Tag: fantasy

The Makings of a Great Young Adult Fantasy Novel | Learning from ‘Six of Crows’

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Author Leigh Bardugo

This post is spoiler free.

Bardugo’s writing is original and fresh with fast paced plots, sharp dialogue, dynamic characters and an abundance of conflict. Boy, can she can write! By studying her work, I can only hope that my writing will improve. Even if it doesn’t, I’ve still found an awesome fantasy author.

Genre – Young Adult Fantasy

Back of the Book Quote

SIX DANGEROUS OUTCASTS
ONE IMPOSSIBLE HEIST

The Ice Court had been built to withstand an onslaught of armies, assassins, Grisha, and spies. When Inej said as much to Kaz, he simply replied, “But it hasn’t been built to keep us out.”

His confidence unnerved her, “What makes you think we can do this? There will be other teams out there, trained soldiers and spies, people with years of experience.”

“This isn’t a job for trained soldiers and spies. It’s a job for thugs and thieves.”

This selection sets the tone for the book. You are told that the protagonists are up against impossible odds, and have the added disadvantage of belonging to the underbelly of society. But Kaz is the type of guy who can use these perceived deficits to their advantage by having the attitude, the right skills, and the element of surprise to succeed. Continue reading →

Creating Scary Antagonists and the Anti-Hero | Learning from ‘Neverwhere’

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Author Neil Gaiman

This post does not contain any spoilers.

Genre – Dark, urban fantasy

This book was written while Gaiman was writing for a BBC television show of the same name and was first published in 1997. This edition is his ‘preferred text’ and is the first Neil Gaiman book I have read.

Book Blurb

…Slipping through the cracks of reality, Richard lands in the Neverwhere–a London of shadows and darkness, monsters and saints, murderers and angels that exists entirely in a subterranean labyrinth…

Although, the blurb is much longer than what I included above, I found this line gives the gist of the book. This was Gaiman’s first novel and it is the first of ten successful fantasy books that he wrote for adults. He’s also written books for ‘all ages’ as well.

 First Line

Prologue: The night before he went to London, Richard Mayhew was not enjoying himself.

Chapter 1: She had been running for days now, a harum-scarum tumbling flight through passages and tunnels.

The first sentence of the short prologue sets Richard up as the antihero. He is a man who is not someone to take charge or take risks. He reminds me of Arthur Dent in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, a blank protagonist. Is this a British thing? He also refuses to see the facts in front of him because of their implausibility. In fact, one of the best lines of the book displayed Richard’s stubbornness–or more likely, his ineptitude. One of the characters says this to Richard:

What a refreshing mind you have, young man… There really is nothing like total ignorance is there?

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Learning from the Book Blurb and First Line of ‘Throne of Glass’

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Author Sarah J. Maas

This post does not contain any spoilers.

Genre – Young Adult Fantasy

The book has a kick-ass cover. Apparently, the American version is not the same as this one? Why the publishers would do that when this cover is so dramatic, I will never know.

Book Blurb

Thone of Glass Cover

TWO MEN LOVE HER

THE WHOLE LAND FEARS HER

ONLY SHE CAN SAVE THEM ALL

In a world without magic, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the viscous king who rules from his throne of glass but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she will be released from prison to serve as the King’s Champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien.

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. And a princess from a faraway land with befriend her. But something evil dwells in teh castle–and it’s there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena’s fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival–and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.

This is a great blurb. The first three sentences, centered at the top, set the tone. This is a serious book with serious consequences for failure: a romance within a dangerous setting. Not only are lives at risk but so are hearts. In the first paragraph, we learn about the protagonist, her circumstances and the setting.

The second paragraph increases the tension with effective phrasing: ‘fight for survival’, ‘desperate quest’ and ‘root out the evil’. The situation seems untenable. The question the reader ends up asking is: Why is she the only one who can save everyone? Will she succeed?

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Learning from the Humour in’The Sword of Summer – Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard’

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Author: Rick Riordan

These posts do not contain spoilers. In fact, I’d be surprised if you understood what the book was about from anything I write.

Genre – Young Adult Fantasy

The_Sword_of_SummerBook Blurb – Too long to write here and to tell you the truth, it didn’t grab me…at all. The blurb didn’t do this book justice. If you are looking at how to write a book blurb, do not use this book as an example. I don’t think I can say enough bad things about it.

First Lines – “Yeah, I know. You guys are going to read about how I died in agony, and you’re going be like, ‘Wow! That sounds cool, Magnus! Can I die in agony too?'”

This is an awesome book! I really enjoyed it and looked forward to reading subsequent chapters after I got too sleepy to keep going.

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Learning from ‘Steelheart: The Reckoners Book One’

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Author Brandon Sanderson

No spoilers.

Genre – Young Adult Fantasy

00_steelheart_usThe best way to learn your craft is to study others who excel at the genre. What better book to review and learn from than a YA fantasy by Brandon Sanderson, a master of fantasy?

Steelheart is the first book in a trilogy. Since I hope my first novel will be the first in a series, I like to see how authors introduce their characters, how much backstory and world building is revealed and when.

Book Blurb –  How far would you go for revenge if someone killed your father? If someone destroyed your city? If everything you ever loved was taken from you?

I find the book blurb effective in generating interest. It brings the reader directly into the story because you imagine what you would do in the situation.  It also creates sympathy for the main character, David, a young man of 18.

First line – I’ve seen Steelheart bleed.

The first line is taken from the Prologue.  I like the line because it made me ask, ‘What is so special about Steelheart bleeding? Everyone bleeds, don’t they?’ This made me want to read on. So far, so good.

I found the prologue and the last 5 chapters of the book to be worthwhile reading. The last 5 chapters were excellent. Everything came together and a few great twists were revealed, one of a which I did see coming, the others I didn’t.

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The Importance of Beta Readers

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Beta SymbolWhat is a beta reader?

A beta reader is not an editor or a proofreader.  They are simply people who read over your novel before it is available publicly.

They provide general feedback on plot, characterization, descriptions, sentence structure, consistency, etc.  For example, they could point out a story thread that is left unfinished; dialogue that seems out of character; a blue hat suddenly becoming a red hat; and, point out awkward sentences (like this one).

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