Archive for the ‘Authors & Books’ Category

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My Favorite Books – The Myth Series by Robert Asprin


17 Jun

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In honor of Fathers’ Day coming up, I want to write about bad puns– The Myth Series by Robert Asprin. I started reading them in 7th grade and quickly devoured the first five books in the series. I could relate to Skeeve and everything he was going through. Plus I loved the other characters, too.

Of the Myth Inc books, which are the ones not told by Skeeve, my favorite was Myth Inc In Action, told completely by one of Skeeve’s mob body guards.

Asprin has a great sense of character and the voices in his novels all ring true.

My Favorite Books – Stardust by Neil Gaiman


10 Jun

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Posted in Authors & Books, Movies, Neil Gaiman, Stardust | 2 Comments »

Let me start by saying that I loved the movie Stardust. It is a new favorite and ranks close to Princess Bride for a romantic fantasy. DeNiro as Captain Shakespeare was inspired. That said, the book is even better.

I understand the concessions that were made to make the book into a movie, but the depth and complications of the book make the story even more poignant. I love that Dunstan crossed the wall, came home and married his human sweetheart. It creates a nice dichotomy with Tristan’s decision to stay on the other side of the wall with Yvaine.

My Favorite Books – Ranks of Bronze by David Drake


08 Jun

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Ranks of Bronze is not from one of Drake’s many different series. It draws on his expertise as one of the best military science fiction writers there is. It is the story of a group of Roman Legionnaires who are kidnapped by aliens to fight in intergalactic wars against other aliens who happen to be of the same technological level as the Romans.

Once again, this is the first book I read by this author. It is the book that made me fall in love with David Drake. I rarely read pure science fiction, but if it’s Drake, I’m there.

My Favorite Comics – Girl Genius by Phil & Kaja Foglio


27 May

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If you are not reading Girl Genius by Phil & Kaja Foglio, you should be. In fact, go read it right now and come back once you’re done. It might take you a little while, but that’s okay. I’ll wait.

Girl Genius is steam punk done right. The story lines and the artwork are bright and vibrant. The characters are likable, lovable even, and the heroine is equal parts mad scientist (she will take over the world), daring adventurer (even if she has to do it country by country), and caring friend (she risks her life to save her friends).

My Favorite Books – The Winds of War by Herman Wouk


18 May

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And now for something completely different. Well, not completely different, still a book, but not the same kind of book I normally read. Writing about Snow Crash reminded me of the first book I read that rolled some non-fiction into its fiction- The Winds of War by Herman Wouk.

I read the Winds of War the summer between 7th and 8th grades. I was bored and we hadn’t been to the library in a week or so. I “threatened” that if we didn’t go soon I was going to read the Winds of War. My step-mom said go right ahead.

My Favorite Books – Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson


18 May

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Snow Crash has a special place in my heart because it is one of the things that brought my husband and I together. He loaned me the book right around the time our friendship was starting to evolve in to something more.

Not only does Snow Crash have one of the best openings ever (I LOVE the Deliverator), but the book successfully weaves mythology with a cyberpunk setting. At the same time the story doesn’t suffer for those who can’t bring themselves to read the chapters on Sumerian mythology. Instead, they deepen a dedicated reader’s understanding of the author’s world.

The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes


13 May

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I need someone else to read The Somnambulist. It’s full of lovely lyrical prose that begs to be read aloud. The writing style is so charming that I wanted to love the book.

But I didn’t, or, by the end I didn’t. I cared about the characters; I found the story believable even in its purposely unbelievable bits. But the epilogue killed me. I got the feeling that that author was trying to give the reader a deeply satisfying ending, but instead he did a disservice to all that had come before. Have you read it? What did you think?

My Favorite Authors – Gene Wolfe


10 May

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I first experienced Gene Wolfe during my writing courses. In his Book of the New Sun trilogy, Wolfe broke every rule my writing teacher gave us. She had told us that we needed to know the rules before we could break them with purpose. Gene Wolfe had a purpose.

His books are so well thought out, that it doesn’t matter if you’re following the web of flashbacks in the Book of the New Sun or immersed in the world of the unreliable narrator Latro, even if the reader doesn’t know what is going on, they are certain the author does.

Sunday Morning Critique


08 May

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I have been part of a writing critique group that meets every other Sunday morning for about 5 years now. It is made up of some of the most amazing people I have ever met. It has exposed me to styles and genres of writing that I would normally shy away as not my thing.

The only problem with the group is that it meets at 9am, and I get up at 7am in order to go write before the group meets. Once I’m there, I’m glad I am, but oh how I hate thinking about it on Saturday night.

My Favorite Authors – John M Ford


05 May

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Posted in Authors & Books, John M Ford, The Last Hot Time, The Princes of the Air | Comments Off

Ford was not the most prolific of authors. He wrote 12 books. I’ve read 5 of them and am constantly on the lookout for the others. Each of those books left a distinct and lasting impression.

Ford did two things amazingly well – write characters and write in the moment. In The Princes of the Air, years pass in between sections, and yet Ford never gives in to the temptation use flashbacks. In The Last Hot Time, you only learn the main character’s background when he tells others. In neither case does the reader care, because the moment is so engaging.

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