BOOK: The Call of Earth (1993)

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The Call of Earth Year: 1993 Author: Orson Scott Card Length: 641 minutes / 10.68 hours After being so disappointed with The Memory of Earth, I'm surprised I gave the second volume in the Homecoming series a chance. I figured Orson Scott Card could have got things on track by this book, getting rid of all the unnecessary fluff and useless ramblings. Instead, The Call of Earth made it clear to me that I will not be continuing this series. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I think part of the problem with this series is how it's written. Having recently read an eye-opening book on identifying "Show versus Tell," it shocked me how much of this book was written with "Tell" language. Granted, a lot of science fiction and fantasy books have to do this to explain interesting magic or technologies. The Call of Earth, however, spent another whole book stuck in this pseudo-Roman society that most people...
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BOOK: Einstein’s Dreams (1993)

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Einstein's DreamsYear: 1993Author: Alan LightmanLength: 140 pages I can appreciate poetic works that try to string each idea together into a connected narrative. I've seen few that have done this as well as Einstein's Dreams has. Of course, the problem with trying to make all these disparate poems work together is that they are still just brief glimpses into stories that could easily stand on their own. Perhaps that's the curse of well-written poetry—it leaves you wanting more. I'd almost consider these stories as writing prompts for anyone looking to make an entire book out of the dreams of the world's best physicist. Many of the stories in this collection/novel play upon the ideas of general relativity. The way the physics is described and how the people in these worlds live feel legitimately realistic. Of course, sometimes the physics "gimmick" isn't revealed until the end of a story, thus leaving me in the dark as to what was actually happening as I...
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BOOK: The Last Wish (1993)

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The Last Wish Year: 1993 Author: Andrzej Sapkowski Length: 617 minutes / 10.28 hours Those of us who have seen Netflix’s adaptation of The Witcher will find this collection of short stories quite familiar. The first book in the series, The Last Wish introduces the titular Witcher, Geralt of Rivia, as he goes about his job ridding the world of dangerous supernatural creatures. It’s no wonder the TV series felt a little disjointed, as it had a series of short stories that were loosely connected via Geralt to work with. Still, these stories are solid and help flesh out the world where humans and creatures live together, rarely in harmony. Told in a somewhat chronological manner, these bite-size stories often carry over and blend into each other in a way that feels natural. Actions in one story may influence the characters in another, so there is something deeper here than just a collection of short stories. While this technique is rarely used, I can appreciate how each story...
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BOOK: Self-Editing for Fiction Writers (1993)

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Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself into Print Year: 1993 Authors: Renni Browne and Dave King Length: 237 pages Even though this book was published 25 years ago, its advice for aspiring authors is timeless. From those just starting to veterans still polishing their craft, Self-Editing for Fiction Writers is perhaps even more relevant today than when it was initially released. After all, the pre-eminence of self-published authors has spawned a plethora of poorly-written and amateur works that seriously need some form of editing. On the plus side, the more self-published authors who take the advice in this book and put it to good use, then perhaps there will be less of a stigma against them in the future. Breaking down the editing process into 12 distinct parts, this book shows the reader—through numerous examples—how a lousy piece of prose can be edited into something much more palatable. That being said, there are a lot of examples, some of which take up multiple pages. Occasionally, the errors...
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