Order “The Blade Itself” HERE
Read An Extract HERE
Joe Abercrombie’s “The Blade Itself” is another fantasy debut that I’ve been hearing about for a while now having been released in the UK since May 2006 and only now is available in the US thanks to Pyr Books. With all of the positive publicity and strong word-of-mouth surrounding the novel, is it any wonder that I’ve been greatly anticipating Mr. Abercrombie’s debut? At the same time though I’ve been trying to rein in my excitement, more so than usual because I was afraid of a possible let down. Now that I’ve read the book for myself, not only was “The Blade Itself” better than I could have hoped for, but I find it hard to imagine anyone not liking this fantasy extravaganza…
Looking at other reviews you might see words such as ‘old-school’ and ‘throwback’ used to describe Joe Abercrombie’s “The Blade Itself” and while I can see the reasoning behind such terminology, I don’t completely agree. To me, “The Blade Itself” is simultaneously an homage to fantasy of old, a satirical riff on clichés common within the genre, and a contemporary revision. After all, how else can you explain a plot about a WIZARD putting together a team of UNLIKELY HEROES to set off on a QUEST to SAVE THE WORLD from an EVIL PROPHET that is both nostalgic and original in the telling? Two things actually. One is the characterization. While “The Blade Itself” lacks the in-depth analysis that such authors as George R. R. Martin, Jacqueline Carey, et cetera bring to their books, as far as sheer inventiveness and likeability, I haven’t read such an enjoyable cast since Glen Cook’s Black Company novels and Steven Erikson’s Malazan books. Not ironically it is these two series that I would compare Mr. Abercrombie’s characters to, partly because of their colorful names/personalities (Ninefingers, Threetrees, Dogman, Black Dow, the Weakest, Frost, etc.) and partly due to the dry sense of humor that permeates the characters’ behavior. In fact, Logen Ninefingers—an uncivilized Northman warrior with a bloody past and a dark secret—and his fellow exiles (Threetrees, Dogman, Tul Duru Thunderhead, Black Dow, Grim, Forley the Weakest) in particular are very much reminiscent of characters that Glen Cook/Steven Erikson would dream up.
As far as who’s who, the main players include the aforementioned Logen Ninefingers who harbors quite a surprise for readers late in the book, my personal favorite Inquisitor Glokta—a former Contest champion who was tortured/crippled by the Ghurkish and is now a torturer himself, and Captain Jezal dan Luthar—a condescending nobleman training for the Contest. Other minor narratives follow Dogman and company in the north as they try to survive against the Northmen & Shanka; Major Collem West—another former Contest champion but from common blood; and Ferro Maljinn, an escaped slave from the south who’s hellbent on getting revenge. Of the supporting characters, there’s the First Magus Bayaz, his apprentice Malacus Quai, Practicals Frost & Severard who work under Glokta, Arch Lector Sult, Major West’s sister Ardee, the Navigator Brother Longfoot, and a host of others, moral, unsavory and somewhere in between…
As mentioned before, the characterization in “The Blade Itself” is not as deep as other books, but I think a lot of readers will appreciate the ironic angles Mr. Abercrombie takes with such clichés as the wizard, the noble, the warrior, etc. While the author isn’t able to avoid every truism out there, he makes a pretty valiant effort :) My only real complaint with the characters is that there are just so many of them, that inevitably a few get the short end of the stick such as Ferro, Dogman, Quai, and a few villains (Bethod, Fenris the Feared, Khalul the Prophet) that I wanted to see more of. Thankfully there are two more books in The First Law Trilogy—“Before They Are Hanged”, “Last Argument of Kings”—so I expect further development of characters already introduced and yet to come, and a greater emphasis on the bad guys :D.
The second reason why Joe Abercrombie’s “The Blade Itself” is such an enjoyable book to read is the writing, which reminded me of Scott Lynch’s Gentlemen Bastard Sequence. While “The Blade Itself” doesn’t possess the same level of flair and technical proficiency that Scott Lynch’s novels do, it shows off the potential for Mr. Abercrombie to get there one day and is easily one of the book’s strengths along with characterization. Inevitably this brings me to the book’s weak spots. As I’ve heard from other reviewers, “The Blade Itself” is a bit lacking when it comes to worldbuilding. There’s the north which includes Angland, Dagoska and the southern Ghurkish Empire, and the Midderland where the majority of the book takes place, specifically the capital city of Adua. In Adua you have some interesting concepts such as the House of Questions, Practicals, Closed/Open Councils, etc., but a lot of ideas (kings/princes, noble/common prejudices, the Contest and so on) aren’t that original and the world as a whole leaves a lot to be desired, especially if you’re a fan of detailed worldbuilding. Another sore spot with certain readers is the story. The plot, as I described earlier, is basically about Magus Bayaz putting together a team consisting of Logen Ninefingers, Captain Luthar, Ferro Maljinn, Malacus Quai and Brother Longfoot to set out on a quest in search of something called the Seed, so a lot of the book deals with introducing these characters, getting them together, and setting up events for the sequel. Of course there’s more to the novel than that—war threatening Midderland from the North & South, political intrigue, the Prophet Khalul, his Eaters, and plenty of other subplots (the Contest, a love story), some of which work better than others—but the basic outline is pretty simple. While I can see why some readers might be less than impressed with the worldbuilding and/or story, I didn’t have a problem with these areas. Personally, I was enjoying myself so much with the characters, their comic witticisms, and entertaining (mis)adventures that I wasn’t paying much attention to the book’s deficiencies ;)
The way I see it, if you like fantasy but are tired of the same-old routines, enjoy a healthy dose of black humor, are not afraid of a little over-the-top violence and foul language, and appreciate the writings of Glen Cook, Scott Lynch & Steven Erikson, then Joe Abercrombie’s “The Blade Itself” is tailor-made for you. Even if none of that fits in your criteria, give the book a chance. You might just be pleasantly surprised…
Looking at other reviews you might see words such as ‘old-school’ and ‘throwback’ used to describe Joe Abercrombie’s “The Blade Itself” and while I can see the reasoning behind such terminology, I don’t completely agree. To me, “The Blade Itself” is simultaneously an homage to fantasy of old, a satirical riff on clichés common within the genre, and a contemporary revision. After all, how else can you explain a plot about a WIZARD putting together a team of UNLIKELY HEROES to set off on a QUEST to SAVE THE WORLD from an EVIL PROPHET that is both nostalgic and original in the telling? Two things actually. One is the characterization. While “The Blade Itself” lacks the in-depth analysis that such authors as George R. R. Martin, Jacqueline Carey, et cetera bring to their books, as far as sheer inventiveness and likeability, I haven’t read such an enjoyable cast since Glen Cook’s Black Company novels and Steven Erikson’s Malazan books. Not ironically it is these two series that I would compare Mr. Abercrombie’s characters to, partly because of their colorful names/personalities (Ninefingers, Threetrees, Dogman, Black Dow, the Weakest, Frost, etc.) and partly due to the dry sense of humor that permeates the characters’ behavior. In fact, Logen Ninefingers—an uncivilized Northman warrior with a bloody past and a dark secret—and his fellow exiles (Threetrees, Dogman, Tul Duru Thunderhead, Black Dow, Grim, Forley the Weakest) in particular are very much reminiscent of characters that Glen Cook/Steven Erikson would dream up.
As far as who’s who, the main players include the aforementioned Logen Ninefingers who harbors quite a surprise for readers late in the book, my personal favorite Inquisitor Glokta—a former Contest champion who was tortured/crippled by the Ghurkish and is now a torturer himself, and Captain Jezal dan Luthar—a condescending nobleman training for the Contest. Other minor narratives follow Dogman and company in the north as they try to survive against the Northmen & Shanka; Major Collem West—another former Contest champion but from common blood; and Ferro Maljinn, an escaped slave from the south who’s hellbent on getting revenge. Of the supporting characters, there’s the First Magus Bayaz, his apprentice Malacus Quai, Practicals Frost & Severard who work under Glokta, Arch Lector Sult, Major West’s sister Ardee, the Navigator Brother Longfoot, and a host of others, moral, unsavory and somewhere in between…
As mentioned before, the characterization in “The Blade Itself” is not as deep as other books, but I think a lot of readers will appreciate the ironic angles Mr. Abercrombie takes with such clichés as the wizard, the noble, the warrior, etc. While the author isn’t able to avoid every truism out there, he makes a pretty valiant effort :) My only real complaint with the characters is that there are just so many of them, that inevitably a few get the short end of the stick such as Ferro, Dogman, Quai, and a few villains (Bethod, Fenris the Feared, Khalul the Prophet) that I wanted to see more of. Thankfully there are two more books in The First Law Trilogy—“Before They Are Hanged”, “Last Argument of Kings”—so I expect further development of characters already introduced and yet to come, and a greater emphasis on the bad guys :D.
The second reason why Joe Abercrombie’s “The Blade Itself” is such an enjoyable book to read is the writing, which reminded me of Scott Lynch’s Gentlemen Bastard Sequence. While “The Blade Itself” doesn’t possess the same level of flair and technical proficiency that Scott Lynch’s novels do, it shows off the potential for Mr. Abercrombie to get there one day and is easily one of the book’s strengths along with characterization. Inevitably this brings me to the book’s weak spots. As I’ve heard from other reviewers, “The Blade Itself” is a bit lacking when it comes to worldbuilding. There’s the north which includes Angland, Dagoska and the southern Ghurkish Empire, and the Midderland where the majority of the book takes place, specifically the capital city of Adua. In Adua you have some interesting concepts such as the House of Questions, Practicals, Closed/Open Councils, etc., but a lot of ideas (kings/princes, noble/common prejudices, the Contest and so on) aren’t that original and the world as a whole leaves a lot to be desired, especially if you’re a fan of detailed worldbuilding. Another sore spot with certain readers is the story. The plot, as I described earlier, is basically about Magus Bayaz putting together a team consisting of Logen Ninefingers, Captain Luthar, Ferro Maljinn, Malacus Quai and Brother Longfoot to set out on a quest in search of something called the Seed, so a lot of the book deals with introducing these characters, getting them together, and setting up events for the sequel. Of course there’s more to the novel than that—war threatening Midderland from the North & South, political intrigue, the Prophet Khalul, his Eaters, and plenty of other subplots (the Contest, a love story), some of which work better than others—but the basic outline is pretty simple. While I can see why some readers might be less than impressed with the worldbuilding and/or story, I didn’t have a problem with these areas. Personally, I was enjoying myself so much with the characters, their comic witticisms, and entertaining (mis)adventures that I wasn’t paying much attention to the book’s deficiencies ;)
The way I see it, if you like fantasy but are tired of the same-old routines, enjoy a healthy dose of black humor, are not afraid of a little over-the-top violence and foul language, and appreciate the writings of Glen Cook, Scott Lynch & Steven Erikson, then Joe Abercrombie’s “The Blade Itself” is tailor-made for you. Even if none of that fits in your criteria, give the book a chance. You might just be pleasantly surprised…
9:14 AM | 
Posted by
Robert |
Order “Death’s Head” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Watch the “Death’s Head” Video HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s REVIEW of "Death’s Head"
Watch the “Death’s Head” Video HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s REVIEW of "Death’s Head"
For reasons I can’t explain, I overlooked David Gunn’s debut novel “Death’s Head” when it was released earlier this year. While the book was flawed, I had about as much fun with “Death’s Head” as I’ve had with any novel this year and I wanted to know more especially since there was so little information on the author or how the book came about to begin with. Admittedly I was a little worried that an interview wouldn’t happen since I couldn’t find any other interviews online, but surprisingly, not only was I able to get in touch with Mr. Gunn, he was actually more than willing to cooperate. So I sincerely appreciate David Gunn taking time away from his busy schedule to talk about his enigmatic background, his debut novel and The Aux series, and address a few issues I had with “Death’s Head”. The end result is an interview that I think readers will enjoy for its bluntness, the earnestness of someone who’s obviously a fan of the genre, and for its mysteriousness:
Q: Your debut novel “Death’s Head” was released in May 2007 for both the US and the UK and seems to be getting a pretty positive response. Before we delve any further into the book, I just wanted to get the question about who David Gunn is out of the way, since what little information is out there is a bit on the mysterious side. For instance, according to the Transworld press release, you’ve “undertaken assignments in Central America, the Middle East and Russia (among many other places)”, are “happiest when on the move and tends not to stay in one town or city for very long” and “has an impressive collection of edged weapons and sleeps with a shotgun under his bed”. I understand that you can’t or don’t want to talk about certain aspects of your life, but can you tell us anything about your background?
David: I’m a fairly private person. But what I can say is I come from a family that has been military for generations. I did my weapons training early. I grew up around weapons. I spent my late teens doing combat training and climbing up and down mountain sides with rucksacks full of bricks. I’ve been to some interesting places and done some interesting things. Some legal, some not so legal. Friends of mine have been shot. Friends of mine have died. Beyond that, I’m not interested in saying.
Q: Fair enough. Considering your anonymity, how do you plan on handling your promotion, both online and in person? I know that you have a MySpace page and Transworld has a mini-site, but will you ever have your own David Gunn/The Aux website and what about book tours, et cetera?
David: MySpace generates messages for people wanting to discuss the books. As for the rest, all the interviews I’ve done have been like this. It works for you and it works for me. At the moment I’m in Asia. A few months ago I was in Central America. I’ll probably be in Moscow within the next few months. Email and the internet have revolutionized communication. They’ve also revolutionized other things. I could probably scoop your whole life and tie it with a bow in a couple of days. (As you could someone else’s… As I’m sure you know how this stuff works). But a lot of people don’t have any idea how vulnerable 24/7 search capacity makes them.
One thing is changing. Combat’s going commercial. War’s gone back to being the business it always was. Only these day’s you’re not a mercenary, you’re a contractor and you’re sub-contracted through a holding company and your ultimate employer has complete deniability. (And probably no idea how much shit this lets him deny.) In that sense, Sven’s quite old fashioned. He’s also old fashioned because he’s using projectile weapons. The next generation of weapons we use will turn your guts to water, make you vomit and fry your skin, probably without leaving a mark. But the mental trauma will still be with you for life.
Of course, those weapons exist in Sven’s world already. The U/Free has them. Sven’s emperor, however, is much too mean to splash out on ‘non-lethal hardware’ when the traditional stuff comes so much cheaper.
Q: Focusing back on “Death’s Head”, can you walk us through how the book came about, from its conception, through the writing/editing process, shopping for a publisher, why you settled with Transworld/Del Rey, and finally, to seeing your novel on bookshelves?
David: I was down with a fever and hallucinating in a skuzzy hotel in Central America. There’s a scene in "Death’s Head" where Sven is scraping sh*t off a mattress with a knife and crawling across a floor on his knees to vomit in a lavatory. That was for real. I was out of my head for about five days and somehow Sven came out of the experience. It took me twelve weeks from start to finish writing the book and then I sent it off to an agent who sold it to Transworld/Del Rey.
Q: That’s pretty impressive. After reading your debut, which blends science fiction, military procedure, and cyberpunk, I was reminded some of Neal Asher, Richard K. Morgan, Glen Cook’s Black Company books and a bunch of videogames such as Halo, Gears of War, StarCraft, Doom and Half-Life. Of course, that is mainly speculation on my part so just where did you draw your inspiration for “Death’s Head” and why?
David: Never read the Glen Cook books, but sounds as if I should. Read the first Richard Morgan and, I think the third (it had aged surfer dudes in it). I like Neal Asher, who just goes for it full on and doesn’t let up. Read one of Asher’s while trapped at an airport and the time just flicked by. Mostly, I have to say, the influences were film, computer games and the stuff that was spinning round like shrapnel inside my own head. Plus, the story came fully formed. So much so that I don’t think I was even consciously thinking about it when I was getting it down on a laptop. I’d get up, write, have a drink, write, eat something, write, have a drink, write…
At one point, when I was writing it, a cleaner came into my room at the hotel, took one look at the sheets I’d washed in the bath, the general chaos, and me sitting there hammering keys on an old laptop. And left. Think she just thought it wasn’t worth the effort.
Q: One of the most enjoyable aspects of “Death’s Head” was Sven’s personality/perspective, which is very straightforward & sarcastic, and, in my opinion, sort of pokes fun at how a first-person narrative is told and the military in general. What were your intentions with the way you wrote Sven and how much of him comes from your own experiences?
David: All of the good stuff about Sven is me. The rest is, obviously, someone else… I like first person because it’s very immediate. And it all happens in the present. So you just see it all through Sven’s eyes as it happens. I’m not sure it pokes fun at the military. Like the police, the guys on the ground in the military develop a sardonic way of looking at the world. You have to. It’s the only way of staying sane.
Q: On the flipside, background information was a bit hard to come by in the book, and was one area that I had difficulty with. I believe you’ve signed a three-book deal and “Death’s Head” is just the beginning, which sort of explains the lack of info-dumping, but what are your thoughts on this matter? And since we’re on the subject of sequels, what exactly are your plans for The Aux series, and can you share anything about the upcoming books such as projected release dates, tentative titles, plot ideas, et cetera?
David: Problem is, you know and I know what Sven knows. And what Sven knows at the moment isn’t very much. He’s been in the Legion since he was twelve; he’s only just found himself co-opted into the Death’s Head. Of course what he knows is limited. It’s risky for a writer to do that, but you have to understand that I was channeling Sven and it all seemed to make sense at the time. As the books go on, Sven will discover more and so will the readers. In the second book you find out stuff that’s not in the first. And anyone who knows their military SF or how fantasy works will see that lots of framework is in place for later books. There’s General Jaxx’s relationship with the emperor. Aptitude’s parents are still in prison. There’s the whole Sven/Shil thing. There’s no way that’s the last we’ve seen of the Ferox…
Writing it was insane fun. I just wrote the book I wanted to read. I didn’t think, God it needs depth, let’s put in some galactic politics. Sven doesn’t give a shit about that stuff. It’s there, but not obviously. At least not yet. Also, Sven’s totally unaware just how big the galaxy is. And he’s going to get a shock when he finds out just how small a part his emperor has in the whole machine.
