Month: June 2019

Port of Shadows by Glen Cook

Port of Shadows by Glen Cook, Book #1.5 of the Black Company series

Introduction

Port of Shadows by Glen Cook occurs between the events of The Black Company (Book #1) and Shadows Linger (Book #2). The Black Company is a mercenary group hired by the Empress, the Lady. Croaker is the Black Company physician and Annalist. The Black Company searches for rebels but finds dozens of girls between age 3 and 20 who look identical. Can Croaker unravel the mystery before the rebels open the Port of Shadows and free a powerful sorcerer?

Summary

The chapters in Port of Shadows follow a pattern in groups of three. First, a chapter labeled Once Upon a Time occurs in the past from the viewpoint of an unnamed necromancer. Second, a chapter labeled Long Ago and Far Away occurs in that same past and is from a different viewpoint. Third, a chapter labeled In Modern Times occurs in the present from Croaker’s viewpoint as the Annalist of the Black Company. The author repeats the pattern.

The story from the past shows how a necromancer brings a dead girl back to life. He calls her Laissa and tells her she is his daughter. She doesn’t remember her past. Her sister who calls herself Bathdek searches for her.

In Modern Times, The Black Company is on garrison duty for the Lady’s Empire in the conquered city of Aloe. The Lady orders them to defeat the Rebel leader Tides Elba. Tides Elba might open the Port of Shadows and free the Lady’s husband, the Dominator, from his prison. If the rebels free the Dominator, then he will take the Empire from the Lady and she doesn’t want him to. In the main Aloe temple, they find a young woman who looks like the Lady in her youth and sends her to the Lady’s tower. She comes back as the Taken named Mischievous Rain. The Taken are sorcerers the Lady converted into her minions and are her highest leaders. Croaker becomes involved with her and her boy and girl.

The events of the past connect to the current story. Croaker must solve the mystery before he loses his memory.

Recommendation

I thought Port of Shadows was a great book. It was fun revisiting my favorite Black Company characters. Using the pattern in the chapters was smart. Chapters 3, 6, and 9 occur In Modern Times and published before as short stories. The author wove the short stories together with the story from the past and continued the novel to its ending. There was a reason Croaker did not mention the events of this novel in the other series’ novels and this novel shows that reason. A Pitiless Rain is the next book in the series and will be book 10 in the chronology. They have not published it yet. I believe that the author will feature the events of Port of Shadows in A Pitiless Rain and look forward to reading it.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Port of Shadows by Glen Cook.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37534877-port-of-shadows

I have reviewed six Black Company novels. Links follow the book title.

Chronicles of the Black Company by Glen Cook

Omnibus edition including Book #1 The Black Company, #2 Shadows Linger, and #3 The White Rose of the Tales of the Black Company Series

Chronicles of the Black Company by Glen Cook

The Books of the South by Glen Cook

Omnibus edition including Book #4 Shadow Games, #5 Dreams of Steel, and #3.5 The Silver Spike of the Tales of the Black Company Series

The Books of the South by Glen Cook

I have not read the last four novels (#6, #7, #8, and #9) grouped under the title Books of the Glittering Stone. I plan to read them soon.

A Pitiless Rain will be Book #10 of the series. It does not have a scheduled release date.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10793800-a-pitiless-rain

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers

Introduction

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King shows authors how to edit yourself into print. Their goal is to teach the writer the craft of editing because self-editing gets your manuscript closer to its potential and more likely to get published. Editing takes a different mindset than writing. They suggest editing only after you complete your first draft. What editing techniques will help you improve your writing?

Summary

The book has twelve chapters. Each chapter has three sections. A lesson comes first then a checklist of important points. They complete the chapter with exercises that highlight the points of the chapter. Examples of chapter titles are: Show and Tell, Point of View, and Voice. The first appendix has the answers for the exercises and the second appendix has suggestions for further reading.

Recommendation

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers is a great writing book. The exercises help pinpoint common problems of beginning writers. It is worth the effort to complete the exercises. I read this book from February 21, 2018, to February 25, 2018. I completed the exercises back then but did not write a review. Since I am at the self-editing process in writing my first novel, I picked up the book again and reviewed the author’s advice.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/180467.Self_Editing_for_Fiction_Writers

A similar book on writing is Self-Publishing Boot Camp by Carla King. This is the link to my review. It has everything you want to know about Self-Publishing.

