One October Night: 31 Illustrations and Their Stories by Sam Robb Illustrations by Cedar Sanderson

(Listen folks, I'm going lazy on this one. I will grant you that I don't do many anthology posts, but that's  because they take too long to write. I usually do a brief review of each story. Here's the problem: It's Sunday night. My Lions are playing in less than two hours and have a decent chance to win their first playoff game in three decades. Last time they won one, I was a high school kid, working at the local grocery store and I missed the game because I was at work. The one review per story dog isn't going to hunt and I need to get this done tonight. So buckle up and put your hardhat on, sweetheart because we're on a trip trying to do this thing justice in less than the two and half hours I average for reviewing an anthology. No, that's not a typo.)

When Cedar Sanderson wandered by my email one day inquiring as to whether I would do a review for her latest work I was intrigued. Cedar is, after all, one hell of a writer and artist and I've reviewed a ton of her stuff already. That's because I enjoy it. She's really good at what she does. So of course I perked up my ears when she mentioned the word "experimental." Cedar works in a lab. I was excited. I thought maybe she used her powers of science and finally conjured up the evil spirits from the Nethervoid of the Shadowwalker and we were going to utilize the power of The Dark to level cities and invent popcorn that won't burn in the microwave or something...

Right.

Like popcorn that won't burn in the microwave will ever actually exist.

But then she told me that she had a project with a guy named Sam Robb, whose work I am new to reading, and that it was really cool. I had known that Cedar had participated in Inktober (it's a challenge graphic artists take to do a drawing every day in October) and I was watching her post stuff on Facebook. What I hadn't known was that Sam Robb was doing a story every day based on whatever she drew and also the prompts (provided by fans. The process is explained in the book.) that she used to draw them. That sounded just crazy enough to work.

Which, admittedly was not assured. I mean, Klinger thought that wearing dresses was crazy enough to get him discharged, right?

Fortunately though, it did work. It really works well. It worked so well that I manged to read all of One October Night: 31 Illustrations and Their Stories in one freaking day. I don't read entire anthologies in a day ever. They don't flow like novels and it's usually pretty hard to focus on the book when it keeps changing up on me like that. Here's the thing: These stories were so good it didn't matter.

There is a whole ton of stuff here. At least one story was heavily influenced by HP Lovecraft and written in the same vein as "Call of Cthulu." It was great. There was another about a girl who got an epic birthday present even if it wasn't quite what she expected. It had me chuckling though, even if her father wasn't, at least at first. I've got to admit too, I've never quite seen death portrayed as a wolf before. Although, there was a bit of Pandora (from Greek myth, not the music app) mixed in there as well. 

There is also a story known as "Coffee Failure". I don't want to spoil the story, but any picture with the word "decaf" written on the side of a coffee mug clearly deserves the name. I mean, seriously, who drinks decrappinated anything? Ok, so I bought a box of decrappinated tea bags once but that's because they looked like the good stuff. 

Of course, small planets need saving too, and that's the theme of one of the other stories. That's a crazy one because it sounds like the main character is almost bored by what he discovers before he works it out and finds out what's important. Seriously, it's clearly not meant as a Christmas movie but it has a sort of Miracle on 34th Street feel to it in a way. Kinda. Then there's the coffee shop story. That's touching. It's also cool because it involves a girl who reads books. Who doesn't love girls who read books?

Anyway...

Cedar's work is excellent as always. She has a definite style about her that really needs a proper art critic to describe it. I hate to disappoint you all, but this is Jimbo's and we don't have a proper art critic. I guess her defining things are a kind of sweeping strokes with lines that don't always finish. If you don't believe me about the lines try coloring one of her line drawings in Recolor. One click and half the picture is brown. I was kinda mad about that one because those baby dragons on that bookcase needed some color and..

I'm off topic again. That wasn't even one of the pics from One October Night.

I'm not doing her work just because I can't. Just know that if you're in to science fiction and, especially, fantasy artwork Cedar is worth checking out. I know she does covers and that's terrific but I almost like her daily stuff more. There's something about the simpleness of the work that just appeals. 

