Xenophon Hendrix

2011-09-28T13:00:00.000-04:00

The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book was a reasonably entertaining read, but it assaults the reader's willing suspension of disbelief too often to be more than that. The setting is a small kingdom with a powerful criminal underworld. The technology is roughly analogous to Europe's high middle ages. There is a religion that appears to represent Christianity, which coexists with polytheism. There is a character who represents nihilism, two who represent chivalry, one who represents military honor, one who represents true love, and one who has been redeemed by the Christianity analog. The novel has magicians and a dark lord equivalent. In other words, it's made up of standard fantasy tropes.

Now, the criminal underworld is so powerful that it de facto has run the kingdom for at least decades. It has access to magically enhanced super assassins who are next to impossible to stop. Thus, the local mob kills the leaders who would get in its way and allows those who cooperate to assume power. This brings up one of the disbelief killers: How could the chivalry avatars survive in such an environment? They aren't mere knights; they are a duke and his son. Surely such powerful men would have long since either been co-opted by the underworld or destroyed. The author never explains how they survived. The reader is forced to conclude that they did so because the author wanted some chivalrous characters.

Another attack on the reader's disbelief is the redeemed-by-God character and his relationship to slavery. The reader learns that as a young man he was an up-and-comer with the local mob. He develops the idea of importing slavery into the kingdom. It turns out to be wildly profitable. He becomes a mob leader. Then his wife brings him to God and he somehow manages to end slavery again within a couple decades of its introduction, as one can estimated by the ages of his children. He becomes a relatively poor--he's still a count and a lawyer--but virtuous man. It is never explained how he manages to accomplish this improbable feat. Why didn't the mob kill him when he began to oppose such a profitable business?

Furthermore, the virtuous count knowingly agrees to house, educate, and introduce to society the apprentice of one of the super-assassins. It is explained that he became a friend of the assassin while still a mobster; nevertheless, this strikes the reader as strange behavior for a supposedly virtuous man.

Finally, an important element of the narrative is that members of the underworld must give up all ties of love. They must never establish families, because loved ones who can be attacked allow too much power over the mobsters. This allows a vigorous circulation of the elites within the mob and lets the author establish a theme that love can redeem even the greatest of sinners. Unfortunately, that's not how the mafia in our real world works. At least at its height, it had the rule that wives and children were left alone. The mafiosi had and continue to have families. Why wasn't such an agreement instituted among Mr. Weeks fantasyland gangsters? Human nature is to establish families and attempt to pass one's wealth and advantages on to one's children (with varying levels of hypocrisy about one's intentions). Thus, a criminal underworld that has never established rules to protect non-combatants is the less natural state and is something that needs to be explained by the author.

In short, I never bought into the author's characters and setting. That the book still manages to be readable is testament to the author's ability to play upon the reader's emotions.

View all my reviews

2011-09-28T12:44:00.000-04:00

A Kiss Before the Apocalypse by Thomas E. Sniegoski

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

For a novel that's given the trappings of a fantasy detective mystery, the main character is strangely ineffectual and passive. The big clue that cracks the case just wanders into his living room. He receives it through no effort of his own.

The action starts when Remy Chandler is alerted that something strange is happening when two people who should be dead don't die. Given that he is a seraph (not a spoiler) one would think such an astonishing event should put him on full alert and fill him with motivation. It doesn't; he just keeps lumbering on with his life.

Then he is given a heavenly visitation and is told that the world is ending and it's up to him to stop it. Then he's is attacked, twice, by creatures who it latter turns out have no reason to attack him. This is one of several continuity errors.

Why would a wayward angel (the protagonist), the Angel of Death, several Grigori (the Watchers from the Bible), and Lazarus (the Lazarus) all be living in Boston at the same time when they have the whole world to choose from for homes? The author never explains.

Then there are the fight scenes where the characters speak whole sentences to each other in the same amount of time as a punch or a headbutt a la Marvel comics.

How about the time a character apparently has three hands? He is holding a sword, a dagger, and a revolver at the same time.

The author tries for a few emotionally wrenching scenes, but my suspension of disbelief was so shattered that they left me cold. I couldn't sustain the reader's trance for this novel, so I was mostly bored. In addition to his continuity ineptness, the author also insufficiently filed the serial numbers of of ideas taken from Raiders of the Lost Ark and, I suspect, The Prophecy. Furthermore, pretty much all of the characters are stock cutouts.

About the only redeeming quality this novel has is that the author has done some Jewish-Christian mythology homework.

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Great Heart-Rending Sobs

2010-08-23T23:20:00.000-04:00

I write like
Stephenie Meyer

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Blood Engines by T. A. Pratt

2010-07-16T05:42:00.000-04:00

I went and judged a book by its cover. You see, Blood Engines by T. A. Pratt (also published as Tim Pratt) has a cover by Daniel Dos Santos. Dan Dos Santos is the top, or almost the top, cover illustrator still actually working in the science fiction and fantasy field. (The great Michael Whelan is still alive, but he has moved on to fine art.) I reasoned that if Bantam was willing to spring for a Dos Santos cover, then they must expect great things from Blood Engines.

Well, the novel isn't bad. It's readable and moves right along. It has a big problem though: The main character isn't likable. Now, it terms of art, this is a daring choice for the author to make. But in terms of pleasure reading, it makes it difficult for the reader to enjoy the work and lose himself in it. We don't particularly want to experience a universe through the viewpoint of a bad person.

Now, in fantastic literature that people read voluntarily and not for a required class, Stephen R. Donaldson with his character Thomas Covenant used an unlikable protagonist to great commercial and artistic success. Covenant, though, while difficult to like, was at least sympathetic. He had been through much grief and had a reason for being unpleasant. Pratt's character, Marla Mason, is arrogant, foolish, violent, exploitative, and ruthless because that is her basic personality. As the novel goes on, it is hinted that she is also, perhaps, megalomaniacal. The reader is left wondering if it would not be better if her opponents kill her off. Her only redeeming quality appears to be that she cares about her home city, which she runs much like a mob boss.

