David Anthony Durham

ACÁCIA - Presságios de Inverno

2012-02-15T08:32:00.000-05:00

The second volume of The War with the Mein just appeared in it's Portuguese edition. It's called ACÁCIA - Presságios de Inverno.

I was very curious as to what the reaction was going to be. My Portuguese publisher, Saida de Emergencia, split the book in two. I know they have their reasons for this, but since I didn't write it with that in mind it's always a bit worrisome. Readers know it's been split in two, and yet they can't help reading each book as a separate book since... that's what they appear to be.

The first book got some positive press, but the jury was out until the second book appeared.I've just read my first review of it, at the popular website Ler y Criticar. I'm pleased to say Luis had lovely things to say about the book, enough so that it seems he's sent some readers out to the store - despite their nearly empty pockets!

I'm happy. You can read the review HERE.

The Ladies Are Back

2012-02-14T12:53:00.000-05:00

When we arrived here at Upper Park last summer, the fields were alive with the sounds of sheep baaing and cows mooing. (I'm talking rural Scotland here, just for context.)

It was a time of abundant poo.

A time of these weird poo-loving flies, and nosy neighbors.

It was a time of opening and closing gates. To keep the sheep in here, out of here. In there, not here. Driving up to the house meant stopping at gate one, getting out of the car, opening gate, getting back in the car, driving forward, getting out of the car, closing gate, getting back into car, driving.

And then, a little further on, doing the exact same thing again.

It was a time of... patience.

I won't even talk about the frustrations of driving through herds of sheep and cattle, except to point out that they don't always like to move.

Anyway, then came winter. The four legged beasts moved down to lower pastures. The fields were clear of everything but pheasants and quail - and the occasional deer. Granted, pheasants have their own strange relationship with automobiles. They tend to run down the track as we drive, getting more and more frantic, but continuing to follow the track. Everywhere it turns they turn. As does our car...

Last month, there was the great pheasant slaughter. Lordly-folks with guns, minions to herd the birds toward them. You know how it goes. Feathers flew. Birds splattered. After that...

Ah, the solitude.

Gradually, the poo dissolved. The flies vanished. Saba (our carnivore) grew calmer without the constant moving display of prey.

Until today.

The girls are back. They arrived in all their glorious abundance. Oh joy.

The cows can't be far behind.

Oh, the flies too.

King of the Nerds

2012-02-11T08:56:00.003-05:00

There's a very nice review of The Sacred Band over at King of the Nerds!!!

Take a look if you're so inclined.

Worst Book Ever?

2012-02-10T09:18:00.000-05:00

I don't know what to think of this. I'm partially amused. Partially horrified. A tad annoyed. And a little confused.

All this is prompted by a post on the Publishers Weekly blog, titled The Worst Book Ever is "Moon People". If you have some brain cells that need killing, go take a look.

The Birks

2012-02-09T11:36:00.001-05:00

Earlier today I had the pleasure of listening to my son recite (over and over again) the Robert Burns poem/song The Birks of Aberfeldy.

It was a school project. He had to memorize it and recite it aloud, preferrably with a solid Scottish accent. And in dialect!

The Birks are a stream side walk about ten minutes from where we live at the moment, in Perthshire, Scotland. Very pretty, waterfalls and lovely old trees and a statue of Burns sitting on a bench. (The statue kinda freaks our dog, Saba, out a bit.)

Here are the melodious choruses Sage regaled us with:

The Birks of Abergeldie.

Bony lassie, will ye go,
Will ye go, will ye go;
Bony lassie, will ye go
To the birks of Aberfeldy.

Now Simmer blinks on flowery braes,
And o'er the chrystal streamlets plays;
Come let us spend the lightsome days
In the birks of Aberfeldy.

The little birdies blythely sing
While o'er their heads the hazels hing,
Or lightly flit on wanton wing,
In the birks of Aberfeldy.

The braes ascend like lofty wa's,
The foamy stream deep-roaring fa's,
O'erhung wi' fragrant spreading shaws,
The birks of Aberfeldy.

The hoary cliffs are crown'd wi' flowers,
White o'er the linns the burnie pours,
And rising, weets wi' misty showers
The birks of Aberfeldy.

Let Fortune's gifts at random flee,
They ne'er shall draw a wish frae me;
Supremely blest wi' love and thee,
In the birks of Aberfeldy.

