Thursday, 22 September 2016

The internet is not forever.

They say the internet is forever, and that what you put out there will haunt your descendants for generations, rather like plastic bags thrown in the sea.

But they lie. The internet erodes constantly. As Yeats had it, things fall apart, the centre cannot hold, mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.

In some cases people erase their own tracks and attempt to rewrite history.

In others it's just that websites go dead, information is lost, even the Wayback Machine loses its grip. I've been on the internet since 1992, and believe me, it forgets.

Which is why, having found that my link to Orson Scott Card's review of the Broken Empire had gone dead, I was worried it was gone forever.

I may violently disagree with OSC's recent political/social declarations (or at least what I have seen reported about them - and I am the first to acknowledge that people can wildly misrepresent you in order to further their own agendas, having had it done to me), but I remain a big fan of his work, and when the author of Ender's Game (which blew me away when I read it 20 years ago) praises your work, you want to keep those words.

So, having found where the review moved to, I've copied the relevant section here for safe(r) keeping.

Mark Lawrence's fantasy trilogy is billed as "The Broken Empire," but you're never going to remember that and it won't help you find the books. Instead, think of it as the "Thorns" series: Prince of Thorns, King of Thorns, Emperor of Thorns.

If you thought George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones (series name: "Song of Ice and Fire." Like anybody actually refers to it that way) was full of appalling acts of barbarity, I assure you -- Lawrence's Thorn books make Game of Thrones feel a bit like a picnic.

The inciting event of the series, though we only discover it partway through the first book, is that Prince Jorg's mother and younger brother were dragged from a carriage and brutally murdered. Jorg is an unwilling witness, because someone threw him from the carriage into a particularly nasty briar patch.

The thorns go deep into his skin and muscles, and they inject an excruciating poison. He had no choice but to remain pinned, doing nothing to help the others -- even when he's rescued, it takes him a year to recover from the injuries and poisons of the thorns, and he is covered with scars.

What hurts even worse, though, is the fact that his father, the king, instead of seeking vengeance against the man who ordered the assassination, accepts "compensation" -- a treaty, a few advantages.

So as soon as he is able -- and while still a child -- Jorg frees a band of thieves from the king's prison, runs off with them, and eventually becomes leader of the band, using them to exact his own personal vengeance against the murderer of his mother and brother.

And, because the murderer was his own uncle, after Jorg kills both of the man's sons, he becomes a plausible heir to his throne.

The story itself is fascinating and often moving, but it is made all the more intriguing because it takes place in a future Europe, one in which civilization is only just beginning to make a comeback after nuclear war.

Most of the "magic" is really the machines of the Builders -- who are basically us plus a century or so. The Builders were developing technologies that allowed the human will to alter reality directly -- a pretty good description of what most of us mean by "magic."

But some of the surviving computers are trying to save the world from what will happen if the human will ever becomes omnipotent, able to change anything to what the person needs it to be. And through the process of the trilogy, Jorg comes to realize how much his life has been manipulated by the surviving machines -- which are themselves divided into warring factions.

Ultimately, it comes down to Jorg's own will -- which we have already learned is unflinching and relentless. His father raised him brutally, cruelly -- and Jorg does not want to be the heartless tyrant his father trained him to become. Yet in some ways he is even more heartless than his father probably wanted.

Well, not heartless. He feels everything -- he just doesn't let his feelings stop him from doing some pretty terrible things.

Reading the Thorn series is an unforgettable experience. It feels like a remarkably inventive fantasy -- even after you come to understand that it's actually even-more-inventive science fiction. Lawrence is a research scientist in the field of artificial intelligence, which is why the lingering computer intelligences in the novel are so compelling and interesting.

Just keep in mind that if you think George R.R. Martin is willing to kill off his characters, Mark Lawrence is perfectly happy to kill all of his. Well, not all -- the story is told in first person, so unless this is a monologue from hell, Jorg himself somehow manages to live through everything.

Lawrence is a very good, clear writer. This is a hard story to make understandable, since the viewpoint character can't understand things that would have been perfectly clear to us, with our understanding of technology. But every step along the way, Lawrence allows us to follow the action -- even when the characters are confused and the rules of reality are shifting before our eyes.

I started reading Prince of Thorns in book form -- I picked it up at Barnes & Noble because it looked intriguing. But I got so involved that I couldn't keep reading it in print -- because I can only read books when I'm holding still and doing nothing else.

So I downloaded the audiobook, powerfully read by James Clamp. That way I could keep reading even while driving, shopping, exercising -- I don't have to set the book down.
The irony is that while I'm moving around through perfectly sunny, cheerful days in Greensboro, what's playing in my ears (and therefore running through my mind) is a tragedy of astonishing bleakness and emotional devastation.

And yet there is always hope -- without hope such stories would be unbearable. Maybe the world can be saved; maybe Jorg himself can lay his own guilt to rest and carve out a realm in which people have a chance of happiness. Maybe it's not too much to hope that he might be happy.

If I have one frustration with the books, it's that the correspondence with the map of Europe is never quite clear. Some names remain unchanged; some seem weirdly misplaced. Ancient European names are revived; many modern ones are gone.

It's pretty clear when we go to Spain and North Africa, and Austria is plain enough, but are we in a world with higher or lower sea levels? Are we actually going by land from Ireland to the continent? This puzzlement is probably peculiar to me -- certainly it never interferes with the story itself. I'm unusually map-sensitive, that's all.

The series also ends in a way that I repeatedly warn my writing students never to do. But I also tell my students that you can break any rule as long as you're willing to pay the price. Lawrence pays that price, so the ending works; instead of feeling like a cheat, it is absolutely fulfilling and right within the rules and history laid out in the books.

I'm not sure how to recommend these books. What kind of person thrusts a book on his friend, saying, "This is the story of a life utterly filled with violence and cruelty, in a violent and cruel world, where almost everybody is faithless, and the faithful people are almost always rewarded with brutal death"?

But I can also, truthfully, say, "This is a book about trying to make something better out of a world of chaos and suffering; a book about trying to please a parent who is unworthy of honor; about trying to find redemption in a world without a redeemer."