I did take an art history class once. You'd think I'd be better at this. It's not my fault. Words like "Byzantine" and "Baroque" just don't work here.

Whatever. Listen. There's a lot more to this book than what I'm showing here.

I never, ever in my life even think about discussing forewords in my reviews.

However...

Both Robb and Sanderson did forewords for One October Night and they talked a bit about the process of how they conceived the stories and images in the book. I almost skipped them (GASP!) but I'm glad I didn't. Reading those forewords changed the way I read the book. I didn't have access to the prompts, obviously, but I did stop at each pic (they precede the story they inspired) and try to figure out what the story was going to be about. I was wrong every time, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that I got enjoyment out of trying to guess what was coming. It was like one of those assignments I had in school where I had to write about what happened next in the book we were reading except that it didn't suck and I didn't have to hide that I knew what was coming because I had gotten bored and read ahead. It was great.

So seriously, give this one a try. I'd like to see someone else try something like this in the future because I feel like this is the type of thing that could become a thoroughly enjoyable trend if we could get enough people signed on to do it. It's that much fun. 

Bottom Line: 5.0 out of 5 Sacks of Roc Food

One October Night: 31 Illustrations and Their Stories
Sam Robb/ Cedar Sanderson
Sanderley Studios, 2023

One October Night: 31 Illustrations and Their Stores is available for purchase at the following link. If you click the link and buy literally anything from Amazon, I get a small percentage at no additional cost to you.

One October Night

Cedar Sanderson's Treehouse Art & Architecture

 

Talk about whimsical. Cedar Sanderson's Fantasy Treehouse Art & Architecture is a work of light fantasy. There are no weighty battles, no dastardly deeds or impressive heroes. No, this is a work of beauty and light, a work of art in the classic visual sense, as opposed to a work of prose where the reader must picture everything on their own. I'm not lambasting authors (Three hundred plus posts into this blog and I'd almost like to think of myself as one) I'm just saying it's a different feel. 

There is a bit of a story here. Sanderson leaves the narration to a nameless person, who is paging through the work of one Mme. K. We're not told exactly what the K stands for, but that's alright. It leaves a bit of mystery and intrigue in an otherwise quite mellow work. The uncertainty, along with the art itself, draws the reader in to the story and makes us want more. The thoughts of the narrator are also committed to paper and that adds a lot. It's like having someone to discuss the book with while you're reading the book. Given the fact that this is self-consciously a tome that someone else is reading it works well. I really got a kick out of that aspect of the work.

Fantasy Treehouse Art & Architecture is printed in black and white. The narrator states something about the colors not translating and suggests colored pencils to fill them in to fit your imagination. (I'm paraphrasing poorly.) That does sound like it would be a lot of fun. In looking at these pictures, however, I do recommend buying and coloring the physical copy of the book. Some pictures don't translate well to coloring apps (I used to use Recolor a lot) and this does kind of have the look of a book that would have problems if you colored it electronically, unless you've got something that works better. Then again, the pictures in the book are better drawn and more highly detailed than anything that would work on a coloring app, so it's worth the trade-off. 

Fantasy Treehouse Art & Architecture includes a lot of background in the drawings. I mean, you do get a look at the treehouses themselves, but in some cases you also get a look at the forest it's located in. I enjoyed this part. As someone who has looked through old pictures attached to historical events this is great. A building with no context is missing the single most important part of its existence. If you don't believe me, get hold of the Official Records of the Manhattan Project (I think that's what they were called, it's been awhile) where you get pictures of buildings featuring only the building with no real notes about what happened inside. 

I was about to go on a long diatribe here, but I'll save it. Let's just say I get the security aspect. That's what my project was about.

Several of the drawings contain marginalia and the narrators thoughts about them. It was really cool. Marginalia is something that a lot of modern readers *looks in mirror* don't have much experience with, but it was common in older works, especially those that were hand copied before the invention of the printing press. It added an air of authenticity to the story within the book. I happen to know that Sanderson knows a bit about history and I can't help but think she did it on purpose. I approve.

