GoodReads Review: Living With Ghosts by Kari Sperring

Living with Ghosts by Kari Sperring
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I did not have a neutral experience with this book.

(This review may be more spoiler-ish than usual, though I've tried to be as circuitous as possible. You have been warned.)

Old powers threaten the city of Merafi, and a handful of its denizens - from a noble lord to a guard captain to a foreign spy - struggle to deal with the forces that have been awakened. There were parts of this book I loved; there were parts I hated, and I can't entirely pick out what is wholly personal taste and what is an objective issue ... though, of course, reviews are always to some degree subjective.

The world here is beautifully realized with a deep, rich history and a nice iceberg effect: you have the sense of more that isn't shared with the reader. Unfortunately, while the worldbuilding is generally good, for me there wasn't enough of it given in the right places. I had trouble getting through the first quarter of the book because, though I felt the looming doom, I didn't feel like I understood enough of the magic / situation to get a) an idea what the stakes were or b) a sense of what the main characters might be able to do about it. That made their efforts feel a bit pointless. Later in the story, I thought the wide-view descriptions of power sweeping over the city were striking ... but I also found them somewhat opaque, and once more, I didn't feel as if it was well explained how the characters could respond and why. There's a lack of specificity, and with some magic systems / plots, that works, but for me and in this book, it didn't.

Another great effect of the book is how the characters are woven together. They are interconnected as one would expect with the movers and shakers of a large, pre-modern city, which allows some great crossing of plotlines and shared (or missed) information, without straining credulity - everyone doesn't know everyone, and two characters might be only connected thirdhand. (Let's play six degrees of Yviane!) Sperring also does a great job of using this setup to increase tension, without confusing the reader about what each character knows, or boring the reader by repeating the same information. It's always a little different, a little near.

And I loved some of the characters: outwardly flighty but inwardly brilliant Miraude; insouciant ghost Valdarrien; and the cool, mysterious Iareth. But notice these are all more peripheral characters I'm mentioning: it was the central cast that disappointed me. It took me a while to engage with Gracielis; I just didn't care that much for the character. I found the exaggerated femininity to be unsuited to his role / supposed gift for seduction. I would think, if you're a male prostitute and the majority (if not all) your clients are female, you'd be better suited to the appearance of picture-perfect masculinity. At least show him swapping back and forth between modes (as it were).

Then there's the problematic fight between Thiercelin and his wife, which is exasperating from the first act. It would be quickly defused by honest communication, but they keep coming up with increasingly strained reasons not to do so. It's the most exasperating part of a romcom strung out over a couple hundred pages ... and the only reason I can really see for it to exist is to excuse Thiercelin so he can have thoughts of infidelity. For me, that fails: I don't see their relationship as estranged enough to justify it. Further, I don't see why Thiercelin needs to gravitate towards Gracielis this way: all the emotional energy between the two men can certainly stand without physicality.

That aside, the climax of this book holds some really interesting episodes and surprises. I can't be more specific without giving the game away. In summary: there are some stark images and wonderful occurrences in this book, but I also wanted to tear my hair out at points.

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Wednesday Wanderings

Lately, it seems I've seen a number of contemporary fantasy authors catching heat for misrepresenting a specific ethnic or minority group.  J.K. Rowling is perhaps the most prominent example:  people were very unhappy about her use of the Navajo skinwalker stories.  Since my old notes for my next novel project included skinwalkers, this one particularly caught my attention.  (For myself, I've decided to work the concept from a different angle.  The way magic works and entered my setting - via public consciousness and imagination - makes this more appropriate, ultimately.)

One thing stands out to me in these missteps and their criticisms, however, and I'm always a little surprised by it, because it's one of the things that, as a secondary fantasy writer, you learn early on:  no culture is monolithic.  People show cultural tendencies along a spectrum; mutations, one-offs, misfits are an intrinsic part of every group.  To assert that a trait is always true of a group seems to be an inevitable railroad to inaccuracy and oversimplification.

