The BiblioSanctum

An Interview with M.L. Brennan, Author of Generation V

Posted on August 13, 2013 3 Comments

These days, books find their way onto my to-read list for any number of different reasons, but I like to think that coming upon Generation V was somewhat of a serendipitous fortune. M.L. Brennan was a name I first came across when I followed a few random links in my Twitter feed and came upon this post on her blog. My first thought was, “Damn, this author has great taste!”

And now, as they say, you know the rest of the story. I discovered that not only does M.L. Brennan read fantastic books, she’s also written her own fantastic urban fantasy debut, Generation V. It’s also incredibly apropos that that particular blog post should be the one I stumbled upon, because if I had to make my own list of “Authors Who Deserve More Recognition”, M.L. Brennan would be at the top of it.

Seriously, HOW did I not know about Generation V before?! Original, humorous, and highly entertaining, as you can see from my review, this book is a gem that deserves way more attention! To my absolute glee, M.L. agreed to be interviewed, and I hope you enjoy her answers as much I did!

Mogsy: GENERATION V stood out to me because of its many creative and fresh ideas. You take a lot of our notions of vampires in Urban Fantasy and turn those on their head. What inspired you to write about these unique vampires like Fortitude Scott and his family?

M.L. Brennan: Firstly, thank you so much! I’m a big fan of Urban Fantasy – I read a lot of it, and there are a lot of series that I love. But when I decided that I wanted to write an Urban Fantasy, I was really cautious about what parallel points would exist between my book and the other books in the sub-genre. Vampires are all over Urban Fantasy – with good reason, of course (they’re FUN!). I wanted to use vampires, but I made the decision early on that I wouldn’t use them unless I was able to make mine look completely different from what everyone else was doing. I’m not sure I ever got that far, but they are a bit off the beaten path!

Mogsy: Specifically, one of the things that blew my mind was your take on how vampires propagate. There’s just something so disturbing but also fascinating about it, which is a feeling I love to get from a book. Did you intend for that idea to be central to the book’s story, or did it grow out of the writing process?

M.L. Brennan: I wanted my vampires to be born, not made, and that was almost a mission statement when I sat down and started designing my vampires. One of the major reasons was that I didn’t want my characters to have those memories of being human before being turned into something else – for “turned” vampires, that transformation always gives them a little bit of a tragic air, because each vampire was essentially victimized at some point in their past – turned from something natural into a predator, but a predator who will always have something in common with her victim. I didn’t want that kind of baggage with my vampires. For Fortitude’s sister, Prudence, for example – she has never been human, and completely lacks the frame of reference that could prompt her to feel empathy for her victims.

This took about two years to completely hash out, and it developed a lot over that time. I had it completely worked out before I sat down to start the book, because this one was so important for me. In a big way, it defined my vampires for me. The process of figuring it out was a very organic one – I did research on predator-prey reproductive balances as well as how parasites reproduce. (There were some pretty gross pictures on the latter.)

Mogsy: Another thing that struck me as very original was the inclusion of Suzume Hollis and her family of kitsune, fox shapeshifters that are a prominent subject in Japanese folklore. What can you tell me about your interest in mythology and your decision to feature aspects of it in your book?

“Fox Fires at New Year’s Eve”

M.L. Brennan: I was one of those kids who loved mythology. When I was little it was mostly Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology (shout-out to Edith Hamilton here), but when I was older I became interested in folktales. What I find so fascinating about folktales are what they represent about the ideals and values of the culture that created them – what traits heroes have, how monsters are presented, and so on.

The kitsune have an extremely complicated presentation in Japanese folklore. In some stories they are extremely nefarious, and need to be driven away. In other stories they are creatures who can show surprising loyalty and helpfulness to a person who has shown them kindness. In some stories they are simple pranksters who can be scolded into an apology, and in others they can be extremely dangerous and seductive.

My decision to include the kitsune was a combination of a lot of things – firstly, all of what I loved about their presentation in folklore was something I wanted to try to present in a complicated character. Secondly, I was trying to be mindful of not focusing solely on a European selection of monsters of creatures. Thirdly, it gave me access to a rich and nuanced shapeshifter character without using werewolves – now, I love werewolves, but as a creature they can bring along some baggage. And finally I really liked the idea of a creature that was going to be primarily female and matrilineal.

Mogsy: Fort may be a bit of an underdog, but he definitely lives up to his name. He’s also often hilarious and I love his sense of humor. Where did you get your inspiration for him and what was it like writing his character?

M.L. Brennan: Buffy The Vampire Slayer premiered when I was in high school, and that combination of seriousness and snark is something that really appeals to me. I think there are a few links between Fort and some Joss Whedon characters – the literary bastard half-cousin three-times removed of Xander and Wash, perhaps? Fort goes through a lot of grim events, but I didn’t want him to be a grim character himself – he’s someone who can have fun, and can also have fun at his own expense.

