels like the right balance.
Family is important to me and I’m a Christian, so I’m a member of a local church as well, which in many ways is an extension of the same thing. I also live in a beautiful part of England, with the Derbyshire Peak District right on my doorstep. I enjoy walking in the area and finding new routes to explore. It will come as no surprise that I love reading and often unwind in the evenings curled up with a good book.
I have, on occasion, also been sighted down my local pub once more, now some of the COVID restrictions have started to ease. I enjoy craft beer and have been known to sample the odd whisky in my time as well. I’m a fan of Strictly Come Dancing ( Dancing with the Stars in the US/North America, I believe) – an interest I share with John Jarrold! Cheese is my biggest weakness – without that habit I’d probably be two stone lighter but life is for living.
P.L.: Tell me about it! I love cheese too! Have you read any of the other 9 SPFBO7 finalists? If so, do you have any input about their books?
Tim: I’m a slow reader but when I made the finals I wanted to get a feel for what my fellow finalists had written. I sat down and read the opening chapters of the other finalists and my main impression afterwards was just how high the standards are. The books are all so different and each of them has that distinctive voice you need as a writer to stand out from the crowd. Based on that sample, I really couldn’t tell you who is going to win but I can say if you pick up any of the ten finalists, you’ll have your hands on a good book.
Long before the SPFBO finalists had been announced I’d already read We Men of Ash and Shadow by HL Tinsley. I thought that was a fantastic book and it’s easily my favourite fantasy read of 2021. It has so many memorable lines and there’s this wonderful dark humour weaving its way through the novel. The characters are great and the plot is tight, leaving you guessing right until the end. The sequel, The Hand that Casts the Bone , is due out in 2022 and I can’t wait to get my hands on that one.
I’m currently reading Legacy of the Brightwash by Krystle Matar. One of the things I love about the independent writing scene is how there are so many distinctive books out there. Legacy of the Brightwash is one of those. It’s a slower read, more character driven and, frankly, difficult to classify. I’d say it’s gaslamp fantasy, with elements of steampunk, westerns and film noir all adding to the unique feel of the story. Krystle is an incredibly talented writer and this title is definitely going to do well in the competition.
P.L.: Yes, Krystle is surely one of the top Indie fantasy writers out there, and all of the finalists are incredible writers, including yourself! Can’t wait to see how this SFPBO plays out! It was a real pleasure to speak to you Tim! Thank you so much once again, for being willing to be interviewed by me!
Buy Hall of Bones here
UK https://amzn.to/38HpZFK
US https://amzn.to/3rvtjwq
Buy Sundered Souls here
UK https://amzn.to/3zmxfTd
US https://amzn.to/3kNr0DV
Follow Tim Hardie online:
Twitter – @TimHardieAuthor
Facebook – @Tim.Hardie.Author.Public
Website – www.timhardieauthor.co.uk
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Review: The Only Living Girl on Earth by Charles Yu
The Only Living Girl on the Earth by Charles Yu is a novella consisting of three interrelated short stories. The first story features Jane, a customer service representative/short-order cook/hotel manager of the Earth’s only gift shop. Well, the Earth’s only “anything” as everything else was destroyed a thousand years ago. Mostly coming from a vaguely referenced devastating climate change and a rueful AI robot that scorched the skies.
Jane is like most 18 years old’s. She is trying to figure out what to do with herself—thinking about college. She is dealing with the after-effects of very grown-up issues with her father and the general futility of being the only girl on an entire planet.
In the first story, Jane talks about the history of the Earth’s gift shop and how it started as a museum, then an amusement park, and finally became a gift shop selling souvenirs of a time gone by. There is a specific tone that Wu takes during the story that is at odds with the solemn subject matter. Jane is funny as a character and allows for lightness to the story while still maintaining the deep subject matter. Without that, this collection of stories would be to heavy. The first story also talks about how human history has been boiled down to something consumed at a gift shop or an amusement park. Oddly enough, the first story reminded me a bit of Percy Shelley’s “Ozymandias.”
‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
The second story is from a different perspective and is of someone living in a “Smalltown, USA” type before the decline of civilization. It is from the standpoint of people trapped on an amusement ride that makes all choices for them from birth to death. There are obvious nods to the problem of mass consumerism and the hamster-wheel-like existence people get trapped in, birth, learn, work, consume, end. This story treads no new territory as this topic is a huge one in science fiction of capitalism run amok. Still, the imagery that Yu creates as people trapped on an amusement ride is original and pretty horrific.
The third story is from Jane’s perspective again, except this time it is how two travelers had to stop at the Earth because their spaceship was malfunctioning. This story reminded me of the bygone era of people traveling on freeways and having to get off and end up on route 66 in a town that had seen its heyday. But, now it was past its prime because no one stopped there anymore. All three of the characters, Jane, the dad, and son, end up inside the boarded-up amusement park/Smalltown USA and discover something sinister and rather sad. Again, the story nods to much deeper topics than the dialog and bantering.
The Only Living Girl on Earth is an unusual take on the decline of civilization. All of the stories unite to make this a cohesive narrative and a with Yu’s exceptional writing skill, a definite worthwhile read.
Read it Here
Check Out Some of Our Other ReviewsREVIEW – Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire
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Television Review – The Last of Us S1E2 “Infected”
“INFECTED” is the second episode of THE LAST OF US series starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey. In the not-so-distant future (really the alternate present), the cordyceps fungus has infected most of humanity and turned them into ravenous zombies. Most of humanity is forced into fortified communities ruled by military dictatorships but slowly dying off due to the failures of quarantine. Yeah, that doesn’t remind me of anything. This video game adaptation wasn’t timely or anything.
