Guest Post: “The Series Payoff” by Marie Brennan

April 22, 2016April 22, 2016 Civilian Reader Guest Post Fantasy, Marie Brennan, Memoirs of Lady Trent, Onyx Court, Series, Titan Books, Tor Books, Urban Fantasy, Writing

BrennanM-AuthorPic If I had to name one specific story mode I love the most, it would be the closed-arc series.

Other kinds of stories are great, too! A self-contained, single-volume story can pack a hell of a punch, and I’m as susceptible as the next reader to wanting the continuing adventures of my favorite characters, tackling a new puzzle or threat every week. But my absolute favorite is the kind of story that takes place in multiple installments, maybe with a semi-episodic structure, but with an over-arching plot that will wrap up in due course.

The advantages of this form are (in my opinion) legion. Comparing them against the standalone novel: a series has more room to work with, and as a result, can pull off effects that are very difficult to do in a confined space. You can show long-term character development, without short-changing the amount of time and effort required to make that kind of thing plausible. You can lay groundwork and then leave it alone for long enough that the reader forgets about it, until it comes back to punch them in the face. You can make use of recurring motifs, revisiting a particular bit of plot from different angles, so the reader gets a variety of perspectives on it rather than just the one. Continue reading →

New Books (March)

March 31, 2016August 23, 2018 Civilian Reader New Books Adrian Barnes, Aidan Harte, Ben H Winters, Brenda Cooper, Catherine Cerveny, Christopher Fowler, Corgi, Curtis C. Chen, Dan Vyleta, Daniel Abraham, David Wingrove, Deena Goldstone, Del Rey UK, Drew Magary, Farrar Straus & Giroux, Gail Z Martin, Giles Kristian, Glenda Larke, Jack Grimwood, James Lovegrove, Jason Arnopp, Jason LaPier, Jo Fletcher Books, John DeCure, John Wray, Jon Skovron, L.S. Hilton, Laura van Den Berg, Madeline Ashby, Malka Older, Melissa F. Olson, Minotaur, Neil Gaiman, Orbit, Orion, Pyr Books, Richard A. Knaak, Robert Kroese, Roger Hobbs, Sam Sykes, Spencer Kope, Stephanie Saulter, Stephen Aryan, Steve Cavanagh, Terry Brooks, Thomas Dunne Books, Titan Books, Tor.com, Trevor Hoyle, Voyager

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Featuring: Daniel Abraham, Jason Arnopp, Stephen Aryan, Madeline Ashby, Adrian Barnes, Terry Brooks, Steve Cavanagh, Catherine Cerveny, Curtis C. Chen, Jennifer Close, Brenda Cooper, John DeCure, Christopher Fowler, Neil Gaiman, Deena Goldstone, Jack Grimwood, Aidan Harte, Nathan Hill, L.S. Hilton, Roger Hobbs, Trevor Hoyle, Richard A. Knaak, Spencer Kope, Giles Kristian, Robert Kroese, Jason LaPier, Glenda Larke, James Lovegrove, Drew Magary, Gail Z. Martin, Malka Older, Melissa F. Olson, Stephanie Saulter, Jon Skovron, Sam Sykes, Laura van Den Berg, Dan Vyleta, David Wingrove, Ben H. Winters, John Wray

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Continue reading →

Guest Review: A NATURAL HISTORY OF DRAGONS by Marie Brennan (Tor/Titan)

March 26, 2016March 25, 2016 Civilian Reader Guest Post, Review A Natural History of Dragons, Fantasy, Marie Brennan, Memoirs of Lady Trent, Ryan Frye, Titan Books, Tor Books

The first Memoir of Lady Trent

You, dear reader, continue at your own risk. It is not for the faint of heart — no more so than the study of dragons itself. But such study offers rewards beyond compare: to stand in a dragon’s presence, even for the briefest of moments — even at the risk of one’s life — is a delight that, once experienced, can never be forgotten…

All the world, from Scirland to the farthest reaches of Eriga, know Isabella, Lady Trent, to be the world’s preeminent dragon naturalist. She is the remarkable woman who brought the study of dragons out of the misty shadows of myth and misunderstanding into the clear light of modern science. But before she became the illustrious figure we know today, there was a bookish young woman whose passion for learning, natural history, and, yes, dragons defied the stifling conventions of her day.

