Empire of the East

For my last two readings, I entered Fred Saberhagen’s Empire of the East. I tore through The Black Mountains and continued on with Changeling Earth. (I had read the first novel, The Broken Lands a year or two back.)

I am not entirely clear on the history of this work. Like Moorcock’s Elric stories, Saberhagen had Empire of the East repackaged and edited a few different times (and some of his Berserker stories apparently fall into that camp, as well.)

The third novel, originally entitled Changeling Earth (the DAW edition I read) was re-titled to Ardneh’s World when Baen took it over. I don’t know if there were any changes

After that, Baen yet again repackaged the entire trilogy into an edited omnibus, Empire of the East.

In my web travels, I have seen Ardneh’s Sword which I believe is a later fourth novel, but could be yet another rework, I don’t know.

Anyway…

I enjoyed the books. The trilogy is a bit different to me, as it uses a post-Apocalyptic setting where both magic and science/technology operate. I.e.: unlike most science fantasy pieces where super-science is the equivalent of magic, here they are two separate entities. For the most part Saberhagen makes it work if you just allow yourself to go along for the ride.

I have only recently started reading Saberhagen and I’m really enjoying his work. There are touches of Bradbury without the purple prose. He has a natural storytelling ability that flows through the tales. I miss these types of fantasy where you can visit well-crafted worlds and characters and yet do it without slugging through a thousand page novel.

There are some nice descriptions of demons and conjuring, an interesting reveal in the last book (as to how the magic came to exist with the technology) and just enough lost technology to keep a reader interested.

I recommend them. They are quick reads, but have nice depth. Choose an edition to your liking and budget ;)

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On the writing front, things are going well, if not quickly. I am about 1000 words away (a scene or two) from finishing my current short story. It will definitely need a polish draft after this – I’m really shaking the rust off. And now I have the lump of raw clay in hand to sculpt. I don’t know how many details can be revealed this early, but the story is for a specific upcoming anthology in which I was invited to participate. It was just the sort of real (non-self-made) goal I needed for a kick in the pants to get back on the writing wagon.

It feels good! :) (So good, in fact, I want to get this one finished and start on another one for a possible second anthology!)

Furlough on Mars

I spent last week on unpaid furlough. I wasn't crazy about lack of pay, but I sure enjoyed the time off with my wife and daughter. We went to a local farm & wildlife sanctuary, had a cookout and other fun things. A few home projects were in the mix, too. (Stained some woodwork in our living room, little bit of garage cleanup, fixed a sprinkler head.) The weather was great for the entire week.

I did not read or write nearly as much as I hoped - but I did read. And yes - I wrote!

I am now 2000 words into a story. I'm back on the wagon and shaking off the rust! I'm sure it will need good editing when the rough draft is done, but at least I am writing and have been getting my a.i.c. time. (ass-in-chair [in front of computer])

For reading, I finished Otis Adelbert Kline's The Swordsman of Mars.



It was good, solid sword-n-planet. It hits all the s-&-p notes; body transference, swordplay, a princess & a savage girl, baridium mines & quirky inventions and scary, large creatures that have dog-like loyalty to their heroic masters. Technically I found it more appealing than E R Burroughs Mars tales. But I'll admit ERB certainly populated his setting with more imaginative creatures.

Definitely worth reading if you like sword-n-planet. Paizo has also published the sequel, The Outlaws of Mars, which I have already purchased and will be reading in future.


That's all for now, (few) loyal readers!

Burn Notice: The Fix

Last week I finished reading, Burn Notice: The Fix by Tod Goldberg. Simply put – it’s the best tie-in I’ve read. Granted, I haven’t read tons of tie-ins, but I’ve read more than a handful of Doctor Who books and a few Star Trek books.

The Fix reads just like an episode of the show. Sometimes tie-ins try to go further or tangential to shows, while some provide a story as close to the t.v. experience. I guess there is room for all kinds, but I liked that this novel felt so much like viewing an episode.

The story takes place after the end of Season 1, and the cover dovetails nicely with the DVD cover for Season 1.


They have done the same with Season 2 and the latest novel, The End Game.


I wish I had held off and saved the book for reading between seasons. Season 3 is airing now. I received The End Game in the mail yesterday via Amazon, and I look forward to reading it between seasons as a nice tie-me-over.

I’m glad also that there are only two novels and no one is trying to churn out a monthly series (yet.) It makes for a nice treat that I can keep up with.

