Spells & Chills: Fantasy and Paranormal Panel. That’s the very cool name of the panel I’ll be on this coming Saturday at 10 AM. Yep, I’ll be back in Southern California at the Big Orange Book Festival, hosted by Chapman University. The festival actually takes place over three days, October 11-13, with lots of great authors including Tim Powers, James P. Blaylock, Kim Stanley Robinson and Raymond E. Feist. Best of all, this fabulous festival is FREE!
And it’s not just the sci fi/ fantasy crowd. There are some fabulous authors from many other genres including Romance, Mysteries, Thrillers, Non-Fiction and many others.
So, if you’re in So Cal, please mark your calendar for this weekend. Oh yeah, and don’t forget to stop by my own panel and say hi!
Having several favorite fantasy series makes for diverse reading experiences that literally last years. My top series right now is George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. And yes, my love affair with this series has lasted years. In this case it’s almost too many years with only five books out. Now there’s no way I can review the entire series, in one little post, so I’m going to start with the first book, A Game of Thrones. It is one of my Five Star, all-time favorite books.
Oh, and did you see that title? That title that has gained international recognition as a popular TV show? Well, that’s the book that hooked me on this series over ten years ago. I discovered the series back in 2003, when a friend loaned me her copies of the first three books. Naturally, I had to have my own copies for rereads, so it wasn’t long before they were added to my bookshelves.
I remember reading A Game of Thrones and liking it and getting comfortable with some of the characters, loving Martin’s gritty style and thoroughly enjoying the story. Completely out of the blue, I hit the first “big surprise.” I won’t spoil it for you and tell you what it is, but I will tell you how it made me feel. Shocked. Stunned. Disbelieving.
I had not just read that, had I? In fact, I had to read that same section over and over because I could not believe it had happened. I eventually moved on, with tears still in my eyes. And as simple as that, I was hooked. I practically devoured that book the first time I read it and immediately moved on to the other two.
But it’s the memory of reading A Game of Thrones that has stayed with me all these years.
Martin’s words resonated with something deep inside me and, even now, after four or five rereads, I can’t tell you exactly what it was because it occurred on so many levels. The closest I can come is that I fell in love with his characters. And the story. And the writing style. And Martin’s fearless risk-taking. Oh yes, he does take enormous risks as a writer.
For me it’s almost always character first and Martin doesn’t disappoint in that department. The story centers on a gigantic cast of characters, good and bad, young and old, male and female. I adored so many of these rich and detailed characters. Like the Stark family, especially the children, with their dire wolves. Bran and Arya are particular faves. Jon Snow, whose birth is shrouded in mystery, or is it? Daenerys Targaryen, heir to past kings, but hidden across the sea. And, of course, Tyrion Lannister, brilliant, irreverent and enigmatic.
Told in third person, but from each of the main characters’ perspectives, the story unfolds in some of the most elegantly crafted prose I’ve ever read. Yet, it’s also dark, edgy and gritty.
There are so many rich, complex layers in this story. Every time I read it I find new things and think “aha!” Martin’s imagination is nothing short of incredible. The weaving of the various stories and the detailed history puts realistic characters into a world that seems believable. There are so many intriguing plots and subplots, twists and turns that simply captivated me and stole me away into that world for so many hours of pure reading enjoyment.
The story takes place in mythical, medieval-type lands. We find out relatively soon that this is not a variation of Earth. Dragons used to roam this world. And magic was real at one time. This world’s weather is strange, with summers lasting for years. But the North knows what the pampered South may have forgotten – Winter is coming. And with it, many wonderful, strange and horrifying things will emerge, played against a backdrop of kings and thrones and those who surround them.
Epic fantasy at its finest, A Game of Thrones is not just a satisfying read. It’s essential for anyone who loves the fantasy genre.
So, if you love fantasy and haven’t yet read this book, I highly recommend it. And if you have read it, but like me it’s been a while, I suggest a reread is in order. I know it is for me.
For my first 5 Star Review from my bookskelf, I’ve chosen “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale” by Philip K. Dick. This is my all-time favorite short story and has been for over thirty years. I picked this as my inaugural review for that reason. And because there is an interesting backstory from when I first read it all those years ago.
I’ve always been a voracious reader, but more so when I was younger, devouring as many as five to seven books a week. Being on tour with the theatre company I belonged to, I had lots of time to read while we traveled. Of course, this sometimes resulted in my reading similar books and/or anthologies around the same time. That, in turn, led me to combine two or more stories into one, forget who wrote something, or some other odd twist my brain dreamed up.
