Books: The Crown Tower by Michael J. Sullivan (2013)

The arrival of Michael J. Sullivan to the top of my reading list is not that strange, because it happens all the time. But, until last week, I never considered reading one of his fantasy novels. But I was in B&N recently and saw the latest volume of his Riyria Chronicles. I assumed it was the last book, so I mentally ticked off a list I have on books that I may want to read in my mind. But before I put the book back, I saw the introduction by the author which explained that The Crown Tower was the third book in his prequel series and that there was three other volumes that take place 12 years before this book called The Riya Revelations. And while he encourages readers to start in publishing order versus chronological order, he also noted if someone wanted to start with the prequel series, it was designed to be enjoyed that way. The only thing, it seems, he has no idea how long the prequel series will go on, unlike the original which was just three long volumes, which is why he prefer you to read in publishing order.

I’m not sure I like this type of publishing. Of course, we are linear people and we watch TV, movies and we read books in a linear fashion. But series books, and on rare occasions, TV and movies (though this is changing) can change that. But I still don’t seem to like this, if only because prequels have a tendency to be even more difficult than sequels. It’s like origin stories of comic book superheroes in some ways, because a lot of fans of that genre find origin stories to be the dullest aspect of, say, Spider-Man. 

Off on my tangent: 

Over the decades I’ve been reading, a few authors have created series of books that are set in the same universe, but separated by the ages. Katherine Kurtz comes to mind, as she’s been writing multiple trilogies (5 as of 2014, with one standalone novel) that are, basically, historical fantasy novels set in some alternate English universe of the, 10^th, 11^th and 12^th Century. Each trilogy is set in a different time, but along the same timeline, which kicked off in the 1970s with the trilogy, The Chronicles of the Deryni, which is set in 1120/21, followed by The Legends of Camber of Culdi trilogy, which is set between 903 and 918. Three other trilogies follow, each alternating in the timeline Kurtz has created. Most people have read her books in publishing order, but I’ve read some have also tried to read them in chronological order. But I’ve also read that reading them in that order could reveal spoilers, so (as they’ll always do) the writer wants you to read them in published order. 

Another author who has done this is L.E. Modesitt and his current 18 volume series, The Saga of Recluce.  Those novels were not published in chronological order, because the first book, 1991’s The Magic of Recluce, is actually volume 17 of the current 18 books. And yes, the author has stated that publication order is the appropriate reading order.

Anyways, this brings me back to Sullivan’s Riyria novels. Doing some research on him, and reading his author notes, we find out he wrote six books in the series before they were even published. And after a long adventure of self-publishing and other exploits, the novels finally found a home at Orbit (who has been around in various forms and publishers since 1974). It appears that Sullivan decided to start his series with the (possibly) the final volumes first, before embarking on what could turn out to be numerous prequel tales. It’s an unusual to say the least, but interesting way to publish books.

But I decided –at first- to read the first prequel book, The Crown Tower. This is the first adventures of Hadrian Blackwater and Royce Melborn, two men who hate each other from the first time they meet. We learn that Arcadius Vintarus Latimer, Professor of lore at Sheridan University, has recruited the two for a daring mission. Blackwater is a warrior with nothing to fight for and Melborn is a thieving assassin with nothing to lose. Together they must steal a treasure that no one can reach. The Crown Tower is the impregnable remains of the grandest fortress ever built and home to the realm’s most valuable possessions. But it isn’t gold or jewels the old wizard is after, and so this prize can only be obtained by the combined talents of two remarkable men. Now if Arcadius can just keep Hadrian and Royce from killing each other, they just might succeed.

I did enjoy the book, and it’s a fast read. Sullivan keeps the premise light, the World Building to a minimum, and insults fast and loose. In many ways, it read like a potential screenplay for a TV series, as it kept the settings in a very much everyday world, which is okay. I mean is it a familiar formula, with familiar forests and so forth, so no need to be all George R. R. Martin. But sometimes this works, especially if the writer has a good grasp of their main characters, which Sullivan clearly does. But overall, this read like a western more than a fantasy. There is a subplot, one that goes on way too long, that deals with a prostitute with a heart of gold –and apparently, some sort of supernatural power- who grows weary of being abused and with gold given to her by her dying mother, decides to setup a brothel right across the street from the place she used to “work” in. Again, its straightforward trope hijacked from every TV, motion picture, and Louis L’Amour western paperback. I grew weary of it after a while, and desired it to go away.

Still, since these are prequels, I’m guessing Gwen is an important character and this is her back story that probably does not get fully explained in the first series (?)

