The Futures Women Spin: Interviews with the Distaff authors part 2

Round 2 of the Distaff Interviews. The book launches tomorrow so this is your last chance to pre-order it at a cheaper price - but for now, come meet some more of the authors.

First up, Kerry Buchanan, a short story author who "has occasionally been lucky enough to win prizes – and the competitions weren’t even fixed".

1) This anthology came about from you all being members of the SFFChronicles forums. What brought you to the community and what does being part of it mean to you?

KB: Jo Zebedee brought me to the community. She took me under her wing several years ago and whispered in my ear that any right-minded SFF writer needed to join Chrons. She was quite correct. My life became complete once I joined that merry band of humans, cats, spiders, and occasional aliens.

In Chrons I discovered a community of people as crazy as me (some even crazier), as well as a source of sensible critique and a sounding board for the good and bad things that happen in life. Other members are always ready with sympathy for each rejection and to celebrate the acceptances with me.

I've made some life-long friends through www.sffchronicles. For anyone interested in any aspect of the genre, whether reading, writing, watching or playing I can't recommend the forum highly enough.

I don't visit as often these days as I'd like to, because my caring responsibilities are eating into my time more and more as my Dad grows older and more sick, but I know that Chrons is still there, waiting for me, and that when I do get time to dip in I'll always find a warm welcome.

2) Of course, Distaff isn't just about Chrons, its about celebrating the many female writers who are part of it. When people talking about "Women in SFF", what do you think of?

KB: Women in SFF. I guess I think of all the talented female writers out there who feel as if they're imposters as they try to write SciFi, which can be a man's world. I think of the ones who adopt a fictional male/unisex name, or use just their initials to avoid being identified as female by publishers and readers, such as R B Kelly, Jo Zebedee, Julian May and James Tiptree Jr.

But then I think of the great female SFF writers, such as Anne McCaffrey, Ursula K Le Guin, Mary Shelley, Margaret Atwood, Lois McMaster Bujold, Tanith Lee, Pat Cadigan and Jan Siegal. They paved the way for us, and whenever I think of them, I give myself a mental kick, because if they can do it, some of them when female writers of anything weren't much respected, then I certainly can! The only thing that separates them from me is skill/talent 

*snort*. Skill, I can work on; talent is in the eye of the reader….

Women have been SF fans for as long as there's been SF. I was as hooked on the original Star Trek series as any boy of my acquaintance, although they seemed to be somewhat confused by my interest. I totally embraced Star Wars, read SFF from Wyndham, through Tolkien to McCaffrey and beyond and listened to Hitchhiker's Guide on the radio. Admittedly I was in the minority among my friends at our all-female school but I was already a pariah from the first day, when I turned up with horse hair all over my lovely new uniform and horse excrement stuck to the soles of my shiny new school shoes. Nothing I did after that could surprise the genteel young ladies who were forced to share a classroom with me.

3) Onto the stories! Where did the idea for your particular contribution come from?

KB: I love putting a twist in my stories, so that's always going to be a given, but I usually start out with either an idea for a character (in this case, Stephanie, the Scientific Officer) and/or an event. I'd been thinking about long-term space missions and how relieved the crew would be to see the familiar blue ball of Earth floating in their viewers. Then I thought: "How would it be if, just when they thought they were home and dry, something went wrong?" The rest of the story grew from that.

Writers talk a lot about architects and gardeners AKA plotters and pantsers; I'm the latter in both cases. As soon as I plot, I lose the notion to finish the story and it ends up gathering cobwebs on a hard drive somewhere. So Space Rocks just wrote itself, really. I didn't know what the twist was going to be until the first rock rumbled across the metal floor of the hold, and even then, I hadn't made up my mind.

4) Finally a question just for funsies - if you could be any female character in SFF, befriend any female character in SFF, and get to bring righteous retribution of your choice for any female character in SFF, which three would you pick?

KB: Ooh, fun!

If I were to BE a female character, it might be Kristin from Anne McCaffrey's Catteni series, because who wouldn't like to teach Zainal about coffee? Or maybe Menolly, female harper and friend of fire lizards from the Pern books, by the same author. She sacrificed so much to follow her heart and I'd love to have her musical talent. Or Susan Sto Helit from the Discworld series. Imagine being able to ride Binky between worlds and quell bogeymen with a stern look!

Sadly, there are far too many female SFF characters I'd love to be. *Sigh*

A female character to befriend. Hmm. Katniss Everdeen would be a useful sort of friend, if I could get past her prickliness, and imagine the excitement. You'd never know what was going to happen next! I think she'd be hard to get close to, but worth the effort. If I'd been a young adult myself when I read the books instead of a mother of three teenagers, I think I'd have been a little bit in love with Katniss.