Q: Going back to your debut, what was the most challenging thing about writing “Death’s Head”? What about the most rewarding?
David: Staying inside Sven’s head was challenging. It would have been easy to cheat and move outside it a bit or make him get a mental upgrade or given him a fact-dropping intelligent side kick. But these guys are just grunts and Sven is just a grunt who’s a bit better at killing than those around him. So now he’s a grunt with a smarter uniform and the others have a chance of staying alive. If he doesn’t get them killed first.
Q: Personally, I liked the UK cover a lot better than the US one, but what did you think of both of the covers, and what are your thoughts on the topic as a whole?
David: Think the US one wanted to push the military angle. I like them both. The British one is very stark and a simple image. Weirdly, everyone thinks of the totenkopk (the death’s head) as a Nazi emblem but it was used by the Black Brunswickers at the battle of Waterloo, the Imperial Russian army in World War 1, and a British cavalry regiment still uses it! You can actually trace it back a good 250 years.
The US one works for me, and lot’s of people miss the skull in the sand at Sven’s feet, which is a bit tough to see.
Q: Yeah I didn’t see the skull in the US cover. Thanks for pointing that out. So overall, how would you describe “Death’s Head” to someone who hasn’t heard of the book?
David: It’s classic military SF, with a twist. Sven’s brutal, vicious, and honorable to a fault. "Death’s Head" does exactly what it says on the tin.
Q: Moving on, anymore it’s pretty common to see novels adapted into different formats such as movies, comics, videogames, and TV. Has there been any interest with your book so far and if so, can you give us any details?
David: There’s been some film interest (or so I was told). And people have muttered about possible computer games. But I think it’s all early days. Really like the idea of a comic. The book's entirely visual. My only regret is not knowing there was a graphic novel series called Death’s Head before I wrote the book. Personally, when I wrote DH I saw it as a computer game. I was playing Doom back in the days it was still Wolfenstein. Yeah, I know Doom and Wolfenstein are technically different but the heritage was there. I’d love to see Sven in a first person shoot-em-up.
Q: A first-person shooter is definitely what I was envisioning when reading the book. Staying on this subject, what would be your dream adaptation?
David: For the film it’s got to be Vin Diesel for the part of Sven. Only I’d want him from about five years ago. Which means I’d probably need someone else. I’d want to do the script. Just as I’d want to do the comic book or story line the computer game. I don’t have a wish list for the characters because I had no actors in mind when I wrote them.
Q: You just mentioned writing a movie script, comic book or videogame story. Any other medium or genre you’d like to try?
David: Immediately after I delivered "Death’s Head" I was offered the novelization of a major computer game on the back of "Death’s Head" which is a pretty big break for someone who hadn’t even got Sven published yet… I really wanted to do it but I had a whole run of more boring stuff that didn’t relate to the Sven side of my life and had to pass.
What I really want to do is write a film and then make a computer game out of that. Unless it’s the other way round… Start with the computer game… I had Sven kicking his way round the rubble in my head for a while before I went down with a fever and decided to write the book. Don’t think I knew it was Sven, but I did know I had some pretty weird stuff going on in there...
Q: Your debut novel “Death’s Head” was released in May 2007 for both the US and the UK and seems to be getting a pretty positive response. Before we delve any further into the book, I just wanted to get the question about who David Gunn is out of the way, since what little information is out there is a bit on the mysterious side. For instance, according to the Transworld press release, you’ve “undertaken assignments in Central America, the Middle East and Russia (among many other places)”, are “happiest when on the move and tends not to stay in one town or city for very long” and “has an impressive collection of edged weapons and sleeps with a shotgun under his bed”. I understand that you can’t or don’t want to talk about certain aspects of your life, but can you tell us anything about your background?
David: I’m a fairly private person. But what I can say is I come from a family that has been military for generations. I did my weapons training early. I grew up around weapons. I spent my late teens doing combat training and climbing up and down mountain sides with rucksacks full of bricks. I’ve been to some interesting places and done some interesting things. Some legal, some not so legal. Friends of mine have been shot. Friends of mine have died. Beyond that, I’m not interested in saying.
Q: Fair enough. Considering your anonymity, how do you plan on handling your promotion, both online and in person? I know that you have a MySpace page and Transworld has a mini-site, but will you ever have your own David Gunn/The Aux website and what about book tours, et cetera?
David: MySpace generates messages for people wanting to discuss the books. As for the rest, all the interviews I’ve done have been like this. It works for you and it works for me. At the moment I’m in Asia. A few months ago I was in Central America. I’ll probably be in Moscow within the next few months. Email and the internet have revolutionized communication. They’ve also revolutionized other things. I could probably scoop your whole life and tie it with a bow in a couple of days. (As you could someone else’s… As I’m sure you know how this stuff works). But a lot of people don’t have any idea how vulnerable 24/7 search capacity makes them.
One thing is changing. Combat’s going commercial. War’s gone back to being the business it always was. Only these day’s you’re not a mercenary, you’re a contractor and you’re sub-contracted through a holding company and your ultimate employer has complete deniability. (And probably no idea how much shit this lets him deny.) In that sense, Sven’s quite old fashioned. He’s also old fashioned because he’s using projectile weapons. The next generation of weapons we use will turn your guts to water, make you vomit and fry your skin, probably without leaving a mark. But the mental trauma will still be with you for life.
Of course, those weapons exist in Sven’s world already. The U/Free has them. Sven’s emperor, however, is much too mean to splash out on ‘non-lethal hardware’ when the traditional stuff comes so much cheaper.
Q: Focusing back on “Death’s Head”, can you walk us through how the book came about, from its conception, through the writing/editing process, shopping for a publisher, why you settled with Transworld/Del Rey, and finally, to seeing your novel on bookshelves?
David: I was down with a fever and hallucinating in a skuzzy hotel in Central America. There’s a scene in "Death’s Head" where Sven is scraping sh*t off a mattress with a knife and crawling across a floor on his knees to vomit in a lavatory. That was for real. I was out of my head for about five days and somehow Sven came out of the experience. It took me twelve weeks from start to finish writing the book and then I sent it off to an agent who sold it to Transworld/Del Rey.
Q: That’s pretty impressive. After reading your debut, which blends science fiction, military procedure, and cyberpunk, I was reminded some of Neal Asher, Richard K. Morgan, Glen Cook’s Black Company books and a bunch of videogames such as Halo, Gears of War, StarCraft, Doom and Half-Life. Of course, that is mainly speculation on my part so just where did you draw your inspiration for “Death’s Head” and why?
David: Never read the Glen Cook books, but sounds as if I should. Read the first Richard Morgan and, I think the third (it had aged surfer dudes in it). I like Neal Asher, who just goes for it full on and doesn’t let up. Read one of Asher’s while trapped at an airport and the time just flicked by. Mostly, I have to say, the influences were film, computer games and the stuff that was spinning round like shrapnel inside my own head. Plus, the story came fully formed. So much so that I don’t think I was even consciously thinking about it when I was getting it down on a laptop. I’d get up, write, have a drink, write, eat something, write, have a drink, write…
At one point, when I was writing it, a cleaner came into my room at the hotel, took one look at the sheets I’d washed in the bath, the general chaos, and me sitting there hammering keys on an old laptop. And left. Think she just thought it wasn’t worth the effort.
Q: One of the most enjoyable aspects of “Death’s Head” was Sven’s personality/perspective, which is very straightforward & sarcastic, and, in my opinion, sort of pokes fun at how a first-person narrative is told and the military in general. What were your intentions with the way you wrote Sven and how much of him comes from your own experiences?
David: All of the good stuff about Sven is me. The rest is, obviously, someone else… I like first person because it’s very immediate. And it all happens in the present. So you just see it all through Sven’s eyes as it happens. I’m not sure it pokes fun at the military. Like the police, the guys on the ground in the military develop a sardonic way of looking at the world. You have to. It’s the only way of staying sane.
Q: On the flipside, background information was a bit hard to come by in the book, and was one area that I had difficulty with. I believe you’ve signed a three-book deal and “Death’s Head” is just the beginning, which sort of explains the lack of info-dumping, but what are your thoughts on this matter? And since we’re on the subject of sequels, what exactly are your plans for The Aux series, and can you share anything about the upcoming books such as projected release dates, tentative titles, plot ideas, et cetera?
David: Problem is, you know and I know what Sven knows. And what Sven knows at the moment isn’t very much. He’s been in the Legion since he was twelve; he’s only just found himself co-opted into the Death’s Head. Of course what he knows is limited. It’s risky for a writer to do that, but you have to understand that I was channeling Sven and it all seemed to make sense at the time. As the books go on, Sven will discover more and so will the readers. In the second book you find out stuff that’s not in the first. And anyone who knows their military SF or how fantasy works will see that lots of framework is in place for later books. There’s General Jaxx’s relationship with the emperor. Aptitude’s parents are still in prison. There’s the whole Sven/Shil thing. There’s no way that’s the last we’ve seen of the Ferox…
Writing it was insane fun. I just wrote the book I wanted to read. I didn’t think, God it needs depth, let’s put in some galactic politics. Sven doesn’t give a shit about that stuff. It’s there, but not obviously. At least not yet. Also, Sven’s totally unaware just how big the galaxy is. And he’s going to get a shock when he finds out just how small a part his emperor has in the whole machine.
Q: Going back to your debut, what was the most challenging thing about writing “Death’s Head”? What about the most rewarding?
David: Staying inside Sven’s head was challenging. It would have been easy to cheat and move outside it a bit or make him get a mental upgrade or given him a fact-dropping intelligent side kick. But these guys are just grunts and Sven is just a grunt who’s a bit better at killing than those around him. So now he’s a grunt with a smarter uniform and the others have a chance of staying alive. If he doesn’t get them killed first.
Q: Personally, I liked the UK cover a lot better than the US one, but what did you think of both of the covers, and what are your thoughts on the topic as a whole?David: Think the US one wanted to push the military angle. I like them both. The British one is very stark and a simple image. Weirdly, everyone thinks of the totenkopk (the death’s head) as a Nazi emblem but it was used by the Black Brunswickers at the battle of Waterloo, the Imperial Russian army in World War 1, and a British cavalry regiment still uses it! You can actually trace it back a good 250 years.
The US one works for me, and lot’s of people miss the skull in the sand at Sven’s feet, which is a bit tough to see.
Q: Yeah I didn’t see the skull in the US cover. Thanks for pointing that out. So overall, how would you describe “Death’s Head” to someone who hasn’t heard of the book?
David: It’s classic military SF, with a twist. Sven’s brutal, vicious, and honorable to a fault. "Death’s Head" does exactly what it says on the tin.
Q: Moving on, anymore it’s pretty common to see novels adapted into different formats such as movies, comics, videogames, and TV. Has there been any interest with your book so far and if so, can you give us any details?
David: There’s been some film interest (or so I was told). And people have muttered about possible computer games. But I think it’s all early days. Really like the idea of a comic. The book's entirely visual. My only regret is not knowing there was a graphic novel series called Death’s Head before I wrote the book. Personally, when I wrote DH I saw it as a computer game. I was playing Doom back in the days it was still Wolfenstein. Yeah, I know Doom and Wolfenstein are technically different but the heritage was there. I’d love to see Sven in a first person shoot-em-up.
Q: A first-person shooter is definitely what I was envisioning when reading the book. Staying on this subject, what would be your dream adaptation?
David: For the film it’s got to be Vin Diesel for the part of Sven. Only I’d want him from about five years ago. Which means I’d probably need someone else. I’d want to do the script. Just as I’d want to do the comic book or story line the computer game. I don’t have a wish list for the characters because I had no actors in mind when I wrote them.
Q: You just mentioned writing a movie script, comic book or videogame story. Any other medium or genre you’d like to try?
David: Immediately after I delivered "Death’s Head" I was offered the novelization of a major computer game on the back of "Death’s Head" which is a pretty big break for someone who hadn’t even got Sven published yet… I really wanted to do it but I had a whole run of more boring stuff that didn’t relate to the Sven side of my life and had to pass.
What I really want to do is write a film and then make a computer game out of that. Unless it’s the other way round… Start with the computer game… I had Sven kicking his way round the rubble in my head for a while before I went down with a fever and decided to write the book. Don’t think I knew it was Sven, but I did know I had some pretty weird stuff going on in there...
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Winners of the Douglas Clegg, Lois McMaster Bujold + Charlie Huston Giveaways! And Updates...
Congratulations to Susan Taylor (Connecticut) who was randomly selected to win a whole SET of Douglas Clegg's The Vampyricon Trilogy including "The Priest of Blood", "The Lady of Serpents" and "The Queen of Wolves" thanks to Ace Books!!!
Congratulations also to Belinda Kelly (Australia) who was randomly selected to win Lois McMaster Bujold’s The Sharing Knife Duology including “Beguilement” (Volume One) and “Legacy” (Volume Two) thanks to EOS Books!!!
And finally, congratulations to Frank Rodriguez (New York), James Keith (Kentucky) and Manchu Ravindranathan (Canada) who all won a copy of Charlie Huston’s “The Shotgun Rule” thanks to Ballantine Books!!!
For those wondering what’s happened to my little weekly news updates, well, I’m still getting caught up on things so I’ve been mainly focusing on book reviews, interviews and giveaways at the moment. Also, its football season, so my free time has gotten even less :) Hopefully though, you’ll start seeing more random updates in the future.
Speaking of football, what an interesting weekend! My Kansas City Chiefs looked pretty bad, especially on the offensive side of the ball, and I’m preparing for a long season. Still, there’s a lot to be excited for. The Indianapolis Colts were pretty impressive and I’m rooting for them or the San Diego Chargers to win the Super Bowl. Actually, just as long as it’s not the New England Patriots, who I despise, I’ll be happy :)
Like a lot of people I’m sure, I’m also rooting for the underdog so I’m actually hoping that teams like the Detroit Lions and Arizona Cardinals will make a splash this year and maybe even make it to the playoffs. I’ve actually always been a secret admirer of the Lions, mainly because they are the team of my favorite football player of all time – Barry Sanders – and I think rookie Calvin Johnson is going to be a stud. Other rookies that really impressed me this weekend were Adrian Peterson and Marshawn Lynch. Aside from injuries, AD was a beast in college and he has all the makings of another great one.
In college, it’s Missouri and Colorado for me. Not the greatest choices I know, but what can I say ;) At least Missouri games will be fun to watch. What an offense! As far as the Heisman, I love the running back position so it’ll be fun to follow guys like Darren McFadden, Steve Slaton, James Davis/CJ Spiller, etc., but the one to watch I think is Ray Rice who’s becoming a legitimate candidate. Anyways, thanks for tuning in to Fantasy Book Critic’s Football Breakdown. Join us here next week for more of the same! ;)
Congratulations also to Belinda Kelly (Australia) who was randomly selected to win Lois McMaster Bujold’s The Sharing Knife Duology including “Beguilement” (Volume One) and “Legacy” (Volume Two) thanks to EOS Books!!!
And finally, congratulations to Frank Rodriguez (New York), James Keith (Kentucky) and Manchu Ravindranathan (Canada) who all won a copy of Charlie Huston’s “The Shotgun Rule” thanks to Ballantine Books!!!
For those wondering what’s happened to my little weekly news updates, well, I’m still getting caught up on things so I’ve been mainly focusing on book reviews, interviews and giveaways at the moment. Also, its football season, so my free time has gotten even less :) Hopefully though, you’ll start seeing more random updates in the future.
Speaking of football, what an interesting weekend! My Kansas City Chiefs looked pretty bad, especially on the offensive side of the ball, and I’m preparing for a long season. Still, there’s a lot to be excited for. The Indianapolis Colts were pretty impressive and I’m rooting for them or the San Diego Chargers to win the Super Bowl. Actually, just as long as it’s not the New England Patriots, who I despise, I’ll be happy :)
Like a lot of people I’m sure, I’m also rooting for the underdog so I’m actually hoping that teams like the Detroit Lions and Arizona Cardinals will make a splash this year and maybe even make it to the playoffs. I’ve actually always been a secret admirer of the Lions, mainly because they are the team of my favorite football player of all time – Barry Sanders – and I think rookie Calvin Johnson is going to be a stud. Other rookies that really impressed me this weekend were Adrian Peterson and Marshawn Lynch. Aside from injuries, AD was a beast in college and he has all the makings of another great one.
In college, it’s Missouri and Colorado for me. Not the greatest choices I know, but what can I say ;) At least Missouri games will be fun to watch. What an offense! As far as the Heisman, I love the running back position so it’ll be fun to follow guys like Darren McFadden, Steve Slaton, James Davis/CJ Spiller, etc., but the one to watch I think is Ray Rice who’s becoming a legitimate candidate. Anyways, thanks for tuning in to Fantasy Book Critic’s Football Breakdown. Join us here next week for more of the same! ;)
Order “Winterbirth” HERE
Read An Extract HERE
Read Interviews with Brian Ruckley via A Dribble of Ink, Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review + The Book Swede (Part I, Part II)
For almost a year now I’ve been hearing about Brian Ruckley’s “Winterbirth” which debuted last year via Orbit UK and was just released here in the states thanks to Hachette Book Group USA’s new Orbit imprint. Because of the wait, and the hype—“Winterbirth” has been mentioned in the same breath as Tolkien, George R. R. Martin, Robert Jordan, Steven Erikson, David Gemmell and the movie “300”—, my expectations for Mr. Ruckley’s first novel were probably higher than they should have been. Take away the preconceptions though and what you have is an impressive debut that has a lot to offer, especially to anyone who likes fantasy of the more grim and realistic variety.
If I were to label “Winterbirth”, I’d say it’s a cross between historical and epic fantasy. While the novel isn’t an accurate depiction of a certain time period/location, the races that populate Mr. Ruckley’s world are richly detailed, believable, and possess some familiar traits—the Bloods (Huanin) with their thanes, clans and blood oaths reminded me of Vikings while the Kyrinin seemed to harbor some Native American tendencies. Of the fantastical elements in the book, there are legends about gods, the powerful Anain, Whreinin, Saolin, etc., but the magic is largely understated, which is where I could see comparisons to GRRM or David Gemmell. What you do have are na’kyrim, a crossbreed between Huanin and the otherworldly Kyrinin, who are sometimes gifted with the Shared, which is kind of like the Force from Star Wars. Like I said, there’s not much of the magical in the book, but I do expect to see more of it in the sequel. Finally, I just wanted to clarify that while the book offers plenty of graphic violence, “Winterbirth” is actually quite tame. There’s no explicit sex or cursing and some of the action actually shies away from overt depravities such as rape, etc. So while “Winterbirth” is described as a ‘dark’ and ‘gritty’ novel, I think it’s a pretty accessible fantasy.
