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

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

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: 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: Unknown by Rachel Caine

Unknown by Rachel Caine

Outcast Season, book 2 

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really liked this book, and yet I feel terrible that i did, it is so disturbing.
Rachel Caine weaves a disturbing and heart wrenching story, drawing on some of the most horrific historical and current events of mankind and war. The main character Cassiel is a true heroine, the romance in the story is believable and does not diminish either into stereotypical roles.

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Book Review: Undone - Outcast Season Series by Rachel Caine

Undone by Rachel Caine

Outcast Season Series, book 1

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Rachel Caine has managed to intricately weave a secondary viewpoint story line that seamlessly follows along the main story arcs of her amazing Weather Warden series, written like an Epic fantasy, split into different books instead of combined.

Though I am still waiting for a true epic multiple viewpoint and story arc Urban fantasy this is very close, I think that what little was missing in the scope and 'epicness' of the Weather Wardens, is fulfilled with this secondary series.

As much as I loved Joanne and the main characters of the Weather Wardens, I think the author has improved, the story by not relying on the typical urban fantasy snarky "I can beat up the bad guys, make humorous comments, and still wear great heels" heroine. With Cassiel we get a strong heroine with flaws and real internal conflicts.

The only negative is that the book it too short feeling more like a novella that a full book, and talk about cliff-hangers!



Authors website: Rachel Caine

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Book Review: Ill Wind - Weather Warden Series by Rachel Caine

Ill Wind by Rachel Caine

Weather Warden Series 

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Rachel Caine's Weather Warden series is one of the many series that has been sitting buried in my to-read list for too long.

Ill Wind, is the first book, in this unique urban fantasy, and once I started I could not stop and continued on to read the entire series. So my review is of the series as a whole. Short story - I absolutely loved it!

A true urban fantasy devoid of vampires, the author has woven a story that is part weather channel, part storm chasers and part epic fantasy.

The writing is so good, that I forgot I was reading Urban Fantasy at times, there is a tendency in this genre for strong characters and/or plots, but a simpler style of writing and world building where the magic and supernatural elements are involved. This book and series breaks that formula with well developed world-building, a strong magic system that is tied to the world and feels believable and probable, and all the foreshadowing and inter connections of an epic fantasy.

Links:
Rachel Caine


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Book Review: Unclean Spirits by M.L.N. Hanover

Unclean Spirits  by M.L.N. Hanover

Book 1 of The Black Sun's Daughter

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was ok, I liked it enough and the world was interesting, but the character's were a bit thin and the relations between them somewhat unbelievable, it was difficult to believe the connections they made to each other, or to care much about those relationships.

M.L.N. Hanover is a pseudonym for fantasy writer Daniel Abraham.

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Book Review: Heart of the Mirage by Glenda Larke

Heart of the Mirage by Glenda Larke

Book 1 of Mirage Makers series 

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

After reading Glenda Larke's other series I finally got through my to read list to read this book. I really enjoyed the world-building and historical connections. The characters were not as engaging to me as I usually like, but overall I really enjoyed this book. My only regret is that I did not realize that the next 2 books in the series are not available in ebook format in the US.

Drawing from historical events and basing the language and culture on Ancient Rome, and what feels like a mix of the Australian outback and African deserts, Glenda Larke manages to weave a believable tale of self discovery, and magic while avoiding the standard fantasy trope of medieval Europe.

Authors website: Glenda Larke.

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Book Review: Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

Reckoners series, book 1

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fantastic ..... To Quote Pat Rothfuss: "Steelheart is another win for Sanderson, proving that he's not a brilliant writer of epic fantasy, he's simply a brilliant writer. Period. "

The first book in Sanderson's Reckoners series, Steelheart is everything a book should be, it is well written, the action and pacing are intense, the world-building is phenomenal and the characters are engaging. But that is only the beginning of why this is a great book.

Sanderson manages to evoke the feeling of the old comics and classic Superhero's with a unique twist and the reality of what power really is and what it means to be a true hero.

Links:
Brandon Sanderson
Steelheart Portal


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Book Review: Carniepunk

Carniepunk Edited by Rob Thurman

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Though many of the stories were a bit more towards the creepy and horror spectrum, something I do not usually read, I did enjoy this anthology of Urban fantasy carnival themed short stories.