Or maybe I just have to say, No matter how painful this story is along the way, it's all worth it -- worth reading, and worth Jorg's having to live through it all.






Posted by at 5 comments:

Monday, 19 September 2016

Help choose the best contest entry.

We had some brilliant entries for the alphabet contest.

I have one prize left to give out and I need help choosing between the entries below, suggested by public acclaim.

Take a look and vote for one (or more) on THIS POLL.

I will use the result for a guideline, depending on how believable the result looks :)

Click for photo for detail.

A                                                                                                                                      B



C                                                                                                                                     D
E                                                                                                                              F


G

Posted by at 7 comments:

Friday, 16 September 2016

REVIEW: Fool's Assassin

Reading Robin Hobb makes me feel like I'm back in school ... or it would do if that were where I learned to write fiction. I have on occasion felt rather pleased with my writing, but reading Hobb's work always makes me realise I've got a long way to go.

Hobb's particular mastery is in characters and the relationships between them. No story is going to work in the long term unless the characters hold you, unless you care what happens to them. Hobb doesn't rely on shock or purple prose, she uses the understated power in close observation and an intimate knowledge of her subject.

In Fool's Assassin we're starting a third trilogy with characters that first came to the page 19 years ago. 
Many readers will have literally grown up with Fitz and the Fool, some others may have grown old with them. Two decades is long enough to see substantial changes in the readers, the characters, and the writer herself.

This is a book that wouldn't be possible without the groundwork laid before. It builds on the history we have with these characters and exploits it. The story that we see unfold has echoes the story that has gone before. Like a piece of music it builds on themes, reflects earlier melodies, improvises around them, and plays an old refrain.

Sections of the story that I can't describe for fear of spoilers hit particularly strong chords with me and were very moving, but whatever individual experience you bring to the book it's going to play on your heartstrings.

This isn't a high adrenaline book, though there's plenty of tension. It's more subtle than that, a more reflective and slower-paced tale. Hobb works her magic though and I felt gripped throughout. A powerful, passionate book that takes #1 spot on my reading list this year.

I've said in the past that I wanted to be careful not to wear out my characters' welcome. It can be an uncomfortable reading experience to fall out of love with a character, to grow bored with them. The lead character in my first trilogy, Jorg Ancrath, burned very bright and that intensity couldn't be sustained over a long series. With Fitz however I find that none of the enchantment has been lost and that it's not habit that keeps me following his story - it's because it's as strong and compelling as ever it was and a privilege to walk the pages with him.
You can go and 'like' my review on Goodreads, if you like.
Posted by at 1 comment:

Tuesday, 13 September 2016

On the promotion of a book.

Everyone would hope that if you write a great book, not just a good one, but a book that really has something special, then it will sell itself.

We would hope that as in the old adage "you can't keep a good man (or woman) down" a book of sufficient excellence will rise to the top, clawing its way there by merit, lifted by word of mouth.

Look at it another way though. We've all tried and failed to light a fire in our lives. There's no argument that fire is a supremely successful way of generating heat through oxidation ... and matches are perfectly sensible ways to initiate one ... and wood burns...

but...



how often have we just ended up with burnt fingers, blackened kindling, and rapidly dissipating smoke?

If your book is not the sort that will get the typical reader to demand the next person picks it up then you are trying to light a fire in a swamp. In the rain.


If your book is The Name of the Wind then you are trying to light a fire in a tinder-dry forest.



If you have a big publisher behind you that's rather like having a friend with a ten gallon drum of gasoline to help you start the fire. Even then, if the book you're selling really isn't that good (or commercial if you prefer) the fire will peter out after carbonizing a few acres (selling ten thousand books), but nobody will be able to say it didn't have every opportunity to spread.
(Note, that not everyone published by a big 5 publisher has that publisher 'behind them'. Plenty of those releases are left to fend largely for themselves.)

A good small publisher could be likened to a friend with some firelighters, scrunched up, newspapers, and a cigarette lighter. A bad one is more like an acquaintance who grudgingly hands over one match.



When you're self-published you have a stick. Not a matchstick. Your job is to break it in half and rub the two pieces together and set the world alight.


Josiah Bancroft has been standing in a tinder-dry forest for three years waving his stick around gamely. Lightning did not strike. There was no fire.

It would be unfair to say that Josiah is bad at self-promotion. He's done more than I ever could just by going to conventions and hand-selling his book. I lack almost every one of the necessary skills and personality traits to do that. I'd probably be asked to leave.

I'm not sure what else he could have done if I'm honest. There's no secret path to self-published success. I think the main 'trick' he missed out on is becoming a bigger part of the self-published community itself. If you strike the right notes on the right self-publisher forums then your fellow writers become the gasoline and can give you a decent start.

Anyway, after 3 years Senlin Ascends had fewer than 50 ratings on Goodreads.

In April Senlin Ascends was entered for the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off, 2016. In June it got a blisteringly good review from Pornokitsch. In August I read first Senlin Ascends, then the follow-up Arm of the Sphinx, and reviewed them on Goodreads and raved about them in general. In September I somehow got Goodreads' global #1 best reviewer (with 50,000+ followers) to read Senlin, and she loved it.

Here's how these events impacted the book's "to read" and "ratings" stats on Goodreads (click for detail).

To Read



Ratings

Those "to reads" won't all translate into purchases, but some of them will, and each read is another spark that could push the embers into the full-fledged inferno the book deserves.

The only note of caution here is that this book isn't the kind of work that I (perhaps wrongly) associate with a viral self-pub wildfire. For example it's nothing like Ryan's excellent Blood Song. It is not a high octane kill-fest, there is no cool sword swinging hero. It is (at the risk of sounding pompous) a book for the thoughtful, the clever, and the experienced. It is perhaps a book most suited to traditional publication. But I'm hoping that the push it's been given will let it find its way regardless.


Returning to the main point. Self-publishing is HARD. Excellence by no means guarantees success. And there may be dozens of utterly brilliant books out there, the authors busy rubbing those two sticks together, and doomed never to get a flame.

It's clear that the importance of the super-fan, the reader who goes out and actively evangelizes on behalf of a book that has really meant something to them, cannot be over-estimated. Especially when an author is starting off. You might ask, what can one person do? But a passionate independent voice can make a huge difference. If you love a book, talk about it. Talk about it to friends and family in the real world, talk about it on social media, talk about it on forums. It makes a difference. It can make *all* the difference. You can be the spark.

