Review: Darkwar

Glen Cook puts a good deal of effort into submerging the reader into the world of Darkwar. Consequently, Cook spends a lot of time describing everything from the social structure of the tribes and their customs, to the beasts native to the area. There isn’t much for the reader to naturally relate to as everything presented is relatively foreign, so I would imagine there was really no way to write this without the excessive world building, details and explanations. This does make the book refreshingly unique, but also makes the first few chapters a struggle to trudge through. While the writing was good, there wasn’t really enough going on to keep me turning pages, so after I put the book down, the only thing that reminded me to pick it back up again was keeping it out where I would see it.

If you want to find a book that will completely submerge you in another world and occupy your attention for a decent amount of time, I would recommend Darkwar. If you prefer books with a fast pace and little less detail, then this might not be the best pick for you.

Writers Circle

For any writers who participate in a regular writers circle, here is an idea: submit something anonymously for feedback.

Someone in our group did so for our meeting this week and I have to say, I think it made a difference. When you read work by the same person a few times you get familiar with their mistakes and their strengths. After a while, when you pick up something the same person has written, you tend to expect and look for those strengths and weaknesses.

Try it out and see if you get the same feedback you have been getting, or if it varies. Hopefully you will get a little more than usual.
Good luck!

Review: Gideon Biddle: Shadowwalk

Shadowwalk by Katherine Wood

This is another book I picked up from Little Professor book store in St.George, Utah. As far as I know, Katherine is a teacher in Utah, self published, and if you are interested here is a link for her work;


Shadowwalk is a very fast paced young adult fantasy. I think the whole story takes place in the span of three or four days. Wood doesn't waste any of your time. She introduces you to the main character and spells out what you need to know about his life of bad luck just in time to turn it upside down.

As explained in the title, the main character is Gideon. I don't really like the name but it grows on you by the end. The first turning point is when he accidentally starts to 'shadowwalk,' which is also pretty self explanatory; he walks through shadows, using them to get from our world to the Midlands. Trouble tends to follow Gideon no matter what world he is in, but he gets through his trials admirably with the help of the friends he acquires; Emily, a dragon rider, and Griffin Nightshadow, a rogue wizard.

Like I said before, the plot has a very quick pace, Wood keeps you turning pages from start to finish. I was slightly reminded of Harry Potter (Parent-less young boy, accidental hero with exceptional abilities, goes out to save the world with the help of his two friends). Wood doesn't make the magical aspects so complicated that they need excessive explanation. She gives attention to the character development and relations, the dialog was very good, and the character actions were seamless. Her creation and description of the monsters and magic elements were impressive, to say the least. I read the book without hardly putting it down once and immediately got my hands on the sequel.

Since I found this book, I have recommended it to anyone looking for a new Young Adult novel. Book two is Gideon Biddle: Night Shadows and you can find both of them on Amazon. My suggestion is if you are going to buy book one, buy book 2 at the same time.

Review: The Way of Shadows

It's been a while since I picked up a really good fantasy novel. I have never heard of Brent Weeks and have seen no promotion for his books, I just stumbled across him in the Science Fiction & Fantasy section of a bookstore. What caught my eye was the white cover, surrounded by other books with dark and foreboding designs. The back cover didn't tell me a lot about what the book was about, but I bought it anyway hoping I wouldn't regret the 645 pages waiting for me.

I was not disappointed.

Azoth, a street rat, gets by day to day trying to stay alive and watch out for his two friends. Constantly threatened by violence, hunger, disease, and molestation by his psychotic guild leader, Rat, Azoth comes to desire an apprenticeship from the one person in Cenaria who isn't afraid of anything and for good reason; Durzo Blint, number one wetboy. "A wetboy was like an assassin - in the way a tiger is like a kitten" (Weeks, 4). Risking his life to get Blint's attention, Azoth is given an ultimatum. Kill Rat within a week, or be killed. Azoth quickly learns, in the most painful way, not to hesitate when his master tells him to kill.

The Way of Shadows is full of graphic imagery and detail, though I wouldn't count any of it as useless or 'word-padding'. There are rays of hope and compassion that seem idealistic and out of reach when compared to the realities of life from Azoth's point of view. The hope takes on a meaning that wouldn't be possible unless contrast against the detailed blood and violence. Weeks also includes a number of underlying issues, such as religion and morality, corruption in politics, the value of life and the ability to change, but largely avoids bringing too much attention to any theme.

We watch Azoth skip through the following years of training in a skilfully chosen set of scenes that keep the plot moving and eventually Azoth takes up a new identity; Kylar Stern. Azoth struggles to abandon his life and identity as Azoth and constantly reminds himself that he is now Kylar, Azoth is dead. "Azoth had been weak, but Azoth was no more. Kylar was strong. Kylar had acted. Kylar would be like Master Blint. He would never be afraid" (175).

The Way of Shadows used a combination of fighting and combative magic with a new approach which I found refreshingly original. The magic in this book isn't the same as what you see in the stereotypical fantasy novel and the combat scenes are easy to follow, the character movements have a natural flow to them. Not too much description of setting or appearance either. Sometimes I will skip through paragraphs of description if I feel like it's a waste of space, but I didn't find myself skipping through anything in this one.

The Way of Shadows is book one of Brent Weeks Night Angel trilogy. Reviews of book two and three will follow shortly. I recommend The Way of Shadows to anyone who enjoys fantasy and every person I have suggested it to so far have loved it.

Shades of Gray

Funny how thin the line can sometimes be, choosing between perhaps either the best or worst decisions.

When you have the time...

I just want to share this picture I took last month. This place is located on the hiking trail to the Emerald Pools in Zion National Park. The whole hike is beautiful, so if you are in the area or near southern Utah, I recommend you take the time to see it.

re-Awakening

Tonight I am working on the fantasy novel with working title, "The Awakening of Sunatica" and I absolutely love it. It is full of originality and I feel like it has real potential. This story was created by another author who I am co-writing with and this is my first experience as a co-writer.

I find I have less flexibility and often want to bash my head against the wall (as I am sure she does as well), but I am learning a lot from this experience. She has a tenancy to use too much detail, and I know that I often do not use enough detail, but with our different writing styles we are finding a good balance. The benefit of mixing us together is two fold. 1- we are finding a solid middle ground without having much difficulty. 2- I am learning to find that happy medium when it comes to describing things in my own work.

One of the biggest problems is finding times to meet that work with both our busy schedules. We were on a roll last year, but as she moved from NZ to the US in the spring, we sort of lost our momentum. Hopefully we will be getting back on track soon.

Here's to good friends and good stories :)