Report on Fencon IX

Fencon IX was held in Dallas over the weekend (Sept. 21-23). I thought it was a great success. Of course my definition of success is pretty simple. I had a good time. In spite of some friends and/or regular attendees not being able to make it this year.

I arrived at the hotel on Friday afternoon after a long drive. The first two panels I attended were slideshows by the artist guest of honor, Donato Giancola. In the first slideshow, he discussed how he became interested in art in general and how he came to do paperback covers. The second slideshow was more about how the Old Masters and some of the modern 20th century artists influenced him. There was some overlap between the two programs, but both were worth attending. Some of the paintings he showed were from a series he jokingly called Dead Things on the Beach. Many of these haven’t been published, and they were some of my favorites. One that has been published is the cover of The Golden Rose, by Kathleen Bryan. That’s it on the right. You can see what the original painting looks like here.

Toastmaster Peter David did a great job on the opening ceremonies, throwing toast into the audience. At least until a piece landed inside one of the large bowl light fixtures.

I made a run to Half Price Books later that night with a box of items, mostly duplicates from small presses that I’d gotten in some grab bag sales, but a few things my wife wanted to get rid of. They offered me $30. It was to laugh. I thanked them, kept the books, and got considerably more (much more) than that in trade credit in the dealer’s room for about half of what I had in the box. (Thanks Willie and Zane.)

When I got back to the hotel, I hung out in the hall outside the con suite and listened to astronaut Stanley G. Love tell what all he went through to get into the astronaut program. There were some room parties that night which I visited, then went to bed.

Finn and Simmons, Barbarians Brunching

I bounced around several panels Saturday morning, then at noon attended Brunch with Barbarians, a joint reading between Mark Finn and Heroic Fantasy Quarterly editor Adrian Simmons. The pieces they read were good, and so was the spread.

More panels and signing that afternoon, along with a nap and dinner with Finn and Simmons. The panel on the future of space exploration was packed, with folks (including me) standing at the back. Special guest Karl Schroeder moderated a great panel on what science will look like in the far future. I missed a great deal of GoH C. J. Cherryh‘s address, but what I caught was fascinating. She was speaking on how climate change has affected empires over the historical record. I missed most of the events with the other guests. I usually spend some time listening to the musical guests, but this year I was pretty much otherwise occupied. (That’s one of the things I love most about Fencon, the music track.)

The maintenance people were working in the room across the hall from me and set off the fire alarms. The entire convention evacuated long enough to get outside and come back in.

At 5:00 that afternoon, there were a launch party for a benefit CD in the con suite. The CD is Cath, and the proceeds go to the Michael J. Fox Foundation. It’s Celtic music, probably my favorite genre, and some of my favorite artists perform on it. You can hear samples by clicking the above link. Melissa Tatum did a great job of putting this one together.

That evening I mostly hung at parties and visited with friends. I’m getting way too old to be staying up past midnight, I’m discovering.

(Large) mammals of action: me and Todd Caldwell

Sunday had another full slate. Donato was supposed to do a live portraiture demonstration, but he had to leave early. The two highlights of the day were the Phineas and Ferb panel (yes, yes I did attend) and the panel celebrating 80 years of Conan. If you aren’t familiar with Phineas and Ferb, you’re missing out on some of the most intelligent and creative science fiction cartoons around, one that not only gets geek culture, but treats it respectfully. If you don’t believe me, just watch the episode set in a science fiction convention. Members of the panel and audience displayed great taste in fashion, as you can see in the picture.

The Conan panel was the last one I attended, with good and thought provoking discussion. Mark Finn maintained that Conan was something of an anomaly in Howard’s work in that Conan was created for a specific market, namely Weird Tales. He says that the way women were portrayed in most of the Conan stories (Belit and Valeria being exceptions) was intended to appeal to editor Farnsworth Wright and get on the cover (and thus get paid more). As a counter-example of Howard portraying strong women, he and some of the other panelists pointed out “Sword Woman”. That was a good way to end the convention. Not wanting to leave, I reluctantly drove home.

It was a great convention. I’m looking forward to next year, although I’m not sure how big the convention will be. Worldcon will be held less than a month prior, and it will be in San Antonio.

