Book Review: Blood Song by Anthony Ryan
Posted on May 18, 2014 2 Comments
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Series: Book 1 of Raven’s Shadow
Publisher: Ace (July 2, 2013)
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
The story of Blood Song is about a young boy who trains and grows up to become a leader and one of the greatest warriors in the kingdom. It’s a tried-and-true formula in epic fantasy which by all rights I should be sick to death of by now, but Anthony Ryan manages to pull it off without making me feel like I’m getting the same old, same old.
Take how the book starts, for example, opening on an encounter between a scribe and a prisoner who is being transported across the sea to answer for his crimes. A duel to the death is the only end left for Vaelin al Sorna, also known as “Hope Killer”. With a sobriquet like that, I couldn’t help but wonder at his character, but I was also intrigued by his soft spokenness and eloquence. More puzzling is the fact that everyone seems to be treating him with respect and deference, in spite of his chains.
Vaelin’s story is recounted by the scribe, a mode of storytelling which is not uncommon even outside other mediums of fantasy, but in this case it is deftly executed, providing a deeply immersive experience for the reader. As a child, the main character is sent to the Sixth Order to train in the martial ways of the Faith. It’s a harsh life fraught with peril, as Vaelin and his peers are driven relentlessly by their instructors to learn everything from doctrine and history, to survival methods or ways to wield a sword.
In general, I’m not a big fan of this trope. More often than not, I find the training and “growing up” phase of the hero’s story to be the most tedious part, and so I’m usually looking forward to getting it over with. Not so with Blood Song, though. Imagine my surprise when these sections of the book turned out to be the most rewarding aspect. I loved reading about Vaelin’s experiences in the Sixth Order, especially some of the more challenging trials. I very much enjoyed the bonds he shared with his fellow brothers of the Faith, the fact that any conflicts between the boys are negated by the knowledge that they are all in this together.
In fact, I liked this section a lot more than the later parts of the book, in which we see Vaelin go off to fight big battles and become embroiled in political plots and magic. Normally that would be the kind of stuff I live for in my epic fantasy, so you can see just how much I enjoyed the first half of the novel to consider it my favorite. Not that the second half is a slouch — I think most people would find it more interesting, actually. For myself, I just couldn’t help but develop a soft spot for Vaelin back when he was just a boy, when he still retained some of his innocence.
As you’ve probably guessed, I have nothing but good things to say about the portrayal of Vaelin and the other characters in this novel. You will see the relationships forged early on between him and his brothers evolve as they face their hardships together year after year. And when enemies become friends or friends become enemies, the transformations are both a surprise but also believable. Vaelin himself is a good and honorable person, and his desire to transcend the expectations of his order and be a better person for those around him is an engrossing study into the themes of sacrifice, morals and personal beliefs.
Highly recommended. I can just imagine the thrilled reactions of readers who picked this book up back when it was still independently published. A gem like this doesn’t come along every day, and I’d say it stands out even beside some of the major epic fantasy novels today.
YA Weekend: Earth Girl by Janet Edwards
Posted on May 17, 2014 2 Comments
Earth Girl by Janet Edwards
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Series: Book 1 of Earth Girl
Publisher: Pyr (March 5, 2013)
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Mogsy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
When I think about Young Adult books from Pyr, words that spring immediately to mind are “distinct”, “unconventional” and “unique”. I guess that’s why I’ve been counting on this book to lift me out of my YA slump. I’ve been feeling rather burned out by the love triangles, broody heroes, and paranormal/fantasy settings in this category lately, and Earth Girl looked like the perfect cure to this particular malaise.
My instincts proved correct.
The story of Earth Girl takes place in the far-flung future, narrated by eighteen-year-old Jarra. There are many names for people like her. Handicapped. Throwback. Nean. Ape. All of them mean one thing: that she is among the one in a thousand born with an immune disorder that confines her to earth. Humans have developed portal technology at this point, using it to colonize a multitude of worlds, but Jarra can’t visit any of them. If she traveled anywhere she would go into anaphylactic shock in seconds, and die if not returned immediately to earth’s atmosphere.
But even in the year 2788, humanity has its bigoted attitudes. So when the time comes to enroll in university, Jarra chooses her preferred subject History, but decides to invent a fake military background for herself to apply at a school on another planet whose class of norms who would be on earth for the first year of practical studies. Jarra is sick and tired of being looked down on for being handicapped, and she’s determined to show a bunch of stupid Exos just what an ape girl is capable of.