Aside from the big problem of a protagonist I didn't like and didn't want to identify with, a secondary flaw shattered my willing suspension of disbelief at one point. There is a scene in which Marla Mason defeats a god in a straight-up kung-fu fight. True, the god is bound and limited, but please, we're talking a deity. Mason doesn't trick him or surprise him; she just outfights him with superior technique. Right.

In short, Blood Engines isn't a bad or poorly written book, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped.

Reading Highlights of 2009

2009-12-08T21:56:00.000-05:00

I read a lot. My entertainment time is dedicated to reading. I watch almost no television. I seldom play computer games, just a few ancient ones now and then. It has been well over a year since I've watched a movie. My primary use for the Net is to find things to read (and occasional T&A). Furthermore, I'm omnivorous in my reading. I believe even honest crap (as opposed to bullshit) has interesting things to say about humanity and that so-called Great Books are often pernicious nonsense (often, certainly not always).

The second half of this year, I made the conscious decision to read more books (including digital books) and fewer articles. Consequently, I will easily average more than one book read per week this year. There are tradeoffs in this decision. Reading fewer articles implies less knowledge of current events. Books, on the other hand, provide more context, but it's easier for me, at least, to wallow in light fiction without really intending to do so. Light fiction isn't bad; it is a window into popular consciousness, but a steady diet of it tends to become somewhat nauseating, analogous to eating too much sugar.

The fiction book of the year is Jonathan Strange & Mr Morrell by Susanna Clarke. This is what literary fantastic fiction should be. To hell with the "magical realists." If you like fantasy at all and haven't yet given it a try, I urge you to do so.

The most delightful book of the year is Life With Father by Clarence Day Jr. It's a memoir about the author's parents, especially his eccentric father. Most of the stories in the book take place near the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth. Besides being one of the funniest things I have ever read, it is informative about life in the upper middle class of that era. I give it my highest recommendation. (It can be found online at the Project Gutenberg Australia site.)

The most enlightening book of the year is The 10,000 Year Explosion by Gregory Cochran and Henry Harpending. It makes a strong argument that not only is human evolution ongoing, it has greatly accelerated since the invention of agriculture. If you want to understand what is going on with the human race, you need to understand the information in this book.

The most disappointing novel of the year is The Man Who Was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton. I suspect that the book makes sense if one can crack the code of the symbolism, but I couldn't, so it made little sense to me. I suppose I failed because Chesterton was a Catholic apologist and I'm not religious. I find symbolism enriching if it fits the context and is also meaningful on a mundane level, but the symbols in this book had to carry most of the weight of the narrative. Ultimately, I found the novel annoying and over the top. (It is easily available online.)

The most disappointing nonfiction of the year is Greek Religion by Walter Burkert. The subject has interested me since sixth grade, on and off, and the information in the book wasn't disappointing. Much of it was new, and the book provided deeper context for things I had already known. Burkert, furthermore, appears to be the living expert on the subject. The writing itself, though, was dry and difficult. (The book is a translation, so it might not be all Burkert's fault.) A glossary of persons and of the many Greek terms he throws around would have made the reader's task much easier, too. I can only recommend the book to those with a large amount of background knowledge or who are willing to work hard. Google and Wikipedia, most likely, will be your friends if you tackle this one.

The best long Web fiction of 2009 are the continuing serial Tales of MU by Alexandra Erin and the ongoing series of novels about newly teenaged Bec by the pseudonymous BarBar. Both projects have been going on for multiple years. Also recommended is the written "television series" Shadow Unit. (In reality, it's a series of novellas or novelettes.) The project is led by Emma Bull and Elizabeth Bear, two fairly well known names in speculative fiction.

Finally, the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris and the Stephanie Plum novels by Janet Evanovich are both a lot of fun. I prefer the Sookie Stackhouse books. I like the protagonist and the genre better. Ms. Stackhouse works at her full capacity more often than does Ms. Plum, so she is a more engaging character. The Stephanie Plum novels are more comedy oriented, if one is looking for a laugh.

Jonathan Stange & Mr Norrell

2009-10-11T02:32:00.000-04:00

Ten years in the writing, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke is a masterpiece. It is one of the finest fantasies ever written. It is one of the best books I have ever read. My copy is 1006 pages long, and I enjoyed reading every single one of them. If you are a regular reader of fantastic literature and you have not yet read this book, I strongly recommend that you do so.

For someone who is not a regular reader of fantasy, the setting is mostly an alternate England during and shortly after the Napoleonic Wars. The two most important characters are the gentlemen in the title, two magicians with the goal of bringing magic back to England. Their characterization is contrasting, well rounded, and complex. All of the important characters are well rounded and believable. There are no cardboard cutouts. There is no melodrama.

The dialog is often witty, sometimes in a dramatically ironic way. The book contains an immense amount of dry--positively desiccated--humor. Those susceptible to it will find the humor alone makes the book worth reading. As I read, I often found myself grinning and chuckling aloud.

Ms. Carke's writing is clear and clean. For this novel, she chose to use the omniscient viewpoint, and the narrator occasionally addresses the reader directly. It's an old-fashioned technique decried in modern writing manuals, but the author uses it skillfully, conveying much of the humor through observations in the narration. Personally, I didn't find it obtrusive, and it didn't interfere with my reader's trance.

Readers who might want to avoid the novel: As stated above, it is one fat book. Those who read to get to the end will have a long journey. Despite the length of the book, it does not have a large number of superfluous side plots, but still, the novel sprawls a bit. Those who like tightly plotted, straightforward action should probably give the novel a pass. Obviously, those who believe fantasy is puerile shouldn't bother reading it.

