New Release: What Kings Ate and Wizards Drank by Krista D. Ball

New this week on Kindle, and coming soon to Kobo and other formats, including paperback - What Kings Ate and Wizards Drank, a Fantasy Lover's Food Guide.

Equal parts writer’s guide, comedy, and historical cookbook, fantasy author Krista D. Ball takes readers on a journey into the depths of epic fantasy’s obsession with rabbit stew and teaches them how to catch the blasted creatures, how to move armies across enemy territories without anyone starving to death, and what a medieval pantry should look like when your heroine is seducing the hero.

Learn how long to cook a salted cow tongue, how best to serve salt fish, what a “brewis” is (hint: it isn’t beer), how an airship captain would make breakfast, how to preserve just about anything, and why those dairy maids all have ample hips.

What Kings Ate will give writers of historical and fantastical genres the tools to create new conflicts in their stories, as well as add authenticity to their worlds, all the while giving food history lovers a taste of the past with original recipes and historical notes.
 

A little taste:

Pound Cake

In the 16th century, for example, all cakes were made with yeast. However, the Germans and British eventually moved to using eggs to raise their cakes. In Jane Austen’s time, cakes were going through that transition, where recipe books like Rundell’s A New System of Domestic Cookery were giving recipes for both kinds of cakes. By the time Mrs. Beeton put out her books in the Victorian era, most cakes were being made with eggs, and only poor people were using yeast to raise their cakes.

Today, pound cake is a yellow cake, browned on the outside. It’s often given terms like “light” and “moist.” While this cake is moist, I’m not sure the term “light” can ever be applied to this one.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb butter
• 1 lb sugar
• 8 eggs
• 1 lb flour
• 1 tsp each nutmeg and cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• 2 tbsp caraway seeds
• 6oz wine

Instructions:

1. Beat a pound of butter into a cream. 
2. Separate the yolk and whites from the eggs and beat each in separate bowls. 
3. Combine all of the dry ingredients. 
4. Mix the wet and dry ingredients. Your hero’s love interest will need to hand-beat this for a full hour, so he better appreciate it when she (or he) gives it to him! (Modern chefs can use a hand mixer for 7-8 minutes.) 
5. Butter a baking pan and bake it for one hour in a “quick” oven (375 degrees F).

Find it on Amazon now!

Krista was born and raised in Deer Lake, Newfoundland, where she learned how to use a chainsaw, chop wood,and make raspberry jam. After obtaining a B.A. in British History from Mount Allison University, Krista moved to Edmonton, AB where she currently lives. Somehow, she’s picked up an engineer, two kids, six cats, and a very understanding corgi off ebay. Her credit card has been since taken away. Like any good writer, Krista has had an eclectic array of jobs throughout her life, including strawberry picker, pub bathroom cleaner, oil spill cleaner upper and soup-kitchen coordinator. You can find her causing trouble at http://kristadball.com

And They Lived Horribly Ever After

A Guest Post by Coral Moore

You probably don’t know me. My name is Coral and I’m a speculative fiction writer. At first glance, my fantastical fiction and Anne Holly’s contemporary romance don’t seem to have much in common. You might even wonder what I’m doing here, on a very romance-y blog. The answer is pretty simple—I love romantic storylines. I do have a couple of problems with the way romance is expected to be these days, though. I don’t subscribe to the theory that a story has to fit into a mold to be fulfilling, which is why I’ve hesitated to label my books that way. After a few late-night conversations with Anne regarding the formulaic nature of much of today’s commercial fiction, I know it’s a matter she has some interest in as well, so I decided to write a little something about romances that don’t follow the “type” and why they are still worthwhile.

I’m going to back way up for a moment and start with a classic, just to offer a bit of foundation for my claim. Romeo and Juliet is not a romance by today’s standards. Though the plot is driven by the central relationship, there is no happy ending. I would argue that since the budding relationship reaches a logical conclusion—even though the resolution is a tragic one—the story should still be considered a romance. The play is entirely about their love and how it shapes the world around them. It’s a love story, in the purest sense, yet it would never be labeled a romance now.

Why is the romance genre the only one so handicapped by the reliance on happy endings? If a science fiction story has a tragic ending, no one suggests that it belongs in a different genre. No one would have told Bradbury, “We only allow happy endings on alien planets here, move along now,” and thank goodness because the darkness of his stories is part of what makes them so good. Don’t get me wrong, I love a happy ending. I just don’t think it should be required for the genre because knowing how the story is going to end diffuses some of the tension for me. The most poignant love stories teeter at the edge of loss, and without the chance that things won’t work out, that potential for tragedy is gone.