Bony lassie, will ye go,
Will ye go, will ye go;
Bony lassie, will ye go
To the birks of Aberfeldy.

Personally, I think the bony lassie is quite likely to go with him...

There's more on the Birks of Aberfeldy HERE.

Pride of Carthage Audiobook!

2012-02-08T12:52:00.000-05:00

I'm very pleased to announce that finally, seven years after it's original publication by Doubleday, my novel Pride of Carthage is available as an audiobook. Hurrah!

I couldn't be happier with the way it came together. The deal was done as a partnership between myself and the narrator, Dick Hill. He's the very talented narrator that gave voice to the entire Acacia Trilogy.

Another cool thing - for me - is that if you look at the "publisher" information it says: David Anthony Durham. Heh. I'm a publisher!

Wondering what this book is all about? Let me dust off an old review. Here's what Publishers Weekly had to say in a Starred Review:

Known for his novels of African-American life in 19th-century America (Gabriel's Story; Walk Through Darkness), Durham leaps continents and centuries to tell the epic story of Hannibal and his march on Rome in this heady, richly textured novel. After Hannibal assumes command of the Carthaginian army in Spain and conquers the Roman city of Saguntum, Carthage refuses to accept Rome's demand that it abandon the city, precipitating the Second Punic War. In 218 B.C., Hannibal begins his daring march toward Rome, leading an army of upward of 100,000—complete with elephants and cavalry—over the Pyrenees, across the Rhone and through the snowcapped Alps. Ill prepared for the frigid weather, pummeled by avalanches and harassed by Celtic tribes, the army arrives in Italy reduced to perhaps 30,000. Against all odds, Hannibal brings his soldiers through the tortuous marshes of the Arno, and traps and massacres a large Roman force at Lake Trasimene and again at Cannae. The novel's grand sweep is balanced by intimate portraits of Hannibal, his family, his allies and his enemies, as well as by the stories of two humble characters: Imco Vaca, a soldier, and Aradna, a camp follower, who meet and fall in love as the saga moves inexorably toward an account of the beheading of Hannibal's brother and Hannibal's eventual defeat at the gates of Rome. Durham weaves abundant psychological, military and political detail into this vivid account of one of the most romanticized periods of history.

Kirkus and Booklist also gave it starred reviews, but I don't want to overdo it. So...

I'll just say I'd love for you to consider this audiobook. It's a novel I'm very proud of. It's similar to the Acacia Trilogy in terms of being the multiple points of view, large cast, politics and history, and it's got got a considerably higher body count. Unlike Acacia, this one's a true story!

You can find it:

At Audible

Or here, via Amazon.

Throne of the Crescent Moon

2012-02-07T12:05:00.001-05:00

I don't usually post twice in the same day, but I just got a reminder from Saladin Ahmed that his debut novel, Throne of the Crescent Moon, is out today! This is a very good thing for fantasy readers, especially ones that are looking for a fresh, innovative, distinctive new fantasy world, one that uses all the imaginative flare of fantasy, but does so in a different cultural landscape than the norm. That's exactly what Saladin has written.

I wouldn't want you to think I'm suggesting this book to you because cultural diversity is good for. It is, but that's not the point. Saladin's an effortless entertaining writer. He makes unusual choices every step of the way in terms of characterization and plot, and his Arabian Knights influenced alternative world provides a vivid backdrop for his story.

I read the novel in galley form a while back, and have been looking forward to its publication ever since. You'll be happy to know I'm not the only one that liked it. For example:

From his starred Publishers Weekly Review -

"Ahmed’s debut masterfully paints a world both bright and terrible."

From his starred Kirkus Review -

"An arresting, sumptuous and thoroughly satisfying debut."

Fantasy Book Critic has lengthy review up HERE.

The Ranting Dragon has one up HERE.

I've no doubt at all that this book marks a major step forward in what's sure to be a very impressive publishing life. Do check it out.

Worldbuilders 2011

2012-02-07T04:53:00.000-05:00

Hey folks. I just want to remind you today (Feb 7th) is the final day of the Worldbuilders donation/giveaway/raffle extravaganza over at Pat Rothfuss' blog.

If you're interested in a terrific cause (and in lots of very cool free stuff) go take a look. And donate! You won't regret it.

All the info is HERE.

