ozma914 | Entries tagged with fantasy

"If the Beast gave me a library like he gave to Belle, I'd marry him too." -- Aya Ling

So, my wife's bosses were going through storage units, and had to sort through all the books their daughter collected over the years. Some were damaged, but they offered to give Emily and me most of the rest. Their daughter, they said, read a lot.

Not long after, they filled our Ford Escape with so many books I was afraid it would bottom out on every hill on the way home. A few days later, they did it again. Then again.

Mountains of books! Forests of books! More books than you'd ever read in a lifetime!

Ahem. If you'll pardon me for quoting Beauty and the Beast. I may have cried a little. I also may have cried a little while we were carrying them all up the steps into the house, but enough about my back.

It was Emily who had to clean up the books because, as it happens, I'm allergic to both dust and mold. Never thought I'd be glad about that. But I forgot, and later when I was cleaning our former bedroom/new reading room (our own library!) I gave myself an allergy attack. Too bad--eight hours of sleeping off the Benadryl, when I could have been reading.

Freaking scads of books!

We're still sorting them, by author and genre. Authors like me, who don't stick to a genre, will be a problem. But many of them were novel series (love a good series), which helped. We unfolded a table and Emily got started while I was cooking and doing the dishes, which is completely understandable when you realize how much more organized her mind is than mine.

Really, the only member of the family who wasn't thrilled was the dog. (This all happened before Beowulf passed away.) When we first put up the table he liked to lay down under it, but as we unpacked more books that space became filled, too. Sometimes he just walked up to the table and looks sadly at his former doghouse.

"I am NOT amused. I can't even read."

A large percentage of the books are what's called high fantasy, which I take it are better enjoyed when you're high. Wait, let me check ...

Oh. Well, it means epic in scope, with forces threatening a world that is not our own. Game Of Thrones stuff, and didn't it take us a whole year to read through those massive tomes. The novel I wrote (and am currently trying to sell) is low fantasy: mostly set in the real world, with the addition of magical elements. Now we're talking about Harry Potter and the Giant Dump Truck of Money.

Many others are space opera, again similar to another novel in my submission process. Think Dune, the Lensman books, and of course Star Wars. (My Junior English teacher in high school was the daughter of E.E. Smith, who authored the Hugo-nominated Lensman series. Fun old-timey SF, and possibly an inspiration for the Green Lantern.)

There are also history books, mostly involving World War II, which made me squeal a little. Okay, a lot. There are mysteries, and both nonfiction and fiction books about horses, and encyclopedia yearbooks covering all the earlier years of my life and some before. We have our own library of books--something I always dreamed of.

I took this photo to document that someone decided to leave their shampoo behind, and buy a book instead. If you never leave your couch, you don't need shampoo.

It all made me a little sad.

Let's face it: even if I gave up writing and put all my spare time into reading, there's no way I'll ever get to all these books, plus the ones I already have, plus the ones on my reading list. We've still got books in boxes in the garage. I've got friends writing books that I want to read. It makes me want to retire to a rustic cabin in the woods and just become one with a comfortable chair.

Still, just having all those books up on shelves around us will cheer me up substantially, and better too many than not enough. With books, I may never go anywhere again--but I'll go everywhere.

That's a pretty good way to spend your time.

Remember: Every time you don't read a book, the author has an allergy attack. Keep authors healthy.

We and our books--I mean, the ones we wrote--can be found everywhere:

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Being a teenage girl is difficult enough, without your mother vanishing, your boyfriend breaking up with you, and being a wyvern--a weredragon. As if werewolves aren't bad enough. Then there's the fact that to gain her social standing in the wyvern society, Sky Hawkins has to commit a heist.

Naturally, Sky tackles the same heist her mother tried: the one that led to the downfall of her family's fortunes, and her mother's disappearance.

https://www.amazon.com/Fire-Heist-Sarah-Beth-Durst-ebook/dp/B07BD22J8F

Sarah Beth Hurst has created a society in which the weredragons, outcasts from another world, live uneasily among the human population of Earth, and practice burglary to cement their place in society. Sky's mother apparently fled after committing the worst sin of her people: Getting caught.

Sky assembles her unique team against the wishes of her father and brothers, who are trying to keep their heads down while Sky stirs the same pot that caused their problems to begin with. It's typical youthful rebellion, and leads to an adventure that changes everything.

Sarah Beth Hurst's young adult novel gives us a rich story and fun characters, presented in a straightforward way, and that makes me want to read more of her stuff. Maybe I'm still a young adult at heart, but there's something to be said with presenting an adventure story without a lot of gore or doom and gloom. Just the same, there are secrets and dark forces at work in this universe.

You can tell Hurst put a lot of work into world building, and it pays off with the characters of two different worlds who, as in real life, do dumb stuff, keep secrets, and generally act like people. Um, weredragons. The story has some great twists, and if Sky's romantic problems are solved in a way that seems a little too pat ... well, no book is perfect.

