Book Review: The Ninth Avatar, by Todd Newton

(This is a repost of my review that appeared on SF Signal recently - reposted here for posterity)

Paperback: 374 pages
Publisher: Trapdoor Books; 1ST edition (February 26, 2010)
ISBN-10: 098420704X
ISBN-13: 978-0984207046

Flying wizards, an army of the reanimated dead, a giant alabaster gargoyle, dragons, oh my! All of this should be lending itself to a great epic story of adventure, excitement and grand fantasy. But it all just comes off...awkward.

Yep, awkward, that was the word that kept popping to mind as I read; forcing myself through this story that I should have stopped before hitting triple-digit page numbers.

It starts off with an old, but promising, fantasy trope: evil army seeks global domination. We’ve seen it before, but a great setting and intriguing characters can still cut a swath of enjoyment. Here’s where, unfortunately, Newton’s first book didn’t deliver. The characters are thinly conceived and awkward. It’s rare when something feels natural and I’m left with the feeling that Newton wanted too big of a story; so he pushed his characters through it, changing them as he saw fit, whether it worked for their personality or not.

The main character, Starka, starts off decently. A backstory and interest are built and you expect great things to happen. You also expect her to seek out her beloved, missing twin, but thoughts of her dear brother quickly fall off the radar and Starka’s character begins to unravel. She is shown to have no firm ideas and no ability to defend herself. However, she consistently puts herself in harms way, where she is both no help and a liability; with those that know better doing little to dissuade her. This is forced drama and adds nothing. I could have appreciated her more if she had at least shown some common sense or intelligence, but she does neither.

One scene that sticks out painfully for me involves Starka wandering aimlessly in the midst of battle, finding a large cluster of darkly mysterious crystals.  Despite knowing nothing about them, in a world of magic and danger, she picks them up and lugs them around the battlefield—aimless, like she was strolling through the mall with a prize find. Why was she not hiding, fearful of the carrion soldiers, and worried about her comrades?

I have no idea.

Yes, her party is composed of powerful warriors that kick a lot of hiney, but there is far too much emphasis on how deadly the enemy soldiers are for them to be ignored. In fact, one problem about this book is that there is too much magic. Everyone has some power or ability and it kills the sense of suspense.

Behind the scenes, the world appears large and diverse, with thousands of years of history, talk of wizard wars, and more. Normally this would be a good thing, but it never comes across as vivid and compelling. It’s told as fluff in an attempt to make the world seem larger and more fantastic. The book would have been no worse without it, and perhaps better.

I wonder idly if the author was afflicted with World-Builder’s disease—a common ailment of the starting fantasy writer. I’ve been there, it can be hard to kick.

Ultimately, Mr. Newton bit off more than he could chew and I can only give this 1 star. At only 300-some pages, the dozens of characters, ship voyages, expansive travel, and multiple cities sucks out any life that could have been breathed in. There were many stories that could have been pulled from this book and made into a far superior piece than the combined hodgepodge.

I should note that I made it to page 200-something before I pulled the curtain. So, Mr. Newton, if you somehow pulled off the amazing and ended with something phenomenal...I missed it.

(P.S. Writing this review was agonizing. Todd Newton is a nice guy and worthy of following on twitter or his blog. Given time, I think that he may become an author of note. But, his first effort is not going to be THAT book.

I should also disclose that Newton bought me this book. [Aren’t I lovely for writing a bad review.] This made it difficult to write of my distaste. No matter his explicit blog post noting the benefits of bad reviews.)

Did you read it and what did you think?

Redefining

I've never really said what I'm going to do here. I just did a soft launch (shall we say) and wrote whatever I wanted (popped into my head). Likely that will still happen. It's the nature of blogging.

I just want to more-or-less officially put it down in writing, for anyone that saw this blog and wondered, "What's his deal?"

I'm a writer and an artist and I like to review books.

There!

*silence*

Ok, fine. I have that in the heading of my blog, so no big surprise. Why do I even bother with this post? Is it pure overkill?

Yes and no.

My tag line is only the barest of hints about my blog and I personally find it irritating when a blog is vague and undefined. I don't want to waste my time on a new blog unless there is a common vibe. I've seen many fellow bloggers without any About page, any tag line, mission statement or anything else that makes any attempt at defining what it is they do, like, etc. That's fine of course, but for me at least: I want to know. Yes, I'm nosey, but more accurately, I wonder: How can I truly relate to them, if I don't understand them?

With that said...

I love reading epic fantasy, and a variety of other sub-genre's in the fantasy and sci-fi realm. As a result I have a myriad of ideas and stories tumbling around in my noggin—most of which are trying desperately to escape. I started writing a long time ago, but I never took it seriously. (Strange how that happens to a lot of us.) But I love writing and reading, and finally decided to take the whole thing more seriously a couple years ago.

