Monthly Archives: December 2017

What Hath Tolkien Wrought?

Posted on December 29, 2017 by midiguru

Picked up another fat book at the library this week — The Hidden City, by Michelle West. Subtitled “A Novel of The House War.” That should have alerted me. Trusting fool that I am, I took “a novel” to mean … Continue reading →

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Time After Time

Posted on December 29, 2017 by midiguru

Take half a dozen likable but very imperfect young people. Toss them head-first into a really bizarre predicament — a world they don’t understand, and people who are trying to kill them. Give them each a super-power that they don’t … Continue reading →

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The Perils of Irene

Posted on December 26, 2017 by midiguru

I’ve just ordered the third book in the Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman, so I may as well admit I’ve enjoyed the first two. The action is fast-paced, and the fantasy world premise is both fresh and quirky. The … Continue reading →

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Squid Cakes

Posted on December 23, 2017 by midiguru

Maybe it’s just me. Maybe I’m too old and stodgy. I’ve been trying to read Kraken, by China Miéville, but after 125 pages (a quarter of the way through the book) I have no urge to keep reading. Yes, I’d … Continue reading →

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Druids R Us

Posted on December 21, 2017 by midiguru

I’ve never read any Celtic fantasy — never had the desire. But someone on one of the book groups where I hang out was lavish in praise of Juliet Marillier, so I went down to the library and picked out … Continue reading →

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Oh-Kay

Posted on December 19, 2017 by midiguru

Halfway through Guy Gavriel Kay’s Children of Earth and Sky, I got bogged down. Took it back to the library. But I’ve liked some of Kay’s other books, and the story nagged at me, so I checked it out again. … Continue reading →

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Long Day’s Journey

Posted on December 18, 2017 by midiguru

The time-honored, lint-covered line is, “It ain’t over ’til the fat lady sings!” Ah, well. What I hoped was the fat lady singing turns out to have been the screech of brake drums, or possibly the hooting of a distant … Continue reading →

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Moral Boils

Posted on December 17, 2017 by midiguru

Now and then I wander down the aisles at the local public library and pick up a book by an author whose name I don’t know. A new author is like a box of chocolates: You never know what you’re … Continue reading →

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Too Much Information

Posted on December 14, 2017 by midiguru

What does your lead character know, and when does she learn it? What about the other characters? When you’re writing fiction, this is not a trivial issue — it’s a constant concern. If you’re not careful (and I’m not always … Continue reading →

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The Writer as Reader

Posted on December 13, 2017 by midiguru

For writers, it’s tempting and perhaps inevitable to notice the nuts and bolts while reading a novel. Enjoying a novel, even a good one, can become difficult, because we’re distracted by thinking, “Is that how I would have done it? … Continue reading →

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