I don’t know if it’s worth reading if you’re unfamiliar with the series, but if you are a fan and not a total t.v. junkie (in other words, you read) then I highly recommend giving The Fix a read.

Northwest of Earth by C. L. Moore

Northwest of Earth is a collection of the tales concerning the space-ways faring rogue, Northwest Smith. Descriptively, one's first impression is that Smith is the prototype for Han Solo. Ray-gun at the hip, leather outfit and scarred face, Smith is an outlaw of the solar system. These stories, written during the Weird Tales heyday of the 1930s, feature the typical solar system of a dry Mars and jungle Venus, but both quite habitable and populated by various races.

While Smith is pure space opera character, though, these stories are not. These stories read far more like Clark Ashton Smith's weird stories. The planets are full of ancient mysteries, lost races, strange civilizations. Smith constantly encounters cosmic horror style antagonists, not aliens. The only time the ray-guns blaze are when dispatching an ancient monster. No shoot-outs here, nor any spaceship dogfights. The stories have far more atmosphere than action.

So, as a different, scifi take on atmospheric weird tales, the Northwest Smith stories are worth a read.

But, as a pure adventure space opera read, Northwest of Earth are not the stories you are looking for.

On a side note; this collection comes from Paizo's Planet Stories line. They have put many old tales into print with more to come. Check them out if you haven't!

The Kobayashi Maru

After viewing the new Star Trek movie, my wife declared "That's not how the Kobayashi Maru test went!"

Of course, it didn't - the altered timeline took care of that.

The KM test was introduced in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. It is a test of character for budding Starfleet officers, where defeat and death are the only option. We learn only that Cadet Kirk "reprogrammed the simulation so it was possible to win". Those are the only details ever offered.

I do not know if the novels are as canon to the Trek universe as the Star Wars novels are to Lucas' universe. But, some are fun "what-ifs" that fill-in holes. I've read some good Trek novels, and some that weren't much better than low-tier fan fiction.

This novel informs us of what really happened during that test. My wife had the book and I decided to read it.

The premise is simple. Kirk, McCoy, Scott, Sulu and Chekov are stranded in a shuttle accident and pass the time revealing how each, in turn, dealt with the infamous test.

Without giving away spoilers, I will say that this book was good, not great. It had some fun moments and some moments that were too "touchy-feely" for Trek.

Pros

Cadet Checkov's solution to the K.M. scenario

Cadet Sulu's introduction to Federation and galactic politics.

Cadet Sulu's solution to the K.M. scenario

Cadet Scott's solution to the K.M. scenario

Cons

Cadet Kirk's solution to the K.M. scenario (just didn't believe it)

Kirk being more fatherly than commanding

Cadet Checkov's follow-on "test" (more like an episode of Survivor than an officer training exercise)

Author telegraphic justification. McCoy literally states, "That's so in character!" after Kirk reveals how he beat the K.M. scenario. Sulu states that his solution is neither funny nor clever before he even begins his flashback.


In fact, Sulu's story is poignant as it tangents off the relationship between Sulu & his great-grandfather and his great-grandfather's death. It's not a bad B-line, but it's more of an downer than an upper.

It's a quick read, not a bad way to pass some time for a Trekker if you find it at a used book shop.

An Empire Unacquainted With Defeat

Or, perhaps, A Blog Unacquainted With Updates, eh?

Thanks you faithful few who still check back here.

I haven't been writing and because I wanted to keep this blog somewhat focused on writing, I haven't been blathering here. (blathering a bit on Facebook, who knows why)



Reading has been slow, too, but I finally finished Glen Cook's Lord of the Silent Kingdom. I'm not very objective about Cook, I'm a fan boy. I enjoyed this novel but the politics of church(es) and state(s) make this a somewhat complicated world to explore. Cook says it's no different from real world history, and I'd agree. A little streamlining might help, though. The novel just ended, clearly waiting on the next novel for some resolution. But, I mostly enjoyed it, went along for the ride, and there were some surprises along the way. I'll be reading the next novel in the series.

Meantime, I am more excited about a collection of Cook's earlier stories concerning the Dread Empire (a different series, altogether.) The novels were collected in omnibuses by Night Shade Books and now the short stories have been collected and are finally being released. I can't wait to get this book, An Empire Unacquainted With Defeat, on my shelf. I've only ever found one short by Cook, who mostly writes novels.



I have moved onto a Mack Bolan novel, Interception, chock full of violence and intrigue, ghost-written by a friend, Nathan Meyer (his name is buried in the front piece.)

