{"id":66,"date":"2007-10-10T15:06:43","date_gmt":"2007-10-10T23:06:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aidanmoher.com\/blog\/?p=66"},"modified":"2007-10-10T15:06:43","modified_gmt":"2007-10-10T23:06:43","slug":"an-aside-shawn-c-speakman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aidanmoher.com\/blog\/2007\/10\/news\/an-aside-shawn-c-speakman\/","title":{"rendered":"An Aside | Shawn C. Speakman"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shawn C. Speakman, known to many of my readers as the man behind The Signed Page<\/a>, is a good friend of mine. Beyond that, though, he is a storyteller. Like many of us, Shawn is an aspiring writer, looking to emulate the success of many of his idols (some of whom he also considers friends) and is hard at work on a trilogy titled Battle’s Perilous Edge<\/strong>, with the first novel being called Song of the Fell Hammer<\/strong>. The problem however, according to his blog<\/a>, is that he has been unsuccessful so far in finding an agent to represent him or a publisher to publish him.<\/p>\n

Why?<\/p>\n

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The last two [rejection letters] have been similar. Their underlying theme is best summed up by one of the agent’s quotes:<\/p>\n

“Unfortunately, there isn’t anyone here that is looking for epic fantasy at this time.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This is pretty darn silly if you ask me. Sure, Urban Fantasy is king (or should I say Queen…) at the moment, but that doesn’t mean epic fantasy doesn’t sell. George R.R. Martin, anyone? Too established. Fine, how about Patrick Rothfuss? New writer, epic fantasy and<\/em> a first person narrative? Terry Brooks’ latest novel was once again a New York Times Bestseller, R.A. Salvatore still sells bucket loads and newcomer Joe Abercrombie seems to be doing pretty well for himself.
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\nBut I’m not trying to dig up this argument again. Labeling novels is a pretty useless practice as it is. Every bookstore I’ve walked into has had a Fantasy<\/strong> and a Science Fiction<\/strong> sections; no sub-genres, no distinctions outside of the general genre. A good book is a good book, regardless of what minutiae is thrust upon it by marketers and Internet fanboys.<\/p>\n

And a good book is just what Shawn C. Speakman has written. I’m one of the lucky few who has had the chance to read his novel, in fact I was one of the very first, and it baffles me that book industry folk are turning it down and not giving it a fair shake. <\/p>\n

Yes, Speakman’s novel, on a superficial level, doesn’t tread a whole lot of new ground. But the way he tackles these genre conventions makes them interesting again and he manages to put his own spin and touch on each of the aspects of the novel. Sound familiar? Yeah, it does to me, too. These are the same types of things that people are saying about Patrick Rothfuss’ The Name of the Wind<\/strong> (REVIEW<\/a>), Brian Ruckley’s Winterbirth<\/strong> and David Anthony Durham’s ACACIA: The War with the Mein<\/strong> (REVIEW<\/a>): all epic fantasies; all treading old ground in new ways; all being led by a young man facing and evil that is threatening the land. On top of all of this, those three novels are three of the most hyped novels of this year….<\/p>\n

Huh? Epic Fantasy doesn’t sell? People aren’t reading it?<\/p>\n

In a recent Interview<\/a>, Joe Abercrombie, another author who’s novels take old conventions and make them feel fresh again, had this to say:<\/p>\n

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Clich\u00c3\u00a9s, tropes, whatever you want to call them \u00e2\u20ac\u201c they create expectations that help you surprise the reader when you do something differently.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This is exactly where Speakman’s novel excels. Joe then continues (in typical Joe Abercrombie fashion) further on:<\/p>\n

