Shelf Inflicted: THE SWERVE: How the World Became ModernStephen G...

Shelf Inflicted:
THE SWERVE: How the World Became Modern   by Stephen Greenblatt
Reviewed by Richard, 5* of five...

I found the above review to be a  well written summary of how one example of a re-discovered poem from antiquity changed how we think today.

This review demonstrates how reading this book, and of reading the original poem De rerum natura by Lucretius to understand how the philosophy of the Humanists and the works of Epicurus are both important and relevant today.

Links:
The Swerve: How the World Became Modern

Musings: Tribute to Favorite Fictional Librarians

Bibliophiles and library enthusiasts should enjoy this tribute on Tor.com: 

A Long Overdue Nod to SciFi and Fantasy’s Best Librarians by STUBBY THE ROCKET

Many of my favorites made this list, though I would add Master Lorren  from "The Kingkiller Chronicles" by Patrick Rothfuss.

Mrs. Fletcher (aka Shasta Smedry) and all of the librarian's from Brandon Sanderson's Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians series. And Ivy from the Dresden Files.

2013 Nebula Nominees Announced

Women Authors of Science Fiction and Fantasy Swept the Fiction Awards this year.

All of the fiction awards for 2013 were awarded to amazing women authors of Fantasy and Science Fiction. The Nebula Awards have for several years recognized women and authors of color. It is a great sign of the pendulums swing, I now am looking forward to the day that this is not actually news, and we can move beyond the need to point out how amazing this is.

2013 Nebula Awards

Novel 

Ancillary Justice, Ann Leckie (Orbit US; Orbit UK)  

Nominees:

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, Karen Joy Fowler (Marian Wood)
The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Neil Gaiman (Morrow; Headline Review)
Fire with Fire, Charles E. Gannon (Baen)
Hild, Nicola Griffith (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
The Red: First Light, Linda Nagata (Mythic Island)
A Stranger in Olondria, Sofia Samatar (Small Beer)
The Golem and the Jinni, Helene Wecker (Harper)

Novella

The Weight of the Sunrise, Vylar Kaftan (Asimov’s 2/13)   

In her compelling new novella about the Incan empire, Vylar treats us to an alternate look at the history of the New World.
 Read Free Online Version

Nominees:

Wakulla Springs, Andy Duncan & Ellen Klages (Tor.com 10/2/13)
Annabel Lee, Nancy Kress (New Under the Sun, Arc Manor/Phoenix Pick)
Burning Girls, Veronica Schanoes (Tor.com 6/19/13)
Trial of the Century, Lawrence M. Schoen (lawrencemschoen.com, 8/13; World Jumping)
Six-Gun Snow White, Catherynne M. Valente (Subterranean)

Novelette

The Waiting Stars, Aliette de Bodard (The Other Half of the Sky) 

Nominees:

Paranormal Romance, Christopher Barzak (Lightspeed 6/13)
They Shall Salt the Earth with Seeds of Glass, Alaya Dawn Johnson (Asimov’s 1/13)
Pearl Rehabilitative Colony for Ungrateful Daughters, Henry Lien (Asimov’s 12/13)
The Litigation Master and the Monkey King, Ken Liu (Lightspeed 8/13)
In Joy, Knowing the Abyss Behind, Sarah Pinsker (Strange Horizons 7/1 – 7/8/13)

Short Story

If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love, Rachel Swirsky (Apex 3/13) 

Nominees:

The Sounds of Old Earth, Matthew Kressel (Lightspeed 1/13)
Selkie Stories Are for Losers, Sofia Samatar (Strange Horizons 1/7/13)
Selected Program Notes from the Retrospective Exhibition of Theresa Rosenberg Latimer, Kenneth Schneyer (Clockwork Phoenix 4)
Alive, Alive Oh, Sylvia Spruck Wrigley (Lightspeed 6/13)

Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation

Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón, director; Alfonso Cuarón & Jonás Cuarón, writers) (Warner Bros.)

Nominees:

Doctor Who: ‘‘The Day of the Doctor’’, (Nick Hurran, director; Steven Moffat, writer) (BBC Wales)
Europa Report (Sebastián Cordero, director; Philip Gelatt, writer) (Start Motion Pictures)
Her (Spike Jonze, director; Spike Jonze, writer) (Warner Bros.)
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Francis Lawrence, director; Simon Beaufoy & Michael deBruyn, writers) (Lionsgate)
Pacific Rim (Guillermo del Toro, director; Travis Beacham & Guillermo del Toro, writers) (Warner Bros.)

Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy

Sister Mine, Nalo Hopkinson (Grand Central)  

Nominees:

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, Holly Black (Little, Brown; Indigo)
When We Wake, Karen Healey (Allen & Unwin; Little, Brown)
The Summer Prince, Alaya Dawn Johnson (Levine)
Hero, Alethea Kontis (Harcourt)
September Girls, Bennett Madison (Harper Teen)
A Corner of White, Jaclyn Moriarty (Levine)

Damon Knight Grand Master Award: Samuel R. Delany
Special Guest: Frank M. Robinson

Links:

SFWA : 2013 Nebula Awards Winners Announced

Book Review: Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal

Shades of Milk and Honey

Glamourist Histories, book 1

by Mary Robinette Kowal

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ok I admit, I messed up and put off reading this book for far too long.

Shades of Milk and Honey has been sitting in my to-read pile since the book came out in 2010. The only excuse I can make is that I tend to read books in phases, though epic fantasy has always been my main dish genre, I seem to run through phases with preferences in the side dishes I read.

Recently I have been devouring urban-fantasy along with my epic fantasy, but I have gone through phases of fantasy with a side of Sci-fi, classics, mythology or non-fiction. I had a long period where historical-fiction was in competition for replacing fantasy as my mind meal of choice, so a book that melds historical fiction with fantasy was definitely a must read.



With a Jane Austen like simplicity, Kowal has evoked a book of another time, both with the content and the prose and language used. The research and accuracy of the era and time are apparent without feeling like you are reading a history text instead of a fictional work.

The magic and fantasy is melded into the story in a seamless and unobtrusive way. Aligning the magic in the book with the historical relevance of women's arts, and skills, including the background and importance of those things in the historical context of a woman's value and marriageability was brilliant, and well done.

There is a magic in the pacing of the book, the prose and quietness of the book are deceiving, this is as much a page turner as many action packed books, but it doesn't feel like it while you are reading.

I should have read Shades of Milk and Honey sooner, the only good thing about postponing it is that I can move on to the rest of the series immediately.

I recommend the Glamourist Histories for anyone that is a fan of Regency romances, Jane Austen, historical-fiction, or fantasy of any sub-genre.

Awards:

• Nebula Award Nominee for Novel (2010)
• Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award (RT Award) Nominee for Fantasy Novel (2010)
• Locus Award Nominee for Best First Novel (2011)

Details:
Series: Glamourist Histories
Published August 3rd 2010 by Tor Books

Links:

Mary Robinette Kowal

View all my reviews

Book Review: Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone

Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone

Craft Sequence  Book 1

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Three parts Dead hooked me with its cover it is beautiful and empowering. If you follow Jim C. Hines,  you will know how rare and wonderful this is in a speculative fiction book!

This book was hard to read, hard at times to put down, and harder to review.

Gladstone has created something that is its own, blending the lines between contemporary fiction, steampunk, magic realism, paranormal, urban fantasy and epic fantasy. In many ways it reads like a Magical Realism, Urban Fantasy, or Paranormal book, it is however, set in a different world, so technically this is a Fantasy book.

Three Parts Dead has all the criteria for a great speculative fiction or fantasy book; an interesting mix, of technology, magic, gods, goddesses, power, religion, politics. Gladstone has included the young protagonists, the magic school, the older mentors, and the evil antagonists. Add in gargoyles, vampires, mages, skeletons a bit of steampunk, dead gods and a bit of a mystery.

The ideas and concepts behind the world are what carry this book, and make it an interesting read despite the flaws. In many ways there really are too many concepts, ideas and too little time spent in this world to develop any of the world, ideas or characters to any extent.

As a fantasy book, it falls short in many ways, there was very little world building information, I felt lost and not sure where this was taking place. This is another world, yet we really never get a picture of the world, and all of the metaphors and descriptions were "earth based", which only added to the confusion on where this all was taking place, or what the characters or world were like. In some ways this felt like a condensed cliff notes version of what could have been a great trilogy.

The omniscient POV took some time to adjust to, with an over kill on exposition interjected with dialogue. There is a lot of information given, but much of the world building or side reminiscence did not help to clarify or aid the story. It is like the author threw in commentary on people or things here and there in a "it's fantasy I need world building descriptions, without actually world building, explaining things that needed explaining or making it relative."

As a reader this book is worth it just because it is different and has unique concepts. I really wish his had been more of an epic fantasy with more book (or books) to explain all of the fascinating world, religion, politics and concepts that we only got hints of.

