First Draft Completed !

I finally finished writing the first draft of my fantasy novel. It was a long road, but one that I enjoyed quite a bit. I haven't written a work this long in many year.  it did feel good to sit down with a long story and let it unfold.

Here are some stats for those who are interested, and for posterity.

Started prep work on August 1, 2016.
Started novel work on August 19, 2016
Completed first draft on May 9, 2017
134,016 Words in First Draft
21 Chapters with a prologue and epilogue that are both about half a page long.

There was a lull in there around December and January where I didn't work very much on the novel. I would probably have finished it in March or so if I had stuck with my schedule from NaNoWriMo. I'm curious to see if the break affected the writing at all.

I ran into my usual problem with long fiction. I started off full of enthusiasm and burned through the first third or so. After that it became a bit harder to work through. The final third was difficult because I had several action sequences. I find those very challenging to write because I am very conscious that I could be overwriting them. I usually end up just throwing down a bunch of stuff and figuring that I can work it all out in the second draft.

This  novel probably had the largest number of main characters in it since my first novel. That first novel was written back in the late 90s and was filled with youthful excitement and insanity. Kind of funny to go back and read now. But I kept piling on characters, and since it was inspired by anime series of the day, some of the characters and plot lines were just bizarre and in conflict with each other.

This time I worked out backgrounds for my eight primary characters, as well as some history about the main location of the story. I think that helped to have that all fully realized before I dove in. I didn't reference my "story bible" too often, but the work spent there made it quite clear in my head.

I am a bit worried that ending might feel anticlimactic. I also think that one of my characters came across as a bit too stereotypical. I'll probably have to do some work with her on the next pass. I'm looking forward to rereading it.

But I'm going to follow Mr. King's advice and let the story sit for about a month or so. I've done this in the past and it really does help when you go back and reread it. In the meantime I think I might work on some shorter fiction. Been a long time since I tackled a short story or two. While I was working on this novel, I actually had a couple of ideas I jotted down (that always happens, and they always seem better then what you are working on at the time).

But first time to celebrate.

Indecision and Other Obstacles

Lately I’ve been writing a lot. I’ve been writing posts for this blog, writing movie reviews and reflections for my movie blog and writing reviews for DVD Verdict. I’ve been watching movies and series for Verdict and my movie blog. I’ve been playing a few video games that captured my attention (Dragon Age why do I keep coming back!). But the one thing I haven’t been doing is working on my fiction.

Last year I planned to get editing done on two novels I completed. I started editing both and didn’t finish. Part of the problem was the home related and family related issues. I also burnout on editing. I do a lot of it at work too: one of the few nasty side effects of writing and editing procedure documents for a living. I just get sick of reading and rereading my own stuff. Needless to say both manuscripts are just sitting with red pens waiting to be worked on… for months.

Then there’s the constant issue of wanting to write new material. I’ve had several ideas over the last year that have been sitting in my head and not doing anyone a lick of good. So, what’s to be done?

First off, I love writing about movies. The movie blog proved it and I’ve been having a blast with it. Writing for Verdict is great, as I get more people reading my writing than ever before. But the time it takes to watch all those movies and series is considerable. While I’ve toned down my blog entries for my movie blog, I’m still finding it tough to juggle everything. And this blog has been running since 2007, and I’m loath to let it go, even though I’m finding it harder and harder to write interesting entries for it. Heck, I’m writing this one right now, because I didn’t have one in the wings.

But the bigger issue is the changing landscape of publishing. Used to be self-publishing was a suckers game. But with electronic publishing the game has changed and it’s quite possible to make some money and get some readers for your fiction if you know how to get it out there. I keep coming back to the idea of really getting my fiction rolling, but to do that I need to cut into my other writing. I need to stop getting sucked away into video games. I need to really dive into editing (the one element of writing I always flounder on). . I need to decide the path I really want to take.

The trick is actually doing it instead of writing about it.

Am I the only whiny writer out there? Anyone else struggling with their writing careers and their focus?

Spark of Inspiration – The Gunslinger

This isn’t going to be so much of a look at the first novel of The Dark Tower series, The Gunslinger. Instead I’m going to get a little more personal about it. I think its safe to say that The Gunslinger really changed me as a writer.

First a quick examination of the novel. This series of stories were written by Stephan King when he was young, around 19 or so. As he points out in his new introduction, there was a zeal to the writing that he doesn’t have in his prose any more. But there is also a lot of stuff a young writer does that just doesn’t add to the story. In 2002 King went back to the work and did some editing and modifying to allow this book to feel more at home in his seven book epic. Reading this version, I have to say it is a smoother read and flows a bit better with the rest of the series. But I grew up with old version, over-elaborate prose and all.

I remember someone recommending the book to me, but I don’t remember who. It was in high school, I wanna say sophomore year or so. I knew King more from the movies based on his work, but I believe I read Cujo and maybe It. Anyway, I thought I knew what I was in for, but man was I blown away.

Here was a world that combined so many disparate elements and yet it all worked. Your main character was a cowboy, cool as the devil and twice as dangerous. He’s travelling across a world that hints at apocalypse. We see ruined machines, and technology. But the people all seem to have stepped out of the 1800’s. They talk funny, a kind of mix between olde west and a formal speech you’d find in a medieval film from the 50’s. Roland, our gunslinger has flashback to his youth, where the cowboys live in castles. There’s a strong sense of the feudal in these memories. The gunslingers world is filled with perils including demons, wizards, mutants and strange technology. Finally there is Jake, a young boy who is pulled into the Gunslinger’s world from ours. When he describes his home we recognize it immediately as a modern city street.

I’d never read a book like it, and the setting and characters just clicked with me. I picked up the rest of the series (up to the third book at the time) and was hooked. This was a classic adventure story with our heroes on the quest, travelling the land and facing all kinds of characters.

Let’s get back to The Gunslinger. Up to the point of reading that book, Tolkien heavily influenced my writing. Lord of the Rings was a focal point as a writer. I loved the depth, the characters and the adventure. All my writing was based around this basic fantasy model. But when I read The Gunslinger I realized that fantasy was just that – fantastic. You could do anything with the characters and world, and if you did it right it would all flow together creating something unique and powerful. C.S. Lewis did something similar with his Chronicles of Narnia, but this being Stephan King was a darker more cynical world – one that H.P. Lovecraft would appreciate. That darkness was what really got to me. There is a melancholy to the series, a tale of endings, which really hits home to me.

I didn’t immediately begin writing fiction in the style of The Dark Tower, I was too in awe of it. But it opened my eyes, and The Gunslinger in particular. It feels more dreamlike than the following books. It ebbs and flows in ways that make sense on a primal level. Even the overwrought prose of the original version adds to this, seeming to create an off kilter feeling. That’s what got me – the feeling of being in a dream. I love dreams and writing and stories that are immersed in them. This was the first book I read that came anywhere close to matching that feel, and while I’ve explored more examples since then, I keep coming back to this book.