My favorite stories are the darkest ones. I’ve always preferred them, probably because so much of my early reading was horror. If I can’t believe something terrible might happen as a result of the conflict, there isn’t much point to reading the story in my opinion. Let’s use Harry Potter as an example (Spoiler Alert: Though I can’t imagine there’s anyone who doesn’t know the basic plot of the stories out there). Until more than halfway through the series there really isn’t much fear about the consequences. Though the situation is purported to be dire, there’s no immediate sense that something awful could happen. Our heroes will just keep beating the bad guys, skipping along merrily at the end. Cedric’s death changes everything. Once we know that someone important could die as a result of what’s going on, the tone of the stories turns more urgent.

Though my stories are heavily romantic, I don’t like to label them as romances because I want there to be doubt and darkness at the base of them. When my heroine walks away from the hero, I want you to believe she might not come back. When the hero tells the heroine that she should leave or something awful might happen, I want you to believe the terrible is possible. That just can’t happen while writing under the strictures of modern-day romance, so what’s an author to do?

My newest release is Elements of Rebellion. I’ve waffled back and forth on how to label this story, basically since I finished writing it. I settled on Dark Fantasy Romance, but I’m still not sure if that’s truly where it belongs. Part of me still clings to the idea that the tension is somehow less if the reader goes into it knowing there is a happy ending.I’m sure there are dissenting opinions on this subject, and I welcome your attempts to convince me that every romance should end happily in the comments. If you’d like to have a more prolonged discussion, I invite you to come find me on Twitter, Goodreads or my blog. I might even give you a copy of my not-romance for your trouble.

~*~

Elements of Rebellion

Coral Moore

After spending most of her life an unwilling captive in a brothel, Sindari is sold to Lord Devin, a man with a reputation for unspeakable cruelty. In the arms of this man who must pretend he cares nothing for her, Sindari finds compassion, making the journey through her barren homeland all the more perilous. Along the way she discovers she can channel elemental forces that compliment Devin’s ability to manipulate fire.

Harnessing this power, she battles the Dominion, an unrelenting foe that has broken the spirit of the Eldari people through twenty years of savagery. Trapped by the brutal empire that has enslaved millions, Sindari and Devin fight against hopeless odds.

Genre: Fantasy
Length: 85,000
Warnings: Graphic Violence and Sexual Situations
Written for NaNoWriMo 2010.

Promo: Not My Mother by Ashley Rae

Not My Mother: A Memoir

Genre: Memoir/Non-Fiction

Release Date: July 13, 2012

 
By the age of twelve, Ashley Rae had survived incest, child abuse, and the deaths of both her biological parents. Born to Baptists but raised by Buddhists, Rae found peace and healing on a Pagan spiritual path while obtaining her college degree and starting the career of her dreams.

Rae thought the hardships in her life were over...until she lost her job, started a new relationship, and found out she was pregnant with another man's child all in the same week. Terrified of cesarean surgery, Rae vowed to give birth to her child at home – but first, she had to find one.

Alternately haunting, humorous, and heart-warming, Not My Mother: A Memoir follows Rae over a nine-month quest to break her family's generational pattern of abuse and victimhood in order to become for her unborn child the mother she had always wanted for herself.

Excerpt:

From the moment Dad rushed us through the dark living room, too quickly for me to see her body, I'd been looking for my mother.  Even after her funeral in Virginia, I kept looking for my mother.  She came to me in my dreams and told me it had all been a mistake, and she wasn't really dead at all.  I'd wake up and jump out of bed in a hurry to continue our conversation, then freeze and fold in half, hyperventilating as reality hit me.

At twenty-two, I had not yet explored how the violence that I couldn't remember witnessing affected my life and my relationships.  Ike died when I was five.  Mom hated him.  His mom loved him.  I, on the other hand, had never given myself permission to have feelings about this man who'd loved me and killed my mother. Until I saw him staring back at me through my mirror in the flickering light of a white candle.

