Waiting on Wednesday 09/21/16
Posted on September 21, 2016 17 Comments
“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that lets us feature upcoming releases that we can’t wait to get our hands on!
Mogsy’s Pick
Dead Man’s Steel by Luke Scull (December 6, 2016 by Roc)
It feels as if I’ve been waiting for this one forever, but come December, book three of The Grim Company series will be hitting shelves in the US. I feel like I can finally officially get excited!
“In the City of Towers, former rebel Sasha and her comrade Davarus Cole struggle to keep the peace between the warring mages who vie for dominion. But when the White Lady sends Davarus south to the Shattered Realms to seek allies among the fallen kingdoms, he finds that his hardest battle may be one fought within. The godly essence now residing within him offers power that could be used against the Fade—but with every death that feeds It, Cole risks losing a part of himself.
An association with a Fade officer grants the Halfmage Eremul a position of privilege among Dorminia’s new masters. He witnesses firsthand the fate that awaits humanity. But with his magic pitiful in the face of the Fade’s advanced technology, the Halfmage must rely on his wits alone to save whom he can…
And in the frozen north, the legendary warrior Brodar Kayne fights a desperate battle for his people. He is running out of time: an ancient evil sealed beneath the mountains is about to break free, an evil that is older than humanity, older than the Fade, older even than the gods—and it will not stop until the entire world is drowned in blood…”
Book Review: Blood of the Earth by Faith Hunter
Posted on September 20, 2016 16 Comments
A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Blood of the Earth by Faith Hunter
Mogsy’s Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Book 1 of Soulwood
Publisher: Roc (August 2, 2016)
Length: 358 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
I have a feeling I’m going to be the sole voice of dissent on this one. It’s not that thought Blood of the Earth was a bad book, but quite honestly I was expecting a lot more. However, it should be made known that this was the first time I’ve ever read Faith Hunter; I’ve never read any of the books in the Jane Yellowrock series, and maybe that was part of the problem. A spinoff can be a tricky beast, and though this can be read separately from the main series, I’m guessing that not having the benefit of a previous connection to this world likely had an impact on my overall enjoyment—or lack thereof.
The story stars Nell Nicholson Ingram, who was, as I discovered later, a character first introduced in a Jane Yellowrock short story called “Off the Grid”. She grew up in a cult called the God’s Cloud of Glory Church, and was only a young girl when she was made to marry one of its other members, a much older man named John Ingram. For all his faults though, John had wanted to do right by Nell. So, when she turned eighteen, he also married her legally in the eyes of Tennessee law, which is why when he passed away, ownership of his entire estate was rightfully transferred to her. This, however, did not sit right with the Church. Even after Nell left the cult, its members still kept coming, harassing her about her property, which they considered as theirs no matter what the law says.
The attacks have made Nell nervous, which is why when a group of agents from PsyLED show up at her door one day, she isn’t sure whether or not she can trust them. Turns out though, Jane Yellowrock had referred Nell to the paranormal investigation agency after finding out about Nell’s earth magic and special connection to nature, so now Agent Rick LaFleur and his team of were-cat operatives are here hoping she can help out on a case. There has been a string of disappearances involving young women lately, and one of the missing victims is a member of a very important vampire house. PsyLED suspects Nell’s old cult might have something to do with it, and they believe access to her past and property could be a very useful resource.
As I mentioned previously, I didn’t think this was a bad book. That said, I also found nothing terribly exciting about it. First of all, a “missing girls” story? Urban fantasy isn’t exactly suffering from a dearth of missing-or-kidnapped-kids plots lately, so that ho-hum was one of the bigger disappointments. Second, the first third of the novel with its slow pacing almost did me in. What made it even more frustrating was the constant repetition, what with Nell finding about fifty thousand ways to beat it over the readers’ heads that the God’s Cloud Church wants her land because they didn’t agree with her late husband’s decision, or how some of their men came over and killed her dogs. Yes, Nell, cult goons bad. I got it the first time, and really could have done without the image of the poor dead pups over and over in my mind. The rough pacing continues in the later parts of the book, like when we’re introduced to the vampire family of the missing girl, and for the next hundred or so pages she is barely mentioned again. The story just feels like it’s all over the place.
I also didn’t think there was anything too special about the world. Again, I know I’m at a disadvantage because I haven’t read the Jane Yellowrock series, so I’m probably missing years and years’ worth of relevant world-building which would have helped me gain a better appreciation for it. Still, at this moment I don’t know if I’m jumping up and down to start another series about vampires and shapeshifters, since I’m already following a bunch of them that scratch that itch, though I did find Nell’s nature-based magic fascinating.
