Official Greg Keyes WebsiteOrder “The Hounds of Ash and other Tales of Fool Wolf” HERE
Order “The Born Queen” HERE
Read An Excerpt from “The Born Queen” HERE
Review Reviews of “The Born Queen” via Andrew Wheeler, Blogcritics, Fantasy Book Critic, Fantasy Book News & Reviews, Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review + Leap in the Dark
Back on March 25, 2008, Del Rey published “The Born Queen”, the fourth and concluding volume in Greg Keyes’ excellent epic fantasy series The Kingdoms of Thorn & Bone. In support of the book’s release, I was hoping to interview Mr. Keyes, but because of the author’s situation, he was only taking phone interviews, an option that wasn’t available to me. Fortunately, contributing writer David Craddock was able to step in for me and thanks to publicist Diana Franco, the interview was arranged :) From there, David and Greg did the rest, and the interview turned out better than I hoped, covering everything from The Kingdoms of Thorn & Bone, Star Wars, Babylon 5 and Greg’s upcoming release “The Hounds of Ash and other Tales of Fool Wolf” (May/June 2008) to fantasy tropes/trends, the differences between science fiction & fantasy, writing tips, and a whole lot more. So whether you’re a long-time fan of Greg Keyes, or new to the author, I hope you’ll enjoy this little chat with Mr. Keyes:
Q: Let’s talk about your new book “The Born Queen” which completes The Kingdoms of Thorn & Bone series. Originally you sold the series as an outline and mentioned that you didn’t follow the blueprint very closely. So in what ways has “The Born Queen” deviated from your original outline?
Greg Keyes: I knew what my beginning and end points were; it was the way I got [to the end] that was really different. As I was writing the characters, they did things I didn't plan on, which, as Terry Brooks once told me, sounds a bit schizophrenic. [Laughs] I think writers are a bit schizophrenic in that we build these characters in our heads, and then they start doing different things. For instance, Aspar was not originally an important character. He was kind of the guy who discovers the Briar King and all that before fading out near the end of the outline. As I started writing, I just noticed that Aspar was the character I really wanted to write about.
Q: It's always interesting when characters decide to mutiny, isn't it?
Greg Keyes: Yes, it really is!
Q: In a series like this, readers can be very vocal about how their favorite characters are handled or what they would like to see in a book, especially a concluding volume. Have the comments of fans had any bearing on the way you wrote “The Born Queen”?
Greg Keyes: I would say no. I tend to follow my instincts while I'm writing. That's one thing I've noticed about myself: I tend to think better when I'm writing than when I'm outlining. Outlining is more about plot, whereas writing is more about character.
Q: Do you like the way you wrapped up the series as a whole?
Greg Keyes: I do, yeah. I was very pleased with the way the series wrapped up. I think there are moments where I wished it was over, but that's the case with anything I've written. It's fun at times, and that's what carries me through it. I have those really nice moments and I get really excited, or I think of exactly the right phrase, that kind of thing. But really, writing is about just sitting down and doing it.
Q: The Kingdoms of Thorn & Bone series have often been described as 'George R.R. Martin-lite'. Do you think that's a fair comparison? Good? Bad?
Greg Keyes: I think it's fair in a way. It's hard for me to really comment because I've only ever read one of his books. At times I think I know what that means, and at others I don't. I don't mind being compared to other authors, because I'd do that if I were a reader trying to describe a book to another reader. Like, “Oh, yeah, this is kind of like Michael Moorcock, but crazier,” something like that. On the other hand it wasn't my plan to write a book like anyone else. If the implication is that I intended to do something and I failed to, then that would bother me, but I didn't.
Q: Even though your series embraces a number of fantasy clichés, you also make a concerted effort to twist usual conventions. What are your thoughts on fantasy tropes in general and how did you balance what stereotypes you wanted to twist and those that you embraced?
Greg Keyes: That's actually not something I planned to do. What I do is pick these character types that aren't necessarily fantasy stereotypes, but archetypes rooted in myth. I just start writing them as people and try to imagine what it would be like to actually inhabit that role. I like to think of my characters in general as more important than my plot. If I follow my outline, I believe my characters will start as stereotypes and end as stereotypes, no matter my intentions. Then I stop thinking about them as characters and become stereotypes.
Q: Cliffhangers are an integral part of your work, and they're often used to end almost every chapter of your books. How do you avoid having them become a gimmick?
Greg Keyes: I don't know! It's just something I've done in almost all of my books. In fact, I was writing some books on Babylon 5 a couple of years ago. I got about halfway through one of the books and something just didn't feel right about it. I realized, “Wait a minute - I'm not switching chapters between different characters.”
I think I do it because I like that kind of writing myself. You know, you read a chapter about one guy and think, “I don't care about him, I want to know what happened to the other guy!” But then you get attached to the current character, which means you don't want to leave him when his chapter ends and swings back to the first guy.
I would say that a lot of that probably comes more from movies than other literature. I'm heavily influenced by movies. In fact, that question about stereotypes and characters...you look at Ang Lee's early work, where he would take a typical story and put an odd twist into it. I know some people are annoyed by that switching chapters thing, but a lot of the things I watched and read growing up were like that, and I liked it. It's also a way of keeping things fresh for me as well.
Q: Contrary to many entries in the epic fantasy genre, time passes quickly in your books. What led to this technique?
Greg Keyes: Sometimes, a couple of days will occupy a large chunk of the book, and then a month will pass. I think that I like a faster pace. To a larger extent, a lot of things that influenced me growing up moved really quickly. You see that influence in my work, and I just kind of like to move things along, not getting bogged down for too long.
Q: In your eyes, how has the fantasy genre evolved since you first wrote the Children of the Changeling duology and based on current trends, what might the future hold?
Greg Keyes: That's a good question. I'd been an avid fantasy reader all of my life; I actually started reading science fiction when I was really young. I'd never read fantasy until I was around 13, and it was accidental. I picked up The Return of the King that had a wacky 1960s cover and I thought it was sci-fi. By the time I realized it wasn't, I was already interested in it even though it was obviously the third Lord of the Rings book.
When I knuckled down to start writing, which was the early 80s, I quit reading as much; in fact I almost quit reading entirely. I was married, had two jobs, and was trying to write. When I wrote “The Waterborn”, I was completely unaware of what kind of fantasy was selling and what wasn't. Just completely out of touch with the market. I thought I was writing a normal sort of fantasy but the critical reaction proclaimed that it was very different; I didn't think it was different at all. I guess it was!
I'd written a few books previously that were never published. It was set in 1350 and took place in the United States. The characters were Native Americans. It was a fantasy, but it was kind of a strange one. What happened was, one publisher was interested in it and led me on for about a year. They finally said that they didn't know how to sell it. I said to myself, “What if I take some of those ideas, but give the guy a sword, make the girl a princess, and put the guy on a horse?” I sold it in a month.
I'm not completely aware of what the market is doing because I don't pay a lot of attention to it. Partly because I've been writing The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone for a long time, so my concentration has been on them. I started writing them in '99, I think. One thing I'm doing now is taking some time to see what's currently out there.
Q: So do you do a lot of reading while you're writing?
Greg Keyes: I almost don't read [any fantasy] at all. And that's a shame because I do like the genre, but I find that when I'm writing books like The Age of Unreason [series], where there's a lot of research involved—like what shoes people wore during the Eighteenth Century, there's just tons and tons of research... I like that. I have an academic background and I enjoy that kind of reading.
When I'm writing stuff like The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone I tend to turn back to stuff from the mythic past, like Beowulf and that kind of thing, just to reground myself and all that. I could probably count on one hand the number of fantasy novels I've read in the past 10 years. Right now I'm re-reading some favorites just to remind myself what I loved about [the genre] to start with.
I've read a couple things lately that I like. But when publishers send me things for quotes, I usually can't get through them. I don't know if that's an artifact of what I'm being sent or what, but I've read a couple in the past couple of years, and I did get through them and like them.
It's just a time management issue. I keep promising myself I'm going to read this or that, but I just haven't gotten to. For instance, I've always planned to read Robert Jordan's stuff, but I just haven't had time. Like I said with Martin, it's nothing about not liking the books, I just don't have time to read them.
Q: That's actually a relief to hear. If you don't mind a tangent, I'm a writer myself and just submitted a series for publication. I'm very proud of it, but what with working, dealing with “real life” stuff and other matters, I sometimes don't have the time to devote to writing that I'd like. Did you experience anything like that? If so, how did you alleviate it? Did you create a writing schedule or anything?
Greg Keyes: When I was trying to get published, the first thing I did was write short stories. This was in my early 20s, and I got married when I was 24. I wrote the shorts and sent them off. They got rejected, but they always came back with good advice from editors. Of course at the time I thought I was a genius and they were idiots. Basically it just made me angry, so I'd shove stories into a drawer and forget about them after the first rejection. I eventually concluded that I can't write short stories, but I can write novels.
At the time, when I really got started, I was working a full-time job during the week and at nighttime. I would take my typewriter to the night job because all I really had to do was stay awake. So at first I wrote all weekend, then at night. Later on I started graduate school and decided that I wanted to write a book that year. During the three summer months, I quit the day job and my wife took over the earning. She believed in me, and I wrote eight hours a day, just like a nine-to-five job.
Now things are considerably different. I'm lazier, a little less willing to sit down for eight hours. Well, I can't; I'm at home all day with a two-and-a-half year-old. What I did was have a nanny come in for about three hours a day so I would have writing time, but I wasn't willing to quit watching her grow up. Now I write when I can. I write when the nanny's here and on weekends.
I think it does really help if you say, “I'm going to write at this time,” and you set that time that you're going to do it every day. Even if all you end up doing is staring at a blank screen, or you do what I did, which was writing eight pages that you threw away. At least you're in the process.
I think what makes writers different from everyone else is, even though everyone has stories to tell, writers need the ability to sit down and do it. Make yourself do it when the sun's shining and there are other things you could be doing. You just need to sit down to do it. It really helps to find a schedule, because otherwise you say, “Well, I could be writing right now, but I'm tired.” You're doing it, so you realize it's not always fun.
Q: No, sometimes it really is work.
Greg Keyes: Yep.
Q: Getting back on track... Besides traditional fantasy, you’ve also written The Age of Unreason tetralogy which mixes steampunk influences with history. Personally, this series sounds like it would be a lot of fun to research & write. What did you like most about writing The Age of Unreason?
Greg Keyes: Its starting point was a real place in time. Every time I write a book I feel like there are certain people watching over my shoulder. Like if I write a Star Wars book, all those fans are looking over my shoulder to make sure I don't use the wrong color of light saber or whatever. When I wrote The Age of Unreason I felt like I constantly had these imaginary history professors—who would probably never even read the books—looking over my shoulder, and I felt kind of accountable to real history.
I did some traveling for it, went to London and actually found the place where... well, there's a scene where Benjamin Franklin's in London looking for Isaac Newton, and he goes into this particular coffee house that's a real place and actually still exists. It's a pub now, not a coffee house. The funny thing was, I couldn't find it on a modern map but I found it on a Nineteenth Century map. I went in and read a plaque outside proclaiming that folks such as Newton had indeed hung out there. I went in and got a beer and I told the waitress about her establishment's historical significance. She said, “No, I think it's been this way for a long time.” I said, “But 300 years ago, it was different.” Then she called another guy in to discuss the matter and I said, “You know there's a plaque right outside with all of this information, right?”
Q: “Newton’s Cannon”, the first volume in The Age of Unreason tetralogy, actually won the prestigious Le Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire Award. How did you feel about this honor?
Greg Keyes: I got an email from my French publisher about two weeks after 9/11. The offer was, “We're telling you know because we're afraid you won't come. You've won the Le Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire Award. We'll fly you into France to receive the award but we understand that you might be daunted by flying right now.” I replied, “Bring me over.” I found it really interesting. It was my first time to a French convention. It's a really different thing going on over there. First of all there are translators running around everywhere, and people get so out there with what they're talking about. They'll start with a topic that seems reasonable but eventually becomes a discussion about crazy things. It's really interesting and fun.
I was really honored to win the award. I'd been sort of snubbed by the French for my first couple of books; they didn't even publish them. Then I went and wrote a book that had Louis XIV and boom, published. It was great.
Q: You also wrote tie-in novels for Star Wars and Babylon 5. What are the advantages and disadvantages of writing books in already established universes opposed to original fiction?
Greg Keyes: I've often compared it to writing a haiku. A haiku has pre-established rules that you have to follow, but that doesn't mean you can't write a good haiku. Sometimes constraints and boundaries can force you to do things you've never done before. It can make you a better writer - or a worse writer.
Writing for Babylon 5... there had been novels written before, but only one was thought of as good by J.M.S. [J. Michael Straczynski]. He told me to forget about the other ones and start from scratch. If I had a question, there were people I could call that would get the answer for me. I even got to go watch them film an episode. I was creating the back story of Babylon 5 for the most part, and that was really interesting, and relatively free. There were boundaries, but they were pretty loose.
With Star Wars, the boundaries were tighter, but not too much more so. I had a lot of creative latitude with that. The relationship wasn't as close; I worked through my editor. There's also a group of readers they trust to tell them, “Yeah, this is Star Wars.” They're real fans who can see beyond surface attributes and will tell you that it feels like Star Wars. There were more drafts of the Star Wars books, both of the outlines and the actual books because I was hearing from more people: my editor, the reader group, authors who had written books before me, authors who had written books after.... It was a very communal effort. It was very different from anything I'd ever done, because writing is largely solitary - that wasn't. But I enjoyed the experience.
Q: What are you currently working on at the moment?
Greg Keyes: Right now I'm trying to figure out what I want to write next. I finished Thorn and Bone and got to thinking, “What now?” I wasn't really sure. I was just approached to write some Elder Scrolls, though, and it's great because my research is to play Oblivion [Elder Scrolls IV]. [Laughs]
Another thing that happened with Thorn and Bone that dragged things out a bit was that I took on Star Wars projects. They're from the same publisher, so I was able to push my books back in order to tackle Star Wars. But I didn't particularly like writing that way. I always felt I was slighting somebody. So I'm back to taking on one project at a time.
Q: In May/June 2008, EDGE is releasing your new short story collection “The Hounds of Ash and other Tales of Fool Wolf”. Can you tell us more about this book?
Greg Keyes: If you read those stories, I think you'll see the influences from Jack Vance and Michael Moorcock, my early influences. It's about a character I created for Dragon Magazine, actually. A guy named Dave Gross, who used to be the editor of Dragon, came to a book signing of mine in Seattle. He loved “The Waterborn” and had brought a copy with him. He opened it up to a map that says, “Giant.” He said, “I want to know what's there. I'll pay you to write a short story.”I told you earlier that I couldn't write short stories. What I really hadn't understood was how tough the short story market was, especially back then. So I wrote a series of stories about this character. The world was the same one as in “The Waterborn”, but none of the same characters. It was a labor of love; I really loved writing them. One thing about the market I know is those sorts of stories, like the collections they published in the 70s and 80s, stories that string together to form a larger story...almost nobody publishes those anymore.
Q: Looking back, what have been the biggest improvements that you’ve made as a writer since you were first published?
Greg Keyes: My early writing, when I look back at it, had some kinks. Rather than starting the story, I told you about where the story would take place. I was a controlling narrator, which didn't leave enough to the imagination. That was stuff I never really published. I think I've gotten better at writing characters. My descriptions have become simpler; I used to think of the craziest way to describe something rather than doing it naturally. My voice has become more consistent.
Q: In what areas would you like to improve?
Greg Keyes: I tend to avoid writing about mass warfare because I don't know how to do it. At some point while working on “The Born Queen”, I thought, “You know, I have to go read some books about medieval warfare.” So I stopped and I read, and I read...and I read. I've fenced, and I've done martial arts, but writing about war, about how to make it interesting...I'm always bored by that in books. It takes a great writer to make me interested in a big fight. It's something I shy away from because I'm afraid I can't do it that well. Anything I shy away from, I'd like to be able to do. I might still choose not to do it, but I want to be able to know that I could have done it.
Q: Are you more comfortable with short stories now?
Greg Keyes: I am, but they're still harder to write. With a short story, you can't waste words; you can't waste time with anything. Short stories are something I loved reading while growing up, and that's probably another influence on the pace of my stories. Short stories...well, they're brief. They're less forgiving than a novel, just like a poem is harder to write than a short story.
Q: Since you've written both sci-fi and fantasy, what do you feel distinguishes the two?
Greg Keyes: I guess there's always been kind of a gray area between them. At the extremes, they're certainly different. I think science fiction is mostly, classically defined as extrapolating from technology — if such-and-such a thing were invented, how would it change the world? The people? It's about science, and it's about some extrapolation from known science. So for instance, I might argue that Star Wars is not science fiction; it's fantasy. It has some sci-fi elements, but it's not about science; it's about people.
