Genre for Japan

Even though the bidding process is nearly over I should mention this group. This is a great example of the positive if small way in which any community can react to problems in our world. It seems like such a great and obvious idea for a fundraiser, and it has been organised in such a way that it is simple to be involved and everything is clearly above board.

Prominent authors and publishers have donated bundles of books and some very nice, rare books to be auctioned. All proceeds go to The Red Cross earthquake appeal and donations from the auction winners are made directly to them. You use your donation receipt to claim the item you win at auction from the Genre for Japan folks. Brilliant!

I have my eye on a few items that are getting way out of my price range, but hey, it's for charity.

Secret Project (+ some links to recent genre discussions)

For the last few days I've been occupied with my secret project. Of course it isn't that big a deal and I probably don't have to keep it secret but it's much more fun for me this way.

Anyway, the secret project has occupied most of my non-fiction writing time, so the blog took a bit of a hit at the end of last week. Rest assured things are back to normal and today I'll be posting a pair of mini reviews that I should have gotten to a long time ago.


If you are keen for some reading, consider delving into the discussion of genre characteristics, specifically femininity. Two links to start you off are here:
N. K. Jemisin and Kate Elliott - two smart ladies that write wonderfully.

Then to get the controversy ball rolling go here:
Black Gate

And when you are sick of any such discussion head over to visit Sam Sykes.

The Bankrupt Nihilism of Kitten-powered Zeppelins

Last week a blogger who has a sufficient readership to draw the attention of the online Fantasy crowd made this post, entitled The Bankrupt Nihilism of Our Fallen Fantasists. It's very open and intense attack on the growing wave of 'gritty' Fantasy and, more problematic in my mind, the people that write it.

If this guys is taking the piss, as we say in Australia, then the article is hilarious. If not, it's still hilarious, but for very different reasons.

Perhaps the main author to come under attack is Joe Abercrombie, which is not surprising given the very recent release of The Heroes. I'm no Abercrombie fanboy (and he doesn't need me to defend him - he did just fine here). In spite of my regard for The First Law Trilogy (old review, newly posted here) I found some segments of it and the followup stand-alone novel Best Served Cold pretty hard to take. Abercrombie was pushing the envelope and at times I felt it pushed too far (for my tastes). Yet credit where credit is due, Abercrombie is working to develop something different. It manages to be subversive and entertaining while still paying homage to the traditions of the Fantasy genre

I don't object to the sentiment that this style of Fantasy is not for everyone. I have friends to whom I would not recommend Abercrombie, while I have others I would insist should drop everything and dive in. I do object to the language and imagery used in this diatribe (again, unless he's joking, in which case Abercrombie might chuckle along). I don't want to make unfair assumptions, but given the amount of religiously-charged language the writer uses it seems reasonable to conclude that the term 'Fallen' in his title is saying a bit more than 'they write poorly.' Apparently Abercrombie and friends are committing 'postmodern blasphemies against our mythic heritage.' To steal a quote from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the subtext pretty rapidly becomes text. Apparently in daring to use the same epic tropes that Tolkien himself borrowed is tantamount to 'taking a crucifix and dripping it in urine.' Is there a bigger issue at stake here?

I think I am more offended by the manner in which this blogger has raised classic Fantasy to a point that one can blaspheme against it than by anything Abercrombie has penned. I think any author would happily say if you don't like it, don't buy it, don't read it. But don't tell them what their 'real' intentions were. There are many modern mythmakers whose works maintain the 'elevated prose' this blogger seeks. Some of them are even women, though you wouldn't know it to read the original post.

Epic Fantasy... my favourite genre?

There is no doubt that my favourite books fall into the genre of Epic Fantasy. However, I’m not certain that Epic Fantasy is my favourite genre. I grew up with The Lord of the Rings (J. R. R. Tolkien), moved onto Memory, Sorrow and Thorn (Tad Williams) before flirting with The Riftwar Saga (Raymond E. Feist) and finding my ultimate favourites. So what are my top picks – if I’m choosing with my heart it’s The Wheel of Time (Robert Jordan), if with my head it’s A Song of Ice and Fire (George R. R. Martin).



The current leader in the
Epic Fantasy genre?



Although I can’t begin to imagine composing a multi-book epic, the majority of my writing will probably be in this genre of Fantasy. Yet, I remain unsure that this is my favourite genre, primarily because I’m not especially enthused to launch into another series. They’re just so damn long.

I have the first books of The Malazan Book of the Fallen (Steven Erikson) on my bookshelf waiting for me, but frankly I find the idea of committing to such a series intimidating. Giving one author so much reading time, when there is so much to read, feels impossible. Frankly, even knowing how much I love it, if I was confronted with 14 books of The Wheel of Time I probably wouldn’t start reading it. I feel like a trilogy is about as much as I am willing to give my time to, so Joe Abercrombie’s The First Law Trilogy is an example of an ideal recent read.



