Joshua Palmatier's Blog, page 33
September 23, 2013
The First September Book Discussion!
I've just posted the first of the September DAW release book discussion over at the DAW Books blog (
dawbooks
)! The hardcover release this month is Tad Williams' second Bobby Dollar novel, Happy Hour in Hell. Stop on by to check it out. If you've already read it, leave a comment on what you thought!
dawbooks
)! The hardcover release this month is Tad Williams' second Bobby Dollar novel, Happy Hour in Hell. Stop on by to check it out. If you've already read it, leave a comment on what you thought!
September 20, 2013
New Book Discussion!
Time for the last book discussion for the August releases! I've posted the discussion for Jim C. Hines' Libriomancer, the first in his Magic Ex Libris series, over at the DAW Books blog (
dawbooks
). Swing on by to check it out!
dawbooks
). Swing on by to check it out!September 16, 2013
DAW's September Releases!
I somehow managed to forget to post DAW's new releases for September! I hang my head in shame. I would have sworn I'd posted them. *sigh* Oh well, I've managed to get them up now. There's new Tad Williams and Seanan McGuire, plus a paperback release from Sherwood Smith! Swing on by through the link above and check them out (if you haven't already) and then storm the bookstores!
New Book Discussion!
I'm still catching up on the August releases from DAW Books, so I've just posted the book discussion for Violette Malan's Shadowlands, the sequel to The Mirror Prince, at the DAW Books blog (
dawbooks
). Swing on by and check it out!
dawbooks
). Swing on by and check it out!September 13, 2013
New Book Discussion!
I'm finally getting back to the book discussions, after the rather busy beginning of the Fall semester. Classes (and committee meetings) seem to be settling down. So the next book discussion from the August releases (yes, I'm still on the August releases) is for Jennifer Roberson's The Wild Road, the third book in her Karavans series. Check it out over at the DAW Books blog (
dawbooks
)!
dawbooks
)!September 1, 2013
DAW's New Releases!
I've posted DAW Books' new releases for September over at the DAW Books blog (
dawbooks
)! There's new Tad Williams, new Seanan McGuire, and the paperback release of Sherwood Smith's latest Dobrenica novel. Stop on by to check them, then swing on by the bookstore and read, read, read!
dawbooks
)! There's new Tad Williams, new Seanan McGuire, and the paperback release of Sherwood Smith's latest Dobrenica novel. Stop on by to check them, then swing on by the bookstore and read, read, read!New Releases: September 2013
It's September first! Which means there's a new month of new DAW Books, including new Tad Williams, Seanan McGuire, and the paperback release of Sherwood Smith's most recent release. Here are little blurbs about each. Which ones are you dying to get your hands on? They hit the shelves September 3rd!
*******************
First up is Tad Williams second Bobby Dollar novel Happy Hour in Hell, releasing in hardcover.
I’ve been told to go to Hell more times than I can count. But this time I’m actually going.
My name’s Bobby Dollar, sometimes known as Doloriel, and of course, Hell isn’t a great place for someone like me--I’m an angel. They don’t like my kind down there, not even the slightly fallen variety. But they have my girlfriend, who happens to be a beautiful demon named Casimira, Countess of Cold Hands. Why does an angel have a demon girlfriend? Well, certainly not because it helps my career.
She’s being held hostage by one of the nastiest, most powerful demons in all of the netherworld--Eligor, Grand Duke of Hell. He already hates me, and he’d like nothing better than to get his hands on me and rip my immortal soul right out of my borrowed but oh-so-mortal body.
But wait, it gets better! Not only do I have to sneak into Hell, make my way across thousands of miles of terror and suffering to reach Pandemonium, capital of the fiery depths, but then I have to steal Caz right out from under Eligor’s burning eyes and smuggle her out again, past demon soldiers, hellhounds, and all the murderous creatures imprisoned there for eternity. And even if I somehow manage to escape Hell, I’m also being stalked by an undead psychopath named Smyler who’s been following me for weeks. Oh, and did I mention that he can’t be killed?
So if I somehow survive Hell, elude the Grand Duke and all his hideous minions and make it back to the real world, I’ll still be the most hunted soul in Creation. But at least I’ll have Caz. Gotta have something to look forward to, right?
So just pour me that damn drink, will you? I’ve got somewhere to go.
*************
Next we have Seanan McGuire latest October "Toby" Daye novel, Chimes at Midnight.
