Reviews of favorite books

Fiction: All Systems Red by Martha Wells

6/2/2023

Sisyphus

This first installment in the popular Murderbot Diaries, All Systems Red is an exciting, suspense-filled science fiction story It also won the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards for best novella (~150 pages). I read it ahead of the WisCon46 convention where Martha Wells was a Guest of Honor.
The author gave a powerful speech, reminding everyone that progress is a moving target. She likened the task of broadening the inclusiveness of the science fiction/fantasy field to the labor of Sisyphus: no matter how far we’ve come, we have to keep pushing that boulder up the mountain.

In All Systems Red, Murderbot is a cyborg (human-android hybrid) assigned to a planetary survey team. Murderbot only wants to watch soap operas and avoid human contact--but events soon put Murderbot and the survey team in danger as they race to discover why a neighboring team isn’t answering their hails.
Murderbot is a fun and fascinating character: ultracompetent with security (and hacking the system to download soap operas), painfully uncomfortable interacting with the human survey team.
I struggled to keep the eight survey members clear in my mind. The team leader and an augmented human who didn’t trust Murderbot were the most memorable; one was almost as good as Murderbot at hacking things--the others blended together. This was the only weak point in the book for me.

I don’t want to give any of the delightful plot twists away in All Systems Red, but I will say this was an absolute page-turner.
Hoping to dissect the author’s technique, I read it twice--but got sucked into the story both times.
I’ll have to buy a copy (this one came from my local library) in the hopes that if I read it enough times, I might be able to actually study the author’s writing methods. Meanwhile, I’ve already ordered the second in the series from my library.

Fiction: The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia

5/17/2023

I’ve been reading Naseem Jamnia’s author newsletter for months. When I learned she was participating at WisCon46 (the feminist SFF convention over Memorial Day weekend), I was inspired to get her debut fantasy novel, The Bruising of Qilwa from my local library.
The story is a medical mystery involving a magical “blood-bruising” plague. The narrator, Firuz, is a transgender healer with “blood” magic. Firuz is also a refugee trying to support their family by working at the local clinic.

The author uses the singular they pronoun (they, them) throughout the story to emphasize Firuz’s gender-neutrality, but I wondered why the book wasn't written in first-person (I, me) since the entire tale is told from Firuz’s point of view. There are other interesting pronouns briefly employed, reminding me of Charlie Jane Anders’ Love Might Be Too Strong a Word, which remains my favorite pronoun tour-de-force.
The intriguing magic system as described by Firuz: “Energy is constantly flowing in the universe…When we learn magic, we’re growing the muscle, so to speak, that allows us to access this energy. Anyone can learn, but not everyone has the patience or aptitude. That’s why we use the general term magic user, but adept for those who train.”
The Bruising of Qilwa is a short novella (179 pages) with a breadth of themes: found family, loyalty, magic responsibility, the plight (and resilience) of refugees, ethnic prejudice, gender identity, and the nature of colonial power. This breadth gives the storyworld heft, but strained the dialogue and plot in some places. There are a number of non-English words, most of which are defined in context, but many occur so infrequently, they seemed sprinkled in for exotic flavor rather than serving a story purpose.
Despite its limitations, the book has undeniable heart and more nuance than a typical Young Adult fantasy--and it's a joy to read a trans character whose gender identity is not a source of angst. Be sure to read the author's afterward about how their experiences as a Persian-American shaped the story.

Short Stories: Scourge of the Seas

5/7/2023

I rarely buy books I haven’t pre-read at the library, but I’m a sucker for pirate stories, so I took a chance on Scourge of the Seas of Time (and Space), edited by Catherine Lundoff.
This fun book is from Queen of Swords Press, an independent publisher “specializing in swashbuckling tales of derring-do.”

My favorite stories:

“Treasured Island,” by Ginn Hale, follows the adventures of a snarky marooned pirate on a living island. Best line: “I felt myself lonely and strange.”
“The Seafarer,” by Ashley Deng, is a well-written tale set during the Ottoman Empire. It features a sorcerer ship captain and his first mate, who is “lithe as a dancer and deadly as the tides.” She can control the sea.
Mharie West pens an adventurous tale inspired by Norse culture involving a delightful love triangle in “Serpent’s Tale.”
The aftermath of the fall of Troy is the focus in Elliot Dunstan’s “Andromache’s War.” It has a number of historical inconsistencies (including a quote from the 17th century), but the strength of watching a war-bride transform into a pirate queen is worth the ride.
“Rib of Man” is a rollicking feel-good adventure highlighting the “radical egalitarianism” associated with pirates by the scholar Marcus Rediker.
“Tenari” by Micheal Merriam is a space-opera mystery. The captain and her crew discover a derelict ship carrying unexpected cargo.

