After too long away, I’m back to show you the cover for my debut novel, Kojiki, available Aug. 2 in the US and Aug 4 in the UK. Look for it pretty much everywhere you buy your books. Click here to read the first chapter or visit fantasy-faction.com.
Thanks to my publisher Angry Robot Books and fantastic cover artist Thomas Walker.
Scott Westerfeld’s Afterworlds is a great read and a must for new YA authors. Why? Because it’s about a YA author’s journey from acceptance to published book with many twists and turns and enough YA fiction to keep you turning the pages. Mr. Westerfeld cements the book’s themes right away. The book starts where every author’s publishing journey begins–with the dreaded query letter. I was hooked the second I read that section, and I eagerly devoured any publishing tidbit Mr. Westerfeld threw my way. From YA parties and house-styles, to Darcy Patel’s–the book’s protagonist–insecurities over her edits, writing, and success, Afterworlds teaches as much about YA publishing, if not more, than many publishing websites. It gets into the weeds–speaks to authors about promotion, book tours and events, about success and the industry’s business side. All of this through the eyes of a teen unprepared for what’s about to happen to her. Westerfeld’s Darcy is every author. She struggles with her creation, frets over deadlines, criticisms, and the book itself.
Said book is, in fact, Afterwords, presented in connection and in context with Darcy’s real-world story. Darcy’s Afterwords is a paranormal story with a hint of romance. It’s fast and exciting, and its main character, Lizzie, seems as real as Darcy herself. Lizzie is the only survivor of a terrorist attack at Dulles/FT Worth Airport. A strange change came over her during the assault, and she falls into the Afterworld, a place that’s part underworld, part purgatory. There, she meets, Yamaraj, a fellow psychopomp, or guide for the dead. As Lizzie’s story unfolds, she learns how to use her growing power, despite Yamaraj’s warnings, and starts to fall head-over-heels in love with the handsome young man.
The fictional Afterworlds unfolds alongside Darcy Patel’s path to publication. Mr. Westerfeld balances the two deftly, shrewdly giving the reader tense, compelling chapters from one story exactly when the other one is in exposition. As a result, the book doesn’t hit the lulls frequent in other titles. One story zooms along and when it hits its natural slow scenes, the other picks up.
Darcy is a wonderful character, talented and insecure, and thrown into NYC well before she’s ready. Mr. Westerfeld constantly reminds us of her immaturity by giving her an impulsive nature. She’s on a tight budget but can’t resist the city’s allure. Her relationship with fellow writer and ultimate girlfriend, Imogen White, is touching and tender, especially in how it both advances and hinders her writing. Ultimately, that relationship and its ups and downs–particularly at the end, are mirrored in her final Afterworld revisions. You feel the loneliness and insecurity. The questioning and the fragile faith in both stories. It’s subtle and beautifully handled.
Mr. Westerfeld’s insights into publishing and Darcy’s trials and tribulations are spot on. Including the actual YA book along with Darcy Patel’s journey is a stroke of genius. A careful reader will spot how Darcy’s life and experiences change her novel, particularly at the end–an end that Darcy frets over for much of the book.
This review is from the ARC handed out at Book Expo America, (BEA). On a side note, BEA is one of the book’s many settings. I loved reading about it. Mr. Westerfeld captures it perfectly–as he does with so much of the book.
4.5 Stars. A MUST for authors.
Afterwords is due out in September from Simon and Schuster.
Source: Amazon.com
The Girl with All the Gifts is a fantastic read. How good? When I first came across it, it had so many aspects that I usually dislike. I typically don’t do books this grim. I’m not a fan of books written in the present tense. If fact I rarely get through them. For The Hunger Games, I had to go to the audio book. Something about the style doesn’t compute in my head. I’m also not a fan of zombies.
None of these biases mattered. This book pulled me in so completely, I forgot about them. How often does a book overcome personal odds and earn such a high rating? Rarely. But The Girl With All the Gifts is that good. It’s transcendent. The girl herself, Melanie, is so perfectly written. She starts out sheltered but grows throughout. Her voice matures and becomes powerful.
Kudos to Mr. Carey for perfecting such a complex and compelling character. The same goes for the story itself. I thought this would be a hard science fiction story, one stuck in a lab or compound. That’s all there, but Mr. Carey wisely moves the action beyond the labs and turns it into a true survival tale.