A Review of We Can Be Heroes by Scott Fitzgerald Gray

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We Can Be Heroes
Scott Fitzgerald Gray
trade paper 306 p., $13.95
ebook $6.99 Kindle Smashwords

I got an email a few months ago from a gentleman of whom I was not familiar, one Scott Fitzgerald Gray, who asked if I would mind reviewing his new YA novel. He also requested a guest blog post. His credentials were good (more on those in a moment), and I agreed. Unfortunately Scott had some things come up and had to postpone the blog tour. Hopefully that will happen soon. He’d be welcome to write a guest post here anytime he likes.

Scott is a member of the Monumental Works Group, a collective of sf/fantasy writers that includes Ty Johnston. (reviewed here, guest post here). I’m familiar with Ty and his work, so I agreed to his request. After reading We Can Be Heroes, all I can say is, if Johnston and Gray are representative of the Monumental Works Group, I’m going to have to check the work of other members. These guys can write.

I had a bazillion things going on while I read this book and wasn’t able to read it every day. In fact, it took me two weeks to finish it, which is a looong time for me to finish a book of this length. The fact that I didn’t get bored and move on to something else speaks to how compelling I found the writing. This review would probably fit better at Futures Past and Present, but this blog gets more traffic, so I’m going to post it here.

I was expecting a good book, but this one exceeded my expectations. Here’s why:

The setup concerns a group of five high school students in Canada. They live in an isolated little town in British Columbia, and they’re about a month away from graduating. The previous year, the five of them won a national gaming competition. Things haven’t gone well for all of them since then. Gray reveals the backstory gradually, so I’ll not spoil anything for you.

The story is told by Scott, a flawed and not necessarily reliable narrator. Gray gives him a unique voice, which was part of the appeal of book. Scott writes essays for conspiracy theory websites. He’s something of an amateur philosopher. This is a good thing, because there are some pretty serious themes in the book. The discussions Scott has within himself and with his friends add a level of gravitas to the book that’s usually found only in works for more mature readers.

One of the members of the group gets an email invitation to beta test a new game, with a substantial cash prize to the first team to successfully complete the objectives and win the game. The group signs on, Scott reluctantly. Of course, the first thing they need to do is bring Molly back into the group. She’s Scott’s estranged girlfriend.

Lest you think this is going to be one of those angst filled novels of unrequited teenage love, relax. While there is some of that, Gray handles it well, never allowing it to overshadow the main story. Instead he uses the relationships among the teens to develop their characters to a depth not always seen in YA novels and to strengthen the plot.

The plot of the game involves the group capturing an advanced mobile weapons platform, essentially a flying tank, from a secured facility without having any weapons, at least not initially. Of course, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that there’s a lot more going on here than they realize. By the time they finish the game they will be over their heads in a covert operation.

The pace is renlentless, the suspense intense at times, and the plot complex and twisting. From a small town to s secret bunker to the streets of Vancouver, the reader is swept along a roller coaster ride, in more than one sense.

I mentioned earlier that the characterization shows a depth not often seen in YA novels. Here’s a quote from near the end of the book as Scott reflects on what’s happened:

Sometimes there are no villains. There are no heroes. There are just people doing whatever people need to do to deal with the things life throws at them.

That’s a good description of almost everyone in the book. Even the “villains” are (mostly) good. They just have different ideas about the best way to deal with the situation. Gray does an outstanding job of making his characters seem real. Maybe it’s a side effect of not being able to finish the book in a couple of days as I usually can, but I hated to finish it. I really liked these people. The author made them seem real.

This was a highly satisfying novel. If you’ve ever been a gamer, enjoyed a thriller, or been in love, there will be something in this book for you.

We Can Be Heroes is a featured book at Adventures Fantastic Books.

Giveaway – James Enge’s This Crooked Way

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Things appear as though they will settle down in the next day or so, and I can get a report on Fencon and a review posted. In the meantime, I’ve started reading James Enge’s A Guile of Dragons. This novel is being promoted as the origin story of Morlock Ambrosius and will be the next novel I review (after the one I need to write). To tie in with my review, I’ll be giving away a copy of This Crooked Way, one of the earlier volumes in the Morlock series and a good introduction to the character.

Here’s how things will work. I thought about doing a simple random drawing from among the entrants, but where’s the fun in that? Instead, I’m going to select the winner based on creativity. Paul Cornell has called Enge’s work “Conan as written by Raymond Chandler”. The giveaway takes off from that.

What fantasy author/famous nonfantasy or literary author mashup would you like to see? (For this contest, William Shakespeare counts as a fantasy author.) Specifically, what famous fantasy character would you like to see written by another author?