Plot-wise, “Winterbirth” takes a while to get going—about a hundred pages before the action starts heating up and almost halfway before I was really sucked in—with the author focusing mainly on some backstory (why the gods abandoned the world, the Black Road march), developing characters (Orisian, Anyara, Taim Narran, Inurian, Croesan, etc.), and setting up events, which included the True Bloods crushing a rebellious Thane and the Bloods of the Black Road seeking vengeance against the Kilkry & Lannis-Haig Bloods for past defeats and exile 160 years before. Where the book really starts to get interesting is when all of the different factions and subplots are introduced. It can be a little bit confusing, but basically on one side you have Gryvan oc Haig, the High Thane of the True Bloods whose goal is to tame/wipe out the Dargannan, Lannis & Kilkry Bloods so he can turn his full attention on expanding his empire to the south. On the other side, you have the Black Road followers who believe in the Kall—the moment when everyone has been converted to their creed and the world is remade by the gods—and have teamed up with the White Owl Kyrinin in their most serious attempt yet. Complicating matters is a possible alliance between the High Thanes of the True Bloods and the Black Road Bloods, the Inkallim – a separate sect of Black Road adherents – who decide to take matters into their own hands, a hidden group of na’kyrim who become caught up in events, a pending war between the Fox & White Owl Kyrinin tribes, the Lannis & Kilkry Bloods opposing the will of the Haig Blood, and a na’kyrim who might be the greatest threat of all… Fortunately for those who might find all of that a bit daunting, Mr. Ruckley provides a comprehensive list of characters in the book, a couple of detailed maps, and a timeline :D
Speaking of characters, there’s quite a few of them, both major and minor with the narratives alternating between several of them in a third-person point-of-view. Orisian of the Lannis-Haig Blood gets the most face time and was actually one of my least favorite characters in the book—I just thought he was a fairly typical adolescent hero. Of much more interest to me were Mordyn Jerain—the Chancellor of the Haig Blood, the Lore Inkallim Theor, the na’kyrims Inurian & Aeglyss, and the Horin-Gyre Bloods Kanin & Wain. Most of the characters are well-developed and some of them actually go through major changes, while others are unexpectedly killed off. What I liked best about the characters, aside from a couple of exceptions, is that the book doesn’t really have ‘good guys’ & ‘bad guys’…the distinction between good & evil is actually pretty ambiguous and it can be argued that every individual’s actions are somewhat justified. Still, as solid as the characterization is in the book, if there’s one area that Mr. Ruckley seemed a bit weaker in than others, this was it.
As the opening installment in The Godless World Trilogy, Brian Ruckley’s “Winterbirth” delivers a meaty (539 pages), dramatic, and entertaining debut that will please a lot of fantasy readers. It’s not as strong as a number of debuts that I’ve read this year (Mark J. Ferrari’s “The Book of Joby”, David Anthony Durham’s “Acacia”, Stephen Hunt’s “The Court of the Air”, Patrick Rothfuss’ “The Name of the Wind”) but it’s not that far behind, and I believe Brian Ruckley is one of those authors who’s only going to get better. So here’s looking ahead to June 2008, the tentative release date for “Bloodheir”, the second book in The Godless World Trilogy…
If I were to label “Winterbirth”, I’d say it’s a cross between historical and epic fantasy. While the novel isn’t an accurate depiction of a certain time period/location, the races that populate Mr. Ruckley’s world are richly detailed, believable, and possess some familiar traits—the Bloods (Huanin) with their thanes, clans and blood oaths reminded me of Vikings while the Kyrinin seemed to harbor some Native American tendencies. Of the fantastical elements in the book, there are legends about gods, the powerful Anain, Whreinin, Saolin, etc., but the magic is largely understated, which is where I could see comparisons to GRRM or David Gemmell. What you do have are na’kyrim, a crossbreed between Huanin and the otherworldly Kyrinin, who are sometimes gifted with the Shared, which is kind of like the Force from Star Wars. Like I said, there’s not much of the magical in the book, but I do expect to see more of it in the sequel. Finally, I just wanted to clarify that while the book offers plenty of graphic violence, “Winterbirth” is actually quite tame. There’s no explicit sex or cursing and some of the action actually shies away from overt depravities such as rape, etc. So while “Winterbirth” is described as a ‘dark’ and ‘gritty’ novel, I think it’s a pretty accessible fantasy.
Plot-wise, “Winterbirth” takes a while to get going—about a hundred pages before the action starts heating up and almost halfway before I was really sucked in—with the author focusing mainly on some backstory (why the gods abandoned the world, the Black Road march), developing characters (Orisian, Anyara, Taim Narran, Inurian, Croesan, etc.), and setting up events, which included the True Bloods crushing a rebellious Thane and the Bloods of the Black Road seeking vengeance against the Kilkry & Lannis-Haig Bloods for past defeats and exile 160 years before. Where the book really starts to get interesting is when all of the different factions and subplots are introduced. It can be a little bit confusing, but basically on one side you have Gryvan oc Haig, the High Thane of the True Bloods whose goal is to tame/wipe out the Dargannan, Lannis & Kilkry Bloods so he can turn his full attention on expanding his empire to the south. On the other side, you have the Black Road followers who believe in the Kall—the moment when everyone has been converted to their creed and the world is remade by the gods—and have teamed up with the White Owl Kyrinin in their most serious attempt yet. Complicating matters is a possible alliance between the High Thanes of the True Bloods and the Black Road Bloods, the Inkallim – a separate sect of Black Road adherents – who decide to take matters into their own hands, a hidden group of na’kyrim who become caught up in events, a pending war between the Fox & White Owl Kyrinin tribes, the Lannis & Kilkry Bloods opposing the will of the Haig Blood, and a na’kyrim who might be the greatest threat of all… Fortunately for those who might find all of that a bit daunting, Mr. Ruckley provides a comprehensive list of characters in the book, a couple of detailed maps, and a timeline :DSpeaking of characters, there’s quite a few of them, both major and minor with the narratives alternating between several of them in a third-person point-of-view. Orisian of the Lannis-Haig Blood gets the most face time and was actually one of my least favorite characters in the book—I just thought he was a fairly typical adolescent hero. Of much more interest to me were Mordyn Jerain—the Chancellor of the Haig Blood, the Lore Inkallim Theor, the na’kyrims Inurian & Aeglyss, and the Horin-Gyre Bloods Kanin & Wain. Most of the characters are well-developed and some of them actually go through major changes, while others are unexpectedly killed off. What I liked best about the characters, aside from a couple of exceptions, is that the book doesn’t really have ‘good guys’ & ‘bad guys’…the distinction between good & evil is actually pretty ambiguous and it can be argued that every individual’s actions are somewhat justified. Still, as solid as the characterization is in the book, if there’s one area that Mr. Ruckley seemed a bit weaker in than others, this was it.
As the opening installment in The Godless World Trilogy, Brian Ruckley’s “Winterbirth” delivers a meaty (539 pages), dramatic, and entertaining debut that will please a lot of fantasy readers. It’s not as strong as a number of debuts that I’ve read this year (Mark J. Ferrari’s “The Book of Joby”, David Anthony Durham’s “Acacia”, Stephen Hunt’s “The Court of the Air”, Patrick Rothfuss’ “The Name of the Wind”) but it’s not that far behind, and I believe Brian Ruckley is one of those authors who’s only going to get better. So here’s looking ahead to June 2008, the tentative release date for “Bloodheir”, the second book in The Godless World Trilogy…
Order "Heaven's Net Is Wide" HERE
Perhaps it’s because of my oriental background—my mother is Korean, my dad half-Japanese—but I’ve always been a fan of Asian storytelling such as anime, martial arts flicks or the recent wave of Asian cinema that has been making its way stateside including “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, “Hero”, “House of Flying Daggers”, “Infernal Affairs” (was remade into The Departed), “Oldboy”, the Ring/Grudge franchises, et cetera. Whatever the reasons, I was immediately drawn to Lian Hearn’s “Across the Nightingale Floor” and have immensely enjoyed its subsequent sequels—“Grass For His Pillow”, “Brilliance of the Moon” and “The Harsh Cry of the Heron”. So when I heard about the fifth and final volume in the Tales of the Otori series, I was understandably excited, that is until I learned that “Heaven’s Net Is Wide” was to be a prequel. In my experience, prequels, more times than not, fail to live up to the originals – Stars Wars anyone – so I had my doubts about the book. Thankfully, my fears were unfounded as “Heaven’s Net Is Wide” is another wonderful entry in the series.
For the uninitiated, Ms. Hearn’s Tales of the Otori can be best described as ‘historical fantasy’ and takes place in the Three Countries, a medieval setting that borrows from both Japanese history and mythology. Of the former, a feudal society is in place with each fiefdom governed by a certain clan, which in itself is divided into certain castes like the warrior class, farmers, peasants, and merchants, while the women are a victim of male dominance and the religions are influenced by Buddhism & early Christianity. For fantasy lovers, the series features the Tribe, a secret organization of warriors/assassins/spies who are based on ninjutsu (ninja) and possess superhuman abilities such as invisibility, projecting a phantom image, the Kikuta sleep, and super hearing. As far as the story, the plots usually feature themes of tragic romances, honor, betrayal, vengeance, deception, fate, inheritances, religion and politics that can be found in different forms of oriental storytelling. Finally, regarding the writing, Ms. Hearn’s prose is eloquent and beautiful; the worldbuilding is vivid, meticulously researched and realistic; and the storytelling is both intimate & epic.
As mentioned above, “Heaven’s Net Is Wide” is a prequel, taking place around seventeen years before “Across the Nightingale Floor” and is the perfect starting point for readers new to Lian Hearn and the Tales of the Otori. In the book, readers will get to follow Shigeru from a twelve-year old boy until his fateful meeting with Tomasu at the beginning of “Across the Nightingale Floor”. In between, readers will get to intimately know the heir to the Otori clan—watching Shigeru grow into a man, experiencing his loves & joys, suffering his defeats & tragedies, learning from his mistakes, meeting his friends, alliances & enemies, and watching his plan for vengeance unfold. Of the larger story, “Heaven’s Net Is Wide” deals with the threatening war between the Otori and Tohan clans as well as treachery, Tribe politics and the rising influence of the “Hidden”… In short, even though there’s a ton of information to process—numerous characters, places, and customs (a map and character index should help if provided)—I believe “Heaven’s Net Is Wide” is an excellent place for readers to start the Otori series, even more so than “Across the Nightingale Floor”. Of course, I also feel the book is the perfect complement to those who’ve already read the other four Otori books :D (NOTE: New Lian Hearn readers may want to skip the next paragraph in order to avoid any SPOILERS!)
For myself, I fall in the latter category and I absolutely loved “Heaven’s Net Is Wide”, which was rewarding on so many different levels. First and foremost, Shigeru was a favorite character of mine from “Across the Nightingale Floor” and getting to experience the expanded version of his story—getting trained by Matsuda Shingen, falling in love with Lady Maruyama, the tragic Battle of Yaegahara, the fate of his concubine Akane, befriending Muto Kenji, putting together the list of Tribe members, the death of his younger brother Takeshi, et cetera—was especially gratifying. Just as special were all of the little references to the later Otori books like the legend behind the stone bridge in Hagi, learning where the horses Raku & Kyu originated from, and meeting early versions of such characters as Tomasu (Takeo), Iida Sadamu, Kaede, Kikuta Kotaro, Yuki, Shizuka, Arai Daiichi, Terado Fumimasa and Fumio, etc., who all play such an important role in the overall saga. Even more impressive is that even though the book is a prequel and some of the outcomes are already known beforehand, it’s impossible not to sympathize with the characters and to be drawn into their unfolding dramas. This is mostly due to Ms. Hearn herself who is just a fabulous writer & storyteller, and I feel that “Heaven’s Net Is Wide” is some of her best work.
Because of my background I might be a little prejudiced towards the Tales of the Otori, but I truly believe the series is a literary accomplishment and despite my initial worries, “Heaven’s Net Is Wide” turned out to be one of the strongest entries in the saga—probably my favorite right up there with “Across the Nightingale Floor” & “The Harsh Cry of the Heron”—and I have no hesitation in recommending this book to readers whether you’ve been following the series or not. In the end, Lian Hearn’s “Heaven’s Net Is Wide” is a triumphant conclusion – or beginning – to the magnificent Tales of the Otori…
For the uninitiated, Ms. Hearn’s Tales of the Otori can be best described as ‘historical fantasy’ and takes place in the Three Countries, a medieval setting that borrows from both Japanese history and mythology. Of the former, a feudal society is in place with each fiefdom governed by a certain clan, which in itself is divided into certain castes like the warrior class, farmers, peasants, and merchants, while the women are a victim of male dominance and the religions are influenced by Buddhism & early Christianity. For fantasy lovers, the series features the Tribe, a secret organization of warriors/assassins/spies who are based on ninjutsu (ninja) and possess superhuman abilities such as invisibility, projecting a phantom image, the Kikuta sleep, and super hearing. As far as the story, the plots usually feature themes of tragic romances, honor, betrayal, vengeance, deception, fate, inheritances, religion and politics that can be found in different forms of oriental storytelling. Finally, regarding the writing, Ms. Hearn’s prose is eloquent and beautiful; the worldbuilding is vivid, meticulously researched and realistic; and the storytelling is both intimate & epic.
As mentioned above, “Heaven’s Net Is Wide” is a prequel, taking place around seventeen years before “Across the Nightingale Floor” and is the perfect starting point for readers new to Lian Hearn and the Tales of the Otori. In the book, readers will get to follow Shigeru from a twelve-year old boy until his fateful meeting with Tomasu at the beginning of “Across the Nightingale Floor”. In between, readers will get to intimately know the heir to the Otori clan—watching Shigeru grow into a man, experiencing his loves & joys, suffering his defeats & tragedies, learning from his mistakes, meeting his friends, alliances & enemies, and watching his plan for vengeance unfold. Of the larger story, “Heaven’s Net Is Wide” deals with the threatening war between the Otori and Tohan clans as well as treachery, Tribe politics and the rising influence of the “Hidden”… In short, even though there’s a ton of information to process—numerous characters, places, and customs (a map and character index should help if provided)—I believe “Heaven’s Net Is Wide” is an excellent place for readers to start the Otori series, even more so than “Across the Nightingale Floor”. Of course, I also feel the book is the perfect complement to those who’ve already read the other four Otori books :D (NOTE: New Lian Hearn readers may want to skip the next paragraph in order to avoid any SPOILERS!)For myself, I fall in the latter category and I absolutely loved “Heaven’s Net Is Wide”, which was rewarding on so many different levels. First and foremost, Shigeru was a favorite character of mine from “Across the Nightingale Floor” and getting to experience the expanded version of his story—getting trained by Matsuda Shingen, falling in love with Lady Maruyama, the tragic Battle of Yaegahara, the fate of his concubine Akane, befriending Muto Kenji, putting together the list of Tribe members, the death of his younger brother Takeshi, et cetera—was especially gratifying. Just as special were all of the little references to the later Otori books like the legend behind the stone bridge in Hagi, learning where the horses Raku & Kyu originated from, and meeting early versions of such characters as Tomasu (Takeo), Iida Sadamu, Kaede, Kikuta Kotaro, Yuki, Shizuka, Arai Daiichi, Terado Fumimasa and Fumio, etc., who all play such an important role in the overall saga. Even more impressive is that even though the book is a prequel and some of the outcomes are already known beforehand, it’s impossible not to sympathize with the characters and to be drawn into their unfolding dramas. This is mostly due to Ms. Hearn herself who is just a fabulous writer & storyteller, and I feel that “Heaven’s Net Is Wide” is some of her best work.
Because of my background I might be a little prejudiced towards the Tales of the Otori, but I truly believe the series is a literary accomplishment and despite my initial worries, “Heaven’s Net Is Wide” turned out to be one of the strongest entries in the saga—probably my favorite right up there with “Across the Nightingale Floor” & “The Harsh Cry of the Heron”—and I have no hesitation in recommending this book to readers whether you’ve been following the series or not. In the end, Lian Hearn’s “Heaven’s Net Is Wide” is a triumphant conclusion – or beginning – to the magnificent Tales of the Otori…
Order “The Book of Joby” HERE
Every once in a while, a novel comes along that doesn’t quite get the respect or fanfare that it deserves, even though it’s an amazing book and deserves to be read by as many people as possible. Mark J. Ferrari’s “The Book of Joby” is one of those books, and even though I’m just a nobody with a blog, I’m hoping to do my part in correcting this little oversight. My first goal was to speak with the author himself, and thankfully Mr. Ferrari was onboard to answer a few questions. Like the book, the interview ended up even better than expected, and is a comprehensive, informative and thoroughly entertaining glimpse into the magical world of Mark J. Ferrari who is as great an individual as he is a storyteller. So sit back and let Mark tell you about his inspiration for “The Book of Joby”, the key to believable characters & dialogue, his thoughts on the future of fantasy/SF, and so much more. Once again, my thanks to Mr. Ferrari for participating in the interview and to any readers who give “The Book of Joby” a chance:
Q: According to this FAQ on your website, you explain why you switched from being an artist to a writer, but could you explain in more detail why you decided to write “The Book of Joby” first, your journey in finding a publisher (and why Tor), and what it felt like to finally see your book in stores?
Mark: Wow. That’s a lot to explain.
I’ll start with “Why ‘The Book of Joby’?” The shortest answer is that this story was simply the first viable idea to present itself after I’d finally acknowledged a serious interest in writing.
