OF Blog of the Fallen

Interesting discussion on the World Fantasy Award and just how much "world" needs to be added to it

2009-11-19T18:38:00.000-06:00

Lavie Tidhar has a thoughtful, discussion-worthy article up on The World SF News Blog concerning the apparent American-centric nature of the World Fantasy Awards (and asides on Worldcon/Hugos as well). Although I raise a few questions and disagree slightly with some of his prescriptions, I think the points he raises are well-worth discussing and I think dovetail nicely with the growing global conversations about "international SF."

So what do you think of his arguments? Contribute there or here (or wait until next week, when there should be the piece I wrote for the Nebula Awards Blog that might generate some related discussions) and weigh in with your thoughts, questions, and even your snide remarks or non sequiturs.

Interview with David Anthony Durham, Part II

2009-11-18T15:56:00.000-06:00

Here is the second half of the interview I conducted with David Anthony Durham over the past month. In this part, we focus more on his Acacia novels and his future plans. For those wanting to read Part I, just click the link here.

Acacia: The War with the Mein was your first fantasy novel. What lessons did you take from that experience and how did you apply them to your most recent novel, The Other Lands?

Every novel (and publication) is a learning experience. There are always up and downs. Hits and misses. I don't feel that the fantasy aspect of Acacia changed that – or that the lessons I walked away with are somehow more specific.

What I can say is that with most of the setting work done in the first book I could jump into motion faster in The Other Lands. Each character begins the novel either in action or with it thrust upon them pretty quickly. And when there is a new world to get to know it's done looking over the shoulders of the characters who are seeing it for the first time. It's less about world-building exposition and more about experiencing things with the characters. I like that about it. So far, at least, it seems like readers do too. That's something I want to keep rolling into the third book, which is where Acacia's ancient history and recent history really collide in earth shattering ways.

How different was it for you to sit down and to start writing a book which had little in the way of a true beginning and no real conclusion to it? Did it take several drafts before the introductory and concluding chapters felt right?

It didn't take many drafts to figure out the opening or the conclusion. I knew the ending before I began. That's almost always the way it is for me. Right at the start I know how things conclude. Most of the writing process is about how I write the story to get to that ending.

So... The rocks that Dariel walks across heading west… The child that Kelis is guarding… What Mena is faced with in preparation for the next book… The magic that Corinn works at the end… I had all of that at the beginning. I know all the endings of the third book too. That doesn't mean it's easy to get to them, though.

With The Other Lands I took things as far as I could, up to moments of change and revelation for all of the main characters. And then I had to cut it there because the things that come next all mark the beginning of a plot arc that will take hundreds more pages before there's a pause. To me, that’s the stuff of another book. It’s a book that’s almost joined at the hip with The Other Lands, but it is its own creature.

Is there any danger of this third book spilling over its conceived boundaries and thus necessitating a fourth volume to the Acacia series?

Ah… How much do you think people would mind if it did?

That’s tempting, but I think I can keep it from happening. I know what the narrative arc of each character’s story is for this third book. The end is the end, and I don’t think it likely that I’ll need to carry on into another book.

I have other ideas of further Acacia books, though. I don’t know if I’ll write them. That depends on how much readers are interested. But those further ideas aren’t continuations of the core plotlines of this series. They’re other stories, perhaps other multi-volume series in themselves.

Well, there might be a few people who will threaten to hold their breaths and not buy your work, but outside of that, I guess most wouldn’t mind. So you know the end of the story, huh? Any chance that something in the writing process might inspire you to alter the narrative arcs in some major way?

That’s always possible, but I don’t think so. I’ll admit that I probably have more loose ends than I’m entirely sure what to do with at the moment. Just the other day I realized I had two plotlines that I couldn’t figure out how to merge. They just conflicted and I was getting pretty sure I couldn’t have both. One would need to be cut.

But then… I was admitting that to my wife. Halfway through saying it I realized the way I could have both. It was very weird. It just happened, and suddenly several things that I’d introduced but didn’t quite know what to do with slotted into place. That happens a lot. Usually, it’s not a matter of the outcome changing, though; what may change is the path to that outcome.

Several reviews of your last two books noted certain “real world” issues, from enslavement to the drug trade to imperialistic attitudes, being present. Did you set out to tackle these issues from the beginning, or did they arise to meet the needs of the story?

I'm not sure what comes first: the issues or the story. Did I sit down to write a fantasy about slavery and drugs and imperialism? Not exactly. These novels began with a family, with a father and his children. But moments after that I have to place them in a context that feels real to me. And then seconds after that the seedy elements that have always controlled the world start to climb out of the woodwork.

The "real world" elements of the story are there because I've never seen – looking backwards at human history – a time when these issues weren't affecting our lives. It would be very strange for me to write a world in which some variation of enslavement didn't exist. It was part of our history ten thousand years ago. It's part of the modern world. For me, fantasy is wonderful, but it’s not an escape enough for me to ignore the gritty workings of the world.

Did I intend for the League to be some sort of egg-headed version of Haliburton? For Acacia to be some representation of American and European colonialism? For the mist to be something between China's opium trade and current "reality television" and a metaphor for living on credit? No. And yet… I can't deny that when I look at what I wrote it's those things that I see.

I just wrote a scene in the next book where one character explains why one nation is attacking another. I realized what I was describing could just as easily been about why Europeans conquered the New World. I hadn’t particularly thought of that ahead of time, but when the moment came to explain the move I realized the words coming out of the characters mouth could just as easily apply to our world history. That seems to happen a lot.

Since the root word for “story,” historia, also deals with our present-day concepts of “history,” perhaps there is a strong connection after all? What would the Acacian chroniclers make of all this?

Oh, they’d be gravely perplexed, I imagine. Just like we’d be a bit disturbed to discover we are characters created for the amusement of another world…

It’s funny, though. The first thing that comes to mind when you ask about “Acacian chroniclers” is that it would depend on what age we’re talking about. The chroniclers from Tinhadin’s time to Corinn’s - a period of four hundred and some years – weren’t expected to record the truth. Their work in preserving the history of the empire was really about building the myth of the empire. They were there to lie convincingly about the nation’s history for certain political purposes.

But history goes on and on. I do see there being different ages of Acacian history, some of which would value finding the truth much more. Maybe I’ll get to write about that age someday.

What books, if any, did you read during the composition of your latest novels? Were there any authors, whether read years ago or more recently, who have had some sort of influence on how you’ve chosen to tackle a narrative problem or how to tell a story?

I read all the time. I have books beside my bed for at night, and I’ve always got something on my iPod that I’m listening to as I go about life.

Thing is, most things I read don’t directly influence how I write or solve narrative problems. It’s not like I read something and go, “That’s it! That’s awesome. I should do the same thing!” That just doesn’t happen often. I may read something and think it’s awesome, but that doesn’t usually translate to wanting to do the same thing.

More often, I love reading writers that do things quite differently than I probably ever will. I’ve really come to love Neil Gaiman. I’ll never write like him, but that’s probably part of why I enjoy his work so much. He reminds me of the power of storytelling for storytelling’s sake. I’m on Richard K. Morgan kick, loving the technologically enhanced violence and cyber sex and hipness of his work. I’m in awe of the crime writer George Pelecanos. His writing is so unadorned, straight and to the point. It’s deep, too, but his approach to language is nothing like mine. I got a kick out S. M. Stirling’s In the Courts of the Crimson Kings because of the everyday strangeness of his Martian world. I enjoyed the blood-splattered macho melodrama of Tim Willocks’ The Religion. I couldn’t write something in which the triumph of the main character is so clearly pre-ordained, but I enjoyed the foul, stinking, lusty ride of that novel.

Octavia Butler has become very important to me also. In that case, I do feel a lot of kinship to her, but the thing she has that I don’t is bone-deep wisdom. She’s really, really empathetically wise. She layers that into her writing with a quiet skill that I’m in awe of. But that’s good. I like being in awe of other writers some times.

It’s interesting that you proclaim a love of reading authors that perhaps might touch upon some elements you include in your writing. Many authors interviewed in the past by myself and others have stated that they try to avoid reading anyone working in a similar area to their own work. What do you make of these claims that reading similar-type stories might “ruin” their own work and creativity?

I certainly believe that can be true for other writers. We each individually know what effects our writing, for better or worst. Personally, I just don’t feel it’s a problem. My voice is my voice. My style of storytelling is my style of storytelling. It can no more change because of influences than I can change my speaking voice because I’d rather have a Scottish accent. My wife has the Scottish accent in our family. I love it. I hear it every day. I lived for years in Scotland. But damn if I don’t sound like an American every time I open my mouth.

Same is true of my writing. But even with that example I know that other people are different. My sister in law is Scottish, but her accent changes depending on who she’s talking to. American, English, French (which she speaks fluently), New Zealander (she’s married to a Kiwi and lives down under)… it doesn’t matter. Her accent morphs to theirs, and I don’t think she’s consciously aware of it when it happens. I kinda wish I had some of that, but I don’t. Nor do I think my writing fundamentals are skewed by reading other writers.

I think not reading other writers of similar material is equally dangerous. I’ve never in my writing career been accused of stealing from another writer – except for some readers thinking that Acacia: The War With The Mein was influenced by Martin’s Ice and Fire series. Thing is, I hadn’t read a word of Martin when I wrote Acacia. I’ve read every word of the series since, and I love it. I can see similarities, but they’re not the similarities of influence. They’re the similarities of us both finding ourselves drawn to tell similar stories.

If I had read A Game of Thrones before starting my fantasy I would have modified some things. The effect would have been just the opposite of imitation; I’d have been compelled to make changes to avoid similarity. That wouldn’t have been hard to do. I see those similarities as superficial. Thematically, I think George and I work in very different territory.

