I thought that a great way to kick off the new Pens & Swords would be to reprint the following article I wrote for a debate topic on Helium. The publishing world, much like Hollywood, tends to play it safe. When a book becomes a bestseller, not only does the publisher seek to squeeze more [...]
Entries Categorized as 'Soapbox'
Has the fantasy genre become stagnant?
Filed under Soapbox, Trends & Tropes on May 12, 2008
Tagged: fantasy genre, fantasy literature
High Druid trade paperbacks
Filed under Soapbox on October 30, 2007
Tagged: Del Rey, Shannara, Terry Brooks
I’ve actually had a couple topics I wanted to talk about, but my desire to post anything online, here or elsewhere, waned dramatically this month. One of those topics had to do with Del Rey finally publishing mass market paperback editions of the last two books in Terry Brooks’ High Druid of Shannara trilogy. I [...]
Why I don’t enjoy “christian” fiction
Filed under Soapbox on April 19, 2007
Tagged: CBA, christianity
Labels serve an important purpose. Regardless of politically correct propaganda, they are not evil. Misused and abused some times, yes, but not evil. A label is a means of identifying and categorizing. If I am interested in reading a fantasy novel, I’m not going to browse the Historical section at the bookstore. And I’m going [...]
Professional societies
Filed under Soapbox on September 10, 2004
Tagged: SFWA
After I won the Maiden of Pain open call, I decided to check out the SFWA website. For those who aren’t aware, the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America is a professional society for authors in the SF&F genre. I’ve been part of a professional society before. I was a member of the Society [...]
Who hasn’t ripped off Tolkien
Filed under Soapbox on August 26, 2004
Tagged: Lord of the Rings, Shannara, Terry Brooks, Tolkien
One of the biggest complaints I’ve heard about Terry Brooks from his critics is that he borrowed liberally from Tolkien’s work. It’s not hard to see the similarities between certain characters and plot devices as I’m reading through Sword of Shannara. Terry readily admits that Tolkien is his biggest influence. His sister gave him Lord [...]
