Maureen Flynn - Author
I had reviewed this book on another blog when it first came out, but since Victorian industrial singer, Emilie Autumn’s new CD, Fight Like a Girl, came out five days ago and falls into the fantasy camp, I will be reviewing the CD soon on this blog.…
Belinda Murrell, The Forgotten Pearl, Random House Publishers, June 2012. RRP: $15.95 Australian. Western culture makes much of World War Two and with good reason- its scale was horrific, drawing civilians into war on an unprecedented scale and killing millions. It saw two oppressive dictatorships…
Soulmaker, Nadine Cooke, 2012.
$2.99 USD (Smashwords ebook)
$11.99 USD (Amazon)
It seems fitting that with the Australian publishing and bookselling industry discussing ebooks and self publishing over at Isobelle Carmody’s Greylands launch site, I should read and review an up and coming Australian author’s self published ebook.
Normally I detest self published books. My friend loves the 99c Amazon ones for the train and the quality authors for hard copies but I find myself noticing too many editing mistakes, or weird structural decisions or stereotypical characters or cliched writing etc which detracts from my enjoyment of the book. I only agreed on this book because Cooke is a local writer and because I knew she had rewritten her manuscript multiple times and had some good feedback from some Australian publishers.
Nadine’s first book, Soulmaker, tells the story of 15 year old Ashden and 13 year old Elanora; two misfit teens drawn into the mysterious Timefold in order to give toys a second chance at life. The first book in a slated trilogy, Soulmaker flicks between these two characters perspectives, with Elanora getting stuck in time, and Ashden trying to enlist his old teacher to try and rescue her. Aimed at Year 6 readers and older, the story is well written, doesn’t fall into the telling rather than showing trap, has sympathetic characters and strong imagery. All positive reasons to take a punt on a first time, self published author.
I do have some caveats. The story did head hop between characters. The Final Destination/Christian allegory was very obvious and will really rub some people up the wrong way, especially those who criticised C. S Lewis for utilising the sledgehammer in his Narnia books, and the character arc of Elanora is left very ambiguous. She aged quite a bit, very fast, and we miss out on seeing her character growth. This did irritate me but I am assured by the author that this comes in Book 2 so fingers crossed.
Story structure and sledgehammer theme concerns aside, Soulmaker is a different, original fantasy concept, rooted in a very strong sense of Australian place and culture. I will watch this author with interest. I have a suspicion it is only a small matter of time before a publisher picks her up.
Soulmaker: 2.5/5 inky stars (I reccomend buying the ebook to see if you like the author’s style and then buy hard copies on book 2’s release if you like what you read)
A proof copy of the book was supplied to InkAshlings by the author. You can purchase Soulmaker from Cooke’s website here: http://www.nadinecooke.com/shop.html
This month the great eVolution debate is here courtesy of beloved Australian author, Isobelle Carmody. Never one to bite off more than she can chew, she has decided to independently re-release her 1997 novel Greylands as an ebook with a bang. Enlisting the help of web designer Min Dean…
Bitter Greens, Kate Forsyth, Random House Publishers, 2012. RRP: $32.95 Aus. Bitter Greens is Australian fantasy author, Kate Forsyth’s newest offering; adult, historical and a little bit magical. Before I go on to review this book, I have to admit something pretty embarassing to admit for…
Why? I hear you ask. Didn’t you just review Metro Winds, giving it 5/5 inky star? Yes, yes, I did and that’s absolutely why this post. My reviewing policy for this blog is quite fixed. I don’t need to love the book or film to bits to review, but it MUST make me think, provoke, bring up complex issues in society, inspire in some way. I know I really like something if it encourages artistic creativity; whether short story, poem or photography. Sometimes even all of those things at once.
As I read Metro Winds, it was the personal element that caught me the most; Isobelle’s focus on travel and metamorphisis, change and growth. My initial reaction was to remember my own special travel memories and apply them to the stories I was reading. This post incorporates relevent quotes from Metro Winds with my own travel photography. Metro Winds is copyright Isobelle Carmody and Allen and Unwin Publishers. Photography copyright InkAshlings 2012. Please do not repost any of these photos without credit. Quotes from Metro Winds should not be republished without author/publisher permission. If you have any concerns about this post please contact me at inkashlings@gmail.com
… this girl who had lived on a remote coast of a remote land in a solitary yellow house listening to the chilly grey sea that rushed straight from the ice pole to pound on the shore beside her bedroom window.
– Metro Winds, p. 8.
Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland
“Tell me where you have come from, that you seek audience with the Dove Princess.”
The Dove Game, p. 79.
Christmas markets and fair, Edinburgh, Scotland
“Then I looked around at the glowing white snow, radiant in the sun whose light reached us but not its heat. The pine trees wore shapeless hoods of glistening snow, and the black-trunked trees were sugar frosted.”
The Girl Who Saw The Wind, p. 144.
Edinburgh, Scotland
“A seed was planted,” she said. “Many seeds were planted, but only one will summon the stranger who will be the way and the gate.”
The Stranger, p. 203.
Inside St Vitus Cathedral, Prague
“Yet few who travel to that city, which is fantasy made real, discover that it is the gateway to this labyrinthine land of islands and canals it merely mirrors imprecisely.”
The Wolf Prince, p. 210
On a gondola in Venice, Italy
“I was a fringe dweller of the most meek and timid ilk, and if someone had accused me of being a shadow in the world, I would have admitted it. But that was before my shadow was lost, and I understood by the gaping void its absence left that it is we who need our shadows, not they us.”
The Man Who lost his Shadow, p. 359.
My flatmate and I skating with shadows outside the Natural History Museum, London.
Intrigued? You should be! You can purchase Metro Winds from Booktopia here: http://www.booktopia.com.au/metro-winds/prod9781865084442.html
Metro Winds, Isobelle Carmody, Allen and Unwin Publishers, 2012. RRP: $24.99 Australian. Metro Winds is beloved Australian fantasy author, Isobelle Carmody’s second major short story outing. A collection of 6 short stories, unified by common themes of travel, metamorphosis, identity, love, loss and transformation, this collection…
Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell is a difficult book for me to review. A revisionist retelling of Elaine of Ascolat, which aims, much like Marion Zimmer Bradley did with The Mists of Avalon, to put the women of Arthurian legend at feminist…
This blog hasn’t been around long. I only created it in January 2012, and have made a scant 14 posts between January and today. I have received some great feedback on my blog, I have had one of my favourite fantasy authors link to my blog on facebook, and I have had some of my posts linked to Isobelle Carmody’s official fansite, Obernewtyn.net. I have alot of plans for this blog, and it makes me so happy to know that people support me in my fantasy writing, reading, and viewing endeavors.
So imagine my delighted surprise when I opened my inbox on Friday to discover the lovely Lily Wright (Check her out here: http://lilywight.com/about/) had nominated me for a Most Versatile Blogger Award! It means so much to me, Lily, especially as I haven’t been on wordpress long!!! So short have I been on wordpress, I don’t even have 15 blogs I can nominate for the award! Give me some time, and I’ll get onto it!
Thanks again Lily, and thanks to everyone who supports this blog! This blog is for all of you, speculative fiction lovers!!!
I have never read many comics- at least, not much beyond the incomparable Neil Gaiman, but I had at least heard of Marvel comics. I had heard of The Hulk, Captain America, and Iron Man. Actually, I saw Iron Man 1 and 2, and was…