Righteous retribution? Just hold on while I roll up my sleeves. Okay, for starters, Bella Swan. She really needs a good slap. I really dislike any character, male or female, who plays two lovers off against each other. I can't stand love triangles. Solution? Write her death in chapter 1, ripped to shreds in a grand battle between werewolves and vampires.
Another one would be Jean Grey from the X-Men, for many of the same reasons. She has so many men on the go, from Scott through to Professor Xavier, not to mention Logan and Warren. Maybe I'm just jealous of her flaming hair, her phoenix traits, her mind skills, her figure… *rambles off into grumpy silence*

I'm noticing a strong Anne McCaffrey theme to the answers so far. To find out more about Kerry's writing, click here for her website.

And now for Damaris Browne, former solicitor who now writes about "SF alien judges and fantasy characters in historical settings"

1) This anthology came about from you all being members of the SFFChronicles forums. What brought you to the community and what does being part of it mean to you?​

DB: In 2008, full of the confidence of the blissfully ignorant I sent off my incredible bright new wonderful SF novel to agents, and – naturally – got an immediate crop of rejections. But John Jarrold mentioned Chrons, so I looked it up. I’d never even heard of forums at that point and when I visited, I wasn’t sure it was for me. I came back a few times, though, just lurking and reading odd threads, then took my courage in both hands and joined. Three days later I made my first post, about editing, and a few days after that gave my first tentative critique, and that was that.

As for what it means, to me it’s a haven where people understand the importance of reading and the use of words, where I’ve made friends, where I’ve learned things about both writing and life, and, I hope, helped others learn, and where there’s usually something interesting, witty or wise to read. Also, since I’m a mod, it means bashing spammers and wielding a very sharp virtual sword against would-be trolls, which is always satisfying.

2) Of course, Distaff isn't just about Chrons, its about celebrating the many female writers who are part of it. When people talking about "Women in SFF", what do you think of?​

DB: Hmmm. I’m not sure whether to answer this with (a) what I think about how women are depicted in SFF, (b) my thoughts on the position of women SFF authors in general, or (c) a list of women SFF authors I admire. So I’ll do a little of all three!

As to (a), before now I’ve ranted about the – perhaps unconscious – sexism in older SF, such as the Early Asimov collection of short stories reprinted in 1972 with commentary from Asimov himself. There are no women in 10 of the 12 stories, yet in his comments there’s nary a word about this omission – evidently even then he couldn’t recognise his failure to envisage a future world where women could thrive in non-traditional roles. Women are plentiful in more modern works, but we find rape glossed over, authors unapologetically flaunting misogynistic characters and societies, and a pervasive view that male-dominated interests and activities are more important than those of women and therefore more deserving of space in a novel.

On (b), well, we think this is one of the first SF collections of new short stories all by women, but I’m willing to bet there are many SF anthologies where every author is male. Fewer women writing SF? Fewer women invited to write? Fewer women pushing themselves? Fewer opportunities generally? I don’t know. It seems to me there are more female names appearing in lists and prizes, so perhaps Women in SFF is exactly the same as Women in Anything Else in Society. Better than it was, not as good as it could be.

As to (c) my own SF favourites are Ursula Le Guin and Margaret Atwood, both of whom straddle the SF/F line, and in fantasy I’m a fan of Carol Berg.

Sorry this is such a long answer – did you know lawyers used to get paid by the word?! (editors note - I was hoping for a long answer). Anyhow, overall: Women in SFF? We buy it, we read it, we write it, we watch it, we draw it, we appear in it. We’re here and we’re not going away.

3) Onto the stories! Where did the idea for your particular contribution come from?​

DB: Some time ago I stumbled across an American competition for SF short stories which provided the title, or perhaps the theme, “The Color of Silence”. It intrigued me, but as usual, inspiration was lacking – if I’ve got a muse, she’s permanently on holiday and never answers her phone. I was walking with my partner down Lymington High Street moaning that I’d got no ideas (this is a common occurrence; the moaning, that is, not walking through Lymington) and he suggested it could be the name of a ship. So a ship she became, and it was clear that both colour and silence had to be repeat motifs in the story. In my SF WiPs I’d concocted a backstory of eco-terrorism which had resulted in millions of deaths, and it was a short hop from that to a deliberately engineered virus which killed children, and the ship became their last, best – only – hope. The story ended up gathering virtual dust on my laptop, but when we started discussing the anthology I pulled it out – the muse was vacationing yet again, and traversing Lymington High Street seemed too much effort – gave it a good going-over with a metaphorical duster and can of Pledge, and sent it on its way.