I also really wanted Fort to be a true underdog – which means that he gets beaten up, walked over, and generally abused for a good chunk of the first book. I was pretty tough on him! But nothing bugs me more than authors who present characters as underdogs, but at the start of books they are beating people up, coming out on top, and generally acknowledged as total badasses. That’s not quite an underdog – that’s a little more rugged rebel. Fort has an arc – you see in this book just how much he is willing to take before he does something, but you also get to see where he draws the line, and how much he’s willing to commit at that point.

Mogsy: Both Fort and Suzume show examples of a couple prominent themes in this book, specifically the struggle against one’s own nature as well as the need to strike out on one’s own and be independent. Did you draw from any personal experiences when developing the background for these two characters?

M.L. Brennan: To a certain degree every character has a piece of my own ideas and experience in them. (Yes, even Prudence). But I think that we all carry a certain amount of genealogical and heritage-related baggage. Maybe it’s a history of alcoholism, maybe it’s just a history of crummy marriages. How we deal with that baggage and to what degree we allow it to influence our decisions and lives is a theme I’m very interested in, and I do play with it a lot in this series.

Mogsy: Another theme that stood out for me is that of family and tradition. I think Fort’s relationship with his mother and siblings is as dysfunctional as it gets! Still, he interacts with each of them very differently. What was it like writing Madeline, Prudence and Chivalry, three people in Fort’s life who come from such different eras and backgrounds?

M.L. Brennan: Very fun! Each of the three was born in a different historical period, and each of them views Fort very differently. What each wants from him (and for him) is different, but the fundamental truth about each of these characters is that their love for Fort is true and unbreakable. This doesn’t make them nice or good, and it can lead to some pretty extreme actions and horribly dysfunctional relationships, but that is the bedrock for each of my “adult” vampire characters. As long as I always remembered this, it led to interesting scenarios that still had an interesting emotional grounding to them. In a lot of ways the book is primarily a family drama.

In terms of the origin eras – I researched a bit, but I used it more as background color than as an absolute directive for how the characters acted and spoke. Think about a normal family setup – you might have grandma born in the 1920s, mom born in the 1950s, and you born in the early 1980s. These are incredibly different eras when you look at them – yet all three use fundamentally the same language and terminology, because while all had a different point of origin, they’ve been living in the world and have ended up in the same era. There will be differences in outlook and experience, but there will also be commonalities that come from the family structure. That was one of the ideas I had when I was putting together this very diverse group of vampires.

Mogsy: Tell me about your experience writing GENERATION V. Did you have a solid idea of where the story will go when you started? Were there any surprises? Did the finished book end up how you’d envisioned it?

M.L. Brennan: I’m a pretty serious outliner, so most of my big surprises and hair-pin turns came when I was constructing an outline of the plot. Once I had my outline (about ten pages long on Generation V), I sat down and wrote the book pretty close to what the outline was, so when I had the finished manuscript on my desk it looked almost exactly how I’d envisioned it. (The last scene, for example, was something I’d had in my head for two years before I started writing the book.)

Some changes occurred during the editing process – all wonderful improvements. I’m extremely lucky to be working with Anne Sowards, who edits Patricia Briggs, Jim Butcher, and Anne Bishop (among others!), and every time she made a suggestion or a comment, it always made the book better.

Mogsy: I know that you’ve written short works in other genres, but decided to branch out and to write the kind of book you love to read, which was how GENERATION V came about. What is it about Urban Fantasy that draws you in? What would you like to see more of from this genre in the future?

M.L. Brennan: What I like about Urban Fantasy is the most fundamental part of it – monsters in the big city. I like seeing how monsters and creatures fit into a contemporary setting. I like seeing our familiar world and city streets house something unexpected and magical. I like plenty of other genres as well, but there’s just something in me that would rather see an elf riding an elevator than riding a horse through the Woods Of Peril (across from the Plains Of Mystery. Turn left at the Endless Ocean).

In terms of where the genre is going – I think it’s going in a great direction. Right now we’re a big tent genre – there are gritty cop procedurals, there are steamy romances, there are action/adventures, and sometimes all of those things happen at once! But there are so many different authors bringing in what they’re good at or interested in, and I think it makes Urban Fantasy more representative and interesting. It’s a genre that has something for everyone.

Mogsy: I see in the book’s author page that you hold a Master’s degree in the humanities and you teach basic composition to college students. How has your professional experience influenced your writing and storytelling?

M.L. Brennan: Working toward my MFA helped me learn the value of editing, and it made me better able to accept and utilize constructive criticism. It also really helped hone my writing, so it absolutely influenced the way that I write and construct.

In terms of my day job…well, the truth is that basic composition is a freshman course, and it has a lot of remedial aspects to it. There’s a good reason why all the professors who have tenure avoid teaching basic comp – it’s not fun. Not fun to teach, not fun to take. It’s an important course, don’t get me wrong, but any professor with control over their own schedule does their best to stick to the higher-level literature courses or the creative writing stuff. My basic composition is about 400 essays and 1,000 homework assignments (five classes, twenty students average, 4 essays and 10 homeworks) of explaining to people how to use an apostrophe, how to support a concept clearly, and why a paragraph shouldn’t be the length of a page.