In any event, all of this makes me very glad to have set the ball rolling on the SPFBO!



Posted by at 5 comments:

Sunday, 11 September 2016

I (alpha)bet you can't do 26!

Contest Closed
Many thanks for all the excellent entries. Your enthusiasm is always appreciated.

Contest time. I have too many books and need to give away some signed copies of The Wheel of Osheim and/or The Liar's Key.

(Son of the Morning - Alder, The Skull Throne - Brett, Control Point - Cole, Unwrapped Sky - Davidson, Belegarath the Sorceror - Eddings, Runelords - Farland)


 Rules: 

i) Send a photo (close up optional) of you holding in one hand an unsupported tower of books ordered alphabetically by author. SFF books preferred.

ii) No more than one book per letter.

iii) Include a list of titles and authors on a single line so I can cut & paste it to include with the entry.

iv) email entries to me at empire_of_thorns@yahoo.co.uk

I will send out one copy to a randomly selected entry, one to the "best" photo, and one to the legitimate entry with most books.

Go!  (I have some entries queued up so be patient)


Winners

 Most letters: #43 Julia
Random winner: #45 Aatika (thanks random,org)
Best entry (selected by public vote) #41 Allyn.

Entries (click photos for higher resolution)

#57 Kevan (20)
Joe Abercrombie Half a King, Ray Bradbury The Martian Chronicles, Trudi Canavan The Ambassadors Mission, Joseph D’lacey Black Feathers, David Eddings Domes of Fire, John R Fultz Seven Princes, David Gemmell Lord of the Silver Bow, Robin Hobb Blood Of Dragons, Robert Jordan Lord Of Chaos, Katherine Kerr A Time of Justice, Mark Lawerence Prince of Fools, Alex Marshall A Crown for Cold Silver, Robert Newcomb The Gates of Dawn, Robert Oram Solomons Angel, Christopher Paolini Eldest, Patrick Rothfuss The Wise Mans Fear, Brian Staveley The Emperors Blades, Adrian Tchaikovsky Heirs of the Blade, Brent Weeks The Broken Eye, Zoran Zivkovic The Bridge

#56 Ed (23)

Black Cross - J.P. Ashman ~ Storm Front - Jim Butcher ~ The Ill-made Knight - Christian Cameron ~ Traitor's Blade - Sebastien De Castell ~ King of the Murgos - David Eddings ~ Tribune of Rome - Robert Fabbri ~ Ruin - John Gwynne ~ The Complete Chronicles of Conan - Robert E. Howard ~ Bones of the Hills - Conn Iggulden ~ A Cavern of Black Ice - J.V.Jones ~ Swords of Good Men - Snorri Kristjansson ~ Prince of Fools - Mark Lawrence ~ A Clash of Kings - G.R.R.Martin ~ Drakenfeld - Mark Charan Newton ~ Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell ~ Gates of Fire - Steven Pressfield ~ The Edinburgh Dead - Brian Ruckley ~ The Last Wish - Andrzej Sapkowski ~ Empire in Black and Gold - Adrian Tchaikovsky ~ The Desert Spear - Peter V. Brett ~ Shadowmarch - Tad Williams ~ Brethren - Robyn Young ~ The Angel's Game - Carlos Ruiz Zafón

#55 Saul (16)

Abercrombie- Best Served Cold; Brooks- Sword of Shannara; Colfer- Artemis Fowl; Dahl- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; Eddings- Mallorean; Farland- The Sum of All Men; Gemel- Legend; Hobb- Renegades Mage; Jacques- Salamandastron; King-Smith- Babe; Lukyanenko- The Day Watch; Pratchet-Night Watch; Ruckley- Fall of Thanes; Stroud- Amulet of Samarkand; Tchaikovsky- Blood of the Mantis; Wolfe- The Fifth Head of Cerberus; Zusak- The Book Thief. 

#54 Murillo (6)

The Winter King by Cornwell, American Gods by Gaiman, On Writing by King, A Dance With Dragons by Martin, Ozob by Pazos, The Wise Man's Fear by Rothfuss.

#53 Lucille (18)

No good dragon goes unpunished by Rachel AARON (which I'm currently reading) -  A natural history of dragons by Marie BRENNAN - The Long way to a small angry planet by Becky CHAMBERS - Doctor who and the cybermen by Gerry DAVIS - Shades of grey by Jasper FFORDE - The ocean at the end of the lane by Neil GAIMAN - The dragon keeper by Robin HOBB - Heroine complex by Sarah KUHN - Prince of fools by Mark LAWRENCE - A Game of thrones by G.R.R. MARTIN - Temeraire by Naomi NOVIK - Binti by Nnedi OKORAFOR - Guards! Guards! by Terry PRATCHETT - Harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban by J.K. ROWLING - Legion & the emperor's soul by Brandon SANDERSON - The hobbit by J.R.R. TOLKIEN - The martian by Andy WEIR - The book thief by Markus ZUSAK 

#52 Nicholas (13)

Messenger's Legacy - Brett, 14 - Clines, Belgarath the Sorcerer - Eddings, Staked - Hearne, Cursed - Jacka, Tigana - Kay, Emperor of Thorns - Lawrence, Kraken - Mieville, The Fall of the House of Usher - Poe, Blood Song - Ryan, Rise of Empire - Sullivan, The Return of the King - Tolkien, The Black Prism - Weeks

#51 William (7)

Abnett – The Founding; Hobb – Assassin’s Quest; Juster – The Phantom Tollbooth; LeGuin – The Farthest Shore; Rowling – Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban; Tolkien – The Hobbit; Watterson – The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes

#50 David (11)

Abnett – The Saint; Brin – Infinity’s Shore; Corey – Leviathan Wakes; Dick – Paycheck; Heinlein – Stranger in a Strange Land; Jordan – The Fires of Heaven; King – Gotrex & Felix; Moore and Gibbons – Watchmen; O’Neil – Batman; Salvatore – The Crystal Shard; Tolkien – The Return of the King

#49 Mary (11)

Abercrombie – The Blade Itself; Brin – Heaven’s Reach; Eddings – Belgariath the Sorcerer; Franklin – More; Gaiman – The Ocean at the End of the Lane; Hobb – Fool’s Quest; Lawrence – The Wheel of Osheim; Pratchett – Night Watch; Rothfuss – The Name of the Wind; Stewart – The Hollow Hills; Tolkien – The Two Towers

#47 Juniper (25) -- a heroic effort, 26 books but the X isn't quite legit!

