22 May 2009 Writing Update

Not a vast amount of writing accomplished today, but some.

Today's writing accomplishments:

• Did some work on the dissertation chapter outline. One more good day of writing should finish out that draft, though I still need to answer some tough questions in my mind before I can put it to bed.
• Put a few words down on Thoon, though not as many as I'd like. Mainly some initial thoughts on its moons, which will give it a nice Flash Gordon vibe.
• Updated my personal writing wordcount tracker (spreadsheet) for 2009. I started doing this last year and its a nice record for posterity.
• Posted a note on the OD&D board asking if anyone would be interested in collaborating on a small Carcosa-related project: a joint hex/sandbox design. I have some ideas but would like a partner. Already had one taker (DuBeers), which is great. I have corresponded with him previously on my contribution to the free Carcosan Grimoire project.

Tomorrow I hope to finish the dissertation chapter outline draft and email that off, continue to get a few words on Thoon, and put some initial thoughts together on the Carcosa deal.

21 May 2009 Writing Update

This post isn't about books, instead it's about writing. I feel the need to start tracking my academic and personal writing output, and this is as good a place to do that as any. Not like anyone is reading this thing anyway.

Today's writing accomplishments:

• Began revising my dissertation chapter outline according to my advisor's comments from the other day. It was my impression that he just wanted some informal thoughts, but as with everything he reads, he asked a number of tough, hard-hitting questions that will cause me to do a fair amount of additional writing. Another day or (more likely) two of writing will put this second draft to bed.
• Completed and submitted my book review for On Point. If the one I did for them last year is any indication, I will receive no further information on the review. Presumably these suckers are published, because I've never actually seen a copy of the journal and my library doesn't stock it (nor do they provide electronic proofs).
• Put some initial thoughts down on Explorers of Thoon (c), the planetary romance setting I have been wanting to create for a while now. Think of it as a combination of E. R. Burroughs' John Carter of Mars series and Thundarr the Barbarian.
• A handful of discussion board posts on the Original D&D Discussion Board (my first on this board, though I have been lurking there for a while). The "Old School D&D Renaissance" has really caught my fancy of late. Too bad it took the deaths of E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson to bring old school D&D back to the front burner of everyone's attention.

So, all in all, not a bad day, writing-wise. Tomorrow I plan to do more work on the dissertation chapter outline, some more on Thoon, and maybe I'll even revisit the collaborative novels I am working on with JS.

Review: Endworld: Doomsday by David Robbins

A relatively action-packed prequel to a long-running men's adventure/post-apocalyptic survival series.

SPOILERS ABOUND: READ AT YOUR OWN PERIL.

The book begins with the world falling into chaos. Multiple wars involving nuclear weapons begin in the Middle East and elsewhere. Eventually, the missiles start landing in the United States, destroying a number of cities. (Technobabble is kept to a minimum here; frankly, I'd have liked to see a little more specificity on what was going on elsewhere in the world.)

Fortunately, an eccentric movie producer has constructed an underground compound in remote Minnesota and has recruited a hundred or so competent individuals to join him in rebuilding civilization. Just one problem: they're scattered all over the country and have to make their way to the relative safety of the compound. The first half of the book follows the adventures of a handful of these individuals as they make their way through an increasingly chaotic (and deadly) American society in the process of breaking down. The author manages to end each chapter on a cliffhanger, which lends a sense of urgency to the book. Characterization isn't bad, certainly well within the "standard parameters" of typical men's adventure series.

The second half of the book -- once everyone arrives at the compound -- is a little less interesting. Things become a little on the cheesy side when the producer begins describing his plan for the group's future, suggesting that they each take a title (Leader, Warrior, Tiller, etc.) and each of the Warriors takes on a codename (Thor, Solo, etc.) that they use exclusively from then on. Here's the silliest part: the character Thor is a nearly seven foot tall construction worker who (along with his family) worships the Norse gods and he manages to get a warhammer that can literally throw lightning bolts. Honestly, I wish these elements hadn't been included because they ramp up the silliness factor in an otherwise straight-forward adventure novel.

