Sarah Chorn's Blog, page 89

Special Needs in Strange Worlds

Special Needs in Strange Worlds strikes again over on SF Signal. This week I talk about all the (very well done) disabilities in Jacqueline Koyanagi’s Ascension. Check it out. 

The One-Eyed Man – L.E. Modesitt Jr.

About the Book

The colony world of Stittara is no ordinary planet. For the interstellar Unity of the Ceylesian Arm, Stittara is the primary source of anagathics: drugs that have more than doubled the human life span. But the ecological balance that makes anagathics possible on Stittara is fragile, and the Unity government has a vital interest in making sure the flow of longevity drugs remains uninterrupted, even if it means uprooting the human settlements.

Offered the job of assessing the ecological impact of the human presence on Stittara, freelance consultant Dr. Paulo Verano jumps at the chance to escape the ruin of his personal life. He gets far more than he bargained for: Stittara’s atmosphere is populated with skytubes—gigantic, mysterious airborne organisms that drift like clouds above the surface of the planet. Their exact nature has eluded humanity for centuries, but Verano believes his conclusions about Stittara may hinge on understanding the skytubes’ role in the planet’s ecology—if he survives the hurricane winds, distrustful settlers, and secret agendas that impede his investigation at every turn.

364 pages (hardcover)

Published on September 17, 2013

Published by Tor

Author’s webpage

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

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I am not that well read with any of L.E. Modesitt Jr.’s books. Actually, I don’t think I’ve actually read any of them (though Tor has sent me a few. I need to get on that…). I got The One-Eyed Man in the mail and I automatically started reading it. Modesitt is a name that gets me excited purely because he is so absolutely prolific, and the cover reminded me a bit of Bitter Seeds by Tregillis, so that pretty much sealed the deal.

The One-Eyed Man is a rather unique book in the way that it is set up. The story opens Dr. Paulo Verano’s divorce preceding where he is summarily screwed over by his (now) ex-wife. The trial is fast and brutal, and as the story is narrated in Verano’s first-person perspective, you get an uncanny view at how he interprets everything. So, The One-Eyed Man starts out as a book about a guy who gets screwed over, just like so many people get screwed over these days. Nothing big. But this serves an important purpose. Modesitt draws a parallel between our world and Verano’s world. It’s relatable. How many people have stood in a divorce trial and got the short end of the stick? A lot. So, Modesitt is showing the reader that this might be a science fiction book, but it isn’t so very different from our own world and lives.

That might also be the drawback here. There aren’t any really any alien aliens. I mean, there are, but there aren’t. Crap, you’ll have to read the book to find out what I mean, but I will try to explain. There is some advanced technology and alien landscapes, a few alien-esque creatures, but people still exercise to stay fit, and they have to work jobs that get them dirty, and they sweat and whatever else that we do that so many SF novels work around. The subtle notes of advanced technology, and some of the obvious social advancements and cultural differences are what make this a science fiction book. Readers looking for frequent deep space travel and alien creatures with fourteen heads and six eyes that travel on ships that go faster than the speed of light and are fueled with stardust and space farts will probably be disappointed.

Due to The One-Eyed Man’s unique brand of SciFi, I consider this book a great novel for people to read if they are just starting to explore SciFi. There’s less weird aliens and more advanced technology, humans, and politics than anything else, which will probably make this an easier pill to swallow than some other hard SciFi books out there. The world starts out focused on the poor screwed over fate of Verano, and quickly broadens in scope to show readers a huge world full of different and advanced enough technology and fantastic creatures and cultures. Quickly readers will learn about a huge interplanetary political system, complete with its own pros and cons. It’s actually quite magnificent how Modesitt starts with needle-sharp focus and then quickly expands it so readers aren’t just experiencing the life and times of ecologist Paulo Verano, but Verano’s entire world, and to a lesser extent, an entire governmental system that spans numerous planets.

Modesitt’s writing is very lyrical and graceful without any wasted words or pointless scenes. This really allows him to play with the plot on numerous levels. There is a lot of subtlety in The One-Eyed Man, and I found it to be absolutely delicious. However, the grace of his prose makes a lot of the nuances easy to overlook. This just makes them feel even more savory when I did catch them. Graceful, lyrical writing does a lot for a reader. In this case, it hooks my attention, and really made me shocked with just how much goes on in this novel that you absorb, and think about/realize later. I love the books that are addictive because they are fast, and fun reads, but leave you with a lot of revelations and deep thoughts later. Bravo on that point, Modesitt.

Not everything has easy answers solved by advanced technology, either. Modesitt has given his futuristic world a lot of thought, and it’s that thought that really gives it some realistic qualities and make it shine. For example, how many SciFi books have you read where people travel thousands of light years in a day or month? Not here. Verano has to really think about his decision to take a job on another planet, because it’ll be 150 years later on his home world if he ever returns to it. Likewise, it would take as long for any of his findings to reach the central government. So what’s the point, one might ask? Well, in a world where humans live twice as long, that span of years is still a big deal, but not as big of a deal as it would be to us.

Which all goes to say that The One-Eyed Man is very political, and the politics are even more realistic due to the details and lyrical flow that I’ve mentioned a myriad of times above. There are a lot of Modesitt’s personal viewpoints in the political portions of the novel. In fact, being in Utah, where fighting for the national parks and open land is something both the (strong) right and (very small) left can agree on, I saw a lot of the struggles that many people are so passionate about in this state reflected here – like the exploitation of land for governmental or private gain. Perhaps because I live here, and national parks and open land is something everyone in Utah is very proud of, regardless of their political stripe, I cared even more than I otherwise would have. It’s something that, no matter the era or universe the story is set in, it speaks to everyone because it is a story that pertains to all of us.

So, the final verdict? The One-Eyed Man is thought provoking, very realistic, and incredibly subtle in so many ways. This is one of those rare books that speaks to anyone at any period of time because the story is so important to all of us. The futuristic world(s) and advanced technology are all very nice touches, but Verano is one hell of a protagonist, and his story is one that will resonate.

 

4/5 stars

2014 Anticipated Releases

You say: Hey Sarah, since you are a fascinating person and I can’t help but hang on your every word, what books are you most excited about in 2014?

Me: I’m glad you asked….

(Note: Yes, there are a LOT of books I’ve forgotten, so feel free to add what I’ve forgotten or overlooked in the comments below.)

—

The Prince of Fools – Mark Lawrence

Release date: June 9, 2014

About the book (Goodreads version)

This is the first book of a planned trilogy titled The Red Queen’s War.

These books are set in the Broken Empire and cover the same two decades that we dipped into during Jorg’s tale [see Broken Empire trilogy]. The trilogy is stand-alone, i.e, it’s not required that you read the Broken Empire trilogy first.



The story follows the fortunes of Jalan Kendeth, an arrogant and cowardly womanizer, a bully and a cheat. Our ‘hero’ has lived his life in luxury and plans to continue doing so. Things start to go wrong when poor judgement entangles him in the adventures of an axe-wielding barbarian from the frozen north…

Prince of Fools shows us the world of the Broken Empire with a thicker vein of humor than Jorg’s tale, but it’s the same bloodstained place and from time to time we catch a glimpse of Jorg and his friends in the background.

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Steles of the Sky –  Elizabeth Bear

Release date: March 2014

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Breach Zone – Myke Cole

Release date: January 28, 2014

About the Book

The Great Reawakening did not come quietly. Across the country and in every nation, people began “coming up Latent,” developing terrifying powers—summoning storms, raising the dead, and setting everything they touch ablaze. Those who Manifest must choose: become a sheepdog who protects the flock or a wolf who devours it…

In the wake of a bloody battle at Forward Operating Base Frontier and a scandalous presidential impeachment, Lieutenant Colonel Jan Thorsson, call sign “Harlequin,” becomes a national hero and a pariah to the military that is the only family he’s ever known.

