I was thinking that I would write something a little more positive today, since I spent yesterday essentially trashing books I didn't like. In my head, I started making a list of my favorite authors, and what struck me is that they are all men. Since I'm female, and working on a novel myself, I got to thinking about whether there were female authors I liked. And there are, actually.
1. Juliet E. McKenna. I've read her Tales of Einarinn series, her Aldabreshin Compass series, and her Chronicles of the Lescari Revolution series. I don't think she has any other books published in the US, and even some of those I have were hard to get ahold of (some of the Aldabreshin Compass volumes took months to come in from Amazon). So her work is a little hard to find, but I find the world she has created nicely detailed. Characters are sympathetic but not perfect, which is appreciated. They find themselves in danger which is not always easy to get out of, and they are sometimes deeply scarred as a result. There is a place in her universe for gay characters and for the physically disabled. In one or two of the books, the story is a little repetitive ("wild men" coming from an island in the distance and needing to be defeated) but most of the plots are unique and engaging. While most of her settings are what we might consider typical for the fantasy genre, some are not. And when they're not, McKenna does a good job of making them feel normal. For example, Aldabreshin warlords have multiple wives, and we catch glimpses of what everyday life is like in households such as this, the dynamics of relationships among the wives, the children, etc.
2. J.V. Jones. Yes, she takes a long time between books. Yes, some of her descriptions of food in The Book of Words series are gratuitously disgusting, and some of her descriptions of staying warm in the cold in the Sword of Shadows series are excessive. She's another one who has characters who are good but not perfect (Vaylo Bludd has several redeeming qualities and he grows on me through the Sword of Shadows series), although her villains are a bit too evil (Baralis, Kylock, Penthero Iss, Mace Blackhail). Not everything has a happy ending which is refreshing, and her chief male and female characters don't end up as couples at the end of a series! There are some interesting links between her two series (she also has a standalone novel) that I hope will be discussed further in the fifth Sword of Shadows book.
3. Carol Berg. Some really tragic things happen to some of her characters, and she does a good job of making you care about them and giving them believable responses to the events in their lives. She's also quite good at coming up with plot twists that you don't expect. I'm actually thinking that if I ever make a dent in this pile of unread books I have, that I'll go back and reread a couple of her series and see if I can spot clues to the revelations that happen later. She has at least four series now, and each is set in a different world so any one of them would be good to start with, although the fourth is unfinished as of yet. She also has a standalone novel, though it's the one novel of hers I haven't yet read. I first got into her works with the Collegia Magica series, which has as a running theme the relationship between science and magic (science is often neglected as unnecessary in the fantasy genre).
Others of note: I couldn't go without listing the classics like Ursula K. Le Guin (although I've only read the Earthsea books) and Octavia E. Butler (I know she's mostly listed as science fiction but her works do have fantasy elements, especially with the Patternist books). Also, Robin Hobb is generally a good bet. N.K. Jemisin is a new author whose books I've enjoyed so far.
Have I left anyone out? Let me know what you think.
Book I'm reading now:
Monday, May 30, 2011
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Worst Fantasy Series
We all have a fantasy series (or two, or three) that we could read again and again. But there are also some that we either wish we hadn't wasted our time and money on, or that we continue to read for the same reasons that we watch Hollywood stars self-destruct (Mel Gibson, anyone?) or we rubberneck at car accidents.
Here are three series that I feel are pretty bad, and what I hate about them. Note: many of their individual volumes are best sellers. Some of their individual volumes (especially early ones) may be okay.
1. The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. The first book wasn't so bad. But being retold the events of the first book in every subsequent book indicates that Goodkind thinks his readers are stupid. However, the main thing I find wrong with these books (and I have read ALL of them) is the continuous spouting of Ayn Rand-style libertarianism. "Faith of the Fallen" is nearly a direct rip-off of "The Fountainhead." Whenever Goodkind pontificates about "objectivism," he makes it sound okay to be a selfish asshole who doesn't care about anyone less fortunate. There's sexism (what's with all the rape/violence towards women?) and racism (primitive natives called "Mud People" who eat human flesh) to boot. There's the odd mix of names: Frederick, Nathan, and Richard in the same books with Kahlan, Zedd, Jagang, and Darken. The dumb elements: making fire illegal, turning all red fruit to poison. The re-use of plot elements: Boxes of Orden come first to mind. And the highly implausible: the training of the Mord-Sith.