This book is a newly written sequel to a long-running (27 or so books) adventure series published from the mid-'80s through the early '90s. The first chapter of the first of these is included as a teaser and I was somewhat surprised at what I read there. That book is set a century after this one, with an entirely new cast of characters. Their access to technology appears to be somewhat more limited, understandably, and the landscape seems to be peopled by various mutants and strange phenomena. I'm intrigued by that premise -- it reminds me strongly of Sterling Lanier's Hiero's Journey and The Unforsaken Hiero as well as the old role-playing game Gamma World.

The book wasn't bad, as long as what you're looking for is a fun, light read. I have a few misgivings about reading a prequel to a series that will be set a century after this one with an entirely new cast of characters and setting, but I was intrigued enough by the book and the sample chapter for the first book in the series that I do plan to pick up the next book (entitled Endworld: The Fox Run).  

3.5 stars out of 5

Review copyright 2009 J. Andrew Byers

Review: Without Warning by John Birmingham

A fast-paced, fun piece of contemporary military fiction with heavy science-fiction (post-apocalyptic overtones).

SPOILERS ABOUND: READ AT YOUR OWN PERIL.

The book begins in 2003 with America poised to invade Iraq. For an entirely unrevealed reason, an energy field now covers nearly the entire continent of North America, killing every inhabitant and rendering the area impossible to enter. For all intents and purposes, the United States is now gone. All that remains of America is Alaska, Hawaii, part of Washington state, and the large numbers of military personnel and equipment in the Middle East. Needless to say, much of the world descends in chaos as a result.

The book follows the experiences of several characters as they deal with this situation, including a female counter-terrorist operative operating in France (possibly the weakest sub-plot, but also the only one involving significant combat scenes); some smugglers operating off the western coast of Mexico; an embedded journalist in Iraq (a typical all-American guy, though poorly developed); a city engineer in Washington state; a general at Gitmo; and a political operative and smooth-talker on vacation in Hawaii. Characterization is limited -- I'd say that's the biggest weakness of the book -- as is combat, for the most part. There's plenty of action and the plot proceeds a rapid clip, however, so it's certainly not boring. Technobabble is kept to a bare minimum, so if you have an allergy to Tom Clancy, you'll be fine here.

The book ends on a revelation, one year after the event that started the book, that will once again fundamentally change the setting. It's an interesting twist and I look forward to seeing how the sequel proceeds from this point. Do not, however, look for an answer to what caused this catastrophe -- you won't get one in this first book in the series. At this point, it's purely a "what if" thought piece; you should be aware of that before you begin reading, since I suspect that may irk some readers.

I recommend the book as a fun read. Even though I received an ARC of this book for free, I enjoyed it enough that I will likely pick up the sequel.

3.5 stars out of 5

Review copyright 2009 J. Andrew Byers

Review: 1633 by Eric Flint

Here's a follow-up review for the sequel to yesterday's book.

1633

1633 is a fun book, but it's slightly less enjoyable than the original (1632). The basic plotline -- a small West Virginian town is transported to Germany during the Thirty Years' War and must survive and attempt to civilize Europe -- remains the same. A few new characters are introduced, though some of the protagonists from the first book get short shrift (e.g., Julie Sims) this time around.

The book is probably about a hundred pages too long, and it goes into unnecessary detail on the creation of the (new) U.S. Air Force and Navy. Military hardware nuts will love that added level of detail, but for the rest of us, it's superfluous. An inordinate amount of time is spent on the initial flight training of a couple of new pilots and the construction of the first ironclads. That would be fine if, for example, the ironclads ever saw action in the book -- they do not, however. Presumably, Flint will have them play a significant role in one of the sequels. Flint still uses way too many lengthy expository passages for my taste (even more so than in 1632). That's a real weakness.

You get the impression from reading the book that Flint sees 1633 as being just an opening chapter in a much larger story rather than as a coherent, stand-alone book. While many "epic" series suffer from this problem (I hesitate to even begin to compare 1633 to a Robert Jordan book), I do wish that 1633 had been a little more self-contained.

All that being said, 1633 is an enjoyable read, and if you enjoyed the first book in the series, you should definitely take a look at this one, you won't be disappointed.

3.5 stars out of 5

Review copyright 2008 J. Andrew Byers

Review: 1632 by Eric Flint

1632

This is a fun, though not at all believable romp. I'm a big fan of alternative history, so I was naturally drawn to this book (and the series as a whole) by all the attention it's received. 1632 is definitely an enjoyable book, and I'd recommend it to science fiction fans in search of a relatively light read.

