On Writing - Update

I am writing!!

Judging from the way the readership of the blog has increased recently (we are now getting 25 views a day still minor but to a guy like me, I can’t tell you how chuffed I am), I would say that we have got the review section of the blog flowing along nicely.

However, one area that is woefully lacking is commenting on my writing. You know that small thing I started the whole blog for!! The bad news is that I have been terrible in posting regular updates on my writing. The good news is that I have been writing and writing a fair bit.

Unlike when I was writing the first book I have even less time to write these days. Back then, Although I had a newborn, I had an easy job and used to come into work early and knock out 1,000 words a day without breaking a sweat.

Now, I have two children: Joseph who is three and Jamie who is 10 months and hasn’t seemed to grasp the whole concept of sleep yet. I have also changed jobs and it is very demanding to say the least. I thrive on pressure at work, so I don’t mind too much, but I miss having the luxury of having 5 minutes to myself.

However, within the last month or so, I have found myself a nice little half hour window in which I can write on a semi regular basis. It is not nearly as much time as I want but it has got me back in the rhythm of writing daily again rather than attempting to pick up where I left off at sporadic intervals – never the best time to write and I now use that to time to post reviews or write posts like this one!!

So Monday to Friday for half an hour I have been vigorously writing away. My aim is to get 2,500 words done a week. 500 a words a day sounds easy right? In theory it should be, but sometimes those half hour slots aren’t possible.

To give an indication. Two weeks ago my words per day looked like this:

Monday = 1,024

Tuesday = 219

Wednesday = 645

Thursday = 205

Friday = 508

Total = 2,601

Not a bad week, although I sometimes used to do that in a day! However, last week was hit and miss to say the least:

Monday = 154

Tuesday = 1,644

Wednesday = 0

Thursday = 0

Friday = 506

Total = 2,304

As you can see, I was going great guns until Wednesday and Thursday happened to be days from hell at work. You can also see I take the weekends off to dedicate time with my family.

However you look at it, the positive is that the book is progressing.  I am now up to 18,733 words which is about a 6^th of the way through. It is getting there, slowly and surely.

I have agreed with Jacqui (who is writing a novel too) that we would report how many words we have done each week to spur each other on. It is a sort of a friendly competition so to speak with the aim of making us write.

I will try and post updates every Tuesday. Although I am on holiday next week and so the updates won’t be regular to begin with.

Book Review - The Heroes

The Heroes – Joe Abercrombie

“Best Served Cold” was my favourite read of 2011. I loved the “First Law Trilogy” as well. When Joe Abercrombie announced a date for his sixth book “Red Country” to be released, I knew it was time to dive back into his books. “Heroes” has been labelled his strongest book. It is an understatement to say I am was looking forward to it.

The Blurb:

They say Black Dow's killed more men than winter, and clawed his way to the throne of the North up a hill of skulls. The King of the Union, ever a jealous neighbour, is not about to stand smiling by while he claws his way any higher. The orders have been given and the armies are toiling through the northern mud. Thousands of men are converging on a forgotten ring of stones, on a worthless hill, in an unimportant valley, and they've brought a lot of sharpened metal with them. Bremer dan Gorst, disgraced master swordsman, has sworn to reclaim his stolen honour on the battlefield. Obsessed with redemption and addicted to violence, he's far past caring how much blood gets spilled in the attempt. Even if it's his own. Prince Calder isn't interested in honour, and still less in getting himself killed. All he wants is power, and he'll tell any lie, use any trick, and betray any friend to get it. Just as long as he doesn't have to fight for it himself. Curnden Craw, the last honest man in the North, has gained nothing from a life of warfare but swollen knees and frayed nerves. He hardly even cares who wins any more, he just wants to do the right thing. But can he even tell what that is with the world burning down around him? Over three bloody days of battle, the fate of the North will be decided. But with both sides riddled by intrigues, follies, feuds and petty jealousies, it is unlikely to be the noblest hearts, or even the strongest arms that prevail. Three men. One battle. No Heroes.

In reading fantasy books I have firm preferences on the style of book I like. I love books that focus on the characters first and foremost and how they interact. I am not so keen on books that are based on tons and tons of action with no substance. The “Heroes” has a lot of both.

After the first chapter I had a huge grin on my face. Just being back immersed in the world the Joe Abercrombie creates is extremely satisfying. Lots of people describe Joe’s books as “dark and gritty” they are that, but they are also very funny in places.

The banter that fires back and forth between his characters is second to none. His characters are cool without even trying to be. They are just normal warriors, disillusioned with war. They do not have any conviction in the cause they are fighting for, just that they are required to fight.

