Richard Roberts's Blog, page 15
May 22, 2013
Random Book Review: The Lensman Series
Hail ereaders! Hail Project Gutenberg! Together they have given me the chance to do something I always wanted to do - read EE Doc Smith's Lensman series in order.
For those unfamiliar, the Lensman series (Triplanetary, First Lensman, Galactic Patrol, Second Stage Lensman, Children of the Lens) were written by EE Doc Smith in the 1930s, mostly a chapter at a time as serials printed in magazines. They are one of the foundation stones of modern science fiction, and physical copies are hard to track down. I was tickled pink to find out that they're now public domain and Project Gutenberg has scanned them into ebooks and they can be obtained for free online. Note that they were very obviously computer-scanned out of physical books. The typos are terrible, the kind of thing you get when a computer is trying to make sense of printed letters. 'Ploor' is written as 'Floor' about two thirds of the time.
Now, for the review. The Lensman books are space operas, cowboy books in space. The good forces of Civilization, led by the incorruptible near-supermen Lensmen, are trying to prevent us all from being conquered by the dictatorial and tyrannical forces of Boskone. There are very few moral shades of grey, even though the author admits to their existence. Everything is bigger than life. The men are super manly, the women are super beautiful, the aliens are weird, the bad guys are abhorrently evil, the space ships and space ship battles are dramatic, there are gunfights and gloating villains and seedy dive bars and benign alien benefactors. Suspension of disbelief is definitely not a priority, and the words 'starkly' and 'irresistible' get thrown around frequently, especially together. It has hardcore pseudoscientific gobbledygook, like 'q-type helices of pure force' and 'duodecaplylatomate' and 'allotropic iron'. It has an arms race that even Dragonball Z would be proud of, where by the end of the series planets traveling faster than light are being thrown around as siege weapons.
Is it any good at these things? Yes, it's great at them. The books are fun and suspenseful. The silly tech feels very consistent, especially the whole inertialess drive concept. The worst thing I can say about the books is that the purple prose describing how powerful space weapons are starts at excessive and moves quickly to ridiculous, and stays there.
The characters aren't deep, but they're likable in a 'gee golly whiz' way, and some of them are fascinating. The series contains one of my favorite characters of all time, in fact: Nadreck of Palain VII. In these mostly morally simplistic books you have occasional flashes of fascinating insight. Palainians are beings who live on planets like Pluto. Their biology resembles ours so little they don't entirely exist in three-dimensional space. As a race they are inherently lazy cowards. They find risk unacceptable, and do everything the easiest way possible.
Nadreck is as heroic a Palainian as Kimball Kinnison, the main character, is a heroic human. Nadreck is capable of taking risks, but only if they are absolutely necessary. In his laziness, he identifies the most efficient way of doing anything. He is utterly brilliant, inhumanly patient, and ruthless. 'Compassion' is something he doesn't understand. He is dedicated to the general social good, but pity for his opponents, or even bystanders? Forget it. Nadreck is, absolutely, the most terrifying badass in the series. He causes an entire fortified planet of evil archcriminals to commit suicide by subtly playing on their paranoia until their inherent evil sends them all berzerk and they kill each other. The books explicitly state at one point that Nadreck would be the hero of civilization, except that the focus on efficiency that makes him so dangerous cripples him. He's not capable of thinking beyond the current assignment. Involving outside factors, planning for a general campaign against Boskone, these things would make his tasks too risky. He just can't think that way. It's a psychological point of surprising depth, and I love the character because of it.
One final note: These books were written in the 1930s, and they provide an interesting glimpse into the prejudices of the times. Some people may very understandably find them offensive, particularly misogynistic. The heroes are white anglo-saxon males. Other human ethnicities don't seem to exist. Interestingly, they're not Christian. The only religions that come up are given lip service to so people can swear when they're angry. The attitude towards women fascinates me, because the books repeatedly stress the importance of equality of the sexes, yet they over and over flat-out state that the sexes are different in very 'Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus' ways. Women are incapable of the ruthlessness of being soldiers, are emotional and filled with a 'vitality' that seems suspiciously maternal.
