Reading and Writing
For me, reading and writing feed each other in a virtuous cycle. The more I write, the more I want to see how other authors do it. As I read, I find myself wanting to put the book down and try to reproduce what I just experienced.
Recent Reads
This is especially true when I’m in the midst of what I am doing right now: finishing the final revisions for Murder in Soft Words. Hitting a rough spot read and see if I can find a solution to the problem.
I started Lev Grossman’s The Bright Sword a couple of weeks before I got Murder back from my editor. That was a good thing. I had plenty of fuel to get through processing edits. At 668 pages, Grossman’s retelling of the legend of King Arthur is not a quick read. Not even if you frequently find yourself still at it at 1:00 AM.
Which I did. It’s an engrossing book and if it wasn’t for the ongoing desire to do some writing of my own, I might have never put it down.
Sometimes I think the first person to create the tale of King Arthur and Camelot used medieval Legos. You can tear it down and reform into an almost any shape. Look at 1967’s Camelot (it’s okay if you don’t), 2004’s King Arthur, 1981’s Excalibur, and 1995’s First Knight. All the pieces are in each movie, but they’re miles apart from each other. (I recommend Monty Python and the Holy Grail as a cinematic palate cleanser.)
The Bright Sword’s dust cover bills it as a “triumphant re‑imagining of the King Arthur legend for the new millennium.” Given the legend’s elasticity, what does that mean?
I don’t know about “for the new millennium” but I can say that it’s a modern take. The heroes aren’t perfect, the villains aren’t two dimensional, and Grossman doesn’t tie off the ending with a neat little bow. There were a few points in the story where I didn’t know what was going to happen next, and that’s not a common phenomenon in fantasy stories, let alone variations on King Arthur.
If you’re a fan of Arthurian stories or fantasy in general, The Bright Sword is worth a look.
Next on my TBR pile was King Sorrow by Joe Hill. I came across a few reviews of this book as its release date approached and right as I was finishing The Bright Sword, friend and fellow author Marjie Alonso sent me another. So I picked it up and it immediately drew me in.
At 896 pages, King Sorrow is another massive tome, but it doesn’t need more than two pages to grab your interest. It’s the kind of book that, after a few minutes, makes you want to tell your friends to read. Which is what I did.
(Paraphrased from memory.)
Eric: “You know, I don’t want to fall back on a horror book cliche, but it kinda reminds me of Stephen King.”
Marjie: “Well, I’m not surprised.”
Eric: “What do you mean?”
Marjie: “It’s written by his son.”
Eric: ...
Yes, even after reading Hill’s comics work, including Locke & Key and Basketful of Heads, I didn’t know he was Stephen King’s son.
I’m about 1/3rd of the way in, and I already recommend this book, especially if you like that King guy.
Scifi Audiobook Sale!
This month I’ve joined a group of independent science fiction authors to promote a collection of audiobooks. This is a pretty interesting set of listens, and I’ve already snapped up a couple of them myself since I like to step outside my usual genres from time to time. Take a look!
Refer a subscriber to my list from this link, to get a free ebook copy of Shadows of the Past!
Eric Goebelbecker
Trick of the Tale LLC
25 Veterans Plaza #5276
Bergenfield, NJ 07621-9998