Overall, Fantasy Treehouse Art & Architecture is a lot of fun. I'd recommend it to anyone with a love for fantasy who is in the mood for something more fun than intense. I'll be looking for more work from Mrs. Sanderson in the future. I love cool art and this was fun to read. 

Bottom Line: 5.0 out of 5 Swamp Chickens

Fantasy Treehouse Art & Architecture
Cedar Sanderson
Sanderley Studios, 2022

Fantasy Treehouse Art & Architecture is available for purchase at the following link. If you click the link and buy literally anything from Amazon I get a small percentage at no additional cost to you.

Writing and Russian Fairytales - A Guest Post by Cedar Sanderson

(Jimbo's is proud to feature Cedar Sanderson once again. This time, she's here to tell us all about the fun she had doing research for her latest book, The East Witch. A review is forthcoming.)

I’ve been blending up fairytales into my fantasy work almost since the beginning. I’m not saying that lightly - I’ll sometimes say of my first novel, Vulcan’s Kittens, that I threw the world myths into a blender and pressed pulse a couple of times. With that series, I wanted to create an overarching explanation that linked gods and legends from all around the world... from Mount Olympus to the Mayan jaguar god I referred to in the book as Steve. 

When it comes to the books I’m calling the Underhill stories, I approached it a little differently. In this world, where I set Pixie Noir and that trilogy, there are myths and legends that inhabit the earth we know and love and live on, and there are beings who are Under the Hill, which I’ve written as a sort of parallel universe that can have gateways to our world. Only sometimes things don’t line up quite right, and then there are shifts in relative time between the worlds. Also, there are more than two worlds. I explored one of those pocket universes in the Pixie trilogy. I visit another in The East Witch, my latest novel, which is set Underhill, and has some cameo appearances for readers of the trilogy. Plus Raven, or at least a fragment of that Trickster spirit. 

With all of my fiction, though, whichever world, I start out by reading fairy tales and folklore and mythology, to use as jumping-off points. Since I prefer to use the older versions, and avoid the modern wussified stories, this has the handy side effect of being public domain, and my favorite research material price: free. I highly recommend all the color fairy books by Andrew Lang, to begin with. They range around the world and have some tales you will never have heard of before. For my purposes, though, I wanted something a little more specific. 

Which, it turned out, wasn’t easy to find. I wanted folklore and mythology of the native Siberian tribes. See, I was writing The East Witch about Baba Yaga. I grew up reading Russian Fairy Tales, and a beautifully illustrated collection of those was the first book I ever owned, a Christmas gift when I was only a few months old. I’ve wanted to weave the old witch into a story for many years. With the main character in the book being based loosely on one of my cousins - well, ok, more than one - who lives in Alaska, I decided the middle ground was Siberia. Setting the location of my tale there was a momentous decision that is part of why it took me three years to finish this book. 

You see, there is very little known about the tribes who used to occupy all the habitable regions of Siberia, before the Rus came, and then the genocides. It’s fascinating, if you look at ethnology, comparing cultures to see who collected folklore, recorded the stories of the peoples, and who did not. Victorian British? Loved to hear stories and write them down. Russian incursions into a land rich with furs, precious stones, and much more? Not so interested in anything other than forcing the people they encountered to conform to their customs, or else. Languages were lost. Stories vanished into the mists of time, the grandmother’s voices silenced. 

I did what I could, to find their remnants. And I wrote the ones I found into my own story of an independent land which did not want Baba Yaga’s iron clutches to fall on it. The way the Siberians of the distant past did not want the Rus. But in my story... well. You’ll have to read it and see for yourself! 

As for the books I did find and use as resources, some were very much Russian-based. Like Arthur Ransome’s Old Peter’s Russian Tales or William Ralston’s Russian Fairy Tales. Much more helpful to me were books like Tales of Yukaghir, Lamut, and Russianized Natives of Eastern Siberia, by Waldemar Bogoras and Uno Holmberg’s Mythology of All Races (Vol 4: Siberian and Finno-Ugric). I’d also highly recommend The Shaman’s Coat by Anna Reid. This book isn’t specifically folklore, but it is a history and a recounting of a modern journey to Siberia and a firsthand account of that which remains of the tribes. Finally, George Keenan’s Tent Life in Siberia was a useful resource for setting, as a hundred years ago, Siberia had a different aspect than Anna Reid found. 