The more accurate (and much longer) answer is provided in the following excerpt taken from the Tor/Forge press release sent out with the novel:
“This novel accumulated something like a fossil bed, one layer at a time over many, many years. In part it was simply inspired by the kinds of experience I had as a kid reading fantasy. ‘What would I do if I were that character in the middle of such a story? Would being that protagonist turn out to be as much fun as it was to read about, or would being a hero turn out to be a lot more frightening and confusing than the stories make it sound?’
Many, many years later, I found myself living in a tiny, isolated, and unbelievably picturesque coastal town in Northern California. If there are any magical places on this real earth, that place is one. Living there, it became easy – almost inevitable – to find myself once again contemplating the magical potential of everyday life – of living inside some remarkable story. During my 15 years there, I was profoundly privileged to be welcomed very deeply into the life of a community that the flocks of tourists filling our town’s streets never see. At no time in my life have I ever felt as fully ‘at home’ as I did living in that town, and do not expect ever to feel so much at home again. I have never encountered such a concentration of exquisitely creative and idiosyncratic individuals, nor found children so full of life and expectation, creative play, so prone to dream aloud, or so comfortable with themselves and each other as I did doing volunteer work with small town’s schools. Those students taught me as much or more about what life could be, maybe should be – about what I might do – even about who I was, than anyone anywhere ever had before – and I was in my mid thirty’s by then.
One year, three of those children, among the town’s brightest and best, died in separate, unrelated accidents, spaced almost exactly two months apart. It began to seem ‘intentional’ in some horrible way. The town’s official population at that time was 1,100 people. We nearly all knew each other personally. To say that the community was rocked by this triple punch does not begin to do the ordeal justice. Because of my long involvement with the town’s schools, and thus these children and their families and friends, I was invited more deeply than one might expect into the grieving processes that all of us were touched by to one degree or another. By far the greatest impact these events had on me came not from the deaths themselves, but from the remarkably genuine, probing, and communal ways these kids’ families, friends, and community dealt with their loss. At some point in life, I suspect most people are moved to ask such questions as, Why do such bad things happen to such good people? If there is a God, why doesn’t he intervene? What does one do about anger – one’s own, or other peoples? What is justice, and how much ought one do in pursuit of it? How much control can we have over the world around us, and how far should one go to seize such control? That year these questions were asked on an almost daily basis by an entire community for ten months or more.
This novel does not even attempt to answer any of these questions. It was merely inspired by all of them. Watching that remarkable community struggle with these questions in their own remarkable ways left me changed in many ways, and set me to imagining what the protagonists in the books I have always loved to read would do in an adventure where absolutely nothing ever went as it should, for reasons no one could explain or even guess at. One night, as I lay in bed, I realized that the biblical story of Job was the perfect framework to hang such a story on, the Arthurian icons and ‘fairy worlds’ of my childhood fantasies, the perfect character set in which to clothe that remarkable community of eccentric saints and bodhisattvas. The rest tumbled out almost of its own accord.”
Next, my journey toward a publisher, and “Why Tor?”:
Like everything else about this book, this was somewhat weird as well.
First, while writing the book, I was extremely fortunate to have very significant editorial help from a well known and respected freelance editor named Debbie Notkin, whom I had known for many years. Working with her over several years and various versions of this book was not only crucial in my own education about how to write well at all, but also, I suspect, lent a certain credibility to the project along the way. People in the business probably figured that if Debbie had been helping me with this, it might not be a total fool’s errand. (More on this in response to the next question on your list.)
Also, because I’d been known and generously welcome for a number of years in the science fiction/fantasy community as a professional illustrator, I was allowed opportunities at various science fiction conventions I attended to do readings from this book while it was still in progress. Thus, by the time it was finished, lots of people, some of them established authors and professional editors, already knew of its existence and had heard that it was ‘pretty good’. Within months of completing the manuscript, I was approached by a mid-sized science fiction/fantasy publisher who I will not explicitly name here for various reasons, and offered a publication deal. They seemed a very good fit, both for me and for my rather unusual book, and I worked with them very happily for nearly two years preparing for a pretty well publicized release date as one of their “spotlight selections” for 2004.
Oddly, they were still negotiating a contract with my agent months before the ostensible May release date, which, in hindsight, should have tipped me off that something was wrong. A month and a half before it was supposed to hit the shelves, that publisher announced that – for reasons still unclear to this day – they would have to cancel a number of their intended 2004 titles, including mine. After nearly two years of working with them, and with quite a lot of people anticipating the release by then, this seemed like pretty bad luck at the time. But it has become axiomatic with me that one never can tell what one’s luck means ‘at the time.’ When people ask me how I’m doing these days, I often suggest that they ask me a year later, as I will probably not know much before then how I was really doing today.
Having publicized the impending book very well, and then cutting me loose at the last minute, it seems this previous publisher had made David Hartwell, (now my editor at Tor), aware of the book, and made it and me available as I might not have been for many years had the earlier publisher actually followed through. In hindsight, it seems clear to me now that by mishandling things as they did, that earlier publisher probably did me quite a favor. My agent brought the book to Tor, and Tor elected to buy it. That was three years ago. I know many talented aspiring writers who are gracious not to hold such a straight path into the light against me. I am extremely grateful for the way things have unfolded, though I would not have imagined saying so for a few months after that first publication date had come and gone.
As to how it feels to see my book on the shelves, it’s rather surreal, as you might imagine. It’s been six years now since I finished the original draft. Though I’ve done a few very enjoyable signing events already, and the book is being very well received even in a number of unexpected quarters, it’s actually taking some time to sink in that it really is out there finally, finding an audience, and, apparently, not just a really good trick being played on me by … someone. I have had to buy a few copies in the stores lately, for people I wanted to give it to right away, and I find myself feeling almost frightened that the register clerk is going to recognize my name on the book, and make me explain what I’m doing there – as if I were getting away with something off-color. Other times, I just laugh quietly … when no one’s there to hear.
Okay, so much for question #1. … I don’t envy you the editing task I’m leaving you here.
Q: That’s quite the response there ;) Let’s see how the others stack up… Since “The Book of Joby” is your first novel, what did you think was the most challenging part about writing the book? What about the easiest?
Mark: As I’ve mentioned on my website, while the hardest part about illustration for me was often getting started, the hardest thing about writing for me has often been making myself stop. Quite literally. I just love to write. Too much sometimes. It’s like watching a long movie in my head, which I’ve got to translate to paper as quickly and expressively as possible. Time almost ceases to exist while I’m at it, and there have been times when I’ve sat down at my desktop after breakfast and looked up half an hour later to find the sun setting. Thus it may come as no surprise to learn that half my writing process is subtractive. All this stuff gushes out, and I spend nearly as much time trying to remove the huge amounts of ‘literary packing peanuts’ in which the actual story is left swimming. My agent recently nudged me about the possibility of writing a short story, and I practically panicked. I’ll very happily turn out another epic novel anytime it’s wanted, but please, PLEASE, don’t ask me to do anything as frightening as a SHORT story! That’s too much like magic. You’d need someone like Jay Lake for that.
Q: LOL. So did you learn anything from writing “The Book of Joby” and what was it?
Mark: I can think of several funny answers to this question, about the risks of putting lines into the mouth of God in a first novel, or the stupidity of using your entire career’s supply of villains in the first book, (There are nearly thirty villains of various size and significance in "The Book of Joby", I believe.), but I will offer a serious answer instead, because honesty demands it. The most important thing I learned from writing "The Book of Joby" was how to write. Again, I must leap to say that my friend, and unbelievably gifted and patient editorial mentor, Debbie Notkin, had everything to do with showing me how MUCH I needed to learn about how MANY things I was doing badly, or not doing at all at first, and somehow managing to do it without ever making me feel foolish or discouraged. How, you ask? I still can’t say, exactly. The miracle was so smoothly accomplished that I only appreciated its true dimensions much later when I went back to look at the earliest, and truly awful, manuscript I showed her back in 1996, and wondered why she didn’t simply run screaming into the woods, after reading the first few pages, or more appropriately, drive me off to do so. I owe her … a great deal.
Q: How do you feel about the way “The Book of Joby” turned out? Do you wish there was anything you could go back and change or add?
Mark: “The Book of Joby” has actually benefited from the somewhat lengthy, sometimes tortured path to publication it enjoyed. It has been edited three times by three different editors, (including Debbie), and therefore had time to be re-visited and recomposed several times with years of new experience and perspective between iterations. As a result, I’m pretty happy about its current state, and feel it’s about as good as it can be. The seemingly remarkable percentage of readers who claim to have enjoyed it when they’re done seems to back up my sense that this one’s fairly whole as is.
Q: As you mentioned above, Taubolt is inspired by an actual coastal town in California and that some of your experiences as a child were also inspirations. What other personal experiences might have made their way into the book (and why did you include them)?
Mark: If I answer this one, editing this interview will have to become your life’s work. I’ll just skirt the issue by saying that almost everything in “The Book of Joby” points back to something or someone in my own life, but none of the things pointed to bore much if any resemblance to anything in the book. Joby’s childhood was not remotely my own childhood, his friends were not my friends, his parents are not my parents, etc., but the grist for all of them was somewhere in my own experiences. I imagine most writers could say the same.
Q: Could you elaborate on why you thought the Bible’s Book of Job “was the perfect frame on which to hang such a story”, why the Arthurian legend was such a prominent influence in the book, and how you thought to mix the two?
Mark: You know …. You do not ask simple questions, do you.
In simplest terms, the original story of Job is of a man enduring consequences utterly incongruous with anything he’s done or tried to do. We’re all taught as children that if we do certain things, certain good results will follow, and that if we do certain other things certain bad results will follow, but that seems rarely to be how things really happen in the world. In fact, I think that’s a great deal of what the original story of Job was about – a story written to a culture that was deeply invested in the idea that if good or bad things happened to you it was because you’d done something to cause it or deserve it. The writer was telling that culture not to be absurd and pointlessly judgmental. My story was also about people enduring really difficult events that simply bore no rational relationship to what they deserved or should have expected, so it seemed a match. The Arthurian element was, in part, an artifact of my own lifelong, personal mythological paradigm, and thus a good reflection of my own ‘Joby’s’ character, and in part yet another traditional story about people enduring outcomes that seemed tragically inappropriate to what they’d set out to do, and worked so hard and so well for the most part, to bring about instead.
Q: Obviously there are some strong Christian overtones in “The Book of Joby”, but I never got the impression that you were trying to make a religious statement either for or against Christianity, and I think you explain yourself clearly about the subject in your FAQ. That said, is there a message in the novel that you want readers to grasp?
Mark: There are, in fact, several themes woven through the story, which, to me at least, seem related.
One is this idea of trying to come to some terms with a world where the correlation between what you put in and what you get out so often seems to make so little of the sense many of us have been led to assume it should. My own struggle with this quandary has led me to the belief that enlightenment doesn’t make the pool much warmer. The enlightened just learn to have a much better time in the same old pretty cold pool.
The second theme is an exploration of the fierce conviction most of us fall into at least momentarily sooner or later, that everything would be perfect in the world if all those stupid, wrong headed people could just be made to do it my way. The novel is full of characters, old and young, rich and poor, liberal and conservative, Christian and not, extremely well intended or wickedly self-serving, who are so focused on the rightness of their agenda that they’ll do all kinds of damage to everything around them as they march like Sherman to the sea toward that perfect world they envision.
The third theme woven through the book has to do with the nature of justice, the various things that term can be used to mean, and what costs and/or benefits those various definitions can engender. There are things called ‘justice’ in the world that make whole, and things called ‘justice’ in the world that only wound and destroy even the wielders of them. Among other things, Joby has to sort through choices about what kind(s) of ‘justice’ he will choose before his quest is finished, and what will most truly do ‘justice’ to himself as well as to those around him.
Q: That’s some good stuff. Characterization I thought was a real strength in “The Book of Joby”, particularly the characters’ complex emotions. Who was the most difficult character to write in the book and why? What about easiest? And lastly, is there a favorite character?
Mark: Thanks! In my opinion, credible characters with credible agendas and motivations are at the core of any very satisfying, effective story in any genre. The story’s ideas don’t give its characters meaning. The characters give the story’s ideas meaning. But, I’d really have to say that they’re all my favorites. I like apples for entirely different reasons than I like oranges, but characters that aren’t favorites in one way or another – protagonist or villain - rarely end up staying in my story for long. If I believe them, I like them – whether I approve of them or not.
The easiest to write were the ‘divine’ characters, because I was making little if any attempt to capture ‘the real thing’ ‘accurately.’ I don’t know God or Lucifer or any angels or demons nearly well enough to write anything ‘accurate’ about them. (And, yeah, I wrote that line with my tongue shoved ALL the way up in one cheek). They weren’t really there to function as ‘characters’ in the same way that Joby, Laura, Ben, Hawk, Crombie, and the other mortals were. The divine characters were really just there as a kind of container for the story – cosmic comic relief to soften the grim parts, and a kind of ‘greek chorus’ to soft-shoe in sometimes to observe and comment on what’s happening in the ‘real’ drama of Joby and his fellow mortals. Therefore, they could be written more as, hopefully, entertainingly familiar icons than as fully three-dimensional people.
I think the hardest character to write was Rose, because her character was inspired by a girl I didn’t know well enough to write accurately before she was gone, but knew well enough to know that she was way to fine to do justice too easily. So I just tried to write a character who wasn’t even trying to be the original, but still managed to convey some of what made the original matter so much to everyone around her. I must leave it to those who knew her much, much better than I to determine how I did.
Q: Dialogue was also superb. What’s the key to writing strong dialogue?
Mark: I think it helps to read dialogue aloud, make sure that it actually sounds like speech when spoken. It helps to be a natural mimic, which I happen to be. I have a feel for what people stick in their verbal expressions, redundancies, pauses, nonsense sounds, affectations – and just as importantly – what they leave out, such as half the words in every other sentence.
Then, when I’ve written something that sounds and feels like speech to me when read aloud, I go back through it and try to make sure I haven’t left in two ‘really great’ ways to say the same thing, that everything they’re saying actually supplies some information about what’s happening, who they are, what they’re after, etc, that hasn’t been supplied already, and that adds something quantifiable to the story. If it doesn’t meet all those criteria, no matter how cool it sounds, it’s probably got to go. … Of course, I am well aware that some of my editorial mentors will be rolling their eyes as they read this, wondering when I’m actually going to practice any of what I’m preaching here. But I do try. No, I really do! … No really!
Q: Another great thing about “The Book of Joby” is that it’s a standalone novel. How hard was it to fit the entire story into one volume?
Mark: Fitting it all into one publishable volume was hard. … Very hard. … Very, very hard. The last major revision I did involved removing 150 pages … so they could fit a sufficient number of books into a shipping container. … No, really!
Q: As a whole, I thought “The Book of Joby” was a brilliantly told story from start to finish. In your opinion, what makes a story work successfully?
Mark: I think the best stories are the ones you simply feel such an almost involuntary need to tell, that you can’t stop yourself from trying – and trying, no matter how many times someone or something tries to stop you.
Q: In your own words, Debbie Notkin played a crucial role in making you the writer that you are today, and that you’ve improved immensely from your earliest manuscripts. In what ways would you like to become a better writer?
Mark: In future works, I simply hope to distill the most powerful images and ideas down even further than I was able to here. I have heard poetry called “condensed language.” I see no reason why prose should not often read more like poetry in this regard than mine often does to date.
Q: Speaking of future works, I believe you’ve recently completed or are close to finishing your second fantasy novel. Can you tell us any more about this book as well as any other projects that you’re working on?
Mark: I am reticent to say too much about it for a variety of reasons, but I am hoping to have my next novel finished well before Christmas. It is the first book in a fantasy trilogy completely unrelated to "The Book of Joby", set in the not too distant future just as the developed world is climbing out from under the rubble of a catastrophic pandemic wave of psychosis that manifests in an inexplicable waking dream state and a mighty powerful thirst to shop! Our protagonist discovers, among other things, that although the cataclysm occurred decades before he was born, he is, nonetheless, partly responsible for causing it. Things go on from there. The current working title is, “If Dreams Die.” Your guess is as good as mine about what it will actually be called by the time it hits the shelves
Q: Well hopefully we won’t have to wait too long for that book, because it sounds pretty interesting :) As I try to control my excitement, let’s tackle the next question. Even though writing has become your number one priority, you still provide background/concept art for a computer gaming company, and I believe you did the artwork for your debut novel. What was that like, drawing the cover for your own book, and what are your thoughts on the topic as a whole?
Mark: Actually, while my artwork was originally intended for “The Book of Joby’s” cover, it didn’t end up there. Late in the process, the cover was redesigned by others for marketing reasons entirely to my, and the book’s, benefit. The little dragon breathing fire on the title text was cropped from the piece of art originally intended for the cover, though.
After several decades as a commercial illustrator, I have pages and pages of opinion about the nature and significance of cover art in publishing and marketing, and to show my profound appreciation for the honor you do me with this interview, I’m going to spare you all of that here. :)
Q: Well I’m sure we’ll all end up appreciating that ;). Moving on, it’s not uncommon to see books adapted into movies, comic books, television or other formats and I think your novel would make a great film, or perhaps even a graphic novel or comic book. Has there been any interest in the book or anything optioned for adaptation (of any kind) yet, and if so, can you give us some details?
Mark: Though the book has been officially released for two weeks already, Hollywood has still not called. Frankly, I can’t imagine what they’re waiting for. I’ve even written whole scenes into the book just to give those special effects guys something to do!
Eagerly awaiting their call, and, knowing how they’ll appreciate any assistance I could offer, I have already cast the entire film in my head. Jeremy Irons will be playing Lucifer, of course, and Jake Gyllenhaal, the adult Joby. Julianne Moore should make a smashing adult Laura, and Ben Affleck will get a chance to redeem himself as the grown-up ‘Ben’. (After all, the whole thing’s about redemption, right?) Matthew McConaughey will be great as Michael, I’m sure, Nicole Kidman will be perfect as Kallaystra, Keanu Reeves as Gabriel, Paul Newman as The Creator, and the entire cast of High School Musical should just cover all the younger characters, etc. etc. etc. The only downside, of course, is that since virtually every star in LA will be cast in The Book of Joby, there will be no one available to make other films that year, but hey, who’ll want to see other films when they could be seeing The Book of Joby over and over and over again all summer long?