Here at last, in her own words, is the true story of a pioneering spirit who risked her reputation, her prospects, and her fragile flesh and bone to satisfy her scientific curiosity; of how she sought true love and happiness despite her lamentable eccentricities; and of her thrilling expedition to the perilous mountains of Vystrana, where she made the first of many historic discoveries that would change the world forever.

Reviewed by Ryan Frye

A Natural History of Dragons is set in a Victorian-era-esque, male-dominated world where women, particularly those like Isabella (of noble birth) are meant to host teas, plan dinners and keep their interaction with the natural world limited to gardening. Obviously, Isabella wants none of that life and instead yearns to be accepted into the scholarly life as a Natural Historian who studies dragons. As luck would have it, she winds up marrying possibly the one man in all of Scirland who is willing to help her achieve her goals. Through her husband’s connections, she finagles her way into an expedition that is set to study dragons in a far-off land. Upon arrival, they are attacked by one of the region’s dragons, (attacks of this sort are a rare occurrence), and from there, the expedition continuously veers away from its original purpose. Continue reading →

Guest Post: “From Funny Book to Fleshy Series: The Finn Fancy Evolution” by Randy Henderson

March 21, 2016March 18, 2016 Civilian Reader Guest Post Arcana Familia, Bigfootloose and Finn Fancy Free, Finn Fancy Necromancy, Humour, Randy Henderson, Titan Books, Tor Books, Urban Fantasy, Writing

HendersonR-AuthorPic Writing a fantasy series is a strange and daunting process. Over the course of transforming a single book into a series, I personally realized that rather than planning a whole series in advance, there were some basic things I could include that would allow a series to create itself.

First, sometimes writers plan ahead. Sometimes, we make s#!te up as we go along. Often we do some combination of the two. This applies to books, but also to entire series I’ve learned.

For Finn Fancy, I didn’t plan to write a series. I wrote some chapters for fun, which got turned into a finished book because an editor expressed interest. That book got purchased as the first in a series. Did I have a series? Not really. I had a book. And a few one sentence concepts I’d written out after finishing that book for potential sequels. Continue reading →

New Books (February)

March 1, 2016August 23, 2018 Civilian Reader New Books Adrian Tchaikovsky, AJ Hartley, Alex Stewart, Allen Steele, Andy Remic, Back Bay Books, Baen, Black Library, Brian McClellan, Bryony Pearce, Christopher Charles, Claire North, Corgi, Dan Cluchey, David Annandale, David Baldacci, David Fisher, David Levien, Don DeLillo, Elizabeth Bonesteel, Faber, Gollancz, Grand Central Publishing, Hadley Freeman, Hodder, Jack Sutherland, Jessica Chiarella, Jo Baker, Jo Spurrier, Joe R Lansdale, John Connolly, John Lansdale, K.J. Parker, Katie Heaney, Knopf, Lauren Groff, Lee Kelly, Marc Turner, Mark Andrew Ferguson, Max Allan Collins, Mickey Spillane, Mishell Baker, Mitchell Hogan, Molly Prentiss, Mulholland Books, Noah Hawley, Orbit, Patrick Hemstreet, Penguin, Pierce Brown, Plume, Rachel Dunne, Riverhead Books, SB Divya, Scout Press, Scribner, Shane Kuhn, Simon Kurt Unsworth, Stripes Books, Stuart Stevens, Subterranean Press, Teddy Wayne, Thomas Dunne Books, Tim Lebbon, Titan Books, Tor Books, Tor Teen, Tor UK, Tor.com, Touchstone, Transworld, Victor Pelevin, Voyager, William Shatner, Willow Palecek