So, instead of reading the second book in this series (though I do have it coming through the library eventually), I did score a copy of Theft of Swords, the first book in the original first trilogy. So I’m thinking I may just go back in forth. But we’ll see.

Deep Space Nine

Star Trek: Deep Space certainly had its share of issues during it early years, with its first two seasons being very solid, but not very focused. Though, to be honest, that’s sort of to be expected from a new series, even one with a long pedigree as Star Trek. And much like its sister show, Star Trek: The Next Generation, those first few months of production can be a trying time, as cast and crew settle into a weekly production shoot. Still, I think Deep Space Nine was a quantum leap from where TNG was during its shaky first two years. I will admit, though, that by the time DS9 roared into life, the makers of TNG knew where the pitfalls where and tried their hardest to alleviate them on DS9, because by season three, the show would find its true north and begin setting the stage for what would become the first serialized Star Trek show.

For the most part, since Gene Roddenberry died in 1991, Rick Berman and the late Michael Piller tried never to waver from the creators ideals of the 23rd and 24th Century. What had begun in TOS was continued in TNG, with Starfleet officers who acted and seemed to be, fundamentally, Boy Scouts. These were characters that were always to be trustworthy, always loyal, friendly, obedient and brave (and straight). And while this worked in the 1960s and worked on TNG to a point (there was much criticism leveled at the spin-off due to fact that conflict between fellow officers was non existence, and many believed this harmed the show thematically), with DS9 those ideals would need to change if the show was going to stand on its own.

Almost from the start, this spin-off was going to way different from TNG. DS9 introduced a divergence that I thought was very much welcomed. The first ambitious move was to have Commander Sisko’s first officer be a Bajoran, the freedom fighter Major Kira, whom after years of fighting in the trenches of the Cardassian conflict, now she had to deal with Starfleet’s sometimes fascist ideas and the sometimes vague US foreign policy notion that the Bajoran people could not rebuild by themselves. Their disagreements on how things should be done were a highlight of the relationship between them, and something that was always there during the shows seven year run. But to me, that was all a bit of smoke and mirror, because the second move was going to go where none had yet gone, as the show was going to bring in the concept of religion into a franchise that deliberately steered clear of open theological belief.

During its first two seasons, the show would slowly introduce the tension between a tolerant, secular, and probably, maybe, atheistic Federation and the deeply spiritual Bajorans. Eventually, Bajor and its politics and philosophies, would become the series bread and butter, woven like a fine tapestry through the shows long run. This would also have a major effect on Sisko -whom was thought as some savior by the Bajoran people- putting him on a path that he was not comfortable with at first (neither was the brass at Starfleet), but would eventually embrace in later seasons. 

As mentioned, season three would see the show become more focused, with continued arc building on Bajor, Cardassia, and what was becoming another staple of the show, a large corral of recurring characters. The show also began laying the foundation for the Dominion conflict during season three, something that would take a back seat, however, during season four to deal with a new Klingon threat, but would go on to virtually dominate the show during seasons five, six, and seven when, for all intents and purposes, DS9 became a serialized show about war –another story point the Star Trek tired its hardest to stay away from. 

The show remains a personal favorite, mostly because it tried to be ambitious when Star Trek needed to be ambitious. And while it never became the ratings hit TNG managed, and would always take a backseat to Voyager’s (which came two years after DS9 launched) return to the naval romance of the TOS, it became the most creative, most emotional, and thus most deeply satisfying of the spin-offs.

Books: A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab (2016)

“It has been four months since the mysterious obsidian stone fell into Kell's possession. Four months since his path crossed with Delilah Bard. Four months since Prince Rhy was wounded, and since the nefarious Dane twins of White London fell, and four months since the stone was cast with Holland's dying body through the rift – back into Black London. Now, restless after having given up his smuggling habit, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila, who disappeared from the docks as she always meant to do. As Red London finalizes preparations for the Element Games – an extravagant international competition of magic meant to entertain and keep healthy the ties between neighboring countries – a certain pirate ship draws closer, carrying old friends back into port. And while Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrills of the Games, another London is coming back to life. After all, a shadow that was gone in the night will reappear in the morning. But the balance of magic is ever perilous, and for one city to flourish, another London must fall.”

There was a point in the narrative of this book that I realized nothing was actually happening. Unlike A Darker Shade of Magic, this second volume screams “this is the middle book in a trilogy, so everything that does happen is essentially set-up for a third book.” And that’s bad for any longtime reader of fantasy novels, because then you start noticing where author V. E. Schwab (I’ll talk about this later) is lifting other ideas from better books. The first one had a sort of magical stone from Black London, which played out like another version of the One Ring. In A Gathering of Shadows, we get variations on the magic used in the animated TV series Avatar: The Last Airbender, with added doses of the Force when Delilah Bard starts training under the tutelage of pirate (with a secret) Emery Alucard. 

