The Genius Is In

Today our computer department is hosting one of its’ Apple Tax Free days.  They already sell Apple products at discounted academic pricing, but on certain outstanding occassions Apple is magnanimous enough to pay the sales tax on purchases in the store.  These are obviously significant events, drawing so much traffic from all over the university’s campus that additional shuttle buses are scheduled to handle the demand.  The timing of today’s event is advantageous for us, as we are promoting John Wiley & Sons new line of Portable Genius books for Apple products!  We ordered sizable quantities of the five titles currently available to create a display with enough impact, and our rep Tom Carney provided the finishing touch: free t-shirts!  These highly coveted black t-shirts with the slogan “The genius is in” are free with the purchase of any portable genius book.  No sales tax and a free t-shirt?  You don’t have to be a genius to take advantage of an opportunity this appealing!

Mountain-Con 2008

A couple of years ago I had the good fortune of sitting between Brandon Sanderson and Dave Wolverton (aka David Farland) during a booksigning.  Throughout the evening I was able to pose questions which they graciously answered.  Brandon advised me to attend the large scale science fiction and fantasy conventions in order to network with authors, agents, and editors.  Last month I got my first taste of the pagan ritual that is the sci fi/fantasy convention at Mountain-Con 2008.  This was a local convention, so there were no agents or editors in attendance, but there were plenty of local authors, both up-and-coming and breakthroughs like the Brandons Sanderson and Mull.  I wanted to promote my book Orlando and Geoffrey, so I contacted the committee to find out if I could sell copies at the convention.  They responded with two alternatives: I could purchase dealer space or I could try to be added to the guest list.  I didn’t want to invest money in a dealer space and end up missing out on the writing workshops, but I didn’t feel like I belonged on a guest list with the likes of the two Brandons, either.  So I plopped down the registration fee and went as a regular fan.

The first day I attended workshops led by Paul Genesse, Rebecca Shelley (published under the collective pseudonym R.D. Henham), Eric James Stone (whom I also met at the aforementioned signing), and Patrick Tracy.  I spoke to them between workshops and swapped books with Rebecca.  I felt like my place was on their side of the table, and I intend to see that happen next year.

A range of activities were going on all night long, so there weren’t that many people up and moving at 9 AM on Saturday when Brandon Mull gave his main address.  That worked out nicely, because he went around the room and had us introduce ourselves and explain why we were there so that he could tailor his remarks accordingly.  That gave me a chance to bring up Orlando and Geoffrey and talk about my experience as a book buyer as well.  When I came back to his table at noon to get a couple of books signed he recognized me and we talked about having an event on campus for him.  We have exchanged e-mails since then, but have not firmed up any plans yet.

I attended Brandon Sanderson’s afternoon workshop, then had him sign my copy of The Well of Ascension.  After grabbing a bite to eat I went to Sanderson’s main address on how fantasy enthusiasts do themselves a disservice by trying to be assimilated into mainstream fiction on terms not of their choosing.  That was followed by the recording of a podcast Sanderson does with Howard Tayler and Dan Wells for their website www.writingexcuses.com.  They recorded four episodes featuring guest authors John Brown (whose book Servant of a Dark God is forthcoming), Brandon Mull, and Eric James Stone (who has a piece in the new seasonally apropos anthology Blood Lite).  A two hour workshop conducted by John Brown with Sanderson’s assistance capped off the day.  All in all, I got some writing tips from authors I respect and did some useful networking, so I consider it money and time well spent. Mountain-Con was a nice introduction into the convention circuit for me, and I think I’ll be coming back for more!

Epic Ending: The Hero of Ages review

When I asked Brandon Sanderson what creative control he had over the artwork for the covers of his novels he said that he had little say in the matter, but he did request that The Hero of Ages, the third and final book in the Mistborn series, be given a cover with more of an epic feel.  Judging a cover by its book, the artwork isn’t epic enough!  The world of ash and mist has reached its zenith and utter destruction is imminent.  The magnitude of the peril that has encompassed Vin and the empire she protects is not completely conveyed in the scene depicted on the cover, although it is a scene of tremendous impact!  I’m in awe of the magnitude of planning that Sanderson put into this series.  As things fell into place and many (but not all) secrets were revealed, I got the sense that the series was written in reverse order, all portents culminating in a truly epic ending.  Sanderson’s writing has a tendency to be repetitious and the phrase “homicidal hat trick” seems out of place in a society that doesn’t play hockey, but those are very minor flaws and are easily offset by his exceptional depth and inventiveness.  Sanderson has demonstrated he has the planning capability necessary to finish Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series, and I look forward to his next original series!

