Travel fantasy writer Anthony St. Clair (Home Sweet Road, Martini Destiny) is on the forefront of a new genre involving beer and travel, plus he reveals the secret for planning a book with one word.
Download video here.
Download audio here.
S&L Video: Author Spotlight – Kevin Hearne
Kevin Hearne was an English teacher who put up with rejection from twenty three agents and five publishers before he finally prevailed. Thank goodness he did! We would have never been able to meet Oberon! Oh, and Atticus too, of course. We ask Kevin many many things including if we can expect a TV or graphic novel adaptation, and why chicken apple sausages?
Download audio here.
Download video here.
S&L Podcast – #171 – The Martian Influx
We’re very excited that James S. A. Corey’s ‘The Expanse’ is being made into a TV series! PLUS we sat down to chat with Andy Weir and Daniel Suarez. We learn you shouldn’t go for a publisher, but go for an audience, and why you should NOT tell your friends your stories but make them read what you write instead.
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING
Tom: Smithwick’s
Veronica: Red wine. Possibly a Pinot Noir.
QUICK BURNS
Syfy Turns James S.A. Corey’s Expanse Into “Game Of Thrones In Space”
Locus awards ballot is up
Anthology will launch to public May 1!
INTERVIEW
Andy Weir
Daniel Suarez
Learn more about SF in SF.
S&L Video: Author Spotlight – Brent Weeks
How did Brent Weeks get from Montana to writing novels on napkins to becoming the bestselling author of the Lightbringer Series? We’ll ask him about that, find out his favorite word and whether he still has those napkins.
Download audio here.
Download video here.
S&L Podcast – #170 – The Lives of Wesley Chu
Wes Chu has had many interesting (and varied) careers, but we’re happy that he’s focused on the fascinating tales of Tao. In this Google hangout, we talk about the upcoming finale to the series, where he’s taking the story next, and answer your questions!
FEATURED REVIEW: The Tyrant’s Law by Daniel Abraham
Welcome to our Featured Reviews! In this series, we’ll be highlighting book reviews by the S&L audience. If you want to submit a review, please check out the guidelines here! -Veronica
Review by Emily Carlson
Since this book is the third in the series, there are mild spoilers for the earlier books in this review! Be warned…
The Low-Down
The Tyrant’s Law is the third book in the Dagger and the Coin Quintet by Daniel Abraham. The series as a whole follows the emergence of a cult, worshipers of a spider goddess who gives them the ability to tell the difference between spoken lies and spoken truth. As this cult gains prevalence in the political sphere after centuries of exile, the layers of lies and deceit within the court begin to crumble. The regent of the kingdom is a devotee of the new religious order, using its truth-telling abilities to interrogate and weed out dissenters from within the court. But as more and more men and women begin to doubt his motives and his abilities, his death list grows longer and his friends are fewer and far between. New power vacuums lead to chaos and the hungry spider goddess urges her followers to swallow all of the world into her cult of truth and to purge the world of all liars in the process.
Key Themes
Truth and lies, self-deception, genocide, imperialism, DRAGONS, banking, poisoned swords, MORE DRAGONS
What’s Good
Like the previous books, Tyrant weaves back and forth between plot-lines and characters, allowing Abraham to show us both sides of the war. Some characters are more interesting and original than others, and this form of narrative allows the reader to avoid boredom with any one story. Furthermore, Abrahams is obviously a darling of the emerging “low fantasy” sub-genre and this allows us a glimpse into multiple layers and classes of life within the kingdom.
Ultimately, Tyrant is about conquest and about the nature of deception – deception of the self and deception of others. One character named Kit, an apostate priest who has abandoned the spider goddess, points out the flaws in the human-lie-detectors taking over the country. Their lie detectors are only as reliable as the people they question. That is, priests can determine confidence rather than truth. If they were to ask, “Is it raining outside?” their lie detector would only be triggered if you knew you were giving the wrong answer. If you think it is raining but it’s actually try as a bone outside, their spidey-senses don’t get tripped. This leads to a multilayered understanding of the truths within the novel. It’s not as simple as who is lying, but rather who has the correct information and how are they interpreting it, etc.
There are also some real character gems within the novel. The tyrant whom the book is named for, Geder, is one of the most sympathetic and horrifying villains I’ve ever read. While he orders the slaughter of children and rages like a child himself, it is very easy to understand him on his own terms – a man who has always felt powerless and foolish and is now gifted with ultimate power and a gravity that makes his previous enemies shake in their boots. He tries to use his power to protect the young prince and give him a safe kingdom to rule when he comes of age. But he does it with a petty selfishness that leaves others horrified at his actions.
What’s Less Than Good
I have a real problem with one of the main characters – the gristled captain of the guard, Marcus Wester. He is a man tortured by his own past which has also lead him to develop a savior complex for any young women in peril. I have a hard time connecting with Marcus simply because he feels overdone and a little less than believable to me. Furthermore, his impulsive actions in the book feel forced, almost like a poor plot device to force the narrative forward, rather than authentic expressions of his desperation. Also, I’ve never been one for stoicism.
Additionally, Abraham’s general style is slow paced. This is definitely a commitment-level series and a commitment for a novel. Although it is enjoyable, many readers will probably find themselves tapping their fingers waiting for a chapter to be over. Don’t pick this book up expecting a fast paced read; it’s not Tolkien, but it is certainly weighty.
