There are various and sundry complaints about the “prequel” trilogy (PT, or POS to some) in comparison the the “original” trilogy (OT), but one misstep has always stood out to me (I know you’re thinking “Jar Jar!” but that’s not it… just hear me out). The Force is treated very differently from trilogy to trilogy.
When someone asks for “description,” do you answer with “leave nothing to the imagination?”
Well, as you may know, this isn’t too classy, and although some folks may enjoy that, most probably don’t.
Research is, in the end, borrowing or reusing ideas for a different end goal. So, when perusing the dusty halls of human experience, remember to bring your notebook.
I’d like to bring your attention to Komatsu’s last line, which I believe to be the best: “What you can eliminate from fiction is the description of things that most readers have seen.”
Dear n00b social media adventurer, the lands of Facebook are plagued with bad videos and oversharing. It is your solemn duty to post something funny, witty, and concise, and acquire 10 likes. Good luck.
A good title is true to its material. It doesn’t initially mislead the reader. A title designed to mislead the reader is probably followed by a mischievous, misleading, sarcastic book.
GrimDark itself might be classified as a reaction to sword & sorcery and its heroes mounted on milk-white stallions, and this story exemplifies the genre, for better and for worse. One thing to note: PRINCE OF THORNS is not for the squeamish reader.
This is a tricky review for me because I absolutely love this series (books 2, 3 and 4, specifically). But I didn’t love it at first. In fact, I had a pretty hard time getting through it. So here’s the deal: if you read this, you need to treat it as a very long prologue to one of the most epic and huge fantasy series of all time.
I’m the kind of writer who joyfully overestimates his own ability every time I sit down to type. And I’m sure I’m not the only one… I smile, pull open my laptop, look at the pages before me and think, “finish editing the whole book today? hell yeah!” One paragraph later: “finish the whole chapter today? Of course!” Thirty minutes and a few sentences later: “finish the paragraph today? OBVIOUSLY!” And then I get three sentences done. But even that doesn’t diminish the feeling I get when I start working. I…
Even if your prose would make McCarthy cry with jealousy, your book will not see the light of day without a well-crafted query.