Got that? Name a fantasy character you would like to see written by a nonfantasy or famous author and why. The “why” is essential if you want to win. I’m judging the entries on originality and creativity. Your reasoning is where your creativity can really shine.

Place your answer in the comments. You can enter up to three times, but each character must be entered separately. Comments containing more than one entry will be disqualified. Entries will be judged on creativity. Contest closes at 11:59 p.m., CDT, Sunday, October 30. Winner will be announced later that week in a blog post and asked to send me a private email with a shipping address.

Feel free to ask any questions in the comments below. Good luck and have fun!

Update: More than one person who already has a copy of This Crooked Way has submitted an entry just for fun. That’s great! The more, the merrier. Thanks, guys.

Beneath Ceasesless Skies is Having a Subscription Drive

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One of the best online magazines of any genre, period, and a great source for adventure fantasy is Beneath Ceaseless Skies. Right now they’re having a subscription drive. A one-year subscription (26 issues, one every other week) is only $13.99. The formats available are mobi, epub, pdf, and prc. To sweeten the pot, when you subscribe during the drive, you will get a free copy of The Best of BCS, Year One or The Best of BCS, Year Two. Your choice. That’s hard to beat. I renewed my subscription tonight.

If you’re not familiar with Beneath Ceaseless Skies, you can find reviews here, here, here, here, here, and here.

What’s Next

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I’ve got almost all of the stuff out of the old house we didn’t have time to pack before we moved. One more night (~1.5 hrs) should get the rest of it. Then maybe I can get back to reading, writing, and blogging. I’ve been reading a novel by Scott Fitzgerald Gray for about a week and a half, which is a long time for this novel. It’s good, and I’m really enjoying it. It’s just that I haven’t had much time to read lately, and when I do, my aging body betrays me by going to sleep in spite of my best efforts to finish one more chapter.

I’m hoping to make it to Fencon this weekend. It was looking like a done deal, but some things have come up. I think I’ll still make it. I really need the break.

Afterwards, I’ve got a novel to read that’s been sitting in the queue for way too long , followed by A Guile of Dragons by James Enge. This one will have a giveaway associated with it. After that, although not necessarily this order will be Hard Times in Dragon City by Matt Forbeck, Steel and Sorrow by Joshua P. Simon, and The Black God’s War by Moses Siregar III. I’ll also be weaving some anthologies and periodicals in the mix as well as a small backlog of titles from Angry Robot that I wasn’t able to read when I intended because of the move.

All of this is tentative of course, but that’s the general plan.

Lawsuit Over Carnival of Souls

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This is nuts. There’s this guy named Jazan Wild who’s a comic creator. Among his creations is a comic by the title Carnival of Souls. A title which he has trademarked. There’s also a fantasy novel title Carnival of Souls by a lady named Melissa Marr. Mr. Wild is suing her publisher, Harper Collins for trademark infringement. That’s trademark, not copyright.

The really nutty thing is that he’s sending cease and desist letters to book bloggers who review the book. Seems someone might be a bit too full of himself. You can read the details here.

Meanwhile, I may have to bump ~~Carnival of Souls~~ Ms. Marr’s book to the head of the review queue. Not that I’m trying to stir up trouble or anything. I would never do that. Honest.

A Review of Brad Sinor’s Where the Shadows Began

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Where the Shadows Began
Bradley H. Sinor
Merry Blacksmith Press
tp, 182 p., $13.95

I’d intended to run this review in conjunction with an interview I conducted with Brad and his wife Sue. Unfortunately, Brad suffered a stroke about the time I finished transcribing the interview, so he hasn’t had a chance to check it for accuracy (there were a couple of places where the recording isn’t clear). I have no intention of rushing him. I’d much rather he focus on getting back on his feet.

In the meantime, I will run this review, partly as a show of support for Brad and partly because I try to find things I think the readers of this blog will enjoy. And there’s plenty here to enjoy.

Bradley H. Sinor is mainly a writer of short stories. This volume contains 15 selections, plus an afterward telling a little about how each story came to be written. There’s a wide variety here, from Lovecraftian horror, to alternate history, to Arthurian vampires.

Rather than give a synopsis, even a one line synopsis, of each story, I’ll highlight some of my favorites.