2. The Sword of Shannara series by Terry Brooks. (Okay, maybe there should be a rule...if the author's first name is "Terry" and his series name begins with "The Sword of," you should just put the book down and walk away.) Where to begin...I guess the big issue is repetitiveness of plot. You can't go three chapters without an improbable prison break. The blue elfstones are continually getting lost and found, as is the Sword of Shannara itself. The main characters in any given book are frequently indistinguishable from the main characters in other titles, because they all have single syllable first names (Flick, Shea, Jair, Pen) and similar attributes, and interact with members of the Leah and Creel families who also share similar attributes. While Goodkind's first book was all right, Brooks's first book was a slavish copy of Tolkien. A particular irritant for me from these books (and yes, I've read all of them) I think actually stems from a desire by Brooks to be less repetitive. If you are continually referring to Flick and Shea as "Flick" and "Shea," you might see the names too often on the same page. Brooks instead continually refers to them as "Valemen" which gets old and weirdly impersonal. Same thing happens in "Bearers of the Black Staff" where he refers to Prue and Panterra as "the girl and the boy." Oh yes, and some of the supporting characters' names are truly bizarre, almost like the things my cats type when they walk across my keyboard: Cinnaminson, Rimmer Dall, Pe Ell, Allanon (isn't that a support group for people with alcoholics in the family?).
3. And last, but not least, The Saga of Recluce series by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. Talk about a cookie-cutter series. Young man doesn't quite fit in, finds he has some magical talent, has to make his way in the world. Is taught primarily by a book, to which we are entreated long passages which he reads in his spare time, which is not much because he's also a workaholic. We also get to hear long, boring descriptions of making furniture, barrels, etc. Every time someone stops in a restaurant or tavern to buy food, we are reminded of their favorite choice of beverage and told exactly how many copper or silver coins are handed over for the food and tip. (Currency, by the way, is inconsistent. It should cost less for 2 or 3 meals in a tavern than it should to buy a horse.) Women are all unrelenting harpies or simpering fools. (I haven't read "Arms-Commander" yet but will be interested to see how he handles a female protagonist.) Words are misused. For example, "scree" is a bunch of junk on the slope of a mountain, but Modesitt uses it when he means "scry," which is to view something from afar, in a crystal or mirror or bowl of water or some such. "Consort" is not a verb that means "to marry," and as a noun, generally refers only to the spouse of a monarch. Oh yeah, and some of the books are written in the present tense. Quite simply, I do not like that; I read a lot and I've never seen that before. It reminds me of a text-based RPG I played as a kid in the 1980s. Although what's worse is when Modesitt mixes present tense and past tense in the same book. Character names are bad here: too much use of the letter "y," making some names unpronounceable, too many apostrophes (I'm thinking of Lorn'elth'alt'mer, I mean come on), no one having a last name, making Kharl the bad guy in one book and naming the protagonist in the next book Kharl as well, etc. Thankfully I bought these used, as a set, and didn't spend much money on them.
I'd love to hear of any other fantasy series you hate, additional complaints about the ones I've listed, even defenses of these (if you must).
Here are three series that I feel are pretty bad, and what I hate about them. Note: many of their individual volumes are best sellers. Some of their individual volumes (especially early ones) may be okay.
1. The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. The first book wasn't so bad. But being retold the events of the first book in every subsequent book indicates that Goodkind thinks his readers are stupid. However, the main thing I find wrong with these books (and I have read ALL of them) is the continuous spouting of Ayn Rand-style libertarianism. "Faith of the Fallen" is nearly a direct rip-off of "The Fountainhead." Whenever Goodkind pontificates about "objectivism," he makes it sound okay to be a selfish asshole who doesn't care about anyone less fortunate. There's sexism (what's with all the rape/violence towards women?) and racism (primitive natives called "Mud People" who eat human flesh) to boot. There's the odd mix of names: Frederick, Nathan, and Richard in the same books with Kahlan, Zedd, Jagang, and Darken. The dumb elements: making fire illegal, turning all red fruit to poison. The re-use of plot elements: Boxes of Orden come first to mind. And the highly implausible: the training of the Mord-Sith.
2. The Sword of Shannara series by Terry Brooks. (Okay, maybe there should be a rule...if the author's first name is "Terry" and his series name begins with "The Sword of," you should just put the book down and walk away.) Where to begin...I guess the big issue is repetitiveness of plot. You can't go three chapters without an improbable prison break. The blue elfstones are continually getting lost and found, as is the Sword of Shannara itself. The main characters in any given book are frequently indistinguishable from the main characters in other titles, because they all have single syllable first names (Flick, Shea, Jair, Pen) and similar attributes, and interact with members of the Leah and Creel families who also share similar attributes. While Goodkind's first book was all right, Brooks's first book was a slavish copy of Tolkien. A particular irritant for me from these books (and yes, I've read all of them) I think actually stems from a desire by Brooks to be less repetitive. If you are continually referring to Flick and Shea as "Flick" and "Shea," you might see the names too often on the same page. Brooks instead continually refers to them as "Valemen" which gets old and weirdly impersonal. Same thing happens in "Bearers of the Black Staff" where he refers to Prue and Panterra as "the girl and the boy." Oh yes, and some of the supporting characters' names are truly bizarre, almost like the things my cats type when they walk across my keyboard: Cinnaminson, Rimmer Dall, Pe Ell, Allanon (isn't that a support group for people with alcoholics in the family?).