Speak - Laurie Halse Anderson, Summerlong - Peter S. Beagle, Worlds of Ink and Shadow - Lena Coakley, Tam Lin - Pamela Dean, Orbiter - Warren Ellis, The Golden Bough - Sir James Frazer, George - Alex Gino, The Love that Split the World - Emily Henry, Vagabond vol. 37 - Takehiko Inoue, The Juniper Game - Sherryl Jordan, The Roads to Beldairn Motte - Ahimsa Kerp, Emperor of Thorns - Mark Lawrence, Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel, Hexed - Michael Alan Nelson, Girls and Sex: Navigating the Complicated New Landscape - Peggy Orenstein, Coward - Sean Phillips, Nyx: Wannabe - Joe Quesada, Departure - A.G. Riddle, Indian Ink - Tom Stoppard, Trouble is a Friend of Mine - Stephanie Tromly, Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In - William Ury, Radiance - Catherine M. Valente, Alif the Unseen - G. Willow Wilson, The Owlstone Crown, X.J. Kennedy, Where Have the Unicorns Gone? - Jane Yolen, The Serpent King - Jeff Zentner

#47 Chris B (15)

The Last Argument of Kings-Joe Abercrombie, The King's Bastard-Rowina Cory Daniels, Magician-Raymond E. Feist, Trigger Warning-Neil Gaiman, Assassins Quest-Robin Hobb, Lord of Chaos Robert Jordan, The Sundering- Richard A. Knackk, The Nightwatch- Nightwatch-Sergei Lukyanenko, Game of Thrones-George R.R. Martin, Quicksilver Rising-Stan Nicholls, Tideswell of Darkness-Aaron Rosenberg, Elantris-Brandon Sanderson, The Silmarillion-J.R.R. Tolkien, The Cronicals of Amber Roger Zelazny.


#46 Valeria (17)

Abercrombie-TheHeros, Colfer-Artemis Fowl, Dumas- The count of Monte Cristo, Evangelisti-La luce di Orione, Frege-Sense and reference, Goisis- il pensiero politico di Antonio Rosmini, Hobb- Assassin's apprentice, Kant-Critique of  pratical reason, Lawrence-Prince of Fools, Martin-Dreamsong, Nicholls- Legions of thunder, O'shea- la pietra del vecchio pescatore, Pullman- the golden compass, Rothfuss-the name of the Wind, Tolkien-Tree and leaf, Wikde-the portrait of Dorian Gray, Voltaire- Candide.

#45 Aatika (11)

Promise of Blood-Brian McClellan, The Bane Chronicles-Cassandra Clare, The Gaze-Elif Shafak, Tersias-G.P.Taylor, Shadow's Master-Jon Sprunk. The Kite Runner- Khaled Hosseini,. Six of Crows-Leigh Bardugo, King of Thorns- Mark Lawrence, The Knife of Never Letting Go-Patrick Ness, The Blood of Olympus-Rick Riordan, The Murder Bag- Tony Parsons

#44 Trey (14) -- I like the one he's pointing at.

Guardians of the keep- Carol Berg, The killing floor- Lee Child, The iron king- Maurice Druon, Gardens of the moon, Steven Erikson, The king's buccaneer - Raymond Feist, American Gods- Neil Gaimen, Rhapsody- Elizabeth Hayden, The eye of the world - Robert Jordan, Black house- Steven King and Peter Straub, EMPEROR OF THORNS- Mark Lawrence, The magic of recluse- L. E. Modesitte,  Dragon prince, Melanie Rawn, Thewell of ascension- Brandon Sanderson, Otherland: City of golden shadows- Tad Williams. 

#43 Julia (26) -- On the 43rd entry we have an entire legitimate alphabet, congratulations!

The Blade Itself – Abercrombie, The Aeronaut's Windlass – Butcher, Control Point – Cole, A Dance of Cloaks – Dalglish, The Jewel – Ewing, Herald of the Storm – Ford, Malice – Gwynne, Ship of Magic – Hobb, Das Jahrhundertkind (Der Kreis der Dämmerung) – Isau, The Eye of the World – Jordan, The Stand – King, King of Thorns – Lawrence, The Dinosaur Lords – Milán, Uprooted – Novik, Das Gewölbe des Himmels ( The Unremembered) – Orullian, The Colour of Magic – Pratchett, The Silver Linings Playbook – Quick, The Name of the Wind – Rothfuss, Age of Myth – Sullivan, The Hobbit – Tolkien, Goethe und der Ginkgo – Unseld, Reise um die Erde in 80 Tagen (Around the World in Eighty Days) – Verne, The Martian – Weir, Buy Me The Sky – Xinran, Die 5. Welle (The 5th Wave) – Yancey, The Book Thief – Zusak

 #42 Martin (16)

Half a King by Joe Abercrombie,   The Painted Man by Peter V. Brett,  The Death and the Maiden by P.N. Elrod,     The Afghan by Frederick Forsyth,  Wizards First Rule by Terry Goodkind,  Hounded by Kevin Hearne, Duma Key by Stephen King, Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence, Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan, The Time Travellers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, 1984 by George Orwell,  Dodger by Terry Pratchett,  Blood Song by Anthony Ryan,  The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson,  The Children of Húrin by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Thousand Names by Django Wexler

#41 Allyn (27) -- the fact my book is on the top is an indication that some of the rules may have been ignored here! Impressive stack though!


#40 Quentin (16) -- scared now...