4) Finally a question just for funsies - if you could be any female character in SFF, befriend any female character in SFF, and get to bring righteous retribution of your choice for any female character in SFF, which three would you pick?​

DB: If it’s not too arrogant or Mary Sue-ish, if I could choose to be any woman character I’d pick my own female lead from my SFs, the Lady Verity, a Judge of Truth. I’ve given her a terrible childhood trauma for a backstory, some pretty unpleasant events in the present, and grief in her future, but she’s intelligent, brave, strong, complex, and can read people’s minds, so what’s not to like?! Failing that, in SF perhaps Asimov’s Dr Susan Calvin (he wrote at least one decent female eventually) or in fantasy, Savarien, the physician in Carol Berg’s Lighthouse duology, another formidable intellect who speaks her mind without fear or favour.

For a to-be-befriended character, in SF the only one I can think of is Balveda in Banks’s Consider Phlebas, who would be great in dangerous situations, but I’d prefer my fantasy choice of Clara Annalise Kelliam of Daniel Abraham’s The Dagger and the Coin series. Her husband is executed, one son is sent into exile, another is claimed by the spider-cult so cannot be trusted, and the third is effectively required to disown her. She loses everything – home, wealth, family, status – and suffers greatly, but she stands firm and takes the initiative in the fight against tyranny. She’s also warm, wise, intelligent, caring, more than a little manipulative, and would make a marvellous friend.

I’m all for righteous retribution, but I can’t think of a woman character upon whom I’d need to visit it. Over the years there have been plenty I’ve wanted to slap, with a firm admonition to grow up and stop being so [REDACTED] stupid, particularly in fantasies, but their names escape me now, largely because if I have that reaction to a character I invariably get rid of the book pretty damn quick, and expunge it from mind and memory.

The redacted there is hers, not mine. I wouldn't dream of redacting Damaris' work; only admire her ability to forget annoying characters.

Also, I never thought I'd see Lymington feature as part of someone's influence for a story, even in the most passing of ways...

Thanks for reading. As I said, the anthology is out tomorrow, which means my full review of it should be out tomorrow or the day after as well - and after that, Part 3 of the Authors Interviews.

The Futures Women Spin: Interviews with the Distaff authors part 1

Over on SFFChronicles (my favourite SFF spot on the net), a crack team of talented writers have been preparing an all woman Sci Fi anthology: Distaff. It's a wonderful collection of stories, ranging from charming to bleak and thoughtful - often in the same story. It's out soon and more details can be found here.

 When it was suggested to me that I might like to interview one or two of them, I responded with "How about I send 2-4 questions to everyone?".

That's what ended up happening and here are some of the answers - first up Juliana Spink-Mills, author of the Blade Hunt trilogy:

1) This anthology came about from you all being members of the SFFChronicles forums. What brought you to the community and what does being part of it mean to you?

JSM: I found the Chrons when looking for fantasy book recommendations; eventually I wandered into the writer’s boards and just…never left! The Chrons taught me about critiquing, gave me my first beta readers, and introduced me to my online writing group. The forum and its members have provided a wealth of support and friendship, and helped me feel like I truly belong within the wider SF/F community.

2) Of course, Distaff isn't just about Chrons, its about celebrating the many female writers who are part of it. When people talking about "Women in SFF", what do you think of?

JSM: There are so many talented and hardworking women in SFF. They’re writing books and comics; they’re making amazing artwork; they’re directing, producing and acting in movies and TV shows. They’re behind the scenes in publishing and entertainment, as well as at the forefront. They come from a rich history of authors and other creatives, and are as much a part of the rich tapestry of sci fi and fantasy as anyone else in those genres. The landscape of modern speculative fiction wouldn’t be the same without the women who work in this field, and I’m proud to call myself one of them.

3) Onto the stories! Where did the idea for your particular contribution come from?

JSM: A Cold Night in H3-11 was originally going to be a sweet little ‘first contact’ sort of story set in a space colony. Then the snowstorm showed up, and the title emerged, and the whole thing sort of spiraled from there and went down a much darker path than I’d originally planned… Oops?

4) Finally a question just for funsies - if you could be any female character in SFF, befriend any female character in SFF, and get to bring righteous retribution of your choice for any female character in SFF, which three would you pick?

