Tag Archives: books

Recommended Reading for World Spectrum Fans

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The World Spectrum series is finished (for now, anyway). But perhaps some of you are still hungry for more — I hope you are; shows I’ve done my job right. If that’s the case, you might want to check out some other books with similar concepts and themes to my science fantasy epics.

Books of the World Spectrum bannerThis is one of the the nice things about being an author. I’m not really in direct competition with other writers. You’ve got plenty of time to read books from a variety of people.

The following is a list of books I’ve greatly enjoyed that also are similar to and/or served as inspiration for my World Spectrum novels.

And if you’re already fan of some or all of these but haven’t yet read the World Spectrum, maybe this is a sign you should give it a try. It’s free, after all.

The Three Worlds Cycle by Ian Irvine:

Ian Irvine is my favourite modern writer, and my literary idol. I can only aspire to one day be half the writer he is, and he is one of my greatest sources of inspiration.

If you read his Three Worlds Cycle, you’ll immediately notice similarities to my own work. A major plot element of the first quartet, The View From the Mirror, is a mysterious magical barrier separating the three worlds. The worlds themselves bear a certain resemblance to mine, as well: an Earth-like world where most of the action takes place (Barria/Santhenar), an icy world (Sy’om/Aachan), and a heavily forested world (Tyzu/Tallallame).

Cover art for "The Well of Echoes, book one: Geomancer" by Ian IrvineIrvine spent most of his life as a scientist, and that shows in his writing. He has a very realistic and logical approach to fantasy that’s routed more in science than mysticism. I’m a huge fan of this as it makes the universe feel much more grounded and believable, without sacrificing the wonder and exoticism of high fantasy, and I tried to replicate this as much as possible with the World Spectrum novels.

The second quartet of the Three Worlds Cycle, The Well of Echoes, takes the science fantasy angle even further with many wondrous and terrible magical devices. Most notably, the massive war machines known as Clankers were a major inspiration for my own Automatons.

The Dragon Age by James Maxey:

When I think of science fantasy, James Maxey’s Dragon Age series is always one of the first thing that comes to mind. The reason why constitutes something of a spoiler, so if you like to go into books fresh, just skip ahead to the next entry on this list and take my word for it that the series is worth reading.

The Dragon Age novels start out seeming like fairly standard high fantasy fare. They are set in a world of dragons and magicians, where ordinary humans are nothing but slaves and prey.

But it is eventually revealed that it is not a fantasy setting at all, but a work of post-apocalyptic sci-fi. The dragons are the result of a Jurassic Park-esque genetic engineering experiment gone horribly wrong, and the “magic” is actually nano-technology left over from the fallen human civilization.

Cover art for "Dragon Age, book one: Bitterwood" by James MaxeyIt makes for a pretty interesting setting, and it gets pretty strange (in a good way) as the series goes on and the sci-fi angle becomes more pronounced. If you’re someone who likes to mix and match sci-fi and fantasy, this a series worth your time.

Shadows of the Apt by Adrian Tchaikovsky:

You want a good steampunk story with fantasy elements? You want Shadows of the Apt. It’s just that simple.

This is another series that interestingly blends the scientific with the fantastical. Much of the story, especially in the early novels, focuses on steampunk technologies and fictional science. Most of the main characters don’t even believe in magic.

But as the series advances, more and more elements of the fantastical slip in. Unlike Ian Irvine’s realistic take on magic, Tchaikovsky’s magic is rooted in mysticism and the unknowable. It’s a stark contrast to the gritty technology of the rest of the setting, and the utterly disparate forces of science and magic make for a very compelling and unusual universe.

Genesis of Shannara by Terry Brooks:

Terry Brooks’ massive Shannara series is in many ways a typical high fantasy, but it does have one major twist. Rather than being set in an alternate world or the distant past, it’s actually set on Earth in the distant future. For the most part, this is a background element of the story that doesn’t come up much, but the Genesis of Shannara trilogy puts the idea front and center.

Cover art for "Genesis of Shannara, book one: Armageddon's Children" by Terry BrooksGenesis of Shannara tells the story of how the modern world we know was destroyed, and how it gave birth to the fantastical world of the other Shannara books. It’s a brilliant genre mash-up combining elements of urban fantasy, post-apocalyptic sci-fi, and high fantasy.

This is a series that has pretty much everything. Burned out cities. Hordes of zombie-like Once-men. Mutants. Two kinds of demons. Elves. Magical artifacts. A wizard driving a weaponized Hummer. A spirit dog named after the most Sith-like vice president in U.S. history.

A combination of so many disparate elements might seem scattered or ridiculous, but somehow, Terry Brooks makes it all work together beautifully, without ever forgetting the importance of emotion or character.