Read more on Tor.com about Three Parts Dead and more great books from the Reddit Fantasy Lists Under-Rated and Under-Read Fantasy.
Links:
Max Gladstone

View all my reviews

Book Review: Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett

Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett

Book 40  in the Discworld Series

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Classic Pratchett Discworld meets the age of steam.

Full of Pratchett word play and puns, this is a read for Discworld fans, it is not a stand alone, so start earlier in the series to really enjoy it.

Raising Steam, is both a tribute to the age of steam engines and the romance of the railways. Raising Steam unlike many Discworld novels does not limit the plot and story to one area or small group, we get bits and pieces of much of the Discworld and many of our favorite characters.

This is the Discworld that races at the speed of a train, indicative of the plot and the reality of both the age of the railways, it also makes the Discworld a much smaller place.

Raising Steam wraps up many of the stories and characters we have loved over the years. In some ways it is good to see our favorite fantasy world settle down and grow up, and to imagine the future as it will play out. In other ways I am saddened, knowing that there may be a limited number of Discworld books in the future, and my favorite world is basically riding into the sunset.

Pratchett once again manages to poke fun, and make a statement on the world. The small minded groups that are causing a ruckus and the slamming by the Discworld so called News, are symbolic of any number of different groups or agenda's around the world today.

Details:
Series: Discworld
Published November 7th 2013 by Doubleday

Links:
Sir Terry Pratchett


View all my reviews

Foolishness - Literary Style

Literary Shenanigans

I have collected here some literary related April Fools for 2014.

Brandon Sanderson Releases a deleted interlude that offers new insight into a minor character who is very important to WORDS OF RADIANCE


DRESDEN FILES coming to BROADWAY!
First, there were novels. Then it became a TV show. Then a comic book. Now, Harry Dresden is going where no urban fantasy book series has gone before. In Spring 2015, THE DRESDEN FILES conquers Broadway.

New Discovery: Goodreads to Publish Lost Jane Austen Novel

Author Jeff VanderMeer announced on facebook that he’d be writing a novelization of the popular game Candy Crush.

Ada Hoffmann Releases the programming schedule for Dinosaurcon 2014

Jim Hines is compiling a list of links to more foolish things on his  April Fool's day Roundup.

ScreenRant had George R. R. Martin fans nervous with this article: Martin Working With Co-Writers to Finish ‘Game of Thrones’ Books

Listen to or read The Legend of Roboninja over at Lightspeed Magazine

Some interesting facts on Fools Day by The Disorganised Author

Words of Radiance Deleted Interlude

Brandon Sanderson has released a deleted Interlude from an important minor character in Words of Radiance. 
Words of Radiance Deleted Interlude: Stick

Also  at brandonsanderson.com the latest Shardhunt unlockable is up: the deleted prologue to Sandersons Hugo Award-winning novella The Emperor's Soul.

Book Review: Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson

Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Words of Radiance  by Brandon Sanderson is the second book in the Stormlight Archive series, where The Way of Kings built a great world, and a fantastic story, Words of Radiance (WoR) soared to new heights and depths in fantasy, and genre fiction.

Words of Radiance is NOT a stand alone, this is one where you do have to read the first book.

Read my review of the physical book and artwork: The Words of Radiance: A Work of Art.

Synopsis review of The Way of Kings Book one in The Stormlight Archive:

The Way of Kings (TWoK) is a brilliant start to a proposed ten book epic fantasy series. It has all the epic essentials and archtypes; a young boy, and a young girl, a Hero's Journey, and a Heroines Quest, A Fallen Hero, Good vs. Evil and the expected fantasy huge cast of characters.

But Sanderson doesn’t stop there like any fantasy there is detailed world-building. Sanderson's world is vibrant and teeming with; diverse flora and fauna, fantastical beasts, unique cultures, court intrigue and politics, history, mythology. Oh and he manages to expertly add in foreshadowing, red-herrings, Chekov's guns, plot twists (Well, more like twists, turns, twirls and flips).

What is missing from TWoK is much of the epic fantasy pitfalls. The story, characters and world have depth and are full, without tedious exposition. There is a lack of info-dumps, long descriptive 'journey' chapters, and no characters feel flat or there just for plot effect.

TWoK was full, it took all the tropes of epic fantasy and turned them upside down, pushed them to new levels, it was epic it was amazing.
Words of Radiance (WoR) is the second book in The Stormlight Archive where The Way of Kings (TWoK) built a great world, and a fantastic story, Words of Radiance soared to new heights and depths in fantasy, and genre fiction.