I understand a lot of this is necessary to move the plot forward, but it also became clear that Schwab was using this as a foreshadowing for a third volume. Of course, some of this training comes in handy during the only large set piece of the book, the Element Games, but that only takes up the last 150 or so pages of this 509 page book. Everything up to this just seems like filler, including, oddly, the rise of Holland, the other Antari who was under the thrall of the now dead Dane twins. In Black London, the master magician does not encounter death, but source (I guess) of evil that destroyed this world. And like any true devil, it offers Holland a choice –die or let It have a life outside this dead realm. And, of course, Holland chooses to return to White London with a monkey on his back. 

The problem here is that we only get sporadic glimpses into this world, because again, you sense this is all set-ups for the next volume. 

Of the characters, Delilah remains the better drawn. She still is the snarky fun thief I liked about in the first book. Schwab likes her a lot as well, so we get a more three-dimensional individual, more growth from her. Alucard is close to her match, a fancy pirate with reputation who (at times) borders on becoming Obi Wan Kenobi. Still, it’s nice to see a bisexual character in fantasy series. Rhy is another character that Schwab clearly enjoys writing, and I always looked forward to when he was on the page (and thanks to a picture Schawb posted on her Twitter page, I now see that guy every time Rhy is presented). But that leaves the problematic Kell, an individual that continues to never learn from his mistakes. Plus he seems to have a bigger ego than the main villain, which would be cool if the author eventually sets him up as the Big Bad, but I clearly don’t see that happening. Yes, Kell is charming, he clearly loves his brother, Delilah, and even his adopted parents, but he’s also petulant, quick to think his ideas, his choices, are always better than anyone else’s, and that becomes boring after a while.

So, I liked it but it was slow, with a tedious pacing that made me take longer to finish book than others. It got interesting towards the end –like the last 200 pages- and that’s a huge problem for a writer known for her Young Adult titles than this fantasy series written for adults. If you want to capture an audience beyond teenage females who devoured the Hunger Games books, you need to create a world that adults want to read about. Plus if you’re going to take 509 pages to your story, don’t make the first three hundred an effort to get through.

Which brings me to the writers name; she wrote her Young Adult titles under her real name of Victoria Schwab, but for Vicious (her debut in “adult” fiction), she published under V.E. Schwab, which she is continuing here. I’m curious at this publishing strategy. Is she pulling a D.C. Fontana here? Is her publisher afraid that the only way to attract male readers (and break into the adult male-dominated fantasy field) is publish a book using her initials instead of her full name? Yes, J.K. Rowling used a pseudonym when she started writing adult crime fiction, but I think that was mostly due to her well known life as the writer of the Harry Potter novels. And while crime fiction –and the sort of hardcore stuff Rowling wanted to write- can be considered another male-dominated genre, had she published under her own name instead of Robert Galbraith, she still would’ve been successful. Because they’re well written, interesting books. 

Of course, maybe this is the problem in publishing. I sense there is an assumption that if a writer does not stick to one genre, they’re forced to either continue doing what they’re known for or must publish books under pen names. Or use initials instead of your full name. 

The good part is I have about another 10 months before volume three comes out, so maybe time and tide will allow me to forget the problems with this book and hope that the concluding tale matches the excitement and fun of the first book.

Books: The Pirates of Perilous By John DeChancie (2015)

Between 1988 and 1994, John DeChancie put out 8 novels in his Castle Perilous series, which revolves around Castle Perilous, whose lord is Incarnadine, a sorcerer. Within the castle lay 144,000 doors (or "aspects") which lead to other parallel universes. Now some twenty years later, the author returns with the ninth book in the franchise, The Pirates of Perilous. The novel, more or less, reintroduces the characters after this long hiatus and (probably) serves as a good prequel to the previous eight books. 

While it’s been equally that long since I finished the series (and have never re-read them), I was impressed with the way DeChancie balanced out catching us up on what has been happening with our old friends, and telling an adventure story that borrows many elements from real history, Hollywood and pop culture. 