The Locus review of Acacia: The War With The Mein said something I found very interesting. It was very thorough, insightful review. The reviewer explicitly said that the book shouldn’t be compared to Martin’s work nearly as much as it should be compared to China Mieville’s. I dig that. That makes sense to me. That reviewer is the only one I’m aware of that made that comparison, though. It’s got nothing at all to do with style and character and plot similarities. He was pointing at a philosophical backdrop to it all that’s harder to put your finger on. He may just have something there. I’ll have to read more Mieville to find out.

While I hadn’t thought of comparing the two of you like that, after reading that, I can see where the comparisons between you and Miéville could be made, especially in The Other Lands when the consequences of the mist trade are revealed. Harking back to the “truth” question above, could it be argued that the revelations given by those victims constitute a central “truth” about the Acacian world and perhaps its possible future?

Yes. Well said. That sort of observation is key to the way I think societies need to be understood. Acacians aren’t going to understand what their nation is really about until they include within their notion of themselves all the things entailed in selling children to a foreign land – why they did it, how they benefited, what happened to the ones sold and to the souls of those who were spared. That’s Acacia. The sparkling palace on the idyllic isle is only a small part of the larger picture.

The same is true of real world societies. If you studied American history but only learned about the Founding Fathers, about the high-ideals of the nation and all the fine things we’ve accomplished… you might be studying the truth, but you’d be getting an incomplete picture, one that would hamper your working understanding of this country. In terms of functionally looking to the future, you’d also need to know about slavery, about the incredibly crimes done to Native Americans, about how long women were kept out of the political process, about how various immigrant groups were exploited… I don’t think people should consider such things for some bleeding heart liberal guilt reason; I think they should consider them because they’re smarter if they do and they’re more capable of making successful decisions.

I hope that Acacians manage to get more of that perspective as they move into their future.

You mentioned above that you are working with George R.R. Martin and other writers on stories set in the Wild Cards universe. How did you come to be a part of this?

Albany, World Fantasy 2007. It's the night of the big signing session thing where all the authors show up in a big room, grab their name card, and find someplace to sit. Likely, you seek out friends, find a corner, or just carry on in with whomever you just had dinner with. I walked in there looking around for a choice seat. I saw George, kinda off by himself, getting settled down.

Thing about sitting near George at a signing is that… well, no one wants to do it! Who wants to sit there making paper airplanes next to a guy with an unending line of devoted fans/book dealers arriving with bags of first editions, etc? Apparently, I did. I went over and asked if I could share his table. He graciously agreed. He hadn’t read my work at that point, but he seemed to have heard good things about Acacia: The War With The Mein. He signed. We talked. He signed. We talked. He signed… You get the picture.

We ended up talking about historical fiction, including my novel Pride of Carthage. I offered to send him a copy. He said sure. So after the con I did. At some point a few months later I got an email from him saying he’d read and enjoyed the novel. Very cool. We’ve been in touch ever since. I’ve seen him at a number of cons, spent time at his parties or just in the bar.

I think is was sometime after World Fantasy in Calgary that he dropped me a short note asking if I’d any interest in being involved in Wild Cards. I’d read a few Wild Cards stories before, but never imagined I’d be part of it. Of course, when George makes an offer one should jump at it! That’s what I did.

I started reading up on the series, thinking up characters, brainstorming with my kids. I pitched him a few character ideas that he kindly shot down. And, then I offered one that he liked: The Infamous Black Tongue. Before I knew it, I was in, and IBT had a three-part story scheduled for an upcoming book!

So far it’s been a lot of fun. It makes me flex slightly different fictional muscles, and it means a level of collaboration I’ve never tried before. Wild Cards novels use characters created by lots of different authors, with twenty-some books worth of history to consider, with lots of different styles and temperaments to blend together. Very interesting process, and I’m still in the middle of it.

The book is called Fort Freak. Look for it in a year or so!

Is your contribution to Fort Freak your first published foray into writing shorter fiction, or have you had short fiction published in the past?

I’ve published a few short stories. Like… uh… three, I think. I got pretty good mileage out of them, though. A couple have been anthologized several times. Those stories “The Boy-Fish”, “August Fury”, and “An Act of Faith” are all contemporary African-American focused. Mainstream fiction.

Fort Freak is my first time writing SF in the short form. George had already signed me up before he thought to ask, “By the way, do you actually write short fiction?”

In the end, George met me halfway. My story is a three-parter, spaced throughout a larger narrative. It’s not miles away from having a novelistic feel to it. It’s still about my character over time, dealing with a series of events that are complicatedly plotted. Other characters written by other authors intersect with mine. In lots of ways I’m not so much writing three short stories as I am writing three parts of a larger narrative.

Writing in a shared-universe setting often carries a stigma. What are your thoughts about shared-universe and/or media tie-in stories and how they relate to original fiction, genre or otherwise, in terms of story crafting and character creation?

I’m aware that to some degree I’m a writer for hire in this gig. George gave me pretty specific stipulations about the type of things that needed to happen in my sections. It’s up to me how I make those things happen, but I’ve got to do my part so that the other parts fit together. It’s not going to be about making my parts stand out from the crowd; it’s about being part of a collaborative. So, yeah, it’s different than writing entirely original fiction.

But I’m chuffed to be getting a shot at the contemporary, urban sf comic blend that Wild Cards is. By my internal cool meter, this one has the needle popping. I’ll trust that. I don’t think I’d say yes to just anything, though. Wild Cards pushes a lot of buttons that I find interesting. The first book, in particular, was serious, dark, intense. Since I respect the series I feel comfortable writing for it. If I didn’t respect the series that would be another issue entirely.

I’ve been invited in to bring things to the series. To bring perspectives and characterizations that are particularly my own. My story is about a vigilante half-snake mutant on the run from the police and trying to get the cops that framed him, but it’s also about an African-American youth that’s dealing with not having lived up to his family’s expectations. It’s about him coming to value himself despite that. It’s also about his search for connection – friendship and romance – and how the difficulties of that shape his character. Thematically, that stuff interests me, and I’m glad to layer it in the action the stories contain. To me, that’s engaging with the creative process in a meaningful way.

As for writing a media tie-in novel… that’s probably not my style, but I haven’t been asked yet either. I can’t swear I’d say no to something until it’s on offer as a real possibility.

After you finish the Acacia series and Fort Freak, what sorts of stories do you envision exploring next?

I’m tempted to give you a long, rambling answer, detailing all the story ideas that I have, all the different possibilities and explain why they’re important to me. But I think I’d regret that…

Truth is, I have lots of ideas, but I’m not sure what will come next. I won’t know until I’ve finished the Acacia trilogy. That’s all I can say with certainty now.

Limited-Edition Book Porn: Jeff Vandermeer's Finch

2009-11-17T23:52:00.001-06:00

Was too tired to post this yesterday, but my copy of the ultra-limited edition version of Jeff VanderMeer's Finch arrived in the mail. For those curious about the $110 version, the following pictures illustrate what I received. The line quoted on the jacket was excised from the final text. I received copy #30. Love the gold cover, by the way. Book is solid and opens easily. Very nice to hold.

Exclusive to the Heretic Edition is a 22 page chapbook that outlines the original story that morphed into Finch. Good story, but I believe I prefer the final version much more. Also included was the soundtrack to the novel, composed by Murder by Death. Very good, atmospheric instrumental music.

Finally, here are two little extras: an Ambergris-inspired beer label sticker and a letter written on a special letterhead. Nice touches, but the other extras were the reason that I bought this limited-edition.

Was it worth $110? It depends on how much of a fan of an author's work you are. For me, it was worth the money, especially since I have hardcovers of the other two Ambergris Cycle novels (including the limited-edition for Shriek: An Afterword that was published last year). Hopefully, others purchasing this or the $50 other limited-edition version will find satisfaction in their purchases.

Here's some related links/videos for Jesse Bullington's The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart

2009-11-16T19:09:00.000-06:00

Despite being released on Amazon a couple of weeks ago, today marks the official release of Jesse Bullington's debut novel, The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart, which is currently a strong favorite to be my favorite 2009 debut novel, as well as being one of the ten books selected for Amazon's 2009 Best Science Fiction and Fantasy.

But let's say you're not convinced. You want to know a bit more about it. Well, I received some links from Orbit's Director of Publicity, Alex Lincicki, that might help persuade those not swayed by the strong, positive word-of-mouth to date.

First off, here's a brief trailer for the book:

Next is a link to the first chapter of the book, which ought to give readers a better idea if this novel is right for them.

Finally, here is a post that Bullington wrote for Powell's Books that might be of interest to those who want to know more about the author behind the Grossbarts.

Hopefully, these links, along with my encouragement for all to buy the book lest they embrace their Inner Grossbart, will be of some use to readers here looking for something a bit different (and darker) for the upcoming holiday season. I rarely post articles like this, so take this as my way of reinforcing just how much I loved this book. So go forth and read, okay?

A possibly controversial thought (well, for some Americans, I suppose)

2009-11-15T02:55:00.000-06:00

Still working on the outline for a lengthy article on "international" SF (I think the quotes will be necessary, the more I think about it. News at eleven, or something). Wondering if taking a neo-Marxist approach toward surveying the field might yield some interesting discussion topics. In particular, the issue of cultural dynamics seen in the form of cultural/political hegemony and the ways said hegemony might be resisted in literary form. Might wait until another time to explore this possibility, but I think there might be something to it. Wonder what Todorov might have made of all this.