The episode opens with Jakarta as a noted mycologist (played by legendary Indonesian actress Christine Hakim) is brought in to examine one of the earliest victims of the outbreak. The scene is very tense and well done. Especially since it ends with the doctor explaining the only way to contain the outbreak is to bomb the city to the ground and even then, it obviously didn’t work. No, I don’t see any Covid-19 parallels whatsoever.
From there, we return to Tess (Anna Torv) and Joel (Pedro Pascal) dealing with Ellie (Bella Ramsey). Tess has agreed to take Ellie to the Fireflies past the border and Joel is just sort of going along with it. They head out into the wilderness outside of the Boston Quarantine Zone and we learn a lot about how the rest of the world has been affected.
One of the interesting things about the Clickers (i.e. the fungus zombies) is the new versions have a hive mind and infect others with tendrils rather than spores. We also have it confirmed, at least to my satisfaction, that the initial outbreak is the result of flower contamination. It makes this version of the Last of Us less threatening because if the fungus isn’t spread via the air, you could theoretically kill off all the infected humans. They also are going to die off naturally as we see with the fungus glued to nearby walls.
I’m not sure how I feel about the fungus being a hive-mind since that adds a kind of psychic supernatural element to the series that didn’t really need it. However, it also makes the cordyceps zombies even more terrifying. While they may not be intelligent, they now have a Halo‘s Flood-like quality that makes you wonder if the fungus will take steps to make sure that it isn’t wiped out by time or humanity.
I regret we’re not going to get more of Anna Torv in the show because her portrayal of Tess is quite well done. Tess and Joel are probably lovers, probably as close to husband and wife as you get these days, but he’s emotionally closed off to a level that is useful to her. She can never heal the wound from his dead daughter and doesn’t really want to since she needs him as a blunt instrument. However, she is okay with that and so is Joel. Likewise, she’s considerably warmer to Ellie while Joel doesn’t want any connection to a girl his daughter’s age.
There’s a lot of homages to the game spread throughout this episode and fans of The Last of Us will enjoy it most. My favorite of these is where Ellie says she can’t swim and instead of the video game puzzle involving boards, Joel just shows her the water is knee high. However, they’ve also captured a lot of the game’s feel for those who have never touched a controller in their life or are Xbox fans.
This episode has a lot more action than the first one and feels more like the video game, which isn’t a bad thing. I felt a genuine sense of dread when they approached locations from the game and realized what we were building up for in the second episode. The fidelity of the series so far is incredible and all the stronger for it. We can finally say there’s a great dramatic adaptation of a video game even if it’s still mostly zombie murder.
In conclusion, another solid episode of a great series in the making. I don’t think they’ll be able to do more than one season of this but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. All good things must come to an end and all that.
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January 24, 2023
Real Shit and Book Shit with K R R Lockhaven
It was my pleasure to talk Real Shit and Book Shit with fantasy author K.R.R. Lockhaven, who’s as swell a human as I’ve had the pleasure to meet.
Dan: Hey Kyle, thank you for joining me on Real Shit and Book Shit! I always start with the most important question: How’s your mental health faring these days?
Kyle: Hey, Dan! Thank you for having me! My mental health is doing…okay. It’s kind of hard to give a confident answer on that because it changes so much from day to day. Right now I feel pretty good. I just got off from a 48 hour shift, I came home to my kids cracking up about something together, and I’m here with you! My family is doing good, so I really can’t complain at the moment.
Dan: BIG OOF on the 48 hour shift! But I guess you’re used to that in your line of work.
Kyle: Yeah, I actually really like my schedule. The time away from home sucks, but I do end up getting a lot of time off.
Dan: How does it feel to be a real-life, lifesaving superhero? Kyle’s a firefighter, in case anyone didn’t know.
Kyle: I definitely don’t see myself as something like that. It just feels like a job to me. I am grateful that I get to be a part of lifesaving stuff from time to time, but it’s mostly down time to tell the truth.
Dan: Tell us about your work as a burn survivor advocate. I noticed that in your Twitter bio and I wasn’t aware that was a thing, but I expect it’s a pretty important thing.
Kyle: About 20 years ago, I heard about this camp for burn survivor kids in my state. I donated a little money to them and they immediately reached out and asked if I wanted to come volunteer for a week. The idea was terrifying at the time, but I jumped out of the old comfort zone and gave it a shot. I’ve only missed one year due to illness since. I absolutely love the people I have met there and I intend to be a part of that family for the rest of my days 
Dan: That’s amazing, and it’s great to hear about your work with these folks. We’ve started with some pretty serious topics, but your writing is often anything but. Tell me why humor is so important to you as a writer and as a person.
Kyle: I hadn’t really thought of it being tied into my burn camp experiences before, but thinking about it now, I believe they played a part. Some of the people there have been through absolutely tragic things, and the people who do the best with it are the ones who lean on humor as a coping mechanism. Most of the kids up there are hilarious. I’ve found the same kind of thing in my own experience. Life is tough sometimes, especially if you take it too seriously. So I strive to never take myself too seriously, and to find joy in life whenever possible.
Dan: Absolutely, especially these days, with all the madness of the past 3 years. Even the titles of your books give us a clue about what we might find inside. Your first book is called The Conjuring of Zoth-Avarex: The Self-Proclaimed Greatest Dragon in the Multiverse, and the title alone is already funny!
Kyle: Thanks! I’m so glad I thought of that title at the last second. It was going to be called The Dragon of Bureaucracy, but that wouldn’t have been very good. I’m happiest about it because the title alone enticed the wonderful Fiction Fans podcast to give my book a try, and that has led to some of the best experiences of my whole author “career” so far!