Featuring: David Annandale, Jo Baker, Mishell Baker, David Baldacci, Elizabeth Bonesteel, Pierce Brown, Christopher Charles, Jessica Chiarella, Dan Cluchey, Max Allan Collins, John Connolly, Don DeLillo, S.B. Divya, Rachel Dunne, Mark Andrew Ferguson, Hadley Freeman, S.L. Grey, Lauren Groff, A.J. Hartley, Noah Hawley, Katie Heaney, Patrick Hemstreet, Mitchell Hogan, Lee Kelly, Shane Kuhn, Joe R. Lansdale, John Lansdale, Tim Lebbon, David Levien, Brian McClellan, Claire North, Willow Palecek, K.J. Parker, Bryony Pearce, Victor Pelevin, Molly Prentiss, Andy Remic, William Shatner, Mickey Spillane, Jo Spurrier, Allen Steele, Stuart Stevens, Alex Stewart, Jack Sutherland, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Marc Turner, Simon Kurt Unsworth, Teddy Wayne

* Continue reading →

Upcoming: DUSKFALL by Christopher Husberg (Titan)

February 23, 2016February 24, 2016 Civilian Reader Covers, Upcoming Chaos Queen Quintet, Christopher Husberg, Duskfall, Fantasy, Most Anticipated 2016, Titan Books

HusbergC-CQ1-DuskfallUK Titan Books unveiled this cover only a couple hours ago, and it’s quite nice. Duskfall is the first novel in Christopher Husberg’s Chaos Queen Quintet series (nice alliteration). I quite like the simplicity of the cover, with nary a Hooded Man in sight… Here’s what it’s about:

Stuck with arrows and close to death, a man is pulled from the icy waters of the Gulf of Nahl. As he is nursed back to health by a local fisherman, two things become very clear: he has no idea who he is, and he can kill a man with terrifying ease.

The fisherman is a tiellan, a race which has long been oppressed and grown wary of humans. His daughter, Winter, is a seemingly quiet young woman, but behind her placid mask she has her demons. She is addicted to frostfire — a substance that both threatens to destroy her and simultaneously gives her phenomenal power.

A young priestess, Cinzia, hears the troubling news of an uprising in her native city of Navone. Absconding from the cloistered life that she has kept for the last seven years, she knows she must make the long journey home. The flames of rebellion threatening her church and all that she believes in are bad enough, but far worse is the knowledge that the heretic who sparked the fire is her own sister.

These three characters may have set out on different paths, but fate will bring them together on one thrilling and perilous adventure.

I think this sounds quite interesting. Dusk fall is due to be published by Titan Books in the UK and US, in June 2016.

Review: ALL THE BIRDS IN THE SKY by Charlie Jane Anders (Titan/Tor)

February 16, 2016February 14, 2016 Civilian Reader Review All the Birds in the Sky, Charlie Jane Anders, End of the World, Fantasy, Magic, Most Anticipated 2016, Sci-Fi, Titan Books, Tor Books

One of the most anticipated novels of the year… fizzles

Patricia is a witch who can communicate with birds. Laurence is a mad scientist and inventor of the two-second time machine. As teenagers they gravitate towards one another, sharing in the horrors of growing up weird.

When they later reconnect as adults, Laurence is an engineering genius living in near-future San Francisco, trying to stop the planet failing apart through technological intervention. Meanwhile, Patricia is a graduate of Eltisley Maze, the hidden academy for the magically gifted, and works with her fellow magicians to secretly repair the earth’s ever growing ailments.

As they each take sides in a cataclysmic war between science and magic, All the Birds in the Sky sees Laurence and Patricia try to make sense of life, sex and adulthood on the brink of the apocalypse.

This novel is perhaps one of the most anticipated of the year — with glowing reviews proliferating around the internet, and praise coming in from such luminaries as Michael Chabon, expectations have been high pretty much since it was announced. Anders writes quite beautifully, at times, and there’s little doubt that she is an author of talent. I know a lot of people who have loved this novel. Unfortunately, however, All the Birds in the Sky failed to ever take off for me. Continue reading →

Guest Post: “How to Build a Dragon” by Marc Turner

February 11, 2016February 11, 2016 Civilian Reader Guest Post Chronicles of the Exile, Dragon Hunters, Dragons, Fantasy, Marc Turner, Titan Books, Tor Books, When the Heavens Fall

If I asked you to picture a dragon in your mind, what would it look like? It would probably have wings and breathe fire. It might also have scales and a long barbed tail. As for the rest of its body, though, it would just look… well, dragon-y, right?