And for those who are baffled by the above paragraph, just know that I believe that utilizing neo-Marxist critiques of material culture(s) is not only valid, but often invaluable in attempting to understand how cultural (ex)change takes place. Again, more news at eleven or something. Right now, it's probably a good idea to sleep, lest I take this musing a bit too far down the dogma path...

Joe Kelly and JM Ken Nimura, I Kill Giants

2009-11-14T01:33:00.000-06:00

Ever read one of those stories, the ones that you know you can never explain fully to another, but that you just want for them to read it and feel it? The type that is like a punch to the junk, but which also makes you want to reach out to the other poor crazies in this world and just give them a hug, just because...?

That is what I'm feeling now after reading Joe Kelly and JM Ken Nimura's I Kill Giants. I thought of my childhood and early adulthood, dealing with three certain situations similar to the one that the main character, Barbara, confronts, sometimes with no success. I also find myself thinking of those hundreds I've been around over the past 10 years who've been hurt, desperate in their attempts to cry out to others. One of the support characters in this graphic novel reminds me of just how easy it is to feel futility when trying to help others.

The ending is just about perfect. It is one that will stick with me for a long time and damn if I don't want to cry in shared understanding after reading it. If that isn't the sign of a story touching emotional strings within its readers, I don't know what story could ever aspire to do so. Just go out and read it, okay? It certainly is one of the best 2009 graphic novels (or any type of fiction) that I've read this year. And perhaps you'll find yourself thinking differently of those suffering people who have withdrawn from it all.

International SF Poll

2009-11-13T06:20:00.002-06:00

After several false starts (and health/work scares thrown in), I'm going to be working on a lengthy article this weekend on international SF. In the meantime, thought it might be interesting to post a poll seeing which countries people here might view as having a vibrant SF/F scene(s). I know I left off several countries, but I hope I managed to get most of the ones of interest out there. If I failed to do so, feel free to leave a comment here in this post, for my (and others') edification.

Now back to grumbling about waking up two hours early...

Good news, bad news

2009-11-12T00:24:00.000-06:00

So I've been a bit quiet on certain things in recent months. Just so much uncertainty in my professional life that I've been having some major stress-related issues. A mild case of work-induced depression that lasted for a couple of months. Sometimes severe stomach pain that is now being treated with Kapidex. Bleeding where I shouldn't be bleeding. Worrying about if I'll be laid off the next day or week. Those sorts of things.

Well, I ended up having blood work done on Wednesday to see if all of the above perhaps had caused some form of anemia, which I was paler than normal and often would feel dizzy and faint/light-headed after eating a meal or having to stand up suddenly. The results did indicate a slightly lower percentage of hemoglobin, but it's still in the low-normal range, so it's probably not anemia. My white blood count dropped from 12% back in February to 7.5% yesterday, so that's a sign perhaps that my liver enzymes are dropping back into the normal range. Blood sugar was slightly higher than normal for me at 122, but that's nowhere near diabetic at this stage. In fact, nothing in the blood work showed anything in the abnormal range, but...

Yes, that dreaded "but" that I heard from the doctor.

Due to the bleeding coming out in my stools on a regular basis over the past few months (and increasingly heavy lately), she wants me to get a 'scope done of my colon in the very near future to rule out polyps or colon cancer. I have a family history of colo-rectal problems, as my aunt recently had to have a few surgeries to correct problems caused by Crohn's Disease. So it looks like I'll have to get all that nasty stuff done soon...

Once I can figure out how to afford health insurance. I work, but the employer doesn't offer health insurance anymore, since it is a small operation. I might be able to get some things covered under CoverTN, but I'm uncertain if I'm even eligible for that program. I'm not broke, but I also don't have tens of thousands of dollars to spare for this procedure. Joy.

Guess I'll be spending the next few days/nights updating my resume, applying for a part-time adjunct position at local community colleges, and trying to figure out how to afford to pay for health coverage when I may or may not have a full-time job come Christmas. Thinking back on it, I'm amazed I've even managed to do much online, since my paperwork at my job has suffered due to these preoccupations. Perhaps there's something therapeutic about writing after midnight after not being able to go back to sleep after crashing for 4-5 hours this evening...

French-language fiction (SF, mimetic, doesn't matter)

2009-11-10T01:09:00.000-06:00

I've spent the past month or so working on learning enough French grammar to be able to read works written in that idiom. Currently, I'm reading a collection of some of Balzac's shorter fictions and am finding myself understanding well over 75% of the words being said (in some places, it reads almost as naturally to me as English or Spanish). Since Hubris is always looming over me, I feel like tempting fate.

For the well-read out there, what are some of the more excellent recent works written in French that might be easily available via Amazon? I'm thinking now might be the time to try and tackle Elizabeth Vonerberg, but any other writers, SF or mimetic or all parts in-between, that I should consider?

Best of 2009: The (Tentative) Longlist

2009-11-10T00:32:00.000-06:00

This will not be broken down into categories like my year-end shortlists will, but here are 51 works I'm currently considering to recognize as being among the best 2009 releases (with 2009 American copyrights in most cases, with a couple of exceptions for Brazilian and UK releases):

Jeff Lemire, The Nobody (graphic novel)

Jonathan Rosenberg, Goats: Infinite Typewriters (graphic novel)

Peter Straub (ed.), American Fantastic Tales (two volume reprint anthology)

Gail Carringer, Soulless (debut novel)

Kristin Cashore, Fire (YA)

Dave Eggers, The Wild Things (YAish?)

Jeff VanderMeer, Finch (fantasy); Booklife (non-fiction)

Otsuichi, ZOO (translated fiction; collection)

Caitlín R. Kiernan, A is for Alien (collection); The Red Tree (fantasy)

David Mazzucchelli, Asterios Polyp (graphic novel)

Kazuo Ishiguro, Nocturnes (collection)

Zoran Živković, Impossible Stories II (collection); The Bridge (novella)

Nick Tapalansky and Alex Eckman-Lawn, Awakening: Volume I (graphic novel)

Dave Eggers, Zeitoun (non-fiction)

Gianpaolo Celli, Steampunk: Histórias de um Passado Extraordinário (foreign language fiction; anthology)

David Anthony Durham, The Other Lands (fantasy)

Lavie Tidhar, The Apex Book of World SF (translated fiction; anthology)

Julio Cortázar, Papeles inesperados (foreign language fiction; collection; non-fiction; criticism)

David Petersen, Mouse Guard: Winter 1152 (graphic novel)

Jesse Bullington, The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart (debut novel; fantasy)

Robert Holdstock, Avilion (fantasy)

Dean Francis Alfar and Nikki Alfar, Philippine Speculative Fiction IV (anthology)

Daniel Abraham, The Price of Spring (fantasy)

Issui Ogawa, The Lord of the Sands of Time (translated fiction)

Terrence Holt, In the Valley of the Kings (collection)

Lev Grossman, The Magicians (fantasy)

Sang Pak, Wait Until Twilight (debut novel)

Ildefonso Falcones, La mano de Fátima (historical novel; foreign language fiction)

Laura Restrepo, Demasiados héroes (foreign language fiction)

Rafael Ábalos, Grimpow y la bruja de la estirpe (foreign language fiction; YA)

Brian Evenson, Fugue State (collection); Last Days (fantasy)

Thomas Pynchon, Inherent Vice (mystery/everything else under the sun)

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún (epic poetry)

Bradford Morrow (ed.); Conjunctions 52: Betwixt the Between; Conjunctions 53: Hybrid Histories (magazine/anthology)

Tamar Yellin, Tales of the Ten Lost Tribes (collection)

Tobias Buckell, Tides from the New Worlds (collection)

Peter Beagle, We Never Talk About My Brother (collection)

Jonathan Littell, The Kindly Ones (semi-historical novel; translated fiction)

Yuri Andrukhovych, The Moscoviad (translated fiction)

Sarah Monette, Corambis (fantasy)

Mark Newton, Nights of Villjamur (debut novel)

Nick Gevers and Jay Lake (eds.), Other Earths (anthology)

Patrick Ness, The Ask and the Answer (YA)

Kay Kenyon, City Without End (SF)

Dan Simmons, Drood (horror; historical novel)

Ann and Jeff VanderMeer (eds.), Best American Fantasy 2 (anthology)

Jonathan Strahan (ed.), Eclipse Three (anthology)

James Morrow, Shambling Towards Hiroshima (novella)

Felix Gilman, Gears of the City (fantasy)

Peter Brett, The Warded Man (fantasy)

Richard Morgan, The Steel Remains (fantasy)

Feel free to weigh in with comments/questions. Might be able to answer back in 24-48 hours. I have a long article to write after work, though.

November 8 Used Book Porn

2009-11-08T19:34:00.000-06:00

Another Sunday, another trip to the local used bookstore to trade in dozens of unwanted book in exchange for buying things for myself and for my students. Here are the 26 books that I bought with over $200 of store credit (and almost $100 more left to spend some day). One I already own in another translation, but that book is going to be a gift, plus the enclosed DVD is of the Lon Chaney silent film based on Hugo's novel. I wonder if I'll hear "SPARTA!" when I open the Frank Miller book. Two more fine Library of America editions to add to my collection, making it twelve so far.

These are three books for work, plus a high-quality Spanish-English dictionary for me to use with some possible translation projects in the near future.

I love collecting translations of the New Testament/Bible. I now add Greek and Gullah editions to the English, Latin, Spanish, Haitian, and Serbian translations. Oh, and some Balzac in French.

My exploration of Shirley Jackson's fiction continues, as well as that of Pat Barker's. Curious about the Marguerite de Navarre book, but I am confident that the Wallace book will be great, based on reading another novel of his a couple of years ago.

