Month: April 2021

To Dream in the City of Sorrows by Kathryn M. Drennan

To Dream in the City of Sorrows by Kathryn Drennan.

To Dream in the City of Sorrows by Kathryn Drennan, Book #9 of the Babylon 5 Universe.

Introduction

To Dream in the City of Sorrows by Kathryn Drennan is a tie-in novel for the Babylon 5 TV show. The author connects three stories not covered in the show. What happened to Minbari Ambassador Jeffrey Sinclair on Minbar, what happened to Sinclair’s fiancé Catherine Sakai, and how did Marcus Cole become a Ranger. This novel shows what brought Jeffrey Sinclair, Catherine Sakai, and Marcus Cole together to fight the Shadows.

To Dream in the City of Sorrows by Kathryn M. Drennan

Summary

To Dream in the City of Sorrows by Kathryn M. Drennan tells the stories of Jeffrey Sinclair, Catherine Sakai, and Marcus Cole that were not covered in the Babylon 5 TV show. There were three questions answered in this novel that was not detailed in the show. Why was Jeffrey Sinclair removed from Babylon 5 and assigned as the Ambassador to Minbar? What happened to Sinclair’s fiancé, Catherine Sakai? How did Marcus Cole become a Ranger?

Marcus Cole owns a mining company on the colony world of Arisia III. A deadly encounter with the Shadows changes his life plan.

Catherine Sakai is a planetary surveyor for the Universal Terraform Corporation. She spends weeks and months on missions discovering resource-rich planets on the Rim. An encounter with Shadows leads her to a new mission.

Jeffrey Sinclair is the Ambassador to Minbar assigned by the Earth Alliance. No one on Minbar will tell him his expected role. He can’t contact Babylon 5 or Earth. The key to his position comes from the Minbari’s belief that Sinclair has a Minbari soul. He ends up becoming involved with the order of the Rangers. The Rangers’ mission is to look for the return of the Shadows.

Recommendation

To Dream in the City of Sorrows by Kathryn M. Drennan combines small ideas from the TV show to create a plot. In the show, Marcus mentions that his brother’s death led him to become a Ranger. It bridges the gap between three stories involving Jeffrey Sinclair. First is season 1 episode 22, Chrysalis, when Sinclair left the series at the end of season 1. Second is Season 3 episodes 16 and 17, War Without End Parts 1 and 2, when they reveal Babylon 4’s fate. Last is a three-part comic series named In Valen’s Name, which ties up remaining loose ends. They use Catherine Sakai’s occupation and her potential encounter with the Shadows.

I liked this novel. It explained some unanswered questions left from the series. I would have liked a clearer explanation of Catherine Sakai’s fate. They implied her fate, but not definitively.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of To Dream in the City of Sorrows by Kathryn M. Drennan.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/797210.To_Dream_in_the_City_of_Sorrows

My review of The Shadow Within by Jeanne Cavelos, Book #7 of the Babylon 5 Universe. Can Anna Sheridan escape Z’Ha’dum and can John Sheridan unravel a plot to destroy Babylon 5?

Shadow Within by Jeanne Cavelos

Darker Shade of Magic by V E Schwab

A Darker Shade of Magic by V E Schwab.

A Darker Shade of Magic by V E Schwab, Book #1 of the Shades of Magic Trilogy.

Introduction

A Darker Shade of Magic by V E Schwab is a fantasy novel. Kell is a rare magician that can travel between different cities on different worlds, all named London. Grey London is our London with the least magic, Red London is Kell’s London with more magic power, White London has even more magical power, and Black London had the most magic power but has been isolated for years. Kel smuggles tokens between each London. He gets a powerful token that leads to a mission with a Grey London thief named Delilah Bard (please call her Lila). Will Kell control the powerful token, or will the token lead to the destruction of all the cities named London? 

A Darker Shade of Magic by V E Schwab

Summary

A Darker Shade of Magic by V E Schwab begins with Kell transitioning from his native Red London to Grey London in the year Eighteen Nineteen. Kell is a special Antari mage who uses a token from the London he is trying to travel to, to pass through a blood portal to that London. He brings messages between Grey, Red, and White London. He is in Grey London to deliver a message to King George III, who is feared is growing mentally unstable. Just delivering messages is not enough danger for Kell, so he also smuggles tokens between the three Londons for favors from collectors. Kell is the adopted son of the rulers of Red London and the childhood friend of Crown Prince Rhy.

Kell gets a token that should not be possible, one from Black London. Lila Bard is a thief from Grey London who dreams of being a pirate. She steals the token from Kell but has no clue what she has stolen. Kell is worried that the token means that someone has opened the passage to Black London. He is forced to gain Lila’s help to return the token to Black London and seal the passage forever, or powerful magic will destroy his beloved Red London. Characters from White London thwart them. The rulers of White London are the twins, Athos Dane and Astrid Dane. Holland advises the White London rulers. Holland is also an Antari mage and can pass through the different Londons.

