Prince of Thorns Review

Before we start, one quick disclaimer. I listened to this book as an audiobook instead of just plain reading it. That's not a huge deal and I do make a point to always listen to unabridged audiobooks, but I thought it only fair to warn you ahead of time! 

Now, let's get to it! 

Prince of Thorns doesn't sound like a very bubbly title, so you don't go in expecting happy-fun-candy-times. And by Jove, it isn't. The protagonist is all of 14 years old and is already leading a  band of bloodthirsty bandits and has done things that make priests blush (literally). 

Down to its bones, it's a tale of revenge. The young prince gallivanting off with his bandits and seeking vengeance against the man who murdered his family. Sounds like fairly standard fare right? Although perhaps not pretty, revenge sounds straight forward enough. You killed my father (or in this case mother), prepare to die. Bad dubbing not mandatory. 

One of the things that I really loved about this was the setting. At first it seems like some fairly standard fantasy fare, maybe a bit grimy but that's not to be unexpected. Again, I think that this also helps with it being an audiobook because the map that I would usually take a look at, I didn't get a chance to, I just dove right in with the listenin'. It turns out that the world is ours but in a post-apocalyptic setting. I think one of the reasons that I loved it so much, is because I didn't look at the map and didn't realise. You just get hints here and there, the world already comes out strong and you get to put pieces together. It's wonderful. 

(Although, I'm sorry I've ruined the surprise there...)

The fact that it's an audiobook is a double edged sword for the writing (Not that I have a problem with the writing at all). You have to like the reader, and the reader for this audiobook had a weird thing that he'd put a downward inflection on every sentence. I got why he did it. It worked well the protagonist, but up to a point it takes away from some of the performance because there's only a distant irreverence with his reading. There are some parts that he does put a nice performance on and it's by no way monotonous, but take some getting used to. 

The flip side of the audibook is that you really look over every word, rather than perhaps skipping a section when you're reading because you think it might not be relevant. (I'm sure we've all done it) And there were several times that I had to think "wow that was an awesome sentence", and if it hadn't been already saying the next sentence I would have spent a bit of time just mulling it over. 

It runs the risk of becoming repetitive as the character is driven by a single goal and so the first person perspective might see the all consuming drive put off the readers. But this is not the case, the character, Prince Jorg, heads back to his father's castle and tries to prove himself and claim his rightful place as heir. This seemingly routine series of events spins the whole story off onto a fantastical journey and I loved every minute of it. 

Something about the world that Mark Lawrence has created, the way he presents it, and the characters he fills it with just clicks. It was so thoroughly enjoyable I listened to the whole thing in a couple of days. If you like your fantasy a little dark, I seriously recommend this book. It was pure and simple awesome.

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A Red Review of Red Seas Under Red Skies (The Most Expected Review...)

So in a recent blog post I hinted (badly) that a friend had mentioned to me that Red Seas Under Red Skies felt like it was just filler. But at the time I hadn't finished the book so I couldn't really comment.

Well, now I can. 

First off, let's deal with what was said about the book being filler. Now from what I can see about how the book went down, I think that the reason this has been said is because although there's a fair amount that happens in the book you get the feeling that a lot of it is build up to the climactic ending. And there is a climactic ending, but because the ending explodes and snaps rather suddenly you very much get the feeling when you're closing that 'There's not enough room to finish this'.

I definitely started wondering how Lynch was going to resolve the plot once I started getting to 150 pages left to go ... 100 pages left to go. And then boom. 

Another reason I think that it felt like a bit of filler is partly because of the setting. Even after the swashbuckling quote on the front of the first book and piratical adventures suiting the characters, the fact that they were gallivanting on a ship with a very strong captain made it feel like they were almost piggybacking on another story for a large part of the book. 

It's a strange feeling really, because I don't think this in any way detracted from the enjoyment that is to be had from the book. The writing is still good, the characters are still very entertaining and the world is still fascinating.

I think it's that because you felt like they were just hopping along with someone else's adventure you knew that they were going to leave those characters behind in the end so it almost felt inconsequential. This feels silly to say because Lynch does try and address this and he does that well, introducing characters and intertwining them with our protagonists with skill and consequence.But I guess, at least from my perspective, I'm always aware that they're the great con-artists and it's hard to forget that whatever might happen they're going to move on to the next big score at some point. Although that view point is probably not helped by the fact that I knew there was a third book, so maybe if I didn't know that I might have thought they could settle down at the end.... 