I think, ultimately, science fiction is literature that doesn't predict the future, but it helps us imagine it. If you grew up reading science fiction...there's no book that predicted it accurately, but there are some that knocked around what might be. But those who grew up reading sci-fi aren't all that surprised by [scientific and technological developments], whereas those that didn't are like, “What's going on?” [Laughs] I think science fiction is a game we play with our brains that imagines what can be.
Fantasy, ultimately, at its most basic form, is deciding what we're going to bring from our past. You know, what part of our mythic past is still relevant? If you look at literature before the 20th century, it's mostly fantastic, including Shakespeare. Magic, elves, gods, devils, they all figure very prominently in what's going on with [fantasy's] unseen forces. For some reason in the 20th century, outside of fantasy, people decided that stuff wasn't relevant.
I think there are kinds of fantasy [literature] that isn't realized as such. It's just that it gets marketed differently, so people feel different about it. For example, take the novel “Like Water for Chocolate”. It's not the kind of fantasy I write, but it's a fantasy.
What is a hero? I've noticed that every time somebody makes a movie about Beowulf, he's never like he actually is in the epic. People are a little uncomfortable with the way he was in the epic. In the new movie, Beowulf turns out to be a little crooked. Have you seen the newest movie?
Q: No, I haven't. I've heard there were lots of differences. I love the epic, though. It's one of the stories that got me into fantasy.
Greg Keyes: Yeah, see, I love the epic, too, and I'm really confounded as to why someone can't make a movie that stays closer to the original epic. Maybe even have the actors speak Old English and subtitle it. Every time they do it [a movie], they have to find some sort of modern take on it, and I don't think it needs that. But that's just me.
I mean, I don't know about you, but reading fantasy, when I was in high school, is part of what kept my moral compass straight. It's a very moral genre. It makes you ask questions about right and wrong, courage and a lack of courage.
Q: I agree. People looking for superficialities see it as a genre where men carry swords and wizards throw fireballs at dragons. But if written well, it's about people, and their lives and situations.
Greg Keyes: Yeah, I think it really is. I'm not sure what my idea of what a hero would be without fantasy. One thing that I do, that I really enjoyed doing in Thorn and Bone, is to write characters who don't always have swords, but still have tremendous courage. Courage isn't something predicated by strength or the ability to fight; it's having the guts to stand up for what you ought to.
Q: It's a great message, and I think fantasy is a great genre with which to relay that message.
Greg Keyes: Exactly, I agree.
Q: You've demonstrated a lot of diversity in your writing. Are there any other genres in which you'd like to write?
Greg Keyes: I don't have any compelling interest in writing in other genres. I like reading other genres, which I didn't do growing up. I read science fiction and fantasy, and that was pretty much it. When I was a kid, [sci-fi and fantasy] are what I wanted to write, and they're still what I want to write. I've been asked a similar question about screenplays — they pay a lot of money, but I have no interest in writing them. That doesn't mean I won't one day, but as of right now, I'd really have to be pulled to write a screenplay. I love movies, but I want to write books, science fiction and fantasy books.
I've been knocking that very question around because there are a couple things I could write that wouldn't be fantasy, or that would at least have very tame fantasy elements. I think they're good stories, but I just can't get that excited about them. Historical fiction comes to mind, and I did something close to that with The Age of Unreason. In fact I believe anyone who writes historical fiction actually wrote historical fantasy, because you're imagining things you can't possibly know. You can't possibly know what people said in a bedchamber, or what their motives were for doing something. You can make a guess at it, but you'll never really know. So even though you're writing about something that might have happened in one sense, it certainly didn't happen the way you're writing it, not exactly.
Beyond that, I don't know. With fantasy, I can write about people I know in very subtle ways, but I don't want to embarrass them or give them illusions of grandeur. I really don't want to write about myself.
Q: What would you say if someone wanted to convert one of your books or series into a screenplay?
Greg Keyes: The quick answer is, I'd like that. There's a lot of money in it, but also because I like movies and I'd be very interested to see how the movie turned out. I'm always very interested to see what my covers look like. I'm very interested to see how somebody interpreted my characters in my painting, or in any other medium. I would be really interested to see how someone interpreted one of my books as a movie.
Now, the fact is, most movies I've seen made from books I like kind of worried me. Either I didn't like them at all, or I had to separate myself from the book. I think that's what it [enjoying a book-to-movie adaptation] requires: you need to really separate yourself, because they're two different mediums. I think I'd have to take that attitude if someone made a movie from one of my books.
I made the horrible mistake of going to see Troy. About a month before I saw it, I'd just finished reading The Iliad again. Iliad is amazing and terrifying. So I walked out of Troy and said, “I hate it.” But then I thought, “Maybe I'm not being fair. Maybe I can just step back from the whole idea of it being The Iliad.”
So I watched it again...and I hate it again.
Q: [Laughs]
Greg Keyes: I think the main thing that was missing in Troy was that The Iliad is about a bunch of guys who have been on a beach for 10 years. These guys [in Troy] just show up, and in three days, it's over. There are fundamental differences there, and Troy just wasn't as interesting to me. But I have seen movies based on books that I really like, so again, as long as I can think of them as their own thing...
I think it's even harder as an author. Very few authors get the control that J.K. Rowling did with Harry Potter, for example. I think the same thing recently happened with one of Terry Brooks series and he's already had to kind of step back from it.
Q: That worries me! I'm a big Shannara fan.
Greg Keyes: Yeah, I think it was Shannara. It would almost have to be. I went on tour with him a couple of years ago and asked him a lot about this movie. And I don't know where it is in terms of production because I haven't talked to him in awhile. I imagine you could find out on his website. [Laughs]
Q: [Laughs] Yeah, that's probably true. But you know, I do think that if they're done correctly, now is a good time for more fantasy literature-to-cinema. Even though it happened before Lord of the Rings, that was so successful that everyone's suddenly jumping on the bandwagon, kind of like with superhero movies.
Greg Keyes: Yeah. Unfortunately, whenever that happens, there's a tendency for Hollywood to say, “We don't need a book. What do we need? Just a guy with a sword.” Then they just get some guy to write it and it sucks. I've always thought I should write something that would make a good movie, but I find it hard to think that way when I start writing.
Q: You mentioned covers. How much control do you have over what appears on the front and back of your work?
Greg Keyes: Not much. That's actually why I made that comparison. Early on, with my first few novels, I was asked for suggestions, for what I thought was a good scene. They'd run preliminary sketches and stuff by me, but I don't think that if I ever said no, they'd pay much attention. Those decisions are really made in marketing.
The only times I've had a strong say in my covers were with “A Calculus of Angels” and “The Empire of Unreason”. And that's because my editor had just gotten fired, and the editor usually never puts the artist and the author in direct contact. My suspicion for that is because authors have such clear ideas in their mind of what things should look like, they might stymie the creative efforts of the artist.
The first cover of any of my books I ever saw was the British cover of “The Waterborn”. When I first saw it I was just stunned. In fact I'm looking at it now; it hangs on the wall in my office. The second cover I ever saw actually wasn't on the book. It was a court scene from “The Waterborn”, and at some point it got to marketing and they said, “Mmm...no. Start again.” So there are two covers for that book, one which was never published.
More recently, the process has been even different in that they'll start the cover before I've even finished the book. So they're more concept covers. Once I see the cover I'll try to come up with a scene that sort of resembles the cover, but again, that's market-driven. They're trying to decide what kinds of covers are selling, and that's always been the case. I remember with “The Waterborn”, the cover had to be blue, because blue is selling! Blue is good!
It's all taken very seriously, and I don't know much about it, so I try not to get involved. I've been rather pleased with my covers.
Q: So you just write the book and let the marketing and artist folks do their things?
Greg Keyes: Pretty much! It's always fun to see the covers, and it's really interesting to see how things are interpreted. But I'm not too involved with it, and that doesn't bother me too much.
Q: In closing, last year was tough for writers of speculative fiction. Several authors passed away including Robert Jordan, Madeline L’Engle, Lloyd Alexander, Leigh Eddings, Fred Saberhagen, Jack Williamson, Alice Borchardt, and Kurt Vonnegut Jr. while Terry Pratchett was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Did any of this affect you as a writer?
Greg Keyes: Well, probably not...not in a big way. For one thing I didn't know any of those guys personally. And that might sound cold, but I'm obviously more affected by the deaths of people I know personally. For instance, the death that affected me most last year was Jamie Bishop, son of science fiction author Michael Bishop. He was one of the guys shot at Virginia Tech. Jamie and I were very close in college, he was a great friend. I'd just talked to his dad a couple of weeks before.
But in terms of the genre, one death that really had an affect on me was Roger Zelazny's. That's when I tried to quit smoking. I don't think he died of lung cancer; it was liver disease or something. But it had an affect on me, and it just stunned me that he was taken so early.
Like I said, I've never read anything by Robert Jordan, not because I didn't want to, but because I just haven't gotten around to it. But these guys, especially Terry Brooks, he created the concept of a best-selling fantasy novel. Jordan maintained that concept, and guys like him. Those writers, like Jordan and Leigh Eddings were great for all of us, but I don't think their deaths have changed anything for me in any major way.
Q: Let’s talk about your new book “The Born Queen” which completes The Kingdoms of Thorn & Bone series. Originally you sold the series as an outline and mentioned that you didn’t follow the blueprint very closely. So in what ways has “The Born Queen” deviated from your original outline?
Greg Keyes: I knew what my beginning and end points were; it was the way I got [to the end] that was really different. As I was writing the characters, they did things I didn't plan on, which, as Terry Brooks once told me, sounds a bit schizophrenic. [Laughs] I think writers are a bit schizophrenic in that we build these characters in our heads, and then they start doing different things. For instance, Aspar was not originally an important character. He was kind of the guy who discovers the Briar King and all that before fading out near the end of the outline. As I started writing, I just noticed that Aspar was the character I really wanted to write about.
Q: It's always interesting when characters decide to mutiny, isn't it?
Greg Keyes: Yes, it really is!
Q: In a series like this, readers can be very vocal about how their favorite characters are handled or what they would like to see in a book, especially a concluding volume. Have the comments of fans had any bearing on the way you wrote “The Born Queen”?
Greg Keyes: I would say no. I tend to follow my instincts while I'm writing. That's one thing I've noticed about myself: I tend to think better when I'm writing than when I'm outlining. Outlining is more about plot, whereas writing is more about character.
Q: Do you like the way you wrapped up the series as a whole?
Greg Keyes: I do, yeah. I was very pleased with the way the series wrapped up. I think there are moments where I wished it was over, but that's the case with anything I've written. It's fun at times, and that's what carries me through it. I have those really nice moments and I get really excited, or I think of exactly the right phrase, that kind of thing. But really, writing is about just sitting down and doing it.
Q: The Kingdoms of Thorn & Bone series have often been described as 'George R.R. Martin-lite'. Do you think that's a fair comparison? Good? Bad?Greg Keyes: I think it's fair in a way. It's hard for me to really comment because I've only ever read one of his books. At times I think I know what that means, and at others I don't. I don't mind being compared to other authors, because I'd do that if I were a reader trying to describe a book to another reader. Like, “Oh, yeah, this is kind of like Michael Moorcock, but crazier,” something like that. On the other hand it wasn't my plan to write a book like anyone else. If the implication is that I intended to do something and I failed to, then that would bother me, but I didn't.
Q: Even though your series embraces a number of fantasy clichés, you also make a concerted effort to twist usual conventions. What are your thoughts on fantasy tropes in general and how did you balance what stereotypes you wanted to twist and those that you embraced?
Greg Keyes: That's actually not something I planned to do. What I do is pick these character types that aren't necessarily fantasy stereotypes, but archetypes rooted in myth. I just start writing them as people and try to imagine what it would be like to actually inhabit that role. I like to think of my characters in general as more important than my plot. If I follow my outline, I believe my characters will start as stereotypes and end as stereotypes, no matter my intentions. Then I stop thinking about them as characters and become stereotypes.
Q: Cliffhangers are an integral part of your work, and they're often used to end almost every chapter of your books. How do you avoid having them become a gimmick?
Greg Keyes: I don't know! It's just something I've done in almost all of my books. In fact, I was writing some books on Babylon 5 a couple of years ago. I got about halfway through one of the books and something just didn't feel right about it. I realized, “Wait a minute - I'm not switching chapters between different characters.”
I think I do it because I like that kind of writing myself. You know, you read a chapter about one guy and think, “I don't care about him, I want to know what happened to the other guy!” But then you get attached to the current character, which means you don't want to leave him when his chapter ends and swings back to the first guy.
I would say that a lot of that probably comes more from movies than other literature. I'm heavily influenced by movies. In fact, that question about stereotypes and characters...you look at Ang Lee's early work, where he would take a typical story and put an odd twist into it. I know some people are annoyed by that switching chapters thing, but a lot of the things I watched and read growing up were like that, and I liked it. It's also a way of keeping things fresh for me as well.
Q: Contrary to many entries in the epic fantasy genre, time passes quickly in your books. What led to this technique?
Greg Keyes: Sometimes, a couple of days will occupy a large chunk of the book, and then a month will pass. I think that I like a faster pace. To a larger extent, a lot of things that influenced me growing up moved really quickly. You see that influence in my work, and I just kind of like to move things along, not getting bogged down for too long.
Q: In your eyes, how has the fantasy genre evolved since you first wrote the Children of the Changeling duology and based on current trends, what might the future hold?
Greg Keyes: That's a good question. I'd been an avid fantasy reader all of my life; I actually started reading science fiction when I was really young. I'd never read fantasy until I was around 13, and it was accidental. I picked up The Return of the King that had a wacky 1960s cover and I thought it was sci-fi. By the time I realized it wasn't, I was already interested in it even though it was obviously the third Lord of the Rings book.When I knuckled down to start writing, which was the early 80s, I quit reading as much; in fact I almost quit reading entirely. I was married, had two jobs, and was trying to write. When I wrote “The Waterborn”, I was completely unaware of what kind of fantasy was selling and what wasn't. Just completely out of touch with the market. I thought I was writing a normal sort of fantasy but the critical reaction proclaimed that it was very different; I didn't think it was different at all. I guess it was!
I'd written a few books previously that were never published. It was set in 1350 and took place in the United States. The characters were Native Americans. It was a fantasy, but it was kind of a strange one. What happened was, one publisher was interested in it and led me on for about a year. They finally said that they didn't know how to sell it. I said to myself, “What if I take some of those ideas, but give the guy a sword, make the girl a princess, and put the guy on a horse?” I sold it in a month.
I'm not completely aware of what the market is doing because I don't pay a lot of attention to it. Partly because I've been writing The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone for a long time, so my concentration has been on them. I started writing them in '99, I think. One thing I'm doing now is taking some time to see what's currently out there.
Q: So do you do a lot of reading while you're writing?
Greg Keyes: I almost don't read [any fantasy] at all. And that's a shame because I do like the genre, but I find that when I'm writing books like The Age of Unreason [series], where there's a lot of research involved—like what shoes people wore during the Eighteenth Century, there's just tons and tons of research... I like that. I have an academic background and I enjoy that kind of reading.
When I'm writing stuff like The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone I tend to turn back to stuff from the mythic past, like Beowulf and that kind of thing, just to reground myself and all that. I could probably count on one hand the number of fantasy novels I've read in the past 10 years. Right now I'm re-reading some favorites just to remind myself what I loved about [the genre] to start with.
I've read a couple things lately that I like. But when publishers send me things for quotes, I usually can't get through them. I don't know if that's an artifact of what I'm being sent or what, but I've read a couple in the past couple of years, and I did get through them and like them.
It's just a time management issue. I keep promising myself I'm going to read this or that, but I just haven't gotten to. For instance, I've always planned to read Robert Jordan's stuff, but I just haven't had time. Like I said with Martin, it's nothing about not liking the books, I just don't have time to read them.
Q: That's actually a relief to hear. If you don't mind a tangent, I'm a writer myself and just submitted a series for publication. I'm very proud of it, but what with working, dealing with “real life” stuff and other matters, I sometimes don't have the time to devote to writing that I'd like. Did you experience anything like that? If so, how did you alleviate it? Did you create a writing schedule or anything?
Greg Keyes: When I was trying to get published, the first thing I did was write short stories. This was in my early 20s, and I got married when I was 24. I wrote the shorts and sent them off. They got rejected, but they always came back with good advice from editors. Of course at the time I thought I was a genius and they were idiots. Basically it just made me angry, so I'd shove stories into a drawer and forget about them after the first rejection. I eventually concluded that I can't write short stories, but I can write novels.
At the time, when I really got started, I was working a full-time job during the week and at nighttime. I would take my typewriter to the night job because all I really had to do was stay awake. So at first I wrote all weekend, then at night. Later on I started graduate school and decided that I wanted to write a book that year. During the three summer months, I quit the day job and my wife took over the earning. She believed in me, and I wrote eight hours a day, just like a nine-to-five job.