The Final Verdict
Sticking with Tyrant is not a bad thing; the plot in this novel seems to finally come fully into bloom (about time, after 900+ pages!) and a lot of what has been hinted at in the previous novels is finally developed. As a part of the series, Tyrant definitely represents the rising action. Tensions are boiling over, armies are moving, and characters are in peril. More than anything, this book made me excited for the Abraham’s upcoming release in the series, The Widow’s House. Fans of the series will be excited to finally get some answers (or at least some new questions to chew on until August), and I would recommend the series to anyone with some time on their hands and an affinity for slow-burn fantasy and the up and coming genre of gritty/low fantasy.
S&L Video: Author Spotlight – Chuck Wendig
Chuck Wendig has a reputation for cursing. He also has a reputation for being a badass writer of amazing characters in inventive situations, across novels, comics and movies. He also invented cornpunk. Oh wait, he ALSO writes one of the best guides for writers ever made. But what is his favorite word? Well, now you’ll just have to watch for that, and to see how many times our editor has to use the bleep button. Spoiler: he uses it more on the hosts than the guest.
Download audio here.
Download video here.
S&L Podcast – #169 – Sneaking Peeks and Swapping Sleeves
From a debate on whether we should read early chapters from George R.R. Martin’s “Winds of Winter” to the usefulness of Asimov’s three laws, to our wrap-up of Altered Carbon, this is an episode that should contain a lot of wisdom. Who knows? It might!
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom and Veronica: Bulleit Bourbon
QUICK BURNS
Amazing Stories relaunches on April 1
Pre-order William Gibson’s new far-future novel The Peripheral
A New Novella from Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Chronicles Series Arrives November 2014!
Excerpt from the Winds of Winter | George R.R. Martin
All Hell Breaks Loose In That New Winds of Winter Chapter
Why Asimov’s Three Laws Of Robotics Can’t Protect Us
TV, MOVIES AND VIDEO GAMES
BOOK CHECK-IN
WRAP-UP Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan.
Finished – overall impressions?
APRIL PICKS
A Dance of Cloaks by David Dalglish
BARE YOUR SWORD
Which real-world companions would accompany you on a fantasy world quest?
***
Hey Tom and Veronica!
Listener from Bosnia here. Since you’re reading Altered Carbon I’d like to weigh in.
Kovacz which is a transliteration of Kovač. The last letter is read like a “ch” sound like in cheap, chore or champion.
The “a” is more like an “ah” sound rather than “ay”. Like the second “a” in “large”. And Kovač means “smith”. So there you go! Takeshi Kovacz – Warrior Smith!
Not chiding you for the pronunciation btw; I just found that this was an appropriate excuse to contact you!
Love the show and I hope it keeps going strong for years to come.
All the best,
Stefan
P.S.:
I hope (rather arrogantly) that this email gets picked up for the podcast because I would absolutely love hear Veronica mispronounce my name, because I’d find it quite charming!
***
Hey sword and laser!
I need some help. I’m trying to find a book I read once upon a time. It has to do with the the earths rotation stopping, I think because of an asteroid strike, and is an adventure set in what remains of civilization. I want to say it’s by Navarro… But can’t find any hints of it anywhere. Does this ring a bell?
Thanks and keep up the good work!
Ryan
***
FEATURED REVIEW: The Martian by Andy Weir
Welcome to our Featured Reviews! In this series, we’ll be highlighting book reviews by the S&L audience. If you want to submit a review, please check out the guidelines here! -Veronica
The Martian starts with our protagonist, Mark Watney (a smart Andy Dwyer from Parks and Recreation to me) getting struck by shrapnel from a communication satellite as he and his crew mates evac on Mars, leaving Watney behind. This premise could be very dry with all of the technical details about oxygenators and CO2 scrubbers and water reclaimers but author Andy Weir makes it interesting. Watney has such a great voice and he’s very funny, pulling the reader into the story and immediately making Watney sympathetic.
Lucky for Watney, he is a botanist and mechanical engineer, making him well-suited to survive alone on another planet. He’s able to fix problems that arise (make water from rocket fuel, build things out of spare parts, repair his home) and grow some food from Earth soil mixed with Martian soil (yay potatoes! Boo human manure. Smelly business). To keep things interesting, (Mark is alone. Things would get boring if things didn’t go wrong) bad things sometimes happen. It’s fun to see how Mark figures out how to solve these problems with his limited resources.
The book also follows NASA personnel on Earth as they make plans to rescue Mark. We also spend some time with Mark’s crew mates aboard the Hermes. These characters aren’t as fleshed out as Watney is but that’s alright. After all, this is Mark’s story. The NASA folks have interesting interactions and plenty of disagreements about the right course of action. I enjoyed the Earth parts as much as Mark’s parts.
Not only is the plot to The Martian gripping but the writing is great as well. It’s descriptive but not overly technical without sacrificing the emotion. The research that went into this book shows. Everything that happens seems totally plausible. The technology is basically modern day with perhaps a few advanced pieces of hardware but nothing that’s space magic. I’m kind of floored that this is Weir’s first novel. It completely blew me away. Maybe in a few years, this will be turned into a movie. Gravity meets Moon!
S&L Video: Author Spotlight – Alastair Reynolds
This week you’ll learn how Alastair Reynolds went from Cornwall to a doctorate in astronomy, to pushing ice across the vastness of space. How much do current scientific advances influence him? Does he feel a kinship with Mass Effect? What order should you read his darn books in? All these questions and more will be answered.
Download audio here.
Download video here.