In short – it funds the writing and storytelling. 🙂

Mogsy: I also read that you live in a house that’s more than 100 years old! I can’t help but notice in the book that you include a lot of description, history, and culture of the Rhode Island and the New England area. Did your own personal environment play any role in shaping the setting of GENERATION V?

M.L. Brennan: Oh, definitely! I grew up in New England, and I wanted the books to have a very defined sense of place about them rather than being just generic Americana. So unless it’s actually important to a character’s background, they won’t live in some new subdivision with a generic house that could be found anywhere from Kansas to California to Maine and was built within the last ten years. So there are references to a house being a “New Englander,” and Fort’s apartment is in an older building that used to be a private residence, and was carved into apartments in the 1950’s.

Setting the “home base” for the vampires in Newport, RI was also a lot of fun, because that’s a place that I’m very familiar with. I’ve spent a week there every summer since I was four, and I was lucky to live there on my own for a full year during my first year of college. Just about every location reference I make for Newport is absolutely real – you can visit the Thames Glass Company and the Newport Fudge Company, you can walk up the cobblestones on Thames Street, you can drink an Awful Awful from the Newport Creamery (which I highly recommend!), and you can even tour the mansion that I modeled Madeline’s home on – it’s Rosecliff.

Pictures of Rosecliff – inspiration for Madeline’s mansion

Mogsy: So what’s next for Fort and Suzume? Can you tell us something about the sequel IRON NIGHT that’s coming out in early 2014, and what it has in store for us?

M.L. Brennan: I can’t give too much away, but I’m really excited about this book!

Here’s a tidbit you’ll like – I reveal some more about the background of the kitsune in this book, along with some of their legends. You’ll also be seeing a lot more of one of the creatures that got a brief cameo in Generation V – in Iron Night they get fully fleshed out. And you’ll also be seeing a lot more of Prudence – and probably not in a way that you might’ve expected!

Book 2, coming out in
early 2014

Mogsy: Of course, I was ecstatic to see there will be more books in this series and am hoping we’ll see the adventures of Fortitude continue for a while yet, but is there anything else on your plate at the moment or any future plans or ideas to write other stories?

M.L. Brennan: Right now I’m writing the third book Fortitude Scott book – I’m really hopeful that people like it, since I’ve got a lot of ideas for more books, and some of the plotlines that I’m building up just won’t be completely told by the end of book 3. But I do have a few other ideas on the back burner – even if I get contracted for more Fortitude Scott books, I’ll definitely be working on building up some other stuff. I have another Urban Fantasy idea, but I’ve also been a lifelong fan of SF, so that might happen at some point!

Mogsy: Is there anything else you would like to add, or anything else you would like to tell us about yourself or your book?

M.L. Brennan: Just how delighted and grateful I am that people have responded so positively to Generation V, and I hope that they enjoy following Fortitude Scott through Iron Night! And thank you again for the marvelous interview – this was such fun!

Thank you for the interview! For more information about M.L. Brennan:
Website | Twitter

Book Review: Generation V by M.L. Brennan

Posted on August 12, 2013 3 Comments

Generation V by M.L. Brennan

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Series: Book 1 of American Vampire

Publisher: Roc Books

Date of Publication: May 7, 2013

Author Information: Website | Twitter

Urban fantasy is quickly becoming one of my favorite genres, and I’ve certainly been reading a lot of it this year. The problem with that, however, is that I’ve become a lot more picky, so these days for a UF series to catch my eye, its ideas or stories need to be very interesting and it has to offer something a little different. That’s why when the author of Generation V sent me a request for an honest review of her book, I very enthusiastically took her up on it. The book looked like it fit the bill for something more unique and original.

In that, I was definitely not disappointed. The book stars Fortitude Scott, who’s not your typical urban fantasy vampire because he’s, well, technically not even a full vampire yet. He’s still mostly human, a trait which Fort is trying desperately to hold on to in the face of his impending transition. Meanwhile, his full-vampire mother and older siblings look upon him as a constant source of exasperation and embarrassment. But then Luca, a new vampire, shows up in his town and Fort realizes that there are worse monsters than his family.

Several killings and abductions drive Fort to take action. Along with the kickass shapeshifting kitsune woman Suzume Hollis, they try to find a way to stop this ruthless vampire. The problem is, Fort doesn’t have much of a plan, not to mention the distraction that is his mess of a personal life. He’s broke, his girlfriend is cheating on him, and he’s on the verge of losing his job. The good news is, all that might not matter when he manages to track down Luca. In his mostly-human state, Fort realizes he is hopelessly outmatched and is probably going to get himself killed.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love an underdog? Fort is not like other urban fantasy heroes. He’s not strong, he doesn’t ooze sophistication or finesse like the rest of his vampire brethren in the genre, and he’s not particularly fashion-minded either. In fact, he’s kind of pathetic, albeit in a very adorable sort of way. The poor guy gets pushed around everywhere — at work by his boss, at home by his hipster roommate, and in his love life by his girlfriend Beth who manages to convince him that their relationship can benefit from her sleeping around with other people. At a point, he almost becomes too painful to read about, but the nice thing about underdog stories is that they always bounce back. But more on that later.