"Dragons?"

http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/"Mark R Hunter"

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Let me just get this out of the way: I, a humor writer, will never be as funny as Terry Pratchett.

But I don't feel so bad about that, because neither will you. Or him. Or her. Or almost anyone, with the possible exception of Douglas Adams. So why worry? Am I jealous? Yes. Yes, I am.

https://www.amazon.com/Mort-Novel-Discworld-Terry-Pratchett-ebook/dp/B000W967UQ/

Mort is the fourth Discworld book, and the second I read, which I personally don't recommend. But I'd heard enough about them by then not to be surprised by, for instance, the fact that the Discworld is a flat planet, being carried on the back of four elephants, which ride on a giant turtle swimming through space. There's also magic--lots and lots of magic.

Mort is a teenager who's unsuited to the family business of farming, so his father takes him to a local hiring fair. At the last minute Mort is indeed taken on as an apprentice--by Death.

THAT Death.

Mort accompanies Death on his rounds, and when Mort tries to interfere with an assassination, his new boss warns him that deaths are predetermined, and he shouldn't mess with fate.

Naturally, that's exactly what Mort does, foiling another assassination attempt on a beautiful young princess. A happy ending? But although the princess is alive, no one seems to quite realize it unless she gets in their faces. Mort soon learns he's created an alternate reality. Unfortunately, actual reality doesn't like that at all, and begins to correct it--which will soon lead to the princess's death, among other bad things.

Meanwhile, Death ... well, Death takes a holiday.

Some authors can be funny, as with the first three Discworld novels; some can come up with clever, complicated plots; some can create memorable characters the reader comes to care about. Somehow, Terry Pratchett manages to do all three in Mort, with a seeming ease and grace that makes all other writers wonder what the heck is wrong with them.

Before his death Pratchett wrote more than forty Discworld books, which have been turned into every other form of entertainment imaginable. I can't imagine how anyone could read Mort and then not want to dive into the entire universe. (You might also want to check out "The Watch", a TV series that's pretty good even though only very loosely based on the original.)

http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/"Mark R Hunter"

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So ... you've probably heard of this book, which has garnered some moderate success from an otherwise unknown author by the name of George R. R. Martin. Long-winded fantasy? Who does that anymore?

My wife and I were planning two long trips this summer, so we headed to the library to find an audio book that wouldn't make the dog howl like a direwolf. We were somewhat taken aback by Game of Thrones, an audiobook roughly as thick as the U.S. tax code. It was on 28 disks.

Twenty-eight.

Winter is coming. Maybe they could get some heated cushions for that uncomfortable iron throne.

Over a two week period we were on the road for roughly 26 hours of driving, and we still had to renew it from the library for another few weeks.

Game of Thrones opens with an execution, and believe me when I saw that's far from the only death to come along. The story follows nine viewpoint characters on a world where summers can last decades but winter hits hard, where dragons once flew, and where a giant, centuries old ice wall protects the continent of Westeros from the supernatural dangers of the north.

Most of the story revolves around the Stark family, led by Lord Eddard "Ned" Stark. After a long war, Ned's best friend Robert has become king of an assemblage of former nations, and now wants the reluctant Ned to be the King's Hand--basically the guy who does all of his dirty work. The honorable and dutiful Ned--you won't find a lot of characters like that here, outside of the Stark family--packs up and dives into the politics of an increasingly divided kingdom.

What could possibly go wrong? In Martin's world, pretty much everything. Tragedy, misunderstandings, treachery, and accidents ensue, as various characters give and take allegiance while others plot for power and ... well, pretty much just power. Despite Ned's desire to just go home, he finds himself entangled in events that will bring war to their world, even while winter nears and evil from north of the wall approaches. Meanwhile, the former royal family of the kingdom plots to take back what they consider theirs.

Sound complicated? It is. You can find dozens of maps online, just to show people where all the lands and cities are, and character trees to make interrelationships a little more clear. There's also plenty of nastiness, from graphic violence to child endangerment to incest. It's dark, detailed, and horribly addictive.

Emily and I were still catching our breaths when she took the audiobook back to the library. She returned with a new book, this time on good old fashioned paper, and I later determined it was five times as long as my first published novel.

Also useful in knocking out burglars.

Yep. Second book in the series, A Clash of Kings. We haven't seen the TV series, but my biggest warning about the world of A Song of Ice and Fire (which is the name of the entire book series) is that you should maybe schedule some vacation days before you start reading.

HBO covered this book in seasons three through twelve.

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Every now and then I have a dream that I can piece together into a decent story, given some time and elbow grease. The other day I didn't sleep well, and woke up twice in the middle of vivid dreams. In the first one, I was with a small group of people at an interstate rest stop when a tornado came by, just brushing the edge of the building. Everyone else hid intelligently in the basement (even though rest stops I've been in don't have basements) while I stood by the window, getting a pretty decent video of the twister as it spun by.

