Rocketship To Nowhere (My thoughts on the Hugos)

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If you aren’t a fan of SciFi books then you may have never heard of the Hugo Awards before. They are a very prestigious and coveted award amongst SciFi writers and typically the Hugo Award winners list is comprised of excellent books to read. We’re  talking Arthur C Clarke, Frank Herbert, Ann Leckie, Isaac Asimov, Ursula K Le Guin, Neil Gaiman, the list goes on and on with excellent writers. And right now the Hugo Awards are under attack.

 

This year the Hugo Awards have been tainted by a group of very militantly political people who apparently feel that minority writers (women, people of color, LGBTQ people, etc) and stories that feature minorities have won too many Hugos in recent years. So they have banded together, named themselves the Sad Puppies, come up with a way to game the system and get their books and books of authors that they feel share their particular political views to be nominated on all of the categories available.  

 

It is worth pausing for a moment to discuss the Hugo Awards and who gets to vote on them. Basically the members of the WorldCon convention are able to nominate and vote on who should win. You don’t have to actually attend the convention as you can buy voting rights for $40.00 so essentially anyone who is interested in voting on the Hugo Awards can for a nominal fee. Through the years this has lead to a wide variety of works obtaining nominations and (I feel) a very fair representation of what is popular and of interest to SciFi fans being nominated for and winning the awards. Normally I would give greater consideration to a Hugo Award Winner’s work than I would otherwise. A link to the Hugo Awards website describing the history of their voting process is here: http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/a-short-history-of-the-hugo-awards-process/

 

Now fast-forward back to the present. This militant political group (the Sad Puppies) has decided to try and game the system by taking their slate of suggested works to their fans and to people of same political bent as they (whether they are SciFi fans or not) and having them buy a voting membership just to push their own political views upon SciFi. The primary leaders of this movement have a few historical feuds with other members of the SciFi writing community. Much has been made about this elsewhere and the only perspective I bring is as an outsider looking in. That perspective doesn’t favor the individuals attempting to hijack the Hugos. 


Overall this is a very sad situation. Multiple authors whose works are worthy of consideration and actually were nominated have decided to withdraw their stories from this year’s Hugo’s so as not to be tainted by the controversy and to keep from being associated in any way with these Sad Puppies. I respect that sacrifice by them very much. I also understand any author that chooses to remain on the ballots and attempt to give the voters choices other than the Sad Puppies nominees. It is a difficult situation to be in for an author. 


I’ve mostly stayed on the sidelines observing the back and forth between the Sad Puppies and the SciFi community as a whole. However I feel it worthwhile to use my (small) platform to speak out against this and say that while the Sad Puppies may be observing the letter of the Hugo laws they are trashing the spirit of those laws. I am truly saddened by this event and wish that this disgracefully immature behavior by the Sad Puppies was not taking place. 


My protest, small though it may be, is to consciously avoid purchasing, reading, reviewing, or supporting any of the works that the leaders of the Sad Puppies have created or will create. They can (and have) flung around their arguments and justifications and after looking over them I find them to be lacking and find their actions reprehensible. As such I intend to not provide them with any financial aide or positive publicity. 


In the end as a lifelong SciFi fan, reader, and reviewer my only power I have is my money and my platform. And people who think this is the way to behave will have neither. 


My hope is the the Hugos return to what they are truly meant to be and are again the prestigious awards for deserving authors that they have been in the past. My hope is that shameful acts such as those orchestrated by the Sad Puppies fall by the wayside. My hope is that seeing Hugo Winner posted upon a worthy work will again mean something positive about the quality of the work. 


For further reading upon this issue here is a link to Susan Grigsby’s blog about it. She does a wonderful job breaking it all down: http://m.dailykos.com/story/2015/04/13/1376743/-Freeping-the-Hugo-Awards 

 

  

 

 

