The Other Lands
David Anthony Durham
Doubleday: 2009
(Note: I thought I had posted this back in August. I have no idea why this didn't post last year. I only noticed when I was cleaning out my drafts)
In a case of taking waaaay too long to read a book, I bring you The Other Lands from David Anthony Durham. This is the second volume in Durham’s Acacia trilogy and one I had been anticipating since I first read Acacia back in 2007…except I never picked up The Other Lands in 2009 when it was published.
Big mistake. Huge.
With a nearly four year gap between reading the novels one might well be concerned with remembering who the characters were and how things connect together. Durham opens with a refresher of “the story so far”, which is something that more big fantasy novels should include. The other thing is that Durham is both thoughtful and skilled enough to craft the story in such a way to gently remind the reader of events from the first novel while never giving the impression of dropping a huge info-dump on the reader.
Durham has written a sprawling novel set a decade after the events of Acacia. The Empire is still recovering from the invasion of the Mein and continues to deal with some of the unexpected consequences of that war. Queen Corinn holds tight control over the Empire and uses her surviving siblings to cement her own power, improve the Empire, and to keep them out of the way so as to limit their potential for threatening her reign. Aspects of The Other Lands work as a thoughtful political thriller.
The Other Lands is far more than “just” a political novel. It is a sprawling epic adventure tinged with a growing sense of magic and one character’s “journey” to the titular Other Lands opens up the wonder of just how big this world is and more fully introduces the other cultures and races of the world. While still steeped in the historical detail that readers should expect from David Anthony Durham, The Other Lands is also chock full of wonder, delight, and tells an exciting story about a threat to the Akaran Empire far greater than any seen before. It builds and builds, topping the reader off with tension.
Now, this is the middle volume of a trilogy, so while Durham does work in complete story arcs, The Other Lands does serve to set up what is likely to be an explosive conclusion when Durham publishes the final volume.
The big mistake I mentioned earlier was simply in waiting so long to read this. Though The Other Lands is worth waiting for, it is a book that you shouldn’t wait on. It should just be read. Read Acacia, then read this. You should have anyway.
Previous Reviews:
Acacia
Showing posts with label David Anthony Durham. Show all posts
Showing posts with label David Anthony Durham. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Thoughts on 2009 Hugo Nominees: John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer
Looking at some of my Hugo posts from last year, I realize I have been remiss in not writing about the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.
First, here are the five nominees in alphabetical order and a little bit about what they have written.
Aliette de Bodard: A French / Vietnamese writer who lives in France and writes in English, her second language. That’s impressive. de Bodard is a short fiction writer who has been published in Interzone, Electric Velocipede, Intergalactic Medicine Show, Abyss & Apex, Coyote Wild, and Shimmer. One of her stories was reprinted in one Gardner Dozois’ yearly best of SF anthologies and she has received several honorable mentions. She has stories forthcoming in Talebones, Fantasy Magazine, Interzone, and Realms of Fantasy.
David Anthony Durham. Best known in genre for his debut fantasy novel Acacia: War Against the Mein, Durham is also the author of three previous historical novels: Pride of Carthage, Walk Through Darkness, and Gabriel’s Story. Durham was nominated for the Campbell last year. The second Acacia novel is forthcoming this year, and a third is planned. David Anthony Durham has also been tapped to join the Wild Cards Consortium and work on a forthcoming Wild Cards novel (Fort Freak).
Felix Gilman is the author of two novels: Thunderer and Gears of the City.
Tony Pi was born in Taiwain but currently lives in (and is a citizen of) Canada. He is a short story writer who has been published in On Spec, Intergalactic Medicine Show, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and Abyss and Apex. He has a story in Paper Golem’s forthcoming Alembical 2 and another forthcoming in the John Joseph Adams Sherlock Holmes anthology.
Gord Sellar is a Canadian science fiction writer currently living and teaching in a suburb of Seoul, South Korea. His fiction has been published in Apex Online, Interzone, Asimov’s, Fantasy Magazine, and Nature.
Except for Felix Gilman, the other four nominees are in their second and final year of eligibility for the Campbell.
This is a difficult category to write about this year, because unlike the previous two years, I’ve only read one of the nominees. Would it be unfair for me to say that David Anthony Durham deserves the Campbell over the other four nominees when I haven’t read the other four? Yeah, it would.
The two writers most folks will likely be most familiar with are Felix Gilman and David Anthony Durham. They have published novels. Jeff VanderMeer gave Gilman a goodly amount of word-of-mouth publicity to Gilman’s debut novel Thunderer and Durham has done quite well with Acacia.
