Bookie Monster

2 weeks

2007-10-06T08:35:00.000+01:00

No books, cookies nor internet make John a dull boy.

Further evidence that I am a Heartless Cur

2007-09-17T14:16:00.000+01:00

Robert Jordan, as many of you will know by now, is dead.

Uncharitably, my first reaction was to laugh for about ten minutes. I guess that the "House Greyjoy" mantle is more appropriate than I first thought.

My thoughts go out to his family and close friends, and to his loyal fans who purchased every one of his books in the hopes he'd decide to get to the point.

I guess it's too late now.

Rest in Peace.

And here comes the huge Sigh.

2007-09-11T21:46:00.000+01:00

I am moving next week.

I have no idea what the house is like, no idea whether it has internet access, how many other people I will be sharing a bathroom with nor who they will be.

Ah, the joys of communal living.

The web-access worries me more than anything else, because I am so used to trawling the web for information about goodness knows what, or random word and name searches. Hopefully this won't affect the (seemingly neglected) site.

Which brings me to something else.

Blogger has been unsatisfactory lately, due to font size and type changes not to mention entire posts simply disappearing as though they had never existed. Most upsetting.

I'm thinking of migrating to wordpress, but it may take me a while to learn how to operate it so I recommend you do not hold your collective breaths.

In the meantime:

Check out featured authors in the sidebars.
Visit a couple of my fellow reviewer's sites, links available bottom right.

And best of all:

Win a £10 Amazon UK voucher-- by emailing me a poem of 60 words or more relating to books and cookies. The most entertaining and creative entry will win the voucher and a small advert for their site (as long as it's appropriate!)
If you're interested in entering, email me your poems before 23:59 on the 18th of Sept.

House Greyjoy

2007-09-08T21:32:00.000+01:00

Your Score: House Greyjoy

90% Dominant, 36% Extroverted, 36% Trustworthy

Brutal. Opportunistic. Unforgiving. Rising again, harder and stronger, you are of House Greyjoy.

You are a dominant personality. Although you are neither the strongest nor the most cunning, you bend the weaknesses of others to your own advantage. Extremely opportunistic, you are the Wendy Pepper of Westeros, letting everyone fall over themselves and get tangled up before springing lightly over the pile of bodies. When others criticize you, you’re more likely to cut out their tongue than lend an ear. Your arrogance is hard-wired into you to such a degree that you barely recognize other human beings to be of your same species, let alone your equals.

You are also introverted, which means that nobody knows what the hell is going on inside your head. Spontaneous and extremely impulsive, your actions will always take people by surprise. As such, it’s unlikely that you have many friends or allies in the wide world; people just don’t find you trustworthy. And there’s a reason for that, too, which is...

You’re untrustworthy! You are opportunistic, greedy, stubborn, and more-than-willing to climb over anyone you must to get to the top. You are unwilling to compromise on anything, and instead of using strategy, you try to eliminate as many of the other players as possible. Let’s face it—by conventional moral standards, you’re just not a very admirable person. Perhaps if you stopped laughing when people cut their fingers off at your dinner parties...?

Representative characters include: Aeron Greyjoy, Asha Greyjoy, and Victarion Greyjoy

Similar Houses: Baratheon, Frey, and Lannister

Opposite House: Tully

When playing the game of thrones, you play it buck naked, flappin’ in the breeze.

Link: The Song of Ice and Fire House Test written by Geeky_Stripper on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Well well well. Not exactly what I was expecting. Just to reassure all of you, I am completely and utterly trustworthy. And my morals are excellent.

I promise.

(Thanks to The Swivet, via Bookswede , for the quiz)

2007-09-05T21:14:00.000+01:00

Sorry for the lack of posts, Blogger is gobbling up what I'm posting.

I'll have the review for Read Seas Under Red Skies re-written for the weekend. *sigh*

LOLpics

2007-08-29T20:03:00.000+01:00

You haven't been cruising the internet extensively enough if you haven't come across LOLcats.

I happen to check a LOLcat website every couple of days, so when a conversation with Eric from Short Exact and Transbay turned to LOLbooks, we couldn't resist having a go at making our own fantasy-themed LOLpictures.

"The Elves of Cintra" by Terry Brooks

2007-08-26T22:09:00.000+01:00

(This review also includes the prequel, Armageddon's Children--I read both books back to back and the story flows so well that it's hard to distinguish where one book ends and the other begins, so no spoilers for either!)