I met Philip K. Dick back in 1972 and we remained friends until his death in 1982. One day, in 1981, we sat in his condo chit-chatting away as we often did, when the subject of short stories came up. I was quite thrilled to tell him about my favorite story that I’d read somewhere, but didn’t remember the title or the author’s name. I only remembered that I loved it.
So, I proceeded to describe this story about a man who wanted to go on a trip to Mars, but couldn’t afford it. Instead the man goes to have a false memory implanted about an imaginary trip to Mars as a spy. But during the memory procedure, a complication arises.
Now, as I blithely described this story to Phil, his face got darker and darker and his frown deeper and deeper. Choosing to ignore the frowns, I sat beaming when I finished.
“Who did you say wrote that story?” he grumbled at me.
Well, I stuttered a bit because I had no clue, but finally I took a stab at a name I thought was on the book that I thought the story was in. Yep, I was doing a lot of thinking. All wrong, of course.
He glowered at me some more and left the room. A minute later he returned and tossed a book to me, telling me to look at “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale.” I barely glanced at the cover, only noting it was a collection of his stories and dutifully turned to the Table of Contents, found the page for the story and began skimming.
I looked up in sheer delight, as he stood, arms folded, still glaring at me. “Oh, but you wrote this!” My surprise was at war with my confusion as to why I thought someone else had written it.
Needless to say, he wasn’t pleased with me not remembering that he was the author of my favorite short story. I, however, was thrilled because it was my favorite story. I told him he should be happy, too, because I hadn’t realized he’d written it and therefore my opinion was a completely unbiased and honest one. He grumbled some more, but I think he was secretly pleased that it really was my favorite story. Of course, he never admitted that to me.
So, what is it about this story that it remains my favorite to this day? First of all, the story itself captured me. The twists and turns and unexpected gems that I don’t want to give away enthralled me when I first read it. Even knowing what those twists are on subsequent re-reads, they still delight me.
I love the character of Douglas Quail, an Everyman who dreams of being more, and whose depths and layers reveal the man beneath. Phil draws the supporting characters in broad strokes that might be a bit stereotypical, but it also serves to let us know exactly who they are, without using a lot of words on them. In this case, the stereotypes work.
And I simply adore Phil’s writing in this story. It’s elegant and crisp, drawing the reader in and painting vivid pictures that call his voice to my mind all these years later.
Having been published originally in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in April, 1966, the technology is dated. However, that doesn’t bother me. Perhaps it’s nostalgia, and I freely admit there’s a lot of that in this review. However, even dated technology gives this story a mid-twentieth-century sci fi feel that is appealing. And it makes me wish they would do a movie based on the story. Oh, not the Total Recall ones that borrow small bits and miss the whole point of the original work. But an honest-to-goodness film that would capture all the nuances of my favorite story.
On August 23, 2013, Colby Marshall will be hosting Trade the Day, a benefit for Team Alaina, a fundraising team for Leukemia Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night event. Alaina is a friend’s daughter who has been diagnosed with leukemia. Colby has organized a blog-a-thon with numerous authors participating in giveaways, guest posts and spotlights to benefit Alaina’s own fundraising team. In the meantime, many authors (including yours truly) will be featured on Colby’s blog. Please visit Colby’s Website to see the author features and find out more about the giveaways and this special event.
Crescent Moon Press authors are ready for summer! We’ll be blogging about our summer loves, how much we love summer, summer romance, and favorite summer books! We’re blogging about all of it! And we’re having a mega-prize Giveaway!
All you’ll need to do is visit our blogs listed below and enter to win some great prizes between June 14 -17.
I’ll be posting my own entry on June 14th, so be sure to check it out!
Grand Prize: A Kindle Paperwhite & some of our eBooks to read on it!
1st Prize: A $20 Amazon gift card, and a Swag Pack that contains paperbacks, more eBooks, bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, and more!
Drop by our blogs between June 14 & 17 and enter the rafflecopter!
It’s always a pleasure to meet a new writer and find out about the processes they use in creating their worlds. Today I’m joined by W.L. Sexton, featuring her steamy new novel, Raven’s Quest. This red hot novel (18+) is the first of a series that revolves around three women.
About W.L. Sexton
Wendy grew up in Norwalk, California adopted at the age of two days. At the age of 44 Wendy found her Birth Mother. They are making up for time lost. When Wendy is not drag racing, with her husband of twenty two years, she is running the racing team, working as a Trade Show Coordinator, or shopping at the Coach Store. You can find her running the highways between Phoenix, Las Vegas and California. You can always find her with some-kind of coffee product in her hand. She loves fast cars, music and tattoos.
at Amazon.
is now available at Amazon!