It wasn’t till nearly five or six years later that I used The Dark Tower as one of my main influences on my first novel. That story was influenced by so many things spanning Japanese anime to the action film Ronin that it’s kinda funny to read now. But that wide swath of influences and the dark nature of the story is definitely based in The Gunslinger. I even tried a version of the ending of that novel with my main character – having her face a nemesis and receive a revelation at the same time. I read it now and its clunky and not effective at all. But I can see the seeds of the inspiration there.

My dark fantasy fiction has not strayed much since. When I do delve back in, I find elements of King’s work in mine, as well as influences by film maker David Lynch and of course Lovecraft. But I think my characters have gotten a lot better and I’ve created a plot that is more fluid and less locked into its influences than the original. Maybe one day I’ll fee comfortable enough with one of the tales to unleash it on an unwitting public (as Dr. Forrester would say). But for now those dark tales remain mine to polish. I love them, but they aren’t ready yet. But each time I revisit my world it gets a little better.

And so thank you Mr. King for creating a fascinating story and providing a spark of inspiration for my fantasy writing, taking me into a direction I never thought possible and allowing me to see possibilities in my fiction.

Do you have a book or film that really triggered a direction or change in your writing? Do your early attempts to matching it show how much you’ve grown as a writer? Have you read The Gunslinger?

Logic and the Human Mind - I Robot

Time again to delve into Asimov. I enjoyed the two previous robot centric books I read by him, Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun. But I had never read the stories that started it all, so I was interested to see how “I Robot” fit into all this.

I was aware that this was a collection of short stories, and that’s fine with me. “Foundation” is essentially a collection of short stories that build on each other, and “I Robot” has a similar feel to it, with the central character of Susan Calvin telling or figuring in all the stories. Some of the tales had a very pulp sci-fi feeling to them, especially those involving the duo of Powell and Donovan. I got a kick out of their dialogue and their layman approach to dealing with the puzzling behavior of their metallic comrades.

But what struck me most about these stories is that they are basically logic puzzles with a narrative formed around them. At the heart of each tale is a mystery that needs unraveling and this usually has something to do with the three laws of robotics, and how they are interpreted. Since the robots deal with things logically, they are limited. But these limitations aren’t always apparent to the other characters and to the reader.

As the stories progress, the robots evolve and the puzzles take on greater and greater impact on human society. This is one of the things I admire about Asimov, he weaves his themes so well into interesting stories and provides you with entertainment and a bit more to chew on after you’re done reading.

If you haven’t given this book a read I recommend it, as some solid and entertaining short stories, but second to see if you can figure out these logic puzzles before the other characters do. I have to say that if had to take the place of Donovan or Powel… I’d be dead.

Have you read “I Robot”? What did you think of it?

Insight into a Writer’s Mind – The Narnia Code

Earlier this year I wrote a review for a documentary called The Narnia Code over at DVD Verdict. This documentary focused on “a mystery” that has plagued readers of C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia series for decades. How did Lewis reconcile the vastly different characters and settings of his fantasy world? A casual reader of the first book will find references to characters from Greek mythology, Celtic legend, fairytales, as well as seemingly random elements like a lamppost in the middle of a forest and Santa Claus. Many have wondered if Lewis was just bad at creating a fantasy world, and was just pulling these elements out of his brain. This is more striking when you look at his contemporary, J.R.R. Tolkien, and see the huge amount of back-story and depth he created for his fantasy world.

I’m gonna be honest here and say, Lewis’ fantasy world never bothered me as a reader. Granted I first read The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe when I was in fourth grade or so, but even rereading it over the years I never had a problem with it. There was a whimsy to the whole book that just pulled me in. All those elements seemed to work together because Narnia is a world that only children could enter. So it made sense that these kinds of characters and settings would appear. I never felt it was sloppy.

The Narnia Code says that there is a method to this “madness”. According to scholar Michael Ward, the series basic construction and stylistic elements are all based on the medieval view of the seven known planets. To the medieval mind there were seven heavenly bodies that traveled differently across the sky than the rest of the firmament. These were: the sun, the moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Ward believes that each of these planets has been given its own book to influence. If you study this medieval cosmology then you’ll see elements of these planets in each book.

Here’s where things get a bit odd, at least for the writer in me. So this “code” has been revealed and now we know where all these seemingly disparate elements came from. But what if you didn’t have a problem with these elements in the first place, will this “revelation” mean anything to you? In a way it’s interesting, but I don’t think a casual reader is going to care. Even those that read the series or use it as a teaching tool of Christian belief aren’t going to find much here to add to their view of the work.

What I found especially amusing was the fact that the documentary presents this as a game changing solution. That now that Ward has presented his theory (and yes its still theory, we can’t ask Lewis if this is correct, and plenty of scholars don’t agree with Ward) a whole new level of meaning has been introduced to the series. I don’t buy it. What we have is a new understanding of stylistic choices made by Lewis. It may allow other writers and scholars to smile at different places when they read, but other than that, I don’t see it as changing my opinion of the work or deepening my understanding of its themes. I just think that Lewis was pretty clever at using that as an inspiration, one that took decades for someone to figure out and yet provided a pattern that we didn’t know existed. But then comes the question, can it be a pattern if no one recognizes it?

What do you think of the Chronicles of Narnia? Do you think this kind of revelation helps or hinders the enjoyment of the stories? Should influences on a writer really be dissected like this?

A Subtle Horror – The Wendigo

H.P. Lovecraft is known for his unique brand of horror storytelling. His dark and nihilistic view of the universe inspired some chilling tales. But he had influences on his style and stories. Some of these were contemporaries like Robert E. Howard. Others were older like Lord Dunsany and Arthur Machen. Lets take a look at Algernon Blackwood.

Blackwood’s influence on Lovecraft is more stylistic than anything else. For one thing Blackwood’s weird fiction does not concern alternate worlds and planes of existence, but deals with an internal spiritual horror. It’s a terror that is difficult to define, something that comes from within, like a creeping doubt that builds and builds until its too much.

In the stories I’ve read by Blackwood, this source of terror comes from the natural world or from within. The Wendigo is one of his most celebrated stories, and along with The Willows may be one of his most effective. In The Wendigo the story starts out as a hunting trip into the Canadian wilderness. Like a typical horror film, everything starts out peachy keen at first. But slowly little things begin to hint at a dark side to the survival story.