1. I rather like being myself, but if I could be anyone for a day, I think I’d like to be Blue Sargent from Maggie Stiefvater’s Raven Cycle series. (In other words, I just want to ride around in an orange 1973 Camaro and look for magical dead Welsh kings in the rolling Virginia countryside…)

2. I’d love to be friends with cryptozoologist Verity Price from Seanan McGuire’s InCryptid novels; she’d make sure life was NEVER boring. I mean, cryptids! And Covenant knights! Also, ballroom dancing.3. This last one stumped me. Mainly because the characters I like who need retribution tend to have it served generously by themselves or by others. So I think instead I’ll put in a protest on behalf of all those mothers who were killed off in the name of Tragic Backstory… (And yes, I'm aware that I’ve done that in some of my work and fully accept the blame!)

It is true that giving birth to a Chosen One is about as dangerous as playing chicken on a motorway while wearing an invisibility cloak! To find out more about Juliana's books, visit her website here 

Next up is Susan Boulton, author of Oracle and Hand of Glory

1)This anthology came about from you all being members of the SFFChronicles forums. What brought you to the community and what does being part of it mean to you?

SB: Goodness, a hard question. I was at the time looking for another forum with a writing/critique section, as the old Tor critique site had gone fee paying. This was years ago. As to what is means, well, I have always enjoyed reading the various threads on the different forums, and it is a way to keep in touch with gene fandom. I still do.

2) Of course, Distaff isn't just about Chrons, its about celebrating the many female writers who are part of it. When people talking about "Women in SFF", what do you think of?

SB: The lack of exposure for so many women, (a lot talented than I am) and the way their stories have been overlooked on so many levels. Thankfully this is started to change in the last couple of years.

3) Onto the stories! Where did the idea for your particular contribution come from?

SB: A number of years ago I suffered from a life threatening illness, which left me with a damaged lymph system. At the time I knew nothing about the, “lymph system”, how it worked, etc. When I did, it sparked an idea (ok, I went damn, that’s a cool idea for an end of the world plague lol) And it grew from that.

4) Finally a question just for funsies - if you could be any female character in SFF, befriend any female character in SFF, and get to bring righteous retribution of your choice for any female character in SFF, which three would you pick?

SB: Lady Mara of the Acoma, (main character in Servant of the Empire Series by Raymond E Feist and Janny Wurts.) befriends Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and take on the Borg Queen! Mara of course takes over the Borg collective, and makes it part of the Tsurani Empire, and Buffy gets plenty of slaying practice.

Good to know I'm not the only person who thinks Mara of the Acoma is totally awesome. To find out more about Susan Boulton's writing, just click here.

Last but never least - Shellie Horst, author of Virtually Everything and workshop runner 

1) This anthology came about from you all being members of the SFFChronicles forums. What brought you to the community and what does being part of it mean to you?

SH: I can’t remember what I was looking up when I landed on the Chrons homepage, it was an age ago! SFFChronicles is like your party’s guide in your D&D quest or RPG; “Hi, What do ya wanna do now?”  Doesn’t matter what you turned up to do, you’ll be there for hours. There’s a range of members, each with a love for some part of the massive and eclectic thing that is Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror. Gaming, Books, Movies and the speculation around your favourite TV Show. The forums and thread conversations allow you to find common ground. I’ve grown and developed with it and the people I’ve met there. Through its forums I’ve discovered books and shows that I didn’t know existed (and wouldn’t have known about otherwise). I’ve formed friendships that wouldn’t have happened without Chrons.

I’m not one of the most active members, but if I feel I have something to contribute that hasn’t already been said or that will benefit someone I’ll chip in.

2) Of course, Distaff isn't just about Chrons, it's about celebrating the many female writers who are part of it. When people talking about "Women in SFF", what do you think of?

SH: THERE ARE SO MANY!

What? Who? Which? When? A different perspective, fresh voices, new ideas, challenging concepts. The Kate Elliotts, Anne Charnocks, Nisi Shawls, Anna Smith Sparks, Nnedi Okorafors and Danie Wares of this world. All the authors in Distaff… and I haven’t scratched the surface of women in SFF. A good place to start would be listening to the Breaking the Glass Slipper Podcast: http://www.breakingtheglassslipper.com/

Though there’s an ongoing conversation about female voices and representation in SFF I’m fortunate to know more of what’s out there because of the reviewing I do with SFFWorld. It’s not that they don’t exist, it’s that they are being ignored.

A lot of the female authors within the Fantasy and Science Fiction genres aren’t afraid to experiment with tropes and personal bias. All of them refuse to be defined by the past. They persist.