The main character’s background is also one of the most intriguing aspects of this book, since a life of growing up in a cult definitely shaped her into a very interesting person. However, I wasn’t entirely convinced of her random Sherlock Holmes moments. The story spends a lot of time painting Nell to be this country bumpkin, but every so often she will get these flashes of genius (all at the most convenient times, I might add) where she will surprise all her PsyLED team members and then proceed to lecture them all about how a lifetime spent hunting and trapping in the woods somehow taught her to become a whiz at deductive reasoning. And then when they all feel bad about judging her, Nell gets to pat herself on the back, all the while ignoring the fact she can be pretty judgmental herself, of course.
So yeah, this one didn’t exactly blow me away me due to a multitude of smaller issues that simply added up, hence the middling, uncertain rating. In spite of this, I haven’t entirely ruled out picking up the next book yet, especially since I still plan on starting the Jane Yellowrock series one of these days. I think there’s potential for Nell and Soulwood to be a lot more, so here’s hoping the sequel will help them grow on me.
Book Review: Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
Posted on September 19, 2016 31 Comments
A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Book 1 of The Nevernight Chronicle
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books (August 9, 2016)
Length: 429 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
I was a bit nervous diving into this book. It seemed to me that in spite of the great number of rave reviews praising Nevernight to high heaven, there are just as many savagely tearing it to pieces. After finishing this book myself though, I could understand a little better why this might be the case. There were times I couldn’t help but wonder what audience this book was intended for, exactly. Maybe the reason why the reviews are all over the place is because the story itself is kind of all over the place—though to be fair, that in itself doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing.
Nevernight is so titled because it introduces us to a world where its three suns almost never set. Our main character is Mia Corvere, a young woman whose father was a famed military leader until he led a failed rebellion and was consequently executed along with the rest of his followers. Mia was seized along with her mother and little brother, but she managed to escape, surviving alone for the next few years in the cold, merciless shadows of the city.
Well, not entirely alone. Mia knows there’s something very different about her, but she doesn’t really understand it. She has powers to cloak herself in darkness, which helps her hide from those hunting her. She is also always accompanied by a shadowy presence, a cat-shaped familiar she has come to call Mister Kindly because the not-cat has come to her assistance more times than she can count. As well, Mia has the help of her mentor, a shady man named Mercurio. Driven by the desire for vengeance on her father’s enemies, Mia ends up following her teacher’s instructions to a secret academy for assassins because she knows that in order to get at her targets, she’ll have to be the very best.
Along the way, she meets an enigmatic boy who simply calls himself “Tric”. It soon becomes clear to Mia that both of them are seeking the same thing—the Red Church, where the Republic’s most ruthless killers are made. However, to be inducted among their ranks is an honor only few attain. Not only is the competition fierce, the trials that the students must go through are also difficult and often deadly. To have her revenge, Mia will need to first pass all the Church’s tests to gain status as a full-fledged Blade—if she can even survive that long to do it, that is.
This isn’t my first experience with Jay Kristoff’s work; in fact, I really enjoyed his Lotus War trilogy, which is why I was pretty excited to start Nevernight. One of the first things I noticed while reading is that the author has made steps to move past his flowery prose—though admittedly, not by much. Kristoff is still very fond of over-embellishing his writing and peppering it with his long, sometimes head-scratchingly complicated metaphors. It clunks up the flow of the story somewhat, but I personally didn’t find it to be a huge problem. Of higher concern, perhaps, are the footnotes that have the potential to be way more distracting if you weren’t expecting them. I can’t even say it’s okay to skip them, because of how much background information they provide in fleshing out the world-building, and often they can be pretty funny. So, the pesky footnotes are just one of those things you have to grin and bear, I’m afraid.
In spite of our teenage protagonist, Nevernight is also most decidedly not a Young Adult novel. It features mature themes and content, including several graphic sex scenes (some of which were pretty awkward…I kind of feel bad for singling that out, but they were just not the best or the sexiest). With regards to my expectations for this book, this is where I stumbled a little. For one thing, this story contains an excessive amount of teen drama for a supposedly adult novel. Also, while I generally love “fantasy school” stories, in Mia’s case, her time at the Red Church felt sort of like one long stopover on her journey for vengeance. Maybe if you’re a YA reader looking for a more mature flavor in your reading, or an adult fantasy reader who wouldn’t mind a bit of high school cafeteria-type shenanigans in your stories, this would be the kind of crossover novel you’re looking for. Personally, it helped me to put myself in that frame of mind.
With all that said, I know I probably sound more negative than positive in this review, but the truth is I really enjoyed Nevernight. It’s not perfect, but it’s also far from being a bad book. I loved the world-building; a lot of effort was clearly put into it. And the plot is wildly entertaining, with plenty of twists and turns, even if they were predictable at times. On the whole, I have to say the book is really quite well-constructed, story-wise. It surely knew how to hold my attention because I could barely tear my eyes away.
