Matthew Ledrew's Blog, page 43

The Six Elemental | Review by Christopher Walsh

[image error]The Six Elemental is suspenseful and engaging YA novel by Ali House. It’s so engaging that I started reading it in the airport in Windsor, Ontario en route to Newfoundland and had it nearly finished by the time the plane touched down in St. John’s. That included a flight change in Toronto!

The setting and plot are both realized quite well and the political spectrum of the island nations has surprising depth for a YA novel. (Or at least the ones I’ve read) The main character, Kit Tyler is brought to life quite vividly and her journey through the fantastical, dystopian world filled with magical super-humans delves into subjects that run parallel to issues faced by young adults in our own world.

Kit finds herself working with a cast of characters who each stand out in their own right and the events that unfold around these six touches on several genres at once that are woven together in artful fashion. Within the pages you will find mystery, romance, thrilling action, fantasy elements and what I call an early sci-fi setting and Ali uses each just enough so that neither overshadows the other and defines the book by one genre.

There were a few things that I nitpicked to myself as I read, but upon completion of the book and reflection, I realized that those minor issues were not with the author or the material, but rather because I am not the intended audience. So, in my review, I rated it in how I would have enjoyed it as a young adult. In that regard, I would fully recommend it to YA readers across the board. It has something for everyone and a story that will keep you wanting more.

The Rogue Commodore by Kenneth Tam | Other Indie

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Well, that certainly was a lot of fantasy over the last few months! Time for a palate cleanser I think, and I can’t think of a better way than with some military-grade science fiction.

The Rogue Commodore is the first novel in The Martian War series by prolific author Kenneth Tam. Tam has been writing since 2001 and has published nearly sixty books with Iceberg Publishing, currently based in Edmonton but with strong ties to Newfoundland and Newfoundland culture. Under the Iceberg banner, Tam has four series: the now-complete Equations series, the Martian War series, the His Majesty’s New World series, and The Champions series. He has also a contributed to the Wes Prewer’s creator-owned series Seas of Sand, also from Iceberg.

While all taking place under the banner of science-fiction, each of Kenneth Tam’s series spawns from a different genre under the spec-fic umbrella, and each appears to have been inspired by different aspects of 1980s counter-culture. This series seems to be inspired by the better parts of Star Trek: the Next Generation, Firefly, and the works of Arthur C. Clarke.

The series has a rich history before it even begins. It’s based on the reminisces of Admiral the Lord Ken Barron, as he looks back on his misadventures during a period that history has dubbed “The Martian War.”

The Rogue Commodore starts just before the onset of the War, with a battle between Barron’s ship the Wolf and the invading Martian fleet over a seemingly unimportant meteor belt.

A fair portion of The Rogue Commodore is world building, setting up the landscape of this potential future we find ourselves in. There’s a lot being explained about the world, the state of the military industrial complex, and the characters that inhabit each. That’s a good thing, because Tam is very technical in his prose. What most authors would skim over for narrative convenience, such as transit time between planets, Tam dwells upon and uses it to his advantage. The world of The Martian War is a very real one. This is the first in a long series that does well to setup the main premise of what is to come. It also reads like many war books I’ve read over the years, such as The Things they Carried, a little of Rendezvous with Rama, and even a little of Paul Stoller’s ethnographic studies. So, in this, it succeeds, and when the novel picks up steam toward the latter half, it has already sucked the reader in.

[image error]I love taking the Freudian method of dream analysis and applying it to literature. Quick/Dirty rundown: you take the part of the book that bothered you the most, then spin the analysis so that that is what the book is about. At least, what it’s about for you.

I can say, without exaggeration, that it took me ten years to figure out what this book was to me using this method. Sometimes things are slow burns like that, but I think it’s the sign of a good novel and a good puzzle when your mind keeps traveling back to it like that — you have a need to figure it out. Even then, I didn’t realize it until I read Making Family by Jenn White this past fall, and everything clicked into place.

What bothered me about The Rogue Commodore was that the villains of this opera were portrayed as inept, and so Barron and his team defeat them easily. The villains provide the secrets to their plans easily after a few moment’s interrogation over the Skype-like comm-system, erupting in bursts of fury. This bothers me because, in my mind, a hero should triumph because they’re skilled, not because their opponent is unskilled.

It was only after reading White’s novel and realizing that the similar misgivings I had about the main character were because she was an unreliable narrator that I realized the same about Barron: this is an unreliable narrator. It’s not that the villains were defeated this easily: it’s that Barron isn’t telling you everything. When I went back and re-read, there was ample evidence of this: descriptions that were phrased literally but couldn’t have been, instances when the narrator admits to altering the events for reasons of secrecy, and meta-textual arguments in which the narrator lambasts other media interpretations of his exploits. It’s then that I come to the realization of what this novel is about: it is about the flaws inherent in perspective, especially when dealing with historical accounts. And in that respect, it is absolutely genius.

