Summary of Reviews
Finishing the manuscript for The Gathering of the Lost, The Wall of Night Book Two, right on New Year, which like Janus, the Roman God of Doors, is a time for looking both back and forwards, made me both look back to the launch of The Heir of Night on 28 September (USA/Canada) and 7 October (Aus/NZ) respectively and think that it could be time to compile links to some of the great online reviews that have come in, here in one place.
And here they are (‘roughly’ in date order):
- Fantasy Book Review (UK)
- One Librarian’s Book Reviews,
- Fresh Fiction,
- Specusphere
- Angus & Robertson.
- FantasyLit.com
- Rising Shadow
- Bookloons
- SFFANZ
- Fiction Kingdom and
- SFRevu.
Heir also received two ‘print only’ pro reviews from Library Journal and Publisher’s Weekly respectively.
Library Journal was enthusiastic, stating that:
“Lowe’s first novel, a series opener, calls to mind the inchoate evil of Barbara Hambly’s classic “Darwath Trilogy” (The Time of the Dark; The Walls of Air; The Armies of Daylight) and reinvigorates the epic fantasy with appealing characters and a richly detailed world.”
Publisher’s Weekly was more temperate, describing The Heir of Night as:
” … a mostly standard fantasy tale … [although] Lowe clearly portrays Malian’s difficulties in leaving home and facing up to a vital if unwanted birthright, adding depth with descriptions of the stoic and proud Derai warrior culture.”
Needless to say, I prefer “reinvigorates the epic fantasy”— way to go, Library Journal! 😉
Here’s hoping book two is published soon!!!
Yes indeed—and you will see here that I now have a complete manuscript, so we’re well on the way! 🙂
Have to admit I agreed with the SFFANZ one – where’s part 2?
🙂
Yes, “I know”—we poor authors can never write them fast enough [grins ruefully] but as well as not wanting to get OOS like poor Mary Victoria, I also want to get WALL 2, 3 and 4 ‘right’, not just ‘any old rubbish’ rushed out so that there’s another book on the shelf. For me, the balance between responsibility to the book (and Muse) and responsibility to readers, which I take very seriously, is a constant dynamic tension (visualise Edvard Monck and the psychic scream here …) Having said all that, I was mightily relived to get to the final line and then word of The Gathering of the Lost (WALL2) on New year’s Day—the best possible start to 2011! 🙂
Ahh, the reviews, Helen. They are like a drug, are they not? As a reviewer, I am very very careful with my choice of words (unless, of course, it’s someone like Diana Gabaldon who wouldn’t care less that I’m not interested in her multiple descriptions of Jamie’s balls).
I am besumed at the some of the most articulate and stinging responses to my works and hurt a little until I realise that the review is actually all about the reviewer. Margaret Mahy told me a couple of years ago that she never remembers the good reviews; only the bad.
Like my mate Vanda Symon, I think you’ve written in a genre that heaps of people of love and read but, at this time, don’t admit to. Her, crime; you SF.
But, just wait. Your time will come. After all, apart from Sheryl Jordon, is there another NZ author so successful as you in this genre?
Happy new year.
Thanks for the support, Tania. Some very good advice I received from Owen Marshall was that you have to try and not be swayed by reviews, whether good or bad, but remain true to your muse and writing vision—but I am not sure I am quite ‘there’ yet; it’s more of a work in progress! [Smiles wryly at self.] And I can’t help being thrilled when you read either a review or feedback from a reader where you think, “Wow, this person really “got” my book!” And correspondingly cast down when someone ‘out there’ not only clearly doesn’t ‘get it’ but clearly thinks it is not worth getting either! Slings and arrows, as the bard once wrote … (and at the end of the day, having put yourself out there, I guess you just have to ‘suck it up’ … )
With respect to writing Fantasy, “I know”, but at the end of the day, since I both love Fantasy and want to write it, and those are the only stories in novel format that the Muse sends me (ok, I toyed with history, but it turned out to be “legendary history” which is first cousin to fantasy anyway) I shall just have to ‘soldier on’ (writing what I love 😉 )—and as that leaves me in company with Margaret Mahy, Elizabeth Knox, Fleur Beale, as well as Sheryl Jordan, and earlier (I believe) Cherry Wilder, amongst many others, ‘repining I shall not be.’ 🙂
Can’t wait for the second book!
Thank you, Tim! 🙂