Not a lot happens for the first third of the novel, but to me that didn’t matter in the slightest. I can count on one hand the number of authors that could have two characters locked in a room just talking back and forth and I would lap it up. Stephen King is one, but I think Joe Abercrombie tops the list. There were a couple of real laugh out loud moments in this book and I use that phrase sparingly, as I don’t often experience that emotion when reading.

Every character that gets a point of view is enjoyable to read. Calder is a fantastic creation, it is nice to see a character that is a genuine coward but also has a backbone. Gorst is also far more than a bitter observer of the war, being hilariously in love one minute and ferocious the next.

My favourite of the main characters has to be Curnden Craw. Instilled with a huge sense of honour, Craw is determined to do the right thing even though he is not always sure what that might be. His dozen are soldiers that you care about, with Wonderful and Whirrun being standouts.

But it is not just the main characters that excel in “the Heroes.” A sign of a good novel is when the minor characters stay with you as well. Tunny, Beck and Forest certainly do that and old favourites such as Shivers and Black Dow are also as delicious to read as ever.

Essentially though, this book is about war. That means there is are a lot of action and fight sequences contained within. Nevertheless, I’m pleased to say this book the exception to my aversion to action set pieces. The battles are well described and are told from individual’s perspective, so you really get the sense that the character you are reading about is developing as they fight.

It is not perfect, there is one chapter where the battle is described in short paragraphs by unknown characters. After a while I found this slightly tedious and wanted to get back to the characters I had been reading about. This was only because Abercrombie made the characters so dam enjoyable.  

Overall, I loved this book. It pushes Joe Abercrombie up into the upper echelon of my favourite authors. Red Country is due out in a few months time and I can’t think of a book I am more looking forward too.

My rating 9.1

Book Review - Before I go to sleep

Before I go to Sleep- by SJ Watson

 

Review by Jacqui Slaney

As you can probably tell from the reviews I have done, my main reading does revolve around fantasy.  I do try to read other genres though, for example, a friend got me on to John Connolly who I now really like, so when I saw this book and read the reviews and the description, I thought it sounded intriguing:

Memories define us.
So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep?
Your names, your identity, your past, even the people you love - all forgotten overnight.
And the one person you trust may only be telling you half the story.
Welcome to Christine's life.

As you can see the idea sounds interesting; you can imagine what this would be like, waking up everyday to not knowing who you are, or where you are and having to trust completely what you are told. You can imagine the confusion and the hopelessness of what your life would be.

This is exactly what the character Christine goes through every day. Every morning she awakes to find that she has lost all memories of the day before. Therefore, she has to go through a routine of rediscovering herself. She finds that she is older than she expects to be, and the man that she finds in bed with informs her that he is her husband and that she has been like this since an accident.  She starts to keep a journal of her day following the advice of a new doctor, which starts to help her, but when she starts to get flashes of old memories, that is when she starts to find things out about her life.

The story is a thriller and there is suspense. You will see reviews where the reader was kept gasping all the way through, that the suspense was brilliant and they could not work out the plot, and others who really disliked it.
This is a debut novel and it is quite a good one (I know, you can all hear the ‘but’ coming along), but, I must admit I worked out the ending from quite early in the book, and worked out why all this was happening, and that is someone who has not read that many thrillers!   I thought the writing was predictable and repetitive and so there was little suspense for me. A reader in my opinion had to read too many times about Christine’s start to the day and her rediscovery of things, and too be honest I did keep thinking that some of the plot was far fetched and that other people would be there, helping Christine and not just have left her to her condition.

Although all the hype on this book says it is brilliant etc, I am afraid that I will be one of the few voices not enthusiastic about it, the idea was excellent, but think it could have been dealt with in a much better way.

5 out of 10                   

Book Review - The Silent Girl

The Silent Girl – Tess Gerritsen

Tess Gerristen’s last two books in the Isles and Rizzoli series couldn’t have been more different if she tried. Tess has the ability to explore completely different themes whilst still effortlessly focusing on the core group of characters she has created. Most importantly, it always feels natural and not like she is trying to meld her characters with the new themes. In “Keeping the Dead,” the theme was centred around the ancient art of mummification and in “the Killing Place” the theme was around close knit communities ruled be cults.

Needless to say, I couldn’t wait to see what the “Silent Girl” was about.

The blurb:

When a severed hand, clutching a gun, is found in a Chinatown alley in downtown Boston, detective Jane Rizzoli climbs to the adjacent roof-top and finds the hand's owner: a red-haired woman whose throat has been slashed so deeply the head is nearly severed. She is dressed all in black, and the only clues to her identity are a throwaway cell phone and a scrawled address of a long-shuttered restaurant. With its wary immigrant population, Chinatown is a closed neighbourhood of long-held secrets - and nowhere is this more obvious than when Jane meets Iris Fang. Strikingly beautiful, her long black hair streaked with grey, she is a renowned martial arts master. Yet, despite being skilled in swordplay, neither she nor her strangely aloof daughter, Willow, will admit any knowledge of the rooftop murder. And pathologist Dr Maura Isles has determined that the murder weapon was a sword crafted of ancient metal from China. It soon becomes clear that an ancient evil is stirring in Chinatown - an evil that has killed before, and will kill again - unless Jane and Iris can join forces, and defeat it ...