Buy Links:

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Smashwords

Ashley Rae has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Central Florida and resides with her precious 3 year old in gorgeous Sarasota, FL.  She leads weekend retreats for psychics, kids, and writers, and teaches workshops on using writing as a self-healing tool, developing intuition, and about The Incredible Vagina, which is simply the best title anyone has ever come up with for any class, ever. She is presently working on her second memoir, tentatively titled “Sentence Interrupted: Memoir of a Moody Mama.” Also a professional psychic, energy healer, and a Love-Your-Life Coach, there is plenty to check out on her website at http://AuthorAshleyRae.com.

Review: The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The complete canon detailing the fictional exploits of "London's only consulting detective" and his "friend and colleague, Dr Watson".

Well, it took me nearly a month, but I finished it! All 1122 pages of ridiculously small print. Now, to reflect, and try to come up with something coherent to say after all that...

First, I must say that I obviously loved this book, since I dedicated a month to it, and there were times I couldn't stop reading. I read these separately as a youth, and also enjoyed it when my mother read me some of the individual stories as a child, so it was enjoyable to revisit them now with better understanding. They have an addictive quality to them, even.

This book feels like an old friend. Naturally, these stories, and certainly the immortal Holmes and Watson, are quite familiar to most of us, so even if you haven't read the stories directly, many of the plots, characters, and details will be familiar to you. So, reading this book was, in some ways, a comforting, timeless R&R period very well spent.

However, I cannot encourage people strongly enough to read the originals. Aside from some of the more famous stories, many of these gems were surprising to me. Holmes is much more interesting in print than he is in hearsay and folklore, or in most of the film/TV representations.

Nonetheless, there were moments where some stories felt cliche, even though they were new and original when written. But, I can't blame Doyle because so many people have recycled his ideas since he wrote them!

One thing that strikes me now, upon finishing this complete omnibus edition, is how unlikely I am to ever read all of these works in one go again. To be honest, I'd rather enjoy them piecemeal in the future, since the stories taken in one giant chunk kind of blend into a swirl in my brain. They were written to be read in a serial fashion, so I think they are likely best enjoyed that way. Now, even with the volume just freshly completed, I can't always match the exact plot/outcome with each title, because some of the less memorable ones have turned into a jumble in my "memory attic" (to borrow an image from Holmes). However, this would be a wonderful book to keep in a bedroom case, to be taken down for short bursts when the mood strikes, and I think that's how it will remain in my house now.

In addition, as a piece of Victoriana, this collection is amazing. Alternatively creepy and genteel, they are very evocative or the era, so I highly recommend them to anyone interested in this period.

No writer can knock every story out of the park, and there were a few less-than-stellar stories, some forgettable ones, and even a few dogs. However, there were a number of truly superior stories, and the overall collection is, of course, brilliant. My favourite stories included The Blue Carbuncle, The Sussex Vampire, The Five Orange Pips, The Illustrious Client, and The Red Headed League, as well as several others. For some reason, though, The Copper Beeches was the one that grabbed me the most, and was legitimately terrifying as a psychological drama. Most of the stories are not to be missed, and the whole canon is a classic well worth reading.

Finally, a word about the physical edition might be in order. I read the B&N hardcover edition, printed in 1992. According to the receipt I found in the back (!), I bought this in 2000, for $14.99 CDN. It's wonderful that such rich omnibus editions are available for affordable prices! It's incredibly durable and handsome, and survived many a park trip this past month, as well as three moves since I originally purchased it. However, this collection might be a bit too large for one hardcover, and I found it unwieldy for reading in bed (often my preferred reading spot). The print was also painfully small, which became a problem when I tried to read in low light or for too long at a time. I didn't penalize the book's rating for these details, but I did want to mention them. While Holmes claimed he was a mind, not a body, it is awfully hard to know the mind of a book if the body of it is awkward! Thus, it might behoove readers to find this in separate volumes, or on ereader, rather than a giant omnibus.

All in all, a wonderful experience, and I'm glad I can now say with certainty I have read the whole Sherlock Holmes canon! I have to note that I am both very pleased and kind of sad that I'm finished this book. I will miss Holmes, Watson, and Mrs Hudson. Of course, now I can search out the old Jeremy Brett series, and indulge a bit, without the small print!

Recommended to almost everyone!

View all my reviews

Interview with Author Gary Vanucci

Today, we welcome my Twitter friend and author of the Realm of Ashenclaw fantasy series, Gary Vanucci.

Hi, Gary!

How did you get into writing? 

I heard voices in my head wanting me to tell the world about them of course? How else does one choose to write!? Just kidding…I think. In all seriousness, I felt like I had a very cool story to tell, one that I would want to read as a fan of fantasy, and so I decided to toss my hat into the ring. So far, so good.