But seriously, as soon as those media guys get the memo, I will keep you informed. :)
Q: What about you as a writer? Are you interested in branching out into a different medium (comic books, television, movie scripts, videogames, etc.) or trying out a genre besides fantasy? If so, what and why?
Mark: I learned years ago that the quickest way to end up doing something I thought I’d never do, was to say, “I’m sure I’ll never do that.” That, for instance, is how I got into the computer game industry. Having said that, I am sooooo enjoying writing just now that I have no desire to do anything for the foreseeable future except write one more book after another, and another… But hey, if something equally engaging comes along, I have never been good at turning such opportunities down. I do love film. Same answer in regard to genre: I really, really like contemporary fantasy, and the next five or six novels I have outlined are all fantasy set in contemporary settings, but you know, I tend to be a little sloppy about genre boundaries at the best of times. Just ask my long suffering agent. So…who knows what border I might drift across in pursuit of a good story someday?
Q: As an artist, you were involved with sci-fi/fantasy for seventeen years, covering all areas including publishing, film, videogames, et cetera. What are your thoughts on the genres’ evolution since you first started and where do you see science fiction and fantasy going in the future?
Mark: Yikes! You really aren’t much better at ‘short’ stories than I am, are you?
Well, in the smallest possible nutshell, I would point out that fifty to a hundred years ago, “Western” art and literature, (as in cowboys, Indians, OK Corral, etc), were regarded as irredeemably adolescent material fit only for ‘penny dreadfuls’ to titillate little boys. By the 1970’s “Western Art,” was one of the most lucrative “fine art” markets in the United States and Europe. The subject matter had passed from novel, ‘current frontier’ themes into well established - even nostalgic -‘historical’ ones deemed appropriate for the finest households and museums.
All those ‘kids’ who rushed to see Star Wars thirty years ago are middle aged now. Things depicted in those films, and episodes of Star Trek, have become more and more pervasive components of our wider culture and legitimate technological landscape. (Remember when Captain Kirk’s flip-open, cell phone sized communicator seemed preposterous?). Harry Potter and the latest batch of Lord Of The Rings movies have clearly made fantasy a far more ‘main stream’ commercial interest. I suspect that within the next twenty to thirty years sci-fi/fantasy art and literature will become as ‘main stream’ and ‘culturally legitimate’ as Western art did before them and Impressionism did before them. In fact, referring back to an earlier question, my novel’s cover was changed from the more overt ‘fantasy’ cover I had designed to the more ‘main stream literary’ cover it now enjoys precisely in deference to the larger ‘main stream’ audience that such overt fantasy literature can now credibly be marketed to. … It’s already well along the way to happening.
In my opinion, the next big shift will - and should - be at least some softening of all these previously rigid genre boundaries in literature and media. I suspect that’s really what the whole “magic realism” movement is about: the emerging concession that even ‘normal people’ crave some sense of wonder, wild imagination, and miraculous potential in their lives, not just the hardcore sci-fi/fantasy crowd. So we’re creating ‘literarily legitimate’ fantasy, horror and sci-fi for them too, by calling it ‘magic realism’ and ‘speculative fiction.’ I look forward to the day when marketing agendas and stratagems have become flexible enough to let a story go wherever it needs to go to be the story it wants to be.
(FYI: The image above, called "The Dream", was the artwork originally planned for incorporation into the cover before being passed over in favor of a design tuned to reach a wider audience.)
Q: What a wonderful answer! I truly hope that I’ll get to see that day :) So. Are there any preconceived notions that you’d like to dispel about being an artist? What about as a writer?
Mark: Sure. To begin with, the idea that we’re all poor as church mice, and incapable of any practical skills. Anyone who really takes the time to look carefully will soon realize that we’re all poor as church mice and incapable of any practical skills for reasons that have nothing to do with being artists.
Got that sorted out now, didn’t we.
Q: Haha, nice. Besides writing & artwork, what other activities or hobbies do you enjoy?
Mark: Backpacking, skiing, cooking, bike riding, travel, swimming, marine invertebrate zoology, asparagus metabolism research… Well, I haven’t really had time to pursue that one yet, but I do keep meaning to get to it.
Q: That’s quite the itinerary ;) What about reading? Anything good lately?
Mark: You mean, today? Well, this questionnaire mostly. Oh, last night?
The Long Price Quartet by Daniel Abraham – really good.
Also recently “Last Light of the Sun,” “Sailing to Sarantium,” and “Lord of Emperors,” by Guy Gavriel Kay, “Mainspring” by Jay Lake, “Little Big” by John Crowley, (for the 20th time), “Moon Called” by Patricia Briggs, the Curse of Chalion series by Lois McMaster Bujold. “Mendosa in Hollywood”, In the Gardens of Iden series by Kage Baker, to name just a few that leap to mind.
Q: That’s a pretty good list. What about new writers?
Mark: I’ve read some fun books for ‘teen readers’ lately. “City of Bones” by Cassandra Clare, and “The Alchemyst” by Michael Scott. Found the first slickly written and fun in a Buffy the Vampire Slayer sort of way, while the book by Scott makes a lot of interesting use of real though somewhat mysterious historical figures and a wide variety of real world mythologies.
Q: Yeah, I’ve heard both of those. Should check definitely check them out sometime. Well, as enjoyable as this has been, all good things must unfortunately come to an end, so do you have any last thoughts or comments you’d like to share?
Mark: “Last thoughts?” … My. That sounds rather ominous. I certainly hope not. :) But I would like to express again my heartfelt appreciation for this opportunity to talk about this pretty exciting moment in my life, and for your interest in, and support of, “The Book of Joby”, which I am so pleased to see finding its audience!
And again, my condolences regarding the editing task this questionnaire places before you! Please do let me know if I can be of any further ‘help.’ :)
Mark
Q: According to this FAQ on your website, you explain why you switched from being an artist to a writer, but could you explain in more detail why you decided to write “The Book of Joby” first, your journey in finding a publisher (and why Tor), and what it felt like to finally see your book in stores?
Mark: Wow. That’s a lot to explain.
I’ll start with “Why ‘The Book of Joby’?” The shortest answer is that this story was simply the first viable idea to present itself after I’d finally acknowledged a serious interest in writing.
The more accurate (and much longer) answer is provided in the following excerpt taken from the Tor/Forge press release sent out with the novel:
“This novel accumulated something like a fossil bed, one layer at a time over many, many years. In part it was simply inspired by the kinds of experience I had as a kid reading fantasy. ‘What would I do if I were that character in the middle of such a story? Would being that protagonist turn out to be as much fun as it was to read about, or would being a hero turn out to be a lot more frightening and confusing than the stories make it sound?’
Many, many years later, I found myself living in a tiny, isolated, and unbelievably picturesque coastal town in Northern California. If there are any magical places on this real earth, that place is one. Living there, it became easy – almost inevitable – to find myself once again contemplating the magical potential of everyday life – of living inside some remarkable story. During my 15 years there, I was profoundly privileged to be welcomed very deeply into the life of a community that the flocks of tourists filling our town’s streets never see. At no time in my life have I ever felt as fully ‘at home’ as I did living in that town, and do not expect ever to feel so much at home again. I have never encountered such a concentration of exquisitely creative and idiosyncratic individuals, nor found children so full of life and expectation, creative play, so prone to dream aloud, or so comfortable with themselves and each other as I did doing volunteer work with small town’s schools. Those students taught me as much or more about what life could be, maybe should be – about what I might do – even about who I was, than anyone anywhere ever had before – and I was in my mid thirty’s by then.
One year, three of those children, among the town’s brightest and best, died in separate, unrelated accidents, spaced almost exactly two months apart. It began to seem ‘intentional’ in some horrible way. The town’s official population at that time was 1,100 people. We nearly all knew each other personally. To say that the community was rocked by this triple punch does not begin to do the ordeal justice. Because of my long involvement with the town’s schools, and thus these children and their families and friends, I was invited more deeply than one might expect into the grieving processes that all of us were touched by to one degree or another. By far the greatest impact these events had on me came not from the deaths themselves, but from the remarkably genuine, probing, and communal ways these kids’ families, friends, and community dealt with their loss. At some point in life, I suspect most people are moved to ask such questions as, Why do such bad things happen to such good people? If there is a God, why doesn’t he intervene? What does one do about anger – one’s own, or other peoples? What is justice, and how much ought one do in pursuit of it? How much control can we have over the world around us, and how far should one go to seize such control? That year these questions were asked on an almost daily basis by an entire community for ten months or more.
This novel does not even attempt to answer any of these questions. It was merely inspired by all of them. Watching that remarkable community struggle with these questions in their own remarkable ways left me changed in many ways, and set me to imagining what the protagonists in the books I have always loved to read would do in an adventure where absolutely nothing ever went as it should, for reasons no one could explain or even guess at. One night, as I lay in bed, I realized that the biblical story of Job was the perfect framework to hang such a story on, the Arthurian icons and ‘fairy worlds’ of my childhood fantasies, the perfect character set in which to clothe that remarkable community of eccentric saints and bodhisattvas. The rest tumbled out almost of its own accord.”
Next, my journey toward a publisher, and “Why Tor?”:
Like everything else about this book, this was somewhat weird as well.
First, while writing the book, I was extremely fortunate to have very significant editorial help from a well known and respected freelance editor named Debbie Notkin, whom I had known for many years. Working with her over several years and various versions of this book was not only crucial in my own education about how to write well at all, but also, I suspect, lent a certain credibility to the project along the way. People in the business probably figured that if Debbie had been helping me with this, it might not be a total fool’s errand. (More on this in response to the next question on your list.)
Also, because I’d been known and generously welcome for a number of years in the science fiction/fantasy community as a professional illustrator, I was allowed opportunities at various science fiction conventions I attended to do readings from this book while it was still in progress. Thus, by the time it was finished, lots of people, some of them established authors and professional editors, already knew of its existence and had heard that it was ‘pretty good’. Within months of completing the manuscript, I was approached by a mid-sized science fiction/fantasy publisher who I will not explicitly name here for various reasons, and offered a publication deal. They seemed a very good fit, both for me and for my rather unusual book, and I worked with them very happily for nearly two years preparing for a pretty well publicized release date as one of their “spotlight selections” for 2004.
Oddly, they were still negotiating a contract with my agent months before the ostensible May release date, which, in hindsight, should have tipped me off that something was wrong. A month and a half before it was supposed to hit the shelves, that publisher announced that – for reasons still unclear to this day – they would have to cancel a number of their intended 2004 titles, including mine. After nearly two years of working with them, and with quite a lot of people anticipating the release by then, this seemed like pretty bad luck at the time. But it has become axiomatic with me that one never can tell what one’s luck means ‘at the time.’ When people ask me how I’m doing these days, I often suggest that they ask me a year later, as I will probably not know much before then how I was really doing today.
Having publicized the impending book very well, and then cutting me loose at the last minute, it seems this previous publisher had made David Hartwell, (now my editor at Tor), aware of the book, and made it and me available as I might not have been for many years had the earlier publisher actually followed through. In hindsight, it seems clear to me now that by mishandling things as they did, that earlier publisher probably did me quite a favor. My agent brought the book to Tor, and Tor elected to buy it. That was three years ago. I know many talented aspiring writers who are gracious not to hold such a straight path into the light against me. I am extremely grateful for the way things have unfolded, though I would not have imagined saying so for a few months after that first publication date had come and gone.
As to how it feels to see my book on the shelves, it’s rather surreal, as you might imagine. It’s been six years now since I finished the original draft. Though I’ve done a few very enjoyable signing events already, and the book is being very well received even in a number of unexpected quarters, it’s actually taking some time to sink in that it really is out there finally, finding an audience, and, apparently, not just a really good trick being played on me by … someone. I have had to buy a few copies in the stores lately, for people I wanted to give it to right away, and I find myself feeling almost frightened that the register clerk is going to recognize my name on the book, and make me explain what I’m doing there – as if I were getting away with something off-color. Other times, I just laugh quietly … when no one’s there to hear.
Okay, so much for question #1. … I don’t envy you the editing task I’m leaving you here.
Q: That’s quite the response there ;) Let’s see how the others stack up… Since “The Book of Joby” is your first novel, what did you think was the most challenging part about writing the book? What about the easiest?
Mark: As I’ve mentioned on my website, while the hardest part about illustration for me was often getting started, the hardest thing about writing for me has often been making myself stop. Quite literally. I just love to write. Too much sometimes. It’s like watching a long movie in my head, which I’ve got to translate to paper as quickly and expressively as possible. Time almost ceases to exist while I’m at it, and there have been times when I’ve sat down at my desktop after breakfast and looked up half an hour later to find the sun setting. Thus it may come as no surprise to learn that half my writing process is subtractive. All this stuff gushes out, and I spend nearly as much time trying to remove the huge amounts of ‘literary packing peanuts’ in which the actual story is left swimming. My agent recently nudged me about the possibility of writing a short story, and I practically panicked. I’ll very happily turn out another epic novel anytime it’s wanted, but please, PLEASE, don’t ask me to do anything as frightening as a SHORT story! That’s too much like magic. You’d need someone like Jay Lake for that.
Q: LOL. So did you learn anything from writing “The Book of Joby” and what was it?
Mark: I can think of several funny answers to this question, about the risks of putting lines into the mouth of God in a first novel, or the stupidity of using your entire career’s supply of villains in the first book, (There are nearly thirty villains of various size and significance in "The Book of Joby", I believe.), but I will offer a serious answer instead, because honesty demands it. The most important thing I learned from writing "The Book of Joby" was how to write. Again, I must leap to say that my friend, and unbelievably gifted and patient editorial mentor, Debbie Notkin, had everything to do with showing me how MUCH I needed to learn about how MANY things I was doing badly, or not doing at all at first, and somehow managing to do it without ever making me feel foolish or discouraged. How, you ask? I still can’t say, exactly. The miracle was so smoothly accomplished that I only appreciated its true dimensions much later when I went back to look at the earliest, and truly awful, manuscript I showed her back in 1996, and wondered why she didn’t simply run screaming into the woods, after reading the first few pages, or more appropriately, drive me off to do so. I owe her … a great deal.
Q: How do you feel about the way “The Book of Joby” turned out? Do you wish there was anything you could go back and change or add?
Mark: “The Book of Joby” has actually benefited from the somewhat lengthy, sometimes tortured path to publication it enjoyed. It has been edited three times by three different editors, (including Debbie), and therefore had time to be re-visited and recomposed several times with years of new experience and perspective between iterations. As a result, I’m pretty happy about its current state, and feel it’s about as good as it can be. The seemingly remarkable percentage of readers who claim to have enjoyed it when they’re done seems to back up my sense that this one’s fairly whole as is.
Q: As you mentioned above, Taubolt is inspired by an actual coastal town in California and that some of your experiences as a child were also inspirations. What other personal experiences might have made their way into the book (and why did you include them)?
Mark: If I answer this one, editing this interview will have to become your life’s work. I’ll just skirt the issue by saying that almost everything in “The Book of Joby” points back to something or someone in my own life, but none of the things pointed to bore much if any resemblance to anything in the book. Joby’s childhood was not remotely my own childhood, his friends were not my friends, his parents are not my parents, etc., but the grist for all of them was somewhere in my own experiences. I imagine most writers could say the same.
Q: Could you elaborate on why you thought the Bible’s Book of Job “was the perfect frame on which to hang such a story”, why the Arthurian legend was such a prominent influence in the book, and how you thought to mix the two?
Mark: You know …. You do not ask simple questions, do you.
In simplest terms, the original story of Job is of a man enduring consequences utterly incongruous with anything he’s done or tried to do. We’re all taught as children that if we do certain things, certain good results will follow, and that if we do certain other things certain bad results will follow, but that seems rarely to be how things really happen in the world. In fact, I think that’s a great deal of what the original story of Job was about – a story written to a culture that was deeply invested in the idea that if good or bad things happened to you it was because you’d done something to cause it or deserve it. The writer was telling that culture not to be absurd and pointlessly judgmental. My story was also about people enduring really difficult events that simply bore no rational relationship to what they deserved or should have expected, so it seemed a match. The Arthurian element was, in part, an artifact of my own lifelong, personal mythological paradigm, and thus a good reflection of my own ‘Joby’s’ character, and in part yet another traditional story about people enduring outcomes that seemed tragically inappropriate to what they’d set out to do, and worked so hard and so well for the most part, to bring about instead.Q: Obviously there are some strong Christian overtones in “The Book of Joby”, but I never got the impression that you were trying to make a religious statement either for or against Christianity, and I think you explain yourself clearly about the subject in your FAQ. That said, is there a message in the novel that you want readers to grasp?
Mark: There are, in fact, several themes woven through the story, which, to me at least, seem related.
One is this idea of trying to come to some terms with a world where the correlation between what you put in and what you get out so often seems to make so little of the sense many of us have been led to assume it should. My own struggle with this quandary has led me to the belief that enlightenment doesn’t make the pool much warmer. The enlightened just learn to have a much better time in the same old pretty cold pool.
The second theme is an exploration of the fierce conviction most of us fall into at least momentarily sooner or later, that everything would be perfect in the world if all those stupid, wrong headed people could just be made to do it my way. The novel is full of characters, old and young, rich and poor, liberal and conservative, Christian and not, extremely well intended or wickedly self-serving, who are so focused on the rightness of their agenda that they’ll do all kinds of damage to everything around them as they march like Sherman to the sea toward that perfect world they envision.
The third theme woven through the book has to do with the nature of justice, the various things that term can be used to mean, and what costs and/or benefits those various definitions can engender. There are things called ‘justice’ in the world that make whole, and things called ‘justice’ in the world that only wound and destroy even the wielders of them. Among other things, Joby has to sort through choices about what kind(s) of ‘justice’ he will choose before his quest is finished, and what will most truly do ‘justice’ to himself as well as to those around him.
