Tag Archives: Goodreads

Inspiration

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I am a very visual person. I LOVE to page through, read and take inspiration from art books. I can’t say that I’m a collector or a connoisseur, but I just have to dig into them. They routinely provide inspiration for me to work on things of various natures. Sometimes they inspire frustration because I’m not as good as a professional, but intellectually I understand – that’s why they’re the pros.

Images like the one pictured here (all credit to John Harris) have seeped into my mind. They’ve snuck into the cracks and crannies and lived there without me realizing it for my whole life. I have a story (unpublished) where I actually have something similar to the image above as part of the story. Totally unconscious choice. The artist’s work exists in the background all the time in my head – I just don’t often see as direct a translation as this.

I have other art books that I will likely go back and dig into now, just to revisit them and see if there are other bits that have snuck into my work. Until I get back to those, here is my review from over on Goodreads.

The Art of John Harris: Beyond the Horizon by John Harris

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This rating should really be more like 4.5 stars. Reading a book like this with all the amazing images accompanying the work is a genuine pleasure.

I hadn’t realized how deep these images had settled into my mind until I read this book. The works are definitely “bookstore iconic” as Mr. Scalzi says in his foreward. Seeing the scale and scope of what the artist created and then recognizing any number of these works from books currently residing on my shelf really brought home how good this art is.

Another aspect is the opportunity to read what the artist was thinking while creating these works. His story that went along with various images was great to read.

IF you’re a fan of science fiction art, this is a worth addition to your collection.



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Night Winds

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The first book of Kane.

Night Winds by Karl Edward Wagner

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is another foray into old school sword and sorcery for me. I have this paperback series on the shelf. I read them many years ago and I recall that I was super impressed with them back when I read them in the 80s. I was happy to see these books were available in e-reader format since I didn’t want to take the chance that I might damage the old books.

There are two parts to this review. The writing and the covers.

First – while I understand that matching Frazetta’s isn’t going to happen, the gay romance cover art really set me off. That pose, the terrible sword, the wrong color hair… it was genuinely off putting. Romance photo shoot guy is clearly muscular enough, but it’s just all wrong. At least get a darker background? The cover is so far off from the book it became a distraction.

So, the writing. I understand why I liked them when I read them as a youth. A powerful character who was more than just brawn. Planning, maneuvering, striking only when the time was right and then overpowering the enemies – exactly the sort of thing I would be drawn to.

Reading these stories now, as a more mature reader, I see where they fit in their time. Much like the Black Company (finished and reviewed recently) it is an example of the times. Casual misogyny, rape, murder and misdeeds fill the book. There are mutilations, revenge and horrible deaths. Kane, the cursed man traveling through these various stories seems… less invincible than he did when I read him as a youth. It also feels like there should be more of his curse, some evidence of his longevity more than speculation and hints.

I wanted to be more enthusiastic about this series upon rereading it, but it just fell short. Still good. Still an excellent example of old school sword and sorcery, just not as ‘amazing’ as I remembered. Worth reading if you want to dig into that old school stuff.



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Seriously – between the two? I’m taking the one on the left every single time.

Day Zero

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Day Zero by C. Robert Cargill

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


It almost took me zero days to read this one!

The writing here grabbed me right from the start. This was an engaging, thoughtful story with very believable characters. Things happened in the greater world, but the story stayed tight on Ezra and his Nany-bot. Seeing big events through the small window of people not associated with them was excellent. It gave time for reflection and a lot of philosophical thought.

I did like the action. It was slow and purposeful, at least at first. Toward the end, things felt a little rushed. There were some fantastic images in there and I kind of hope this gets turned into a movie. I’d love to see the teddy bear nany-bot with a minigun on top of a bus.

This is absolutely worth the read AND I’d absolutely recommend reading the dedication and acknowledgements. Well done all around. Go grab this one.



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Wherein there are complaints

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The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry by C.M. Waggoner

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Wherein the reader complains about the writing style and stilted phrasing of the story.

I’m grudgingly giving this book three stars, but it was closer to two for me. Perhaps two and a half. The writing style was very difficult to just sit with, the flow wasn’t great. The main character was a challenge to relate to. I will say she was portrayed well for what she was meant to be, but not really something that works well for me.

There was some interesting world building. The mystery was… there, though I think I figured most of it out early on. Then, about 2/3 of the way through the whole thing just kind of bogged down for me.

This style clearly has an audience. I did read it all the way through, so there’s that. I don’t suspect I’ll be going back for more.



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Black Company

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The Black Company by Glen Cook

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I have an old copy of this paperback. I got it when I was younger and tried to read it. I couldn’t get into it. I tried again later when I heard a famous author sing the praises of the story. I couldn’t get into it then.

This month it was the selected book for Watch The Skies. I tried again, and apparently the third time is the charm. I managed to get through the whole thing.