In summary: The Lensman series is old-fashioned high adventure epic space opera. Do not expect serious modern science fiction. Do expect to have fun.
For those unfamiliar, the Lensman series (Triplanetary, First Lensman, Galactic Patrol, Second Stage Lensman, Children of the Lens) were written by EE Doc Smith in the 1930s, mostly a chapter at a time as serials printed in magazines. They are one of the foundation stones of modern science fiction, and physical copies are hard to track down. I was tickled pink to find out that they're now public domain and Project Gutenberg has scanned them into ebooks and they can be obtained for free online. Note that they were very obviously computer-scanned out of physical books. The typos are terrible, the kind of thing you get when a computer is trying to make sense of printed letters. 'Ploor' is written as 'Floor' about two thirds of the time.
Now, for the review. The Lensman books are space operas, cowboy books in space. The good forces of Civilization, led by the incorruptible near-supermen Lensmen, are trying to prevent us all from being conquered by the dictatorial and tyrannical forces of Boskone. There are very few moral shades of grey, even though the author admits to their existence. Everything is bigger than life. The men are super manly, the women are super beautiful, the aliens are weird, the bad guys are abhorrently evil, the space ships and space ship battles are dramatic, there are gunfights and gloating villains and seedy dive bars and benign alien benefactors. Suspension of disbelief is definitely not a priority, and the words 'starkly' and 'irresistible' get thrown around frequently, especially together. It has hardcore pseudoscientific gobbledygook, like 'q-type helices of pure force' and 'duodecaplylatomate' and 'allotropic iron'. It has an arms race that even Dragonball Z would be proud of, where by the end of the series planets traveling faster than light are being thrown around as siege weapons.
Is it any good at these things? Yes, it's great at them. The books are fun and suspenseful. The silly tech feels very consistent, especially the whole inertialess drive concept. The worst thing I can say about the books is that the purple prose describing how powerful space weapons are starts at excessive and moves quickly to ridiculous, and stays there.
The characters aren't deep, but they're likable in a 'gee golly whiz' way, and some of them are fascinating. The series contains one of my favorite characters of all time, in fact: Nadreck of Palain VII. In these mostly morally simplistic books you have occasional flashes of fascinating insight. Palainians are beings who live on planets like Pluto. Their biology resembles ours so little they don't entirely exist in three-dimensional space. As a race they are inherently lazy cowards. They find risk unacceptable, and do everything the easiest way possible.
Nadreck is as heroic a Palainian as Kimball Kinnison, the main character, is a heroic human. Nadreck is capable of taking risks, but only if they are absolutely necessary. In his laziness, he identifies the most efficient way of doing anything. He is utterly brilliant, inhumanly patient, and ruthless. 'Compassion' is something he doesn't understand. He is dedicated to the general social good, but pity for his opponents, or even bystanders? Forget it. Nadreck is, absolutely, the most terrifying badass in the series. He causes an entire fortified planet of evil archcriminals to commit suicide by subtly playing on their paranoia until their inherent evil sends them all berzerk and they kill each other. The books explicitly state at one point that Nadreck would be the hero of civilization, except that the focus on efficiency that makes him so dangerous cripples him. He's not capable of thinking beyond the current assignment. Involving outside factors, planning for a general campaign against Boskone, these things would make his tasks too risky. He just can't think that way. It's a psychological point of surprising depth, and I love the character because of it.
One final note: These books were written in the 1930s, and they provide an interesting glimpse into the prejudices of the times. Some people may very understandably find them offensive, particularly misogynistic. The heroes are white anglo-saxon males. Other human ethnicities don't seem to exist. Interestingly, they're not Christian. The only religions that come up are given lip service to so people can swear when they're angry. The attitude towards women fascinates me, because the books repeatedly stress the importance of equality of the sexes, yet they over and over flat-out state that the sexes are different in very 'Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus' ways. Women are incapable of the ruthlessness of being soldiers, are emotional and filled with a 'vitality' that seems suspiciously maternal.
In summary: The Lensman series is old-fashioned high adventure epic space opera. Do not expect serious modern science fiction. Do expect to have fun.
