So You Want to Write a Novel

I'm just going to leave this here on today, the last day of NaNoWriMo. This hurts to watch, because it's unfortunately true. Which is also what makes it so funny.

Beyond Black Mesa

My goodness gracious! About two years ago, I found a fan film depicting the world of Half Life 2 that was pretty cool. Well, I've stumbled across another one:




Only thing missing? Gordon. But hey, that'd be hard to cast for a fan film. Still pretty effective.

König’s Fire

Well, merry Thanksgiving to me. Turns out that I and my darling wife have caught the stomach flu that hit our son earlier this week. It was a long, unpleasant night, the only bright spot of which was the fact that I was able to finish reading König’s Fire by Marc Schooley.

This is the story of a man who was nicknamed Sascha König, a man nicknamed Nebuchadnezzar by his Nazi brethren during World War II. König is sent to the Nachthaus, a Nazi camp in a mine set in the middle of a dense forest, to be its resident chemist. The Nachthaus is a prison for dissidents, political prisoners, war prisoners, and other undesirables. One of König’s duties is to stoke the fires of the Nachthaus’s ovens. He gets them to burn seven times hotter than before (hence the nickname).

But all is not well at the Nachthaus. For starters, there is the gypsy girl, whose eyes haunt König as he goes about his work. And then there is the fact that nature itself is pounding at the front gates of the Nachthaus, trying to eradicate the evil from its midst. But most of all is the fact that König’s conscience is stirring and he’s beginning to realize that he’s been in the wrong for a long time. The question is, will he awake from his daydream or will he let the Nachthaus consume his soul?

This was a weird book. I’m just going to be blunt and come right and say it. I mean, I read the backcover copy and so I was ready for a little bit of weirdness, but there was a lot more than I ever expected. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. I’m all about the weirdness in a speculative fiction book. I guess what threw me off was how the weirdness was introduced. Schooley introduces some of the weird concepts in a matter-of-fact way, almost as if it’s natural to encounter what König experiences. Now Schooley easily explained why nobody seemed all that surprised to see what König saw in the Nachthaus, but it still was a bit hard to swallow at first.

There were also some times when Schooley’s authorial voice got in the way of the story, but those times were minor. The most jarring was when König starts referring to a group of women as “de vemen.” I get why he did it the first time, but Schooley kept using that phrasing through the rest of the book and while it made some sense to help label this particular group of women (who had a specific role in the story), the repeated use was a little off-putting.

But these are all minor complaints. Overall, the story is very good, unpredictable and a true rollercoaster ride through the choppy waters of where obedience and duty intersect with morality and virtue. König was a fascinating character, especially given his role and duties in the Nachthaus, but he was also one in a great cast. In short, this was a great book and a great addition to the Marcher Lord Press library.

Dream House Addition

Okay, so for a while now, I've been designing my dream house. I call it my "when I'm an international best-selling author and have tons of money to sink into a house that has all the features my crazy imagination can cook up" house. In other words, the house that I will never actually get to build. What? I'm realistic here.

Anyway, I just saw a video of something that must be included. Check it out:



Now I'm not as big of a Trekkie as I used to be. Enterprise pretty much killed that part of me. But my inner-nerd sat up and took notice of this. Really cool!

Civilzation V

Okay, so I'm a little behind on this one. Civilization V came out a while back and I waited before I got it. And I wanted to play it through a few times to get the hang of how it all fits together. And, I've gotta be honest, when it comes to a Civilization game, I have a tendency to keep clicking "next turn" until the wee hours of the morning.

I've been a Civilization fanatic for a while now. I know I've played this franchise since at least Civilization II, possibly even the original on my roommate's Mac back in college. When I heard that they were releasing a new version, I knew that this would be one I'd be buying and playing obsessively. But I've got to be honest, there were some changes I'd heard about that I wasn't entirely sure about. But it's Civilization, so I figured it would work out okay.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Civ franchise, it's a turn-based strategy game. You are the leader of a civilization and you have to guide it. Do you want to focus on scientific innovation? Spread far and wide by founding new colonies? Become a blood-thirsty, ruthless warlord intent on crushing everyone beneath your feet? Or some combination thereof? You can do that, playing such historical figures as Gandhi, George Washington, Queen Elizabeth, or Montezuma. Along the way to victory, you can fight barbarians, build great Wonders, and eventually, extend your reach to the stars.