What's the earliest story you can remember writing? 

I told a story in the 5^th or 6^th grade about a rock star who made a deal with the devil to be rich and famous. Needless to say, things did not work out so well. I wish I still had it. It was called ‘The Electrocutioner’. That’s the first real story I wrote.

When did you decide to make the move to "published"? 

Right away. I decided to go the indie route first without even trying to find representation. EBooks have made it very easy to get your work out there. Of course, now everyone is doing it, so it takes time for readers to sift through all of the other stuff to find you. It is what it is. I feel that I am offering fans of fantasy a truly epic storyline with several twists and turns and plenty of high-powered battles, along with some real emotional growth in the characters. It may not seem that way at first, but if you read all three of my books, you will begin to notice it.

How did you find the experience of seeking a publisher? 

I did not…yet. I want to develop my own fan-base, get a following and hone my skill before pursuing an agent. Reason being, who is to say that one person’s work is better than another’s or going to ‘make it’ and whatnot. It is a real stroke of luck to become a J.K. Rowling. Even she was very close to quitting. Can you imagine a life without Harry Potter?

What books have most influenced your life most? 

I enjoy Sci-Fi, Horror, and Superheroes and of course, Fantasy. When I read, I do so to escape reality, even if it is only for a few hours at a time. But really, that is what I use it for. Some people watch TV or whatever, I try to read to escape reality. I have found some extremely cool friends in the Forgotten Realms and Melnibone and several other places.

What book are you reading now? 

I am reading Ross Kitson’s Darkness Rising Book 1, Jeremy Laszlo’s The Choosing and listening to George Martin’s A Storm of Swords on audio book! Yep, three at a time.

What are your current projects? 

I am currently writing book 4 of my Realm of Ashenclaw series, continuing the epic sage of my heroes as they continue to preserve the lives of the innocent folks in Wothlondia. I have a new short story coming out also with the guys from Skulldust Circle. We have collectively written an anthology, (all from our own worlds, not a collective world thing) and mine is the Legend of Ashenclaw (A colossal Red Dragon Queen whom the realm is named after)

How important is the support and friendship of other writers? 

Very important! I have gotten a ton of support from other indie authors out there who have been tremendously supportive! I mean truly helpful. I actually have received more support from people I don’t even know personally on social media than I get from actual friends sometimes…which I suppose may be odd. But, for whatever reason, it seems to work. I would like to take this opportunity as a matter of fact, to thank those supportive people on twitter and Facebook, and everyone who has purchased a book from me and/or written a review! Thanks to you all! I wanted to specifically mention the Independent Author Network and the World Literary Café specifically as amazing support in the Independent author field.

How does your family feel about your writing career?

My family is supportive for the most part. I wish some of them would get a bit more involved in the reading and the beta-reading, but for the most part, they try to help out where they can. They’ve all got their own things going on, too, so I understand that. I don’t expect much from them other than that. As long as they continue to give words of encouragement, that’s all that I can ask, right?

~*~

Gary Vanucci was born in Pennsylvania in 1968. He enjoys writing, reading, music, art, anything at all that promotes creativity and activities that push the mind beyond conventional thinking. He has spent time as an amateur singer/songwriter and has spent multiple decades creating role-playing scenarios and playing games amongst various genres. Years of reading graphic novels, comic books, fantasy/science fiction novels and the like has led him to discover his true passion—writing! His education includes a Bachelor’s of Science in the field of Information Technology and an Associates of Arts in the field of Graphic Design.

Find him at:
Twitter / Facebook / Website / Blog / Amazon

The Next Big Thing

In which I sort of interview myself on my current work in progress.

I was tagged for this interview by a forum friend, Ruth Madison. I’m normally reluctant about doing memes, but when Ruth so kindly asked me, I decided to give it a go. I’m always excited to see what questions other people come up with.

However, there was a major issue – I have five current works in progress at the moment! Nevertheless, I picked the one I am writing most on this week, and plunged in. You might have noticed I am a bit tight lipped when it comes to my WIPs, especially these days, but it seems like a good time to let a few cats out of some bags.

So, on with the interview on September’s WIP:

What is the working title of your book?

