Books for Earth Day

Happy Earth Day!

I’m a quiet but staunch environmentalist, and I suspect that books had a lot to do with this side of my personality (and most of the rest, for that matter). Here, then, are some books to celebrate on Earth Day…

Cautionary Tales

For those of us growing up in the ’80s and early ’90s, science fiction for teens (the term “YA” hadn’t been invented yet) tended to follow a few familiar tropes. Dystopian tales were popular, as were stories about aliens and spaceships. And it was almost taken for granted that our planet was going to come close to destruction, usually for environmental reasons.

YA Books for St. Patrick’s Day

I’m not Irish, but I’ve long had a fascination with Ireland and with the incredible richness of Celtic mythology. I was lucky enough to spend several months there one autumn, but I’ll have to tell you about that another time. In honour of St. Patrick, here are some of my favourite Celtic-inspired fantasy novels for younger readers (or those young at heart)…

Lloyd Alexander – The Prydain Chronicles. ‘Nuff said.

Alison Baird – The Hidden World. A girl visiting her ancestral home in Newfoundland discovers her grandmother’s diary, which draws her into the fantastic world of Annwn. Bonus: also draws on Arthurian mythology.

New Book: The Lives We Lost by Megan Crewe

This week will see the release of a new YA book that I was lucky enough to read in advance. The Lives We Lost by Megan Crewe is a sequel to The Way We Fall, and in my opinion it’s an even better book than the first.

The Way We Fall is about a girl living in a small island community (in Canada — yay) that’s hit by a pandemic. First, people start displaying strange symptoms. Then they start dying. And when things get really bad, the mainland cuts them off, leaving them to pull together…or tear each other apart in the struggle to survive.

Despite the above summary, it’s not a thriller, but a quiet story about family, community, and making choices to protect loved ones…and finding reasons to keep going and keep hoping, no matter how bleak the world looks.

Author Spotlight: Patricia C. Wrede

(Administrative note: Travel blogging is coming, I promise! Look for the first post – with pictures – in a few days…)

 

The Author Spotlight is a series of posts designed to showcase writers you may not have heard of. In this Author Spotlight, I’m showcasing the works of YA fantasy author Patricia C. Wrede. She was a favourite of mine growing up, for her humour and quirky takes on fantasy tropes. So come on in and let’s talk…

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles

I discovered this series at just the right age. It features a spunky princess, Cimorene, who upon learning that she is betrothed to be married decides to run away from home. She ends up cooking for a dragon and living next to a forest full of magic. Its inhabitants include everything from a witch to a prince who, as it happens, is much more sensible than Cimorene’s betrothed, and handsome besides. Adventures ensue…

There are four books in the series – Dealing with Dragons, Searching for Dragons, Calling on Dragons, and Talking to Dragons. Three are from Cimorene’s perspective and one from the perspective of her son. Wikipedia tells me that the fourth book was actually written first, and was later rewritten to line up better with its prequels, but I’ve only read the original version.

Magic and Malice

As much as I loved the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, I loved the duology of Mairelon the Magician and Magician’s Ward even more. Set in an alternate Regency England where wizards exist, it follows the adventures of a street urchin, Kim. I mean, Regency and magic? Yes, please!

Kim is tasked with stealing an item from the wagon of a performing magician, someone who does no more than sleight-of-hand. What she doesn’t know is that his magic is real, and he’s a gentleman wizard in disguise, trying to solve a theft for which he was framed. Together, Kim and Mairelon — and Mairelon’s mournful henchman — travel across England, tangling with gentry while trying to clear Mairelon’s name.

More Recently…

Wrede is still writing today. I haven’t had the chance to read her more recent work, but here’s what’s on my list to check out…

• Cecilia and Kate. Co-written with Caroline Stevermer, this is now a trilogy of novels in the form of letters written between two young ladies, also set in a Regency with magic.
• Frontier Magic. The Wild West with magic? ‘Nuff said!

