After a couple of relatively slower weeks of no new reviews or any content from me, two things appear on the same day, such is life in the hectic world of SFF blogging and reviewing. . Add to those a review which appeared appeared the day after my last link round up, and you have my post for today. Speaking of SFF blogging and reviewing, that was the topic of discussion in one of my appearances this week. My pal and Tor.com colleague Justin Landon (of the now closed Staffers Book Review blog, the Joe Abercrombie Re-read for Tor.com, and general genre rabble-rouser) had me on the Tor.com Rocket Talk podcast he leads. We talk about the reviewer/fan/author relationship, some other bloggers and a few books we've both enjoyed. I thank Justin for having me on his show because in all honesty, I'm pretty pleased to be a guest on the same podcast that has featured some great genre folks like Joe Monti, Kate Elliott, N.K. Jemisin, Robert Jackson Bennett, and Delilah S. Dawson.
A couple of weeks ago, my review of Lou Anders's debut novel Frostborn, itself the launch book for his Thrones and Bones series went up to SF Signal:
Perhaps what I enjoyed most about the novel are the hints at so much more to come, from the hinted-at future for their further adventures to the wonderful world-building which serves as the backdrop of the story. As I often say in novels with great world-building, the world itself is a character and the details are seamlessly delivered through the characters. Such is the case with Frostborn. The world-building does not smother the story nor is it over-indulgent; it enhances the story. I’ve been following the author on social media and listening to podcasts in whch he is featured, and he often spoke about the world-building in this novel and how he fell in love with the Norse region/myth as he was writing this novel. That love comes through quite well. When an author is able to show how much fun he or she had writing and creating a work, it can make for an even more engaging read, like it did here with Frostborn. Many people reading this review will know of the author’s experience on the other side of the publishing desk, which can be seen in his smart approach to the novel.
About an hour Rocket Talk posted, my November Completist column posted to SF Signal. This time, I took a look at Joshua Palmatier's The Throne of Amenkor trilogy:
I turn my focus on Joshua Palmatier’s “Throne of Amenkor” trilogy of books; a series about a haunted throne and the street urchin/thief who becomes tied to the throne. At the time Joshua’s debut published, he might have been overshadowed a bit by two other authors debuting at the same time – Patrick Rothfuss (a DAW stable mate) and Scott Lynch (who tells Lies about a thief named Locke). Joshua’s books are fun, engaging, and where they have an edge over Lynch and Rothfuss’s series is the fact that the series is complete.
In an SFFH landscape where readers are seeking stories which eschew the standard male protagonist, Palmatier has created a powerful and engaging female protagonist in “The Throne of Amenkor.”
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