Q: That’s some good stuff. Characterization I thought was a real strength in “The Book of Joby”, particularly the characters’ complex emotions. Who was the most difficult character to write in the book and why? What about easiest? And lastly, is there a favorite character?
Mark: Thanks! In my opinion, credible characters with credible agendas and motivations are at the core of any very satisfying, effective story in any genre. The story’s ideas don’t give its characters meaning. The characters give the story’s ideas meaning. But, I’d really have to say that they’re all my favorites. I like apples for entirely different reasons than I like oranges, but characters that aren’t favorites in one way or another – protagonist or villain - rarely end up staying in my story for long. If I believe them, I like them – whether I approve of them or not.
The easiest to write were the ‘divine’ characters, because I was making little if any attempt to capture ‘the real thing’ ‘accurately.’ I don’t know God or Lucifer or any angels or demons nearly well enough to write anything ‘accurate’ about them. (And, yeah, I wrote that line with my tongue shoved ALL the way up in one cheek). They weren’t really there to function as ‘characters’ in the same way that Joby, Laura, Ben, Hawk, Crombie, and the other mortals were. The divine characters were really just there as a kind of container for the story – cosmic comic relief to soften the grim parts, and a kind of ‘greek chorus’ to soft-shoe in sometimes to observe and comment on what’s happening in the ‘real’ drama of Joby and his fellow mortals. Therefore, they could be written more as, hopefully, entertainingly familiar icons than as fully three-dimensional people.
I think the hardest character to write was Rose, because her character was inspired by a girl I didn’t know well enough to write accurately before she was gone, but knew well enough to know that she was way to fine to do justice too easily. So I just tried to write a character who wasn’t even trying to be the original, but still managed to convey some of what made the original matter so much to everyone around her. I must leave it to those who knew her much, much better than I to determine how I did.
Q: Dialogue was also superb. What’s the key to writing strong dialogue?
Mark: I think it helps to read dialogue aloud, make sure that it actually sounds like speech when spoken. It helps to be a natural mimic, which I happen to be. I have a feel for what people stick in their verbal expressions, redundancies, pauses, nonsense sounds, affectations – and just as importantly – what they leave out, such as half the words in every other sentence.
Then, when I’ve written something that sounds and feels like speech to me when read aloud, I go back through it and try to make sure I haven’t left in two ‘really great’ ways to say the same thing, that everything they’re saying actually supplies some information about what’s happening, who they are, what they’re after, etc, that hasn’t been supplied already, and that adds something quantifiable to the story. If it doesn’t meet all those criteria, no matter how cool it sounds, it’s probably got to go. … Of course, I am well aware that some of my editorial mentors will be rolling their eyes as they read this, wondering when I’m actually going to practice any of what I’m preaching here. But I do try. No, I really do! … No really!
Q: Another great thing about “The Book of Joby” is that it’s a standalone novel. How hard was it to fit the entire story into one volume?
Mark: Fitting it all into one publishable volume was hard. … Very hard. … Very, very hard. The last major revision I did involved removing 150 pages … so they could fit a sufficient number of books into a shipping container. … No, really!
Q: As a whole, I thought “The Book of Joby” was a brilliantly told story from start to finish. In your opinion, what makes a story work successfully?
Mark: I think the best stories are the ones you simply feel such an almost involuntary need to tell, that you can’t stop yourself from trying – and trying, no matter how many times someone or something tries to stop you.
Q: In your own words, Debbie Notkin played a crucial role in making you the writer that you are today, and that you’ve improved immensely from your earliest manuscripts. In what ways would you like to become a better writer?
Mark: In future works, I simply hope to distill the most powerful images and ideas down even further than I was able to here. I have heard poetry called “condensed language.” I see no reason why prose should not often read more like poetry in this regard than mine often does to date.
Q: Speaking of future works, I believe you’ve recently completed or are close to finishing your second fantasy novel. Can you tell us any more about this book as well as any other projects that you’re working on?
Mark: I am reticent to say too much about it for a variety of reasons, but I am hoping to have my next novel finished well before Christmas. It is the first book in a fantasy trilogy completely unrelated to "The Book of Joby", set in the not too distant future just as the developed world is climbing out from under the rubble of a catastrophic pandemic wave of psychosis that manifests in an inexplicable waking dream state and a mighty powerful thirst to shop! Our protagonist discovers, among other things, that although the cataclysm occurred decades before he was born, he is, nonetheless, partly responsible for causing it. Things go on from there. The current working title is, “If Dreams Die.” Your guess is as good as mine about what it will actually be called by the time it hits the shelves
Q: Well hopefully we won’t have to wait too long for that book, because it sounds pretty interesting :) As I try to control my excitement, let’s tackle the next question. Even though writing has become your number one priority, you still provide background/concept art for a computer gaming company, and I believe you did the artwork for your debut novel. What was that like, drawing the cover for your own book, and what are your thoughts on the topic as a whole?
Mark: Actually, while my artwork was originally intended for “The Book of Joby’s” cover, it didn’t end up there. Late in the process, the cover was redesigned by others for marketing reasons entirely to my, and the book’s, benefit. The little dragon breathing fire on the title text was cropped from the piece of art originally intended for the cover, though.
After several decades as a commercial illustrator, I have pages and pages of opinion about the nature and significance of cover art in publishing and marketing, and to show my profound appreciation for the honor you do me with this interview, I’m going to spare you all of that here. :)
Q: Well I’m sure we’ll all end up appreciating that ;). Moving on, it’s not uncommon to see books adapted into movies, comic books, television or other formats and I think your novel would make a great film, or perhaps even a graphic novel or comic book. Has there been any interest in the book or anything optioned for adaptation (of any kind) yet, and if so, can you give us some details?
Mark: Though the book has been officially released for two weeks already, Hollywood has still not called. Frankly, I can’t imagine what they’re waiting for. I’ve even written whole scenes into the book just to give those special effects guys something to do!
Eagerly awaiting their call, and, knowing how they’ll appreciate any assistance I could offer, I have already cast the entire film in my head. Jeremy Irons will be playing Lucifer, of course, and Jake Gyllenhaal, the adult Joby. Julianne Moore should make a smashing adult Laura, and Ben Affleck will get a chance to redeem himself as the grown-up ‘Ben’. (After all, the whole thing’s about redemption, right?) Matthew McConaughey will be great as Michael, I’m sure, Nicole Kidman will be perfect as Kallaystra, Keanu Reeves as Gabriel, Paul Newman as The Creator, and the entire cast of High School Musical should just cover all the younger characters, etc. etc. etc. The only downside, of course, is that since virtually every star in LA will be cast in The Book of Joby, there will be no one available to make other films that year, but hey, who’ll want to see other films when they could be seeing The Book of Joby over and over and over again all summer long?
But seriously, as soon as those media guys get the memo, I will keep you informed. :)
Q: What about you as a writer? Are you interested in branching out into a different medium (comic books, television, movie scripts, videogames, etc.) or trying out a genre besides fantasy? If so, what and why?
Mark: I learned years ago that the quickest way to end up doing something I thought I’d never do, was to say, “I’m sure I’ll never do that.” That, for instance, is how I got into the computer game industry. Having said that, I am sooooo enjoying writing just now that I have no desire to do anything for the foreseeable future except write one more book after another, and another… But hey, if something equally engaging comes along, I have never been good at turning such opportunities down. I do love film. Same answer in regard to genre: I really, really like contemporary fantasy, and the next five or six novels I have outlined are all fantasy set in contemporary settings, but you know, I tend to be a little sloppy about genre boundaries at the best of times. Just ask my long suffering agent. So…who knows what border I might drift across in pursuit of a good story someday?
Q: As an artist, you were involved with sci-fi/fantasy for seventeen years, covering all areas including publishing, film, videogames, et cetera. What are your thoughts on the genres’ evolution since you first started and where do you see science fiction and fantasy going in the future?
Mark: Yikes! You really aren’t much better at ‘short’ stories than I am, are you?Well, in the smallest possible nutshell, I would point out that fifty to a hundred years ago, “Western” art and literature, (as in cowboys, Indians, OK Corral, etc), were regarded as irredeemably adolescent material fit only for ‘penny dreadfuls’ to titillate little boys. By the 1970’s “Western Art,” was one of the most lucrative “fine art” markets in the United States and Europe. The subject matter had passed from novel, ‘current frontier’ themes into well established - even nostalgic -‘historical’ ones deemed appropriate for the finest households and museums.
All those ‘kids’ who rushed to see Star Wars thirty years ago are middle aged now. Things depicted in those films, and episodes of Star Trek, have become more and more pervasive components of our wider culture and legitimate technological landscape. (Remember when Captain Kirk’s flip-open, cell phone sized communicator seemed preposterous?). Harry Potter and the latest batch of Lord Of The Rings movies have clearly made fantasy a far more ‘main stream’ commercial interest. I suspect that within the next twenty to thirty years sci-fi/fantasy art and literature will become as ‘main stream’ and ‘culturally legitimate’ as Western art did before them and Impressionism did before them. In fact, referring back to an earlier question, my novel’s cover was changed from the more overt ‘fantasy’ cover I had designed to the more ‘main stream literary’ cover it now enjoys precisely in deference to the larger ‘main stream’ audience that such overt fantasy literature can now credibly be marketed to. … It’s already well along the way to happening.
In my opinion, the next big shift will - and should - be at least some softening of all these previously rigid genre boundaries in literature and media. I suspect that’s really what the whole “magic realism” movement is about: the emerging concession that even ‘normal people’ crave some sense of wonder, wild imagination, and miraculous potential in their lives, not just the hardcore sci-fi/fantasy crowd. So we’re creating ‘literarily legitimate’ fantasy, horror and sci-fi for them too, by calling it ‘magic realism’ and ‘speculative fiction.’ I look forward to the day when marketing agendas and stratagems have become flexible enough to let a story go wherever it needs to go to be the story it wants to be.
(FYI: The image above, called "The Dream", was the artwork originally planned for incorporation into the cover before being passed over in favor of a design tuned to reach a wider audience.)
Q: What a wonderful answer! I truly hope that I’ll get to see that day :) So. Are there any preconceived notions that you’d like to dispel about being an artist? What about as a writer?
Mark: Sure. To begin with, the idea that we’re all poor as church mice, and incapable of any practical skills. Anyone who really takes the time to look carefully will soon realize that we’re all poor as church mice and incapable of any practical skills for reasons that have nothing to do with being artists.
Got that sorted out now, didn’t we.
Q: Haha, nice. Besides writing & artwork, what other activities or hobbies do you enjoy?
Mark: Backpacking, skiing, cooking, bike riding, travel, swimming, marine invertebrate zoology, asparagus metabolism research… Well, I haven’t really had time to pursue that one yet, but I do keep meaning to get to it.
Q: That’s quite the itinerary ;) What about reading? Anything good lately?
Mark: You mean, today? Well, this questionnaire mostly. Oh, last night?
The Long Price Quartet by Daniel Abraham – really good.
Also recently “Last Light of the Sun,” “Sailing to Sarantium,” and “Lord of Emperors,” by Guy Gavriel Kay, “Mainspring” by Jay Lake, “Little Big” by John Crowley, (for the 20th time), “Moon Called” by Patricia Briggs, the Curse of Chalion series by Lois McMaster Bujold. “Mendosa in Hollywood”, In the Gardens of Iden series by Kage Baker, to name just a few that leap to mind.
Q: That’s a pretty good list. What about new writers?
Mark: I’ve read some fun books for ‘teen readers’ lately. “City of Bones” by Cassandra Clare, and “The Alchemyst” by Michael Scott. Found the first slickly written and fun in a Buffy the Vampire Slayer sort of way, while the book by Scott makes a lot of interesting use of real though somewhat mysterious historical figures and a wide variety of real world mythologies.
Q: Yeah, I’ve heard both of those. Should check definitely check them out sometime. Well, as enjoyable as this has been, all good things must unfortunately come to an end, so do you have any last thoughts or comments you’d like to share?
Mark: “Last thoughts?” … My. That sounds rather ominous. I certainly hope not. :) But I would like to express again my heartfelt appreciation for this opportunity to talk about this pretty exciting moment in my life, and for your interest in, and support of, “The Book of Joby”, which I am so pleased to see finding its audience!
And again, my condolences regarding the editing task this questionnaire places before you! Please do let me know if I can be of any further ‘help.’ :)
Mark
Read An Excerpt HERE
In general, serial killers seem to be a pretty fascinating subject. I mean who’s never heard of Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson or Jeffrey Dahmer? What about Hannibal Lecter, Norman Bates in Pyscho, or the Joker from the Batman comics? I’m not sure what the attraction is but they seem to be everywhere: in the news, on the Internet—heck, there are numerous websites dedicated to serial killers!—, in film, on television, in print (novels, comic books, etc.) and even videogames. For myself, I’ve seen my fair share of movies (Basic Instinct, Seven, the Saw franchise, Zodiac, Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Monster, The Cell, Copycat, The Bone Collector) and The Silence of the Lambs is actually one of my favorites. I’ve also read plenty of books such as Thomas Harris’ Hannibal novels, Bret Easton Ellis’ “American Psycho”, James Patterson (Kiss the Girls, Along Came a Spider), et cetera. In short, I admit that I have a fondness for such stories and even though I feel the genre has become played out recently, when I heard about Chelsea Cain’s “HeartSick”, I just couldn’t resist.
For over ten years, four as lead detective, Archie Sheridan has been working on the Beauty Killer Task Force tracking the Northwest’s most prolific serial killer Gretchen Lowell. Then one day Archie is kidnapped, tortured for ten days, and almost killed by the Beauty Killer herself, and from that moment on nothing is the same again. Fast forward two years… A new serial killer is on the prowl dubbed the After School Strangler and the Beauty Killer Task Force, with Archie Sheridan once again in command, has been reconvened to hunt down the killer. This time around the press, specifically Oregon Herald’s Susan Ward, will have a front-row seat to the proceedings as requested by Mr. Sheridan. What Archie hopes to accomplish through the press, if the After School Strangler can be stopped, and how the Beauty Killer fits into the picture are just a few of the questions waiting to be answered in the pages of Chelsea Cain’s “HeartSick”…
Aside from the obvious departures—Gretchen and her unique relationship with Archie—“HeartSick” employs a fairly routine serial killer story. The police procedure, the journalistic elements, and the red herrings on who the After School Strangler is are all pretty standard stuff, and while the twists at the end are nice, they’re not totally unexpected. Where the book really excels at is the characterization and the prose. Of the latter, Ms. Cain has a style that is chic, descriptive and accessible all at once and I think a lot of readers are going to be endeared to the author’s dynamic writing style. As for the former, “HeartSick” is told in the third-person and mainly rotates between Susan Ward and Archie Sheridan with FBI profiler Anne Boyd picking up the leftover pieces. Archie is easily the most interesting, largely because Gretchen Lowell has done such a number on him and is suffering from some serious psychological issues. Plus, the flashback scenes that detail his captivity with Gretchen are some of the book’s most compelling moments. Susan isn’t half bad herself. While she starts out as an opportunistic young journalist given the opportunity of a lifetime with the Archie Sheridan scoop, we soon discover that Ms. Hubbard has many layers yet to be peeled and ends up being a very integral piece of the puzzle. What disappointed me a little bit was Gretchen Lowell herself. Reading the reviews/blurbs and checking out the trailers and other publicity, it seemed like Ms. Lowell was going to be the star of the show and in an abstract manner she is, but aside from the flashbacks, the Beauty Killer gets so little face time that’s she not nearly as well developed as either Archie or Susan. Still, creatively Gretchen Lowell is quite the villain—she reminded me of a cross between Hannibal Lecter and Catherine Tramell played by Sharon Stone in the Basic Instinct films—and I can’t wait to see more of her!
In closing, there’s a lot of hype surrounding Chelsea Cain’s “HeartSick” and while the book doesn’t quite deliver on all accounts, it comes pretty damn close to fulfilling its potential. Fans of the serial killer genre, crime/mystery fiction readers and anyone who appreciates a first-rate suspense thriller are gonna eat this book up and since “HeartSick” is just the first in a whole series of Gretchen Lowell/Archie Sheridan novels, the fun’s just getting started. Hollywood, I hear you knocking…
For over ten years, four as lead detective, Archie Sheridan has been working on the Beauty Killer Task Force tracking the Northwest’s most prolific serial killer Gretchen Lowell. Then one day Archie is kidnapped, tortured for ten days, and almost killed by the Beauty Killer herself, and from that moment on nothing is the same again. Fast forward two years… A new serial killer is on the prowl dubbed the After School Strangler and the Beauty Killer Task Force, with Archie Sheridan once again in command, has been reconvened to hunt down the killer. This time around the press, specifically Oregon Herald’s Susan Ward, will have a front-row seat to the proceedings as requested by Mr. Sheridan. What Archie hopes to accomplish through the press, if the After School Strangler can be stopped, and how the Beauty Killer fits into the picture are just a few of the questions waiting to be answered in the pages of Chelsea Cain’s “HeartSick”…
Aside from the obvious departures—Gretchen and her unique relationship with Archie—“HeartSick” employs a fairly routine serial killer story. The police procedure, the journalistic elements, and the red herrings on who the After School Strangler is are all pretty standard stuff, and while the twists at the end are nice, they’re not totally unexpected. Where the book really excels at is the characterization and the prose. Of the latter, Ms. Cain has a style that is chic, descriptive and accessible all at once and I think a lot of readers are going to be endeared to the author’s dynamic writing style. As for the former, “HeartSick” is told in the third-person and mainly rotates between Susan Ward and Archie Sheridan with FBI profiler Anne Boyd picking up the leftover pieces. Archie is easily the most interesting, largely because Gretchen Lowell has done such a number on him and is suffering from some serious psychological issues. Plus, the flashback scenes that detail his captivity with Gretchen are some of the book’s most compelling moments. Susan isn’t half bad herself. While she starts out as an opportunistic young journalist given the opportunity of a lifetime with the Archie Sheridan scoop, we soon discover that Ms. Hubbard has many layers yet to be peeled and ends up being a very integral piece of the puzzle. What disappointed me a little bit was Gretchen Lowell herself. Reading the reviews/blurbs and checking out the trailers and other publicity, it seemed like Ms. Lowell was going to be the star of the show and in an abstract manner she is, but aside from the flashbacks, the Beauty Killer gets so little face time that’s she not nearly as well developed as either Archie or Susan. Still, creatively Gretchen Lowell is quite the villain—she reminded me of a cross between Hannibal Lecter and Catherine Tramell played by Sharon Stone in the Basic Instinct films—and I can’t wait to see more of her!
