Book Giveaway – The Warlock’s Shadow (01/05/2013)
Yay! May! It’s been an interesting couple of weeks again. The Splintered Gods (the sequel to Dragon Queen) has gone in to be edited even though there’s quite a bit wrong with it. I don’t know if that’s the right thing to do but I pretty sure the plotting is solid and the characters are sound and the world is consistent and yet it’s missing something. Except for the bits with Zafir in and the bits with the Adamantine Man Tuuran. Zafir just kicks arse and steals every scene I write for her (possibly because she has a sodding great big dragon) and Tuuran, well, he’s just fun and straightforward. But it’s still missing something. Too much talking in some sections and not enough . . . something else. And it’s not action. Agency, possibly. And two more itty bitty contracts in the works (more when they’re signed).
The Splintered God isn’t the first book to go to edit with a palpable sense of missing something. This week I’m giving away a copy of the last one to do this to me. In the case of the Warlock’s Shadow the third quarter, at the time, lacked any sense of purpose. My editor at the time half-spotted the source of the problem, enough for me to see it to and so I think it’s fixed. In part it’s fixed by the presence of Tasahre, the most significant female character in the series (sorry about that ladies but the series was conceived as YA for boys. I’ll tried to compensate with Dragon Queen and its sequels…). I had fanmail today citing Tasahre as the “the favourite character of all the books I’ve ever read” and that’s pretty much what put it in mind to give a copy away.
It doesn’t have any dragons in it but it does mention something about that that might just come back again in Dragon Queen. Usual deal – comment on this post before May 4th and I’ll randomly select a lucky victim for a free copy of the book. Since it’s one of mine, I’ll sign and line it of you like. If you want a challenge for the comments, name your favourite female fantasy character. Personally I’m temped to go for Paksenarrion (if I’ve spelled her name correctly…)
Although, though no one has yet complained about how long it takes me to get to the post office and post things, it can take a while and if you live abroad then it can take even longer. Sorry about that, but they do get there eventually. Well, so far.
May 1st, 2013 at 1: 08 pm
I’ve always wanted to buy this book, but never got around to it, so I gladly put my name into the hat!
My favourite female fantasy character is either Cara and/or Nicci from Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth, or Arya from Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. Really undecided, cause all three of them are quite brilliant imho.
Cheers!
May 1st, 2013 at 3: 00 pm
Yes, I’d have to go with Paks as well. There’s something undeniably sweet about her, even when she’s getting horribly treated by the world (particularly at the end of Book 2 – SPOILERS, sry!). Amy Adams is a bit too old to play her in a movie version but that’s how I see the character.
May 1st, 2013 at 7: 39 pm
I would say Vin from Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series.
May 1st, 2013 at 7: 42 pm
Molly from Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files
May 2nd, 2013 at 6: 31 am
Mine is Karan from The View From The Mirror quartet by Ian Irvine. She’s a strong character and not without her flaws, and not your archetypal female fantasy heroine.
May 2nd, 2013 at 7: 38 am
I’d like to nominate Daenerys from A Song of Ice and Fire sequence by some unknown writer….forget who. She’s tough, resourceful and pretty ruthless.
May 2nd, 2013 at 8: 09 am
My favourite female character is probably Alanna from Tamora Pierce’s Song of the Lioness series. I discovered the series when I was quite young and just keep giong back to it, largely because Alanna is such a great character.
May 2nd, 2013 at 3: 52 pm
My favourite female character is Ferro Maljinn from Joe Abercrombie’s The First Law trilogy, because she’s a tough one!
of course, pick me!!!
May 2nd, 2013 at 4: 11 pm
Hmm…. That’s a hard one. From books only…my favourite would probably be Sonea from Trudi Canavan’s Black Magician trilogy. I enjoy playing RPGs though and see them sorta like playing a novel. If I include that, then Aerith Gainsborough from Squaresoft’s Final Fantasy VIII is my favourite, hands down.
May 3rd, 2013 at 7: 32 am
Shehyn – The Wise Man’s Fear. The female Yoda.
May 3rd, 2013 at 2: 17 pm
Oooo
Jaenelle from the Black Jewels Trilogy (or Surreal gotta love Surreal)
With a close second from Mara of the Acoma (the Mistress series by Janny Wurts and Feist)
ANY of the women from the Exiles series by Melanie Rawn
Paks has always been a win as well…bit too Aryan and naïve for my taste but still compelling to read.
Merry Gentry from the *other* series written by Laurell K. Hamilton.
Miana in King of Thorns (his women are among the best I’ve seen from a male writer of dark fantasy)
And yes I like Ayra Stark but I actually prefer Cersei Lannister her character more than anyone else’s is wonderfully nuanced and she’s probably the only one that acknowledges that her vagina is a hindrance to anything that she would ever want to do. Margeary (is that the spelling?) is essentially Ann Boleyn and I love Ayra but she’s quite a standard fantasy female IMO.
So many more – Sorcha from the Geist series by Philippa Ballantine, Rachel Morgan from the Hollows series (or Ivy when she’s not sidelined)
In short, all wonderful compelling women much like they are in real life, brought to life on the page. Not any of the ones in the Painted Man series though. Annoying as hell.
May 7th, 2013 at 4: 03 pm
The gods of random choose . . . Natasha (sorry everyone else)