A Couple of Nice Links

2012-02-06T09:27:00.000-05:00

The first one is purely self-serving, but I can't help it. It's a little feature over as Suvudu called "George R. R. Martin Recommends David Anthony Durham".

Those are a nice collection of words to have together in one title. It's really just upping the frequency on the stellar blurb that GRRM offered me a while back.

The second one is only partially self-serving. It's a link to "A Dozen of the Best from 2011" at Locus Online. The list is compiled by Jeff VanderMeer.

I'm pleased, of course, that he included The Sacred Band on it, but I send you toward it with the other titles in mind too.

Something you missed, perhaps?

Books in Wonderland

2012-02-04T10:23:00.000-05:00

There's a lovely review of L'Alliance Sacrée (the French The Sacred Band) at the website Books in Wonderland. The reviewer, interestingly, only read the last book. Still had kind things to say about it, though!

It's HERE.

Rise of the Apes, Maybe

2012-02-03T07:30:00.000-05:00

Last night we watched Rise of the Planet of the Apes. I rather liked it for lots of reasons. Pretty cool to see a pre-apocalyptic movie. I kinda dug that.

Part of it prompted an exchange I found humorous.

After an episode where Caesar (a highly intelligent ape) pummels a human neighbor, he gets put into custody. He's not happy and feels abandoned. As the screen shows his distraught face as his humans leave him, my son, Sage has a question for me...

Sage looks at me, all seriousness, and asks, "You wouldn't do that to me, would you?"

"What, leave you in a facility with a bunch of troublesome apes?"

He says, "Yeah."

My daughter, Maya, says, "Sage, you wouldn't chase a man down the street, beat him and bite his finger, would you?"

Sage hesitates a moment, thinks it over, and finally says, "Maybe."

Sage was definitely relating to the apes in this one.

A Glimpse Into Editorial Life

2012-02-02T10:27:00.000-05:00

Courtesy of The Penguin Press...

A Book, and a Sprig of Heather

2012-02-01T07:09:00.000-05:00

I got an email from a reader recently. I really enjoyed receiving it, and I asked him if I could post it here. He said yes.

First, the background... I've corresponded with this reader, let's call him JK, for a while now. He was kind enough to ask if he could buy a signed copy of The Sacred Band from me. I said sure, but cautioned that it would cost a bit to ship it from Scotland, etc. He deferred to his wife, asking her to make it a Christmas present. Reasonable man.

His wife, to her credit, played the whole thing wonderfully. To him she made it seem that the extravagance of buying a hardcover book all the way from overseas just wasn't something she was that into. But to me, she emailed and set up the purchase. I was pleased enough that I even picked a sprig of heather on one of my walks and slipped it inside the book.

Fast forward a few months, and I received this:

Sorry it has taken so long to thank you for sending me the signed book. Work has been crazy, and as I said I wanted to re-read the first two before I started the new book. Let me tell you how I got it: I got a few things for Christmas from the wife… NHL Bruins jersey… socks... Then I get a hardcover book shaped gift. I think to myself (SHE GOT IT!!). I say, “I think I know what this is...” Open it and it's...

Inheritance by Christopher Paolini.

Apparently my expression changed. My wife said, “OH, were you thinking it was that book from what’s his name in Ireland?” I tried to cover the disappointment with, ”No, no, this is great. I really wanted to read the last book... But, oh it's Scotland not Ireland.”

So the morning continued as my 3yr old opens all 45+ gifts. Finally, as we were cleaning up and my daughter was in an adrenalin induced coma, my wife handed me a wrapped book and said, “You really think after all the not so subtle hints I wasn’t going to get this! I know its Scotland, but I threw you off didn’t I?”

It was a very nice surprise. I wound up bringing the book to the Christmas family gathering to show off to my brother-in-law. He is reading book 2 currently.

Anyway, the book was fantastic, I was sad to have the story close but happy to get resolution to all the plot lines. As I got closer to the end of the book I was concerned that there wouldn’t be enough time to tie it all up, but thankfully I was wrong. You have written a great story, David. When you think about everything that happened and all the detail put in, it doesn’t feel like it would fit in only three books. I truly enjoyed it and I know that I will read the trilogy again in the future as well as pass the books on to my daughter to enjoy...

I can scarcely imagine receiving a nicer letter as a writer. To know that my books were part of such an elaborate plot, that they were that wished for, and that they'll be part of a Christmas memory going forward...

That's just terrific.