Self-Publishing Boot Camp by Carla King

Another similar book on writing is How to Write Best Selling Fiction by Dean Koontz. This is the link to my review. It’s from 1981, but the advice is still great.

How to Write Best Selling Fiction by Dean Koontz

Washington A Life by Ron Chernow

Washington A Life by Ron Chernow

Introduction

Washington A Life by Ron Chernow is a one book biography of the first President of the United States from cradle to grave. History has portrayed Washington as a dull, taciturn man of granite self-control, so the author wanted to dig deeper into Washington’s correspondence to present the side of Washington that was vivid and dramatic. How did a British colonial aristocrat become the leader of the American Revolution?

Summary

The author divides Washington’s life into six parts. Frontiersman, part one, explains the history of the short-lived males of the Washington line. George Washington learned to become a surveyor and took part in the French and Indian War. Planter, part two, covers when he has taken control of the Mount Vernon plantation because of untimely deaths in his family and his marriage to the widow Martha Custis. General, part three, shows when he became the military leader of the American Revolution. He faces eight years of battle but only wishes to return to Mount Vernon. Statesman, part four, covers when the states are governed by the ineffectual Articles of Confederation. He serves as the president of the Continental Congress leading to the drafting of the Constitution. President, part five, is about his eight years in office. It details the battles in his cabinet between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. Legend part six covers the years after Washington’s retirement to Mount Vernon with Martha. Second President John Adams named him a Lieutenant General for the last 17 months of his life but did not take a field command. He lived out his last days and passed into legend.

Recommendation

Washington A Life by Ron Chernow delivers on its premise to show how Washington was a vivid and dramatic person. He was a person of his times but tried to create a party-less government. Washington led by quiet example and held his fragile new country together. He was the only person who could have accomplished his great feats.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Washington A Life by Ron Chernow.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8255917-washington

Another book by Ron Chernow is Alexander Hamilton. I read the Washington biography because I liked how he wrote Alexander Hamilton. This is the link to my review of Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow.

Hamilton, an American Musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Writing Progress Report for June 2019

Writing Progress June 2019

This is my Writing Progress Report for June 2019.

The Cleveland Indians are warming up on May 26, 2019. They played Tampa Bay but lost 6 to 3. It rained hard at the end of the game.

Writing Progress from May 2019

I wrote three blog posts for garydavidgillen.com including my writing progress report for May 2019 linked below.

Writing Progress Report for May 2019

I bought and used the editing program Pro Writing Aid to edit the novel, Assassin in New Marl City. I edited and typed Assassin Chapters 30, 32, and 33 in August 2018, reviewed Chapters 34, 35, and 36 in September 2018, and I completed the review in February 2019. Reduced total chapters to 30. Reviewed Chapters 1 to 15 using Pro Writing Aid and submitted to my novel writing class.

The first draft of Assassin in New Marl City was completed totaling 99,981 words in July 2018. Completed pre-draft two (30 chapters long) in December 2018 at 89,072 words. I completed draft two edits for Chapter 17 in May and will start the third draft edits after draft two is complete.

In May, I submitted a story called Chemithurgy; First and Last Scene to the Introductory Writing Workshop at Parma, Ohio library.

In May, I edited and submitted the short story Grognard to the Confluence Short Story Writing Workshop. The workshop will be conducted by Cat Rambo at the Science Fiction Convention named Confluence in Pittsburgh on Sunday, July 28.

The stories: The Four Humors, Space Station Sunyata, Grognard, Get to the Point, LARP Film noir, and Sleeping Sickness were submitted to magazines.

Statistics of magazine submissions for 2019 are; 1 different story submitted 1 time with 0 accepted, 0 pending, and 1 rejection.

Events from May 2019

I attended the Marcon Conference on May 11, 2018, at the Crown Plaza – Columbus North in Worthington, Ohio.

This is the link to the Marcon website.

http://marcon.org/

This is my Recap for the SF Conference Marcon Columbus 2019 on May 11. They held it at 6500 Doubletree Avenue Worthington, Ohio at the Crown Plaza – Columbus North. The drive was two-plus hours taken in the morning and back in the evening. I also attended Marcon in 2017 and 2018. This year I attended four panels, a performance, and an interview.