A Paean to North Dakota

As ridiculous as that may sound, that is what Chuck Klosterman has written in his first novel, Downtown Owl.  Equally as ridiculous, this is the first Klosterman book I have read, so I am not able to compare his fiction to his non-fiction.  It’s likely that this will not be the only Klosterman book I will read, but it will probably be the only book I read about a rural North Dakota town in the 1980s.  Most of the story (like the town itself) revolves around Owl High School, whether told from the point of view of mediocre quarterback Mitch, new history teacher Julia, or retired farmer Horace.  Owl doesn’t offer these characters much, but they don’t want much anyway.  Mitch wants nothing more than to stay in his bed, where he dreams of murdering his football coach and English teacher (who has a propensity for getting female students pregnant).  Julia gets drunk while wanting to get high and fall facedown in love, and Horace wants to go on drinking coffee, having the same conversations with the same people over and over again.  This book chronicles their daily lives for part of the 1983-84 school year, during which nothing much happens until something apocalyptic hits Owl.  Klosterman nails his characters’ inner workings and the small town pathos while his humor is spot on, particularly at The End.

The Thief Lord review

This may have been one too many thief books for me.  This was the first Cornelia Funke book I have read and, coming on the heels of The Book Thief, I’m not sure what all the hullaballoo is about.   The prose struck me as oversimplified, as though Funke thinks middle readers are more adept at thievery than reading.  Her characters are utterly conventional in a pleasantly unconventional story.  Although it deals with young thieves, this book really doesn’t belong with City of Thieves or The Book Thief.  It is not set during World War II, but in a timeless Venice.  No one dies except for some parents, and that is dealt with before this story actually begins.  The antagonists are harmless and benign if not outright helpful.  The advertising copy would lead you to believe that this is a Dickensian story, but there is no Bill Sykes to be found here.  The gang of kid thieves truss up a private detective who is seeking for two of their number and he becomes an honorary operative.  They break into a woman’s home and she not only gives them what they came to steal, she assists them in the hand off and welcomes them into her home.  This book is a fairy tale, complete with a happily-ever-after ending that is trite and inconsequential.

The Book Thief review

Another thief book set during World War II, this was a terrific counterpoint to City of Thieves.  The protagonist is another teenaged thief, but she is German, she’s a younger, more accomplished thief, and she is a girl.  This is a children’s book narrated by Death.  You wouldn’t know it by looking at him, but Death has a catchy narration style!  The Book Thief is in a class of transcendent books that excel at every level.  It’s a wonderfully engaging children’s book, an historically significant view of the war as experienced by German civilians, and a superbly worded treatment on the power of words and books.  Zusak’s Death comes across like a member of Fall Out Boy: “I am an arms dealer/Fitting you with weapons in the form of words.” He doesn’t care which side wins, it’s just the business he’s in.  This story empties your heart, fills it up again, then smashes it flat as a bombed building.  Like the souls carried away by Death, young readers are in good hands with Zusak.

City of Thieves review

When Lindsay Wood, a rep from Penguin, recommended this book to me, I told her that I was planning on reading it but I had to get over my unfounded resentment towards the author first.  She rapidly deduced the root of my envy and responded “Why?  Because he’s married to Amanda Peet?”  Absolutely!  David Benioff has a successful writing career and he’s married to Amanda Peet!  How lucky can one guy get?  Wait until you read this book before you answer that question.  It is purportedly based on the experiences of his grandfather during the siege of Leningrad in 1942, and it would seem that luck runs in the Benioff genes.  One could say that the author has a diluted variation of the Benioff luck gene, and he would likely agree with that assessment.

A blazing quick read, City of Thieves reads like a screenplay, implausible yet not surprising, considering the author is also a screenwriter.  The action takes place over a few days in the drawn out siege, and there is no surfeit of transcribed Russian words to stumble over.  The narrator does his share of stumbling, but each time it is fortuitous.  “Not everybody has talent,” Lev Beniov tells another character who inquires about his talents, but he doesn’t yet realize his own talent for survival.  Mistaken for a thief, Beniov is paired with Kolya, a charismatic deserter, and given the task of locating a dozen eggs by a colonel in the NKVD.  It is an impossible task in a besieged city, but Kolya is irrepressible.  When the pair falls in with a band of partisans and meets Vika, a tomboy sniper, finding the eggs becomes Lev’s second most important conquest.  Full of likable characters and humor even in the face of atrocities, City of Thieves deserves to be recommended rather than resented!