For those of you who have played this franchise before, that's old hat. So let's talk about some specific changes from IV to V.

The biggest change is that you can no longer stack your units. That was one of my wartime strategies in the old versions: build several dozen tanks, flock them together in one big stack, and then have this massive army roll over everyone else. You can't do that any more. Only one unit can occupy one space at a time. That adds some interesting twists to planning a battle. You have to figure out how to get your army from one point to another and there are times when your own units can mess you up.

Let me give you an example. In my first game, I was perched on the north end of an hourglass shaped continent. A nation I wanted to wipe out was on the southern end. I had to move my entire army through a narrow isthmus but couldn't because my workers were constructing a road. I had to stop them, move them out of the way, and march my troops through. It adds an interesting wrinkle to battles.

There are a lot of other changes that I could go into but I won't. They've axed religions, revamped cultural policies, added in independent city states, and streamlined a lot of the game's interfaces. Since I'm so late to the party, I won't go into detail on each and every one of them. Instead, I'll say this: it's a great game.

I wasn't sold right away. A lot of the changes threw me my first game and I had a hard time navigating the new interfaces and figuring out the changes. But the second game went a lot smoother. I've racked up a few victories now and while I can't say that I've got it all figured out, I'm comfortable enough to know that I'll be enjoying this one for a long time.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go conquer the world as Alexander the Great.

Advent Conspiracy

I first heard about this a few years ago from on an on-line video (this one, I think), so when I saw the book Advent Conspiracy by Rick McKinley, Chris Seay, and Greg Holder, I figured I should check it out. I knew the gist of the book already: change the way you celebrate Christmas.

And in many ways, the book delivers on that premise. They point out that we don't spend any amount of real time in the true story of Christmas. Oh, we're aware of it. And yes, we do spend time in church leading up to Christmas. But the sad thing is, the miracle of the Christ child's birth doesn't impact the way we celebrate Christmas. Worship is just an extra hour we take out of our busy schedule, one dominated with giving gifts that nobody really needs or wants. The challenge of the Conspiracy is to stop buying into the consumerism mentality of a secular Christmas and return to the simple joy of living in the incarnational love of God.

It's a good message and a good challenge, to stop buying so much stuff and instead using that money to change the world for the better (the authors' chosen charity is Living Water International, an organization that seeks to bring safe drinking water to people around the world). The problem is, the book itself is a bit light. It's not that thick in terms of pages to begin with, and over half the book is a small group discussion guide for a DVD Bible study series (the DVD for which did not come with the book).

Basically it boils down to a quick read that lays a good challenge on its readers, but it could have maybe been developed a little bit more. But it's certainly given me something to think about for this Christmas and beyond.

Lair of the Shadow Broker

A few months back, the good folks at BioWare released another DLC package for one of my favorite video games, namely Mass Effect 2. I've snatched up every other DLC package that they've put out for this game, so I knew that Lair of the Shadow Broker would be no different. But what really piqued my interest was when I read that decisions you make in this mission will effect your gameplay in the up-coming Mass Effect 3. One of the things I loved about Mass Effect 2 was the way it showed players the consequences of their actions in the original. I know I'll be getting the third installment, so I figured, I'd better get to the Lair so I can start getting ready for the final installment of this apparent trilogy.

The story is pretty simple. Commander Shepard's old friend, Liara T'Soni needs help. She's been hunting for the elusive Shadow Broker for the past two years. Shepard's contacts in Cerberus have information she can use, so they pass it on to Shepard to pass on to Liara. Only when Shepard gets to Liara's apartment, she's gone. Shepard has to find her and then help her bring down one of the most dangerous people in the galaxy.

I really liked this mission. A lot. For starters, there are the settings. You travel across a cityscape in Ilium, fighting across most of it. I even didn't mind driving the taxi through its "streets," and I'm not a fan of Mass Effect driving levels. I'll do them, but I don't enjoy them. The Shadow Broker's base is also a pleasant surprise. There were some unique features that I enjoyed using during the battles and the final boss battle, while a bit simplistic, is still a lot of fun.

Gameplay aside, the writing that went into this new mission is fantastic too. Shepard has some great one-liners he unleashes throughout the mission. But it's also fascinating to watch Liara as she comes to grips with her two year obsession. What's especially fun is if your in-game character had a romance with Liara in the original game. It definitely effects the way this mission plays out.