Best Served Cold - Abercrombie, Pillars of Sand - Barnes, The Rogue - Canavan, The Eye of Minds - Dashner, The Oversight - Fletcher, A Red Sun Also Rises - Hodder, The Eye of the World - Jordan, Nevernight - Kristoff, Prince of Thorns - Lawrence, Magnificat - May, Eragon - Paolini, The Wise Mans Fear - Rothfuss, The Way of Kings - Sanderson, The Hobbit - Tolkien, The Black Prism - Weeks, Seed - Ziegler


#39 Luca (21)

Doctor Who: City of Death - Douglas Adams(+James Goss); The Last Unicorn - Peter S. Beagle; Jonathan Strange & Mr Norell - Susanna Clarke; The Last Werewolf - Glenn Duncan; The Neverending Story - Michael Ende; Faerie Tale - Raymond E. Feist; A herceg jősnője (The Prince's Chiromancer) - J. Goldenlane (She's a hungarian authoress and it's a funny story about a girl, who try to survive in a different land with fake chiromancery.^^); The Lunatic Cafe - Laurell K. Hamilton; The Sands of Sarasvati - Risto Isomaki; The Vanishing Act - Mette Jakobsen; The Briar King - Greg Keyes; Road Brothers (beautiful hardback cover ^^) - Mark Lawrence; Horgonyhely (Anchorage) - Anita Moskát (She's also a hungarian authoress, in her world,  people could travel more than less a 1000 step from their birthplace, this called "anchorage". Only the pregnant women can wandering freely, that's why every power (government, justice etc) in their hand); Throne of Jade - Naomi Novik; Eragon - Christopher Paolini; Interview with the Vampire - Anne Rice; Buried Fire - Jonathan Stroud; Journey to the Center of the Earth - Jules Verne; The Martian - Andy Weir

 #38 Chris (22)  -- plus 4 stand-ins

half a king- joe Abercrombie, senlin ascends- josiah Bancroft, ready player one- robert Cline, every anxious wave- mo Daviau, the circle-dave Eggars, secret hero society- derek Fridolfs, the dark side of the road- simon Green, already dead- charlie Huston, the new hunger- Isaac marion, under a colder sun- greg James, disenchanted- robert Kroese, the liar's key- mark Lawrence, the thief who knocked on sorrows gate- michael McClung, a most unpleasant endeavor- robert Norton, the rook- daniel O'malley, she who waits- daniel Polanky, marceline and the scream Queens- meredith gran, lovecraft country- matt Ruff, the death of dulgath- michael j Sullivan, darkwalker- e l Tettensor, Unpossible- daryl gregory, annhilation- jeff Vandermeer, countdown city- ben Winters, the eXtra- michael shea, thrusts of justice- matt Youngmark, the shadow of the wind- carlos ruiz Zafon. 

#37 Kelly (21)

Half a King – Joe Abercrombie, Red Rising – Pierce Brown, 14 – Peter Clines, The Sentinel – Troy Denning, Pawn of Prophecy – David Eddings, Rides a Dread Legion – Raymond Feist, Neuromancer – William Gibson, The Forever War – Joe Haldeman, Howl’s Moving Castle – Diana Wynne Jones, Daggerspell – Katharine Kerr, A Wizard of Earthsea – Ursula K. Le Guin, Coming Home – Jack McDevitt, Priest Kings of Gor – John Norman, Sorceress of Faith – Robin D. Owens, Sword of the Bright Lady – M.C. Planck, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – J.K. Rowling, Collected Stories – R.A. Salvatore, Cloud Warrior – Patrick Tilley, The Persistence of Vision – John Varley, Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang – Kate Wilhelm, Unicorn Variations – Roger Zelazny.

#36 Michael T  (12)

Half A War - Abercrombie, A Clockwork Orange - Burgess, Chronicles of the Black Company - Cook, Forge of Darkness - Erikson, The Princess Bride - Goldman, The Eye of the World - Jordan, Swords of Good Men - Kristjansson, King of Thorns - never heard of the guy (Lawrence), A Storm of Swords - Martin, Blood Song - Ryan, The Icewind Dale Trilogy - Salvatore, The Lord of the Rings - Tolkein


#35 Christian (22)

Joe Abercrombie - Before they are Hanged, Oliver Bowden - Assassin's Creed Underworld, Trudi Canavan - Die Rebellin (The Magician's Guild), Philip K. Dick - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Umberto Eco - Der Name der Rose (The Name of the Rose), Ken Follett - Fall of Giants, David Gemmell - Der Weg der Helden (Echoes of the Great Song), Robin Hobb - Assassin's Apprentice, Ralf Isau - Der Kreis der Dämmerung ("The Circle of Dawn" would be the title if it were to come out in English), Robert Jordan - Crossroads of Twilight, Roy Kesey - Pacazo (Pacazo), Scott Lynch - Red Seas under Red Skies, Brian McClellan - Promise of Blood, Naomi Novik - Temeraire, J. D. Oswald - Dreamwalker, Philip Pullman - Northern Lights, Joanne K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Samantha Shannon - The Bone Season, J. R. R. Tolkien - The Fellowship of the Ring, Mario Vargas Llosa - Der Geschichtenerzähler (The Storyteller), Django Wexler - The Thousand Names, Eiji Yoshikawa - Taiko (Taiko).

#34 Yari (18)

Abercrombie Joe - Last Argument of Kings; Brooks Terry - The Wishsong of Shannara; Croggon Alison - The gift; Dostoevskij Fedor - Crime and Punishment; Gatou Shouji - Full Metal Panic volume 4; Hugo Victor -  Les Misérables; Ichiguchi Keiko - Non ci sono più i giapponesi di una volta; Kawahara Reiki - Accel World volume 1; Lawrence Mark - Emperor of Thorns; Martin George R. R. - A Dance with Dragons; Nagatsuki Tappei - Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World volume 1; Ono Fuyumi - The Twelve Kingdoms Skyes of Dawn; Pratchett Terry - Going Postal; Rowling J. K. - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix; Sapkowski Andrzej - The Swallow's Tower; Tolkien J.R.R. - The lord of the Rings; Wilson Ian - Superself; Zusak Marcus - The Book Thief

#33 Rob (5)  -- includes his own book. Cunning!

Joe Abercrombie - The Blade Itself, Peter V. Brett - The Skull Throne, Bernard Cornwell - The Last Kingdom, Rob J. Hayes - The Color of Vengeance, Mark Lawrence - Prince of Fools, GRRM - Game of Thrones, Tim Powers - On Stranger Tides, Matthew Reilly - The Great Zoo of China, Seth Skorkowsky - Hounancier, James Walley - The Forty First Wink.