Of course, now the perverse in me wants to point out that there are probably exceptions to that, too.  In a secondary world, you can "cheat" by making a trait constant through supernatural means.

Fellow fantasy writer Nyki Blatchley said something in one of his blog posts a while back that really stuck with me.  I'm going to paraphrase it mercilessly here.  Imagine you have two neighboring kingdoms, and each kingdom has a string of border villages.  It's very likely that a person in one of these border villages will have more in common with their neighbor across the border than they do with a person in their capital city.

We humans may draw lines and apply labels, but life itself has little regard for borders.  It's analog, not digital:  a continuous sliding scale rather than an orderly sequence of distinct numbers.

It applies to science, too:

When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong. – Arthur C Clarke

But that's getting a bit far afield from the original premise.  I think we writers instinctively see this diversity and search for that exception to the rule:  how many stories are written about the character who doesn't fit in?  Yet when talking about cultures beyond our own, we reach for the imprint of the familiar.  It's worth keeping in mind:  no group is as homogeneous as it might look from the outside.

Wednesday Wanderings

Picking up the train of thought from last week, I learned a lot from writing short stories.  With fewer words comes the need for sharper focus:  I had to develop the skill of building a story around a single moment, a single decision, and making that complete.  It's probably this process that built my liking for the "yes, but ..." ending - the conclusion that fulfills the story goal, but sets up ongoing complications.

Short stories also helped with my sense of plot.  Working on the micro level (comparatively), I had to figure out the direction of the tale before I began, or I risked wandering ... and wandering into novelette or novella territory.  I know there are other writers who can start a short story without an ending or outline, but I was never one of those writers, and in a few cases, I found out the hard way.  Those rambly tales are best forgotten.

I also learned quite a bit about incorporating worldbuilding into fiction ... and some about faking it.  Many of my short stories have allusions to cultural, physical, historical elements of the world - brief glimpses that show the workings beneath the surface.  Except, in almost every case, it's an illusion:  the glimpse is the only truth, and the reader knows as much as I do.  Well ... almost.

But it's not all faking it.  Again, space is at a premium in a short story, with less room - and reader patience - for extended descriptions.  Sentences setting the scene often do double, even triple duty, contributing to the plot or understanding of character.  An example I often like to give is instead of just stating that a character is tall, something like, "She was obnoxiously tall, looming a head and more over the locals," also gives some information about aforesaid locals ... and a hint of snarkiness in the narrator, perhaps.

All of these skills, this learned economy, translated back into my novels - or at least, I hope it has.  Even if that's not the case, I enjoyed the ability to dip my toe into far more worlds than I might have, had each demanded a novel of its own.

Another Game of Words and Music

I've mentioned before that I have an older car and am limited to listening to CDs, but music is a critical part of keeping the errant parts of my brain focused/distracted/plotting appropriately (take your pick) while driving ... so I make themed CDs.  One of the sets I've enjoyed doing is via word association, where the titles or persistent lyrics lead me from one song to the next.

Here's my current list, with explanations where the thread isn't in the title:

I To You - Leona Lewis
This Time - Celine Dion (both songs about abusive relationships)
Time Machine - Ingrid Michaelson 
Ghost in the Machinery - Sarah Brightman
Ghosttown - Madonna
Nobody Home - Amy Grant
Clear The Area - Imogen Heap
Shelter - Eisley
Umbrella - Rihanna
Today the Sun's On Us - Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Brighter Than The Sun - Colbie Caillat
Blinding - Florence + The Machine
Just Want To See - Cowboy Junkies
When He Sees Me - Sara Bareilles (the line "he could be criminal ... some kind of psychopath who escaped from an institution somewhere where they don't have girls ..." plus this is actually in tango rhythm)
Cell Block Tango - Chicago soundtrack
Security - Joss Stone
Hot Cop - Village People
Heat Rising - September
Swoon - Imogen Heap
Falling in Love (Uh-Oh) - Miami Sound Machine
Ex's & Oh's - Elle King
Blow Me (One Last Kiss) - P!nk
Sisters in the Wind - Laura Powers
Little Sister - Jewel
13 Little Dolls - Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Not Big - Lily Allen
Thin Line Between Love and Hate - Annie Lennox
Push Pull - Purity Ring
Disappear - Sahlene (this song is all about a push-pull kind of relationship)
She Used To Be Mine - Sara Bareilles
Say You'll Be Mine - Amy Grant
Don't Say A Word - Ellie Goulding 
The Last Words You Said - Sarah Brightman
Isobel - Dido (both songs about someone who probably died, but it's never stated outright - and the line "the last day leaving" leads into the next on my list)
The End of a Perfect Day - Kirsty MacColl
Loose Ends - Imogen Heap
What Have We Started? - Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Begin Again - Purity Ring