On to a No Spoilers Review of Words of Radiance:

WoR has everything mentioned above in the TWoK review synopsis, and then more times 10. WoR is an intense read. Sanderson has delivered with Words of Radiance. WoR goes above and beyond expectations, this is an action packed fast paced book(All 1088 pages of it!) with intensity and depth.

Where TWok was a book that hooks a reader to the story and the world, WoR is a character book. In the first book we are introduced too and learn to really like one, all or many of the characters. WoR immerses the reader in an emotional tension filled relationship with the main characters, and many of the non-POV characters. Sanderson takes the reader beyond the interest and standard fan-squeee for the story of his heroes and heroines, to the point where as the reader you are emotionally invested in their lives, struggles and successes.

I could write paragraphs on each of the different characters and how awesome and brilliantly they are written. It would probably take a research paper to describe all of the literary and fantasy tropes, that Sanderson has used brilliantly while completely changing them and making them new and exciting.

In addition to pushing epic fantasy into new and exciting directions,(including genre publishing) Sanderson has broken long held canon on fantasy character portrayals and world building. This is no orphan goes on a journey and saves the world fantasy, it is oh, so much more. The Stormlight Archive is an obvious must read for any epic fantasy fans, but I would recommend this book to anyone that likes an in-depth story with great characters.

Read Brandon's article,  Words of Radiance and the Art of Creating Epic Fantasy

"Whether you've been hyped for Words of Radiance or not, you are not prepared for how fantastic it is."  - Rob Bricken
Read more of this fantastic review over at io9.com: Words of Radiance puts the "epic" back in epic fantasy

Links:

Stormlight Archive on Tor.com 

Brandon Sanderson

View all my reviews

Random Musings on Words of Radiance.

Words of Radiance Debuts at #1 on the NYT Bestseller list!

More details can be found here on Tor.com

 Brandon's talks about Epic Fantasy, and The Stormlight Archive: Words of Radiance and the Art of Creating Epic Fantasy

Words of Radiance 
by Brandon Sanderson
(The Stormlight Archive #2)
Published by Tor Books on March 4, 2014
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Length: 1088 pages
Goodreads

Reviews:

"Whether you've been hyped for Words of Radiance or not, you are not prepared for how fantastic it is."Rob Bricken
Read more of this fantastic review over at io9.com: Words of Radiance puts the "epic" back in epic fantasy

This has to be one of the best lines I have read in any review of Stormlight Archive: Combat Tinkerbell.
"The fact that Kaladin is running around with his own version of Combat Tinkerbell on his shoulder makes me think that Sanderson knows what he’s doing.  I choose to believe that Syl’s placement was a deliberate literary nod to the boy who won’t grow up."  See more at: Dan & Sally's Digital Domain 


"The second book of The Stormlight Archives, WORDS OF RADIANCE, comes crashing down on us after a near four year absence. And ooh boy, does book 2 deliver on what it's promising"  See more at:
Elitist Book Reviews: Words of Radiance

Words of wonder: Brandon Sanderson seeks, delivers 'something big' in epic fantasy | By Michael De Groote, Deseret News

Shallan's Lullaby from Words of Radiance

Book Review: The Monarch of the Glen an American Gods Novella

The Monarch of the Glen by Neil Gaiman

American Gods book 1.5

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Monarch of the Glen an American Gods novella. by Neil Gaiman is a nice little addition to the American Gods world. Part novella part epilogue ending to American Gods.

This peak into the months following the ending of American Gods, is a treat for any fans of the series, and of course is typical Gaiman brilliance, with the addition of a bit from Beowulf how can you go wrong?

Gaiman demonstrates with this story that there is much more to tell in Shadow's story and this world, I look forward to seeing more American Gods.

“The Monarch of the Glen” Was released as an ebook as part of an Epic Fantasy StoryBundle and also appears in Neil Gaiman’s 2006 collection Fragile Things.

Details: 
Series: American Gods

Links:
Neil Gaiman
Story Bundle 

View all my reviews

The Words of Radiance: A Work of Art

 Before I review the story I want to comment on the book itself. 

The Way of Kings 

Cover Art by Michael Whelan @Tor.com

Words of Radiance 

Cover by Michael Whelan @Tor.com

This is more than a book it is a work of art. Tor outdid itself when they published the first book in The Stormlight Archive and like The Way of Kings (TWoK), Words of Radiance (WoR) is an elaborate beautifully embellished massive tome. 