Now things are considerably different. I'm lazier, a little less willing to sit down for eight hours. Well, I can't; I'm at home all day with a two-and-a-half year-old. What I did was have a nanny come in for about three hours a day so I would have writing time, but I wasn't willing to quit watching her grow up. Now I write when I can. I write when the nanny's here and on weekends.
I think it does really help if you say, “I'm going to write at this time,” and you set that time that you're going to do it every day. Even if all you end up doing is staring at a blank screen, or you do what I did, which was writing eight pages that you threw away. At least you're in the process.
I think what makes writers different from everyone else is, even though everyone has stories to tell, writers need the ability to sit down and do it. Make yourself do it when the sun's shining and there are other things you could be doing. You just need to sit down to do it. It really helps to find a schedule, because otherwise you say, “Well, I could be writing right now, but I'm tired.” You're doing it, so you realize it's not always fun.
Q: No, sometimes it really is work.
Greg Keyes: Yep.
Q: Getting back on track... Besides traditional fantasy, you’ve also written The Age of Unreason tetralogy which mixes steampunk influences with history. Personally, this series sounds like it would be a lot of fun to research & write. What did you like most about writing The Age of Unreason?
Greg Keyes: Its starting point was a real place in time. Every time I write a book I feel like there are certain people watching over my shoulder. Like if I write a Star Wars book, all those fans are looking over my shoulder to make sure I don't use the wrong color of light saber or whatever. When I wrote The Age of Unreason I felt like I constantly had these imaginary history professors—who would probably never even read the books—looking over my shoulder, and I felt kind of accountable to real history.
I did some traveling for it, went to London and actually found the place where... well, there's a scene where Benjamin Franklin's in London looking for Isaac Newton, and he goes into this particular coffee house that's a real place and actually still exists. It's a pub now, not a coffee house. The funny thing was, I couldn't find it on a modern map but I found it on a Nineteenth Century map. I went in and read a plaque outside proclaiming that folks such as Newton had indeed hung out there. I went in and got a beer and I told the waitress about her establishment's historical significance. She said, “No, I think it's been this way for a long time.” I said, “But 300 years ago, it was different.” Then she called another guy in to discuss the matter and I said, “You know there's a plaque right outside with all of this information, right?”
Q: “Newton’s Cannon”, the first volume in The Age of Unreason tetralogy, actually won the prestigious Le Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire Award. How did you feel about this honor?Greg Keyes: I got an email from my French publisher about two weeks after 9/11. The offer was, “We're telling you know because we're afraid you won't come. You've won the Le Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire Award. We'll fly you into France to receive the award but we understand that you might be daunted by flying right now.” I replied, “Bring me over.” I found it really interesting. It was my first time to a French convention. It's a really different thing going on over there. First of all there are translators running around everywhere, and people get so out there with what they're talking about. They'll start with a topic that seems reasonable but eventually becomes a discussion about crazy things. It's really interesting and fun.
I was really honored to win the award. I'd been sort of snubbed by the French for my first couple of books; they didn't even publish them. Then I went and wrote a book that had Louis XIV and boom, published. It was great.
Q: You also wrote tie-in novels for Star Wars and Babylon 5. What are the advantages and disadvantages of writing books in already established universes opposed to original fiction?
Greg Keyes: I've often compared it to writing a haiku. A haiku has pre-established rules that you have to follow, but that doesn't mean you can't write a good haiku. Sometimes constraints and boundaries can force you to do things you've never done before. It can make you a better writer - or a worse writer.
Writing for Babylon 5... there had been novels written before, but only one was thought of as good by J.M.S. [J. Michael Straczynski]. He told me to forget about the other ones and start from scratch. If I had a question, there were people I could call that would get the answer for me. I even got to go watch them film an episode. I was creating the back story of Babylon 5 for the most part, and that was really interesting, and relatively free. There were boundaries, but they were pretty loose.
With Star Wars, the boundaries were tighter, but not too much more so. I had a lot of creative latitude with that. The relationship wasn't as close; I worked through my editor. There's also a group of readers they trust to tell them, “Yeah, this is Star Wars.” They're real fans who can see beyond surface attributes and will tell you that it feels like Star Wars. There were more drafts of the Star Wars books, both of the outlines and the actual books because I was hearing from more people: my editor, the reader group, authors who had written books before me, authors who had written books after.... It was a very communal effort. It was very different from anything I'd ever done, because writing is largely solitary - that wasn't. But I enjoyed the experience.
Q: What are you currently working on at the moment?
Greg Keyes: Right now I'm trying to figure out what I want to write next. I finished Thorn and Bone and got to thinking, “What now?” I wasn't really sure. I was just approached to write some Elder Scrolls, though, and it's great because my research is to play Oblivion [Elder Scrolls IV]. [Laughs]
Another thing that happened with Thorn and Bone that dragged things out a bit was that I took on Star Wars projects. They're from the same publisher, so I was able to push my books back in order to tackle Star Wars. But I didn't particularly like writing that way. I always felt I was slighting somebody. So I'm back to taking on one project at a time.
Q: In May/June 2008, EDGE is releasing your new short story collection “The Hounds of Ash and other Tales of Fool Wolf”. Can you tell us more about this book?Greg Keyes: If you read those stories, I think you'll see the influences from Jack Vance and Michael Moorcock, my early influences. It's about a character I created for Dragon Magazine, actually. A guy named Dave Gross, who used to be the editor of Dragon, came to a book signing of mine in Seattle. He loved “The Waterborn” and had brought a copy with him. He opened it up to a map that says, “Giant.” He said, “I want to know what's there. I'll pay you to write a short story.”I told you earlier that I couldn't write short stories. What I really hadn't understood was how tough the short story market was, especially back then. So I wrote a series of stories about this character. The world was the same one as in “The Waterborn”, but none of the same characters. It was a labor of love; I really loved writing them. One thing about the market I know is those sorts of stories, like the collections they published in the 70s and 80s, stories that string together to form a larger story...almost nobody publishes those anymore.
Q: Looking back, what have been the biggest improvements that you’ve made as a writer since you were first published?
Greg Keyes: My early writing, when I look back at it, had some kinks. Rather than starting the story, I told you about where the story would take place. I was a controlling narrator, which didn't leave enough to the imagination. That was stuff I never really published. I think I've gotten better at writing characters. My descriptions have become simpler; I used to think of the craziest way to describe something rather than doing it naturally. My voice has become more consistent.
Q: In what areas would you like to improve?
Greg Keyes: I tend to avoid writing about mass warfare because I don't know how to do it. At some point while working on “The Born Queen”, I thought, “You know, I have to go read some books about medieval warfare.” So I stopped and I read, and I read...and I read. I've fenced, and I've done martial arts, but writing about war, about how to make it interesting...I'm always bored by that in books. It takes a great writer to make me interested in a big fight. It's something I shy away from because I'm afraid I can't do it that well. Anything I shy away from, I'd like to be able to do. I might still choose not to do it, but I want to be able to know that I could have done it.
Q: Are you more comfortable with short stories now?
Greg Keyes: I am, but they're still harder to write. With a short story, you can't waste words; you can't waste time with anything. Short stories are something I loved reading while growing up, and that's probably another influence on the pace of my stories. Short stories...well, they're brief. They're less forgiving than a novel, just like a poem is harder to write than a short story.
Q: Since you've written both sci-fi and fantasy, what do you feel distinguishes the two?
Greg Keyes: I guess there's always been kind of a gray area between them. At the extremes, they're certainly different. I think science fiction is mostly, classically defined as extrapolating from technology — if such-and-such a thing were invented, how would it change the world? The people? It's about science, and it's about some extrapolation from known science. So for instance, I might argue that Star Wars is not science fiction; it's fantasy. It has some sci-fi elements, but it's not about science; it's about people.
I think, ultimately, science fiction is literature that doesn't predict the future, but it helps us imagine it. If you grew up reading science fiction...there's no book that predicted it accurately, but there are some that knocked around what might be. But those who grew up reading sci-fi aren't all that surprised by [scientific and technological developments], whereas those that didn't are like, “What's going on?” [Laughs] I think science fiction is a game we play with our brains that imagines what can be.
Fantasy, ultimately, at its most basic form, is deciding what we're going to bring from our past. You know, what part of our mythic past is still relevant? If you look at literature before the 20th century, it's mostly fantastic, including Shakespeare. Magic, elves, gods, devils, they all figure very prominently in what's going on with [fantasy's] unseen forces. For some reason in the 20th century, outside of fantasy, people decided that stuff wasn't relevant.
I think there are kinds of fantasy [literature] that isn't realized as such. It's just that it gets marketed differently, so people feel different about it. For example, take the novel “Like Water for Chocolate”. It's not the kind of fantasy I write, but it's a fantasy.
What is a hero? I've noticed that every time somebody makes a movie about Beowulf, he's never like he actually is in the epic. People are a little uncomfortable with the way he was in the epic. In the new movie, Beowulf turns out to be a little crooked. Have you seen the newest movie?Q: No, I haven't. I've heard there were lots of differences. I love the epic, though. It's one of the stories that got me into fantasy.
Greg Keyes: Yeah, see, I love the epic, too, and I'm really confounded as to why someone can't make a movie that stays closer to the original epic. Maybe even have the actors speak Old English and subtitle it. Every time they do it [a movie], they have to find some sort of modern take on it, and I don't think it needs that. But that's just me.
I mean, I don't know about you, but reading fantasy, when I was in high school, is part of what kept my moral compass straight. It's a very moral genre. It makes you ask questions about right and wrong, courage and a lack of courage.
Q: I agree. People looking for superficialities see it as a genre where men carry swords and wizards throw fireballs at dragons. But if written well, it's about people, and their lives and situations.
Greg Keyes: Yeah, I think it really is. I'm not sure what my idea of what a hero would be without fantasy. One thing that I do, that I really enjoyed doing in Thorn and Bone, is to write characters who don't always have swords, but still have tremendous courage. Courage isn't something predicated by strength or the ability to fight; it's having the guts to stand up for what you ought to.
Q: It's a great message, and I think fantasy is a great genre with which to relay that message.
Greg Keyes: Exactly, I agree.
Q: You've demonstrated a lot of diversity in your writing. Are there any other genres in which you'd like to write?
Greg Keyes: I don't have any compelling interest in writing in other genres. I like reading other genres, which I didn't do growing up. I read science fiction and fantasy, and that was pretty much it. When I was a kid, [sci-fi and fantasy] are what I wanted to write, and they're still what I want to write. I've been asked a similar question about screenplays — they pay a lot of money, but I have no interest in writing them. That doesn't mean I won't one day, but as of right now, I'd really have to be pulled to write a screenplay. I love movies, but I want to write books, science fiction and fantasy books.
I've been knocking that very question around because there are a couple things I could write that wouldn't be fantasy, or that would at least have very tame fantasy elements. I think they're good stories, but I just can't get that excited about them. Historical fiction comes to mind, and I did something close to that with The Age of Unreason. In fact I believe anyone who writes historical fiction actually wrote historical fantasy, because you're imagining things you can't possibly know. You can't possibly know what people said in a bedchamber, or what their motives were for doing something. You can make a guess at it, but you'll never really know. So even though you're writing about something that might have happened in one sense, it certainly didn't happen the way you're writing it, not exactly.
Beyond that, I don't know. With fantasy, I can write about people I know in very subtle ways, but I don't want to embarrass them or give them illusions of grandeur. I really don't want to write about myself.
Q: What would you say if someone wanted to convert one of your books or series into a screenplay?
Greg Keyes: The quick answer is, I'd like that. There's a lot of money in it, but also because I like movies and I'd be very interested to see how the movie turned out. I'm always very interested to see what my covers look like. I'm very interested to see how somebody interpreted my characters in my painting, or in any other medium. I would be really interested to see how someone interpreted one of my books as a movie.
Now, the fact is, most movies I've seen made from books I like kind of worried me. Either I didn't like them at all, or I had to separate myself from the book. I think that's what it [enjoying a book-to-movie adaptation] requires: you need to really separate yourself, because they're two different mediums. I think I'd have to take that attitude if someone made a movie from one of my books.
I made the horrible mistake of going to see Troy. About a month before I saw it, I'd just finished reading The Iliad again. Iliad is amazing and terrifying. So I walked out of Troy and said, “I hate it.” But then I thought, “Maybe I'm not being fair. Maybe I can just step back from the whole idea of it being The Iliad.”So I watched it again...and I hate it again.
Q: [Laughs]
Greg Keyes: I think the main thing that was missing in Troy was that The Iliad is about a bunch of guys who have been on a beach for 10 years. These guys [in Troy] just show up, and in three days, it's over. There are fundamental differences there, and Troy just wasn't as interesting to me. But I have seen movies based on books that I really like, so again, as long as I can think of them as their own thing...
I think it's even harder as an author. Very few authors get the control that J.K. Rowling did with Harry Potter, for example. I think the same thing recently happened with one of Terry Brooks series and he's already had to kind of step back from it.
Q: That worries me! I'm a big Shannara fan.
Greg Keyes: Yeah, I think it was Shannara. It would almost have to be. I went on tour with him a couple of years ago and asked him a lot about this movie. And I don't know where it is in terms of production because I haven't talked to him in awhile. I imagine you could find out on his website. [Laughs]
Q: [Laughs] Yeah, that's probably true. But you know, I do think that if they're done correctly, now is a good time for more fantasy literature-to-cinema. Even though it happened before Lord of the Rings, that was so successful that everyone's suddenly jumping on the bandwagon, kind of like with superhero movies.
Greg Keyes: Yeah. Unfortunately, whenever that happens, there's a tendency for Hollywood to say, “We don't need a book. What do we need? Just a guy with a sword.” Then they just get some guy to write it and it sucks. I've always thought I should write something that would make a good movie, but I find it hard to think that way when I start writing.
Q: You mentioned covers. How much control do you have over what appears on the front and back of your work?
Greg Keyes: Not much. That's actually why I made that comparison. Early on, with my first few novels, I was asked for suggestions, for what I thought was a good scene. They'd run preliminary sketches and stuff by me, but I don't think that if I ever said no, they'd pay much attention. Those decisions are really made in marketing.
The only times I've had a strong say in my covers were with “A Calculus of Angels” and “The Empire of Unreason”. And that's because my editor had just gotten fired, and the editor usually never puts the artist and the author in direct contact. My suspicion for that is because authors have such clear ideas in their mind of what things should look like, they might stymie the creative efforts of the artist.
The first cover of any of my books I ever saw was the British cover of “The Waterborn”. When I first saw it I was just stunned. In fact I'm looking at it now; it hangs on the wall in my office. The second cover I ever saw actually wasn't on the book. It was a court scene from “The Waterborn”, and at some point it got to marketing and they said, “Mmm...no. Start again.” So there are two covers for that book, one which was never published.More recently, the process has been even different in that they'll start the cover before I've even finished the book. So they're more concept covers. Once I see the cover I'll try to come up with a scene that sort of resembles the cover, but again, that's market-driven. They're trying to decide what kinds of covers are selling, and that's always been the case. I remember with “The Waterborn”, the cover had to be blue, because blue is selling! Blue is good!
It's all taken very seriously, and I don't know much about it, so I try not to get involved. I've been rather pleased with my covers.
Q: So you just write the book and let the marketing and artist folks do their things?
Greg Keyes: Pretty much! It's always fun to see the covers, and it's really interesting to see how things are interpreted. But I'm not too involved with it, and that doesn't bother me too much.
Q: In closing, last year was tough for writers of speculative fiction. Several authors passed away including Robert Jordan, Madeline L’Engle, Lloyd Alexander, Leigh Eddings, Fred Saberhagen, Jack Williamson, Alice Borchardt, and Kurt Vonnegut Jr. while Terry Pratchett was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Did any of this affect you as a writer?
Greg Keyes: Well, probably not...not in a big way. For one thing I didn't know any of those guys personally. And that might sound cold, but I'm obviously more affected by the deaths of people I know personally. For instance, the death that affected me most last year was Jamie Bishop, son of science fiction author Michael Bishop. He was one of the guys shot at Virginia Tech. Jamie and I were very close in college, he was a great friend. I'd just talked to his dad a couple of weeks before.
But in terms of the genre, one death that really had an affect on me was Roger Zelazny's. That's when I tried to quit smoking. I don't think he died of lung cancer; it was liver disease or something. But it had an affect on me, and it just stunned me that he was taken so early.
Like I said, I've never read anything by Robert Jordan, not because I didn't want to, but because I just haven't gotten around to it. But these guys, especially Terry Brooks, he created the concept of a best-selling fantasy novel. Jordan maintained that concept, and guys like him. Those writers, like Jordan and Leigh Eddings were great for all of us, but I don't think their deaths have changed anything for me in any major way.
