Sarah Chorn's Blog, page 59

Guest Post | Mark Lawrence on Fantasy World Building

 

 

About the Author

Mark Lawrence is married with four children, one of whom is severely disabled. His day job is as a research scientist focused on various rather intractable problems in the field of artificial intelligence. He has held secret level clearance with both US and UK governments. At one point he was qualified to say ‘this isn’t rocket science … oh wait, it actually is’.

Between work and caring for his disabled child, Mark spends his time writing, playing computer games, tending an allotment, brewing beer, and avoiding DIY.

Learn more about the author on his website.

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Fantasy World Building 

by Mark Lawrence

The fantasy iceberg is world, history, character. The greatest proponent of it is JRR Tolkien. He gave us a one fat book (in three volumes) that over three hundred million of us lost ourselves in. Middle-earth felt big, it felt old, the characters felt as if they extended beyond the pages, had lives before we met them, personal histories that fit intimately and intricately into the world and mattered to both.

With Tolkien we know that this wasn’t ‘mere’ illusion. There genuinely was a huge world with a history stretching back across the eons. He knew the lineage of the characters in Lord of the Rings. He knew what their great grandfathers were up to, he knew where the monsters came from and why, he knew who forged which sword and when, he knew the grammar of the languages we glimpsed in snatches, he knew the alphabets of their script… The man had enough of the world set down in notes and letters for his son to publish a whole other fat book that he hadn’t intended to see the light of day – as with the iceberg it was the hidden bulk, lying beneath the surface and anchoring what we saw.

Undoubtedly in the hands of a great writer such a wealth of hidden detail adds value – it’s an extra reality in which the story and characters are bedded, ensuring consistency, adding richness in the glimpses we see of it.

If your book is your life’s work, your obsession, you can afford to do this. Be warned though – doing it doesn’t assure you of a great book. A well told tale requires far more than this. You can know the genetic code of every character and still produce an unreadable mess.

The closest I’ve seen someone come to Tolkien’s iceberginess is George RR Martin (though I’ve been told that the world building in Jordan’s epic The Wheel of Time series, and in Erikson’s Malazan are also impressive in scale).

Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire is haunted old feuds, family history, folk tales, departed friends, departed races, legends, and faiths that stretch back through the years. There’s never a sense that you’ve arrived at the beginning of a play and the lights are dimming as you take your seat – no – you’ve been dropped into a stream that was flowing long before you arrived and will continue its journey long after it’s spat you out again. Even people who feel as if they have no real bearing on the story still have their own history, ancestors, feuds etc, providing motivation and depth, sometimes overwriting the smooth progress of the tale you think you’re following and annoyingly (realistically) derailing you onto some unexpected course.

But … is the rest of the iceberg there? Does it need to be?

Perhaps GRRM takes 5 years to write his books because for each of them there’s an unseen bulk of background material, floating there in the depths. Maybe one day there will be a ‘Game of Thrones’ Silmarillion. Or perhaps there’s just a scaffold, a skeletal support propping up the edifice, just as when you step behind the stage sets for the TV series there’s a mess of struts, plywood, paint tins, and four Irish workmen sitting down to a pot of tea.

The important question is really – does it matter if the rest of the iceberg’s down there? I would suggest the answer is ‘no’. We want to feel as if it’s there, but if the writer has the skill to give the impression of all that hidden detail … it’s fine with me if it’s not really there.

After all, many writers, myself included, produce a book a year. I’m often asked detailed questions about the Broken Empire – to which I answer: if it’s not in the book there’s no answer. I haven’t filled in the countries on the map that weren’t visited in the story. I don’t know who ruled in this or that city before the current incumbent. I don’t know what happened in this or that century. When it’s important to the story I invent it. I work to create the illusion that a past exists (at least to the extent that it impinges on my young and focused protagonist). I work to create the illusion of other cultures, other agendas, other interests. I scatter lines that hint of folklore, tradition, and history. But I don’t have notebooks full of the detail from which these snippets were harvested. I don’t have the time and I don’t work that way. I’m not creating a fully functioning world – I’m creating a story and the world is its support. My job is to make you believe its all there and if you swing your flashlight in the darkened room that is my book you will see something new. The truth is that if you swung your flashlight I would be busy painting the new stuff just moments before the light reached it.

I maintain that this is how the great majority of fantasy is, and that it is no bad thing.

There. I’ve said it. And the truth is that you probably didn’t want to hear it. Just like most of us don’t really want to know how the magician does his magic. When they show you how the lady is cut in half … it’s a bit of a let down. Better not to know. So let’s pretend this blog never happened. Get back to your reading and enjoy!

Dark Ascension – M.L. Brennan

About the Book

As the “wickedly clever” (Publishers Weekly) series continues, reluctant, slacker vampire Fortitude Scott learns that nothing is more important than family—or more deadly….

After a lifetime of avoiding his family, Fort has discovered that working for them isn’t half bad—even if his mother, Madeline, is a terrifying, murderous vampire. His newfound career has given him a purpose and a paycheck and has even helped him get his partner, foxy kitsune Suzume, to agree to be his girlfriend. All in all, things are looking up.