Dan: That’s where I first heard about this book! Sara says hi by the way–I told her I was talking to you and she got very excited. Fiction Fans is the BEST podcast, bar none.
Kyle: Agreed! Hi, Sara! Yeah, I really can’t stress enough how much finding them has meant to me. Whatever success I’ve had so far can pretty much be traced back to them. Before they took a chance on my book, I had zero contacts in the fantasy world, and I had no idea if anyone would ever like anything I wrote. They not only gave me a foot in the door to this community, but also gave my confidence a much-needed boost. And, most importantly, they’ve become my friends.
Dan: It’s interesting how these little personal connections are so important in the bookish world. We never know who our books will reach! Going back to that book–you established yourself as a humorous fantasy author, and I wonder how you feel about it now that you have a few more books under your belt. The first book is always our precious baby, but we learn a lot while writing it.
Kyle: For sure. Overall, I’m happy that I initially established myself in humor, but since then my writing has definitely become more serious. I’m much more interested in, for lack of a better word, heart. The only real regret I have is my pen name. With the first book being over-the-top silly, I thought the whole KRR (Kyle Robert Redundant) thing was pretty funny, but now I’m kinda stuck with it. Oh well. Sara and Lilly love it, so I guess it’s okay
Dan: Whatever they say, is the absolute truth, and you can’t convince me otherwise. And as someone who foolishly used my actual name as my author name, I feel your pain now that I’m writing smutty romance, but I digress. Tell me a bit about the interactive Pick-your-own path experience! That sounds like a hoot!
Kyle: It was so fun to write! I used to love those books as a kid, and I wonder why it isn’t as much of a thing anymore. Of all my books, that one has sold the least by far, but the people who have given it a try told me they had a lot of fun with it. I should say that it’s probably much more fun for people who have read The Conjuring of Zoth-Avarex first.
Dan: I’m going to go ahead and link that one here for anyone who wants to try it, and here’s an interview you did with Fiction Fans. I also loved the choose your own adventure stories as a kid, and I listened to a podcast about that style of book, with a particular focus on LitRPG, and it sounds amazing! Hopefully it will get discovered over time! Tell me though, is Zoth-Avarex connected to the Azure Archipelago trilogy?
Kyle: Well… Although the two books are completely separate stories in separate worlds, there may be a scaly link between the two…
Dan: Insert Frodo “All right, keep your secrets” gif…So let’s talk about The Marauders, the Daughter, and the Dragon. You’ve said you moved into more serious territory with your trilogy, but it’s not exactly devoid of humor. How do you balance the serious and the humorous? Is it something you think about explicitly or does it just come naturally to you when you write?
Kyle: In a way it comes naturally, but I’ve been very cognizant of the overall tone as I write these books. I don’t want to shy away from my natural inclination towards humor, but I want the story to have more emotional heft, too. I think sometimes the two can complement each other. Often, the characters I find myself caring for the most when I read are the ones who make me laugh. It’s a balancing act for sure, and I hope I’ve found that balance between humor and emotion.
Dan: I suppose it’s hard to be overly serious when capybaras are some of the characters. Tell us about them, about their cute little clothes, and about how you came to be so obsessed with them!
Kyle: Haha! I think I’m starting to be known as the capybara guy, and I embrace it! I couldn’t really tell you how I decided to make them an important part of the world. I’ve always loved them, and I wanted to fit them in somehow, but their importance just sort of expanded over time
Dan: You could be known for much, much worse, and we need moments of levity like this to balance the emotional stuff. Have you ever seen them in the wild?
Kyle: No! But it’s one of my goals for sure!
Dan: Why should someone pick up Marauders, besides the quality capybara content?
Kyle: Besides the capybaras…that’s tough. Okay, I think anyone who likes books with a bit of fun, adventure, moments of coziness, and unique characters who are brimming with a joie de vivre (a little French for you) might like this book. One of my favorite reviews said it was, “Like The House in the Cerulean Sea meets the Pirates of the Caribbean, but with more cussing.” My goal was to write a book that was both fun and emotionally resonant. On its serious side, it deals with a father daughter relationship, and how differences in political beliefs can tear families apart. The main character, Azure, loves her father, and is thankful for all he has done for her, but she is absolutely opposed to who he has become.
Dan: That’s a really interesting dynamic, and one you don’t see enough of in fantasy, tbh, especially since a lot of people are experiencing this right now in 2023 America. Will family relationship themes continue to be a focus in The Foundling, The Heist, and the Volcano, which is available now?
Kyle: Yes. The idea came from my relationship with my dad, and how tough it has been for the last 6 years or so. Writing this book was cathartic in a lot of ways. I think it helped me get through to the underlying truth that even though I hate many of his beliefs, I still love him. It’s not easy, though! Family relationships continue to be the focus throughout the series. In the second book, Azure finds herself engaged and responsible for the care of a young foundling, and she’s not 100% sure she’s ready for all of that yet.
Dan: Does your family read your books?
Kyle: That’s up in the air right now… My mom is very supportive, and reads everything I write. My dad really liked the first one, but I don’t think he has read this one yet. I’m not too worried, because the overall point of the book is that love can overcome anything, but it will be touchy at first. He and I are in a much better place now. We had a MAJOR blowup at each other recently that led to the first “I love yous” in at least ten years.
Dan: Family and books are quite a challenge, I can attest, and your statement about love overcoming everything leads me perfectly into the next question: I have to ask, since as you know it’s a particular focus of mine: how much romance and/or smut is in your books, and do you see that changing?