Anyway! 

The work itself is just like reading more of the first, so that's no bad thing. The characters retain their playfulness, intelligent and cunning ways. There's more baggage than you get with the first book, the ending of Lies of Locke Lamora clearly weighs on them and at times there is the feeling that there's a sword of Damacles dangling overhead waiting to split the group asunder. But that's not a bad thing, it just adds another dimension to the plot along with the usual tension from whatever score they're planning. The writing retains its wit, keeps its pacing and generally drags you along for the ride whether you want to put the book down or not.

I've touched on the setting. But the fact that the characters are out in the big wide ocean for a portion gives a good reason for Lynch to show you the characters weaknesses and expose their raw nerves. You definitely feel like the characters are being pushed to their limits and that they're finding out just as much about themselves as we are. 

I would definitely recommend this book, even more so if you've already enjoyed The Lies of Locke Lamora. I am glad that the next installment is already available for purchase as the ending almost felt too quick. You're just getting ready for a big climactic ending and you get one, but it's over almost before you know what's happening. 

So yes, read this, it's just as good as the first and you'll be hard pressed not to dive straight into the next one!

See you next time!

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This Book Ain't No Sandwich! (On the Subject of Filler)

So this blog post is coming off a comment a friend made to me at a book signing, Specifically that second book in this particular series was a bit of 'filler' and it really picked up again in the third and latest book. 

And that got me thinking. 

I've heard tell of people having that opinion of Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss, and I'm warning you now, that this isn't  really spoiler-y but if you want absolutely everything in that book to be a surprise then look away now....

Okay you were warned!

Well my friend said that by the end of the book Kvothe 'is still at the University'. Now, he said this to me when I was just getting into the book (damnable actual work getting in the way!) so I was surprised by this, especially as I regarded the weight of the volume. But, I trust Patrick Rothfuss, not only does his writing excel but he's a very funny man and does a tremendous amount for charity. And I've often thought that the Kingkiller trilogy won't necessarily wrap up Kvothe's entire storyline but will rather wrap up the story he's telling the Chronicler and possibly end with him running off to do more adventuring and truly becoming Kvothe the Bloodless once more rather than Kote the Innkeeper. But that's my opinion. 

Anyway! What surprised me once I'd finished the tome (that seems appropriate for the gargantuan hardback) and checked back with my friend is just the sheer amount of stuff that he seemed to gloss over in his statement that he's 'still at the University'. Kvothe effectively goes on a gap year across the Four Corners! I won't say any more than that but still. I thought he was doing a great injustice only thinking about the start and end position of the protagonist. He was missing out all of the character development, all that he'd done! Argh (I thought, vehemently, at the time)!

But it's not for me to judge (aloud) how people interpret and enjoy books, their experiences will be very different from mine and it's all the more personal and unique for that. So fair enough. 


And I was reminded of my friend's comment at the book signing last week. Commenting that Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch and the second book in the Gentleman Bastard sequence felt a bit like filler for him. 

I have to say here that what filler is can differ for different people but it seems to me that the stories that focus on character development rather than plot development will get hoisted and people will call them out for being 'filler' and not really moving forward. 

That's just not true though. If at the end of the story your characters are better off, and they've learned something (even if they haven't defeated the bad guy!) and aren't exactly where they started then the story has moved forward.

It can be difficult to try and introduce new elements without halting the story for a time, especially in fantasy as you need to give the audience time to adjust and get used to your world. And I think that this is in a way what's happened with both of those books. The readers become disparaged when you can clearly see the obstacle and it hasn't been overcome, they're almost spoiled by episodic programmes and works and so expect it all to be wrapped up in a neat little bow.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't want all my stories to never end, and I think that it also reflects as bad storytelling if you have a book and absolutely nothing gets resolved at the end. You need to have resolution at the end of your book, it doesn't have to be the be all and end all resolution but there has to be something the audience can hold on to. 

So what am I getting at? A good question.

That you need to be careful when accusing/using writing that might be filler. Before you consider how much the plot has progressed take a look at the characters, there might be a huge emotional pitfall that they've overcome. If the setting is still the same as it was on page one, what have they done since then? Have their efforts moved them towards the ultimate goal, no matter how small? And if they were small steps have the characters developed? Keep all those things in mind before you start talking about filler. It can be harder to identify if the series doesn't have a clear indication of where it's going and the books could be largely stand-alone (Yes I'm looking at you Gentleman Bastards), but do keep it in mind.

