Book review: A Darker Shade of Magic

A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1)A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I don’t read a lot of fantasy. Sure, I read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. That’s about 95% of it right there, the remainder being short stories or books I’m not recalling at the moment. I’ve seen more fantasy movies–they’re quicker to consume–but generally while I am aware of most of the cliches, stereotypes, tropes and such of fantasy, I am not well-read on the genre.

This is my way of saying my opinion of A Darker Shade of Magic may come across as naive, or uninformed or kind of dumb. Because when it comes to fantasy I am kind of dumb.

Still, I’ll start by saying my strongest criticism of the book was its occasional lapse into twee language, passages where the author’s voice intrudes by phrasing something in a way that draws attention to the narrator. This can work if the entire novel is presented as a story being told by an unseen narrator (Mr. Norell and Jonathan Strange comes to mind in this regard–and hey, that’s another fantasy novel I read) but here it pops up only a few times, so it draws unnecessary attention. This is a very minor criticism, though.

Another mild criticism is how it feels like some of the character development happens very slowly, perhaps because this is the first book of a series, so by the end of the book it only feels like some parts of the story are getting started. The character of Lila is the best example of this, a cutpurse with grand plans for adventure and little care for anyone else who only just starts to show a more human side by the end of the story.

The story itself presents a plot with far-reaching implications–the fates of three parallel versions of Victorian-era London are at stake–but feels intimate because it focuses on a small number of characters, primarily the two Antari (powerful wielders of magic), the good-but-somewhat-naughty Kell of Red London, and Holland, the bad and beholden servant to the throne of the amoral White London, along with the aforementioned Lila Bard and assorted kings, queens and a royal brother.

The world building is likely to draw in a lot of readers, as Schwab does a fine job of laying out the different versions of London and how they and the magic within each, operates. Into this comes Kell, whose habit of trading trinkets from the different Londons, using blood magic that allow him as an Antari, to slip between the worlds while few if any others can, ends up with him coming into possession of something Very Bad from Black London. Black London, as you might guess, is also Very Bad and is sealed off from the other Londons to prevent its corrupt magic from spreading and possibly destroying the other three versions of the city.

There is a lot of vicious magic, swinging of swords and the occasional report of gunfire at play as things speed toward an increasingly bloody conclusion. While the story does achieve a certain level of closure, it’s still obvious by the end that there is more to come.

Why do I keep swearing off series and then find myself reading them? I’m not yet sure if I will read the follow-up to A Darker Shade of Magic, but I’m reasonably certain that anyone not entirely tired of stories set in Victorian London will find the story here a brisk and entertaining read. While there are few surprises, there are many small pleasures to be had, whether it be the exchanges between characters who won’t dare admit they like each other, to the showy displays of mages fighting, using wits and, sometimes, anything they can get their hands on.

Recommended.

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Run 438: I asked for summer and got it

Run 438
Average pace: 5:44/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Distance: 5.04 km
Time: 28:58
Weather: Sun and cloud, humid
Temp: 23-25ºC
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 166
Stride: n/a
Weight: 158.8 pounds
Total distance to date: 3502
Device used: Apple Watch and iPhone 6

After complaining about the lack of summer-like weather this summer, the weather today was a lot more summer-like. There was a mix of sun and cloud and it was pleasantly warm. This made for conditions slightly less than ideal for running but otherwise fine.

Except it was humid as all get-out. When running in the sun the air felt like it was baked. I felt like I was baked.

I started slower. flagged a bit through the first half then picked up the pace in the last couple of km, finishing with a pokey 5:44/km average. I’m not concerned because the legs felt fine (the right calf and knee were a bit stiff midway though but loosened u in the latter half) and judging from the amount of sweating, I was clearly working against the elements. In short, it felt like I was putting in more effort to do the same stuff.

Still, I’m not unhappy with the result. I expect the next run will see an improved pace again unless we get back to Africa Hot weather, which the forecast does not seem to be suggesting is likely. But it will be nice and that’s all I need.

Camp NaNoWriMo 2016, Days 10-16: Where the words have no name (because there are no words)

No writing on Days 10-16. I am now a little over 20,000 words behind the required pace.