Recap Marcon Conference 2019

Writing Goals for June 2019

I plan to write five blog posts for garydavidgillen.com including my Writing Progress Report for June 2019.

I plan to work on second draft edits for Chapters 18 to 30 of Assassin in New Marl City using Pro Writing Aid.

I plan to work on third draft edits for Chapters 1 to 15 of Assassin in New Marl City using comments from the Advanced Writing Workshop at Parma, Ohio after the second draft is complete.

Polish and submit the stories Caliburnus, Space-Dog Confession, White Bracer, Mage Squad, I Shall Not Return, Prisoner of Tarnal, and Kay-Eye for submission to short fiction magazines.

Submit The Four Humors, Space Station Sunyata, Grognard, LARP Film noir, Sleeping Sickness to other short fiction magazines.

Edit Searcher of Riven.

Hire an editor for Searcher of Riven from Fiveer.

Edit Ruins of Yarnud.

Hire an editor for Ruins of Yarnud from Fiveer.

Put the novel, Assassin in New Marl City, into the writing program, Scrivener.

Buy e-book covers for Searcher of Riven and Ruins of Yarnud from Fiveer.

Buy an e-book cover for Assassin in New Marl City from Fiveer.

Planned Events for June 2019

The next conference I plan to attend is the Confluence Conference from July 26 to July 28, 2019, at the Airport Sheraton in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I’m excited to participate in two workshops at the conference both instructed by Cat Rambo. I will attend the first pages workshop and the short story workshop.

Link to Confluence website

http://parsec-sff.org/confluence/

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie, Book #1 of the Imperial Radch series

Introduction

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie is the first book of Imperial Radch series. Breq was once part of the Radch but has begun her own dangerous quest in this space opera. She has been planning her revenge on the Lord of the Radch, Anaader Mianaai, of the Imperial Radch for the past twenty years. Her plans are in jeopardy when Breq befriends the disgraced former Captain Seivarden Vendaai.  Will Breq carry out her goals or will the powerful Lord defeat her?

Summary – Shis’urna

Ancillary Justice chapters alternate between two stories separated by twenty years. The viewpoints are in a way from the same point of view. The older viewpoint is from the perspective of the Justice of Toren. It is the almost three-thousand-year-old artificial intelligence of a Radch starship controlling thousands of ancillaries. The starship’s mission is to help facilitate the assimilation of the planet Shis’urna into the Imperial Radch. Her commander was Esk Decade Lieutenant Awn. What happens to Lieutenant Awn leads to the latter viewpoint.

Summary – Nilt

The latter viewpoint is from Breq, one of Justice of Toren’s ancillaries. Twenty years after the earlier viewpoint, Breq is on the remote ice planet of Nilt, putting together the final pieces for her plan of revenge. She encounters Seivarden who has descended into a drug-induced self-destructive path. Captain Sievarden lost her ship and was suspended in animation for a thousand years. She is a woman out of time and place and turns to drugs to escape. Breq knew her as one of her officers a thousand years ago and helps her at the risk of disrupting her plans for revenge. They end up needing each other to succeed in the finale of Ancillary Justice.

Review

The world building and the scope of Ancillary Justice impressed me. The two stories are expertly interwoven leading to a thrilling climax. Ancillary Justice is space opera at its best. At first, two ideas confused me. It was difficult to comprehend the multiple viewpoints of the Justice of Toren because of the unknown nature of the ancillaries. Eventually, it makes sense which is a great accomplishment by showing how a multiple viewpoint intelligence could think. The other idea that was difficult to understand was the Radch rationale for their difficulty in naming gender. The Radch are gender neutral and think of every character as female. There is a reason for the rationale and it makes sense on reflection.

Recommendation

I appreciated being challenged by the ideas in this novel and highly recommend it. Ancillary Justice won the Hugo, Nebula, Arthur C. Clarke, and BAFTA awards for best SF novel in 2014. It also won the Locus award for best first SF novel.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17333324-ancillary-justice

A similar book in the space opera category is Nemesis Games by James S.A. Corey. This is the link to my review.

Nemesis Games by James S. A. Corey

A similar book I have read in the Hard Science Fiction category is All Systems Red by Martha Wells. This is a link to my review.

All Systems Red by Martha Wells