Another Pub Day

2012-01-31T08:20:00.000-05:00

No, this is not a tale of barroom hijinks.The "pub" in question here is the massmarket publication of The Sacred Band. It's out today!

Now, I have to admit that we won't be doing much of anything special to celebrate this. I'm still up on the hill in rural Scotland. No adoring fans to be seen. (Unless you count the sheep.) I'm working away on my next project, picking the kids up from school, walking the dog, cooking dinner, etc.

Same old stuff that makes a life.

But... that's not to say I'm not excited about this publication. I am, very much so. For the first time the entire Acacia trilogy is available in handy paperback editions. They look lovely, and the covers have all sorts of nice quotes on them, handily written by people other than me!

So... if you've been waiting for paperback completion, you have to wait no more. If the hardbacks are too heavy and bulky, no worries. If you've been thinking about introducing a friend to the series but wanted to present them with the whole set... (I know, wishful thinking on my part, but it is a nice set - and you get all three books for about the same as a single hardback. It's a steal!)

There are clearly lots of reasons this publication is good news. I hope you agree. And if it all possible I'd love to encourage you to pick up a copy - for yourself or for a friend. I would appreciate it greatly.

Teacher Feature

2012-01-30T09:17:00.000-05:00

The slate of teaching gigs that my wife, Gudrun, has lined up this coming year is very impressive. And it keeps increasing! She's famous, like.

Here's yet another post heaping praise on her, this one from the Squam Art Workshops.

Teacher Feature: Gudrun Johnston.

Angry

2012-01-26T16:06:00.000-05:00

I am that. Angry.

About what?The library. Or, not so much the library, but about the (perhaps) end result of town democracy being a rigged election. Let me explain...

I've posted here before about my hometown's trials and tribulations with getting a new library. The really quick version:We need a new library.

Old one is terrific, but it's tiny. Tiny. Tiny. No running water. No real toilet. No place to sit.

Town applies for a grant from the MA state. Gets it. 2.5 million $ to build a new library. That's based on a library that would cost another million and a bit to build. The difference needs to be paid through taxes over twenty-some years.

Various votes for this go well, up until the last one. Suddenly, NO voters appear. They win.

YES voters say "Whoa! The NO people fed voters a ton of last minute misinformation. We need to revote."The Town Council grudgingly (barely) agrees.

Next vote happens a few weeks later. The results. 522 YES - 522 NO. Tie. A tie means that the measure fails.

No new library. But...

There is one ballot deemed provisional. Needs to be looked at. And there are eight ballots that were disputed - someone claiming the voter wasn't eligible to vote.

A few days pass. The authorities meet and agree that the provisional voter is eligible to vote. So...

Vote is 523 YES - 522 NO. Library will go!

Err... Well, no.

The NO voters request a recount. Fine. Let's count up the votes again. This means two things. One, that the registrars decide about the eight contested voters. Two, they then recount all the ballots.

Sounds good, yes? I mean, fuck, I want the library, but if we lose the vote I'll accept it.

And then the recount happens. Kinda...

Again, short version.

One YES voter is deemed invalid. Two NO voters are deemed valid. Problem is that both have a very similar situation, enough so that if the YES voter is invalid the NO voter also is. That would mean that the library is a GO! By a couple of votes!

But... ah... the vote count was rigged. Those two NO voters? They're way less eligible than the YES voter that the registrars got rid of. Oh, and yes, the registrars are on the record as being against the library. They've clearly used their authority to get the vote they wanted.

That pisses me off.

I vote for... lawsuit.

If you have some strange interest in the ineligible voters you can read more here.

Another Sacred Incarnation

2012-01-24T07:32:00.000-05:00

I just got a book in the mail. This time it's the massmarket paperback of The Sacred Band.

Yes, it's coming that soon! Anchor was keen to get it out, and... well, here it is...

Saba's into it. He wasn't really on board before, but he seems to have been impressed by the George RR Martin blurb. Works wonders, that guy does...

In stores soon!

The Sacred Band Cookbook

2012-01-23T08:20:00.000-05:00

I have to share this. It's an email I got a little while back from one of my marvelous beta readers. There were three that did wonders for The Sacred Band, together making it a much better book than it would have been without their insights. Thing is, the book seems to have infiltrated the subconscious of at least one of them.