Blackwood infuses his stories with description – a lot of description. So you’ve got to be prepared to read some long passages about the wilderness. It’s not too bad, because Blackwood really builds a solid picture, but it does slow the pacing down to a crawl. However this is intentional too. It puts you into a certain mood, slowly moving through the story and allowing the descriptions to build upon each other twisting slightly each time.

When the horror unfolds in the final third of the novella, you’ve been slowly creeped out for so long that it becomes chilling. It takes some patience to read, but it also takes skill to write. Blackwood’s theme of nature as a force unto itself, and one that man cannot hope to tame is strong in his stories. The Wendigo does just that. Sure it skirts the supernatural (and delves right into it at the end), but there is a lot of psychological horror in there too. The corruptions or devolution of the characters spirit is what fascinates him, and creates a unique horror experience.

Lovecraft uses a similar style, but focuses instead on the human intellect. His characters often meander in a world that is beyond their ken, and often become corrupted and insane by the end. This build up usually happens faster then in a Blackwood story, but the same style is present. Its also interesting to note that in The Willows the danger is very present and real, but never identified clearly. It makes it more horrifying. This technique is another one that Lovecraft utilized well in many of his stories.

I highly recommend checking out The Wendigo if you have the opportunity and are in the mood for a horror story that takes its time but is very effective. If it works for you then seek out The Willows for a solid sampling of the unknown.

Have you ever read any of Blackwood’s stories? What did you think of them? Do you think heavy description can be as effective as a tight plot, or do you think a balance needs to be struck?

Detection and Sloth - Fer – De – Lance

Holmes and Watson, Nick and Nora, Simon and Simon: the detective pair has been a staple in fiction for a long time. In many cases you get partners who seem very different in approaches but compliment each other. Why would you need a partner otherwise? But a skilled writer can take a duo and not only use them to compliment each other, but to contrast each other in a way that creates additional tension in the story.

Rex Stout created Nero Wolfe and his partner Archie Goodwin, and they are a great example of this style of detective pairing. This is the first time I’d read a Nero Wolfe mystery and I was pulled right in. The setting is the 1930s, and Archie comes across like your typical hard-boiled type. He’s streetsmart, he cracks wise, and he knows how to question folks to get the info he needs. He’s not afraid of a little danger, and he’s dedicated to catching the bad guy. What more do you need in a detective character?

Well you need someone who can put the pieces together, especially when the pieces are an intricate and diverse as the mystery at the center of Fer-de-lance. That’s where Nero Wolfe comes in. He’s a master of using deduction to find the source of the mystery and revealing who is the heart of the matter, as well as their motives.

There is only one small problem. Wolfe is a jerk. Seriously the guy has a foul attitude, he’s agoraphobic, and his love of the finer things in life has turned him into an obese toddler. His eccentricities make him an interesting character, because Stout allows us to see the genius behind the man. Sure Archie does all the leg work, but in the end the key witnesses come to see Wolfe and he questions them. And while Wolfe may be a complete jerk most of the time, he is also an excellent reader of people. He can tell by a glance and the entire approach of a person just what kind of role he must play to get the information he needs. And he can act. This compiled with his deductive skills makes him formidable.

The combination of the bizarre Wolfe and streetsmart Archie makes for a dynamic read. They have some great dialogue when they are together. Both men respect and understand each other, but at the same time find the other infuriating at times. It works so well, that combined with the interesting mystery at hand, I sought out more Nero Wolfe mysteries. If you haven’t given this character a shot and enjoy 1930’s style fiction, give Fer-de-lance a try.

Have you read a Nero Wolfe mystery before? What did you think of him as a character? Do you have a favorite fictional pairing? What made them work?

The Supporting Cast is the Lead – Memnon

In my continuing quest to read historical fiction based on ancient Greece, I ran into “Memnon”, a tale that takes place during the age of Alexander the Great. Last year I read the novel Virtues of War that presented Alexander’s rise from his point of view. It was an intriguing character study that worked well.

Author Scott Oden took a different tact, by basing the novel around one of Alexander’s enemies, and so we get a very different view of the Macedonian conqueror. The story revolves around Memnon of Rhodes, a Greek mercenary who finds himself allied with the powerful Persian lord Artabazus. We follow Memnon from his youth in Rhodes, and through the forging a powerful leader of men. Oden even has Memnon meet Alexander while Artabazus is in exile in Macedonia.

Things get really interesting as Memnon comes to realize that Alexander presents a greater threat than his father ever did. Being experienced in battling with and against the Macedonian forces Memnon attempts to bring his knowledge to the famous battle of Granicus River. But internal politics on the Persian side keeps Memnon’s advice from being heeded. Disaster results. The climax of the story occurs when Alexander reaches the city of Halicarnassus. He begins his siege and Memnon comes up with a plan to make Alexander pay for the city with as many lives as possible.

Memnon is a pretty interesting character. He’s smart, able to read people very well, brave to a fault and not willing to give up. But he does suffer from a plight that many heroic figures end up with in novels. He’s never wrong. A little of this goes a long way, but I think Oden wanted to show that Memnon was an equal to Alexander’s strategic powers, but it was Alexander’s luck that allowed him to defeat Memnon. Still, the protagonist never makes a bad decision or misjudgment. Sure, it may appear to be so at first, but he’s always proven right in the end.

Honestly this is a minor quibble. The story has so many interesting characters, and a perspective that I don’t see often in fiction based in this time period. Usually its Alexander or his men we are linked to, it’s rare to see it from the opposing side. Picking Memnon was a great move. Little is known about him for certain, so Oden was able to give him an intriguing back-story and interaction with the Persians and his brother Mentor. This combined with the exciting historical details made for an excellent read.

Have you ever read a book that took place from the point of view of a lesser known historical figure, or one that was on the losing side of a conflict? Did it work? Do you think this would be easier or more difficult to write?

Humanity Stinks – Gulliver’s Travels

My encounters with “Gulliver’s Travels” have been many and sordid. When I was a kid I watched the Max Fleischer animated version of the story. I also watched the Ray Harryhausen version called, “The Three Worlds of Gulliver” (featuring an amazing musical score by Bernard Herrmann). I didn’t actually read the novel until my senior year in high school and at that point we only read the first two adventures – Gulliver’s visits to Lilliput and Brobdingnag. My first year in university we jumped to the final voyage to the land of the Houyhnhnms. I never read the story of the floating island (with both teachers explaining that it was a satire of philosophy and scientific thought particular to the 1700s).

I was reminded of the book because I enjoying the musical work of Herrmann for his Harryhausen epics “Jason of the Argonauts” and “The 7^th Voyage of Sinbad”. When I found out THAT Hermmann also wrote the score to the Gulliver film I was reminded of the novel I never read completely. Turns out I could enjoy it for free on my Kindle, so it was the first novel I downloaded (but not the first I read).

