Tag Archives: books

Top five books with good premise but bad execution

27 Sunday Aug 2017

Posted by in author, book review, criticism, fantasy, musings, romance, steampunk, story, top 5 list, writing

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If you could name one thing in common with all your favourite books, it would probably be that they all have an excellent premise. Perhaps it is a new twist on an old genre, a unique location, or a fascinating character. It is the thing which made you choose the book over thousands of others on the shelves.

But like me, you might have frequently found yourself drawn into a book by its excellent premise only to find that the content of the book is severely lacking, or not what you were expecting. These are some of the books I have read which I had high hopes for but which I felt weren’t carried out well (this is all opinion based so don’t get your panties in a bunch if I slag off a book that you like):

Obsidian Mirror by Catherine Fisher

The premise: A teenage boy travels to a remote English villa to find out what happened to his missing father, and uncovers mysterious secrets.

The execution: Mystery, time travel, steampunkish tech, faeries, and some other stuff I just didn’t get all jammed together into one book. This book had a strong opening, but then threw so much stuff at me all at once that I barely had time to take it all in or keep track of what was going on.

The King’s Sister by Anne O’Brien

The premise: A story about Elizabeth of Lancaster, sister of King Henry IV and a little-known figure of history.

The execution: Medieval soap-opera melodrama and problems which were either solved way too quickly or just seemed to solve themselves eventually anyway.

Bearers of the Black Staff by Terry Brooks

The premise: A highly different fantasy which is set not in another world or the distant past, but in the post-apocalyptic far future.

The execution: Just another bog-standard sword-and-sorcery fantasy. There are so many things that could have been done with this premise- Magic duels in the ruins of skyscrapers, contemporary stories becoming folklore, everyday modern objects viewed as sacred artefacts. If you want this same premise done much better, read the Mortal Engines series instead.

The Wolf Princess by Cathryn Constable

The premise: A teenage orphan and her friends get the chance to travel to a remote palace in Russia and uncover hidden family secrets.

The execution: Cliched characters, a protagonist who is barely active in her own story, and huge, completely noticeable plot holes.

Dragon’s Child by M.K. Hume

The premise: An origin story for King Arthur, focusing heavily on the Roman Britain setting.

The execution: Murder, rape, torture, paedophilia, slavery, and just plain uncomfortable reading.

 

What are some books which you thought were going to be great but severely let you down? Tell me in the comments below.

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How to write a love/hate relationship

20 Sunday Aug 2017

Posted by in author, Common Criticism, criticism, romance, story, writing, writing advice

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I’ve previously written about some of the classic romance writing tropes which I can’t stand, and today I have another to add to the list: Love/hate relationships. These are fictional relationships in which a couple do nothing but fight, sometimes even physically abuse each other, yet at the insistence of the author and the rest of the cast, it is evidence that they are falling in love.

It’s clear why this type of relationship in fiction isn’t too popular anymore and why people are beginning to severely question it. Who looks at a real-life couple arguing and thinks that is what they want from a relationship? It isn’t very romantic to hook up with someone when you still hate them.

Yet readers still love reading about interesting and complex relationships and a dynamic between two incredibly strong-willed individuals working through their feelings can be a good one when done correctly. Hate turning to love is still a popular fanfiction plot as readers enjoy seeing how their favourite characters can go from one emotional extreme to the other. They just don’t want to be tricked into supporting an unrealistic couple with no reason to love one another. These are some of the top ways to write a believable love/hate relationship without dipping into abusive territory:

Write a character arc

The golden rule of writing applies to love/hate relationships too. Rather than showing a couple spend an entire work of fiction bickering then have them suddenly admit their attraction and hook up at the end, give them an actual character arc to show how they and their relationship change over the course of the story. Show how intense hatred can turn to intense love through character interaction gradually softening the relationship.

Overcome a character flaw

An integral part of the character arc is to show a character with a severe flaw which they come to realise and improve. Perhaps the reason your characters start out in a love/hate relationship is because one or both has trust issues or was raised in an abusive household. These can explain the character’s motivation and give them an interesting Hero’s Journey which the readers will want to follow.

Make it comedic

Another way you can get away with a love/hate relationship is to write it in a comedic context. This stems all the way back to Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, possibly the very first love/hate relationship story. We can laugh at Benedick and Beatrice’s quips yet still have the sense that they genuinely care for each other and feel happy when they sort things out at the end.

Gielgud_and_Leighton_in_Much_Ado_1959

Don’t write physical or mental abuse

The main criticism against love/hate relationships is that authors confuse abusive behaviour with regular domestic arguments, or believe that regular fights are a normal part of relationships. Thankfully people are now waking up to how damaging this message is, but there are still too many borderline abusive relationships in fiction. Arguments may be a common part of relationships, but they should be presented in a constructive manner to allow a couple to air their grievances occasionally, not happen all the time. It should go without saying that physically abusive behaviour has no place in a romance, not even in a comedic context.

Make it purposefully self-destructive

You might, however, decide to go down the opposite route and write this type of relationship as self-destructive on purpose. This can demonstrate the realities of a co-dependant relationship and how it will rarely work out. There are many fascinating real-life examples of couples with a ‘can’t live with them, can’t live without them’ type dynamic. For example, the biopic Sid and Nancy depicts the real-life relationship between the Sex Pistols’ bassist Sid Vicious and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen and the disastrous impact it had on their lives.

 

What are some good and bad examples of love/hate relationships that you have seen in fiction? Tell me in the comments below.