“The Adventure of the Other Detective” was one of the best, although I did have some issues with it. In this tale, John Watson, M.D., finds himself in a parallel universe in which the master criminal Sherlock Holmes is pursued by the great detective Professor James Moriarty. This one involves Jack the Ripper. At one point we’re given the information that the Ripper was captured in July of 1888. I’ve read quite a bit about the Ripper, and this threw me out of the story. The Ripper murders took place in the autumn of that year. But then I remembered that this was an alternate timeline, so they very well could have been committed earlier than in our timeline. And I was back in the story. This was one of the longer entries in the collection, and Sinor does a great job of capturing the voice of Watson.

“When the Wind Sang”, Oaths”, Central Park”, and “Final Score” all involve the famous vampire Lancelot du Lac. What’s that you say? You didn’t know Lancelot was a vampire? Well, now you know. On the surface, that might sound like a mashup you don’t need, but I assure you, you do. These stories take place throughout history, from shortly after the fall of Camelot in the first tale to a ren faire in contemporary Norman, Oklahoma. Lancelot is an interesting character who hasn’t managed to get Guinevere out of his system. Not surprising since she’s the reason he’s a vampire. We get enough of the back story through these tales to whet our appetites and make us want to know more. In “When the Winds Sang”, Lancelot returns to Camelot not long after its fall to discover there’s another knight impersonating him. In “Oaths” he meets a serving girl who is the spitting image of his lost love. Merlin reminds Lance that even the smallest of deeds can carry on the principles of Camelot in “Central Park”. Lastly, Lance hunts down a serial killer at a renaissance festival in “Final Score”.

“John Doe #12” takes place contemporaneously with “Final Score”, although the characters and killer are completely different. This one has series potential, and I’d like to see more of the characters.

This list is by no means exhaustive. There are fairy tale mashups. Several of the stories take place in theaters, both the live and the film kind. There are ghosts and superheroes.

There is one thing all the tales in this book share. They’re entertaining. Make that two things. They’re also fun. If you haven’t read Sinor, Where the Shadows Began is a great place to start.

An Exciting Return to Feyland

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Feyland: The Bright Court
Anthea Sharp
paperback $12.99
ebook $4.99 Kindle Nook Smashwords

Earlier this year I received an very polite email from a lady whose name was new to me. The sender of the email, Anthea Sharp, asked me if I would be interested in reviewing her new YA fantasy novel, Feyland: The Dark Realm. She was kind enough to say that if the book turned out to not be my thing, I didn’t have to review it nor should I feel obligated to finish it.

I thought this was very gracious of her. I took her up on her offer, and the book turned out to very much be my kind of thing. It was well written, exciting, with characters who were real and reminded me at times of my younger days. You can read the whole review here.

Well, now the next installment in the series is out (and has been out for a few months; my apologies to Ms. Sharp for taking so long to review it.) I’d like to thank Ms. Sharp for sending me a review copy. The question most of you are probably wondering about is, does this volume match the first in quality? Continue reading →

More Orcs From Tom Doolan

Paying for Reviews

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Apparently you can get as many positive reviews for your books as you want. Provided you’re prepared to buy them in lots, of course. At least according to this story in the New York Times. I consider services like this to be about on the same level as those that sell term papers. And since I commit dayjobbery in academia, you can probably guess where that level is. Somewhere beneath pond scum.

I want to state for the record that I have never accepted payment for any review. I have received free books for review, but that’s an accepted practice. Most of the reviews I post here are positive. That’s because I have a good idea of what I like and tend to pick books that I’m predisposed to enjoy. Some bloggers seem to take great pride in tearing a book apart. That’s not my intention. Usually if I can’t find some positive things to say about a book or story, I probably won’t review it. That’s a personal choice I make.

Which is not to say I won’t write a negative review. I’ve written a few, but they tend to be the exception rather than the rule. As I said, I have a good idea what I like and tend to choose things for review I think I’ll enjoy.

The difference between anonymous product reviews and reviews on blogs such as this one is that with a blog, the readers can comment, take part in discussions, and develop relationships with the reviewer. This allows a degree of trust to form over time. Even when the reader doesn’t agree with the reviewer, the relationship can be beneficial. There are certain reviewers who help me select reading material by the fact that we are so opposite. If they love a book, I know it’s one I probably want to avoid, and vice-versa. Hopefully, the reviews I post here will be helpful, whether to point you to books/stories/films you might like or to warn you away.

From what I can tell, there’s been an increased interest in reviewing on the internet over the last month or so, an increase that just spiked with the Times story. I wanted to toss my two cents in. I may visit this topic again when my schedule settles down and the semester is fully underway.