In the fight for Latent equality, Oscar Britton is positioned to lead a rebellion in exile, but a powerful rival beats him to the punch: Scylla, a walking weapon who will stop at nothing to end the human-sanctioned apartheid against her kind.

When Scylla’s inhuman forces invade New York City, the Supernatural Operations Corps are the only soldiers equipped to prevent a massacre. In order to redeem himself with the military, Harlequin will be forced to face off with this havoc-wreaking woman from his past, warped by her power into something evil

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The Path to Power – Karen Miller

Release date: July 8, 2014

About the Book

A kingdom divided, a prince without a throne, a family torn apart — The Path to Power begins a ground-breaking new epic fantasy from international bestselling author Karen Miller.

In the distant past, the Kingdom of Harcia was torn apart by royal brothers who could not accept a lesser inheritance. Now, the consequences of their actions are coming to light.

Balfre, son of Aimery, Duke of Harcia, is his father’s heir. But he has dreams of a crown, not a coronet. He dreams himself the king of a Harcia re-united, but his brother Grefin, their father’s favorite, stands in his way.

Harald, debauched Duke of neighboring Clemen, is feared and despised by his nobles. He thinks he can trust his bastard-born cousin Ederic … but Ederic fears for the duchy and will do what he must to save it.

And caught between dangers is Harald’s infant son, Liam. Stolen by his nurse, vanished into the lawless Marches, he is the spark that will grow to set the world on fire.

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The Fifth Season – N.K. Jemisin 

Release date: August, 2014

About the Book

From N. K. Jemisin’s blog:

The Fifth Season is set in a world which has suffered frequent, repeated Extinction Level Events for millions of years, and all life (and magic) in this world has adapted to it. Hundreds of years might pass between these events—easy, plentiful years in which great cities rise, and people have the leisure for art and science and rapid advancement—but then, again and again, the cities fall. The world is littered with the detritus of these times of plenty, and this cover hints at them: past ages of decadence, now decaying; stone that endures beneath flaking gilt.

 

 

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Tower Lord – Anthony Ryan

Release date: July 1, 2014

About the Book

“The blood-song rose with an unexpected tune, a warm hum mingling recognition with an impression of safety. He had a sense it was welcoming him home.”

Vaelin Al Sorna, warrior of the Sixth Order, called Darkblade, called Hope Killer. The greatest warrior of his day, and witness to the greatest defeat of his nation: King Janus’s vision of a Greater Unified Realm drowned in the blood of brave men fighting for a cause Vaelin alone knows was forged from a lie. Sick at heart, he comes home, determined to kill no more. Named

Tower Lord of the Northern Reaches by King Janus’s grateful heir, he can perhaps find peace in a colder, more remote land far from the intrigues of a troubled Realm. But those gifted with the blood-song are never destined to live a quiet life. Many died in King Janus’s wars, but many survived, and Vaelin is a target, not just for those seeking revenge butf or those who know what he can do. The Faith has been sundered, and many have no doubt who their leader should be. The new King is weak, but his sister is strong. The blood-song is powerful, rich in warning and guidance in times of trouble, but is only a fraction of the power available to others who understand more of its mysteries. Something moves against the Realm, something that commands mighty forces, and Vaelin will find to his great regret that when faced with annihilation, even the most reluctant hand must eventually draw a sword.

—

The Crimson Campaign – Brian T. McClellan 

Release date: February 18, 2014

About the Book

‘The hounds at our heels will soon know we are lions’ Tamas’s invasion of Kez ends in disaster when a Kez counter-offensive leaves him cut off behind enemy lines with only a fraction of his army, no supplies, and no hope of reinforcements. Drastically outnumbered and pursued by the enemy’s best, he must lead his men on a reckless march through northern Kez to safety, and back over the mountains so that he can defend his country from an angry god. In Adro, Inspector Adamat only wants to rescue his wife. To do so he must track down and confront the evil Lord Vetas. He has questions for Vetas concerning his enigmatic master, but the answers might come too quickly. With Tamas and his powder cabal presumed dead, Taniel Two-shot finds himself alongside the god-chef Mihali as the last line of defence against Kresimir’s advancing army. Tamas’s generals bicker among themselves, the brigades lose ground every day beneath the Kez onslaught, and Kresimir wants the head of the man who shot him in the eye.

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Cibola Burn – James S.A. Corey

Release date: June 17, 2014

About the Book

The gates have opened the way to thousands of habitable planets, and the land rush has begun. Settlers stream out from humanity’s home planets in a vast, poorly controlled flood, landing on a new world. Among them, the Rocinante, haunted by the vast, posthuman network of the protomolecule as they investigate what destroyed the great intergalactic society that built the gates and the protomolecule.

But Holden and his crew must also contend with the growing tensions between the settlers and the company which owns the official claim to the planet. Both sides will stop at nothing to defend what’s theirs, but soon a terrible disease strikes and only Holden – with help from the ghostly Detective Miller – can find the cure.

 

—

Veil of the Deserters – Jeff Salyards

Release date: June 3, 2014

About the Book

History, Family and Memory… these are the seeds of destruction.

Bloodsounder’s Arc continues as Captain Braylar Killcoin and his retinue continue to sow chaos amongst the political elite of Alespell. Braylar is still poisoned by the memories of those slain by his unholy flail Bloodsounder, and attempts to counter this sickness have proven ineffectual.

The Syldoonian Emperor Cynead has solidified his power base in unprecedented ways, and demands loyalty from all operatives. Braylar and company are recalled to the capital to swear fealty. Braylar must decide if he can trust his sister, Soffjian, with the secret that is killing him. She has powerful memory magics that might be able to save him from Bloodsounder’s effects, but she has political allegiances that are not his own. Arki and others in the company try to get Soffjian and Braylar to trust one another, but politics in the capital prove to be far more complicated and dangerous than even Killcoin could predict.

Deposed emperor Thumarr plots to remove the repressive Cynead, and Braylar and his sister Soffjian lie at the heart of his plans. The distance between “favored shadow agent of the emperor” and “exiled traitor” is an unsurprisingly short road. But it is a road filled with blind twists and unexpected turns. Before the journey is over, Arki will chronicle the true intentions of Emperor Cynead and Soffjian. And old enemies in Alespell may prove to be surprising allies in a conflict no one could have foreseen.

(Note: This image is on Goodreads. I doubt it’s the cover art.)

—

The Waking Engine – David Edison

Release date: February 11, 2014

About the Book

Welcome to the City Unspoken, where Gods and Mortals come to die.

Contrary to popular wisdom, death is not the end, nor is it a passage to some transcendent afterlife. Those who die merely awake as themselves on one of a million worlds, where they are fated to live until they die again, and wake up somewhere new. All are born only once, but die many times . . . until they come at last to the City Unspoken, where the gateway to True Death can be found.

Wayfarers and pilgrims are drawn to the City, which is home to murderous aristocrats, disguised gods and goddesses, a sadistic faerie princess, immortal prostitutes and queens, a captive angel, gangs of feral Death Boys and Charnel Girls . . . and one very confused New Yorker.

Late of Manhattan, Cooper finds himself in a City that is not what it once was. The gateway to True Death is failing, so that the City is becoming overrun by the Dying, who clot its byzantine streets and alleys . . . and a spreading madness threatens to engulf the entire metaverse.

—

Three Princes – Ramona Wheeler

Release date: February 4, 2014

About the Book

Lord Scott Oken, a prince of Albion, and Professor-Prince Mikel Mabruke live in a world where the sun never set on the Egyptian Empire. In the year 1877 of Our Lord Julius Caesar, Pharaoh Djoser-George governs a sprawling realm that spans Europe, Africa, and much of Asia. When the European terrorist Otto von Bismarck touches off an international conspiracy, Scott and Mik are charged with exposing the plot against the Empire.

