Get Your Favorite Science and Fantasy Books from my reviews. I’ve been busy reading and I try to review every book I read. Here are the very best books I’ve read this month.
This was my second reading of ‘Song for the Basilisk’, the last one was over 20 years ago.
It’s even better the second time. I read it more slowly and understood the political machinations and the mysteries the author presented the reader. Patricia McKillip definitely has the ‘mystery’ + ‘fantasy’ combination to herself.
The premise is simple. There are four factions contending for rulership of the kingdom. The Basilisk slaughters one that has ruled for hundreds of years. One child escapes to a school for the bards.
The bards are musicians, storytellers, and magicians. But they only come to power by going to the hinterlands, where the magic is.
Meanwhile, the Basilisk rules in peace for 37 years. He has several daughters, one of which grows up learning all his magic.
Ms. McKillip brings all the elements together in a dramatic and surprising novel. It’s one of her best and that says a lot.
Dumb…silly…juvenile…couldn’t put it down. Comfort food for that juvenile part of you that never quite outgrew your comic books. Just forget that it’s preposterous (after all, you were already warned by the title; what did you expect?), and go with the flow…
Your Best Internet Science and Science Fiction and Fantasy – what do I mean by that?
I’ve read through the internet this January and these are the best science articles, science fiction, and fantasy books I’ve found. Plus my usual quirkiness and unpredictability.
Here’s the first science fiction book I read this year and my review. I recommend this series.
Macedonian Hazard cover
This is the second book in this alternate history series, where a large ocean liner and its refueling tender have both gone back to 320 BCE. They arrive in the middle of Alexander the Great’s generals fighting over his empire.
The ship goes from port to port, officially neutral and promoting peace. However, they have aligned themselves with Alexander’s heir Philip and his mother Euyadice. Naturally, aside from advancing technology to the industrial revolution, the modern ship is smack in the middle of Grecian politics.
There are murders and battles, as the iron age civilization modernizes to the steam age within years. Eric Flint and his co-authors, Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett keep the plot moving and the reader engaged with colorful characters from the 21st century and the 4th BCE.
Next, you have a science fiction, steampunk, time-traveling trilogy I’m planning. I’m basing it upon the life of Nicola Tesla. Give me some encouragement, because I’m stuck right now. I can’t figure out how to work with Nicola or with time traveling. Can you?
I am planning a trilogy about Tesla time-traveling back in time. I'll use this interview as source material.
Then there’s this fantasy book. It’s the best fantasy book you’ve never heard of.
The cover of ‘The Throme of the Erril of Sherill’
I’m wildly biased in favor of Patricia McKillip. I’ve loved every book she’s written in her 40-year career. Like most of her books, ‘The Throme of the Erril of Sherill is full of beautiful language and imagery. Here are her opening two sentences:
“The Erril of Sherill wrote a Throme. It was a deep Throme, and a dark, haunting, lovely Throme, a wild, special, sweet Throme made of the treasure of words in his deep heart.”
But beyond the beautiful language is a complex, fairy-tale type plot with many twists, full of laughter and surprises.
Geographically, Beta-Earth is mainly our earth in reverse. Plus, there’s a gigantic sea to the east of Italy (Pynti on Beta-Earth.). It’s called the Sea-of-the-Lost-Moon where an immense comet crashed millennia ago.
Beta-Earth is full of many different cultures and many are fleshed out over the first four books. Presenting all these cultures was a major aspect of the series, mostly exemplified in the characters.
How did you build this concept, what research did you do?
Beta Earth Book Two
The original idea was something that always bugged me about Star Trek. Don’t get me wrong, I love most of the series–you can tell from looking around my house. But it always seemed whenever the Enterprise encountered a strange new world, there were, at most, two different cultures, factions, whatever term applied. There were usually only one or two leaders to talk to representing an entire planet.
I wanted more complexity than that. I wanted my “blind alien” to have a lifetime of experiencing new cultures especially as his family grew and all of them would encounter places and classes they never expected to explore.
Some of the cultural aspects were based on our earth’s history; some I made up as I went along. Research? Well, I did a lot of reading about various topics like genetics and matriarchal societies. Had to read up on many scientific principles. Many things came from my own experiences. For example, Joline Renbourn grew up in a cliff dwelling society I based on Mesa Verde in Colorado.
Why did you choose this setting? What’s unique about your world?
Beta Earth Three
The most unique characteristics, I suppose, are the 4 to 1 female to male ratio because of the Plague-With-No-Name. This results from the Plague-With-No-Name that kills three out of every four male babies. In book two, we learn the Plague resulted from radiation from the comet that crashed into mostly what we know as Russia.