Things are starting to look up for October "Toby" Daye. She's training her squire, doing her job, and has finally allowed herself to grow closer to the local King of Cats. It seems like her life may finally be settling down . . . at least until dead changelings start appearing in the alleys of San Francisco, killed by an overdose of goblin fruit.
Toby's efforts to take the problem to the Queen of the Mists are met with harsh reprisals, leaving her under sentence of exile from her home and everyone she loves. Now Toby must find a way to reverse the Queens decree, get the goblin fruit off the streets--and, oh, yes, save her own life, since more than a few of her problems have once again followed her home. And then there's the question of the Queen herself, who seems increasingly unlikely to have a valid claim to the throne. . . .
To find the answers, October and her friends will have to travel from the legendary Library of Stars into the hidden depths of the Kingdom of the Mists--and they'll have to do it fast, because time is running out. In faerie, some fates are worse than death.
October Daye is about to find out what they are.
**************************
And lastly, we have the paperback release of Sherwood Smith's Revenant Eve.
Once upon a time, I had known nothing about my family. Gran never, ever spoke about her family, and I never asked. My parents and I knew that Gran had come from Europe, but anyone would have known that from her beautiful, aristocratic French. But being me, I just couldn't leave it alone. So I went to Europe and found out. And then my life fell apart.
Or should I say, my old life fell apart. And my new life . . . well, it was like something right out of a fairy tale.
I had been ta teacher on the college level, and now I was a member of one of the royal families of Dobrenica, an obscure European country with some very unusual attributes.
Like magic. Yes, there was magic in Dobrencia. For instance, if certain members of two royal lines married at a specific time, Dobrenia vanished. And ghosts, I could now see ghosts. And vampires . . . but I still can't quite wrap my brain around that one. Let's just say that Dobrenica was one strange little country.
I was truly happy. I was engaged to the heir apparent to the throne of Dobrenica, and we were in love. Wedding preparations were underway and, although the thought of being a princess made me feel weird, being with Alec was like living a dream.
So my mood was high as I walked under the triumphal arch in the center of the capital city and ducked through a lichen-dotted medieval archway. Trailing my fingers along the wall, I soon passed the odd little painting of a door that had intrigued me ever since I first came to Dobrenica. It was rendered so realistically that on first glance it seemed three-dimensional, but as I passed my hands over the painted doorknob, my fingres closed on cold metal, and the false door swung inward, revealing a sun-drenched landscape and a teenage girl with honey-colored braids.
"I am Xanpia," she said, and somehow I knew she wasn't just another girl named after the patron saint of Dobrenica.
"This door," I blurted, "how does it work?"
"It is a door between your past and your future," she responded.
"Oh, no! No, no, no--I'm about to married!" I said in desperation, trying to back away.
"You are called to guide the child Aurelie," she said. "But that is only half your task: To save Dobrenica, you must bring her here."
And with that, she disappeared, leaving me floating like a spirit in a strange world, two hundred years in the past. . . .
****************
And those are DAW's September releases! Storm the bookstores! Then read, read, read!
*******************
First up is Tad Williams second Bobby Dollar novel Happy Hour in Hell, releasing in hardcover.
I’ve been told to go to Hell more times than I can count. But this time I’m actually going.
My name’s Bobby Dollar, sometimes known as Doloriel, and of course, Hell isn’t a great place for someone like me--I’m an angel. They don’t like my kind down there, not even the slightly fallen variety. But they have my girlfriend, who happens to be a beautiful demon named Casimira, Countess of Cold Hands. Why does an angel have a demon girlfriend? Well, certainly not because it helps my career.
She’s being held hostage by one of the nastiest, most powerful demons in all of the netherworld--Eligor, Grand Duke of Hell. He already hates me, and he’d like nothing better than to get his hands on me and rip my immortal soul right out of my borrowed but oh-so-mortal body.
But wait, it gets better! Not only do I have to sneak into Hell, make my way across thousands of miles of terror and suffering to reach Pandemonium, capital of the fiery depths, but then I have to steal Caz right out from under Eligor’s burning eyes and smuggle her out again, past demon soldiers, hellhounds, and all the murderous creatures imprisoned there for eternity. And even if I somehow manage to escape Hell, I’m also being stalked by an undead psychopath named Smyler who’s been following me for weeks. Oh, and did I mention that he can’t be killed?
So if I somehow survive Hell, elude the Grand Duke and all his hideous minions and make it back to the real world, I’ll still be the most hunted soul in Creation. But at least I’ll have Caz. Gotta have something to look forward to, right?