Their adventure takes them from the sands of Memphis to a lush New World, home of the Incan Tawantinsuyu, a rival empire across the glittering Atlantic Ocean. Encompassing Quetzal airships, operas, blood sacrifice and high diplomacy, Three Princes is a richly imagined, cinematic vision of a modern Egyptian Empire.

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My Real Children – Jo Walton

Release date: May 20, 2014

About the Book

It’s 2015, and Patricia Cowan is very old. “Confused today,” read the notes clipped to the end of her bed. She forgets things she should know—what year it is, major events in the lives of her children. But she remembers things that don’t seem possible. She remembers marrying Mark and having four children. And she remembers not marrying Mark and raising three children with Bee instead. She remembers the bomb that killed President Kennedy in 1963, and she remembers Kennedy in 1964, declining to run again after the nuclear exchange that took out Miami and Kiev.

Her childhood, her years at Oxford during the Second World War—those were solid things. But after that, did she marry Mark or not? Did her friends all call her Trish, or Pat? Had she been a housewife who escaped a terrible marriage after her children were grown, or a successful travel writer with homes in Britain and Italy? And the moon outside her window: does it host a benign research station, or a command post bristling with nuclear missiles?

Two lives, two worlds, two versions of modern history. Each with their loves and losses, their sorrows and triumphs. My Real Children is the tale of both of Patricia Cowan’s lives…and of how every life means the entire world.

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What Makes This Book So Great – Jo Walton

Release date: January 21, 2014

—

 

 

 

 

 

 

Words of Radiance – Brandon Sanderson

Release date: March 4, 2014

About the Book

In the first volume, we were introduced to the remarkable world of Roshar, a world both alien and magical, where gigantic hurricane-like storms scour the surface every few days and life has adapted accordingly. Roshar is shared by humans and the enigmatic, humanoid Parshendi, with whom they are at war. Among those caught up in the conflict are Highprince Dalinar Kholin, who leads the human armies; his neice Jasnah, a renowned scholar; her student Shallan, a brilliant but troubled young woman; and Kaladin, a military slave who, by the book’s end, was beginning to become the first magically endowed Knight Radiant in centuries.

In Words of Radiance their intertwined stories will continue and, as Sanderson fans have come to expect, develop in unexpected, wonderfully surprising directions. The war with the Parshendi will move into a new, dangerous phase, as Dalinar leads the human armies deep into the heart of the Shattered Plains in a bold attempt to finally end it. Shallan will come along, hoping to find the legendary, perhaps mythical, city of Urithuru, which Jasnah believes holds a secret vital to mankind’s survival on Roshar. The Parshendi take a dangerous step to strengthen themselves for the human challenge, risking the return of the fearsome Voidbringers of old. To deal with it all, Kaladin must learn how to fulfill his new role, while mastering the powers of a Windrunner.

—

Twelve Kings in Sharakhai – Bradley P. Beaulieu

Expected release: October, 2014

About the Book

Twelve Kings in Sharakhai is a story set in a powerful desert city that controls the flow of trade and spice through otherwise impassable terrain.

It’s a story about Çeda, a woman who fights in the pits to scrape a living from the cruel but beautiful city she calls home. As the story opens, she discovers that the book her mother left her before she died holds the clues to the unraveling the mystery of her mother’s death, which was tangled up in the story of the Twelve Kings of Sharakhai, men who have ruled the desert with an iron fist for nearly two hundred years.

As Çeda begins to unlock the secrets hidden within the poems in the book—as well as what her mother was trying to do before she died—the Kings learn of her, and they will stop at nothing to keep those secrets buried in the desert where they belong. And so the chase is on. Çeda must unlock the hidden riddles of her mother’s book before the Kings find her. She had better hope she does, for she is the last hope for the people of the desert.

There are echoes of both A Thousand and One Nights and Thieves’ World. I’m very much looking forward to getting the first of this new series out and into readers’ hands.

—

Dreamwalker – C.S. Friedman

Release date: February 4, 2014

About the Book

All her life Jessica Drake has dreamed of other worlds, some of them similar to her own, others disturbingly alien. She never shares the details with anyone, save her younger brother Tommy, a compulsive gamer who incorporates some aspects of Jessica’s dreams into his games. But now someone is asking about those dreams…and about her. A strange woman has been watching her house. A visitor to her school attempts to take possession of her dream-inspired artwork.

Why?

As she begins to search for answers it becomes clear that whoever is watching her does not want her to learn the truth. One night her house catches on fire, and when the smoke clears she discovers that her brother has been kidnapped. She must figure out what is going on, and quickly, if she and her family are to be safe.

Following clues left behind on Tommy’s computer, determined to find her brother and bring him home safely, Jessica and two of her friends are about to embark on a journey that will test their spirits and their courage to the breaking point, as they must leave their own world behind and confront the source of Earth’s darkest legends � as well as the terrifying truth of their own secret heritage.

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Afterparty – Daryl Gregory

Release date: April 22, 2014

About the Book

“It begins in Toronto, in the years after the smart drug revolution. Any high school student with a chemjet and internet connection can download recipes and print drugs, or invent them. A seventeen-year-old street girl finds God through a new brain-altering drug called Numinous, used as a sacrament by a new Church that preys on the underclass. But she is arrested and put into detention, and without the drug, commits suicide. Lyda Rose, another patient in that detention facility, has a dark secret: she was one of the original scientists who developed the drug. With the help of an ex-government agent and an imaginary, drug-induced doctor, Lyda sets out to find the other three survivors of the five who made the Numinous in a quest to set things right. A mind-bending and violent chase across Canada and the US, Afterparty is a marvelous mix of William Gibson’s Neuromancer, Philip K. Dick’s Ubik, and perhaps a bit of Peter Watts’s Starfish: a last chance to save civilization, or die trying”

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A Night at the Space Opera

This is such a cool event. I usually don’t share this kind of stuff, but I can’t help myself. Check it out!

A Night at the Space Opera

Date: November 7

Time: 7:30pm (EST, I assume, though I could be wrong)

What it’s about:

In this online event, three of today’s most popular science fiction writers will be talking and taking your questions about writing science fiction stories set in space!

Daniel Abraham is half of the James S.A. Corey writing duo, author of the Expanse series, which started with the Hugo Award-nominated LEVIATHAN WAKES in 2011. Book 4, CIBOLA BURN, will be released in June 2014.

Ann Leckie is the author of ANCILLARY JUSTICE, a debut space opera that many are calling the best science fiction novel of the year.

Rachel Bach is the author of FORTUNE’S PAWN, the start of a new, action-packed science fiction series, that will be released on November 5th. She is also, as Rachel Aaron, the author of the popular Eli Monpress epic fantasy series.

Moderator Clara Moskowitz is an Associate Editor at Scientific American, covering space and physics.

They will be taking live questions via Twitter.

For more information, check out this link.

The Merchant of Dreams – Anne Lyle

About the Book                          

Book Two of the Night’s Masque series, sequel to The Alchemist of Souls

Exiled from the court of Queen Elizabeth for accusing a powerful nobleman of treason, swordsman-turned-spy Mal Catlyn has been living in France with his young valet Coby Hendricks for the past year.

But Mal harbours a darker secret: he and his twin brother share a soul that once belonged to a skrayling, one of the mystical creatures from the New World.

When Mal’s dream about a skrayling shipwreck in the Mediterranean proves reality, it sets him on a path to the beautiful, treacherous city of Venice – and a conflict of loyalties that will place him and his friends in greater danger than ever.