Fantasy readers who stick to gaming-based worlds or paranormal romance, and who are uninterested in expanding their horizons, probably would not like Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. On the other hand, kids who grew up with Harry Potter but who are now adults might want to give it a try. (I think it's a whole lot better.) For serious fantasy readers who have not yet read it, I can tell you that I think Ms. Clarke's creation might be an even grander achievement than Neil Gaiman's American Gods. That's how good I believe it is.

Very Hard Choices by Spider Robinson

2009-09-16T20:02:00.002-04:00

This is a cross posting of a short review I did for Goodreads.

I'm having trouble thinking of a way to describe this book without giving away too much of the storyline. One thing I can say, despite the title, I don't believe the characters faced many hard choices. They face some incredibly painful choices, but those aren't quite the same thing.

As an example of what I mean that isn't an incident from the book, suppose one has a beloved pet that is dying in agony. What does one do? Surely the choice is painful, but is it difficult? The decisions that the characters make in the book strike me as similarly inevitable. They hurt, but given the set up in the story, I don't see how they could choose anything else.

Two more complaints are that I found the ending anticlimactic and the big plot twist predictable. I'm being vague so as not to give any spoilers. It's clear from the start, though, that potential plot twist is there. The only question is whether the author chooses to do it.

Another annoyance is the political tone of much of the book. Modern liberals will like it, especially those who still like weed. Free-market libertarians will like parts of it and feel picked on in other parts of it. Paleoconservatives will feel even more picked on. Neoconservatives will hate it.

I also think there is some paranoia on parade, but I don't know if it the author's paranoia coming through his characters or the characters' paranoia honestly depicted by the author. In any case, I found it absurd enough that my willing suspension of disbelief failed. The reactions of other readers will doubtless vary.

On the more positive side, I didn't hate the book. Spider Robinson's warm authorial personality still shines through, which rounds off the sharp edges of the many irritations. Although there are two or three places where a parenthetical statement gets so long that I forgot the opening of the sentence and had to go back and look, the writing is mostly smooth and clean. There is a lot of humor, some good jokes, a number of entertaining anecdotes, and a few painful puns.

Lack of Progress Report

2009-04-03T19:15:00.003-04:00

My apologies to everyone who has been reading Magician's Integration. I feel tapped out physically and mentally and incapable of doing anything creative. I'm declaring the story to be on indefinite hiatus. Sorry.

I'm glad that I didn't leave it on a cliffhanger.

Chapter 10 Is Up

2009-03-20T22:54:00.002-04:00

Chapter 10 of Magician's Integration is up.

Getting this one out was like donating a quart of blood, one drop at a time. I hope Chapter 11 arrives a lot easier.

Bunny Shop Ads

2009-03-19T19:18:00.002-04:00

Is anyone being bothered by the Bunny Shop ads currently running beside the serial? I don't want to ban advertisers, but I also don't want to drive off readers. Thoughts?

Progress report: approx. 2000 words.

Progress Report and Recommended Reading

2009-03-17T20:02:00.002-04:00

I have about a thousand words of Chapter 10 written. I don't know when it will be finished, but at least I've started to make some progress again.

If you are looking for something to read, Emma Bull is leading an interesting Web project here. I've read four of Ms. Bull's novels, plus one more she wrote with Steven Brust, and I enjoyed them all. The writing on Shadow Unit isn't as polished, but it's entertaining nevertheless.

What's Going On

2009-03-13T05:37:00.002-04:00

I've been waking up tired and spending all day kind of drowsy. It has not been a condition conducive to writing. I have faith that it will pass eventually.

I have not abandoned the story.

Chapter 09 Is Up

2009-03-04T06:13:00.002-05:00

Chapter 09 of Magician's Integration is up.

I started this one, and then I slept on it to make sure that it was going in the direction I wanted. I'm still not sure. I hope it doesn't blow up in my face.

Chapter 08 Is Up

2009-03-01T02:13:00.002-05:00

Chapter 08 of Magician's Integration is up.

Chapter 07 Is Up

2009-02-27T02:12:00.002-05:00

Chapter 07 of Magician's Integration is up. It took me longer than expected to get it finished tonight.

I've felt off all week, both physically and creatively, but I'm hoping to get at least one more chapter done before Monday. No promises.

I did manage to get some more of Magician's Merger re-edited, chapters 24-28. I've now given those and chapters 1-6 various amounts of rewriting and polishing. I want to get the whole thing done so that I can start making it available in assorted types of ebook. I'm strongly considering posting it on Smashwords.

If I do post it, it won't be offered for free over there, but I don't intend to charge a whole lot, either.

Progress Note

2009-02-26T23:39:00.001-05:00

Chapter seven finally is coming along well. I'm going to try to get it up before I call it a night. Mistake catching is appreciated.

Bec by BarBar

2009-02-24T20:21:00.003-05:00

I don't think I've recommended this yet: Bec by BarBar is webfiction of the highest quality. BarBar is one of the Web authors who is writing at a nearly professional level of competence. Actually, I've read conventionally published fiction that was much worse.

The novel is about an unusual adolescent girl, a protagonist that I doubt would put off anyone who has been reading my serials. The story is non-fantasy, but the title character is interestingly weird. So is her mother. Highly recommended.

The site linked is Storiesonline, and they publish some stuff that is frankly pornographic, so you might want to take that into consideration if you read at work. Storiesonline demands registration from their readers, but they've never spammed me. I suspect they do it as a form of self-defense, because of some of the material they have.

Bec itself, in my estimation, is probably suited for a teen audience and older. The sexual content is very mild.

Pssst, Brits

2009-02-22T12:55:00.002-05:00

Would you normally say "trouser pocket" or "trousers pocket"?

Chapter 06 Is Up

2009-02-21T16:16:00.001-05:00

Chapter 06 of Magician's Integration is up.

Visualization, But Broader

2009-02-20T18:41:00.002-05:00

Does anyone know a word that is similar to visualization but inclusive of all senses simultaneously?

Chapter 06 is coming along well.