Fantasy, as a genre, sets up worlds very unlike our own. Worlds where magic is real, but folklore also brings magic to life, in our world. Different times, where the explanations were much less scientific, and more likely to involve spirited exchanges between gods, conflicts between demigods and mere men, or tricksters who played their little jokes with cosmic repercussions. Is it any wonder I like to bring those old, old threads and weave them into my new stories for added depth and dimension?  

The East Witch is available for purchase at the following link:

 

Cedar Sanderson's Lab Gremlins

(Author's Note: Back when Jimbos' Awesome Science Fiction and Fantasy Reviews first started I wasn't sure if I had what it took to do a blog like this. I mean, I had confidence in my ability to put a sentence together and I know how much I love SF/F but I wasn't sure if I could make it work. The first author to send me a second book to review was Cedar Sanderson. That was a huge boost to my confidence at a time when I really needed it. So I'd like to take a chance, as part of my 199th review to say thanks. (I have something planned for my 200th post and that will be coming soon.) There are a lot of authors out there who have gotten their books reviewed since because that gave me the belief in my self to continue. You rock. Also, while I really did enjoy the book and I'd like to think I was completely objective, I'll let the reader be the judge of that.)

What would you do if your boss told you there was a gremlin in your office? I know what I'd do. I'd look for the thing right between the aluminum magnet and the blinker fluid. Totes. I'm guessing that our hero, Steven, is slightly less credulous than me because he didn't believe in them. I can't say I blame him. I mean, Gremlins is a funny Eighties movie, right? That's all there is to it. Or is it?  As Steven is forced to learn to his chagrin, in the world of Lab Gremlins the little monsters actually exist.

I've always been a fan of what I think I heard someone else (don't ask me who because I sure don't remember.) refer to as Hidden World Fiction. Basically, there are things that most of us never know about... And that other people work their entire lives to keep hidden and protect us from. I enjoy this type of thing because I'd like to think that, out there somewhere, there just might be something fantastic that I just might be able to glimpse once, if I'm lucky...

And yeah, I know it's never going to happen, but it would be pretty awesome if it did, right? Who among us hasn't thought of taking a ride on a pegasus or slaying a foul demon in full sight of God, everybody and that one girl we're trying to impress because once I've covered myself in awesome she'll finally...

*AHEM*

Sorry, I got a bit carried away there.

So, I like this Steven kid. And I can call him a kid because he's fresh out of college and so are the children of the people I went to school with. At any rate, he's hard working, ambitious and inquisitive. He doesn't necessarily have the most exciting job at the beginning of the story but he's got two degrees and a big brain. Seriously, I'd have a drink with this guy.

He's also nobody's fool. I wonder if that kind of trait could get you in trouble in a Hidden World novel? I bet you'd find out if you bought the book. It's worth the time and the money. Seriously. I loved this thing and I went through it in like an hour.  It's not a very long work, but it's a very good one and that makes up for its brevity. Also, do you wanna know a secret?

I mean, really wanna know?

I think there might be a sequel or six hundred coming for this book. It hasn't been announced or guaranteed, but I have reason to believe that Steven will be back. I'm waiting (im)patiently. It's not like I'd actually bother an author about something like that. Just ask Elise Hyatt and I've never bothered her (at all today) about a sequel. I won't bother Cedar (at all today) either. Oh, by the way. I'm writing this on Wednesday and posting it on Thursday, so by the time you read this I'll be free to pester whoever the hell I want to. Ain't life grand?

And the cool thing about a book like Lab Gremlins is precisely that we don't know what all is out there. If a series were to sprout from this thing it would be pretty much boundless in what it could do or introduce. With Steven being a scientist he could also easily get called in for his expertise and/or opinion on just about anything. What I'm saying is that there is a buttload of potential here if Sanderson decides that she wants to continue the journey and take the rest of us with her. Oh, and I'm in if/when the sequel hits.