But what really surprised (and delighted) me is what you get after you complete the mission. No simple monetary reward, you gain access to some very powerful tools that help you find resources, money, and even retrain your team members (a feature the game did not have before). But my favorite has to be the dossiers the Shadow Broker collected. None of it effects the game overall, but it does help add some more depth and color to the characters in-game.

My favorite part, though, were the surveillance videos. Little snippets of footage of people doing weird stuff for seemingly no reason. It was just strange enough that I had to keep coming back to see all of them. I was actually a bit bummed when I learned that there are only three sets of videos.

I do have one complaint about this DLC, and it's a minor point, I suppose. One of the things you can do after you finish the mission is purchase information on where to find specific in-game resources. The game then marks your galaxy map as to where to find the right planets. That's great, but the problem is, the planets stay labeled, even after you visited them and retrieved said resources. On my latest playthrough, I had so many labels on my galaxy map from other missions that I could barely see where the individual starsystems were. It would have been nice if there were a way to clear those resource labels once you're done with them. A minor gripe, but there you go.

I honestly don't know if there will be any other DLCs coming out before Mass Effect 3. If there are and they're as good as this one, I know I'll be revisiting Commander Shepard's world once again.

Bliss

Let's just get this out of the way: I'm the wrong gender for this book. If I didn't know Jenness Walker from ACFW (and still suffered from residual guilt from laughing at her two years ago; long story), it probably wouldn't have blipped on my radar. But here we are: I just recently finished Bliss by Jenness Walker and Tracy Bowen. Not surprisingly, I've learned that straight chick-lit is not my cup of tea. Or designer handbag. Or something equally girlie, probably made sparkly with ribbons and bangles or some such thing.

Indie Moore is on a search for her bliss and she's bound and determined to find it. Using the advice found in her daily horoscopes, she moves from Nebraska to Florida, with no home, no job, and no idea how she'll find what she truly needs. She falls in with an odd assortment of characters, who give him jobs, a roof over her head, and a new perspective. There's Ellie, a work-a-holic artist with her own pottery shop, Meredith and Bo, bakery owners, Leah, an author who cleans houses on the side, and Nick, the hunky boat captain. Indie struggles with her up-bringing (a flighty Mom into just about every New Age-y thing imaginable) and with finding where she actually belongs.

Again, keep in mind, I do not have enough X chromosomes to be considered part of the target market, so I think it's understandable that I didn't really get into this book. It was well written, don't get me wrong. Indie is a great and vibrant main character and I often found myself chuckling at her misadventures. I did wonder at times if the portrayal of her mother was all that realistic (she seemed a bit over-the-top at times), but otherwise, I enjoyed myself while reading this book.

A Random Act of Culture

This is really cool. I've often wanted to organize a flash mob of some kind, but honestly, I don't know what I'd have it do. But this is still pretty cool. Wish I could have been there to see it.

The Mimic Octopus

God's creation is so cool. To wit, the mimic octopus:

A Gritty Hunger Games Adaptation?

I spotted an open letter to the presumed director of the Hunger Games adaptation on the Entertainment Weekly website. I just read it through, and I couldn't agree more. So I thought I'd pass it on.

What do you think? Have moviemakers gone off the deep end with the grit?

Star Wars Theme as a Baroque Gavotte

Makes me wish I had paid more attention in my music classes:

The Tenth Crusader

Rick Macey is back in The Tenth Crusader by Kirk Outerbridge. The cyborg private investigator-turned-government operative has a new mission. He's asked by the government to return to the Philippines to investigate the death of a diplomatic negotiator, one connected with a pan-religious organization. Macey doesn't want to go; he's supposed to be on a honeymoon with his wife, Sheila. But when Macey learns that the murder is connected to a group he was once affiliated with decades earlier, he has to go back, even if it means encountering a part of his past he wishes would stay dead and buried.

I really enjoyed this book, even more than the first in the series. Outerbridge does an excellent job creating a believable futuristic world. Everything that he describes makes sense. That goes both for the cybernetic details and the religious details. Outerbridge spends a lot of time working in details about Islam and it seems that he's done his homework.