I loved discovering the late Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz last year (again, thanks to Jeff Ford for making me aware of him) and here I have the last two books in his Cairo Trilogy as well as another omnibus of three stories. Expecting good things out of these. Also have two Neil Gaiman stories starring Death of the Endless, a George R.R. Martin story I haven't read and one that I have read which was later released in a graphic novel version. Oh, and the first volume of the mostly-excellent Flight graphic novel story anthology series.

Oh, and that book dealing with da Vinci? Look closely at the cover. I wonder if Scott Bakker served as the model for one of the people appearing on the cover...

A Shameless Plug Before I Hit The Road

2009-11-07T10:48:00.000-06:00

The latest issue of what I consider to be one of the best literary journals/anthologies, Conjunctions: 53: Not Even Past: Hybrid Histories, arrived in the mail this morning. I've been looking forward to this issue for six months now. Bradford Morrow, who's edited this journal since its inception almost 30 years ago, tends to have some really good themed stories and this one is promising. Very promising. So promising for me that they put translations of stories/poems by Thomas Bernhard and Roberto Bolaño in here. Oh, and that Bolaño is from an upcoming book, Antwerp. Read it already, very good, if not at the height of his abilities to invoke an emotional response from the reader. Can't wait until it's released in the near future in both Spanish and English translation.

The other stories hold promise. Some of the authors have a history of their own with "speculative fiction." Others are more firmly grounded in "mimetic fiction." This journal doesn't tend to shy away from mixing the two together. Curious to see if this issue will be as good as the more heavily-speculative 52: Betwixt the Between. That one will get more feature time in my year-end recaps. Haven't decided if I ought to place it in the Anthology category or if I should create a new Magazine category for these two issues, Weird Tales, and Electric Velocipede. Regardless, if this issue can live up to the last issue's goodness, I will have more than gotten my money's worth for it.

Now to get ready to go. It's the Vols' Homecoming game against Memphis. Starts at 6 PM CST and I live 3.5 hours away from Knoxville and have to buy scalped tickets. So I'm outta here until Sunday. Ciao!

Amazon releases its Best of 2009 in SF and Fantasy

2009-11-05T23:18:00.000-06:00

Here's the link:

1. Catherynne M. Valente, Palimpsest (this novel left me with conflicted feelings. The prose was strong, the setting unique, and yet there was something about the story that left me cold. Sent this to another and she felt the same way. Perhaps I'll buy another copy and re-read it to see what it was that bothered me about this story, but not right away)

2. Caitlín R. Kiernan, The Red Tree (loved this book; already reviewed)

3. David Anthony Durham, The Other Lands (enjoyed this one quite a bit as well)

4. Peter Straub (ed.), American Fantastic Tales boxed set (this is a must-read anthology of dark fantasy/horror of the past two hundred years. Library of America published this and their collections are a delight to hold)

5. Cherie Priest, Boneshaker (haven't read, but will order shortly, since her earlier novels have been quite good)

6. Michal Ajvaz, The Other City (just placed an order for this, as it sounds like just the sort of thing that I'd enjoy reading)

7. Adam Roberts, Yellow Blue Tibia (might order this in the next few weeks)

8. Jonathan Strahan (ed.), Eclipse Three: New Science Fiction and Fantasy (very good anthology of original stories. Highly recommended)

9. Delia Sherman (ed.), Interfictions 2: An Anthology of Interstitial Fiction (I've had this on pre-order for months; expect to receive it in a couple of weeks)

10. Jesse Bullington, The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart (the best debut novel I've read this year. Thought so highly of it that I've bought two copies of it in addition to the ARC I received, just so I can give copies to two close friends as early Christmas gifts)

Those were my reactions to this list. What are yours?

Evil incarnate or just a necessary evil?

2009-11-05T19:25:00.000-06:00

I'll let you be the judge of that...

Lautréamont, Maldoror

2009-11-04T00:56:00.001-06:00

Reader, perhaps it is hatred you wish me to invoke at the outset of this work! What makes you think that you will not sniff - drenched in numberless pleasures, for as long as you wish, with your proud nostrils, wide and thin, as you turn over on your belly like a shark, in the beautiful black air, as if you understood the importance of this act and the equal importance of your legitimate appetite, slowly and majestically - its red emanations. I assure you, they will delight the two shapeless holes of your hideous muzzle, if you endeavour beforehand to inhale, in three thousand consecutive breaths, the accursed conscience of the Eternal One! Your nostrils, which will dilate immeasurably in unspeakable contentment, in motionless ecstasy, will ask nothing better of space, for they will be full of fragrance as if of perfumes and incense; for they will be glutted with complete happiness, like the angels who dwell in the peace and magnificence of pleasant Heaven. (p. 30)

Note: This originally was intended to be part of a private correspondence, so there will be a slightly different slant here, not to mention that it's much shorter than what I typically write these days.

I am glad that I was made aware of this proto-surrealist work by Isidore Ducasse/Lautréamont. Written in the late 1860s, it is in turns shocking, repulsive, and grotesquely fascinating. It is the literary equivalent of the prurient adult who rubbernecks to see the horrendous automobile crash. It is a novel for those who want to hate the misanthropic narrator, while they end up finding themselves horrified by the reactions that the novel inspires in them. There is such an element of decadence in this story that it anticipates the Decadents themselves by a generation. No wonder Maldoror has influenced Dali, Ernst, and Verlaine.

The eponymous narrator reminds me of a more world-weary Melmoth the Wanderer. He's done all things, fucked all things, and ennui washes all over him. He is the spirit of Rebellion against order and morality (interestingly enough, Lautréamont, using his real name of Ducasse, writes a complete rebuttal that is attached as an appendix of sorts to the English-language translation, called Poems). There is no "plot" to speak of in this quasi-poem told in six books. Maldoror glories in his perversions in such a way that the reader perhaps might find him/herself unwittingly cheering him on. It is a very unsettling book, one that (at least in English translation) uses the elevated language of the Romantics to create a character who shifts with the tides of time, one who the authorities are hunting down but who will never be caught, a sort of a darker and yet more romanticized version of Milton's Satan.

It is certain to haunt my dreams. I suspect it'll continue to provide inspiration for dozens of illustrators and artists who want to touch upon that dark quality that makes this work unsettling 140 years after its publication.

A few late-night thoughts: The All Souls' Day Edition

2009-11-02T00:45:00.000-06:00

Spent some of Saturday and most of yesterday in bed, coughing and vomiting a few times. It's either a bad sinus infection developing, or I have a mild case of food poisoning (no fever, so I doubt it was the flu). Ribs hurt like a mutha, though. Not good.

Been reading the Library of America anthologies of Philip K. Dick's work. Conflicted feelings so far. Sometimes, he creates something wonderful to consider, then a few pages later the writing is very craptastic.

Also been reading some of William Faulkner's earliest works. Interesting to see how his style developed in the 1920s. Didn't like the first few stories in that Library of America edition, but The Sound and the Fury is all sorts of awesome for me.

Glanced over a few forums this weekend, amazed by how little I cared. While Westeros still has some interesting content, sad to see just how quickly the wotmania replacement, Read and Find Out, has shrunk in participation. Of course, I could deign to participate, but I don't feel like posting much anywhere these days, plus I don't care to post mirrors of posts here, lest a few benighted souls think that I'm out to "steal" their audience. I am beginning to think that this blog and a few related ventures should be all I do for a while, since I'm struggling as it is to find ways to avoid working on my day job 24/7.

Speaking of "related ventures," I keep having problems thinking of how to start this one essay. Of course, I do have a better topic header now and once I feel better (tomorrow?), I hope to get it wrapped up quickly.

I hate this time of year. The leaves falling and the typically dreary early November Tennessee weather seem to aid any depressive spells I have. Bad enough that I had to struggle through one from late July through the middle of October, don't need the weather and my sinus problems to add to it.

More thoughts later. I feel sleepy enough to try sleeping again. Fitting that this is posted on All Souls' Day, I suppose, since I feel half-dead at the moment.

2009 World Fantasy Award winners announced

2009-11-01T20:16:00.000-06:00

Taken from Science Fiction Awards Watch:

Lifetime Achievement: Ellen Asher & Jane Yolen
Best Novel (tie): The Shadow Year, Jeffrey Ford (Morrow) & Tender Morsels, Margo Lanagan (Allen & Unwin; Knopf)
Best Novella: “If Angels Fight”, Richard Bowes (F&SF 2/08)
Best Short Story: “26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss”, Kij Johnson (Asimov’s 7/08)
Best Anthology: Paper Cities: An Anthology of Urban Fantasy, Ekaterina Sedia, ed. (Senses Five Press)
Best Collection: The Drowned Life, Jeffrey Ford (HarperPerennial)
Best Artist: Shaun Tan
Special Award – Professional: Kelly Link & Gavin J. Grant (for Small Beer Press and Big Mouth House)
Special Award – Non-Professional: Michael Walsh (for Howard Waldrop collections from Old Earth Books)

The judges for 2009 were: Jenny Blackford, Peter Heck, Ellen Klages, Chris Roberson & Delia Sherman.

Very deserving winners. I thought it'd be between Ford and Lanagan and it's nice that both of them get the honor, as they had written some of the best fiction that I read in 2008. Same goes for Ford for the collection and Shaun Tan for Best Artist. In the anthology category, any of the works nominated would have been a good choice, but congrats to Kathy Sedia for Paper Cities winning!

Interesting how the winners in the Best Novel category didn't correspond with the poll I ran huh?

