So, the official stuff:

The Malazan Empire simmers with discontent, bled dry by interminable warfare, bitter infighting and bloody confrontations with ancient and [...]]]> I bought this one because I’d read something about the author, Steven Erikson, that was intriguing.  Here was a guy who plotted out 10 novels set in a world he co-created.  That’s simply amazing.

So, the official stuff:

The Malazan Empire simmers with discontent, bled dry by interminable warfare, bitter infighting and bloody confrontations with ancient and implacable sorcerers. Even the imperial legions, long inured to the bloodshed, yearn for some respite. Yet Empress Laseen’s rule remains absolute, enforced by her dread Claw assassins.

For Sergeant Whiskeyjack and his squad of Bridgeburners, and for Tattersail, their lone surviving mage, the aftermath of the siege of Pale should have been a time to mourn the many dead. But Darujhistan, last of the Free Cities, yet holds out. It is to this ancient citadel that Laseen turns her predatory gaze.

However, the Empire is not alone in this great game. Sinister, shadowbound forces are gathering as the gods themselves prepare to play their hand…

I read a review comparing the series to George R.R. Martin’s ‘Song of Fire and Ice’, which is actually why I haven’t yet picked it up and cracked the cover – I don’t know that I have the time to devote to something that epic at the moment…

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Last week, I started talking about some of these books, but then life distracted me and I never finished so I’m picking it up again this week.

Believe me, I have plenty of books that fall into this [...]]]> No one is better than I am at buying tons of books that sit around waiting to be read.

Last week, I started talking about some of these books, but then life distracted me and I never finished so I’m picking it up again this week.

Believe me, I have plenty of books that fall into this category…

One such book is called The Demon Awakens by R.A. Salvatore.

I bought this book simply because Salvatore has so many titles on the shelves that if I liked it and really got into it, there’d be plenty more for me to read later on.

Unfortunately, I haven’t even cracked it open yet!

Let’s take a look at the book itself.  Here’s the official schpeal: The demon dactyl awakens in a mountainside cave on Corona populated by elves, goblins, humans, centaurs, and giants. When goblins destroy the village of Dundallis, orphaned Pony and her friend Elbryan survive. Aided by magically powerful gemstones, they fight to defeat the evil dactyl.

Sounds good, right? Heck, that’s what I thought!

It’s also the first in a trilogy called The DemonWars Saga.

Salvatore interests me; he is quite prolific.  He has dipped his toes into a lot of different books and genres, including Star Wars and D&D’s Forgotten Realms.

…I really need to start reading this.

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Let’s talk about: Merlin

Ok, so – if you’ve been hanging out here for a while, reading my stuff, maybe following me on twitter or listening to the podcast… Hey, ARE YOU STALKING ME?!

Wait, where was I?  [...]]]> This week I’m talking about books that I’ve shelled out the cash for, but haven’t yet cracked open to read.

Let’s talk about: Merlin

Ok, so – if you’ve been hanging out here for a while, reading my stuff, maybe following me on twitter or listening to the podcast… Hey, ARE YOU STALKING ME?!

Wait, where was I?  Oh, yeah – I was gonna say – you’ve probably figured out that I love the classics.

A special place in my heart is reserved for tales about: Robin Hood, Ulysses, King Arthur. even Zorro and Prince Valiant, really.  So when I saw this guy Lawhead had done some retellings of Arthur, Merlin and even Robin Hood, I decided to check it out.

The 1st book of his I read was Taliesin, which sets up the Pendragon Cycle and does so in a such a different way that I really enjoyed it.  I mean, Atlantis? Really?

I bought Merlin and Hood, for that matter, fully intending to inhale them as quickly as possible, but for some reason – I keep putting them off.  I can’t say why, really.

There are times when I want to immerse myself in a rich world and times when I don’t.  Right now, I’m in ‘don’t’ mode.  I think this is mostly due to my trying to write so much these days (Sam Kane, Evermist, Undisclosed other projects).

