Why you should be absolutely panting to read Range of Ghosts

Posted by Alyx Dellamonica on Jan 26, 2012 in Books | 2 comments

Okay, how to say this without spoilers?

Range of Ghosts is epic fantasy. The Internet may need more kittens, always more kittens, and in a similar vein fantasy readers always need more great sweeping adventures that pit Good Guys, some of them female, versus legitimately scary Evil Guys. Tales that explore the nature of life, death, politics, parenting, charting the right course for yourself, loyalty, and little posers like what love really means.

And before you say “Yeah, Alyx, but you loooove epic fantasy, you would say that!” Actually, the truth is that while I like the stuff, epic fantasy isn’t so much my bag, baby. Of all the stripes of speculative fiction, it’s probably the one I read least. Which brings me to point two…

Elizabeth Bear wrote it. Guys, come on. Elizabeth Bear! If this woman called me up and said, “I’ve written a novel in eight point font about a guy who almost meets a woman, and then spends 500 pages thinking about how he should do something about that, with flowery metaphors and the occasional dip into watching paint dry, wanna read it?” I’d give it a whirl. Because her writing is that great.

Did I mention that it’s not European Medieval Epic Fantasy? There’s nothing wrong with Euromedieval fantasy, don’t get me wrong, but the historical terrain of Range of Ghosts is drawn from Asia, from the cultures that spawned Ghengis Khan. Its politics are merciless and bloody and deeply intriguing. (And if this argument makes your bum hum, consider getting Saladin Ahmed’s Throne of the Crescent Moon, too!)

Bansh: NO, not my sister’s one-time cat, Bansh the Slasher, though I understand why this might be confused.

Elizabeth Bear’s Bansh is the horse who travels with the main guy, Temur. This awesome, heroic, wonderful mare whose name translates to Dumpling–how can you not love that?–very nearly steals the show. Bear’s horse details are wonderful and very true to every riding experience I’ve ever had. Bansh is at once thoroughly Horse and more than she seems.

I love her her with the tru tru luuuuv of a horse-crazy twelve-year-old. I want a Bansh stuffie and a glamor shot with glitter for my bedroom wall. You will too.

The horse culture of the plains folk in this book is enormously rich. Bansh is a star, but the world of Temur and his people is all about the horse, which is only fair. So, having said that, look! Horse cover!

Kitteh! It says something that I got to the horse before the cat, but there’s nothing I can say, nothing at all, about the cat content in this novel without telling you too damned much. There is serious Kitteh. The Kitteh is awesome. That is all.

What I said about the cat also goes for certain romantic storylines, which are smokin’ hot.

The magic in this book… okay, I am running out of ways to say So Effing Cool. It has exactly the thing that I like in a magic system, which is a strong connection to real-world physics, something that makes enchantment logical and a useful tool, complete with checks and balances, benefits and costs. It runs the gamut from handy and helpful to scary deadly.

And while I’m at it, the Wizard Samarkar, and the price she pays to become a mage? Whoa. Samarkar’s the steely silk thread that binds this whole sprawling epic together. She’s so worthy. Also, her backstory’s fantastic.

Weird outlying reason: Some of you may know that Elizabeth Bear is a passionate Criminal Minds fan, and until recently was doing a write-up on every episode as it aired. (I think she’s taking time off that right now so she can write more superfantastic Eternal Sky books.) I watch Crimmies in part because I really enjoy the write-ups–unabashed fannish squeeing can be so delightful–and one of the things Bear consistently writes about is the show’s tendency to have abduction victims really fight for their lives. I don’t think it’s too much of a spoiler to say that in this book, someone gets grabbed, and that if you also follow the geeks with guns thread in Bear’s blog, you may be interested in seeing how she imbues her kidnappee with agency.

(Sweet) Misery loves company. Now that I have been obliged to wait for the next book in the Eternal Sky series, with bated breath and pangs of longing, so too should you.

My first Buffy rewatch is up at @Tordotcom

Posted by Alyx Dellamonica on Jan 25, 2012 in Articles, TV and Film | 0 comments

Many of you have probably already seen this, but I’m rewatching Buffy and I hope you might all play along. These posts will be going up weekly, probably every Monday, and I am having a lot of fun with them.

AmReading : Simon Winchester’s Atlantic

Posted by Alyx Dellamonica on Jan 24, 2012 in Books, Uncategorized | 0 comments

Among Others, by Jo Walton turned out great… I loved every single page.

I am now just barely into the intro for Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms, and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories, by Simon Winchester. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Some Short Stories I’ve read and loved recently:
“Terms of Engagement,” by M.K. Hobson
“A Clean Sweep with All the Trimmings,” by James Alan Gardner

Previously read in 2012
BOOKS
1. The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt
2. Among Others, by Jo Walton

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The Civilian Done it…

Posted by Alyx Dellamonica on Jan 23, 2012 in Process, Resources for Writers | 0 comments

One of the tricky elements of writing mysteries set in the here and now which feature amateur detectives–cozies, in other words, as opposed to procedurals–is writing in the police in a way that doesn’t make them improbably dumb, corrupt, or negligent.

I’m really against the police looking ineffective. While it’s true that not all law enforcement officers are created equal, they have a big advantage over Jo Civilian in solving any given crime. They are more of them, for one thing. They have specialized evidence-gatherers and the legal right to ask impertinent questions of the suspects. Plus, solving crimes is their job, which means they get to do it for eight, ten, twelve hours a day. I realize that the heroes and heroines of cozy novels are usually underemployed, but still.

Anyway, I had some fun Friday making a short list of reasons why a civilian without a forensics lab might beat the police to the crimesolving punch.

It’s not murder: In the absence of forensic evidence to the contrary, police rule the death accidental.
False confession: They have a guilty party who’s confessed in custody
They know who done it: They have a solid suspect, one they’re ‘sure’ of but can’t arrest.
Bored now: The case is cold.
He needed killin’: The murder victim is a pariah and nobody cares if the case is solved.
“You can’t prosecute the Queen!”: The subject of their investigation is politically protected.
“You can’t prosecute my mom!”: It’s a smalltown cop shop and the head of the department loves the most likely suspect.
I’m taking my toys and going home: There are multiple cases, in multiple jurisdictions, and the cops aren’t playing well together.
Code of Silence: Everyone in the community where the crime took place is entirely resistant to talking to the Man, man.
“You expect us to care about one little murder, Amateur-San, when Godzilla is attacking Tokyo?”: They’re busy, okay? Jeez.

I know I’ve missed some goodies. What are some of your favorites?