Kage Baker, The House of the Stag	6 (5%)
Jeffrey Ford, The Shadow Year	8 (7%)
Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book	31 (29%)
Daryl Gregory, Pandemonium	4 (3%)
Margo Lanagan, Tender Morsels	7 (6%)
Don't care about any of them, to be honest	48 (46%)

So I've been interviewed, for the second time

2009-11-01T13:08:00.000-06:00

This time, it was Harry Markov from Temple Library Reviews who decided for some odd reason that I would make for a good interview subject. Click on the link above and go decide for yourself if I have had an interesting life. Or just go because you might like Harry's site. Or maybe just go because you'd love to know more about rabid squirrels and foxlings?

New award announced to honor the best works translated into English

2009-10-31T23:02:00.000-05:00

I've known about this for over a month now, but was asked to be mum about it until it was announced at the World Fantasy Convention. Friday, a series of people, including the University of California at Riverside (who are the planned hosts for this award) announced the creation of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Translation Awards, which aims to do for non-English SF/F translated into English that awards such as the Seiun Awards, Premio Ignotus, Utopiales, and other awards from Asia and Europe do to honor foreign translations of SF/F works into their native languages.

About damn time. Between this and the expansion of the Best American Fantasy anthology series (starting in 2011) to cover translated fictions from Latin America, there will be much greater coverage and hopefully awareness of excellent works being produced outside the Anglophone regions. Expect more coverage of these matters here at this blog (and obviously at the blogs/sites of those contributing to the founding of these translation awards) in the coming months and years, as this is something that appeals to me for obvious reasons.

September 27-October 30 reads

2009-10-31T06:33:00.000-05:00

Been over a month since I've updated my 2009 reading list, so here are the books I've read over the past five weeks or so, with tiny commentaries:

369 Jaime Martínez Tolentino, Cuentos Fantásticos (Spanish) (decent)

370 Hayo Miyazaki, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, vol. I (good)

371 Italo Calvino, The Path to the Spiders' Nest (very good)

372 Scott Mills, Big Clay Pot (good)

373 Don DeLillo, Cosmopolis (very good for much of the way, but too short)

374 Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are (re-read) (classic)

375 Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Poesías de Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (Spanish) (OK)

376 Zoran Živković, Impossible Stories II (very good collection)

377 Zoran Živković, Amarkord (Serbian) (very good)

378 Nick Tapalansky and Alex Eckman-Lawn, Awakening: Volume I (good to very good)

379 Angela Carter, The Magic Toyshop (excellent)

380 Pat Barker, The Man Who Wasn't There (very good)

381 Walter Moers, The City of Dreaming Books (outstanding)

382 J.M. Coetzee, Elizabeth Costello (decent)

383 Salman Rushdie, Haroun and the Sea of Stories (very good)

384 Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (very good)

385 Amanda Downum, The Drowning City (meh)

386 Eoin Colfer, Artemis Fowl (good to very good)

387 Peter Straub (ed.), American Fantastic Tales: Terror and the Uncanny: From Poe to the Pulps (excellent)

388 Peter Straub (ed.), American Fantastic Tales: Terror and the Uncanny: From the 1940s to Now (outstanding)

389 Sergio Toppi, Sparrow: Volume 12 (artbook) (very good)

390 John Watkiss, Sparrow: Volume 11 (artbook) (very good)

391 Angela Carter, Nights at the Circus (re-read) (excellent)

392 Gail Carriger, Soulless (very good debut novel)

393 Ashley Wood, Sparrow: Volume 0 (artbook) (very good)

394 Ashley Wood, Sparrow: Volume 1 (artbook) (very good)

395 Phil Hale, Sparrow: Volume 2 (artbook) (very good)

396 Kent Williams, Sparrow: Volume 3 (artbook) (very good)

397 Shane Glines, Sparrow: Volume 4 (artbook) (very good)

398 Phil Hale, Sparrow: Volume 5 (artbook) (very good)

399 Vladimir Nabokov, Novels and Memoirs 1941-1951 (Library of America omnibus) (excellent to outstanding)

400 Kristin Cashore, Fire (excellent)

401 Vladimir Nabokov, Invitation to a Beheading (excellent to outstanding)

402 Eoin Colfer, And Another Thing... (already reviewed, but very good)

403 David Ratte, Toxic Planet (very good)

404 Camilla d'Errico, Sparrow: Volume 13 (artbook) (very good)

405 Jeff VanderMeer, Shriek: An Afterword (re-read) (excellent)

406 Vladimir Nabokov, Glory (excellent)

407 Dave Eggers, The Wild Things (excellent)

408 Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse (very good)

409 William S. Burroughs, Naked Lunch (good)

410 Clive Barker, The Books of Blood (very good)

411 Olga Dugina and Andrej Dugin, The Brave Little Tailor (very good to excellent)

412 Sergio Toppi, Sharaz-De: Volume 1 (excellent to outstanding)

413 Sergio Toppi, Sharaz-De: Volume 2 (excellent)

414 Jeff VanderMeer, Booklife (review forthcoming; very good to excellent; non-fiction)

415 Scott Mills, Trenches (good)

416 Dr. Seuss, Green Eggs and Ham (re-read) (classic)

417 Robert Jordan, Knife of Dreams (good to very good)

418 Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, The Gathering Storm (already reviewed; very good)

419 H.P. Lovecraft, Tales (Library of America omnibus) (excellent)

420 Philip K. Dick, Four Novels of the 1960s (Library of America omnibus) (very good)

421 Gustavo Arellano, ¡Ask a Mexican! (very good; non-fiction)

422 Jonathan Strahan (ed.), Eclipse Three (very good)

423 Italo Calvino, The Castle of Crossed Destinies (excellent)

424 Jeff Lemire, The Nobody (excellent to outstanding)

425 Denis Diderot and D'Alembert, L'Encyclopédie: Art de L'Escrime (French) (good; non-fiction)

426 J.M. Coetzee, Youth (good)

427 Rick Berry, Sparrow: Volume 6 (artbook) (very good)

In Progress:

Jeff Lemire, Essex County (omnibus, with new material, outstanding so far, 2/3 in)

Ellen Datlow (ed.), Lovecraft Unbound

William Faulkner, Novels 1926-1929 (Library of America omnibus)

Philip K. Dick, Five Novels of the 1960s and 1970s (Library of America omnibus)

William Jansen, Beginner's Basque

Stephen King, The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born (graphic novel adaptation)

Future Plans:

N.K. Jemisin, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms

Don DeLillo, Underworld

All you need is love?

2009-10-29T21:43:00.000-05:00

Pat has written an interesting column about the "hate" he's been noticing recently, in the context of the comments posted to his blog and those posted elsewhere. While I often have differences of opinion with him, I think he raises some interesting points. That doesn't mean, however, that I agree wholeheartedly with what he says. Far from it, actually.

Pat's contention that "SFF fandom" seems "to be fragmented beyond repair" left me thinking, "well, duh, since there never really was a single, unified entity as such in the first place!" There have always been people with diverse interests who interact more as tangents or secants than as anything more intertwined. I would be quite worried if there were a more homogenized "fandom" out there, as the literature that the authors, some of whom come from fandom ranks, might be a bit more staid as a result. But this hypothetical concern detracts from the real thrust of Pat's article.

What really seems to be in play here is the notion of there being a sort of hierarchy of taste and disdain. Every reader (and essayists/critics such as myself) has his/her "sweet spots" and blind spots. That is understandable, as there really is no accounting for taste in so many of these matters. In writing his article, Pat seems to have unwittingly done what he accuses others of having done, which made for a rather odd reading earlier this evening for myself. I guess diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks is more of an ideal than a reality?

But what I found to be most intriguing is Pat's writing about his readers and those vociferous few who want him to review X but not Y. I'm sure much of that comes with the territory of having a relatively large blog readership, but some of it is rather odd. Not saying that Pat can't choose what he wants to focus on, but rather that he feels compelled to write about it in such detail. I know there have been shifts here when I decided to blog more about what interested me than blogging about the "next big thing" almost exclusively. Doubtless, some readers stopped visiting regularly. But new readers discovered what I was doing and liked it. I suspect much the same is going on over there at his place and perhaps all he needs to do is just keep at it and stop worrying about the wannabe cooks trying to add to the stew?

Since I'm still absorbed in trying to do work-work, I guess I could just ask people here to weigh in on the "positivity" elements in that article and perhaps also things liked/disliked about blogs such as mine or his? Not that I'm going to pay much heed to anyone who hates what I'm doing now, of course, but I think it'll be amusing to see what would happen if I started to review almost-all non-spec fic works for a while, just for a change of pace...would you follow that?

Interview with David Anthony Durham, Part I

2009-10-28T12:19:00.000-05:00

Due to the growing length of this interview, David and I decided it would be best to divide it into two parts, with the second part appearing in the next few days.

A couple of years ago, you were interviewed by several bloggers at Pat's site, including myself. What important things have happened in your professional and personal life between the publication of Acacia: The War with the Mein and The Other Lands?

Lots of stuff, mostly good. Acacia: The War With The Mein performed rather nicely. I was very happy with the reviews it received and with the overseas attention and publications. It got me nominated for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer twice, and the second time I won it!

As important as any of that is that I’ve been overwhelmingly pleased by my acceptance into the community of science fiction and fantasy writers. When I walk into a convention now I know I’m among friends. Also, I’m part of a group of sff writers from around the world that daily shares information and exchanges ideas and stories about publishing. I’ve been asked to do several anthologies and collaborations – most of which I’ve had to turn down – and I’ve had the pleasure of accepting George RR Martin’s invitation to write for his Wild Cards series, which I’m doing right now.

All things considered, it’s been a good couple of years professionally.

Very cool news! I’m curious about this group of sff writers of which you are a member. Can you divulge any information on what that group does - is it more of an informal manuscript peer review, support group, or all that and a bag of chips more?