Only, just as Fort is getting comfortable managing a supernatural empire that stretches from New Jersey to Ontario, Madeline’s health starts failing, throwing Fort into the middle of an uncomfortable and dangerous battle for succession. His older sister, Prudence, is determined to take over the territory. But Fort isn’t the only one wary of her sociopathic tendencies, and allies, old and new, are turning to him to keep Prudence from gaining power.

Now, as Fort fights against his impending transition into vampire adulthood, he must also battle to keep Prudence from destroying their mother’s kingdom—before she takes him down with it.

308 pages (paperback)

Published on August 4, 2015

Published by Roc

Author’s webpage

Buy the book

This book was sent for me to review by the publisher.

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Dark Ascension is the fourth book in the Generation V series, a series which has quickly become my favorite urban fantasy series. It seems like I spend a good few months every year since the first book was released looking forward to the next book in the series. Brennan has me hooked.

Dark Ascension is far different than any other book in this series. It has a much darker tone, and the humor, while there, is muted. This book feels a lot heavier, a lot more thoughtful than previous books, as Fortitude Scott is forced out of his comfort zone(s) and has to grow in leaps and bound, often in ways he has spent the previous three books trying to avoid.

Furthermore, some developments take place that Brennan has spent several novels building up to. It’s been a slow build on the author’s part, but the payoff is huge as this whole book kind of focuses on all the anticipation that’s been building in the previous books. Perhaps what impressed me the most is that Brennan not only managed to build up the tension in relationships and politics for three books, and somehow made all the events in this book surprise me despite how I was absolutely positive I’d be able to predict it all.

Fortitude Scott is a lot more introspective in Dark Ascension than he is in previous books. He’s still liable to have his kindness taken advantage of, but he grows more in this book than any of the previous ones. He’s more willing to put his foot down and say something when he’s uncomfortable. His relationship with Suzume has crossed the line from friendship to love, but it’s also strained as two very different people are trying to find middle ground. The push/pull between the two of them is very realistic and incredibly well done. Suzume is obviously the rock on which Fort balances himself, but she’s also a point of contention as he often doesn’t understand what she does, and feels hurt by some of those misunderstood actions. It’s fantastically real in a genre where relationships often strike me as a half step off.

This book really is about Fortitude’s relationships. Not just his relationship to Suzume, but the world around him, his family, and himself. Like I said above, it’s incredibly introspective as Fortitude is pushed out of his various comfort zones and personal denials and forced to really examine his place in the world around him. It’s uncomfortable and heart wrenching. The emotions are strong and visceral, and I honestly can’t deny that my heart was breaking to such an extent that I cried at several points.

I rarely cry when I read novels, but this one had sucked me in so deep I couldn’t help but feel Fort’s deep emotional pain, his confusion, and the intense discomfort he felt as he stepped outside of himself and truly started to don the mantle of the role he was born to fulfill. That is a testament to Brennan’s incredible writing skill. Not only has she managed to make me, a reader who hates vampires almost as much as she hates zombies, fall in love with a series about vampires; she’s also made me cry because of their realism.

I said above that this book surprised me despite the fact that I thought I’d have it all figured out. I didn’t. And the ending has me absolutely dying to read the next book. If Brennan has taught me anything, it’s to expect the unexpected. I respect the hell out of this author for taking a genre that I generally scoff at, and making me fall in love with it. This book astounded me. It was everything I wanted it to be and more. It was obvious from the start that Brennan poured a lot of herself into writing this one. It’s too intense, too real, too visceral and emotional for it to be otherwise.

Dark Ascension was my favorite book in this series yet. It’s a bit darker, the humor is there, but it’s muted. There are a lot of personal and interpersonal developments, and some heart wrenching scenes that aren’t easily forgotten. Brennan has spent three books building up to the pivotal points of this one, and the payoff is huge. If you haven’t read this series yet, you’re crazy.

 

5/5 stars

SPFBO: And the winner is….

Round 1 — Round 2 — Round 3 — Round 4 — Round 5

Well, here it is, the post where I reveal the Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off winner. First, I want to thank everyone for participating, and caring about my opinion. That’s pretty cool. Secondly, I want to thank everyone for being patient with me and the chaotic state of my life right now.

I’ve been kind of mulling over how to write this post for a while now, and I’ve decided to reveal the winner in a sort of roundabout way. The thing is, this challenge has taught me a lot. I generally say no to all self-published review queries, and reading quite a few of them I’ve learned that that’s probably not a very wise way to go about things.

The truth is, there are some real gems that are self published, and by saying “no” to all of them, I’m overlooking quite a few very valid, respectable and noteworthy books. Not to mention that self-published authors seem to have a harder time getting publicity than traditionally published. Furthermore, with the change of the publishing industry due, largely (in my humble opinion) to the easy accessibility of the internet, saying “no” to all self-published review requests isn’t going to make much sense for much longer. The industry is changing, and it’s important that reviewers learn to bend with those changes and make room for them.

And, to be honest with you, I’ve read a lot of traditionally published books that impressed me a lot less than some of the self-published books I had in my batch to read. The fact is, there are a lot of reasons to self-publish. Perhaps once upon a time a self-published book meant that it wasn’t quite up to the quality of a traditionally published book. That’s just not the case anymore. People choose to publish various ways for various reasons, and the stigma surrounding these self-published books really does need to change. Many of the common arguments for and against self-published books simply aren’t that valid anymore, and this contest has proven that to me.

