Endless journeys to airports followed by planes being delayed for several hours have only one perk and it's that you get to read for a big chunk of otherwise wasted time. On my way to the airport, I finished Hunting the Corrigan's Blood, a sci-fi novel by Holly Lisle and in the waiting lounge and plane, I finished Neil Gaiman's Stardust (the illustrated edition, featuring gorgeous Charles Vess artwork).
On Hunting the Corrigan's Blood:
I ordered Hunting the Corrigan's Blood because I had read a number of Lisle's free non-fiction essays on writing and editing fiction, as well as getting it published free of scam agents and vanity presses - available at her site - and I wanted to give her fiction a try. I picked Hunting the Corrigan's Blood because I'd read the first few pages of it online and Lisle named it as one of her favourite books, among the thiry or so she's written. And I liked it, a lot. It begins as pure sci-fi, with the two main characters searching for a stolen ship, the Corrigan's Blood, accross galaxies and Lisle does quite a good job of introducing a completely new world without too much info-dump. The story then acquired a creepy and exciting supernatural element to it, after a series of unexpected (at least to me, but I suck at solving mysteries) plottwists that grabbed me back into the story right when I had starting muttering WTFs to myself as I delved deeper and deeper into really not understanding what was happening. All together, a really good read and an especially good example of worldbuilding and world introducing for new sci-fi writers.
On a side note, I have also bought Holly Lisle's four 'Create Clinics' a while ago - Create a Plot, Character, Language and Culture Clinics - so I'll report on these after I've worked through them.
On Stardust:
Unsurprisingly, I loved Stardust - am currently falling fast in love with Gaiman's writing and the only question I'm left with is 'How did I know about this guy before?'. Your guess is as good as mine. Anyway, I saw the movie, loved it and was subsequently lent the book. I loved the fairytale-like feeling that came through every page and I'm still awed by Gaiman's prose. One thing I do love about his work is that he doesn't do things in halves. When people have to die, they die, ditto with having sex and swearing, despite the book being a fairytale. In fact, what I like is that his tale is not realisitic, but believable. I just hope one day I can be half of quarter of a tenth as good as he is at the fantastic, the eery, the creepy and the surreal all together. The lovely artwork by Charles Wess was also a fine, unexpected bonus!
Reading List:
Right now, I have with me:
- Coraline, Neil Gaiman
- Equal Rites, Terry Pratchett
- Fragile Things, Neil Gaiman
Waiting for me in London, I have:
- Temeraire, Naomi Novik
- Watchmen, Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
- Create A Plot, Character, Language and Culture Clinics, Holly Lisle
There are other things I know I want to read or re-read, but please do leave suggestions or recommendations on books I should read, whether they are sci-fi/fantasy or other genres, or even non-fiction.
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