Your turn. Are you a fan of Wrede’s work? Which is your favourite?

WIP Blog Hop: The Derelict

The lovely and hardworking authoress KD Sarge tagged me for a blog hop, so here it is. You answer ten questions about your work in progress (WIP) and tag five other writers. So here’s a sneak peek at one of my novels….

1. What is the working title of your book?

The Derelict.

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?

This is one of those rare novels for which I can point to the exact origin. In an article on Tor.com a few years ago, Chris Greenland discussed concepts for a future Star Trek series. He threw out the idea of a dystopian universe where the Trek era constituted a lost Golden Age, thought to be no more than a legend and a possible inspiration for our intrepid heroes. I ran with the idea, transplanted it into an original (i.e., non-Trek) universe, and off I went.

Genre-Bending: Just Barely Speculative Fiction

I’m fascinated by edge cases — genre-bending, cross-genre fiction, works that don’t fit neatly into categories. Today I’d like to talk about fiction that, for one reason or another, just barely qualifies as speculative fiction. Doesn’t mean it’s bad — often quite the opposite. It’s just doing something different.

First of all, I don’t mean literary fiction using genre tropes. That’s a whole ‘nother animal (one that I also enjoy). Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife, for example, obviously uses the convention of time travel, but it doesn’t read like a genre work — it reads like women’s fiction or literary fiction, and it’s interested in the same sorts of ideas and themes. It’s using time travel to speak a non-genre language. Same for Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake or Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go.

What I’m interested in today is the reverse. What happens when a book is “speaking” speculative fiction, but it doesn’t use much or any technology that we don’t have today, or employ magic, or use any settings in imaginary worlds?

Books to Help You Beat the Heat

Hot enough for you? I don’t know about you, but where I am, it’s been hot and sticky for weeks and doesn’t look like it’s going to let up anytime soon. Here are some reading suggestions for summer…

Beat the Heat

If you’re dreaming of a good snowstorm, these might help.

1. Rider at the Gate by C.J. Cherryh. Set on a snowy alien planet. Cherryh takes the well-worn concept of telepathic bonds between human and animal — and twists hard. The half-tamed nighthorses are intelligent and highly dangerous, but they and their riders are necessary for travel, because what’s out there in the wild and the cold is even worse. There’s also a sequel, Cloud’s Rider.

Book Nostalgia: Trixie Belden

Today in our Nostalgia series, we’re talking about a girl sleuth. No, not Nancy Drew. My detective alter ego was a sandy-haired farm girl from small-town New York, a girl with three brothers and a poor little rich girl as a best friend. I discovered her at just the right age, as a preteen dreaming of adventure. If you were a fan of Trixie Belden or one of the other ongoing mystery series, come on in and let’s reminisce…

Author Spotlight: YA Writer Megan Crewe

In this Author Spotlight series, I’m talking about other writers you might not be familiar with, or you may have heard of but not read. The aim is to give you enough information to decide whether you might enjoy their work.

Today’s featured author is Megan Crewe. She’s a Canadian YA author who writes in a variety of speculative fiction subgenres, including (so far) a virus survival novel and a paranormal novel. If those descriptions make you think of heart-pounding thrillers with breakneck pacing, you’d be wrong — her stories are quieter, more character-oriented, but they build to page-turning finales. More after the jump…

If You Liked… A Game of Thrones

So you liked A Game of Thrones / A Song of Ice and Fire and you want more of the same. Certain online retail giants can give you some ideas for other books. But there are a lot of facets to the story and the world that George R. R. Martin has built. Different facets appeal to different people, and that means there’s no “one size fits all” when it comes to recommendations. For this edition of “If You Liked…”, I’m going to concentrate on character preferences.

If your favourite character is…

• Tyrion Lannister. Clever, quick-tongued, shameless rogue who never lets his disability slow him down? Try the Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold (science fiction) or Queen’s Man by K.D. Sarge (science fiction).