Published on January 1, 2013

Published by Angry Robot Books

Author’s webpage

—

The Merchant of Dreams picks up a year after The Alchemist of Souls left off. Mal and Coby have been living in France, with Coby working as Mal’s male valet. Ned has been living with Gabriel. Sandy and Mal still have an interesting relationship. Life has moved on, and it’s a feeling that readers will recognize almost the moment the book starts. Things are different now, and that’s a wonderful thing that allows a lot of character and relationship growth as the book progresses.

One of the main differences that readers will notice right away is how evenhanded the flow of the plot is throughout the book. There are no drawn out scenes, or points where the author needs to catch up to the reader. No, Lyle has her plot and pacing mastered. Everything seems to take the exact amount of time that it needs to take, and it moves forward at the pace that it needs to move forward. While this wasn’t a huge issue in the first book, there were points where Alchemist seemed to take a little too long to get the point, and thankfully Lyle has dropped that habit in The Merchant of Dreams.

I often complain about the second book hump many authors run into. The problem is, especially with trilogies, that authors use the second book to be a sort of bridge between books one an three – a placeholder of sorts. Things always happen, but not enough happens to make the second book feel like a self contained novel that has a point all its own. Not with Lyle’s second book. No, The Merchant of Dreams has it’s own distinct point. The characters are all moving toward a very specific end. It’s actually quite refreshing to read a middle-of-a-trilogy book and feel like this book is strong enough to stand on its own. There is no bridge here. Lyle’s second book is its own delicious animal.

The world also expands. The time readers will spend in England will be brief and fleeting. While Coby and crew’s departure from England and the reasons behind it felt a little contrived, it did serve the purpose of bringing all of the main characters elsewhere. This allows Lyle to really flex her alternative history and world building muscles. She is up to the task. Venice blossoms under her care, and comes to vibrant life. The politics and the historical tidbits that the author drops in throughout Mal and Coby’s adventures really helps bring everything to life, and makes the city itself seem so three-dimensional to readers.

For my own reasons, I found the split of the groups at the start of the novel frustration. It’s a greedy reason, but I wanted to see more of Mal and Coby together, to see how they interact. However, that aside, there’s a reason for the group split. Lyle uses a lot of the character’s time apart to develop each character. We get a lot of introspective moments that would have been lost before. Mal has to figure out who he is and what his emotional position is in regards to Coby. Coby has to decide if she’s ready to step into the role of a woman like she needs to. Ned has to figure out his relationship with Mal and Gabriel, and Sandy is… well, confused in general. In truth, much of The Merchant of Dreams is about relationships to others and the character’s relationship with themselves, and accepting whatever they learn about themselves. It’s in interesting struggle that Lyle hands delicately, and subtly, and it is all the more powerful for that.

Aside from those delicious internal struggles I so love, Lyle has filled yet another book full of pulse pounding, politically detailed, battle filled scenes. Not only is there some good fist-on-fist action, but there’s also the added benefit of pirates and sea battles. Lyle really upped her bar for action, and it’s nice. While some of it might seem a little contrived to move the plot in a certain direction, it is a lot of fun, and very well researched. Not only that, but with Mal’s dream training adds another angle of intrigue that really upped the emotional tension in the book.

Some readers might be put off by some of the decisions a few of the characters make throughout the book, and the split of the group will also likely frustrate a few, but when everyone is reunited, that separation and the various bad choices some characters made really pays off. There’s a definite very natural tension that fills everyone for very different reasons. I had the distinct feeling of watching something private I shouldn’t be watching throughout much of the last of the book. That really is a testament to Lyle’s writing ability. Everything she writes is so absolutely real. While some parts of this might seem a little contrived, the characters are just burned into the reader’s psyche, and the world they inhabit becomes just as real as our own. You can’t help but feeling like you’re spying on real people, and real struggles. It’s amazing.

The Merchant of Dreams ends on a bittersweet note. Some plot threads are nicely tied off, and others are left hanging to be completed in The Prince of Lies. All of the characters suffer from some sort of loss, and all of them are trying to write some wrongs. Some characters lose more than others, but all of it is heartfelt and natural. I loved the ending probably more than I love most endings just because it felt so true to the book as a whole. There were ups and downs for everyone, and Lyle reflects that with an ending that has ups and downs for everyone.

If you can’t tell, The Merchant of Dreams was a really fun book with a fast moving plot and plenty of action, but it was the emotional threads and inner growth and development that really did it for me. It’s the characters, and how amazingly, vibrantly alive they are that really sticks out. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, you can’t help but feel for them. Lyle has this uncanny ability to balance her books surface level plot and action with a lot of deeper, more subtle and profound threads. She shows how alternative history should be written. Every time I finish one of her books, I feel like I’m saying goodbye to a friend.

 

5/5 stars

Hey! Look at me! (Literally)

A few weeks ago I was contacted, asking if I’d be willing to do a vidcast review with someone. The old me would have said hell no. The new post-cancerous-seize-the-day me said, “Hell yes!” Why? Because despite the fact that I’m not that into people looking at me, I am that starved for genre conversation with someone as into it as I am. And guess what? It was tons of fun. I’m so glad that people are finally starting to contact me for this kind of thing, as well as podcasts. It’s so unbelievably nice to converse with people who feel the same enthusiasm as I do. Hopefully I will be on more soon.

The video is about nine minutes long, and it’s a discussion between me and TMW (from SFReviews.net) about Mur Lafferty’s new book, The Shambling Guide to New York City. Check it out. You can find a ton of links and etc under the video on the YouTube page.

While you’re at it, subscribe to SFReviews.net Youtube channel. He’s working very hard to post a lot of very good, quick reviews over there. It’s fun.

Click here to watch the video!

 

Author Interview – Wesley Chu

Wesley Chu was actually willing to let me interview him. Can you believe that? What a crazy guy. Read on, my darlings, and learn more about this fantastic author and his amazing book. My questions are in bold. You can find links to Chu’s website, facebook, and other methods of internet stalking him at the end.

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One reader wanted a picture of your workspace. Are you willing to send one?

First of all, you kind of caught me a bad time. I’m in the middle of redoing my library, so the room’s a mess. There are paint samples on the walls, furniture and ladders stacked on one side, and Eva Da Terrordale has also claimed the room as her lair. But here ya go.

(Reader question – Steve D.) You took a business career route before delving into writing The Lives of Tao. What led you to take this path? Have you always wanted to write on this level but something held you back? If so, what?  

What led me to take a business career first before writing? Well, when I was sixteen, I told my English Professor father that I wanted to become a writer. He basically told me my life would suffer if I did and forbid me from majoring in English.

I studied business and computer science, and essentially worked the soul sucking corporate career for the past twenty or so years. Do I regret it? Hmm, probably not, because you know, monies. I like to eat and not living in my parent’s basement is a good thing.

Who knows? Maybe I could have been prolific. I coulda been a contenda. Then again, I could just have easily become disillusioned (damn tough industry after all) in my formative overly-sensitive early years and never write again. Then I’d probably end up teaching ESL in Thailand which, now that I think about it, wouldn’t be that bad either.

(Reader question – Bradley P. Beaulieu) You seem to like the thriller angle in your books. Would you ever consider writing a straight up thriller and drop the specfic angle, or is specfic part of who you are as a writer?

My agent, Russell Galen, thinks I’m playing in the wrong sandbox. He believes my calling is science thriller. I don’t’ disagree with him (I would never disagree with him) but Science Fiction/Fantasy will always be my first love. That’s what happens you grow up on a steady diet of Xanth, Oz, and Dragonlance. Give me Locke Lamora, Rand Al Thor, Tyrion Lannister any day over Jack Reacher, Alex Cross, or whoever else David Baldacci is trotting out these days.