Aliette de Bodard, Tony Pi, and Gord Sellar face potentially steeper climbs to claim the Campbell Tiara. They have only published short fiction. Now, this is by no means a bar to Campbellhood. Mary Robinette Kowal won last year on the strength of her short fiction. The fact that I was familiar with Kowal’s work and not de Bodard, Pi, or Sellar probably means nothing since I am not a Hugo Voter and I am, sadly, not the voice of science fiction and fantasy fandom. Whatever that means.
de Bodard has more name recognition in my world, but looking at the publication lists of the three short fiction writers, Sellar may have a stronger list of publications (though de Bodard’s forthcoming publications could change that – unless you hold to the view that as one of the Big Three, an Asimov’s publication trumps the rest). But even that doesn’t matter because Kowal wasn’t published in Asimov’s until AFTER she won the Campbell.
I don’t know that I have it in me to predict the winner with any sense of accuracy at all. If I was voting, I would vote for David Anthony Durham. I also think that Durham has the most name recognition with Acacia and George R. R. Martin’s announcement that Durham will be writing Wild Cards. If I had to guess, I would suggest that Durham picks up the Campbell in his final year of eligibility. If it isn’t Durham, I think this is a wide open category.
Previous winners
2008: Mary Robinette Kowal
2007: Naomi Novik
2006: John Scalzi
2005: Elizabeth Bear
2004: Jay Lake
2003: Wen Spencer
2002: Jo Walton
2001: Kristine Smith
2000: Cory Doctorow
(the list of winners stretches back to 1973)
The winner will be in good company.
First, here are the five nominees in alphabetical order and a little bit about what they have written.
Aliette de Bodard: A French / Vietnamese writer who lives in France and writes in English, her second language. That’s impressive. de Bodard is a short fiction writer who has been published in Interzone, Electric Velocipede, Intergalactic Medicine Show, Abyss & Apex, Coyote Wild, and Shimmer. One of her stories was reprinted in one Gardner Dozois’ yearly best of SF anthologies and she has received several honorable mentions. She has stories forthcoming in Talebones, Fantasy Magazine, Interzone, and Realms of Fantasy.
David Anthony Durham. Best known in genre for his debut fantasy novel Acacia: War Against the Mein, Durham is also the author of three previous historical novels: Pride of Carthage, Walk Through Darkness, and Gabriel’s Story. Durham was nominated for the Campbell last year. The second Acacia novel is forthcoming this year, and a third is planned. David Anthony Durham has also been tapped to join the Wild Cards Consortium and work on a forthcoming Wild Cards novel (Fort Freak).
Felix Gilman is the author of two novels: Thunderer and Gears of the City.
Tony Pi was born in Taiwain but currently lives in (and is a citizen of) Canada. He is a short story writer who has been published in On Spec, Intergalactic Medicine Show, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and Abyss and Apex. He has a story in Paper Golem’s forthcoming Alembical 2 and another forthcoming in the John Joseph Adams Sherlock Holmes anthology.
Gord Sellar is a Canadian science fiction writer currently living and teaching in a suburb of Seoul, South Korea. His fiction has been published in Apex Online, Interzone, Asimov’s, Fantasy Magazine, and Nature.
Except for Felix Gilman, the other four nominees are in their second and final year of eligibility for the Campbell.
This is a difficult category to write about this year, because unlike the previous two years, I’ve only read one of the nominees. Would it be unfair for me to say that David Anthony Durham deserves the Campbell over the other four nominees when I haven’t read the other four? Yeah, it would.
The two writers most folks will likely be most familiar with are Felix Gilman and David Anthony Durham. They have published novels. Jeff VanderMeer gave Gilman a goodly amount of word-of-mouth publicity to Gilman’s debut novel Thunderer and Durham has done quite well with Acacia.
Aliette de Bodard, Tony Pi, and Gord Sellar face potentially steeper climbs to claim the Campbell Tiara. They have only published short fiction. Now, this is by no means a bar to Campbellhood. Mary Robinette Kowal won last year on the strength of her short fiction. The fact that I was familiar with Kowal’s work and not de Bodard, Pi, or Sellar probably means nothing since I am not a Hugo Voter and I am, sadly, not the voice of science fiction and fantasy fandom. Whatever that means.
de Bodard has more name recognition in my world, but looking at the publication lists of the three short fiction writers, Sellar may have a stronger list of publications (though de Bodard’s forthcoming publications could change that – unless you hold to the view that as one of the Big Three, an Asimov’s publication trumps the rest). But even that doesn’t matter because Kowal wasn’t published in Asimov’s until AFTER she won the Campbell.
