My Favourite Book of 2009

A Shadow in Summer by Daniel Abraham was the last novel I read in 2009, but also the best novel I read in 2009. Abraham’s debut is a quiet story that follows the personal struggles of several characters as they deal with such mature themes as love and trust, abortion and alcohohlism, betrayal and justice. It manages to be a wholly adult novel while eschewing the typical blood, guts and sex that defines ‘gritty’ Fantasy these days. A Shadow in Summer shows how far the Fantasy genre can go if an author is willing to throw convention to the wind. I will absolutely be continuing with the series in 2010. (REVIEW)
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Over at The Book Smugglers, I was invited to be part of their annual Smugglivus celebration. Yesterday, my contribution went up and I talked about some of my favourite things in 2009. On top of the typical list of books I loved, I also wanted to use the space to throw some exposure to some of the blogs that I really loved this year. I thought it would be fun to bring that list over here, also.

• Stomping on Yeti is new to the blogosphere, but has quickly carved out a solid niche for itself with a terrific series of interviews called ‘Keeping an eye on…’ and it seems like every other day there’s another great author being interviewed and showcased. And hell, he even created an eye-gougingly bad cover for my recently completed novel, Through Bended Grass. I expect big things from Patrick in the year to come.
• Jeff at Fantasy Book News & Reviews is one of the most honest and genuine bloggers out there. But the thing that’ll keep you coming back to his website time and again? His daily roundups of what’s going on in the blogosphere, and his exhaustive archive of all the Fantasy reviews to cross his path.
• Many of your readers probably know The Wertzone, but it needs to be mentioned anyway. Adam seems to be an endless well of knowledge about anything related to Fantasy and Science Fiction. Movies, Books or Videogames? He’s got it covered. Sharp reviewer, too.
• Possibly my favourite blog going, Speculative Horizons is witty, acidic and smart all at once. Editor James Long might not be the most prolific blogger, but every time he posts it’s always worth reading. He’s got great insight into the genre, writes solid reviews and isn’t afraid to ruffle some feathers. There’s a lot to admire about Long and his blog.
• Mark Charan Newton, best known as the author of 2009’s Nights of Villjamur (REVIEW), but he’s also made a name for himself through his intelligent, provoking arguments on his blog. His recent series of blog posts on the ‘death’ of Science Fiction set the blogosphere on fire and brought some of the biggest names in the industry out swinging. Newton might be new(ish) to the scene, but he’s certainly doing his best to be heard loud and clear.

These are some of my favourites, the bloggers that really keep me on my toes and get me inspired to keep on trucking with A Dribble of Ink (and also supply me with a near limitless amount of ideas to steal borrow), but they certainly aren’t the only ones out there. Who would be on your list (besides A Dribble of Ink, of course!) of favourite blogs in 2009?

Two weeks ago, I finished writing my first novel.

So that’s it, I can officially say I’ve done it, I’m not a quitter. A smidge under two-and-a-half years (2 years, 4 months, and 21ish days, to be exact), from the first typed word (‘Bye’, if you’re curious) to the last (‘Man’, again for you curious types) and I’m still in bloody love with it. Sure, after a few edits and several read-throughs, it might lose some of that lovely new-car-smell, but right now I’m in that honeymoon period, and we’re very very much still in love.

Through Bended Grass is the story of Rowan Hayes, a young mother searching desperately for her son, violently stolen from her home by his Fey father. Dragged halfway across the globe, she is forced to the gritty streets and wondrous countryside of modern day Ireland, but soon finds herself embroiled in the mysterious, bastardized world of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the Fey folk of ancient legend, and exposed to a host of dangerous characters she thought only Fairy Tale. Rowan soon learns that her halfbreed son is purported to be the lynchpin in a mysterious war engulfing the Fey world, and threatening to spill into hers. Travelling through both our world and the alien landscape of the Fey, Rowan must face challenges both physical and spiritual to have any hope of ever seeing her son again.