There is therefore nothing subtle about the social message in Earth Girl. This is a book infused with emotion and meaning. But even beyond this, there is so much more to love. While the plot may be a bit predictable at times, very little else about this novel falls prey to clichés, especially when it comes to the characters. You meet Lecturer Playdon, for example, and might immediately label him a hardball professor, bent on giving our protagonist a hard time – because adults obviously are in YA novels just to get in the way! Or take Dalmora Rostha, daughter of a rich, famous vid director. She’s totally going to be the snooty, spoiled and annoyingly fake arch nemesis in this story, am I right? Now the lascivious pair of Betas though, surely they are there just to provide comic relief, cause trouble and flunk out?
Nope, nope, and nope, wrong on all counts. This book will surprise you at every turn, and I can’t tell you how refreshing that is.
I also confess, I have another reason for loving this book. For you see, in the context of Earth Girl, Jarra’s “practical prehistory studies” is just another word for Archaeology. And I love Archaeology. While studying it and going on digs in college, I’d always entertained thoughts of future archaeologists excavating our modern cities and wondered what they would make of our civilization from the things they find. It’s like the author was reading my mind! When Jarra and her class dig up the ruins of New York, the methods and technology they use may be very different, but still the systematic methods are there and so is the culture and spirit of a dig site. World building is fantastic in terms of creating a great atmosphere.
My only quibbles are minor. The dialogue can be stunted at times, making Jarra and her friends sound and act like they are much younger than their eighteen years. Fian, the romantic interest, is probably the worst offender. Jarra also seems to be an expert at everything. A character even makes a joke about this at one point in the novel. As well, there is a tendency to tell instead of show and moments of overt info-dumping, but as many of these instances are worked into a classroom setting, they were easily forgivable. Other than that, as you can see from my rating, this book was close to perfect.
Thank you, Janet Edwards, for breathing some new life into YA for me. Earth Girl was a very enjoyable read and I’m looking forward to the next book.
Series Review: Bronze Gods and Silver Mirrors by A.A. Aguirre
Posted on May 16, 2014 1 Comment
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Book 1 of Apparatus Infernum
Publisher: Ace (April 30, 2014)
Author Information: Website
Mogsy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
What an offbeat, curious little novel. I wasn’t surprised to discover that it was a Victorian-inspired steampunk urban fantasy type mystery, but it’s the other little pleasures thrown in that endeared me to this book. The sprinkling of magical elements combined with other fantasy aspects make the world of Bronze Gods more special and enchanting.
Meet Janus Mikani and Celeste Ritsuko, a detective team for the Criminal Investigation Department. He is a magical expert and brings his own uncanny Ferisher (they’re like the Fae) powers to the case. She is the first female detective in her division and pushes herself to prove herself. Together, they are tasked to solve the disappearance of a young girl from a noble house, and catch the one responsible before he can strike again.
But there’s more to this story than just police work. If you enjoy a little romance or like a bit of sexual tension to spice things up, then you’re in for a treat. I got a major “Mulder and Scully” vibe from Mikani and Ritsuko, with their mutual attraction and feelings for each other smoldering beneath the surface, gradually warming up in a slow burn that’s both oh so sweet and delicious. The writing team of Ann Aguirre and her husband Andres Aguirre has succeeded in writing a very convincing romance between the two main characters.
So, here you have awesome world (check!), awesome characters (check!) and awesome chemistry between said characters (check!). But what I struggled with a little was the plot and pacing. If you’re a mystery buff, you’ll probably find yourself frustrated by the seemingly lackadaisical pace of the investigation, not to mention the police procedural aspects are a bit light. To be fair, a full-out detective story isn’t what Bronze Gods was meant to be, but just one major facet of the story. I was also a bit dissatisfied by the ending and the “twist” regarding one of the suspects, but seeing as that took place in the final scenes, it didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of the book too much.
More importantly, Bronze Gods was an entertaining and action-filled read, with well-developed characters that actually gave me reasons to continue caring about their unresolved relationship. I like how there is no rush to get Mikani and Ritsuko together, because when it finally happens I’m sure it’ll just be all the more satisfying. I want to continue the series to see what other mysteries our duo will have to solve, but I’m also very interested in seeing where their feelings for each other will eventually take them.
Silver Mirrors by A.A. Aguirre
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Book 2 of Apparatus Infernum
Publisher: Ace (April 29, 2014)
Author Information: Website
Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
The adventures of Janus Mikani and Celeste Ritsuko continue in Silver Mirrors, but the second novel of the Apparatus Infernum series takes a decidedly different tack. Of course, our two CID investigators have another mystery to solve, but their mission this time takes them across the ocean, over the treacherous peaks of the mountains, and deep into the fire elemental mining tunnels of the north.