That's my thoughts on the matter anyway. I know that turned out into a bit of a rant so thank you for sticking around! 

I'll be back soon with something less rambley! 

Good hunting!

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My Very Quick Write Up of the WFC2013

Well then, it’s time for a write up of the World Fantasy Convention.

I think it’s important to note at this point that this was my first convention, world or otherwise, that is specifically centred around fantasy, and definitely my first coming at it with a professional interest in the industry and genre.

So I’m not really sure what I was expecting but boy howdy was I not disappointed!

It was a fantastic weekend (and I’m sure I bored my family when I got home with tales of panels and meeting new people), the panels were interesting, everyone was friendly and there was some really great other events on too. All of the publisher’s parties were great fun and it was just astounding to be in the same room with so many important and fantastic people! I won’t lie to you there was some slight hyperventilation to start with (hmm, perhaps from this point forward I’ll try to sound less like a fan-girl).

I feel like there’s almost too much to talk about! And regretfully I didn’t take any pictures (a couple of Patrick Rothfuss’ reading but they’re super blurry, I blame the impressiveness of his beard), well apart from all the books that had to be hauled homeward!

The panels were all very interesting, ranging from whether women can write legitimate martial fantasy (spoiler alert: they definitely can), how to follow up writing with that pesky second book, world building, short story writing and everything in between! So I’ve come out of the convention with loads of ideas and there was even a panel on editing and putting together a short story anthology (so keep your eyes peeled for some news like that next year...), and what it’s like being a small independent press.

The art dealers room I found very cool, especially as I seem to have an unusual fascination and love of how books are designed and the end product. So there was much snooping around the artist room to see what cover art there was an even some snooping with covers for something I’m now thinking about (see above bracketed hints).

That’s also one of the reasons that I’m so excited with the Bragelonne sample book with translated excerpts of some of their fantasy works. I always find that the French edition covers that I’ve found to be some of the most exquisite of those on the market and really bring elements of the story to life before you’ve even picked up the book.

In a lot of ways, for me, it was an eye-opener for some unsung aspects of the publishing industry, like the short stories, the anthology editors and the agents. I’ve come into contact with some of these in my short time in the publishing industry but it was also really nice to see them explored in such an accessible and excellent manner.

Everyone was really friendly and it was quite a quest if you wanted to find someone that wasn’t smiling (not that I did, mind you)!

On a personal  note I was thoroughly ecstatic to see Mr Patrick Rothfuss do a reading ( I’m going again to the Forbidden Planet one in London) and it was a phenomenal reading. Mr Rothfuss said he wasn’t sure if it worked well if it was read out, but I think my goosebumps can attest that it works just fine!

And listening to the authors and the panels on various aspects of writing really helps you appreciate so much more the dedication, effort and skill that goes into a truly wonderful piece of writing.

So that’s all I’ve got to say on the subject for now, no doubt I shall think of more later on and curse myself for not telling you about it! But, thank you for stopping by everyone, and I’m sure you can tell that from all the exclamation marks how excited I was/am by the convention!

Good hunting!

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A Quick Update about a Beard and Book Covers (for some reason)

Well seeing as the WFC has released a much more detailed schedule let’s talk about that!

You can now see the details of the wonderful things that they have on rather than just the glorious titles!

So I thought that today I would chat about some of the ones that have jumped out at me (apart from Terry Pratchett and Patrick Rothfuss)

There is to be a panel about book covers, now this may not sound all that exciting. But think about it, that’s a single image, sometimes not even that when all you can see is the spine of the book, that has to ensnare and sell a book to everyone. I think it’s a very important part of the production process and can easily, easily make the difference between making a book look professional or something you’ve thrown together.

I think that’s the same reason it’s quite hard to make your book as professional when you’re publishing, especially in fantasy. And I have seen some books which go from looking professional (although similar to others on the market .... but it was like a best-seller so is that a bad thing?) to, at least what I see as, looking more like a self-published book. This is I think an important distinction to make purely because I think that it can be off putting for some people to go with self-published works.

It is nice to give your money to the little guy and support writers who may well be just getting into the wacky world of writing, but then there’s the flip side from a sales point of view that some people just won’t want to spend their money on something that will be a bit of a gamble. Of course you can have some fantastic self-published works, Michael J Sullivan is one of those very people! But of course a lot of people won’t necessarily see it that way and will look out for covers as easy targets to discern whether they want to spend their hard earned cash.