So, along with that little soapbox, here are a few other things I’ve learned.

I try really hard to think that cover art doesn’t matter, but this challenge has taught me that it does and yes, I am shallow like that. Cover art that had obviously been worked on extensively, and looks professional, tended to make me more excited to read those books. I realized that I already had a favorable opinion of those books before I read them. Therefore, to avoid this, I put all the books on my kindle minus cover art, and refused to look at any of the cover art until I wrote my mini reviews. Still, cover art matters, and I was rather amazed by how much it mattered to me.
If I had been a bit smarter, I would have broken up the five rounds a bit differently. I’m not sure how, but instead of randomly picking books, I sort of went down the list in order and I think it would have been smarter if I had put all the books in a hat (so to speak) and chose five at a time at random – or more random than my batches ended up being.
Editing really stands out. I realize your best friend might have a great eye, but the books where authors paid for a professional editor, verses the ones where the authors didn’t, were obviously different regarding readability and enjoyment. I’m one of those readers where an odd use of a word will annoy me for a ridiculous amount of time. Trust me, it matters.
Self-published authors are a polite bunch, which makes them a delight to work with. Yes, I get the odd review requests, and the odd letters from (generally) self-published authors, but this group of authors was delightful, polite, and incredibly respectful. No weird requests, or email that made me question my sanity. I was politely asked if they could pull quotes from my mini reviews (yes, you can), which is something publishers generally don’t even do. I was rather amazed by their professionalism, and I respected it immensely. In a field where many of them have to go it alone, this class and professionalism paid off big time, and it’s rather sad that it’s often overshadowed by a few bad apples in the self-publishing arena who have loud voices.

So, onto the contest itself. For the most part, I read these books like a reviewer rather than an agent. After five years of this reviewing business, it’s hard for me to turn off the critic button. My opinions were mine alone, and a lot of the decisions regarding rating and whatever else were my personal opinion, not anything based on scientific fact. I have a really fluid view of art. Just because I loved/didn’t love something, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t pay it attention. These authors, regardless of where they ended up on my various personal scales, wrote books that deserve your glances, at least. My word is not gospel, nor should it be.

I really can’t stand Monet’s paintings, or Picasso’s art. That doesn’t mean they are bad artists, that just means that I don’t like their work. That’s okay. That’s art. Just because I don’t like something doesn’t invalidate it. There was a lot of love and labor poured into these books, and I want that to be recognized. As cheesy as it sounds, every author won just by completing a book, and bravely submitting it to a contest.

The winner of the contest was chosen by the most arbitrary means. I picked the book that stuck with me the longest. I picked the book that I want to read again, by an author that I really feel a huge amount of promise for in the writing field.

The top five books were:

Round 1: The Unbound Man by Matt Karlov

Round 2: Bloodrush by Ben Galley

Round 3: Children of the Fallen by Eve Peters

Round 4: The Plains of Kallanash by Pauline M. Ross

Round 5: Black Cross by J.P. Ashman

And the winner is… 

Bloodrush by Ben Galley

This one hit all the right notes, with fantastic world building, a captivating story, unforgettable characters, and a plot that refused to fit in any molds. The cover art was amazing, the editing was obviously professionally done and the author has very evident talent. Most importantly, it stuck with me long after I finished reading it, and I’m incredibly anxious to read the other books in the trilogy, and explore more of what Galley has written. He truly has a unique vision, and I found that I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to.

It was hard to pick just one winner out of the final five, but in the end I had to give it to Ben Galley for the simple fact that his book gave me a huge book hangover. I didn’t want it to end.

 

Congratulations to all who entered the contest, and thanks again for letting me participate!

SPFBO: Mini Reviews Round 5

First, I need to say something. I might be completely wrong, but I did some research and two of the books on my list don’t appear to have been published, so I left them out of the challenge. This is the Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off, which, in my mind, means being published is sort of important to being part of the contest. If I’m wrong (it has been known to happen), these two authors can let me know and I will amend my mini-reviews and add theirs.

Read this SPFBO update here.

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

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Bon’Jellar: The Hero of Ordegron – Bryan & Kyle Henderson

Buy the book

This is a book that doesn’t take itself seriously. It’s a fairly standard fantasy quest, and readers might be a bit put off by that, but it’s really quite different than that. While at its roots it is quite typical, the writing and characters make it quite different. This book is quite graphic in both violence and language, so be warned about that. The characters are over-the-top, and in many ways so is the plot. I think this book will be a love it or hate it type thing. Readers will either love the humor, the fact that this book doesn’t take itself seriously and neither should you, and the complete lack of fear regarding all things graphic. Or, you’ll dislike it due to the fact that, while it’s quite fun and addictingly different, it might feel like it tries too hard. Regardless, it’s worth looking into if you’re looking for a different spin on an old classic.