Needless to say, I found Silver Mirrors to be a much more exciting novel than the first. The premise of the story – that the world’s elementals are unsettled and running amok as a result of the destructive events of the last book – is perhaps tenuous at best, but it hardly mattered. The important thing is, we get to go on an adventure out of the city and onto the high seas with our two protagonists. And thar be pirates!
Also threaded into this thrilling ride is the ever-present romantic side plot, with the sexual tension between Ritsuko and Mikani about to boil over and explode any second. Seriously, these two have it BAD for one another. And of course, everyone sees it except for them. If you prefer slow-burn romances and delayed gratification when it comes to love stories between characters, I can’t recommend these books enough. But it also behooves me to say it probably wouldn’t hurt to be prepared for how oblivious they are. Reading about the two of them dancing and flailing around each other’s emotions is a bit like watching a couple of hopeless players at game of charades. It’s hard to believe they actually make a living doing detective work and solving mysteries. But you know what they say about good things coming to those who wait. I think that goes for the characters and the readers both, and for now all we can do is root for Ritsuko and Mikani.
But I’m glad I decided to read this sequel not just for the progression of their romance, because there’s a lot more to the world of this series. Silver Mirrors expands it by having the characters travel afar, and not for the first time I wished a book would include a map. We also learn more about the magic and its limitations. For instance, when the behaviors of elementals are disrupted, the different instruments and devices they help power can also become unstable or fail spectacularly altogether. It wasn’t until this novel that I finally got a sense of the living, breathing connection between the mortal and the mystical.
The Aguirres are clearly not afraid to take their books into new territory. While Bronze Gods was more of a whodunit murder mystery, Silver Mirrors reads like an action-adventure with the characters embarking on a perilous quest. Book two may be a continuation of book one, but even so, the two stories can’t be any more different. It mixes things up and keeps this series interesting. Obviously, the Mikani and Ritsuko situation is something I’d like to keep an eye on, but I’m also looking forward to seeing what the authors will do in future installments and where they will take us next.
Book Review: The Hallowed Hunt by Lois McMaster Bujold
Posted on May 15, 2014 1 Comment
The Hallowed Hunt by Lois McMaster Bujold
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Chalion #3
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: 2005
Author Info: www.dendarii.com
Wendy’s Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
“Free will is sacred. The meaning of yes is created by the ability to say no”
When I stepped into the world of Chalion, I was introduced to its five gods—Father, Son, Mother, Daughter and the Bastard—and some of the rituals surrounding them, but I mistakenly assumed these gods were much like ours: believed in by some, but with little proof of their existence. But as with everything else in The Curse of Chalion, Bujold politely allowed me my assumptions, then gently pulled the rug out from under me and moved on before I even had time to catch my breath. Subsequently, I leapt into the second book, Paladin of Souls, eager to learn more about her world and her gods, and soon fell in love with the Bastard himself. I grabbed Hallowed Hunt hoping for more of the same, but while this did offer more insight into the supernatural and a new form of possession, that of spirit animals, the story and characters themselves were disappointing.
The story begins with the death of a prince, murdered in self-defense by the woman he meant to rape. Ijada is less concerned about her fate before judges who are unlikely to see her side of the story, than she is about the sorcery that the prince had involved, resulting in her acquiring the spirit of a leopard. She is to be delivered to her trial by Ingray, the gruff and deadly sword of a noble lord, who happens to possess an animal spirit of his own. He came by his wolf under traumatic means, but has since suppressed the creature, despite its strength. Their journey together quickly leads them to the realization that their spirits are some how bound together, and they must unravel the mystery.
After Paladin of Souls, where the character of Ista became my new hero, I apparently set my standards too high for Ijada. Not that Ijada wasn’t a good character. As usual, I am impressed with the way Bujold handles her women within a male patriarchal society. Her women are all aware of the inequality and may comment on it, but they aren’t desperately raging against it. They all overcome or out-manoeuver within the rules, and they all show an consistence strength of will and an inspirational endurance. As this is told entirely through Ingray’s point of view, you don’t get much from Ijada beyond his views of her stoicism and his disbelief in her willingness to accept him so easily when most people are intimidated by his harsh demeanour.