You can kind of see
why my wife doesn't want
our shelves dominated by

books that look like this...

Ironically, I recognise that one of the reasons why I love The Wheel of Time so much has been the anticipation between books. I know there will be a let-down when the books are over, even if A Memory of Light is the greatest Fantasy book of all time. I’ll be glad to have A Song of Ice and Fire to turn to, and I am currently trying to dump myself in the middle of a bunch of other series so that there will virtually always be a book for me to be anticipating.



I’m hoping Brandon Sanderson’s The Stormlight Archive will be a worthy replacement for The Wheel of Time. I haven’t finished reading The Way of Kings yet so I can’t say much more at this stage. The good thing about Sanderson’s work is that I’m getting in at the ground floor, as was more or less the case with Jordan and Martin. In an ideal world I would tear through The Malazan Book of The Fallen in time for The Crippled God, but I can’t see that happening.

I’ve just finished devouring Towers of Midnight, and intend to move on to The Way of Kings and The Black Prism (Brent Weeks). Firstly, I’ll be finishing up Shadow’s Son (Jon Sprunk) which snuck to the top of my ‘to read’ list by virtue of its brief length.



Diversity in Speculative Fiction

During a brief conversation I enjoyed with Karen Miller at Aussiecon4 she made me realize that I have read very few female writers of Speculative Fiction (along with very few Australian authors, but that’s for another post and another project). Very modestly, she pointed me to Kate Elliott’s work, describing Kate as ‘one of the best we’ve got’, or words to that effect. Incidentally, I had met Kate Elliott the week before at Infinitas Bookshop which pushed her latest novel Cold Magic to near the top of my ‘to read’ list. I have now finished it (Review).

Karen got me thinking about my favourite writers. The list reads like a who’s who of white, male (probably bearded, and therefore extra-male) Fantasy writers – Robert Jordan, George R. R. Martin, Joe Abercrombie, Brandon ‘The Beardless One’ Sanderson, and so on. In my favourite series, The Wheel of Time, the viewpoint characters I enjoy most are the males. The series is written by a male author and readers seem to be split on whether or not Jordan provided a good depiction of women. Either way, I often find them frustrating to read about.

I recently listened to the paired novellas The Alchemist and The Executioness by Paolo Bacigalupi and Tobias Buckell respectively, both male writers. The Executioness was a bigger, more passionate tale, but as I mentioned in my review I found myself drawn to The Alchemist. There may be an element of style that I was attracted to, but quite simply I found myself connecting with the character of Jeoz the Alchemist in his efforts to protect his daughter and his tendency, which I perceive as a very male trait, to work at his goal while allowing no distractions.

Am I really that narrow-minded?

Perhaps I have misrepresented myself somewhat. I would rate Robin Hobb’s Farseer Trilogy very highly on my list of favourites. I am really looking forward to reading N. K. Jemisin’s The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and Cyteen by C. J. Cherryh. Unfortunately the thing that each of these authors have in common is that when I first heard about them I assumed they were dudes. There isn’t enough in their names to tell me otherwise, so I made that connection myself. Apparently being a 28 year old middle class white male has quite the impact on one’s assumptions.

It wasn’t until I had already finished the Farseer books that I discovered that Robin Hobb is a lady. I believe it was in an episode of Jonathan Strahan’s ‘Notes from Coode Street’ podcast that I heard that C. J. Cherryh was required by her publisher to use her initials to conceal the fact that she is female. I think most people have also heard the story of James Tiptree Junior, the pen name of Alice Sheldon, used to secure publication in Speculative field in the 1960s.
Author Mark Charan Newton has recently challenged book bloggers to broaden their coverage, specifically to consider the classics of the genre, not simply the latest blockbusters. I have a lot more broadening to do than simply delving into the back catalogue.

This is not an attempt to over-compensate. I’m not a big fan of overcompensating. I find it patronizing. However, I am committing myself to reading and reviewing work from the following authors:

N.K. Jemisin (The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms)
C. J. Cherryh (Cyteen)
Jennifer Fallon (The Tidelords)
Karen Miller (Kingmaker, Kingbreaker)
Lois McMaster Bujold (The Chalion Saga)
Ursula K. Le Guin (The Left Hand of Darkness, A Wizard of Earthsea)
Connie Willis (Blackout, All Clear, Doomsday Book)

Having said all of this, the next few books I will be reading include The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, The Black Prism by Brent Weeks and Towers of Midnight by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. I am incorrigible in some respects.