3:01 AM | 
Posted by
Robert |
AUTHOR INFORMATION: By the time Nicholas Pekearo was 28 years old, he had already penned three novels and was well on his way to a terrific career as a writer. Then on March 14, 2007, while volunteering as an NYPD Auxiliary Police Officer, he and his partner, Eugene Marshalik, were killed in the line of duty in the very neighborhood Nicholas grew up in—New York City’s Greenwich Village. “The Wolfman” is Nicholas’ first published novel.
PLOT SUMMARY: Marlowe Higgins is a werewolf. For years he struggled with his affliction, aimlessly wandering the country, fearing for the lives of innocent people who were murdered by the beast within him every full moon. Then he found a way to use his unfortunate curse for good—by only killing really bad people.
Settling at last in the small town of Evelyn, Higgins manages to find a job and even a friend. But one night everything changes. It turns out Marlowe isn’t the only monster lurking in the area. A fiendish serial killer known as the Rose Killer has been brutally murdering young girls across the country and is now terrorizing Evelyn. Higgins targets the killer as his next victim, but on the night of the full moon, things go drastically wrong…
CLASSIFICATION: “The Wolfman” reminded me of Charlie Huston’s Joe Pitt novels . . . that is, if the protagonist was a werewolf instead of a vampire, and if the story was set in a small southern town in the early 90s rather than 21st century Manhattan. Like those novels, horror and supernatural elements are downplayed in favor of crime noir and mystery/thrills, but where Joe Pitt channeled Quentin Tarantino, “The Wolfman” is flavored more by Thomas Harris, and early Dean Koontz/Stephen King…
FORMAT/INFO: Page count is 286 pages divided over twenty-six chapters and a prologue / epilogue. Narration is in the first-person via Marlowe Higgins, but is an accounting of events that have already occurred. “The Wolfman” is a standalone novel, but was planned as an ongoing series. May 13, 2008 marks the North American hardcover publication of “The Wolfman” via Tor Books. Jacket photograph is by Bruce Brown.
ANALYSIS: Vampires versus werewolves? In my mind, there’s no contest. Vampires will always be cooler and more interesting than werewolves. Partly it’s because of the vampire mythos, but it also has a lot to do with the kinds of stories that I was exposed to. Dracula, I Am Legend, Brian Lumley’s Necroscope series, Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, Vampire Hunter D, the Blade movies, the Legacy of Kain videogames . . . these are all great interpretations of the vampire legend. On the other hand, what I remember most about werewolves are movies like Teen Wolf, The Howling, An American Werewolf in Paris, Wolf and Cursed—not exactly storytelling at its finest—and aside from Toby Barlow’s “Sharp Teeth” and the Anita Blake books, I can’t think of any decent werewolf literature that I’ve read. Of course, if there were more books out there like Nicholas Pekearo’s “The Wolfman”, maybe I would have a much higher opinion of werewolves :)
Basically Marlowe Higgins, the protagonist of the book, is cursed: every full moon he changes into a seven-foot-tall werewolf and murders someone, which obviously affects his personal life. So for over twenty years, Marlowe has been drifting from one small town to another, barely scraping by, living under false names, and alternately trying to find someone who can cure his condition or coming up with enough courage to commit suicide. In “The Wolfman” it’s the year 1993, Higgins is forty years-old, and he’s settled down in a town called Evelyn, complete with a job, a friend, and a hooker that he’s in love with. He’s also developed an understanding with the beast residing in him so that only bad people are killed. It’s a system that’s been working, but when a serial killer who mysteriously has no scent comes into town, all hell breaks loose…
The first thing that really stands out in “The Wolfman” is the character of Marlowe Higgins. What makes Marlowe such a great character is his colorful tough-guy attitude, which really comes alive through a spirited narrative style, rough language, and spot-on slang & pop culture references that convincingly evoke the 80s and 90s. Even better, Marlowe is a character with depth as he frequently interjects the main narrative with flashbacks about his curse, what he lost because of his curse, his time in ‘Nam, and numerous other remembrances that flesh out his history.
Secondly, I loved the old-school ambiance of the book, which really made me nostalgic for the early 90s when I used to devour anything by Dean Koontz, Brian Lumley and Robert R. McCammon. “The Wolfman” just possesses that same kind of vibe. But instead of being a straightforward horror novel or supernatural thriller, “The Wolfman” is more of a hard-boiled crime noir with police procedural, a serial killer mystery, and dark humor all mixed in.
Lastly, I really liked Nicholas’ take on werewolves which is a combination of classic mythology—curse is handed down from one generation to the next, can only transform on the full moon, is almost impossible to kill, et cetera—and fresh ideas. For instance, when the beast kills a person, it doesn’t just take their lives, it takes their spirits. As a result, Marlowe can experience the memories of everyone the beast has ever murdered, and even absorbs some of their traits like certain eating habits or knowing different languages such as French, Greek, Mandarin and Spanish. Another interesting twist is that the werewolf is a separate entity, so Marlowe has no recollection of what happens on a full moon . . . unless the beast decides to share its memories ;)
That all said, “The Wolfman” is not a perfect novel. The pacing sometimes drags because of the frequent flashbacks and Nicholas’ tendency to over-describe things, there are a couple of inconsistencies in the police investigation, and for a crime noir “The Wolfman” amazingly fails to deliver any kind of shocking twist—the identity of the Rose Killer, why the beast can’t scent the serial killer, who the person is behind the threatening phone calls to Marlowe; these subplots are telegraphed so blatantly that it’s impossible not to know the answers long before the author finally reveals them. In spite of these imperfections though, “The Wolfman” is a striking debut, one that I immensely enjoyed, and if Nicholas was still with us, I’m quite positive that every one of his novels would have made it into my book collection :)
CONCLUSION: According to the Editor’s Note, Nicholas Pekearo envisioned “The Wolfman” as the start of a series with Marlowe Higgins encountering all sorts of nasty trouble in the future with ‘neo-Nazi vampires, demented wizards and alchemists.’ Sadly, we’ll never know how those adventures might have turned out, but if “The Wolfman” is any indication, the books would have been visceral, hard-hitting, and entertaining as hell. Regardless, at least readers will always have “The Wolfman”, which apart from a few flaws, is a tremendously satisfying novel, and an unforgettable tribute to what might have been…
PLOT SUMMARY: Marlowe Higgins is a werewolf. For years he struggled with his affliction, aimlessly wandering the country, fearing for the lives of innocent people who were murdered by the beast within him every full moon. Then he found a way to use his unfortunate curse for good—by only killing really bad people.
Settling at last in the small town of Evelyn, Higgins manages to find a job and even a friend. But one night everything changes. It turns out Marlowe isn’t the only monster lurking in the area. A fiendish serial killer known as the Rose Killer has been brutally murdering young girls across the country and is now terrorizing Evelyn. Higgins targets the killer as his next victim, but on the night of the full moon, things go drastically wrong…
CLASSIFICATION: “The Wolfman” reminded me of Charlie Huston’s Joe Pitt novels . . . that is, if the protagonist was a werewolf instead of a vampire, and if the story was set in a small southern town in the early 90s rather than 21st century Manhattan. Like those novels, horror and supernatural elements are downplayed in favor of crime noir and mystery/thrills, but where Joe Pitt channeled Quentin Tarantino, “The Wolfman” is flavored more by Thomas Harris, and early Dean Koontz/Stephen King…
FORMAT/INFO: Page count is 286 pages divided over twenty-six chapters and a prologue / epilogue. Narration is in the first-person via Marlowe Higgins, but is an accounting of events that have already occurred. “The Wolfman” is a standalone novel, but was planned as an ongoing series. May 13, 2008 marks the North American hardcover publication of “The Wolfman” via Tor Books. Jacket photograph is by Bruce Brown.
ANALYSIS: Vampires versus werewolves? In my mind, there’s no contest. Vampires will always be cooler and more interesting than werewolves. Partly it’s because of the vampire mythos, but it also has a lot to do with the kinds of stories that I was exposed to. Dracula, I Am Legend, Brian Lumley’s Necroscope series, Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, Vampire Hunter D, the Blade movies, the Legacy of Kain videogames . . . these are all great interpretations of the vampire legend. On the other hand, what I remember most about werewolves are movies like Teen Wolf, The Howling, An American Werewolf in Paris, Wolf and Cursed—not exactly storytelling at its finest—and aside from Toby Barlow’s “Sharp Teeth” and the Anita Blake books, I can’t think of any decent werewolf literature that I’ve read. Of course, if there were more books out there like Nicholas Pekearo’s “The Wolfman”, maybe I would have a much higher opinion of werewolves :)
Basically Marlowe Higgins, the protagonist of the book, is cursed: every full moon he changes into a seven-foot-tall werewolf and murders someone, which obviously affects his personal life. So for over twenty years, Marlowe has been drifting from one small town to another, barely scraping by, living under false names, and alternately trying to find someone who can cure his condition or coming up with enough courage to commit suicide. In “The Wolfman” it’s the year 1993, Higgins is forty years-old, and he’s settled down in a town called Evelyn, complete with a job, a friend, and a hooker that he’s in love with. He’s also developed an understanding with the beast residing in him so that only bad people are killed. It’s a system that’s been working, but when a serial killer who mysteriously has no scent comes into town, all hell breaks loose…
The first thing that really stands out in “The Wolfman” is the character of Marlowe Higgins. What makes Marlowe such a great character is his colorful tough-guy attitude, which really comes alive through a spirited narrative style, rough language, and spot-on slang & pop culture references that convincingly evoke the 80s and 90s. Even better, Marlowe is a character with depth as he frequently interjects the main narrative with flashbacks about his curse, what he lost because of his curse, his time in ‘Nam, and numerous other remembrances that flesh out his history.
Secondly, I loved the old-school ambiance of the book, which really made me nostalgic for the early 90s when I used to devour anything by Dean Koontz, Brian Lumley and Robert R. McCammon. “The Wolfman” just possesses that same kind of vibe. But instead of being a straightforward horror novel or supernatural thriller, “The Wolfman” is more of a hard-boiled crime noir with police procedural, a serial killer mystery, and dark humor all mixed in.
Lastly, I really liked Nicholas’ take on werewolves which is a combination of classic mythology—curse is handed down from one generation to the next, can only transform on the full moon, is almost impossible to kill, et cetera—and fresh ideas. For instance, when the beast kills a person, it doesn’t just take their lives, it takes their spirits. As a result, Marlowe can experience the memories of everyone the beast has ever murdered, and even absorbs some of their traits like certain eating habits or knowing different languages such as French, Greek, Mandarin and Spanish. Another interesting twist is that the werewolf is a separate entity, so Marlowe has no recollection of what happens on a full moon . . . unless the beast decides to share its memories ;)
That all said, “The Wolfman” is not a perfect novel. The pacing sometimes drags because of the frequent flashbacks and Nicholas’ tendency to over-describe things, there are a couple of inconsistencies in the police investigation, and for a crime noir “The Wolfman” amazingly fails to deliver any kind of shocking twist—the identity of the Rose Killer, why the beast can’t scent the serial killer, who the person is behind the threatening phone calls to Marlowe; these subplots are telegraphed so blatantly that it’s impossible not to know the answers long before the author finally reveals them. In spite of these imperfections though, “The Wolfman” is a striking debut, one that I immensely enjoyed, and if Nicholas was still with us, I’m quite positive that every one of his novels would have made it into my book collection :)
CONCLUSION: According to the Editor’s Note, Nicholas Pekearo envisioned “The Wolfman” as the start of a series with Marlowe Higgins encountering all sorts of nasty trouble in the future with ‘neo-Nazi vampires, demented wizards and alchemists.’ Sadly, we’ll never know how those adventures might have turned out, but if “The Wolfman” is any indication, the books would have been visceral, hard-hitting, and entertaining as hell. Regardless, at least readers will always have “The Wolfman”, which apart from a few flaws, is a tremendously satisfying novel, and an unforgettable tribute to what might have been…
Official Jeff Somers WebsiteOrder “The Digital Plague” HERE (US + UK)
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s REVIEW of “The Electric Church”
Read Reviews of “The Digital Plague” via Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review, Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist + The Bookbag
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Jeff Somers is an American author whose bibliography includes “Lifers” (2001), “The Freaks Are Winning” (2002), “The Electric Church” (2007) and numerous short stories. Jeff is also the creator of the e-zine, The Inner Swine.
PLOT SUMMARY: It’s been a few years since gunner Avery Cates took down Dennis Squalor and The Electric Church, and in that time the assassin-for-hire has established himself as one of the richest and most feared criminals in post-Unification New York City. But right now, Avery Cates is in a world of trouble. Infected with a nanotech plague that is killing everyone around him, betrayed by his closet acquaintances, forced to ally with the hated SSF in hunting down his mysterious enemy, and with every moment bringing the human race closer to extinction, Cates finds himself in the role of both executioner and savior of the entire world…
CLASSIFICATION: Set in a dark and gritty dystopian future, “The Digital Plague” continues Jeff Somers’ violent brand of science fiction which mixes together cyberpunk and hard-boiled crime noir—imagine a cross between Blade Runner, Akira, Richard K. Morgan’s SF novels, and the action/thriller film Crank. So like “The Electric Church”, expect the profanity to be excessive, the humor caustic, and the action bloody & immoral :)
FORMAT/INFO: Page count is 368 pages divided over thirty-nine chapters with the story taking place over ten days. Also includes an Epilogue that leads into the next Avery Cates novel “The Eternal Prison”, an extract from “The Eternal Prison”, and an Appendix featuring Excerpts from the Audio Diary of Tricia Amber Pollock. Narration is once again in the first-person via Avery Cates. Plot is largely self-contained, but draws on many events and characters from “The Electric Church”, so reading that book first is highly advisable.
May 12th + May 15, 2008 marks the North American & UK trade paperback publication of “The Digital Plague” via Orbit Books. Cover art is once again provided by Jae Lee.
ANALYSIS: “The Electric Church” is one of those books that readers either seem to really enjoy, or really hate, and while I can understand some of the reasoning behind the novel’s negative criticisms—the unoriginal setting, lack of character depth & world-building, various deus ex machinas, etc.—for the most part I was of the former opinion. After all, I’m a huge fan of both noir and cyberpunk, so while the book may have suffered from some flaws, I thought overall “The Electric Church” was a pretty solid piece of entertainment. Fortunately, I found Jeff’s sequel “The Digital Plague” even better.
For starters, I loved the setup. Instead of picking up where “The Electric Church” ended, its a few years later and Avery Cates—now one of the richest and most powerful criminals in New York City—finds himself at the mercy of an unknown assailant at the very beginning of “The Digital Plague”: “This is not an execution Avery. This is an assassination. Not yours. But an assassination none the f**king less.” And is then injected with a mysterious substance and left with a ton of questions. So immediately there’s this sense of intrigue and desperation that really intensifies when Avery learns that he’s become the originator of a mechanical plague that is killing everyone around him, starting with his friends. The real hook though is that anyone within a certain radius of Avery will remain unaffected by the infection as long as they stay in that limited range, which leads to some engaging alliances and circumstances ;)
Aside from the initial concept though, there is actually very little to the story in “The Digital Plague”. Essentially, the book is about revenge with a doomsday plot mixed in and a dash of Undersecretaries/System Security Force politics sprinkled on top. That said, the pacing is intense, the action scenes skillfully orchestrated, and Jeff delivers some unexpected surprises along the way. Characterization meanwhile is a mixed bag. Avery Cates’ caustic narration remains a highlight of the book—and is improved upon in my opinion—but he lacks depth and his motives are weak, especially when his morals come into question. Supporting players are much worse however, and it’s hard to care when someone dies, turns betrayer or is at the center of a moral dilemma, but at least Jeff does a much better job with distinguishing a side character’s personality, specifically with newcomers Captain Happling and Colonel Hense. As far as the setting, once again there’s very little info-dumping or world-building involved, which actually reminded me of David Gunn’s Death’s Head novels. But like those books, it’s not really an issue.