Anyway! That turned into a bit more of a rant than I was expecting on that topic!

Just a short blog post today because I (and others!) are busy in preparation for the WFC as it starts today! I am finalising my train ticket and don’t you worry, I shall be sticking my head out of the window like an excited dog the whole way!

There will be lots of updates on here throughout the convention and then I’ll also do a nice round u.

BREAKING ROTHFUSS NEWS!

On another note dear reader, we find that Patrick Rothfuss is doing a bit more of a tour around the UK! Well to London at least, for the moment. Upon his facebook page he has created several groups and is traversing Europe to do signings! I thought that this would be a very important piece of information to share with you and I suggest you go to whichever is closest! There are a  few in the UK and also a couple in Spain! Unfortunately (but not surprisingly) the extra event in Brighton has sold out, but you can’t say that wasn’t going to happen! They’ve got all the fantasy fans in the world there right now!

But, let us part ways once more and I shall keep you posted about the hippenings and happenings throughout the convention! (And yes I promise never to say ‘hippenings’ again...)

Good hunting!

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The Battle of Pratchett and Rothfuss

So this week we’re going for something a little bit different (again). Instead of a review we’re going to be looking at the exciting (and I’m not going to lie slightly irritating) scheduling for the World Fantasy Convention as it looms on the horizons of our calendars.

For those of you who don’t know what I’m going to be dithering on about this time the World Fantasy Convention (we’ll call if the WFC for the sake of laziness and brevity) is an international convention for the publishing industry focusing on the fantasy genre. So perfect for me! It’s usually held in the USA but will sometimes make its way to Canada, and so this year marks only the third time that the convention has been hosted outside of North America. Great news for me!

If you go to the WFC website you can see a long list of attending members many of whom are delegate parties from publishing companies from around the world (Gollancz, Orbit, HarperCollins to name but a few) and many others are authors, old and new, famous and infamous. The rest are likely made up of people like me, keen enthusiasts and only just stepping foot into the industry! There’s panels, discussions and awards ceremonies so a little bit of everything that you could want!

So there was excitement abound recently as the WFC website placed up its first official line up of programming, with only a few short weeks to go! Of course, not all of the programming will be as fascinating as others to every single attendee but it all looks rather fabulous and my mouth is already salivating with the prospect of this fantastical buffet.

So I look down through the days and give a chuckle here and a coo there at various amusing and interesting panels. But what’s this!? “Sir Terry Pratchett: In Conversation” I am not ashamed to admit that there was a little bit of hyperventilation when I realised that Terry Pratchett is going to be an attending member of the WFC this year! It is not often that you are offered the opportunity to meet a man who is as much as part of British culture as he is an international best seller.

But, now! What is THIS!?

It turns out that the Conversations with Terry Pratchett happens to be scheduled for the same hour that the readings by Patrick Rothfuss is scheduled! This is a most unpleasant and undesirable turn of events. Mr Rothfuss is perhaps my favourite author, not only because of the lyrical and beautiful books he has produced but if you follow his blog you’ll see that he’s a very kind and humorous man who really does a lot for charity.

I am super super miffed at this, but I know that if it weren’t Patrick Rothfuss then it would be someone else and I’m sure another attending member would be just as upset as I was when I found out. But thankfully the scheduling does appear to have 2 readings per hour slot so I am hoping that this means the readings start every half an hour. This at least gives me half an hour of basking in the reflected glory of Terry Pratchett before I sprint to absorb the mighty awesomeness of Mr Rothfuss’s beard.

There are many other reasons to be going to the WFC and I am going to a small meeting with Tor UK the book publishers which I am also very much looking forward to. I am also hoping to get some meeting time with other publishers to get their take on what I can do to get into the fantasy game within the publishing industry.

But that’s all my news for now, no doubt I shall batter your peepholes with more news as it comes forward! And rest assured that I am deep into the second instalment of The Gentleman Bastard Sequence so there shall be a blog about that soon enough!

Until then my teary-eyed viewers, readers and reviewers; Good hunting!