Oh, the group isn’t exactly a secret, but we don’t really advertize ourselves either. It’s sort of quiet, self-regulating group. Every now and then we invite new folks in, not as if we’re trying to be elite or something, but just with an eye toward keeping the group supportive and diverse and low-key. Once in, we’re just sort of an extended group of friends and peers to call on when we need to. We talk publishing biz stuff. We ask questions as we make publishing decisions or just want to get other perspectives. It’s great to see what other writer’s experiences are, and to have folks to talk to other than our editors and agents. For me in particular it’s eye opening in terms of issues specific to sf genres. It’s a good group.

Interesting. So this is as much of a social support group as it is a writing workshop one? Also, have you been involved in such groups for all of your professional writing career or have there been shifts in how you approach the writing craft and the sharing of written material with other writers?

It's not really a writing workshop group at all. I'd say social support group describes it.

I've not been involved in anything remotely like it before. This genre nurtures more networking and interaction than the "literary" genre does. There's certainly plenty of friction between factions in sf, but there's supportive communication too.

In terms of sharing work with other writers… I still don't do that much. I had a few people read Acacia: The War With The Mein during the revision period, and a few read The Other Lands. Mostly I work alone, and then bring my wife, agent and editor in.

That said, I have floated my stories for Wild Cards out to a few of the other people working on the series, and I've read pieces from others as well. And one prominent author recently asked me to read an early draft of the first novel of in a new series. So I guess sharing is becoming more and more a part of my writing life.

Whenever I read your blog, one of the things I notice most is how close-knit your family is. How much of an influence has your family been on the characters and settings of your novels?

Quite a bit, actually. It would be hard for me to explain just how, though, since they get into my writing in bits and pieces, in fragments that probably only make sense to me. For example, the Akaran children are based on the template of my wife’s family, but once the template was set the characters began to evolve different. Sometimes Mena is my wife; sometimes she’s more inspired by my daughter; much of the time she’s neither. A character like Melio is named after one of our cats, a fact that brings my kids fits of laughter every time I mention something heroic the character did.

Other things I only understand afterwards, like that in writing about the relationship between Mena and Elya in the second book I was sort of writing about the relationship between my daughter and another one of our cats, Dolphin. Go figure.

My family affects everything I write. How could they not?

Since your family takes such an active role in influencing the characters, have there ever been times that one of them has been tempted to throw something at you because they saw themselves reflected in one of the characters?

For a while I lived in fear of that. It’s most obvious with the Akarans. Aliver was based on my brother in law, and look what happened to him! And Corinn began as my sister in law, and you know how she turned out… I’m happy to say they took it all in good humor, though. The truth is that from the moment the characters first open their mouths and start moving around the Acacia stage they become something different than any of the real life people that inspired them. My family understands that. Lucky for me.

Every now and then, there's some comment or assertion on some blog or article about how there's some discernable difference between "mainstream," "literary," or "mimetic" fiction and "speculative" or "SF/Fantasy" fiction. As an author who has had stories marketed in both categories, what differences, if any, do you believe exist between these perceived narrative modes?

There are differences. Sure. There are commonalities too. I tend to think we make too big a fuss over differences, though. People stake out their turf and take too much self-righteous glee in lobbing insults onto other people’s turf. To me this is kinda silly. Kinda childish.

Here’s what I believe about “literary” and “mainstream” fiction – just today’s selection of thoughts.

I believe that there is value in writing and reading purely for entertainment, but I also believe fiction can offer more than that and that when it does it’s often harder to access without effort.

I believe that literary fiction by its nature intends to speak meaningfully about the human experience, but I also believe literary writers have no monopoly on this and that they often wear blinders that stop them from seeing quality work in other genres.

I believe that genre fiction has its roots deeply in long-standing traditions of storytelling, sometimes reaching right back to the classics, but I also believe a lot genre writing is uninventive and boring.

I believe that literary fiction’s goals are admirable, but that it’s often… uninventive, boring, safe and lacking ambition.

Looking at my own work, I’ve heard many responses that make it clear genre readers have appreciated my literary attention to character psychology, language, complexity of detail in social and political landscape, but I’m also aware that my writing seems to short circus some readers that don’t connect with any of those things at all.

Some genre readers seem to choose not to like a book when the book fails to be what they expected it to be, when the story or characters aren’t just like the last book that they really loved. That’s a perfectly valid reaction, but I don’t think it should necessarily lead one to conclude that a book is bad – or that literary is just boring. That book may just be different. The author’s interests may be different. Not all readers may share those interests, but some readers give up before they’ve engaged enough to know.

And that’s where I think there is a difference between mainstream and literary that matters. Mainstream writing by its very nature should be easy to swallow. It should go down smooth, without challenging a reader too much – or by challenging them in the ways they expect to be challenged. To take another example, McDonald’s isn’t a massive chain because they make the best tasting hamburgers in the world. They’re massive because they’ve managed to find the right formula for delivering consistently familiar food, food that never surprises and… never fails to be what you expect when you walk in the door. That’s a rather remarkable achievement, and I do think similar impulses drive book buying in the genres as well. Why not return to authors, stories, plot twists that have worked before, rendered in language that doesn’t get in the way?

Literary fiction often begins with a different premise. It may require that a reader learn to read it. Even if you’ve bought a hamburger of a novel, it’s hopefully a different cut of meat. Your first bite isn’t just like the first bite of every Big Mac you’ve ever tasted. You might have to chew for a while to know what it actually tastes like – and then to figure out if you like it.

That’s probably a lot easier an experience to go through with a hamburger than with a novel, but I think there’s a parallel. Some genre readers are turned off by literary fiction before they’ve chewed on it long enough. And, to be fair, I think that many literary readers ignore that the genres do have lots of complexity within them, many titles that they’d love if only they had the sense to give them a try. I’d say one has to learn to read Octavia Butler or Neil Gaiman or Kelly Lynch. They’re literary. They’re also fun to read regardless, but I think they get better the more you digest them.

I’ll never forget an early review of my first novel, Gabriel’s Story, in the San Francisco Chronicle. The reviewer found the language of the first part strange, convoluted and a bit hard to figure out. But then he wrote that by the second part the language had started to work to “greater effect”, and by the end he loved the book! He seems to have walked away thinking that the first part wasn’t as good as the following three parts. But I’d argue that the writing was consistent. What changed was that it took him that first part to get into the rhythm of my writing. After he did, everything got smoother and smoother for him.

Now, if I’d started the book with simpler language he might have been happier from the start, but if I’d done that I wouldn’t have been using the language that he’d learned to love by the end. I think that’s often the case with good literary fiction. (And I do mean the “good” stuff; I’m not saying that all literary fiction is.) Hopefully, it holds you from the start, but in a great many ways full appreciation of it comes gradually.

Nice presentation of the literary/genre presumed divide there. You raise an interesting point about how your first novel was received. Would it be fair to say that for those who read Acacia: The War with the Mein and struggled with the first section before finding themselves enjoying the rest of the book might have had a similar experience to that review of Gabriel’s Story?

Before I delve into that, I should make it clear that I don’t believe a writer has an elevated authority in terms of judging how readers respond to them. We think about it and can have opinions, but I don’t think we can determine exactly what any reader is or isn’t experiencing. The whole process is about offering stories to people. It’s the offering that counts, and once you do that you loose control over how others interact with your stories. That’s the way it should be.

With that caveat out there, do I imagine that some Acacia readers had the same experience as that Gabriel’s Story reviewer? Sure. And I thank them for sticking with it! I hope my novels are enjoyable to many people, but they do require some effort on the reader’s part. Most of the people that read Acacia were new to my work. It makes sense that some would need to get used to my approach. I’m just thankful they did.

When someone comes up to me and says they were hooked right from page one I’m always a little surprised. Really? From page one, huh? I’m proud of everything I’ve written, but I don’t think that hooking readers quickly is one of my strengths. I try to get readers chewing on an entire mouthful of baited hooks without really feeling any of those hooks too obviously. I don’t rush to yank too soon, either. I’d like to think it happens gradually, that it grows on readers so that they never know the exact moment when the hooks start sinking in.

Anyway, that’s my approach. It must be natural to me because even in novels that begin in mid-action, like Walk Through Darkness, I still don’t reveal the main hooks controlling the story until near the end.

Have there ever been times that a reader or reviewer comment has led you to reevaluate your approach, perhaps even add an element or two in order to “clarify” a point that may have been more confusing for readers (I’m particularly thinking of Acacia here) who were not used to your narrative approach?

Things that readers/reviewers say may plant seeds that effect decisions I make in the next book, but I’m not sure I’d be able to pinpoint what comment effected things I did a year later. It just gets in the mix somehow. On one hand, I make decisions consciously and I believe in them, but I also know that the whole thing is about communicating stories and ideas with people. I'd be a fool if I didn't keep an ear open and stay willing to respond to readers.

Multiculturalism in literature of all sorts has become more prevalent in the past two decades. However, in certain fields, epic fantasy being one of them, there seems to be some controversy over how certain characters are portrayed and if the imagined secondary worlds are a bit too homogenous. What is your take on the arguments on this issue, including the so-called “Racefail ‘09" debates online?

I can’t speak about Racefail ’09 specifically. I didn’t participate in it, and, though I know some of the details, I’m no expert on what went on. What’s my take on this issue in general? Again, I offer the thoughts as I have them today…

I think it’s part of the record that a lot of fantasy and sf has been laughably white.

I think it’s a bit silly when depictions of humanity in the future 1) are basically white, or 2) are diverse in ways that mirror our contemporary notions of what diversity is. The first is embarrassing because the majority of the human population isn’t white (not even right now), and unless all these folks have been killed off in some way they’re going to be in the future in ever larger numbers. The second is embarrassing because it’s so limited and shortsighted. I think it’s much more reasonable to imagine a browning of humanity that means it will be harder and harder to find people that have kept the bloodlines undiluted (and lacking the benefits of genetic diversity).

