Review: The Outsider

The Outsider by Stephen King
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



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Dear Bubba Rick's Publishing

We're in the endgame now. The house is officially on the market and the large portion of work that needs to be done to it is finished. Now I just need to sell the damn thing. New problems will take its place. I know this. At least that's what my anxiety tells me. For example, last night the dishwasher stopped working. The pleasures of being a homeowner I suppose. But, the sooner I tackle the problems behind me, the sooner I can tackle the problems in front of me.

Speaking of problems, rejection season is here. I've sent out thirty-seven query letters this month and have already received six form rejections that are almost word for word the same. I don't mind. I'm just naturally bitter. I've gone through the entirety of the agent section in the writer's market book. There are still agencies that have multiple agents that deal in science fiction, and several that are simply closed currently, so I still have plenty of querying to go. For now, at least, it's on to publishers who actually take un-agented manuscripts. Which aren't many, especially ones that are a step above self-publishing. Dear Bubba Rick's Publishing.

I have written into the short form notebook I purchased this month. It's mostly reworking some previously written work, but at least it's something. I should have a regular work schedule sometime this month. With the old house pretty much done outside cleaning out the garage, it's no longer taking up so much of my time. I'm currently thinking of a mid-afternoon break on Sunday with coffee and a snack. Coffee and food are the best motivators outside of whiskey.

Will I get any real writing done soon? I hope so. Querying is taking point at the moment, and that won't last forever. I'll give that until June before I start rethinking my plan for the first book. Self-publishing is looking better all the time. Once all the letters are sent out, I'll work on Colony Earth until summer arrives. At least that's the plan.

The wife and I have taken up dancing lessons. With her being Puerto Rican and me being Irish, it's like watching a ballerina dance with a golem. If you keep up with the book reviews, I've also been reading the Witcher book series. It's something I've been wanting to do for several years, but a mix of lack of time and most of them not being translated got in the way. So I'm finally getting that done. That's been more than enough to keep me busy, so I'll stop boring you for this month.

Until next time, and at all times, be kind.

Review: Sword of Destiny

Sword of Destiny by Andrzej Sapkowski
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Here's a game for you. Read "Sword of Destiny" and take a shot every time you see the actual word 'destiny'. It depends on the story, but there are a few that will literally kill you with its repetitious. There's a slight arch to the theme, but it's more of a light switch scenario. Where our hero believes a certain thing, and, by the end, has no choice but to accept the other side. It's not a bad story, but you might vaguely wonder if you've heard it before.

Like it's predecessor, "The Last Wish", this volume is a collection of short stories. However, there is a big difference in narrative focus as it turns towards a select group of characters, namely the relationship between Geralt and Yennefer, rather than the world at large. I suppose that being a pro or con depends on your position on characterization versus world-building. Personally, I like a good mix of the two, but Sapkowski seems to be slightly better at the latter rather than the former. Making the volume as a whole a mixed bag of middling quality.

If you want my advice, and you must if you're reading this, then read the first story "The Bounds of Reason", and then the last two stories of this book. The middle three don't serve much purpose beyond character interactions and can be numbing to the senses. "The Bounds of Reason" is a really good story set in the world and is the gem of the volume. The last two are mostly setup for the full-length novels that are to follow. To be honest, the volume's namesake "Sword of Destiny" spills out like an excessive exposition dump while most of the action of "Something More" happens out of Geralt's view and is told to him after the fact. They're required reading if you want to dive into the novels, but being required doesn't mean their good.

The writing isn't bad, in fact, most of the time it can be rather good. But, if Stephen King told you about his uneventful trip to the grocery store, it might be a fairly well-told story but it will still bore you to tears. The problem isn't the prose as much as it is the subject matter. Two of the stories are literally just Geralt dealing with shitty relationship problems. Chalking up his terrible taste in women to the pull of destiny.

Like I said, if you want to get into the novels, you have to read at least some of this book. Though, your mileage may vary. There honestly isn't anything here that couldn't be told in a good prologue. Also, once again, Triss doesn't show her face, which irked me in all the wrong places.