Kyle: Romance is creeping its way in, but I’m sorry to report that there is zero smut…so far. BUT, on the latest Fiction Fans episode, they coined the term wholesome horniness when referencing my latest book, so that’s something. I’m unsure about the future in that regard, though. I’m not opposed to mixing in smut, but I just haven’t yet. I know my wife would appreciate it, because she reads a lot of smutty stuff.
Dan: I’LL TAKE IT! Where do you see your writing going next? The Azure Archipelago is a trilogy, I believe, and I assume the third book is in editing as we speak. What comes after the trilogy?
Kyle: I had a slight detour recently. A cozy fantasy story popped into my head and I couldn’t seem to push it to the side. So I wrote it in between writing books 2 and 3. My publisher was nice enough to let me push book 3 off a bit. After book 2 releases on January 20th, I’m going to try a Kickstarter with this cozy fantasy book sometime in March or April. I’m excited and terrified!
Dan: Sounds amazing! What kind of extras are you planning for your backers?
Kyle: It’s been really fun setting up all that stuff. I think/hope people will find the extras I’m offering creative and fun. I’m not locked in on any of them yet, but I’m toying with things like, “Name a capybara in the book,” and other stuff like that.
Dan: I love this whole idea–it’s great not to put all your eggs in one publishing basket. Trad, indie press, and self-pub are NOT mutually exclusive.
Kyle: For sure! Shadow Spark has been really cool with that. They had no problem at all with me trying this out, which I appreciate. And if the Kickstarter project ends up meeting its goal, I can only see that as a good thing for the books in my trilogy, too.
Dan: I’m excited to see where you go next in your career, and I hope your Kickstarter (link? https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mrscovingtons/mrs-covingtons-a-cozy-fantasy-novel) is a raging success and that book 3 flows out of you like wine from a tapped barrel.
Kyle: Thank you! That Kickstarter link is a “Notify Me On Launch” page. Thank you for including it!
Dan: Before you go, tell us something you’re reading right now or something you’re really looking forward to reading.
Kyle: I’m currently reading the Terry Pratchett biography. He is, as you might guess, one of my most important influences. I hope to read a lot more indie books this year. I believe the next one I’m going to dig into is We Break Immortals by Thomas Howard Riley.
Dan: I KNEW YOU WERE GOING TO SAY TERRY PRATCHETT. I love that and it fits you so well. And Riley’s The Monsters We Feed is high on my TBR, after one more SPFBO book and one more romance. Listen, it’s been an absolute pleasure chatting with you! All the best of luck with your upcoming launch, your Kickstarter, and everything else!
Kyle: Thank you so much for this! It was really nice to chat with you, too!
KRR (Kyle Robert Redundant) Lockhaven writes fun, often humorous fantasy with ever-increasing infusions of heart. He lives in Washington State with his wife and two sons. When not writing or raising kids, he works as a firefighter/paramedic.
Website: https://www.krrlockhaven.com/
Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mrscovingtons/mrs-covingtons-a-cozy-fantasy-novel
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kyles137
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KRRLockhaven
Read my Real Shit and Book Shit with fantasy author Ben Galley
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January 23, 2023
Review – GOODBYE TO THE SUN by Jonathan Nevair
I didn’t read a lot of Sci-Fi in 2022, but boy, what I did read was outstanding! The sci-fi book that impacted me the most, that I finished in the waning days of the year, was the space opera, “Goodbye to the Sun”, Book One of “Wind Tide” by Jonathan Nevair.
Had I not already resolved my “book of the year” lists for 2022, this magnificent book would surely have been in contention for my ultimate favs – I loved it THAT much. As such, to pay tribute to the awesomeness of this novel, and in the interests of fairness, I’m putting it forward for consideration in my 2023 “book of the year” evaluations.
Nevair’s novel takes us to the Sagittarius Arm, a galactic system where trouble lurks, with the avarice and cruelty of the dominant powers, who have monopolized resources, and essentially subjugated other factions, having stirred the fever of rebellion against them.
The book centres on two main characters. One is Keen Draden, an ambassador from the influential Council domains of the planetary system, with a very influential father. Arrogant, cynical, tortured, aging and out-of-shape, Keen still has the political acumen, background as a warrior, intellect, and connections to be a formidable player in galactic affairs.
The other primary character is Razor, a fierce warrior from a tribal group – known as Motes – inhabiting the isolated sands of the planet Kol 2. Passionate, cunning, loyal to her people, with nerves of steel, Razor is going to do whatever it takes to do her part to save the Mote.
Razor, an elite pilot, and her Mote compatriots, are desperate to throw off the yolk of the powerful Targitians, who have revised Razor’s planet of resources, turning it from once green and lush into a wasteland. In a last-resort effort, Razor decides to kidnap Keen, to use him as a political pawn in the Mote rebellion against the Targitians.
Beyond that, another uprising is underway, involving an old war comrade of Keen’s, a charismatic mercenary named Jati, who is tied to an important person in Keen’s life, from whom he is estranged.
Unsurprisingly, things go horribly wrong with Razor’s plan, and the two nominal adversaries must form a fragile alliance, when facing common threats. Plotlines converge, action explodes, and tragedy strikes in this incredibly written, plaintive, and haunting novel.
This character-driven book is absolutely phenomenal in terms of how it crafts its main and auxiliary players. Instead of speaking about how these characters are drawn, as I typically do in reviews, I want to address the distinctive ways used by the author through POV to convey the characters to the reader.