Final verdict? Nevernight is not without its flaws, but in spite of them, at the end of the day if I ask myself whether or not I had a good time, the answer is an emphatic yes. Sometimes, that’s all that matters. I’ll definitely continue reading the next installment in the chronicle.
YA Weekend Audio: Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
Posted on September 18, 2016 19 Comments
A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
Mogsy’s Rating (Overall): 2.5 of 5 stars
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Series: Book 5 of Throne of Glass
Publisher: Audible Studios (September 6, 2016)
Length: 25 hrs and 23 mins
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Narrator: Elizabeth Evans
I’ve made it no secret that this series and I have had our ups and downs. To cut straight to the chase, Empire of Storms was definitely another “down”. Probably the lowest I’ve come to feeling about these books, actually. At least the first half of this novel was really good, and the audiobook narrator remains stellar, or I might have gone with an even lower rating. As it is, I have to start really considering whether or not I want to continue with the next book because clearly the direction of this series has changed, and has been changing for the last two books, and I am close to reaching the limit of what I can take.
For one thing, ever since Heir of Fire this series has been suffering an increasingly worsening case of bloat. At least the previous book Queen of Shadows had the courtesy of being really amazing at the end, finishing with an incredible finale. Empire of Storms on the other hand simply went on and on, with a lot of sections I probably would have skimmed had I been reading a physical copy of the book instead of listening to it. The same problem seems to keep rearing its ugly head. Namely, the plot spends an inordinate amount of time spinning its wheels, going nowhere fast. A lot of that also has to do with the pointless talkitty-talk-talk, which so often amounts to nothing but bickering and testosterone-fueled posturing between all these angry, egotistical roided-out characters.
Speaking of which, the romance between Aelin and Rowan still leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. I’ve said it before and I have no problems saying it again, Rowan was a million times more interesting as Aelin’s mentor, back when they still had their platonic relationship. As her latest love interest, he’s not only boring, but he’s also a creeper. The guy flies off the handle every time someone so much as looks at his precious Aelin the wrong way, and he also seems to have this weird fetish for biting. His whole territorial fae male thing with the marking and possessiveness of his mate is not only repulsive, it’s also starting to get really old. I don’t know why Aelin, who is a supposedly strong and independent woman, puts up with it. That’s probably one of my biggest issues with her character; she plays at being the badass heroine, but she always comes across as little more than a vainglorious little girl who needs to latch on to a boy in order to be complete.
And that’s another thing – the number of pairings in this series is becoming ridiculous. Why must everyone be involved in a relationship? Is Aelin’s complex where she can’t function without a boyfriend contagious?
Then there are the sex scenes. Thing is, the writing in this series has always struck me as a bit over-embellished or overdramatic, but nothing deal-breaking. That was before I read this latest installment though, where you get not one but multiple detailed sex scenes, and they are all awkward and hilarious. Granted, it might be the fact I was listening to the audiobook. I have to say, when you have writing that tries too hard, it comes through so much worse in this format. One thing that really gets to me is the use of, um, creative euphemisms. Several times I had to pause playback and skip back to listen again because I was struck by a certain phrase and had to make sure I heard right. Did the author really just refer to Rowan’s penis as a length of “velvet-wrapped steel”?
Another hitch in the writing that comes through really strongly in the audiobook is the excessive use of speech verbs like “breathed”, “rasped”, and “hissed.” I swear, it’s like there’s a shortage of air in this world or something, because no one simply SAYS anything naturally like a normal person. It gets quite distracting in audio.
Anyway, I know so far most of what I’ve done is talk about the things I didn’t like, but really, this book wasn’t all bad. Like I said, I really enjoyed the first half of this novel, before things started unraveling. After the crazy ending in the previous novel, I had my doubts, wondering what could possibly be left for book five. Well, I shouldn’t have worried, because there’s definitely a lot more to cover. All the more a shame that this book is so full of bloat, because when you trim off all the fat, the plot is actually REALLY GOOD.
I also love Manon Blackbeak. In fact, she’s probably the only character I’m still rooting for, since I’ve lost so much respect for all the others. If the earth were to suddenly split apart and swallow up Aelin and Rowan and their whole lot overnight, it would not break my heart. Manon though, is still my favorite wyvern-riding witch. She and Abraxos continue to be amazing, and I was glad that I got to have them at least, while Chaol is out of commission.
Finally, a tip of the hat goes to Elizabeth Evans, who is once again fantastic with the narration. I was able to get through the second half of this book thanks to her performance, since a good narrator can sometimes counteract faults in the story or the writing. She gives great personality and attitude to the characters, sometimes doing her job a bit too well. I’ll most definitely continue with the audiobooks—that is, if I even decide to pick up the next installment.