I didn’t rush out to buy Armageddon’s Children when it first came out for the simple reason that I wanted to wait until the entire trilogy was released. There aren’t many books I will do this for, but Terry Brooks’ “The Word and the Void” series is one of them.
For those of you who may not be aware yet, the “Genesis of Shannara” is a trilogy written to link two of Terry’s best series together. Set after the events “Angel Fire East” and before the world of the Four Lands, Armageddon’s Children and Elves of Cintra follow the journeys undertaken by two Knights of the Word in a post-apocalyptic world.

To some the premise of linking the two series together (rather than writing a straight sequel to the original Word and Void) may seem like a bit of a contradiction for an author who usually prefers to let his readers fill in the blanks.
However, any misgivings are sure to disappear just a few pages into Armageddon’s Children. Any worries or disappointments at Terry’s latest works like Straken are sure to fade, as it is soon delightfully obvious that he is back on top form.

Despite Brooks’ entertaining Shannara and Landover series, Word and Void is where he really shines. This new series is a lot bleaker than the original trilogy, as the future foreseen in them has come to pass. Arthurian themes have diminished considerably, replaced instead with Messianic themes and references to Exodus (which were quite painful to read, I must admit)—not particularly disappointing, but not exactly subtle.

Subtlety is also lacking with just about any reference to things relating to Shannara. Small things that could easily be picked up by regular Brooks readers seemed to have been signposted in huge fluorescent letters. Don’t expect Lynch-like subtlety from Elves of Cintra or Armageddon's Children.

Most of the characters aren’t generally likeable, but they are interesting in their own ways. Every character has an event in their background that has shaped them dramatically, and breaks are often taken to explore relevant characters’ backgrounds through passages bearing some resemblance to “dream sequences” the Knights of the Word experience.

But it’s not even the characterization that places this book above par. It’s the action and the tension—there’s a constant “all or nothing” approach to the situations all the characters are facing. Things I’ve been wondering in my fanboy-like of moments are acted out; questions that have been tossed about by fans for years have been addressed and at times it feels like an adrenaline shot.

Rationale: It was very hard to pinpoint exact things that made Elves of Cintra and its predecessor such a great read, but that is probably because even as a reviewer my mind was drawn away from the artifice and into the story.

Score: Highly Recommended

It’s important to stress at this moment, that Armageddon’s Children is a book anyone can pick up and enjoy, with no prior knowledge of Terry’s other works.

Paperbacks of Armageddon’s Children are now available, and Elves of Cintra is released in the United States and Canada on the 28th of August.

Yet another how to

2007-08-23T13:24:00.000+01:00

There seems to be quite a number of "How To Write a Fantasy Novel" guides out there on the web, most of which seem to be written by disgruntled fans or people who look down on fantasy.

It's hard to pinpoint who actually writes these things because they use such generic stereotypes that it could be someone who's never touched speculative fiction in their life.

Anyway, here's another one for your amusement!

No artificial Flavourings

2007-08-20T23:23:00.000+01:00

"Bookie Monster-- Now 100% Brian Ruckley interview free!"

I'm in a strange and distracted mood, having been so all weekend. I've been trying to sort out where to live for the duration of next year (moving out in September) and it's been nothing but a challenge so far.

There was no Review on Sunday due to an early review of "Power Play"-- I hope you all enjoyed the interview with Joseph Finder, I know it was enjoyable for me!

Things to look forward to on Bookie Monster over the next week or two:

The Review of "Elves of Cintra" by Terry Brooks
My Thoughts on "Winterbirth" by Brian Ruckley
"Red Seas under Red Skies"-- A Hit or a Miss?

I hope you'll be Joining me!

"Power Play" by Joseph Finder

2007-08-15T13:28:00.000+01:00

Joseph Finder’s “Power Play” is a fast-paced and involving corporate thriller, which seized me in its jaws and refused to relent until the final page.

I’ll admit I had my doubts…that the story would unfold predictably and be cliché-ridden (can anyone really blame me? The most entertaining thriller I’ve come across so far is Michael Jackson’s), however it soon veered comfortably in an unexpected direction.