Seriously, there is enough suspense here for a novel twice this size. It's also my favorite type of tension. Don't get me wrong. I'm all about some military fiction with a well defined enemy. I love some religious drama with a villain we can all know and hate. Trust me, the only person in fiction I hate worse than Voldemort is Delores Umbridge. But there is something about the protagonist not knowing what they're getting themselves into that makes it even better. I like not knowing what's going to happen next. It adds a lot to the experience for the reader.

And listen, I really did like the Gremlins movies, but I'm happy to say that the monsters in Lab Gremlins are original creations of Mrs. Sanderson and not carbon copies. As a matter of fact, they're not even really all that close. (I know I don't do spoilers and this IS a work of Hidden World Fiction, but the name of the book is Lab Gremlins. You had to know they were part of it. So get over yourselves and stop being offended. Also, where did you get that Gizmo toy? I want one.)

Those of you who work in labs and need an absolutely authentic experience will be relieved to know that Sanderson works in one as well. She uses the names of a bunch of paraphernelia that I didn't even recognize but apparently aren't all that esoteric if you work in or around labs. I just don't so I had to ask some people. I'm assured that it's all legit though.  I did work with petri dishes in high school, so I know that's good to go.  Other than that, I'll have to trust my sources but they're legit so no worries.

Bottom Line: 4.75 out of 5 Broken Traps

Oh, and I never do this, but I'm in the mood to be magnanimous so...

Cedar has a website which features her personal blog, more about her writing and also some of the artwork that she makes and sells. I have personally purchased her chainmaille (don't look at me, she's the one who spells it that way) dragons for myself and my daughters as well as my girlfriend and we all love them. The girls really got a kick out of the fairy dust she included on the end of the tail of their's and mine is GREEN LANTERN!! Seriously, I love that comic.The animated movies are good too. It's too bad the live action movie never happened. (That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.) She also painted a picture for my girlfriend that I commissioned as a Valentine's Day gift. She got it yesterday and we both live it.

Lab Gremlins
Cedar Sanderson
Self Published, 2017

Lab Gremlins is available for purchase at the following link:

Well... If Hollywood Can't Get Itself Together...

It has recently come to my attention that Hollywood execs thing that the whole universe is stuck on repeat. We have, after all, seen reboots of just about everything that doesn't still have a reboot coming. Think about it. People keep talking about how it's a great time to be a nerd because of all the movies coming out and how mainstream gaming has gotten ( I'm going to leave gaming for another post, mainly because I've been spending so much time playing World of Warcraft that I haven't played anything else in approximately forever.) but what's really coming out? Think about it:

Star Wars: listen, I'm a fan. I wear the gear. I watch the movies. Before I got so wrapped up in MMOs I played the video games. I've even played the old RPG by West End Games. The fact remains that these movies debuted forty years ago and as much as I loved The Force Awakens it was basically a remake. Star Wars basically started the nerd era with its re-releases, special additions and prequels. There were geek movies before all of that to be sure, but it was the wild success of Star Wars and its later iterations that led to the great times we're enjoying now.

Teenage Mutant Turtles: I am, admittedly a bit of a weird Turtles fan. They came in just as I got to old to collect the toy line, but I've read the comics and seen the movies, and I played a collected the old Palladium RPGs back in the day. I love these guys too, but how did they come out of nowhere again? The first of the new movies was kind of meh, and I don't expect the next one to be any better.