Right now, I’m calling it Memento Mori, but I’m also toying with the title Last Look, since the other is rather used up.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I had been working on a novel set in the 1950s, but I’ve always been drawn towards the Victorian era. I love historical photographs, especially (and forgive the grimness) Victorian postmortem portraits. These are portraits taken of loved ones after death, and were relatively common, especially for children. With the cost and inconvenience of photography, many families never got a live shot of the departed before it was too late, so they would have one done after death. Today, this might seem rather shocking, but I think it's quite touching. And some of the photos are beautifully done. One night, looking at such pictures, the whole story came to me in a flash, via the entire person of the main character, William Tidy, all surrounding this practice of photographing the dead.

What genre does your book fall under?

I don’t really know. It has some romantic elements, but it isn’t a romance. I’d have to say “litfic”, whatever that really is, or general fiction. Possibly historical fiction, though it’s more about the people than the history. I will have that all ironed out before I have to market it. I hope.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I always cast my WIP as a movie in my head, but this main character is uniquely himself. Sometimes, when I make the little puppets dance in my mind so I can write it down, he is Johnny Depp, but other times, he is someone else, like Daniel Radcliffe or someone. He's himself, really. The lady in the book is certainly Rachel Weisz, who I think is one of the loveliest women in the world.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

A man more comfortable with the dead discovers that life happens whether you want it or not.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Not certain, really. I am not exactly drooling for an agent, but I’m not sure this book would be best served by a small epub, and I lack experience with non-romance publishers. I’d love to see it published with a bigger publisher, naturally enough, but I doubt that would happen before I got tired of waiting, and certainly not without an agent. I have considered self-publishing something, but I remain undecided. Who knows? Maybe it will sit in a drawer forever. I guess we shall see what we shall see.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Still working on it. It started out as a novella, but I think now it might become a novel. I’m hoping to have it done by the end of September, if I can fend off the laziness.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I really can’t say. I don’t think in terms of comparisons, especially with litfic. I’m writing it in a very consciously Victorian style and feel, so the language reminds me of some books, whereas the story doesn’t.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

My pure love of Victoriana, and the gruesome beauty of these photos. And motherhood, though I might be giving too much away there. Mostly, I'm writing it just for myself, since it's a story I'd like to read and the character has endeared himself to me.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

If lots of corpses doesn’t interest people, I don’t know what will. There might be a hot air balloon involved at some point, and a portion takes place in a wax museum, does that help?

Also, my hero never once says, “I see dead people.”

Thanks, Ruth, for giving me a nudge!

Now, “Tag! You’re it!”

Krista D. Ball

Jessica Coulter Smith

Michel Prince

Ashlynn Monroe

Melissa Keir 

HEA Forever?

Ah, the HEA - "happily ever after." According to the Romance Writers of America, this is a cornerstone of romance. They define a romance novel by its:

"...emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending."

When most people, including myself, refer to "romance novel," this is part of the idea. No matter what happens, you know there will be an HEA at the end. There's a certain R&R aspect to knowing how a book will end, and that it will end happily. This is part of why romances are such a good pastime for busy people. One can settle into it like a warm bath, and embrace the familiarity of it all.

But where, then, do we place non-HEA romance? Is there such a thing? I believe there is. I've read a number of books that I consider romances, yet which don't end happily. Romeo and Juliet, anyone? How many lovers has Nicholas Sparks killed off? Yes, I believe they exist. I know they do. Granted, people who want HEA might not like these romances as much, but I don't think that negates them as romances; they're just a different sort. In film studies, they are often called "melodramas," to distinguish them from "romantic comedies." "Romantic lit," maybe, instead of "genre romance", for our purposes?

Needless to say, I have nothing against HEA, and certainly nothing against traditional romance novels, as anyone who's familiar with this blog knows. Heck, all my books so far have been HEA or at least Happy For Now. (Oh no! Did I just **SPOILER** my entire opus there?)

However, I'm now working on a few projects where I don't know if they will end happily, especially in terms of any relationships therein. I can't guarantee the required HEA with those books, so I've already come to terms with the fact that I will be publishing them as non-romances, even though some of them have romantic aspects or even love stories. Romantic elements, yes. But the HEAs are iffy at best, if HEA allows only for coupling, and not for character development and triumph over adversity. (I.e., if "getting your man" is the only form of happy ending, it's not likely going to happen here.)

Will readers feel ripped off if they perceive me as a "romance writer," and I don't deliver? This is a worry I have, but I'm moving past it. I've decided not to split myself off into a new pen name for these books. I might shift/update some of my "image", but I will be keeping this name for these works. They will still be My Books, and they feel as much a part of me as my romances. I'm disinclined to exile them. Nor can I just shelve everything non-romance, because that wouldn't be satisfying for me.