Eventually though, I’d like to try to dabble in a couple of genres and see what happens.

(Reader question – Paul Weimer) What takeaway did you learn about writing from the experience of writing the two Tao novels?

One thing I didn’t realize about myself is that I like to kill people in my stories. I’m afflicted with George RR Martin-itus. Not the awesome-incredible-writer part of his affliction, but the I’d-like-to-kill-people-I-care-about part.

The problem with this affliction is that I’m not in Marvel universe. If I kill them, they kind of have to stay dead. When I first started outlining The Deaths of Tao, I remember thinking “man, I killed all my coolest people. Whyyyy Wes?”

Browsing through your website I see some very noteworthy, incredibly popular authors saying very, very nice things about your novels – Myke Cole, Anne VanderMeer, Lavie Tadhar and more. Furthermore, I saw today that The Deaths of Tao is already in its second printing and it hasn’t even been released yet. Has anything about your success and popularity caught you off guard? What are some things you’ve learned from your success?

The short answer is: everything caught me off guard. This whole experience has been pretty kick ass and surreal. I’m totally gobsmacked by the reception. Being accepted by the SFF writing community has been the most gratifying experience in my life.

When I first started writing, for some reason still unknown to me, I never bothered to look up the online writing community. For five plus years, I was that lonely dude skulking from café to café abusing bottomless cup coffee policies. I didn’t know about all these awesome conventions, online communities, forums, or retreats. 2012 Worldcon was the very first literary convention I’ve ever attended and I’ve been hooked ever since.

One thing that I noticed, and plenty of other reviewers and readers have noticed as well, is how well balanced your books are. There’s a lot of action, a lot of fast-paced plot, a lot of humor, and a lot of character development. Considering everything that is going on in these books, the balance surprises me. How did you manage to keep everything so even so nothing overpowers anything else? Is there a method to your madness? Was striking such a perfect balance between all the elements in your books something that worried you when you were writing?

I wish I could tell you I had this secret formula or complex pacing algorithm that I use when I plot. Unfortunately, I’m as caveman as they come. I use Scrivener which is a wonderful writing app to help organize my notes. Scrivener has this cool feature called a corkboard, which allows me to look at my manuscript from a top down view and organize chapters into little post-it notes.

I mark each post-it note by color-coordinated POV, list the type of chapter it is, and then a brief summary of that chapter. This allows me to track the flow of the story. That’s it. Post-it cards and color coordinated markers and you have my super-secret plotting technique.

In The Lives of Tao, Roen is uncertain. He lacks confidence and he is struggling to grow and develop in the ways he needs to so he can face what he needs to face. In The Deaths of Tao, Roen is obviously more confident and ready to face what is ahead. His life and his world has expanded, and he seems much more ready and fit for the job. He’s less an everyman and more the man. Did you have an easier time writing Roen in one book over the other?

I had a much easier time with The Lives of Tao Roen. He was a much simpler man than the Roen in The Deaths of Tao. Lives Roen was just a guy searching for himself, a whiny wanting person who just needed the right motivation to blossom and reach his potential.

Deaths Roen, well, he has a lot more on his plate. It’s not just about him anymore and he’s lost a lot more than Lives Roen. By the time Deaths came around, Roen’s already taken quite a beating and has lost everything he cared about.

You’ve added a female perspective to The Deaths of Tao. I hear the comment (way too often) that men can’t write good female characters, but I thought Jill was a fantastic character and was very well done. Was writing a female perspective difficult? How did you keep her so real and believable?

First of all, thanks for saying you like Jill because she wasn’t easy to write. One of the things that I got dinged on in Lives was that Sonya was too stereotypical hot agent chick and Jill was too dull, so for Deaths, I spent the most amount of time on her storyline.

Not gonna lie; I had to rewrite several portions of it. My wife likes to say that I’m emotionally stunted, so that face that you like Jill and think she’s a great character means a lot to me. Thanks!

I wanted to emphasize her competence and yet make her more than an agent that just happened to be a woman. She has to juggle her job, her role with the Prophus, and her family all at the same time.

The one thing I love about your books is how well developed both sides of the conflict are. There are no cookie-cutter bad guys, or the good guy with the almost unbelievably angelic moral code. Characters on both sides of the line are very well developed, and you continue that development into the second book. When so many SFF authors shove their antagonists into boxes, yours really stands out. Antagonists mean just about everything to me, so that development really impressed me. Why did you choose to develop your antagonists so well? (And thank you SO MUCH for doing that)

I don’t subscribe to the evil for evil’s sake sort of villain. There has to be something to motivate someone to want to be the bad guy, some sort of end game they’re after. I believe a villain should always be smarter and more competent than the hero.

I like my good and bad guys to have layers. I’ve had readers tell me they weren’t sure the Genjix were the bad guys, or at least they totally understood where they were coming from. They’re doing what they think is right for the survival of their species. In fact, I think I would agree with them. If I had a choice, I’d totally be a Genjix!

The Deaths of Tao is about to drop, and I think readers will be incredibly impressed by your growth as an author. The Lives of Tao was a jaw dropper. It was hilarious, rip-roaring, and full of action and development. The Deaths of Tao is just as funny, just as action packed, a bit more political, and absolutely sprawling in scope, but it focuses more on story than development. I’m absolutely hooked, but I can’t help but wondering… what’s next for fans of Wesley Chu? You can’t impress us all this much (especially after that ending!) and leave us hanging. Throw your devoted fans a bone!  

I have two things on my plate right now. The first, of course, is Tao 3, tentatively called The Rebirth of Tao. The robot overlords have not green lit the book yet but I’m eager to start working on it and hope to have it on bookshelves by the second half of 2014. 

I also signed a deal with Tor Books this summer. My current work-in-progress, Time Salvager, is about a time traveler named James who scavenges for resources and technologies from a more prosperous past. Time traveling has strict rules though; he can only travel back to dead end time line—moments before a disaster or an explosion—so that whatever he scavenges doesn’t affect the present.

The problem with his job is that he experiences the last terrifying moments of the victims before they die. That tends to screw with a guy’s mind.

I don’t think artists are ever done growing, developing, and learning. What ways do you want to grow and develop as an author?

I want to write a good sex scene, one that someone will read and think to themself, “man, I want to sleep with this author.”

The first thing I have to do to accomplish this is to not rely on any personal experience whatsoever.

Thank you so much for putting up with this very long interview (I get excited. I apologize.) Are there any final thoughts you’d like to leave your readers with?

 I’d like to thank everyone for your support. You guys have been rocking it for me. This song is dedicated to you.

Keep an eye out for The Deaths of Tao dropping Oct 29th, 2013. Yikes, it’s right around the corner!

Please drop me a line any time at my website, on Facebook, or Twitter.

 

The Lives & Deaths of Tao – Wesley Chu

About the Book(s)

The Lives of Tao

When out-of-shape IT technician Roen woke up and started hearing voices in his head, he naturally assumed he was losing it.

He wasn’t.

He now has a passenger in his brain – an ancient alien life-form called Tao, whose race crash-landed on Earth before the first fish crawled out of the oceans. Now split into two opposing factions – the peace-loving, but under-represented Prophus, and the savage, powerful Genjix – the aliens have been in a state of civil war for centuries. Both sides are searching for a way off-planet, and the Genjix will sacrifice the entire human race, if that’s what it takes.

Meanwhile, Roen is having to train to be the ultimate secret agent. Like that’s going to end up well…

Published on April 30, 2013

Published by Angry Robot Books

The Deaths of Tao

The sequel to The Lives of Tao.

The Prophus and the Genjix are at war. For centuries they have sought a way off-planet, guiding humanity’s social and technological development to the stage where space travel is possible. The end is now in sight, and both factions have plans to leave the Earth, but the Genjix method will mean the destruction of the human race.