Until then, I guess I’ll have plenty of time to think about it. I would hate to stop after coming so far especially if there’s only one book left in the series, but there’s also no denying the story, the tone, the characters, and pretty much everything has changed from the days of Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight. There’s nothing wrong with a series that grows and evolves, but I also have to accept it when it goes in a direction I don’t want to follow. I just don’t know if I even feel invested enough to see this through anymore, or whether it’s worth the frustration for the sake of completion. I’ll just have to see how I feel when the time comes.
More on the BiblioSanctum:
Mogsy’s review of Throne of Glass (Book 1)
Wendy’s review of Throne of Glass (Book 1)
Mogsy’s review of Crown of Midnight (Book 2)
Wendy’s review of Crown of Midnight (Book 2)
Mogsy’s review of Heir of Fire (Book 3)
Wendy’s review of Heir of Fire (Book 3)
Mogsy’s review of Queen of Shadows (Book 4)
Mogsy’s Bookshelf Roundup: Stacking the Shelves & Recent Reads
Posted on September 17, 2016 34 Comments
Bookshelf Roundup is a feature I do every other weekend which fills the role of several blog memes, like Stacking the Shelves where I talk about the new books I’ve added to my library or received for review, as well as It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? where I round up what I’ve read since the last update and what I’m planning to read soon. Mostly it also serves as a recap post, so sometimes I’ll throw in stuff like reading challenge progress reports, book lists, and other random bookish thoughts or announcements.
Received for Review
Normally my Bookshelf Roundup is a feature I do every other week, but today I wanted to slip in a special update to give a shout-out to the kind folks at Subterranean Press. A wonderful surprise came from them last week in a form of a care package containing a veritable bounty of ARCs. A big thank you to the awesome team at Subterranean Press for all these goodies! For more details and full descriptions of the books, be sure to check out their Goodreads pages, linked below!
Miniatures: The Very Short Fiction of John Scalzi by John Scalzi ♦ The Four Thousand, The Eight Hundred by Greg Egan ♦ Penric’s Demon by Lois McMaster Bujold ♦ Penric and the Shaman by Lois McMaster Bujold ♦ Last Train from Perdition by Robert McCammon ♦ Resume Speed by Lawrence Block ♦ A Long December by Richard Chizmar ♦ The Purloined Poodle by Kevin Hearne ♦ Voyages: The Chronicles of Lucifer Jones by Mike Resnick ♦ Coco Butternut by Joe R. Lansdale ♦ Dead on the Bones by Joe R. Lansdale
Almost all of these are novellas and collections of short stories, bite-sized portions perfect for some afternoon reading. The quandary is trying to decide what to pick up first.
Any time I see Lois McMaster Bujold’s name though, my interest is always piqued, especially since the Penric novellas are set in the same universe as her World of the Five Gods that includes her Chalion series (which are absolutely wonderful, wonderful books). I’m also eyeing The Purloined Poodle because I’ve heard it’s adorable and funny, which shouldn’t be surprising since it’s set in the same world as Hearne’s Iron Druid Chronicles. I’ll also happily check out anything by Scalzi, even his super short stories. Most of the rest are completely new to me, but given my penchant for fantasty westerns and weird pulpy books, Last Train from Perdition and Dead on the Bones is calling out to me too!
What looks good to you?
Reviews
A small list since it’s only been a week, but what a week! Here are the books I reviewed since the last update, and among them are some amazing gems. Feature spot goes to The Reader, for being my favorite YA novel of the year so far.
The Reader by Traci Chee (5 of 5 stars)
Arabella of Mars by David D. Levine (4.5 of 5 stars)
Invasive by Chuck Wendig (4 of 5 stars)
The Warlock and the Wolf by Delfy Hall (SPFBO)
Roundup Highlights:
Interviews & Guest Posts
Big thanks to Seth Skorkowsky who stopped by The BiblioSanctum this week with a guest post. His new book Ibenus is out now, so go check it out!
Guest Post: “You Can’t Hide Everything…So Don’t” by Seth Skorkowsky
What I’ve Read Since the Last Update
Young Adult, Magic, Romance, Urban Fantasy, Horror, Adventure…seems I had a taste of a bit of everything this week. Stay tuned, here’s some of what will be reviewed at the BiblioSanctum very soon.
Have you heard of or read any of the books featured this week? What caught your eye? Any new discoveries? I hope you found something interesting for a future read! Let me know what you plan on checking out. Until next time, see you next Roundup!
Book Review: Arabella of Mars by David D. Levine
Posted on September 16, 2016 18 Comments
A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Arabella of Mars by David D. Levine
Mogsy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Tor Books (July 12, 2016)
Length: 352 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Meet Arabella Ashby of Mars. The year is 1812 and already humans have been capable of space travel for centuries, thanks to the advances in automata and airship technology made in the 1600s. Our titular heroine is Martian-born and Martian-bred, having been raised on her family’s frontier colonial plantation until the year she turned sixteen, when her mother deemed the red planet too unsuitable for the enrichment of proper young ladies. After saying goodbye to her father, her older brother Michael, and her childhood home where so many fond memories of her wild adventures have been forged, Arabella is whisked away along with her two younger sisters back to London, England on Earth, a planet as alien to our protagonist as Mars is to most English folk.