Anyway, I was surprised how entertaining the whole novel was. Being able to read all four adventures and be a bit older and wiser now, I think I found it a lot funnier than I did originally. But I also have to say that the third book is the least entertaining, and actually caused me to read “Nausicaa” instead. But I stuck with it to get to the fourth and nastiest bit of satire the voyage to the Houynhnms.

Did Swift really loathe humanity that much? Or was he driving his point home in as obvious a way as possible. The view of the yahoos and Gulliver’s constant comparison of them with humans is pretty fierce and nasty. At the same time Gulliver himself changes as the book progresses. The man at the beginning is not the man who ends up laving the land of the Houynhnms. So is Swift the bitter angry one or Gulliver?

Still the story takes a good hard look at humans and doesn’t like what it sees. And for all the social and government commentary in a book written in 1735 a lot of it is very relevant today. Would Mr. Swift find that funny or sad? One thing is for sure he would shudder with terror at the Jack Black feature bearing this story’s name.

What do you think of “Gulliver’s Travels”? Was Swift the angry one, or is Gulliver the bitter man? Do you think the stories are still relevant?

If they can do it… - Writer’s Envy

I had the experience of reading a book that wasn’t very good, by an author that is fairly popular in a genre that I enjoy. The trick is, I find I read a lot of “classics” and not much new material. Not sure if its because I’m afraid of things that aren’t tried and true, or if its because I’m not sure I want to know who my competition is.

In this case I felt pretty good that I’m better than the competition. This writer has a pretty high place in the Kindle reading list for the genre. Of course several of this writer’s books are free. I picked up one of the free ones myself. But the first thing I noticed was the inconsistencies of style, something that actually hurt my enjoyment of the story.

The big offender was switching perspectives from one paragraph to another without a break of any kind. You’re just reading along and it’s Joe’s perspective. Then the next paragraph is told from the point of view of Lou, who just showed up. That goes on for a few paragraphs and then it jumps back to Joe.

I found myself disoriented and needing to reread sections to make sure I wasn’t missing something. At first I thought it was an error on Kindle, and then I realized after the fourth time or so that this is just how the writer writes. I wondered why an editor didn’t say something. Am I a fuddy duddy and the hip kids are doing this kind of thing now? Or is this breaking a rule of basic writing.

Look if you’re going to be artsy in your work, if you want to make a point about changing perspectives and you pull that – hey I can understand that. Its part of your message and theme and you’re using the medium to make the point. But this just felt sloppy.

One of these changes was to a character who had one scene and then was gone, never to resurface in the book again. Ok, then what was the point in getting in her head. It added a tiny bit of perspective, but at the same time it really didn’t have much relevance to the overall tale. I’m pretty certain a good editor would have caught that and cut it.

Then there was the lead character. Now having your lead be an unpleasant asshole can work. “Lord Foul’s Bane” had this issue and actually pulled it off, making a point about the man and his view of the worlds. But this main character was angry and bitter and filled with so much bile that I started hoping he’d get killed, because the other characters were slightly more interesting. And since the author had no problem switch perspectives then it was possible to just jump over to the other character –right? Sorry, we’re stuck with this jerk. Since it was a series, we’re stuck with him for several books.

It takes a skilled writer to pull off a good antihero, or a lead who is so unpleasant that you are curious about how he’ll end up. But this author only made a guy who was annoying enough to make you want to see him dead. Not a good sign.

I didn’t finish the book, I couldn’t. I read about 40% of it before I gave it up for lost (nice that Kindle can show that % complete). But I was still puzzled that if someone who wrote this can be a top author in sales on Kindle, than that means that someone who writes better (maybe me) could do the same thing. Like I said this was a series and looking at the comments of the book I saw a lot positive reviews. My question is, how did the author get the word out and get people to read the books in the first place. Giving them away helps a great deal I’m sure, but if others don’t have a problem with sloppy writing, well I can say it gives me hope.

Have you run into sloppy writing in a popular book that made you feel – hey I can do better! Tell your story. Am I a fuddy duddy and the freedom of writing can be warped for the art? Should I be worried that a poorly told tale is attracting so much attention or does it merit some hope?

A Different Track – Firestarter

Picked up Stephen King’s “Firestarter” for the first time. I’ve been doing my best over the years to read more of his older work, and I’ve found much of it very entertaining and some of it top notch stuff (“Salem’s Lot” was excellent). “Firestarter” has a lot of good things going for it, and I can recommend it as an above average work by the author.

What I found most interesting is that the novel really isn’t a horror story. It reminded me much more of something you’d find on “The X-files”. It follows a father and daughter on the run from a shadowy government agency that will stop at nothing to obtain them. The father has the ability to psychically persuade people to do his bidding, even going so far as to blind them by telling them “You’re blind”. This ability comes at a cost, doing damage to his brain with each use.

His daughter, Charlie, is more powerful, with the ability to start fires with her mind as well as move objects and even limited telepathy. But she’s only six and can barely control her powers. It becomes obvious early on that the government agents are really after Charlie, because of her potential. The kicker is that Charlie’s parents were both drugged in college by this same agency to test a chemical that would heighten brain activity. Once the scientists realized that not only had this change become permanent, but that it affected the parents genetic code – they see a million uses for this drug as a tool for national security.

The novel was written in the late 70’s and you can feel the disillusion with the government seeping out of every pore in the book. Watergate is mentioned numerous times, and one of the main villains, Rainbird, is a seriously deranged veteran of the Vietnam war. It puts a definite time stamp on the book, but one that could easily be moved to the conspiracy crazed days of the mid and late 90’s or the post 911 world. How eager would any government be to find a way to use these gifts to defend or attack as needed?

Not too long ago I listened to a pod cast that discussed how both the US and USSR experimented with mental abilities during the cold war. According to some, the USSR actually got a few telepaths and precogs to work for them. You can see how an interesting story can develop. I wonder how much of this research came up when King did his work on the book “Carrie”.

It reminded me how much my novels and stories are affected by the times in which they were written. My third novel dealt with virtual reality. Remember when that was all the rage in the late 90’s? Yeah me too. If I ever revisit that novel, I’m gonna have to update that part a bit, along with the references to dial up modems.

Ever read “Firestarter”? What did you think of it? Have you ever read a story that seemed very influenced by the time period it was written and wondered how it would have worked if it was written later or earlier? Have you found a past work you’ve written affected by the times it was written during?