As the rather long blurb indicates, the theme of the “Silent Girl” is ancient Chinese lore. What I love most about these books is that there is always the hint of the supernatural. It is clear that Tess’s passion for weird phenomena shines through her writing, but it is always grounded in gritty reality.

When the book opens, Maura is testifying in court against a law enforcement officer. The officer despite having an impeccable record up until his last arrest is guilty of rough housing a criminal. Maura’s code is to stick to the facts and do what is right. This immediately puts her at odds to the rest of the police force and puts a strain on her friendship with Rizzoli.

Just like that, nine books into the series and we have a new dynamic between the two protagonists. This is the way to keep a set of characters fresh and interesting. Tess cleverly explores this theme by having it mirrored with the main plot of the story.

The Chinese culture within this story have their own code which is more in keeping with Jane Rizzoli’s and that is to do what must be done to get the correct outcome.

“The Silent Girl,” returns the series back to more of the police procedural format. Jane and her partner Barry Frost have to try to piece together the very view clues they are presented with and have to constantly interrogate potential suspects. This means the personal lives of Jane and Maura take a bit of a back seat, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Jane’s marriage and daughter is still frequently mentioned, as is her mothers relationship and Maura receives a visit from Rat (the boy from the Killing Place), but other than that, very little about their lives move forward.

Arguably, the character who receives the most attention is Barry Frost. Barry comes across as a little lost as he desperately tries to fill the void left by his recent separation of his wife. It is nice to see Barry get this kind of attention as he has been a constant character in the series. Special mention also goes to Tam who hopefully will continue to be part of the series.

The plot itself is good. With each incident, there appears to be no natural way for the crime to have been committed. There is also the inclusion of a mysterious monkey like figure which plays nicely into the whole Chinese myth of the Monkey King.

The thing I enjoy most about Tess’ books is that apart from being so darn enjoyable, you feel like you are being educated. Tess introduces just enough history that inspires you to look explore the subject matter further if you wish. The “Silent Girl” not only touches on Chinese lore but also on organised crime.

The climax is good. The mysterious figure is revealed and is believable and all loose ends are tied up. It is all you can want really from an ending. Tess continues to impress.

My rating: 8.6  

Book Review - Faerie Tale

Faerie Tale by Raymond E Feist

Review by Jacqui Slaney

Most people who think Of Raymond Feist associate him with the RiftWar, with Pug and Jimmy the Hand and all other such characters, I was the same and then I found this book.

This is the description of the story:

 Successful screenwriter Phil Hastings decides to move his family from sunny California to a ramshackle farmhouse in New York State. The idea is to take some time out, relax and pick up the threads of his career as a novelist.
Good plan, bad choice. The place they choose is surrounded by ancient woodland. The house they choose is the centre point of a centuries-old evil intent on making its presence felt to intruders.

This is a dark fantasy story that borders on horror and if you have read any mythology tales, you soon recognise some of the characters that Feist has used, and weaved together in a story, which is certainly not for children.

The story revolves round a family- a writer and his wife- twin sons and a teenage daughter who move out to a rural location so that Phil the writer can have the peace and quiet that his writing needs. It sounds an ideal location but you soon find out that it certainly is not ideal for the family. The house is next to a gateway to the Land of the Faeries, and is part of an old pact between the two worlds and so should never have been sold. Now I know that sounds like something out of a children’s book, but trust me, these creatures are nothing like Tinkerbelle.

This is a stand-alone book but it is still a very strong story and it is a welcome change from the normal long series. This is another reason that I chose to read it, there is no complicated plot to follow or different characters to remember, and the story is simple but compelling.

 The way Feist describes the other world is imaginative and vivid, and the readers find themselves pulled into the story and the battle between Good and Evil, you can imagine these creatures being there causing these problems quite easily. As always Feist’s characters are well described and real and the action graphic and scary. In fact it is the described sexual violence which though only a tiny part of the story is what makes the whole story more disturbing.

Some people complain that this book is not like a Stephen King horror and is no good, but nowhere does this book claim to be like a Stephen King novel- so I am confused by the comparison. I have read this book countless times and always enjoy it and would recommend this story to anyone who likes fantasy and would like to read something a little different.