This does not bode well. If it was a suspense story, it would be one of the “where exactly is the suspense?” variety. We know how it’s going to end. In failure. [sad trombone sound]

And yet I am not sad nor am I discouraged. Is it because I am drunk? No. Is it because I have succumbed to despair and no longer care? No. Is it because I’ve become suddenly obsessed with adult coloring books? No. (What’s up with those, anyway? What a weird yet ultimately harmless fad.)

It is because while this version of Weirdsmith currently languishes (turns out third time is not always the charm) I am still confident that the latter half of the month will be a productive one writing-wise. How? I shall discuss this soon.

Run 437: The unexpected return of summer

Run 437
Average pace: 5:27/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 5.06 km
Time: 27:24
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 24ºC
Wind: light
BPM: 157
Stride: n/a
Weight: 160.3 pounds
Total distance to date: 3497
Device used: Apple Watch and iPhone 6

I skipped Tuesday’s run for assorted reasons but was convinced to make up for it today after the weather unexpectedly took a turn for the better. That it should take a turn for the better in mid-July is something but there it was. And so I headed off to the river trail under clear skies, a steady temperature of 24ºC and a slightly higher degree of humidity thanks to the previous night’s rain.

As always I tried to keep to a steady pace but somehow ended up with a much better performance compared to Sunday’s run. The first km was as per usual the fastest but while the other four were slower they were very consistent, varying only by a few seconds or not at all. I felt good throughout and both legs felt a bit stiff at times but were otherwise fine. I ended up with a pace of 5:27/km, besting Sunday’s by 11 seconds. Even better, my BPM plunged from 169 to 157. My doctor will be pleased. I am also pleased.

There’s not much to elaborate on–no runaway dogs, mad cyclists or anything, just a nice solid run with minimal fuss. I will probably shift my next run to Friday evening and see how it feels to get out with only a single full day of rest between runs.

Book review: Shattered Glass

Shattered Glass (Shattered Glass, #1)Shattered Glass by Dani Alexander
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is one of my “what the heck, it’s on sale” impulse purchases.

Shattered Glass could also go by the alternate title Biting Lips because the characters bite their lips enough for it to be an obsession (of the characters and/or author). The main character, 26 year old police detective Austin Glass, frequently points out these biting lips, particularly those of a 20 year old hustler, the red-headed Peter, a volatile young man who has a shady past, a shady present and perhaps a shady future (in the ground) if he’s not careful.

Part police procedural and part coming out story, Shattered Glass begins with the Glass, a rich trust fund baby, preparing for his upcoming wedding. The story is narrated by him and he quickly demonstrates then confirms and re-confirms that he is a cheating, self-serving, smart-mouthed jerk. He also has daddy issues. And mommy issues. And then gay issues as he thinks back to all the signs that he was repressing who he really was when growing up. The planned wedding goes up in smoke. He begins a vision quest. Well, he gets drunk.

It comes to a head (and lips start getting bitten) when he and his grizzled veteran partner (yes, who woulda thunk it?) investigate a scheme that leads to a murder, arson and other fun stiff, all centered around the inscrutable yet angry yet distant yet tender but always smouldering hot Peter. Within a week Glass has fallen hard for the guy, despite constantly referring to him–usually to his face–as a whore. That could be the other alternate title for the story: Whore. You see the word a lot. Maybe Whores Biting Lips would be the best alternate title, although it perhaps suggests a different type of story than police procedural.

The two constantly fight, occasionally fool around a bit (the sex scenes are brief and would probably get an R rating if translated to screen, depending on how creative the camera angles were) then go back to fighting as the investigation gets increasingly complicated and dangerous.

The character of Glass reels off a constant sarcastic patter and I loves me some sarcasm, but it does wear after awhile. The story as a whole feels padded out, too, and yet still comes up short on dealing with the various relationships as the police procedural and “figuring out the gay” constantly vie for attention. Strangely, even though Glass ultimately come to terms with being gay, he doesn’t seem to experience any real growth as a person. He starts out an argumentative jerk (you know, one of those people who has to say something smart, no matter how ill-advised) and basically ends the same way, except in an allegedly committed relationship. It left me feeling like there were parts missing from the story, despite the aforementioned length of the novel.

Overall, though, this is a decent effort and though it wobbles a bit when trying to juggle the competing plot lines, I remained invested enough to stay with it to the end.

I’ve just discovered this is the first book in a series of Glass novels, though lamentably, the author elected not to give subsequent books awful glass-based puns for titles. Perhaps Glass experiences more growth in these additional books. Given the abrasive nature of the character I’m not sure I’d want to find out. But…maybe.