If a winged and armoured reptile is the basic template for a dragon, its other physical characteristics can vary hugely. When I was younger I did some roleplaying, and my game-world of choice was that of the Dragonlance novels. In those books, you find a real menagerie of dragons. Different breeds come in different colours, and breathe out different things. So, you get the quintessential red fire-breathing dragon, but you also get white frost-breathing dragons and blue lightning-breathing dragons. Those different breeds vary in size and power, and live in different habitats. Continue reading →

New Books (Jan)

January 15, 2016August 23, 2018 Civilian Reader New Books A.F.E. Smith, Adam O’Fallon Price, Algonquin, Anthony O’Neill, Black Library, Bret Witter, Camille Perri, Carol Goodman, China Miéville, Christopher Farnsworth, Christopher Sorrentino, Doubleday, Gav Thorpe, Glen Erik Hamilton, Glen Weldon, Gollancz, Grove Atlantic, Heidi Pitlor, Jill Lepore, Joanne Harris, Jonathan Wood, Kristopher Jansma, Lavie Tidhar, Lawrence M Schoen, Lindsey Davis, Liz de Jager, Louisa Hall, Matt Gallagher, Matthew Quirk, Megan Miranda, Mike Lawson, Minotaur Books, Mulholland Books, Open Road Media, Patrick Lee, Richard Kadrey, Richard Russo, Rob Boffard, Sean McFate, Simon & Schuster, Simon Morden, St Martin's Press, Tachyon Publications, Terry Brooks, Thomas Christopher Greene, Tim Akers, Tim Lebbon, Titan Books, Tor Books, Transworld, Viking, Voyager, William Morrow

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A post-Christmas and New Year smorgasbord of awesome has come flooding in, these past couple of weeks. On top of that, there have been some I’ve bought myself (I got a lot of wonderful book vouchers and Amazon credit, this year…).

Featuring: Tim Akers, Robert Jackson Bennett, Rob Boffard, Terry Brooks, Lindsey Davis, Liz de Jager, Christopher Farnsworth, Matt Gallagher, Carol Goodman, Thomas Christopher Greene, Louisa Hall, Glen Erik Hamilton, Joanne Harris, Kristopher Jansma, Richard Kadrey, Mike Lawson, Tim Lebbon, Patrick Lee, Jill Lepore, Sean McFate & Bret Witter, China Miéville, Megan Miranda, Simon Morden, Anthony O’Neill, Adam O’Fallon Price, Camille Perri, Heidi Pitlor, Matthew Quirk, Richard Russo, Lawrence M. Schoen, A.F.E. Smith, Christopher Sorrentino, Gav Thorpe, Lavie Tidhar, Glen Weldon, Jonathan Wood Continue reading →

Excerpt: ECKO ENDGAME by Danie Ware (Titan)

November 13, 2015November 12, 2015 Civilian Reader Excerpt Danie Ware, Dystopia, Ecko Burning, Ecko Endgame, Ecko Rising, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Titan Books

WareD-3-EckoEndgame Today, we have an excerpt from Danie Ware‘s third novel, Ecko Endgame. Published by Titan Books, it’s the third volume in the author’s Ecko trilogy, a critically acclaimed blend of multiple genres. Here’s the synopsis…

Winter has come to the Varchinde – and with it, the fatal spread of the blight. The grass is dead, and the plains’ cities are falling to the loss of crops and trade.

Now, the Kas take their chance to rise from Rammouthe. Overmatched, betrayed and abandoned by his own forces, Rhan takes the ultimate gamble – he will abandon Fhaveon to lure the Kas into a final confrontation.

But the world’s memory is returning. And, as the battle rages round him, Ecko begins to realise that everything they have done has been for a purpose. If they can fit the pieces together, then they might just win the war.

Yet, even if they do defeat the Kas, the blight is still there. And to save both the Varchinde and himself, Ecko must face the worst fear of all – the one that has come from his own world.

Read on for the first chapter… Continue reading →