So just pour me that damn drink, will you? I’ve got somewhere to go.
*************
Next we have Seanan McGuire latest October "Toby" Daye novel, Chimes at Midnight.
Things are starting to look up for October "Toby" Daye. She's training her squire, doing her job, and has finally allowed herself to grow closer to the local King of Cats. It seems like her life may finally be settling down . . . at least until dead changelings start appearing in the alleys of San Francisco, killed by an overdose of goblin fruit.
Toby's efforts to take the problem to the Queen of the Mists are met with harsh reprisals, leaving her under sentence of exile from her home and everyone she loves. Now Toby must find a way to reverse the Queens decree, get the goblin fruit off the streets--and, oh, yes, save her own life, since more than a few of her problems have once again followed her home. And then there's the question of the Queen herself, who seems increasingly unlikely to have a valid claim to the throne. . . .
To find the answers, October and her friends will have to travel from the legendary Library of Stars into the hidden depths of the Kingdom of the Mists--and they'll have to do it fast, because time is running out. In faerie, some fates are worse than death.
October Daye is about to find out what they are.
**************************
And lastly, we have the paperback release of Sherwood Smith's Revenant Eve.
Once upon a time, I had known nothing about my family. Gran never, ever spoke about her family, and I never asked. My parents and I knew that Gran had come from Europe, but anyone would have known that from her beautiful, aristocratic French. But being me, I just couldn't leave it alone. So I went to Europe and found out. And then my life fell apart.
Or should I say, my old life fell apart. And my new life . . . well, it was like something right out of a fairy tale.
I had been ta teacher on the college level, and now I was a member of one of the royal families of Dobrenica, an obscure European country with some very unusual attributes.
Like magic. Yes, there was magic in Dobrencia. For instance, if certain members of two royal lines married at a specific time, Dobrenia vanished. And ghosts, I could now see ghosts. And vampires . . . but I still can't quite wrap my brain around that one. Let's just say that Dobrenica was one strange little country.
I was truly happy. I was engaged to the heir apparent to the throne of Dobrenica, and we were in love. Wedding preparations were underway and, although the thought of being a princess made me feel weird, being with Alec was like living a dream.
So my mood was high as I walked under the triumphal arch in the center of the capital city and ducked through a lichen-dotted medieval archway. Trailing my fingers along the wall, I soon passed the odd little painting of a door that had intrigued me ever since I first came to Dobrenica. It was rendered so realistically that on first glance it seemed three-dimensional, but as I passed my hands over the painted doorknob, my fingres closed on cold metal, and the false door swung inward, revealing a sun-drenched landscape and a teenage girl with honey-colored braids.
"I am Xanpia," she said, and somehow I knew she wasn't just another girl named after the patron saint of Dobrenica.
"This door," I blurted, "how does it work?"
"It is a door between your past and your future," she responded.
"Oh, no! No, no, no--I'm about to married!" I said in desperation, trying to back away.
"You are called to guide the child Aurelie," she said. "But that is only half your task: To save Dobrenica, you must bring her here."
And with that, she disappeared, leaving me floating like a spirit in a strange world, two hundred years in the past. . . .
****************
And those are DAW's September releases! Storm the bookstores! Then read, read, read!
August 31, 2013
Book Review: FRINGE: THE ZODIAC PARADOX
I am a huge fan of FRINGE and was disappointed when the show ended. I was ecstatic when I realized that there would be three books released and immediately ordered all three. Only the first two are out at the moment, and I've had a chance to read the first of the three.
The premise: We join Walter Bishop and William Bell (along with Nina Sharp) when they are college students in the late 60s and 70s. Experimenting with a new acid mixture at Reiden Lake, Walter and William encounter a strange side effect of the mix: they link minds, and somehow open a portal to the alternate universe. Before they realize that's happened, someone steps through into our world and for a brief, terrifying moment, they link minds with this man--a cold-hearted killer. But when the acid trip ends, they decide that the entire episode was simply a wild acid trip, since the man has vanished and there's no sign of the portal. But years later, they run into the man again, and realize they've brought a serial killer into our world: the Zodiac Killer. Now they need to figure out how to send him back, before he kills again. Only now, the Zodiac Killer is after them.
This book was a mixed bag to me. For a long while, I was going to rate it as 2 out of 5 stars, not 3. It was great to get back to the characters from the TV series, especially Walter, who's character is what made the series work in that first season in my opinion. I liked the set-up of the story as well, considering the mystery that still surrounds the Zodiac Killer. So playing with the idea that the serial killer came from the other side was intriguing. The story presented here itself was good.
