Reviews of favorite books

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.
Seth could have named each of these pastures or hay fields but did not subject Damon [or the reader] to that recital.
Putting on her sodden clothing was about as pleasant as rolling naked in the snow.
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 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 for me. A disappointing novel overall despite my love for the characters and the world of Shaftal.

Other books in the series: Fire Logic and Earth Logic

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: Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust

Writing Craft: Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg

Fiction: Water Logic by Laurie J. Marks

Writing Craft: How to Write Killer Fiction by Carolyn Wheat

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