I don’t know that I have it in me to predict the winner with any sense of accuracy at all. If I was voting, I would vote for David Anthony Durham. I also think that Durham has the most name recognition with Acacia and George R. R. Martin’s announcement that Durham will be writing Wild Cards. If I had to guess, I would suggest that Durham picks up the Campbell in his final year of eligibility. If it isn’t Durham, I think this is a wide open category.
Previous winners
2008: Mary Robinette Kowal
2007: Naomi Novik
2006: John Scalzi
2005: Elizabeth Bear
2004: Jay Lake
2003: Wen Spencer
2002: Jo Walton
2001: Kristine Smith
2000: Cory Doctorow
(the list of winners stretches back to 1973)
The winner will be in good company.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Thoughts on Hugo Nominees 2008: John W. Campbell Award
Joe Abercrombie (2nd year of eligibility)
Jon Armstrong (1st year of eligibility)
David Anthony Durham (1st year of eligibility)
David Louis Edelman (2nd year of eligibility)
Mary Robinette Kowal (2nd year of eligibility)
Scott Lynch (2nd year of eligibility)
The SFF award I find most interesting is not specifically from one of the three major awards (Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy), and it has nothing to do with any individual story or novel. The award that is most interested is the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. The award is given at Worldcon with the rest of the Hugos, but it isn’t a Hugo. Not really.
I’ll start with Jon Armstrong. Everything I know about Armstrong is that he wrote a novel titled Grey. It was published by Night Shade Books. It’s supposed to be good. I haven’t read it. I’m sure I’ll get to it, but for the moment Armstrong is pretty well taken out of the conversation for the Campbell. As an added bonus, Grey is available for free download. Thanks, Night Shade!
This brings me to David Louis Edelman. Edelman is the author of the much heralded Infoquake (which, naturally, I have also not read) and the forthcoming Multireal. While I haven’t read Infoquake, I have seen a great deal more buzz for Infoquake than I have for Grey. Obviously buzz does not equal quality, but the Campbell nomination does suggest it. Moreso than Grey, I definitely need to read Infoquake. Infoquake was published by Pyr.
Not having read either Jon Armstrong or David Louis Edelman, it is impossible to guess how likely either would be to go home with a Campbell in hand.
David Anthony Durham is a beneficiary of having written three prior novels but no fantasy until he brought us Acacia last year. Durham was able to hone his craft before we got our first taste. But, given that the Campbell is for new SFF authors, Durham qualifies. Lest I come across as being slightly petty or petulant, let me say that this is not my intent. I thought Acacia was a damn fine novel, one of the better releases of 2007, and Durham more than deserves his place on the Campbell list. I only hope that he will be able to turn Acacia II quickly so he is better able to build a readership. If I see Durham’s name on a new fantasy novel, I’ll be sure to read it.
Joe Abercrombie. What can one say about Joe Abercrombie without being assassinated? Thus far I have only read The Blade Itself and thought it was a very strong fantasy debut. Abercrombie is working with some rather stock characters (barbarian warrior, cripple, naïve lordling, etc), but writes the characters in such a way that they feel fresh. Plus, he is putting these stock characters into much grittier situations than we normally see, and given the character perspectives in the novel I think that Abercrombie is starting to twist these stock characters into forms and shapes we do not normally get. Inquisitor Glotka is no mere shade of Tyrion Lannister.
Then there is Scott Lynch. Mr. Lies of Locke Lamora and Red Seas Under Red Skies. As much as I admired Acacia and enjoyed the hell out of The Blade Itself, I think that the two Lynch novels are good enough and popular enough that Lynch has the best chance of winning the Campbell in his second and final year of eligibility. But this is by no means a sure bet. I’m not one of the Hugo voters, so I can’t put down a name. Without having sales figures in hand, I don’t know who sold how many books, but the sense I have is that Lynch outsold the rest...but Durham may have put up solid numbers himself. So who knows? Scott Lynch is by no means a lock (get it? Locke!? Sorry...), but along with Abercrombie and Durham, I would say he is a solid contender. Because we don’t necessarily know the makeup of the voters for the Campbell, it is difficult to say who will take home the award.
I have not forgotten Mary Robinette Kowal. I just saved her for last. Mrs. Kowal is my sentimental favorite. The other five nominees are all novelists. Mary Robinette Kowal is a short story writer. If you have been reading this blog for the last year or so you will know that I think very highly of Kowal’s fiction. Kowal is probably as dark a dark horse as you can get in this category as the Campbell tends towards novelists (with a couple of notable exceptions), but I think Kowal’s short fiction is every bit as strong as the novelists’ in this category. If she comes out with a short story collection, I’d probably buy it. If she published a novel, I know I would buy it. My biggest hope is that MRK gains a wider readership for her fiction as a result of the Campbell nomination.