I've had these kind of storm chasing dreams before. The difference in this case is that I actually got some video; usually my camera breaks or goes dead, or something comes between me and the funnel, or otherwise I don't get a shot. Not really an idea to wrap a story around.

Not that I haven't turned storm chasing into stories before.

The second one was one of those dreams that was both vivid and had something of a plot. I woke up from it and lay there, wide awake and staring at the ceiling as my mind filled the blanks in. Then I ran downstairs to the laptop, and slammed out a story idea of about five hundred words complete with characters, setting, plot, and complications. Plus, our dog would be in it.

"Who? Me?"

Thank goodness I have a wife who understands writers.

Here's the thing: Although set in modern times, the story would be a supernatural fantasy. Just what I need ... another genre! That would be, what ... my sixth?

But the idea stuck with me so much that I was tempted to bypass other projects and go right to work on it. The only problem is, I was about halfway through the first draft of a Storm Chaser prequel, which I bragged about doing a year ago ... and I'd already put that aside to work on a new novel that I'm now editing, Fire On Mist Creek.

So ... it goes on my "to do" list, along with ideas for maybe two dozen more stories. Actually, a "to write" list. It has a ways to go before it outnumbers my "to read" list, but it's heading that way.

As most nights are.

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I'm not saying I'm behind on book reviews, but Emily and I listened to American Gods while driving to and from Missouri—in 2015. So, I am saying I’m behind on book reviews, and since this one’s easy I thought I’d knock it out.

Not that Neil Gaiman needs any help from me, especially with American Gods on its way to becoming a TV series. (Wait, the show's first season is over; I'm behind on posting blogs, too.) Better that than a movie—I can’t imagine how they’d fit this story into a two hour or so time frame.

Main character Shadow is released from prison early, on the news that his wife has been killed in an accident. He’s flying home for the funeral when Mr. Wednesday appears next to him during a violent storm, and offers him a job. What’s the job, and how does Wednesday know so much about Shadow? That’s just the beginning of the mystery, and as close to normal as this book ever gets.

The grieving Shadow just wants to be left alone, but soon finds himself in a war pitting old gods against new gods as he wanders across the American Midwest, meeting every sort of odd character, human and otherwise. And that’s about as close as I can come to describing this mind-twisting novel in ten thousand words or less.

Although I like listening to podcasts and audio non-fiction, I haven’t had good experiences with fiction on audiobook. That changed with American Gods, which is narrated (performed?) by George Guidall. At least, my version was; I've since learned that there's at least on other audio version. Thanks to Guidall I can’t imagine Wednesday being played by anyone but Anthony Hopkins (well, I can now), but he does a great job with all the voices, as well as Gaiman’s wonderful narration.

This audio addition of American Gods is, I assume, unabridged, and so seemed to take forever. That’s a compliment. It was like an endless bowl of ice cream that you never get tired of. In fact, this novel is the reason why I usually give books I really like a four out of five rating. That way there’s room when the occasional perfect reading—well, listening—experience arrives. This is it: Five out of five.

https://www.amazon.com/American-Gods-Low-Price-MP3/dp/0062314297

(By the way, the series is just as mind blowing. Instead of trying to shove all this story and characters into one movie, there's actually room to expand it a bit. I couldn't imagine how they could turn American Gods into a TV series either, but they did it, and it's a work of surreal genius.)

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I’m late with this, but my story “Another Family” is included in the free e-book, “Strange Portals: Ink Slingers' Fantasy/Horror Anthology”. Read lots of great authors, with stories ranging from the dark to my own tale, a lighter Christmas fantasy featuring two characters from my “Storm Chaser” series.

Sure, it was originally intended to give you a holiday break, but it’s February … don’t you need a break right now? And did I mention it’s free? … so your risk is minimal! You can get it all over the place:

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Strange-Portals-Slingers-Fantasy-Anthology-ebook/dp/B00QPLYD2E/

Barnes and Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/strange-portals-joleene-naylor/1120892104?ean=2940046451382

Smashwords:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/499789

Kobo:

https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/strange-portals-ink-slingers-fantasy-horror-anthology

and iTunes:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/strange-portals-ink-slingers/id950119636?mt=11&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Check it out!

Twenty-two stories about fairies, vampires, werewolves, zombies, and everything in between. Visit a witch's body swap victims (Samantha's Day), find what happens when a girl is buried alive (Buried Alive), learn the origin story of Harper (from Night Touched Chronicles) and Verchiel (from the Amaranthine series), and much, much more. So kick up your feet, relax, and indulge in a short story by a new favorite author.

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Slightly Off the Mark

Oodles of Books: the Gift That Keeps On Reading

book review: Fire & Heist, by Sarah Beth Hurst

book review: Mort, by Terry Pratchett

book review: Game of Thrones, by George R.R. Martin

On Writing: Dreaming Up a Story

Book Review: American Gods, by Neil Gaiman

A Free Trip To a Strange Portal

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