Growing up on Mars, Arabella’s Martian nanny Khema taught her how to be strong and independent—important traits to have if one hopes to thrive on the world’s harsh surface. But back in England, she is expected to be meek and gentile, following the myriad incomprehensible rules of etiquette expected from a young woman of high birth. Before she’s had much time to settle though, her family receives terrible news from Mars: Arabella’s father has passed on, leaving the ownership of the plantation to Michael, his only son and heir. However, members of the extended Ashby family have other ideas. Arabella’s cousin, Simon Ashby, has long felt slighted over his side of the family’s lack of inheritance, and sees this as an opportunity to seize what he wants. When Arabella finds out about Simon’s dastardly plans to kill her brother, it is a race to Mars in order to try and stop him.
But while she’s still on Earth, Arabella is just a girl with no resources or power, and her murderous cousin has a pretty big head start. In a desperate gambit, she steals a set of men’s clothing and poses as a boy looking for work on a ship bound for Mars, and that’s how she ends up on the Diana, a merchant airship for the Mars Trading Company captained by the handsome and mysterious Prakash Singh.
Ahem, if someone had told me this was predominantly a girl-disguised-as-a-boy story, I would have read this one much, much sooner! I can’t help it; as common and well-used as it is, I’m always a sucker for this trope. As an added bonus, I happen to love nautical fantasy. While the “sailing” here takes place in space instead of upon the high seas, and the airships might not look exactly like the traditional tall ships of history, one look at that gorgeous cover with the sails and rigging and you can probably tell that the general idea is the same. We may be trading ocean currents for solar winds, but you still have the ship crew, sailing lingo, the everyday activities that take place on a trade ship, and even a heart-stopping encounter with French privateers.
I’ve never read anything by the author before this, but I can see the reason for all his accolades and why his short fiction is so widely praised. David D. Levine is an excellent world-builder, imagining an alternate history where, instead of observing an apple fall to the ground, the great Sir Isaac Newton receives his epiphany after watching a soap bubble in his bath rise to the surface, leading him to form the principle of aerial buoyancy. Thus, humankind was able to develop space travel so quickly. Despite the themes of planetary colonialism and traversing the stars though, there’s also a strong fantastical nature to this novel. In truth, the elements of sci-fi are pretty light, making a lot of the “technology” feel practically indistinguishable from magic. This includes the society’s use of automata and other clockwork machinery, giving Arabella of Mars a strong Regency Era-inspired steampunk flavor.
As for the character of Arabella, it was impossible not to be drawn to her immediately. She’s a free spirit trapped by the strict conventions of the early 1800s, especially those placed upon upper class young women. But her Martian upbringing and her time with Khema had shown her see how things could be different (the Martians are a heavily carapaced race of aliens with eye stalks, and it is their larger, more powerful females who are the warriors and leaders) and so she has a much different outlook than her mother and her peers. Although this gives Arabella a “special snowflake” vibe at times (not to mention her knack with fixing automata which surpasses the abilities of even the most experienced adults) it was very easy to feel a connection to her character, and to cheer for her every step of the way on her quest to save her brother.
There are a few other nitpicks, but they are mostly minor. The plot was fast-paced but felt a little “forced” and too convenient, considering everything that could go wrong does go wrong, and at times it got very predictable. The romance between Arabella and Captain Singh also came on a bit too suddenly for me at the end there, especially since the latter spent more than half the book believing the former to be nothing more than his cabin boy. But since this novel appears to be designed for crossover YA and adult appeal, I didn’t mind these stylistic choices too much.
All in all, I loved Arabella of Mars and I couldn’t have asked for a more fun and exciting genre-bending tale. With its intriguing mix of steampunk, fantasy, science fiction and alternate history, readers of every persuasion will likely find something for them in this wonderful, action-packed coming-of-age adventure.
Guest Post: “You Can’t Hide Everything…So Don’t” by Seth Skorkowsky
Posted on September 15, 2016 6 Comments
Today I’m thrilled to welcome back Seth Skorkowsky to The BiblioSanctum with a guest post on writing his Valducan series. It’s always a pleasure to have you, Seth! Valducan is an urban fantasy with a horror twist, featuring a world of magic, demons, and sentient spirit-imbued weapons. Yes, it’s as cool as it sounds. I was hooked from the first book Dämoren, and was equally taken with its follow-up Hounacier. Earlier this month saw the release of the third book, now available from Ragnarok Publications! Ibenus is another gritty tale of mystery and action, this time starring police detective Victoria Martin as she attempts to track down the order of Valducans following her own attack by a demon. My review is scheduled to be up next week, but in the meantime, please enjoy this post by Seth on writing about Surprise and Suspense!