I would be tickled if Mary Robinette Kowal was awarded the Campbell, but my expectation is that Lynch or Durham will walk away with it. Abercrombie will likely draw the same readers as Lynch and I think that some of those who would otherwise vote for Joe Abercrombie will cast their votes for Scott Lynch. Durham’s the guy who I can see upsetting the proverbial apple cart. I think he has just enough popularity and notoriety to get through.
The most important thing here, I think, is the nomination itself. It gets people (me) talking about the writers and that provides greater awareness of their work...which can only help.
But how cool would it be if Mary Robinette Kowal won? Seriously.
Jon Armstrong (1st year of eligibility)
David Anthony Durham (1st year of eligibility)
David Louis Edelman (2nd year of eligibility)
Mary Robinette Kowal (2nd year of eligibility)
Scott Lynch (2nd year of eligibility)
The SFF award I find most interesting is not specifically from one of the three major awards (Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy), and it has nothing to do with any individual story or novel. The award that is most interested is the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. The award is given at Worldcon with the rest of the Hugos, but it isn’t a Hugo. Not really.
The John W. Campbell Award is given to the best new science fiction or fantasy writer whose first work of science fiction or fantasy was published in a professional publication in the previous two years. (via Writertopia)Past winners include Naomi Novik, John Scalzi, Elizabeth Bear Cory Doctorow, Ted Chiang, Jo Walton, Nalo Hopkinson, Jay Lake, Lucius Shepard, Orson Scott Card, and others stretching back to 1973 (Jerry Pournelle).
I’ll start with Jon Armstrong. Everything I know about Armstrong is that he wrote a novel titled Grey. It was published by Night Shade Books. It’s supposed to be good. I haven’t read it. I’m sure I’ll get to it, but for the moment Armstrong is pretty well taken out of the conversation for the Campbell. As an added bonus, Grey is available for free download. Thanks, Night Shade!
This brings me to David Louis Edelman. Edelman is the author of the much heralded Infoquake (which, naturally, I have also not read) and the forthcoming Multireal. While I haven’t read Infoquake, I have seen a great deal more buzz for Infoquake than I have for Grey. Obviously buzz does not equal quality, but the Campbell nomination does suggest it. Moreso than Grey, I definitely need to read Infoquake. Infoquake was published by Pyr.
Not having read either Jon Armstrong or David Louis Edelman, it is impossible to guess how likely either would be to go home with a Campbell in hand.
David Anthony Durham is a beneficiary of having written three prior novels but no fantasy until he brought us Acacia last year. Durham was able to hone his craft before we got our first taste. But, given that the Campbell is for new SFF authors, Durham qualifies. Lest I come across as being slightly petty or petulant, let me say that this is not my intent. I thought Acacia was a damn fine novel, one of the better releases of 2007, and Durham more than deserves his place on the Campbell list. I only hope that he will be able to turn Acacia II quickly so he is better able to build a readership. If I see Durham’s name on a new fantasy novel, I’ll be sure to read it.
Joe Abercrombie. What can one say about Joe Abercrombie without being assassinated? Thus far I have only read The Blade Itself and thought it was a very strong fantasy debut. Abercrombie is working with some rather stock characters (barbarian warrior, cripple, naïve lordling, etc), but writes the characters in such a way that they feel fresh. Plus, he is putting these stock characters into much grittier situations than we normally see, and given the character perspectives in the novel I think that Abercrombie is starting to twist these stock characters into forms and shapes we do not normally get. Inquisitor Glotka is no mere shade of Tyrion Lannister.
Then there is Scott Lynch. Mr. Lies of Locke Lamora and Red Seas Under Red Skies. As much as I admired Acacia and enjoyed the hell out of The Blade Itself, I think that the two Lynch novels are good enough and popular enough that Lynch has the best chance of winning the Campbell in his second and final year of eligibility. But this is by no means a sure bet. I’m not one of the Hugo voters, so I can’t put down a name. Without having sales figures in hand, I don’t know who sold how many books, but the sense I have is that Lynch outsold the rest...but Durham may have put up solid numbers himself. So who knows? Scott Lynch is by no means a lock (get it? Locke!? Sorry...), but along with Abercrombie and Durham, I would say he is a solid contender. Because we don’t necessarily know the makeup of the voters for the Campbell, it is difficult to say who will take home the award.
