Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Fun News
So a while back my friend, Tony, mentioned that Adventures in SciFi Publishing, a website and podcast devoted to speculative fiction, was seeking new book reviewers. Shaun Farrell, the podcast creator, was kind enough to let me submit (I approached him after the response deadline) an old review I did here last year as a sort of application. He liked it--or I'm assuming he did--because he got me in contact with an author to get a copy of his book to review for the website. That author was Zachary Jernigan (really cool guy, by the way), and his debut fantasy I received was No Return.
About a month and a half later I'd finished No Return but hadn't had the time to write my review yet. Shaun recorded an episode of the podcast saying he was stepping down as show runner. It was sad news. I'd been a fan of AISFP for years, and had even met Shaun (along with my friend, Tony) in Reno during WorldCon. I figured the new show runner, Timothy C. Ward, would want to pick his own reviewers, and I didn't bother asking if he still wanted my No Return review. Not long after, however, Tim emailed me and was enthusiastic about me submitting No Return, so I typed up my review, got it approved, and now it's posted! Check it out at www.adventuresinscifipublishing.com!
It's small potatoes, I know. But I'm excited to be able to contribute to the AISFP community, and hope Tim takes my reviews for a long time to come. I read a lot of freak'n genre books and enjoy writing the occasional book review for those titles I think worth mentioning. I'd already grown tired of posting so many reviews here--I'd never meant for my blog to be about book reviews--so I am pleased to be able to write a few here and there on another site. Look for my book reviews at the AISFP website from now on.
That's all!
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Still Alive
I've been silent for a month and a half now. Mostly, it's because of this guy:
Our family of three has become a family of four. It's been an adjustment! Also, I've had three weeks of the worst cold in my life. I was worried for a while that it was pneumonia, but it didn't get quite that serious. I'm at the point where I'm ready to get back into early morning writing, and have a lot of words to get written!
My desire for blogging has changed a bit. I've already stated that I was getting tired of posting so many book reviews. This is still true. So I don't have a lot of material worth blogging about. I still go through audiobooks like mad. I might post lists of books I think are worth reading every once in a while. One or two posts a month is going to be the new trend. Truth is, my time is even more limited now with a newborn in the house. Between work, caring for my daughter, helping my wife with the boy, much-needed R&R, and then writing, I don't have a lot left in the tank for creative blogging. I believe c'est la vie is the appropriate phrase.
That's all for now.
Our family of three has become a family of four. It's been an adjustment! Also, I've had three weeks of the worst cold in my life. I was worried for a while that it was pneumonia, but it didn't get quite that serious. I'm at the point where I'm ready to get back into early morning writing, and have a lot of words to get written!
My desire for blogging has changed a bit. I've already stated that I was getting tired of posting so many book reviews. This is still true. So I don't have a lot of material worth blogging about. I still go through audiobooks like mad. I might post lists of books I think are worth reading every once in a while. One or two posts a month is going to be the new trend. Truth is, my time is even more limited now with a newborn in the house. Between work, caring for my daughter, helping my wife with the boy, much-needed R&R, and then writing, I don't have a lot left in the tank for creative blogging. I believe c'est la vie is the appropriate phrase.
That's all for now.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Mini Reviews #4
Wow. Time flies when you're busy! I've been neglecting the blog for a while for several reasons, but mainly because I've been in a funk for the past month that has been hard to shake. Here's hoping that's all done with. I have several posts in the works--a few more What the Crap? posts and other things besides reviews. It's been so long, though, since I've posted that I need to get these two reviews out of the way before I forget what I want to say about these books. So here goes.
The King's Blood, by Daniel Abraham. It is the second book of his Dagger and Coin series, and picks up right where book 1 left off. In my opinion, TKB takes this series to a new level, and my respect and admiration for Abraham continues to grow. He is proving to be a master at epic storytelling. The pace of the story certainly quickens in this volume, and the characters end up in some surprising places I hadn't foreseen. I can't wait to see what happens in The Tyrant's Law, which is schedule for release in a couple of months.
Abraham is a subtle writer. I never feel like his characters are beating me over the head with their ideologies and positions. It is impossible, I think, to feel completely for or against most of the cast. (I said most, not all.) Abraham is patient with his story buildup. He carefully lays groundwork for every twist and turn. This might be a deterrent for some who want action packed fantasies. Trust me when I say the wait for big things to happen in this series is worth your time.
The King's Blood gets 5 out of 5 stars.