Writing-wise, I am still slowly outlining a couple of things in my head, gathering some research notes, and hope to generate some real, meaty outlines (if nothing else) over the summer.

There, that should be enough links to keep you busy

Reading meme

Got this from Blog of the Beast.

I know I like Robert E. Howard but I'm still surprised how often he comes up in my answers. I do read more than REH, really I do.

1) What author do you own the most books by? Glen Cook. It could be Robert E. Howard if you count various collections but between The Black Company, The Dread Empire and the Garret P.I. series, I have to think I have more Cook. David Drake count is up there, too.

2) What book do you own the most copies of? I don’t really keep multiple copies of anything. Robert E. Howard takes this by default – I have some duplicate collections between the Baen series and the Del Rey series though the contents aren’t an exact match.

3) Did it bother you that both these questions ended with a preposition? No.

4) What fictional character are you secretly in love with? None that I am aware of. A few I might lust for (Red Sonja.)

5) What book have you read the most times in your life? I’ve read quite a few twice but I don’t think I’ve read any book more than that. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, God Knows by Joseph Heller, It by Stephen King - I recall reading twice. Lately, I’ve been answering this question a lot (and “favorites”) and it makes me want to do a bunch of re-reading – but my “to-be-read” pile is already too large.

6) What was your favorite book when you were 10 years old? I don’t recall.

7) What is the worst book you've read in the past year? The Dark Knight Strikes Again by Frank Miller. Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns was a classic. …Strikes Again was utterly nasty, vindictive, unbelievable crap. Just my opinion.

8) What is the best book you've read in the past year? Tie. Sharpe’s Fury and Sharpe’s Escape by Bernard Cornwell. I’d never read any Sharpe before. Now I want to read the rest of the series.

9) If you could force everyone to read one book, what would it be? The Conquering Sword of Conan by Robert E. Howard. I want people to disassociate “Ahnuld” from the character and see how rich, wonderful and original Howard’s character and writing really are. Personally, of the Conan stories, I like ones found in this collection the most.

10) Who deserves the win for the next Nobel Prize for literature? No idea.

11) What book would you most like to see made into a movie? I am always hesitant about such things. On the one hand, there are many stories I’d like to see visually, but I am always afraid Hollywood will miss the interpretation and do it wrong.

12) What book would you least like to see made into a movie? See above.

13) Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character. None that I recall.

14) What is the most lowbrow book you've read as an adult? I don’t think I have.

15) What is the most difficult book you've ever read? Not really sure. Difficult because I didn’t like it but made myself finish it or difficult just getting the words into my head and understood? Either way I’m not sure I have an answer.

16) What is the most obscure Shakespeare play you've ever seen? The only Shakespeare play I’ve seen live was MacBeth when I was in college.

17) Do you prefer the French or the Russians? The French. I respect the Russians but we’ve been allies with France for a very long time.

18) Roth or Updike? N/A. (haven’t read ‘em)

19) David Sedaris or Dave Eggers? N/A. (haven’t read ‘em)

20) Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer? Milton.

21) Austin or Elliot? N/A. (haven’t read ‘em)

22) What is the biggest, most embarrassing gap in your reading? I’ve read a lot of classics, but I’ve missed a lot, too - particularly from the 20th century.

23) What is your favorite novel? At this point, I’d have to say The Black Company by Glen Cook.

24) Favorite play? I don't have one.

25) Favorite poem? “The Return of Sir Richard Grenville” by Robert E. Howard

26) Favorite essay? N/A

27) Favorite short story? “Worms of the Earth” by Robert E. Howard.

28) Favorite work of non-fiction? I haven’t read enough non-fiction. I read history for research but none really jump out at me. I did enjoy Band of Brothers. There are some current titles that intrigue me, but I never seem to read a non-fiction when it’s current.

29) Favorite writers? Glen Cook, Robert E. Howard, Karl E. Wagner, David Drake, Ian Fleming, Joseph Heller, Dan Abnett and plenty of runners up.

30) Who is the most overrated writer alive today? I don’t know.

31) What is your desert island book? If you’ve seen the bookcases in my house then you know this is impossible for me to answer. Maybe, just maybe, Eons of the Night by Robert E. Howard because of the variety, but it lacks any Conan, Kull, Kane, Bran Mak Morn or Cormac Mac Art stories so I don’t know if it would work for me. Maybe one of the Del-Rey "Best of" Howard collections for variety including some of the classic heroes he created.

32) What are you reading now? Lord of the Silent Kingdom by Glen Cook and a Warhammer 40,000 trade paperback comic, Exterminatus.