Book Reviews: Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer

So I have the extreme fortune of knowing the author of today’s book. Jeff Vandermeer is one of the founders of Shared Worlds, the creative writing camp I attended for three years during high school. He saw the earliest versions of HOUR OF MISCHIEF and was an excellent mentor. I have him to thank for making me stop my characters from ‘growling’ and ‘setting my ellipses free.’ I could talk about how awesome he is all day, but we’re here to talk about his work. The shoe is on the other foot Mr. Vandemeer. Now I shall critique your work and expose it’s failings to the world! Just kidding… it’s kind of awesome. Let’s hop right in!

The Plot- Area X has been cut off from the rest of the continent for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; all the members of the second expedition committed suicide; the third expedition died in a hail of gunfire as its members turned on one another; the members of the eleventh expedition returned as shadows of their former selves, and within months of their return, all had died of aggressive cancer.

This is the twelfth expedition.

Their group is made up of four women: an anthropologist; a surveyor; a psychologist, the de facto leader; and our narrator, a biologist. Their mission is to map the terrain and collect specimens; to record all their observations, scientific and otherwise, of their surroundings and of one another; and, above all, to avoid being contaminated by Area X itself.

They arrive expecting the unexpected, and Area X delivers—they discover a massive topographic anomaly and life forms that surpass understanding—but it’s the surprises that came across the border with them, and the secrets the expedition members are keeping from one another, that change everything.

The Characters- What’s that? Is that four female main characters that I see? Four main characters who are women but not defined by their gender? I believe it is! I was very excited to discover this when I first heard about the book. There really aren’t enough books who say ‘the gender of our characters doesn’t really matter but let’s make them all women’. So A + for that. It’s really hard for me to talk about the characters otherwise, however, for fear of spoiling it. As the summary says, all of the expedition members are keeping secrets. We have access to the biologist who is an interesting character herself with a rich back story and intriguing world view. But the other three characters become known to us gradually. I don’t want to spoil it but I must say, the psychologist is interesting J

The Good Points- Jeff Vandermeer's imagination is weird. That’s always been the wonderful thing about him as a writer. He’s weird and excessively creative. This suits him quite well when writing a horror type story. There are many parts of this story that shock you to your core. But none of the scares are cheap thrills. Its all very otherworldly and fascinating, like something you’ve never read before. And really, I think that’s the biggest reason I would encourage people to read this book. You haven’t read something like it before. Its just… such an interesting dive into the explainable and into the often disturbed psychology of human beings. But don’t read it late at night. For the sake of sleep, just don’t.

The Bad Points- There aren’t really critiques I can give this book that aren’t matters of personal preference. For instance, I can’t quite give this book my highest rating because, while the characters were fully fleshed out and interesting, they weren’t the kind of characters I can emotionally connect to. That’s nothing against the writing. It’s just my taste. Other than that, there’s no reason you shouldn’t read this book. Unless you’re easily scared… Just kidding, you should read it anyway.

Overall, Annihilation is frightening, thought provoking and unique in the best sense of the word. One might think I’m biased since I know the author but, you know what, Stephen King recommended this book too. So there. Read it. You will not regret it, even if your sleep schedule does.

Final Rating- 4.5/5

Villains and Villainy- Introduction

Now that my editing series has drawn to a close, I think it’s about time that we start a new one! This time on a subject dear to my writer’s heart: villains.

Honestly, is there anything more fun to write than villains? There’s something fascinating about them no matter their type. It’s the hero that leads the story, but it’s the villain that strings them along and creates a truly interesting web of a plot. And a poorly written villain can make a story fall flat in an instant.

I’ve raved about various types of villains in the past. But I figured, there are so many shades and colors of villains that they deserve their own series. So for the next several weeks, each Wednesday, we’re going to be exploring a classic villain type and how to do them justice in your writing.

And every Friday starting next week there will be a Villain Spotlight, drawing attention to some of the best written villains in books, movies and TV shows. There are of course, a lot of amazing baddies to pay homage to. I’ll be look closely at some of my personal favorites but feel free to offer up suggestions of some of your favorite villains. I know there are so many to choose from and I want to talk about as many as possible.

In the meantime, have a pleasant week! 

Book Review- Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

This is the kind of book that could have gone very badly wrong. The main characters could have become easy to hate if not written just right. That is, after all, the nature of a Beauty and the Beast Story. Its been done time and time again and is very easy to spoil. Fortunately…

Plot- Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.