In closing, there’s a lot of hype surrounding Chelsea Cain’s “HeartSick” and while the book doesn’t quite deliver on all accounts, it comes pretty damn close to fulfilling its potential. Fans of the serial killer genre, crime/mystery fiction readers and anyone who appreciates a first-rate suspense thriller are gonna eat this book up and since “HeartSick” is just the first in a whole series of Gretchen Lowell/Archie Sheridan novels, the fun’s just getting started. Hollywood, I hear you knocking…
Welcome to the September 2007 edition of Fantasy Book Critic’s monthly SPOTLIGHT. Previous spotlights can be visited HERE for June, HERE for July and HERE for August. There’s plenty of books coming out in September (and even more in October), so with Summer over that just means more time for reading :) Enjoy the list and much love & respect! (NOTE: Unless stated otherwise, all release dates are for the US):
“The Reincarnationist” by M. J. Rose. Release Date: September 1, 2007. “Equal parts modern-day thriller, historical fiction and love story”, “The Reincarnationist” is the ninth release from the international bestselling M. J. Rose who also co-wrote “How To Publish & Promote Online” & “Buzz Your Book” (w/Douglas Clegg), and founded International Thriller Writers & AuthorBuzz.com. If the early word is any indication, “The Reincarnationist” looks to be a winner and will give Dan Brown a run for his money…
Official M. J. Rose Website
Order “The Reincarnationist” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Watch the Book Trailer HERE
Watch An Interview with M. J. Rose HERE
“The Devil’s Right Hand” by Lilith Saintcrow. Release Date: September 1, 2007. To tie in with the release of Ms. Saintcrow’s third Dante Valentine novel, and in celebration of the Orbit US launch, the first two books in the series—“Working for the Devil” + “Dead Man Rising”—are being reissued on the same day as “The Devil’s Right Hand” with volumes four & five to follow in November 2007 + January 2008. Fans of Laurell K. Hamilton and Kim Harrison should love Ms. Valentine, an ass-kicking necromancer / bounty hunter…
Official Lilith Saintcrow Website
Order the Dante Valentine Books HERE
Read An Excerpt From “Working for the Devil” HERE
Read An Excerpt From “Dead Man Rising” HERE
Read An Excerpt From “The Devil’s Right Hand” HERE
“The Innocent Mage” by Karen Miller. Release Date: September 1, 2007. Originally released in 2005 to Australian/New Zealand readers, “The Innocent Mage” made its UK debut earlier this year and is part of the US launch for Orbit Books. While the book plays around with a lot of familiar fantasy themes such as prophecy, “rags-to-riches”, ancient evils and destined heroes, “The Innocent Mage” is a strong start to the Kingmaker, Kingbreaker Duology and is a worthy introduction to Australian author Karen Miller…
Official Karen Miller Website
Order “The Innocent Mage” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s REVIEW of “The Innocent Mage”
Read An Interview with Karen Miller HERE via Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review
“The Spiral Labyrinth” by Matthew Hughes. Release Date: September 1, 2007. Under three different name variations, Mr. Hughes has written fantasy/SF (as Matthew Hughes), crime fiction (as Matt Hughes) and media tie-ins (as Hugh Matthews), as well as a couple of non-fiction and numerous short stories. It was “Black Brillion” (2004) that first introduced me to the author, but it’s his new Henghis Hapthorn series that has me really excited, and “The Spiral Labyrinth” is said to be even better than “Majestrum”…
Official Matthew Hughes Website
Order “The Spiral Labyrinth” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“Hunter’s Run” by George R. R. Martin, Gardner Dozois & Daniel Abraham. UK Release Date: September 3, 2007. Featuring the collaborative efforts of GRRM (A Song of Ice & Fire), Gardner Dozois (Year’s Best Science Fiction Series) and Daniel Abraham (The Long Price Quartet), “Shadow Twin” was originally a novella published through Subterranean Press before being expanded into the full-length novel “Hunter’s Run”, which is described as “a powerful tale of betrayal, trickery and sheer human grit…”
Official George R. R. Martin Website
Official Daniel Abraham Website
Order “Hunter’s Run” HERE
Read An Interview with GRRM, Gardner Dozois & Daniel Abraham via Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist
Read Reviews of “Hunter’s Run” via Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist + The Book Swede
“HeartSick” by Chelsea Cain. Release Date: September 4, 2007. Author of the Nancy Drew parody “Confessions of a Teen Sleuth” (2005), several nonfiction titles and a weekly column in The Oregonian, Chelsea Cain is all set to become a household name with her newest book “HeartSick” which features a beautiful, but deadly serial killer—Gretchen Lowell—in the tradition of Hannibal Lecter. Already universally praised by critics and readers alike, “HeartSick” definitely looks like a book to watch…
Official Chelsea Cain Website
Read An Excerpt HERE
Watch Book Trailers HERE, HERE + HERE
“Blood Is The New Black” by Valerie Stivers. Release Date: September 4, 2007. With a background that includes Mirabella, CondeNet, Time Out New York, and Travel + Leisure, is it any surprise that Valerie Stivers’ debut takes place at a fashion magazine? Even with murder and possibly vampires, this one’s for chicks. “Capitalizes on the lingering allure of The Devil Wears Prada, the bubbly appeal of Ugly Betty, the campy joy of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the drop-dead glamour of Fashion Week” says PW…
Order “Blood Is The New Black” HERE
“Vorpal Blade” by John Ringo + Travis S. Taylor. Release Date: September 4, 2007. Re-teaming prolific military science fiction author John Ringo and writer / scientist Travis S. Taylor (“Von Neumann's War”), “Vorpal Blade” is the sequel to “Into the Looking Glass”. “Ranging in topics from the best gun to kill armored space monsters to particle physics to cosmology to health and beauty tips, Vorpal Blade is a return to the ‘good old days’ of SF when the science problems were intractable and the beasts were ugly…”
Official John Ringo Website
Official Travis S. Taylor Website
Order “Vorpal Blade” HERE
Sample “Vorpal Blade” HERE
“Reap the Wild Wind” by Julie E. Czerneda. Release Date: September 4, 2007. After cutting her teeth on non-fiction, Ms. Czerneda published her first SF novel in 1997 and since then, the multiple Prix Aurora Award-winning author has completed the Trade Pact Universe trilogy, Web Shifters, a number of standalones/short stories, and edited several anthologies (Tales from the Wonder Zone). “Reap the Wild Wind” is the start of the new Stratification series which revisits the Trade Pact Universe…
Official Julie E. Czernda Website
Order “Reap the Wild Wind” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“The Queen of Wolves” by Douglas Clegg. Release Date: September 4, 2007. Considered a pioneer in e-publishing and an advocate of the Internet, Mr. Clegg has embraced the darker side of literature since 1989 and has produced over twenty novels and forty-five short stories. One of my favorites has been The Vampyricon Trilogy (The Priest of Blood, The Lady of the Serpents), which concludes in “The Queen of Wolves”—an epic battle between vampyres, mortals and gods that will decide the fate of the world…
Official Douglas Clegg Website
“The Reincarnationist” by M. J. Rose. Release Date: September 1, 2007. “Equal parts modern-day thriller, historical fiction and love story”, “The Reincarnationist” is the ninth release from the international bestselling M. J. Rose who also co-wrote “How To Publish & Promote Online” & “Buzz Your Book” (w/Douglas Clegg), and founded International Thriller Writers & AuthorBuzz.com. If the early word is any indication, “The Reincarnationist” looks to be a winner and will give Dan Brown a run for his money…Official M. J. Rose Website
Order “The Reincarnationist” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Watch the Book Trailer HERE
Watch An Interview with M. J. Rose HERE
“The Devil’s Right Hand” by Lilith Saintcrow. Release Date: September 1, 2007. To tie in with the release of Ms. Saintcrow’s third Dante Valentine novel, and in celebration of the Orbit US launch, the first two books in the series—“Working for the Devil” + “Dead Man Rising”—are being reissued on the same day as “The Devil’s Right Hand” with volumes four & five to follow in November 2007 + January 2008. Fans of Laurell K. Hamilton and Kim Harrison should love Ms. Valentine, an ass-kicking necromancer / bounty hunter…Official Lilith Saintcrow Website
Order the Dante Valentine Books HERE
Read An Excerpt From “Working for the Devil” HERE
Read An Excerpt From “Dead Man Rising” HERE
Read An Excerpt From “The Devil’s Right Hand” HERE
“The Innocent Mage” by Karen Miller. Release Date: September 1, 2007. Originally released in 2005 to Australian/New Zealand readers, “The Innocent Mage” made its UK debut earlier this year and is part of the US launch for Orbit Books. While the book plays around with a lot of familiar fantasy themes such as prophecy, “rags-to-riches”, ancient evils and destined heroes, “The Innocent Mage” is a strong start to the Kingmaker, Kingbreaker Duology and is a worthy introduction to Australian author Karen Miller…Official Karen Miller Website
Order “The Innocent Mage” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s REVIEW of “The Innocent Mage”
Read An Interview with Karen Miller HERE via Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review
“The Spiral Labyrinth” by Matthew Hughes. Release Date: September 1, 2007. Under three different name variations, Mr. Hughes has written fantasy/SF (as Matthew Hughes), crime fiction (as Matt Hughes) and media tie-ins (as Hugh Matthews), as well as a couple of non-fiction and numerous short stories. It was “Black Brillion” (2004) that first introduced me to the author, but it’s his new Henghis Hapthorn series that has me really excited, and “The Spiral Labyrinth” is said to be even better than “Majestrum”…Official Matthew Hughes Website
Order “The Spiral Labyrinth” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“Hunter’s Run” by George R. R. Martin, Gardner Dozois & Daniel Abraham. UK Release Date: September 3, 2007. Featuring the collaborative efforts of GRRM (A Song of Ice & Fire), Gardner Dozois (Year’s Best Science Fiction Series) and Daniel Abraham (The Long Price Quartet), “Shadow Twin” was originally a novella published through Subterranean Press before being expanded into the full-length novel “Hunter’s Run”, which is described as “a powerful tale of betrayal, trickery and sheer human grit…”Official George R. R. Martin Website
Official Daniel Abraham Website
Order “Hunter’s Run” HERE
Read An Interview with GRRM, Gardner Dozois & Daniel Abraham via Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist
Read Reviews of “Hunter’s Run” via Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist + The Book Swede
“HeartSick” by Chelsea Cain. Release Date: September 4, 2007. Author of the Nancy Drew parody “Confessions of a Teen Sleuth” (2005), several nonfiction titles and a weekly column in The Oregonian, Chelsea Cain is all set to become a household name with her newest book “HeartSick” which features a beautiful, but deadly serial killer—Gretchen Lowell—in the tradition of Hannibal Lecter. Already universally praised by critics and readers alike, “HeartSick” definitely looks like a book to watch…Official Chelsea Cain Website
Read An Excerpt HERE
Watch Book Trailers HERE, HERE + HERE
“Blood Is The New Black” by Valerie Stivers. Release Date: September 4, 2007. With a background that includes Mirabella, CondeNet, Time Out New York, and Travel + Leisure, is it any surprise that Valerie Stivers’ debut takes place at a fashion magazine? Even with murder and possibly vampires, this one’s for chicks. “Capitalizes on the lingering allure of The Devil Wears Prada, the bubbly appeal of Ugly Betty, the campy joy of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the drop-dead glamour of Fashion Week” says PW…Order “Blood Is The New Black” HERE
“Vorpal Blade” by John Ringo + Travis S. Taylor. Release Date: September 4, 2007. Re-teaming prolific military science fiction author John Ringo and writer / scientist Travis S. Taylor (“Von Neumann's War”), “Vorpal Blade” is the sequel to “Into the Looking Glass”. “Ranging in topics from the best gun to kill armored space monsters to particle physics to cosmology to health and beauty tips, Vorpal Blade is a return to the ‘good old days’ of SF when the science problems were intractable and the beasts were ugly…”Official John Ringo Website
Official Travis S. Taylor Website
Order “Vorpal Blade” HERE
Sample “Vorpal Blade” HERE
“Reap the Wild Wind” by Julie E. Czerneda. Release Date: September 4, 2007. After cutting her teeth on non-fiction, Ms. Czerneda published her first SF novel in 1997 and since then, the multiple Prix Aurora Award-winning author has completed the Trade Pact Universe trilogy, Web Shifters, a number of standalones/short stories, and edited several anthologies (Tales from the Wonder Zone). “Reap the Wild Wind” is the start of the new Stratification series which revisits the Trade Pact Universe…Official Julie E. Czernda Website
Order “Reap the Wild Wind” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“The Queen of Wolves” by Douglas Clegg. Release Date: September 4, 2007. Considered a pioneer in e-publishing and an advocate of the Internet, Mr. Clegg has embraced the darker side of literature since 1989 and has produced over twenty novels and forty-five short stories. One of my favorites has been The Vampyricon Trilogy (The Priest of Blood, The Lady of the Serpents), which concludes in “The Queen of Wolves”—an epic battle between vampyres, mortals and gods that will decide the fate of the world…Official Douglas Clegg Website
Official The Vampyricon Trilogy Website
Order “The Queen of Wolves” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“The Sunrise Lands” by S.M. Stirling. Release Date: September 4, 2007. The list of works that comprise S.M. Stirling’s bibliography is quite extensive, including numerous series, short fiction, media tie-ins and collaborations with the likes of Anne McCaffrey, Raymond E. Feist, Holly Lisle, David Drake, etc. “The Sunrise Lands” kicks off a new trilogy that occurs a generation after the Dies the Fire series, which first introduced The Change—an event that “rendered technology inoperable around the world…”
Official S.M. Stirling Website
Order “The Sunrise Lands” HERE
Sample “The Sunrise Lands” HERE
“The Blade Itself” by Joe Abercrombie. Release Date: September 6, 2007. Already a hit with UK & Canadian readers, Joe Abercrombie’s debut novel “The Blade Itself” is all set to take on the American scene thanks to Pyr Books. With strong word-of-mouth, memorable characters, and two sequels waiting in the wings—“Before They Are Hanged”, “Last Argument of Kings”, “The Blade Itself” has a lot going for it and should appeal to fans who like their fantasy “unpredictable, compelling, (and) wickedly funny…”
Official Joe Abercrombie Website
Order “The Blade Itself” HERE
Read An Extract HERE
Read Interviews with Joe Abercrombie via Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist + A Dribble of Ink
Read Reviews of “The Blade Itself” via SFF World + The Gravel Pit
“Heaven’s Net Is Wide” by Lian Hearn. UK Release Date: September 7, 2007. “Heaven's Net is Wide is the first and last Tale, which both closes the circle and introduces new readers to the strange and beautiful world of the Otori. It is an epic historical fantasy of revenge & betrayal, honour & loyalty, beauty & passion and the overwhelming power of love.” Introducing a “mythical, medieval Japanese world”, Tales of the Otori is a breathtaking fantasy series that has become one of my favorites and is highly recommended to all…
Official Lian Hearn Website
Tales of the Otori Website
Order "Heaven's Net Is Wide" HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“Winterbirth” by Brian Ruckley. Release Date: September 10, 2007. Part of the Orbit US launch, Brian Ruckley’s “Winterbirth” is another fantasy debut that made a splash overseas in 2006 and is now trying its luck stateside. If any of the reviews out there are close to being right, then Mr. Ruckley’s “Winterbirth” (Book One of The Godless World Trilogy) promises to be a dark, bloody and “epic tale of revenge, betrayal and greed”. I have high expectations for this release and can’t wait to sink me teeth into the book…
Official Brian Ruckley Website
Order “Winterbirth” HERE
Read An Extract HERE
Read Interviews with Brian Ruckley via A Dribble of Ink, Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review + The Book Swede (Part I, Part II)
Read reviews of “Winterbirth” via The Fantasy Review & Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review
“Making Money” by Terry Pratchett. Release Date: September 18, 2007. UK Release Date is September 24, 2007. Mr. Pratchett needs no introduction. His novels have sold fifty million copies worldwide—led by the wildly popular comedic fantasy series Discworld—and have been adapted into a variety of formats (TV, radio, etc). “Filled with Pratchett's usual sharp wit, keen social commentary, and sagacious observations, Making Money is another highly anticipated volume in the internationally bestselling Discworld canon…”
Official Terry Pratchett Website
Order “Making Money” HERE
“2012: The War For Souls” by Whitley Strieber. Release Date: September 18, 2007. Is the author of over twenty novels including “The Wolfen” & “The Hunger”, the NYT #1-bestselling non-fiction novel “Communion”, and “The Coming Global Superstorm” (w/ Art Bell) which was the inspiration for the film The Day After Tomorrow. “2012: The War For Souls” explores the end of the world in “a riveting roller-coaster ride of a story” that is “equal parts science fiction thriller, supernatural horror and provocative spiritual speculation…”
Official Whitley Strieber Website
Order “2012: The War For Souls” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
FYI: Is being adapted into a feature film with Michael Bay (Transformers, Bad Boys, The Rock) directing and Alex Kurtzman (Star Trek, Mission Impossible III, The Island) producing/writing.
