When the first edition of A Changing of the Guard was posted on SFFWorld I received a lot of feedback, both positive and negative, about all aspects of the article (content, usefulness, presentation, etc…) and I wanted to take that feedback and really step up when it came time to put together this third edition of my popular (and controversial!) series of articles outlining some of the newest and brightest stars of the SF/F genre!

I’ve put a lot of time an effort into this, so I hope you like the new and improved “A Changing of the Guard! I’d love to hear what some of you think, so feel encouraged to leave a comment!

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With the impending release of Terry Brooks’ latest novel, The Elves of Cintra looming only a couple of days away, I thought it was about time to draw a bit of attention towards the very first review I ever wrote for A Dribble of Ink!

Review | The Elves of Cintra

I was pretty stoked to be one of the first (if not the first publication to be able to get my hands on The Elves of Cintra and review it. Terry Brooks is one of the most consistent sellers in the Fantasy genre and a new release by him is always a big even for me! I know some Internet Trolls are a little down on Mr. Brooks, but he’s always been special to me and his two latest offerings (Armaggedon’s Children and The Elves of Cintra) have been some his best novels to date.

So, be sure to check the review out if you’re at all interested in an easy to read novel that mixes Urban, Apocalyptic Fantasy with good ol’ Epic Fantasy! It’s been a while since I posted this (in fact, I often forget that the novel hasn’t even been published despite the fact that the review is several months old!) so I thought it would be a great way to expose some of my newer readers to Terry Brooks!

Enjoy!

EDIT: I just noticed that Fantasy Book Critic has posted a review of The Elves of Cintra. Check it out HERE!

I don’t usually worry about “The News” here at A Dribble of Ink (there are usually many better places to go for that!), but I thought this was too cool to pass up! I just noticed that both the Pats (Rothfuss and Mr. Fantasy Hotlist) just posted the cover to Patrick Rothfuss’s next novel, due out early next year. The Name of the Wind, Rothfuss’ first novel, is one of my favourite novels I’ve read this year and on top of that I have to thank my two part interview with Pat (Part One, Part Two) for really helping me draw visitors here to A Dribble of Ink in its infancy, so he and his novels hold a special place in my heart!

In any case, here to the left is the cover of Patrick’s next novel, The Wise Man’s Fear, the sequel to his successful first novel, The Name of the Wind (you can find my review HERE). I was one of the few that actually seemed to like the cover art for his first novel, but even I will admit that the cover art for the The Wise Man’s Fear trounces all over that of The Name of the Wind! I think the most significant thing to note is that this time around apparently it’s going to be “A Novel”, as opposed to whatever The Name of the Wind was…

Pat runs a highly amusing blog (HERE) where you can be sure to find all the up-to-date information on him, his books and his zany life. Be sure to check it out!

I’m going away on a bit of a road trip tomorrow and it occurred to me that I would be away from the blog here for at least a couple of nights! So I set my mind arollin’ trying to come up with a topic that was so utterly clever, witty, charming and interesting that my readers would be so enamoured with it that I wouldn’t be missed for a couple of nights. Needless to say, I wasn’t successful in my venture.

So I went back to the drawing board and really wracked my brains for a way to bring great content to you guys while I’m away from the computer… then it hit me. I don’t have to!

You see, since starting A Dribble of Ink I’ve met a lot of other bloggers running their own kickass blogs and filling my RSS Feeder with loads of delicious content every day. So, I’ll let them do the work for me! I knew I had to narrow it down a little (there are so many great SF/F blogs!), and I figure you all know about Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist, Neth Space, Blog O’Rob, Fantasy Book Critic and all the other bigger, more established blogs, so I decided to focus on the newer blogs that I find myself coming back to again and again!
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When I first began A Dribble of Ink, one of my main mandates was to plug and promote some of those newer authors that I enjoy and maybe aren’t being read by as many people as they should be. One of the methods I came up with to achieve this was to write a series of articles titled “A Changing of the Guard” (the first of which can be found HERE, the second HERE and the third is in the process of being pulled together) in which I would take a brief look at some of my favourite new authors in hopes that I might help to expose them and their novels to some new readers. I was happy with my first stab at creating “A Changing of the Guard” and was thrilled when a deal was worked out between myself and the staff at SFFWorld to publish the article on their website.
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10,000 what? 10,000 views!