May 13, 2013
To An Author, This Is A Big Moment
My author's copies of my first three books arrived today. Touching them makes me feel funny in my emotion places.
Right now they can be bought on Amazon and other book buying websites, but we're trying for Barnes and Noble stores.
Right now they can be bought on Amazon and other book buying websites, but we're trying for Barnes and Noble stores.
May 12, 2013
Also Out In Paperback!
And now the trio is complete! Wild Children is ALSO out in paperback! Turns out it was slow being released in that format because it's a honking god damn big book and that creates printing and expense issues. Still, everyone always asks 'When will it be out in a paper version?' Well, my personal favorite of my books is now out in paper version!
Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm A Supervillain has not yet started editing, and I suspect it will be awhile. Curiosity Quills is growing so fast they're crushingly understaffed, and selfish author that I am I demanded my favorite (and badly overworked) editor. Frankly, Verity is worth it. She's amazing.
This horror novel continues to drag, but it IS getting written. Every scene gets a little more fun, as the process of bending without breaking the characters to suit me is left behind and the monsters creep back onto the scene. The noose tightens, and I love building tension. I'm getting interesting inspirations a little more all the while, but I can't deny my heart is still with Metal, Candy, Flesh. My moods get involved weirdly, as well. I'm a terrible writing addict. If I stop writing, I close up in a ball and stop enjoying the world. If I get really stressed, that process can work backwards. This makes momentum tough when I'm constantly reeling from the emotional highs and blows to my self-esteem that come with being a newly published author.
On a lighter note, that duck that used to hang out on my front lawn watching the house returned this year, but I only saw him once. Will he be back regularly? Why in heaven's name did a duck want to hang out alone on a suburban lawn in the first place? It's these little mysteries that make life interesting.
Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm A Supervillain has not yet started editing, and I suspect it will be awhile. Curiosity Quills is growing so fast they're crushingly understaffed, and selfish author that I am I demanded my favorite (and badly overworked) editor. Frankly, Verity is worth it. She's amazing.
This horror novel continues to drag, but it IS getting written. Every scene gets a little more fun, as the process of bending without breaking the characters to suit me is left behind and the monsters creep back onto the scene. The noose tightens, and I love building tension. I'm getting interesting inspirations a little more all the while, but I can't deny my heart is still with Metal, Candy, Flesh. My moods get involved weirdly, as well. I'm a terrible writing addict. If I stop writing, I close up in a ball and stop enjoying the world. If I get really stressed, that process can work backwards. This makes momentum tough when I'm constantly reeling from the emotional highs and blows to my self-esteem that come with being a newly published author.
On a lighter note, that duck that used to hang out on my front lawn watching the house returned this year, but I only saw him once. Will he be back regularly? Why in heaven's name did a duck want to hang out alone on a suburban lawn in the first place? It's these little mysteries that make life interesting.
April 18, 2013
Out In Paperback!
I triumphantly announce that two more of my books are out, and they're out in paper as well as electronic versions! Sweet Dreams Are Made Of Teeth is available on Amazon here, and Quite Contrary is available here! I will be working on getting sales buttons back up on this blog tonight. Everybody always asks me if they can buy my book in paper copies, and now they can. I'd like a few myself, because they're gifts I can give away.
For those of you new to my writing, Sweet Dreams Are Made Of Teeth is a coming of age story set entirely in the world of dreams, starring a nightmare and his confusing romantic entanglements. Quite Contrary is a very dark, not-quite-horror novel about a little girl whose life was pretty bad before she got stuck in the story of Red Riding Hood, but who is tough enough to survive even a serial-killer wolf. Wild Children, the book about tweens cursed for being bad to look and be treated like animals, does not have paper copies yet. I'm trying to find out why.
For those not new to my writing, I'm well into the horror novel my publisher asked me to write. I don't want to say too much, but my publisher is happy with the progress and it's full steam ahead now. The thing I can definitely say is that writing someone else's characters is hard. They weren't chosen as characters I would love!