#32 Matt R (11)

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Omnibus (Douglas Adams), The Sword of Shannara (Terry Brooks), The last of the Wilds (Trudy Canavan), Dune (Frank Herbert (Sorry Robin)), Talyn (Holly Lisle (Extra Sorry Martin!)), A Game of Thrones (George R. R. Martin), Feylander (Liz Noble), Northen Lights (Phillip Pullman), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (J. K. Rowling), The Dark Elf Trilogy (R. A. Salvatore), The Hobbit (J. R. R. Tolken)

#31 Julia (24)  --  hmmm, unsupported?  Great photo though!

1 Austin-King: Fae The wild hunt, 2 Butcher - Stormfront, 3 Cho - Sorcerer to the crown, 4 Delany - The Spooks apprentice, 5 Erikson - Gardens of the moon, 6 Friedman - Feast of souls, 7 Gwynne - Malice, 8 Hearne - Across the nightingale floor, 9 Isau - Gertrud (Childrens book, and German - but it is about a dragon!), 10 Jarvis - Dancing Jax, 11 Keyes - Infernal City, 12 Levene - Smiler's fair, 13 Matthews - The Stone Road, 14 Novik - Uprooted, 15O'Malley - The Rook, 16 Poore - The heir to the north, 17 Quinn - Wife in the fast lane (ok... No fantasy - but a Q!), 18 Rothfuss - Slow regard of silent things, 19 Sanderson - Mistborn, 20 Tolkien - Road goes ever on and on, 21 Uschmann - Finn released (German, and no fantasy... But no othe ru to be found...), 22 Völler - Zeitenzauber (German again - but fantasy!), 23 Williams - War of the flowers, 24 Zevin - Storied life of A-J- Fikry (no fantasy with Z again...)

#30 Richard (?)  -- beer!


#29 Brandon (8)

Angler: Swipe// Baldacci: The Innocent// Edison: The Waking Engine// Glukhovsky: Metro 2033// Kirkman: The Walking Dead Rise Of the Governor// Lawrence: Prince of Fools// Romano: Resurrection Express// Simons: Breaking Point

#28 Sam (12)


#27 Shiro (14)
Andrews: Magic Bites // Brett: The Painted Man // Cole: Control Point // Evans: A Darkness Forged in Fire // Flewelling: Luck in the Shadows // Glukhovsky: Metro 2033 // Jordan: The Eye of the World // Karpyshyn: Revan // Lawrence: Prince of Thorns // Moorcock: Elric of Melniboné // Rothfuss: The Slow Regard of Silent Things // Sapkowski: Der letzte Wunsch // Tolkien: The Silmarillion // Weeks: The Way of Shadows
#26 Jedidja (16)
A: Vallei van de paarden - Auel, B: Exit Kingom - Bell, C: The Hunger Games - Collins, D: The King of Crags - Deas, F: Harp of winds - Furey, G: Silber the first book of dreams - Gier, H: City of Masks - Hoffman, J: Starwars The Mandalorian armor - Jeter, L: Prince of Thorns - Lawrence, M: a Dance with Dragons - Martin, N: The Vagrant - Newman, P: Good Omens - Pratchett (and Gaiman), Q: -, R: The slow regard of silent things - Rothfuss, S: Poison Study - Snyder, T: The Silmarillion - Tolkien, W: The Martian - Weir


#25 Peter (16) -- With another 20 added to the 16 for workout value!
Abercrombie (Best Served Cold), Butcher (First Lord's Fury), Condylas (I'm Greek, you're Turk), Delaye (Sebasten of Atlantis), Escelante (Assassination Attempts on Fidel Castro), Ford (The Ten Thousand), Galland (Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves), Hoffman (The Left Hand of God), Ioannidis (The Girl with two mothers), Lawrence (Prince of Thorns), Martin (A Feast of Crows), King (The Gunslinger), Rowling (Harry Potter), Scott (The Talisman), Verne (Thousand Leagues under the Sea), Weeks (The Black Prism). 

#24 Tiffinie (21)

#23 Al (14)

Rivers of London: Aaronovitch, Dark Run: Brooks, Ready Player One: Cline, Never Hero: Ellery Hodges, Neverwhere: Gaiman, Stranger in a Strange Land: Heinlein, Price of Thorns: Lawrence, The Knife of Never Letting Go: Ness, The Rook: O'malley, Lullaby: Palahniuk, NOTW: Rothfuss, Rose and Thorn: Sullivan, Blackbirds: Wendig, Book Thief: Zusak (not SFF but I was on Z! Gimme a break ;)

#22 Michael J (12) -- Unsupported? You decide! (I've been sent the unsupported version, all good.)

Abercrombie Heroes, Barclay Elfsorrow, Cook Chronicles of the Black Company, Gaiman American Gods, Heitz The Dwarves, Jordan New Spring, Koontz Odd Thomas, Lawernce Prince of Fools, Martin A Game of Thrones, Rothfuss  The Wise Mans Fear, Sanderson The Bands of Mourning, Tolkien The Children of Hurin

#21 Kristen (25) -- Heroic effort!

Adams, Douglas - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | Beagle, Peter - The Last Unicorn | Card, Orson Scott - Seventh Son | Donaldson, Stephen R. - The Power that Preserves | Eddings, David - Domes of Fire | Foster, Alan Dean - A Call to Arms | Gaiman, Neil - Anansi Boys | Hamilton, Laurel K. - Guilty Pleasures | Ione, Larissa - Desire Unchained | Joyce, James - A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Krauss, Nicole - The History of Love | L'Engle, Madeleine - A Wrinkle in Time | McKillip, Patricia - The Riddle Master of Hed | Noel, Alyson - Blue Moon | O'Malley, Bryan Lee - Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness | Price, Kalayna - Grave Dance | Quinn, Spencer - Dog On It | Rosenberg, Aaron - Tides of Darkness | Sullivan, Michael - Age of Myth | Tolkien, J.R.R. - The Hobbit | Ueda, Hajime - FLCL | Vonnegut, Kurt - Hocus Pocus | Weinstien, Howard - Perchance to Dream | X is missing :( | Yun, Mi-Kyung - Bride of the Water God | Zelazny, Roger - The Dream Master | And the TARDIS!