The Way of Kings stood out, with stunning cover art by Michael Whelan, and wonderful color endpapers it had the most extensive and best interior art I've ever seen in a fantasy or any novel. Whelan exceeded himself with the Cover Image for Words of Radiance. 

Words of Radiance goes one step further Tor has pushed the limits both on the size of the book, (apparently the largest book they can publish) and on the scope of the interior art and of course the amazing cover and front endpapers by Whelan. Sanderson and Tor have pushed fantasy books into a new territory where the art goes far beyond the typical fantasy, gotta have a map mentality. 

The interior art enhances the experience of reading both books in The Stormlight Archive. The images are not just pictures, they are in-world depictions adds a depth that flows with and is a part of the story. 

The in-world sketches from Shallan and Navani's Journals are an integral part of the story and help the reader to immerse themselves in the diverse and varied world that Sanderson has created. The phrase "A picture is worth a thousand words" rings true here. One image is able to replace chapters of worldbuilding descriptions, allowing Sanderson to move the story along without losing that depth of understanding and detail.

 An in-world Alethi script on some of the images in TWoK gave hardcore fans the chance to try their hand at deciphering and translating this script to find out additional information. In WoR an different version of the script was added for another language/ culture. We also see an expansion of the Glyphs, and their execution and possibilities. WoR even includes an Easter Egg Cosmere artist, (Now that is sneaky). This brilliance by Sanderson to include Easter Eggs, codes, scripts and challenges deserves its own evaluation and post! 

The detailed maps, symbols, and icons throughout both books play a far deeper role than just chapter illuminations, they are part foreshadowing, part worldbuilding, and part mystery. 

Well done Tor and thank you for pushing fantasy to the next level in book publishing.

For anyone that reads e-book versions, or wants to see details for the images Sanderson provides all of the interior art for the books on Sandersons website, see book art links below.

* Read Brandons words on Epic Fantasy and The Stormlight Archive books:
Words of Radiance and the Art of Creating Epic Fantasy.

Interior Artists: 

Ben McSweeney - Inkthinker. (TWoK, WoR)

Isaac Stewart (TWoK, WoR)

Greg Call (TWoK)

Dan dos Santos (WoR)

The Way of Kings Art Links

Interior Art for The Way of Kings

Read about the Cover Art for TWoK on Tor

Whelan's Cover Art for TWoK 

Words of Radiance Art Links

Interior Art for Words of Radiance

Read about Whelan’s Endpapers for Words of Radiance,Featuring Shallan on Tor.com

View and download WoR Cover Art and Endpapers on Tor.

Michael Whelan's WoR Cover Art 

Links:

Stormlight Archive on Tor.com 

Brandon Sanderson

 

Book Review: Sister Mine by Nalo Hopkinson

Sister Mine by Nalo Hopkinson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sister Mine is one of those books that is hard to review in a simple or singular comment.
Hopkinson weaves so many threads and individual pieces into Sister Mine.
The story mixes and crosses so many genre's and sub genre's, plots and threads that at points the story feels chaotic and lacking in cohesion. In a way this lack of cohesion and multiple subplots works. Though at times it clutters the story.

Hopkinson has managed to pull the plot complexity, and multiple layers of myth and epic fantasy, and wrap them in a contemporary fiction. Sister Mine is a story of dysfunctional families, sisterly love, sibling rivalry, individual identity and growth. While also being a mystery, a ghost story, a story about the power and magic of music, the myth of the child of gods.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the modern twist on mythology, and for anyone that is looking for the non-standard Contemporary or Urban fantasy.

Awards:

• Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy (2013)
• Sunburst Award Nominee for Adult (2014)

Details:

Published March 12th 2013 by Grand Central Publishing

Links:
Nalo Hopkinson


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The Epics of Epic Fantasy.

If there is one thing I love it is a long epic series of  books.  I have been an avid reader for decades and through the years I have fallen in love with multiple epic series, this of course has lead me to frustration, years of wondering and speculation, and an increasing pile of re-reads to do as each new book in a series is released.

I basically divide the series I read into a few different categories, but my top virtual series shelf may actually take up the most physical book space though probably contains the least number of series.

The Epics of Epic Fantasy. These are the series that I have invested in both mentally and emotionally. This is the group of books that require re-reading over and over again between new releases.  These books are my friends, I have known the characters  by name longer than most people I know. Some of them I have grown up with, Some I were with me while I raised my children, and there are others I will grow old with.