A Dark Adventure - Dracula

As a kid I loved fantasy and sci-fi movies and stories and so I missed the whole fascination that many of peers had with horror films, classic and otherwise. Sure I knew about vampires and werewolves, but I never really saw a vampire movie till “The Lost Boys”. My first exposure to any form of Dracula was actually the 1992 Coppola version. I really like that film, in spite of its flaws, and at the time it really captured my imagination. I ended up seeking out Bram Stoker’s book and was amazed by two things. First, Coppola had stayed pretty true to the story (only adding the Beauty and the Beast romantic angle for the Count and Mina). Second, the book was duller than dirt.

I found the idea of a book comprised of journal entries and letters to be absurd. I was annoyed that Dracula never got a point of view in the story. I thought that any horror was horribly diluted by the style and that it took away from any punch the story made have had. I thought that Coppola was right to add the romance angle and crank up the sexiness that was buried in the narrative. I actually gave the book away, I was so annoyed with it.

Flash forward to this summer and for my birthday my wife gets me a Kindle. As I’m playing around with it, checking out all the public domain books I can choose, one title jumps out at me, “Dracula”. Having just enjoyed a successful reread of another horror classic, “The Haunting of Hill House”, I used that as my test book. I figured I’d just download it to see an example of how the public domain novel would look on my new device. I started reading Jonathan Harker’s journal entry… and was unable to put the book down until the end.

Safe to say that I really enjoyed it this time around. Why the big change of heart? I think it’s because I knew what to expect this time around. I also discovered that while the horror of the story is diluted, it instead turns into more of an adventure story. Well heck, I love a good adventure story. The letters and journals create interesting characters, with Stoker giving each a unique voice and perspective. Dracula is more enigmatic because we never see his point of view, only the view of the victims and hunters. I was also intrigued to see how loathsome and deadly the vampire was in this incarnation. Our modern vampires (yes I’m looking at you “Twilight” but Ann Rice’s sudsy creations are just as guilty) really look like whiney wimps compared to the count in this novel.

A quick check on the ever-reliable Wikipedia tells me that “Dracula” was actually considered an adventure story when it was first published. It was also considered a tale of invasion; with the dark force from central Europe creeping into England and threatening it’s women. But it wasn’t considered a classic tale of horror until the silent film “Nosferatu” was released in 1922 I’ve seen that film and yeah, it’s still pretty darn creepy.

What’s interesting is that Stephen King viewed the novel “Dracula” as an adventure novel too, but with a horror twist. He said he noticed it when he read “Lord of the Rings”. As he was reading Tolkien’s work he was amazed how many parallels he found with Stoker’s novel. So he always considered Stoker to the originator of the modern fantasy novel. I don’t know if I’d go that far, but I can see where King is coming from. Without having that horror stamp hanging over it, “Dracula” seems like a better novel, because it works well with its adventure and mystery elements. The macabre overtones act more as accents that make it distinctive. If you want a good vampire novel that actually chills, check out King’s “Salem’s Lot”. Not only does he take Stoker’s ideas and modernizes them, but he adds a bit of Lovecraft as well. It’s a very good book, especially for a second novel.

I’m getting off the track here. “Dracula” will always be a classic, and will probably always be considered a classic horror novel. But give it another read (or a first read if you’ve never tackled it before) and see if it works a little better as an adventure story.

What do you think of the novel “Dracula”? Ever read a book with a set of expectations that actually ruined the experience of the novel? You think King is right in calling Stoker the inventor of modern fantasy?

What a character! – The Haunting of Hill House

The movie “The Haunting” is one of my favorite horror movies. While the opening credits informed me clearly that it was based on a book, I never thought to seek it out. A few years ago, I finally did get around to reading Shirley Jackson’s novel – and frankly I thought it was really lacking. There was no momentum to it. It went on and on about the main character and took forever to get to scares that never really happened. It was such a letdown – especially compared to the movie, which creeped into my brain as I watched it and had me jumping at shadows all night.

I decided to revisit “The Haunting of Hill House” again and see if maybe a few years would make a difference. Well, I think the big difference for me this time was that I knew what kind of book I was getting into. This was not a haunted house story, not really. It’s really a haunted person story. Eleanor is the focus of the book. The narrative often takes her point of view and when it doesn’t, it’s focused on her. Jackson is very careful to give us a very detailed look at the way Eleanor acts and reacts to the events leading up to her arrival at Hill House and her interaction with the other characters when she gets there.

The drive up to Hill House was one of the most annoying parts of the book when I first read it. Eleanor comments on many of the seemingly mundane things around her. I didn’t care! Get to the haunted house already! We get a little of this in the movie, but it’s only a couple scenes of her taking the car and leaving the city. The book actually charts all the stops she makes and what she does there. What’s the point? My second reading revealed that we see exactly how Eleanor takes these mundane stops and works herself into each situation in her mind. She creates elaborate fantasies about herself and these stops. Later in the book when she’s alone, Eleanor takes these fantasies and weaves them even further into her adventures at Hill House. Reality seems to slip away from her and the further she goes, the further into the house’s power she falls.

Make no mistake, Hill House is truly haunted by some power. The way it works on all the characters is a little different. We know more about Eleanor, because she’s the focus of the story, but it affects each character in its own way, filling them with dread. The house’s affect on Eleanor is causes her to see less and less harm in the house. It becomes a sanctuary for her. There are moments when the dread and fear are evident, but for the most part Eleanor is enchanted with Hill House and feels that she must become part of this fantasy. She almost becomes childlike at the end, completely giving up all sense of self to the fantasy of the house and her place in it.

In my mind, this book is a well-executed character study. Its moments of the supernatural are handled well, creating a feeling of unease. There have been arguments that the book takes place in Eleanor’s head. I don’t agree with that take. The house is haunted and Eleanor is the perfect victim, it swallows her whole. As for scares, the book still didn’t give me the creeps like the film did, but I will say that I enjoyed it a lot more and look forward to reading more of Jackson’s work.

What did you think of “The Haunting of Hill House”? Do you think Eleanor was an interesting character? Can you think of a book that was improved with the transfer to a film? Do you even want to discuss the 1999 version of the film?

A bit of Inspiration – On Writing

Sometimes we just need a mentor’s kind words to get us going back on track again. And it can pay to have that mentor in a handy dandy book form. One of my mentors is Stephen King. Now I know it may be a bit cliché now, but I’ll tell you what, the man can write and he has millions of readers. You could do worse than study his style and his technique. You should also pick up his view of writing in his book conveniently called “On Writing”.

The first part of the book is something of a biography that gives you an interesting portrait of the man. It covers what he feels are some of his influences and some of the events that shaped the kind of writer he is. It also covers the details of his attempts to crack into the world of publishing and his following success. He gets into his drug addition and his battle to free himself from it. He also talks about the accident that nearly took his life. Frankly it’s pretty straightforward and clear cut, not coming across as indulgent but as a way to give advice about being a writer and telling a good story.