A Bright Star, An Incredible Book

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For my first Stars In The Sky review highlighting independent authors and their works I selected The Crown Of Stones Magic Price by C.L. Schneider. I am thankful that I did. 
The characters are beautifully flawed and fully realized. The conversations are fluid and move the story along. The action is fast paced and well described. The magical system is understandable and interesting. The world is well constructed and rich with the unexplored vistas of ancient history that you desire in a first class fantasy novel. 
So you have all of the elements needed to weave together an enjoyable and engaging story, the question that remains: Is the author able to weave all of these elements together into a story that you want to read? 
The answer is an unhesitating yes. A resounding yes. I tip my hat to C.L. Schneider and say thank you for an excellent story and for setting so high of a bar for my search for quality independent stories. 
Ian Troy is a tortured and gifted soul. Blessed or possibly cursed with powerful magical abilities and a legacy of destruction and death. After spending years of his life trying to distance himself from who he is and what he has done he is brought face to face with these things and pushed beyond his limits to endure. He is one that can cause empires to rise and fall with his choices regardless of if he wants to be a part of it or not. 
You’ll find yourself enjoying the characters, hoping for the best while fearing what might come next. This story is a fine addition to any collection with its eye catching cover and name, and is a fantastic book to read. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the storyline and anything more this author chooses to write! 
The Crown Of Stones Magic Price by C.L. Schneider is the first of the Stars In The Sky series of reviews, and it is a very bright star that is well worth your notice. Be on the lookout for my next independent author review in May!  

 

Stars In The Sky or The Hunt For Self Published Treasure

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There are a LOT of independent authors out there nowadays with more joining their ranks all the time! The ease of self publishing these days has had a dramatic impact on the independent marketplace. The ability of the author to reach their audience has never been higher. 
That said: The amount of self published authors out there makes it more difficult to gain the attention of readers. The clamor of self marketing can create a white noise sensation that most readers would rather tune out than sift through. It is difficult being just another star in a night sky that is already full of stars. 
Yet in the midst of this modern self publishing boom you’ll find some marvelous gems and beautiful stories! A lot of talented authors choose to self publish so that they gain full creative control over their work, and that can be a thing of beauty when handled correctly. 
I want to use my platform as a book reviewer to place a spotlight on some of the self published works out there, and help them to break free from all of the clamor, and connect with their readership. My goals are to review one self published book a month and share my findings with y’all. I’m not taking submissions from authors at this time, just searching out stories that capture my interest. I do welcome any and all reviewers to join in the search with me! 
I hope y’all will find this journey as much fun as I will and if any of you would like to join in the fun I will be titling and hashtagging this adventure as: Stars In The Sky as there are many stars in the night sky and I’ll be bring attention to a few of the ones that shine brightly to me. Appropriate for a book review blog entitled RedStarReviews 😉 I’m very excited about this and looking forward to sharing my discoveries with y’all. 

Wolves Sing And I Enjoy Their Song

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Wolf Song by L.T. Bradley is an excellent book. This story grabbed hold of me from the start and had me eagerly turning the pages looking forward to whatever happened next!

The story follows Zoë who is gifted with a second sight to see the supernatural filling the world around her. You watch as she starts as a scared individual running from her gifts and then starts to learn and take control of her life and fate. But no one can escape fate, or can they? 

Wolf Song is a good balance of mystery, romance, character development, action, and humor. The author truly breathed life into the main character of Zoë. You can find yourself identifying with her at one moment and shaking your head at her in the next. Zoë’s personality shines through the pages, through her fashion, her fears, her insecurities, her strengths, her boldness, wisdom, and foolishness. 

Every so often you find a story that sings to you and Wolf Song was such a story for me.



Guest Review Of You Are A Writer

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Today we have the joy of sharing a guest review from our friend Jesse (who goes by @dzhecci on Twitter). Jesse chose to review: You Are A Writer by Jeff Goins. Without further ado here are Jesse’s thoughts:

You Are A Writer (review)

I am a writer. If I learned nothing else from Jeff Goins’s book, I learned that. I learned other things, too, though, which is the point. But the most important thing I learned is that I am a writer.

You Are A Writer is, essentially, a book about how to get published. More than that, though, it is a book about how to improve your writing, further your career, and prepare yourself as a marketable commodity in the publishing world. From tips on writing and editing to website design and construction, there is something for everyone. If you already have a substantial blog with many followers or have only ever written grocery lists, if you want to get published this book is for you.

Goins pulls from his own experience as a writer, both as an amateur and a professional, to explain how to get from point A to B in a way that seems both practical and possible. It will not tell you exactly whom to contact at exactly which magazine to get published, but it will tell you how to find those people for yourself, and how to appropriately contact them.

In addition to being a valuable resource for freelance writers, the book is enjoyable to read. It’s well-written, well-paced, and at least my copy had an interesting formatting system that I found intriguing.

I would have liked a little more detail at certain points, regarding some of the suggestions, but this is my only real critique. It was a book I could not put down. But it was also a book that I found so inspiring that I paradoxically wanted to put it down so that I could return to my own writing.