Chapter 05 Is Up

2009-02-19T16:48:00.002-05:00

Chapter 05 of Magician's Integration is up.

I write this stuff, and I think to myself, This is getting boring. Someone should smack someone with a sword or throw a fireball or something.

Progress Report

2009-02-18T18:22:00.002-05:00

My dad is out of the hospital. He still has some outpatient tests he needs to have done. He at least looks better than he has for a while.

I have about 1600 words of Chapter 05 of Magician's Integration written. I don't have any feel for its ETA. Methinks it needs some more action.

Chapter 04 of Magician's Integration Is Up

2009-02-15T14:10:00.003-05:00

Chapter Four of Magician's Integration is posted.

Happy birthday, Arthur.

My dad had to go to the hospital Friday night with a low hemoglobin level. He was admitted, and of this writing, I don't know when he'll be released. We're all hoping that it was just an accidental overdose of warfarin. He's in the ICU, but he's lucid, and no one seems particularly worried. One suspects that tests are scheduled for tomorrow, but Dad wasn't sure. I imagine I'll know more tonight.

As one might expect, writing a Web serial wasn't a priority. Nevertheless, I managed to finish Chapter Four this afternoon, when my nerves settled down. Don't be overly eager for Chapter Five. :-)

It's for the Children

2009-02-14T01:28:00.002-05:00

Children’s books burn, courtesy of the federal government.

I've heard that this might happen, and now it has started. If you care about books, reading, knowledge, and good stuff like that, you might consider spreading the word.

Blah

2009-02-12T18:17:00.003-05:00

Insomnia last night has rendered tonight useless for writing. For what it's worth, yesterday I managed to write about 1100 words of chapter four of Magician's Integration.

Chapter Six of Magician's Merger has received a quick edit. It looks like Chapter Seven is going to take more extensive work.

Chapter 3 of Magician's Integration is up.

2009-02-10T23:30:00.003-05:00

Chapter 3 of Magician's Integration is up. As always, mistake catching is appreciated.

Writing-Editing News

2009-02-09T22:29:00.000-05:00

I've given chapters four and five of Magician's Merger an editing. They weren't bad enough to need a rewrite. (Yay!) I have a bit more than 1000 words written on chapter three of Magician's Integration.

Magician's Merger, Chapter 3, Rewrite

2009-02-08T01:59:00.003-05:00

I've posted the rewrite of Chapter Three of Magician's Merger. I don't think the third chapter was as horrid as the first two, but it was still awful.

Magician's Merger, Chapter 2, Rewrite.

2009-02-07T21:08:00.004-05:00

I've posted a rewrite of Chapter Two of Magician's Merger. It's still a horrifying infodump, but I think I made it somewhat more entertaining.

The Horror, The Horror

2009-02-07T06:40:00.002-05:00

Oh, man. I've been looking at the last several chapters of Magician's Merger to refresh my memory as I work on Magician's Integration. Those chapters strike me as not being too bad.

Then I decided to look at the first several chapters. They are utterly awful. The passage of time makes their total suckitude stand right out for me, now. I'm astonished that anyone has stuck it out to read that thing.

Anyway, I've given Chapter One of Magician's Merger yet another rewrite.

Chapter 2 Is Up

2009-02-06T20:54:00.002-05:00

Chapter 2 of Magician's Integration is up.

Chapter 1 of Magician's Integration Is Up

2009-02-05T00:53:00.003-05:00

Chapter 1 of Magician's Integration is up. Please see the Author's Note and Warning before you decide if you want to read the new serial.

Thinking Evil Thoughts

2009-02-04T20:20:00.003-05:00

I'm starting to believe that the only way I'm going to get more writing done is to just write and post as I did with Magician's Merger, which is itself an example why that method is not ideal. The plot is imbalanced, and it has several dangling threads and false starts.

On the other hand, trying to write in advance hasn't been getting me anywhere.

I'm kicking around the idea of just writing, calling it the alpha release, and warning people that they are reading at their own risk. It might not get finished. It might fall apart.

Perhaps I should take a page from Alexandra Erin's playbook and make it an open-ended Web serial with no ending promised. Lots of comic strips and television series do it.

Gunnerkrigg Court

2008-12-20T21:53:00.001-05:00

Gunnerkrigg Court is not bad at all. I've read that Neil Gaiman likes it.

Progress Report

2008-11-27T12:13:00.003-05:00

I suppose I should say what has been going on. I simply have not been feeling well. Most of the time I have been feeling sluggish, unambitious, and just bad. I've also had frequent headaches, as in several per week. This month, I had a headache that lasted an entire week.

Given the above, any creativity I might have is about dead. Arguing with people on the Internet is about the most to which I can aspire, and I haven't been doing that too well.

The good news is that it probably isn't a mystery about the root cause of this. My blood sugar has been out of control, and that can do all kinds of evil things. My physician has again adjusted my medication. We shall see.

I have made a few notes for an Ursus story that takes place before he merges with Arthur and for more stuff about Arthur that takes place after Magician's Merger. I'm leaning toward the pre-Arthur story as the next thing I put serious effort into.

USA Civics Quiz

2008-11-24T19:43:00.003-05:00

here

Good Essay

2008-10-22T18:28:00.001-04:00

Distributism vs. Redistributism--good little essay by Dr. Pournelle, something to think about.

Two Things Worth Reading

2008-09-22T00:47:00.000-04:00

Magic by Lazlo Zalezac isn't finished yet, but it is funny and well written. It's on the Storiesonline site, so you might need to take care if you read at work.

Evo and Proud is an anthropology blog worth going back and reading from the beginning if human nature interests you. In fact, reading from the beginning is the best way to use the site; the knowledge builds.

Progress Report

2008-09-07T02:29:00.003-04:00

I've been tired and uncreative. Part of this is health related, part of it is a long-term case of the blahs.

Anyway, I don't know when I'm going to get writing again, if ever. For those of you who read Magician's Merger, thank you.

Why Write?