It’s obvious early on that Ijada and Ingray are meant to be together and, despite a few obstacles, that progresses more or less as expected. Bujold’s books often involve romances with unusual attractions, but the pairings are usually much more interesting and the build up to the realization that the one has feelings for the other is usually far more subtle.
I didn’t enjoy these characters and therefore did not become invested in them or in the story itself. By the time things were revealed and proceeded on to the epic not-quite-showdown and ghostly turn of events, I was rather bored.
However, I did enjoy the insight into demon possession, which mostly came through an encounter with a pregnant sorceress. Since demon possession and the subsequent sorcery status had negative connotations for the people in Paladin of Souls, it was interesting to see the counter view, since this takes place in another land where sorcerers are respected and their abilities are trained.
Tough Traveling: Fairground
Posted on May 15, 2014 Leave a Comment
The Thursday feature “Tough Traveling” is the brainchild of Nathan of Review Barn, who has come up with the excellent idea of making a new list each week based on the most common tropes in fantasy, as seen in The Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynn Jones. Nathan has invited anyone who is interested to come play along, so be sure to check out the first link for more information. Compulsive list-maker that I am, I’m very excited to take part!
This week’s tour topic is: Fairground
This is like a MARKET, except it is much, much bigger and planted somewhere right in the middle of nowhere so that everyone can get to it. There will be rows and rows of TENTS and BOOTHS…
Geez, way to choose a hard one for this week, Nathan. I had a pretty tough time with this one. Too bad circuses don’t count immediately because I’ve sure got plenty of those! But hey, if a book features a circus with a fairground, I say that’s FAIR GROUND. Har har, I’m hilarious.
Pantomime by Laura Lam – Like a lot of circuses, the one in this book includes a funfair. Protagonist Gene makes frequent visits to explore the fair grounds after shows to visit the different booths for games and delicious carnival food like roasted hazelnuts, popping corn and caramel apples. Yum! (Review)
The Oversight by Charlie Fletcher – We’re transported from the London streets to a funfair in the countryside when Lucy Harker gets into a bit of trouble and finds herself traveling with a troupe of performers. She learns that an upcoming “wizard battle” between two rival magicians has become the fair’s biggest attraction. (Review)
Moth and Spark by Anne Leonard – I almost forgot about this! If I hadn’t picked up my copy the other day and looked at the back cover, which actually shows a short excerpt from a scene where Corin and Tam are riding atop wooden horses on a carousel. The two lovers had donned masks to sneak out to the fair. (Review)
Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch – One of the best scenes in this novel is the the Spring Court held by the God and Goddess of Thames. A large celebration in the park, the event featured games, vendors hawking food and trinkets, and even an antique steam-powered carousel and a jazz tent! As the closest thing to magical law enforcement, constable Peter Grant of the Folly has to man a Metropolitan Police booth. (Review)
Hang Wire by Adam Christopher – Most people think of fairgrounds as fun, cheery places, but the one in this book is anything but. Instead of whimsical rides and attractions, there’s a creepy circus here with a funfair featuring mechanical devices and structures suffused with pure evil, and they hunger for the blood of carnival goers. (Review)
Honorable Mentions:
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss – While I can’t recall an actual fairground in these books, Kvothe spent his childhood with his family, a troupe of traveling players that traveled from town to town performing songs and theater acts at fairs and large gatherings. He describes his early days as happy, like growing up in the center of an endless fair.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern – I think Le Cirque des Rêves is more of an actual circus, featuring tents that are larger and more elaborate, unlike the little stalls and booths you’d find on normal fairgrounds. But the sights within are just too awe-inspiring not to include this book here. (Review)
Book Review: Influx by Daniel Suarez
Posted on May 14, 2014 Leave a Comment
Genre: Science Fiction, Thriller
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Dutton (February 20, 2014)
Author Information: Website
Mogsy’s Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
Daniel Suarez has made a name for himself when it comes to techno-thrillers, and his talent for combining science with action has garnered him much praise and comparisons to the late Michael Crichton. And also, let’s not forget how much I enjoyed Suarez’s Daemon duology. All of this made me pretty excited for Influx, so now that I’m done I still find myself stunned to admit I was disappointed.
Many theories for generating artificial gravity have been proposed for decades, and even more have been presented by science fiction writers using all manner of methods and inventions. Jon Grady, particle physicist and the protagonist of Influx has achieved a breakthrough in the manipulation of gravity that would change the world. But instead of being showered with awards and lauded by the scientific community, his lab is shut down by a rogue government organization called the Bureau of Technology Control, his research deemed too dangerous to be unleashed on the unknowing public.