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Review: The Lies of Locke Lamora

I was hesitant to post this review as soon as I finished it, mainly because it was actually for something! So you can actually find it on the Gollancz blog right here!: http://www.gollancz.co.uk/2013/10/geeks-friday-reads-the-lies-of-locke-lamora/

So quite excited about that, I don't mind telling you! But now onto the review (which seems slightly pointless as I've just shown you a link to where you can read it... Never mind!):

Two things struck me when I first beheld The Lies of Locke Lamora. Firstly, the book itself. And secondly, that the quote from Richard Morgan contained the word ‘swashbuckling’. With regards to the book itself, I would like to give a quick nod to the look of the book. It’s easy to overlook but it has been crafted into a gorgeous piece with a golden script proudly pronouncing the title underneath an intriguing picture of a vaguely Venetian landscape. This is enough to draw the eye (quite apart from the quote from George R.R. Martin) and the back cover of the book only serves to create further intrigue and of course, that’s where we find ‘swashbuckling’. All of this together makes the perfect precursor to the book itself, a slightly dark, well polished swashbuckling story.

With a series that’s called ‘The Gentleman Bastard Sequence’ and being promised swashbuckle aplenty one expects a certain tongue-in-cheek attitude from the writing. And that is exactly what you get. The Lies of Locke Lamora is a wonderfully spun tale of the Gentleman Bastards a group of first rate confidence tricksters in the city of Camorr, much like a fantastical Venice. Lynch’s creation is a wonderfully constructed world with colourful characters with language just as colourful as they are (although the main characters mainly have silver tongues).

We meeting Locke at the start of his illustrious career and we learn with him very quickly that mixing his lack of restraint and his shady career path is a very dangerous thing to do indeed. Shady is, indeed, also a good word to describe the world that Scott Lynch has created. The city of Camorr (or at least the side we see of it) has its own twisted charm with its own rules and system of honour. Lynch introduces us to the dangerous world that Locke lives in steadily but surely, you never feel as though you’re out of your depth but there’s always something new to explore.

Similarly, I also found that the way Lynch introduces Locke Lamora’s backstory to you as the reader was different but refreshingly it kept the pace of the story without succumbing to the dreaded information dumps that the fantasy genre can be danger to. But was also infuriatingly successful at keeping you suspended above the cliffhangers. Instead of running through Lockes’ story from beginning to end, we see the beginning of his story and then jump forward. At certain points Lynch gives us an interlude to show us how Locke Lamora came to be. I found that this was a good way to get to know the character, we don’t suffer through what can be annoying character develop as we metaphorically shout at the screen about what the character clearly should do.

Lynch’s tale of Locke Lamora is well told, stylishly written and compellingly structured. The characters are thoroughly lovable, well developed and utterly devious. The story will drag you in, tickle you, perplex you and confound you. Lynch isn’t afraid to slap you in the face with a big meaty plot twist but it never happens to to shock just for the sake of it. The writing is reminiscent of Pratchett in that it is entertaining without sacrificing any of its loquacious charm. Overall I would thoroughly recommend this book, it is well written, the story plays out exceedingly well and the characters absolutely bring the book to another level. Swashbuckling adventure is promised and that is precisely what you get, a fantastic swashbuckling tale.

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Coming Up Next!

Good day wordsmiths!

(I think it would be wordsmiths, I toyed with the idea of pensmiths but we don’t make pens, we make stories... so storysmith, but then what about poems and novels and epics? So words it is!)

Welcome back to another fine edition of the Tempered Pen! We’ve been away a little bit (holidays and scheduling be damned!) but we’re back with a vengeance and with a bit of a mixed up format. Instead of doing an article or review every week we’re going to be posting an article or review one week and the next a story will be posted.

The stories will be quite short and we’ll do a few series of stories, so there’ll be a few weeks worth of larger story but also various different stories going on. One reason for this is to have more time to get read books to actually review them properly rather than just from what I remember. And especially with fantasy books they can be rather lengthy!

So the good thing about this is you’ll get exciting instalments of fantastical tales as well as informative and entertaining articles and reviews! Huzzah!

But that wouldn’t do on its own for a blog post, so keep your eyes peeled for another one coming extraordinarily soon!

What I can do for now is give you a sneaky peek at some of the stories that will be coming your way.

First off we’ve got the epic journey of Seňor Bloodwhiskers! The bandit cat seeking revenge upon those who wronged him the past. Along the way he’ll meet other colourful characters, grueling opponents and hopefully find the vigilante justice he’s looking for.