YOU CAN’T HIDE EVERYTHING…SO DON’T
by Seth Skorkowsky
The Power of Suspense.
There’s nothing more fun than a good twist. I’m not referring to the twist ending like “He was dead the whole time,” though those can also be fun. I’m referring to that moment when everything goes wrong and the best laid plans are thrown askew by some terrible event that the heroes didn’t see coming. This event is usually between the 45 and 55% mark in the story.
This can put the author in the awkward situation where they have to decide how much they want the reader to see it coming. We don’t want it to feel like it came out of nowhere so we use a little foreshadowing to pave the way for the moment when it all goes bad. However, we also don’t want to make it too obvious. Audiences love to be surprised, but they also love trying to figure out what’s going to happen before it does. It’s a game we all play, and if what we suspect ends up being true, then it can ruin the experience for us. We say that the story is predictable or that I “guessed the reveal.”
Fear of this can lead storytellers to hold back on the foreshadowing, reign it in so that it isn’t as easy to predict the big twist. This again leads to the problem that the audience might feel that it came out of nowhere and throw out phrases like, “deus ex machina.”
Authors lose sleep over worrying, “Is my story too predictable?” and “Does it feel like the twist came out of nowhere?”.
So instead of dwelling too much on what the reader might predict, an author should go ahead and assume that there will be parts that the reader will predict. Unlike the heroes in the story, the reader knows that this is a story. The audience knows there is plot structure. They’ve read the blurb that tells them what the story is about, and they know that there’s still two hundred pages left when the hero believes the adventure is near its end. So there is no point in hiding these facts or even pretending that you can.
When we watch Alien (1979) are we surprised when the crew encounters aliens? Of course not. Even if we hadn’t seen the trailer, the name of the movie is Alien. No one is in the least bit surprised when something comes out of the egg. But what none of us saw coming was what came out and what exactly it did.
When I wrote the summary for Hounacier, I threw in that the hero is betrayed. One reviewer in particular was very vocal that the summary was a spoiler and told too much. However, the reason I did it was because that prior to the betrayal, any attempts at hiding it would have been laughable. The reader knows this is a story. The character does not. So I just went out and admitted it.
Does this mean the reader will know too much? No. Because what the reader doesn’t know is the specifics. The how he’s betrayed is the real twist. How he deals with that betrayal and the limits it pushes him to are what drives the story once in incident happens. So instead of a reader saying, “I think I know what will happen,” they instead have, “When is it going to happen?” and “How will it happen?” This transforms plot-guessing into suspense.
Alfred Hitchcock has a brilliant quote that he gives about Suspense versus Surprise. Unfortunately, it’s a little long to use here, but I’ll summarize it.
Imagine two people are talking and a bomb explodes. Everyone is surprised, but that surprise lasts only a few seconds. Now imagine that the audience knows that there is a bomb that will detonate in fifteen minutes. They see it ticking while the characters are talking and the clock is getting shorter and shorter. You’ve now turned 15 seconds of surprise into 15 minutes of suspense. (That summary hardly gives the quote justice. You can find it here: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/728496-there-is-a-distinct-difference-between-suspense-and-surprise-and )
It’s nearly impossible to keep a story 100% spoiler free. Even if a reader avoids all reviews and blurbs, they still begin the story with the knowledge that it is a story and how long it is. I like to think that most readers are smart enough to try to figure out what will happen next. So instead of letting them have access to the low-hanging fruit and giving them a chance to say, “Ah-hah, I picked your fruit. It was too easy,” just knock those low hanging ones down. Make the reader focus their attention on the tasty bits that are too high for them to easily reach.
The surprise should never be that something bad happens. The surprise should be the situation when it does, and the results that continue long after the bomb explodes. Instead of trying to completely conceal the twist, use the reader’s knowledge of it to build suspense or misdirect their attention until the full twist is revealed.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Raised in the swamps and pine forests of East Texas, Seth Skorkowsky gravitated to the darker sides of fantasy, preferring horror and pulp heroes over knights in shining armor.
His debut novel, Dämoren, was published in 2014 as book #1 in the Valducan series; it was followed by Hounacier in 2015, and the third book, Ibenus, arriving in 2016. Seth has also released two sword-and-sorcery rogue collections with his Tales of the Black Raven series.
When not writing, Seth enjoys cheesy movies, tabletop role-playing games, and traveling the world with his wife.
Find him at http://skorkowsky.com and on Twitter @SSkorkowsky.
Week 2: The Cloud Roads Read-Along
Posted on September 14, 2016 1 Comment
We’re starting a new Read-Along this week, with The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells! If you’re interested in participating, visit the SF/F Read-Along group for more information and to join the discussion.