It is a book that I will likely read and re-read throughout my life. I suggest you check it out.

Strong And Compelling Characters In Half The World

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Half The World by Joe Abercrombie is an incredible story. Although it is the second book in a series it truly could stand alone on its own merits.

Abercrombie is known as a master of GrimDark Fantasy and deserves that accolade but he also deserves praise for creating realistic and endearing characters that you can admire and identify with which is exactly what he did with the POV characters he created for this story.

You will be put through the emotional wringer with this book! Abercrombie will surprise you, excite you, anger you, cause you to fear, but he’ll also cause you to clutch greedily to hope as you turn page after page. This isn’t a book you can easily set down.

This book will be released for sale on 02/17/15 and I do highly recommend that you get ahold of it!

You can’t set it down until the end!

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The End Of The Sentence is such an incredible story to read! The authors (Kat Howard and Maria DahvanaHeadley) get you looking over your shoulder to see if your house might be haunted. Very descriptive and very enjoyable. A masterful tale of love, guilt, pain, redemption, purpose, and mystery. A beautifully written story that will stay with you after you’ve finished it. Make time to read this story because once you start you’ll want to keep reading until the end.

What Is The Best Superhero Comic Book? Invincible!

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How can I convince you that Invincible is the BEST coming of age superhero comic book ever created? Because it IS!

Robert Kirkman (of The Walking Dead fame) has set his gifted story telling abilities to the realm of superheroes and has created a comic book that I’ll now be judging other superhero stories against. He set the standard high.

So how do I describe this without spoiling plot lines for you while still interesting you enough to read it? Well let’s say that two major components are missing from almost every superhero comic book out there: Consistency and Consequences. Invincible has both.

If a city is destroyed in the midst of a super powered struggle then it stats destroyed in the next issue while the survivors try to rebuild. If aliens attack then humanity has to deal with the repercussions. If the main character tries to handle having a secret identity and a girlfriend then he has to deal with an upset girlfriend who knows he is hiding things from her.

Robert Kirkman did a wonderful job creating a superhero we can all love and cheer for. Each issue leaves you satisfied while eager for the next. In the end I know I can’t convince you that this is the best superhero comic book ever, I’ll just ask you to give it a try and let the story convince you.

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Revival Is At Hand!

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Revival by Tim Seeley and Mike Norton is an interesting story of life after death set in rural Wisconsin.

At first I was led to believe that this would be your typical zombies need brains tale from a few of the reviews I had seen but nothing could be further from the truth! This is an engaging story about many things and central to the story is how and why several dead people returned to life in a small town and how it affects everyone.

The art is great and sets a perfect stage for the story. The pacing of the story draws you along scene by scene giving it the feel of a movie. The characters are well fashioned and believable. This is one story that I can’t wait to read more of! Looking forward to seeing how this unfolds.

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Gordon R Dickson A Vintage SciFi Month Review

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A fellow Book Reviewer has declared January to be Vintage SciFi Month! For Vintage SciFi Month I decided to read a couple of books by Gordon R Dickson: Hour Of The Horde and Dorsai! GRD writes interesting books! His work feels like a mix between David Drake and Frank Herbert. GRD has been a very heavy influence on Military SciFi and spins very interesting tales that feature the continual evolution of mankind.

Hour Of The Horde puts the Fiction into Science Fiction. It’s a slightly laughable tale describing a horde of aliens that travel from Galaxy to Galaxy and eliminate all organic life before moving onto the next one. Somehow we know they do this and somehow we know they’re attacking us next. Ok so the overall plot fails because of simple distances involved. But the story itself is enjoyable because of the main character and his incredible drive to accomplish the impossible. He’s a flawed man that gets selected to represent humanity in our greatest hour of need and has to find ways to motivate several different alien species to accomplish their unified goal. A fun and enjoyable read.

Dorsai! is excellent. This is the first book of GRD’s famous Childe Cycle and it is a page turner. The main character (Donal Graeme) is like Paul Atreides without his prescience. He’s a person set apart longing to belong but embracing his uniqueness and in so doing possibly opening up the next step of human evolution. This book involves a lot of Military SciFi action and is one of the classics in that field. Well worth your time.

I’ve enjoyed Vintage SciFi Month and still have one more book to finish and review so be looking forward to my thoughts on Rendezvous With Rama by Arthur C Clarke!

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