My problem, and the reason I was leaning toward 2 stars, was two-fold after that. First, the writing really isn't all that great. It's decent, and serves the story, but it doesn't have the emotional depth that I like in my fiction. I wasn't dragged into the emotions of the characters all that much. Maybe once or twice in a few moments, but nothing like what I expect from the novels I read. I want to BE those characters, and in this book, I didn't get that engaged.
And the second problem was that the characters just weren't quite right. William Bell came across as completely flat. I have to admit that I never felt that the William Bell character in the show was developed all that well either, so maybe my reaction is just a reflection of that. But he felt like a set piece that was moved around here and there, not really a full-fledged character. Now, Walter's character felt just like Walter from the show . . . which is the problem. The entire premise of Walter's character from the show is that BEFORE he had those pieces of his brain removed, he was a rather hard, not very likable person. Only after the pieces were removed did he become someone that he wanted to be. This book is set BEFORE those pieces of his brain were removed, but he was the same person he was in the show, not the hard-nosed man he ended up despising (and fearing he'd become again) by the end of the series. So there was a disconnect with the accepted lore based on the series there, in my opinion.
Nina Sharp's character in the book was great and spot-on, I felt. Out of the three, she was the best represented.
In the end, I enjoyed the story and the way the author interplayed elements of the show with this past life. There are plenty of good "connections" that fans of the show can make as the story plays out. But there were some disjointed elements that I had a problem with (mostly dealing with characters) and the writing wasn't a sharp as I'd hoped. I'll certainly read the next two books . . . and likely any other books that they decide to release . . . but I'm hoping that the writing and the story lines improve.
The premise: We join Walter Bishop and William Bell (along with Nina Sharp) when they are college students in the late 60s and 70s. Experimenting with a new acid mixture at Reiden Lake, Walter and William encounter a strange side effect of the mix: they link minds, and somehow open a portal to the alternate universe. Before they realize that's happened, someone steps through into our world and for a brief, terrifying moment, they link minds with this man--a cold-hearted killer. But when the acid trip ends, they decide that the entire episode was simply a wild acid trip, since the man has vanished and there's no sign of the portal. But years later, they run into the man again, and realize they've brought a serial killer into our world: the Zodiac Killer. Now they need to figure out how to send him back, before he kills again. Only now, the Zodiac Killer is after them.
This book was a mixed bag to me. For a long while, I was going to rate it as 2 out of 5 stars, not 3. It was great to get back to the characters from the TV series, especially Walter, who's character is what made the series work in that first season in my opinion. I liked the set-up of the story as well, considering the mystery that still surrounds the Zodiac Killer. So playing with the idea that the serial killer came from the other side was intriguing. The story presented here itself was good.
My problem, and the reason I was leaning toward 2 stars, was two-fold after that. First, the writing really isn't all that great. It's decent, and serves the story, but it doesn't have the emotional depth that I like in my fiction. I wasn't dragged into the emotions of the characters all that much. Maybe once or twice in a few moments, but nothing like what I expect from the novels I read. I want to BE those characters, and in this book, I didn't get that engaged.
And the second problem was that the characters just weren't quite right. William Bell came across as completely flat. I have to admit that I never felt that the William Bell character in the show was developed all that well either, so maybe my reaction is just a reflection of that. But he felt like a set piece that was moved around here and there, not really a full-fledged character. Now, Walter's character felt just like Walter from the show . . . which is the problem. The entire premise of Walter's character from the show is that BEFORE he had those pieces of his brain removed, he was a rather hard, not very likable person. Only after the pieces were removed did he become someone that he wanted to be. This book is set BEFORE those pieces of his brain were removed, but he was the same person he was in the show, not the hard-nosed man he ended up despising (and fearing he'd become again) by the end of the series. So there was a disconnect with the accepted lore based on the series there, in my opinion.
Nina Sharp's character in the book was great and spot-on, I felt. Out of the three, she was the best represented.
In the end, I enjoyed the story and the way the author interplayed elements of the show with this past life. There are plenty of good "connections" that fans of the show can make as the story plays out. But there were some disjointed elements that I had a problem with (mostly dealing with characters) and the writing wasn't a sharp as I'd hoped. I'll certainly read the next two books . . . and likely any other books that they decide to release . . . but I'm hoping that the writing and the story lines improve.