Definitely need to get back to this one though, and soon…

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To that end, I buy a lot of books. I can’t walk into a bookstore and walk out empty handed. I think it’s genetic.

This means that I have a lot of unread books lying around.  This week, I’m going to talk about some of those books and try to justify, [...]]]> I never want to get bored.

To that end, I buy a lot of books. I can’t walk into a bookstore and walk out empty handed. I think it’s genetic.

This means that I have a lot of unread books lying around.  This week, I’m going to talk about some of those books and try to justify, if only to myself, why they’re still sitting around unread.

First up: The King’s Peace.

When I read, I like to read things with a twist, things from author’s who have other books on the shelves, and I especially like a strong female lead.

So, when I see a cover like the one to the left here, I get intrigued.

“A story of courage, honor and love of country.”

Hey – nothing wrong with that, right?

And yet, I still haven’t cracked it open.  And it’s been a while, several months – maybe half a year.

Sad, I know.

The book itself, reminds me a bit of Red Sonja.  ‘Sulien ap Gwien, a woman warrior and daughter of the King of a small part of the island of Tir Tanagiri, is brutally raped by six invading Jarnsmen and her brother is murdered. While travelling to the capital to request help from Urdo, the High King, she happens upon a battle between some more Jarnsmen and some the King’s soldiers. Sulien proves her skill in battle and, drawn in part by the young King’s leadership and charisma, she enlists in the cavalry.’

Come to think of it – parts remind me of The Green Rider by Kristen Britain.

Huh, I should totally start reading this…

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Well, that’s not true – I like shopping for certain things like DVD’s, music, video games, gadgets – but groceries, clothing, toothpaste – I hate it.  Especially the toothpaste.  I mean, do we REALLY need a hundred different versions of Crest?

Anyway, what I want to know is this: How do you know what [...]]]> I hate shopping.

Well, that’s not true – I like shopping for certain things like DVD’s, music, video games, gadgets – but groceries, clothing, toothpaste – I hate it.  Especially the toothpaste.  I mean, do we REALLY need a hundred different versions of Crest?

Anyway, what I want to know is this: How do you know what to read?

When I go to the bookstore, I browse; I walk through the stacks, I check out covers, publishers, cover  comments – that sort of thing, to see if I want to read something.

What’s really difficult for me, is reading something from an author I don’t know.  Recommendations from friends are great and they help a lot, but sometimes you’re just there, in the store, a whole section of scifi and fantasy goodness all around you and it’s all up to you!

I admit, publisher/imprint means a lot to me.  I know that I like books that have been written, for example, but authors of TOR/Forge, so I will check the spine.

I also judge a book by the cover.  Sometimes this bites me in the butt.  Take a look at a few books I’ve bought recently, some based soley on the covers:

I bought 'Haze' because I'm a fan of Modesitt, but book sorely disappointed me.

'Daughter of the Blood' looked like it could be a good one, but it's starting slow and I haven't picked it up in a long time.

I loved 'The Crown of Stars' series, so I bought this one solely because Kate Elliott wrote it.

I bought this book based on the cover and the fact there was a sequel, but after a few chapters, I put it down. It just didn't appeal to me.

So, as you can see – the covers on all of these books are appealing; some I bought because of their covers, some because of their authors.  In the case of one of my favorites, Modesitt, the book confused the hell out of me.  It was, in a word, boring – which is sad for so many reasons.  In the case of Kate Elliott, I bought Spirit Gate riding on the coat tails of her ‘Crown of Stars’ series that I loved,  but I haven’t cracked this one open yet because I know it’s going to be a huge investment and I don’t know that I can devote that time just now.  Later.

The other two books I purchased based on their covers and both fell flat for me.

So, my question to you is – how do you know what to read?  How do you pick a book?  How often do you hit and how often do you miss?

Nosey minds want to know…

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This happens from time to time.