Landry, a junior executive at an aerospace company, is invited to the high-powered company retreat. By no rights should he be there, but he’s the only one who can provide an honest appraisal as to why a commercial plane recently crashed.
Written from Landry’s perspective, the tension continues to mount as the group is left without means of communication to the outside world.

The “Man with a troubled past” individual has become overused these days, but Joe’s dusted it down—and for the duration of the story, it’s as if he’s the first to have written this type of character.

The pacing—a crucial part of any thriller—is handled meticulously. It rises smoothly, so it takes a while to realise that you’re actually holding your breaths in a little longer each chapter.
Hand-in-hand with pacing comes length. I would’ve loved a slightly longer book, with a few more chapters to speed through—but this is a sign of great writing rather than a legitimate complaint.
Any more and the pacing would be shot, any more and the story would drag. Joe’s got a gift. Joe knows when to stop writing.

Score: Recommended. Highly recommended if you’re looking for a book to read poolside on a short vacation, or on a long-haul flight (it’ll keep the blood circulating, that’s for sure!)

Rationale: A brilliant blend of office politics, plane crash conspiracies and gunplay—skip it and regret it.

"Power Play" is available in the US from August 21st.

David Anthony Durham's Forum

2007-08-15T00:03:00.001+01:00

David Anthony Durham's website and forum has been up and running for weeks! Where the heck have you been? Sign up now and find out 10 things to do with an Antok!

Incidentally, it might be worth your while to check his latest blog post, relating to "colour blindness" in reading choices

Interview with Joseph Finder

2007-08-12T14:49:00.000+01:00

The New York Times Best-selling author recently took a couple of minutes of his hectic schedule to do a small interview for Bookie Monster.

