I'm taking LibraryThing's 50 Book Reading Challenge for 2010. This is my 14th read of the 50.

There are six books in the King's Blades series. They are:

1. The Gilded Chain
2. Lord of the Fire Lands
3. Sky of Swords
4. Paragon Lost (review forthcoming)
5. Impossible Odds (review forthcoming)
6. Jaguar Knights (review forthcoming)
   

The Gilded Chain by Dave Duncan is the first in his six book King's Blade series. While the story in each novel takes places in the same world, each work stands alone as a tale unto itself. This first book tells the story of Durendal, a waif with little future who is recruited to become a King's Blade, a swashbuckl... [More]

Robert A. Heinlein was one of the "grand-daddy's" of science fiction. He lived from 1907 to 1988. In that time, he had a prolific writing career, with one of his most well-known works being Starship Troopers.

When someone like Heinlein gives writing advice, one should listen. While many others have called out these rules, I thought I'd list them here for my own benefit if nothing else. Here they are.

1.) You must write.

I'm reminded of similar advice given by Mur Lafferty of the I Should Be Writing podcast. Her first rule is "Butt in chair." It's as simple as that. Getting your butt in the c... [More]

One of the things I often do as I'm reading a novel or short story is keep track of words whose definitions I do not know or that I find interesting. Either way, these interesting words are ones I feel might be of use in my own writing. That, and it's good to expand one's vocabulary every once in a while.

Read my review of Crystal Rain. 

cleat: a fastener (usually with two projecting horns) around which a rope can be secured

cordon: cord or ribbon worn as an insignia of honor or rank

gimbal: a pivoted ring mounted at right angles to one or two others to ensure that something such as a ship's compass ... [More]

Now that I own an eReader and thus a viable way to read eBooks without having to print them, I plan to read and review each of the featured Tor.com giveaways. This is the sixth of those reviews.

Also, I'm taking LibraryThing's 50 Book Reading Challenge for 2010. This is my 13th read of the 50.

Crystal Rain by Tobias Buckell is the first novel of Buckell's set in his Caribbean-style sci-fi world. Buckell himself is a native of that region of the world, though he now resides in landlocked Ohio. You can follow the author on his blog. Buckell contributed a Pepper story to the Seeds of Change anthology, of which I received an advanced rea... [More]