3) Onto the stories! Where did the idea for your particular contribution come from?

SH: Minecraft. Skyrim. Scratch, Show My Homework, Sumdog, Warcraft, Hegarty Maths...

GAMES.

My Little Mecha was a selfish project, I didn’t plan on sharing it for anyone other than my daughters. My youngest especially wanted a story with a girl piloting giant robot. So it started as a bit of fun that blossomed from Minecraft clubs we do together. I have issues with the whole “girls toys are for girls” way of thinking, it’s a core element of My Little Mecha. On the other hand, grown-ups are too busy adulting to care about what’s important to a child.  We adults with our wisdom of dangers presume younger generations are in a safe, protected environment. We’re reliant on code foundations and AI. In truth, very few authority figures (from parents and carers to policymakers) are aware of what is discussed and what they can achieve in their own coded worlds. The ambitions of teenagers will always find a workaround to the “can’ters” and the “don’t belongers” life likes to throw at you.

So. There’s nothing dangerous about playing with toy ponies, is there?

4) Finally a question just for funsies - if you could be any female character in SFF, befriend any female character in SFF, and get to bring righteous retribution of your choice for any female character in SFF, which three would you pick?

SH: Oh dear. ‘You asked that who would you be?’ question.

Melaine Rawn’s Sunrunner Princess Sioned? Flawed by anger. Pern’s gold Dragon, Ramoth? Yep. (You did say female character… not human.) Ramoth’s time travelling abilities would be helpful. Now friends. Sansa Stark who plays the long game? She has little time for friends and doesn’t trust any claiming to be one. Tchaikovsky's Honey and Bees would make for an interesting conversation. Retribution of the most righteous kind? Rin in R. F. Kuang’s Poppy War doesn’t waste any time setting records right. But Trouble Dog, from Gareth Powell’s Embers of War possesses frightening wrath, and I’d want her on my side.

I don’t know that I want to be any of these characters knowing the trials they have to survive and the trauma they're put through. I’ve lived their lives as I read their stories. I’d rather be the lead of my own personal journey. It’s much safer!

If in doubt, be a time travelling dragon; words to live by. Visit Shellie's website here to find out more about her writing and workshops

Stay tuned for more interviews over the next few days and my review of the anthology itself.

Pale Kings by Micah Yongo

Today I finished reading Pale Kings, the second book of Micah Yongo's Lost Gods series and the first of his books that I've read. The two things that really jumped out at me about the book are:

1) I really like how Yongo writes. Really like it. His prose reminded me of Guy Gavriel Kay in terms of its ability to feel weighty and beautiful, yet human and a bit sly - but where as GGK does it with soaring emotions and drama, there's something of a slow burn to the way Yongo's revelations come.

2) I was really confused as to what was going on.

Now, those playing along at home will notice that a possible reason for that. It took me a long time to twig it was the second book - for some reason I didn't notice it when requesting it on NetGalley - and I think it probably did contribute but it's not the only reason. The problem was largely down to a huge cast of characters that ran into each other; never before have I read a book that so clearly illustrated why authors like Jim Butcher give their characters 'tags'. It might be annoying reading about braid twitching for the 50th time, but it beats taking half a book to distinguish between Neythan, Daneel, Joram and Sidon. 

But I kept reading it despite that confusion because most scenes were worth it in and of themselves. And as I started to understand the unraveling plot and which character was which, I got sucked into the story as well. I have a soft spot for metaphysical mysteries - that is to say, fantasies that has characters delving deep into the nature of their secondary worlds, particularly their magic and divinity - and that is something Pale Kings does really well. Yongo does more than pander to my preferences though; he weaves a wonderful tale of deceit, betrayal, intrigue and assassins. It could afford to be heavier on the assassins, but that's just the neanderthal in me. 

I would normally be giving a combination of enthralling prose and my favourite type of plot (if it takes a while to recognise) a very high score and as much praise as I can give out without feeling like I'm embarrassing the author. The problem here is the characterisation; maybe I read straight past it, but I still struggle to say what defines Neythan. Maybe that would have been fixed if I'd read Book 1. And despite the wealth of description, I'd struggle to tell you what the cities of the Sovreignity are like too. Yongo gives too many small details and not enough ones that stick. 

And it doesn't help that what characterisation I did get, I didn't always like. Joram falls into the category of fantasy characters where I wish they'd fall down some stairs, break their neck, and never be mentioned again; narcissistic, callous and unimpressive. Neythan and Sidon both had moments where I wanted to shout at them for being too dumb to live.

