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Well Of Sorrows

I hate coming down hard on books by relatively unknown writers; given my 'druthers, I'd much prefer to pass over them in silence. At the same time, if a writer goes to the trouble of sending me a review copy (even an electronic copy), it seems disrespectful to ignore it.

So I've struggled with this review, and not only because I have been "friends" with the author (or rather, with his pseudonym) on Livejournal for a while, but because it became clear in the reading that Benjamin Tate's heart is very much in the right place.

Well of Sorrows tries hard to play with, and even to reverse, many of epic fantasy's tired tropes. The protagonist is more peace-maker than warrior, and in plays of scenes of glorious battle we are given the blood and the shit and the brutality of hand-to-hand combat.

Unfortunately, good intentions alone don't make for good art. Well of Sorrows suffers from shallow characterization, structural confusion and world-building that is not remotely convincing. Click here for my full review (hardly any spoilers).

ysabetwordsmith

The July Poetry Fishbowl is now open in my LiveJournal. Come give me prompts about low fantasy. I'll be writing poetry all day.

Current Mood: busy

ferdelance

I and a couple of friends are planning to read and discuss C.J. Cherryh's Foreigner together over on my journal - we're still working out details, but the basic plan is to read a certain number of chapters per week, then comment via a "discussion post" for discussing each week's reading.

I bring it up here because I was curious whether anyone knows of a comm for things like this (group reading / read-togethers / readalongs / does anyone know if there's a name?); I was thinking of creating one, aimed at both sci-fi and fantasy readers, where those interested could post "testing interest levels" sorts of posts to find co-readers, links to any group-read they've organised in their journal, or place their "discussion posts" if they don't want to host such a thing on their personal journal...

Would anyone be interested? A number of people on my flist back on LJ would periodically do something like this, so I know other people enjoy readalongs, and thought it might be neat to collate all the relevant details in a comm, so if you couldn't quite remember where you made that post about [something you read with a group], you could find it again! :D

(Naturally, if anyone here is a sci-fi reader and would like to join the Foreigner readalong, you're very welcome! There are some more details in my most recent DW posts.)

boundbooks

From the SFWA website's announcement:

"The 2011 Nebula Award Winners are:

Winning Novel: Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis (Spectra)

Also Nominated:
The Native Star by M.K. Hobson (Spectra)
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin (Orbit UK; Orbit US)
Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor)
Echo by Jack McDevitt (Ace)
Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor (DAW)

( The rest of the winners. )

Poll #7043 My Thoughts on the Nebulas
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: Just the Poll Creator, participants: 9

Your Feelings on This Year's Nebulas: Pick As Many As Apply

Awesome, I loved all of the winners!
1 (11.1%)

Horrible, who was voting and can we dispose of them?
1 (11.1%)

Hm. I liked some!
4 (44.4%)

Hm. Some were okay.
0 (0.0%)

Hm. I didn't hate any.
0 (0.0%)

Nebulas. What are those?
1 (11.1%)

Meh, I spent the weekend checking for True Blood's starting date.
0 (0.0%)

I like ticky boxes.
6 (66.7%)

Bring on the 2012 Nebulas already
2 (22.2%)

I'm holding out for the Hugos.
2 (22.2%)

Further thoughts and options? Did someone get robbed? Did someone finally get recognized? Did your favorite book win (or lose)?

pyrofennec

Years ago I reviewed two of Flewelling's yaoi-bait fanfic-grade drivel and some things in it kind of bothered me. Apart from the general mediocrity, I mean. Sure the setting is generic as hell and reads like it was conceived by a sixteen-year-old, but hey. Still, something... bothered me. There're a couple of SUPER EVIL cultures in those books, you see.

I looked them up on wikipedia today. Now, keep in mind that the countries of Plenimar and Zengat are both portrayed throughout the series (that I know of) as very evil: they trade slaves (whom they treat brutally: beating, whipping, rape, castration), they have necromancers and highly amoral alchemists, and some of them worship evil death gods and perform human sacrifices. Okay, generic, right, but not offensive. Except, uh--

( The evil nations? They're all dark-skinned and vaguely Middle Eastern. Well done, Flewelling! )

pyrofennec

Robin McKinley: Deerskin

As Princess Lissar reaches womanhood, it is clear to all the kingdom that in her breathtaking beauty she is the mirror image of her mother, the queen. But this seeming blessing forces her to flee for safety from her father's wrath. With her loyal dog Ash at her side, Lissar will unlock a door to a world of magic, where she will find the key to her survival-and an adventure beyond her wildest dreams.

It's not me, McKinley. It's you. I tried your Sunshine and found it unreadable tripe. I tried this one to give you another chance, but it was so very hard. You made me jump through hoops of incompetent prose. You padded the text with needless words and characters I can't distinguish from corpses. You never rewarded me; for each block of mundane descriptions, you served me up with five more. It started off as mild affection because your book's got its heart in the right place but, more and more, I realized that heart isn't enough. I need brains. I need words that are beautiful. I need interesting settings. I need characters for whom I can find it in me to dredge up some measure of I care.