Grady himself is locked away in a secret prison when he refuses to cooperate, after BTC fakes his death and steals his gravity reflection technology. He’s not the only one who has had his life taken away like this. It turns out that the world is more technologically advanced than we think, but the BTC has been monitoring science and technology for a long time, covering up and commandeering numerous revolutionizing discoveries and disappearing their creators to prevent social upheaval at all costs. In his nightmarish prison, Grady meets other great minds who have been held captive and they begin to formulate a plan of escape and to bring down the BTC.
With a snappy plot like that, I shouldn’t have felt put off, but I did. Frustration is perhaps the best way to describe my experience, especially with the earlier and later parts of this novel. The author clearly loves technology and enjoys talking up the features of both the real and fictitious aspects of it, which would have been fine — except often I felt like it was done to the detriment of his story. He places a lot of emphasis on the science and tech, an example being the pages upon pages towards the end of the novel dedicated to describing the use of a device, which coupled with Grady’s gravity reflection research would allow a person to “fly”. Instances like these do more than disrupt the pacing of the plot, because I think it also takes away from his characters and make them feel less compelling.
It’s a shame, because the book is at its best when the focus in on the characters, reminding me what I loved so much about Suarez’s Daemon and Freedom™. I was initially drawn to the series because of my inability to resist anything sci-fi and video game related, but came away happy to find the author is capable of doing great things with storytelling and character development as well. I wasn’t quite as drawn to Jon Grady or the other characters in Influx (so that even when certain characters died unexpectedly, I was not affected much by their demise) but I did enjoy the story itself. Suarez goes heavy on the technological aspects but he definitely knows how to keep up the action and thrills too. I had a lot of fun with the book when the flow was smooth, or when the story wasn’t interrupted by info dumps.
All in all, Influx was an okay book. It could have been great, but some of its flaws prevented me from jumping completely on board. I can definitely understand the comparisons of Suarez to Crichton, though I think the latter had a better knack for driving a story. Still, if you love techno-thrillers, I would recommend this — especially if you have an inclination towards the “techno” part. If that’s the case, I think you’d be well-pleased.
Waiting on Wednesday 05/14/14
Posted on May 14, 2014 Leave a Comment
“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!
“In the third Generation V novel, Fortitude Scott proves that working with family can be deadly…Former film student Fortitude Scott is finally gainfully employed. Unfortunately, said employment happens to be with a group of sociopathic vampires—his family. And as much as Fort is loath to get too deep into the family business, when his brother, Chivalry, is temporarily unable to run the territory, it’s up to Fort to keep things under control.
So when the leader of a powerful faction of shifters turns up murdered, Fort finds himself tracking down a killer while navigating dangerous rivalries, longtime grudges, and hidden agendas. Even with the help of his foxy kitsune sidekick, Suzume, he’ll need to pull out all the stops to hunt for the paranormal assassin.
But as he calls on fairies, witches, and ghouls for help, he discovers that the problem is much bigger than a single dead werebear. The supernatural community is preparing for a massive shift in power within the Scott family leadership—and Fort has landed right in the middle of the gathering storm.…”
Book Review: Veil of the Deserters by Jeff Salyards
Posted on May 13, 2014 2 Comments
Veil of the Deserters by Jeff Salyards
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Book 2 of Bloodsounder’s Arc
Publisher: Night Shade (May 19, 2014)
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Mogsy’s Rating: 5 of 5 stars
I’m what you would call a book juggler, meaning at any given time you’ll find me with multiple books in my currently-reading list. From the moment I started Veil of the Deserters though, I ignored everything else on my plate, reading nothing but this book until I finished all 500ish pages of it in two and a half days. It was the only thing I wanted to read.
As a sequel, this was everything I wanted and more. If Scourge of the Betrayer was the delicious appetizer, then Veil of the Deserters is most definitely the main course. It’s always great to read an amazing book only to discover the second one is even better, because while the first book was the perfect tease, piquing my interest and whetting my appetite for more, here’s where we really get into the meat of it.
In my review of the first book, I talked about an air of mystery surrounding the direction of the plot. The main protagonist and narrator is a bookish scribe named Arkamondos, hired by the formidable Captain Killcoin to accompany his band of Syldoon warriors on their journey to complete a mission. We have very little idea of what the Syldoon are up to, since Arki himself is not made privy to the details of their quest. Why these rough and tough soldiers require a scribe or in what capacity Arki would be employed is also unknown. But in Veil of the Deserters, we get our answers. We get them in spades.