“Axis” by Robert Charles Wilson. Release Date: September 18, 2007. Winner of numerous awards for his science fiction works including three Auroras, the John W. Campbell Award (The Chronoliths), a Philip K. Dick Award (Mysterium) and a Theodore Sturgeon Award, Robert Charles Wilson looks to continue his excellence in “Axis”, which is a direct sequel to the Hugo Award-winning “Spin” (2005). Wildly praised by critics & readers alike, Mr. Wilson could be one of the genre’s most important contemporary voices…
Official Robert Charles Wilson Website
Order “Axis” HERE
“Scarlet” by Stephen R. Lawhead. Release Date: September 18, 2007. An internationally-acclaimed author of mythic history and imaginative fiction, Mr. Lawhead’s diverse bibliography includes SF/fantasy series (The Song of Albion, The Pendragon Cycle), children’s books, and nonfiction. Currently, the author is using Celtic mythology and medieval Britain politics to reinvent the legend of Robin Hood which began in last year’s “Hood” and continues in “Scarlet”, the second book in the riveting King Raven trilogy…
Official Stephen R. Lawhead Website
Order “Scarlet” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“Worldbinder” by David Farland. Release Date: September 18, 2007. David Farland’s The Runelords is an epic fantasy series characterized by its distinctive magic system. While it’s not on the same level as George R. R. Martin or Robert Jordan, the saga has been a fun, action-packed thrill ride and I was excited that a new Runelords series was starting with “Sons of the Oak”. Unfortunately, I was disappointed by the book’s YA approach and I’m hoping that the sequel “Worldbinder” will be a more satisfying read…
Official Runelords Website
Order “Worldbinder” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“Book of a Thousand Days” by Shannon Hale. Release Date: September 18, 2007. Mainly a writer of YA fantasy, Ms. Hale is best known for the NYT Bestselling, Newberry Honor-winning “Princess Academy” (2005) and the Josette Frank Award-winning “The Goose Girl” (2003). In a “Book of a Thousand Days”, Ms. Hale once again reimagines a Brothers Grimm fairy tale, this time about a maid and her mistress who are shut in a tower for seven years and experience adventure, romance, drama, and disguise…
Official Shannon Hale Website
Order “Book of a Thousand Days” HERE
“Dexter In the Dark” by Jeff Lindsay. Release Date: September 18, 2007. By day Dexter Morgan is a normal individual working as a Miami crime scene investigator. By night, Dexter the Dark Avenger is an ethical serial killer guided by his Dark Passenger. As Time puts it, “Imagine if Hannibal Lecter starred in CSI: Miami, and you’re halfway there.” In the author’s third Dexter adventure, “Dexter in the Dark”, the book “goes deeper into the psyche of one of the freshest protagonists in recent fiction…”
Official Jeff Lindsay Website
Order “Dexter In the Dark” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“Cowboy Angels” by Paul J. McAuley. UK Release Date: September 20, 2007. Choosing writing over research biology, Mr. McAuley has gone on to pen fifteen novels and has won the Arthur C. Clarke (Fairyland), Philip K. Dick (Four Hundred Billion Stars), British Fantasy, Sidewise and John W. Campbell Awards (Fairyland). Mr. McAuley’s latest novel, “Cowboy Angels”, brings together parallel universes, techno-thrills, military procedure, and science fiction in a potent blend of “high-octane action and convoluted plots”…
Official Paul J. McAuley Website
Order “Cowboy Angels” HERE
Read An Extract HERE + HERE
Read Reviews of “Cowboy Angels” via SFF World + Sandstorm
“Interred With Their Bones” by Jennifer Lee Carrell. Release Date: September 20, 2007. Background includes a Ph.D. in English & American Literature from Harvard, degrees from Oxford & Stanford, and the historical nonfiction “The Speckled Monster”. On the surface, Ms. Carrell’s debut novel looks to be just another Da Vinci Code clone, but with the author’s pedigree, “Interred With Their Bones” is “poised to become the next bestselling literary adventure in the tradition of The Thirteenth Tale and The Historian…”
Official Jennifer Lee Carrell Website
Order “Interred With Their Bones” HERE
Read Excerpts HERE
“End of the World Blues” by Jon Courtenay Grimwood. Release Date: September 25, 2007. “From Jon Courtenay Grimwood, author of the celebrated Arabesk series, comes a stunningly inventive novel of futuristic noir set in a world of shifting realities. Here a man is drawn into a gritty postmodern subculture and a secret kingdom of otherworldly beings to find what he lost long ago: a reason to live...” “End of the World Blues” won the 2006 BSFA Award and was shortlisted for the 2007 Arthur C. Clarke Award…
Official Jon Courtenay Grimwood Website
Order “End of the World Blues” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“Nova Swing” by M. John Harrison. Release Date: September 25, 2007. Mr. Harrison has been publishing SF & fantasy since 1966, but is still on top of his game evidenced by his most recent novel “Nova Swing” which won the 2007 Arthur C. Clarke Award and was a finalist for the 2007 John W. Campbell Award. A sequel to the James Tiptree Jr. Award-winning “Light”, “Nova Swing” is a “vividly and richly described world, full of Harrison’s unique interpretations, and his most lyrical & affecting book to date…”
Official M. John Harrison Website
Order “Nova Swing” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“The Orc King” by R.A. Salvatore. Release Date: September 25, 2007. Highly prolific fantasy author best known for his Forgotten Realms novels, the New York Times-bestselling R.A. Salvatore has also written Star Wars tie-ins, short fiction, comic books, a videogame, and is working with Todd McFarlane (Spawn) on a massive multiplayer online game. In his latest Forgotten Realms trilogy Transitions, Mr. Salvatore’s most popular creation Drizzt Do'Urden is back and better than ever in “The Orc King”…
Official R.A. Salvatore Website
Order “The Orc King” HERE
“Empire of Ivory” by Naomi Novik. Release Date: September 25, 2007. By adding a unique spin to the Napoleonic Wars, dragons used in aerial combat, Naomi Novik’s Temeraire novels—“His Majesty’s Dragon”, “Throne of Jade” and “Black Powder War”—were a surprise hit in 2006, and the series was even optioned to Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings, King Kong). In the fourth Temeraire novel, “Empire of Ivory”, readers will once again join Laurence and his dragon Temeraire on their adventures, this time in Africa…
Official Temeraire Website
Order “Empire of Ivory” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“The Electric Church” by Jeff Somers. Release Date: September 25, 2007. Yet another novel part of the Orbit Books US launch, “The Electric Church” could end up being the best of the bunch… "Some debuts simply set new bars in a genre. Jeff Somers' “The Electric Church" is one such book, a gritty noir story that challenges and surprises with every page. A novel that is equal parts Raymond Chandler and William Gibson. A major new talent has arrived--and it's about time!" JAMES ROLLINS.
Official Jeff Somers Website
The Electric Church Website
Order “The Electric Church” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist Review of “The Electric Church” HERE
“Blood Engines” by T.A. Pratt. Release Date: September 25, 2007. Mr. Tim Pratt is quite the busy guy. Besides writing SF/fantasy novels, short fiction and poetry, Mr. Pratt also creates chapbooks, co-edits the zine Flytrap, and works as senior editor / book reviewer at Locus Magazine. As T.A. Pratt, the author is writing a new urban fantasy series which kicks off with “Blood Engines” and introduces Marla Mason—a smart, saucy, slightly wicked witch from the East Coast. Expect at least three sequels…
Official T.A. Pratt Website
Order “Blood Engines” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Order “The Queen of Wolves” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“The Sunrise Lands” by S.M. Stirling. Release Date: September 4, 2007. The list of works that comprise S.M. Stirling’s bibliography is quite extensive, including numerous series, short fiction, media tie-ins and collaborations with the likes of Anne McCaffrey, Raymond E. Feist, Holly Lisle, David Drake, etc. “The Sunrise Lands” kicks off a new trilogy that occurs a generation after the Dies the Fire series, which first introduced The Change—an event that “rendered technology inoperable around the world…”Official S.M. Stirling Website
Order “The Sunrise Lands” HERE
Sample “The Sunrise Lands” HERE
“The Blade Itself” by Joe Abercrombie. Release Date: September 6, 2007. Already a hit with UK & Canadian readers, Joe Abercrombie’s debut novel “The Blade Itself” is all set to take on the American scene thanks to Pyr Books. With strong word-of-mouth, memorable characters, and two sequels waiting in the wings—“Before They Are Hanged”, “Last Argument of Kings”, “The Blade Itself” has a lot going for it and should appeal to fans who like their fantasy “unpredictable, compelling, (and) wickedly funny…”Official Joe Abercrombie Website
Order “The Blade Itself” HERE
Read An Extract HERE
Read Interviews with Joe Abercrombie via Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist + A Dribble of Ink
Read Reviews of “The Blade Itself” via SFF World + The Gravel Pit
“Heaven’s Net Is Wide” by Lian Hearn. UK Release Date: September 7, 2007. “Heaven's Net is Wide is the first and last Tale, which both closes the circle and introduces new readers to the strange and beautiful world of the Otori. It is an epic historical fantasy of revenge & betrayal, honour & loyalty, beauty & passion and the overwhelming power of love.” Introducing a “mythical, medieval Japanese world”, Tales of the Otori is a breathtaking fantasy series that has become one of my favorites and is highly recommended to all…Official Lian Hearn Website
Tales of the Otori Website
Order "Heaven's Net Is Wide" HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“Winterbirth” by Brian Ruckley. Release Date: September 10, 2007. Part of the Orbit US launch, Brian Ruckley’s “Winterbirth” is another fantasy debut that made a splash overseas in 2006 and is now trying its luck stateside. If any of the reviews out there are close to being right, then Mr. Ruckley’s “Winterbirth” (Book One of The Godless World Trilogy) promises to be a dark, bloody and “epic tale of revenge, betrayal and greed”. I have high expectations for this release and can’t wait to sink me teeth into the book…Official Brian Ruckley Website
Order “Winterbirth” HERE
Read An Extract HERE
Read Interviews with Brian Ruckley via A Dribble of Ink, Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review + The Book Swede (Part I, Part II)
Read reviews of “Winterbirth” via The Fantasy Review & Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review
“Making Money” by Terry Pratchett. Release Date: September 18, 2007. UK Release Date is September 24, 2007. Mr. Pratchett needs no introduction. His novels have sold fifty million copies worldwide—led by the wildly popular comedic fantasy series Discworld—and have been adapted into a variety of formats (TV, radio, etc). “Filled with Pratchett's usual sharp wit, keen social commentary, and sagacious observations, Making Money is another highly anticipated volume in the internationally bestselling Discworld canon…”Official Terry Pratchett Website
Order “Making Money” HERE
“2012: The War For Souls” by Whitley Strieber. Release Date: September 18, 2007. Is the author of over twenty novels including “The Wolfen” & “The Hunger”, the NYT #1-bestselling non-fiction novel “Communion”, and “The Coming Global Superstorm” (w/ Art Bell) which was the inspiration for the film The Day After Tomorrow. “2012: The War For Souls” explores the end of the world in “a riveting roller-coaster ride of a story” that is “equal parts science fiction thriller, supernatural horror and provocative spiritual speculation…”Official Whitley Strieber Website
Order “2012: The War For Souls” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
FYI: Is being adapted into a feature film with Michael Bay (Transformers, Bad Boys, The Rock) directing and Alex Kurtzman (Star Trek, Mission Impossible III, The Island) producing/writing.
“Axis” by Robert Charles Wilson. Release Date: September 18, 2007. Winner of numerous awards for his science fiction works including three Auroras, the John W. Campbell Award (The Chronoliths), a Philip K. Dick Award (Mysterium) and a Theodore Sturgeon Award, Robert Charles Wilson looks to continue his excellence in “Axis”, which is a direct sequel to the Hugo Award-winning “Spin” (2005). Wildly praised by critics & readers alike, Mr. Wilson could be one of the genre’s most important contemporary voices…Official Robert Charles Wilson Website
Order “Axis” HERE
“Scarlet” by Stephen R. Lawhead. Release Date: September 18, 2007. An internationally-acclaimed author of mythic history and imaginative fiction, Mr. Lawhead’s diverse bibliography includes SF/fantasy series (The Song of Albion, The Pendragon Cycle), children’s books, and nonfiction. Currently, the author is using Celtic mythology and medieval Britain politics to reinvent the legend of Robin Hood which began in last year’s “Hood” and continues in “Scarlet”, the second book in the riveting King Raven trilogy…Official Stephen R. Lawhead Website
Order “Scarlet” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“Worldbinder” by David Farland. Release Date: September 18, 2007. David Farland’s The Runelords is an epic fantasy series characterized by its distinctive magic system. While it’s not on the same level as George R. R. Martin or Robert Jordan, the saga has been a fun, action-packed thrill ride and I was excited that a new Runelords series was starting with “Sons of the Oak”. Unfortunately, I was disappointed by the book’s YA approach and I’m hoping that the sequel “Worldbinder” will be a more satisfying read…Official Runelords Website
Order “Worldbinder” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“Book of a Thousand Days” by Shannon Hale. Release Date: September 18, 2007. Mainly a writer of YA fantasy, Ms. Hale is best known for the NYT Bestselling, Newberry Honor-winning “Princess Academy” (2005) and the Josette Frank Award-winning “The Goose Girl” (2003). In a “Book of a Thousand Days”, Ms. Hale once again reimagines a Brothers Grimm fairy tale, this time about a maid and her mistress who are shut in a tower for seven years and experience adventure, romance, drama, and disguise…Official Shannon Hale Website
Order “Book of a Thousand Days” HERE
“Dexter In the Dark” by Jeff Lindsay. Release Date: September 18, 2007. By day Dexter Morgan is a normal individual working as a Miami crime scene investigator. By night, Dexter the Dark Avenger is an ethical serial killer guided by his Dark Passenger. As Time puts it, “Imagine if Hannibal Lecter starred in CSI: Miami, and you’re halfway there.” In the author’s third Dexter adventure, “Dexter in the Dark”, the book “goes deeper into the psyche of one of the freshest protagonists in recent fiction…”Official Jeff Lindsay Website
Order “Dexter In the Dark” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“Cowboy Angels” by Paul J. McAuley. UK Release Date: September 20, 2007. Choosing writing over research biology, Mr. McAuley has gone on to pen fifteen novels and has won the Arthur C. Clarke (Fairyland), Philip K. Dick (Four Hundred Billion Stars), British Fantasy, Sidewise and John W. Campbell Awards (Fairyland). Mr. McAuley’s latest novel, “Cowboy Angels”, brings together parallel universes, techno-thrills, military procedure, and science fiction in a potent blend of “high-octane action and convoluted plots”…Official Paul J. McAuley Website
Order “Cowboy Angels” HERE
Read An Extract HERE + HERE
Read Reviews of “Cowboy Angels” via SFF World + Sandstorm
“Interred With Their Bones” by Jennifer Lee Carrell. Release Date: September 20, 2007. Background includes a Ph.D. in English & American Literature from Harvard, degrees from Oxford & Stanford, and the historical nonfiction “The Speckled Monster”. On the surface, Ms. Carrell’s debut novel looks to be just another Da Vinci Code clone, but with the author’s pedigree, “Interred With Their Bones” is “poised to become the next bestselling literary adventure in the tradition of The Thirteenth Tale and The Historian…”Official Jennifer Lee Carrell Website
Order “Interred With Their Bones” HERE
Read Excerpts HERE
“End of the World Blues” by Jon Courtenay Grimwood. Release Date: September 25, 2007. “From Jon Courtenay Grimwood, author of the celebrated Arabesk series, comes a stunningly inventive novel of futuristic noir set in a world of shifting realities. Here a man is drawn into a gritty postmodern subculture and a secret kingdom of otherworldly beings to find what he lost long ago: a reason to live...” “End of the World Blues” won the 2006 BSFA Award and was shortlisted for the 2007 Arthur C. Clarke Award…Official Jon Courtenay Grimwood Website
Order “End of the World Blues” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“Nova Swing” by M. John Harrison. Release Date: September 25, 2007. Mr. Harrison has been publishing SF & fantasy since 1966, but is still on top of his game evidenced by his most recent novel “Nova Swing” which won the 2007 Arthur C. Clarke Award and was a finalist for the 2007 John W. Campbell Award. A sequel to the James Tiptree Jr. Award-winning “Light”, “Nova Swing” is a “vividly and richly described world, full of Harrison’s unique interpretations, and his most lyrical & affecting book to date…”Official M. John Harrison Website
Order “Nova Swing” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“The Orc King” by R.A. Salvatore. Release Date: September 25, 2007. Highly prolific fantasy author best known for his Forgotten Realms novels, the New York Times-bestselling R.A. Salvatore has also written Star Wars tie-ins, short fiction, comic books, a videogame, and is working with Todd McFarlane (Spawn) on a massive multiplayer online game. In his latest Forgotten Realms trilogy Transitions, Mr. Salvatore’s most popular creation Drizzt Do'Urden is back and better than ever in “The Orc King”…Official R.A. Salvatore Website
Order “The Orc King” HERE
“Empire of Ivory” by Naomi Novik. Release Date: September 25, 2007. By adding a unique spin to the Napoleonic Wars, dragons used in aerial combat, Naomi Novik’s Temeraire novels—“His Majesty’s Dragon”, “Throne of Jade” and “Black Powder War”—were a surprise hit in 2006, and the series was even optioned to Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings, King Kong). In the fourth Temeraire novel, “Empire of Ivory”, readers will once again join Laurence and his dragon Temeraire on their adventures, this time in Africa…Official Temeraire Website
Order “Empire of Ivory” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“The Electric Church” by Jeff Somers. Release Date: September 25, 2007. Yet another novel part of the Orbit Books US launch, “The Electric Church” could end up being the best of the bunch… "Some debuts simply set new bars in a genre. Jeff Somers' “The Electric Church" is one such book, a gritty noir story that challenges and surprises with every page. A novel that is equal parts Raymond Chandler and William Gibson. A major new talent has arrived--and it's about time!" JAMES ROLLINS.Official Jeff Somers Website
The Electric Church Website
Order “The Electric Church” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist Review of “The Electric Church” HERE
“Blood Engines” by T.A. Pratt. Release Date: September 25, 2007. Mr. Tim Pratt is quite the busy guy. Besides writing SF/fantasy novels, short fiction and poetry, Mr. Pratt also creates chapbooks, co-edits the zine Flytrap, and works as senior editor / book reviewer at Locus Magazine. As T.A. Pratt, the author is writing a new urban fantasy series which kicks off with “Blood Engines” and introduces Marla Mason—a smart, saucy, slightly wicked witch from the East Coast. Expect at least three sequels…Official T.A. Pratt Website
Order “Blood Engines” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
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