After that he gets into the nuts and bolts of the process itself. He recommends books to use (Strunk and White’s Elements of Style) and gets into his process for creating a story and revising it. Like most writers, he’ll tell you to find your own way of doing things, but he does provide some hard and fast rules that I found very useful. One was to step away from your first draft for a while (a month if you can help it) and come back with a more subjective mind. It does work wonders, you see issues with greater clarity and you also have forgotten some of the really good stuff you put in there.

I see “On Writing” come up quite a bit as a book that most writers recommend to other writers, and I agree. Its like having the man right there helping you along and providing his advice in simple clear terms. King gets to the point and keeps it short. If you’ve never given the book a read, give it a try. Even if you don’t like his advice on writing, his biography is interesting enough to make it worth checking out.

Have you ever read “On Writing”? What did you think of it? Do you have a favorite book or essay from an author about writing? Do you read it from time to time to get you energized about writing?

A Tale of Two Edits – Editing Your Work

I recently had the pleasure of editing two very different novels back to back. The first was a space opera that I completed about a year ago. I had gone through it with the red pen earlier in the year. I found my usual issues of repetition and over-explanation were running rampant. I also found that my ending was really poor. So I reworked the ending completely and put the book aside for a month and a half. Then I went back and made the edits to the document in my computer, going over the new ending at the same time.

What was interesting about this editing adventure was that this book was written at my leisure over the summer. I didn’t have a deadline, I just wrote the story idea I had and worked my way through it. I did end up losing steam by the end of the story and that explains why I didn’t really end the story so much as let it whimper out. The editing process reenergized my excitement about the story and so I carried that over into the new ending. I think it’s a lot better than what I originally created.

I also found that certain plot resolutions I had forgotten about were actually pretty clever. I’m talking about plot points that I injected into the story as I wrote, and didn’t have a clear resolution for. Turns out I had a resolution for them, and I just needed to connect the dots and make it a lot clearer. I’m still not sold on the opening of the story. I think I take too much time introducing my main character and not enough getting the story rolling. This book Is supposed to be an adventure story that grabs the reader. In my concern to create an interesting character I spend too much time showing him in his dullness, instead of showing him in action. My wife is of the same opinion, and I’m already planning some editing at the beginning. But I’m hoping the middle and end work as well I felt they did. Hopefully this can shape up to be a fun book, exactly the goal I’m looking at.

The other edit was for my National Novel Writing Month entry for 2009. This was my supernatural thriller. I wrote the initial draft in 30 days and it ended up being a little over 50, 000 words roughly 250 pages. It’s also fragmented, choppy and lacking a real punch at the end. I think this is a direct result of the deadline and brisk pace I set for myself. I like the basic story and some elements work really well. This is actually a more character-based story than my space opera. Unfortunately my main character suffers in this choppy version, and I feel she needs some better scenes shaping her personality.

I also ran into issues where elements of her past were mentioned and never expounded upon. They are important to her character, but I’m not sure if I want to include them in flashback (something I try to avoid) or include a series of scenes at the beginning of the book spanning those moments. I don’t like that idea because the opening chapter of the book has a great punch to it, really grabbing the reader.

The speedy writing also created several issues with continuity. I didn’t have time to check of a character burned her left or right hand, and so the burn switches as you go through the book. So little things like that need to be updated too.

In short I think this book is going to require more work than the one I spent more time on. Makes sense, but the thing I liked about the short writing time from NaNo is that I didn’t lose the energy of wanting to write. I was still excited about the novel as I crossed that finish line and you can feel it in the ending. It felt explosive and fun. While the space opera felt like a slog by the end as I was writing.

So, very different experiences writing and editing. Still not sure what is the best, and if maybe I can create a happy medium. Maybe a month and a half to write the novel? I’m still keen on giving NaNoWriMo at try this year, but I’m not sure I have a new story idea yet. Can I wing it and survive? I think that’s another blog.

Have you tried different styles of writing drafts and how did that affect the editing process? Do you find editing interesting or more like a tedious part of the process? Do you have a problem keeping the energy going for a long work?

Where Myth and History Meet - The King Must Die

Being a big fan of mythology and the ancient world in general it was only a matter of time before I ran into the name Mary Renault. She is famous for her historical fiction based around the life and times of Alexander the Great. I was at the library looking for some ancient Greek flavored stories and ran into her work. I ended up choosing "The King Must Die" which promised an interesting take on the tale of Theseus and the Minotaur.

Now, normally when someone drains the magic from mythology I end up disliking the results. The recent take on "The Illiad" in Wolfgang Peterson's "Troy" annoyed me to no end. But what Renault did in "The King Must Die" was much more interesting and reasoned out. She placed the story far back in the ancient timetable, around 1500 BCE. During this time the Minoan civilization ruled much of Aegean Sea. Renault places the story so that the Minoans demand sacrifice, not for a horrible monster, but for their deadly ceremony of bull leaping. This holy event requires the skills of nimble young women and man to dance around and over a charging bull. Those that are killed are done for the glory of the Earth Mother and Poseidon. This makes a certain amount of sense, and work with the myth of the Minotaur. The king, Minos also appears, but in this case Minos is a title, like Pharaoh. And all the kings of Crete are called Minos. Minotaur, or Minos' Bull is more of a nickname for the crown prince of Crete in this story, but his appearance at the end in the ceremonial bull mask makes him appear like the mythological monster we all know and love.

Aside from those historical elements, Renault works in all kinds of other ideas. Especially important is the power of Goddess worship in the ancient world. The Mother Goddess and her worshipers are in direct conflict with those who worship the Sky God. The melding that we are familiar with in Classical mythology hasn't occurred yet. The main difference between the two religions is the fact that Mother Goddess demands a yearly sacrifice of the King. If the King is not sacrificed than the harvest will fail and all manner of bad luck will occur. Those who worship the Sky God do not sacrifice their kings, but still commit blood offerings (usually animals) to the gods. Kings are held in much higher esteem. This conflict features heavily in the story, driving events in obvious and subtle ways.

The theme of the book is sacrifice. No matter what happens to characters in the story, some sacrifice must be made. If it is not, there are consequences, some of the deadly. Theseus sees his life as a King in terms of both a steward of his people (like Sky God) and a necessary sacrifice if needed (like the Mother Goddess demands). He is a fusion of these beliefs and it serves him well in his journey. However who and what he must sacrifice often dictate his choices.

Renault not only juggles these themes and ideas, but also keeps the story entertaining. As familiar as I was with the myth of Theseus, I was fascinated by the way she fused Minoan and Mycenean culture into the story. She also brings life to the mythological hero, giving him a personality that we can relate to and that works within the story. It's a great read, with plenty of conflict as well as thought provoking themes.