With thanks to Anya for the read-along banner!
Moon has spent his life hiding what he is — a shape-shifter able to transform himself into a winged creature of flight. An orphan with only vague memories of his own kind, Moon tries to fit in among the tribes of his river valley, with mixed success. Just as Moon is once again cast out by his adopted tribe, he discovers a shape-shifter like himself… someone who seems to know exactly what he is, who promises that Moon will be welcomed into his community. What this stranger doesn’t tell Moon is that his presence will tip the balance of power… that his extraordinary lineage is crucial to the colony’s survival… and that his people face extinction at the hands of the dreaded Fell! Now Moon must overcome a lifetime of conditioning in order to save and himself… and his newfound kin.
Week 1 – Wednesday September 7th: Chapters 1-5 – hosted by CoolCurry (Sarah)
Week 2 – Wednesday September 14th: Chapters 6-10 – hosted by Lisa
Week 3 – Wednesday September 21st: Chapters 11-15 – hosted by Anya
Week 4 – Wednesday September 28th: Chapters 16-20 – hosted by Imyril
1. So the situation with Pearl isn’t what some thought it was: her actions were risky, but maybe not so traitorous. Still, the Fell are proving to be smarter and deadlier than even she thought. In hindsight, do you think she was doing the right thing?
Mogsy: I believe not telling the Fell “yes” or “no” with regards to what they wanted was a wise choice, considering they still don’t know what really happened to the other colony. For all we know, the other queen might have refused them as well and they responded by wiping them all out. Pearl was taking no chances, buying time by not agreeing or disagreeing. Still, it was her decision to allow the Fell in which started this whole mess in the first place, and the fact she didn’t tell any of the other leaders looks pretty bad for her. If Pearl did anything wrong, it was because she was keeping secrets.
2. The revelation that the Fell are apparently becoming endangered in the same way the Raksura are is something to consider, for all that they’re still an immediate threat. Do you think they can possibly be negotiated with, or are they simply The Evil Villains in this story?
Mogsy: I still think they’re the villains, and there’s no negotiating with them. I was, however, intrigued by the reveal that the Raksura and the Fell may have a shared ancestry. Perhaps that’s why both are becoming endangered, because there’s something in the environment affecting their biology the same way?
3. Do you think Moon might stick to his stubborn ways regarding his future with the Raksura, or will he accept his ‘intended’ place among them as a consort? And if so, what do you think of his potential relationship with Jade?
Mogsy: I’ve read a later book in the series as well as a few short stories, so I know that Moon ends up staying with Indigo Cloud and finding a place among them. Still, even if I hadn’t known this, I think that’s where his feelings are taking him right now, despite his stubborn insistence (denial?) that his time with the court will be temporary.
4. Major plot points aside, there were also a lot of character-building scenes in these chapters. Let’s discuss personal highlights! What stood out as the most interesting parts this week?
Mogsy: I really enjoyed this week’s chapters. Like I said, I’ve read volume one of Stories of the Raksura and The Edge of Worlds so I’m already familiar with some of these characters, but it’s still really cool to see how things started out. I especially liked the time we get to spend with Stone, Jade, and Chime. When I met Moon for the first time he was already at home with Indigo Cloud, but he and everyone still acknowledged that he was an outsider of sorts. Now I know why.
Waiting on Wednesday 09/14/16
Posted on September 14, 2016 14 Comments
“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that lets us feature upcoming releases that we can’t wait to get our hands on!
Mogsy’s Pick
Sins of Empire by Brian McClellan (March 7, 2017 by Orbit)
I’ve been excited ever since I heard Brian McClellan was going to be starting another new fantasy set in the same world as his Powder Mage trilogy. I really enjoyed that series, and I heard that Sins of Empire will take place approximately a decade after The Autumn Republic. Even though this will be the start of a new story, the author has hinted at links between Gods of Blood and Powder and the first trilogy, and from the looks of things we know at least Vlora will be back!
“The young nation of Fatrasta is a turbulent place – a frontier destination for criminals, fortune-hunters, brave settlers, and sorcerers seeking relics of the past. Only the iron will of the lady chancellor and her secret police holds the capital city of Landfall together against the unrest of a suppressed population and the machinations of powerful empires.
The insurrection that threatens Landfall must be purged with wile and force, a task which falls on the shoulders of a spy named Michel Bravis, convicted war hero Ben Styke, and Lady Vlora Flint, a mercenary general with a past as turbulent as Landfall’s present.
As loyalties are tested, revealed, and destroyed, a grim specter as old as time has been unearthed in this wild land, and the people of Landfall will soon discover that rebellion is the least of their worries.”