It's time to test run the whole "brand the writer, not the books" theory of author marketing, I guess. I believe readers are savvy enough to handle this, and I'm okay if my "romance purity" cred slips because of these expansions.

This month, however, my distance from "romance" seems to have grown, somewhat against my will.

The HEA issue has been brought to the forefront in recent weeks due to some new rulings by RWA. As far as I know, RWA has long held that the HEA is definitive of romance as a genre. However, it did have an awards category for works containing a "strong romantic element," which basically means they aren't "traditional romances," but do have enough romance in them to be applicable to their awards and their common readership. Recently, RWA announced that this category would be gone as of 2014. Then, according to reports, they took the further move to clarify that those writers who do not write what they consider to be "real romance" (including HEA) are only eligible for associate membership, at most, leaving them either paying for membership without voting rights, or, well, leaving altogether.

In short, if you don't write romance-focused fiction, with a HEA romance between main characters as your "A Plot", you are not a romance writer, and are therefore ineligible. Oh well, it's their org, and their rules, so it's fair enough.

All it is means to me is that I guess I will never be a member of RWA now.

There have been several reasons why I've been reluctant to part with the money it takes to join RWA, so this is just the "case closed" seal. Other issues I've had included the absence of a convenient local chapter (one of the main things many RWA members love about membership), their stance on ebooks (though I gather that's changing) and non-advance paying publishers, and on erotica, and their often problematic views on LGTBQ fiction (I don't write LGTBQ fiction at present, but I stand with them on issues of equity). The likelihood I would ever attend their annual national shindig is basically nil, as well. It's always seemed to me that it's really an organization for traditional publishing, with agents and advances, and regular category romance through Big Publishers. There's nothing wrong with that, if that's what you want and where you are heading, but it's not me or my career, and I get plenty of contact with other writers through different means, particularly social media and forums. Why pay steadily increasing dues if I'm not sure it's right for me?

Honestly, I simply resist paying and joining groups unless I feel an affinity with them, and I've not felt affinity with RWA. Now the HEA thing just makes that possibility even more remote. I'm not heartbroken, though RWA was one of those benchmarks I held in mind when I first pictured myself as a romance writer. I've just come to face reality and change, that's all.

So, long story short - with my previous books, you will get an HEA (or HFN, "happily for now"), and I love that. With some of my future books, you might still get an HEA/HFN, when I return to romances. In the meantime, there will be some books that trip out of the genre, and might not be HEA or even HFN.

What was Marge Simpson's line? "It's an ending. That's enough."

And I'm okay with that. I hope you will be, too.

This is not "Goodbye to Romance." It's just a big Hello to other things, as well. But, I do believe it is goodbye to RWA, which I never really said hello to to begin with.

Review: Fairy and Folk Tales of Ireland by WB Yeats

Fairy and Folk Tales of Ireland by William Butler Yeats
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this as part of my research for a short story I was writing, and it ended up taking up taking longer to read than the story did to write! That doesn't necessarily reflect poorly on the book, though, as I found it quite interesting. Engrossing in parts, even.

Here, Yeats gathers and edits stories and myths from Ireland, largely from the translations and collections of other folklorists. It focuses mainly on the faeries, though it also includes water creatures (i.e. the merrow), witches, ghosts, and various mythical creatures. If you're wanting a lot on the mythic heroes, there's some but not a great deal. (You'd want to supplement in this area, I should think.) It does, however, include a good mixture of "traditional Irish" tales and "Irish Catholic" lore, which I found fascinating, such as discussions of the souls of faeries, folk tales about saints and the devil, and so forth. Too many studies are apt to separate "pagan" and "Catholic" beliefs artificially, in my opinion, and this synthesis feels more authentic to Irish culture.

If you're studying Irish folklore for scholarly or academic reasons, I think you can find better sources, though this might be useful as a historical look. The stories are largely anecdotal, and I didn't always know what was regional and what was widespread. Academic sources generally have more specificity to them, which would be necessary to avoid generalizing local legend. However, for a writer or an interested reader, this collection is very nice. I found it highly readable, with a nice feel of the local dialects, and the price was outstanding, if I recall correctly. My one major criticism of this book, in terms of usefulness, is that I'd love to have an edition with an index. Without one, the book is really only useful for a read, and not as a reference.