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Review: Transmetropolitan, Vol. 1: Back on the Street

Transmetropolitan, Vol. 1: Back on the Street by Warren Ellis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

You ever watch the movie 'The Last of the Mohicans'? If I ever get asked that question, I always answer 'I tried'. The reason being is that I can never sit through it. I don't view it as a bad film. Far from it. The weird thing about it is that the movie itself seems right up my alley. Even if I dedicate the time and energy to watch it, I always end up giving up. I also don't hate it by any means. If I hated it, that at least would have been an emotion to latch onto. And I've hate-watched some really bad stuff all the way to the end.

The reason I bring this up is that I have the same reaction to pretty much everything Warren Ellis has ever written. When you examine and criticism a work of art, you need to be able to tell the difference between what is good and something you simply like. Because liking something is completely subjective. You can like fast food all you want, but it will never be quality food. I acknowledge that Warren Ellis is a good writer. I know this in my bones. But there is just something about his work that prevents it from clicking with me. And 'Transmetropolitan' is not an exception.

I think my problem, at least with this book in particular, is the narrative is all bluster. I understand anger. I'm always angry and all that. But there's a difference between anger and just wanting to piss all over everything. Our protagonist here seems to be far more of the latter. Some of the reasons to be mad are more than justified. Like in regards to police brutality and government corruption. Though, more often than not, the reasons seem petty and stem from a pathological need to be antisocial.

There also aren't any defined characters beyond our main dude. In the second story arc in this volume, there is a female character introduced, but even she is suspect as to if she really matters or not. There's just a vague rage against the machine vibe that most people grow out of by their mid-twenties. It's like if Batman declared war on crime, but he didn't fight anyone beyond random muggers. Sure, Batman is fighting crime, but what makes him so interesting is his antagonists. Otherwise, he's just beating up poor people.

The art fits the narrative. It looks like a higher-end story from Heavy Metal magazine but works in its own way. I don't have anything to say beyond that.

Despite my inability to engage with Warren Ellis, and my dislike of the main character, I actually fully recommend you read this book. It isn't bad by any stretch. And I'm sure many out there really like it. Just because I'm not one of them doesn't mean you won't be. If I thought it wasn't worth a try, I would say so. But, it is. You might not like it, but you might love the ever-living hell out of it.

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Review: The Last Wish

The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Since context matters, I'll state that this is my third time reading this book. I read the first couple of books years ago (before it was cool) but the later books in the series had not been translated to English just yet. To, at least in part, stay ahead of the new TV series I decided to catch up and read all of the books. Since it had been a few years since the last go around, I also decided to start over. To refresh and see how well my memory serves me.

Pretty well, it turns out. I had little trouble remembering the various characters and plots of the various stories this book contains. I suppose it's a good sign that you can remember a book so well. A tribute to the writing I suppose. The characters are sharp, the stories are inventive, and the prose contains a strong dry wit to them. Some stories are better than others, but I won't call this collection a mixed bag. The variation of likeability is marginal and likely due to personal tastes.

"The Lesser Evil" I would have to list as my personal favorite.

The intersecting story "The Voice of Reason", serves the book well. While weak as an actual story, it operates as needed downtime between adventures. It maintains the process of creating a series of short stories but also threads them together to form something larger. Making it something better than a collection while not masking itself as a full-grown novel.

If I had to name one thing that annoyed me, because I have to, I didn't like how characters would name drop other characters we haven't met yet. Especially when there's no reason to call them out by name. As an example: Triss Merigold gets a mention in this book and she never even shows up. I know we're world building here, but the whole process feels inorganic.

As a general rule, a book that can stand up to multiple reads is a good book. Like if you can date someone more than once and not leave before paying the check, is probably someone you can form a relationship with. My pretentious side tells me that book series are evil. That a writer should be able to come up with more than one idea. But, as series go, this is starting off to be a good one.