Earth's Children series by Jean M. Auel,  Another series that I started early on, I picked up the first book, The Clan of the Cave Bear in 1980 while I was in High School, I read the final book when it was published in 2011, So I spent 31 years with Ayla and Jondular, and an Epic journey through time and across the paleolithic European continent.

The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny. I discovered this series while in High School and it is one of the series I picked up partway through the so I was able to start with an immersion reading in the early 1980's of the first 5 books, Story arc, and then waited patiently for each book in the remaining 5 book story arc finally finishing with the final book in 1991. As far as commitments this means I only spent a decade in Amber, though it was an enjoyable one.

The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan, and completed by Brandon Sanderson. I picked this book up in 1990 when it first came out, This book was with me through my divorce and struggles as a single mother, they were with me while I raised my kids and while I buried my father. I spent 23 years with Rand, Perrin, Mat, Egwene and Nynaeve, along with the thousands of other characters. This is one series where I re-read the entire series before each new release, I spent hours combing the books and forums speculating and looking for the masterful foreshadowing and red-herrings Robert Jordan loaded his books with.

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin.  I started this series long before the H.B.O. series,   I picked this book up in early 1997 and have been hooked and anxiously awaiting each new book since. 17 years invested and still going. This is another series that requires re-reads between releases, and before new books are released. Martins world is just so involved and detailed that one reading will not catch it all!

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling.  My children introduced this book to me with the first book.  This is a series we as a family grew with, the first time I could share my book release anticipation, discussions and excitement with my kids.  We  got up early to get wristbands,  we stayed up late to attend midnight release parties.  We bought several copies so that we did not have to read over shoulders or wait, and so we could all sit around and read together.

The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss. Though only scheduled to be three books this series fits my feel of Epic.  I have already re-read the first 2 books, and will re-read the series again and again.

The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson. I am hooked already after only one book, that I have already re-read 4 times.  With the end of Wheel of Time,  The pending end of A song of Ice and Fire, Sandersons new 10 book series will fill that place in my life. This will be the series I grow old with, that I retire with. I look forward to the years ahead, and the unraveling of a new epic.  New "friends"  to turn to when I need  to escape.

Epic Reading Marathon Ahead

That is a large book.

THE STORMLIGHT ARCHIVE

Words of Radiance is Here!

TOR.COM

 It’s Words of Radiance, the biggest, most hugest epic fantasy novel even we have ever laid eyes on.    Read more on Tor.com

March 4th is right around the corner, and I am really looking forward to a reading immersion of this 1088 page monster.

With this planned 10 book series and Book 1 "The Way of Kings" nearly as large with 1007 pages, I am going to have to build a reinforced book shelf before this series is done!

If you have run out of time to re-read the first book check out the Tor.com re-read articles of "The Way of Kings", by Brandon Sanderson.

Neil Gaiman reads Green Eggs and Ham

Neil reads Dr Seuss's GREEN EGGS AND HAM, in honor of the Worldbuilders 2014 charity hitting a $500,000 stretch goal.

To Read or Not to Read

To read lists are something  I have kept for decades, what at one time was a small notebook I carried with me, that later became a spreadsheet, and now an extensive list online.  
There are many options out there to track your books and reading adventures,  goodreads, LibraryThing, MyBookTracker, Shelfari,  are just a few. For more information read Tracking the Books in Your Library  by GeekDad to read reviews and overviews of  the different options available.

I still carry my notebook, now though this is more a list of  books I want  to add to my book shelves, or books out of print where I am missing some in a series.  Though I have been using GoodReads since 2009 to track, review and locate books I want to read.

In looking at my goodreads to Read list I have 2490 books that I want to read. 
I average reading around 200 + books a year so if I never add another book it will take me 12 years to finish reading what I already want to read... Which is not bad and an achievable goal.
But then I started to dig deeper ...  
Between finding new authors or books I want to read, and new books published each year, or wanting to re-read books that I read decades ago, or those I re-read before a new book is released in a series.
 I have averaged adding 600 new books to read to this list  each year. (and I usually only add the first book in any series I have not read yet) This number is trending down as I go so I am going to base it on 400 new finds to add each year . With reading 200 a year, that means each year I add 1 year to the time it will take to read them all...    

I now know that I have the following options:

1. Double or triple the number of books I read each year. (who needs to work or sleep? when you can read?)
2. Stop expanding the number of topics, genre's new authors I want to read. (Really this is too depressing to even consider)
3. Give up its hopeless, and just realize that this bucket list will never be completed before I die.