Part satire, part action-movie, and part science-fiction thriller, this is a book that I’ve come to over and over again, and every time I read it it’s a different book. It changes as my own politics and opinions change while remaining itself apolitical, which is a testament to the care Tam took in crafting his narrative.

The Rogue Commodore is available in print and eBook formats. Check it out, a must-read for people interested in supporting good independent fiction. Perfect from those who enjoy Arthur C Clarke, Robert A Heinlein, and the military sci-fi of Scott Bartlett.

‘Other Indie’ is a recurring series of articles on Engen Books in which authors highlight the best in independent publishing, in the hopes of helping readers break through the cluster of books they may not be sure about in an age when anyone can publish via digital formats. Engen Books is an independent small-press publishing company based in St. John’s Newfoundland and is proud to highlight the talent of independent authors not our own. The Rogue Commodore is © 2011 Kenneth Tam. This review is © 2017 Matthew LeDrew.  ‘Other Indie’ banner photo credit: Steve Lake.

Supernatural Causes by Amanda Labonté | Review by Ali House

[image error]Fans of True Blood*, the Anita Blake series**, and other stories with tall, dark, and devastatingly handsome vampires, should definitely pick up Supernatural Causes by Amanda Labonté.

Vampires, Werewolves, and Witches live in harmony with humans, although the majority of humans don’t realize it. Liesel Andrews is a pre-med student who can see supernatural beings for what they truly are, making her the perfect choice to work at the local supernatural hospital. However, her busy-yet-mundane life gets interrupted when she’s called upon to investigate a mysterious illness affecting the vampire community.

Labonté adds to the pre-existing mythology of vampires, giving it some new blood (pun intended), and adding a level of curiosity to the virus (just… how?). As the first installment, Going Viral sets up the world and introduces key characters, giving you enough information to understand what’s going on, while leaving enough unanswered questions to keep you curious.

With the next installment out in June, there’s enough time for you to come up with your own theories and answers. I have my own ideas on how some things might play out, but we’ll just have to wait and see what happens next.

*Full Disclosure: I’ve only seen the first 2 seasons & haven’t read any of the books.

**But back in the beginning, you know, when it had a plot.

Engen Books represented at the East Coast Comic Expo!

Hello Engen-eers and Foote Soldiers! If you live in the Moncton New Brunswick area, you should stop by the Crossman Community Centre at 99 Wynwood Dr this weekend, May 19-21, and meet one of Engen Books’ up-and-coming authors, Peter J. Foote, who will be appearing with the FictionFirst Bookstore alongside comics legends such as Fred Van Lente (Deadpool), Cary Nord (Daredevil), Daniel Way (Ghost Rider), and our old friendly neighbor from Hal-Con Nick Bradshaw (Wolverine and the X-Men, Spidey).[image error]

Nick was one of the artists kind enough, in 2012, to lend his talents to our Black Womb art project at Hal-Con 2012 after we’d gotten to know him the previous year. The result was a phenomenal piece that highlighted one of the rare moments when the Womb seems to enjoy what he does, a stark contrast from the approach other artists took, and a welcome one.

Born and raised in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia, the son of an apple farmer, Peter Foote studied archaeology in university, is employed as a boiler and refrigeration operator, an active Freemason, and runs a used bookstore (Fictionfirst Used Books).

Peter returned in 2017’s Fantasy from the Rock with the short story “A Troll by Any Other Name…” after being one of the breakout stars of Sci-Fi from the Rock with his short story “The Silence Between Moons.”

[image error]Fantasy from the Rock by Erin Vance & Ellen Curtis

Series: From the Rock, #2017

The Pitch: Twenty-One short stories written by an eclectic mix of some of the best fantasy authors in Atlantic Canada, some of them award-winning veterans of their field and some of them new to the craft! Edited by Erin Vance and veteran science-fiction author Ellen Louise Curtis, this collection features the heartfelt, creatively charged, astonishing fiction that showcases the talent and charm Atlantic Canada has to offer. Featuring the work of Nick Morine, Christopher Walsh, Shannon Green, Heather Reilly, Ali House, Amanda Labonté, Paul Carberry & many more!