Signal Boost: FLYTRAP Open to Submissions!
For all of the aspiring writers and authors out there, a new market! (Well, an old market that went away for a while and, due to a kickstarter, is now up and running again. I donated to the kickstarter.)
Flytrap will be opening to fiction submissions starting next Tuesday, September 4th! Below are the guidelines. Go forth, submit, and conquer!
Flytrap, the little zine with teeth, will open to submissions for issue #11 on September 3, 2013
Fiction: I will consider work up to 5,000 words (query for longer, but don't let it hurt your feelings if I say no). Any form, any style, any genre welcome; cross-genre and experimental work especially appreciated. I consider vignettes, fantasias, and hallucinagenia in addition to more traditional narrative approaches. Surprise me, or delight me, or both. I like stories with sex and feminism and apocalypses and snarky humor in them, but don't let that limit you. Straightforward porn and conventional horror are unlikely to find a home here, but otherwise, I'm happy to consider pretty much anything. Send stories to Heather Shaw at TropismPress@gmail.com. Send in the body of an e-mail, or as Word or RTF attachments.
Non-Fiction: Due to enthusiastic pre-soliciting, we are full on non-fiction for this issue.
Poetry: We are not open to poetry submissions for issue #11. We're having a featured poet instead. But you might be able to slip a prose poem past the fiction editor. Multiple submissions are okay, within reason (that is, sending two pieces won't annoy us too much, but sending three probably will).
No simultaneous submissions (but we'll try to answer every submission by mid-November, so it shouldn't cramp your submitting style too much).
Deadline: We open September 4, 2013, and close October 31, 2013. Payment: $0.05/ word for fiction, and a copy of the digital issue on publication.
Flytrap will be opening to fiction submissions starting next Tuesday, September 4th! Below are the guidelines. Go forth, submit, and conquer!
Flytrap, the little zine with teeth, will open to submissions for issue #11 on September 3, 2013
Fiction: I will consider work up to 5,000 words (query for longer, but don't let it hurt your feelings if I say no). Any form, any style, any genre welcome; cross-genre and experimental work especially appreciated. I consider vignettes, fantasias, and hallucinagenia in addition to more traditional narrative approaches. Surprise me, or delight me, or both. I like stories with sex and feminism and apocalypses and snarky humor in them, but don't let that limit you. Straightforward porn and conventional horror are unlikely to find a home here, but otherwise, I'm happy to consider pretty much anything. Send stories to Heather Shaw at TropismPress@gmail.com. Send in the body of an e-mail, or as Word or RTF attachments.
Non-Fiction: Due to enthusiastic pre-soliciting, we are full on non-fiction for this issue.
Poetry: We are not open to poetry submissions for issue #11. We're having a featured poet instead. But you might be able to slip a prose poem past the fiction editor. Multiple submissions are okay, within reason (that is, sending two pieces won't annoy us too much, but sending three probably will).
No simultaneous submissions (but we'll try to answer every submission by mid-November, so it shouldn't cramp your submitting style too much).
Deadline: We open September 4, 2013, and close October 31, 2013. Payment: $0.05/ word for fiction, and a copy of the digital issue on publication.
Signal Boost: Patrick Rothfuss' B&N Bookfair for WORLDBUILDERS
The following is a notice from Patrick Rothfuss, who asked his fellow authors to pass on the word. The code will work at your local B&N until September 2nd. But you can still use it online until September 7th. Might I suggest that you run to your local bookstore and see if DAW's September books are in yet? Just a thought. *grin*
B&N is doing a bookfair with Worldbuilders right now.
What that means is that if someone uses this Bookfair code (11162161) when they make a purchase at B&N, Worldbuilders gets a piece of the action.
That's *anyone* who buys *any* book at *any* B&N. It even works online.
And it's not a little piece of the pie either, we start off getting 10%, and if there are 10K of sales, it goes up to 20%.
The bookfair code only works until Sept 2nd in stores. But it works until Sept 7th online.</b>
B&N is doing a bookfair with Worldbuilders right now.
What that means is that if someone uses this Bookfair code (11162161) when they make a purchase at B&N, Worldbuilders gets a piece of the action.
That's *anyone* who buys *any* book at *any* B&N. It even works online.
And it's not a little piece of the pie either, we start off getting 10%, and if there are 10K of sales, it goes up to 20%.
The bookfair code only works until Sept 2nd in stores. But it works until Sept 7th online.</b>