I have not forgotten Mary Robinette Kowal. I just saved her for last. Mrs. Kowal is my sentimental favorite. The other five nominees are all novelists. Mary Robinette Kowal is a short story writer. If you have been reading this blog for the last year or so you will know that I think very highly of Kowal’s fiction. Kowal is probably as dark a dark horse as you can get in this category as the Campbell tends towards novelists (with a couple of notable exceptions), but I think Kowal’s short fiction is every bit as strong as the novelists’ in this category. If she comes out with a short story collection, I’d probably buy it. If she published a novel, I know I would buy it. My biggest hope is that MRK gains a wider readership for her fiction as a result of the Campbell nomination.
I would be tickled if Mary Robinette Kowal was awarded the Campbell, but my expectation is that Lynch or Durham will walk away with it. Abercrombie will likely draw the same readers as Lynch and I think that some of those who would otherwise vote for Joe Abercrombie will cast their votes for Scott Lynch. Durham’s the guy who I can see upsetting the proverbial apple cart. I think he has just enough popularity and notoriety to get through.
The most important thing here, I think, is the nomination itself. It gets people (me) talking about the writers and that provides greater awareness of their work...which can only help.
But how cool would it be if Mary Robinette Kowal won? Seriously.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
negative reviews
David Anthony Durham offers up a little negative review quiz where the four books being harshly criticized are popular and acclaimed novels.
My favorite review?
My favorite review?
Anyways, I sure hope he doesn't plan on writing anything else. I read this book, initially, in the author's native bulgarian language...and it was even worse!Just wait until you see what book THAT is.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Acacia, by David Anthony Durham
Acacia
David Anthony Durham
Doubleday: 2007
Historical Fiction author David Anthony Durham turns to fantasy with his fourth book Acacia: The War With the Mein. Acacia seems to be one of those books which has garnered quite a bit of praise but is only gradually working its way into the consciousness of fantasy readers. Acacia is almost a debut novel in the sense that David Anthony Durham is a name that was not very well known in fantasy circles. After Acacia if Durham isn't well known, he should be.
Acacia opens with a short first chapter featuring an assassin making his way out of the frozen north to the island city / state / empire of Acacia with a mission to kill the king, Leodan Akaran, and begin to set his people, the Mein, free from the yoke of the Acacians.
After this first chapter David Anthony Durham begins to introduce us to the principal characters of the story, Leodan's four children: Aliver (the heir), Corinn, Mena, and Dariel. Through particular viewpoint chapters for each of the children we get a sense of who they are and who they want to be, and perhaps who they could be. During these opening chapters and throughout the novel Durham provides a wealth of detail about the setting, the political situation, the motivations of characters, the clothing, the weaponry, the culture, and pretty much anything that can be described. Normally this is what we call overkill and too much exposition and description. Somehow David Anthony Durham gracefully moves beyond that sense of too much description holding the story back and that detail Durham provides only enriches the tapestry that is Acacia. Yes, the pace of Acacia is a bit slower than the average epic fantasy, but Acacia is far from your average epic fantasy.
The opening chapters of Acacia serve to set the table for the feast which is to come. Acacia is not a simple tale of "good guys" versus "bad guys" and while we suspect that the assassin will be at least partially successful, we do not quite know what is to come. Sure, the dust jacket for the novel reveals this little tidbit:
"On his deathbed, Leodan puts into play a plan to allow his children to escape, each to his or her own separate destiny. And so his children begin a quest to avenge their father's death and restore the Acacian empire - this time on the basis of universal freedom."Yet, this does not capture what David Anthony Durham does here at all. Those are the facts of the novel, but not the truth. The truth is that initially we think that all that Durham is doing with Acacia is flipping the racial expectations by making the Akarans dark skinned and the Mein the white people. In part, perhaps this is true, but that would be far too simple a thing to do. Far too "black and white". Acacia lives in shades of grey. Yes, the Akaran children are to be our "heroes", but Acacia is not a pure empire. There are deeply hidden secrets behind their power, about the drugs poisoning the land, about the "Quota", about their hold on Empire. The Mein are not the simple barbarian hordes that are assumed in the opening chapters. They have culture, and they have reasons for doing what they are doing...legitimate reasons.
That "quest to avenge their father's death"? Even that is not so simple. The children are scattered to the wind and years later have their own lives and desires in exile. Acacia is not a simple revenge quest.
So. What, then, is Acacia?