I'm doing some blogging on SF Signal as a contributor to get my name out there and the experience thus far has been invaluable.

For more (but not too much), I've simply created an About page (accessible here, or at the top of the page).

I also realize that if I talk too much about myself, I'll bore you all to tears and you will never, ever, come back when there is actually something worthy to talk about. I'm no celebrity, and until that day you really don't care what I'm eating for breakfast, or how dirty my car is (very). Ok, that last part makes no sense. A celeb would ALWAYS have a clean car...

Unless they had just crashed into someone.

Anyway...for the bloggers (and others) out there, how do you convey your purpose to others? Or do you bother?

SF Signal Recent book reviews

I forgot to mention on the blog about my two recent book reviews on SF Signal

Way of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson. First of the new Stormlight Archives (epic fantasy)

Ninth Avatar, by Todd Newton (epic fantasy)

Are you planning to read either one?

Book Review Index

I've created a Book Review Index of all of my book reviews to date: http://www.cliftonh.com/p/book-review-index.html

Now you can see where I stand, all on one page. Oh joy! The world really, really needed this...right?

Excuse the Mess...

Doing some construction around the blog, so it will be a mildly cluttered, changing mess for a while. I've been wanting to try Blogger's improved layout and implement some better graphics. Couldn't find a dedicated slot of time, so I decided I should stop waiting and just make some.

Some upcoming notes:
-I plan to finish and post soon to SF Signal a book review for Ninth Avatar, by Todd Newton and Way of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson. One was a hit and one was a miss. You'll see which was which if you can't already guess.
-I'm also in the midst of reading Old Man's War by John Scalzi, which I've heard much of and am enjoying thoroughly. His style in this book is interesting in that it gives very little description of the world, playing out the visuals through mostly dialogue. So far it works, though I do pine (somewhat) for more detail. It does read very fast though, which can be nice.

Are you writers out there partaking of NaNoWriMo? I want to and I think I know what story to tackle, but there's another project I promised myself to do first. Plus there's a little nephew on the way. Should be a busy month...

The Veil of a Warrior, The Chronicles of Hestea Hammerblood, Book 1

I've just finished the 3rd draft of my epic fantasy novel at 105k words (420 book-sized pages). I'm sharing the revised prologue and the first four chapters (about 6800 words or 27 book-sized pages). I'm debating whether I should share more, but that seems like a good chunk. I'd love to hear what you think of the excerpt and if it is holding your interest or not.

It's in beta now, as I mentioned in a prior post. I will be shopping it around for some agents soon and then looking for a publisher. We'll see how this goes.

Happy reading!

Heyyy Beta, Beta, Beta...

The 3rd draft is done. Finally.

Hestea Hammerblood is at last taking shape and I'm laying the whole novel out *gulp* for some scrutinizing eyes: my beta readers. They are seven hapless individuals whom I will be ever grateful for their time and energy. Thank you, my beta readers. Thank you.

I've finally given the book a true title: The Veil of a Warrior, and it is weighing in at about 105,000 words. It is a struggle against a dark force, with an emphasis on characters. I believe strongly in how much a character can pull you through a book of their own accord. As much as I want to just cram the story full of magic and strange creations, I have held myself back and kept the focus (hopefully) on Hestea and a select few that drive this story forward.

This will be book 1 of 4. Book 2 is somewhere between a third to a half of the way done, and the last two are outlined in various levels of detail. I will be sharing a couple more chapters of the story soon for anyone interested in reading them on the blog. If all goes well, perhaps soon after the beta readers give me their feedback, I may send it around and look for an agent and publisher. That also means I need to start doing some research. Oh boy... where do I start?

This critique process will be interesting. I've only gone through this once before and it was for a short story. I know there will be some feedback that will be hard to take. That's without question. I will try to not take it personal, and just try to learn. As many advise, I will be keeping myself busy with other projects while I wait for everyone's reply.

I'm also trying to mentally gear myself up for NaNoWriMo next month. I think I know which story I want to work on for the month. I really don't have the time, but then the whole purpose of Nano is to produce words and to do so quickly. So with that in mind it should be doable.

So, are you participating in NaNoWriMo next month? If so, are you ready?

Book Review: Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson

(This is a repost of my review that appeared on SF Signal recently - reposted here for posterity)

Mass Market Paperback: 688 pages
Publisher: Tor Fantasy; First Edition edition (March 30, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0765360039
ISBN-13: 978-0765360038

Warbreaker is an epic story of a kingdom in peril, a god that is more AND less than what he seems, a sister’s love and jealousy, magical breath, and an army of the walking dead (and running, and slashing, and stabbing...).