Rating: 3/5 stars

Award: Best twist on an old classic

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Black Cross – J.P. Ashman

Buy the book

This book really surprised me. The start is a bit slow, and a lot of characters and terms get thrown at readers. It can be kind of overwhelming, but once you push through that it really takes off. This is set in a secondary world, but it reminded me enough of our own world and our own problems to almost feel like it’s set in a sort of alternative Earth. The book follows two intricate plots, and it takes time to see how they really interweave. The magic system is fascinating and very well crafted. This is quite an epic saga, and surprisingly political. There are factions, and back biting, plenty of twists and turns, violence and bloodshed – everything epic fantasy fans enjoy. Where I, perhaps, had some issues was regarding some of the editing. There were some wonky sentences, odd uses of words, and perspective changes that were sudden and jarring.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Award: Most complex

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A World Away – Holly Blackstone

Buy the book

There are a few reasons why this book isn’t a book I’d typically read. I’m not into romance. A modern individual finding herself in another world/reality really isn’t my bag. However, it hit me at a time when I was in the mood for something like this, which is rare, so I gave it a read. The plot is quite interesting, and by the time the first three chapters have been read, it will be quite addictive. The book moves forward at quite a clip, and if some of the character motivations are rather mysterious (I had a hard time understanding why some people did various things) and the secondary characters are kind of two-dimensional, its easy to forgive. Perhaps my biggest issue was regarding the romance. Tristan was a rather domineering man, and Julianna seemed to struggle against her new situation to an obscene degree. While I understand why some tension between romantic couples is necessary, in a lot of ways this relationship seemed unnecessarily emotionally complex. The ending was solid, leading on to the second book nicely without giving anything away. Recommended for fans of romantic fantasy.

Rating: 3/5 stars

Award: Best romance

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Dawning – M.S. Verish

Buy the book

This is the first book in a series. The book starts out in the middle of some important events and readers sort of catch up. Things take off pretty quickly, and there are numerous important characters you’ll be introduced to in fairly short order. The plot is interesting, and the relationships really shine. This is a character driven work, and I can really tell that a ton of love and attention was poured into creating them. This is another epic fantasy where you’ll be introduced to a new world, new cultures, and languages. Some are better than others. Some aspects of the world could have been explained more, and some could have been explained a bit less. The magic system is interesting, but there are some fairly tropey parts of all of it. This is a solid start to a new series, if a little underwhelming at the end based on what I expected at the start.

Rating: 3/5 stars

Award: Best Relationships

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Construct – Luke Matthews

Buy the book

Construct is… unique. The main character, Samuel, is an artificial creation who has been alive for quite a while. That’s interesting. In fact, Samuel steals every scene he’s in and the book fairly revolves around him in the best way. Other characters don’t get quite as fleshed out, and due to that, some of their tropey elements can be hard to ignore. In fact, that’s probably my biggest complaint regarding the book as a whole – it really could have used more fleshing out and detailed exploration in a lot of ways. In other ways, it’s absolutely shocking. I loved how Matthews dealt with the antagonists. The ending is solid, if a bit rushed. The book moves forward at a quick clip, and everything that happens feels shockingly believable (which isn’t always the case). Yes, this book could use a bit more depth and detail, but overall I was quite impressed.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Award: Most unique

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And the winner is…

Black Cross by J.P. Ashmann

SPFBO Mini Review: Round 4

Read my update here.

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

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Dark Legion – Paul Kleynhans

Buy the book

This is epic fantasy, and quite political. The main characters are almost instantly interesting and likeable. The writing is smooth, detailed, and flowing, and the plot is engrossing. There is a lot here to really enjoy, and I did enjoy it quite a bit. However, occasionally the author got a bit bogged down by detail, which at times made the pacing feel a bit uneven. Sometimes it gets confusing regarding who is doing what, and it might require readers to backtrack just to make sure they are keeping track of who is doing what. Otherwise, this is quite an immersive book, and a promising start to a new series.

Rating: 3/5 stars

Award: Best details

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The Impaler Legacy Omnibus – Ilona Visan

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I’m going to admit something before I go any further: It is going to take an act of god to get me to be interested in vampires again. I hate to say that, but it’s true. The Impaler Legacy is an omnibus set in Romania. While the author does try some interesting and rather new things with her vampires, in the end they were still vampires. The writing is solid, though it could have used a bit more polishing up in some areas, and the story will certainly be gripping to those who can’t get enough of the vampire kind. I’m, however, not one of them. Perhaps I was the wrong person to read this book, and I apologize for that.

Rating: Did not finish

Award: Best urban saga

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The Fivefold Prophecy – J. Aaron Flynn

Buy the book

This book equally surprised me and underwhelmed me. First of all, I really enjoyed the author’s style. He can write quite well, and if some parts could have used a bit more editing, he certainly knows how to put words on a page in a rather gripping way. I was underwhelmed because honestly I felt like I’ve read this book before. There’s a prophecy, a man who finds himself in a situation that is over his head and outside of his control, etc. The pacing can be a bit uneven, and the book is fairly short, which caused the ending to feel incredibly rushed. While I enjoyed the writing, I didn’t, unfortunately, quite buy into the plot.

Rating: Did not finish

Award: Best quest

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The Plains of Kallanash – Pauline M. Ross

Buy the book

The Plains of Kallanash is certainly unique, and quite bold. The plot is intricate, the world building is superb, and the two mixed together creates a rather engrossing mixture that is hard to pull away from. Ross managed to pack this book full of the kinds of details that I want to read about, however, sometimes it got to be a bit too much. Sometimes there were too many mundane life experiences packed into some scenes. The protagonist, Mia, takes some time to get used to, and she took a little time for me to actually like. However, once I got there, I was quite addicted. This book does have some heavy romantic elements, and if you’re not really into reading about sex, then you might want to look away. That’s not all that’s here, but you deserve a fair warning. The ending left me a little underwhelmed, as the big climax that I wanted to read about never really happened. However, this is one of those rare books that managed to keep my interest despite the fact that it was full of things that I don’t typically like reading about. That says something quite impressive.