Have you ever read "The King Must Die"? What did you think of it? What do you think of approaching a mythological story but stripping it of the fantastic elements?

The Grasp for Power - The Bloody Crown of Conan

It was time to revisit the Robert E. Howard and his Conan novels. I enjoyed the first set of stories I read by him. He has a great way with words and pacing, bringing a kind of breathless energy to his adventure stories. Sure some of his pulp writing tendencies would shine through a little too much; he loves using "black" as an adjective for everything. But for a thrilling ride into some very raw and red sword and sorcery tales, you have a lot to enjoy.

In this collection, I read the only novel length work by Howard for his Conan character. It's called "The Hour of the Dragon", and so far I think it may be my favorite Conan story. One of the interesting things about the story is why it was written. Howard was trying to sell a collection of his stories to a publisher in England. The publisher wrote back and said they liked his material, but that story collections weren't selling well in England at the time. They recommended that he send a novel along the same lines and that they would be more than happy to consider that. Howard got to work, taking bits and pieces of all the short stories he had worked on, wove them into another tale he had been working on, and then smoothed the whole thing out.

The result is what could be called the quintessential Conan story. Not only does it contain all of the typical adventure elements of his previous stories (giant snakes, resurrected sorcerers, massive battles between armies, harrowing escapes and plenty of half naked women), but he makes a ripping good story out of it too. One thing I liked, as a writer, was the fact that some of his story elements were also borrowed, altered and shined up. I could recognize them, but in almost every case, I enjoyed what he did with them in this incarnation over the previous appearances.

After reading the book, I picked up Stephen King's "Dance Macabre". That book was the first one to really point me in Howard's direction. I was curious to see what King said about a specific story I had read in the collection (The People of the Black Circle). I also found an interesting take on fantasy writing by Mr. King. In his opinion, the best fantasy stories deal with the finding of power and the understanding of how to use that power. If the story takes a tragic turn, the power is lost. He even sited Conan stories as being an example of badly done fantasy stories, because Conan has the power, uses it without any consequences and already understands that he is invulnerable.

In most cases I agree. Some of the Conan stories do feature a lead character that is invincible and overcomes all his enemies through strength and cunning. But "Hour of the Dragon" is a bit different. In this story Conan loses his power completely. He is literally paralyzed by a spell and watches helpless as his armies are crushed, and his kingship taken from him. He is imprisoned and told that he will be broken in spirit and body soon enough. Against him is the resurrected sorcerer I spoke of earlier. Conan escapes the prison (thanks to a half naked women and makes for his former kingdom. He tries to rally support for a revolution against the conquerors, but no one is willing to help him. They all fear the sorcerer and his limitless power.

Nearly halfway through the book we find that the gem used to resurrect the sorcerer is also the only thing that can destroy him. The sorcerer thought he had the gem in a safe place, but his own scheming underlings stole it from him, believing it was the source of his power. Conan goes after the gem, understanding that it is the only way he can regain his kingdom. Then you have your standard quest material, with Conan in hot pursuit of the gem and facing all kinds of obstacles. Once he gets the gem and returns to his kingdom he is ready to wage war against the usurpers and the sorcerer.

What is interesting is that the gem is called The Heart of Ahriman. This heart was literally located in the center of Conan's kingdom. Without the heart and the king who knows how to wield it, the people and land suffer. While the heart may provide Conan with the power to conquer other lands, he only wishes to use it to save his kingdom and people. This understanding allows him to use the heart and stop the sorcerer.

So going by Mr. King's definition, I think this story works as a "good fantasy" novel. But it's also a fun read as well. There are a few other interesting themes in the book. The essay at the end of the book points out a connection to The Grail Legend, that I found interesting. I also enjoyed the little nod to H.P. Lovecraft's ghouls. All in all if you are looking for one of the best Conan tales, check out this book. And any writers of fantasy stories would probably find plenty to enjoy with the drafts and synopsis at the end of the book, giving you a picture of how Howard constructed his tales.

What did you think of "Hour of the Dragon"? Do you agree with Mr. King's definition of fantasy stories? Do you have a favorite fantasy story that fits this definition? What's your favorite Conan story?

Converging Storylines – Count Zero

It’s been a few years since I tackled William Gibson’s “Neuromancer”. It was an interesting read for a few reasons. It is often considered the first real cyber-punk novel. It also ended up inspiring a role-playing game I enjoyed in my youth “Shadowrun” as well as provided some of the basic inspiration for the excellent anime franchise “Ghost in the Shell”.

So when I sat down to read “Count Zero” I had an idea of what to expect. Gibson has a very dense style of prose. He gets a little too flowery in his descriptions for my taste, but he does know how to craft an intriguing story.

“Count Zero” takes a tricky path. It presents us with three protagonists, each with their own storyline. Gibson then jumps from storyline to storyline with each new chapter. At first all three stories seem unrelated, but you begin to see threads that do unite them. Of course the ending has all the stories clash in one way or the other. In addition, the events of “Neuromancer” are used as set up for “Count Zero”. So if you plan on reading this book, I suggest you start with “Neuromancer” first. I was a little fuzzy on the older book and had to look some stuff up on fan sites to refresh my memory.

The tactic of using three different stories isn’t new, but it is a challenge. You need to be able to craft three stories that are equally interesting and then tie them together in a way that keeps the reader turning pages. This requires some serious skill in pacing and story development. For the most part Gibson succeeds. His three protagonists couldn’t be more different. You’ve got an experienced mercenary, a punk kid hacker and a disgraced woman searching for a mysterious artist.

The action fan in me enjoyed the mercenary’s story the most. But the hacker kid had a lot of action in his story as well (and a bit of humor). The woman searching for the artist started out a little slow, but her journey is the most mysterious. When she turned up I was looking forward to what new clue she would discover. I have to give Gibson credit for really weaving the story well and telling it in a fairly compact form. My copy of the book is 244 pages long.

As for the sci-fi elements, the view of the world here is taken from the 80’s. The Internet was in a very basic form at this point. The Matrix (this worlds version of the internet combined with virtual reality) seems a bit silly sounding to us now. Everyone is jacking in using wires and there are still public phones. Wireless technology isn’t around, but people have full holographic videophones. It’s an interesting view, one that was probably edgy in the mid 80’s when this was written.

But as with most good sci-fi, it is Gibson’s ideas that still carry over with time. Artificial Intelligence takes a key role in this book. The integration of computers with humans is also a major point. Both of these elements would be explored even deeper in “Ghost in the Shell”, but its very interesting to see how Gibson approaches them here.

Still it’s worth checking out for any sci-fi writers who haven’t read Gibson yet. His three story line structure is executed with skill and the story moves quickly. I’m looking forward to picking up more of his work.