While Genesis of Shannara is both a prequel to the other Shannara novels and a sequel to Brooks’ Word and Void novels, you don’t need much knowledge of either series to appreciate it. Even if you’ve never read anything by Terry Brooks before, I’d highly recommend this series.

Review: Vol’jin: Shadows of the Horde + New Article

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I didn’t know what to expect from this book.

Most Warcraft novels to date, barring a few exceptions, have been written by Richard A. Knaak or Christie Golden. These are both writers with their share of flaws, but you know what you’re getting, and they’ve got a lot of experience with the Warcraft universe, so they tend to capture it very well.

Cover art for "Vol'jin: Shadows of the Horde" by Michael A. StackpoleVol’jin: Shadows of the Horde is the first Warcraft novel in a long time to be written by a new (to Warcraft) author: Michael A. Stackpole. I admit I was a bit concerned this newbie might not handle the Warcraft universe as well as his more experienced counterparts.

I was pleasantly wrong.

Shadows of the Horde picks up almost immediately after the events of Mists of Pandaria’s Dagger in the Dark scenario. Mortally wounded, Vol’jin washes up in Binan Village and is rescued by Chen Stormstout. Seeing no other way to save his old friend, Chen brings Vol’jin to the peaks of Kun-Lai Summit, to the Shado-pan Monastery.

Much of the rest of the book deals with Vol’jin’s recovery amidst the monks. A little extra spice comes from the fact that Vol’jin is not the only guest — there is also an Alliance soldier recovering amongst the Shado-pan. And just to keep things interesting, there’s a Zandalari invasion brewing on the horizon, too.

What I found interesting about this book is how thoughtful and introspective it is. It’s not the brawling roller-coaster that most recent Warcraft novels have been, but I mean that as a positive. There is fighting when the story calls for it, but much of the novel is given to quiet meditations on Vol’jin’s identity, the true nature of the Trolls, and the purpose of the Horde.

I like this because it capitalizes on the strengths of books as a medium. The advantage of a novel over telling stories in the game is that you grant greater depth to plots and characters, and Shadows of the Horde does this excellently. Instead of constantly trying to one-up his own epicness like Knaak does, Michael Stackpole tells a deceptively simple story focused almost exclusively on Vol’jin, Chen Stormstout, and their Alliance companion.

Art of Vol'jin from World of WarcraftIn fact, if I have one complaint about this book, it’s that it sometimes — though thankfully not too often — gets a little too thoughtful, to the point of navel-gazing. If I had to sit through one more arcane Pandaren parable from Taran Zhu…

The other thing that I greatly enjoyed about this book is that, contrary to my concerns, Michael Stackpole seems to understand the cultures of the Warcraft universe very well. I very much liked how Vol’jin is shown to be honourable and wise figure, but still undeniably a Troll. He has a very vicious and feral side to him. His fondest memories are of breaking the bones of his enemies and smelling their “delicious” blood.

There’s a great balance struck where Vol’jin is neither a mindless, bloodthirsty savage nor a blue human with tusks and a bad accent.

Similarly, the Pandaren are very well-presented. They are shown as a very intricate and thoughtful people, with layer upon layer of complexity hidden behind their seemingly simple personas. Chen Stormstout, for example, is very much the jolly fellow we know from the games, but he is also shown to be quite wise and worldly underneath all his jokes and love of beer.

I found the quality of the prose very high compared to other Warcraft novels, as well. It’s a well-written book even beyond the story and the characters, and some of the dialogue is quite clever and snappy. My only complaint would be that the Trolls’ language is sometimes a little too sophisticated, seeming at odds with their pseudo-Caribbean patois.

Art of Chen Stormstou from World of WarcraftAnd while there isn’t a huge amount of action, the fight scenes that do exist are quite gripping. They’re frenetic, but never confusing, and they pull no punches on the goriness and brutality of battle. I also quite liked that the author seemed to take inspiration for Vol’jin’s combat abilities more from Warcraft III’s shadow hunters than modern World of Warcraft classes. Sweet nostalgia!

Warcraft novels have been in a bit of slump recently — not bad, just not as good as some of classics like The Last Guardian or Lord of the Clans — but between Shadows of the Horde and Dawn of the Aspects, things seem to be turning around.

Overall rating: 8.7/10 It got di righteous groove.

New article:

My latest article for WhatMMO talks about gearless progression.

I really wish game developers would rid themselves on their tunnel vision on gear as the only way to offer players advancement. It’s not very satisfying, and there are so many other ways to keep people engaged.

Part of the reason I’m so hooked on The Secret World is that it has much less emphasis on gear, and there are plenty of other ways to advance your character. Doing that also allows what gear does exist to be much more meaningful. On my Dragon, I used my sword from the first Mayan event for the lion’s share of a year.