WordVixen.com

It’s been a while since I’ve done a Writer’s Review post. Eek. I don’t even want to think how long!

Thing is, I received a review copy of Sushi for One by Camy Tang for review on my sushi stuff blog. That blog has received some decent traffic in the past week thanks to one or more Stumbles, but they’re mostly going to one post and then leaving. So because the author was gracious enough to not only send me a free copy for review, but signed it and everything- I wanted to give her more exposure than she would get on just my little niche blog. After all, this is fiction, and no one loves fiction more than another writer!

Lex Sakai is a devoted Christian who is seeking her soul mate with the help of a list from the book of Ephesians. The problem is, the guy who fits the list best isn’t Christian, and the Christians don’t fit the list!

That’s difficult enough, but when her Grandmother threatens to pull funding of her beloved junior girl’s volleyball team if Lex doesn’t have a “real” boyfriend in time for her cousin’s wedding in four months… Well, the pressure’s on! Mix in a new job that makes the immature boys drool, and Lex has a harder time fending off the Mr. Wrong’s than in finding Mr. Right!

To be honest, I wasn’t so sure of this novel at the start. For the first 1/4 of the book, the “hints” that Lex was recovering from rape were, um, constant.  This is thoroughly excusable to me since the beginning of a novel can be so difficult. You’re trying to get a handle on the character and story yourself, and still trying to get across to the reader what you want them to know. But like I said, it was a little off putting.

What I did like was how realistic most of the book was. Things that really could, and probably do happen. The friendships between Lex and her cousins were totally believable, and I’ve heard stories of psychotic grandmothers who would actually make threats like that to get what they want.

The pace wasn’t ramped up unnaturally. This might be a negative point to some, but honestly? When I choose a book that’s based in a culture that’s not my own- it’s because I want to immerse myself in the culture, and learn about it. It’s why I love fantasy- the cultures in them are so detailed! Now, I wouldn’t say that Sushi for One is as detailed as a good fantasy novel, but believe me, I’ve read some chick-lit that was supposed to be based in various cultures that turned out to be nothing unique aside from maybe an outfit here and there or a statue placed somewhere (or worse, a Coke drinking guru- OK, the Coke drinking guru was funny).

Sushi for One is set in/near/around San Jose (can’t remember the exact location, but I remember that Lex attends a church in Santa Clara), and unlike most chick-lit- I actually feel like I got to know something about the area! Not geography, mind, but about the area. Ya ken?

So what would I recommend this book for? If you want to learn steady pacing, if you want to learn how to write about a culture without being heavy handed or slip-shod, and if you want to learn how to write about difficult subjects like rape without making the reader geek out. She really handled that well, introducing the horror of it, and the nasty aftermath WITHOUT making you go “Ew, I don’t want to read about this anymore!”. She didn’t just magically recover in time to kiss the hero- it was a path that had to be worked through just as with everything else.

So, Sushi for One is the first of the series. Will I be reading Only Uni and Single Sashimi as well? Yup. Sushi for One was a strong first novel, and quite frankly, the cousin in Single Sashimi interested me a lot! Will I review them? I dunno. Cuz I’m putting my own money out there to order them. And sometimes I just like to read a book for fun!

For more normal reviews, read the Sushi for One review on TitleTrakk, or click the ad above for Amazon reviews.

I’ve read three historicals (romance) in a row. This isn’t my usual reading pattern, but I’d picked them up at Ollies (I assume remaindered) months ago, and I’m trying to work through my TBR pile. Plus, I’ve been harboring an idea I’ve had for a book set during the Gold rush north, and one of the books is set during the same period/situation.

Of the three books, one I felt was so bad that it was painful to read. The story line and characters felt weak and a little too cardboard. The writing was mediocre at best.

Another, I thought the setting was quite good, and the story was good. However, the pacing was pathetic, staying more or less the same throughout the whole book. Too much information was given to actually drive up the tension, and I just didn’t care about any of the characters. It was set in the court of Catherine de Medici, and the only character I cared about was her daughter who I believe was meant to only facilitate the plot. All of the mains were… well, I couldn’t care less. I was more interested to see if the hero became truly friends with Henry de Guise than if he hooked up with the girl. On top of that, the author used “became aware” “caused her to recollect”, and other such annoying phrases to turn subjects and info-dump.

And the third? Actually not bad. It was a little touch and go in the beginning. One good page followed by a bad one. The bad guy was evil enough to be terrifying, yet had a streak of goodness (or perhaps just gratitude) strong enough to make you wonder if he couldn’t be redeemed. Of course, you know he won’t be since writing a scene like that is so delicate only a pro could truly pull it off- but you sense that it could happen. The characters weren’t developed enough for my taste. My interest mostly lay in the bad guy and a character who is more or less insignificant in this book, but whom I expect will be the love interest in the second. I liked the cover best out of the three, and it makes me wonder if you really can judge a book by its cover.