It's been years since Gene Ferraro has had a real adventure. Bored and unable to find a dimension that can satisfy his sudden desire to be a pirate (shades of Pirates of the Caribbean are threaded throughout the book, though its more real history than the Disney version [plus a little of Tim Powers, but I may be just ever hopeful]) he asks Shelia to use her magical skills to create (I guess) a pocket universe by using a Living Picture spell so Gene can wander into a image of a pirate ship. As always, things go awry, trapping Gene and Linda in a world of pirates, zombies, vampires and slavery. Meanwhile, the Castle, always the source of the problems with everyone’s magic, decides to use Cleve Dalton (who has avoided gaining any powers from the Castle) in an attempt to undo 5,000 years of entrapment.  Lord Incarnadine, making the connection between Dalton’s problems and the two trapped in a picture, decides that he needs to fix the Castle once and for all, but to do so will violate not just the Castle’s universe, the entire Multiverse. 

While he sticks to the short chapters like the previous books, he expands on the characters, giving them a bit more to do, and also give us a deeper look into their minds and motivations; he also serves up a few more subplots than those old Ace Paperback versions did. 

Yes, there are a lot of references to past adventures and absent characters, which may frustrate new readers if they had not read the previous books, but like I said, it’s been 20 years since I read these books, so you could say I’m new to the franchise again. So if someone was to pick up this book (and the previous eight are out of print, but they can be found on occasion at used bookstores or through Amazon or Powell’s websites and I think they're all available for downloading on an e-reader) it can still be read as a prelude to the others. 

While the series was sold as humorous fantasy novels (which were the rage back in the day), the Castle Perilous books are more than one genre; with 144,000 aspects this series can be more than one genre (as it proved in its previous life). DeChanice still fills the books with a lot of laughs, but it’s not hard core fantasy either. It’s just fresh, light, and always fun.

While the author, in his forward, gives no real reason of why he returned to the series after such a long hiatus, he does join Stephen R. Donaldson (and soon Tad Williams) as a writer revisiting an interesting time in history when fantasy novels were more fun and less savage.

Books: Will Grayson, Will Grayson By John Green & David Levithan (2010)

“It's not that far from Evanston to Naperville, but Chicago suburbanites Will Grayson and Will Grayson might as well live on different planets. When fate delivers them both to the same surprising crossroads, the Will Graysons find their lives overlapping and hurtling in new and unexpected directions. With a push from friends new and old - including the massive, and massively fabulous, Tiny Cooper, offensive lineman and musical theater auteurs extraordinaire - Will and Will begin building toward respective romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history's most awesome high school musical.”

It’s strange reading a book like Will Grayson, Will Grayson. As a very old person, it’s hard for me to wrap my mind around how much has changed from the time I went to high school from 1977-81 and today’s teens trudging through the endless days of classes with a wide variety of people. I hated my schooling years, especially those 4 years of high school, and reading about the lives of the character’s in this book was one part “I wish it was that way when I went to school” and roll my eyes knowing that both authors are giving us a hyper-reality version of life, where someone as large and in charge as Tiny Cooper could be a popular football player and a musical theater lover who has decided that his life needs to revealed in a school play.

In some ways, this book reminded me of Glee, which while being a fairly realistic portrait of high school life (well, in its first season only), it had a weird fantasy part where everyone kind of, well sort of, respected each other. Will Grayson, Will Grayson sort of lets that fantasy part be the main thrust of the novel. Which works for me. 

The book is told in alternating chapters, with John Green handling the odd numbered ones and David Levithan taking on the even ones. Straight Will Grayson writes with proper grammar and uses capital letters and feels sort of left out when his best friend Tiny is off with another short-term boyfriend or preparing for this play. The other Will Grayson id gay and writes all in lower letters and is on a few drugs to control his depression. His only real friend, besides Maura (who seems totally in love with him), is a guy named Isaac he’s been talking to on IM. When they finally plan to meet –in of all places, a porn shop in downtown Chicago- suburban Will gets a shock of his life, but he also meets Chicago Will and Tiny Cooper.

Again, while the odds of meeting someone with your name is fairly good, the whole rest of the book relies on much coincidence and convenience. This is where the hyper-reality version takes over. Also, I never got attached to gay Will Grayson, even though I guess his depression about what ever split his parents up seems very realistic. I also think the book sort of glosses over the whole catfishing incident, even though someone pays for what they did. But I felt it was a bit mishandled, becoming more of a illogical plot device; it wasn’t treated seriously. Then there is Jane, a smart, very realistic character portrayed not as someone who's obsessed with looks or cloths, but one whom brings balance to those around her.  

There is an incredible amount of foul language in the book, and while this probably plays true to the characters and real life, I was sort, I don’t know, shocked that kids talk like this? But I suppose I swear a lot, but I don’t think I swore that much when I was these characters ages. 

Gawd, I’m old.