Yearly Archives: 2007

My original article (HERE) elicited a good response from many of my readers and I felt that instead of writing a gigantic comment in response to them I would craft another official article regarding the main topic being discussed by them, as it is one close to my heart. Terry Brooks is one of my favourite authors and his novels have really helped shape my perspective of the Fantasy Genre.

The topic started when John (of the kickass blog, Grasping for the Wind) responded to my inclusion of Terry Brooks and Raymond E. Feist,

The Blade Itself

“I don’t think Brooks and Feist really fall into this category. They have really written a series of trilogies (ok sometimes four books) or stand alone novels that are set in the same world. Some have the same characters, but not always, and new characters are often introduced. Goodkind and Jordan on the other hand have been following the same characters for twelve weary books. Goodkind has finally got it about what Feist and Brooks have done and is calling the last three books in his series a “trilogy” although I’m inclined to think that is just marketing since the same characters are used.

Anyway, I think that is an unfair comparison. We perhaps need to delineate a line between authors who write in same world, and authors who write about the same characters in a linear fashion.

Perhaps how the books are published might be a factor to take into account as well. If I can read three of Feist’s books and feel that the story is over (ie. Riftwar Legacy) is it fair to say he is lengthy series writer? I can read Brook’s Talismans of Shannara without cracking any of his other books and feel I’ve read a good story.”

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This terrific article was brought to my attention the other day by one of my creative writing professor at school. The Turkey City Lexicon a hilarious look at the clichés, pitfalls and incongruities of the Science Fiction genre and looks to help writers, new and old alike, avoid them in the future!

Lewis Shiner, the original editor of the article, explains:

“This manual is intended to focus on the special needs of the science fiction workshop. Having an accurate and descriptive critical term for a common SF problem makes it easier to recognize and discuss. This guide is intended to save workshop participants from having to “reinvent the wheel” (see section 3) at every session.

The terms here were generally developed over a period of many years in many workshops. Those identified with a particular writer are acknowledged in parentheses at the end of the entry. Particular help for this project was provided by Bruce Sterling and the other regulars of the Turkey City Workshop in Austin, Texas.”

Here are just a few of my favourite quotes!

“Said” Bookism
‘An artificial verb used to avoid the word “said.” “Said” is one of the few invisible words in the English language and is almost impossible to overuse. It is much less distracting than “he retorted,” “she inquired,” “he ejaculated,” and other oddities. The term “said-book” comes from certain pamphlets, containing hundreds of purple-prose synonyms for the word “said,” which were sold to aspiring authors from tiny ads in American magazines of the pre-WWII era.’

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Last Argument of Kings by Joe AbercrombieA little over a week ago one of my favourite new authors, Joe Abercrombie wrote an interesting (and wonderfully long) blog post about the trend in the current SF/F markets towards long, drawn out multi-volume stories that seem to lose focus as they trundle ever on *coughrobertjordancough*. Not surprisingly, the ever charming and devilishly clever Mr. Abercrombie managed to get people talking about this very subject. Starting in the Comments section of his blog and eventually making its way to the Westeros Boards (thanks to Adam of The Wertzone and… well, I just couldn’t be left out!
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   King Jaehaerys once told me that madness and greatness are two sides of the same coin. Every time a new Targaryen is born, he said, the gods toss the coin in the air & the world holds its breath to see how it will land.”

I promised myself I wasn’t going to make a post here on the blog about it… but then I got to be part of the coolest house in all of A Song of Ice and Fire lore. So, well… here we are. You may now cower before me.
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The Name of the Wind by Patrick RothfussI know… I know! Another post about Patrick Rothfuss, brilliant author and hot topic here on A Dribble of Ink, but what can I say? I love the man, the rest of the Fantasy world loves the man, and my interview with him (Part One | Part Two) is still seeing a generous amount of traffic. Today’s edition of the “Patrick Rothfuss Tribune” covers his recent victory at “The Quill Book Awards”. Rothfuss’ first novel, The Name of the Wind, was just named the “Best Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror Novel of the Year“! The best thing about this is that Rothfuss’ novel is automatically eligible for the “Quill” for novel of the year… and it’s a public vote! Definitely a worthy contender for the award, though I’m curious about them being held so early in the year… aren’t there still several great books coming out before 2007 ends?

You can see the whole list HERE.

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