Finally, it's exciting to read such a record from the pen of such a famous writer, and as a piece of national literature or history of ethnography, it has become something of a classic.

I found it very interesting, and it was useful for my purpose. I'd recommend it, considering its price and classic status, to anyone wanting casual reading or light research on the topic of Irish folklore, with the caveat that it is comparatively light in the hero legends, as well as a bit lacking in the rich cryptozoology of Ireland (aside from the pooka and a few other common ones).

I enjoyed it, though it was a bit of a long haul. It made excellent before-bed reading, one or two stories at a time.

View all my reviews

Review: Spartacus, by TL Mancour

Spartacus by T.L. Mancour
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was a huge ST:TNG fan as a kid and teen, and I still love the series. I haven't read one of the novels in years, but I found this one for 50 cents at a thrift store and thought to give it a whirl. I can't recall if I read this one in high school or not, but I didn't remember it, if I did.

In this one, Picard and the crew, having just come through a long, rough storm, comes across a ship in need of repairs. The ship and its crew declares itself as a refugee ship, so all aide is rendered. The situation is made more complex when the strange crew's secrets are revealed, and a force comes in pursuit of the refugees. The destruction they were fleeing is revealed to be not as simple as they presented it.

If you are familiar with the series, you'll guess that this book has a lot of the same themes from the show, including the meaning of compassion and humanity, and the practical applications of the Prime Directive, and various humanistic ethics and positions. These things are pretty standard in any TNG piece. This one also has some interesting exploration of the meaning of freedom, and allusions to earth myth and history (which is also common to TNG). It also has relevance for discussions we hold today over the pros and cons of excessive leisure, entertainment and electronic conveniences, which was not something I had expected. I found this last theme to be quite fruitful.

The story itself is interesting enough, though the races encountered were not as interesting as some of the species in other Star Trek books and shows. We really don't learn a great deal about the Vemlans, but I frankly wasn't all that curious about them, anyway. They seemed quite stock in nature, to be honest.

However, all the favourite characters from the show are here, with very little Troi (a big plus for me), though the Guinan bits were few and felt tacked on. Some reviewers have called this book a "Data story," but he doesn't overwhelm the book, and it's more of a Picard/Data story, which suits me very well.

The worst thing I can say about the story is that it held very few surprises, but I'm not sure that's a major problem. Naturally, most of the Enterprise's stories end up happily, or at least skillfully resolved by the crack Starfleet crew, and this novel holds little surprise for anyone who's familiar with the series. (Many of the themes, issues, and events are quite similar to materials from the show, actually.)

The writing was less enjoyable. I recall an old Elmore Leonard quote, "When it sounds like writing, I rewrite it." Well, brother, did this book sound like writing! A lot of purple going on, with an excess of big words where simpler ones would do, and so forth. It made it slightly tough going, and almost put it down to 2 stars for me. (But the editing seemed fair, and the style doesn't stop me from recommending the book to those who enjoy TNG novels, so I'm going with 3. I did like it, and I found it entertaining.)

One odd thing that did keep me from putting it above 3 stars is a strange misogynistic twinge in the book; especially near the end, where a man working under a woman was likened to slavery, and the comparison went completely unchecked. Granted the actual woman in question was insufferable, but it still bugged me. Perhaps the editors did not expect women to read Star Trek novels?

Spartacus took me a long time to read; it was my "bus book," so it stayed in my backpack for about a month, and I only took it out while on public transit. It didn't grab my attention all that well from the get-go. However, once I got into it, it kept me entertained, and I plowed through the final 3/4 or half in a weekend. I might not have stuck with it early on if I wasn't already a ST fan, though, and I think Masks (#7) remains my favourite of the ST:TNG novels.

If you're a fan of Picard and Data, and the ethical ruminations this series was best at, you might enjoy this book, warts and all.

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Review: Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin

Black Like Me: Updated by John Howard Griffin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In all honesty, I must admit I have no idea how to rate this book. Given GR's star system, it's confusing to me. It really is sort of "amazing" in terms of its undertaking, compelling material and its impact. Yet, I'm not sure I can give it a full 5, despite its status as a classic. I loved this book in high school, and back then I would have rated it 5 stars without question. Now, as an adult, I hesitate. I will try to explain.

Black Like Me has a couple different aspects, each with different levels of usefulness.