Toward the end there was only strained silence. From silence to ennui; from ennui to antipathy, and by the time I reached the midpoint all I could think of was HATE. IF THE WORD HATE WAS ENGRAVED ON EACH NANOANGSTROM OF THOSE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF MILES IT WOULD NOT EQUAL ONE ONE-BILLIONTH OF THE HATE I FEEL AT THIS MICRO-INSTANT FOR YOU. HATE. HATE.

( Warning: discussion of rape. )

pyrofennec

Cindy Pon: Silver Phoenix

At 17, Ai Ling is past the age when most girls in the kingdom of Xia have married and borne children. The gods, it would seem, have a different destiny in store for her, one that begins to reveal itself when her father travels to the Emperor's Palace and fails to return. Ai Ling is determined to find him and destroy his captor, a corrupt advisor who has unnaturally extended his life by feeding on the souls of others. On her journey, which is rich in action but a little slight on character development, Ai Ling meets Chen Yong, a young man of mixed race who seeks the truth of his birth and faces a variety of predators, both demonic and sexual. Fans of Tamora Pierce's and Robin McKinley's work will enjoy the adventure and strong female protagonist; the Chinese-influenced society and bestiary may also tempt aficionados of Asian culture and media.

This steaming pile is so offensively bad and painfully misogynistic that I had to review it in two parts.

If this book is feminist, then I'm the Witch-Queen of Sparklepoo. Spoilers: the protagonist spends all her time begging, pining, and blushing for her asshole love interest's attention; her role model is a man; her quest is for a man; she was educated by a man; her breaking off from her culture's oppression of women is possible thanks to a man; she hates almost every woman she encounters, and this book doesn't even pretend to try passing the Bechdel Test. Very feminist.

On top of that, Cindy Pon can't write. Need further proof? Have a huge quotespam so you can see for yourself.

pippin

So what were your favourite books from 2010? Your least favourite?

Are there any 2011 releases you're looking forward to?

heidicvlach

This post on mermaid variations got me thinking about dragon variations. The concept of a dragon is such universal imagination fuel, I'm sure there are more directions to worldbuild in.

The most common dragons are the serpentine/naga kind, and the dinosaur-like, bat-winged kind. Quetzalcoatl might be considered a feathered dragon, and I've seen artists drawing feathered dragons like six-limbed Archaeopteryx. General Earth consensus seems to be that dragons are markedly reptilian -- but feathered dragons do tie in well with the evolution of theropod dinosaurs into birds.

Has anyone found other interpretations of dragons? Insect-like dragons, maybe? I've seen a few designs of small dragons with insect wings, usually either a "dragon-fly" pun or a sort of dragon faerie. Are there mammalian dragons with more bat-like qualities than just the wings? Amphibious dragons like giant newts? Do sandworms count as worm-like wyrms? I'm wondering just how far the definition of "dragon" can stretch.

pale_moonlite

Perdido Street Station by China Miéville
Pan Books, 2000. 867 pages.

Synopsis:

New Crobuzon is a giant metropolis that is inhabited by a variety of sentient species such as humans, khepri (insect women), cactacae (cactus people), garuda (bird people) and many more. It's a grim place, ruled by a corrupt government that enforces its power with the help of a brutal militia. Its technology is characterized by a mix of steampunk machinery and thaumaturgy (magic).

Isaac Dan der Grimnebulin is a rogue scientist renowned for his unorthodox research methods. When he isn't staying at his workplace, he's living with Lin, a khepri artist. Not entirely comfortable with being in an inter-racial relationship, he keeps her (mostly) a secret. Yagharek, a garuda from the desert whose wings have been cut off as a punishment, comes to New Crobuzon to engage Isaac's services, hoping that Isaac can help him to regain the power of flight. Isaac starts his research and eventually, all hell breaks loose.

My thoughts:

I had difficulties to summarize the plot and I still don't think I did it justice. The universe of Perdido Street Station is as complex as it's unusual and bizarre. I was immediately gripped by Miéville's powerful descriptions. The first one-third of the novel is entirely dedicated to world building and character development, and that's the part I loved best.

My favorite character was Lin. The story of her upbringing by a religiously zealot mother and her struggles with the norms of khepri society make her a fascinating, multi-layered personality. It's a pity to see her disappear midway through the novel. Miéville has lost the chance to create a truly exciting female protagonist here. I would have liked to like Derkhan, political activist, lesbian and close friend of Lin and Isaac, but as soon as the action/adventure plot starts, she's reduced to a mere sidekick.

