A multi-part series where I address the question, When to stop reading?

• When To Stop Reading, Part 1: The Rules
• When To Stop Reading, Part 2: The Page 99 Test Put into Practice
• When To Stop Reading, Part 3: Short Stories
• When To Stop Listening, Part 4: Audiobooks

This is part 3 in what's become an ongoing series on when to stop reading a book. Each post stands alone, but feel free to read part 1 and part 2 before jumping into this one.

We often think of only novels when someone poses the question,

"At one point do you give up on a book?"

Maybe the question is better phrased as:

... [More]

Robin Hobb is one of my favorite writers. I devoured The Farseer Trilogy and tore through The Soldier Son Trilogy.

It was with the same excitement that I dove into Ship of Magic, book one of The Liveship Traders. Unfortunately, this particular journey ended in disappointment.

Hobb's greatest strength is twofold: her characterizations and her world-building. She has a knack for creating believable, likeable, even detestable characters. Also, the settings she creates are top-notch: well thought out, realistic, and most definitely populated by 'believable' characters.

Ship of Magic does not falter in these areas. Bu... [More]

This weekend's links presented for your viewing pleasure.

Amorality Tales: Elric
No matter how many of my remaining brain cells are eaten up by song lyrics or “Simpsons” catchphrases, there is one scene from a fantasy novel I shall never forget: Our hero has fallen in with a horde of savages as they ransack a town. To keep himself from getting caught up in their bloodshed, he takes refuge in a house that has so far avoided the “slaughter-madness,” only to have his sanctuary violated by a barbarian dragging a helpless female villager by her hair.

Rather than immediately leaping to the woman’s resc... [More]

Howard Andrew Jones gives us part 3 in his continuing series, "Honing the New Edge", where he delves into and examines the sword-and-sorcery genre, past and present.

In Part 1, Howard explained the differences between sword-and-sorcery and other types of fiction, including other sub-genres such as high or epic fantasy.

Part 2 covered the state of the genre from the perspective of what’s been published both before and now, and how society has influenced sword-and-sorcery over time.

In Jones's words, part 3 takes it further:

Now I want to revisit some of the conversations I had with Bill King and J... [More]