That’s a price they’re willing to pay.

It’s up to Roen and Tao to save the world. Oh, dear…

Published on October 29, 2013

Published by Angry Robot Books

Author’s webpage

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The Lives of Tao is Chu’s first published book, and it made quite a splash. The Lives of Tao is absolutely unique in the fact that it’s urban fantasy, but deals with aliens who have a futuristic understanding, and plenty of kick-ass action. This isn’t your grandma’s urban fantasy. No, Chu has created his own breed with this book, and it’ll pack an impressive punch for those who read it.

The Lives of Tao tells the story of Roen, who ends up with Tao, an alien life form, taking residence in his brain. Roen is an out of shape alcoholic who hates his life, and Tao needs Roen to be an in shape mover-and-shaker to suit his needs. Thus, much of The Lives of Tao is Roen’s story as he adjusts to the presence in his head and trains to fit the role his new life has imposed on him.

This isn’t all about Roen, though. There is a vast almost political war happening between two alien factions – Prophus and Genjix, and Roen finds himself in the middle of it all. There are centers for normality for Roen, though, like his roommate Anthony, and his girlfriend, Jill. It’s an interesting mix, as Roen is learning and developing, balanced with his friends who keep things light and normal. As Roen learns more about Tao and his alien struggles, he also becomes aware of the power struggles between human hosts as they vie for better positions in their jobs, in life, etc. It’s all quite intricate and multifaceted.

The Lives of Tao does what it does very well. It’s a lot of fun, fast moving; plenty of action and adventure, and a brand new take on the old alien trope. It’s obvious that Chu spent a lot of time with his characters, and the addition of Tao, with his own personality adds a lot of humor and depth, which was necessary and will actually end up hooking readers.

The Deaths of Tao is a different animal. Gone are some of the writing hiccups and weird plot jumps that readers might find in The Lives of Tao. Also gone is some of the levity and the light “fun” of the previous book. Chu reaches for a higher level with his writing and it shows. He’s grown a lot between book one and book two, and so has the plot. The first book was about Roen and his struggles and development. Now the world is larger, the stakes are higher, and Roen is who he was training to become, so there’s no need to focus extensively on him. Instead, Chu brings in the perspective of Jill, who added a nice dimension and diversity to the plot.

A few years has passed between Lives and Deaths. The war between Prophus and Genjix has grown. Tao and Roen find themselves in the center of it all. In such a massive uprising between two alien factions, who have to inhabit living creatures to survive, you can imagine that there are now politics involved, and there are, mostly through Jill, who works for the Senate. Added to this is the fact that Jill and Roen now have a son together, which briefly calls back the thrill and emotional turmoil of the first book, while adding a new feel of responsibility and complexities to the second.

While there still is plenty of action, and plenty of adventure, The Deaths of Tao is more about telling a story, rather than developing a character. Chu’s writing is more stylistic and pulled together, the plot feels more natural and less forced. While The Lives of Tao was fun, The Deaths of Tao is fascinating. It looks like Chu has taken everything he learned from writing the first book, polished it, and really threw himself into the task of writing something with more depth and a harder edge.

The ending of The Deaths of Tao is absolutely incredible. Chu holds back nothing, and it will leave readers gaping and wanting more. Write, Chu! The truth is, this series started out as a lot of fun, an interesting book about relationships and growth, and it became something completely different. Chu is one hell of an author, and his story is unique, fun, and vibrant. You can’t help but love the characters, the action is well done and believable, the world is well developed and nicely rounded and you can’t help but love (or hate) the characters.

I honestly have no idea where Chu will go next, but I’m excited to find out. If he grew and developed so much between the first two books, imagine how mind-blowing the third book will be. I honestly cannot wait.

(An interview with the author goes live tomorrow, October 25.)

 

4/5 stars

Guest Post | When it comes to publishing it pays to think outside the box – Michael J. Sullivan

The other day I had a conversation on Twitter with Michael J. Sullivan regarding the unusual publishing of his upcoming book Hollow World. I thought it was rather fascinating, and I was incredibly interested to learn more about what he’s doing and why. I also figured that if I am interested, someone else probably is, too. I asked him if he’d like to write a guest post for my website to elaborate on the topic. I figured not having a 140 character limit would help express ideas and thoughts. I feel very lucky that he agreed.

Without further hubbub, dear world, get excited. Michael J. Sullivan is here for some education.

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When it comes to publishing it pays to think outside the box

 

Yesterday I sent Sarah my soon to be released book Hollow World for review. Afterward we had a discussion via twitter about the unusual way it is being published (more on this in a moment). She thought it was interesting how the publishing industry is changing, and she thought others might be interested in learning a bit about what I’ve done and why. So here I am.

First, let’s start with a bit of background. I’ve been published in just about every way that exists. I started out by releasing The Crown Conspiracy (first book in the Riyria Revelations) with a small press, and when they didn’t have the money for the press run of the second book (Avempartha), I switched to self-publishing as it allowed me to meet the already announced release date. Because I wanted the other books in the series to come out every six months, I continued self-publishing. As the series neared completion, I wondered if these books had gained enough momentum to attract the attention of New York publishers. Turns out I was right, and the books were picked up by Orbit (the fantasy imprint of big-five Hachette Book Group). The six-book series was republished as a trilogy (two novels in each volume) titled, Theft of Swords, Rise of Empire, and Heir of Novron. When I finished my next series, I had planned to self-publish them (for reasons I’ll speak of in a minute), but my publisher made me an offer that I couldn’t refuse, so I traditionally published the two books of The Riyria Chronicles through them.

Having done all three paths, I know the pros and cons of each. While traditional publishers are great at print distribution, they don’t really offer any significant advantages for ebooks. In fact, there are a lot of problems with their system. Some examples:

• I got less distribution with traditionally published ebooks then when self-published. This is because of territory rights and infrastructure issues that made it so countries that used to get my books, couldn’t any longer. After nearly two years it looks like this might be straightened out now, but it was very frustrating month after month to tell readers in certain countries there just wasn’t any way for them to legally obtain copies of my ebooks.

• An adherence to DRM. For those that don’t know DRM is digital rights management. Its purpose is to stop piracy by ensuring an electronic file is tied to a particular device. The idea is to stop piracy, but in the end,all it does is hurt those that buy legitimately. Pirates have tools to easily strip DRM, but those that legally purchase the book can’t read the same file on their ipad, kinde, and nook. A few publishers, Tor for example, have adopted a non-DRM policy but most publishers, including my own, are woefully behind in this regard.

• No control over release dates. When the last Wheel of Time book came out Tor delayed the ebook release which angered fans. They didn’t want to wait, and I don’t want to see my books in a similar situation. When you transfer rights you give up all say to such things, and unless you are a huge seller, your voice on the matter is not taken into consideration.

• No control over pricing. So far I’ve been lucky. Orbit has, in my opinion, done a good job on pricing the ebook versions. They are neither too high, nor too low, and they occasionally put them on sale for an added boost. But pricing of ebooks is critical and constantly evolving. I don’t like living in constant anxiety about having no say in this important issue.

• No control over library distribution. The publishing industry is really struggling with how to handle ebooks and libraries. For years my publisher, Hachette, kept all their titles out of the libraries. They now are letting in certain titles but do so at a rate that is far above what I think is reasonable. Other publishers have policies where new ebooks have to be ordered after a certain number of loans. Bottom line, publishers are trying to squeeze as much revenue out of libraries as possible, and this is against my policy. To me, I want to make it easy and inexpensive (I’d even go for free) to get libraries to have my ebooks, as I see this as a way of stemming Piracy and helping with author discoverability.