It's a damn fine novel. It is a richly complex story of revenge, political reality, overcoming and understanding the lies of history, a coming of age story, an epic fantasy, at times a political thriller, a world with a long and complicated history, a novel where the reader's expectations are exceeded and where what we get isn't what we think we are looking for. At nearly every turn David Anthony Durham confounds our understanding of what is going on and what he is going to do next. There are hints of fantasy archetypes in the characters, but the motivations that Durham brings to the table makes these characters three dimensional players rather than two dimensional cut outs.
By this point in the review it should be clear that I am deeply impressed with Acacia and that I admire the craftsmanship of the novel. While I would like to say that Acacia is a novel for everyone, for all fans of good fiction and good fantasy, I suspect that some readers will be turned off by the deliberate pace of the novel. Where I found a novel like The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams to utterly drag due to the weight of the description, especially in the opening two hundred pages, I did not get this from Acacia. The description of Acacia improves the novel, it feels necessary and develops the characters and the setting. Why this should work with one novel and fail in another is beyond me, and I am not sure I am able to explain exactly why, but the description here is a good thing. The style of the novel, however, does require that Acacia be read slowly, to drink in the richness of this epic fantasy.
I wouldn't have it any other way.
Very seldom do I get impatient for a subsequent volume in a fantasy series. I know that it will come out when it comes out and there are plenty of books to be read. But with Acacia and how David Anthony Durham both told a complete story as well as opened up his world for new stories with just a couple of touches and gentle twists, I would really like to know what happens next and to sink into another 500 pages of Acacian storytelling.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Short Fiction and the Changing of the Guard
Alright. I have seen a variety of different Conversations of the Month ripping their way through the SFF message boards and websites and blogs which I read on a semi-regular basis. The first one which I remember had to do with the ratio of females to males in short fiction, then it went on to race, then to a Changing of the Guard where hot new novelists are supplanting the Hot Old Novelists, and then more race, and finally short fiction is dying. And race.
I see most of the same faces having these discussions, but that is because I go to the same places. Often there is a link or several to others who are engaging the conversation, sometimes to the person who really originated the current version of the conversation. Frequently I don’t bother clicking those links. Why? Honestly, because I do not have the time to spend online truly engaging the conversations and seeing what all is said.
With that said, just as I was seriously thinking of engaging the Short Fiction and Changing of the Guard conversations I’m not sure I need to. Andrew Wheeler (formerly editor of the SFBC) just pimp slapped the Changing of the Guard conversation down. John Klima, editor of Electric Velocipede, wrangled some good thoughts out on Short Fiction Dying and since he is all up in the middle of the short fiction market (being an editor of a semi-pro zine and all).
The one conversation I have spent the most time thinking about was The Changing of the Guard. As I mentioned, Wheeler pretty well killed that one for me. Patrick St. Denis over at Pat's Fantasy Hotlist discussed the Changing of the Guard in reference to Robert Jordan and Terry Goodkind supplanting the early 80's Guard of Terry Brooks and David Eddings, and wondering who the new Guard would be. Pat mentioned Steven Erikson and Scott Lynch as possibilities with Lynch as the strongest possibility in terms of sales. I believe this was all started by the A Dribble of Ink blog. Now, what I thought when I read Pat's post was that Terry Brooks hasn't gone anywhere. He's still selling as well as he ever had and continues to hit the NY Times Bestsellers list on a regular basis (yearly, I suppose) with each new book. I wasn't sure about Eddings simply because I thought The Dreamers blew chunks.
So Andrew Wheeler chimes in and just kills the whole thing for me. First, he mentions that the sales haven't slipped for Brooks OR Eddings, but also that Jordan and Goodkind are so far above the rest of the pack in terms of sales that neither author is going to be giving up their spot on the Guard any time soon. Further, Wheeler mentioned that both Jordan and Goodkind took several volumes to really come into their own in terms of sales. Something that Lynch has yet to do as he has only published one book. But where Wheeler really split with the conversation is that Pat and others, myself included, are looking for the new guard of fresh authors and Wheeler pointed out that the New Guard may not be from Epic Fantasy. It's paranormal romance type novels with Laurell K. Hamilton taking the lead.
And snap.
What I really wonder is if the Changing of the Guard conversation isn't a bit pointless. What I mean by this is are we measuring the Guard by Sales or by Taste? If by Taste, then by all means let's see who the New Guard is and who the fresh new authors are. Shoot, I LOVED The Lies of Locke Lamora and overall I am very impressed with The Malazan Book of the Fallen. In the last couple of years I have also discovered Octavia Butler, Carrie Vaughn, Glen Cook, John Scalzi, Mike Resnick, Stephen King (!!), Joe R. Lansdale, Lucius Shepard, Kage Baker, Karen Traviss, Brandon Sanderson, Peter F. Hamilton, Audrey Niffenegger, and Charles Stross.