Ultimately though, that is the only real reason I can think of why someone mightn't like this book. In all other regards, even people who don't love the prose or the nature of the plot the way I do should at least like it, by and large. Pale Kings is ambitious Epic Fantasy of the sort of scale and complexity shown in Daniel Abraham's work, executed with gorgeous prose and a powerful imagination. I don't know whether the first book in the series is worth reading, but the second definitely is.

(I got a copy of this book through NetGalley from Angry Robot in exchange for an honest review - thanks peeps)

The Relic Guild by Edward Cox

I don't know when I brought Edward Cox's The Relic Guild, testament to how great a life we booklovers have in the age of kindle sales. But I do remember how I came to actually read it and that is thanks to book pusher extraordinare Anna Stephens, who was talking it up on Twitter. I searched for the book and found that I already owned it - score!

Obviously, I had to have a look.

My first impression of The Relic Guild was that there was nothing amazing or standout about it but except that I kept clicking next page - which is arguably the most standout quality any book could have.

There was something about Clara, the young woman who finds herself hunted and possessed of magic powers, and her home of Labrys Town that commanded attention. The setting hums with a mix of gothic horror and steampunk-esque technology; I could easily imagine a computer game set there. And Clara is smart and resilient enough to be interesting, but has enough vulnerabilities to feel human and sympathetic. 

Cox describes well; what he does even better is to create the right level of tension in the stakes (for me at least).He's also very adroit in knowing how much information to give, ensuring we're neither mystified nor overloaded as to the nature of the eponymous Relic Guild, the perils they face, and the importance of Labrys Town to both. In general, Cox's grasp of storytelling and narrative principles are highly impressive.

Which makes my major problem with this book all the more puzzling. The Relic Guild has two storylines, a then and now, and when the 'then' storyline showed up, it slowed my pace of reading dramatically. The characters and hooks are nowhere near as compelling; it is a long time before I felt like they struggled enough to make me sympathise and wonder what came next. I'm a big fan of split-timeline narratives if done well, but for me this wasn't.

It's a huge shame as this took the book's biggest strength - a quick-paced moreish adventure story - and slowed it down. By around the halfway point I did gain an interest in the past narrative for its own sake but the damage had been done. It did give more depth to the setting's mythos and lore, and helped flesh out the backstory of some of the other major protagonists, but the extra knowledge raised more questions than it answered.  Which incidentally mirrors my next biggest problem - an ending that didn't offer enough resolution for my tastes.

These points of disagreement didn't stop me from enjoying The Relic Guild - only from falling in love with it.  At its best, this hit all the right buttons for me and felt like a very refreshing change from a fantasy genre that's fixated on psychodrama and darkness. Not that The Relic Guild is happy and fluffy and consequence free, but its focus is action and adventure and discovering a strange world. That focus is what made the book so more-ish to me. 

And that's what ultimately I would recommend or not recommend The Relic Guild on. Looking for something that digs at the human soul? Look elsewhere. Looking for a fun adventure read in fantasy's best traditions? Then The Relic Guild might be what you were looking for.

The Imaginary Corpse by Tyler Hayes

When Angry Robot tweeted about this book a few weeks ago, I jumped up and down in excitement and was delighted when I got a NetGalley ARC. The idea of a detective in a dream-land of ideas and stories? Gold. And the detective is a fluffy Triceratops, greatest of the dinosaurs?

I was, and am, actively jealous of Tyler Hayes for having the idea first.

What I didn't know at the time was that the book is written in present tense, which would have cooled my excitement no small degree. That's my one big irrational turn-off. I feel a little guilty writing a review of it now, for I am about as suited to this task as a vegan is to reviewing a steakhouse, but I read the book so here comes the review. Take it as you will.

Hayes dreamland - the Stillreal - is a cool place. It's like Toy Story meets Sandman. It is also a big place, ranging from kids' toys to conspiracy theories and everything in between. Detective Tippy covers most of it and between that and the need to lay down the logic of the Stillreal, a lot of The Imaginary Corpse is taken up by exposition. Sometimes I actively cheered that choice. Sometimes I felt a little let down; not everything about the Stillreal excited me, which is likely with such a big palette being used.

Either way though, the size of the setting impacted the story itself. Tippy's investigation is straight forwards and there wasn't much of a subplot, with Tippy staying focused on the case. The case itself seemed to be as much about the setting as anything, being more Howdunnit than Whodunnit or Whydunnit. And while that is cool, I think the lack of Who and Why led to a loss of hook in story and in development of the characters. I enjoyed reading about Tippy, Miss Mighty, Spiderhand and all, but none of them are characters I'm gagging to read about again (although a book about Miss Mighty and Doctor Atrocity squaring off would be good value).