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Camp NaNoWriMo, Days 7-9: The wrong way to write

After a trickle of words on Day 7, work came to a stop with nothing at all written on Day 8 and 9. In fact, what I just wrote here is more than I have written for the past 48 hours on the story.

There are a few issues. Here they are:

  1. Although I had a better plan this time than I did during NaNoWriMo 2015, it still wasn’t a very detailed plan. It was less a map and more a series of scratches on tree bark that had then been assaulted by a ravenous woodpecker.
  2. I opted to use some real life settings and people as templates, intending to blend/merge and refine these things on a subsequent rewrite to make them more genuine composites rather than thinly-disguised stand-ins. But I went so all-in on this that a rewrite would be a challenge at best and a lot of work to make the reality more fictional. Too much work, possibly. In other words, I kind of screwed up.
  3. My efforts to write at lunch have been stymied by distractions. I’ll probably move future writing there from the staff lounge, which can be loud and prone to interruptions, to one of the designated quiet areas of the library, which are prone to silence because very few people want to occupy areas that are truly silent, even in a library.

Mainly though, my plan is lacking form and shape and what I’ve written feels like warmed over work-based fanfic than an actual piece of fiction. I haven’t decided what to do yet but come tomorrow (Monday) I’ll move forward with…something.

Run 436: Running with women

Run 436
Average pace: 5:38/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Distance: 5.06 km
Time: 28:32
Weather: Sun and cloud mix
Temp: 21ºC
Wind: nil to light
BPM: 169
Stride: n/a
Weight: 158.8 pounds
Total distance to date: 3492
Device used: Apple Watch and iPhone 6

July has been pretty poop so far in terms of traditional summer weather (sunny, warm) but for running it’s actually been kind of nice.

After last Sunday’s run my right leg felt a bit stiff/sore over the next few days and even my daily walks were slower. I opted to take a week off and so didn’t run again until today. It seems to have had the desired effect as my pace is back to where it was prior to last Sunday and the right leg, although again stiff and a little sore, recovered quickly.

The first km was a decent and measured pace then the next two I fell off quite a bit before finding more pep for the 4th and 5th km. I ended with a pace of 5:38/km, basically equaling my best post-recovery runs. My plan right now is to do a pair of 5Ks over the week then try a 7K next weekend. We shall see how the week progresses.

As alluded to above, conditions were pleasant, 21ºC and little wind. The trail was a bit muddy in spots from an overnight rain and I had to navigate a few puddle remnants but the worst part was the South Shore trail. Park crews starting work on resurfacing it on July 4 and so far the main work has involved running heavy equipment over the trail, leaving huge, ankle-breaking ruts and dips. I nipped around those. Fortunately if I choose to run clockwise or do a full 10K it looks like I can use the same Freeway trail detour I ran in 2012 when they replaced the first boardwalk to entirely bypass the resurfacing work, at the cost of a longer run and a good stretch through an area completely without cover (not a real concern, given the amount of sun we’ve seen so far. A lightning strike is probably a greater risk than sunstroke at this point).

There was some Rocky-something Women’s Run taking place, hence the title of today’s post. It must have been nearing the end because by the time I got back to the dam the person standing there in Official Cheering Capacity had packed up and left. I felt a little guilty passing by so many other joggers but they were there for a good cause and I remember how hard it can be to run when you don’t do it regularly. In fact, on today’s run my mind shifted from the right knee area feeling stiff to more “hey, a week off does seem to affect your cardio” as the last few km, despite being faster, were also more effort.

In all, decent progress and encouraging to see no lingering ill effects in the aftermath of last week’s slowdown.

Camp NaNoWriMo 2016, Days 4-6

Day 4: No writing done as I came home completely pooped from work.

Day 5: The weather outside was frightful so I took advantage and wrote about 1,000 words over lunch. I was not overly enthused with the output but this is quantity over quality time so I made temporary peace with my mediocrity.

Day 6: See Day 4. I sat down to write and immediately felt ready to doze off. Was I actually tired or was it the thought of continuing the unexciting scene from the previous day’s work that was yawn-inducing? Note to aspiring writers: don’t end a writing session with something dull like, “Randolph washed the dishes, put them away and went to bed.”