I understand now why there was praise for this book. I get it from the intellectual point of view, but it was not the page turning masterpiece that some others had claimed. It’s decidedly old school sword and sorcery fantasy. There is casual misogyny in there. Rape, murder and abuse are in there too. It is decidedly of it’s time. Also – the part that likely drew the praise – it is unlike other ‘heroic’ fantasy of its contemporaries because the main character(s) fights for the villain. Croaker is an unreliable narrator and not a hero in any real sense. The Black Company earns the name – black hearts all.

There is an really good quote from this work, “Evil is relative… You can’t hang a sign on it. You can’t touch it or taste it or cut it with a sword. Evil depends on where you are standing, pointing your indicting finger.”

There are tidbits like that throughout the book. The story is solid. The characters are believable, if not likable and the book has a reasonable conclusion. In all, if you want to dig into sword and sorcery from back in the day, this book is for you.



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Defiance

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The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I recommend you go get this book if you’re a fan of modern fantasy. It’s not ‘urban fantasy’ in the way of the wave of current day, hidden magic stories but it is evocative of that same aesthetic from the early 1900s. There are bits of historic religious practices (I think that’s how VooDoo is categorized) combined with the reality of life for the characters at that time in the world.

The area and the characters are so real. There was romance and drama. Concern for the ripples a ‘heroic action’ would send out into the world. It had action as well, with spells and thugs and stakeouts leading to police raids and chases.

I went through this book in a rush and was completely satisfied when I finished it. Go and read this author’s work!





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Nameless

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The Nameless Restaurant by Tao Wong

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is a Watch The Skies choice. I suspect I would have missed it if not for the book club selecting it. I look forward to the discussion on it… because it isn’t something I would have picked.

This story does fall into the new ‘cozy’ category. It’s not a high stakes, save the world type story. It takes place entirely inside the restaurant and the adjoining kitchen. There may be repercussions outside the entry doors, but we don’t see that. We see almost nothing in terms of action actually.

I think this is an odd cross between a character study and a food network show pitch.

It’s clear and well written. It has interesting characters. It clearly loves food and cooking. There are hints at powers and politics, but all of that is wiped away by dessert. I will say I like it, but I don’t know that I’ll be reading more. It’s good, I’m just not sure it’s for me.



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Knitting Needles and Handkerchiefs

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The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher by E.M. Anderson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A chosen one fantasy you say? Been there, seen that… except I haven’t seen this before.

A chosen one who’s NOT a child. Somebody with life experience and real world concerns. Somebody who can’t necessarily solve every problem with athletic skill. What a wonderful change.

While I’m not in the same age category as Edna, it was refreshing to see how life can and does change a person and how they interact with others. Edna and her companions were real and believable. The mish-mash of desires and emotions and actions based on that made for a believable group of people.

There was still action. There were swords and spells and dragons. There were real consequences to actions and choices made. This was a thoroughly enjoyable book. If you’re looking for some good modern fantasy I would recommend this one, knitting needles and all.



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Drunk

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That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book came up on a ‘cozy fantasy’ list as a recommendation. I don’t remember where that list was, but they were incorrect.

This is not cozy, this is explicit. That’s fine, if that’s what you’re expecting.

This is NOT low stakes, except if you simply ignore everything outside of the relationship between the two main characters. The world building is really interesting. There’s a great set up for a land where the people are deceived and how culture builds around certain aspects of life. Everything from names people are given to how they conduct their day to day lives. It’s got good concepts!

Then it rips them apart, and tosses all that aside for a sex on the beach scene.

Again, this is great if that’s what you’re looking for. Don’t think about the world, focus on the sex. Cool. IF that’s what you’re looking for, this is the book for you. It was not what I was expecting, so it suffered because of that.



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Painful Indeed

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Vacationland: True Stories from Painful Beaches by John Hodgman


My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Vacationland is, by any metric you’d care to chose, the whitest book I have ever read. It oozes privilege. It was gifted to me at some point in the relatively recent past. My friend believed because I was from New England originally, and had briefly both lived and vacationed in Maine that I would appreciate the stories told within the pages.

I can say now that I’m unsure what my friend’s true intentions were. Did they really think I would enjoy it or were they trying to send me a cryptic message about my own behaviors? Was there ulterior motive? Perhaps not.

I recognized and related to a couple of stories here, or parts of them. I had successfully repressed the memories of going to the dump, but now they’ve returned. There was a significant portion of this work that simply made me cringe. Perhaps that was the authors plan all along? Having read all the essays in this book it wouldn’t shock me. I could imagine a meeting with an editor where plans were made to really put one over on everyone by publishing this. We will laugh maniacally whenever a royalty check is sent.

I have read this book. That is now a thing I can say and not be lying at all.



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