10 out of 10

Book Review - Catching Fire

Catching Fire – Suzanne Collins

Having been pleasantly surprised by the Hunger Games, I was even more surprised by my desire to return to the world of Panem so quickly after. It was less than a month ago that I read Suzanne Collins first book in the trilogy and normally I wait at least a couple of months before returning to a series. However, I found the lure of how Katniss would respond to her success in the games and the repercussions of her defiance too much to wait any further.

The blurb:

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.

I was expecting this book to be about the rebellion against the Capital. It is to a degree but not what I was expecting. To begin with we are shown the immediate fallout of the Hunger Games, how everyone responds to the events that took place and how they reacted to Katniss. Some of the character’s reactions are expected, others are not. What is not expected is how severe the Capital’s response is.

We get to see a lot more of President Snow, who is an excellent character. On one hand, sinister, ruthless and an all round nasty bit of work and on the other (well there isn’t another hand) but we get to see the facade he puts on in front of the cameras as he and Katniss are forced to demonstrate a cordial relationship.

If I’m honest, around a third of the way into the book, I was concerned it was beginning to stagnate. I was unsure as to how Suzanne Collins was going to kick start the next stage of the plot that was desperately needed. I shouldn’t have worried. Without spoiling the book, the event that ignites the action again is very effective and the pace of the novel picks up considerably.

As a result, Catching Fire is similar in many ways to the Hunger Games. However, Suzanne Collins improves on her first effort in many ways. Whereas the first book is about survival, this book is about fighting back and opens up into a wider scale.

Katniss’s character is a bit weaker this time round. It seems she hasn’t really developed from the young girl we saw in the Hunger Games. She is still annoyingly pessimistic and can’t possibly conceive the notion that others may be trying to help her. I found this frustrating. Yes, I can see that the idea is that she should trust no one, but to still question the motives of those that have proved their loyalty over and over was a tad tedious.

The new cast of characters are all good editions, especially, Nuts and Volts, although Finnick is a great edition too. The plot is tight and moves things along nicely. Whilst it might not carry as much on an emotional punch as the first book, Catching Fire is a very good middle book of the trilogy and is used to establish events for the finale.

My rating: 8.5  

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor 

 Review by Jacqui Slaney

I was in a bookshop, just generally browsing when I found this book, my bad habit of choosing books by their dust covers and reading the blurb inside kicked in, and I found myself at the till, where the cashier proceeded to gush for ages ( well it seemed ages, it was probably only 5mins) about the virtues of this book. I nodded politely, paid my money and left the shop, thinking that bookshops had become a lot pushier lately.

This is the description of the book:

Errand requiring immediate attention. Come.
The note was on vellum, pierced by the talons of the almost-crow that delivered it. Karou read the message. 'He never says please', she sighed, but she gathered up her things. When Brimstone called, she always came.
In general, Karou has managed to keep her two lives in balance. On the one hand, she's a seventeen-year-old art student in Prague; on the other, errand-girl to a monstrous creature who is the closest thing she has to family. Raised half in our world, half in 'Elsewhere', she has never understood Brimstone's dark work - buying teeth from hunters and murderers - nor how she came into his keeping. She is a secret even to herself, plagued by the sensation that she isn't whole.
Now the doors to Elsewhere are closing, and Karou must choose between the safety of her human life and the dangers of a war-ravaged world that may hold the answers she has always sought.

After checking out the reviewers, one of which was John Connolly, I started to think, this book may be something after all, though I was slightly concerned that it maybe aimed at the teenage market. Now I have a whole pile of books to read, but this one intrigue me, so decided to read it straight away- big mistake- I was hooked.

I should add here that it was only a mistake, as I have a sort of plan with myself where I write every other lunchtime, this book made me fail miserably at this. I thought I would just read it travelling to work in the morning and home in the evening, but no, I was hooked on the story and had to read it every chance I had, so it meant my writing schedule went out the window.

 I read the book easily in three days, it is not a complicated story, as it is the first in the series, you know you going to end on a cliffhanger and I was right. The writing is intensive, flowing so it pulls you along. The other world is described in short snatches and the reader really wants to learn more. All the character descriptions though sometimes brief, are excellent and the character of Karou is well defined. The reader is caught up in divided loyalties over Karou’s feelings about Akiva, especially following his actions to her other world family. The other world is imaginative and is easily pictured.

If I have one complaint, it is that I wanted to know more about the Chimaeras’ mentioned. However, this didn’t happen, but then again as I said earlier this is the first in a series, so I will just have to hope this is rectified later.

There are also some complaints in reviews saying that everyone is just too perfect, just too beautiful, especially Karou. Well obviously, they did not read the book properly or they would have understood why this is. I cannot explain as I do not want to put in a spoiler here, but personally, I thought it was obvious why the writer had done this.

As you can tell, I really liked the book, and can’t wait for the second, which I hope is as good as this.

9 Out of 10