So that's the current list.  As another point of possible amusement, I have a "Marriage" themed CD as well ... and I just about fell over when I realized that I'd followed "Sunrise, Sunset" from Fiddler on The Roof with Beyonce's "Single Ladies" ...

Wednesday Wanderings

I still distinctly remember the exact moment I decided to stop reading short stories as a kid.

I was reading a shared-world anthology, and one of the stories described a fortress as, "a rectangular square."  I was incensed by the redundancy.  (I was a weird kid.  I'm sure I've established this by now.)  It must have been the straw that broke the camel's back for me.  I don't recall if I finished that specific story or just stopped right there, but that was the last short story I read for a very long time.

When I came back to short fiction, it was for mercenary reasons.  No, I wasn't trying to kill people:  I had just started submitting novel manuscripts, and had been told that short story sales made editors more likely to consider your work.  So, of course, to write short fiction, I had to read it ...

The short fiction world had changed a lot since my first foray, especially in SF/F.  When I was young and reading short stories, one had a pick of magazines on the newsstand in every bookstore.  (All the bookstores.  I weep.)  I have several old Realms of Fantasy issues, and I had a subscription to MZB's Fantasy Magazine for a while.

When I returned to short fiction, the pool of magazines had dried up, and of those that remained, most couldn't be picked up by simply walking into a bookstore.  (This was before bookstores started crashing left and right.)  Electronic magazines had started to pop up, but weren't nearly as numerous as they are today.  Postal submissions were still very common, too.

What I found instead were anthologies.  I loved - and still love - anthologies on any theme.  I am less fond of "best of" collections, simply because part of the pleasure, for me, is to see different authors interpret the main thought in a variety of tones, worlds, and possibilities.

I had started reading short stories for business reasons, but I discovered a deep love for them - both the reading and the writing.  I also learned a lot that I never expected to that translated back into my books ...

Wednesday Wanderings

For those of you not involved in the realm of the writer, two quick definitions, typically used to describe the type of writer one is: 

1.  Plotter - someone who uses outlines, plot diagrams, and other tools to extensively map their story before writing.
2.  Pantser - someone who just dives in and wings it.  As in "by the seat of your"

I've always considered myself more of a pantser than a plotter, though I have elements of both.  My process is to do extensive worldbuilding and character creation, figuring out details, societal elements, past history ... though that doesn't mean that all of these will remain fixed when I start writing.  With all this framework built, however, I already know the sources of conflict and likely reactions, so when I get down to the business of writing, I can wind it up and watch it go.

When I started plotting for Unnatural Causes, my first novel length work that was also a mystery, I was inspired by a panel of mystery writers I had seen.  All of them claimed that they didn't have a firm idea whodunnit until late in the writing.  This sounded like an awesome idea to me.  I would build characters with solid motives, come up with a passel of clues ...

... and find that it utterly didn't work for me.  About a quarter of the way through, I got completely stuck.  I couldn't continue the characters' investigation and trickle out further clues without knowing where they were leading.  So I stopped, thought it through, and made some choices.