The author notes that “Goodbye to the Sun”, is inspired by the play “Antigone”, written by famous Greek tragedian, Sophocles. The eponymous Antigone, daughter of King Oedipus of Thebes, (he who of legend, killed his father and married his mother) is that play’s protagonist.
In “Antigone”, after Oedipus becomes an exile following his parricide and incest, his sons Eteocles and Polynices fight each other for the kingdom of Thebes, and both perish. Then Creon, brother-in-law to Oedipus and successful King of Thebes after the conflict, honours Eteocles, but disparages Polynices as a traitor.
The play focuses on Antigone attempting to bury her brother Polynices despite the edict of Creon that Polynices is beneath contempt, and should be denied a decent burial.
Since “Antigone” engendered “Goodbye to the Sun”, the reader will be treated to muted allusions to “Antigone”, in terms of themes, and in particular the flair of the narrative. The POVs in “Goodbye to the Sun” are done in a very interesting and somewhat peculiar fashion. The book alternates between 3rd, and first person, and the mood and feel of these different perspectives also shifts as the point of view changes. Razor is allotted the 1st person, speaking about the past, from a place of incarceration. Meanwhile Keen gets the 3rd person, where the readers sees more of the present action.
The effect? We learn more about Razor’s intimate thoughts, feelings, and aspirations, especially about Keen, and thus for me her tale becomes one of KEEN, even more than about herself, and her people. Meanwhile, Keen’s POV reflects a lot of his backstory, past, in particular his time as a military man, what haunts him, his dysfunctional relationship with his parent, and more.
With this 3rd person POV, and what it revealed about the ambassador, I found myself feeling a lot of empathy for Keen, more so than Razor, especially with all the foreshadowing about the fates of both main characters. It served to make the denouement much more impactful, poignant, and lamentable, and was indeed very reminiscent of my favourite Greek tragedies.
In terms of themes, there are a plethora of fascinating and compelling ones to be found in the novel. Rebellion, found family, socio-economic and geopolitical tensions, diplomacy, etiquette, biological warfare, monopolization of resources and technology, colonialism, subjugation and dictatorships, grief, loss, manipulation, PTSD, addiction, greed, fanaticism, rebellion, clashing of cultures, and so much more gave me food for thought in this incredibly deep and philosophical book. Nevair is definitely a highly cerebral writer, and I adored that aspect of his writing.
One thing I need to mention in terms of writing is how Nevair progressively utilizes gender pronouns. In the world of Sagittarius Arm, words are altered to define people based on gender / non-gender identity.
There are plenty of thrilling action scenes, aerial battles, hand-to-hand combat, and pulse-pounding moments of betrayal, surprise twists, among all quieter, reflective and introspective moments.
Now comes perhaps the best element of a great book with tons of amazing elements: the prose. Eloquent, striking, descriptive, sometimes poetic, I ate the prose up in this book.
I submit an early favourite passage here:
“The shuttle completed its turn and five long, sleek building intruded on the emptiness out the portal. Their geometrically precise forms ran along the planet’s sands like stealthy aquatic creatures breaking an ocean’s surface. Inside each, a hidden cornucopia of biodiversity and affluent human culture countered the harsh outside realities of the isolate planet. Soothe by the quicksilver, Keen’s attention shifted from the uncouth exterior to thoughts of upcoming delights at Targite’s sheltered oasis. he edged up in his seat, eyes following the slender, mirrored structures as they ran into the distance. The legendary Fins. Miles back at their terminuses, colossal circular capture tubes curved upward and forward to face the barrage of raging air during the Wind Tides, channeling the wayward currents to power the city.”
Engaging, exciting, intellectual, superlatively written, an inventive space opera that will linger in the reader’s mind long after the last page is turned, I’d give “Goodbye to the Sun” more than five stars if allowed. This is absolutely a series I will be completing, and I can’t wait for the next installment. A stupendous achievement by Jonathan Nevair.
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Review: The Memory Librarian by Janelle Monáe
Janelle Monáe is widely acclaimed as a singer/songwriter, film star, fashion icon, and social activist. Her list of awards has its own Wikipedia page, with 137 nominations and 48 wins at the time of writing this review. With the release of her debut book, The Memory Librarian, Monáe can now add published author to her impressive list of accomplishments. Is there anything Janelle Monáe can’t do?
Monáe is a lifelong science fiction enthusiast, even stylizing an android alter-ego for the recording of her first album, The ArchAndroid. Her most recent album, Dirty Computer, is a genre-bending Afrofuturist masterpiece rooted in hip hop but with varied influences ranging across pop, rock, funk, and soul.
Dirty Computer is a concept album that imagines a dystopian future where technology is used to wipe the memories of non-conformists living under an Orwellian techno-authoritarian regime. The album is a perfectly crafted sonic masterpiece, brimming with emotion and delivering an impassioned message about social justice.
The world of Dirty Computer comes visually to life in Monáe’s 44-minute companion film, or “emotion picture,” which is freely accessible on YouTube. The emotion picture incorporates Monáe’s full set of music videos for the album, interwoven with narrative snippets that provide context for the story and show how the individual songs fit together within her overarching theme. With the publication of The Memory Librarian, the totality of Monáe’s vision has come to life, spanning across the auditory, visual, and now the written word.
The Memory Librarian contains five stories set in the world of Dirty Computer. Monáe has recruited five well-accomplished collaborators for her literary debut, one for each story. The first two stories are novella-length and co-authored by Alaya Dawn Johnson and Danny Lore. The remaining three short stories are co-authored with Eve L. Ewing, Yohanca Delgado, and Sheree Renée Thomas. Monáe’s collaborators bring remarkable credentials and a long list of literary awards and achievements to this project.