Overall, the collection was uneven in both theme and writing skill, but the stronger stories made it worth reading. And as the editor says in her introduction: “Pirates have always represented freedom and adventure and swordplay and many of the things I find irresistible.”

Fiction: Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust

4/24/2023

Girl, Serpent, Thorn is a fairy tale, a fantasy adventure, and a romance novel. The story explores personal identity, what it means to be “strong,” and the fluidity of perception (explored through the lens of monstrosity).
There are a lot of unexpected plot twists and turns that nonetheless feel inevitable once revealed. The book balances all of these elements well and provides a fun page-turning read.

The main character, Soraya, has spent her life sequestered due to an unusual curse: she is poisonous to the touch. When a handsome young man saves her brother, the shah, from a demon, he’s elevated to the palace guard. This young guard takes an interest in Soraya, awakening her yearning for intimacy. She enlists the young guard’s aid to visit the demon who attacked her brother, whom she believes might hold the key to reversing her curse.
The story’s plot twists come from the (many) secrets Soraya uncovers in her quest to be free of her curse. I found Soraya’s courage and plucky creativity much more compelling than her periods of angsty guilt, though her self-doubt is plausible given her social isolation and naivete--and she faces some truly formidable foes.
Soraya’s final transformation is less than fully satisfying. The author laid out the reason for her decision well, it fit with the theme of self-empowerment, and it set her up with a super-cool lover--but it didn’t provide the emotional catharsis I was hoping for. A minor quibble in an otherwise delightful tale.
Be sure to read the author’s note at the end where she describes the various legends and myths she used to inform the novel.

Writing Craft: Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg

4/16/2023

An insightful guide written by poet and writing instructor, Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones offers wisdom for living life as well as tips for honing writing skills. It reminded me of The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. Both advocate daily writing sprints, and though I did none of the suggested exercises in either book, I did enjoy many inspirational gems in Writing Down the Bones.

Some favorite excerpts:

Don’t worry about your talent or capability: that will grow as you practice.
We learn writing by doing it. That simple.
The power is always in the act of writing. Come back to that again and again and again.
You listen so deeply to the space around you that it fills you, and when you write, it pours out of you.
Writing is a whole lifetime and a lot of practice.
Take chances. You will succeed if you are fearless of failure.
We are carried on the backs of all the writers who came before us.
Become big and write the whole world into your arms.
Go further than you think you can.
You can start writing again at any minute. Let go of all your failures and sit down and write
Writing can teach us the dignity of speaking the truth

On revision:

…when you go over your work, become a Samurai, a great warrior with the courage to cut out anything that is not present.
See revision as “envisioning again.” If there are areas in your work where there is a blur or vagueness, you can simply see the picture again and add the details that will bring your work closer to your mind’s picture.

A closing quote:
…though death is howling at our backs and life is roaring at our faces, we can just begin to write, simply begin to write what we have to say.

Fiction: Water Logic by Laurie J. Marks

4/8/2023

Water Logic is the third novel in the Elemental Logic series by Laurie J. Marks. It follows many of the same characters as the previous books: the warrior-woman Zanja and her wife Karis; the soldier Clement and her lover Seth, a cow-doctor.
The story deepens the political impasse between the Sainnite invaders and the native Shaftali. The Sainnite military are embroiled in an internal struggle over leadership, while the Shaftali are divided over whether to forgive the Sainnites or punish them for their past misdeeds.

I enjoyed the found-family aspect of these books and the moral dilemmas the characters wrestle with within the larger political context. There are no easy answers, and the author deftly explores the potential consequences of action and inaction.
Some favorite passages:

The silence made Seth’s ears feel empty.
The trail was steep and slippery with mud, and her legs wobbled like warped wagon wheels.
Putting on her sodden clothing was about as pleasant as rolling naked in the snow.
Seth could have named each of these pastures or hay fields but did not subject Damon [or the reader] to that recital.
One of the people at the table had been Seth’s brother. They had grown up together at High Meadow, and it was possible they might share a parent, though no one paid attention to such things here. [realistic polyamory]
As the sun set, a solitary woodland bird began calling for company but received no answer. The water at the bottom of the cliff lapped and sighed. Distant waves boomed.
For peace, thought Seth, is not merely the absence of war. It is all the things that war displaces, the things that war makes not merely unachievable, but unimaginable.