Rating: 3/5 stars

Award: Most unique

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The Witch’s Price – S.M. White

(I’d offer up the buy the book link, but I couldn’t find it on Amazon, sorry.)

Oh, I struggled with this one. I really, really did. The prose are fantastic. White can really write. In fact, his writing at some points is absolutely stunning. That’s not the problem. I had an issue with the melancholy tone. It never really lifted. I enjoy my books dark, but this got oppressively morose to the point where I almost felt like I needed to pop a Zoloft myself. The main character is unlikeable, and he never changes that. The book gets bogged down by details, way too many details. The secondary characters never quite manage to leave behind their one-dimensionality. The plot is interesting, and the writing is superb, but really, this one was just too depressing and there wasn’t enough here for me to actually root for. It’s unfortunate, because really, White is one amazing writer. The high points were very high, but there just weren’t enough of them.

Rating: 2/5 stars

Award: Best prose

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The winner is…

The Plains of Kallanash – Pauline M. Ross

SPFBO Mini Reviews: Round 3

Check out this update for information about what has been going on, and what is about to go down. I’m too lazy to restate it all here (Hey, at least I’m honest!)

Round 1

Round 2

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Whispers of War – Sean Rodden

Buy the book

This book is truly epic on a Lord of the Rings scale. It might be kind of hard for readers to get into at the start due to a lot of foreign words and terms that takes some adjusting to, but the grand scope is fairly addictive. The writing is fluid and surprisingly graceful, making even the gore seems rather beautiful despite all it’s bloodiness. There is a ton of history here, and a lot of layers, sometimes an overwhelming amount. It takes time to grasp the complexity and fullness of the story, but it is worth that time given to it, especially if you are a fan of epic fantasy. It doesn’t really get more epic than this.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Award: Most epic scope

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Monsters of Elsewhere – Matthew Waldram

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If you’re looking for an urban fantasy mash-up that reminds you a bit of Neil Gaiman with some Terry Pratchett-esque humor, you might want to check this one out. This is the kind of book that I can truly sink into and enjoy. It’s well written, with a unique plot that easily kept me hooked. It’s unusual, and unusual is good. The characters are likeable, and the writing is strong with an easy flow. Some parts of the plot seemed overly obvious, and some of the tension was unnecessarily ramped up, giving portions of it an awkward pacing and making the reveals feel less revealing because you’ll probably already have it figured out. The start of the book drags a bit, and while everything becomes obvious as things progress, it does take some determination to make it through that starting stretch. Otherwise, if you’re looking for that urban fantasy/magical realism book to scratch your reading itch, you might want to look this direction.

Rating: 3/5 stars

Award: Best use of alternative world building

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City of Roses: Autumn Into Winter – Kip Manley

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Admittedly, I struggled a bit with this one. It’s a serialized novel, which is something I have very little experience with. My biggest beef was, sometimes the writing was superb and the story was flawless, and other times I was so confused by the dialogue that I didn’t know who was saying what. For example, when there is more than one “she” involved in a conversation, it becomes important to use names rather than referring to everyone as “she” during most of the conversation. Which “she” said what gets muddled. While I do think that more editing could have been helpful, it’s balanced by the fact that this is a very vivid world that the author has created with obvious love, and a plot that, for some people, will probably thrill them. For me, I struggled with it (especially the dialogue portions) and ended up giving up on it, which is unfortunate. The characters are likeable, and the magical realism is well done, but it just didn’t work for me.

Rating: Did not finish

Award: Best magical realism

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Children of the Fallen – Eve Peters

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This is the book I was looking forward to the most in this batch. I hate to admit that up front, but I will so you have some context. The protagonist has spent his whole life insane, and I absolutely dig that sort of thing. Not only does it speak to the Special Needs in Strange Worlds part of me, but characters that are believably insane are just ripe for complexities and delicious subtleties that make them layered and fascinating in a sort of delightfully uncomfortable way. Superb writing really pulls readers into a raw reality that is often blurred. Peters does a great job at making you wonder what is real and what isn’t. Things change quickly, while it does take time for it to make sense, it’s addicting and very well done, with the kind of nuances I really enjoy in my books.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Award: Most unique protagonist

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Searching for Nada – Jeff Haas

Buy the book

Okay, first things first: I struggle with short story collections, therefore, I am not really a good person to have read and review them. These are really well written short stories, and quite humorous. The humor can be quite heavy handed at times, but it’s interesting how many of the stories ask huge questions and manage to make readers laugh at the same time. You might not get answers to those questions, but the way the author asks them will get you thinking. This is a short collection, weighing in at 161 pages total, and has 30+ stories in it. That means the stories are all surprisingly short, and sometimes that length is a benefit (he can be quite good at punching readers quickly), or sometimes it can be a downfall (there just isn’t enough time to tell the story he’s trying to tell). In the end, I struggled a bit with this one, too. As I said above, I’m not really a fan of short story collections, and I found the short lengths of some of the stories to just not be enough for the development needed.