2008-07-06T19:33:00.004-04:00

I find that creative acts, over the long term, give more lasting satisfaction than non-creative acts. For this I have no explanation; I simply take it as a given of my psychology. Two exceptions to this rule exist. The first is reading. I love to read and do it close to compulsively. Literal years can go by without a single day in which I haven't read for at least a half hour. The second exception is finding things out. I'm insatiably curious about a wide range of stuff. Add these three things together, and one can immediately understand why writing is an excellent thing for me to do. It is a creative endeavor that allows me to make constructive use of my constant reading and curiosity.

So, why haven't I written more? Why in the past did I always give up? Depression, anxiety, fear, weariness, self doubt--all have knocked me off course. However, a few things have changed over the last few years. One, the Web now makes it possible for anyone to share his or her work without gatekeepers. Two, I've been on antidepressants long enough that many of my negative emotions are under control. Three, Alexandra Erin has pointed the way. (If Ms. Erin happens to read this, thank you.)

Alexandra Erin, by her example, has demonstrated that fiction writers on the Web can both find an audience and get paid for their work. Some people disparage pecuniary considerations, but I don't. For one, getting paid for an endeavor allows one to spend more time doing it. There are only so many hours in a day, so many days in a life. For another, as a first approximation, people are willing to pay for what they value. (Yes, there are exceptions. That's why I called it a "first approximation" and not an absolute truth.) Money is a sincere compliment and indisputable evidence of value received.

Therefore, there are a few things I want to accomplish with my writing. One, I want to improve my craft, because skill in itself creates satisfaction. Two, I want to find an audience of reasonable size. Three, I want to make some income from writing. Ultimately, I suppose the dream is to make enough income from writing to support myself. Can I do these things? I have no idea, but managing to complete the first volume of Magician's Merger was a significant step.

Volume one was highly educational. I learned that discouragement and lack of inspiration pass with rest. I believe my skill grew as I wrote, and I learned what it takes to complete a novel-length work. It also felt good and continues to feel good. I suggest that anyone who dreams about writing just grab a free website and start writing and posting. Nothing else will teach you more, and it helps you get over the fear of rejection. If it's your first work, don't worry about giving it away for free. It's unlikely to be a masterpiece. Just think of it as an educational expense.

I purposefully didn't put up a donation button for the first volume of Magician's Merger. I wasn't about to ask people for payment for something I might not even finish, and I figured that reading and constructive comments were plenty of payment for the efforts of a beginner. (The advertising on my site brought in only a small amount of money, which I simply rolled into advertising for my site.) For volume two, I'm going to put up a couple of donation buttons and see what happens.

If I see my audience growing and a stream of money proportional to audience size starts coming in, it will be evidence that my work is of value to others. That would encourage me to continue. If the audience doesn't grow and people don't find my fiction of value, that will tell me something, too. (If you like my work, don't worry. I just want to see some growth and some income for my second effort. I think my expectations are realistic.)

Anyway, at this point in my skill development, it seems that volume two is going to have to continue in a highly serialized manner, with maybe one or two major story arcs along the way. I've been doing a lot of thinking and research while trying to develop a tighter plot, and I haven't been able to do it. I hope to develop that skill as I continue writing, but thus far, I don't have it.

I've also decided to post all of volume two as a serial on BlogSpot before I post it all at once on Storiesonline. That, I hope, will bring more eyes to my donation buttons and advertisements. It will also help me find and eliminate mistakes before I subject my work to the Storiesonline rating system.

Thanks for reading.

The Secret Commonwealth

2008-07-05T11:07:00.004-04:00

Hardcore fantasy readers might find The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns and Fairies by Robert Kirk and Andrew Lang to be interesting reading. Lang, a nineteenth-century folklorist, had printed and wrote a long introduction to a seventeenth-century manuscript by Kirk.

Both parts are worth reading if you like the topic. The language is old, and by our standards the spelling is eccentric, but you will see where this little book has had an influence on contemporary fantasy. Definitely read the footnotes and make free use of Google.

Progress Report One

2008-06-29T05:36:00.001-04:00

I have approximately four thousand potential words for a second volume written. I have a synopsis partially filled out.

Lots of thinking and navel gazing are yet to be done.

For those who are curious, volume one is somewhat under 111,000 words long. The whole thing needs another polish or two, at least. I'm having trouble working up the enthusiasm.

Chapter 36 Is Up

2008-06-23T06:19:00.002-04:00

Chapter 36 of Magician's Merger is up.

That's the end of volume one. I intend to try a new experiment: work in advance for volume two rather than post as soon as I have written. I don't know how far in advance I'll work. Maybe I'll write the whole thing first. At any rate, I'll make progress reports in this blog occasionally.

In the course of writing Magician's Merger, I received no mean comments and no nasty email. Only one review, so far, has been negative. Everyone else has been supportive and/or made constructive criticisms. Thank you.

Thank you for reading. Thank you for catching mistakes. Thank you for spreading the word.

Writing Guides

2008-06-21T21:36:00.002-04:00

Other than the dictionary and grammar and punctuation guides, the two most useful how-to books about fiction writing that I've read are Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain and Trail and Error: A Key to the Secret of Writing and Selling by Jack Woodford. The rest have caused me more confusion than anything.

Chapter 35 Is Up

2008-06-21T04:43:00.001-04:00

Chapter 35 of Magician's Merger is up. It's longer than I've been averaging, and it was a lot of fun to write.

As always, mistake catching is appreciated. If you like the story, please spread the word.

A Change in the Weather

2008-06-20T02:18:00.001-04:00

I've finally read the entire archive of A Change in the Weather. It's good stuff.

Chapter 34 Is Up

2008-06-17T17:19:00.001-04:00

Chapter 34 of Magician's Merger is up.

Typeface?

2008-06-15T14:56:00.002-04:00

I've changed the typeface on this blog and on the Blogspot version of Magician's Merger. Is it easier to read? Harder to read? No difference?