There was much to enjoy in Water Logic, however the novel as a whole wasn't as satisfying as the previous two books. Two favorite characters were off-stage for most of the story: one caught out of time, the other in a numbed state following a horrific trauma. This slowed the pace and undermined the cohesiveness of the narrative. I enjoyed the reveal near the end that recast much of the story in a new light, but it wasn't enough to salvage the meandering plot. A disappointing novel overall despite my love for the characters and the world of Shaftal.

Writing Craft: How to Write Killer Fiction by Carolyn Wheat

4/1/2023

Carolyn Wheat explores the twin genres of mystery and suspense novels in her insightful guide, How to Write Killer Fiction.
This book was on the resource list for one of the Odyssey Workshops I took in January (highly recommended).
It’s a great companion to one of my go-to resources, Conflict & Suspense, by James Scott Bell.

Favorite take-aways:

The central problem of a mystery is not “who killed X,” but who covered up the killing of X and how did [they] succeed in creating the illusion that [they] did not kill X.
The central question of the suspense novel is: will our hero survive. Will she prevail?
A mystery is an intellectual puzzle with a skilled detective and multiple suspects with means, motive, and opportunity.
A suspense story is an emotional nightmare with a struggling hero and multiple betrayals.
A mystery is a power fantasy: the Great Detective is in control, unaffected by the powerful emotions around [them]
Suspense is a victim fantasy: the hero is buffeted by the winds of fate--but she will prevail in the end thanks to the skills she hardly knew she possessed. In suspense, emotions are up-front and dominant.

On scene-building:

Every scene in the book must start from a position of wanting.
A scene must involve some level of conflict and tension.
Every scene must produce change [for the main character].
The writer must know exactly what the scene goal is and convey that to the reader.
One scene goal and one resolution of that goal per scene, no more.
Give the scene a beginning, middle, and snappy end that doesn’t just trail off.

On revision:

Cut extraneous little words and go for straightforward sentences.
Let go of plotlines and characters that don’t advance the book as a whole.
Focus on what turns you on right now, no matter what you loved before [in the first draft].
Build to a strong climax and then give that climax its full value.
If a subplot seems unconnected to the main story, then you have two choices: connect it or lost it.

The overall goal:

Create full-bodied scenes with deep character development, realistic dialogue, and dead-on description
Write narrative connectors that sparkle with wit and contain closely observed details
And keep…hurtling toward a take-no-prisoners ending

When you’re finished:
You tell yourself you’re reading it over one more time just to make sure there’s nothing more to fix, but that isn’t true. You’re reading it over one more time because it’s so damn good. That, my friends, is “finished.”

Fiction: Earth Logic by Laurie J. Marks

3/18/2023

I enjoyed Fire Logic enough to read the second novel in the Elemental Logic series by Laurie J. Marks, Earth Logic. In this complex story, a mysterious plague haunts the land. Karis and her allies set out to provide healing.
Meanwhile, a (false) prophet plots to destroy the occupying Sainnite army. When he and his followers attack the main garrison, the Sainnite lieutenant-general Clement responds by kidnapping local children, initiating a series of catastrophes.

Although Karis drives the novel’s second half, we are rarely in her point of view. Instead, we follow her wife Zanja--who spends much of the novel in a dissociated state.
An exiled cook provides the “naive outsider” point of view, letting the reader learn with him.
The third POV character, and the one who undergoes the largest arc of transformation, is the Sainnite soldier Clement. Just as Zanja was the heart of the first novel, Clement anchors this story.
Despite reading the first novel where all the major players were introduced, it was hard to keep track of the extensive cast of characters--especially in the beginning when the reader is thrown into Zanja’s chaotic extended family. I kept wishing the author could’ve told her tale with fewer story-people. Also, the pace was slow in the first half of the novel, though gained traction as the story progressed.
Aside from these quibbles, the elemental magic remained fascinating and the ending wonderfully cathartic. This author knows how to nail a story resolution.

WRITING CRAFT: Techniques of the Selling Writer

3/2/2023

Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain (© 1965) was on the recommended resource list in my recent Odyssey workshop.
It focuses on structuring successful, cause-and-effect based commercial fiction through motivating stimulus and character reaction.
Be forewarned: it's outrageously sexist.

The author says:

The pertinent stimulus must show some change in the external world--your focal character’s state of affairs.
This external change must [logically] evoke some change in [the character’s] internal world also--[their] state of mind.
This internal change must reasonably lead [the character] to behave in a manner you want [them] to in order to move the story forward.