I believe that in fantasy there is something insidious about creating an entire world peopled only with variations of white people: humans, elves, dwarves, etc. I’m not moaning about it. I’m just saying that intentionally or not writers that have done that are revealing things about they way the perceive – or don’t perceive – people of color.

But I also see growing diversity in fantasy. I think it’s always been there in the readership – although not necessarily visible in the folks that make up fandom – and I see it in people’s work and in the small, growing population of writers of color that are striving to get into the field. That’s progress. It should be acknowledged and encouraged – partially because it’s just a good thing, and partially because it can only make the genre more interesting. It doesn’t mean the issue is resolved, though.

There are layers upon layers of issues built into our racial perceptions and interactions. This is one thing I think white people often view differently than people of color. (I’m very aware that I’m speaking in generalities. Such things aren’t perfect, I know.) I think it’s easier for a white person to point at a few authors or books and say, “Look, there’s proof that there’s diversity. Case closed. Can we please stop talking about it?” Whereas a person of color is more likely to say, “Yeah, you can name five black sf authors now, but let’s look at what they’ve written, how they’ve been marketed and received, how that compares to how white writers of similar material were treated, etc. And, yes, there may be other races in lots of new fantasy series, but let’s look at how they’re depicted, how central their roles are, how much they embody earthly stereotypes, and let’s consider that there’s something wrong when the people in the book are all brown and the people on the cover are all white, etc. And perhaps you can stop talking about it, but that’s because it doesn’t matter to you the same way it does to me. I have no choice but to keep talking, because stopping would mean I was failing to acknowledge and express things that I think, feel, experience every day.”

As with everything to do with race and culture and social history, there aren’t any easy answers. And when there are advances it doesn’t close the matter; it just opens up further avenues that need exploring/debating. I do wish the debating didn’t get so hostile so quickly, though. From a distance, that’s one of the things that seem problematic with episodes like Racefail ’09.

In general, we can all do better. I had a friend over from Scotland a few weeks back. White guy. He’d been talking about how much he liked District 9, which I haven’t seen. As I looked up stuff about it online I came across Tananarive Due and some other writers of color talking about depictions of race in it. Some were highly critical; others supportive of the film, etc. I showed them to my friend. He came away from reading them and said, “Well, I don’t exactly agree that it’s racist in the ways some of these authors think it is, but, still, it does get me thinking about some things I hadn’t before.”

To me, that’s perfect. Couldn’t ask for more. I wish more folks could listen to people they don’t agree with like that – with a mind open enough so that the dialogue broadens their perspective in some way, even if it’s in ways lateral to the point being argued.

Good points. Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t part of the problem many PoC writers and readers have is with “diversity” in writing that consists of having a shallow, token non-caucasian appear in a limited, or rather limiting roles? In what ways have your stories shown a substantive difference in approach toward addressing the issue of representing PoC characters, concerns, and situations that might differ from how a caucasian writer might represent them?

Yes to the first question. Often when white writers included PoC they're there as part of the gang around the main characters, in support roles. I'm sure those writers feel that they've been inclusive by doing that, but being on the margins of the story doesn't help if the PoC characters are always at the margins. That's not true engagement.

White writers having true engagement with non-white protagonists is rare. Richard K Morgan does it. I love it that Neil Gaiman has had lots of diverse characters in supporting roles in his books and stories, and that he made a black Caribbean character the primary in Anansi Boys. Neil delivers. He also made the decision to have Lenny Henry read the audio version of that book. You could say that's just because the main character has a different personality than Neil, but that's only part of it. We all know Neil's an awesome reader. I'm sure he chose Lenny because he wanted a black voice narrating his story about a black character. If he'd tried that with his own voice the identity would've blended with Neil's, and that would be diluting the effect of his narrative choices.

And that happens a lot too. Writers like Ursula K LeGuin have explicitly written about worlds filled with brown skinned characters, only to then see their publishers or filmmakers present those characters as white on the covers of their books. This is partially a subconscious thing – the ones making the artistic decisions kinda forget that the characters were described as brown-skinned. And I know it's partially intentional – that publishers believe they're more likely to sell less books with a PoC on the cover.

Readers may scoff at that. "I don't think about the color of the person on the book!" I can't argue with an individual on what they do or don’t consider. I'll just say that it's a fact that publishers consider race and prejudice as they make marketing decisions in which race and prejudice may play a part. You may not think you think about it; they're sure that at some level – even subconscious – you do.

In terms of my own writing, the most direct ways I've approached race differently can be seen in my earlier novels. Gabriel’s Story was a response to Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian. I loved that book, but I hated the way the one black character in it was called "the nigger". He was as much a part of the group as any of them, but his marginalization had it's own nasty character to it. So I wrote a Western that began with a solid historical fact – that there were many black settlers in the West, especially after the Civil War – and ran with it. I made the black characters the central focus. I’m not aware of a white writer ever having done that.

Walk Through Darkness is as a runaway slave story, but an entire half of the book is focused on a white character, the one who I'd argue is the real main character of the book. It was an exploration of how intermingled the American bloodline is, how much that's been subverted, and how freeing it can/could be to acknowledge it more directly. I choose to include it because I think it's an important aspect of the American experience and because the story is in my blood, in my family history.

In my Hannibal novel, Pride of Carthage, I wanted to translate what ancient sources and what modern historians tell us about the Second Punic War into fiction. That meant making decisions, choosing between alternative possibilities, condensing and splicing things, but it was all in an effort to get that epic conflict on the page. I also wanted to pay tribute to the diversity that was the ancient Mediterranean. That's part of why there was such a wide cast of characters: Carthaginians and Romans, Greeks and Macedonians, Gauls and Celts, and Libyans and Numidian. They all featured in the war; they all feature in my novel – not just as walk on characters in the background, but with devoted scenes specifically telling their stories. I’ve read a few fictional takes on the Second Punic War, but none of them made central characters out of North Africans other than the Carthaginians. I did. It felt important – and natural – to do that.

With Acacia: The War With The Mein I just wanted to write a large fantasy story set in a racially diverse world. I didn't center the story around Northern European-like cultures or around sub-Saharan African ones. I went for placing it in between, and then casting a wide net around that. Once that was in place I just proceeded with the story I wanted to tell.

How have reader reactions been to your decisions in your novels, especially in Acacia: The War with the Mein, to include so many different ethnic groups that have their traditions and which aren’t shallow riffs on the dwarves/elves/orcs that you noted above?

Nobody's complained about it. Nobody’s said, “I’m so disappointed. Where are the elves?”

Readers of color and folks interested in PoC have quite welcomed it, who seem to feel that the combination of a writer of color creating a multi-cultural world is a very good thing. I’m happy about that. On the other hand other readers have said, "What's the big deal? It doesn't feel that different." Different readers; different reactions.

I believe that only part of the way an individual perceives a story is shaped by the written words themselves. Those words mix with whatever perceptions/perspectives/prejudices the reader carries with them. That’s the magic of it, but it means that not everyone reads the same thing the same way, especially when ethnicity is one of the issues at hand. When I read Earthsea I’m jolted each time Ged and most other people are physically described as dark, coppered, brown. Each time that rings in my head like a little bell, reminding me that this is a world of PoC characters. It’s so very there in the text, and I think readers who match those descriptions themselves latch on to the ethnicity of the characters – as LeGuin wants us to do. But I’ve also spoken with a lot of white readers that look at me funny when I point this out. They don’t notice it the same way. To them those descriptions don’t stick, or don’t seem to mean the same things.

The same is true in Acacia. Again and again, I mention that the Acacian’s are of a light brown complexion, that they tend to have brown eyes and dark hair, that feminine beauty is typically round featured in the face. By contrast, the Meins are the ones that have really blond hair and fair skin and sharp features. The Talayans are very dark-skinned.

Still, though, a lot of readers sort of slide the Acacians to the European realm. I’ve seen this in the artwork for some of my European covers. I’ve certainly seen it in the names of actors people come up with to fit roles in the film. I think the tricky thing is that secondary world fantasy has been Euro-centric for so long that it’s become the default picture people have in their minds. Subtle changes to that template don’t always register.

On the other hand, complete shifts, like what Charles R. Saunders attempted with Imaro, truly resets the template. He wrote African-based sword and sorcery. No mistaken that. Problem is that few people read it. Sales dove. The series got cancelled. They tried this twice, by the way, and the same thing happened both times.

Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, The Gathering Storm

2009-10-26T23:00:00.001-05:00

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose around the alabaster spire known as the White Tower. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.

The wind twisted around the magnificent Tower, brushing perfectly fitted stones and flapping majestic banners. The structure was somehow both graceful and powerful at the same time; a metaphor, perhaps, for those who had inhabited it for over three thousand years. Few looking upon the Tower would guess that at its heart, it had been both broken and corrupted. Separately. (p. 49)

Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series has been one of the most sprawling, character-intensive epic fantasies of the past twenty years. Spanning millions of words, this series, now reaching its twelfth volume out of a planned fourteen, has spawned dozens of fansites over the years, as well as engendering heated debates over matters ranging from how well (or not) the author managed to portray female characters to questions of character identities and motivations to even a fictional murder-mystery that still remains unresolved seven volumes after its occurrence. Some view passages, such as the (in)famous "wind passage" that opens the first chapter of each book, as being hallmarks of a great talent. Others read the same lines and wonder how the story ever managed to become even more turgid and bloated than the previous volume.