Beta-Earth’s technological evolution sort of parallels our own, but doesn’t in others. It’s not a planet accustomed to war. It hasn’t sent rockets into space, no one has visited their moon.
Author Interview – How do you explain the science or magic in your world?
A lot of the science I don’t explain as most of the tale is told in the first person and the characters can only share what they know or comprehend. None are scientists. I did get feedback from early readers who were medical professionals who pointed out details I needed to change. The only “magic” in the series is the gift of prophecy which doesn’t require much explanation.
What was the most surprising thing you found out while researching/writing your latest book?
Beta Earth Four
I’m constantly being surprised by the daily news and magazine reading. Responses from a writers’ critique group are often surprising, especially when they point out terms or sentences I thought were clear but readers were getting confused. I often get surprised by what readers pick up–often what they’ve read is very different from what I wrote.
Author Interview – Regarding characters
How do you go about creating realistic, interesting characters?
I’m happy to admit most of the characters in the series created themselves. After Lorei and Elsbeth were introduced–two poor farm women–I often had characteristics I wanted to give the new women to represent different societal levels or classes. I admit I had Princess Di in mind when I first shaped Joline as I was about to add the planet’s paparazzi to the pressures on the Renbourn tribe and Di’s description certainly fit the bill. I wanted every character to have their own distinctive voices and hope I succeeded in some measure with that. It was a pleasure to shape a new chess piece and then let them do their thing.
When in your writing process do you create your characters? At the beginning, middle, or end of your plotting process?
Beta Earth Five
All along as I have a lot of characters. For example, to get more sci-fi in book 3, I felt I needed a mutant who would be a strong adversary to the Renbourns. Some characters, like Oja Bolvair, started out as supporting players but took on stronger roles as the story progressed.
What do you use as sources for your characters?
Anything and everything. In some cases, I want to set up conflicts between characters so try to have off-setting personalities. While writing book two, my wife wondered if the Renbourns ever played tricks on each other and that suggestion led to a major episode in the book.
Do you ever lose control of your book to a character?
I wouldn’t say lose control but I often find the story going in directions I didn’t see coming. Usually, that’s an improvement on the course I was setting.
What point of view do you write in? How often do you change it, if ever?
Beta Earth Six
One of the unique qualities to the first four books is the alternating points of view. The books are told entirely in the first-person based on the structure of an oral history which each character’s own story is layered in with all the others. As new characters are introduced, they introduce themselves before other characters comment on the relationships that develop. Think the Beatles Anthology or other oral histories of rock bands where all the members tell their memories with all their bandmates.
Author Interview – Regarding plotting
Do you outline your book before writing or do you ‘wing it’?
Beta Earth Short Stories
I had the overall plot already in my head for the first four books before I started trying to shape the “dream” for readers. I thought the story was complete. Than an editor proposed ideas that developed into books 5 and 6 and I had no real “plot” in mind for either of them. Especially book 6 which brings members of the Renbourn tribe to our earth. I had several extended episodes in mind around which the story and new characters fleshed out the plot direction. I had to do some research for that one as it’s one thing to move your characters around on a different planet, quite another to use our earth, albeit our future earth after the impact of global warming.
To what level of detail do you plan your book? Theme, concept, chapter outline, scene level detail?
That varies quite a bit. The themes and concepts hopefully unify the whole series and were in my head from the very beginning. I used to have much longer descriptions in earlier drafts but cut many down considerably to get the story moving.
How much does your plot change as you write? How much does it change during editing?
It can change quite a bit during both writing and especially editing. I tend to write much longer passages than ultimately stay as I cut, cut, cut. I change plots if they don’t seem to go anywhere or I think up something more dramatic. Suggestions from my writer’s group can result in big changes, as in “The Wayward Missiles,” a story I’m working on this year.
Do you plan your plot around a specific story structure? (Hero’s Journey, ‘Save the Cat’, Three Acts, Five Acts, other?)
Depends on the book. Books 2, 3, and 4 were based around huge changes in the Renbourn tribe, especially setting as they kept moving and expanding and taking on greater and greater challenges.
Author Interview – Regarding personal influences
What books, movies, TV, shows, and writers have influenced you?
Oh wow, that’s a long list. When I first started I had Dune in mind and started out with all manner of chapter mottos like Herbert did. Then I decided that was an artificial artifice so cut out all that stuff. I spent a decade of my life as a Mark Twain scholar so can point to scenes influenced by some of his techniques. I can point to others influenced by Ian Fleming and Ann Rice. As I have a doctorate in American literature and crank out tons of book reviews each year, it’s hard to say which books were influences, which weren’t beyond the examples I just gave.
Have any people in your life have been influential in your writing career?