Of these authors the Fresh (or New Guard) are: Vaughn, Scalzi, Traviss, Sanderson, and Niffenegger.
For me, any author I discover is New and Fresh, even if am discovering an author like Stephen King who has published eleventy billion novels and several works of nonfiction. He's new to ME. And right now, Glen Cook's Black Company series is one of the best things I'm reading. Steven Erikson may have taken fantasy tropes in so many different directions and created the legendary Bridgeburners...but I swear he cribbed them from Glen Cook and I think Cook tells a better story. Or maybe just a different one.
Other than the fact that it allows authors I like to earn a living and keep publishing novels, I'm not too interested in Sales. Jo Rowling sold 8 million copies in 24 hours? Great! Does that make Rowling the New Guard or does she just have her own Castle?
Don’t get me wrong, I want John Scalzi and Scott Lynch and Brandon Sanderson to sell like hot cakes (or better than hot cakes, even, sell like cheeseburgers!), but the only Guard I really recognize is the one I’m reading right now. When you publish often and with quality and tell stories that I want to read, you're the new Guard. For a time that was Robert Jordan and Terry Brooks and Raymond Feist. Right now, they're my Old Guard who I continue to read when they get around to publishing a new book. Today I'm reading what I'm reading. Novellas by Shepard and Lansdale. Novels by Vaughn and Traviss. Stuff that excites me.
What about the whole Short Fiction is Dying thing?
I think people are decrying two things:
First, comparing pay rates for short fiction in today’s dollars versus thirty years ago, short fiction pays less now than it ever did (same with genre novels, to be honest). So, it doesn't pay for John Scalzi to write short fiction. If it did, he would. I'll buy that argument.
Second, sales of the major magazines are waaaaay down. Nobody is reading Short Fiction, Nobody Cares! Waaaaah! Hmpf.
I think the second statement is both true and false. Yeah, sales are down in fiction magazines. One: There is a stupidly large number of magazines out there and if I'm going to shell out my money I want to KNOW I'm getting something good. Nay, I want to know I'm getting something GREAT! Two: I don't feel like I'm missing much by not subscribing to Asimov's. I can get excellent fiction for FREE online from reputable markets and since I'm not in the middle of an online conversation about Short Fiction, it is difficult to get recommendations...and even if I could get a recommendation, if I'm not already subscribing and there is no free content online, I'll never get to read the story anyway and I’ll just read my novel. But, I think plenty of people are reading short fiction...but with the proliferation of online zines and print semi-pro zines for cheaper rates than the Big Three, numbers overall are probably down but plenty of readers are out there.
But, go see what John Klima has to say.
Some links to the conversations (not meant to be exhaustive)
Race:
Neth Space
David Anthony Durham
Durham Interview
The Fantasy Review
Westeros
Wotmania
Pat's Fantasy Hotlist
Short Fiction:
John Klima
Tobias Buckell
SF Signal
SF Diplomat
Velcro City
Torque Control
(other links are contained within these links)
Changing of the Guard:
Pat's Fantasy Hotlist
Andrew Wheeler
A Dribble of Ink
OF Blog of the Fallen
I see most of the same faces having these discussions, but that is because I go to the same places. Often there is a link or several to others who are engaging the conversation, sometimes to the person who really originated the current version of the conversation. Frequently I don’t bother clicking those links. Why? Honestly, because I do not have the time to spend online truly engaging the conversations and seeing what all is said.
With that said, just as I was seriously thinking of engaging the Short Fiction and Changing of the Guard conversations I’m not sure I need to. Andrew Wheeler (formerly editor of the SFBC) just pimp slapped the Changing of the Guard conversation down. John Klima, editor of Electric Velocipede, wrangled some good thoughts out on Short Fiction Dying and since he is all up in the middle of the short fiction market (being an editor of a semi-pro zine and all).
The one conversation I have spent the most time thinking about was The Changing of the Guard. As I mentioned, Wheeler pretty well killed that one for me. Patrick St. Denis over at Pat's Fantasy Hotlist discussed the Changing of the Guard in reference to Robert Jordan and Terry Goodkind supplanting the early 80's Guard of Terry Brooks and David Eddings, and wondering who the new Guard would be. Pat mentioned Steven Erikson and Scott Lynch as possibilities with Lynch as the strongest possibility in terms of sales. I believe this was all started by the A Dribble of Ink blog. Now, what I thought when I read Pat's post was that Terry Brooks hasn't gone anywhere. He's still selling as well as he ever had and continues to hit the NY Times Bestsellers list on a regular basis (yearly, I suppose) with each new book. I wasn't sure about Eddings simply because I thought The Dreamers blew chunks.