As an early "non-fiction novel" it does ride up there with In Cold Blood. As a story, I found it hard to put down, and I found it quite gripping. Griffin's prose is charismatic and well constructed, and the "story" has a nice progression and flow due to the travel element, from New Orleans to the "heart of segregation," and it's hard not to hold your breath through his travels Southward. I also found his personal reflections fascinating, as his introspection developed.

As "ethnography," I do feel this book has great importance. Griffin records a lot of voices he would not have been able to capture had be not blackened his face, and his vignettes tell the reader a lot about the nature of segregation. While I feel he pulls some editorial punches (for example, I feel he shys away from recording dialects and other details that might have been valuable left intact), and I know he has shaped the material with a particular theme in mind, I also think it's a valuable read for anyone studying this period, or race relations in general. Griffin, from all accounts, seems to have led a remarkable life, and this period is one of its major highlights.

As social justice philosophy, it's of course admirable in its goals. It does demonstrate that skin colour overrode (overrides?) all, since he changed neither his name nor his credentials as he traveled. He was, as he says, the same man, but for colour, and he succeeds in describing the many, many adjustments he was forced to make because of his darker skin.

However, in this area it has dated a bit, in my opinion. Looking at it from 2012, it's hard to embrace the "black face" of it (though Griffin is clear that he never lied to people about being a black man; he just darkened himself and let people decide what they would), but it isn't just the performance of dark skin that makes me uneasy. It's actually the number of times that Griffin uses the term (or concept) of "we" to describe his experience within the black community, and how often he refers to himself as "black" that makes me uneasy. In a way it fits, because he was living under the restrictions, but I wonder at the "right" of this.

But, he spent eight weeks. Eight weeks, out of (at that point) 40-odd years. While the place of pigment can't be discounted, it's difficult to agree that he had become a black man over eight weeks of sharing these restrictions. Always, he knew he could take it off, and return to his "real life". I can't help but think that pretending simply can't reproduce the feeling of permanence. Darkening one's skin can't really compare with living in that skin, and likely feeling (in the 50s) the sense of no escape, ever, from segregation. So, to me, these assertions rather over-stepped into appropriation. I believe Griffin's heart was in the right place, but I do think this is over reaching the limits of his experiment.

As Malcolm X noted about this book, "Can you imagine how much more horrifying it would be to live like this your whole life?"

For this, I pull back a bit from five stars, because over-stressing this book has its dangers, in my opinion, and buying Griffin as an "insider" just doesn't fly. He certainly had a better understanding than people who hadn't walked a mile in those shoes, but he wasn't really an "insider," either, because he knew it was an experiment.

He works much better as a "participant observer," perhaps, although his own emotional "insiderness" was compelling in its own right when it was appropriate. (Of particular relevance were the moments of revelation he had looking at himself in a mirror, and facing his own racism and feelings of complete alienation from the black face that looked back at him.) His space on the margins of the white community in the face of his beliefs and his findings were especially interesting to me.

Griffin's description of the book's reception by the write community is dreadful (literally, filled with dread). The last section of the book feels a bit disjointed and tacked on, which is a pity, but I think it's part of the book's power. (There were a few moments where it went into martyr-mode, but overall he kept it pretty concise and journalistic, and held back from too much self-congratulation.)

Black Like Me, as some critics have said, is a great book on racism - for white people. It is in the book's portrayal of the whites along the way, and the reactions it spurred, that ring the best for me.

The edition I read had an afterword from after 1967, which made an interesting epilogue. By this point, Griffin was noticing that his position as "spokesman" was wearing thin, and it seems he wanted to (and had been asked to, perhaps) step back. He found he was being asked to consult on the "race problem" with white committees who didn't even think to invite black leaders! He was becoming, for white leaders, a safe or more palatable substitute, and that simply didn't work. As he expressed in an interview elsewhere, it had become ridiculous for him to serve as a voice for the black community, when it had many, better voices of its own. For me, this realization went a long way to addressing my concerns in the book itself.

So, final reckoning...? Certainly worth the read, as history and as a work of prose. I would recommend anyone interested in this period or these issues read this, particularly the updated edition. If you want to know more about Jim Crow laws and practices in everyday life, this book could be valuable to you. But, like with most serious issues, I caution that this shouldn't be the only book you read about it. This is not the final word, and I don't believe Griffin meant it to be. But it might make an excellent starting point, and is a good narrative illustration among the numerous academic books on the subject.

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