Before opening the first pages of The Memory Librarian, I was honestly a bit concerned that having a different collaborator for each story might lead to an inconsistent tone or style across the book. Fortunately, my concern was unfounded, as Monáe’s voice shines vibrantly across the pages of all five stories with remarkable fluidity.
While many sci-fi novels devote excessive time explaining their world and related technologies, Janelle Monáe takes the opposite approach, focusing on the people who inhabit this dystopian world governed by the neofascist, technocratic New Dawn regime. Individuals who fail to meet New Dawn’s strict rules of conformity are labeled as “dirty computers,” having bugs that must be eliminated through violent attacks, imprisonment, and memory erasure.
The stories in The Memory Librarian address issues of racism, feminism, homophobia, and more, as New Dawn specifically targets members of the queer Black community. Readers will be profoundly moved by the experiences of these characters who face such violent intolerance just for being themselves and living their own authentic lives. I found Monáe’s treatment of gender identity and transphobia to be especially powerful. Although the discussions of morality could come across as heavy-handed at times, I believe this is the right approach for addressing such critical issues in basic human rights.
Janelle Monáe is one of the finest lyricists in modern music. Although The Memory Librarian doesn’t quite rise to those same poetic levels, it remains beautifully written and eminently readable throughout. Long-time fans of Janelle Monáe (lovingly dubbed “fandroids”) will appreciate the subtle references to her discography scattered throughout the book.
While The Memory Librarian can stand on its own as a powerful work of literature, the impact of the book is greatly enhanced when read in the context of Dirty Computer and the accompanying emotion picture. Janelle Monáe has completed an extraordinary trifecta of artistic expression across three forms of media. As a combined artistic work, Janelle Monáe earns an enthusiastic 5/5 from this appreciative fandroid.
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January 21, 2023
The Books That Made Us – Dragonsong by Anne McCafrey
Swift born, dream bound and rudderless, her captain and crew are me.
We’ve sailed a hundred sleeping tides where no seaman’s ever been
And only my white-winged craft and I know the wonders we have seen.”
Dragonsong is probably not the best book I have ever read. It’s likely that if I read it for the first time today, I would enjoy it quite a bit. But it would almost certainly not find itself in the place of solitary appreciation it enjoys.
I was maybe nine when I first got my hands on a copy of Dragonsong – a beautiful copy no less, showing Menolly with her red hair flying about her face and all those little colorful dragons (well, fire-lizards)! Children’s books – and Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings and Silmarillion (which I read straight-through not too long before) – were all I had seen at that point, and I think I knew at once this was what I wanted, and I wanted more.
I wouldn’t have been able to say then what it was I wanted more of, except for the dragons. I knew that faster than I could blink. Dragons – or fire-lizards, or whatever – that were good, or at least not evil like Smaug or Anfalacar the Black (was that his name? It’s been so long since I read the Silmarillion I forget). And there was a good part of me that would have liked to be Menolly, oh, not her Hold or her father, but her fire-lizards. I would have loved to be that girl, surrounded by colorful flying dragons that were my friends, just living a life out there alone with them. (It would not be inaccurate to say that while I would really like to have friends, I am fairly introverted and have struggled all my life to make friends – and when I did find another kid I could be friends with, more often than not, their parents did not want that to happen. It sounded like a good life).
And I certainly knew I wanted to be a dragonrider.
Now I can explain more of what caught my attention. The characters were a lot of it. They felt real. Anne McCaffrey’s characters (at least in every book of hers I’ve read so far) are remarkably easy to read, and always feel alive, like I could touch their personalities. That wasn’t something I had seen before. Not in the Lord of the Rings, where the characters felt … hollow. Not in the children’s books I’d read at that time, either.
And, while the world of Pern was male chauvinist in a lot of ways, the story wasn’t. Only men could be Harpers. That was what most people thought and believed, what they held fast to it, not noticing it even when it was challenged. But was that supposed to stop Menolly? No. Only men rode the fighting dragons, but did it have to be that way? Was it wrong or demeaning for a woman to ride a fighting dragon? Did it make her less than or was it contrary to her nature? I didn’t get that impression, not at all, when Mirrim impresses Path in Dragonsinger (the sequel). It wasn’t like The Lord of the Rings, where it wasn’t really right for Eowyn to be the warrior-princess she was, and where she was supposed to renounce that part of her and grow a garden with Faramir, while it was right and proper for Aragorn to be a warrior. Instead, Pern was a world where people were constrained in many ways by their society (and perhaps some other factors), and change might be possible, or it might not be, but it didn’t mean things were the way they should be. It was a world with active females who pursued what they wanted.
And no less importantly, it was a world where the main villain, the great threat, was not personal at all: it is the impersonal menace Thread that looms over their heads, a menace that will destroy all of them if it is not fought by the dragons, friend or foe alike.
And Dragonsong was a story about one person’s life, one person’s journey and quest, a story that would now probably be called “slice of life,” not one about someone whose actions hold the fate of the world in her hands. It was just a story about living life.
All of these are things I enjoyed, things that have influenced me, and things that repeatedly recur in what I like. They’re not the only things I like, some of the things I like most might not even be included, but this was the first book I read that was really ‘my kind of book’. And I’ve never forgotten it. I don’t know for sure how much it meant to me, or how much it influenced me, but I know that when I think of ‘books I really liked, books that are special in a way and there will never be another book to me that is quite what this one is, that usurps this one’s place to me’, Dragonsong is one of those I think of.