In the meantime I just have to say I also loved the kitsune fox shapeshifters in this novel. They feature prominently in Japanese folklore, and I thought their inclusion here was a nice twist on the usual shapeshifter-in-a-vampire-book idea. Werewolves are fine and good, but it’s also so much more interesting when an author works ideas based on mythology into their stories. Come to think of it, this may also be why I adore another one of my favorite UF series, the Mercy Thompson books by Patricia Briggs, which incorporates Native American myths on Coyote. It worked well there, and likewise, the kitsune also worked very well in Generation V.

Suzume Hollis, the bodyguard charged to keep an eye on Fort, is one of the kitsune. Her character is very intriguing. Although I think her attractiveness might have been overplayed a little, she also sets herself apart from a lot of female characters in urban fantasy by being mischievous, quirky, and sometimes just downright silly — like all trickster foxes ought to be. Usually, I find it’s often the male protagonist in an urban fantasy who does all the wisecracking, but Suzume can certainly hold her own on that front.

Speaking of which, I love M.L. Brennan’s sense of humor. I know I’ve described many an urban fantasy as “funny”, but very rarely do I actually forget myself and laugh out loud while reading — something I found myself doing several times during the course of this novel. Fort may be a doormat, but he definitely has a way with words.

To balance out all that humor, though, are also some pretty heavy themes in this book. There are some bold new takes on vampires like their nesting habits, the fact they aren’t immortal and that they actually age (even though the process is reeeaal sloooow), but it is the manner in which they procreate that takes the cake as one of the most fascinating and yet disturbing ways I’ve ever read. It’s pretty neat, though. And I love it when books make me feel like that.

One thing I think I would have liked to see more of is Fort’s growth over the course of the novel, because as it is he doesn’t find his backbone until almost the very end. As well, there are some aspects of the story or character motives that confused me or that I thought could be better explained or taken further, but this also just means a lot of potential for this series. I was happy to hear that there will be a book two, but not so happy when I discovered that I’ll have to wait until early next year for Iron Night. This is a great choice for urban fantasy fans looking for something fresh and fun.

For more about M.L. Brennan and GENERATION V, be sure to check in again tomorrow for an interview with the author!

4 of 5 stars

Are We There Yet? (a sort of Eye of the World review)

Posted on August 11, 2013 1 Comment

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

Two stars for effort, worldbuilding and potential, especially knowing that Brandon Sanderson takes over in the end, but, having finally gotten through Eye of the World (audiobook really helped), I understand why I put it back on the library shelves, along with The Sword of Shannara, when I was a teen.

Review done, let’s move on to commentary about a problem I’m seeing a lot in epic fantasy: epicness for the sake of epicness. I think it’s a disease some authors have. That is, writing these huge stories within these massive worlds with all sorts of characters. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Eye of the World develops some pretty strong lore and (vaguely) interesting characters, but after a while, I started to wonder how much of the story was actually necessary.

Are we there yet? Perhaps we should stop at another tavern.

As far as epic fantasy goes, I’ve read and loved The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit before it, but don’t ask me to read them again. I was quite happy with the movies and not at all troubled by what was edited out. Die hard fans might complain about the lack of Tom Bombadil, but I’m okay with that because he really wasn’t that integral to plot and/or character development (No, he wasn’t. Stop it.). When thinking about an Eye of the World movie saga, I can see alllll the scenes that could be excised with no real loss to the story — because did we really need to visit yet another tavern??

Game of Thrones is another prime example of an author that has lost his way in his epic fantasy. I can’t stop praising HBO for sifting through the detritus to bring only the meat, without ever losing the heart of GRRM’s original story and I’m looking forward to how they end the TV show far more than I am looking forward to whatever GRRM eventually plans to do. Assuming he has greater plans than just fanboying over himself.

Back to Eye of the World for a moment. I said the book had some (vaguely) interesting characters. Actually, the only character I care about is Moiraine. I could do with a few less of the younger ones on this fellowship. Half the time, I can’t even tell them apart. I suppose that’s convenient if any of them were to die, but I can’t really say the deadly and dangerous events in the story have filled me with enough dread to actually believe anyone was going to be hurt in any interesting way. I mentioned Brandon Sanderson above, and frankly, he’s about the only thing that would encourage me to read on any time soon because I am fond of his characterization and know that he will do a good job of making the characters more likable and memorable than they currently are.

Oh you’re just bitter, you might say, and you’d probably be right. But having recently read and loved what Ursula K. Le Guin could accomplish in under 200 words, my meh-ness grows over epic fantasy that is epic just because the author does not know how to trim the fat.