The second book is The Daylight War, book three of Peter V. Brett's Demon Cycle. This book was one of my most anticipated releases of 2013, and I have to say that it let me down in almost every way possible. I've had several weeks to think about the book since I finished it, and so can now separate the mixed feelings I had after its end. I hope I can do so without insult to the author--I do think Brett is among the best of our current crop of fantasy writers, and enjoyed the previous installments in the series immensely.
The biggest problem was that the plot wasn't advanced hardly at all. Book 2 suffered this problem as well--retelling a large portion of the story from another character's point of view. In the last book it paid off enough that I didn't mind all that much. It was just too boring to do it a third time. Also, (spoiler) the Daylight War, the prophesied war that this book gets its title from, never happens. Why did Brett mislead readers so much with the title?
The sex was way too gratuitous for my comfort. I think The Daylight Porn would have been a more apt description of the book. And lastly, the "cliffhanger" ending felt a bit smug in its cliffhangeriness.
The Daylight War gets 3 out of 5 stars. I hope that this portion of the story will feel more natural by the time the series is completed.
That's all.
Abraham is a subtle writer. I never feel like his characters are beating me over the head with their ideologies and positions. It is impossible, I think, to feel completely for or against most of the cast. (I said most, not all.) Abraham is patient with his story buildup. He carefully lays groundwork for every twist and turn. This might be a deterrent for some who want action packed fantasies. Trust me when I say the wait for big things to happen in this series is worth your time.
The King's Blood gets 5 out of 5 stars.
The biggest problem was that the plot wasn't advanced hardly at all. Book 2 suffered this problem as well--retelling a large portion of the story from another character's point of view. In the last book it paid off enough that I didn't mind all that much. It was just too boring to do it a third time. Also, (spoiler) the Daylight War, the prophesied war that this book gets its title from, never happens. Why did Brett mislead readers so much with the title?
The sex was way too gratuitous for my comfort. I think The Daylight Porn would have been a more apt description of the book. And lastly, the "cliffhanger" ending felt a bit smug in its cliffhangeriness.
The Daylight War gets 3 out of 5 stars. I hope that this portion of the story will feel more natural by the time the series is completed.
That's all.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Mini Reviews #3
I've been so busy writing that I don't have a lot of time or energy to come up with creative blogs. So here are some more small reviews. If you're a fan of epic fantasy, or sword and sorcery, then you'll want to check out all of these books I'm reviewing this week. Onward!
First, I want to tell you a little about The Scar, a literary fantasy, by Sergey and Marina Dyachenko. It just came out (translated) from Tor last year. (I think it originally came out in the late 90's.) The Scar is an amazing book. It resonates well with classics like The Count of Monte Cristo, and Les Miserables. It is a beautiful tale about a man who must overcome the most despicable wretch he knows: himself.
Egert is the man. He is the most confident, the most skilled at arms, the best leader, and the best looking man in his city--a city in which physical prowess is admired and praised above all else. Egert always wins. Until a stranger with a sword comes to town, anyway. Egert loses his first duel and flees home in terror and shame. What follows is a redemption story full of poetic prose, deep insight into the human condition, love, and above all else, forgiveness.
The Scar gets 5 out of 5 stars. Don't miss this one!
Next up is The Way of Shadows, by Brent Weeks. Weeks has been gaining popularity over the years and, rumor has it, will soon take over the world with his awesomeness. Awesomeness aside, TWoS is Weeks' debut novel, and my first taste of his writing. I have to say that it was one brutal, captivating, helluva story. It is not for the squeamish! (And young readers, you should probably avoid it.)
The only thing I didn't like about TWoS were some character names. I can honestly say I enjoyed every other part. The story is about a boy who grows up in the violent slums of a city, where the weak are ground into the mud and the strong rule without pity. He believes there is only one way out of his situation: apprentice with the city's most infamous and feared assassin. That is the basic plot, but the book is full of wonderful character development, tense action, political intrigue, and cool magic. This is one of those books that make me so happy I'm an epic fantasy fan.
Beware, The Way of Shadows is for adults. It is violent and dark, and unapologetic. That said, I don't want to overstate its content. I find it comparable to A Game of Thrones, or Best Served Cold content-wise. I give the book 5 out of 5 stars.
Lastly, I wanted to tell you about The Red Knight, by Miles Cameron. This too, is a more adult book worth your time if you love fantasy. It has some of the best battle scenes I've ever read in fiction. Cameron, who also writes historical fiction under his real name, Christian Cameron, is a medieval expert. His knowledge lends an authenticity to the TRK that is unmatched in fantasy. I've never read a fantasy in which the life of a knight has been so meticulously detailed. I was worried going in that this fact would bog the story down with boring, long-winded info dumps. This isn't the case. Cameron has a strong sense of pacing that keeps the story moving forward.
