Tag: books

Sometimes I run across an older book that’s usually out-of-print, but has exceptional wisdom locked up in its pages. I found this one at my local Half Priced Books.

See all of my WSF&F chapter reviews.

This chapter is by Stanley Schmidt, an American author best known for his long-running tenure as editor of Analog Science Fiction and Fact magazine. He uses his editorial experience to explain the maxim “show, don’t tell” with practical examples.

Sometimes I run across an older book that’s usually out-of-print, but has exceptional wisdom locked up in its pages. I found this one at my local Half Priced Books.

See all of my WSF&F chapter reviews.

In this chapter James Patrick Kelly discusses science fiction characters and how to build them. He starts this chapter with a discussion of writing books he’s bought in the past. Then he dives in.

Sometimes I run across an older book that’s usually out-of-print, but has exceptional wisdom locked up in its pages. I found this one at my local Half Priced Books.

This is Isaac Asimov’s second of five chapters in the book. As a writer of books that are mostly dialog, when he thinks “of the art of writing I tend to think of dialog.” His first example is a look back at Victorian dialog. When compared to modern language it seems silted and overwrought. But written dialog is not a perfect example of the spoken language of the time. Just as movies tend to feature better-than-average looking people, dialog does the same to language. Asimov’s example is that movie stars don’t look like average people. They look like movie stars. Also, fictional heroes are braver, stronger, and more ingenious “than anyone you’re likely to meet. Why shouldn’t they speak better too?” At the same time the characters need to sound like people, not pompous stuffed-shirts. Sometimes the well-placed ungrammatical exclamation is exactly what’s needed to humanize a character. He cites Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn as the first example of a book written in substandard English. But it is still a great work of literature. While the words were mostly slang, the sentences and paragraphs were the work of a master. Asimov as most writers, draw the line at vulgarity. His position is that his characters are well-educated and should be able to express themselves better than a profanity-spewing fire hose. He notes times have changed and it’s expected that some profanity will creep into almost any novel. In some cases it would be criminal to not have characters swear. Asimov works hard to avoid it, but he realizes that other authors have other styles. This was another short chapter, having just under five pages. Even with it being so short it was still packed with advice:

Sometimes I run across an older book that’s usually out-of-print, but has exceptional wisdom locked up in its pages. I found this one at my local Half Priced Books.

See all of my WSF&F chapter reviews.

This chapter was written by Isaac Asimov. It is the first of five that he contributed to the book. It’s short—only five pages—but covers the essentials of plotting a story.

Sometimes I run across an older book that’s usually out-of-print, but has exceptional wisdom locked up in its pages. I found this one at my local Half Priced Books.

See all of my WSF&F chapter reviews.

Chapter two is much longer than Heinlein’s chapter one, but covers more ground. It’s written by Gardener Dozois, and names the mistakes that plague writers new to science fiction. He starts out with a discussion of 1950s syndrome.

Sometimes I run across an older book that’s usually out-of-print, but has exceptional wisdom locked up in its pages. I found this one at my local Half Priced Books.1

See all of my WSF&F chapter reviews.

I first bumped shoulders with James Stark in a dark alley called Aloha From Hell. Richard Kadrey’s third book in the Sandman Slim series. I faithfully followed the series through the next three books. Watching Stark adapt to life outside of Hell has been a roller coaster ride through Los Angeles.

But what was Stark like when he first came home? Reading the first book never quite made it to the top of my to-do list. Until last week. Cracking the spine on a fresh ebook, I dug into Sandman Slim (2009).

I really like how he’s gone with the movie poster look. I’m totally expecting Hollywood to screw up (i.e. tone down) Stark. If there aren’t movies in the pipe already, I’ll be surprised.

I wonder what would be the outcome IF the profits had been distributed as expected?

What I liked:

What bothered me:

Verdict:

The good outweighs the bad, and I thoroughly enjoyed the story.

Notes:

The novel’s publishing history is also remarkable. Originally it was released as a series on the author’s website, then as a ebook. When it exploded on Amazon, it was picked up by a print publisher.