As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

The Characters- Beauty and the Beast is a story often associate with Stockholm syndrome. As much as plenty of versions avoid this trap, just as many fall into it. I was worried about the main characters and their chemistry. But I adored them. Nyx was tough as nails, with bite to her words. I found her funny at points, determined and altogether likable. More surprising to me was Ignifex, who I was afraid I’d like less. But not only did I adore him but he was legitimately seductive. And I don’t think that of a lot of book love interests. Their chemistry and dynamic was addicting. The other characters surrounding these two were as varied and interesting, but it was the leads that made the book come to life.

The Good Points- The characters are nothing without well-wrought surrounding elements. And there are many of those. First off, the castle of Ignifex is gorgeous and full of mystery. The plot was an engaging twist on the classic fairy tale. The dialogue and prose were equally engaging and often times lovely. The world, for the most part, was well developed. I enjoyed the integration of elements from Greek mythology even though they were sometimes confused. And I just LOVED the castle. Did I mention that?

The Bad Points- Over all, there’s not much to criticize. The ending was a bit odd to me, not entirely built up by the plot and some of the world elements that came into play were not fully expanded on. It’s hard to talk in detail about it, given that it would be spoiling things. It wasn’t a bad ending. Just a bit sudden and strange, and not enough to sour the experience of reading the rest of the book.

Beauty and the Beast retellings are hard to pull off. But this one hit all the right notes and developed its world, plot and characters with careful grace. I understand why some people might not like it but for me it was just a delicious read. Highly recommended.

Final Rating- 4.5/5 Stars

Why TV Shows Should Quit While They're Ahead

I do a lot of Lessons from Anime on this blog, because I watch a lot of anime. However, funny enough, I don’t watch a ton of American TV. I never watched much TV growing up and I never got into the habit. I certainly have my few shows, Game of Thrones, Avatar the Last Airbender and So You Think You Can Dance included. But they are few and far between.

And then there’s Once Upon a Time.

Once Upon a Time is, I think, a great example of why I don’t watch a lot of American television. Because this show has been going on for so long with so many plot threads and characters that the writers don’t know what to do anymore. They just don’t. Writing gets lazy, character arcs get screwed and the show just gets old as viewers start to realize that the creators have no more tricks in the bag.

Now, I’m not saying that there aren’t animes that go on for an eternity. See Naruto, Bleach and Once Piece for that. But many animes do not. Most of my favorite animes are 13 or 26 episodes and many of them have a satisfying ending.

And that’s the key word: Endings. The shows that I like have an end goal when they begin. When they have an end goal, it’s much easier to establish characters and bring their arcs to a satisfying conclusion. It’s easier to write a tight plot that keeps the viewer’s interest. It’s easier to end the show without jumping the shark.

The reason I can watch Game of Thrones is that there has always been an end goal, and books to follow, so that the characters keep to their arcs and don’t fall flat. Of course, depending on your opinion, some characters may be better than others, but at least they all have an arc.

Once Upon a Time just… feels like it’s never going to end. But it could have. The end of season 3 could have wrapped things up if you just cut a few plot twists at the very end. It brought most of the arcs to a satisfying conclusion and it hadn’t overloaded itself with so many characters that half of them were left waiting in the wings with nothing to do.

Like, what were Henry and the Charmings even doing in the Frozen extravaganza of the first half of Season 4? Assumidly sitting off to the side somwhere like:

But what happened? The studio probably said “audiences love the show! So keep airing it! Air it until it dies”. Sometimes I’m almost glad for shows that get canceled because at least they were good until the end!

What resulted was the absolute destruction of Rumpelstiltskin’s arc, Henry’s ultimate uselessness and most of the characters falling off the face of the map in favor of Frozen characters and other newbies that the show didn’t need.

Unless the show can pull something out of its hat, I’m going to pretend that only the first three seasons exist. But I think Once Upon a Time’s hat is just about empty.

I don’t understand fans who want a show they like to go on forever. Wouldn’t you rather look back on an amazing whole show than a show that got terrible somewhere in the fourth season? Wouldn’t you rather the story reach a satisfying conclusion? I love endings. I love how bitter sweet they are. But most of all, I love how poignant they can be.

A good ending can make me love a show. No ending? And I’m just left unsatisfied. 

Critique Partners

Now that we’ve finished going through my complicated, ten step editing process, there’s another step to all of this that is very important: Critique Partners.

You need them.

Seriously.

Critique Partners are the other sets of eyes that look at your writing and point out the plot holes and inconsistencies that you didn’t notice because you’ve read your MS so many times your eyes have glazed over. They pick out the clichés that you thought were brilliant at the time. They tell you if your character is being wholly unlikable.