You're going to have to seriously exercise your suspension of disbelief when reading this book during a number of passages, but that's at least somewhat understandable. After all, it wouldn't be much fun if the protagonists all died off from diseases, couldn't communicate with the locals, or found that they couldn't support a modern level of technology using only the infrastructure of a small West Virginian town.

Flint has a couple of bad habits as a writer that really come through in this book: first, it's very clear that a couple of his major characters are his favorites, and these characters are invariably going to make all the right decisions, always succeed at whatever they do, rapidly become accomplished statesmen and military strategists, and are, in fact, moral paragons -- to an unbelievable degree -- even in the face of extremely difficult and unfamiliar situations. And second, Flint's writing style could use some editorial polish. He uses too much exposition (admittedly, the Thirty Years' War is an extremely complex period and requires a great deal of explanation, but there's got to be a better way of pulling it off than this) and he has the bad tendency to reuse trite phrases, sometimes every few pages. This gets annoying at times. The characters (mostly modern day West Virginian coal miners) also use a level of vocabulary and sentence structure that real people just don't use in conversation unless they're Boston Brahmins. People just don't speak in half-page long paragraphs, nor do they use words like "pean" in ordinary conversations.

All that aside, read this book, you'll likely enjoy it if you're at all interested in the "Baen Books" style of light, military-oriented science fiction adventure novels.

I'd also recommend S. M. Stirling's Island in the Sea of Time series, which is probably a little more engaging than 1632.

4 stars out of 5

Review copyright 2008 J. Andrew Byers

Two Reviews: Captain Alatriste and Purity of the Blood by Arturo Perez-Reverte

Captain Alatriste

Perez-Reverte offers a swashbuckling adventure of one “Captain” Alatriste, a thug-for-fire, I mean, swashbuckler in 1620s Madrid. Alatriste’s adventure is a straightforward one, and is narrated by his young apprentice, who functions as a kind of nigh-omniscient narrator who tells the tale in his old age. The plot is interesting, but tends to drag between the few sharp scenes of intrigue and derring-do. I couldn’t help but wonder at times if the meandering interludes were little more than filler material, but Perez-Reverte’s writing style takes some of the sting out of that concern. If you are expecting non-stop, madcap escapades, you will be disappointed; Alatriste is a contemplative, melancholic sort with, one imagines, many regrets.

A note on the book's presentation: this is a slim volume with a relatively short page count, a large font, and plenty of white space per page. Perez-Reverte also has a tendency to intersperse his prose with numerous snatches of poetry. You may find this charming, or you may find it tedious. I am somewhere in the middle. The translation is very smooth and doesn't distract the reader.All in all, I recommend the book. It’s an extremely short, light read punctuated by some fun scenes of action and intrigue, though there’s not a tremendous amount of substance here.

3.5 stars out of 5

Review copyright 2008 J. Andrew Byers

Purity of Blood

This is the first sequel to Captain Alatriste, and is very similar in structure and tone to the original. Most of the characters made their appearance in the first book as well. As with the first book, the plot is a simple, straightforward one. That’s not a bad thing. It takes on a decidedly dark tone (perhaps more so than the original), and Perez-Reverte is certainly not above allowing bad things to happen to good people. Such is life in Spain of the 1620s. Some readers may find the prose too sparse, but it does create a fast-moving read. At times, I found the narrator’s – Alatriste’s teenage ward describing the tale in his old age – mention of events that had not yet happened to be distracting and annoying, but it does provide a sense that this is merely one anecdote in a convoluted continuity.

As with the first volume in the series, this is a slim volume with a relatively short page count, a large font, and plenty of white space per page. Perez-Reverte continues his tendency to intersperse the prose with numerous snatches of poetry. You may find this charming, or you may find it tedious. I am somewhere in the middle, vaguely wondering what the point is. The translation is very smooth and doesn't distract the reader.

I will most likely continue reading the series – as long as I continue finding them in the remainder bin – but just be aware: absolutely nothing unexpected happens in the book.

3.5 stars out of 5

Review copyright 2008 J. Andrew Byers