The New Podler Review of Books

Thanks for the comments. dscott, The third Honey ...

2012-05-15T10:47:17.478-06:00

Thanks for the comments. dscott, The third Honey McGuinness book is in the works. DED, you're right. I think she deserves some kind of "happy ending" -- of course, a happy ending in Honey's world is sure to read much differently than: happily ever after.

b kozek

After the abuse she suffered in Just Before the...

2012-05-01T14:48:38.164-06:00
After the abuse she suffered in Just Before the Dawn, I'm not sure she can take much more. Honey's life story needs some kind of happy ending or, at the very least, a drastic turnaround. No more Creed Kurgans.

I've read Threshold and Just Before the Dawn, ...

2012-05-01T11:25:12.483-06:00
I've read Threshold and Just Before the Dawn, and I am impatiently waiting for the 3rd book. Honey McGuinness is addicted, dark, sexy, abused, confused and searching for normal. She is a wonderful character, and one that I want to follow on further adventures.

Great title. I want to read it based on that alone...

2012-04-23T15:39:08.765-06:00
Great title. I want to read it based on that alone.

I remember an interview King did a while back resp...

2012-04-18T07:13:08.775-06:00
I remember an interview King did a while back responding to critics of the size of his books, and Dreamcatchers in particular. He basically said, "You're right, they're bloated." He laid most of the blame on his editors, who would publish his books with virtually no editing because, hey, he's Stephen King! He admitted he was a "bloat" writer and that he needed the editing to trim his books (he said his earlier books were heavily edited).

I can sympathize with this. All writers have "blind spots" when it comes to their work. I can read and re-read my own work a dozen times, but a second-reader will immediately catch errors/bloat I never saw. It's why all writers need editors, even Stephen King. :)

Scalzi's Old Man's War series is a great example of quality world-building in @300 pages. I've read the first three books (haven't read Zoey's Tale). Can't believe I forgot about him!

And I think you're right regarding publishers preferring large books so they can charge more. While submitting my own novels, I found that every publisher I researched wouldn't even look at a sci-fi/fantasy book under 100k words. But I've noticed recently a lot of successful indie sci-fi/fantasy books coming in under 80k, so maybe that will put some downward pressure on publisher guidelines.

I used to be open to reading the mammoth tomes but...

2012-04-14T21:36:42.608-06:00
I used to be open to reading the mammoth tomes but over the last few years, I've tended to shy away from them. It really depends on the author though.

I was an avid Stephen King fan and didn't think anything of reading his mammoth tomes, but not anymore. Dreamcatcher was 879 pages (mass market paperback) and I was so pissed off at the ending he wrote that I think I'm done with him. It's been four years since I read anything by him and I'm not sure that I'm going to finish reading the Dark Tower series because I'm worried that the ending is going to suck too. And those book are definitely doorstoppers. Why invest all that time only to be disappointed?

As for all those ginormous fantasy series, I never got into them. After reading LOTR, I didn't think anyone else could come close. Maybe it's because Tolkien was smart enough to keep his books manageable. The largest was Fellowship at 526 pages mm pb.

But I've let some authors take me on long trips. Alistair Reynolds Revelation Space series has books that run 600 - 700 pages. While I'm only on the third book in the series, so far he hasn't let me down. David Brin and Dan Simmons have similar length works and they've worked for me in the past.

These days, I typically like to read a short story by the author before I consider one of their novels. That was how I got hooked on Reynolds. I'd read "Minla's Flowers" in Volume 1 of The New Space Opera and loved it. But even then I'll be hesitant if the work is over 500 pages.

As for indie books, I've been burned by books that have come in through this blog. I hate investing that much time in a long book only for it to blow in the end, or even the middle. If I see a submission that's more than 350 pages, I'm really reluctant to try it. Those first three chapters better be great.

Quality world building under 300 pages? That's tough. Scalzi did a great job with Old Man's War (310 pages) and Niven's Ringworld series had reasonable lengths (the 1st book was 313 pages). Charles Stross went over with Accelerando but it was a manageable 415 pages. His The Atrocity Archives were actually two books in one and that came to 368 pages. So yeah, it can be done.