With that in mind, I made a trip to ye olde book seller and picked up a few things to whet the literary appetite.  I haven’t [...]]]> I’ve been feeling a little stale lately when it comes to reading. I’ve bought several books, started them and then moved on without finishing em.

This happens from time to time.

With that in mind, I made a trip to ye olde book seller and picked up a few things to whet the literary appetite.  I haven’t decided yet in which order I’ll be reading these, so here we go:

City of Jade by Dennis L. McKiernan (worst website ever).

One of my favorite authors, I was happily surprised to find this book sitting on the shelf.  I can’t remember if I knew it was out but had never bought it or if it had simply slipped under my radar – either way – it was fantastic to find it and I’m excited to return to Mithgar for another tale of Aravan, captain of the Elven ship Eroean.

Here’s the lowdown on the book:

A prophecy and a dream about a lost city made of jade draw Aravan, the captain of the Elvenship Eroean, and his life mate, the Magekind Seer Aylis, along with a crew of trusted friends, into a perilous journey in search of the mystical place.

Behind the scenes, the Necromancer Nunde, follower of a slain god and a sworn enemy of Aravan, plots the death of the elven captain and all those he holds dear.

Set in time between the end of Silver Wolf, Black Falcon, and the beginning of Red Slippers: More Tales of Mithgar, the latest addition to the series brings back familiar characters and further develops an old enmity. McKiernan’s talent for charming characters and exciting adventures of derring-do make this a good addition to most fantasy collections and an essential purchase for libraries possessing the other series titles.

Hidden Empire by Kevin J. Anderson.

I’ve been feeling that my SciFi literary muscles have been allowed to go a bit soft of late, so in an effort to exercise em, I picked up a couple of very SciFi books – this being the first of those.

I remember TheKJA from other series and I liked em, so I decided to give this a try.

Here’s the lowdown:

The Terran Hanseatic League, in a heady rush of manifest destiny, turns Oncier, a huge gas planet, into a sun so its four moons can be used for colonization. In the process, the Terrans disturb the ancient but dwindling Ildirans, their uneasy allies, whose leader, the Mage-Imperator, suspects that Terrans are far too eager to take over the spiral arm. Still worse, by inadvertently destroying Oncier’s hitherto unknown colonists, the powerful hydrogues, the conversion of Oncier sets off a catastrophic conflict that threatens the existence of all Terrans and Ildirans. The Earth Defense Forces of the Terran Hanseatic League, the Worldtrees and Green Priests of Theroc, the gypsy Roamers who mine ekti all must unite with the Ildirans to fight the alien menace.

Heck – sounds good to me.

The Magician’s Guild by Trudi Canavan.

I can’t just give up on Fantasy and I’m always on the lookout for something new in the genre, some new take on it all.  This one caught my eye so I decided to give it a try.  Hey, that rhymes.

Here’s the lowdown:

Each year, the magicians of Imardin gather together to purge the city streets of vagrants and miscreants. Masters of the disciplines of magic, they know that no ordinary lowlife can oppose them. But their protective shield is not as imprenetrable as they think.

Sonea, angry, frustrated and outraged by the treatment of her family and friends, throws a stone at the shield, putting all her rage behind it. She is amazed when it sails unrestricted through the barrier and knocks a magician unconscious.

The Guild’s worst fear has been realised . there is an untrained magician loose in Imardin who must be found before her uncontrolled powers can destroy herself and the city.

Old Man’s War by John Scalzi.

Another SciFi series to give a try.

With his wife dead and buried, and life nearly over at 75, John Perry takes the only logical course of action left him: he joins the army. Now better known as the Colonial Defense Force (CDF), Perry’s service-of-choice has extended its reach into interstellar space to pave the way for human colonization of other planets while fending off marauding aliens.

The CDF has a trick up its sleeve that makes enlistment especially enticing for seniors: the promise of restoring youth. After bonding with a group of fellow recruits who dub their clique the Old Farts, Perry finds himself in a new body crafted from his original DNA and upgraded for battle, including fast-clotting “smartblood” and a brain-implanted personal computer.