2 of 5 stars

Book Revew: The Isle of Blood by Rick Yancey

Posted on August 10, 2013 Leave a Comment

The Isle of Blood by Rick Yancey

Genre: YA horror paranormal

Series: Book 3 of The Monstrumologist

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Date of Publication: September 13, 2011

Author information: Website | Twitter

After having positive experiences with both the first two books in The Monstrumologist series, I eagerly anticipated getting my hands on the third book. This probably explains why I wasn’t entirely prepared for my disappointed reaction when I finished. Don’t get me wrong; on it’s own and outside any biases or pre-conceived notions, this book is a solid horror novel for young adults. But compared to the The Monstrumologist (my review here) and even The Curse of the Wendigo (my review here), I have to say it fell quite a bit short.

The book starts off in a similar way as the others, teasing the next horrifying monster that our characters will encounter next. In this case, it’s news clippings and reports about “red rain” and bloody raw meat falling from the sky. These incidents and the disgusting nidus, nests made of human parts and poisonous sputum, are the only evidence of the creature known as “the Faceless One of a Thousand Faces” or Typhoeus magnificum. For monster hunters like Pellinore Warthrop, it is considered the “Holy Grail of Monstrumology.”

When a mysterious package shows up at the monstrumologist’s door, our protagonist and narrator Will Henry witnesses firsthand how exposure to its gruesome contents rapidly turn the hapless courier who delivered it into a mindless, rotting horror. Dr. Warthrop, recognizing what’s inside the package as a nidus, takes Will Henry on a race to follow the trail and track down the magnificum.

I didn’t think this book was as impressive as its predecessors, for a couple reasons. Firstly, I’m not sure if this is merely a byproduct of Will Henry growing up over the course of the series to become a teenager in this novel, but this was the first time I actually found his character annoying. By design, he was moody, whiny and childish. I also sensed a shift in his narration style to become more abstract and ineffective, especially since we have so many more scenes in this book involving flashbacks, dreams, and delirious visions.

Secondly, my favorite character Dr. Pellinore Warthrop was largely absent for a big chunk of the story. Interesting things happen when he’s around, so when he’s not, all we’re left with is Will Henry being mopey and feeling sorry for himself. While I can understand that this book is supposed to a deeper exploration into the relationship between the two of them, I can’t help but think there had to be a better way to accomplish this. The inaction in the first part of the book was a letdown compared to the action and suspense I’d grown used to from this series, and really only the opening and the ending managed to come close.

On the bright side, I thought this was the most humorous out of the three books so far, with more light moments than I expected to balance out the depressing and melodramatic. While I considered this a positive point, The Isle of Blood just had a very different feel from rest of the series, with many departures from what I thought was the norm for these books. Like I said, it wasn’t bad, but I can’t deny I was expecting something maybe a little more fast-paced and entertaining, and a little less subdued.

3 of 5 stars

Book Review: Ex-Communication by Peter Clines

Posted on August 9, 2013 2 Comments

Ex-Communication byPeter Clines

Superheroes, zombies, and Hollywood — you really can’t go wrong with this combination. This third book in the Ex-Heroes series is just as fun and entertaining as the first two. A big thank you goes to LibraryThing and their Early Reviewers program, which is where I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Since this is a sequel, be aware that there may be possible spoilers here for the previous books Ex-Heroes and Ex-Patriots if you haven’t read them yet. It is definitely best to read this series in order, as our superhero main characters and their community of survivors have come a long way. It has been years since the zombie plague decimated humanity, but St. George formerly the Mighty Dragon and his remaining fellow powered teammates have created a safe haven for the remnants of the population.

Still, many dangers still lurk beyond the walls. The hordes of ex-humans have become a new weapon for an enemy known as Legion, who uses the dead as pawns in his attacks against the superheroes. Things are not all well within the walls either, as dissension spreads amongst the survivors and Zzzap’s behavior becomes more erratic. The zombie plague has changed the rules about life and death, but even then the heroes are surprised when a couple of faces they thought long departed also show up at the Mount. Featuring the return of an old hero and the arrival of a new one as well, this third Ex-Heroes book definitely goes all out.

Certainly, if you enjoy reading “superhero fiction”, this series would be a great choice. The inclusion of the zombie apocalypse injects a new twist into the subgenre too — because it’s not enough that our heroes already have their hands full keeping order in a modern day world, they have to do it in the middle of a planet overrun with undead as well! I just love how ideas like that continue to make these books interesting and fun to ponder.

And naturally, it’s the ensemble cast and their unique powers that define a superhero book. This installment allowed me to catch up with St. George, Stealth, Cerberus, Zzzap and Freedom. As always, I continue to find myself entertained by their individual personalities, quirks and hangups. In some ways, reading about how the heroes’ attitudes and morals clash with each other is even more fun than seeing them use their powers to fight.

If anything, I felt the book could have done with less action scenes at the beginning. One might think “superheroes vs. the undead” would be something no one would tire of, like, ever — but you’d be surprised. After all, there’s only so many ways you can describe a superhero crushing a zombie’s skull, and even in the opening sequence I was tempted to start skimming. However, the book picks up when it starts filling in the events of the present as well as in the past, the latter achieved through chapters that leave the “NOW” and go back to “THEN”. These brief looks into the past give the reader the necessary background information to appreciate the story all the more.