CONCLUSION: More or less, “The Digital Plague” offers the same kind of gritty, cold-blooded cyberpunk/futuristic-noir that “The Electric Church” did, including the same strengths and weaknesses. Granted, the book is darker, better executed, the stakes are higher, the body count is off the charts, and Avery is put through nine kinds of hell, but basically if you were a fan of “The Electric Church”, then “The Digital Plague” should be right up your alley. I know I immensely enjoyed the book—even more than “The Electric Church”—and my adrenaline is already pumping for the next Avery Cates adventure…
PLOT SUMMARY: It’s been a few years since gunner Avery Cates took down Dennis Squalor and The Electric Church, and in that time the assassin-for-hire has established himself as one of the richest and most feared criminals in post-Unification New York City. But right now, Avery Cates is in a world of trouble. Infected with a nanotech plague that is killing everyone around him, betrayed by his closet acquaintances, forced to ally with the hated SSF in hunting down his mysterious enemy, and with every moment bringing the human race closer to extinction, Cates finds himself in the role of both executioner and savior of the entire world…
CLASSIFICATION: Set in a dark and gritty dystopian future, “The Digital Plague” continues Jeff Somers’ violent brand of science fiction which mixes together cyberpunk and hard-boiled crime noir—imagine a cross between Blade Runner, Akira, Richard K. Morgan’s SF novels, and the action/thriller film Crank. So like “The Electric Church”, expect the profanity to be excessive, the humor caustic, and the action bloody & immoral :)
FORMAT/INFO: Page count is 368 pages divided over thirty-nine chapters with the story taking place over ten days. Also includes an Epilogue that leads into the next Avery Cates novel “The Eternal Prison”, an extract from “The Eternal Prison”, and an Appendix featuring Excerpts from the Audio Diary of Tricia Amber Pollock. Narration is once again in the first-person via Avery Cates. Plot is largely self-contained, but draws on many events and characters from “The Electric Church”, so reading that book first is highly advisable.
May 12th + May 15, 2008 marks the North American & UK trade paperback publication of “The Digital Plague” via Orbit Books. Cover art is once again provided by Jae Lee.
ANALYSIS: “The Electric Church” is one of those books that readers either seem to really enjoy, or really hate, and while I can understand some of the reasoning behind the novel’s negative criticisms—the unoriginal setting, lack of character depth & world-building, various deus ex machinas, etc.—for the most part I was of the former opinion. After all, I’m a huge fan of both noir and cyberpunk, so while the book may have suffered from some flaws, I thought overall “The Electric Church” was a pretty solid piece of entertainment. Fortunately, I found Jeff’s sequel “The Digital Plague” even better.
For starters, I loved the setup. Instead of picking up where “The Electric Church” ended, its a few years later and Avery Cates—now one of the richest and most powerful criminals in New York City—finds himself at the mercy of an unknown assailant at the very beginning of “The Digital Plague”: “This is not an execution Avery. This is an assassination. Not yours. But an assassination none the f**king less.” And is then injected with a mysterious substance and left with a ton of questions. So immediately there’s this sense of intrigue and desperation that really intensifies when Avery learns that he’s become the originator of a mechanical plague that is killing everyone around him, starting with his friends. The real hook though is that anyone within a certain radius of Avery will remain unaffected by the infection as long as they stay in that limited range, which leads to some engaging alliances and circumstances ;)
Aside from the initial concept though, there is actually very little to the story in “The Digital Plague”. Essentially, the book is about revenge with a doomsday plot mixed in and a dash of Undersecretaries/System Security Force politics sprinkled on top. That said, the pacing is intense, the action scenes skillfully orchestrated, and Jeff delivers some unexpected surprises along the way. Characterization meanwhile is a mixed bag. Avery Cates’ caustic narration remains a highlight of the book—and is improved upon in my opinion—but he lacks depth and his motives are weak, especially when his morals come into question. Supporting players are much worse however, and it’s hard to care when someone dies, turns betrayer or is at the center of a moral dilemma, but at least Jeff does a much better job with distinguishing a side character’s personality, specifically with newcomers Captain Happling and Colonel Hense. As far as the setting, once again there’s very little info-dumping or world-building involved, which actually reminded me of David Gunn’s Death’s Head novels. But like those books, it’s not really an issue.
CONCLUSION: More or less, “The Digital Plague” offers the same kind of gritty, cold-blooded cyberpunk/futuristic-noir that “The Electric Church” did, including the same strengths and weaknesses. Granted, the book is darker, better executed, the stakes are higher, the body count is off the charts, and Avery is put through nine kinds of hell, but basically if you were a fan of “The Electric Church”, then “The Digital Plague” should be right up your alley. I know I immensely enjoyed the book—even more than “The Electric Church”—and my adrenaline is already pumping for the next Avery Cates adventure…
Official Eric Brown WebsiteOfficial Solaris Books Website
Order “Kéthani” HERE (US) + HERE (UK)
Read An Excerpt HERE
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Eric Brown has been a published writer since 1987 with an extensive bibliography that features several novels, five novellas, and seven children’s books as well as over eighty short stories which have won the author two British Science Fiction Awards. His latest works include “Starship Summer” (PS Publishing), “Helix” (Solaris Books) and the upcoming science fiction novel “Necropath”, Book One of The Bengal Station Trilogy. Eric also writes a monthly SF review column for The Guardian.
PLOT SUMMARY: When a mysterious alien race known as the Kéthani make contact with the people of Earth, bringing with them the gift of eternal life, the world is forever changed. Centered on a group of friends in a small West Yorkshire village, “Kéthani” explores how the human race has been changed, not just in their worldviews, religiously and philosophically, but also on a much more personal level, including love, friendship, and humanity. But do the Kéthani have a hidden agenda and will the human race choose to evolve or turn in on itself in the face of this momentous revelation?
CLASSIFICATION: “Kéthani” is best described as ‘soft’ or ‘social science fiction’, meaning there’s very little technology or action involved, with the book mainly concentrating on characterization and the cultural impact that immortality could have on humankind in this day and age. Recommended for readers who like their science fiction low-tech, poignant, and contemplative…
FORMAT/INFO: Page count is 294 pages, divided over ten chapters which are actually short stories that have appeared in previous publications like Interzone, Spectrum and Postscripts with the exception of “Matthew’s Passion” co-written with Tony Ballantyne. Connecting together the ten short stories are a Prelude, Coda and ten Interludes all narrated in the first-person by main protagonist Khalid Azzam. Khalid also narrates two of the short stories, with the others presented by different characters, all in the first-person except for two that are third-person. The stories them selves recount events that occur over a period of twenty years after the Kéthani presented humans with their ‘gift’. Also included in the book is a preview of Eric’s next novel “Necropath” which is slated for release October 2008 via Solaris Books.
May 6, 2008 marks the North American and UK paperback publication of “Kéthani” (Solaris Books). Cover art is provided by John Harris.
ANALYSIS: Originally I was going to look at all ten short stories individually, but then decided against it, mainly because I didn’t want to spoil anything for the reader. You see, each short story is like a mystery that examines different aspects of humanity, so if I were to give out the details it would probably ruin the surprises or lessen the emotional impact that each tale has to offer.
All you really need to know is that a benevolent alien race known as the Kéthani has landed on Earth offering immortality to humankind. As far as the process of resurrection which includes implants, nanotechnology, and a six-month instruction period on the planet Kéthan; the reason for the aliens’ gift—the official statement is so humans can work as ambassadors in bringing the word of the Kéthani to other races & planets—and the Kéthani themselves; very little is revealed with the book focusing instead on the sociological effect that immortality has on mankind.
In particular, “Kéthani” revolves around a group of friends—including a doctor, police officer, academic, high school teacher, professional cornet player, a Catholic priest, dry-stone waller, ferryman, and a writer—who hang out at a local pub in Oxenworth, England and the personal impact that the aliens have had on their lives with death, marriage and love the most prominent themes, although religion and philosophy are also represented.
From these stories, Eric Brown offers a deeply emotional and unforgettable glimpse at how the world might be changed if immortality, especially the Kéthani’s version of eternal life—people not only live forever, but come back healthier, younger and more humane with the allure of the stars at their fingertips—was suddenly in our grasp. Think about it. A world where the specter of death is banished, where suicide means a whole new beginning, where criminals and the terminally/mentally ill can have a second chance, where faith and the afterlife are challenged, and where maxims like “time heals all wounds” and “true love lasts forever” are given new perspectives…
It’s just an incredibly fascinating scenario and Eric does a spectacular job of exploring this concept in-depth, although I was left with several questions. For instance, after resurrection do you still grow old—I was just wondering because at least one resurrectee does—can you get injured or ill, and if you come back more humane so that crime is no longer an issue, wouldn’t you stop engaging in such destructive habits as drinking?
Writing-wise, Eric’s experience as an award-winning author is on full display in this book. The prose is graceful; the characters—with the exception of the narrative voices all sounding strangely the same—are rich and emotive; the storytelling is crafty and powerful; and even though “Kéthani” is essentially a series of old short stories linked together by a framing device, the novel flows along smoothly and ends on a high note, while teasing the reader with possibilities of another Kéthani tale :)
CONCLUSION: Last year I overlooked Eric Brown’s “Helix” and vowed not to make that same mistake with “Kéthani”. In return, I was rewarded with a brilliantly conceived and written novel about humanity that I’m going to be thinking about for a very long time. Utterly compelling, wonderfully thought-provoking and deeply moving, Eric Brown's "Kéthani" is a must-read...
PLOT SUMMARY: When a mysterious alien race known as the Kéthani make contact with the people of Earth, bringing with them the gift of eternal life, the world is forever changed. Centered on a group of friends in a small West Yorkshire village, “Kéthani” explores how the human race has been changed, not just in their worldviews, religiously and philosophically, but also on a much more personal level, including love, friendship, and humanity. But do the Kéthani have a hidden agenda and will the human race choose to evolve or turn in on itself in the face of this momentous revelation?
CLASSIFICATION: “Kéthani” is best described as ‘soft’ or ‘social science fiction’, meaning there’s very little technology or action involved, with the book mainly concentrating on characterization and the cultural impact that immortality could have on humankind in this day and age. Recommended for readers who like their science fiction low-tech, poignant, and contemplative…
FORMAT/INFO: Page count is 294 pages, divided over ten chapters which are actually short stories that have appeared in previous publications like Interzone, Spectrum and Postscripts with the exception of “Matthew’s Passion” co-written with Tony Ballantyne. Connecting together the ten short stories are a Prelude, Coda and ten Interludes all narrated in the first-person by main protagonist Khalid Azzam. Khalid also narrates two of the short stories, with the others presented by different characters, all in the first-person except for two that are third-person. The stories them selves recount events that occur over a period of twenty years after the Kéthani presented humans with their ‘gift’. Also included in the book is a preview of Eric’s next novel “Necropath” which is slated for release October 2008 via Solaris Books.
May 6, 2008 marks the North American and UK paperback publication of “Kéthani” (Solaris Books). Cover art is provided by John Harris.
ANALYSIS: Originally I was going to look at all ten short stories individually, but then decided against it, mainly because I didn’t want to spoil anything for the reader. You see, each short story is like a mystery that examines different aspects of humanity, so if I were to give out the details it would probably ruin the surprises or lessen the emotional impact that each tale has to offer.
All you really need to know is that a benevolent alien race known as the Kéthani has landed on Earth offering immortality to humankind. As far as the process of resurrection which includes implants, nanotechnology, and a six-month instruction period on the planet Kéthan; the reason for the aliens’ gift—the official statement is so humans can work as ambassadors in bringing the word of the Kéthani to other races & planets—and the Kéthani themselves; very little is revealed with the book focusing instead on the sociological effect that immortality has on mankind.
In particular, “Kéthani” revolves around a group of friends—including a doctor, police officer, academic, high school teacher, professional cornet player, a Catholic priest, dry-stone waller, ferryman, and a writer—who hang out at a local pub in Oxenworth, England and the personal impact that the aliens have had on their lives with death, marriage and love the most prominent themes, although religion and philosophy are also represented.
From these stories, Eric Brown offers a deeply emotional and unforgettable glimpse at how the world might be changed if immortality, especially the Kéthani’s version of eternal life—people not only live forever, but come back healthier, younger and more humane with the allure of the stars at their fingertips—was suddenly in our grasp. Think about it. A world where the specter of death is banished, where suicide means a whole new beginning, where criminals and the terminally/mentally ill can have a second chance, where faith and the afterlife are challenged, and where maxims like “time heals all wounds” and “true love lasts forever” are given new perspectives…
It’s just an incredibly fascinating scenario and Eric does a spectacular job of exploring this concept in-depth, although I was left with several questions. For instance, after resurrection do you still grow old—I was just wondering because at least one resurrectee does—can you get injured or ill, and if you come back more humane so that crime is no longer an issue, wouldn’t you stop engaging in such destructive habits as drinking?
Writing-wise, Eric’s experience as an award-winning author is on full display in this book. The prose is graceful; the characters—with the exception of the narrative voices all sounding strangely the same—are rich and emotive; the storytelling is crafty and powerful; and even though “Kéthani” is essentially a series of old short stories linked together by a framing device, the novel flows along smoothly and ends on a high note, while teasing the reader with possibilities of another Kéthani tale :)
CONCLUSION: Last year I overlooked Eric Brown’s “Helix” and vowed not to make that same mistake with “Kéthani”. In return, I was rewarded with a brilliantly conceived and written novel about humanity that I’m going to be thinking about for a very long time. Utterly compelling, wonderfully thought-provoking and deeply moving, Eric Brown's "Kéthani" is a must-read...
Read An Excerpt HERE
Reviewed by Liviu C. Suciu:
INTRODUCTION: “Napoleon's Pyramids” and “The Rosetta Key” by William Dietrich are two historical thrillers with a touch of the supernatural, the second being the direct follow-up of the first. A copy of “Napoleon's Pyramids” got in my hands by chance and I got hooked immediately, so the second volume became a buy on publication book. I will try not to give too many spoilers for “Napoleon's Pyramids” in talking about “The Rosetta Key”, but some will be inevitable so reader beware.
SETTING: Both books are set at the end of the 18th century, from 1798 to 1799. France's revolutionary fervor has been spent under the guillotine and now Paris is a city of decadence, excesses, uncertainty and plots. The weak five men ruling Directorate is trying to keep foreign conquests going on so the plunder for them and the mob keeps coming, but also to keep ambitious and popular generals like the Corsican Napoleon Bonaparte from plotting against them. So for plunder, glory and immortality, and encouraged by the Directorate to be as far from France as feasible, Bonaparte is leading an expedition to Egypt and later to the Holy Land. He brings with him an army of savants to decipher the mysteries of Egypt. Our hero, American adventurer and Benjamin Franklin protégée, Ethan Gage, joins the expedition as do some mysterious and unsavory characters like Count Silano, a sinister Cagliostro-like adventurer and reputed sorcerer. Since I am a history buff, I get very annoyed by sloppy research and famous persons portrayed completely out of historically-based character. Therefore, I am happy to say that these books have excellent research with reasonably accurate descriptions of real events and with pitch-perfect characterization for both Napoleon—he is fascinatingly intelligent, charismatic and repulsively megalomaniac—and our alter-ego hero Ethan Gage.
CLASSIFICATION/INFO: Both novels are historical thrillers so do not expect deep characterization or deep meaning, but a fun romp that you do not want to put down, and at the end of which you ask for more. Both books are first-person, present tense narratives by Ethan Gage with occasional recollections—especially in “The Rosetta Key” to give backstory for the events that occurred in “Napoleon's Pyramids”. They stand at around 350-400 pages each. To get a satisfactory ending you should read both since “Napoleon's Pyramids” ends on a literal “balloon-hanger” with almost nothing resolved. “The Rosetta Key” though ends quite satisfactorily, wrapping up almost everything of interest but leaving scope for more. And I want more!!!
PLOT HINTS AND COMMENTS: In 1798 Ethan Gage—an early thirties American, adventurer, gambler, mason and former employee and protégée of Ben Franklin—is living by his wits and luck at the card table in the decadent Paris of the Directorate age, just after the end of the Terror and before the age of Napoleon when uncertainty and corruption ruled the day. One day his luck turns—though it is unclear if it was for good or bad—when he wins a strange Egyptian medallion at a card game. Immediately a mysterious Count Silano offers him a nice price to buy it, but Gage does not like the count so he refuses, and then he is attacked in the street, framed for murder and thrown in jail.
However he receives an offer of pardon if he joins a mysterious expedition under the leadership of the current darling of the French people, the Corsican general Bonaparte, who is journeying to a mysterious destination at both his and the Directorate rulers behest. For the Directorate, the goal is glory, plunder and ridding France of a popular general who could be dangerous. Bonaparte takes lots of scientists, mathematicians, journalists, artists with him, and the destination is of course Egypt. Ethan is to be the expedition expert on that new hot thing that Franklin, now sadly dead, started taming—electricity—while we learn later that Napoleon has ulterior motives.
Ethan joins the gang with his friend, the journalist Talma, and strange things start to happen on the way to Toulon where they embark, with the famous English spy and adventurer Sidney Smith, recently escaped from a French prison, saving Ethan's life from an ambush.
Ethan participates at some of the most memorable events of the campaign: the capture of Malta; the two battles of Abukir; the battle of Cairo; he gets in, out, in, out of Bonaparte's favor; he meets Nelson; he visits the Pyramids; finds love with a beautiful mysterious woman; finds treacherous and cruel enemies; and makes and loses friends. The medallion, so badly wanted by various parties, may lead to books of ancient wisdom which would give their owners amazing powers. Gage is determined to find and destroy, or even better . . . hide those books, while the other parties look for them for their own purposes.