Now I'm doing my first readthrough of the manuscript, and I realize how much "pantsing" hurt the opening portions of the book ... and even later on.  I'm going to have to do more extensive editing than I typically like to do, tearing some stuff out, including a red herring that doesn't even make sense any more ...

So I think I have to concede:  I'm more of a plotter than a pantser, if only because I would much rather have the story going in the right direction to start with.

Wednesday Wanderings

I finally swooped / settled in on my next novel project - it's idea #1 as posted a few weeks ago, for those curious.  As I started to work on the worldbuilding, I decided I needed to do it in two phases.  First, the science fiction / speculative angle:  advancing the world as we know it to the early 2200s.  Second, the fantastic angle:  altering / devolving / mutating the setting in response to the magical cataclysm.

This has turned out to be a smart choice.  It's made me think about developments that could become plot points, enhance the conflicts I've already considered, and at the very least, provide flavor and authenticity to the setting.  For instance, one of the things I realized in working on the "fast forward" of modern times is that money is almost certainly going to be wholly digital.  What happens when a cataclysm destroys most of that recording system ...?

In the original journal story, I was working off the top of my head, so the setting could most charitably described as generic dystopia with some default cyberpunk elements.  As I've worked on the retread, though, I realized that I assumed a lot of things just because they "should" be there, but they don't really make sense with a forecast of where the future is going.

It wasn't just the setting that had some cliche assumptions.  The story my narrator is telling comes after a rebellion falls apart ... but a lot of it relies on the assumption that, of course, the government is bad and the main characters are good because That's The Way It Is.  I did some mental kibitzing to strengthen this, but somehow, the idea of a rebellion just wasn't setting right with me.

Then while browsing Facebook, I came across a few posts relating to the television show Leverage, and I realized what I really had was a team working for individuals outside the bounds of the law.  It seemed to fit much better with my budding sense of who these people are and how they came to find themselves at odds with the establishment.

But there's still one more problem of assumption that I'm chewing on, because the way I handle it says a lot about humanity as a whole - or at least, my opinion of humanity as a whole.  I don't believe in setting out to write a story with a message - let the message evolve organically from the tale.  But here, I'm very conscious of the tension between what I might be saying and the conflicts in the story.

I'm positing a future society where bias in respect to gender, race, disability has been largely erased.  (If this is somewhat utopian, so be it - it gives me a headache to think that we're still screaming at each other in virtual-reality-Facebook decades later.)  But what happens when you ruin the world with magic and then dump magically-infused people into the population?  Do people go back to their ingrained tendency of labeling and dehumanizing those they don't understand?  There's a huge difference between "your skin color / plumbing is different than mine" and "you could set me on fire with a look" ... with a side order of "the stuff that's running through your veins destroyed our world."

How radically does the government react?  To what extent do people support the official stance ... or think it's too lenient, too stringent, not protecting us, fear-mongering?

As a storyteller (and since I'm writing about magically inflicted characters), on the face of it, it seems obvious that my best course is to make things as bad as possible.  But is that too easy?  Too black and white?  Too bleak?

Still working on that.

Wednesday Wanderings

I know I've mentioned this before, but I'm not one of those writers who can be completely devoted to one story, world or set of characters.  Sometimes, I wish I could be:  it would make my life much easier, especially when I come to the point where I've now found myself ... trying to decide whether to put my energy next.

Writing a novel requires a lot of commitment of time - not just in the writing phases, but with editing, and for me, worldbuilding and the stumbly, bumpy process of submission.  So the pressure is on (if only from myself) to pick the right project, and once again, I'm left wading through possibilities.

Other writers have told me to pick the one I like the best.  If I knew that, I wouldn't have so much trouble!  Truth be told, every time I spend some time considering a project / possibility, that one moves to the top of the mental list.  An online gaming friend once suggested that I roll a die randomly to determine; if I'm satisfied with the roll, then it's the right choice, and if I don't care for it, that's obviously the wrong choice.  Roll again.  Gets the subconscious mind involved ... hopefully.

