“Such was the tyranny of the gods, twisting devotion until sacrifice was made to feel like a privilege, until allegiance became no more than slavery by another name. And what did the immortals offer in return?” It’s no surprise I was a little hesitant to review an excerpt for a book. I mean, while this…
“Common wisdom affirms against the drinking of whiskey during daylight hours, and while I can see the merits of the argument, it is not one to which I hold.” It’s no surprise that I worship the ground Polansky walks on; or paper he scrawls his chicken-scratch on, if you want to get technical. The man…
“The past. That’s all it is. A dead currency. She runs ringers over the stubble of the buzz cut on her scalp, feeling the occasional scar, counts five different ones, each with their own story.” If you enjoy your sleep, do not pick this book up. If there is one thing Bergen does right (and…
“’The way I’d put it,’ said Makin, ‘is that Rike can’t make an omelet without wading thigh deep in the blood of chickens and wearing their entrails as a necklace.’” Killing a hero is hard work, but if anybody is up to the job, it’s King Honorous Jorg Ancrath. Oh, and he’s getting married. Lucky…
“His clothes and skin stank of hopelessness and self-disgust and other people’s blood.” For me to be immersed in a novel, I need a strong atmosphere and great dialogue. The most bittersweet thing about Peter Higgins debut, Wolfhound Century, is that he captures the bleak landscape and time period in such a brilliant way, yet…
“No-Hope-Shitty: the name says it all really.” Francis Knight’s debut earlier last year, Fade to Black, was one of those heavily anticipated novels for me. Besides labeling it as Fantasy Noir and boasting a painful magic system, the cover and general pleasantness of the author is what really hyped the novel for me. I found…
“People lie. People exaggerate. They view the world through tainted glass, yet see themselves in a gilded mirror.” Whenever I need to take a break from the stress of picking a book (of which there is plenty, surprisingly) I tend to go after the pulpy serials that don’t tax the brain, yet provide oodles of…
An update of sorts; I’m doing a major bit of planning. For the entire book. Yep. I finished plotting the whole thing, or at least the broad strokes. I’m confident that this book will be better than the previous one. It’s sharper and better poised. My characters feel natural, and the plot isn’t some confusing…
“Sometimes even the most clever man can outsmart himself.” Back in the early 1900s, serial fiction was a popular medium for novels. David Dalglish’s first book in the Shadowdance series, A Dance of Cloaks, reminds me highly of the pulpy yesteryears. That’s no insult, not directly at least. Dalglish can write chapter endings very well,…
A term that many times fascinates readers is the idea of darkness. It dances in the shadows, plays with our fears. We find it comforting that we can stand up to the presumed evil in books, simply by reading about them. But this is not a dissertation dealing with subconscious findings of all things dark…
Acerbic Writing 