Another reviewer likened it to The Day of the Triffids. I can definitely see that. It also has a similar tone to James Cameron’s Terminator and Aliens. Bleak, desperate, and thought provoking, this book will keep you turning its pages. I hated to finish it but admit to it having a stunning yet perfect ending.
I will remember this book for a long, long time.
Love this book. Absolutely love it. Brandon Sanderson has made a name for himself as one of the major voices in fantasy fiction, but it’s in his YA works that you’ll find the most originality and best storytelling. The only exception I’ll make to that are his collaborations with the late Robert Jordan.
Sanderson’s fans will notice some fairly blatant similarities to his earlier Mistborn series, such things as the perpetual darkness and the evil overlord already in command. Not that this is unique to Sanderson–Star Wars used the same template. The characters set this story apart, along with the firm, solid plotting Sanderson constructs. 18-year-old David is fully fleshed out. We understand what motivates him, and it’s a joy to see him mature to the point where he questions it. The surrounding cast is equally good, Cody, Prof, and Abraham, each holding his own while remaining uniquely individual.
The women are just as good, though Megan is, if anything, a little too stereotypical. She’s the beautiful, out of David’s league girl he nevertheless sets his sights on. Not that she’s a bad character. Far from it. It’s just that the situation, with her as David’s potential love interest–is less original than everything else about the story.
Mr. Sanderson wastes nothing in telling this tale, using each chapter to plant seeds-very subtle ones at times–that come together brilliantly in the book’s final act. The Epics are something special. At first blush, the seem like any other comic book super-being. They’re not. Sanderson twists them in devilish ways and makes them wondrous and villainous at the same time. Of particular note are the fantastic names they give themselves. In one sentence, Sanderson shows how silly such things can be when he notes one particular Epic’s self-designation. And it’s hilarious.
Steelheart is a great read by a great voice. The next book is due out by the end of 2014. I can’t wait!
A very good review for KOJIKI
Judy Goodwin weighs in on my book, Kojiki. Click the link above to read her four-star review.
A few years ago, I met Robin Sullivan at Book Expo America. It was a great meeting, and she taught me a lot. A little while later, I found a signed copy of Theft of Swords at my booth. I’m embarrassed to say, it took this long to start reading. Was it worth it? Well…let’s just say, not long into the first chapter, I rushed out to the library for a reading copy. My signed copy now sits proudly–PROUDLY–on my bookshelf next to my signed Wheel of Time books.
Theft of Swords is fantastic; its my kind of fantasy. Great characters told in a brilliantly saucy style. It’s light and funny in all the right places and somber and thrilling when it needs to be. Its a swashbuckling tale that harkens back to a time when fantasies were supposed to be fun. Truth be told, I’m growing tired of broody, introspective protagonists and their ‘issues’. Give me these two good-hearted rogues any day. Theft of Swords takes me back to 1977, and the first time I saw Star Wars. It has the same feel, the same breath of fresh air approach. I applaud Michael Sullivan for writing such a rousing story. I’ll admit to an eye-rolling weariness when presented with elves, dwarves, goblins, and the like. Too often, they come off as cliche. Not here. Here they’re fresh. Michael Sullivan somehow made these age-old tropes new. It’s astonishing really. Maybe as astonishing as what JK Rowling did to witches and wizards.
It may have been three years or more before I picked up this book to read. The second won’t take nearly that long. If I didn’t have a couple of books I need to read and review, I’d be well into Mr. Sullivan’s next adventure–like yesterday.
I was thrilled to see this on Amazon today:
Awesome, June 25, 2013Kojiki is a fast-paced story, filled with multiple points of veiw and colorful characters. Gripping in just the right spots with plenty of action for this kind of story.
Keiko is confused by her father’s last wish and takes off to Japan to discern his meaning, setting off events that could mean the end of our world. It’s a non-stop rush to defeat the long-awaited Lon-Shan and Vissyus.
Yatsuhashi takes you on a ride filled with Spirits and Gaurdians, Light and Dark with plenty of twists to keep you on the edge of your seat. Well written and beautifully described scenes give you the sense you are right there with the characters. I love books that throw a twist to accepted mytholigies and real places. Yatsuhashi does a wonderful job of catching your full attention when you least expect it. I began this book thinking that it would take quite a while, at least 3 chapters, for Keiko to find the gate (and really start the story) her father sent her to find, yet half-way through the first chapter, there it is! There’s plenty to keep you interested and I fully recommend Kojiki to anime and fantasy lovers! 4/5
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