There are also some brilliant cameos, especially by the famous “black” general Dumas, the son of a French aristocrat and a black slave who was a leading general of the revolution before being eclipsed by Napoleon and then was the commander of the French cavalry in Egypt before parting ways with Bonaparte and dying in obscurity several years later. Of course his main claim to fame is that after he returned from Egypt he became the father of Alexandre Dumas.
In a clear homage to Dumas, the author has the main villain Count Silano having a Cagliostro scene with General Dumas, in which Silano challenges the general to a strange duel involving eating a pig—called Cagliostro's duel after the mysterious charlatan/sorcerer that figures so prominently in many Dumas novels. After Bonaparte forbids a classical duel with guns or swords and the general declines, storming from the room, Count Silano exclaims: “he was wise to refuse, this way he will get back to France and have a son who will become very famous”.
“Napoleon's Pyramids” ends with Bonaparte in shaky charge of Egypt after the English fleet under Nelson sank the French fleet at 2nd Abukir leaving the French conquerors stranded in Egypt and encouraging the locals to revolt. After one more out from Napoleon's favor and on the run, Gage steals a meteorological balloon from a French scientist and together with his lady love, the mysterious Egyptian Astiza, and hotly pursued by Silano and the French, tries to get away...
“The Rosetta Key” takes off pretty much where the first book leaves, though it starts dramatically with Ethan Gage awaiting execution as a spy, with roughly 4000 Ottoman soldiers captured by Napoleon at Jaffa and executed en masse in one of those rare Napoleonic moments of outright cruelty though done with some political purpose in mind. In this case to frighten the Ottoman soldiers and rulers of Syria to surrender to Napoleon who, with about 15k soldiers, wanted to emulate Alexander and conquer all lands all the way to India since the English navy is blocking the way to France. Of course it does not work, but that's only because the Syrians have a ruler they fear more than Napoleon—Djezzar The Butcher.
Ethan recounts the story of how he got there starting from his journey on the British ship he landed on at the end of the first book where he cleaned the sailors at cards—which later led to his current fate—to Jerusalem where he met another interesting girl, and to his capture by the French. His lover Astiza is still missing. The mysterious books are still wanted by everybody and Silano is still the odds on favorite to get them unless Gage finds them first.
Then after Gage escapes the mass execution, the story moves forward to the siege of Acre, where Djezzar, helped by the British and some French noblemen, fights Napoleon, and then to various places in the Holy Land, then Egypt, and it ends on a quite satisfying note in Paris.
In many ways this is a better book, more polished than the first one, the main historical characters are still memorable. For instance, when Napoleon arrives before Acre, Djezzar, a very feared 75 years old, climbs the wall and yells at the French, “I killed more men and bedded more women than Napoleon and I will ### him too”.
The one-liners are very funny:
Silano, “Gage don't they teach you classics on the frontier?”
Gage, “On the frontier classics make excellent fire-starters.”
The only weak moments that irritated me after a while were the repetition of Napoleon ordering Ethan's execution for some reason or another, Ethan escaping, and then coming back to Bonaparte for some reason or another.
In the end, “Napoleon's Pyramids” and “The Rosetta Key” are highly recommended romps that you do not want to put down once you start them, and if new Ethan Gage adventures get published I will read them for sure…
INTRODUCTION: “Napoleon's Pyramids” and “The Rosetta Key” by William Dietrich are two historical thrillers with a touch of the supernatural, the second being the direct follow-up of the first. A copy of “Napoleon's Pyramids” got in my hands by chance and I got hooked immediately, so the second volume became a buy on publication book. I will try not to give too many spoilers for “Napoleon's Pyramids” in talking about “The Rosetta Key”, but some will be inevitable so reader beware.
SETTING: Both books are set at the end of the 18th century, from 1798 to 1799. France's revolutionary fervor has been spent under the guillotine and now Paris is a city of decadence, excesses, uncertainty and plots. The weak five men ruling Directorate is trying to keep foreign conquests going on so the plunder for them and the mob keeps coming, but also to keep ambitious and popular generals like the Corsican Napoleon Bonaparte from plotting against them. So for plunder, glory and immortality, and encouraged by the Directorate to be as far from France as feasible, Bonaparte is leading an expedition to Egypt and later to the Holy Land. He brings with him an army of savants to decipher the mysteries of Egypt. Our hero, American adventurer and Benjamin Franklin protégée, Ethan Gage, joins the expedition as do some mysterious and unsavory characters like Count Silano, a sinister Cagliostro-like adventurer and reputed sorcerer. Since I am a history buff, I get very annoyed by sloppy research and famous persons portrayed completely out of historically-based character. Therefore, I am happy to say that these books have excellent research with reasonably accurate descriptions of real events and with pitch-perfect characterization for both Napoleon—he is fascinatingly intelligent, charismatic and repulsively megalomaniac—and our alter-ego hero Ethan Gage.
CLASSIFICATION/INFO: Both novels are historical thrillers so do not expect deep characterization or deep meaning, but a fun romp that you do not want to put down, and at the end of which you ask for more. Both books are first-person, present tense narratives by Ethan Gage with occasional recollections—especially in “The Rosetta Key” to give backstory for the events that occurred in “Napoleon's Pyramids”. They stand at around 350-400 pages each. To get a satisfactory ending you should read both since “Napoleon's Pyramids” ends on a literal “balloon-hanger” with almost nothing resolved. “The Rosetta Key” though ends quite satisfactorily, wrapping up almost everything of interest but leaving scope for more. And I want more!!!
PLOT HINTS AND COMMENTS: In 1798 Ethan Gage—an early thirties American, adventurer, gambler, mason and former employee and protégée of Ben Franklin—is living by his wits and luck at the card table in the decadent Paris of the Directorate age, just after the end of the Terror and before the age of Napoleon when uncertainty and corruption ruled the day. One day his luck turns—though it is unclear if it was for good or bad—when he wins a strange Egyptian medallion at a card game. Immediately a mysterious Count Silano offers him a nice price to buy it, but Gage does not like the count so he refuses, and then he is attacked in the street, framed for murder and thrown in jail.However he receives an offer of pardon if he joins a mysterious expedition under the leadership of the current darling of the French people, the Corsican general Bonaparte, who is journeying to a mysterious destination at both his and the Directorate rulers behest. For the Directorate, the goal is glory, plunder and ridding France of a popular general who could be dangerous. Bonaparte takes lots of scientists, mathematicians, journalists, artists with him, and the destination is of course Egypt. Ethan is to be the expedition expert on that new hot thing that Franklin, now sadly dead, started taming—electricity—while we learn later that Napoleon has ulterior motives.
Ethan joins the gang with his friend, the journalist Talma, and strange things start to happen on the way to Toulon where they embark, with the famous English spy and adventurer Sidney Smith, recently escaped from a French prison, saving Ethan's life from an ambush.
Ethan participates at some of the most memorable events of the campaign: the capture of Malta; the two battles of Abukir; the battle of Cairo; he gets in, out, in, out of Bonaparte's favor; he meets Nelson; he visits the Pyramids; finds love with a beautiful mysterious woman; finds treacherous and cruel enemies; and makes and loses friends. The medallion, so badly wanted by various parties, may lead to books of ancient wisdom which would give their owners amazing powers. Gage is determined to find and destroy, or even better . . . hide those books, while the other parties look for them for their own purposes.
There are also some brilliant cameos, especially by the famous “black” general Dumas, the son of a French aristocrat and a black slave who was a leading general of the revolution before being eclipsed by Napoleon and then was the commander of the French cavalry in Egypt before parting ways with Bonaparte and dying in obscurity several years later. Of course his main claim to fame is that after he returned from Egypt he became the father of Alexandre Dumas.
In a clear homage to Dumas, the author has the main villain Count Silano having a Cagliostro scene with General Dumas, in which Silano challenges the general to a strange duel involving eating a pig—called Cagliostro's duel after the mysterious charlatan/sorcerer that figures so prominently in many Dumas novels. After Bonaparte forbids a classical duel with guns or swords and the general declines, storming from the room, Count Silano exclaims: “he was wise to refuse, this way he will get back to France and have a son who will become very famous”.
“Napoleon's Pyramids” ends with Bonaparte in shaky charge of Egypt after the English fleet under Nelson sank the French fleet at 2nd Abukir leaving the French conquerors stranded in Egypt and encouraging the locals to revolt. After one more out from Napoleon's favor and on the run, Gage steals a meteorological balloon from a French scientist and together with his lady love, the mysterious Egyptian Astiza, and hotly pursued by Silano and the French, tries to get away...
“The Rosetta Key” takes off pretty much where the first book leaves, though it starts dramatically with Ethan Gage awaiting execution as a spy, with roughly 4000 Ottoman soldiers captured by Napoleon at Jaffa and executed en masse in one of those rare Napoleonic moments of outright cruelty though done with some political purpose in mind. In this case to frighten the Ottoman soldiers and rulers of Syria to surrender to Napoleon who, with about 15k soldiers, wanted to emulate Alexander and conquer all lands all the way to India since the English navy is blocking the way to France. Of course it does not work, but that's only because the Syrians have a ruler they fear more than Napoleon—Djezzar The Butcher.Ethan recounts the story of how he got there starting from his journey on the British ship he landed on at the end of the first book where he cleaned the sailors at cards—which later led to his current fate—to Jerusalem where he met another interesting girl, and to his capture by the French. His lover Astiza is still missing. The mysterious books are still wanted by everybody and Silano is still the odds on favorite to get them unless Gage finds them first.
Then after Gage escapes the mass execution, the story moves forward to the siege of Acre, where Djezzar, helped by the British and some French noblemen, fights Napoleon, and then to various places in the Holy Land, then Egypt, and it ends on a quite satisfying note in Paris.
In many ways this is a better book, more polished than the first one, the main historical characters are still memorable. For instance, when Napoleon arrives before Acre, Djezzar, a very feared 75 years old, climbs the wall and yells at the French, “I killed more men and bedded more women than Napoleon and I will ### him too”.
The one-liners are very funny:
Silano, “Gage don't they teach you classics on the frontier?”
Gage, “On the frontier classics make excellent fire-starters.”
The only weak moments that irritated me after a while were the repetition of Napoleon ordering Ethan's execution for some reason or another, Ethan escaping, and then coming back to Bonaparte for some reason or another.
In the end, “Napoleon's Pyramids” and “The Rosetta Key” are highly recommended romps that you do not want to put down once you start them, and if new Ethan Gage adventures get published I will read them for sure…
Official Susan Hubbard WebsiteOfficial “The Year of Disappearances” Myspace
Order “The Year of Disappearances” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Susan Hubbard is the author of “The Society of S”, two chick-lit novels, and two short story collections including “Blue Money”, winner of the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize. Susan is also an award-winning Professor of English at the University of Central Florida, and is an advocate for animal rights, social justice, academic etiquette, and literacy.
PLOT SUMMARY: Picking up the story of 14-year-old Ariella Montero, a half-human, half-vampire crossbreed, “The Year of Disappearances” finds Ari living with her mother in Homosassa Springs, Florida, and navigating the emotional torrents of an adolescence made all the more complicated by her secret vampirism. Over the course of a dramatic year, Ari will learn more about her heritage, encounter abduction and murder, leave for college, and be immersed in a new world of political engagement with international implications…
CLASSIFICATION: Like “The Society of S”, “The Year of Disappearances” is not your typical vampire tale. So readers hoping for scares, gore, or eroticism will have to look elsewhere. Instead, “The Year of Disappearances” offers a mystery-thriller twisted up inside a literary coming-of-age tale that covers such diverse topics as environmentalism, presidential politics, society integration, educational philosophies, the disappearances of teens, mythology, and so on…
FORMAT/INFO: Page count is 286 pages divided over three ‘Parts’ and eighteen chapters. Narration is in the first-person via Ariella Montero, but is past-tense. “The Year of Disappearances” is a direct sequel to “The Society of S”, and since there is little recapping in the book, it’s recommended that readers finish “The Society of S” first. And like “The Society of S”, “The Year of Disappearances” concludes with many threads left unresolved that will hopefully be explored in future volumes…
May 6, 2008 marks the North American hardcover publication for “The Year of Disappearances” via Simon & Schuster. The wonderful cover art is designed by Patti Ratchford with the photo taken by Jeffrey Coolidge.
ANALYSIS: In “The Society of S”, Susan Hubbard really impressed me with her wonderful prose and intelligence, the charming character of Ari, and I especially loved the author’s original take on vampires: their different societies—there’s a chart on Page 54 :)—that range from celibate ethicists/environmentalists to bloodsuckers; emutation (invisibility); the way they can see words in color; how they suffer from periodic sensory overload syndrome (SOS); and how sunlight only causes sunburn, among many other unique distinctions. Unfortunately, even though the prose remains wonderful, we get to learn more about Susan’s vampires, and the book is another smart and relevant offering from the author, “The Year of Disappearances” just did not have the same impact on me…
Basically, it all comes down to one problem: there is way too much going on in the book. I mean between Ari trying to act like a normal teenager—she’s half-vampire and half-human, making new friends, thinking about sex, going to college, and all of the additional subplots involving the mysterious death of honeybees, her father getting sick, the disappearance or murder of her friends, brain-altering drugs, a vampire running for president, sasas—spiritual power that inhabits a person or animal as a demon—harbingers, confronting her nemesis Malcolm Lynch, contaminated drinking water, and so forth . . . it’s just overload, especially for a book that is only 286 pages long. As a result, many of the ideas are underdeveloped and fail to make a lasting impression, which is a shame because Susan comes up with some really neat stuff like Vunderworld (Vampire Underworld), COVE (Council on Vampire Ethics), vampire sex, sasas, and the measures that vampires undertake to coexist with humans; concepts that deserved much greater attention than they received.
Additionally, the chaotic mixture of ideas caused problems with the pacing, namely how jarring it was, while the novel’s conclusion was inexplicably sudden, convenient, and unsatisfying. Then there’s the characterization of Ari who seemed to lose a lot of the charm and personality that made her so appealing in “The Society of S”. Part of it I think has to do with the novel covering such a vast array of topics, but also there’s something a little unsettling about a 14-year-old girl who can pass for a 21-year-old with ease, while being sexually attracted to men that are significantly older than she is.
CONCLUSION: Compared to “The Society of S”, “The Year of Disappearances” was a disappointment, not because it was a bad book, but because it was an uneven one. In other words, “The Year of Disappearances” may be teeming with a wealth of intelligent and thought-provoking concepts, but because none of the ideas are developed to their fullest potential, the novel suffers from a distinctive lack of identity, not to mention the story and characterization being overwhelmed by everything else. Personally, I think if Susan had concentrated on just two or three core ideas and further developed them rather than trying to fit in so much, the book would have been much stronger. That said, there’s no denying that Susan Hubbard is a really talented author and I just hope that her next offering will be more to my liking…
BONUS FEATURE — Susan Hubbard Author Q&A:
Q: Following two acclaimed short story collections and two chick lit novels, you wrote “The Society of S” which is basically a coming-of-age tale, just with vampires. In an interview I read, you distinctly stated that “The Society of S” is not a vampire novel; it just had characters in it who happened to be vampires and I can see that. Nevertheless, the inclusion of vampires definitely added a unique dimension to your book. So what made you decide to use vampires in “The Society of S” and what are your thoughts on vampires in general, particularly their popularity and peoples' fascination with the mythology?
Susan: Traditionally, vampires are others: outsiders, children of the night. I think it's easy to identify with them. American mainstream culture seems so contrived and stagnant right now. And realism, accordingly, is not all that appealing. Who wants to be part of a dead culture when you can affiliate with the undead?
But a good deal of vampire fiction also strikes me as contrived and stagnant, with predictable plots and two-dimensional characters, and a lot of pandering to readers who want gore and garish sex scenes. I wanted to use my vampires in a more subtle, less formulaic kind of story, with themes that went beyond good vs. evil. The readers who like my books say they find them intellectually provocative as well as entertaining. The readers who don't like my books tend to crave more blood-sucking and bodice-ripping than I care to write about.
Q: Staying on this subject, your take on vampires is quite unique with scientifically-grounded abilities (hypnosis, emutation, etc) and different hierarchies like Colonists, Reformers, Nebulists, and Environmentalists. Could you tell us a bit more these different societies, where you got the inspiration for your vision of vampires?
Susan: Colonists are vampires who cultivate and harvest humans as crops, and they consume human blood. Sanguinists, on the other hand, believe in equal rights for vampires and mortals; they're environmentalists. They don't eat meat, and they subsist on special sera and artificial blood. Nebulists are harder to pin down; some vampires think they're extremists who want to eliminate the human race, while others think they're visionaries. Nebulists are proponents of vampire rights. And Reformers are a splinter group of the Nebulists, prone to preaching the superiority of vampires in evangelical style. I mentioned them in the first book, but didn't include them in the second. The new book goes into greater detail about the other sects, particularly the Nebulists.