I’m happy to see the series will continue. Peter Clines has provided me so much entertainment over the last couple of years with these books, I’d hate to see them end. Post-apocalyptic survival, fast-paced action, superheroes saving the world from evil and monstrous villains — you’ll find that all here.

4 of 5 stars

The Clockwork Carnival

Posted on August 8, 2013 Leave a Comment

Once Upon A Time is hosting a very special steampunk event this month and you don’t want to miss it! Not sure what steampunk is all about? This is definitely your chance to find out! Check out The Clockwork Carnival for reviews, interviews, giveaways and more!

Book Review: A Matter of Temperance by Ichabod Temperance

Posted on August 8, 2013 Leave a Comment

A Matter of Temperance by Ichabod Temperance

This is my first official adventure into the steampunk genre and it was definitely an enjoyable start. Ichabod Temperance is a young American inventor, whose first big claim to fame are his “Green Beauties,” a pair of goggles gifted to the famous Professor Plumtartt. Meanwhile, the professor, who is famous for the invention of Sol Furnaces, has also managed to harness the powers of the strange comet that recently passed over the earth. Or has he? Serendipitously, a freak accident at Plumtartt’s factory results in his daughter, Persephone, gaining strange new powers, just in time to fight off the monstrous creatures that have broken through to our world from another realm.

So begins round-the-world adventure, told in the alternating POVs of Ichabod and Persephone. Initially, the two are separate, but its not long before they join forces to fight the great evil that has been unleashed. The writing for Persephone’s chapters is a bit more solid, while Ichabod’s is more whimsical, each reflecting their particular character, but they blend well together, even when duplicating scenes, where we get to witness an event from both unique points of view.

Apparently, this began as a back and forth story adventure between two friends, which is a process dear to my heart. I’ve witnessed or participated in many such online collaborative storytelling and I love the idea that this particular story has been published to share with a larger audience. I’m sure there are some inside jokes that most readers will never know, but they were subtle and the overall tongue-in-cheek humour ensures that the story is fun for any adventure lover.

There were a few editing quirks – tense changes, inconsistent use of capitalization, grammar – but nothing to take away from the amusement, charm and excitement.

3.5 of 5 stars

Want more steampunk? New to the genre? Visit Once Upon A Time’s Clockwork Carnival 2013 for all sorts of steampunk goodies.

Building A Broken Empire: An Interview with Mark Lawrence

Posted on August 7, 2013 Leave a Comment

In just a few short years, Mark Lawrence has gone from being a debut author to a dominant name in fantasy fiction. His latest book Emperor of Thorns, which released in the US earlier this week, is the breathtaking conclusion to The Broken Empire trilogy, a series of books that has taken the genre by storm (see our review of Emperor of Thorns here!)

One of the things we really admire about Mark is his openness and constant connection with his fans. In turn, we as readers have enjoyed the emotional journey on which his books have taken us. It is thus a great pleasure and honor that we were able to talk a little with Mark about himself and his writing, and share our questions and his answers with you here at The BiblioSanctum.

“There’s something brittle
in me that will break
before it bends.”
– Jorg Ancrath

The BiblioSanctum: In the trilogy, Jorg grows from a young boy to become a 20-year-old in EMPEROR OF THORNS, very formative years for a character. Fantasy features a lot of main characters who age and mature throughout a series, but Jorg’s brutal history certainly sets him apart in making growing up a much different and more difficult process for him. Were there any challenges or highlights for you as you were writing Jorg’s journey from boy to man?

Mark Lawrence: We see Jorg at age six, age twenty and quite a few ages in between. I didn’t find any difficulty in maturing him – I just had a vision/model of him in my head and wrote that. It helped that he was always intelligent and confident beyond his years so the only real growth he had to make was emotional.

The challenges and highlights are the same thing for me and are always whether I can make the strong emotion that certain sections of the books generate in me come through the page. I don’t plan my story so I’m taken by surprise and shocked as often as the reader is. If the turn of events hits me hard, I want it to hit the reader hard too. That’s the writing challenge. It’s difficult to arrange letters on a page so that someone years later and far away both in geography and background will find their heart beating faster or punch the air or blink away a tear.

The BiblioSanctum: The world of The Broken Empire has a medieval fantasy feel, but there’s also an intriguing twist to its history that introduces some genre-bending elements into the series. Without getting too spoilery for readers new to these books, was this aspect of the setting intentional or was it something that worked its way into the storytelling as you went along?

Mark Lawrence: The setting, like everything else, grew with the story. The first hint of the twist that I got was when I typed out the first hint of a twist. I don’t sit down knowing what I’m going to write.

“A dark time comes.
My time.
If it offends you.
Stop me.”
– Jorg Ancrath

The BiblioSanctum: In your EMPEROR OF THORNS afterword, you were very firm in informing readers that the character’s story ends with this book. What are some of the factors that led to that decision and how does it feel to be wrapping up Jorg’s story? What are your future writing plans now?