All too quickly the Old Farts are separated, and Perry fights for his life on various alien-infested battlegrounds.

Well, that’s my list.  For a little while, anyway.

I’ll let you know how it goes and what I think.

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I think it’s sort of a staple of the genre now.  If you’re going to have a futuristic/scifi [...]]]> If, like me, you’re an avid watcher of tv and movies, and a reader of books, you may have noticed a trend towards the disastrous future.  Apocalypse is in and in big.  I mean, it’s everywhere we look.

I think it’s sort of a staple of the genre now.  If you’re going to have a futuristic/scifi story, it damned well better show us how badly we, as a species, have screwed everything up.  Right now at theaters around the country, we have ‘The Book of Eli’, a post-apocalyptic tale of the future.  On TV we have ‘Dollhouse’ that depicts (in Epitaph One and supposedly, Epitaph Two airing this week), a future where science and technology have caused an apocalypse and the overall destruction of all civilization as we know it.

It’s the end all be all of trends.

So I ask you – where has the positive future gone?

In Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek (rebooted last summer and done so quite successfully), we have a future where yes, bad stuff happened and we humans were the cause, but we’ve moved passed that and are now soaring through the stars exploring strange new worlds and all that jazz.  Kinda positive, right?  But it’s the exception to the rule anymore.  I mean, look at what we’ve seen from Hollywood in the past few years:

Jericho

Post apocalypse America where the folks of a small town struggle to survive after nuclear bomb s have destroyed civilization as we know it.

The City of Ember

Based on the Young Adult novels of Jeanne DuPrau, The City of Ember shows a world that was torn by war, so they built a city underground for protection.

The Road

Another post-apocalyptic tale – this one about a father and his young son across a landscape blasted by an unnamed cataclysm that destroyed all civilization and, apparently, almost all life on earth.

Jeremiah

This series takes place in a post-apocalyptic future where most of the adult population has been wiped out by a deadly virus.

I mean, the list goes on and on.

So I ask you again – where has the positive gone?

Are we done with the feel good adventure tale?  With the bright, shining future of the human race, all full of potential and excitement?

What do you think?

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Probably one of the strongest influences on my life from a very young age was the original Star Trek.

Rerun in syndication almost endlessly, the original Star Trek was huge in my life growing up.  I knew the characters so well you’d think they were family.  I could quote episodes like the [...]]]> Star Trek: The Original Series.

Probably one of the strongest influences on my life from a very young age was the original Star Trek.

Rerun in syndication almost endlessly, the original Star Trek was huge in my life growing up.  I knew the characters so well you’d think they were family.  I could quote episodes like the best convention goer, though I myself had never attended one (and didn’t know such things existed).

For me, Star Trek was equal parts wild imagination and rip-roaring adventure.  I was absolutely in love with that show like no other before or since.  I was a Trekker to my core.

When I discovered that there were novels based on the adventures of the Enterprise crew that took them beyond the show I knew so well, I was floored.  I spent a lot of time and no small amount of money, buying up these books every chance I got.

Bolstering my addiction and my collection, mom would tell people how I read these books often and always cover to cover, sometimes more than once, and so many of them began giving her their own copies for me.  She would come home from work (she was both a waitress and a bartender) with half a french dip wrapped in aluminum foil (which I would greedily take to school for lunch the next day) and a sack full of slightly used Trek novels for me to read.

It was fantastic.

Some of the very first things I wrote were Star Trek fan fiction.  I dreamt of joining the ranks of such wonderful authors as Diane Duane, D.C. Fontana, A.C. Crispin, Vonda N. McIntyre & Howard Weinstein.  I’m here to tell you, I wrote some pretty terrible crap back in the day…  But that’s okay – we have to write crap in order to learn and grow.  I may wince (and groan) today when I look at old, yellowed pages full of Trek fanfic born from my brain, but it was necessary.