#20 Lee (21)


#19 Angela (13)

Abercrombie: Half a King / Butcher: Storm Front / Canavan: The Magician's Guild / Eddings: The Diamond Throne / Goodkind: Wizard's First Rule / Hobb: Fool's Quest / Lawrence: Prince of Thorns / Martin: Game of Thrones / Otsuka: The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service / Ryan: Blood Song / Sakurai: Ajin Demi-Human / Takami: Battle Royale / Weeks: The Black Prism 

#18 Leslie (21)

Austen, Jane--Persuasion, Blanchard, Kelly--Someday I'll Be Redeemed*, Castle, Richard--Heat Wave, Day, Daniel--Tolkien: A Dictionary, Elliot, Elisabeth--No Graven Image, Fforde, Jasper--The Last Dragon Slayer, Gier, Kerstin--Sapphire Blue, Horowitz, Anthony--Snakehead, Jacques, Brian--The Bellmaker, King, C. A.--A Keeper's Destiny*, Lewis, C. S.--Out of The Silent Planet, MacDonald, George--At The Back of The North Wind, Norton, Mary--The Borrowers, Orwell, George--1984, Patton, Ripley--Ghost Hand*, Riggs, Ransom--Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, Strunk, William Jr.--Elements of Style, Tribble, Derrick--Anamatus*, Vanderbilt, K. M.--Skeins Unfurled*, White, E. B.--Stuart Little, Various Authors--Treasury of Classic Stories

#17 Adrian (22) -- kudos for not choosing skinny books!

Jean Auel: The plains of passage / Greg Bear: Darwin's Radio / David Clement-Davies: Firebringer / Charles Dickens: David Copperfield / Greg Egan: Diaspora / Jude Fisher: Wild Magic / Charles Grant: X-files (Goblins & Whirlwind) / Anthony Horowitz: Oblivion /  Christopher Paolini: Inheritance / J. K. Rowling: Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire / J. V. Jones: Sword of Shadows / Stephen King (and some guy named Straub nobody has heard of): Bleak House / Tom Lloyd: The Stormcaller / Fiona McIntosh: Emissary / Naomi Novik: Victory of Eagles / John Stephens: The Emerald Atlas / J. R. R. Tolkien: The Lord of The Rings (complete edition) / Jean Ure: After the Plague / Jules Verne: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea / Tad Williams: Otherland / Rick Yancey: The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp / David Zindell: The Broken God. 


#16 Ralph (19) -- The L wasn't Lawrence :o Rookie mistake, Ralph!


#15 Carrie (19)

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency - Adams, Proven Guilty - Butcher, The Magician's Guild - Canavan, The Adamantine Palace - Deas, Blind Faith - Elton (I'm counting this as Sci-fi), The Stranger- Frei, Winter Warriors - Gemmell, Dune Messiah - Herbert, Taken - Jacka, A Time Of Justice - Kerr, Prince Of Thorns - Lawrence, Dragonflight - McCaffrey, Temeraire - Novik, Dreamwalker - Oswald, Soul Music - Pratchett, Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone - Rowling, Contact - Sagan, The Fellowship Of The Ring - Tolkien, The Unexpected Occurrence of Thadeus Hobble - Wiles

#14 Charlie (20)

A - Goblin Emperor - Addison, B - The Great Bazaar - Brett, C - Ready Player One - Cline, D - Nightmares - Datlow, E - Gridlock - Elton, F - The Lyre Thief - Fallow, G - Necromancer - Gibson, H - Roses and Rot - Howard, J - Jacobson, K - Gunslinger - King, L - Prince of Thorns - You, M - The Ice dragon - GRRM, N - Sleeping Giants - Nuevel, O - 1984 - Orwell, P - The Bees by - Paull, R - Hell Island - Reilly, S - Redshitrs - Scalzi, T - United states of Japan - Tieryas, V - Still here - Vapynar, W - CloudBound - Wilde

#13 Charlotte (18)

The Blade Itself - Abercrombie, Storm Front - Butcher, Ender's Game - Card, A Dance of Cloaks - Dalglish, Pawn of Prophecy - Eddings, Exile's Return - Feist, Legend - Gemmell, Dead Until Dark - Harris, A Shadow on the Glass - Irvine, Fated - Jacka, Blood Will Follow - Kristjansson, The Lies of Locke Lamora - Lynch, Tuf Voyaging - Martin, Sabres - Nix, Alanna: The First Adventure - Pierce, The Slow Regard of Silent Things - Rothfuss, Legion & The Emperor's Soul - Sanderson, Child of an Ancient City - Williams.

#12 Daniel (24!)

Half a War - Joe Abercrombie; The Aeronaut's Windlass - Jim Butcher; The Watcher of Dead Time - Edward Cox; The Lost Dark - Stephen Donaldson; Forge of Darkness - Steven Erikson; Heritage of the Xandim - Maggie Furey; Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman; Wool - Hugh Howey; The Buried Giant - Kazuo Ishiguro; Fated - Benedict Jacka; Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes; Emperor of Thorns - Mark Lawrence; The Strange Library - Harukai Murakami; Vurt - Jeff Noon; Dreamwalker - J D Oswald; Eric - Terry Pratchett; The Good Luck of Right Now - Matthew Quick; The Slow Regard of Silent Things - Patrick Rothfuss; The Way of Kings (Part 1) - Brandon Sanderson; The End of Mr Y - Scarlett Thomas; Armageddon in Retrospect - Kurt Vonnegut; Retribution Falls - Chris Wooding; How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe - Charles Yu; We - Yevgeny Zamyatin

#11 Vivianne (22) -- making it look easy!