Mark Lawrence: The main reason is simply that the best story I could find to write ended on the last page of book 3.

Secondary reasons include the fact I signed up for a trilogy. I told the readers it was a trilogy. And I didn’t want to be the guy who started stringing it out once it looked like being successful.

I’m happy with the decision (at least now!). I think there’s a power in knowing when to end things. It’s a bit like knowing when enough is enough, when the joke stops being funny, when it’s time to leave, when to stop speaking etc. As I said in the afterword, I would very much rather people remember wanting more when Jorg’s tale ended, rather than just remembering which of the dozen books they finally gave up on as Jorg became a caricature retreading old ground for the umpteenth time.

The BiblioSanctum: With EMPEROR OF THORNS completing The Broken Empire trilogy, you’ve gone from new author to seasoned writer in the last few years. What has the journey been like for you? How has life changed?

Mark Lawrence: It’s been swift. I’ve gone from having no books out to having a completed trilogy out in a touch under two years. Life hasn’t changed very much at all really, excepting that I spend more time writing now, and because my very limited spare time has not increased that means I spend almost no time doing the stuff I listed on my author bio when I started. My life is still dominated by caring for my very disabled youngest daughter. My day job is still the next biggest call on my time, and my writing still gets slotted in around those things. The big change I guess is that I now spend a lot (too much probably) of time on twitter and facebook etc keeping in touch with readers.

“Every man has his thorns,
not of him, but in
him, deep as bones.”
– Jorg Ancrath

The BiblioSanctum: What kind of things fuel your creative fires? Where or when do your best ideas come to you? On the flip side, do you ever have moments when you just need a break from writing, and in those cases, what do you do to zone out?

Mark Lawrence: I think the biggest source of fuel for my creative engine is boredom, or at least a vacant mind. I tend to get my best ideas when I’m cycling to work, or digging the garden, or sawing logs, or staring into space. When my mind empties then ideas bubble up to fill it. The more interesting and fun my life is the less I have to say.

I never really find I need a break, but I do manage to fit in the odd film or book. PC/console gaming sadly is something I just haven’t been able to make time for recently.

The BiblioSanctum: We loved your recent blog post about what THE BROKEN EMPIRE means to you, and your hope that it meant something to your readers. We also appreciate your constant interaction with fans through Twitter and your blog, with fun contests, advice on writing, sharing fanart and more. What’s the best part about interacting with your fans?

Mark Lawrence: That’s hard to say. I’ve ‘met’ some great people over the past two years. With my caring duties I can’t go to conventions or signings, but chatting on the internet is a good substitute. I love reading reviews where people have really connected with my work, and one of the best things has been the competitions where I get to see so much creativity and skill on display, often in areas where I’m lacking myself. It’s also been rewarding to have been able to raise so much money for the charity that runs children’s hospices (including one that my daughter uses). But I guess in the end the best part is that some of those fans have become friends.

Thank you for your time, Mark!

Book Review: Glamour in Glass by Mary Robinette Kowal

Posted on August 6, 2013 Leave a Comment

Glamour in Glass byMary Robinette Kowal

I think 2013 has seen me branching out into more sub-genres of fantasy than any other year, thanks to participating in events like the Worlds Without End’s Women of Genre Fiction Reading Challenge. Once, Mary Robinette Kowal fell into the category of “An author I’ve never read before, but would really like to” and so the book I chose for the challenge was 2012 Nebula Award nominated Glamour in Glass.

Someone once told me that when writing a review, it helps to think about what makes a book different and why readers should care. For this one, the thing that struck me right away was the setting. But while I may have read fantasy fiction aplenty that takes place in this time period, this is the first time I’ve actually ventured into something with strong elements of Regency romance, complete with the stylistic conventions that bring to mind the works of Jane Austen. This is also the first time I’ve ever heard the term “Fantasy of manners”. Hooray for discovering new things!

It wasn’t until after I picked up Glamour in Glass that I discovered it was actually the second book of a sequence called the Glamourist Histories. Normally, I dislike reading books in a series out of order, more out of a fear that I’d get lost than anything. That’s why I was happy to learn that you don’t have to read the first book Shades of Milk and Honey to follow the story and understand what’s going on. The magic system in this book, called Glamour weaving and described with textile-related metaphors, was sufficiently explained and the general idea of it is easy to pick up. I also quickly got that our main characters, Jane and Vincent, were newly married since the last book, and now they’re looking forward to settling down to a life of nuptial bliss and doing Glamour together.

However, at the start of this book is also the period following the abdication of Napoleon. While Jane and Vincent are on their honeymoon in Belgium, the deposed emperor escapes exile and makes his return to France, leaving the newlyweds with no easy way to return to England.

Certainly, this book was somewhat of a departure from the kind of fantasy I usually read and the experience was very new and different for me. The language and characters’ mannerisms are definitely in keeping with the time period, which I have to admit was delightful and yet frustrating at the same time. Mostly, the frustrations come from the narrator Jane and the way she dwells on issues for a long time and perceives every little indignity as a personal slight to her, especially those pertaining to marriage and her husband.