Not only that, the world building is much more substantial. The author fleshes out the world and the characters in this second installment, providing a lot more background information and history. Arki’s hunger for knowledge and his natural curiosity as a scribe is a great means to facilitate this; as he grows more comfortable around his traveling companions, they tell their stories and reveal their lives to him. We find out that the old veteran Hewspear is a grandfather, estranged from his daughter-in-law after the death of his son. We also learn that Killcoin has a sister, the Memoridon witch Soffjian who makes her first appearance in this novel. The relationship between the siblings is complicated, and we’re also in a position to find out why. This book humanizes the Syldoon, showing the reader another side to these men, letting us see that they are more than just brutal warriors.
I continue to enjoy these characters. They fascinated me in the first book, and here they are even more developed. What amazes me is Salyard’s talent for making each and every one of them unique. Not every author can do this. I love reading dark fantasy featuring raw, gritty badass characters – but sometimes a book can end up with a whole bunch of characters with practically indistinguishable personalities on account of how raw, how gritty, how very badass they all equally are. Thankfully, the Bloodsounder’s Arc novels avoid this pitfall. I liked each of the Syldoon for different reasons. Every one of them can stand on their own, displaying their individual quirks and qualities which can even extend to their behaviors and the way they speak, from Killcoin’s emphatic “yes?” to Mulldoos’ penchant for coming up with hilariously obscene insults. Now’s also probably a good time to mention just how fantastic I think the dialogue is, well-written and sometimes injected with dark humor.
Arki himself is a delight to have as a narrator. He’s come a long way since the beginning of the first book, evolving with every minute he spends with the Syldoon, every violent battle he witnesses. He gradually learns to shed his old life to adapt to the new one with Captain Killcoin and his men, and it’s interesting to see how the emotions war within him even as he grows more loyal to the Syldoon and makes friends among them. He’s a stronger person in this book, both in the way he is written and in the manner he carries himself.
Seriously, why aren’t more people reading Jeff Salyards?! He’s outdone himself with this one. The book all but throws open the doors to the world of the Bloodsounder’s Arc, giving us better insight into its history, politics, religion and magic. The sights and sounds get more magnificent. The battles are bigger and better. The story is far deeper now that all the cards are on the table, and Salyards isn’t holding back anymore. All around, this is an excellent book, exceeding all my expectations for a sequel.
Marie Brennan Wants you to Design Your Own Dragon
Posted on May 12, 2014 Leave a Comment
I make it no secret how much I just adore Marie Brennan’s Memoir by Lady Trent novels, so naturally I just had to share this. In case you haven’t seen this already, she’s running an amazing contest on her site.
Invent a breed of dragon or draconic cousin that might fit into Lady Trent’s world and you could have a chance for your design to be referenced in a future installment of the series and win a signed ARC of book 3 The Voyage of the Basilisk.
Here’s an example entry the author gives:
WYVERN — A reptilian creature native to northern and eastern Anthiope, possessing hind limbs and wings, but lacking forelimbs, which disqualifies it for consideration as a “true dragon” under the criteria of Sir Richard Edgeworth. Wyverns are typically 3-4 meters in length from nose to tail, with a comparable wingspan, and light of build through the chest. Their coloration is mottled brown and green, for protective colouration in the treeless hills that are their usual habitat. They typically hunt by waiting in an elevated position and then launching into the air when prey is sighted. Their venom is paralytic, and kills the prey through asphyxiation. Wyverns are solitary except when they mate, but the male will follow the female until she lays her eggs, after which they incubate in the care of the male, who feeds them and teaches them to hunt after hatching. Juveniles rarely stay with their father for more than three months, by which point they are capable of independent sustenance.
The deadline is on Thursday so get creative! Check out the link to Marie Brennan’s website for more information and to send her your entries. And if you haven’t read these books yet, I highly recommend them. Who could say no to dragons?
Interview with Chris Willrich, Author of The Silk Map
Posted on May 12, 2014 Leave a Comment
We’re thrilled to have Chris Willrich, author of the Gaunt and Bone novels join us for an interview today! Published by Pyr Books, The Silk Map is the sequel to The Scroll of Years, out in stores now. Be sure to check out my review of the book and see why I love this series. Fun, adventurous, and set in a fantasy world inspired by Ancient China, it’s one of the most unique sword-and-sorcery books I’ve ever read.