The Telegraph has posted a list of reboots coming soon. The list continues and it's quite frankly getting annoying. Very rarely you can get a reboot that was better than the original (Battlestar Galactica anyone?) but it's definitely not something you can count on. I have however, been informed by a good friend and retired Marine noncom that you should never bring up a problem without a solution. Since I believe in taking advice from intelligent people, and since I've been told that Gunny is never wrong, I have a solution. Are you ready for it? It's revolutionary. It's going to turn the whole world on its head. Here it goes: HEY HOLLYWOOD: MAKE SOME NEW STUFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Since that was a relatively imprecise suggestion, I will endeavor to make a few examples of books that I have read that would make great movies. Granted, the whole book to movie thing has been done repeatedly but that's because it works, so without further ado, let me get to my list:

Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia: Note to every producer who has ever held a pen or typed a word: If you can't take a story that starts with a big ass accountant throwing his werewolf boss out of a thirteenth story window and continues with battles against vampires, and an ancient curse and make a blockbuster out of it you need to stop trying. Seriously. At that point your probably so inept that you're not sure whether you should retire to bake mittens or knit cookies but it doesn't matter. Just get out of the way and let someone with some talent in. There is a whole series here. I could see this being a TV series ala Game of Thrones, but I'll be honest: I want to see it on the big screen. It'll look cooler when things blow up that way. Also, I want to see who they get to play Julie Shackleford. The only thing better than a hot blonde is a deadly hot blonde. Someone make this happen.

Pixie Noir by Cedar Sanderson: Ok, I'll be honest. Part of the reason I want to see this made it so that I can see a movie with a female protagonist named Bella that doesn't suck. Of course court intrigue, massive monsters and big explosions are why the rest of me wants to see it. Bella gets sucked into a world that she had no reason to suspect existed and things get crazy. This could be massively successful because it would be so much fun. I'd pay to see it and I'm sure a lot of others would too.

Impaler by Kate Paulk: Yes, it's Count Dracula but not as we've ever seen him. This is a story that involves two things no other Dracula story I've ever read or seen does: Vlad's younger days and his family. The real Vlad Dracula was a complicated man and this story reflects it. Also, if there is anything that has been proven by The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings it's that massive medieval combat appeals to modern audiences and there is plenty of it here.


Draw One In the Dark by Sarah Hoyt: Shapeshifting people. Dragons. Diners. Sexual tension. Death. Romance. What else do you want out of a movie? This one is heavy on the paranormal but so is a lot of other stuff and it sell tickets. They're remaking The Craft and Sarah blows that away. Of course, there are only two sequels to this novel published so far but they'd both make great follow ons after this one makes millions and millions.

Dipped, Stripped and Dead by Elise Hyatt: Ok, so this is a mystery and I'm mentioning it on a SF/F blog. Good thing I'm not a purist. Not only is this a great mystery but it has one of the best casts of characters I've ever read. Dyce is the main character and she's a little off but her son Enoch aka "E" is the coolest little kid ever.

Artifice by Lianne Miller: Wow. If you've ever wondered what a modern hospital would do if presented with a vampire read this book. If you want to sell millions of tickets, turn it into a movie. Eliza is not only a great character but her character arc is amazing and the twist and turns in this one will keep an audience enthralled.

Castaway Planet by Ryk Spoor: Robin Crusoe IIIINNNNN SPAAAAACE! 'Nuff said. Honestly, I see this as more of an animated family film but it's one I'd love a chance to take my daughters to see. Disney could rock this thing and I'd love every minute of it.

I'm tempted to add Amy Lynn by Jack July, but there is one scene in particular that would have to be in the film and I don't know if Hollywood has the balls to do it. I mean, I'd love to see it, but umm... yeah. Then again, maybe they would if half of what I've heard about the Game of Thrones TV series is true. (Sorry, I don't have HBO). But regardless, what's better than southern justice and war stories? Both in a single package!

That's just a few but it's my two cents. If any of you have suggestions, I'm open to them. The point here is as much about the fact that there is plenty out there to use and I'd like to see it. I seriously heard a rumor that there may be a Greatest American Hero remake coming and that wasn't even all that good the first time. It's not that hard. Just find an awesome book, fork over a bunch of cash to the author and make a movie out of it. We really don't need remakes and reboots of movies from thirty years ago.