This obsession with all things Trek only grew when The Next Generation debuted and, although I loved Star Wars as well (and could essentially quote the movies verbatim), there was just more Trek to be had at the time, so it tended to be forefront on my brain.

Computers (and technology).

A second great influence on my life has been computers and technology.  I used to stare, fascinated, at the scanners on the conveyor belts at the grocery store, trying to figure out how the lasers knew what things were and how much they cost.

Star Trek (and other movies and television shows) painted a universe where computers did things they could not, currently, do.  I wanted in on this.

The first chance I had for any sort of hands-on computer stuff came in the fifth grade, I believe.  My school, a Catholic elementary, was offering a special computer education course for a separate fee (Catholic schools are tuition based).  I begged my mom to let me attend these classes and she relented/agreed/paid for it.

They setup the computers in the library and we went through a lesson plan that taught us BASIC (Beginners All purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) and some DOS (Disc Operating System), all on Apple IIE’s.  I want to say that the classes didn’t last very long but I honestly don’t remember.  We did simple things, wrote simple programs, used their software to learn to type – that sort of stuff.  I do remember being hooked.  I liked messing around with these computer things and wanted more.

I didn’t get much ‘more’ until high school, when I took the same essential course on a Radio Shack TRS-80 (which we affectionately called ‘Trash 80’s’).  I also owned my very first home computer, the Radio Shack Color Computer II complete with a 5 and a quarter floppy drive.  I mostly used it to play games, but I also learned a bit more about BASIC, DOS and graphics in general.

Lastly, I took electronics as an elective, which meant I got to learn how these things worked in the first place.

At some point, my mom decided that I needed to work for my uncle so I could be close to his eldest son who, at the time, was heavy into computers and programming.  Through Don, I learned about UNIX and eventually, HTML and the Internet.  I also took my first steps into graphic arts, design, desk top publishing and advertising working for my uncle who, one day, set me down in front of a Macintosh IIcx with Adobe Illustrator and Aldus PageMaker and told me to learn all about them so I could start making flyers and catalogs for the company.

So. Star Trek fed my imagination with a steady diet of scifi and futuristic technologies which lead me to want to know more about these things later on.  I wouldn’t be me without these particular influences in my life and you can see (I believe) how these things have affected my writing (hopefully) today.

Even though these have been huge influences, there’s still more.  (You know what’s coming next…)

…and I’ll talk about that tomorrow.

(you totally saw that coming.)

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The Youngest.

Born in ‘72, [...]]]> I mentioned yesterday as part of this series of posts on ‘Influences’ that I’m doing this week, that a part of me felt like I was always treated like I was older than I actually was.  This isn’t entirely a fiction of my brain, I think there’s some evidence to support this.

The Youngest.

Born in ‘72, I am the youngest of the ‘first cousins’. My mom has three sisters and two brothers (both deceased).  The brothers had no children that I am aware of, but the sisters have a combined eight kids, all of whom are older than I am.  My own brother (actually a half-brother as we share the same mom, but different dads), is either twelve or thirteen years older than I am (I always forget) and most of my first cousins are older as well.  I am actually closer in age to my cousin Don’s oldest daughter than I am to my first cousins, which is weird.  Actually, I’m probably in the middle between first cousin’s and their kids – either way, it’s weird.

I tell you this only to point out that I was surrounded by teenagers (or near enough to it) when I was born.

I also want to say that I was never talked down to, necessarily.  A lot of parent’s do this whether intentionally or not, using baby-talk, for example, when talking to their kids.  I could be 100% wrong here, it’s been known to happen, but I have no memory of this kind of stuff happening.  I do know that many of my cousins tell me, often and with much jubilation, that I was an absolute brat and spoiled rotten.  Given that I was the youngest, I can see this, but I don’t remember it the way they do (of course).  Doesn’t mean it isn’t true!