Also, remember to enter our GIVEAWAY for The Silk Map if you haven’t already! Just a couple more days left until the deadline!
And now without further ado, I present the awesome Chris Willrich. Happy reading!
Mogsy: Hello, Chris! Welcome to the BiblioSanctum and thanks for joining us today!
Chris Willrich: Thanks very much for having me.
M: The characters Persimmon Gaunt and Imago Bone first appeared in your short stories before bursting onto the novel scene with The Scroll of Years and now The Silk Map. How would you describe the books to someone new to your work?
CW: Gaunt and Bone, a poet and a thief who love adventure and each other, criss-cross a fantasy world, facing strange villains and bizarre dangers, on the most arduous quest they’ve ever undertaken — to settle down and raise a family.
I also enjoy Pyr editor Lou Anders’ description of The Scroll of Years — “It’s Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, except that they’re lovers and Fafhrd is pregnant.”
M: Was there anything that prompted you to go from the short fiction format to longer works with Gaunt and Bone? Did the writing process feel all that different, or did you find any particular advantages or challenges to the novel format?
CW: The Scroll of Years began as a novella that got out of hand. It reached the awkward length where it was probably too long to see magazine publication, but too short to see book publication. I looked for ways to expand it, and the best approach seemed to be to enhance the roles of some of the supporting characters. My agent at the time, Joe Monti (now editor for Simon and Schuster’s Saga imprint), also had the great suggestion to add an action-packed prologue. Luckily all the parts clicked.
I’d written other, unpublished, novels before, so it wasn’t completely unfamiliar territory. And I’d played a bit with important supporting characters in the earlier Gaunt and Bone stories, especially the wizard in “A Wizard of the Old School” (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, August 2007.) But there were still some surprises moving Gaunt and Bone to a longer format. I think in the shorter works the two leads are a little more archetypal, a little more emblematic of the “poet” and “thief” titles. In the books you start to see their hair come down a little more. There’s more time to watch them daydreaming, shooting the breeze, and thinking about food. That’s fun, but it’s a slightly different flavor. The trick is to make Gaunt and Bone definitely the same two characters for any readers who (bless them) read all of this stuff the whole way through. Another angle is that with more space, I can develop an entertaining supporting cast, some of whom I’ve gotten very fond of. They bring lots of different perspectives to the situation. All the above has an impact on pacing, which is something I’m very interested in. The Scroll of Years and The Silk Map each have a different rhythm, I think. Scroll to me is more of a meander. Silk is more of a gallop.
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| Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, June 2000 |
I should fess up that although I’m having a blast, moving into novels isn’t entirely an artistic consideration — it’s only by working on novels that I’m finally able to justify my writing as a “job,” something that brings in money for the family. Before that it had to be sidelined, for practical reasons.
M: Gaunt and Bone are an incredible and also very unique couple, and I don’t often see a pair of lovers married and about to start a family in Book One of a fantasy series. Was this an interesting dynamic to write as their relationship evolved over the course of events in the novels?
CW: Yes, I’ve really enjoyed letting their relationship develop organically across the stories and books. For example, their desire to have children wasn’t obvious at first, but it kind of dawned on them (and me) as things went along. (Small correction: They don’t officially tie the knot until between the two novels, though they certainly seem married a long time before that. Someday it might be fun to write the story of the wedding.) Another surprise was their “refusal” to go on an unrelated adventure until they’d fixed the unresolved stuff from The Scroll of Years. I was originally going to leave things hanging for longer.
When I was first starting the stories, I’d noticed that a lot of romantic sagas end at exactly the point when the relationship’s on a strong footing — all the tension is built into the question of “Will they get together?” But there are interesting stories to tell about established relationships too, and I found that’s where I wanted to go with these two.
M: I was so excited to read how The Silk Map was partly inspired by the Wu Cheng’en classic Journey to the West (as a child, I was fascinated with the tales about the Monkey King!) It’s awesome to meet another fan of Chinese myths and Asian-themed fantasy, how much would you say your interest inspired the setting for these books?
CW: A huge amount! Barry Hughart’s Bridge of Birds (“a novel of an ancient China that never was”) blew my mind in college. I’d been interested in myths and fantasy from all over, including China, before that, but that book encouraged me to take Chinese language and art appreciation classes (hooray for electives.) The language classes didn’t stick; it turns out I’m terrible at learning new languages. But the interest stuck. Marrying into a partly Chinese-American family had a big impact too. It was probably inevitable I’d want to write something Asian-themed eventually, and it was a happy circumstance that I could work that interest into the Gaunt and Bone series.