Tone wise, it's a slightly dissonant blend between the classic gumshoe "Tough Guy with a Big Mouth" narrator and Disney-esque Power of Friendship moments. The first half of that didn't quite work for me and I think that's partially on a lack of situations to work his big mouth on, but the emotional moments hit home, particularly near the end. But then, when looking back, I see that I liked this story most when it was about the crazy place called the Stillreal and less when it was a detective story. SO that might be why.

All in all, The Imaginary Corpse is (for me) one of those books that tries to do everything and has a lot of near-misses on the satisfaction count as a result. It is a pleasant read, but doesn't achieve the sort of hyper-fun romp you get from the best Fantasy Detective stories as a result. But all the elements are there where it will be that romp for someone who does connect with Parsons on what he tries. And there'll be a lot of people who enjoy The Imaginary Corpse simply because it tries something new and larger than life even if they don't enjoy everything in the book. After all, I did, and that's with one of my most hated narrative choices in there.

So if anyone's looking for something different, something whimsical and imaginative and fun, step this way.

(I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley from Angry Robot in exchange for an honest review - thanks peeps!)

What I See When I Look At Game Of Thrones

As we near the finale of Game of Thrones, I think I've reached the point where I'm more interested in the conversation about the show rather than the show itself. That is not intended as an insult of the show mind; its more a state of wonder at the volume and variety of opinions surrounding it. I've never seen anything like it in fantasy. I'm not sure I've seen anything like it in entertainment full stop.

It has reached the point where I think Game of Thrones as a Rorschach Test, for everyone seems to be seeing something different. And while I mostly consider that a bad thing, as I sit here typing this I'm considering whether it might be good. Its certainly interesting from a storytelling point of view

The reasons for this are mostly obvious. The size of the story. The expectations. The strange case of the book that ended as a TV show written by someone else. One that I think is critical, and obvious, but not mentioned as much as it should be, is the extent to which the premise of the TV show itself as changed. It started in the vein of the great drama/soap operas, seeking viewer satisfaction through violent plot twists, gradual reveals and tense confrontations. Nobody was safe. The signature moment was the Red Wedding.

Over the last few seasons though, it has felt more like something from Marvel. The action scenes seemed to be the most important. The Battle of the Bastards seems as good an example of a signature moment as any; maybe the moment where Jon is standing in front of an entire army and doesn't end up dying, which is in itself a far cry from the corpse count of the early seasons. Arya's experience caught up in the crush of the sack of Kings' Landing was amazing to watch, but it is hard to imagine that many near-death experiences happening for anyone in Season One.

I am a big believer that there is an unspoken, unofficial contract between artist and fan when it comes to big series. "Support me and there'll be more of it just like this". That comes completely undone when you get a tonal shift like that. Worse, the internal logic of the show ends up in an even bigger state than the Iron Fleet. The result is that each fan ends up with a slightly different view of what exactly it is that's good about the show and what makes sense.

Multiply that by the number of meaningful arcs that GRRM left in and you get the Rorschach Test we have in front of us.

As I said, I do consider this a bad thing. A few exceptions aside, stories are meant to communicate a narrative so clearly we all know what happened and agree that was the way it should have happened. That doesn't happen with Game of Thrones. The break in internal logic is never repaired. It will be interesting to see what happens with the spin-offs and other planned fantasy TV programmes, because I suspect that's the true test of just how annoyed people are with Game of Thrones; whether they come back for more.

But can it be good? Has the show's ambiguity helped draw in more fans? I've no idea how you'd even go about proving that causation but Game of Thrones is a monster and the change in tone hasn't dented that at all. The 'Will She, Won't She' arc of Dany has probably generated a lot of attention for the show. Now that we are here and many (including myself) don't like either the outcome or the execution it may seem like a bad idea, but for most of the show's history it's been excellent.

More over, can a story that is looking to be deliberately ambiguous study Game of Thrones for lessons on how to do it? I suspect the sheer scale isn't repeatable for every story but maybe careful breaking of internal logic can be the missing ingredient for some. I mean, lets be honest; there's a lot of advice for fantasy writers out there to be rigorous with their internal logic, but its not hard to find moments that jump the shark in most of the recent big fantasy releases. Maybe a willingness to go light touch once one has gained the fans' trust is actually a good thing.