Chapter 33 Is Up, Finally

2008-06-14T14:48:00.002-04:00

Chapter 33 of Magician's Merger is up.

As always, caught misspellings and such are appreciated.

Poop

2008-06-13T18:53:00.002-04:00

We are coming up on the endgame here. There is at most a handful of chapters to go for this "book," I think, and Ursus just informed me that there was no way he could ever go along with the plan I had in mind.

This installment writing has its drawbacks.

I'll try to get chapter 33 out tomorrow.

On Why a New Chapter is Taking So Long

2008-06-12T17:28:00.003-04:00

Short answer: I've been totally out of it--sleepy with poor concentration. I've written about 1700 words of the next chapter, but it has been slow going. On the other hand, I haven't given up.

I suppose I should go change my claimed posting frequency on Pages Unbound.

Chapter 32 Is Up

2008-06-08T08:55:00.002-04:00

Chapter 32 of Magician's Merger is up.

I so wanted to make a joke about Santa slamming into the roof, but "A Visit from St. Nicholas" was never written on Arthur's node.

Chapter 31 Is Up

2008-06-05T03:29:00.002-04:00

Chapter 31 of Magician's Merger is up.

How am I doing regarding balancing out action with everything else?

I Feel So Proud

2008-06-02T02:56:00.004-04:00

I have received my first hatchet job (by motonousmuse).

Now, I've never considered Magician's Merger to be great writing. It's an experiment more than anything. What can I produce if I don't give up? Everything about it is geared to keeping me writing. I post as soon as it's beat into decent form. The writing gets one or two polishes before posting. I don't have an editor, etc.

But, Jeez, this person makes me sound illiterate.

(If you are enjoying the story, don't worry about it. I'm not discouraged.)

Chapter 30 Is Up

2008-06-02T02:04:00.003-04:00

Chapter 30 of Magician's Merger is up.

This one took longer to write than I had hoped.

The story Arthur's mom tells is similar to one my mom told me. I've changed a few of the details. I'm sure my mom believed what she had said.

Yes, there are similarities between Arthur's mom and my own, but there are also a lot of differences. Most of my characters have in them pieces of people that I knew, but many things get changed. Sometimes more than one person gets combined.

Some of the properties of the cantankerous younger brothers were drawn from me.

Chapter 29 Is Up

2008-05-29T15:01:00.006-04:00

Chapter 29 of Magician's Merger is up. Thank Bog.

Caught typos, misspellings, and homonym mistakes are always appreciated. Spreading the word is always appreciated. Blogs, forums, and social bookmarking sites are all good places to spread the word. My sincere thanks to those who do so.

If you are coming from Storiesonline when you read this and are worried about linking to a site that has (gasp!) erotica, I do mirror the story from here. I think the story itself is worksafe, at least in my estimation, and I don't accept pornographic ads on the Blogger site.

Actually, linking to the Blogger site is slightly more advantageous for me. The small amount of revenue I make from Project Wonderful ads has been been paying for the ads I use to promote the story.

(At one point in today's installment, I so wanted to write "consummate Vs". If you don't get the reference, Google it. I doubt you'll be sorry.)

Revisions

2008-05-27T19:32:00.002-04:00

Over the next several days, I'm going to be revising Magician's Merger. I'll be doing some polishing, fixing typos I happen to catch, and italicizing the inner dialog in the earlier chapters. I don't foresee any changes in the storyline, so there is no need to reread anything.

Mana vs. Manna

2008-05-27T06:43:00.002-04:00

This issue just came up in an email.

Mana vs. manna: I figured either word works for what I wanted to convey. I believe Larry Niven, within the fantasy genre, was the first writer to use the first word to mean magical energy, but I think the term actually comes from the magical practices of some culture that I can't recall. The second specifically refers to food given by God, but metaphorically refers to something that is there for the taking,

In the end, it's just a handle for the stuff that powers magic. I wanted to be clear that it is different stuff from everyday physical energy and doesn't necessarily follow our laws of physics. As far as I'm concerned, it can be called anything. That's why I had Ursus say that it has lots of names and we might just as well call it manna.

Of course, now I have people thinking I'm making a homonym mistake. I guess I should have just made up a word.

Chapter 28 Is Up

2008-05-26T14:45:00.002-04:00

Chapter 28 of Magician's Merger is up.

Getting this one finished was hard. It wasn't because the writing was difficult, but I've been sleepy lately. I'm not sure if it's blood sugar issues or medication issues or something else. It isn't lack of rest, because I've been sleeping a lot. In any case, I would go to write and want to dose off at the computer, which is not good for production.

Chapter 27 Is Up

2008-05-22T14:28:00.002-04:00

Chapter 27 of Magician's Merger is up.

I had wanted to have a new chapter ready for yesterday, but I had a fantasy of writing something like, "And then the asteroid struck, and they all died." This let me know that the next chapter was going to have to wait.

Scary Mary

2008-05-21T09:46:00.003-04:00

I read and enjoyed Scary Mary.

Chapter 26 Is Up

2008-05-20T09:54:00.001-04:00

Chapter 26 of Magician's Merger is up. Winter break draws ever closer with its precious two weeks free from school.

Chapter 25 Is Up

2008-05-18T02:42:00.003-04:00

Chapter 25 of Magician's Merger is up.

I actually knew someone who believed it was legal to kick children but not hit them with one's hand.

If you like the story, please consider spreading the word.

Chapter 24 Is Up

2008-05-15T03:02:00.002-04:00

Chapter 24 of Magician's Merger is up. Getting this one done was rough going. I had two days in a row of a headache combined with an overall lousy feeling. I had hoped to get the chapter done for Wednesday, but I've been finding out that feeling bad tends to sap my creativity, so it wasn't to be.

Superstition

2008-05-13T01:18:00.004-04:00

I read and enjoyed the first twenty-six chapters of Superstition.

