FF: Non-Standard
Keladry On The Alert For Evil
In the last week or so I’ve read a wide variety of types of fiction, confirming my strong preference for character driven plots—as long as those characters are interesting and complex. What’s fascinating is that even a “standard” plot becomes non-standard as soon as the author puts solid thought into how their protagonists will react.
For those of you just discovering this part of my blog, the Friday Fragments lists what I’ve read over the past week. Most of the time I don’t include details of either short fiction (unless part of a book-length collection) or magazines.
The Fragments are not meant to be a recommendation list. If you’re interested in a not-at-all-inclusive recommendation list, you can look on my website under Neat Stuff.
Once again, this is not a book review column. It’s just a list with, maybe, a bit of description or a few opinions tossed in.
Recently Completed:
A Gathering Evil by Michael A. Stackpole. Dark Conspiracy game setting published by GDW. Uses the amnesiac protagonist very well to introduce a complex setting. Sly situational humor enlivens a serious action/adventure plot.
Evil Ascending by Micheal A. Stackpole. Three different POV’s in this one. I liked each one, but preferred the tighter focus.
Evil Triumphant by Michael A. Stackpole. Even more split POV in this one, and much, much more military hardware lovingly described. Not really as much my thing, but I thought it had a nice twist at the end.
In Progress:
The Life of Greece by Will Durant. Audiobook. Touring the various city states. Just finished Syracuse.
House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones. Wanted a complete shift of story…
Also:
I’m re-reading the 90,000+ word manuscript of Wolf’s Soul to refresh myself on details before I write the conclusion.