The works suggested above can be purchased at the links below:

Cedar Sanderson's The God's Wolfling

Ok, I'll admit it. As a guy who read Bulfinch's Mythology before he became a teenager I've always wanted to know what a story with characters from differing mythologies would look like.  I've always wanted to see just a bit of fighting as well and, to put it bluntly, if you've read the Thor comic book by Marvel and haven't wondered what it would be like to see the Asgardians mix it up with some of the other gods you haven't lived. Cedar Sanderson's The God's Wolfling provides a universe that mixes the mythologies and has a war as well. It's a tale of a girl who is too young to do what needs doing - and does it anyway. It is also a crossover novel that mixes SF with fantasy in a manner similar to John Ringo's Council Wars series.

As someone who has a passion for this kind of thing, I'm going to start off this review by praising Ms Sanderson for the hard work she put into not just the writing of this book, but the research. She shows a lot of knowledge about various myths. We could argue all day long about whether or not things would shake out the way she thinks they would (and we WOULD and probably WILL because we're nerds and that's what we do. ) but she has obviously done enough work to at least make an educated guess. If her version of Fimbulwinter isn't what I always expected, it works within the story and displays the concepts in her novel better than just about anything else could. Oh, and just for full disclosure, I'm an Irish lad myself and seeing some of the mythology of my ancestral isle probably did add to my enjoyment of the work.

Our heroes are heroic and are led by a young lass named Linn. She's a youngster who could have used a bit more seasoning before setting off on an adventure of the scope of this one or apparently in the first book, Vulcan's Kittens which I have yet to read. VK was published before Sanderson came onto my radar and I don't remember hearing about it until I received my copy of GTW and I do plan on picking it up.

This book is a sequel, purportedly the last book in the Children of Myth Duology. I can say from experience that while there are obvious references to the first book this book is easy to follow if you haven't read it. The story holds together using the logic internal to it and the references to the first story aren't overpowering. It holds up well as a stand alone and I can't help but think that Sanderson planned things that way. The story draws you in on its own merits and there is no need for knowledge of Linn's first adventure.

I don't want to add too many spoilers because that's not what I do, but Sanderson does a very effective job of mixing magic and technology and, indeed, showing how the magic in her book is actually technology. We all know the adage about "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." from Arthur C. Clarke. Sanderson illustrates that concept with the use of nanotechnology. She also manages to include enough to make the concept known without going too far into it and boring the reader. This is a hard line to walk and she does it well.

The battle scenes in the book are well done. Sanderson does something that, quite honestly, TV shows and movies seem to capture better than most books in dropping us into the middle of a battle out of nowhere and making it believable. She pulls it off well. Oddly enough, I was thinking about this last concept last night while watching Star Trek:Enterprise and then read it today. Violence in the real world isn't always presaged by anything definable or even noticeable. All too often in just happens out of nowhere. There is a lot to be said for the drama of two men staring each other down before the bullets start flying but a little touch of realism is even better. While we're on the subject, Linn finds herself at times wrapped up in violence and wishing for a gun. As a guy who has read all of the Harry Potter novels multiple times and seen the movies more times than he's read the books I find this refreshing. I mean, who hasn't seen the assault on Hogwarts and wished for a M60 for use against the Death Eaters charging across the bridge? Add a few more points for further realism. 

In her note at the end, entitled "What Comes Next?" Sanderson points out that this was originally intended to be the final book in the series. I fail to see the logic behind that decision. I mean, it's her series and her decision but there's more left here. Then she points out that she has learned about more pantheons and that she is willing to do more with those other mythologies. This makes sense to me. Sanderson seems to have done something quite well without realizing it: She wrote a good self-contained story with a satisfying enough ending for this book but she left a lot of loose ends. When I say a lot of loose ends I mean a ton of them. Some may not be as loose as I think they are and I may spend too much time on TV Tropes but until Authorial Fiat is established by the next release I'm sticking to my theory.

My only complaint about this book is that it's too short. It really feels rushed in spots. I've always preferred longer works and The God's Wolfing is only about one hundred seventy-seven pages long but I think another twist or two and maybe another fight or so wouldn't have gone amiss. Granted, this is the story of Linn and not the story of the war but if she had been around when more things happened instead of hearing about them later it would have added something to this story. Then again, saying that I wish there were more to this story is, in another way, a compliment.