Rating: Did not finish

Award: Best humor

The winner is…. 

Children of the Fallen – Eve Peters

Tune in tomorrow for the next five mini reviews!

#SPFBO – Self Published Fantasy Blog Off UPDATE

I’ve been quiet recently.

Very quiet on all fronts.

Health has been tricky, and I’m in that last part of pregnancy that makes me want to just about burn everything in spitting distance with lasers that come out of my eyes.

COME ON OUT, BABY. It’s been fun, but I’m seriously sick of this fight we’re having over space. THERE IS MORE SPACE OUT HERE THAN IN THERE!

I was having some pre-term labor issues that kept me occupied both mentally and physically. Now that I’m out of that part of pregnancy she’s staying put. Why is that?? (If she showed up today that would be FANTASTIC).

Anyway, it’s been quiet due to hospitals and doctors and health worries that have kept me busy. Now I’m on maternity leave, waiting for the gestating human to decide it is time to make her grand entrance, and I’m starting to realize just how far behind on everything I’ve fallen. Especially this SPFBO project. At first I was going to see if some of the other people on this project could help me read some stuff so I could get it out of the way quickly. Then, on Friday night last week, I was looking through everything, seeing how I would divvy up books and I realized that I’ve pretty much read just about all of them. I just haven’t had the umph (read: energy) to write them up.

Don’t take it personally. I haven’t had much umph to do anything but drool and take 400 naps a day recently.

Therefore, I’m going to start doing that writing-up thing now. I have until, at the latest, August 17 to do this. That’s a week and a half to write all this stuff up, and declare the winner (who I have already chosen, I just need to inform the 4 people who read my website of who that winner is). My kid is napping. I’m kind of feeling partially alive today, so I figured I’d start writing stuff up now.

My goal, should it actually play out like this, is to write three more posts of five mini reviews each, and have them drop tomorrow (Wednesday), Thursday and Friday. Then on Monday, announce my winner. Then I will wash my hands of this project until after I’ve produced my child and gotten used to functioning on about 10 minutes of sleep and adjusted to having two children.

Just reading that makes me break out in a cold sweat. Two kids? What kind of insanity is that?!

That’s my goal. I’ve already pushed all of this week’s posts to next week to make room for all this, and I’ve been quiet for a few days planning things. If, however, something happens (like life) and I don’t get all this written up in time to do what I hope will be done by Monday, please be understanding. I’m kind of feeling like a ticking time bomb right now, and while I hope like hell it goes off soon (because, seriously, this nine months of gestation thing is a freaking joke, people. There has to be a better design out there), I have a feeling this kid is going to stay put as long as possible just because heat waves and being nine months pregnant is freaking awesome.

A-W-E-S-O-M-E

So that’s where I’m at right now. Sorry for the radio silence, but things have been absolutely nuts with my health recently and it’s all I could take just to keep treading water. Feel free to cast an active labor spell on me. If it works, I’ll mail you some congratulatory jellybeans and I’ll promise to keep your magical prowess a secret so scientists don’t isolate you for study.

The Library at Mount Char – Scott Hawkins

About the Book

Neil Gaiman meets Joe Hill in this astonishingly original, terrifying, and darkly funny contemporary fantasy. 

Carolyn’s not so different from the other human beings around her. She’s sure of it. She likes guacamole and cigarettes and steak. She knows how to use a phone. She even remembers what clothes are for.

After all, she was a normal American herself, once.

That was a long time ago, of course—before the time she calls “adoption day,” when she and a dozen other children found themselves being raised by a man they learned to call Father.

Father could do strange things. He could call light from darkness. Sometimes he raised the dead. And when he was disobeyed, the consequences were terrible.

In the years since Father took her in, Carolyn hasn’t gotten out much. Instead, she and her adopted siblings have been raised according to Father’s ancient Pelapi customs. They’ve studied the books in his library and learned some of the secrets behind his equally ancient power.

Sometimes, they’ve wondered if their cruel tutor might secretly be God.

Now, Father is missing. And if God truly is dead, the only thing that matters is who will inherit his library—and with it, power over all of creation.

As Carolyn gathers the tools she needs for the battle to come, fierce competitors for this prize align against her.

But Carolyn can win. She’s sure of it. What she doesn’t realize is that her victory may come at an unacceptable price—because in becoming a God, she’s forgotten a great deal about being human.

388 pages (paperback)

Published on June 16, 2015

Published by Crown Publishing

Author’s webpage

Buy the book

This book was sent for me to review by the publisher.

—

The Library at Mount Char was one of the most unexpected wonders I’ve read this year. This book refuses to be summarized or categorized. It’s part horror, part dark contemporary, part fantasy, part… whatever and completely a surprise.

It took some time for me to really get into the book. The first few chapters are a bit slippery, mostly because this book is so completely different that it takes some time to really sink into it. However, despite that, it never was really off-putting. This is one of those books that will suck you in and pull you under without you even really realizing that it’s happening. By the time you realize that you don’t know what the hell is going on, you’ll be in too deep to care.

The book starts with the weirdest family ever trying to figure out what happened to their enigmatic Father. Slowly things go from there. Hawkins unravels quite a mystery, not just regarding Father and what happened to him, but also regarding the world itself, and the characters that end up being the focus point of the book. In fact, the entire book is a mystery in various forms, and most of the answers to the riddles that the author poses readers are unexpected and rather thought provoking.