I really can't complain about much, but there were two details that bugged me. I had a hard time tracking with the overall plot at times. Outerbridge has put together a very intricate evil scheme for the villain, one that I really didn't understand. I think I understand it now, but there were times when all of the cyber-powered fights and explosions seemed to overwhelm the details. Not horrendously so; I think I've got a handle on it now. But I'm still not entirely sure how everyone relates.

The thing that really bothers me is Macey's wife, Sheila. I did not like her at all in this book. Not even a little. I don't know exactly what it is about her that grates on my nerves so badly, but I winced every time she popped in. Given the fact that I didn't really care for the romantic subplot from the first book, I'm guessing it's related to that.

But overall, this was an excellent book. I'm hoping to go on another Rick Macey adventure soon!

CSFF Blog Tour: "The Skin Map" Day Three

One of the things that surprised me the most about The Skin Map by Stephen Lawhead is the inclusion of ley lines in the plot. I've seen these mystical thing-a-majigs in fantasy novels in the past and I'm sure I read about them in my younger days when I was fascinated by all things esoteric, mysterious, and bizarre. About the only thing I could remember about ley lines going into this book was that New Agers really like them for some reason. Oh, and they also showed up in The Da Vinci Code briefly, which doesn't exactly endear them to me.

But Lawhead made them work. I'm not saying that I think ley lines are anything mystical or the gateway to alternate realities or anything like that. But Lawhead took a decidedly dicey spiritual concept and "baptized" it quite nicely. Like I said in Monday's post, the faith content of the story wasn't explicit, but it's pretty clear that Lawhead's use of these mystical doo-dads will remain firmly in touch with Christianity.

That's one of the fun things about Christian speculative fiction. You can take some decidedly sketchy concepts and sanctify them, giving them a Christian twist and letting them loose. While I haven't always liked where some authors take those twists, I'm always up for seeing how it's done. It makes the genre more exciting to read as a whole, I think, if you have an author who's willing to take that kind of leap and invites us to leap with him or her.

Maybe that's just me. Go and see what the rest of the tourists have to say:

Red Bissell
Thomas Clayton Booher
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Beckie Burnham
Morgan L. Busse
Jeff Chapman
Christian Fiction Book Reviews
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
George Duncan
April Erwin
Tori Greene
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Timothy Hicks
Christopher Hopper
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Becca Johnson
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Shannon McDermott
Allen McGraw
Matt Mikalatos
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Nissa
Gavin Patchett
Sarah Sawyer
Chawna Schroeder
Kathleen Smith
Rachel Starr Thomson
Donna Swanson
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Phyllis Wheeler
Nicole White
Elizabeth Williams
Dave Wilson

CSFF Blog Tour: "The Skin Map" Day Two

Remember how yesterday, I said that I figured I'd have no problem reading The Skin Map by Stephen Lawhead in four days? I knew I'd have no problem almost right away. That's because the first paragraph so grabbed me that I knew I had to keep reading.

Here it is:

Had he but known that before the day was over he would discover the hidden dimensions of the universe, Kit might have been better prepared. At least, he would have brought an umbrella.

I know, right? I laughed with sheer delight at the simplicity and, on one level, absurdity of that statement. An umbrella? Really? What does that have to do with the hidden dimensions of the universe. It raised just enough questions that I knew I had to keep reading.

That, I think, is the key to writing a great book. An author has to grab his or her reader by the end of the first page and compel them to keep reading. It's even better if he or she can do it by the end of the first paragraph. Or even the first line. Lawhead's book is a great example of this.

Just bringing this up sent me back to my bookshelf to look for other great first lines in other books. And I found a few.

This is from The Dark Glory War by Michael A. Stackpole:

The day they gave me my mask was the first day I felt truly alive.

Brings up a great question, doesn't it? Why is the main character receiving a mask? Why does it have such a profound effect on him? It's that sentence that brings us into a great adventure, one in which masks play a large part.

Here's the first paragraph from the best-selling book, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins:

When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim's warmth but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress. She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother. Of course, she did. This is the day of the reaping.

Already we know that something bad is going to happen, something connected to the ominous sounding "reaping." Thus enticed, we continue into a gripping adventure.

Here's another one, this time from within the realm of Christian fiction, namely Rooms by James L. Rubart:

Why would a man he never knew build him a home on one of the most spectacular beaches on the West Coast?