The Red Knight is about the leader of a mercenary troop, hired by an abbess to solve a monster murder. It soon turns into an all-out siege battle with the continued existence of a kingdom at stake. Monsters, mages, and men clash in this brilliant tale. This is the beginning of a five book series. Its huge scope makes it feel like the penultimate book in a series. I am eager to see where Cameron takes us.
I have some issues with the book. Its alternate Christian reality was a hard one to swallow at first. In a way, it felt like lazy world building. I've read on the author's website why he chose to use Christianity and am now okay with it. The good news is that the story overcomes my issues with it. Also, the frequent switching of points of view was annoying. I'd have preferred Cameron using George R.R. Martin's format of one pov per chapter. It would still allow him to tell a story with a large cast of characters, but also give readers significant chunks of time inside one character's head.
The Red Knight gets 4.5 out of 5 stars.
And there you have it. All good ratings this time around! I just wanted to add that I listened to all of these books through Audible. The narrators of each were superb. Now, try one of these out for yourself!
Egert is the man. He is the most confident, the most skilled at arms, the best leader, and the best looking man in his city--a city in which physical prowess is admired and praised above all else. Egert always wins. Until a stranger with a sword comes to town, anyway. Egert loses his first duel and flees home in terror and shame. What follows is a redemption story full of poetic prose, deep insight into the human condition, love, and above all else, forgiveness.
The Scar gets 5 out of 5 stars. Don't miss this one!
The only thing I didn't like about TWoS were some character names. I can honestly say I enjoyed every other part. The story is about a boy who grows up in the violent slums of a city, where the weak are ground into the mud and the strong rule without pity. He believes there is only one way out of his situation: apprentice with the city's most infamous and feared assassin. That is the basic plot, but the book is full of wonderful character development, tense action, political intrigue, and cool magic. This is one of those books that make me so happy I'm an epic fantasy fan.
Beware, The Way of Shadows is for adults. It is violent and dark, and unapologetic. That said, I don't want to overstate its content. I find it comparable to A Game of Thrones, or Best Served Cold content-wise. I give the book 5 out of 5 stars.
The Red Knight is about the leader of a mercenary troop, hired by an abbess to solve a monster murder. It soon turns into an all-out siege battle with the continued existence of a kingdom at stake. Monsters, mages, and men clash in this brilliant tale. This is the beginning of a five book series. Its huge scope makes it feel like the penultimate book in a series. I am eager to see where Cameron takes us.
I have some issues with the book. Its alternate Christian reality was a hard one to swallow at first. In a way, it felt like lazy world building. I've read on the author's website why he chose to use Christianity and am now okay with it. The good news is that the story overcomes my issues with it. Also, the frequent switching of points of view was annoying. I'd have preferred Cameron using George R.R. Martin's format of one pov per chapter. It would still allow him to tell a story with a large cast of characters, but also give readers significant chunks of time inside one character's head.
The Red Knight gets 4.5 out of 5 stars.
And there you have it. All good ratings this time around! I just wanted to add that I listened to all of these books through Audible. The narrators of each were superb. Now, try one of these out for yourself!
Friday, February 1, 2013
So... how's my goal of writing three novels this year coming?
It's only a month into 2013 but I think it's important to regularly review writing goals set after the new year. I had a huge goal this year to write three novels, the first due by March 31st. Well, so far I've written 24,600 words of this first novel. That's a little under a third of my 80,000 word goal. What does this mean? It means I'm on track to hit my goal by the end of March. It also means that I've got to stretch and get 30,000 words written during February. Can I do it? Sure hope so!
As to the rest of my three novel goal this year, I've already started pre-planning novel number two. It will be another YA fantasy, set in the same world as this first one, a generation later. I have dreams of several series taking place in this same world. You might call that cheating--to repurpose world building--but I call it being economical with my time! Book three is a vague idea in the back of my brain, so there's still some thinking to do for that one, but that won't even be started until Septemberish.
How are your goals going so far this year? I hope you're reaching and surpassing them!
As to the rest of my three novel goal this year, I've already started pre-planning novel number two. It will be another YA fantasy, set in the same world as this first one, a generation later. I have dreams of several series taking place in this same world. You might call that cheating--to repurpose world building--but I call it being economical with my time! Book three is a vague idea in the back of my brain, so there's still some thinking to do for that one, but that won't even be started until Septemberish.
How are your goals going so far this year? I hope you're reaching and surpassing them!
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