• No control over new program implementations. For years I’ve been saying publishing should bundle ebooks with every print purchase. So I was thrilled a few months ago when Amazon announced their MatchBook program. That elation was quickly deflated when I realized that my publisher would likely not take advantage of the program, and I had no say over such matters. There are other changes a foot as well such as Oyster (Netflix for books) and who knows what tomorrow will bring. Bottom line, participation in such cutting edge technologies is at the sole discretion of the publisher, who is not known for embracing change, and certainly not quickly.

• Unfair (in my opinion) profit sharing on ebooks. If you look at the profit of a print book the publishers get around 57.5% and the author gets 42.5%. Not too far off from 50/50 so I think that is a reasonable share. But with ebooks, the publisher gets 75% and the author 25%. So they make $3 for every $1 I earn, and I don’t think that is reasonable. When ebooks were a very small percentage of the total sales, no one was really paying much attention. Getting $10 when the publisher gets $30 isn’t a big deal. But I sell 68% ebooks versus 32% print, so now we are talking about serious money. Losing that much to the publisher really makes it hard to earn a fulltime living.

So those are the problems, but what are the advantages? Well publishers are better at getting access to certain online store programs. For instance Theft of Swords was the Kindle Daily Deal twice and the books have also been featured on the main page of the fantasy section of ibookstore. These promotions produce nice shots in the arm and increase visibility, but they are often short lived. It should b noted that some self-published authors have also selected for the Kindle Daily Deal, but the bulk of the titles have been traditionally published.

The other thing to note is that from a distribution standpoint self-published authors are treated equally as traditionally published authors. In other words, I have the same stores available to me (Amazon, B&N, Kobo, ibookstore, etc) and the books coexist side-by-side. Many people won’t even know a book is self-published unless a low price or bad cover gives them away.

Okay, time to get back on subject. During our Twitter conversation Sarah asked, “forgive me for being nosey. It looks like you’re self publishing this one. Why not traditionally publish it?” I couldn’t explain all those issues above in 140 characters, but even if I could, the answer is further complicated because I’m actually doing both. And this is where “thinking outside the box” comes into play.

My original intention was indeed to self-publish Hollow World. But I wanted to use the same caliber of talent as those who work on my traditionally published books some examples:

• Betsy Mitchell for structural editing – she was the editor-in-chief with Del Rey for over a decade and has 30 years experience editing fantasy and science fiction. She’s worked on New York Time Bestsellers and over 150 titles.

• Marc Simonetti for cover design – he was the artist that produced the French edition covers for my Riyria Revelations and they are by far my favorites of all the various versions. He’s also had done covers for the French editions of Patrick Rothfuss’s Kingkiller Chronicle books (The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear ) as well as the Mexican version for George R. R. Martin’s Game of thrones.

• Copy editors who work for the big-five publishers such as Macmillan, Tor, St. Martin’s Press, Del Rey, Putnam, and Ballantine Books. I picked two: one has two master’s degrees (one in English and Writing and the other in Creative Writing and English). He has been nominated for the Nebula, World Fantasy, and Tiptree awards. The other has edited Naomi Novik’s Victory of Eagles, a number of the books in the Star Wars franchise, and two New York Times bestsellers for Steve Berry.

As you might imagine, these people don’t work cheap (nor should they…they are very good at what they do and deserve top dollar). I figured it would cost about $6,000 to hire them, and I decided to do a Kickstarter to help raise some of the funds. I set my goal at $3,000 so that half of the money would come from me and the other half, hopefully, from supportive readers. As it turned out, it brought in more than $31,000, something I never thought was possible.

During this time, there were some crossed wires with my agent (she didn’t realize I had already decided to self-publish the book), and she submitted and received a nice five-figure offer for the title. The problem is that it was a standard publishing deal that required me signing over print, ebook, and audio rights.

I’m going to do a quick side note about audio. Many publishers don’t do these themselves, instead they sell the rights to an audio book producer (in my case Orbit sold both of my Riyria series to Recorded Books). In such an arrangement, the royalties paid are split 50/50 between the publisher and author. The end result, my publisher gets 50% of all the audio sales for doing nothing more than signing a piece of paper. Normally this wouldn’t be such a big deal as audio advances are only a few thousand dollars and usually author’s don’t earn out (start producing additional money from royalties), but in my case I’ve sold over 74,000 audio books (in just over a year and a half) so this represents a significant hit to my pocketbook.

Most authors would jump at the chance to sign a five-figure offer for a single book, but because of all the things I said earlier, and because the Kickstarter proved to me the book had merit, I decided to turn it down…but it did get me thinking…why couldn’t I have my cake and eat it too?

What I really wanted was to keep the ebook, sell the print rights to one publisher, and sell the audio rights directly to an audio producers (so I would keep 100% of the royalties). The problem is that this is easier said than done. I knew of only four authors who had received “print-only deals” and they are all million copy sellers they are: Hugh Howey, Bella Andre, Coleen Hoover, and Brandon Sanderson.

One of Brandon’s print-only deals was with a smaller, but well-respected organization: Tachyon Publications. They’ve had books on Publisher’s Weekly’s Best of the Year list, multiple nominations for awards such as the Hugo and Nebula and have won four awards (Nebula: 2006, 2012, 2013 & Hugo: 2013). Their founder, Jacob Weisman, loved the book and was forward thinking enough to agree on a print-only contract (the only deal I would consider). Sure, the advance wasn’t nearly as big as I had been offered for full rights, but as I plan on earning out anyway, and had already received a nice sum thanks to the Kickstarter, this wasn’t so important. What was important is that Tachyon has a great eye for award-winning speculative fiction and a proven distribution channel. I’m not sure how many copies of The Emperor’s Soul have been sold to date, but I know it is in excess of 30,000 units.

Audio books are growing in popularity and audio publishers are being aggressive about acquiring titles, even when the book isn’t attached to a big publisher. Recorded Books jumped at the chance to sign Hollow World and Audible Books was disappointed to hear they missed the window.

Writers really need to retain their audio book rights. For my two Riyria contracts, I tried and tried to get the audio books taken off the table, but wasn’t successful either time. Now, I’m taking a different tack and signing audio book rights even before approaching traditional publishers. By doing it this way, they have no choice but to remove that right (as someone else already has it signed). I’ve already completed a contract for my next series (The First Empire) and I have two audio producers vying for preemptive rights on any future Riyria books.

In our twitter conversation, Sarah mentioned, “I think it’s really inspiring how you’ve totally taken control of your career like that.” What surprises me, and what I hope this post will do, is encourage other authors to act similarly. Today there are all kinds of wars waging between those supporting self-publishing and others convinced that traditional is the only way to go. But to me it’s all about maximizing both worlds.

Traditional publishing of my Riyria books has expanded my readership immensely. At the start of September 2011 (about 2 ½ months before my big-press traditional debut) goodreads users had shelved my books 5,170 times. Today, just over two years later there are 74,959 books shelved…an increase of 1,450%! I’m also translated into fifteen foreign languages which has earned me double the advance as my English language edition of The Riyria Revelations. But with so much of my income coming from ebooks, and the huge profit sharing disparity, can I afford to do this exclusively? Will traditional publishing require me to have a day job, like many other others authors?

By keeping my ebook rights (and receiving 100% of the audio royalties) I anticipate making significantly more money than if I had signed that five-figure contract I was originally offered. But it’s not just about money. Publishing Hollow World as I have will allow me to better serve my readers. Those who enjoy print will still find the books in their local bookstores and libraries. Plus, they can also receive free ebooks (regardless of where the print book was sold). For the ebook only crowd, they get DRM-free editions, a cheaper list price, and I’ll even provide ebooks in multiple formats so they can read the same book on their kindle and nook without having to buy it twice.

