I haven't yet read this book, the fourth and final in Greg Keyes' fantasy series The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone.  In fact, I haven't read the second and third books, but I fully intend to. The first book, The Briar King, was impressive, and my sons agree that the series gets even better as it goes along.  Maybe I shouldn't be reviewing a book second hand, but I wanted to pass along Sean's observations.  He loved The Born Queen, and his comments about the book struck me as something writers might want to ponder. 

He observed that with some of the series he's liked--for example, Orson Scott Card's Ender and Bean books--his reaction upon finishing a book was anticipation for the next installment. With this book, however, he was content to let the story end, because it was perfect.  

Wow.  Imagine a story so satisfying that readers who are deeply invested in the tale and the characters--fantasy readers, no less, who have come to expect an endless string of sequels--are that deeply moved by the rightness of the tale and the skill of the storytelling.  That's a goal worth striving for.

Tags: book reviews

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There are all kinds of good weekends.  Some weekends might include day trips or quick getaways, family events, concerts, or lazy summer days spent poolside, barbecuing former animals and sipping Smithwicks. Mine was nothing like that at all, but it was a good weekend nonetheless.  

I got a bunch of springtime yard work done, hammered out a cover design proposal for the upcoming graphic novel with my co-writer and editor, did a bunch of work on the script (which I'll finish and send today), compiled my 2007 writing-related expenses on an Excel spreadsheet  in preparation for doing the tax return Schedule C, did some work on another spreadsheet that compiles sales info from all my royalty statements (I input data back to 2002--only ten more years to go!), and read two novels--the second and third Dexter novels by Jeff Lindsay.  (Very creepy and quirky, and almost as good as the Showtime TV series based on the first book.)  I also locked down a detailed writing schedule for April and compiled my work/personal/home TO DO list for the coming week.  In short, I'm feeling focused, organized, and productive, ready to tackle the new month and gleefully beat it into abject, bloody submission. 

Today's plan:  finish the first draft of the script for the Worlds of DnD graphic novel, write a short-short that's due today, meet with my co-writer to work on the thriller we're writing on spec.  

That is all.

Tags: book reviews, writing: time management, writing: writing schedule

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The other day I picked up several books in a used book store.  Of the five, I had three historical fiction, a non-fiction book by Steven Pinker on linguistics, and a reference book--an encyclopedia of  frequently mispronounced words.  Historical fiction and language.  This selection isn't all that unusual for me.  If you looked at the shelves lining the wall of my office, you'd see mostly history books, historical fiction, and books on language and writing, and a few shelves of folklore and mythology.  This got me thinking.  What with all the fantasy writers these days insisting that they seldom (or never) read fantasy--not to mention the few who insist they don't WRITE it--it seemed worthwhile to note that I do, in fact, read fantasy, and quite a lot of it. Here are a few things that tickled my fancy of late.

You Suck:  A Love Story was my introduction to Christopher Moore, and omg, is this guy funny.  I should point out right up front that this is a vampire novel.  This may be significant to folks who've been reading this blog for a while and know that I'm not all that eager to read yet another vampire novel.  (Secondary characters, as in the Dresden File and the Sookie Stackhouse series are still okay, as long as they're not too brooding and angst-ridden.) This book skewers vampire tropes, which appealed to me. Moore's characters are quirky and endearing, and he's got a pitch-perfect ear for dialog.  My favorite character was Abby Normal. A self-described minion, Abby is a Goth teenager with a serious case of potty-mouth and a perky streak that she diligently tries to rise above. (Or should that be "sink beneath"? ) Fun, fast, really funny book.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and heartily recommend it. 

And now for something completely different, read Geoff Ryman's novella Pot Pol's Beautiful Daughter.  Seriously, you need to read this story.  It's one of the most beautiful, haunting pieces of short fiction I've read in years.  

Libba Bray's Gemma Doyle trilogy, a young adult fantasy set in Victorian England, is well worth reading. Richly drawn characters, a good sense of time and place, and damn good writing.  I just got the third book, The Sweet Far Thing, and it's sitting on my shelf awaiting the coming weekend. 

Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policemen's Union is a wonderful book, a vividly realized world brought to life with incredibly rich language. One of my favorite writers. 

Charlaine Harris's most recent Sookie Stackhouse book, All Together Dead, was one of the best in this consistently entertaining series.  I also liked the Sookie story in the recent fantasy birthday-themed anthology Many Bloody Returns.

The Scent of Shadows, the debut of urban fantasy author Vicki Petterson, was well written and entertaining enough to overcome another of my unfavorite topics:  super heroes.  I have nothing against super heroes, per se, but I don't go out of my way to read about them. This series didn't join the ranks of books I must buy in hardcover on the day of their release, but then, few books do.  But I'm strongly inclined to keep reading the series, and given the topic, that's saying a lot.

I recently reread Suicides Anonymous, a novella by J. Robert King.  The humor is pitch black, as one might expect from the title, but it is one of the funniest things I've ever read.  It's not a fantasy book, but since it depicts a dystopian future I consider it to fall into the realm of speculative fiction. I gave this book to friend who's a writer, and she promptly ordered copies to pass on to her friends who are writers.  The central character, a writer whose promising first novel was swiftly followed by reader ennui and authorial oblivion, hopes that his latest, greatest work will gain attention posthumously. To speed this process  along, he intends to jump out of the window of his apartment, his claim to immortality clutched in his arms.  But he accidentally drops his manuscript, which is hit and scattered by the downtown bus.  Things go downhill from there.  Published as a . . . . uh, teeny little book, it's available from Popcorn Press.  

A few things coming up on my fantasy reading list:

The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch
The Blade Itself, by Joe Abercrombie
From Dead to Worse, by Charlaine Harris 
The Born Queen, by Greg Keyes (coming in March)

Tags: book reviews, writing

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