Hopefully Day 7 will see exciting plot twists and hijinks, possibly involving blimps. But probably not.

Not yet, that is.

Camp NaNoWriMo 2016, Day 3: Little things going wrong (but in a good way)

Day 3 of Camp NaNoWriMo and I am remaining a wee bit ahead of the pace, finishing the day at 5,650 words (the minimum for three days is 5,001). The protagonist of Weirdsmith leads a fairly ordinary, even slightly dull, life. His biggest issues are little ones, with things never quite working out the way they should. His frustrations are growing and in a few more days I expect to see some big things go very right for William Smith before it all goes horribly wrong. And after that? Things get weird.

I’m enjoying the ride so far. I don’t even want to think about editing this mess, though.

Run 435: Breezy with a chance of bears

Run 435
Average pace: 5:44/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Distance: 5.08 km
Time: 29:10
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 23-24ºC
Wind: moderate to strong
BPM: 162
Stride: n/a
Weight: 160.1 pounds
Total distance to date: 3487
Device used: Apple Watch and iPhone 6

Today was the first post-recovery run with a normal downtime of one day between runs and the results were about what I expected. The muscles in the right leg were a little stiffer, I was a bit slower but recovered quickly again. It was also sunny and much warmer than on Friday, though a strong breeze offset that somewhat.

My BPM was also down again, to 162, another promising sign.

After I finished the run I was heading up the final hill to the dam and a guy who had run past me came down from the fountain there and warned me and another nearby guy that there was a bear. He didn’t specify where, precisely, but it seemed to be somewhere across the dam, as the runner was heading in the opposite direction. The other guy said he’d lived in the area for thirty years and the idea of bears would have been inconceivable back in the day. Since crossing the dam was required for me to get home without a long detour, I and the other guy slowly made our way across the dam. I pointed out someone approaching from the right and then more people from the left. It seemed unlikely that these people would be strolling so casually in the obvious presence of a bear.

“The bear would eat the kid,” the other guy said, gesturing to the family approaching from the left, as if to assure me. I continued on, keeping alert but remaining bear-free for the rest of my walk home. I hope to remain bear-free as if I’m on an actual run and encounter a bear I will already be engaged in about the worst possible activity for bear encounters. “But I’m just jogging!” is unlikely to be persuasive.

Meanwhile, I am planning on continuing my regular running schedule, so will see how Tuesday goes. According to the forecast I will not have to worry about it being Africa hot. 😛

Camp NaNoWriMo 2106, Day 2: 1,984 more words (yay)

Starting late and a little slowly, I still managed to add another 1,984 words to my story today. Hooray!

It’s still a bit shapeless and when I’m winging it like this I always have a hard time getting a sense of the pacing, but I think it’s starting to pull together in a few interesting ways so I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to keep puttering along until I arrive at the real meat of the story where things get weird. I’m still in the setting-things-up stage where the story is very conventional, just an average schmuck in an average job trying to write and find a steady date. Soon events both bad and good (but actually still bad) are going to happen that will make life suddenly a lot more interesting for one William Smith.

Camp NaNoWriMo 2016, Day 1: Opening day success!

The first thing I did today for my inaugural Camp NaNoWriMo project was abandon my chosen project.

This happened to be my failed 2013 NaNoWriMo novel, Start of the World. Instead I decided to take another stab at my failed 2015 effort, Weirdsmith. One advantage here is I’d only written about 5,000 words of Weirdsmith before abandoning it, so it’s easy to start over rather than figure out what to do with a larger chunk of text (as would have been the case with Start of the World).

I also happened to come up with just enough ideas and little hooks while running today to give the story an overall arc, something it never really had last year. I still wasn’t sure what the opening scene was going to be when I sat down to write, and having now written 1,780 words (above the required minimum of 1,667) I’m still not convinced this won’t all blow up in my face like one of Wile E. Coyote’s inventions. Still, it was nice to write something longer than an amusing cat image.

I’ll mull over whether to switch to first person perspective before starting tomorrow’s session. On the one hand, first person has an immediacy that I find appealing. As a bonus, it’s easier to find the protagonist’s voice, though there is a danger in making it too much your voice.  If I’m undecided by the time I’m writing again I’ll stick to third person to at least keep things consistent.

Hopefully tomorrow’s update won’t be a picture of me sobbing into a bottle of Jack Daniels.