This is a pretty exciting milestone for me. When I first started A Dribble of Ink, only a couple of months ago, I didn’t really know what I was in for. I knew I wanted to blog, I had a lot of things to say… but would people care enough to listen?

I suppose the answer to that question is “yes”.

I’d like to thank everyone who’s dropped by the blog, and especially those who have seen fit to return again and again! I’d like to thank all the wonderful authors who have stopped by to lend me their time and give all my readers reason to take time form their day to read my blog. So I’d like to give a big shout out to David Anthony Durham, Patrick Rothfuss, Robin Hobb, Joe Abercrombie, Brian Ruckley, and Eldon Thompson; your kindness will not be forgotten.

The first 10k views brought a lot of fun, a few learning experiences and some interesting people around these parts and I can’t wait to see what the next 10k brings!

Eldon Thompson, the author of The Crimson Sword, The Obsidian Key and the upcoming The Divine Talisman, is making waves right now in the entertainment business by having his named attached to the newly announced Shannara movie that is being produced by Warner Bros.. Thompson, best known for his Fantasy novels, is a good friend of mine and agreed to come along to A Dribble of Ink and talk about the movie deal, his novels, writing and a whole lot more.

Eldon wasn’t afraid to get into the nitty gritty of my questions, so I advise you to find a comfy chair, grab a bowl of popcorn and settled in! Eldon’s got a lot of great things to say and I know you’re not going to want to miss it!
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Brian Ruckley is a name that has been making waves in the UK and Canada over the last year or so. His first novel, Winterbirth was released in October of 2006 and was accepted warmly by fans and critics alike, acclaimed for its gritty storyling, unique characters and realistic setting. This Scottish author is about to catch another big break, Winterbirth will be released this September by Orbit Books in the USA and is sure to see as rabid a reception by US Fantasy fans as it saw in the UK and Canada.

Brian was more than happy to speak with A Dribble of Ink about the release of his new novel and a whole lot more!
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I launched A Dribble of Ink with a review of Terry Brooks’ The Elves of Cintra (which you can find HERE), a review I am particularly proud of because, as far as I can tell, it was the first officially published review of one of this year’s biggest Fantasy releases. I was also proud of it because it was the first official review I had written as a blogger. I take pride in the fact that I put a lot of thought into my reviews, often taking extensive notes throughout my time reading the novel, and spend a fair amount of time gathering my thoughts before weaving them into a comprehensible review.

One area with which I take particular care is that of spoilers. I’m of the mind that they have absolutely no place in a review at all and write my reviews accordingly. This article was originally prompted by another review for Terry Brooks’ The Elves of Cintra written by Drew Bittner for popular online magazine SFRevu, which you can find HERE (but, if you haven’t yet read The Elves of Cintra, beware of heavy spoilers!).
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The Lies of Locke Lamora

Author – Scott Lynch

Paperback
Pages: 512 pages
Publisher: McArthur & Co / Orion Con Trad
Release Date: Jun 15 2006
ISBN-10: 0575078022
ISBN-13: 978-0575078024

This review has been a long time coming.

Having finally laid hands on Scott Lynch’s Red Seas Under Red Skies , I thought the best way to prepare you all for my upcoming review would be to take a look at its prequel, The Lies of Locke Lamora, a novel that I tout (often and loudly) as the best novel I read last year! This is particularly impressive when you consider the fact that many of my favourite authors (Terry Brooks, Greg Keyes, Joe Abercrombie) released very strong novels as well in 2006.
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I recently stumbled across this picture of Scott Lynch and Joe Abercrombie (along with David Bradley of SFX Magazine) at a business lunch and thought I’d fix it up a little to complete the trifecta of Awesomeness that’s taking the Fantasy world by storm right now!

From left to right we (now) have Joe Abercrombie, Scott Lynch, and *cough* Patrick Rothfuss!

Now if that isn’t a collection of the best Gentleman Bastards around I don’t know what is!

You may remember from my interview with Joe Abercrombie that I kinda called him out for having such a bare and empty web site. Well… he’s sure shown me up by recently launching his new website which is chalk full of awesome stuff.

You’ll find excerpts from all his novels (including the upcoming Last Argument of Kings), a blog where you’ll be able to find Joe’s always witty musings, contact info, links and more! He’s putting his web site to good use already, having recently made a post directing people here to A Dribble of Ink for our wonderful interview!

Be sure to check it out and if you haven’t already: buy The Blade Itself! You won’t be disappointed!

You can find Joe’s web site HERE.