3. And last, but not least, The Saga of Recluce series by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. Talk about a cookie-cutter series. Young man doesn't quite fit in, finds he has some magical talent, has to make his way in the world. Is taught primarily by a book, to which we are entreated long passages which he reads in his spare time, which is not much because he's also a workaholic. We also get to hear long, boring descriptions of making furniture, barrels, etc. Every time someone stops in a restaurant or tavern to buy food, we are reminded of their favorite choice of beverage and told exactly how many copper or silver coins are handed over for the food and tip. (Currency, by the way, is inconsistent. It should cost less for 2 or 3 meals in a tavern than it should to buy a horse.) Women are all unrelenting harpies or simpering fools. (I haven't read "Arms-Commander" yet but will be interested to see how he handles a female protagonist.) Words are misused. For example, "scree" is a bunch of junk on the slope of a mountain, but Modesitt uses it when he means "scry," which is to view something from afar, in a crystal or mirror or bowl of water or some such. "Consort" is not a verb that means "to marry," and as a noun, generally refers only to the spouse of a monarch. Oh yeah, and some of the books are written in the present tense. Quite simply, I do not like that; I read a lot and I've never seen that before. It reminds me of a text-based RPG I played as a kid in the 1980s. Although what's worse is when Modesitt mixes present tense and past tense in the same book. Character names are bad here: too much use of the letter "y," making some names unpronounceable, too many apostrophes (I'm thinking of Lorn'elth'alt'mer, I mean come on), no one having a last name, making Kharl the bad guy in one book and naming the protagonist in the next book Kharl as well, etc. Thankfully I bought these used, as a set, and didn't spend much money on them.
I'd love to hear of any other fantasy series you hate, additional complaints about the ones I've listed, even defenses of these (if you must).
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Grand Re-Opening
I've had this blog for six months now. (Don't bother looking for older posts, I deleted them all.) And I was never quite happy with it. I think it lacked focus. Posts were literally all over the place -- recipes, stories about my cats, commentary on novels I was reading, my misguided attempts to make money online, complaining about my financial problems, and a few other things. What this blog needs is a single topic.
Let's face it, my life is not as interesting to other people as it is to me. But, I do have common interests with other people. So my thinking is, why not choose one of those common interests and make the blog about that?
One thing which has been on my mind a lot lately is fantasy literature. I read a lot of it, and I'm actually trying my hand at writing a fantasy novel right now. I've been working on it, somewhere between a half hour and an hour a day, since late March. I think I'm at about 40,000 words at the moment, although it's going to be quite a bit longer by the time I finish the first draft.
As I think about writing, I've been reading online about publishing, self-publishing, e-books versus paper books, what makes a good book and what makes a bad book, promoting one's work, finding an agent, etc. I'm also scouring forums and blogs for new things to read. And, I happen to enjoy reading Amazon.com reviews of novels (new and old) and the commentary that goes with them.
So I've decided fantasy literature will be the topic of this blog -- the reading and the writing of it. Hopefully over time I'll gain some readers and we'll have some good discussions in the comments.
I think I'll end each post with the book I'm reading now. So here it is:
Let's face it, my life is not as interesting to other people as it is to me. But, I do have common interests with other people. So my thinking is, why not choose one of those common interests and make the blog about that?
One thing which has been on my mind a lot lately is fantasy literature. I read a lot of it, and I'm actually trying my hand at writing a fantasy novel right now. I've been working on it, somewhere between a half hour and an hour a day, since late March. I think I'm at about 40,000 words at the moment, although it's going to be quite a bit longer by the time I finish the first draft.
As I think about writing, I've been reading online about publishing, self-publishing, e-books versus paper books, what makes a good book and what makes a bad book, promoting one's work, finding an agent, etc. I'm also scouring forums and blogs for new things to read. And, I happen to enjoy reading Amazon.com reviews of novels (new and old) and the commentary that goes with them.
So I've decided fantasy literature will be the topic of this blog -- the reading and the writing of it. Hopefully over time I'll gain some readers and we'll have some good discussions in the comments.
I think I'll end each post with the book I'm reading now. So here it is:
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