The Library at Mount Char has three major perspectives, each with varying degrees of independence. Carolyn is the most mysterious character. It’s hard to really get a grip on who she is and what game she’s playing. At first she seems just like everyone else in her family who is worried about Father. Slowly it becomes obvious that she’s a deep thinker who is adept at playing her own game and fooling everyone around her.

Steve is a sort of glorified puppet. He’s a piece in Carolyn’s game, and it takes him a while to gain some independence. He tends to wear his heart on his sleeve, and is rather admirable and relatable which is necessary in a book that is this incredibly different. Steve brings some real world to the readers, and keeps the story human when it easily might transcend to something else entirely.

Erwin is an ex-military hero who is tough as nails, and absolutely hardcore. He also brings quite a bit of humor to the story, as he has a takes-no-shit attitude and tends to act dumb when he really isn’t. He’s always about three steps ahead of everyone else, and outthinks those around him without even trying. He doesn’t take as center-stage a role as Steve, but when he does appear he steals the spotlight and had a tendency to make me laugh even when I was wonder how exactly he fit into the story.

There is some really weird stuff in The Library at Mount Char. Really weird. Yet somehow Hawkins managed to keep it all from feeling over-the-top or glorified. Within the context of the story being told, it would seem out of place if these really weird elements weren’t in the story. Furthermore, they are really well done. There is a background and basis for just about everything, and while it might not make complete sense in the moment, it all becomes clear eventually.

That’s the strong point of the novel, and probably what I liked about it the most. I didn’t understand where it was going, or what the hell was going on most of the time, but there were some big ideas being played with. The mystery was unfolding and I didn’t give a damn that I didn’t understand most of it while it was happening because the journey was the most delightful part.

There were a ton of “Ah-ha” moments. The ending was basically 100 pages of “Ah ha!” It all fell together gracefully, and left me with a lot to think about, not the least of which was how Scott Hawkins managed to write a book that was so amazingly… amazing.

The Library at Mount Char was something else. It was completely unexpected, and absolutely shocking. This breaks all molds, and does so in glorious fashion. Part horror, part contemporary fantasy, completely weird, and absolutely unforgettable, this is a book you should read.

 

5/5 stars

Uprooted – Naomi Novik

About the Book

“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.”

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.

The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.

But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.

438 pages (hardcover)

Published on May 19, 2015

Published by Del Rey

Author’s webpage

Buy the book

—

I’m honestly not a huge fan of Naomi Novik’s writing. You can’t win them all, right? I mean, I like her stuff, but I don’t go looking for it, if that makes sense (how horrible is that to admit in a review?). However, when I started seeing rave reviews of Uprooted fly in constantly, I started getting really anxious to read it.

Uprooted is completely different than what I expected, and I think it’s the book that has changed my tune regarding Novik. She’s solidly on the Authors I Watch list now.

The story starts fairly small, focusing on our protagonist Agnieszka and her love of the valley, family and friends. Her life is pretty ideal and instantly the fairytale feel of the book is evident in the lyrical flow of Novik’s writing, the magic that seems to fill every part of the world that she is deftly creating, and the land itself that readers are becoming introduced to.

Agnieszka is a character that took some time to grow on me. At first she seemed a bit too innocent, a bit too accepting of her situation. Her anticipation of the upcoming lottery, and her knowledge that she was second fiddle to her best friend seemed a bit too obvious a setup for future situations. However, it soon became obvious that Agnieszka’s innocence and do-good attitude was a fantastic balance for when she ended up with The Dragon, a dark, mysterious, and somewhat overbearing force of loneliness and negativity.

Soon Agnieszka’s life is turned upside down. She learns that she has an amazing capacity for magic, and life with The Dragon isn’t anything she expected. Her light and fluffy personality is balanced nicely by the dark situation she finds herself in. She’s pushed in uncomfortable directions and forced to grow in uncomfortable ways. Her relationship with The Dragon is strained. Depression seems to set in as she’s isolated when she’s obviously a character that doesn’t thrive in loneliness.

A lot of the first half of this novel is about self growth and exploration as Agnieszka copes with her situation, with her skills, and with the isolated man that she lives with. Then, events transpire and a grudging understanding and respect grows between Agnieszka and Sarkan (AKA: The Dragon). While things remain strained in some ways, it’s a new dynamic that revives a storyline that could get rather stale if it continued in the same respect for long enough.

This isn’t a romance. There are some romantic elements, but the relationship between the two main characters is surprisingly deep, and very real, and incredibly slow burn. There are a few pulse-pounding romantic scenes, but they are sparing, and didn’t feel in any way unessential to the plot.

Sarkan is a very real character, and while he’s pretty deplorable and easy to hate, he’s also easy to forgive, partly because he’s so real it’s easy to see his negative foibles and ignore them. He never really loses his mystery, and his ability to speak down to just about everyone seems to be as much of a protective barrier to keep him isolated from the world as a personality flaw that he never really outgrew.

Sarkan fades to the background once the second half of the book starts, and while he is missed, it’s fun to see how Agnieszka thrives on her own after she’s had to grow and challenge herself in such unexpected ways.