(Ilona Andrews - Magic Burns, Phillippa Ballantine - Geist, Jack Campbell - Dauntless, Amanda Downum - The Bone Palace, Laura Esquivel - Como agua para chocolate, Jeaniene Frost - One Foot in the Grave, Niel Gaiman - Coraline, Charlaine Harris - Dead to the World, Emmi Itäranta - Memory of Water, N.K. Jemisin - The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, Katharine Kerr - The Bristling Wood, Marc Levy - Et si c'etati vrai..., Silvia Moreno-Garcia - Signal to Noise, Garth Nix - Sabriel, Nnedi Okorafor - Who Fears Death, Philip Pullman - The Golden Compass, Patrick Rothfuss - The Slow Regard of Silent Things, Brandon Sanderson - The Emperor's Soul, Laini Taylor - Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Catheynne M. Valente - Deathless, Paula Weston - Shadows, Roger Zelazny - Chronicles of Amber)
#10 Trevor (20) 


Compilation of seven novels- Austen, Storm Front -  Butcher,  Rebirths of Tao- Chu, Donahue my own story- Donahue, Gardens of the Moon- Erikson, All I really Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten- Fulghum, The Left Hand of God - Hoffman, Tortoise and the Hare - Izawa, New Spring - Jordan, The Gunslinger - King,  Zero - Leveen, Promise of Blood - McClellan, His Majesty's Dragon - Novik, Unfettered - Orullian, Rincewind the Wizard - Pratchett, Name of the Wind - Rothfuss, Elantris - Sanderson, When the Heavens Fall - Turner, Treating Type A Behavior and Your Heart, Ulmer,A Very Human President - Valenti, The Thousand Names - Wexler

#9 Marc (11) --Ahoy!

Joe Abercrombie - Half A King, Peter V Brett - The Warded Man (the painted man for UK residents), Steven Erikson - Gardens of the Moon, T. Frohock - Los Nefilim, Robert Jordan - The Eye of the World, Prince of Fools - Mark Lawrence, Peter Orulian - Trial of Intentions, Patrick Rothfuss - The Name of the Wind, Shawn Speakman - The Dark Thorn, Nate Taylor - Coming Distractions - the Complete Collection, Vernor Vinge - A Deepness in the Sky

 #8 Kirsty (19)

Aaronovitch, Ben - Rivers of London, Brennan, Marie - A Natural History of Dragons, Cho, Zen - Sorcerer to the Crown, DiTerlizzi, Tony - The Search for Wondla, Ee, Susan - Angelfall, Frost, Toby - A Game of Battleships, Gaiman, Neil - The Ocean at the End Of The Lane, Harris, Joanne M - The Gospel of Loki, Jordan, Robert - New Spring, Kowal, Mary Robinette - Shades of Milk and Honey, Lawrence, Mark - Prince of Thorns, Maas, Sarah J - Throne of Glass, North, Claire - The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, Ozeki, Ruth - A Tale For The Time Being, Pratchett, Terry - The Shepherd's Crown, Reeve, Philip - Mortal Engines, Sanderson, Brandon - Legion and the Emperor's Soul, Taylor, Laini - Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Wexler, Django - The Thousand Names


#7 Dave (10) -- playing fast and loose with the rules, but 10 in an open hand!

Robert Asprin and Jody Lynn Nye, Class Dis-Mythed; Marion Zimmer Bradley and Holly Lisle, In the Rift: Glenraven II; Glen Cook, Darkwar Trilogy 1; Dave Duncan, Upland Outlaws; Heinlein, Farnhams' Freehold; R.A. MacAvoy, Damiano; Frederick Pohl, Beyond the Blue Event Horizon; Silverberg, A Time of Changes; Turtledove, Werenight; Lawerence Watt-Evans, The Misenchanted Sword;



#6 Aleena (14) -- Self-confessed tiny woman vs huge books!

Glass Sword - Aveyard, Six Of Crows - Bardugo, Miss Mabel's School For Girls - Cross, Skin - Dekker, Jane Slayre - Erwin, Wolf By Wolf - Graudin, Cruel Beauty - Hodge, The Eye of The World - Jordan, A Stolen Kiss - Keating, The Lies of Locke Lamora - Lynch, A Clash of Kings - Martin, The Name of The Wind - Rothfuss, Vicious - Schwab, The Hobbit - Tolkein

#5 Endza (8) -- On a dinosaur, dressed as a dinosaur!

Amazon, Kindle; Brust, To Reign in Hell; Cronin, The Passage; Datlow, A Whisper of Blood; Gaiman & Pratchett, Good Omens; King, The Bazaar of Bad Dreams; Lawrence, La Trilogia Dei Fulmini; Reeves, Bleeding Violet; Takami, Battle Royale.

#4 Iain (20)

James Aitcheson, Sworn Sword. Terry Brooks, The Wishsong of Shannara. Bernard Cornwell, 1356. Ted Dekker, The Bone man's daughter. David Eddings, Seeress of Kell. George MacDonald Fraser, Flashman and the mountain of light. David Gemmell, White Wolf. Tom Holt, Grailblazers. Conn Iggulden, Wolf of the plains. Robert Jordan, The Eye of The World. Richard Kadrey, Aloha From Hell. Mark Lawrence, Prince of Fools. Anne McCaffery, Dragonflight. Naomi Novak, Temeraire.  Terry Pratchett, Maskerade.Sean russell, The One Kingdom. Mary Stewart, The Wicked Day. Maria V. Snyder, Storm Glass. Brent Weeks, The Way of Shadows.

#3 David (12)

The Dragon's Path: Abraham, Dragon Master: Bunch, The High Lord: Canavan, Malice: Gwynne, Assassin's Quest: Hobb, Emperor Death of Kings: Iggulden, New Spring: Jordan, Prince of Fools: Lawrence, Blight of Mages: Miller, Eragon: Paolini, The Silmarillion: Tolkien, Black Prism: Weeks

#2 Evelyn (13)
(chest supported on the left, unsupported on right  :) )


Anderson, the broken sword. Balog, Fairy tale. Doyle, Tales of Sherlock Holmes. Flyte, City of dark magic. Gee, the sentinel mage. Hobb, Shamans crossing. Jones, Howl's moving castle. Kennedy, the fire Lord's lover. Lawrence, Prince of Thorns. Miller, the innocent mage. Riggs, Miss Peregrine's home for peculiar children. Salvatore, the Companions. Weeks, the way of the shadow. 

#1 Michael (7)












Posted by at 4 comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)