But I think the bigger question is why aren't there more sci-fi/fantasy books in this range? I was looking through my bookshelf and so many books were in the 600+ range. Did all of these stories need to be told in such large volumes? Or was someone pushing the authors to be a bit more verbose? After all, publishers get to charge more money for the bigger books. Perhaps there's some pressure there. Back when I was submitting my novel to agents, many of them had minimum size requirements. Many wanted 100k or more. My 65,000 word story turned into 250 pages so I'm guessing that would be around 385 pages or more.

Ok, I've taken up enough space here. It's someone else's turn. =)

2012-04-05T09:34:30.986-06:00
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

Thanks so much for reading it so soon. I'm 25K...

2012-02-22T08:45:26.122-07:00
Thanks so much for reading it so soon. I'm 25K words into writing the sequel and having a blast. Her sixteen-year-old daughter, Red, goes undercover to UN astronaut school to try to reach the alien artifact, but there's politics, sabotage, and teen angst to overcome. Unfortunately, Aunt Trina seems to be doing everything she can to get Red kicked out.

Thanks for forwarding that along. :)

2012-02-15T10:30:37.367-07:00
Thanks for forwarding that along. :)

I read an interesting article on her publisher'...

2012-02-14T04:27:12.171-07:00
I read an interesting article on her publisher's website AuthorHouse Authors in the Spotlight. It is well worth a read http://www.authorhouseauthors.com/established-authors/vj-waks/

Reveling in the awfulness. I can see that. Just li...

2011-12-12T12:22:38.684-07:00
Reveling in the awfulness. I can see that. Just like MST3K. I could do that if I wasn't so bitter about how money hungry NBC-Universal didn't force SyFy to cancel my favorite shows.

But they're gloriously awful. That&#...

2011-12-11T11:27:06.726-07:00
But they're gloriously awful. That's why I love them. :)

Ugh. I can't stand 95% of those Saturday night...

2011-12-05T13:14:18.777-07:00
Ugh. I can't stand 95% of those Saturday night flicks on SyFy. They're just awful. But that's all the network has money for these days (Well, that and those lame "reality" TV shows they do) as NBC-Universal sucks up everyone's budget to pay off the mother network's stars.

Great review :) It sounds like we had some of the ...

2011-10-16T02:46:27.866-06:00
Great review :) It sounds like we had some of the same favourites amongst the collection.

Sounds pretty cool, and that cover rocks. althoug...

2011-09-12T18:43:48.454-06:00
Sounds pretty cool, and that cover rocks. although, I think I would have to be in the right mood to read this novel.

Just like everyone to know I've cut the prices...

2011-09-01T08:59:57.570-06:00
Just like everyone to know I've cut the prices to all my ebooks to 99¢. The new prices may take a while to show up in the Kindle and Nook stores, but they're in place at Smashwords. Please give them a look!
http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/TheJob

Hi David, You've made my week and month! Just ...

2011-07-06T09:41:50.518-06:00
Hi David, You've made my week and month! Just wanted to pop in and thank you for your very thorough and generous review. I so appreciate the time and thought that went into it. All the best, Terry.

Flesh & Grass is now available in
2011-06-24T21:17:34.867-06:00
Flesh & Grass is now available in paperback.

That's a common problem in indie publishing. T...

2011-06-15T16:09:18.421-06:00
That's a common problem in indie publishing. Too many authors aren't willing to cough up the money to hire an editor to proofread their work. They forget that traditionally published authors rely on editors too, but their publishers cover the cost.

Every indie author should hire an editor. The second set of eyes is invaluable. We all make mistakes, but we don't catch them all.

Oh and be sure to check out the other book review blogs listed down the right hand side of the page. Most of them have a higher throughput of book reviews than we do.

Sounds interesting. I'm reading my first indi...

2011-06-15T11:49:12.661-06:00
Sounds interesting. I'm reading my first indie novel now and feel that an editor would have also been a bonus for much the same reasons you point out above. I am intrigued by the story.

Thanks so much for the review! --Mary Sisson

2011-06-02T11:35:14.325-06:00
Thanks so much for the review!

--Mary Sisson

Actually, it's become a bit of a nuisance as p...