My vision of vampire societies reflects contemporary Western culture to some extent. If you look analytically at American and British political parties, for instance, you'll see certain parallels among their ideologies and those of my vampires.
Q: Politics play a big role in your new book “The Year of Disappearances” which is timely because of the Presidential Election. Were you trying to make any kind of political statement with this subplot, and what other themes does your novel explore?
Susan: The influence of third parties on more established political groups has always intrigued me, and I let myself create a third-party caucus in the book to explore that. And in creating a college that reflects some of my own pedagogical preferences, I was able to involve students in the political process, as well as satirize academic politics.
A central question of the book is identity: what makes you what you are? And by what criteria are you perceived and judged by others?
Q: Does “The Year of Disappearances” complete the story of Ariella 'Ari' Montero that began in "The Society of S"?
Susan: No, I don't think “The Year of Disappearances” completes Ari's story. At the moment I'm in the early stages of researching a book about identity theft; I haven't decided yet whether Ari will be the central character.
Q: You're a professor of English at the University of Central Florida; have received teaching awards from Syracuse University, Cornell University, UCF, and the South Atlantic Administrators of Departments of English; and, as mentioned earlier, you've written short fiction. Does your profession, having a degree and writing in different formats make a difference in the way you write and if so, how?
Susan: Studying and teaching creative writing probably makes a writer more self-conscious of craft. I know the conventions of fiction, and if I break the rules, I do it on purpose. But I think my essential style and sensibility were formed long before I went to a university. I think that teaching makes me a better person and a better writer, because it's taught me how to listen. And students can be so helpful in terms of bringing me new perspectives and ideas. Right now I'm on a book tour, and today I discussed writing with high school students in San Diego who gave me some great ideas for future writing.
Q: Lastly, with technology advancing at an astonishing rate, how do you think the print format will be affected in the near future and is this a positive or negative thing for writers & publishers?
Susan: So many people tell me that print is on its way out, and if they're right, its disappearance will be positive for people who care about saving trees and hard for traditionalists who love books as physical objects. And it will hardest for people like me, who fall into both categories. I like the way books feel and smell and look. I love bookstores. And I'm not eager to bring yet another “essential” piece of technology into my life, no matter how useful it is. But I'm trying to keep an open mind until I've thought through all the implications of going digital.
PLOT SUMMARY: Picking up the story of 14-year-old Ariella Montero, a half-human, half-vampire crossbreed, “The Year of Disappearances” finds Ari living with her mother in Homosassa Springs, Florida, and navigating the emotional torrents of an adolescence made all the more complicated by her secret vampirism. Over the course of a dramatic year, Ari will learn more about her heritage, encounter abduction and murder, leave for college, and be immersed in a new world of political engagement with international implications…
CLASSIFICATION: Like “The Society of S”, “The Year of Disappearances” is not your typical vampire tale. So readers hoping for scares, gore, or eroticism will have to look elsewhere. Instead, “The Year of Disappearances” offers a mystery-thriller twisted up inside a literary coming-of-age tale that covers such diverse topics as environmentalism, presidential politics, society integration, educational philosophies, the disappearances of teens, mythology, and so on…
FORMAT/INFO: Page count is 286 pages divided over three ‘Parts’ and eighteen chapters. Narration is in the first-person via Ariella Montero, but is past-tense. “The Year of Disappearances” is a direct sequel to “The Society of S”, and since there is little recapping in the book, it’s recommended that readers finish “The Society of S” first. And like “The Society of S”, “The Year of Disappearances” concludes with many threads left unresolved that will hopefully be explored in future volumes…
May 6, 2008 marks the North American hardcover publication for “The Year of Disappearances” via Simon & Schuster. The wonderful cover art is designed by Patti Ratchford with the photo taken by Jeffrey Coolidge.
ANALYSIS: In “The Society of S”, Susan Hubbard really impressed me with her wonderful prose and intelligence, the charming character of Ari, and I especially loved the author’s original take on vampires: their different societies—there’s a chart on Page 54 :)—that range from celibate ethicists/environmentalists to bloodsuckers; emutation (invisibility); the way they can see words in color; how they suffer from periodic sensory overload syndrome (SOS); and how sunlight only causes sunburn, among many other unique distinctions. Unfortunately, even though the prose remains wonderful, we get to learn more about Susan’s vampires, and the book is another smart and relevant offering from the author, “The Year of Disappearances” just did not have the same impact on me…
Basically, it all comes down to one problem: there is way too much going on in the book. I mean between Ari trying to act like a normal teenager—she’s half-vampire and half-human, making new friends, thinking about sex, going to college, and all of the additional subplots involving the mysterious death of honeybees, her father getting sick, the disappearance or murder of her friends, brain-altering drugs, a vampire running for president, sasas—spiritual power that inhabits a person or animal as a demon—harbingers, confronting her nemesis Malcolm Lynch, contaminated drinking water, and so forth . . . it’s just overload, especially for a book that is only 286 pages long. As a result, many of the ideas are underdeveloped and fail to make a lasting impression, which is a shame because Susan comes up with some really neat stuff like Vunderworld (Vampire Underworld), COVE (Council on Vampire Ethics), vampire sex, sasas, and the measures that vampires undertake to coexist with humans; concepts that deserved much greater attention than they received.
Additionally, the chaotic mixture of ideas caused problems with the pacing, namely how jarring it was, while the novel’s conclusion was inexplicably sudden, convenient, and unsatisfying. Then there’s the characterization of Ari who seemed to lose a lot of the charm and personality that made her so appealing in “The Society of S”. Part of it I think has to do with the novel covering such a vast array of topics, but also there’s something a little unsettling about a 14-year-old girl who can pass for a 21-year-old with ease, while being sexually attracted to men that are significantly older than she is.
CONCLUSION: Compared to “The Society of S”, “The Year of Disappearances” was a disappointment, not because it was a bad book, but because it was an uneven one. In other words, “The Year of Disappearances” may be teeming with a wealth of intelligent and thought-provoking concepts, but because none of the ideas are developed to their fullest potential, the novel suffers from a distinctive lack of identity, not to mention the story and characterization being overwhelmed by everything else. Personally, I think if Susan had concentrated on just two or three core ideas and further developed them rather than trying to fit in so much, the book would have been much stronger. That said, there’s no denying that Susan Hubbard is a really talented author and I just hope that her next offering will be more to my liking…
BONUS FEATURE — Susan Hubbard Author Q&A:
Q: Following two acclaimed short story collections and two chick lit novels, you wrote “The Society of S” which is basically a coming-of-age tale, just with vampires. In an interview I read, you distinctly stated that “The Society of S” is not a vampire novel; it just had characters in it who happened to be vampires and I can see that. Nevertheless, the inclusion of vampires definitely added a unique dimension to your book. So what made you decide to use vampires in “The Society of S” and what are your thoughts on vampires in general, particularly their popularity and peoples' fascination with the mythology?Susan: Traditionally, vampires are others: outsiders, children of the night. I think it's easy to identify with them. American mainstream culture seems so contrived and stagnant right now. And realism, accordingly, is not all that appealing. Who wants to be part of a dead culture when you can affiliate with the undead?
But a good deal of vampire fiction also strikes me as contrived and stagnant, with predictable plots and two-dimensional characters, and a lot of pandering to readers who want gore and garish sex scenes. I wanted to use my vampires in a more subtle, less formulaic kind of story, with themes that went beyond good vs. evil. The readers who like my books say they find them intellectually provocative as well as entertaining. The readers who don't like my books tend to crave more blood-sucking and bodice-ripping than I care to write about.
Q: Staying on this subject, your take on vampires is quite unique with scientifically-grounded abilities (hypnosis, emutation, etc) and different hierarchies like Colonists, Reformers, Nebulists, and Environmentalists. Could you tell us a bit more these different societies, where you got the inspiration for your vision of vampires?
Susan: Colonists are vampires who cultivate and harvest humans as crops, and they consume human blood. Sanguinists, on the other hand, believe in equal rights for vampires and mortals; they're environmentalists. They don't eat meat, and they subsist on special sera and artificial blood. Nebulists are harder to pin down; some vampires think they're extremists who want to eliminate the human race, while others think they're visionaries. Nebulists are proponents of vampire rights. And Reformers are a splinter group of the Nebulists, prone to preaching the superiority of vampires in evangelical style. I mentioned them in the first book, but didn't include them in the second. The new book goes into greater detail about the other sects, particularly the Nebulists.
My vision of vampire societies reflects contemporary Western culture to some extent. If you look analytically at American and British political parties, for instance, you'll see certain parallels among their ideologies and those of my vampires.
Q: Politics play a big role in your new book “The Year of Disappearances” which is timely because of the Presidential Election. Were you trying to make any kind of political statement with this subplot, and what other themes does your novel explore?
Susan: The influence of third parties on more established political groups has always intrigued me, and I let myself create a third-party caucus in the book to explore that. And in creating a college that reflects some of my own pedagogical preferences, I was able to involve students in the political process, as well as satirize academic politics.
A central question of the book is identity: what makes you what you are? And by what criteria are you perceived and judged by others?
Q: Does “The Year of Disappearances” complete the story of Ariella 'Ari' Montero that began in "The Society of S"?Susan: No, I don't think “The Year of Disappearances” completes Ari's story. At the moment I'm in the early stages of researching a book about identity theft; I haven't decided yet whether Ari will be the central character.
Q: You're a professor of English at the University of Central Florida; have received teaching awards from Syracuse University, Cornell University, UCF, and the South Atlantic Administrators of Departments of English; and, as mentioned earlier, you've written short fiction. Does your profession, having a degree and writing in different formats make a difference in the way you write and if so, how?
Susan: Studying and teaching creative writing probably makes a writer more self-conscious of craft. I know the conventions of fiction, and if I break the rules, I do it on purpose. But I think my essential style and sensibility were formed long before I went to a university. I think that teaching makes me a better person and a better writer, because it's taught me how to listen. And students can be so helpful in terms of bringing me new perspectives and ideas. Right now I'm on a book tour, and today I discussed writing with high school students in San Diego who gave me some great ideas for future writing.
Q: Lastly, with technology advancing at an astonishing rate, how do you think the print format will be affected in the near future and is this a positive or negative thing for writers & publishers?
Susan: So many people tell me that print is on its way out, and if they're right, its disappearance will be positive for people who care about saving trees and hard for traditionalists who love books as physical objects. And it will hardest for people like me, who fall into both categories. I like the way books feel and smell and look. I love bookstores. And I'm not eager to bring yet another “essential” piece of technology into my life, no matter how useful it is. But I'm trying to keep an open mind until I've thought through all the implications of going digital.
Order “House of Suns” HERE
Reviewed by Liviu C. Suciu:
INTRODUCTION: After two brilliant novels at the beginning of his career—Revelation Space and Chasm City—Mr. Reynolds' novels became either incomplete or showing flashes of brilliance combined with some forgettable run-of-the-mill action. Those novels were still very good, but I always thought they could be so much better considering the sense of wonder packed into them. His short stories and novellas showed an extraordinary brilliance and I've wondered if he would ever write a novel commensurate with them. “House of Suns” is that novel.
SETTING: Based on the “Thousandth Night” novella published in the SFBC 1M AD anthology, with the same universe and characters, though different action, the story takes place in a mostly human dominated Galaxy six million years in the future, with everything allowed by our current state of the art science, so no causality busting, meaning no ftl. But we have matter replicators, moving planets out of danger, Dyson spheres, cloning, intelligent robots, immortality, damming stars and much, much more. Almost anything conceivable today that stays within the limits of our physical understanding of the Universe is there.
CLASSIFICATION: “House of Suns” is epic space opera on a large scale but with characters you can identify with, hard sf with no short cuts that are not allowed by what we know today, and a touch of fantasy and romance to complete it. There is a princess, a wizard, an evil half-brother, and a medieval setting in a subplot as many current space operas seem to require, but the books still remains hard sf through and through.
FORMAT/INFO: “House of Suns” stands at 473 pages divided into eight parts and 41 chapters. Each chapter alternates first person present tense with occasional recollections narrative from one of the two shatterlings / illicit lovers Campion and Purslane. Each part has a small unnumbered introductive chapter in which Abigail, the original Gentian, narrates. These special chapters take place several thousands of years in our future, so millions of years in the novel past, when humanity lived in the Solar System only—in the Golden Hour which is a literal name—and the shatterling project originated. The book is a standalone but there is scope for a sequel.
PLOT HINTS AND ANALYSIS: Civilizations rise and fall, but towering over them are the Lines, groupings of originally 1000 immortal shatterlings—though in time some are lost to attrition—all clones of a single person to start with, so it was like the original person shattered in 1000 bodies and then were set free in the Galaxy, hence the names. They have the most advanced ships, tech, and go on Circuits around the Galaxy, meeting once every 200k years to mix their memories. Of course travel being sub-light, they spend most of their time in stasis or slow-time—they can and do slow time at will with “syncromesh”—so of those six million years each shatterling may live several tens of thousands, bookworms tunneling through the pages of history as they are called by entities that actually lived through millions of years, though at a slow pace.
The shatterlings appear almost as benevolent gods to the “turnover” civilizations of the Galaxy and they trade and do good works like preventing stars from going supernova or moving planets out of harm's way. Outside of human civilizations, of which we get to see several, there are The Machine People, a robotic race arisen relatively recently—about one million years ago—that is quite respected and somewhat feared as the Lines are for having long memories and no tolerance of attacks on its members.
Our main characters and narrators, Campion and Purslane, are shatterlings of the Gentian Line which is also known as the House of Flowers. Campion is brash and just on the right side of censure for various actions or inactions; Purslane has the best ship of the Gentian line and she is patient and determined, making a good match with Campion though their liaison could lead to censure, and worse if acknowledged since the shatterlings are supposed to go alone on their circuits and not form bonds. Kind of like a future version of Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy inside the Lines.
Purslane and Campion, on their way to the next Gentian reunion and preparing to falsify their memories to remove the traces of their liaison before dumping them in the common mix, stop by an obscure planet to fix a stardam put in place to prevent a supernova extinction of the local civilization. Being late to the meeting, they detour to fix Campion's ship, and in the process rescue a strange robot of the machine people—Hesperus—who is missing memories. Finally on their way to the reunion, they get a very disturbing message and the adventure begins. Someone is set to eradicate the Gentian Line and it has to do with something that Campion learned on his previous circuit and dumped in the common memory 200k years ago. And there is an unknown and mysterious presumed Line, House of Suns, that is involved in all of this. Historical weapons of enormous power—the Homunculus guns—supposedly destroyed ages ago by their custodial Line, the Marcellin Line, which as we learn from the Abigail story is the first line, the Gentian being the second, are loose in the galaxy again and turned on the Gentian ships. More mundane weapons like star-flame throwers—hook a wormhole to a star and open it light years away in another system, useless for ftl since anything going through is scrambled into constituent parts, but useful for reigniting old stars or for general purpose weapons—are used too.
The Gentian survivors are determined to get to the bottom of the matter and when two more machine people, Cadence and Cascade, become involved, Campion and Purslane are thrust in the main action.
The Abigail interludes are very interesting, providing both backstory and character development as well as the fantasy subplot. They are a bit confusing at first, but they illuminate the story a lot more the further you get into it.
The ending is fulfilling, leaving space for a sequel if the author desires, but completing the story very nicely.
If there is a simple way to describe this book, it is imagination running loose, but keeping a human side with interesting and well delineated characters, and even the best romance in Mr. Reynolds' novels.
Highly, highly recommended…
INTRODUCTION: After two brilliant novels at the beginning of his career—Revelation Space and Chasm City—Mr. Reynolds' novels became either incomplete or showing flashes of brilliance combined with some forgettable run-of-the-mill action. Those novels were still very good, but I always thought they could be so much better considering the sense of wonder packed into them. His short stories and novellas showed an extraordinary brilliance and I've wondered if he would ever write a novel commensurate with them. “House of Suns” is that novel.
SETTING: Based on the “Thousandth Night” novella published in the SFBC 1M AD anthology, with the same universe and characters, though different action, the story takes place in a mostly human dominated Galaxy six million years in the future, with everything allowed by our current state of the art science, so no causality busting, meaning no ftl. But we have matter replicators, moving planets out of danger, Dyson spheres, cloning, intelligent robots, immortality, damming stars and much, much more. Almost anything conceivable today that stays within the limits of our physical understanding of the Universe is there.
CLASSIFICATION: “House of Suns” is epic space opera on a large scale but with characters you can identify with, hard sf with no short cuts that are not allowed by what we know today, and a touch of fantasy and romance to complete it. There is a princess, a wizard, an evil half-brother, and a medieval setting in a subplot as many current space operas seem to require, but the books still remains hard sf through and through.