Strong Women.

When I was young, my mom and dad split up.  She doesn’t talk much about it.  When pressed, she once told me that her relationship with my dad was just that: Hers.  She told me that I needed to build my own relationship with him.  Kind of an enlightened way of thinking if you ask me.  I’ve seen a lot of people get divorced and typically the kids get stuck in the middle.  My mom never wanted that for me.

Following the split, we moved to California where two of my mom’s sisters were already living.  My third aunt and her family moved with us, along with my grandmother.  For awhile, we all lived together; my aunt & her husband & son, me, my mom & brother and our grandmother.

Grams worked to support her kids when she was able (later, is was difficult for her to work). When they were young, they moved to Chicago where Grams could find work.  Mom and her sisters always worked too.  I don’t remember so much from Chicago, but I know that my mom and my aunt worked as maids for hotels and as waitresses in California to make ends meet.  They worked really hard, which left my cousin and I home with Grams a lot.  Later, my aunt and uncle decided that California was not for them and moved back to Chicago.  Grams stayed with us and was a big influence on me as a result.

We took a lot of trips together, Grams and I, as she went to visit kids and grandkids and took me with her.  My other aunts worked just as hard as my mom did and I was exposed to each on these trips with Grams, seeing how they ran their houses and supported their families.

So, seeing these strong women from a very early age, had a profound impact on me.  As such, I tend to not write the stereotypical ‘damsel in distress’ stories so prominent in (fantasy) fiction.

Reading.

I don’t remember when I started to read, but again, my mom likes to tell the story of my ‘reading’ magazines.  She said that I would pick them up, open them and appear to be reading them.  I do know that I was reading at a young enough age and did well enough that teachers were impressed.

I don’t remember what I read early on; I would venture to say that it’s the same stuff we all read like Dr. Seuss.

Some of the things that I do remember reading are obviously the ones that influenced me since I remember them!

Encyclopedia Brown. Whenever my mom or my grams would go shopping, I was generally dragged along.  Often, I would ‘disappear’ into whatever book section the store had to offer or, in the case of a mall, would venture forth to see what there was to see.  This was how I found Encyclopedia Brown.

Think ‘Hardy Boys’.  Encyclopedia Brown was a boy detective, created by Donald J. Sobol in 1963, who was the son of the local police chief who setup his own detective agency in the families garage and would solve mysteries for the neighborhood kids.

I absolutely loved this series.  I think I owned all the books and might still, locked away somewhere in a box (I have so many books that I haven’t really had room to put them all out on shelves…).

The Great Brain.  Written/created by John D. Fitzgerald, The Great Brain was loosely based on Fitzgerald’s family living in the fictitious small town of Adenville, Utah, around the turn of the century.  The stories were mainly about John’s older brother, Tom, called ‘The Great Brain’.

In the early stories, Tom pretty much has it over on all the kids.  He’s intent to make money and comes up with all sorts of ways to do so – Think Huckleberry Finn.  The family is Catholic in a very Mormon town, which was interesting to me at the time as I was growing up in a Catholic household and attending Catholic schools.

The stories were fun and engaging and I could identify with the characters, always important.  I think I still have these in a box somewhere too.  I read both of these series religiously and repeatedly.

Oddly, my first exposure to what we would consider to be ‘fantasy’, came when I attended a public school for a little over a year.  This was when we first moved to California and mom couldn’t afford the tuition for Catholic school.  So I ended up at Slater Elementary, which was a year around school – a very new concept to all of us.

The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe.  This blew my very young mind.  Written by C.S. Lewis, The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe, chronicled the adventures of the Pevensie kids as they cross over into Narnia, a land where magic was very much real.  Needless to say, it was like nothing else I’d ever read and I was hooked.  I read all the books multiple times.

Another oddity, this would be the only fantasy series I’d read for a very long time.  More on that later.

Tomorrow, I’m going to talk about two major influences in my life that you may or may not have guessed by now.

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