Building my list of project ideas (see previous blogpost) brought up a memory of another, which put its teeth in my brain and wouldn't let go.  So I had to dig it up to add as an addendum.  I went to find the description I had used in the past, and discovered two things:

1)  I've been doing this method of outlining my thoughts for a long time.
2)  I have a lot of ideas involving dreams.  A lot.

So here's entry #6 on my list:

Basic Premise:  A world that decays around the edges, and must be rebuilt by using the solid stuff of dreams.  On the fringes of the world, a dreamweaver finds a mysterious woman and a smuggling ring of memories and dreams.  Secondary plotline involving a young figurehead king who breaks free of his guardian in an attempt to regain his heritage; may retool or eliminate this one entirely.

Pros:  dream interpretation is rich with possibilities to use in building a setting like this.

Cons:  idea is partly developed, and the secondary plotline feels well-worn / well-trod; may be better off discarded.

I somewhat feel as if this could be combined with one of the other ideas, but I don't see an easy fusion.  On the back burner for now!

The Great Novel Pondering of 2016

So ... I went through this agony last May, expecting to choose a novel project I would begin in the next few months, once I finished Undertaking Chances.  Well, my little novella project turned out to be much longer than I had expected, and life hit me harder likewise.

And now, several months later, I don't feel quite the same about my possible selections.  So let's try this again.

These are the novels I'm pondering writing.  I have considered working on two at once, but am slightly tentative due to the inevitable sequel:  having two books to edit at once.  I've been there before, and it's not a pretty sight.

1.

This concept is an abandoned journal story I started a long time ago – so this would entail starting again, and probably going in a different direction.

Basic Premise:  Post-apocalyptic world where the destruction was caused by an overload of magic dispersed via the internet, leaving a chaotic, fantastic world in its wake.  Our narrator is a magic-afflicted individual in one of the larger new nations.  She was part of a rebellion, but betrayed them to save their lives.  The plan is to write a dual storyline, both explaining how she got to the “now” point (not necessarily in chronological order) and unfurling a new plot.

Pros:  This is far and away one of the most original settings I’ve come up with. It’s wacky in what I hope are all the right ways.  There’s also a strong protagonist, and I’m drawn to the idea of doing a parallel storyline.

Cons:  I will need to do some pre-planning / plotting to make the parallel storylines cohesive, and this plot needs to be more or less started from scratch, because the one significant problem with the setting is I didn’t come up with any coheisve idea of how surveillance and record-keeping works.  Which, in a story where “I’m labeled and monitored” is a plot point … is a problem.

2.

This concept takes a couple of my old characters from other places (both roleplaying campaigns, in this instance), introduces them to each other, adds a dash of conflict and … well, it would be fun.

Basic Premise:  Chiria is the adoptive daughter / servant of a villainous sorceress, trained as an assassin / enforcer but mostly raised by the sorceress’ animal constructs.  Her intended targets convince her to defect and run away.  Aforesaid target(s) take her to Pirelle, a high society lady, illusionist and spy, for training in how to live in the real world.  And that’s before one of Pirelle’s close friends loses his betrothed …

Pros:  These are chars with whom I am intimately familiar and engaged.  There are great opportunities for interplay and conflict between them / with the rest of the world.  Potentially, I’m also writing a fantasy-mystery, which is a goal of mine.

Cons:  There really is no firm plot yet.  I’m also concerned that Chiria is too similar to Vil, who was my POV char for Unnatural Causes, though Chiria is much less intellectual.

3.

This concept also takes old characters, though in this case, they both exist in the same universe and, in fact, they’ve had a published story:  Pazia and Vanchen of Fatecraft.  (I have one more story in submissions about Pazia, another Pazia / Vanchen story on the backburner, and a third story about Pazia’s less-than-wise brother, Mathory – this last connects with the novel plot.)