What do you think of Gibson’s work? Have you read “Count Zero”? Have you tried writing an intertwined three story novel? Have you read another book using the same technique?

Bond Goes Goth – You Only Live Twice (novel)

Ian Fleming wrote three James Bond novels that included the evil Ernst Blofeld: “Thunderball”, “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” and “You Only Live Twice”. These three novels are interesting because they present James Bond with a complete story arc, one that ends in the final book “You Only Live Twice”.

Most people are familiar with the film version of this book. James Bond goes to Japan, finds Blofeld in a hallowed out volcano and launching a space ship that eats up space capsules. Much of the look of that film ended up spoofed in “Austin Powers”, it’s iconic James Bond at his most swinging 60’s.

The book couldn’t be further from the film. Part of this has to do with the placement of the book versus the placement of the films. In the film version, “You Only Live Twice” is the first time James Bond comes face to face with Blofeld. But in the novels, Bond faced him in Switzerland during “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”. That book ends in tragedy, and that tragedy carries over into the next novel. James Bond is off of his game, he’s making mistakes and endangering his missions. M is at a loss, but he comes up with a solution. He’ll put Bond in a no win scenario, and it will force Bond to come to his senses or die.

At first the no win scenario seems benign, decidedly anti-007. He has to go to Japan and convince the Japanese secret service to share their intelligence stream coming from Russia (the book was written in 1964). Britain is feeling left out because the US has access to all this great information. This is a diplomacy issue, something that Bond does not excel at, and it involves a culture he knows nothing about. This is his last shot so he can’t fail, but it seems impossible, especially when he gets to know the decidedly cool “Tiger” Tanaka – head of the secret service.

In the end Tanaka is willing to consider an exchange, but he wants Bond to perform an assassination for it. Turns out there is a mysterious doctor who has purchased an old feudal castle and turned it into a suicide haven. Its garden is filled with poisonous plants, venomous insects and snakes, bubbling pools of sulfuric mud and your typical pool of piranha instead of Koi. While it is meeting a need, the Japanese have the highest suicide rate in the world, Tanaka sees it as a cancer that must be purged. Bond is set up to take down the doctor and his castle of death. You get one guess to figure out who the crazed doctor turns out to be.

This book is many things, but it is not a James Bond adventure that most readers will be used to. Ian Fleming’s novels are not as fast paced and action packed as the films anyway, but this book comes across more like a travelogue with a dour and grim atmosphere.

Death permeates the entire book, from Bond lamenting over the death of Tereza, up to Blofeld’s perfect castle for suicide. The book even contains an obituary for James Bond, as well as a rebirth of sorts in the last chapter. The mission is hopeless, and Bond begins to feel that he will not survive it. This makes for a bleak novel that plays it very cold and very straight – just like a katana sword.

For all of that, it’s still James Bond. He still drinks hard, smokes like a train, beds nearly any girl who is willing and is deadly cool when it comes down to the wire. It just feels like a lot of the lightness and flippant nature of the character is gone. In its place is a man broken and is facing death.

If you look at the Blofeld series as a story arc, it is obvious that James Bond grows up in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”. He gets married at the end! But here is the first time where Bond faces death at every turn and even goes into an underworld of sorts to face a supreme devil in the form of Bloefeld. It’s an ending that seems fitting not only for Bond but for the series as a whole. The next book in the series, “The Man with the Golden Gun” was never completely finished and the result is a lesser novel of the series. For me “You Only Live Twice” is a fitting end to an interesting literary character – especially since it is an atypical adventure for the British agent.

Have you read “You Only Live Twice”? What did you think of it? Do you think an author can and should take a chance with a well-known character and create something so different from audience expectations? Can you think of an example that worked?

The Beginning? – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (novel)

Ever wonder how to set up a multiple book series? Why not study one of the most popular and famous series in print – Harry Potter. Now I know a lot of writers who look down on J.K. Rowling and her series, but I find them to be great reads and constantly entertaining and compelling. I think she did a good job not only telling her story, but laying it out. Reading the series through a second time I’ve been focusing on the way she constructs her tale. It goes without saying that I’m going to go into spoiler territory here. I’m also assuming you are familiar with most of the names and terminology here.

The fourth book in a seven book series, “Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire” (I’ll continue calling it “Goblet” for short), is the point where Rowling changes everything about the series. What started out as a playful series of adventures and fun takes its first real step into darkness. The most obvious are the death of student near the end of the book. In addition you have the return of the greatest force of evil in the series, now back to full power and prepared to wage war on the forces of goodness. But let’s take a look at some of the details that Rowling uses beyond these obvious points.

The first few chapters deal with Harry and the Weasley family enjoying the Quidditch World Cup. On the surface these scenes serve the basic function of providing Quidditch action in a book that won’t have any during the school year. But it also expands the scope of Rowling’s world in an entertaining way. We see that there are magical societies outside of the ones we are familiar with in England. This wider view not only fleshes out the world, but also makes the stakes of the later books higher. We understand that Voldemort’s desire for control of the magical world extends beyond the British Isles and into a larger world.

The other key element in this sequence is the appearance of The Death Eaters, Lord Voldemort’s followers. Up to this point, they’ve been kept as a vague idea, something that happened long ago. But we see them in action here, and Harry as well as the reader gets a sense of the fear they can generate. And when the Dark Mark appears and causes a frenzy of fear – things become even clearer.

At school Harry first hears about the wizards who battle the Dark Arts, called Aurors. These are embodied by Mad Eye Moody, a scarred, paranoid and dangerous wizard who teaches at the school. Moody in this book is a key element. Not only does he represent the tolls of battle against the dark arts, but he also shows the kind of will and personality needed in a time of war – something none of the children have ever considered. And beneath that is the secret that Moody hides – he’s not the real Moody at all, but an imposter. He’s a dark wizard working for Voldemort and doing his best to deliver Harry Potter to his master. This undermining of a dangerous Auror shows us very clearly how dangerous things are about to become.

It is the climax of this book that changes the tone of the series. The moment Cedric is killed in the cemetery nothing is ever the same for Harry Potter. He can’t turn aside from facing down Voldemort. He can’t ignore the consequences of his actions. In many ways, when Wormtail stabs Harry with the knife, he kills the child, and the adult Harry Potter is born.

The last chapter of the book is called “The Beginning” and it is fitting in many ways. This book marks the beginning of the war story that takes the rest of the series to complete. This marks the beginning of adult Harry and the final stages of his hero’s journey. From this book forward there is little time to be a child any more. The world has become too dangerous, and that danger is focused on Harry Potter.

What do you think of Rowling’s approach to this vital section of her Harry Potter story? Any other elements you can think of that reflect the major change in storytelling in this series? What did you think of this book in comparison to the others?