#SPFBO: The Warlock and the Wolf by Delfy Hall
Posted on September 13, 2016 10 Comments
After selecting our shortlist, the Bibliosanctum team is taking a closer look at our potential finalists. We are busy reading the six books left on our original list of thirty and then each of us will review two of them. Stay tuned for our follow up discussion on all of our picks to see who we choose to go on to the next round!
The Warlock and the Wolf by Delfy Hall
Reviewer: Mogsy
Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction
Series: Book 1 of The Naturalist
Publisher: Vulpes Press (December 24, 2015)
Length: 342 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
The Warlock and the Wolf is a historical fantasy set in mid-17th century Netherlands, in the South Holland city of The Hague. The story begins with the hanging of a woman, accused of being a witch. It was a quiet affair in the woods, but news of it soon spread to our protagonist, a young naturalist apprentice named Mina who spends much of her time in the wilderness studying the fauna and flora. One day, Mina is suddenly set upon by a strange creature—something with the body of an owl but the face of a human woman—and its talons rake and injure her. Fortunately for Mina though, she is saved from further harm thanks to the timely arrival of a talking wolf, who chases the creature back into the woods.
Wait, a talking wolf? Mina is sure that she imagined it all, or that the strange owl creature’s talons must have infected her with a disease and somehow made her hear and see things that weren’t there. Being a woman of science, she is ready to dismiss the whole thing, and certainly she’s not about to tell her mentor, the great Pieter Moll who serves as chief naturalist to Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange. Mina has hopes of succeeding Pieter one day, and it would do her no good to talk of anything related to the occult or supernatural.
Still, when Mina hears the details of the witch’s hanging from her aunt, she grows unsettled. The supposed witch’s name was Leonara, and as the story goes, the woman did have some magical power, which she was using to keep a murderer named Gregor from escaping his prison cell. And as Gregor was the man who killed Mina’s parents when she was little, the story was understandably of interest to her. Sure enough, the news comes that Gregor is now on the loose. Worse, he’s reputed to be a powerful warlock, and it may seem he still has unfinished business with Mina and her family.
With a premise like that, it’s no wonder we here at The BiblioSanctum were intrigued by this SPFBO entry. Within the first five chapters, we were introduced to a historically rich setting, a fascinating young heroine, and talking animals. I have to admit, it was this last point that really sealed the deal for me and made me decide to nominate it for our shortlist. There’s nothing I enjoy more than a quirky little hook like that to make me want to know more about what’s going on.
I also took to the main character right away. Most of all, I liked how quickly the book established a complex picture of Mina, presenting a number of conflicts which immediately made her an interesting protagonist. One of the main themes of the story is Science versus Magic, and Mina frequently finds herself in the middle, torn between her family history and her desire to be a master naturalist. She also endeared herself to me with her determination to make it in the scientific community despite the field being dominated by men. To be named her Pieter’s successor is all she has ever wanted, and she will fight her detractors to the end in order to fulfill her dreams. However, if it comes down to a battle between being true to herself versus pursuing her aspirations, what will she do then?
The story also has a “folklore” feel to it that I enjoyed, with a nice mix of fantasy and history. Mina’s newfound ability to speak with animals made for some humorous scenarios as well, and the author has a knack for writing conversations and giving each creature their individual personalities. Perhaps it is no surprise then that the character who stole the show was not even a person but an animal, the titular wolf Basa. He was the absolute greatest, and I liked him more than many of the human characters in this book.
Despite a solid beginning though, I thought the book’s momentum started flagging towards the middle and the story didn’t end as strongly as it started. Mainly, I think it was because no other characters besides Mina really stood out for me. There’s some build-up to a possible romance, but I felt disconnected to it because the love interest came across as somewhat clichéd. The villain also didn’t affect me much, as no compelling reason was really given to explain his motivations. Mina’s actions also become inconsistent towards the end, and often I found myself frustrated with her impulsiveness every time she ran headlong into danger, having learned nothing from her past mistakes.
As followers of my reviews will know, I’m also big on atmosphere when it comes to historical fiction. This was something I struggled with while reading this book, but I really think it would work better for readers familiar with the context of the setting. One thing to know is that the last execution of a witch in the Dutch Republic was probably in the early 1600s, which sort of explains the “in between” nature of belief for the people in this story as the populace moves towards an age of scientific enlightenment while some still hang on to superstitions. Admittedly, not being too well-versed in the history of the time and place left me confused and feeling untethered to the world at times, and I wanted more context to go with the historical facts and figures. The writing was also sparse in description, and I think some fleshing out of the setting would have helped in making this story feel more immersive.
My verdict: The Warlock and the Wolf captured my attention right away with its intriguing premise and complex heroine. While the momentum gained by the strong intro didn’t carry through as far as I would have liked, I still think it’s a great read, which I would recommend especially for fans of historical fiction and magical stories. There’s lots to like, and plenty of potential for more.
The BiblioSanctum 