I find this still bothers me even when taking into account the era in which these books take place, a time when men and women’s statuses vastly differ, so I’m not holding that against Jane. Instead, my dissatisfaction of her character stems from from her relationship with Vincent and how often their marriage feels “off”. First of all, a big chunk of the novel’s conflict is the result of a breakdown of communication between the two of them. I’ve seen this trope commonly used in romances, but I’m personally not a fan of it.

Also, despite being madly in love, the two of them don’t seem to know each other very well. Awkwardly, Jane is still constantly discovering new things about her husband that surprises her or makes her doubt him, and I also found myself questioning why she so often feels the need to seek permission or approval from him for every little decision. I have to assume their courtship mustn’t have lasted very long, but perhaps this is where I need to pick up Shades of Milk and Honey to find out.

Speaking of the first book, I do intend to go back and read it. Despite my problems with the main character, I thought this book was well-written and contains interesting ideas. I can’t really talk about some of the issues in it without giving away too many spoilers, but suffice to say the emotional reactions of the characters are very well-described, deep, and most importantly, realistic and believable. I also love the idea of Glamour magic, which is just abstract enough to give one the sense that it’s so much more than can be put into words. I’m looking forward to learning more details about Glamour in the first book, as well as in future installments of this series.

3.5 of 5 stars

Character Appreciation Post: Ororo “Storm” Munroe from Marvel Comics

Posted on August 6, 2013 Leave a Comment

“Storms, Wolverine, have a myriad of colorations. No less than people. So long as I remain true to myself… I see no reason to apologize for how I appear to others.” – Storm, Uncanny X-Men #246

Who Is Ororo Munroe?

She is Ororo “Storm” Munroe, a mutant in the Marvelverse with the ability to manipulate the weather. She is most notably known as being the empathetic co-leader/leader of the X-Men and (ex?) queen of Wakanda. And while Ororo does carry herself with much poise and class, her background is varied and some of it troubled, leading to her cultivating the indomitable strength and will that she possesses instead of crumbling under the pressure.Orphaned at a young age, she spent much of her early years fending for herself living as a child thief and then later she served as a “goddess” for a village. She learned street skills that would later aid her even when she accepted Professor Xavier’s invitation to join his X-Men. Throughout her years, she has been many things for many people from a surrogate mother to a most hated opponent. And while she has stumbled from time to time, Ororo has never lost a sense of who she is as a woman and as a hero.A Song I Associate With Her

Tan Dun, For the World

Why I Love Her

And if you say, “Of course you like Storm. You’re a black woman,” I will find you and I will cut you. No bullshit.

True, as a woman of color, it is empowering to see other people of color—especially women—in comics with strong roles. And arguably, Storm is probably one of the strongest in that category. However, my love for her extends beyond the color of her skin and into who I perceive her to be as a character.

Now, I’m one of those Storm fans who sees her as a very intricate character rather than just the strong, regal, power all-mother that most people know her as. I’ve often even argued with other Storm fans who feel that some of my views of her don’t fit in with that “mold” of who she is because, as much as I love her for her perfections, I also love her for her flaws.

Yes, she is a powerful woman, and yes, I believe her moral compass is (almost) always true. However, she is still a person, and she’s always been her most interesting to me when she was facing situations that pushed her beyond her status as the goddess, that showed that she still made wrong decisions, that she did things that weren’t wise, that she felt things that maybe she shouldn’t.

One of the things that I often heard from other Storm fans in our arguments was that “she’d never do that.” They especially loved to use that line when anyone suggested that Storm might do something that was less-than-honorable, that might actually make her human.

But I’m a firm believer that you never know what a person would do if you put them in certain situations. Not saying that Storm would just completely lose herself, but Storm has always had a rebellious streak that sometimes made her enjoy and do things that she aren’t Storm-like.

And maybe I shouldn’t just chalk it up to rebellion. This could just be a different side of her that isn’t seen often.

Even though I complain about Storm: The Arena, I did like how they showed that she could revel in brutality if she wanted to, that she could find beauty in even the grotesque. Sure, maybe a lot of that was her frustrations and failures she’d gone through with her team at the time, but this isn’t her only instance.

Some might argue that was extreme (haha, no pun since it happened in X-Treme X-Men), but that wasn’t the first time she’s been out of sorts with her goddess persona—a persona that I sometimes feel is forced on her and leaves little room for her to be anything else.

She had her rebellious Mohawk phase (the scene of her snatching Kitty out of the window with a whirlwind after an argument is still the best thing ever to me). She’s entertained villainous men who’ve desired her (Dr. Doom and Khan just to name two), even when she knew nothing would come of it. She’s been a warrior, an avenging goddess, a thief, a queen, a monster, a sorceress, a temptress… The list could go on and on for me.

And all those things, all those incongruities, are why I love her character. Most people see a goddess. I see a complex character who is more than that.

Besides, tell me she ain’t fabulous!