2011-05-31T11:10:16.126-06:00
Actually, it's become a bit of a nuisance as people are still blindly sending stuff to us without bothering to check to see if we're accepting submissions.

Hey guys-- I'm glad the Indie Reviewer Yellow ...

2011-05-15T15:38:24.975-06:00
Hey guys-- I'm glad the Indie Reviewer Yellow Pages increased your web traffic. I've gotten similar information from the other reviewers in the book. The second edition been a lot more popular than I expected-- and the buzz has been very good.

I hope it allows you to get some really great submissions, and thanks for giving indie books a chance (time to turn on affiliate links).

Book cover added 5/9/11.

2011-05-09T10:01:45.936-06:00
Book cover added 5/9/11.

Why does it *need* to be controversial? Just to se...

2011-05-06T08:12:32.145-06:00
Why does it *need* to be controversial? Just to sell copy? The way you write it in your review, it sounds like a gimmick.

Why can't it just be the author's extrapolation of where things seemed to be heading when he wrote it? An "Oppressive federal government/police state, and an economically depressed nation" isn't compelling enough? You sound jaded. I would say that considering the borderline jingoistic atmosphere of this country in the immediate years after 9/11, the very notion of our government turning on its own citizens would be controversial.

And for the younger generation of readers, who didn't read anything from the 70's because they were too young or not even born yet, this will come across as new and fresh. Contemporary. Maybe this story will strike them as controversial. Should we not have anymore romance novels because it was already done when Shakespeare wrote
Romeo and Juliet?

The New Podler Review of Books

Thanks for the comments. dscott, The third Honey ...

After the abuse she suffered in Just Before the...

I've read Threshold and Just Before the Dawn, ...

Great title. I want to read it based on that alone...

I remember an interview King did a while back resp...

I used to be open to reading the mammoth tomes but...

Thanks so much for reading it so soon. I'm 25K...

Thanks for forwarding that along. :)

I read an interesting article on her publisher'...

Reveling in the awfulness. I can see that. Just li...

But they're gloriously awful. That&#...

Ugh. I can't stand 95% of those Saturday night...

Great review :) It sounds like we had some of the ...

Sounds pretty cool, and that cover rocks. althoug...

Just like everyone to know I've cut the prices...

Hi David, You've made my week and month! Just ...

Flesh & Grass is now available in
2011-06-24T21:17:34.867-06:00
Flesh & Grass is now available in paperback.

That's a common problem in indie publishing. T...

Sounds interesting. I'm reading my first indi...

Thanks so much for the review! --Mary Sisson

Actually, it's become a bit of a nuisance as p...

Hey guys-- I'm glad the Indie Reviewer Yellow ...

Book cover added 5/9/11.

Why does it need to be controversial? Just to se...

The New Podler Review of Books

Thanks for the comments. dscott, The third Honey ...

After the abuse she suffered in Just Before the...

I've read Threshold and Just Before the Dawn, ...

Great title. I want to read it based on that alone...

I remember an interview King did a while back resp...

I used to be open to reading the mammoth tomes but...

Thanks so much for reading it so soon. I'm 25K...

Thanks for forwarding that along. :)

I read an interesting article on her publisher'...

Reveling in the awfulness. I can see that. Just li...

But they're gloriously awful. That&#...

Ugh. I can't stand 95% of those Saturday night...

Great review :) It sounds like we had some of the ...

Sounds pretty cool, and that cover rocks. althoug...

Just like everyone to know I've cut the prices...

Hi David, You've made my week and month! Just ...

Flesh & Grass is now available in 2011-06-24T21:17:34.867-06:00 Flesh & Grass is now available in paperback.

That's a common problem in indie publishing. T...

Sounds interesting. I'm reading my first indi...

Thanks so much for the review! --Mary Sisson

Actually, it's become a bit of a nuisance as p...

Hey guys-- I'm glad the Indie Reviewer Yellow ...

Book cover added 5/9/11.

Why does it *need* to be controversial? Just to se...

Flesh & Grass is now available in
2011-06-24T21:17:34.867-06:00
Flesh & Grass is now available in paperback.

Why does it need to be controversial? Just to se...