The book felt a little too long for my taste, a little too drawn out, but it’s not overwhelming and hardly noticeable. Novik’s writing is flawless, lyrical, and absolutely beautiful. The world and plot sort of unfolds around readers effortlessly, and the story, both good and bad, is enjoyable in a way that books are hardly ever enjoyable. It’s not only entertaining, but it is absolutely riveting and artistic in a way that made me really appreciate the art of the written word again.

Uprooted is a book that I’m incredibly glad I read, and I think I will gladly read it again and again. If you’re a fan of fairytale feeling books, then do yourself a favor and get your hands on this one right away.

 

4/5 stars

The Two of Swords – K.J. Parker (Parts 1-3)

About the Book

“Why are we fighting this war? Because evil must be resisted, and sooner or later there comes a time when men of principle have to make a stand. Because war is good for business and it’s better to die on our feet than live on our knees. Because they started it. But at this stage in the proceedings,” he added, with a slightly lop-sided grin, “mostly from force of habit.”

A soldier with a gift for archery. A woman who kills without care. Two brothers, both unbeatable generals, now fighting for opposing armies. No-one in the vast and once glorious United Empire remains untouched by the rift between East and West, and the war has been fought for as long as anyone can remember. Some still survive who know how it was started, but no-one knows how it will end.

This serial novel from the World Fantasy Award winning K. J. Parker is the story of a war on a grand scale, told through the eyes of its soldiers, politicians, victims and heroes. The first three parts of The Two of Swordswill arrive in April 2015, with further installments to be released monthly.

Published on April 21, 2015

Published by Orbit

Buy Part 1

Buy Part 2

Buy Part 3

This book was sent for me to review by the publisher.

—

I’m a huge K.J. Parker fan. HUGE. Parker is one of my top three favorite authors. And now that I know that K.J. Parker is also Tom Hold, I can actually use the correct pronoun when I write a review.

Anyway….

I’ve been aching for a new Parker novel, so I jumped on The Two of Swords when Orbit sent me an email about it. I devoured the first three portions, uncertain of what to expect. I’ve never read a serialized novel before. I didn’t know what to expect.

Basically, each part of this serialized work is a (long) chapter. Each chapter/section focuses on a different character, usually one that you were introduced to in the previous section. I haven’t read past the third part (yet), so I’m not sure if it will rotate back through characters that we’ve already read about or what. Regardless, Parker kept things related and easy to follow through with, with minimal confusion (if any at all).

The first part focuses on Teucer, and this is the part that I seemed to struggle with the most. Readers are introduced to the culture, and the war. Teucer is a character that means well, and finds himself in a bad situation. He trusts easily, and almost seems unbelievably naive and rather clueless. This part of the story is entertaining, but there wasn’t really much here that held my interest. There was a distinct lack of Parker-esque magic, and things kind of moved along at a ho-hum pace. It felt more like an introduction than an actual chapter/section, and it felt a little longer than it needed to be.

The second part focuses on Musen, Teucer’s companion. He’s a bit more veiled, a bit more mysterious and held my interest quite a bit more than Teucer did. The world starts gaining some complexity and detail, and those little Parker nuances, all the reasons I love the author so much, start creeping in. This second section makes the plots-within-plots start to appear. Things aren’t what they seem. Morality is gray and fluctuating, and characters often find themselves in situations and spots they didn’t previously expect to find themselves in. This, by no means, is the strongest I’ve seen Parker write yet, but things in section two are picking up. This is where my attention really was grabbed and where I really decided that this was a book I wanted to continue reading.

The third section is my favorite. This is where Parker really shines. He pulls out all the stops, cracks his knuckles, and decides to stop messing around. While it’s obvious that Parker is expanding the world and viewpoints in each section, so far it’s Telamon’s portion that really shines. Telamon is a thief/assassin/secret agent who kind of unexpectedly drops into the story in the previous section and really earns the spotlight here. This is where Parker shows how cunningly he can weave together plots and side plots, without losing any of that subtle complexity that I love him for. His wit and cunning really shines through, and Telamon became an instant, memorable hit.

While the third section, so far, has been my favorite, I look back and I now realize that it’s a sort of slow burn start to the novel. The first chapter is slow, rather unimpressive, but still impressive enough to keep me going, despite how much Teucer frustrated me. Section two picked it up a bit. It’s still a little frustrating, but the characters are becoming less one-dimensional, and the world and conflict is starting to gain enough layers to keep me wondering what exactly is going on. The third section is where Parker shines. It contains everything I love about Parker’s style, and almost nothing that didn’t impress me. The characters are complex and witty, the world is dark and full of mystery and layers. Things are happening that I don’t understand, and I don’t mind that a bit.

In fact, that’s what I love about Parker. Somehow he always manages to make me read his books, and generally not have a clue about the bigger picture the whole time. I don’t mind a bit because the small parts that make the big picture so big and impressive are just so damn flawless. Furthermore, I tend to think that Parker’s writing is strongest when it is focused on small parts rather than a long novel. Don’t get me wrong, I love his novels (that’s why he’s one of my favorite authors), but reading his work in small chunks like this really makes me appreciate all the subtlety and nuance that he can pile into his writing, which I tend to overlook when I’m blowing through a novel length work.

Parker is a master of detail, and while this had a rather slow start, it was so worth pulling through. I cannot wait to read more.

 

4/5 stars