Category: A-B

Authors A-B

Dusted Off: In nomine pizza domine!

On April 13, 2009

In Authors, Books, Fiction, Harry Dresden, Jim Butcher, Urban Fantasy

a quick peak into my geekery:

Thanks to the virtual signing hosted by Dog Eared Books last week, I received my signed copy of the new Dresden Files novel, Turn Coat this weekend. This being the, I think, 6th signed book in my meager library,^** this one is obviously being added to my “do not loan” list–honestly, not sure I’m going to let myself read it.

——

^*The inscription, “In nomine pizza domine!” is the battle cry of Toot-Toot and his dewdrop faerie friends, as they attack the Summer Court in Summer Knight.

^**I fully expect certain readers, like TLomL, will dispute the use of the word “meager.” On this, however, she is uncharacteristically wrong.

Dusted Off: Belgium, Belgium, Belgium! (sorry for the profanity)

By HCNewton

On March 11, 2009

In Douglas Adams, Fiction, News/Misc., Science Fiction, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Not sure why I’ve let this layer of dust accumulate over things lately, meant to post a thing or two last week, but things got away from me I guess.

Nothing personal, I assure you–well, most of you anyway.

So what got me riled up enough to break my silence?

This monstrosity:

That’s right, author Eoin Colfer has been commissioned to write the sixth volume of Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide trilogy.

SciFi Wire reports:

And Another Thing…, which will be released Oct. 12 to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the publication of the first book in the series by the late Douglas Adams, is a sequel commissioned by the publisher from Eoin Colfer. Colfer is the author of the best-selling Artemis Fowl series.

While Penguin will publish the latest book, Pan Macmillan, which was Adams’ paperback publisher, will repackage his backlist, adding new introductions to the books, which will be released monthly leading up to the release of the new title.

Why, oh why, is this being done? Was the world begging for a follow-up to Mostly Harmless? Did another story just need to be told? NO!

Did Adams’ leave notes, instructions for another? No.

Does Arthur Dent really need to get kicked around some more? No.

Wouldn’t it be easier to insult the Douglas Adams’ memory by digging up his bones and throwing rocks at them? Or you could just put out the recent movie on Blu-Ray, that’d do it, too.

This is wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. A travesty. A disgrace. A literary crime.

Oh, who am I kidding? I’ll be there on 10/21, cash in hand, just waiting for the book–probably with baited breath. Just hope it’ll be slightly better than a collection of poetry by Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings of Greenbridge, Essex, England.

Dusted Off: Backup by Jim Butcher

By HCNewton

On October 28, 2008

In Fiction, Harry Dresden, Jim Butcher, Urban Fantasy

Well, that was a fun, 45 minutes (give or take).

Just knocked off Jim Butcher’s Backup: A Story of the Dresden Files. Weighing in at about 12K words, it’s almost as meaty as the 4-issue mini-series comic book Welcome to the Jungle (recently collected and published in hardcover form).

This is a different way of telling a Harry Dresden story, coming at it from the POV of his brother, Thomas. Not only does this give us a new way of seeing Harry, it gives us a better appreciation for Thomas. (In many ways, it reminded me of Crais’ The Watchman from last year.)

Quick read; decent story–resolution came a bit too soon, but given the length, such was unavoidable; probably paid too much for it, given my budget; hope some of the backstory spills over into the regular Dresden File novels. Something any fan should pick up.

Dusted Off: Writer’s Envy

By HCNewton

On October 10, 2006

In Authors, Jim Butcher, Quotations, Writing

Doing a little reading this morning while the boys do schoolwork and the Princess is hopping around on gymnastic equipment…read this paragraph from Jim Butcher’s Summer Knight. Just struck me as the kind of thing a writer should be able to do, should be great at. This is a paragraph that Dan Brown could never write. Me either. Which bugs me more than I can say.

I leaned against my door with my eyes closed, trying to think. I was scared. Not in that half-pleasant adrenaline-charged way, but quietly scared. Wait-on-the-results-of-medical-tests scared. It’s a rational sort of fear that puts a lawn chair down in the front of your thoughts and brings a cooler of drinks along with it.

Little bit of humor to create/maintain the tone, gives insight into the character, and you know exactly how the narrator feels–even if you haven’t felt that way yourself–and if you have felt that it resonates with you in such a way that you are in the moment.

Dusted Off: The Few, the Proud, the Re-Readable

By HCNewton

On March 31, 2004

In Aaron Elkins, Authors, Douglas Adams, Elvis Cole/Joe Pike, Fiction, Gideon Oliver, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Robert Crais, Science Fiction, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

There are a few select authors that I can say that I’ve read everything they’ve written (or at least published). As of last week, Robert Crais just joined the likes of Douglas Adams, Christopher Buckley, Aaron Elkins, and a few others I can’t think of at the moment.

Robert Crais started off writing cool, Robert B. Parker-ish detective novels. Lots of action, lots of wise cracks, deadly & enigmatic sidekick, etc. Unlike Parker, over time Crais didn’t get lighter on the action and drama–‘tho the wise cracks did become scarce (but in a fitting way due to the subject matter). The plots became more intricate, the characters better… I’m a little worried that the last two Elvis Cole novels have been a bit too serious, a bit too intense–I can’t help but think of Dennis Lehane‘s Kenzie and Gennaro series (which isn’t bad, just not where the series was originally headed, I thought). That doesn’t mean that I don’t have every intention of running down to a bookstore the instant the next book, The Forgotten Man comes out in August (*cough*birthdaygiftidea*cough*).

His two stand-alone novels, Demoltion Angel and Hostage (which I’ve talked about here before), both blew me away, particularly the former. Good to see that he’s not a one-trick pony–even if that one trick is particularly great.

And so far, he stands up to a re-reading. What more could anyone ask for?