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Honestly, though, I think uniqueness (if I dare use the word) is sometimes a bit over-rated. Much beloved of critics but perhaps not so much of readers. You can be unique and still be, for want of a better word, shit. A man with an arse for a face is unique, but I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d want to be him. To write an appealing story, I think you need to balance the original with the familiar, and for me, quite small nuances of style and approach can be enough to make some familiar components fascinating all over again. If it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a choice between the two, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d much rather be good than unique.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Now, I’m not trying to say that Speakman’s novel is going to be the next breakout success and sell the same amount of copies as The Name of the Wind<\/strong> (seemingly a runaway success), but there is a huge audience for the type of novel that Speakman has written. Abercrombie seems to have his head on straight regarding what it takes to make a successful Fantasy novel. I suppose, in many ways, this aside is more about my frustration with the narrow thinking of publishers at the moment than it is about Shawn’s novel. In any case, let me get back to the point and let you know exactly why I think you should all be reading Song of the Fell Hammer<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Below is an excerpt from my thoughts on the novel when I first read it earlier this year (originally posted on the Official Terry Brooks Forum)<\/p>\n

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What Shawn has crafted with Song of the Fell Hammer is a story that brings new things to a fantasy field which is quickly growing over-saturated by bland, cliched doorstops with the epic fantasy label. The tale his characters weave tackles themes and questions I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve yet to run across in the fantasy field.<\/p>\n

I’ve thought much on where I would place Shawn in the pantheon of fantasy currently at the top of the fantasy field.It became apparent to me that I would place him in the position currently held by authors such as Robin Hobb, Greg Keyes and Tad Williams. The way he crafts his story, alongside the world he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s created to set it in, falls somewhere in between the Terry Brooks\/RA Salvatore\/Raymond E. Feist school of story telling, which is a bit lighter (\u00e2\u20ac\u0153bubblegum fantasy\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, as some would call it), and the Steven Erikson\/George RR Martin camp of gritty medieval-fantasy. I feel this is an area of fantasy currently dominated by the three authors I have place Shawn beside. Song of the Fell Hammer blends easily accessible characters and setting of Terry Brooks with the gritty story filled with the controversial themes covered by George RR Martin.<\/p>\n

One can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t speak of Song of the Fell Hammer without looking at the impact religion plays on the story. Shawn tackles the concepts of organized religion in a way that I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seen any other author do it. He paints the church as neither good nor evil and consistently shows us the many facets of organized religion. Throughout the story he never lets the reader come to any conclusions about whether the church, and even the many different characters that populate the story, will end up on the side of the protagonist or not, but the reader will be sure to flip flop many times throughout their time reading.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Everybody<\/em> on the Internet seems to either have a friend working on a novel, or is working on a novel of their own. Manuscripts (especially in-progress ones) are a dime a dozen. So, I understand that my friendship with Shawn probably means that no matter what I say people will always just consider that I have a bias for Shawn and his novel. So don’t listen to me. Check out his web site<\/a> and find out for yourself. Read his excerpt chapters<\/a>, take a look at his overall synopsis\/vision for the trilogy<\/a> (the second novel is already in the works) and read his blog where he talks about the trials of trying to become a published author.<\/p>\n

If you like what you read, if you want to see more, send him an email. Let him know that you’re one among many who want to see his novel on store shelves. Anyone with a shred of nostalgia for epic fantasy, anyone who enjoys controversial themes and grey characters, and anyone who would consider themselves a fan of Raymond E. Feist, Terry Brooks, R.A. Salvatore, Greg Keyes, Tad Williams, Patrick Rothfuss, etc… should check out his excerpts.<\/p>\n

I don’t think you’ll be disappointed… unless it doesn’t find a publisher.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer:<\/strong> This article is completely unsolicited by Shawn C. Speakman. In fact, he has no idea I’m writing it. He’ll probably be pissed when he reads it, but it’s something I wanted to spread the word about, so…<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shawn C. Speakman, known to many of my readers as the man behind The Signed Page, is a good friend of mine. Beyond that, though, he is a storyteller. Like many of us, Shawn is an aspiring writer, looking to emulate the success of many of his idols (some of whom he also considers friends)… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n