And though their feedback can be hard sometimes, it’s important. Because maybe you have made mistakes and their suggestions will make them better.

So what should you look for in a critique partner? Well you want to find someone you respect and trust. Someone who is a fan of books that are comparable to what yours is trying to achieve. Someone who you know will tell you the hard truths. But they also have to be a writer. Someone who understands story structure and character arcs. While its great to have family and friends give you feedback, they can only give you feedback as a reader. And you need a writer. And if someone in your family happens to be a writer, great. Get them.

You want someone who can be brutal. You want a critique partner that won’t sugar coat what isn’t working. They’re a critique partner for a reason. You don’t need them to only tell you how awesome you are. You need their hard opinion.

But they should also be your advocate. Someone who tells you what is working and cheers for you when good things happen. Don’t get someone who hates your work. Get someone who loves it enough to make it better.

Critique partners are a necessary step in the editing process. If you don’t have one, find one. You won’t regret it.

A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz

I love fairy tales of every shape and shade of dark. From Disney to the tales of Brothers Grimm to the even darker fair that comes out of Russia (seriously, they’ve got some creepy fairytales from there) I just eat them up. So when I saw this little gem in my school’s library, I snatched it up because I wanted to get back to reading MG novels. So did this fairy tale have a happy ending? Let’s take a look.

Plot Summary- In this mischievous and utterly original debut, Hansel and Gretel walk out of their own story and into eight other classic Grimm-inspired tales. As readers follow the siblings through a forest brimming with menacing foes, they learn the true story behind (and beyond) the bread crumbs, edible houses, and outwitted witches.

Fairy tales have never been more irreverent or subversive as Hansel and Gretel learn to take charge of their destinies and become the clever architects of their own happily ever after. (Plot summary according to Goodreads)

The Characters- The characters in this book are charming. In fact nearly everything in this book is charming, but especially the characters. I love Hansel and Gretel’s strength and cleverness. I love to see them get in and out of situations, and the characters around them, who often only make brief cameos in their stories, make a memorable, visceral impression. This is a story of vignettes though it does have a larger plot, and I really like the form. Its all tied together by a narrator who might as well be a character himself. He’s witty and frank. Its hard to pull of the Lemony Snicket effect with any degree of success, but Gidwitz definitely succeeds here. Also, shout out to the three ravens. I love the three ravens.

The Good Points- This book is charming. Have I mentioned that before? Because it is. Through all the gory and scary moments it just oozes charm. Its as dark as the original fairy tales but it never takes itself to seriously. It read really quickly and presented its characters with a variety of unique situations, taking some lesser known Grimm fairy tales and bringing them into the spotlight. My personal favorites vignettes were the Three Golden Hairs, where Hansel has to trick the devil to escape eternal torture in hell, and the blood red smile, where Gretel finds herself taken with a young man who might not be what he seems. They gave me the shivers and the chuckles and were all around great fun to read.

The Bad Points- There aren’t many bad points but if you have a hard time with narrators who address the audiences or stories that stress character and vignettes more than plot, this might not be your bag. And you have to like fairytales because this is a fairy tail from start to finish. Its not the most ambitious story, but it does its job well for what it is so I can’t find many things to criticize.

Over all a journey through the dark forest oozing with thrills, laughter and, yes, even charm. I highly recommend it to any and all lovers of the old Grimm tales and to anyone who likes a touch of darkness in their whimsy.

Final Rating- 4/5

The Importance of Rest

Happy Friday everyone! You have might have noticed that last Friday I didn’t post. In fact I did intend to finish this post for Friday but turns out I was just so busy resting that I completely forgot to post about the importance of resting.

I guess I took the message to heart.

But I needed the break. Since the new semester began, I’ve been running at the speed of light, trying to juggle various responsibilities. It can be tough work, especially when trying to squeeze writing into the mix. But being too busy can often stanch your creativity.

For me, it came in the form of editing my book. I’ve had such editors block over the past couple of months and even though I try to make time to write, I was never as productive as I wanted to be. Sometimes you just can’t push yourself. You have to take a step back and breathe.

And when that happens? Let me tell you, it opens up your mind to a lot of new creative possibilities. Over the break I solved one of the major problems I was having with my book and was able to look at the plot for fresh eyes. Just giving myself time cleared out a lot of the blockage that was suffocating my writer’s mind.

Writing is hard work. But it does require rest. We can’t write 24/7 or our work becomes lack luster and forced. So if you’re in a tough place right now with your writer’s mind, take some rest for yourself.

You might come back stronger than ever.