Book Review: Naked City: Tales of Urban Fantasy by Ellen Datlow

Naked City: Tales of Urban Fantasy (Riverside Series) by Ellen Datlow
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It is always difficult to give a rating to an anthology. The editor Ellen Datlow has again pulled together an excellent anthology.
I found Naked City to be a well balanced collection, with individual stories ranging from 3 to 5 stars.

It is a strong collection all of the stories adhere to the theme of the truly urban, urban fantasy, so it feels like they all belong in this collection, that no story is there just as filler or just for the name of the author.

There are stories from a good mix of authors with some that are well known, some I had heard of but not read, and some unknown to me.

One of the reasons I read anthologies, is to read new authors and to expand my reading into other genre's and sub-genre's. The theme of the city allowed this anthology to within a tight framework cross the sub-genre's of Urban fantasy.

I have added some new authors to my to read list; remembered that not all vampire stories are paranormal romance, and that there are a couple authors and series that I need to get back too.


Edited by Ellen Datlow web site: http://www.datlow.com/

Curses By Jim Butcher 
How The Pooka Came To New York City By Delia Sherman 
On The Slide By Richard Bowes 
The Duke Of Riverside By Ellen Kushner 
Oblivion By Calvin Klein By Christopher Fowler 
Fairy Gifts By Patricia Briggs 
Picking Up The Pieces By Pat Cadigan 
Underbridge By Peter S. Beagle 
Priced To Sell By Naomi Novik 
The Bricks Of Gelecek By Matthew Kressel 
Weston Walks By Kit Reed 
The Projected Girl By Lavie Tidhar 
The Way Station By Nathan Ballingrud 
Guns For The Dead By Melissa Marr 
And Go Like This By John Crowley 
Noble Rot By Holly Black 
Daddy Longlegs Of The Evening By Jeffrey Ford 
The Skinny Girl By Lucius Shepard 
The Colliers’ Venus (1893) By Caitlín R. Kiernan 
King Pole, Gallows Pole, Bottle Tree By Elizabeth Bear

Paul and Storm: "Write Like the (Name of the) Wind"

Worldbuilders 
 50,000 Paul & Storm Mock Pat.  stretch goal achieved!
This amazing song was written  after reaching one of the stretch goal for the awesome Worldbuilders fundraiser.
If you have not checked out this amazing fundraiser please do!

see more video's  here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/WorldbuildersInc?feature=watch

Book Review: How Green This Land, How Blue This Sea by Mira Grant

How Green This Land, How Blue This Sea by Mira Grant
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Though this novella could stand alone I recommend that it be read only after reading the entire trilogy, since there are key spoilers to the trilogy and much that would not be understood as well without the background.

In this Newsflesh Novella set a few years after the ending of the main Newsflesh Trilogy Mira Grant takes her world building and examination of the evolution of society after the apocalypse to Australia. Where the difference in cultural attitudes present a different evolution of the post-apocalyptic society.

In many ways once again Grant has used her location more as a stage. Forget the zombies, forget the apocalypse or even that this is in Australia and this is an examination on a possible evolution of society between 'civilization' and wilderness; and the different survival mentalities when fear is not the controlling factor.

Mahir's reactions and fears in this wild environment are similar to reactions you might get if you were to take anyone raised exclusively in suburban or urban area's separate from nature environment and take them into the remaining true wilderness areas that exist today. Grant in true science fiction fashion pulls from many of today's environmental debates, controversies and challenges and examines them in her fantastic world.

This novella is a fun read for anyone wanting just a little more of the NewsFlesh world, but the story really does not feel like a full Novella, but more of an extended intro to a new book or series, there was no resolution, more questions were asked and issues raised than answered.

Visit the authors website: http://miragrant.com/index.php

How Green This Land, How Blue This Sea

by Mira Grant

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Book Review: Feed by Mira Grant

Feed by Mira Grant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Feed is the first book in the award winning zombie apocalypse Newsflesh Trilogy by Mira Grant, pseudonym for New York Times bestselling author Seanan McGuire.

Though Feed is basically a near future zombie apocalypse book, it is not really a story about zombies. The zombie apocalypse is just the stage that Mira Grant has set through believable and fantastic worldbulding. This is a story of the evolution of society. This is a biological terror thriller, and a story of humanity both at our best and our worst.