So Andrew Wheeler chimes in and just kills the whole thing for me. First, he mentions that the sales haven't slipped for Brooks OR Eddings, but also that Jordan and Goodkind are so far above the rest of the pack in terms of sales that neither author is going to be giving up their spot on the Guard any time soon. Further, Wheeler mentioned that both Jordan and Goodkind took several volumes to really come into their own in terms of sales. Something that Lynch has yet to do as he has only published one book. But where Wheeler really split with the conversation is that Pat and others, myself included, are looking for the new guard of fresh authors and Wheeler pointed out that the New Guard may not be from Epic Fantasy. It's paranormal romance type novels with Laurell K. Hamilton taking the lead.
And snap.
What I really wonder is if the Changing of the Guard conversation isn't a bit pointless. What I mean by this is are we measuring the Guard by Sales or by Taste? If by Taste, then by all means let's see who the New Guard is and who the fresh new authors are. Shoot, I LOVED The Lies of Locke Lamora and overall I am very impressed with The Malazan Book of the Fallen. In the last couple of years I have also discovered Octavia Butler, Carrie Vaughn, Glen Cook, John Scalzi, Mike Resnick, Stephen King (!!), Joe R. Lansdale, Lucius Shepard, Kage Baker, Karen Traviss, Brandon Sanderson, Peter F. Hamilton, Audrey Niffenegger, and Charles Stross.
Of these authors the Fresh (or New Guard) are: Vaughn, Scalzi, Traviss, Sanderson, and Niffenegger.
For me, any author I discover is New and Fresh, even if am discovering an author like Stephen King who has published eleventy billion novels and several works of nonfiction. He's new to ME. And right now, Glen Cook's Black Company series is one of the best things I'm reading. Steven Erikson may have taken fantasy tropes in so many different directions and created the legendary Bridgeburners...but I swear he cribbed them from Glen Cook and I think Cook tells a better story. Or maybe just a different one.
Other than the fact that it allows authors I like to earn a living and keep publishing novels, I'm not too interested in Sales. Jo Rowling sold 8 million copies in 24 hours? Great! Does that make Rowling the New Guard or does she just have her own Castle?
Don’t get me wrong, I want John Scalzi and Scott Lynch and Brandon Sanderson to sell like hot cakes (or better than hot cakes, even, sell like cheeseburgers!), but the only Guard I really recognize is the one I’m reading right now. When you publish often and with quality and tell stories that I want to read, you're the new Guard. For a time that was Robert Jordan and Terry Brooks and Raymond Feist. Right now, they're my Old Guard who I continue to read when they get around to publishing a new book. Today I'm reading what I'm reading. Novellas by Shepard and Lansdale. Novels by Vaughn and Traviss. Stuff that excites me.
What about the whole Short Fiction is Dying thing?
I think people are decrying two things:
First, comparing pay rates for short fiction in today’s dollars versus thirty years ago, short fiction pays less now than it ever did (same with genre novels, to be honest). So, it doesn't pay for John Scalzi to write short fiction. If it did, he would. I'll buy that argument.
Second, sales of the major magazines are waaaaay down. Nobody is reading Short Fiction, Nobody Cares! Waaaaah! Hmpf.
I think the second statement is both true and false. Yeah, sales are down in fiction magazines. One: There is a stupidly large number of magazines out there and if I'm going to shell out my money I want to KNOW I'm getting something good. Nay, I want to know I'm getting something GREAT! Two: I don't feel like I'm missing much by not subscribing to Asimov's. I can get excellent fiction for FREE online from reputable markets and since I'm not in the middle of an online conversation about Short Fiction, it is difficult to get recommendations...and even if I could get a recommendation, if I'm not already subscribing and there is no free content online, I'll never get to read the story anyway and I’ll just read my novel. But, I think plenty of people are reading short fiction...but with the proliferation of online zines and print semi-pro zines for cheaper rates than the Big Three, numbers overall are probably down but plenty of readers are out there.
But, go see what John Klima has to say.
Some links to the conversations (not meant to be exhaustive)
Race:
Neth Space
David Anthony Durham
Durham Interview
The Fantasy Review
Westeros
Wotmania
Pat's Fantasy Hotlist
Short Fiction:
John Klima
Tobias Buckell
SF Signal
SF Diplomat
Velcro City
Torque Control
(other links are contained within these links)
Changing of the Guard:
Pat's Fantasy Hotlist
Andrew Wheeler
A Dribble of Ink
OF Blog of the Fallen
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