And the other stories that will be working their way to you will be the colourful tale of Arthur Sullivan, his apprentice and his shop the Sullivan Emporium. Arthur is a purveyor of dreams, wishes and potions. Along with his apprentice Jeremy the story will follow them as they find new ingredients to make their wares from across the world.

So keep an eye out and soon enough there shall be a wonderful story for you to enjoy!

Good hunting!

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3 Reasons You Should Be Writing Short Stories

One of the main mantras for writers, whether they’re hopefully, published, or old hats (not literally. Although I would definitely buy a book by an old hat, if just for the experience) is: Write, write, write, write. And then when you feel like your pen can go no further, write some more. So I won’t be going over this rule too much. There it is. You see it. It has been proclaimed.

So what is today going to be devoted to. Well, I’m going to give you (arbitrary number alert) five reasons you should be writing short stories. I don’t care if you’re writing a huge, ten-book, epic fantasy series. I don’t care if you’re just letting your newly finished manuscript settle before you go back for some editing. You should be writing short stories.

Okay that sounds quite draconian. But writing short stories is good for the literary muscles, there’s a host of reasons that short stories can help all of your writing from sprawling epic series to your opening line. I know you’re just aching to see the list, so let’s get to it.

1: YOU GET A BREAK WITHOUT LOSING YOUR EDGE

You’ve been penning your sprawling space opera series for 5 years now. You’re almost at the last chapter and then you’ll be done! Ready to throw it out there for all the publishers and agents to fight over. Maybe you’ve just finished the first draft of your very first book, and you’re super excited to get it out there!

Well it would be a good idea for you to write short stories for a bit. That way you still get to work on your craft (so you’ll just keep getting better) but then you can come back to your big work with a fresh perspective. I’m not saying that you won’t be able to effectively keep working on it, but you’ve heard of being too close to the problem to see the solution? Working on a piece of writing for a long time can be like that. You might not have any problems with your writing, and that’s great! But it would definitely be worth taking a month off to come back fresh to double check. And then if you write short stories you still get to do what you love and it’s still a break! Huzzah!

2: IF YOU CAN’T WAIT TO GET SOMETHING OUT THERE SHORT STORIES ARE THE WAY TO GO

Patience is a virtue, especially in the business of scribbling, re-scribbling and then making once more sweep of edits. But sometimes patience isn’t what you want, or heck even what you need sometimes! It’s nice to have something to actually show for all your hard work, beyond just saying to people “I write.” and getting a look that says ‘suuuure you do.’ Short stories mean that you have something you can show to people, it’ll take a lot less time to get to a professional level (thinking purely from the perspective of how many words you have to shine!). You could also potentially get together with some fellow authors and make an anthology! Of course this will still have all the normal effort of publishing a book but if you just can’t wait until your major project is finished then this can be a good way to have your name on the internet with a product in tow!

3: IF YOU’RE A SECRETIVE SALLY IT’S SOMETHING FOR PEOPLE TO CRITIQUE

If you’re someone who doesn’t like showing people your big work because you’re afraid that they’ll steal your idea, I have two things to say to you. It’s  super super super unlikely, and short stories.

It’s going to be much harder for someone to take your idea for a story with a chapter or two that you’ve given them to look at and then for them to take that idea (that they won’t have the whole picture of anyway) and then write that book. I mean, you’re already asking people to look at it, you’re (comparatively) almost done!

But if that’s something you feel that you want to be worried about, then look no further than short stories!

I think that these are all some pretty awesome reasons to give short stories a try! You can get your name out there, get some good feedback on your writing, not only as general prose but also how you tie a story together, and you don’t have to give away anything from your big work (you could even tantalise people by setting the short stories in the same place or be a prequel to your characters big story!).

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How To Make the Best Swears for Your Book

So I know that the blog has been quite review heavy recently, so I thought it was time to mix it up and write an article that wasn’t about a specific book. But what does that leave me with? Well, quite a lot. So I sat and thought about what to write, and I settled on something to help make your world more thorough and real. Now this may not apply to everyone, so I apologise in advance if this isn’t for you. But, hopefully we can all learn something along the way!

World building. Love it or hate it, it’s definitely an important step for most science fiction and fantasy writers. You need to make sure you know how your world fits together, how all the elements work and what its limitations are. Maybe you don’t like worldbuilding and you’re a writer that just dives in and discovers things along the way, and that’s cool too. (Some people may even be very envious of you!) But I think most people like to at least have some sort of plan before we go ploughing off into the relative unknown of our stories.