Book Review – Pegasus

27 Monday Feb 2017

Posted by in book review, culture, fantasy, story, writing

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pegasus

Pegasus by Robin Mckinley tells the story of a human kingdom which for over a thousand years has held an alliance with a race of sentient pegasi in order to keep both races safe from the monsters which ravage the land. Part of the treaty is that members of the human royal family are ceremoniously bound to members of the pegasi royal family. Despite this, the two races can only communicate through vague sign language and still know little about each other’s cultures.

This all changes on the day that Princess Sylvi, the fourth child of the current King, is bound to her pegasus Ebon, the fourth child of the pegasus king. They find that they can communicate with each other telepathically. While the two are happy with their new found friendship and some hope it can form a greater bond between humans and pegasi, others, especially the bitter court magician Fthoom, feel that it is wrong to go against a thousand years of tradition and it will break the alliance. As she grows closer to Ebon and the other pegasi, Sylvi comes to discover many secrets about both of their races that have been hidden for generations and which may well put their alliance in danger.

I began reading this book as I am also writing a boot that includes pegasi, and I was immediately drawn in by the new angle that the author takes to pegasi, making them much more than just horses with wings. Most notably, they have small feather like hands on the ends of their wings which allow them to make things. Sylvi’s Pegasus Ebon wishes to be a sculptor of all things.

It is unfortunate then that the major failing in this book is that it is incredibly slow paced, particularly at the beginning which feels much more like a history lecture and takes about four chapters to get to the first major plot point. It is at least interesting exposition which provides a good setup for the inciting incident and does at least make you want to keep reading, but it still feels like it could’ve been so much shorter and to the point. It made reading the book even more frustrating as I was genuinely enjoying it and becoming invested into the characters, but the bad pacing was so noticeable that I knew it would keep me from giving it a five star rating. I couldn’t even use the excuse that it is a classic book using archaic language as it only came out in 2010.

The rest of the book isn’t much better with sometimes a hundred pages between each plot point, and yet there is also a setup for a monster attack which is never carried through. There is a cliff hanger at the end with a sequel supposedly coming out soon which will hopefully complete this plot thread. But it still feels as if the entire story could’ve been condensed into one volume just by cutting down upon the lengthy parts.

Still, anyone who doesn’t mind sifting through this heavy exposition and enjoys fantasy with a unique perspective will still like this book. Sylvi and Ebon are likeable protagonists and you can’t help but feel drawn in by their strong bond and curiosity over each other’s cultures. I’ll be looking forward to the sequel, even if I might have to sit through a lot of lengthy prose for a second time.

Rating – 4 out of 5.

Book Review – A Company of Swans

18 Friday Mar 2016

Posted by in book review, culture, musings, romance, story, villain, writing

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A Company of Swans by Eva Ibbotson. Published by Macmillan Children’s Books.

a company of swans

A Company of Swans is a coming of age story following the journey of 18 year old Harriet Morton in 1912. Under the strict supervision of her father, who is literally the most boring professor in the world, her spinster aunt, and the local Ladies’ Tea Circle, Harriet lives a joyless life. Despite her academic upbringing, her father won’t let her go to university as he expects her to marry her suitor, a young zoology professor named Dr. Edward Finch-Dutton. Harriet’s only outlet is her weekly ballet classes, which she excels at. When she is offered a once in a lifetime opportunity to join a famous Russian ballet company and perform in the most luxurious opera house in the world, Harriet is ecstatic but of course her father refuses.

Harriet defies her father and runs away to join the troupe regardless. In the far away exotic city of Manaus in Brazil, she performs for the rich rubber barons and wins the heart of the charming owner of the opera house. But her father, aunt, and would-be-fiancé are eager to bring her back and are on her tail.

Instantly, this book ticks all of my boxes. A strong and likeable female protagonist? Yes. A girl in a historical setting defying the patriarchy? Yes. Ballet? Hell yes! Any other readers who are into such things will enjoy this novel as well. Even those who aren’t into ballet can enjoy it for its other elements. Although the book is classed as young adult, there is plenty for older readers to get into as well (although not so much younger readers due to a few risque plot points).

While the father and aunt are fairly stereotypical characters, I appreciated that Harriet’s suitor Edward isn’t the standard evil fiancé who is only there to make the main love interest look better by comparison. There are surprisingly several things to like about him. He allows female students in his class, which Harriet’s father wouldn’t dream of, and he is an accomplished and passionate zoologist at a time when the science was still new and under-appreciated. In fact, his love of discovering new insect species could be compared to Harriet’s love of ballet. His desire to ‘save’ Harriet isn’t out of a sense of evil or a need to possess her but out of a misplaced sense of Edwardian manliness.

The major let down for me, however, was the ending. I won’t spoil it but it did turn out differently from what I was hoping for. Perhaps it is unfair of me to judge historical fiction from a modern day feminist perspective but considering how the rest of the book was such a great ‘screw you’ to social norms at the time, it was a disappointment. It is still a happy ending and much more than what a young girl of Harriet’s social class could expect at the time but some readers may also be put off by this ending.

The book is generally well written but the flowery language and sudden point of view shifts can be distracting.  The author also has a tendency to delve into the backstory of everyone and everything as soon as they’re introduced, but this tones down considerably in the latter half of the book.

I would still recommend checking out this book so that you can judge the ending for yourself. Perhaps your perspective on it will be different than mine and you will see it in a more positive light. It is still an enthralling tale of romance, accomplishing your dreams, and the magic of ballet.

My verdict – 4 out of 5