Bottom Line: 4.25 out of 5 Nanobots

The God's Wolfling
Cedar Sanderson
Stonycroft Publishing, 2014
 
The God's Wolfling can be purchased here:
 

Cedar Sanderson's Trickster Noir

(I don't usually do this but I'm going to mention something the author told me when she sent me this book for review. Apparently, there have been a few men who have read this story and thought that it hit a little too close to home. The recovery of Lom, our hero, from a horrific injury is a central plot element to the story. He starts the book off in a very bad way and reading the book was uncomfortable for a few men who had suffered long periods of sickness. I'll get to my thoughts in a few seconds, but I can see why she warned me. Go forth and read it, but don't say I didn't warn you. Oh, and I know I don't usually do spoilers but when the author warns you about reading her book, it's only right to share.Oh, and she brings it up on like page two, so it's not like I killed the ending here.)

Trickster Noir, by Cedar Sanderson is the second in the first series ever to make me feel bad. Seriously. See, the first book in the series is named Pixie Noir, and while it does indeed kick ass (and may be given its own review someday) it's named Pixie Noir. I don't usually do a whole lot with pixies because that's what I have daughters for. I was turned off by the title. Fortunately for me though, I heard enough good things about it and picked up a copy. Trickster Noir is a worthy sequel. It takes up right after the ending of the first one and continues rocking along.

The book is equal parts badassery, political intrigue done faerie style and family bonding time. Oh and there's a bit of a love story but fortunately, from my point of view at least, it's not overdone. Lom and his bride-to-be Bella (no not THAT Bella, thank God) are very clearly in love but this is a story about more than just that. Sanderson moves things along between them while keeping the story going in it's other respects in a manner similar to the one that Catherine Asaro uses in her Saga of Skolian Empire. It's a technique I very much admire.

This one has a few genuine surprises in it. I enjoyed that. I've studied the art of writing (while completing exactly nothing) for quite awhile now and I usually either see something coming from a mile away or feel completely blindsided because it wasn't foreshadowed at all. Sanderson manages to strike the right balance though and in one particular case, I was floored for a good five seconds before I like... got it. So good job for her there.

Watching Lom struggle is a bit painful at first, but I think it needs to be. He is recovering from an injury that left him nearly lifeless and without his magic, a horrible thing to a faerie. At the beginning of the book he can barely lift his head. The thing is, he's a sympathetic character instead of simply a pitiful one. Sanderson makes it clear that Lom wants to get better and get back to doing his thing instead of sitting around soaking up the sympathy of others. It's impressive.

The action scenes are impressive. Remind me never to piss Sanderson off, because she seems to have enough of a knowledge of weaponry and tactics to totally ruin not just my day, but the day of everyone I know. Bella knows her way around weaponry and so does the extended family. She is a bit more protective than she probably should be, but it's her first time leading troops in battle. She's a decent tactician though and she's got good help. It probably doesn't hurt matters that she's got an entire library stored in her skull and more magical ability than has been seen in any one individual basically ever. Bella is a female protagonist in my favorite mold: strong, proud, smart, tough and brave. She's also caring and compassionate if that's what you're into.

My one complaint about the book, and maybe I'm just whining here, is that the characters in it spend so much time eating that it starts to become a distraction to the story. It sounds weird typing it, but I've never seen a series of books with as many meals in it as this one tome. It seems like every chapter ends with a meal. Don't take me wrong. I love food as much as the next guy but damn. I hear Sanderson is herself a good cook, and she writes a column called "Eat This While You Read That" (the latest, as of when I wrote this post, is here) and is apparently a very good cook but there is such a thing as taking it too far. It's not the worst transgression in the world, especially given that eating helps recovery after using too much magic, but it could be toned way down without detracting from the story. Overall though, this one is definitely worth your time and money. You can buy it by clicking the link below.

Bottom Line: 4.5 out of 5 Faerie Wings.

Trickster Noir
Cedar Sanderson
Stonycroft Publishing, 2014




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