Click for more information and purchase options

Sci-Fi from the Rock by Erin Vance & Ellen Curtis

Series: From the Rock, #2016

The Pitch: Nineteen short stories written by an eclectic mix of some of the best science-fiction and fantasy authors in Atlantic Canada, some of them award-winning veterans and some of them new to the craft for the first time. Edited by Erin Vance and veteran science-fiction author Ellen Louise Curtis, this collection features the heartfelt, creatively charged, astonishing fiction that showcases the talent and charm Atlantic Canada has to offer. Featuring the work of Kenneth Tam, Scott Bartlett, Jay Paulin, Alison House, & many more!

Click for more information and purchase options

Travel VS Writer’s Block

I’ve been having wickedly terrible writer’s block lately.  There are so many projects on my list, and I keep getting stuck on stupid things that I shouldn’t be stuck on.

I have a few methods for dealing with writer’s block:

go for a long walk
go to the library or a cafe
change the music / listen to music
turn off the TV / stop watching Youtube videos (you’ve seen this one already, you don’t need to watch it again)
write something stupid that will serve as a placeholder for the scene I’m currently working on and move on to a more interesting scene
realize that maybe the reason I’m not writing this scene is because I’m not interested in it, and find a way to make it more interesting
consider going to sleep, because as I’m drifting off my brain is sure to think of something I should write down, thus making me get up

However, my most effective method appears to be:

Travel

I haven’t travelled much in the past year, but so far this year I’ve gone away twice, and those two times have been quite creative for me.

A few months ago I made a trip to another province.  It was mainly script-focused (I was going away to work on 2 scripts I’d written), but it involved a long bus ride, so there was plenty of time to stare out the window and let my mind wander.

During the bus ride there I came up with an idea for a short story/novella.  During the bus ride back I came up with an idea for another short story/novella.  Granted, this wasn’t super helpful because I have other projects to work on before I can get to those two, but it’s nice to have some ideas in the backlog (especially as something to spur you on to get those other stories finished).

Then, a few weeks ago, I flew home for a visit, and the combination of bus + plane + waiting in the airport = me writing.  I wrote a new start to a project that had been plaguing me for years.  Despite all the plotting, I still hadn’t figured out what age to make my protagonists or when to set the story.  However, during the flight home and back I found some inspiration and was able to write an entire first chapter for the story – 10 handwritten pages.  I even mapped out most of the rest of the book.

I guess there’s something to be said for being stuck in a moving vehicle with nowhere to go and nothing else to do.

“You mean I have to do something?” | Peter J. Foote

Fantasy from the Rock and Sci-Fi from the Rock author Peter Foote laments hardest part of being an author: selling your work.

Peter J. Foote

I’m sure every author starts off thinking that writing that book, novella, or short story will be the hard part, I know I did, sadly I was wrong.

What I’ve learnt, is that everything after “The End” can be a struggle as well, and not always an enjoyable one. I write because I enjoy it, I like sharing a part of myself with the reader, conveying that hard learned life lesson. The written word is my preferred method, because verbally I come across as an idiot!

I don’t like the “selling yourself” part of the process, but that needs to change.

This weekend is the East Coast Comic Expo and my used bookstore Fictionfirst Used Books will once again be having a vendors table at the event. Selling my used books isn’t much of a chore for me, since most of the people who are looking at them are fans of the…

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The Greatest Hits of Wanda Jaynes | Ellen Curtis, Newfoundland Quarterly

“Through her reluctant heroine, Canning explores the privacy costs of the new necessity to keep up via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or wherever. When does that participation equal surrendering our privacy?”

To read Ellen’s entire review of The Greatest Hits of Wanda Jaynes by Bridget Canning, click here.

Register for the 48-Hour Novel Marathon, June 23-25 2017!

Questing the Dark Tower | Matthew LeDrew

An essay examining the concept of Stephen King’s Dark Tower as it applies to Derrida’s theory of the Pharmakon, and how that then in turn applies to other works of fiction, such as ‘The House on Mango Street,’ ‘Goblin Market,’ ‘Fables,’ and more.

Questing the Dark Tower

Matthew LeDrew

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Purchase (eBook):

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Title Information:



ISBN:
978-1926903552


Release Date:
May 11, 2017


Status:
Available


Book Type:
Electronic


Cover Price:
EBook: $0.99 USD


Page Count:
27




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Reviews

Fantasy from the Rock review by Matthew Daniels

[image error]Matthew Daniels

“Fantasy had its beginnings in mythology and, by extension, religion. In addition to faith, though, fantasy also challenges belief. This collection is very much in tune with both of these sides of fantasy. Social order, tradition, the world and our place in it, humanity, daily life, even the nature of stories — beliefs about all of these are challenged in Fantasy from the Rock. So celebrate the fairies and other miracles you find in its pages, but look for the challenges and reversals. It’s enlightening, and a great deal of fun” — Matthew Daniels, author of Healer’s Hoards and Living and Learning.