For those of you new to my writing, Sweet Dreams Are Made Of Teeth is a coming of age story set entirely in the world of dreams, starring a nightmare and his confusing romantic entanglements. Quite Contrary is a very dark, not-quite-horror novel about a little girl whose life was pretty bad before she got stuck in the story of Red Riding Hood, but who is tough enough to survive even a serial-killer wolf. Wild Children, the book about tweens cursed for being bad to look and be treated like animals, does not have paper copies yet. I'm trying to find out why.
For those not new to my writing, I'm well into the horror novel my publisher asked me to write. I don't want to say too much, but my publisher is happy with the progress and it's full steam ahead now. The thing I can definitely say is that writing someone else's characters is hard. They weren't chosen as characters I would love!
February 1, 2013
So That's Good, I Guess!
As a writer, it's been an exciting week. Lots of back and forth with the publisher, got to see the cover art for Quite Contrary (I wish I felt like I could post these covers here), they're making audiobooks for Sweet Dreams and Wild Children. This all just blows me away. It's more interest expressed in my work than probably my whole previous life together. Multiple (routine) doctor's visits and home repair have filled all moments in between, and physically and emotionally I'm wiped.
The writing upshot is that Metal, Candy, Flesh is going to have to go on hold. I wrote exactly one chapter and learned a lot about what the book will be, but for the first time in a long time I have professional obligations. Curiosity Quills wants a Wild Children story for publicity purposes. No problem there - I've got a story in mind already, although of course it'll take a few weeks to write. After that, they've asked me to write a book, and having someone come and ask you 'Please write Book X' is a weird experience. It's seeming more likely by the minute that I will. I'm not sure, but until I do know I can't dive into Metal, Candy, Flesh.
The writing upshot is that Metal, Candy, Flesh is going to have to go on hold. I wrote exactly one chapter and learned a lot about what the book will be, but for the first time in a long time I have professional obligations. Curiosity Quills wants a Wild Children story for publicity purposes. No problem there - I've got a story in mind already, although of course it'll take a few weeks to write. After that, they've asked me to write a book, and having someone come and ask you 'Please write Book X' is a weird experience. It's seeming more likely by the minute that I will. I'm not sure, but until I do know I can't dive into Metal, Candy, Flesh.
December 12, 2012
Wild Children Is Out!
Let it be known that on this day, 12/12/12, I am back in the novel selling business! Wild Children is out, published by Curiosity Quills, and for those who want a copy here is their web page with links to order, or the US Amazon page if you want to skip straight to that. The process has been one disaster after another as my cursed luck tried to stop me from being published, but victory is mine at last. I want to thank my publisher Curiosity Quills, in fact. They soldiered on despite multiple hospitalizations, real life threatening stuff. Right now only the ereader version is out, but they do paper copies so that should be on the way. Heck, I've seen the interior .pdfs and this book is SO GORGEOUS.
Oh, and they set up a Facebook author page for me! It will be a mix of theirs and mine. We're getting me linked up as one of its administrators right now.
Oh, and they set up a Facebook author page for me! It will be a mix of theirs and mine. We're getting me linked up as one of its administrators right now.
December 8, 2012
A New Doll House Story
So, I've been hard at work doing Authory Stuff, which is basically writing. I just finished another Doll House story, Doll House: Amethyst, which I will link to below this paragraph! As far as I know, Curiosity Quills only wants my books, but I'll run it past them before publishing it online. A short story gave me a nice break between books, clearing my head enough that I will likely do the major edits on Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm A Supervillain next. My 'ol buddy Albert Berg said he thinks the later fights need to be more tense, and he's right, so I gotta fix that. You can't be good at something if you're not willing to do it right.
For your enjoyment: The draft version of Doll House: Amethyst.
On a side note, I finally changed my blog photo. If current publishing dates hold, I may soon be selling enough books to matter. While I was absolutely a nobody, random internet art was fine. I can't use art I don't own if it's even kinda helping make money. It might be illegal, and it's for damn sure rude. Fortunately, I have old cover art that I legally own to take samples from!
For your enjoyment: The draft version of Doll House: Amethyst.