With a seamless twining of cultural, historical and scientific accuracy, in an eerily realistic evolution of society this Science Fiction story depicts an all too real view of human nature. Drawing from all aspects of science, historical events; and current societal trends and issues Grant in true science fiction fashion asks whats next? and what if?

Unlike some thriller, apocalyptic or dystopian stories in Feed Grant avoids the often narrow or flat apocalyptic world by not focusing on any one thing but an intricately woven tapestry with direct connections to society and issues today.
From the loss freedoms of a post 911 world, and the politics of fear. To the changing roles of Network News Media, Bloggers and the internet and the information privacy wars. Throw in a little bit of the threats of corporate and governmental powers, corruption and greed, and the scary stuff that is coming out of true scientific 'advances' today. When you add all of that to a well developed plot, likable developed characters and the obvious research and attention to worldbuilding, you get a great story!

The only flaws I was able to see was that I would have liked to have seen more character growth over time, and a little less info dumping, though the use of blogging and news dumps to accomplish this was done extremely well, and since the main protagonists were news bloggers I am not sure how you can really avoid the show and don't tell.

I highly recommend this book (and series) to anyone looking for an intelligent biological/conspiracy/science thriller or an apocalyptic science fiction.

If you are looking for a standard Zombie Apocalypse or typical horror movie zombies you maybe disappointed, because Feed is much much more than that.

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Prayers in a Song by Tall Paul

Prayers in a Song | Tall Paul

Published on Nov 13, 2012 Free MP3 download: http://theways.org/story/prayers-in-a-song

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Book Review: Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What happens when you take a great urban fantasy story, mix in a bit of religious satire and add two of the best authors today? You get a book that is witty,thought provoking, humorous, brilliant and engaging.

Good Omens is full of biting satire, outright one-liners and subtle wit. Pratchett and gaiman, manage to weave the humor in a way that they never overpower or lose the thread of the story.

Pratchett and gaiman, manage yo follow all of the standard tropes, and archetypes of the battle of Good and Evil, all the while poking fun at it at the same time. With a list of typical urban fantasy characters, a witch, an angel, and a a demon. A common theme of the inevitable apocalypse

The difference is that while typical they have created characters and a plot that are parodies and yet engaging, interesting and well developed.



Links:
Neil Gaiman
Terry Pratchett


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Book Review: New Amsterdam by Elizabeth Bear

New Amsterdam by Elizabeth Bear

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Reminiscent of the shorter stories of Sherlock Holmes, each chapter is a separate mystery. Unfortunately the book misses the mark.

Elizabeth Bear has mixed and crossed many genre lines in this book. Including: Detective Mystery, Romance, Paranormal, Alternate Histry, fantasy, and Steampunk, but does not invoke any of them enough to have the world building add to the stories.

The main characters, a poly-amorous 1000 + year old vampire detective, Sebastien de Ulloa, and forensic sorceress Lady Abigail Irene Garrett; are interesting concepts, and could heave been great, but the format of the book limits the depth that may have been possible in a cohesive story-line. We are told too much of them and not actually shown any of the traits that would make the protagonists real or truly interesting.
As for the mysteries and antagonists, we have nothing that makes us care about them or want to know bad enough to keep turning pages.

One of the few series I have started and have no real desire to read the next book. I do not think this review has any bearing on any of Bear's other series or works, there are many others that I have loved, this one just did not appeal to me.

Book Review: The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

Gentleman Bastard series Book 1

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A fresh perspective in a fantasy novel, with a pace that pulls you in and pushed you on. The characters are rich and well developed, and intriguing. A fantasy built on city world building combining the best of fantasy and urban fantasy for believable and fascinating worldbuilding.

Unfortunately I found it difficult at first to move past the language used in the book initially it was jarring and pulled me out of the story. Though I am very glad I was able to move beyond this as I feel this is one of the best fantasy series written

I received this book for free from the GoodReads First Reads Program in exchange for an honest review. After receiving the free copy I re-read the book. I think I enjoyed the book even more on a second read through.

With a second reading I was less distracted by the language and the sheer newness of the world and was able to really enjoy and appreciate the gritty and in depth world that Scott Lynch created.


Details:

Series: Gentleman Bastard Book 1
Published July 27th 2006 by Bantam Spectra

Awards:
World Fantasy Award Nominee for Best Novel (2007) 

Compton Crook Award Nominee (2007)

British Fantasy Award Nominee for Best Novel (2007)

Tähtifantasia Award Nominee (2008)

Links:
Visit authors website: http://www.scottlynch.us/index.html
Authors Blog: http://www.scottlynch.us/blog/