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?

A Written Variety Show - Smoke and Mirrors

I didn’t intend on reading all of “Smoke and Mirrors” by Neil Gaiman. I was just gonna read a few stories until the books I ordered were delivered. It was gonna take a week and I figured that “Smoke and Mirrors” would give me enough reading material for lunch.

The thing is that Gaiman’s easy storytelling, his skill with words, and his ability to weave tales that jump from short poems to sci-fi to Lovecraftian parody to horrific fairy tale caught my imagination just like it did a few years ago when I first read this compilation of short stories. I remembered why I was so excited to read more of his stuff after this sampling, and I realized why I always refer to this collection whenever I talk about Gaiman. Just looking over my blogs for “Stardust”, “Anansi Boys” and “Coraline” I notice that I make reference to his short stories every time.

So what is it about Gaiman’s work in “Smoke and Mirrors” that is so interesting? I have to say that it’s his skill in telling the story, no matter what type of story or what type of format it is in, he pulls you in. He also knows just the right length to make the stories compelling.

One of my favorites is the opening story, “Chivalry” which has a very Monty Python feel to it. It basically tells the story of a kind old woman who happens to find the Holy Grail at an antique store and what happens when she buys it. “The White Road” is a poem that tells a medieval type legend with horrifying loveliness. “Shoggoth’s Old Particular” is a tongue in cheek tale that twists H.P. Lovecraft’s “Shadow Over Innsmouth”. Fans of the horror writer will find a lot of chuckles in this one. “Only the End of the World Again” is a more serious take on Lovecraft and provides an intriguing protagonist. “We Can Get Them For You Wholesale” is a dark piece with a very dry British sense of humor and horror. “Murder Mysteries” combines Catholic mysticism and detective fiction. The finale is the wonderfully black “Snow, Glass, Apples”. People who don’t like to see their fairy tales tainted should avoid this little gem. Anyone who sees the darkness in fairy tales will dive right in.

Any writers looking for a set of short genre fiction stories to examine and inspire should really look no further. Gaiman has a couple stories that could arguably be considered non-genre, but for the most part he works with fantasy, horror and all the shades in between. Even his pure sci-fi stories have a bit of the fantastic about them. I can say that next time I’m feeling at a loss for short story material – I’ll just read a couple of stories from “Smoke and Mirrors” and grab that energy. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a short story to work on.

Have you read “Smoke and Mirrors”? What did you think of it? What was your favorite story? Do you have a book you read to recharge your creative inspiration? Do you have a favorite short story compilation?

Goalie issues – Writing Goals and Missing Them

This year I actually set out some solid writing goals for myself. I wrote them down. As I met them, I put a nifty little red check mark next to them. I was feeling pretty good, until I realized that it was June and I was pretty far behind in my goals. Let’s take a look and see what I’ve done and haven’t done.

For the first quarter I actually met all my goals but two. I submitted a short story to a magazine. I created my movie review blog. I gave all my sites a little facelift of some kind. I joined a new group or blog. I started my second draft on my space opera novel. I didn’t write a new short story, and I didn’t research the YA sci-fi market.

Right away, I’m ready with excuses. I love my movie review blog, and once I got rolling with it, I’ve been coming up with all kinds of things to write about. I’ve got a surplus of reviews just waiting to be published, and I’ve been doing my best at keeping up with “Satellite News” in their coverage of the MST3K episodes. It’s been a lot of fun, but it’s also taken a lot of time. So, no short story and no research.

I wasn’t too worried because I could just write two short stories in the second quarter right? Yeah, it hasn’t happened. So now I’m two short stories behind. My plan was to write four short stories and two novels this year. Well I’m down a novel too, because I wanted to start that in the second quarter. This isn’t that big of an issue because I really want to start working on my second draft of “Forever Cold” my supernatural thriller that I wrote for NaNoWriMo last year. I’ll count that as my novel work for this summer, and cook up something new for NaNoWriMo this year.

But the short stories are proving a bit tougher. I’m just not motivated to work on them. Is it because I’m focusing so much creative energy on the movie blog? Possibly. But I’m enjoying myself - a lot. And if writing isn’t fun, than there isn’t a point in doing it. But on the other side of the coin, if I don’t get my work out there, I can’t continue down the path to publication. It’s a bit of a dilemma.

I’ve got a short story to submit to a magazine for this quarter, but I haven’t done any groundwork for that yet. I’m hoping to get that done by the end of the month, but we’ll see. After that, I don’t have any other stories I feel real good about submitting anywhere. There is one that is pretty good, but I’m not completely confident about it. It’s not genre and I did it on a whim. I’ve got cold feet, but my wife enjoyed it quite a bit and I trust her judgment.

As for my Space Opera second draft, I like elements of it, but at the same time it has the origin story issues. Lots of setup and some of it bogs down the pace. I need a fresh pair of eyes to look it over. I’m nearly done with the draft, just need to clean up some issues that always show up in the first draft. You know, where a character does something, and then a chapter or two later they do something that completely negates the original action. These aren’t big issues, but they need to be fixed. I don’t want my readers to say “Why did he go to a hotel when he’s got a place in town?”

Third quarter will be spent on the second draft of “Forever Cold” and maybe I’ll be able to get some short stories done. I’m gonna continue the movie blog, but try to get my surplus reviews out there, and slow down the new reviews. Once Satellite news finishes Season Ten of MST3K they are going back to the old cable access episodes. I have no desire to watch those episodes (Season One is slow enough). So I will be able to review whatever episodes I want, and I’ve got some already written.

Fourth Quarter will be focused on NaNoWriMo and wrapping up any loose ends. Will I reach my goal of four short stories submitted, and four new ones written? Will I finish the second draft of “Forever Cold”? I hope so. I do know that I’m gonna print this page of goals out and put on the wall to replace the old goals I have from last year. Maybe with those staring me in the face I’ll stop writing the movie reviews and get back to fiction.

Do you make writing goals for yourself? How well do you stay on top of them? Do you have a technique to keep them on your mind? Do you find yourself getting sucked into a project and missing one of your goals – or am I just a big freak that way?

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?

Pants on Fire – Thank you For Smoking

The success of a book like “Thank you for Smoking” rests on the shoulders of creating a solid antihero. And if anything Nick Naylor is an antihero. He lies for a living. His job is to go onto television and radio and spin attacks against the tobacco industry into positives. He uses shaky statistics, charisma and a quick wit to keep twisting the attacks back onto the attackers, and he’s very good at it.

Christopher Buckley has created a very interesting character, one that is despicable and yet at the same time likable. Nick knows what he’s doing is morally wrong, but he’s so darn good at it, that the challenge seems to feed him. He rises to each attack, many seemingly hopeless and manages to get out of the predicament each time.

As a reader you keep turning the pages to see what new challenge Nick will face next and how he’ll get around it. He’s on Oprah with a young man who’s got cancer, and who was inspired to smoke by Joe Camel. How do you turn that into a positive – Nick does it. The senator from Vermont wants to put the skull and crossbones on cigarette packs. Nick turns it into an issue with Vermont cheddar cheese. He’s sent to Hollywood to get cigarettes into more movies and shown in a positive light. The whole situations provides a hilarious look at product placement in films.

The book as a whole is very cynical and black hearted, but it’s consistently amusing and had a few laugh out loud moments. It’s the character of Nick that keeps it interesting and fun. And even when I felt that the whole thing was getting stretched just a bit too thin, Buckly starts to wrap up his tale.

All in all it’s a good study on how to make an entertaining and interesting antihero.

Have you read, “Thank you for Smoking”? What did you think? Who is your favorite antihero character?