Perhaps, though, it’s easier to sum Through Bended Grass up with my submission to agent Colleen Lindsay’s ‘Query in 140 Characters or Less’ contest, in which I was selected runner-up out of over 300 entries:

I tend to think of Through Bended Grass (when I’m thinking highly of myself, and feel like an ego-stroke) as Tad Williams’ The War of the Flowers meets Mark Chadbourn’s The Age of Misrule by way of Neil Gaiman. I know, I know, setting the bar a little high, and if I become half the author those three are I’ll be lucky, but I wear those influences very clearly on my sleeve. They’ve been there since the beginning (well, except Chadbourn, I came to him late; but we must’ve been drinking from the same well, give some of the similar themes and mythology we work with) and their work made an indelible mark on Through Bended Grass.
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There may be an embargo on reviews of The Gathering Storm, the 12th volume of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series, but that hasn’t stopped a few approved (read: glowingly positive, written by people close to Tor/Jordan) reviews and general impressions from popping up around the web.

Though I haven’t read far enough in the series to read The Gathering Storm, nor does it seem like I’ll receive a review copy (I guess I’m not part of the ‘hip’ crowd?), I’m still closely following the release with a fair bit of anticipation. Hey, it’s easy to get caught up in the hype! To that end, I thought it would be fun to gather together some of those early impressions here, for you guys to whet your appetite with!

Of course, I’ll stay far away from spoilers, though those are floating around the web as well, if you’re google-savvy enough.

The first reviews to break came from camps closely associated with Tor, and also holding a clear bias towards the novel succeeding. Still, these guys are mega-fans of the series, so while it’s always prudent to take what they say with a grain of salt (one of them is known for fellating Crossroads of Twilight, almost unanimously known to be the worst volume of the series, in an early review several years ago), it’s still worth seeing the novel through the eyes of the average fanboy, rather than the jaded eyes of Internet pundits.
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As perhaps you’ve noticed, the New Yorker’s list of Seven Essential Fantasy Reads caused a bit of a stir in the blogosphere when it was released a short while ago. Some people liked it (like me), some people did not (like Mark Charan Newton, author of Nights of Villjamur), and opinions popped up all over the place.

It dismayed me a bit, to see that I think some of the commentors seemed to miss the point of the thread. Adam at the Wertzone and James at Speculative Horizons and Suvudu had nice,even responses, but Newton and Larry of OF Blog of the Fallen presented lists that, while great for someone like me who’s decently well-read in the genre, are probably unstuiable for someone who’s just come off of The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter.

In the spirit of the blogosphere and vanity, I figured I would throw my name into the hat, and present my own list of books I consider essential second-step Fantasy novels. Just keep in mind that my tastes (and history) in the genre tend towards Epic Fantasy, and also that we naturally want to direct people down the same path we followed into the genre we love so much. I took the Tolkien -> Brooks/Feist/Salvatore -> Goodkind/Jordan -> Martin/Erikson route into Fantasy, and my list will reflect that, if just a little. Of course, my tastes have broadened significantly, so I’ll slip a few wildcards into the mix as well, just for a bit of the variety that the New Yorker list was missing.

The List

War of the Flowers by Tad Williams

This space could be occupied by Terry Brooks’ Running with the Demon or Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, which are both fantastic examples of what Urban/Contemporary can be, but The War of the Flowers is the one that’s stuck with me the most. It’s an eerie look at the classic tale of a person from our world getting sucked into a mysterious Fey world, but told in a way unlike any other I’ve come across. Instead of a quasi-medieval setting, Williams’ version of the Fey world has progressed along with ours and is filled with Skyscrapers and and warring Fey lords, night clubs and goblins, skyscrapers and obnoxious pixies. It’s another stand-alone novel, and it’s been a huge inspiration on me as a writer. Is there any higher praise I can heap upon it?
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