I should say, to be clear, none of the above makes me an expert on Chinese or Asian culture, folklore, or anything. I have no special insight or claim on the material; I’m just a fan.
M: I love how the books are sprinkled with mini-stories and poems here and there – you don’t just say the characters tell a story or recite a poem … you actually include them in the book! What’s your approach to writing these; where you get the ideas and then how do the tales/poems grow out from them?
CW: Thanks! Three books in particular got me interested in this kind of thing — The Thousand and One Nights, Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities, and Milorad Pavić’s Dictionary of the Khazars. The first has its tales-within-tales. The other two are entirely made up of descriptive entries that also manage to be miniature stories. A lot of Lord Dunsany has the same flavor. Come to think of it, Gene Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun has tales-within-tales too. Catherynne M. Valente’s Orphan’s Tales series does this in spades. And there’s Chaucer!
Anyway, a lot depends on what purpose the inserts are serving in the overall story. In The Scroll of Years some of the background on the country of Qiangguo came through that way, so the narrative wouldn’t get bogged down. In The Silk Map, some of the inserts were meant to convey the vastness of the region, where the same event could be transformed into very different legends. There are also a couple that are meant to fill in some backstory on the character of Haytham, the inventor. They can add a little levity sometimes, too. And they also have the nice effect of conveying a world where oral storytelling is an everyday part of life.
As for how to develop mini-stories like this, well, I’m still trying to get the hang of it. I think, for me, the trick is to find some very specific images that can provoke a sense of wonder in the reader, and then hang the narrative around those. Unlike in a longer piece, you can’t really count on character identification carrying the reader along, or long descriptive passages creating a sense of place. Instead you toss out some imagery that can capture a reader’s attention in just a few words. If readers get into the groove of it, they’ll supply the rest of the setting out of their own imaginations. Of course, if it doesn’t work, it falls very flat!
M: Do you like to travel? Reading The Silk Map reminded me that my parents once did a tour of the Silk Road, and I am still seething with jealousy of them.
CW: Me too! 🙂
I do like to travel, but we’ve got young kids so our trips are usually close to home.
M: If you could visit any of the locations that inspired the places in these novels, real or imaginary, where would you go?
CW: It’s not exactly the most original idea, but I’d really like to visit the Great Wall. And of course Beijing and the Forbidden City. The terra cotta army, for sure. The city of Xi’an. Guilin. The Dunhuang area. Hong Kong, although I’ve been there before. The Gobi. Lhasa. The Mongolian steppe.
M: I also see from your author profile that you recently wrote a Pathfinder roleplaying game tie-in novel called The Dagger of Trust. I actually just started playing the RPG with a group of friends and I love it! Might I ask, do you play too? Or in general what are some of your other hobbies holding your interest these days?
CW: I don’t get a lot of RPGing in these days, but it’s one of my favorite hobbies and I’ve done a lot in the past. I’ve run Pathfinder for family and friends, and I like it a lot, along with the whole lineage of D&D-type games. I’ve liked most versions; I’m a pretty easy audience for this kind of thing. Other games I’ve enjoyed are GURPS, Call of Cthulhu, Feng Shui (the Hong Kong action movie RPG), and Star Trek (the out-of-print Last Unicorn Games version.)
In theory one of my other favorite hobbies is hiking, but that’s also hard to find time for. Reading, though, I can still wedge in there.
M: What does the future hold for Gaunt and Bone? Do you have any more books or short stories planned for these two partners in love and in crime?
CW: There will definitely be a Gaunt and Bone Book 3, The Chart of Tomorrows, in which the big plot threads from the previous two books get resolved. And I’ll probably write some more Gaunt and Bone short stories, since I have a couple partially written. (They’re set earlier in the timeline.) Beyond that I’m not 100% sure, but I’ve had so many Gaunt and Bone ideas, there’s a good chance I’ll return to them.
M: And how about for you? What does the future hold for Chris Willrich? Are there any other projects on your plate you’re excited about that you can share, currently or in the near future, either writing or non-writing related?
CW: Aside from The Chart of Tomorrows there’s nothing in the works right now. That’s plenty! I’m a stay-at-home dad and fairly involved in our kids’ schools, so I’ve got my hands full. 🙂
M: On behalf of the BiblioSanctum team I would like to say once more how thrilled we are that you could join us today. And that’s the end of the interview, thank you so much for your time!
CW: Thanks for the opportunity!
The BiblioSanctum 