In the old days, there really was only one choice for authors who wanted to write full-time: traditional publishing. A few years ago, self-publishing proved to be a worthy contender which provided the means for thousands of authors to quit their day jobs. But the savvy author has a wide range of possible tools at their disposal: Kickstarter, self-publishing, traditional publishing, self-produced audio books (ACX), selling audio rights for bestselling self-published titles, pre-emptive audio right sales, and yes…even print-only deals are a possibility (and not just for the million sellers). The moral of this story is take control and think outside the box. The old rules have been washed away and the slate is now clean. It’s time for authors to shape their careers in ways that makes the most sense for them, even if it isn’t something that hasn’t been done before.

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About the Author

After finding a manual typewriter in the basement of a friend’s house, Michael inserted a blank piece of paper and typed: It was a dark and stormy night and a shot rang out. He was just eight years old at the time. But the desire to fill the blank page and see what doors the typewriter keys would unlock wouldn’t let him go. For ten years Michael developed his craft by studying authors such as Stephen King, Ernest Hemingway, and John Steinbeck…just to name a few. During that time he wrote twelve novels, and after finding no traction in publishing, he quit and vowed never to write creatively again.

Michael discovered that never is a very long time, and he ended his hiatus from writing after a decade. The itch returned when he decided to create a series of books for his then thirteen-year-old daughter, who was struggling in school due to dyslexia.

Michael is one of the few authors who have successfully published through all three routes: small press, self, and big six. He has been named to io9′s Most Successful Self-Published Sci-Fi and Fantasy Authors list as well as making #6 on EMG’s 25 Self Published Authors to Watch. As of January 2013, he has sold more than 250,000 books, been translated to 14 languages, and has had books appear on more than 65 “best of” or “most anticipated” lists including:

* 2013 Audible Award Finalist for Fantasy

* Fantasy Faction’s Top 10 Anticipated Reads of 2013

* goodreads Choice Award Nominees for Fantasy in 2010 and 2012

* Audible’s 2012 5-star The Best of Everything List

* Library Journal’s 2011 Best Books for Fantasy/Sci-Fi

* Barnes & Noble Blog’s Best Fantasy Releases of 2011

* Fantasy Book Critic’s #1 Indie Fantasy for 2010

Today, Michael continues to fill blank pages and has several projects under development: Antithesis (modern fantasy), Hollow World (a science fiction thriller), and The Nibor Trilogy(traditional fantasy).

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Read a sample of Hollow World here.

The Alchemist of Souls – Anne Lyle

About the Book

When Tudor explorers returned from the New World, they brought back a name out of half-forgotten Viking legend: skraylings. Red-sailed ships followed in the explorers’ wake, bringing Native American goods–and a skrayling ambassador–to London. But what do these seemingly magical beings really want in Elizabeth I’s capital?

Mal Catlyn, a down-at-heel swordsman, is seconded to the ambassador’s bodyguard, but assassination attempts are the least of his problems. What he learns about the skraylings and their unholy powers could cost England her new ally–and Mal his soul.

518 pages (paperback)

Published on March 27, 2012

Published by Angry Robot Books

Author’s webpage

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The Alchemist of Souls is one of those books that I apparently read sometime during my cancer treatment and absolutely forgot everything about it. I just finished reading it for the first time all over again. What a joy that can be. It’s even more thrilling when I read it for the first time, look on Goodreads and realize that I read it for the first time last year.

The Alchemist of Souls is an alternative history taking place in Elizabethan England, primarily London. I’m a sucker for alternative history, but Lyle knows how to do it right. She doesn’t add over-the-top elements that many alternative history books have in them. Instead, she twists the history just enough to make your mind wonder “what if.” For example, in Lyle’s England, the Virgin Queen (Elizabeth) ended up getting married and having children. Skraylings are creatures that are fairly magical and plenty foreign to peak anyone’s interest. Balanced with this is the rich history that really took place at that time, like the interest and importance in drama and the arts, the struggle for a woman to survive without her parents, the grim reality of sickness and easy death. It is all very well done. Unique enough to peak someone’s interest, well researched enough to be believable and educational.

There are three primary perspectives in The Alchemist of Souls, each of them with their own secrets and struggles that they fight against the restrictions of their day. Ned is gay at a time when being gay is a criminal offense. While Ned plays an important role in the plot, he seems to take a backseat to the stories of Mal and Coby. Ned adds a nice dash of color to what is happening, and his role is essential. Perhaps my one quibble with Ned’s character was how easy it was for other people to accept that he was gay in a time where that is such a no-no. However, in contrast, many of the people around Ned are also gay so perhaps that is why his sexuality seems like such a nonissue at a time where is should be a huge issue.

Mal and Coby are the character that will stick out to most readers. Both of these characters have huge secrets that they are hiding. Mal is protecting his mentally unstable twin brother, and Coby is pretending to be a boy when she’s really a girl. At the start of the book, their stories are separate. They don’t intersect and start entwining until later on. Their relationship is a natural one, and their absolute different positions in life and their different careers really gives the reader a unique and well rounded perspective of life in Elizabeth’s England. Coby and Ned shine some light on drama, the struggles of acting, and the behind-the-scenes life of actors, while Mal’s own personal secrets and drama, as well as his struggle with nobility and his position as a bodyguard are also illuminating in their own ways.

Some of the names of secondary characters, and the characters themselves, might feel a little interchangeable. Her focus is on her three main perspectives and the world building, so I found the secondary character confusion forgivable. These aren’t just some people thrown together for a ride. There are some definite individual plot threads that Lyle slowly and expertly weaves together (and it’s fascinating to see how it all works out). You become so invested and absorbed in those main characters that you won’t really care that the secondary characters are lack individuality. It’s all so expert, it’s easy to forgive these little details.

That is what Lyle does best in The Alchemist of Souls. She has a few important perspectives, and uses them to drive the plot forward, while illuminating her world and educating the reader at the same time. Having a few select perspectives and plenty of secondary characters really helps keep things real. It also allows Lyle to focus on nuances and subtlety (two things I very much appreciate in my fantasy), which in turn helps keep the reader’s eye on the target. A lot happens in The Alchemist of Souls, both in terms of the plot and personal growth, and Lyle’s absolute and obvious focus really allows you to just sit back and enjoy the ride. I never really felt that anything in the book was wasted, or had no point. Everything Lyle did served some important end, and that focus and drive really makes her shine as an author.

The Alchemist of Souls is a lot of fun, and while there is substance here, this book is more about the adventure and the experience than anything else, so sit back and enjoy the ride. You’ll be surprised by how emotionally invested you’ll end up being. It’s the first book in a series, and it’s where Lyle proves what she is capable of. Readers will become familiar with the world and cultures, but the real meat of it is with the Ned, Mal, and Coby, their struggles, their development, and the various adventures that transpire as the book progresses. It moves fast, and it pulls you in even faster. It’s one of those books that you’ll be just-one-more-chapter-ing all night.

Usually I take a break between books of a series, but I just couldn’t with this one. I finished The Alchemist of Souls and moved right onto The Merchant of Dreams. I actually read half of that one today and emailed the author begging her for an eARC of The Prince of Lies, so I can move right onto that one next. The thing about this series is that it’s absolutely addicting. You don’t realize you’re hooked until it’s too late to turn back. The Alchemist of Souls is tightly packed, full of adventure, and characters that have a shocking amount of depth. This book is your first hit. By the time you’ve made it through, it’ll be too late to turn around. You’ll be too invested.  You’ll be addicted.

Isn’t it great when that happens? You start a book expecting a bit of fun, and you end it feeling like someone just transformed your reality. Book hangover? Yes. I’m suffering from one.

 

4/5 stars