Let's save the formalities for later, and jump straight into it!

~~~~~~~~~~~

Bookie Monster: "Power Play", your new novel, centers on employees of an aerospace company--was there any particular reason you chose this type of company above any other?

Joe Finder: I was fascinated by a business that is so global and so huge, where the stakes are so high, the money is so big, and the products themselves inherently fascinating. The Technology fascinates me: how does a plane stay up in the sky, and what further improvements can be made to that?

There is also a kind of "Boy's Club" culture in a lot of these companies. I wanted to set the story in an industry where a female CEO would clash with the entrenched culture. One of those industries is Aerospace.

BM: You're beginning the tour for your new novel on the 21st, as a seasoned traveler have you had any bad airport experiences?

Joe Finder: Constantly, last night I was delayed for 2 hours in an airport. Given how much I travel for research and promoting books, I am always in airports-- and it's almost always an unpleasant experience.

BM: Do you have any favourite thrillers--both on screen and on the page-- and how have they influenced you?

Joe Finder: I love thrillers, both in film and in print. I just saw the film version of "The Bourne Ultimatum" and it is unbelievable--it's like the third act of a great book: non-stop action and tension.

Other films I love are "In the Line of Fire", "Day of the Jackal" and "Marathon Man". I love "Marathon Man" and "Day of the Jackal" as novels too. Other books that influenced me would include "The Bourne Identity" and Ira Levin's books "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Boys from Brazil".
Those are just the ones that jump to mind, given enough time I could name dozens!

BM: You have quite an active presence on networking websites like myspace and facebook--how has the internet affected your publicizing? How about your writing itself?

Joe Finder: The internet has made it just about unnecessary for me to hire researchers any more, because it is so easy to find information and experts online.

On the other hand that bouncing e-mail icon breaks my concentration, so I can't be online when I'm writing.

In terms of publicity, the internet is a whole world that remains almost untapped. Newspapers are dying; TV ads for books are ineffectual; radio is becoming increasingly expensive while the number of listeners is dwindling. The internet is pretty much free and it's a great place to introduce people to your books. SO many blogs, so many websites...they're more and more important.

BM: You mentioned that Newspapers are dying--but what about books? Publishers are begin to release fewer books each year, instead focusing on titles with big names attached--does this worry you, despite your "Big Name" status?

Joe Finder: I think it's worse in the UK than it is here. Objectively, more books are being sold now than 30 or 40 years ago, but fewer people are reading more books. Some people just watch TV, or just go to the movies.

It is true, particularly in the UK, that some publishers are focusing on authors who are commodities--but that raises the question: how do you bring in new blood? Far too often the Big Names start to coast, so this is actually a bad business model in the long run. It's not good business and it's not good for creativity.

BM: Thank you for your time, Joe.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joe Finder is a best-selling author of thrillers such as "Company Man" and "Killer Instinct"--for more information, visit Joe's website.

The exciting new novel, "Power Play" is released on August 21st--a review will be posted in a couple of days.

For aspiring Fantasy Novelists

2007-08-07T20:27:00.000+01:00

Relating to the previous post, I found a website that has a list of questions to prevent you writing an instant cliche:

Click here

Just a quick comment though, some of the questions are unfair.....if anyone took this seriously, very few fantasy books would have been published in the last 50 odd years!

"The Blade Itself" by Joe Abercrombie

2007-08-04T16:31:00.000+01:00

The Blade Itself has been lying in my desk draw for several weeks now, and I could honestly say I could slap myself for not reading it straight away. “Why?” I hear you ask! It’s quite simple. It is one of the most entertaining books I have read in the past year!

Now that’s quite a claim isn’t it?
The Blade Itself is incredibly easy to read—although that’s not to say it’s simplistic, far from it.
Joe’s focus is mainly on the story and the characters, rather than wielding the stereotypical “World-building Sledgehammer” that is now associated with the fantasy genre. It is very refreshing to focus on the characters and story, without being overwhelmed by details on a world’s current affairs and history dragging back hundreds of years!

This means that I was confused as to what the world really “looked like”, compounded by the lack of map. But as Joe himself has said—the characters don’t have maps, so why should the reader have the luxury?

I’m usually as wary about anti-heroes as I am about selfless, perfect heroes (a la Superman and Flash Gordon)… but the characters of Logen Nine-fingers and Inquisitor Glokta were excellently written. Not villainous but definitely not heroic, one with a fractured mind, the other with a fractured body, they are fantastic protagonists and fascinating to read.
Despite Joe’s flaunting of superfluous fantasy ritual like heavy world-building and map-making, he’s paid a lot of attention to detail. My two favourite points were actual language barriers between key characters—something not written accurately in most novels, if at all. The other was the shift in viewpoint of what city looks like, from both a nobleman’s perspective and a person who has never entered “civilization” before. I was truly impressed.

Pointless and boring things like travel have been condensed or eliminated, skipping ahead to the next character development opportunity or plot-advancing situation. It’s as if Joe actively sat down (I know! It’s an oxymoron!) and thought about all the pointless annoying additions to the fantasy genre then decided to trim them from the story he’s weaving.

Score: Highly Recommended

Rationale: This is the new, streamlined face of modern fantasy. Deal with it.

*As an aside, the cover is also innovative-- it feels ridged and slightly dotty. It almost "wakes up" your fingers as you're reading!

Important Notice

2007-08-01T20:16:00.000+01:00