An excellent question, one that encapsulates the story. We wonder the same thing and that keeps us reading as Micah Taylor tries to answer that question.

So is it absolutely necessary to have a killer opening line? Not necessarily. I was surprised at how long it took me to find these three examples. But it certainly doesn't hurt. I mean, a great opening paragraph made me want to read a book in four days. That, I would say, can be counted as a success.

How about you, fair readers? Know of any killer opening lines/paragraphs?

Be sure to check out what the other tourists have to say:

Red Bissell
Thomas Clayton Booher
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Beckie Burnham
Morgan L. Busse
Jeff Chapman
Christian Fiction Book Reviews
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
George Duncan
April Erwin
Tori Greene
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Timothy Hicks
Christopher Hopper
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Becca Johnson
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Shannon McDermott
Allen McGraw
Matt Mikalatos
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Nissa
Gavin Patchett
Sarah Sawyer
Chawna Schroeder
Kathleen Smith
Rachel Starr Thomson
Donna Swanson
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Phyllis Wheeler
Nicole White
Elizabeth Williams
Dave Wilson

CSFF Blog Tour: "The Skin Map" Day One

I was a little nervous about this one. See, I knew we were going to be covering The Skin Map by Stephen Lawhead for this blog tour. I had requested a free reviewers copy from the publisher but I hadn't seen one yet. By my reckoning, the blog tour was going to get started soon and I hadn't read the book. And then, finally, the book arrived, a scant four days before the tour was scheduled to start. I panicked. My schedule was packed as it was. How was I going to read a 400-page tome in four days?

Well, it turns out I needn't have worried. Many tourists were in the same boat as me and so, our blog tour got pushed back by a week. But here's the ironic thing: this book was good enough, I could have easily devoured it in four days. Less than that, even. Lawhead has crafted a fun adventure that kept me turning pages.

Kit Livingstone is an ordinary guy from London setting out on an ordinary day when his life takes an unexpected turn. As he tries to take a shortcut through Stane Way, he runs into his great-grandfather, a man who supposedly walked out on his family close to a century earlier. Great-Grandpa Cosimo informs Kit that he's inherited the ability to travel to different dimensional realities via ley lines. Cosimo invites Kit to come along with him on a quest to find the titular Skin Map, a diagram of the intersecting universes tattooed on one of the earliest ley explorers.

But Kit and Cosimo aren't the only ones looking for the Skin Map. And ultimately, the Skin Map isn't the real prize. There's a greater treasure waiting to be discovered.

Like I said, I really enjoyed this book. In some ways, it reminded me of a Neil Gaiman story. It has that kind of wit coupled with the same kind of esoteric subject matter. Kit and his girlfriend Mina are great characters and I was rooting for them the whole time. It's easy to see that Lawhead spent a great deal of time researching his settings and they positively came to life for me on the page.

The plot itself is a bit winding and, at times, a little hard to follow. One character in particular kept popping up everywhere, enough so that I began to wonder if it was the same individual or copies from alternate realities. There also seemed to be a time-bending nature to some of the story; I honestly don't know if the story was told in a linear fashion or more of a "hop to this time, hop to that time" way. My only real gripe is that Lawhead's excursion to Egypt seemed tacked on. At least, at first. He tied it in nicely at the end, but when I was reading it originally, I couldn't figure out why Egyptian archaeology was included. Maybe it's just me.

In terms of faith content, this is definitely what I'd call "tiller fiction" in the spectrum of Christian fiction. While God is mentioned, it's usually in passing and not in any truly discernible Christian fashion. It's clear from his other works that Lawhead writes from a Christian worldview and I'm sure that worldview will continue to assert itself in future books.

All in all, it was a great book and I'm looking forward to the next in the series. Check out what the other tourists have to say:

Red Bissell
Thomas Clayton Booher
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Beckie Burnham
Morgan L. Busse
Jeff Chapman
Christian Fiction Book Reviews
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
George Duncan
April Erwin
Tori Greene
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Timothy Hicks
Christopher Hopper
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Becca Johnson
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Shannon McDermott
Allen McGraw
Matt Mikalatos
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Nissa
Gavin Patchett
Sarah Sawyer
Chawna Schroeder
Kathleen Smith
Rachel Starr Thomson
Donna Swanson
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Phyllis Wheeler
Nicole White
Elizabeth Williams
Dave Wilson