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Getting Back To It, Whatever 'It' Is

For the two people who read this blog, you might have noticed that I didn't do an entry for December. I also neglected to do book reviews for the couple of novels I read towards the end of the year. To be fair, I was busy. Holidays and getting my old house ready for sale has taken up all my time. Not that I didn't have time to make an entry into a blog no one reads, but more to the effect that I didn't have anything to say. At least in regards to writing. Still kind of don't, but I felt the need to check in with my plans for the future.

The house is ready to sell. More or less. Some productive people I know, stay productive by following the 80% rule. Basically, you work on something until you complete 80% of it because the remaining 20% isn't really worth it. I stop working on the house around 95%, but that's just how I am. Hopefully, it won't take too long to sell. Or, to be more actuate, it won't take long to sell it at the price I want.

NaNoWriMo was a failure. I shot out of the gate and landed on my face. I had some friends who needed my help and it completely threw me off my game. Don't get me wrong, helping my friends was more important. I was just hit with situation after situation that ate up all my free time to write. I was hoping to get a good start on the new book and work on it first thing in January. My biggest problem was that I still couldn't decide on a narrative voice. Plus, what I did write didn't make me feel like I was writing at my best. So, in light of this, I decided to go back to the Colony Earth project. God help me.

I should also start querying agents next week. I've been putting it off for the holidays, but I can't use that for an excuse anymore. I did query an agent in early December, but that was more a matter of timing than anything. According to her twitter, she plans to be caught up on most queries by February. So I should be getting that rejection letter any day now.

I've gotten a slow start to the new year, if you can't tell by the date stamp on this entry, but it's back to the grindstone for me. Writing goals being to finish the draft for CE by the end of the year, query everyone, and get back to my short form work. I know I know. There's enough bad poetry in the world without me adding to it. But, if it wasn't for my shitty prose, how would you tell what is good?

Review: The Deep

The Deep by Rivers Solomon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's unfair to compare books, even by the same author. A writer isn't required, nor inclined, to write the same thing over and over for your amusement. However, it isn't just important to understand what we read, but understand why we read it. Solomon's previous book, "An Unkindness of Ghosts", was my favorite of 2018. It might even be my favorite of the decade. I had spent the last few years reading so much mediocre pandering to their subgenre bullshit that it was amazing to read something from a new author that had genuine talent. It was such a great read that my socks are still smoldering. It's why I picked up her latest, "The Deep". While I won't compare the two, it is important in the frame of this review for me to establish context.

First off, I didn't expect it to be a novella. I suppose the 176-page count should have clued me in, but I made my purchase without so much as glancing over the cover. Novellas are not only shorter, they are also framed differently. They focus more on the initial idea than an expansive novel would. It's like the difference between a forest and a large tree. A novel isn't one big idea. It's thousands of smaller ideas trying to work together. A novella is that one big idea that branches out into a wider form. "The Deep" has a great big idea but being a novella subverted my expectations. That's not anyone's fault but mine, but it doesn't change the fact that is what happened.

As a novella with that big idea, it tilts far more towards world-building than things like plot or characters. For what it is, it has great world-building, but I couldn't help feel that spending another year working on this would have produced a novel well worth the effort. Further thinking this was a missed opportunity. A great concept with more fleshed out characters and a layered plot would have helped me love this book even more. Plus, I would have been able to spend more time in this watery world.

The prose was easily the best part of this book. Solomon is such a raw talent I fell in love with almost every sentence that was written. There is also a careful consideration of the use of pronouns that makes you stand up and take notice (or at least it should). It's done in a way that it isn't jarring and easily made me even more immersive in this world. Once again, something I wish was drawn out more into a full novel.

"The Deep" is a genuine work of art. You personally might not like it. You might not conceptually get it. And that's okay. This book, or Solomon's work in general, isn't for everyone. But sandblasting every paragraph grey until the most amount of people relate to a middling boring book has long been apart of the fucking problem. While I take issue with its briefness or lack of a focused plot, I can't help love with how it made me feel. My only legitimate strike against it is that this feeling didn't last as long as I wanted it to.

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