I think time will tell how much they got right and wrong in the ending of Game of Thrones. I think there are some people who hate it now who'll come round and that there will also be people happy to go with the flow for now who'll look back and ask "What was I thinking" if they re-watch. I don't think the controversy will go away, but a million opinions might go down to about a thousand or so. Right now I'm disappointed because a lot of the Chekhov's Guns I expected to go off have failed to hit the mark. But maybe in time, it'll all make sense. That's the thing about a Rorshach Test; almost anything can be seen there.

A Brightness Long Ago by Guy Gavriel Kay

Shortly before reading A Brightness Long Ago, I was wondering whether something like Line of Duty could work as a book. Whether if, once removed from the soundtrack of awkward pauses, slight tonal inflections and shifting facial expressions, a story built on the slowest and most thorough accumulation of details can work. It is a foolish question; Line of Duty is Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy for the modern age.

I mention this because while reading A Brightness Long Ago, I often considered the similarities between John le Carre and Guy Gavriel Kay, and that consideration started with their shared willingness to write as slowly as they like in the sure knowledge their fans are enraptured regardless.

Mind you, the main person Kay reminded me of is himself. It reminded me most of Tigana, both for the renaissance Italy inspired setting and the main overarching plot of ordinary people caught between the millstones of two enemies. But the nature of the rivalry reminded me more of The Lions of Al-Rassan; the sudden fierceness of love of The Last Light of the Sun.

The main character, Danio Cerra, does feel rather original though. The story chronicles his youth and early rise in the time of these two millstones, great mercenary captains seeking to secure their power in a land of greater powers. The story concentrates mainly on a few main key events and from there on, follows the unpredictable ripples of those events.

Some of it is told as a first person narrative by Danio; other parts are told in the third person from the perspective of the characters involved. Most parts are told in the past tense, a few in the present; most often the mercenary Folco and his niece Adria, but it is also used when recording the thoughts of the souls of the recently slain. This variety of approaches allows for a huge amount of nuance and shade to be brought to the said few main key events, which is something I believe Kay shares with Le Carre.

Of course, the origin of the recognition of things shared is the slowness. Kay quite deliberately puts the cart before the horse, relaying page after page of scene setting and back story before getting to the actual incident. The effect is to layer the plot with tension; both that of the slow build up and nervous questioning of when something terrible will happen, and that which comes with the empathy we build for people we spend so long with. I put this book down frequently, but often it was only for five or ten minutes to just let the ideas sit within me. Others will disagree, say that this book is too slow and too devoid of action. That will be a very fair criticism from those to whom it matters highly, but such is the skill that Kay works with, the majority of those who are willing to read slow books will not agree with it.

The biggest similarity though is the underlying theme of ordinary people changed and crushed by the powers that be, their own drive and desires, and sheer dumb luck. The angle of approach is somewhat different for in A Brightness Long Ago, the changes are positive more often than negative, and more about how one moment can stick with you forever and change who you are. Sometimes the changes are huge, forcing characters to notice the world how it really is and what power they have. Sometimes the changes are small, more a matter of the character's circumstances than their thoughts, although that too will change them. But there is something of Le Carre's exacting pressures and psychological maiming here too, although here the pressure comes from warfare and societal pressures. That pressure mostly affects the female characters, or men affected by the injustices inflicted on them; there is a quiet but clear feminist strand to this book.

It is very difficult to find anything negative about A Brightness Long Ago. The extremely unrushed quality of the story does at times go further than it should and leave me a little bored, but that never lasted long. In more or less every other facet - characterisation, storytelling, prose - it is excellent. At times it is sublime. Too many times for be to pick out a favourite. However, I do have one mild critique, and that is the final dramatic point is not the most satisfying and that after it, the story meanders around for a little more as it establishes the consequences. I suspect that, given how A Brightness Long Ago is a story of the power of the memories those formative moments of our youth, that is somewhat the point. The moments happen and Danio's memories become less clear. His life becomes less dramatic. And when that got me to consider how my brightest memories are increasingly long ago, I did feel very emotional. And is it right to criticise an ending that does that?

Some might be put off by the relatively minor use of supernatural elements compared to the rest of the genre. I hope not but it is possible. I sometimes think Kay's sparing usage is the reason he is not routinely mentioned as one of the genre's titans of today. Sometimes I think it is because of the literary nature of his writing compared to the action-adventure thrust of so much of fantasy. Maybe it is simply a perception brought on by the Atlantic. In any case, A Brightness Long Ago proves that Kay should be considered among the titans and that books built on the slowest and most thorough accumulation of details can work.

(An ARC for this book was provided by Hodder & Stoughton in an exchange for an honest review; I thank them for giving me this opportunity)