Still, what the author did well, she did very well. What she didn’t do well, was acceptable. This is the only book that I felt was worth my time reading and the cost of buying it remaindered. However, it was not worth my investing the cash to buy book 2 new.

Now, all three of these authors have quite the career writing, and so I make allowances for time constraints in their writing. Obviously, most working writers have to produce a book in a relatively short period of time to keep their editors happy. I still think the industry would be better served as a whole to allow authors sufficient time to perfect each story.

Yes, people like to buy from authors they’re familiar with and like, but if each book published was as strong as it could be, would the consumer not be more inclined to take a chance on an unknown? I know that my fear in purchasing from a new author is “I’ve read so many dreadful books, do I want to take the chance?”, surely that’s how most reader/buyers feel. If editors didn’t rush their authors to keep pumping out books, and instead used the lull to publish other great writers, surely the market would only be improved by this?

Ok, rant over.

Here’s the common denominator in all three of the books. I just didn’t care about the characters. I didn’t feel that any of them were real (except the princess in book 2, and the bad guy in book 3), and I’m not spending my cash on people I don’t care about. I don’t lend money to my co-workers, and I’m not going to pay you to bore me. I don’t have to like your story, but I do have to like the people in it. And stop using lazy phrases!

Oh, and one more thing. Don’t tell me that someone is funny, friendly, or has a cruel streak. I already saw it in their actions and words, I don’t need a nanny telling me what I already know.

Title: The Shadow Of The Lion
Authors: Mercedes Lackey, Eric Flint, and Dave Freer
Genre: Fantasy/ Alternate History
Publisher: BAEN
Price: $7.99

This book is 905 pages long. Plus glossary, list of characters, foods, etc.

Normally I condense the premise of a book into a sentence or two. That’s not really possible with this book. For starters, it has 10 main characters. And that’s just the good guys.

Throughout most of the book this isn’t much of a problem since they’re usually paired up, and once you reach the middle-ish part of the book, the story is strong enough to pull you along.

The problem is the beginning. You get introduced to each character separately. You know how most books do that, and it’s a good thing? Yeah, this book is 905 pages, remember? And you’re meeting 10 characters. It’s not easy to keep track of in the beginning, and the story hasn’t really started yet. Wait till about page 200 or 250, then you’ll be fine.

The idea is something of an alternate history of Venice. It’s set in the 1530’s, where religion is more or less based on magic, demons can take over world leaders, and mages can, and do, run amok.

The transitions between authors is relatively smooth. Since the POV changes scene by scene, you’re left with a stronger feeling of character than of “oh, this author’s writing this scene” since the authors’ voices are different to really help separate the characters’ voices.

However, there were a few issues.

1. Certain characters had a habit of using more modern slang. There were no references to modern… things… but the way certain characters spoke made it hard to remember that this was 16th century Venice.

2. There were a lot of “as you know”’s. Irritating.

3. I noticed two slip ups that should have been cleared up before going to print. The way two items were described was very heavy handed in a “I’ll write this down for the first draft and fix it up later- oops, I forgot” kind of way. One was actually useful, however, as I didn’t know that laudenum is opium mixed with alcohol. Interesting tidbit.

4. Waaaay too many repeats. I don’t think this was a case of the authors assuming that the reader had forgotten what was said before, though. I think the authors just repeated themselves because they, themselves, forgot. This is a very long work, and there are three authors involved. It’s very easy for them to forget what has been said either by themselves or by one of the others.

I do think that they could have easily chopped off 100 pages or so by cutting out the as you know’s and repeats, and tightening the plot and characterization a bit. Several “incidents” weren’t necessary to the plot, and a few POVs could have been reduced.

The Shadow Of The Lion is the first book in a trilogy. It certainly serves as a stand alone in every respect but one. One of the romances ends more tangled than it is during the height of the story. While that romance was a big deal to me, as a reader, I did not find myself as enthralled by the story as I would like to be when reading a book that’s this long. I spent entire evenings mostly reading this book so that I could get through it and on to the next novel in my stack. I just don’t have any interest in picking up the next book in the series unless I run out of books to read, and can’t find the books that I actually want to buy.

I can recommend this book, but only as a “if you have the time, money, and inclination” recommendation. If you’re looking for an example of the pit falls of collaborative work aside from transitioning, go ahead and pick this up. But set aside plenty of time in your schedule before you do.