Recommendation

A Darker Shade of Magic by V E Schwab is a great beginning to the Shades of Magic Trilogy. There are fourteen Chapters in the novel. The Chapters are all named. I like that the names all focus on the most important event in each chapter. Each chapter has between three and six scenes, all divided by using the Roman numeral. Each scene is from the viewpoint of one character. The chapters feature alternating viewpoints. Most of the scenes feature Kell or Lila. There are eleven other viewpoint scenes. I liked the structure of the novel. The novel comes to a satisfying end which leads to the world opening up to Kell and Lila’s next adventure.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of A Darker Shade of Magic by V E Schwab.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23211076-a-darker-shade-of-magic

This is my review of Hope and Red, Book #1 of the Empire of Storms Trilogy by Jon Skovron. It is a fantasy novel that has an interesting magic system and has a similar vibe to A Darker Shade of Magic. They published it the year after A Darker Shade of Magic. Red is a pirate and Hope is a warrior. They plan their revenge on those who wronged them.

Hope and Red by Jon Skovron

Writing Progress Report April 2021

Writing Progress Report April 2021.

This is my Writing Progress Report April 2021.

The James A. Garfield Memorial Monument at Lakeview Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio. I toured the cemetery on April 3, 2021.

Writing Progress from March 2021.

I wrote three blog posts for garydavidgillen.com including my writing progress report for March 2021 linked below.

Writing Progress Report March 2021

In July 2018, I completed the first draft of my novel Assassin in New Marl City, totaling 99,981 words and 36 chapters. Completed pre-second draft (30 chapters long) in December 2018 at 89,072 words. Finished the second draft edits in December 2019 to complete the second draft edit. I started writing a new Chapter 1 in February 2020 and finished it in April 2020. The third draft will have 32 Chapters, and I finished the third draft edits on Chapter 3 in July 2020.

In March 2021, I submitted Chapter 8 of my novel titled Cuba Liberto to the Novel Writing Workshop at Parma, Ohio library.

In March 2021, I submitted the story “DNA Test” to the Introductory Writing Workshop at Parma, Ohio library.

Writing Progress from March 2020 Continued

I made five posts on my Goodreads account in March 2021.

In the past, I submitted the stories; Four Humors, Space Station Sunyata, and Grognard to magazines.

The seven Flash Fiction Stories I have submitted in 2020 were Space-Dog Confession, Sleeping Sickness, Caliburnus, and Popular Mechanics Re-brewed, Wormhole Generator, Runs with Scissors, and Principled Rogue to magazines.

In January 2021, I submitted “Runs with Scissors” to Fireside Magazine. It is still open.

Magazine submissions for 2021 are 4 unique stories submitted 4 times with 0 accepted, 1 pending, and 3 rejections.

The Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores Magazine suggested the critters workshop to me. My new plan is to submit all stories to the critters workshop before sending the stories to magazines. With the workshop feedback, I will make the last revision before submission. I plan to send in stories starting in March 2021. In the critters workshop points are earned with adequate critiques of other workshop stories. To submit stories, the author must maintain a 75% critique rate. That means three critiques per month average.

I submitted “Sleeping Sickness” to the critters workshop in March 2021.

http://critters.org/index.php

Events from March 2021.

Ice & Fire Con is a convention themed around George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice & Fire series and HBO’s Game of Thrones. Ice & Fire in-person cons were canceled for 2020 and 2021. Ice & Fire Virtual Con will be held from April 22 to April 25, 2021. I plan to attend.

http://www.iceandfirecon.com/

Marcon Columbus has dates posted for May 7 to May 9, 2021. I have attended this con many times and would like to attend it in 2021. I plan to have my COVID-19 shots in April 2021, so they may hold the con and I could attend.

http://marcon.org/

I attended the virtual Confluence Pittsburgh Con in October 2020. They canceled their in-person con for 2021, but they plan to hold a virtual con in October 2021, and I plan to attend.

https://confluence-sff.org/

Writing Goals April 2021.

I plan to write four blog posts for garydavidgillen.com including my Writing Progress Report for April 2021.

The title of my next novel is Cuba Liberto. I plan to complete writing Chapter 9 in April 2021 and submit it to the Novel Writing Workshop at Parma, Ohio library.

In April 2021, I plan to submit a story to the Introductory Writing Workshop at Parma, Ohio library.

I plan to work on third draft edits for Assassin in New Marl City using comments from the Novel Writing Workshop at Parma, Ohio. I plan to complete third draft edits for Chapters 4 and 5 in April 2021.

In April and May 2021, I plan to split Chapter 1 of Assassin in New Marl City into two chapters. I plan to work on these chapters and then submit them to the SEL Wednesday Writing Workshop in June 2021.

Submit the stories Space-Dog Confession, Four Humors, Space Station Sunyata, Grognard, LARP Film noir, Sleeping Sickness, Popular Mechanics Re-brewed, and Caliburnus. to other short fiction magazines. I plan one submission to the critters workshop in March 2021.

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

Writing Goals for April 2021 continued.

In April 2021, I plan to make five posts on my Goodreads account.

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

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

Planned Events for April 2021.

Ice & Fire Con is a convention themed around George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice & Fire series and HBO’s Game of Thrones. Ice & Fire in-person cons were canceled for 2020 and 2021. Ice & Fire Virtual Con will be held from April 22 to April 25, 2021. I plan to attend.

http://www.iceandfirecon.com/

Marcon Columbus has dates posted for May 7 to May 9, 2021. I have attended this con many times and would like to attend it in 2021. I plan to have my COVID-19 shots in April 2021, so they may hold the con and I could attend.

http://marcon.org/

I attended the virtual Confluence Pittsburgh Con in October 2020. They canceled their in-person con for 2021, but they plan to hold a virtual con in October 2021, and I plan to attend.

https://confluence-sff.org/