Chapter 23 Is Up

2008-05-12T15:44:00.001-04:00

Chapter 23 of Magician's Merger is up. This one was fun to write.

Three Minds

2008-05-11T14:07:00.002-04:00

There have been a few questions about the three minds in Arthur's head. One is Arthur, one is Ursus, and one is the resultant of their continuing merger. The resultant is the primary narrator, but Ursus and Arthur sometimes do the job.

The Kids Appear Older Than They Are

2008-05-10T20:44:00.001-04:00

One of the things I'd like to accomplish with Magician's Merger, in terms of learning craft, is portraying believable characters. Especially, I want the kids in the story to be acting their ages. They don't have to be typical for their ages, but I want them to be believable for their ages. For anyone who feels like providing feedback, please use the comments section to tell me where I'm most badly screwing it up. I am not looking for compliments. I know I'm making mistakes, and I'm looking for places where you said, "There is no way a kid that age would ever act like that." Arthur, of course, doesn't count.

For a quick review, these are the grades of most of the characters:

Grade 1--Charlie Powyr

Grade 2--Jenny Lukowski

Grade 3--Rich Powyr

Grade 5--Mary Powyr

Grade 6

Terry Prestor
Al Gallo
Sean MacDougle
Kirsten Kennedy
Pam Derbyshire
Debbie Taylor
Carol Flagler
Pat Hughes
Donald Beauchamp (old enough to be in grade 7)

Grade 7--Brian Onken (one of the four who attacked Arthur)

Grade 8

Danny Lukowski
Mike Prestor

I don't have kids, so by necessity I've been relying on my memories of the people I knew and of myself. I also recalled my nieces and nephews when they were that age, but I know that kids act differently among themselves than when adults are present. One of the things I try to keep in mind as I write is that girls around the ages of my characters can be more verbally fluent than most boys, and they tend to behave a year or two more maturely.

Chapter 22 Is Up

2008-05-10T20:28:00.003-04:00

Chapter 22 of Magician's Merger is now up.

I'm experimenting with using italics to indicate internal dialog this chapter. Do you prefer the italics? Or do you prefer the way I've been doing it with standard type? Please let me know in the comments.

Review Comment

2008-05-10T16:49:00.004-04:00

Magician's Merger just received a nice review over on Pages Unbound. One remark, though, made me wish the site had comment buttons:

The kids appear older than they are. For Arthur it's ok, since he kind of is, but the rest of the bunch act nothing like 6th graders do. If I were fed no info about their age, I would guess 8th grade, minimum.

Two of the important characters, Danny and Mike, are in the eighth grade.

To the reviewer, if he reads this, thank you for the kind review. It's just that one part that struck me as strange. Has the spelling been getting any better in the later chapters?

Chapter 21 Is Up

2008-05-09T18:07:00.001-04:00

Chapter 21 of Magician's Merger is up.

Where is This All Going?

2008-05-09T09:10:00.001-04:00

I've had a few readers in their feedback wonder where Magician's Merger is going. As background, let me say that Ursus Enlil is an old character of mine. He is the protagonist of an unfinished novel of which I've written a substantial chunk, a major supporting character of an unfinished novel of which I've written a much smaller chunk, and I've spent a lot of time thinking about his back story without ever writing it down. The events in Magician's Merger are just a small piece of his very long life.

That all said, I had a strong idea of the beginning of Magician's Merger, that is, poor Ursus gets reborn as a kid. I have a strong idea of the necessary ending--or at least a major event that must take place near the end of the story.

What I don't really know are all the events between the beginning and the end. Many of them I only know a couple of chapters ahead. Some of them I only discover when I write the chapter. I don't know about my readers, but doing it that way certainly helps keep me entertained. In effect, I'm telling myself a story as I go along.

Thus, Magician's Merger is most definitely designed to be a Web serial, not a tightly plotted novel. Readers who read stories to get to the end will be disappointed. I hope that I'm entertaining readers who read for the trip.

Web serials are a revival of a form of text story that died out for a while. It never did die out in television or comic strips. Think story arcs rather than plot. As I said, though, I do at least have an ultimate goal I keep in the back of my mind.

I hope I haven't just disappointed too many people. In my defense, I plead that I don't really know what I'm doing as a writer. This whole experiment in writing Web fiction for me is an exercise in immediate gratification, which I hope will keep me writing.

Gloria Fidelis

2008-05-09T08:29:00.001-04:00

I read and enjoyed the first 23 chapters of Gloria Fidelis.

Chapter 20 Is Up

2008-05-07T15:11:00.003-04:00

Chapter 20 of Magician's Merger is up.

Fliskus is the brand name of a flying disk on Arthur's node.

Dead End Streets

2008-05-05T19:29:00.004-04:00

I've read and enjoyed the first seventeen chapters of Dead End Streets

Chapter 19 Is Up

2008-05-05T12:50:00.002-04:00

Chapter 19 of Magician's Merger is up. I started this one and had trouble, but then I slept on it and it went a lot easier. It was pretty fun to write.

Promotion

2008-05-04T04:24:00.002-04:00

I encourage readers who like Magician's Merger to link to it and tell their friends. Those who might feel uneasy about linking to a story on SOL can link to the mirror on Blogspot.

Part of what has kept me writing this tale is a desire not to disappoint all the people who are reading it. Therefore, the more people who are reading, the more likely I am to keep going--caught in a trap I've set for myself.

The main thing that has prevented me from finishing what I write is self-doubt. It creeps in and I find myself thinking: This stuff is utter crap. Who would ever read this? Seeing that a few thousand people actually are reading it and waiting for more helps me bury the doubt for another chapter.

To those who like the story, thank you.

Chapter 18 Is Up

2008-05-03T11:48:00.002-04:00

Chapter 18 of Magician's Merger is up. Given it's relatively short length, this one took a long time to write.

I suspect the difficulty was caused by my doctor doubling my dose of two medications. I felt rather spacey since Tuesday and only started feeling mostly normal this morning. Poor health just ain't any fun.