Now, there’s load of aspects on world building, and the scope of it can range between genres and stories. Of course on how much you is dependent on you as the author, but if you’re writing a fantasy novel set in your version of a paleolithic Japan then there won’t be much point in mapping out the whole solar system!

Anyway, that’s not the aspect of worldbuilding I want to talk about today. Although there will be a blog post on it in the future. Today I want to talk about mythology, folklore and how that might affect phrases and colloquialism.

I think that this aspect of worldbuilding is something that can really add an extra dimension to your world and really bring your work together. They say it’s the little things, and I think they’re right (I don’t know who they are though), it’s the small things like unique swears or phrases that can really make a difference. This also means that if you’re just using phrases from the real world but you’ve taken a lot of time to build the rest of your world it can be jarring for the reader and bring them out of the experience.

Let’s take an example of how a badly inserted phrase could do this, we’ll use ‘By Jove’. And we’ll be assuming for this example that the world the characters inhabit is a completely separate world to our own. It has different continents, different gods, and magic; a fairly standard, but separate, fantasy world.

Now maybe you have a gentlemanly character and you want to keep him regal in the eyes of your readers but he’s just been surprised for whatever reason. “By Jove” would be a good way to maintain the appearance of a gentleman, if the story took place in the normal world.

But because it’s a fully fledged fantasy universe in its own right, the phrase doesn’t make sense. The phrase ‘by Jove’ essentially means ‘by God’ but is derived from the Roman god Jupiter. So if we’ve got a world where none of these gods existed then what our gentlemanly character has done is just said a random nonsense word. Hardly conduct that will keep him gentlemanly in the eyes of his peers.

So that’s one example of how a simple phrase can be jarringly out of place if you’re creating your own world. Similarly if you had a science fiction universe and someone used that phrase, if you’re using the real world as a base, how far into the future are you? Would that phrase still be used? It’s barely been a few hundred years and it’s already practically disappeared from modern use, so will it still be here in a few hundred more?

Right so that’s an example of something to look out for, there might a phrase you think nothing of putting in but it has its basis in something that you just don’t have in your universe. That said, don’t go too crazy with this, I like to think that if you’re reading a sci-fi or fantasy novel you can think of it being translated into something we can understand so I wouldn’t worry overly much.

But let’s look at an example of something you can create and hopefully give greater depth to your world.

We’re going to take the paleolithic Japan that I mentioned earlier as a random example, going through some aspects of the world we can create phrases and oaths that reflect the world the characters grew up in.

This story is going to be set at the end of the last ice age, so after a quick bit of research into the period and the area we know that Japan was connected to the mainland at this point and the general habitat would be forests and woodland for what is now Japan and tundra-like steppes for the bridge.

Paleolithic Japan, the black lines show the modern day countries

So, we have a few facts about the world our characters inhabit: There’s been a permafrost for longer than living memory; there’s deep forests in mainland; there’s wide open, almost barren, plains reaching far to the north, and they used mainly stone tools. By taking just these three facts about the world we can create a few phrases for our characters to use that will reflect the world they come from.

The permafrost can be used with regards to tenacity, stubbornness or for something that’s never going to happen, for example something like: “I’ll let you go when the ice melts!” in a similar vein to “when pigs fly.” You could use the ice and/or stone aspects for exclamations, perhaps: “Melted ice, boy! Get back here!” or “Broken stone that hurts!

These are just a couple of quick examples, but you can see how taking the aspects of the world that you have created and your characters inhabit can really add an extra dimension to your writing. It will really help to take the reader out of their world and firmly plant them into yours.

You could also use a similar technique to subtly suggest to readers that a particular character is from a different cultural background than those around him. If this strange character is using phrases and words that are strange to the people around him and alien to the setting then you can hint that the character is far travelled.

Anyway! I’m rambling now really. But hopefully from this you can see how these little touches can bring depth to your work and really hold the readers close.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post and we shall of course be posting more in the very near future! In the meantime, good hunting!

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Rivers of London Review

Okay, considering that I thoroughly enjoy The Dresden Files, I suppose it shouldn’t come as a shock that I enjoyed Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch. Another first person urban fantasy, magical detective novel, but this time set in London. For anyone reading in American it’s possible that you’ve seen it under the guise of the title: Midnight Riot. (As a side note, I personally much prefer the British cover for Rivers of London, for some reason the Midnight Riot just strikes me as the kind of cover you’d find on a children’s magic spy novel. But maybe that’s just me!)