Debates such as these point to some intrinsic quality of the series that barely allows for there to be a middle ground. There is something for almost everyone, depending if one likes an action/adventure tale, political intrigue, social commentary, or even elements of a puzzle novel. Sometimes, there is too much of it all, and readers who enjoyed the earlier volumes might end up finding the past few volumes to be rather plodding, tedious affairs. After reading the eighth and ninth volumes, The Path of Daggers and Winter's Heart, I found myself going years before even thinking of picking up the tenth volume, Crossroads of Twilight, which was perhaps the most difficult book to complete reading of them all at the time.

But then a tragic event happened. Jim Rigney, the person behind the Robert Jordan pseudonym, contracted a rare blood disorder, amyloidosis. Rigney spent the final eighteen months of his life battling the disease, while attempting to complete the conclusion to the series. Sadly, he succumbed to the disease on September 16, 2007. Fans were devastated, as for nearly three months, the matter of who would complete the series, or even if the series would be completed, was up in the air. Toward the end of the year, Rigney's wife, Harriet McDougal, announced that she had chosen young author Brandon Sanderson, whose work to date had been three adult fantasies (Elantris and the first two Mistborn novels) and two young adult novels. From the end of 2007 to now, Wheel of Time fans have been probing for information, trying to decide if Sanderson was the "right" choice, if he would manage to capture Jordan's narrative "voice," warts and all, and if the conclusion (now announced to comprise of three volumes spread out over three years) would be worthy of the time invested in the series.

Depending on what you enjoy most about the series, Sanderson largely succeeds in this thankless task. For those wanting to know if Sanderson would manage to capture the essence of the late Jordan's writing style or if his passages would integrate well with the ones Jordan had completed before his death, it will be difficult for most of the time to discern which author wrote which passage. Sanderson's interpretations of the two main characters of this story, Rand al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn, and Egwene al'Vere, the rebel Amyrlin, are almost pitch-perfect. What I found interesting about Sanderson's treatment of the characters is just how well they are integrated with Jordan's earlier development of them.

Rand in particular has a very good character development arc in The Gathering Storm. Hurting from his myriad mental, emotional, and physical wounds, he is a near-complete wreck. Increasingly paranoid and worried that he is not "hard enough" to face the Dark One in the prophesied Last Battle, Rand's character displays many traits in common with soldiers suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder during the Vietnam War. This is no accident, as before his death, Rigney discussed how he himself faced a decision in Vietnam if he was to desensitize himself to the horrors happening around him or if he would fight to keep from becoming a sociopathic killer. Rand's development from the first chapter, "Tears from Steel," to the last, "Veins of Gold," is one of the more intriguing in the entire series. It is perhaps for me the most personal of all the mini-plots in this mammoth series and the authors do such a good job of showing Rand's descent into darkness, both figurative and literal, as well as setting up the decision he makes at the end of this book that is in many ways as important thematically as the cleansing of saidin was in Winter's Heart.

Paralleling Rand's development and his struggles to integrate his past and present memories is that of his childhood sweetheart, Egwene. Captured at the end of Crossroads of Twilight and forced to undergo numerous punishments at the hand of her rival for the head of the Aes Sedai organization, Elaida, Egwene presents a clear contrast to Rand's choices early in the novel. Instead of trying to harden herself by means of shutting out friends and even one's own emotions, Egwene comes to accept her situation, viewing matters such as hurt and grief not as something to avoid or to manipulate, but rather as things to accept and to use to improve one's self. This change from the rather ambitious, self-righteous girl of the earlier volumes into a leader who realizes the importance behind the very name of "Aes Sedai," stands in sharp opposition to that of Elaida, as the authors go to great lengths to make clear in the second chapter, "The Nature of Pain."

There are even more parallels between the characters along the lines of examining the choices people make in regards to themselves and others. It is debatable whether or not Jordan would have been quite as direct as the final draft came to be, but several times over the course of the novel, characters ranging from the two mentioned above, Perrin, Mat, and members of the Black Ajah and the Forsaken are shown via the choices they have made. The selflessness of one clashes with the self-centered greed of another. The desire to be viewed as being important contrasts with one who humbles herself, placing her own soul in risk of eternal perdition so the machinations of others can be revealed to others. These parallels, which were either lacking or were not adroitly done in the past several volumes, helped make The Gathering Storm one of the better WoT volumes I have read in the past twelve years.

Despite this, there were several problems that I had with the text. Although Sanderson eschewed the character "blocks" that Jordan used in the past few volumes, there were times that the pacing of the plot still suffered. While Rand and Egwene's subplots were developed well and each concluded within narrative minutes of one another, Perrin and Mat's were underdeveloped and appear to be days or even weeks behind the first two. In addition, their characters were not as well developed as were Rand's and Egwene's. Perhaps this is in part due to the limited number of chapters each appears, but Mat's chapters, despite a near-horrific chapter occurring in a backwoods town near the kingdom of Andor, felt rather sketchy, as if Sanderson had not decided what to do with the character in the allotted space. Perrin's arc was rather anti-climatic and it is hard to guess where he will be heading in the next volume. Despite the near-certain protests from fans of those characters, The Gathering Storm might have been better served if those arcs had been withheld until the next volume, even though that alternative certainly would have risked backlash from those burned by the eighth and tenth volumes of the series.

The pacing was mostly good, although there were times that events long foretold in the series unfolded so quickly that there was a sense of a letdown. But perhaps reader expectations had been built up too much from the narrative molehills, so it is hard to say particularly which events (ranging from what occurred outside a castle in Arad Doman to the use of a certain item discovered in The Shadow Rising) were done too hastily and which events were done purposely at such a breakneck pace in order to set up future character development. For myself, the two events I allude to above served to develop Rand's character in ways that were at once surprising and logical in hindsight (especially as it relates to how he parallels Moridin more and more now in thought and action). But others might view these scenes differently, wishing that Sanderson had spent more time setting up the events so that there would be a stronger emotional reaction. There is something to be said for this argument, but I suspect if there had been further development of these two set scenes, the pace of the narrative would have slowed to the near-glacial creep of the previous novels.

Prose is something I value highly in a novel. The previous eleven volumes of the WoT series were uneven to me, as powerful scenes would be offset by descriptions of clothing, of how to wash silk, and even lengthy scenes set in a bathtub. Sanderson's prose in his novels tends to be rather too sparse at times, attempting to be too "invisible" when the occasional use of more florid language might serve to vary the prose enough to make it more interesting. Thankfully, for most of The Gathering Storm, Sanderson managed to achieve a happy medium between his own preferred style and that employed by Jordan. There are places where the narrative still feels clunky or choppy, but these are fewer than what I recall being present in Sanderson's own work. The too-long descriptions of places and dress still occur on occasion, but thankfully they are reduced. The male characters' self-conscious thoughts about their abilities with women is also much reduced, doubtless to the delight of numerous readers. While certainly not written in a style that would lend itself to being studied by writing students, the prose here was at least acceptable and at several times, very well-written.

The Gathering Storm certainly is not an ideal beginning place for readers curious about the Wheel of Time universe, but for those who were disenchanted by the perceived lack of plot and character development over the past few volumes, it certainly is one of the faster-paced, better-written volumes. While I would not consider it to be among the best works released in 2009, it certainly is one of the best epic fantasies that I have read. The Wheel continues to turn and thankfully it appears to be cranking a bit faster and toward a more intriguing conclusion than I had suspected when I had suspended my reading of the series back in 2000. Highly recommended for WoT fans and recommended for those who might have become disillusioned by the previous four volumes.

October 25 Used Book Porn

2009-10-25T18:36:00.000-05:00

Here are 16 out of the 23 books I bought today at my favorite local used bookstore (well, actually I traded in about 35 hardcovers, tradebacks, and MMPBs of books I had no interest in reading and which I had had in my possession for about a year or two for almost $200), with the other seven being a second copy of a book I own (for a gift to another), five grammars (Basque, Romanian, French, German, American Sign Language) and one mathematics book for my students. Still have almost $80 in store credit remaining. I love McKay's Used Books and CDs, obviously.

It is little accident that I have fewer works of speculative fiction pictured here than what some might expect. Oftentimes, when I'm purchasing books, I spend much more time in the "General Fiction" or "Literature" sections than I do in the "Fantasy" or "Science Fiction" sections. My interests are much broader than I sometimes reveal here (and sometimes I wonder if I need to establish contacts with the publishing firms' non-SF imprints, so I can be broader in my coverage of newer books). Perhaps one day I'll update my pictures of my non-English languages books (nearing 300 books now, not counting the grammars, which must be near two dozen).

Of course, the best part of making posts like these are not just letting people who are curious know what I buy when in a physical bookstore, but also in perhaps sparking curiosity to the point where others go and investigate books such as these.

So, out of these books, which look the most interesting and why?

New poll on predicting the World Fantasy Award winner for Best Novel

2009-10-25T01:14:00.000-05:00

I guess if I want to get more reader participation (well, outside of those where a few delete their cookies and vote multiple times in order to sway a choice), I'll have to run more polls in the future featuring rabid squirrels, since that poll was among the most-participated of any that I've run over the past year or so.

Still extremely busy with lots of things in my personal and professional life (much more so than I thought I'd be at this point, but the former seems to be resolving itself somewhat at least and the latter is apparently always going to be in flux), so not as many updates and reviews as I would have wished. But since this week will see the World Fantasy Convention begin in San Jose, California, I thought at the very least I could run a speculative poll as to which novel will win the Best Novel award (the other categories are stacked, but I suspect those don't hold as much interest for many readers here).

So, for those of you who only read this blog via RSS feeds, you might want to visit here directly and make your voice heard...or something.