And it is certainly the book that first allowed me to visualize my dream of being a Dragonrider, something I’ve entertained somewhere ever since. I meet other dragons and turn my heart other places, but I will never forget that first dream: to ride a dragon and fly Thread. That would be a fight I could throw myself into without reserve, and that can’t be said of most fights or most villains in fantasy that I’ve read, being something of a pacifist myself and certainly rather non-violent. But Thread I could fight as fully as everyone, and to have that bond with a dragon would be worth almost anything. It is thedream.
Website (reviews for books I’ve read, ramblings about things that interest me, the occasional art post, and the books I write): enthralledbylove.com
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January 20, 2023
Review – Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino
Invisible Cities is a tour de force from Italo Calvino, the late Italian master of speculative fiction. This uniquely constructed novel is set in the late thirteenth century in the court of Kublai Khan. The Venetian explorer, Marco Polo, captivates the Tartar Emperor with descriptions of the cities from his unprecedented travels. By this time, the Mongol Empire has grown to be the largest that the world has ever seen. In the future, it will be eclipsed only by the British Empire in terms of the land area under its control.
The Empire has grown so large that the Great Khan feels like he doesn’t even know his own lands. He only learns about the far-flung cities in and beyond his Empire through the stories of travelers, and the well-traveled and poetically tongued Marco Polo is the greatest explorer and storyteller of them all.
Marco Polo tells Kublai Khan of wondrous and beautiful cities, cities of passion and desire, cities of memory, cities of light and the sky, trading cities, cities of signs, hidden cities, cities of the dead. The Great Khan is captivated by Marco Polo’s poetic descriptions throughout Invisible Cities.
While Marco Polo introduces each city by a different name, it soon becomes apparent that the descriptions are actually different facets of a single city: his beloved hometown of Venice. In this sense, Invisible Cities becomes Italo Calvino’s love letter to Venice.
But the scope is much broader than we think. It’s true that each description is a different aspect of Venice. But in Invisible Cities, Marco Polo is really describing all cities the world has ever seen or ever will see. He is describing ancient cities like Babylon, future cities like Los Angeles, and even mythical cities like Atlantis or Utopia. He is describing the universe of all possible cities that could ever exist, now, in the past, in the future, or in some alternate reality.
It is hard for me to describe the beauty and nuance of Invisible Cities. Just as Marco Polo describes his hometown in this work, as a reader you will find him describing yours as well. Italo Calvino will lead you to discover new and beautiful facets of urbanity in your own surroundings.
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Review – THE FALL by Ryan Cahill
Bestselling, Stabby-award winning (Best self-published/independent novel: “Of Blood and Fire”), and highly lauded writer Ryan Cahill sold more than 40,000 books in slightly more than a year, after becoming an author.
That is a feat that ANY author would be extremely grateful to accomplish, and a feat to be very proud of.
Because selling 40,000 books in about a year indicates there are a LOT of readers out there who’ve heard about one’s writing, and after hearing about it, and reading it, can’t get enough of it.
My first introduction to Cahill’s writing was “The Fall”, an approximately 90-page novella, serving as a prequel to his signature series of epic fantasy novels, “The Bound and the Broken”. Events in “The Fall”, are supposed to take place about 400 years prior to the happenings in “The Bound and the Broken”.
After reading “The Fall”, I can clearly see why Cahill’s popularity has ascended so swiftly.
“The Fall ” whisks us to the Elven City Of Ilnaen, home base of the Order, during the winter solstice, and the night of a Blood Moon. One can imagine a Blood Moon is portentous, and things certainly take an ominous tone right away.
The Order, the powerful group that controls the continent of Epheria for millennia, is in grave danger. Their city is under siege from within. For those who believe the Order has lost their way, and become iniquitous, seek to overthrow the ancient sect.
As a result, the city of Ilnaen explodes into horrific conflict, and at the centre of the turmoil are the four POV characters we are introduced to: Alvira, Kallinvar, Coren, and Eltoar.
Alvira is a fearsome warrior and magic user, dubbed the “Archon”, or leader of the “Draleid”, which means “Dragonbound”. Dragonbound are soldiers who are bonded to dragons.
Kallinvar is a high ranking soldier, Brother Captain of the Second, a fierce Knight of Achyron. Achyron is the warrior god among the deities Cahill has created, also known as more plainly – the Warrior.
Coren is a Dragonbound, whose dragon is named Aldryn.
Eltoar Daethana is a commanding warrior, named First Sword of the Draleid, whose dragon is the formidable Helios.
Their four POV chapters, entitled “The Archon”, “The Knights”, “Dragonbound”, and “The Traitor”, provide the reader fascinating, unique, and sweeping perspective about the utterly devastating and shocking war into which we are immediately plunged from the first pages of the novella.
The brevity of this work highlights how Cahill excels with characterization. A short work such as a novella doesn’t leave a lot a room for character development, but Cahill’s skillful writing makes the reader truly devoted to the characters, in only a few pages, and share their tumultuous emotions and attributes: angst, fear, outrage and righteous indignation, doubt, bravery, sorrow, despair, justice, and more. One will feel a strong sense of attachment to the four main characters, and to the mighty dragons that share soul-bonding with their riders, which was one of my favourite features of the novella.
And once Cahill forces the reader, quickly, to care for the characters, he breaks our hearts over them. Some of the losses will be crushing, and you may be surprised how deeply you feel them. As a character-based reader, I marvelled at how well Cahill depicted and managed his characters in a very short book, and was highly impressed.