Some other jewels:

The more tense the situation as your focal character experiences it, the more words you give it.
Always, the points you bear down on are those that influence the development of your story.
As a tool, a scene is designed to make the most of conflict
Ideally, make your character’s goal clear-cut and explicit from the beginning
Once you understand the fundamentals, the way to learn to write scenes is to write scenes.
[The] reader must be captured and held by what’s offered…at this moment; not the ultimate pattern but the present experience.
No story unit--not even a paragraph--ought to begin and end with the state of affairs and state of mind of each person involved exactly the same.
The moment your story question is answered, your story itself ends, for all practical purposes.

The author’s advice on dealing with the fear of being wrong and facing down perfectionsim was especially helpful to me.
He says: “You first have to be willing to be very, very bad in this business, if you’re ever to be good. Only if you stand ready to make mistakes today can you hope to move ahead tomorrow.
How do you master all the varied [writing] techniques? By writing stories. Which is to say, by being willing to be wrong.”
I bought a used copy of Techniques and expect I’ll refer to it repeatedly--despite the outdated sexism.

Scene & Structure is written by Jack M. Bickham, a protege of Dwight Swain’s, and presents similar ideas in terms of cause-and-effect scene structure. This book was also recommended by one of my writing teachers at Odyssey. Although written in 1993, it also suffers from overt sexism, however, has helpful tips that complement Techniques of the Selling Writer.

Some favorite tips:

For maximum effectiveness, start your story at the time of change that threatens your major character’s self-concept.
The goal of each scene must relate to the story question.
Good scenes have important goals and strong conflict.
The more painful the preceding disaster, the more fully developed the resulting [character reaction]
Character viewpoint…should be changed only when necessary to enhance reader curiosity and suspense.
Regardless of how long or short your chapters may be, always end them at a point where the reader can’t put the book down.

The author’s advice on writing conflict was especially helpful.
He says: most of us try to dodge or soften conflict in real life, and many of us find that even the writing of strong conflict is a bit painful…So some writers weaken their conflict portions without realizing it because they’re so “nice.”
I didn’t find Bickham’s book as useful as Swain’s, but I was glad the library makes it available to study.

Fiction: Fantasy Novels by Alexandra Rowland

2/22/2023

I enjoyed A Taste of Gold and Iron so much, I decided to get Alexandra Rowland’s first two novels from my local library. Her debut novel, A Conspiracy of Truths, features an irascible, foul-mouthed storyteller named Chant on trial for witchcraft. Every attempt to defend himself lands Chant in deeper trouble.

Throughout the book, Chant tells fables meant to influence his audience. Initially his goal is to keep warm in his dank prison cell--and stay alive--but as he’s drawn more deeply into local politics, his stories have potentially devastating consequences.

A favorite passage from one of the fables:
She was given a war bow, and the first thing she learned was how to care for it--to push her knee into the belly of the bow when stringing it, to unstring it when it was idle or at the first sign of damp, to fletch her own arrows, to never pluck the string without an arrow nocked to it, to whittle a draw-ring from antler or bone, and to draw to her cheekbone, always her cheek bone/
A Conspiracy of Truths was at turns hilarious and suspenseful, though I found the main character’s self-centered anger tiresome at times. Despite Chant’s bitter sarcasm and mean-spirited rages, his cleverness and outrageous scheming kept me turning pages.

Rowland’s second novel, A Choir of Lies, was less successful for me. This story is told by the first storyteller’s apprentice, Yfling, a few years after the conclusion of the first novel. The protagonist Chant of A Conspiracy of Truth suffered from anger issues. Yfling is depressed and passive for the first half of A Choir of Lies and that made the character unappealing for me.
A favorite passage where Yfling tries to describe his pain:
“My heart scrubbed raw with sandpaper.” There, that will do. “Drowning on dry land, feeling like the water is about to close over my head at any moment, frantic and panicked and scared.” Or even, “Lying down in the middle of a deserted road and crying and screaming until my throat bleeds.”

The text is also heavily footnoted by an unnamed person making sarcastic comments, which I found distracting (I skipped most of them). We don’t meet the commentator, Mistress Chant, until several chapters into the book.
I didn’t read this second book closely--in fact I skimmed most of the fables and stories Yfling recited. The book did pick up halfway through when Yfling met a handsome stranger, and the conclusion, when Yfling finally takes decisive action, was satisfying.

There are threads in both of these early books--political and economic intrigue, romantic yearning, moral choices--which the author developed brilliantly in the five-star A Taste of Gold and Iron.
Reading them helped me see how Alexandra Rowland has grown as an author, which I found instructive.

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