Carniepunk is an Urban Fantasy anthology of creepy, mysterious, and, magical stories that take place in the dangerous world of the carnival. Featuring authors Rob Thurman, Delilah S. Dawson, Kevin Hearne, Mark Henry, Jaye Wells, Rachel Caine, Allison Pang, Hillary Jacques , Jennifer Estep, Kelly Meding, Nicole Peeler, Jackie Kessler, Kelly Gay, Seanan McGuire.

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Book Review: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente

Fairyland series Book 1

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This middle grade (or even younger) book is a delightful story,for any age. More of a modern day fairy tale than a fantasy.
The story is involving, with enough action and good and bad things happening, to keep any reader engaged. The subtle references and inferences to classic fairy tales will amuse readers of any age.
What it lacks in typical fantasy depth, it makes up for in the unique and quirky voice of the narrator.

Underneath the fun and frivolity, this is really a story of loyalty, friends, and like all good fairy tales leaves you with a moral at the end.

Links:
Catherynne M. Valente

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Book Review: Mediaeval Lore from Bartholomew Anglicus by Robert Steele

Mediaeval Lore from Bartholomew Anglicus by 13th cent. Anglicus Bartholomaeus by Robert Steele

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Originally published as a general encyclopedia of Medieval knowledge, this compilation of knowledge helps to get an understanding of where some of our mis-directed notions come from, and also of how far we really have come in gaining knowledge and understanding.

Links:
Project Gutenberg ebook
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Book Review: The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter

The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett

The Long Earth Series book 1

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I wavered on the rating on this one, I went with 3 because the concept and idea were interesting, and new, and in Science fiction the Idea is always important. But as for plot, story and characters this book missed the mark, so much more could have been done.

Author Sites: Terry Pratchett
Stephen Baxter
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Book Review: Terrene: The Hidden Valley by Eric Liu

Terrene: The Hidden Valley by Eric Liu

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book has a very interesting concept and story, I wish it would have been executed better, transitions between the timelines could be smoother, and character development is weak.

**** SPOILER *****
Though the ending wraps up the story satisfactorily in an unexpected way and unusual twist, there is too little in the book to support some of the events and conclusions.


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Book Review: A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson

A Memory of Light The Final Book in The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

Wheel of Time Series Book 14

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The end of an age, the end of an epic.
After 23 years,15 books, 11,916 Pages, 684 Chapters,4,416,130 Words, I do not think I have the words yet to say anything about "A Memory of Light" or The end of "The Wheel of Time".

Right now I can only say thank you Robert Jordan for your dream and your story. Thank you to Harriet and Team Jordan and Brandon Sanderson who worked to keep the wheel turning.

Links:
Dragonmount.com a Wheel of Time Community.
Theoryland.com hardcore fan freaks of the wheel of time.
Encyclopaedia WoT A premier resource among when it comes to the online Wheel of Time world. It is exactly what it sounds like.
Authors website: Brandon Sanderson

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Book Review: Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde

Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde

Shades of Grey series Book 1

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am steel reeling, I do not think I have ever read a book like it, and I will need some time to digest and ponder before I could begin any kind of review, is just so new, and different. at this point I can only point to this review and comment by Patrick Rothfuss


Book Quotes:
“You see? I know where every single book used to be in the library.' She pointed to the shelf opposite. 'Over there was Catch-22, which was a hugely popular fishing book and one of a series, I believe.”
― Jasper Fforde, Shades of Grey
“Her areas of expertise are bar codes, book titles and maps - she has an original Parker Brothers map of the world.” ― Jasper Fforde, Shades of Grey

Links:
Jasper Fforde
Shades Of Grey Book Site

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Book Review: Trapped book 5 of The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne

Trapped by Kevin Hearne

Book 5 of The Iron Druid Chronicles 

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Kevin Hearne continues to impress me with this series, the books continue to get better and Trapped is full of adventure, humor, and world building more akin to epic fantasy than urban fantasy!

Authors site: Kevin Hearne

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Book Review: Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor

Days of Blood & Starlight  by Laini Taylor

Daughter of Smoke & Bone, book 2

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, and Laini Taylor does not disappoint in this second book in the series. From the characters to the story arc, this is a solid urban fantasy.

For the few things that bothered me while I was reading it I had to remind myself that this is a YA book, in all other ways it is not a typical YA, with a fully developed magic system, and solid world building, along with strong characters.

The main female character is strong and believable, the romance is part of her but does not truly define her.

Links:
Read my review of Book 1, Daughter of Smoke & Bone here.
Laini Taylor

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