On a side note, I finally changed my blog photo. If current publishing dates hold, I may soon be selling enough books to matter. While I was absolutely a nobody, random internet art was fine. I can't use art I don't own if it's even kinda helping make money. It might be illegal, and it's for damn sure rude. Fortunately, I have old cover art that I legally own to take samples from!
October 29, 2012
And That's #4!
Ladies and gentlemen and mysterious future beings who will read this blog to learn what an unsavory person their favorite author is, I finished the book! Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm A Supervillain is written! I just shopped the manuscript around to a bunch of friends of various levels of friendliness. What they do and don't like will be very instructive, here. I'm far less confident that this book is any good than I have been with others. I wanted to write a light-hearted, gentle book, and this is as pleasant as I can get. The problem is, I don't know if I have the skills to write a gripping narrative that doesn't involve misery and death!
Soon, I shall know if the book is any good. After that, once my head is clear I'll need to do a proofreading run on my own - tying up loose ends, making sure references from the end of the book match the beginning, tightening language, correcting typos, all that sort of jazz. Then, unless I've learned it's an utter failure, I offer it to my publisher and see if they're interested!
Presumably I'll be writing other things some time in the interim. I'd like to do some short stories, but I'll have to see how fast Metal, Candy, Flesh takes over my brain. I'm still reeling and it hasn't entirely penetrated this book is finished, so I can't predict.
Oh, and I wrote the last twelve thousand words in one day. THAT was CRAZY.
Soon, I shall know if the book is any good. After that, once my head is clear I'll need to do a proofreading run on my own - tying up loose ends, making sure references from the end of the book match the beginning, tightening language, correcting typos, all that sort of jazz. Then, unless I've learned it's an utter failure, I offer it to my publisher and see if they're interested!
Presumably I'll be writing other things some time in the interim. I'd like to do some short stories, but I'll have to see how fast Metal, Candy, Flesh takes over my brain. I'm still reeling and it hasn't entirely penetrated this book is finished, so I can't predict.
Oh, and I wrote the last twelve thousand words in one day. THAT was CRAZY.
October 23, 2012
So Close
Moments ago I finished writing the second to last chapter of Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm A Supervillain. One left. It will be a big chapter and may be broken up into multiples later, but structurally it makes sense to write it as one.
I hope my sanity holds up. I get very obsessive and impatient this close to the end. That resulted in the last chapter of Quite Contrary being very sub-par and needing to be rewritten entirely. I do not intend for that to happen again.
Soon, book four will be complete, and I'll shop around copies to my writer friends to find out if it's any good.
I hope my sanity holds up. I get very obsessive and impatient this close to the end. That resulted in the last chapter of Quite Contrary being very sub-par and needing to be rewritten entirely. I do not intend for that to happen again.
Soon, book four will be complete, and I'll shop around copies to my writer friends to find out if it's any good.
September 10, 2012
And Then It Did
Good news! Verity is out of the hospital and on track for a full recovery. We finished up the editing on Wild Children. I am now officially done with my responsibilities for all three books, and publishing can move ahead! I can also clear my head of those books and focus on writing new ones.
Apropos of nothing, here are three quotes I really like:
"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed." - Ernest Hemingway
"When you stand before me and look at me, what do you know of the pain in me, and what I do I know of yours? And if I threw myself to the ground before you and cried and told you, what would you know more of me than of hell, if somebody told you that it is hot and terrible? For that reason alone we humans should should face each other so reverent, so thoughtful, so loving as if facing the gates of hell." - Franz Kafka
“Critics who treat 'adult' as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up. - C. S. Lewis
Apropos of nothing, here are three quotes I really like:
"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed." - Ernest Hemingway
"When you stand before me and look at me, what do you know of the pain in me, and what I do I know of yours? And if I threw myself to the ground before you and cried and told you, what would you know more of me than of hell, if somebody told you that it is hot and terrible? For that reason alone we humans should should face each other so reverent, so thoughtful, so loving as if facing the gates of hell." - Franz Kafka
“Critics who treat 'adult' as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up. - C. S. Lewis