Whoever is hiding my books--Cease and Desist.

You have until 12pm tomorrow to return the 3 books you took, and my notepad.

Updating Schedule

2007-07-31T14:52:00.000+01:00

As of today, Bookie Monster will have an updating schedule.

Saturday or Sunday: Expect either a full book review, interview or article.

Weekdays: Ad Hoc when interesting information arises.

Mark your Calendars

2007-07-28T17:54:00.000+01:00

Make sure you don't miss the webchat with Terry Brooks over on his official forum--it will be taking place on July the 31st at 6pm EST (3pm PST, 11pm GMT).

If you want to take part, you need to sign up to the forum and have your questions ready. More information is available here.

Audio Clip of Acacia

2007-07-24T22:06:00.000+01:00

Feast your ears on this, the first available audioclip of David Anthony Durham's "Acacia: The War with the Mein".

Audiobooks need just the right voice actor to bring a story to life and each book needs a different style of reading. So choosing who will be reading a 25hr+ book is a huge decision to make.

I'm quite impressed by Dick Hill's voice-- it has a hint of Patrick Stewart to it, and a tiny echo of Anthony Hopkins.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by JK Rowling

2007-07-22T19:32:00.000+01:00

At last, the long-awaited final installment in the Harry Potter series is amongst us. And let me just say, it's about time! It's been a decade since Philosopher's Stone was released, can you believe that?
So, with great anticipation and relief that I finally held the last entry to the saga, I dove in.

There's something magical about the first few pages of a new Harry Potter book, like returning to a regular vacation spot or the opening ceremony of the Olympics. Deathly Hallows is a little different, because none of the trio anticipate returning to Hogwarts.

I'm going to break it to you straight, this isn't the strongest book in the series--but it isn't the worst.

Harry faces several dilemmas, does he continue searching for Voldemort's Horcruxes, or does he set off in search of the Deathly Hallows, powerful artifacts said to grant the wielder mastery over death itself? Does he believe the surfacing accounts of Dumbledore's past? Should he allow his closest friends to remain with him, despite the danger this places them in?

One of the main things I wasn't impressed with was how long it took to get the story off the ground, and actually gripping. Until roughly page 400, it feels a bit like reading an account of someone's "awesome camping trip" but it takes off like a speeding bullet from thereon in.

The two main issues covered in Deathly Hallows (and indeed the rest of the series), Love and Choice, are handled exceptionally well for a children/young adult series.
Every vital character, Voldemort, Harry, Dumbledore, Snape, Lucius.... has a choice to make, a decision in how their lives turn out. People are not the sum of their parts, they are the sum of their decisions and actions. One could spend a long time drawing comparisons between Voldemort's ideals and real-world fascism, but I'll leave that for another time.
The second issue is the underestimation of the power that Love has on all of us. Even the most wretched and grumpy of people is affected by this emotion, and to shrug its effects aside is foolishness.

The Greatest revelation of this book is regarding Severus Snape, and what makes him tick (no matter whose side he's on). He's by far my favourite character, and possibly the best written in the entire saga.

Score: Recommended

Rationale: The fact that it's the final chapter, the conclusion and the tieing up of loose ends--this makes up for a rather sluggish start.

Andrzej Sapkowski

2007-07-17T18:05:00.000+01:00

I've got my eye on this Polish writer (the dignity of that source is somewhat lessened by adverts for a "fart button" at the bottom. I suppose they don't control what adverts rotate onto the site though)

It's taken about 15 years for the English-speaking world to realise he exists, and I doubt we're going to regret it.

I'll be buying "The Witcher" as soon as a copy is available to me in English.

Click here to see the website for "The Witcher" videogame--in production as we speak!

Do you like Harry Potter?

2007-07-16T18:54:00.000+01:00

If you're looking to read "The deathly Hallows" spoiler free, do not read on. You have been warned. They're minor spoilers, but what the hey.

Remember, the Journey is more important than the Destination.

Harry and Ginny send their kid to Hogwarts. His name is "Albus Severus".

Ron's mentioned on the last page, but no sign of Hermione. Don't worry, she's alright though.

Please note, I have not read "the Deathly Hallows" and for legal reasons I'm going to cite my source as "coming to me in a dream".

Your Call

2007-07-14T20:35:00.000+01:00

I've hit a bit of a snag.

I'm not sure which book to read and review next--the release dates are relatively close together (or close enough not to really matter).

Which would you prefer to get reviews of first:

Winterbirth by Brian Ruckley
The Elves of Cintra by Terry Brooks
The Blade itself by Joe Abercrombie

It's a tough call to make.

Not quite Mr T

2007-07-13T23:03:00.000+01:00

As some of you may realise, my favourite "new" author is David Anthony Durham. For any of you who feel guilty about reading "fantasy" novels, Acacia is the first step you need to take to get over literary snobbery.

The Dragon Page has a new podcast, involving Anne McCaffrey and David Anthony Durham. I encourage you to listen to the whole thing, but should you just want to hear what David Anthony Durham has to say for himself, skip to 43:50.

Click Here to Listen.

My thoughts.

-I always read "Mein" as in "Chicken Chow-Mein".
-I really expected David to have a more Barry White/Mr T voice.
-Authors and readers have different ideas of what "spoilers" are.

Jonathan Ross interview with JK Rowling

2007-07-07T15:46:00.000+01:00

Last night saw Jonathan Ross interviewing the usually camera-shy Mz Rowling-- it's entertaining, but contains some adult humour.

Part one

Part two

I cannot say I'm too excited by the upcoming "Order of the Phoenix" film, but I am psyched for the last book.

2007-07-06T19:36:00.000+01:00

Congratulations to Veiled Shadow for her lightning fast typing skills--the copy of "The Handmaid's Tale" should be on its way to you as we speak.

Keep your eyes out for more giveaways--next time I will probably be drawing the name out of a hat in order that everyone has a better chance!