Basic Premise:  Pazia, dicemaker, and Vanchen, clockwork inventor, have settled comfortably in a city when their lives are interrupted by her brother, Mathory, and an old acquaintance of his – a veiled mage who has been falsely accused of a crime.  It is left to the trio to unravel what really happened, tripped up by old rivals along the way.

Pros:  These are established characters I’m comfortable with, and I like their interactions.  The storyline also has the advantage that, again, it plays to my ambitions of writing fantasy-mysteries.

Cons:  To build this world, I have to comb the prior stories for details I’ve referenced, though that isn’t a huge deal.

4.

This concept is a newer one – I came up with it along with the previous group, but ended up deciding I wasn’t really “feeling” it at the time.  Well, times have changed.

Basic Premise:  (Unnamed), along with five others, finds herself abducted by a cult – all intended as a sacrifice.  The ritual goes awry, and the six find themselves sharing the same body.  Whoever is in control also resumes their former appearance, but without access to the memories of the others … including what has happened in their “absence.”  How do they control the change?  How do they communicate with each other?  They’ll have to tackle those challenges before they can even think about getting back to normal …

Pros:  The idea appeals to me and would be a tight, personal story to tell.  Creating each as a strong, distinct character with a reason to be in their starting city sets up a lot of room for conflict.  I’d actually put the challenge of building several distinct (first person) voices in the pro column here.  Call me a glutton for punishment.

Cons:  I am a little uncertain about how to keep the scenes focused before the minds can communicate in any way beyond written notes; it seems like this might be too disjointed.  I am not even totally sure the body should change.  And as the summary might suggest, I don’t even know where it ends!

5.

An old-but-original concept that I’ve passed up multiple times.

Basic Premise:  Our heroine has just died.  Unable to pay the toll to cross the afterlife’s river, she seeks a way to escape this limbo with other spirits in tow.  At the same time, her corpse has been abducted by graverobbers, and her former lover puts his job (as secretary to a highly-placed dignitary) in jeopardy attempting to rescue it.  A third strand develops as her little sister attempts to enter the underworld to plead her case.

Pros:  I always enjoy writing about the afterlife – I never get tired of it.  And here is an opportunity – in fact, a necessity – to build an entire cosmology … and again, some unusual, quite personal story threads.

Cons:  I am actually concerned this idea is too “old” for me to really zot life back into it, but I did want to include it on the list.

Wednesday Wanderings

I've had a lot of funny, bizarre, even absurd encounters in my culinary schooling / career, and I finally decided to start writing them down.  Perhaps I'll write a nonfiction book some day, or I might use it as a database to steal for fictional encounters ... but in whatever case, I don't want to lose my collection of tidbits, so I've started a document for it.  Just the act of beginning a file and thinking about it has brought memories I had forgotten about to the fore.

My categories are (because of course, I have to categorize them):

Math Is Haaaard

Classmate:  What is one half of a quarter teaspoon?  A half teaspoon, right? 

Things You Can Only Say In The Kitchen
Instructor:  Come over here so I can check out your buns.

"You Keep Using That Word ..."

As a Duncan, I have Scottish ancestry.  Banquet detail sheet for the Caledonian Society – a Scottish-American heritage group – includes the line, “Extra Scotch.”

Me:  Present!

"I'm Allergic to Water!"

(No really good, short examples yet, but they will happen, trust me.  Customer allergies are one of the most consistently absurd parts of my day.  ;-))  

The Customer Is Always Right 

We typically serve fruit and cheese bowls, including grapes, which are left in bunches for the visual effect.  A woman stopped me, quite concerned.

“People aren’t eating the grapes because they can’t get to them,” she said.  “They’re still on the stems.” 

Adventures In ...

Standing in class where each team had cooked a whole fish and I heard giggling behind me, followed by, “Augh!  It’s looking at me!”

“That’s better.”

Cast a look over my shoulder and someone has put an herb leaf over the fish’s eyes.

Sooo we'll see what comes of it.  If nothing else, it will be good to reread for a giggle.