Mostly, my late wife as she was alive while the first five books were in process. My publicist, Karina Kantas, has been immeasurably helpful over the years. As I have over thirty years of publications of all kinds behind me, that’s a lot of editors who contributed to shaping my style.
Author Interview – Regarding blindness
The first book in Beta Earth Chronicles
What are the practical aspects of writing and selling books as a blind person?
Mainly, spending a lot of time on my computer using JAWS, my speech software. I admit many websites are difficult for me to work with so I rely on a lot of help from folks like Karina.
How has blindness helped and/or hindered your writing career?
Well, it hasn’t helped beyond giving me two main characters in the Beta-Earth Chronicles, Malcolm Renbourn and Lorei Cawl Renbourn and describing their experiences throughout the series. After all, the original idea for everything was when I wondered how a blind person could adapt to being pulled to an alternate earth where he understands nothing, doesn’t know the language, anything. How could he survive, more, how could he thrive? So I guess you could say that gave me a unique perspective to start with. I can talk from a blind person’s perspective as I have a lifetime of experience living that.
What do you wish sighted people would know about blind people, where we’re clueless?
I’d say two things: first, many people see a person with a white cane and immediately pigeonhole them as a blind person, not focusing on other attributes. Second, forget all preconceptions you have about blindness. It’s interesting to watch my new girlfriend adapt to having a blind boyfriend as she is amazed by some things, worried by others, and neither amazement nor worry is needed.
Please supply any and all links regarding you and your work.
Dr. Britton does an Author Interview of me, both online and through his reviews of my Life After Life Chronicles. Find out his unique perspective below.
Zombie Turkeys front cover. Click to get a copy!
The title of Zombie Turkeys signals this urban fantasy is intended to be entertaining, not to be taken seriously, and likely a comic romp. You can guess there’s lots of clever twists in the story, and happily the execution is more than what readers might expect.
The yarn is fast-moving from start to finish, opening with the first attack of carnivorous red-eyed wild turkeys very difficult to kill. They can quickly resurrect after death and grow back cut-off limbs. They’re led by a tom full of confidence as Zach gives us this tom’s perspectives from time to time as he builds his flock into the tens of thousands throughout Illinois and beyond.
My Undead Mother-in-law cover. Click to get yours.
I first experienced the bizarre imagination of Andy Zach when I read his Zombie Turkeys: How an Unknown Blogger Fought Unkillable Turkeys (Life After Life Volume 1) which I reviewed for BookPleasures.com on Jan. 10, 2016 HERE
In that romp, blogger Sam Melvin tracked a horde of carnivorous red-eyed zombie turkeys plaguing Illinois in a zombie apocalypse while his boss/ girlfriend Lisa used his blog stories to build her website where the couple hocked all manner of killer turkey merchandise.
Now, in volume 2 of the series, Sam meets a family of human zombies. They’re nothing like the usual relentless undead walkers you’ve come to expect. In Zach’s world, zombie humans don’t mind the changes their bodies went through as the changes are mostly improvements. Lost limbs grow back and bodies don’t quit. In particular, Diane Newby, the undead mother-in-law of the title, becomes a zombie advocate urging her family to share their blood with other people, especially the elderly and disabled, whose ailments are “cured” when the zombie blood transforms them. In addition, Diane “reasons” with savage zombie animals like turkeys and bulls, taming them to behave themselves and obey her commands.
Paranormal Privateers is my third go-around with author Andy Zack. First, I read his bizarre Zombie Turkeys (How an Unknown Blogger Fought Unkillable Turkeys) (2016). Next came My Undead Mother-In-Law (The Family Zombie with Anger Management Issues) (2017). As the titles suggest, Zack’s world of zombie animals and people aren’t meant to terrify readers. Instead, Zack is out to amuse and entertain us with the most unusual situations and scenes most of us will ever experience on the printed page.
Paranormal Privateers continues the weirdness with a handful of returning characters and the type of zombies few of us would want to kill, destroy, or dismember. They’re, for the most part, super-heroes with superior strength, resistance to diseases like cancer, and the ability to regenerate limbs and other body parts. These zombies don’t want to lose these abilities so they carry around vials of infected blood to make sure they have the means to become a zombie again in case somebody cures them.
You’d think after three oddball novels, Zombie Turkeys (How an Unknown Blogger Fought Unkillable Turkeys), My Undead Mother-In-Law (The Family Zombie with Anger Management Issues), and Paranormal Privateers, that Andy Zach would have exhausted all the comic possibilities in his world of killer zombie turkeys and superhero zombie human.
Paranormal Privateers continues the weirdness with a handful You’d be wrong. How about flying zombie pickles? Zombie zucchini? Zombie caterpillars? (How can you tell a zombie caterpillar from a normal one? Andy Zach can tell you.)