The weak point of the novel is indeed the action/adventure part. As soon as the problem is developed, everything becomes predictable and there's even some sort of deus ex machina involved. I was glad for the unexpected twist in the ending. It was a bit annoying at first, but it definitely kept me thinking.

Perdido Street Station may have its weaknesses, but overall it's a captivating read. I'm looking forward to the next novel in this universe.

lea_hazel

Royalty and nobility are one of the most common conceits of epic fantasy. Almost every fantasy novel takes place in a world comprised of a series of kingdoms, or similarly structured alternatives. Epic plotlines usually follow the royalty or at least high nobility of one or more of these kingdoms. This applies doubly when the protagonist is a commoner; gaining access to the higher echelons of society is part of their reward.

When I tried to think about fantasy novels (excluding contemporary, and even those have their vampire kings and fairy queens) that defy this convention, I thought first of A Wizard of Earthsea. I may be misremembering, since I read it in translation years ago, but I don't recall Ged or any of the other major characters being noble. A few other books came to mind, where characters sometimes deal with nobility but don't wind up discovered as the long-lost heirs to something, or receiving a noble title, or anything.

I can't think of many fantasies that don't take place in a royal hierarchy, though. For some people, the crowns and swords and other medieval trappings are a major part of fantasy's charm, but it's still a pretty diverse genre. Do people think non-monarchic systems are too much of a divergence for fantasy, or does it just not occur to them that there are other options? Like the title says: If dragons -- then monarchy?

Current Mood: pensive

holyschist

I've been reading more speculative fiction online lately, particularly at Strange Horizons and Fantasy Magazine. Both have some really stunning work.

Recently I read Alaya Dawn Johnson's amazing Aztec-based fantasy story A Song to Greet the Sun (warning: potentially very triggery stuff, abuse and murder) and Alice Sola Kim's Beautiful White Bodies, which made it on the Tiptree honor list for 2009. I also loved Willow Fagan's my mother, the ghost.

Do you have favorite non-subscription online fiction magazines or stories? A favorite SFF author who has links to some of their work online? Please share!

(x-posted to

science_fiction and my personal journal)

pippin

Do you listen to fantasy music? Most of the fantasy music I know is metal-based: Luca Turilli and Rhapsody (who sang with Christopher Lee), Blind Guardian (who did an album based on Tolkien's The Silmarillion).

Do you have a favourite fantasy song/album? Are there any big non-metal fantasist bands?

Current Music: Dustin the Turkey [Ireland] - Irelande Douze Pointe

holyschist

I've been trying to review every book I read since January 2009 (am still behind on the end of 2009 and this February), so here are reviews of some of the fantasy books I've read so far this year. Links go to ful reviews.

( Urban fantasy, Discworld, and fairytales )

pippin

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin.

I'm not really sure how this book, in its current form, got published. A couple of intriguing ideas shouldn't make lazy writing okay. Very disappointing. Hopefully it's just a severe case of debut-novel-itis and her next books will be more strongly constructed!

( contains spoilers )

valtyr

These two novels are the first two by Kristin Cashore. They're young adult fantasy, and while Fire is set in the same world as Graceling, they only have a slight connection - they're set in neighbouring countries that don't really interact, and only share one character. (These reviews do not contain plot spoilers, but have some information about the world-building, so if you like to come to novels completely cold, don't click the cut!)

( Reviews within )

Anyway, I really enjoyed both these book, I am eagerly awaiting the third, and I totally recommend them, for adults or young adults. (Fire does have a fair bit of discussion of rape, but there's nothing explicit and no rape is committed within the timeframe of the book.)

lea_hazel

What are you reading right now?

What upcoming books are you looking forward to, and when do you plan on getting/reading them?

( I'll start )

ETA: I forgot to ask: Does anyone know of a community for mystery/detective books on DW? I searched the interests and checked the comm promotions, but couldn't find anything.

Current Mood: cheerful

pippin

Since we've had a couple posts advertising communities ::

Pimp out your favourite or neglected genre-related communities in this post! Books, manga, games, TV, webcomics, whatever; as long as it's genre, link 'em here.

(And don't forget

dw_community_promo!)

sanssommeil

Some friends of mine created a community dedicated to Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series. It can be found at

swordoftruth. They've also created a community for fans of the Dragonlance books. It's called

dragonlance and, weeks ago, a community for fans of the Dresden Files at

dresdenfiles. Go on, have a field day! :)

starlady

thebainherald is a community for news, discussion, sharing, links and fannish content related to the works of the Australian science fiction and fantasy author Garth Nix.

At the moment, it's just yours truly and a few other people puttering around, so if you're ~~hopelessly enthralled by~~ interested in Garth Nix's writing, please do join! I can guarantee that it will never take over your reading list, and I very much hope that it does become a reliable source of small doses of awesome, whether on the part of Nix or of his fans.