FORMAT/INFO: “House of Suns” stands at 473 pages divided into eight parts and 41 chapters. Each chapter alternates first person present tense with occasional recollections narrative from one of the two shatterlings / illicit lovers Campion and Purslane. Each part has a small unnumbered introductive chapter in which Abigail, the original Gentian, narrates. These special chapters take place several thousands of years in our future, so millions of years in the novel past, when humanity lived in the Solar System only—in the Golden Hour which is a literal name—and the shatterling project originated. The book is a standalone but there is scope for a sequel.
PLOT HINTS AND ANALYSIS: Civilizations rise and fall, but towering over them are the Lines, groupings of originally 1000 immortal shatterlings—though in time some are lost to attrition—all clones of a single person to start with, so it was like the original person shattered in 1000 bodies and then were set free in the Galaxy, hence the names. They have the most advanced ships, tech, and go on Circuits around the Galaxy, meeting once every 200k years to mix their memories. Of course travel being sub-light, they spend most of their time in stasis or slow-time—they can and do slow time at will with “syncromesh”—so of those six million years each shatterling may live several tens of thousands, bookworms tunneling through the pages of history as they are called by entities that actually lived through millions of years, though at a slow pace.
The shatterlings appear almost as benevolent gods to the “turnover” civilizations of the Galaxy and they trade and do good works like preventing stars from going supernova or moving planets out of harm's way. Outside of human civilizations, of which we get to see several, there are The Machine People, a robotic race arisen relatively recently—about one million years ago—that is quite respected and somewhat feared as the Lines are for having long memories and no tolerance of attacks on its members.
Our main characters and narrators, Campion and Purslane, are shatterlings of the Gentian Line which is also known as the House of Flowers. Campion is brash and just on the right side of censure for various actions or inactions; Purslane has the best ship of the Gentian line and she is patient and determined, making a good match with Campion though their liaison could lead to censure, and worse if acknowledged since the shatterlings are supposed to go alone on their circuits and not form bonds. Kind of like a future version of Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy inside the Lines.
Purslane and Campion, on their way to the next Gentian reunion and preparing to falsify their memories to remove the traces of their liaison before dumping them in the common mix, stop by an obscure planet to fix a stardam put in place to prevent a supernova extinction of the local civilization. Being late to the meeting, they detour to fix Campion's ship, and in the process rescue a strange robot of the machine people—Hesperus—who is missing memories. Finally on their way to the reunion, they get a very disturbing message and the adventure begins. Someone is set to eradicate the Gentian Line and it has to do with something that Campion learned on his previous circuit and dumped in the common memory 200k years ago. And there is an unknown and mysterious presumed Line, House of Suns, that is involved in all of this. Historical weapons of enormous power—the Homunculus guns—supposedly destroyed ages ago by their custodial Line, the Marcellin Line, which as we learn from the Abigail story is the first line, the Gentian being the second, are loose in the galaxy again and turned on the Gentian ships. More mundane weapons like star-flame throwers—hook a wormhole to a star and open it light years away in another system, useless for ftl since anything going through is scrambled into constituent parts, but useful for reigniting old stars or for general purpose weapons—are used too.
The Gentian survivors are determined to get to the bottom of the matter and when two more machine people, Cadence and Cascade, become involved, Campion and Purslane are thrust in the main action.
The Abigail interludes are very interesting, providing both backstory and character development as well as the fantasy subplot. They are a bit confusing at first, but they illuminate the story a lot more the further you get into it.
The ending is fulfilling, leaving space for a sequel if the author desires, but completing the story very nicely.
If there is a simple way to describe this book, it is imagination running loose, but keeping a human side with interesting and well delineated characters, and even the best romance in Mr. Reynolds' novels.
Highly, highly recommended…
Read Reviews of “The Host” via Blog Critics, Graeme's Fantasy Book Review, SciFiChick + SFF World
AUTHOR INFORMATION: A graduate of BYU, Stephenie Meyer made her debut in 2005 with the extremely popular young adult vampire novel “Twilight”. Since then, the author has released two #1 New York Times-bestselling sequels in “New Moon” and “Eclipse”—with the fourth volume “Breaking Dawn” scheduled for publication August 2, 2008—while “Twilight” has been adapted into a film (Official Twilight the Movie Website) that hits theatres December 12, 2008 and stars Kristen Stewart (Jumper, The Messengers, Panic Room) and Robert Pattinson (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire). “The Host” is Stephenie’s first novel for adults.
PLOT SUMMARY: Earth has been invaded by a peaceful species that take over the minds of their hosts while leaving their bodies intact. Most of humanity has succumbed, but pockets of resistance exist and it is the Calling of the Seekers to stamp out any insubordination.
Melanie Stryder is such a human and after she was captured, her body was given to Wanderer in hopes that the invading ‘soul’ might be able to determine knowledge of other rebels. Wanderer knew about the challenges of living inside a human—the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too vivid memories—but there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.
Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions and memories of the man Melanie loves—Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer yearns for a human that she should be turning over to the Seekers. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love…
CLASSIFICATION: While marketed as Stephenie’s ‘first novel for adults’, the violence, language, and what little sexual innuendo that can be found in “The Host” is extremely tame and is quite suitable for teens and younger readers. In fact, if not for the depth and complexity of the book emotionally and thematically, “The Host” is really not that far removed from being a YA novel. Genre-wise, “The Host” obviously possesses science fiction elements, but is more akin in spirit to such stories as Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Puppet Masters, Alien Nation, Planet of the Apes and V: The Series, where SF is downplayed in favor of more thought-provoking issues like the resiliency of humanity, overcoming cultural barriers, interspecies prejudice, and so forth. However, instead of being fueled by adventure, thrills or horror, “The Host” is essentially a character-driven romance.
FORMAT/INFO: Page count is 624 pages divided over 59 chapters and a prologue/epilogue. Narration is in the first-person, present-tense via the ‘soul’ Wanderer. “The Host” is a standalone novel, but the epilogue all but promises that sequels are on the way :) May 6, 2008 marks the North American/UK hardcover publication of “The Host”. Jacket design is by Meryl Sussman Levavi.
ANALYSIS: Considering how popular Stephenie Meyer has become, it’s hard to imagine that her debut novel was only just released in 2005, because it seems like I’ve been hearing about the author for decades. Not immune to such massive hype, the Twilight Saga has been high on my reading list for a while now, but it is “The Host”—Stephenie’s first novel for adults—that marks my introduction to the author’s charms and I can now see firsthand why Ms. Meyer is so popular :)
Let's start with the setup. While reminiscent of the Body Snatchers films/book and The Puppet Masters, there are some key differences in “The Host”. One, in this story Earth has already been conquered, and has been for several years now. Also, Earth is only one of dozens of planets that have been similarly subjugated. Two, the ‘souls’ are a benign alien species and in their mind they believe they’ve done humanity a favor by getting ridding of crime, violence and other depravities—concepts along with hate and betrayal that are foreign to the aliens. And thirdly, even though the planet has been conquered, the lives of those humans whose bodies have been stolen continue on. In other words, the aliens, through their human hosts, continue to feed & bathe themselves, go to work, and have relationships. Basically life is normal, except they don’t have to worry about security, pay for services or provisions anymore, and health care is much improved :)
I should also note that even though “The Host” is classified as science fiction, there is actually very little science fiction in the book. I mean readers will get to learn about different planets—Fire World, See World, The Singing Planet, The Planet of the Flowers, the Mists Planet, the Dragon Planet, Summer World, etc.—alien species (Vultures, Spiders, Dolphins, claw beasts) and the souls’ Callings like Healers, Seekers, Comforters, and Motherhood as well as their Origin world, but overall the science fiction elements are overshadowed, so don’t expect the same kind of depth or complicated world-building that you might find in a space opera or epic fantasy series. After all, that’s not what “The Host” is about.
Instead “The Host” is about emotions, characters and their interactions with one another, and what it means to be human, and this is where Stephenie Meyer leaves her mark. In short, I can’t remember the last time I read a novel that was as emotionally touching as “The Host”, and it’s because of Stephenie who displays an uncanny ability for writing characters that are complex, relatable, and every bit as human as you or I. What’s truly amazing about this is that the main protagonist is an alien. Of course, Wanderer is not your everyday alien. You see, she chose the name Wanderer for a reason. On average, a ‘soul’ may visit two planets before finding one they like and settling down. Earth is Wanderer’s ninth planet. Because of this experience, Wanderer is chosen to be inserted into the body of the rebel Melanie Stryder. The thought was that with her experience, Wanderer would be able to extract the information from Melanie’s memories that the Seekers need even though the long-term success rate of ‘souls’ assimilating an adult human host is under 20 percent. What no one expected though was that Melanie’s consciousness would remain aware, and driven by her host body’s emotions Wanderer would abandon her species and seek out Melanie’s loved ones.
This is where “The Host” gets really interesting. Because not only does Wanderer find Melanie’s lover Jared, her younger brother Jamie, and her Uncle Jeb, but she also discovers a whole hidden community of escaped humans, which is where the majority of the novel takes place. The problem of course is that Wanderer is an alien—betrayed by her silver reflective eyes—and because ‘souls’ retain all of a host’s memories, and arguably their feelings, it is extremely easy for a parasite to mimic a human. So even though Melanie’s consciousness is aware in the same body as Wanderer, how could any human being ever believe that a ‘soul’ is telling the truth? Trust is just one of the many complications that Wanderer will have to deal with in “The Host”. There’s also prejudice including those people who will do anything to kill ‘it’, the vast cultural barrier between ‘souls’ and humans, a Seeker that is trying to hunt down Wanderer, the shocking secrets that both Wanderer and the rebels are hiding, and one of the most bizarre, yet fascinating love quandaries I’ve ever read: includes Melanie & Wanderer in love with Jared, Jared in love with Melanie, another human in love with Wanderer, Wanderer in love with that human, and Melanie & Wanderer’s love for one another :)
I could go on trying to explain how amazing I thought the characterization was, how the incredibly poignant story made me react with such strong emotion, and why I loved reading “The Host” so much, but no amount of words can do the book justice. Basically, “The Host” is one of those rare novels that you have to experience on your own to really appreciate…
CONCLUSION: Since I haven’t read the Twilight Saga I have no grounds on which to compare “The Host”—Is it better or worse than the Twilight Saga? How different are the two? Et cetera—but as a first impression of Stephenie Meyer’s work, I couldn’t be more impressed or more satisfied :) Like Harry Potter, Stephenie Meyer’s “The Host” is storytelling at its finest—fiction that is easily identifiable, emotionally gripping, and immensely entertaining…
PLOT SUMMARY: Earth has been invaded by a peaceful species that take over the minds of their hosts while leaving their bodies intact. Most of humanity has succumbed, but pockets of resistance exist and it is the Calling of the Seekers to stamp out any insubordination.
Melanie Stryder is such a human and after she was captured, her body was given to Wanderer in hopes that the invading ‘soul’ might be able to determine knowledge of other rebels. Wanderer knew about the challenges of living inside a human—the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too vivid memories—but there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.
Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions and memories of the man Melanie loves—Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer yearns for a human that she should be turning over to the Seekers. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love…
CLASSIFICATION: While marketed as Stephenie’s ‘first novel for adults’, the violence, language, and what little sexual innuendo that can be found in “The Host” is extremely tame and is quite suitable for teens and younger readers. In fact, if not for the depth and complexity of the book emotionally and thematically, “The Host” is really not that far removed from being a YA novel. Genre-wise, “The Host” obviously possesses science fiction elements, but is more akin in spirit to such stories as Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Puppet Masters, Alien Nation, Planet of the Apes and V: The Series, where SF is downplayed in favor of more thought-provoking issues like the resiliency of humanity, overcoming cultural barriers, interspecies prejudice, and so forth. However, instead of being fueled by adventure, thrills or horror, “The Host” is essentially a character-driven romance.
FORMAT/INFO: Page count is 624 pages divided over 59 chapters and a prologue/epilogue. Narration is in the first-person, present-tense via the ‘soul’ Wanderer. “The Host” is a standalone novel, but the epilogue all but promises that sequels are on the way :) May 6, 2008 marks the North American/UK hardcover publication of “The Host”. Jacket design is by Meryl Sussman Levavi.
ANALYSIS: Considering how popular Stephenie Meyer has become, it’s hard to imagine that her debut novel was only just released in 2005, because it seems like I’ve been hearing about the author for decades. Not immune to such massive hype, the Twilight Saga has been high on my reading list for a while now, but it is “The Host”—Stephenie’s first novel for adults—that marks my introduction to the author’s charms and I can now see firsthand why Ms. Meyer is so popular :)
Let's start with the setup. While reminiscent of the Body Snatchers films/book and The Puppet Masters, there are some key differences in “The Host”. One, in this story Earth has already been conquered, and has been for several years now. Also, Earth is only one of dozens of planets that have been similarly subjugated. Two, the ‘souls’ are a benign alien species and in their mind they believe they’ve done humanity a favor by getting ridding of crime, violence and other depravities—concepts along with hate and betrayal that are foreign to the aliens. And thirdly, even though the planet has been conquered, the lives of those humans whose bodies have been stolen continue on. In other words, the aliens, through their human hosts, continue to feed & bathe themselves, go to work, and have relationships. Basically life is normal, except they don’t have to worry about security, pay for services or provisions anymore, and health care is much improved :)
I should also note that even though “The Host” is classified as science fiction, there is actually very little science fiction in the book. I mean readers will get to learn about different planets—Fire World, See World, The Singing Planet, The Planet of the Flowers, the Mists Planet, the Dragon Planet, Summer World, etc.—alien species (Vultures, Spiders, Dolphins, claw beasts) and the souls’ Callings like Healers, Seekers, Comforters, and Motherhood as well as their Origin world, but overall the science fiction elements are overshadowed, so don’t expect the same kind of depth or complicated world-building that you might find in a space opera or epic fantasy series. After all, that’s not what “The Host” is about.
Instead “The Host” is about emotions, characters and their interactions with one another, and what it means to be human, and this is where Stephenie Meyer leaves her mark. In short, I can’t remember the last time I read a novel that was as emotionally touching as “The Host”, and it’s because of Stephenie who displays an uncanny ability for writing characters that are complex, relatable, and every bit as human as you or I. What’s truly amazing about this is that the main protagonist is an alien. Of course, Wanderer is not your everyday alien. You see, she chose the name Wanderer for a reason. On average, a ‘soul’ may visit two planets before finding one they like and settling down. Earth is Wanderer’s ninth planet. Because of this experience, Wanderer is chosen to be inserted into the body of the rebel Melanie Stryder. The thought was that with her experience, Wanderer would be able to extract the information from Melanie’s memories that the Seekers need even though the long-term success rate of ‘souls’ assimilating an adult human host is under 20 percent. What no one expected though was that Melanie’s consciousness would remain aware, and driven by her host body’s emotions Wanderer would abandon her species and seek out Melanie’s loved ones.
This is where “The Host” gets really interesting. Because not only does Wanderer find Melanie’s lover Jared, her younger brother Jamie, and her Uncle Jeb, but she also discovers a whole hidden community of escaped humans, which is where the majority of the novel takes place. The problem of course is that Wanderer is an alien—betrayed by her silver reflective eyes—and because ‘souls’ retain all of a host’s memories, and arguably their feelings, it is extremely easy for a parasite to mimic a human. So even though Melanie’s consciousness is aware in the same body as Wanderer, how could any human being ever believe that a ‘soul’ is telling the truth? Trust is just one of the many complications that Wanderer will have to deal with in “The Host”. There’s also prejudice including those people who will do anything to kill ‘it’, the vast cultural barrier between ‘souls’ and humans, a Seeker that is trying to hunt down Wanderer, the shocking secrets that both Wanderer and the rebels are hiding, and one of the most bizarre, yet fascinating love quandaries I’ve ever read: includes Melanie & Wanderer in love with Jared, Jared in love with Melanie, another human in love with Wanderer, Wanderer in love with that human, and Melanie & Wanderer’s love for one another :)
I could go on trying to explain how amazing I thought the characterization was, how the incredibly poignant story made me react with such strong emotion, and why I loved reading “The Host” so much, but no amount of words can do the book justice. Basically, “The Host” is one of those rare novels that you have to experience on your own to really appreciate…
CONCLUSION: Since I haven’t read the Twilight Saga I have no grounds on which to compare “The Host”—Is it better or worse than the Twilight Saga? How different are the two? Et cetera—but as a first impression of Stephenie Meyer’s work, I couldn’t be more impressed or more satisfied :) Like Harry Potter, Stephenie Meyer’s “The Host” is storytelling at its finest—fiction that is easily identifiable, emotionally gripping, and immensely entertaining…
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