I mean, take a look at it. It's a superb cover

The story follows Peter Grant, a probationary constable as he finishes his two year probationary period and as he deftly avoids becoming a member of the Case Progression Unit (to quote Aaronovitch “we do paperwork so real coppers don’t have to”) ends up being apprenticed to Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, the only wizard in Britain.

I think I got an extra dimension of enjoyment out of this book because I work in London. So whenever there was mention of somewhere I recognised, have walked past, or even the tube line I got a little thrill of excitement (it’s silly I know). And also because it seems to have some nice self-deprecating humour in it, and what good British citizen doesn’t enjoy some of that?

Anyway, I know you’re here for one reason and one reason only, you dirty scoundrels, for a book review! So let’s get to it!

Firstly, I want to talk about what stood out to me for this book, and that’s the writing style. It’s a first person narrative and isn’t overly verbose, if anything it’s the opposite. Slightly jarring at first, Aaronovitch’s writing style doesn’t dwell on every little detail, it doesn’t take the reader by the hand and guide them through the story with exquisite detail and imagery. The writing style is closer to what you would get if someone were actually telling you a story. I would like to say now, this is definitely not a bad thing and very well suited to the character and the story, it just took a little getting used to.

What I mean by that is that occasionally you’ll read sentences or paragraphs that skip over a sizeable chunk of time filled with activity. In a lot of books the reader might feel that this is cheating them of the narrative, but I think that in this particular book Aaronovitch has used this technique in a rather dashing fashion. But why? Because being a police officer often isn’t fun, isn’t adventurous and is in fact rather dull. Of course I don’t want to belittle what people involved in law enforcement do in any way, but it’s just not the sort of thing you want to read about in a story. So instead of reading laborious passages in which Peter Grant, the main character, sifts through CCTV footage or logs in to computer systems or what have you, Aaronovitch just gives us what we need to know. We don’t need to know what video files he was looking at, or which folder he delved into, but we find out what he did and what he found.

As well as this, Aaronovitch scatters his writing with humour and it all comes off in a deliciously wicked way. There are definitely chuckles to be had along the way as we follow our main character through London, the underground and dealing with supernatural creatures of one sort or another. Aaronovitch, I think, manages to capture something of British humour, the kind of thing that makes you give everyone a wide, cautious berth whilst simultaneously having a sense of fierce camaraderie.

The London that we find ourselves exploring along with Peter Grant is a fascinating mix of almost forgotten London mythology along with the exciting or humdrum life of mundane London (and by mundane here I don’t mean boring, it’s definitely not boring, just not magic). But within Rivers of London we only really get a glimpse of the magical London that Aaronovitch has created. On the rounds with Nightingale, through Peter Grant’s eyes we see ghosts, trolls and other magical beings that can’t be cleanly categorised. And with Peter Grant’s feet firmly planted within both the magical and the mundane world by the end of the novel, I most certainly look forward to seeing how London transforms itself in the coming books.

Conflict is key to most stories, and Rivers of London is no different. We are thrown straight in with it as the story begins with Peter Grant as he looks after a particularly grisly crime scene when all the other coppers have left. And then almost before anything else has a chance to happen, Peter Grant is whisked away under the wing of Inspector Nightingale to embrace the strange and uphold the peace. Aaronovitch keeps the story rolling and definitely picks up the pace as the story comes to its conclusion.

Overall, I would say that Rivers of London is a thoroughly amusing and enjoyable read with a little adventure, lots of suspense and plenty of action. Although the writing style can jar a couple of times in the first few chapters it quickly and easily facilitates the story and is an apt style to portray British ambivalence in all its forms. Of course due to the first person perspective there is a lack of overt dealings with the other character’s motives, but Aaronovitch is skilled enough to throw us hints via body language and Peter Grant is clever enough to suss out how people are feeling.

You will immediately be drawn into this story as the strange and supernatural immediately jump out from the page and draw you to the next chapter. The pace is always increasing as storylines intertwine, jump free and twist and turn all over place. I would strongly recommend this book as it is a thoroughly enjoyable read with unique story and a witty approach. 

So that's it for now scribblers! I hope you enjoyed this review, and we'll be back with some more excellent content soon! I know that the blog has been review heavy of late so hopefully is the next week or two we'll be back to giving you a mix of tips, reviews and other thoughts!

In the meantime; good hunting!

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