Seth Fishman's Blog, page 17
January 16, 2014
medievalpoc:
Fiction Week
The Inheritance Trilogy by N.K....
Fiction Week
The Inheritance Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin
As fans of High/Epic Fantasy know, there are some series, trilogies, and even one-offs that, once you’ve read them, become a part of you. Whether it’s through vicarious visitation of nostalgic moments or just the practice of slipping into a cozy, well-worn and familiar book, our favorites often become favorites via repetition. Having read so many swords-n-sorcery type novels in my extreme youth, I really thought that that part was done. After all, the magic comes from that tiny part of you that can sometimes believe that somehow, somewhere, it is, was, or will be real. And that’s the pull of speculative fiction.
Although I came across many books later in my adulthood, none managed to worm their way into my calcified inner sanctum of truly suspended disbelief until The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, The Broken Kingdoms, and The Kingdom of Gods. If it was Robert Jordan’s massive Wheel of Time that helped ameliorate the ridiculousness of puberty and attendant navigation of arbitrary social mores; if it was Mercedes Lackey’s Last Herald-Mage and Oathbreakers Trilogies that shoehorned some adolescent priorities into place; if it was Robin McKinley’s Sunshine that finally allowed the casting-off of the nihilism and self-destructive tendencies of early adulthood, then The Inheritance Trilogy was there to ground and cement that place where inarguable adulthood has arrived, and you must finally admit to yourself that no revelation of surety and security is forthcoming.
In other words, The Inheritance Trilogy comes at the point in your life when you must realize that maturity is merely immaturity elevated to a dangerous and terrifying form of performance art. When you discover that some children are merely children, and other children are Gods.
Some tales become the teller, and others become the listener. Some conjure gentle hooks into your soul and spin themselves from threads of aether, and reveal an image of yourself that is horrific, beautiful, and familiar, and leaves you questioning whether it is a true vision or merely a funhouse mirror that mocks your hopes and insecurities with equal solemnity.
The story you hear depends on who you are.
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (read 3 chapters here)
Yeine Darr is an outcast from the barbarian north. But when her mother dies under mysterious circumstances, she is summoned to the majestic city of Sky, seat of the ruling Arameri family. There, to her shock, Yeine is named an heiress to the king. But the throne of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is not easily won, and Yeine is thrust into a vicious power struggle with a pair of cousins she never knew she had. As she fights for her life, she draws ever closer to the secrets of her mother’s death and her family’s bloody history.
The Broken Kingdoms (read 3 chapters here)
In the city of Shadow, beneath the World Tree, alleyways shimmer with magic and godlings live hidden among mortalkind. Oree Shoth, a blind artist, takes in a strange homeless man on an impulse. This act of kindness engulfs Oree in a nightmarish conspiracy. Someone, somehow, is murdering godlings, leaving their desecrated bodies all over the city. And Oree’s guest is at the heart of it…
The Kingdom of Gods (read 3 chapters here)
For two thousand years the Arameri family has ruled the world by enslaving the very gods that created mortalkind. Now the gods are free, and the Arameri’s ruthless grip is slipping. Yet they are all that stands between peace and world-spanning, unending war. Shahar, last scion of the family, must choose her loyalties. She yearns to trust Sieh, the godling she loves. Yet her duty as Arameri heir is to uphold the family’s interests, even if that means using and destroying everyone she cares for. As long-suppressed rage and terrible new magics consume the world, the Maelstrom — which even gods fear — is summoned forth. Shahar and Sieh: mortal and god, lovers and enemies. Can they stand together against the chaos that threatens THE KINGDOM OF GODS?
Just finished book one. Agreed. Lots of fun.
January 14, 2014
January 12, 2014
It’s been five days, but I will catch this iguana. Oh yes,...
It’s been five days, but I will catch this iguana. Oh yes, I will.
January 11, 2014
Turks and Caicos. Life is Good.
Turks and Caicos. Life is Good.
January 7, 2014
Hot off the presses!
Hot off the presses!
How To Buy Comics
So a lot of people are excited about reading the new Ms. Marvel series. (Yay!) And some are not regular readers of comics. And like many people in the real world, they are puzzled as to how one goes about acquiring comics. As well they might be! Monthly comic books, unlike graphic novels and…
Good post if you want.
January 4, 2014
Inspirational Speeches
Let me ask you: Have you ever read an inspirational speech?
Would you not be entirely bored as a reader? [image error]
Would you write things like: ‘He takes the microphone in his hand, ignoring the static, seeking out the fearful eyes of the amateur pilots. And then he says lots of really inspirational stuff.” [image error]
Does it translate at all?
(Note, speeches in ALL lord of the rings movies)