I was also astonished by the amount of worldbuilding Cahill was able to incorporate, considering the consciousness of the work. Adorned with elves, dragons, Jotnar (giants), gods both benevolent and malevolent, knights, Urak (bloodthirsty creatures), Soulblades (magical weapons of utter destruction) and more, Cahill tantalizes the reader with a glimpse of some of the wondrous elements that no doubt are featured in his main series. Truly, after reading “The Fall”, I can’t wait to see what type of worldbuilding is in store in “The Bound and the Broken”, where such creations, history, and lore can be expanded in full length novels.
It’s clear by some of the worldbuilding aspects I’ve noted above, there will be a lot of tried and true fantasy tropes that one can find in many iconic fantasy novels of the last few decades, in Cahill’s work. That said, after reading this novella, I can attest the tropes are definitely well done, with the right splash of inventiveness and twists to feel fresh.
Largely, the writing was strong, the prose accessible. Though not as ornate as I love, in reading Cahill, I am reminded of an early-stage John Gwynne, and I mean that as high praise, as Gwynne is one of my favs. There were some true nuggets in the writing, especially some of the inspiring battle speeches:
“The gods have not abandoned us, just as we will not abandon the people we swore to protect. If we die tonight, we die with our swords in our hands, staring into the eyes of the one who send us into the void.”
This is a feverishly paced novel, full of devastating battle, magic, betrayal, rousing courage, and death. It introduces the reader to some of the backstory, political dynamics, factions, magic, and world that one can hope to read in Cahill’s main series. You’ll blow through this read, with your appetite aroused to read the rest of Cahill’s work.
Assuming “The Fall ” was designed to convince readers to go onto “The Bound and The Broken”, it definitely succeeded. I can’t wait to read more of Ryan Cahill’s books!
4.5 stars!
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January 18, 2023
The Last of Us – S1 E1
THE LAST OF US: EPISODE ONE: “WHEN YOU’RE LOST IN THE DARKNESS” is the first episode of the 2023 adaptation of the best-selling video game, THE LAST OF US. No duh, I know. However, I was a huge fan of the video game and am one of the ones who thinks that it is one of the best written of its genre. While I’m still holding out hope for a Bioshock and LA Noire series for their own superior stories, but this is probably the best you’re going to get from a zombie show. The fact it stars Pedro Pascal and has actors like Anna Torv makes me think it’s going to be be in good hands anyway.
The premise is that a fungal infection is considered by scientists in the 1960s to be the greatest possible threat to human life in the future. They predict, with typical television show accuracy, that the heating up of the world can result in a mutation that will make it a danger that cannot be stopped. We proceed to cut to 2003 and history alternates as Joel (Pedro Pascal), his brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna), and Joel’s daughter Sarah (Nico Parker) are living in Austin, TX when things go rapidly downhill.
We cut to twenty years later and the world has fallen into a crumbling ruin. Humanity continues to survive in fortified enclaves under harsh military rule. Joel is now working with a woman named Tess (Anna Torv) as a smuggler. A chance encounter with a young girl, Ella, (Bella Ramsey) turns from a business deal into something more. Ella has never known the pre-Fungus world and is a surprisingly intelligent as well as foul mouthed survivor. She also carries a secret that a terrorist organization, the Fireflies, are desperate to keep to themselves.
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t a fan of the additions to the game narrative. The opening of the show tries a little too hard to explain “fungus zombies are a scientific danger in the future.” Really, the suddenness and horror of it all worked better. I feel like I would have preferred more time with Sarah over this. Nico Parker does an excellent job establishing that she’s a loving daughter with a good relationship to her father that it is a tragedy when it’s cut short. Both from the storytelling perspective and that we don’t have more scenes of them together.
However, the parts that are adapted directly from the game like the frantic chase through Austin, Texas are *chef’s kiss* perfect. The Last of Us was already one of the cinematic games ever created and the show is aware that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Hopefully, they’ll continue with this fidelity and manage to introduce non-gamers to the wonders of Joel and Ellie’s journey. I do hope they keep a certain character alive a little while, longer, though because her relationship with Joel was underdeveloped in the game.
The show is very effective in worldbuilding, and we know that humanity is not thriving under FEDRA (FEMA’s replacement) rule. The situation is so terrible that you understand why a radical paramilitary group like the Fireflies has come into existence. However, in the back of my anarchist mind, I also note that it seems like blowing things up is hardly going to make things better when mankind on its last legs. Is this really the best use of humanity’s time, blowing up each other? The game and show are both aware of this ambiguity.
Bella Ramsey, who was Lyanna Mormont, does an excellent job of establishing how likeable as well as tough little Ellie is. Ellie never knew the previous world and is an example of how a child must survive in a place with no real sense of hope. We also get some good moments establishing why she’s a tough survivor (she was raised by FEDRA as a soldier in an orphanage). My favorite moment is when she cracks Joel’s smuggling code and I wish they’d used Wham’s “Wake Me Up Before it’s Over.” You’ll have to watch the show to get the joke.
There’s a few moments that are unique to the show that are really poignant and show that HBO knows what it’s doing here. In the game, FEDRA is shown to be almost completely evil and possessing no redeeming qualities. Here, it’s shown that their attempts to save humanity are draining its members’ sanity as well as will. One man needs to self-medicate to get through the day while another reassures a child that they’re about to euthanize that everything is going to be fine.
In conclusion, The Last of Us is off to a strong start. It’s probably only going to be a single season given the nature of the content, but I think that’s enough to tell a fantastic story. While I don’t think the game was the greatest video game narrative of all time, it was a good one and well-suited for adaptation. I also think it has the potential to help convince more people that video game writing doesn’t have to be, “rescue the Princess.” Hmmm, a Legend of Zelda adaptation would be good…
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