Author Archive

my god! i don't have brent weeks' new book yet!!! argh! # after a month i am still not able to access my library room. # i'm having a successful day of slob. # tom lloyd on the price of ebooks: http://tomlloyd.livejournal.com/52658.html # Powered by Twitter Tools

Elves. We’ve all read about them. A pansy race of limp-wristed long-haired girly men with an obsession for long words ending in lannanon and the like. Plenty of hippy environmentalism and the use of bows. What else? Beautiful skin and the grace of dancers. Pretty things with pretty tongues and squeaky clean. Yes. We’ve all read about elves.
But it seems Mister Barclay has read about them too. And he didn’t quite like what he read. Or, at the very least, he saw room for improvement. And improve he did. Mister Barclay’s elves are homicidal, ruthless, and seem about as environmentally friendly as a styrofoam cup.

Now, looking at Ebooks, there’s a big difference between the price of a paper book and an ebook. I work in a bookshop, so I know the price of a paper book, and I know too that most customers do the big whinge about them being “too expensive” which is a load of shite, because they haven’t changed price in over ten years and there’s not many things you can say which remain static in price for so long in a world of increasing inflation and financial woe. But customers seem to want their books for $5.00 (Australian dollars) and anything else is far too expensive. Ebooks, they all tell me, is the new way. Cheap, easy, and discardable. No secondhand bookshops required.

Well, if you do believe I have any prejudice against epics, I hope you’ll accept this review as an example of why I am just a man who thinks there’s room for pretty much more of everything. Because with The Way of Kings, you could accuse Mister Sanderson of pretty much anything except for creating a small book. Because this is big.
Damn big.
Mammoth big.
It is the John Holmes of fantasy novels.

There’s something a little refreshingly nostalgic about Jon Sprunk’s debut novel. It reminded me of pulp fantasy novels in which your hero enters the novel mid-fight then fights himself through the book and ends up wandering off into the sunset with a promise to the girl that “I’ll be back.” Arnie style. The plot centres [...]

But I can’t help it. Let me rant some more – this guy is just plain weird! These days it’s so rare to find someone so eager to mess with what has been proven to be the most functional and safe way to write a fantasy novel. That is:
a: Hero is a farmboy.
b: Hero gets taught badass uber magic killing sword thingy by uber mage and uber swordsmen.
c: Hero sneaks to badguy’s lair.
d: *shrug*
e: Win! Get married to sexy princess.

just finished reading tom lloyd's next offering, "the ragged man" # be afraid! be very afraid! # my first book of poetry – coming soon! # check out jack martin's site: http://tainted-archive.blogspot.com for some western goodness. # Powered by Twitter Tools

john sandford's new book is in my hot mittens, too. # tonight's status update: tired. the end. # shower time! you NEED to know that. # http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/group.php?gid=210584830489 # finishing up "the ragged man" and then onto some i've had for ages! # fresh post: sharp words http://www.lucasthorn.com/?p=309 # http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978267540 # Powered by Twitter Tools

fresh post: http://www.lucasthorn.com/?p=303 # fresh post: crocodile http://www.lucasthorn.com/?p=298 # fresh post: freeing the mind with freemind http://www.lucasthorn.com/?p=294 # we're both 70 now. good news! # my wife hit level 70 in wow today. i'm only 68. :/ # Powered by Twitter Tools

Some more characters get backgrounded, and it is intriguing to note that the evil Lord Styrax and his cronies get more booktime and in many ways you’re left wondering if he’s even slightly evil at all. He just seems another guy trying to make it big in a world of war. He doesn’t seem like such a bad guy at all. In fact, I kind of like the guy.

fresh post: dan mangan – nice nice nice http://www.lucasthorn.com/?p=289 # dammit! i've run out of choc licorice bullets. # such a long week! work has swallowed me alive! # fresh post: riplock and the deadspore http://www.lucasthorn.com/?p=283 # Powered by Twitter Tools

The finale is worth waiting for, but I am a little disappointed by the blurring of the characters in this book. Where Isak was the obvious focus of the first novel, he pretty much gets backgrounded for most of the novel and his character is fast becoming a little too “Rand” for me (in a bad sense) – with all his friends being focussed on making sure he’s got a “heart” and can “smile sometimes.” The powerful figure of the first novel is forgotten as he seems to be more a man who can sometimes whip out the goods to get stuff done, but isn’t anywhere near as thrillingly unpredictable and freakishly psychopathic as the first book. He’s turned over a new leaf and is too fast becoming a nice guy you might want to sit around and have a beer with.