Chapter 17 Is Up

2008-05-01T02:22:00.002-04:00

Chapter 17 of Magician's Merger is up. I personally think this chapter is a bit of a letdown after fifteen and sixteen. I certainly didn't have as much fun writing it. I hope that there is at least a chuckle or two in it.

Chapter 16 Is Up

2008-04-28T03:49:00.002-04:00

Chapter 16 of Magician's Merger is up. I don't have much to say about this chapter. I knew its events before I wrote chapter 15.

Chapter 15 Is Up

2008-04-26T00:37:00.003-04:00

Chapter 15 of Magician's Merger is up.

For anyone interested, Ursus's fighting techniques are mostly drawn from Get Tough by W. E. Fairbairn.

Working on Chapter 15, Sorta

2008-04-25T15:33:00.002-04:00

I've been working on chapter 15, but I've been feeling more tired than normal this week, plus a little icky. On top of that, I've been having high blood sugar issues. Finally, I'm having trouble deciding how I want a scene to go.

In short, I haven't abandoned the story.

The Ax of Edification 2

2008-04-23T15:47:00.003-04:00

I've also done some slighter revisions to Chapter Two. Again, they primarily are cuts. I haven't changed the storyline.

I'm embarrassed about how many times that truly awful infodump in chapter one made it through re-reads and editing sessions. Anyway, I hope I scare off fewer readers, and I appreciate even harsh feedback, despite the sting.

I think the chapters get a bit better as the story goes on. If they don't, please let me know. I don't promise to change things, but I never know what is going to sink in and prove useful.

The Ax of Edification

2008-04-23T05:13:00.002-04:00

I took a brutal Ax to the infodumps in Chapter One. I didn't add anything, but I took out a lot. I've changed the Blogger version of the story. I'll probably wait until later to change the Storiesonline version so that I can read the revisions again and make sure they are what I want to do before I bug the webmaster.

Chapter 14 Is Up

2008-04-22T21:45:00.003-04:00

Chapter 14 of Magician's Merger is up. It's fairly short, but it makes a logical chunk the way it is, so I decided to go ahead and make it a chapter.

Chapter 13 Is Up

2008-04-21T07:18:00.003-04:00

Chapter 13 of Magician's Merger is up.

This one uses a lot of rough language, but if my memory serves, it accurately reflects how kids that age, especially boys, talk to each other.

Chapter 12 Is Up

2008-04-19T11:19:00.002-04:00

Chapter 12 of Magician's Merger is up.

People who like the story should feel free to link to it and are encouraged to recommend it to their friends.

Chapter 11 Is Up

2008-04-18T12:55:00.000-04:00

Yes, the People of the Wolf are the Proto-Indo-Europeans.

Chapter 10 Is Up

2008-04-17T09:07:00.002-04:00

Chapter 10 of Magician's Merger has been posted. The catching of egregious mistakes is highly appreciated. Also, I changed the commentary rules so that anyone may comment.

Minor Fixes Chaper 8

2008-04-15T18:45:00.001-04:00

The reposting of Chapter 8 of Magician's Merger is to make some minor fixes. It doesn't change the story at all.

Currency Exchange Rate

2008-04-15T07:56:00.001-04:00

The mental exchange rate that I've been using as I write Magician's Merger is that one pound in The United Provinces of Novi Orbis is roughly worth ten current US dollars.

Calendar

2008-04-15T01:49:00.000-04:00

The calendar of Arthur's 1973 doesn't quite match the calendar of our 1973. I did that on purpose.

Mirroring Magician's Merger

2008-04-15T01:26:00.000-04:00

I am now mirroring Magician's Merger on Blogger.

Xenophon Hendrix

Great Heart-Rending Sobs

Blood Engines by T. A. Pratt

Reading Highlights of 2009

Jonathan Stange & Mr Norrell

Very Hard Choices by Spider Robinson

Recommended Reading: William Poundstone

Recommended Reading: Life With Father by Clarence Day

Recommended Reading: His Dark Materials

Lack of Progress Report

Chapter 10 Is Up

Bunny Shop Ads

Progress Report and Recommended Reading

What's Going On

Chapter 09 Is Up

Chapter 08 Is Up

Chapter 07 Is Up

Progress Note

Bec by BarBar

Pssst, Brits

Chapter 06 Is Up

Visualization, But Broader

Chapter 05 Is Up

Progress Report

Chapter 04 of Magician's Integration Is Up

It's for the Children

Blah

Chapter 3 of Magician's Integration is up.

Writing-Editing News

Magician's Merger, Chapter 3, Rewrite

Magician's Merger, Chapter 2, Rewrite.

The Horror, The Horror

Chapter 2 Is Up

Chapter 1 of Magician's Integration Is Up

Thinking Evil Thoughts

Gunnerkrigg Court

Progress Report

USA Civics Quiz

Good Essay

Two Things Worth Reading

Progress Report

Why Write?

The Secret Commonwealth

Progress Report One

Chapter 36 Is Up

Writing Guides

Chapter 35 Is Up

A Change in the Weather

Chapter 34 Is Up

Typeface?

Chapter 33 Is Up, Finally

Poop

On Why a New Chapter is Taking So Long

Chapter 32 Is Up

Chapter 31 Is Up

I Feel So Proud

Chapter 30 Is Up

Chapter 29 Is Up

Revisions

Mana vs. Manna

Chapter 28 Is Up

Chapter 27 Is Up

Scary Mary

Chapter 26 Is Up

Chapter 25 Is Up

Chapter 24 Is Up

Superstition

Chapter 23 Is Up

Three Minds

The Kids Appear Older Than They Are

Chapter 22 Is Up

Review Comment

Chapter 21 Is Up

Where is This All Going?

Gloria Fidelis

Chapter 20 Is Up

Dead End Streets

Chapter 19 Is Up

Promotion

Chapter 18 Is Up