I went into Warbreaker with some of that remaining curiosity about this fellow Sanderson that was finishing up the Wheel of Time. How was he doing in his craft? Had he grown? Would he manage the reigns well? I was nervous after enjoying, but not being impressed by Elantris and Mistborn. Warbreaker turned out to be the last book I read of his before The Gathering Storm. It was good, alleviated my concern a little more, but TGS was amazing! If I ever do a review on it I’d rank it near the top, that’s for sure.

The story starts strong in the city of Hallandren, with a mysterious character that just oozes personality and conflict. He’s dark, uncompromising and he fights for what is right—we hope. The setting expands, we find ourselves in Idris, spend a little time building the world and the conflicts at hand, including a very personal one for the King. All is well...then some strange things happen. Some good for the story and one that derails a new character.

Let’s talk about magic: It’s Sanderson’s signature, something original. While I haven’t read all there is in the fantasy universe, the magic of BioChromatic breath used by Awakeners in Warbreaker felt different and well done. But...I didn’t like how specific he sometimes got with the expenditure. Just didn’t seem quantifiable to that degree and made it feel like I was playing a video game or table top—kicking me out of the story each and every time.

Great characters are what really holds a story together and drags us hapless readers along. Warbreaker delivers. Lightsong in particular is delightfully irreverent and conflicted. But Vivenna never quite holds up to reader expectations with inconsistent decisions that uproot her character motivations. Maybe Sanderson was trying to show the uncertainty of growth as Vivenna grew in her awareness of the world, changing through her arc. I just wasn’t convinced.

The twists and reveals in Warbreaker came off flat and underwhelming. Sure, the foreshadowing was always there, but the execution lacked and kept stealing that WOW moment. Primarily, I think, the motivations of the antagonists lacked the punch needed to make these moments shine.

Despite a strong start, the story meandered for the rest with some good points and bad, until reaching for the sky towards the end. I know that a good beginning can sell a book, and a bad beginning can almost kill it, so it makes sense to focus your energies. I will grant that he writes epic fantasy, writes them long, and writes a lot, so it is hard to make sure each one shines from head to toe. But it still feels like a cheat. The Gathering Storm was an exception and I have hopes for Way of Kings. We’ll see. Ultimately I think Sanderson bit off more than he could tell in a book of this size and it would have been better with a narrower focus.


This book ended up better than good, but not quite great and I rate it a 3.5 out of 5. It shines sometimes and other times it drags. Overall well conceived, but lacking in consistency. Not something to drag me back for a second read any time soon.

If you’re curious, go read it, you’ll find enjoyment. If not, there are plenty of other books in the sea.

So what did you think?

One List to Rule them All.

The New York Times Bestseller List is synonymous with success. Though it does not sway me from reading a novel without one, it stands boldly out on those that do. Awards and mentions of any kind are always helpful in the pursuit to sell more books, but the attention garnered from this list seems more valuable than most. We've all heard of it, and for the general reading populace I think it strikes a familiar--perhaps subconscious--chord.

So how does one make this list and attain Star Writer status? Ensuring a future and a steady income to rely upon (or so we hope)? Unfortunately...I don't know, and after doing some research, it seems no one else does either.

It is a trade secret.

Yes, numbers count, but there is more than that. Read this fascinating and occasionally facetious article by Jamie Ford for more.

In my wanderings I also found this Wikipedia entry both intriguing and horrifying, where co-authors schemed to gain the NY Times Bestseller list artificially by buying up their own books in strategic locations. Apparently it worked--as unethical as it may have been.

I have heard (by Brandon Sanderson--I believe) that you can gain a foothold in this esteemed list by as little as 10,000 books sold (not bought by bookstores, but by actual people). This seems such a small number, yet so large when you consider that time is of the essence and the ever-increasing glut of content you have to stand out from.

So, do you care about the NY Times list? Do you see it as beneficial or helpful? Are there other lists that are more relevant and helpful for one pursuing fantasy or sci-fi publishing? I can't recall ever seeing them on the cover of a novel before, but perhaps I was merely blind to it...

Blogging for SF Signal

In a recent post, I wondered whether it would be beneficial to blog for another site, or better to just continue on my own. You can see by the below that I decided to give it a try.
http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2010/10/review-warbreaker-by-brandon-sanderson/

SF Signal, if you aren't aware, is a growing group blog for science fiction and fantasy work. They have an enjoyable podcast that started recently--powered by the Functional Nerds. Give them a shot if they're new to you.

So click on over and tell me what you thought of the book review.

On a side note, I am reading Way of Kings...which is AMAZING. So far. No real nitpicks I can think of. There's a few moments of infodump, but pretty sparse and the flow of the story and the conception of the detailed and different world is great.