Reading

 

Being a bit under the weather I've taken to reading to cheer me up, a mixture of old and new. The re-reads are read with half-my-mind on how the author is doing what they do. The new stories are just read for enjoyment, and with half-an-eye on whether they are worth going back to re-read.

First up was a re-read. Ian Douglas aka William J. Keith's Heritage Trilogy. It's unashamedly a favourite of mine. I first came across Bill's work via FASA's Traveller RPG supplements and then the BattleTech novels, starting with Decision at Thunder Rift. Bill has an impressive bibliography, and you can find out more here.

What's even better is that I wrote him a fan letter, and he replied.

What I like about the Heritage trilogy, and the two sequels the Legacy and Inheritance trilogies, is the way he weaves a story across multiple generations of people and their descendants. Semper Mars starts with a mission to Mars to support a xenoarchaeology expedition that becomes a desperate journey across Mars.

Luna Marine and Europa Strike take the story out to the edge of the solar system. It was while re-reading these that I realised how much Bill influenced my own work. Well recommended.

 

I recently watched Ready Player One, which is a great movie, and I should probably buy the novel. However, looking around I found Nick Cole's Soda Pop Soldier, and bought it instead, because I was intrigued by his YouTube channel. I think there's a lesson to be learnt about discoverability from that chain of events.

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised by the direction the story went in. A different take on conflict that made me think about how one tells stories.  Definitely on my pile to be re-read. Lots I can learn from him.

 

I then re-read another old favourite John Ringo's Aldenata Legacy series. The first book is A Hymn Before Battle, which kicks off the series with a bang, followed by Gust Front. The series was meant to be a trilogy, but it grew into a tetralogy when the third book, When the Devil Dances, had to be split into two books, the second part being called Hell's Faire.

Again, this was a re-read to study how he did... what he did. I noticed some interesting techniques that I hope to be able to use myself for my next The World of Drei novelette.

I also read another of the Harry Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, Proven Guilty. While this is not a re-read for me, I was acutely aware of my writer brain taking note of how Jim tells a story. It left me much to think on.

 

Finally, I'm about to start A Fistful of Elven Gold by my friend Alex Stewart. Delayed because my beloved grabbed it first. All I can say is that Susan enjoyed the story. I will comment more when I've finished reading it.

That's it for now, catch you all on the bounce.