See for yourself:

Dear David and girls,

I thought you all might appreciate this. Last night I dreamt that I got my copy of The Sacred Band only to discover that, in the rewrite, David had turned it into a cookbook. Not just any cookbook, mind. An "Acacia Characters Favorite Recipes" cookbook. It still looked like the novel, but, when opened, had glossy pages of food photography interspersed with random passages from The Other Lands (yes--the previous novel) and recipes for things like "Mena's Spicy Hash" (???!!!??) and "Sire Neen's Fish Balls." (Sire Neen, incidentally, appears to favor tagine dishes--but only, I suspect, because I finally got a tagine for Christmas.)

Having perused this unique document I woke in a cold sweat filled with questions: Why had David gotten rid of the League plot line in favor of giant pictures of soup? Where in God's name was my beloved Corrin? I cannot express how thankful I was when reality finally reasserted itself and I realized that a) it was only a dream, and b) my actual copy of The Sacred Band--sadly lacking that Spicy Hash recipe but replete with the characters I know and love--would be arriving via amazon at the end of the week...

It gets me chuckling, I have to admit. I like the idea. If you have any favorite Acacia-related recipes do feel free to let me know...

Links to a Couple of Fort Freak Reviews

2012-01-22T08:07:00.002-05:00

Here's one at Pat's Fantasy Hotlist.

Here's one at Book Spot Central.

Remember Clarion!

2012-01-21T07:56:00.000-05:00

As happy as I am about being part of the Stonecoast MFA Program, I'm also thrilled to be part of the Clarion Writing Program family too. I taught there last year and had a terrific time. Good young writers doing great work.

I want make sure you know that they're accepting applications between now and March 1st. If you're at all interested it's worth applying. Great program, that can do a lot to set you on the path toward being a publishing (or MORE publishing) career. The faculty is absolutely wonderful this year, by the way!

Find out more: HERE.

Gudrun & Mary Jane in Iceland

2012-01-20T09:15:00.000-05:00

Proud husband here. Just wanted to announce that my wife, Gudrun Johnston of The Shetland Trader, has an upcoming teaching gig in Iceland!

She's teaching with the wonderful Mary Jane Mucklestone this summer. It'll be an awesome holiday, because of knitting, hanging out with these two marvelous ladies, and because of all the cool stuff attendees will do in Iceland!

Are you a knitter? Know anyone that is? Ever needed an excuse to go to Iceland? This could be it.

Find out more: HERE.

So bad, I'm posting a review...

2012-01-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

Hiya.I've been pretty quiet here for awhile. That's because I was away teaching at the Stonecoast MFA Program's Winter Residency. Awesome program. Low-residency. High-quality. And yes, if you're wondering, I do get to teach genre writing there. Check the program out if you've ever wondered what an MFA has to offer - or if you've ever been interested in an MFA but worried that your sci-fi or fantasy or crime or horror or romance or historical stuff wouldn't be accepted. It is at Stonecoast, and I'm right proud of that.

But that's over. I'm home again, and I'll try to be a bit more present here. I'll start with a random rant that I see I left in my draft box: So bad, I'm posting a review...

The title of this post comes from an Amazon.com reader review of Richard K Morgan's most recent novel, The Cold Commands. I haven't read the book yet, but I will, and I'll enjoy it. I always do with Morgan. The guy can write. Even if I have issues with him sometimes, the guy can write. There's a lot more thought and thematic weight going on in his work than many of his readers seem to be aware of.

I'm not actually here to talk Morgan, though. I just felt like pointing out how lame that reviewer was. How much a waste of space. His review is short, vague, mostly about claiming that he had liked Morgan's work before but this book was so bad he couldn't even recommend others now. No specifics. Just unsupported statements.

It's that title that got me, though.

"So bad, I'm posting a review."

Does that mean he only posts reviews when books are bad? Apparently, because I clicked through and he's only ever posted one review, this poorly written one star review. I find that annoying. He read (so he claims) and enjoyed other Morgan books. Did he review them and say nice things? Acknowledge work well done? Nope. Did he spread the word about any other authors he enjoyed? Naw. Did he thank any author for writing stories that entertained him? Not a chance. The only time he's chosen to speak is when he wants to tear an author down, and to retrospectively diss earlier works.

What, I ask you, is the use of that?

Friends, I'm all for you expressing yourselves if you don't enjoy a work, but I encourage you to balance that with also expressing yourself when you do. Negativity without balance doesn't do anyone any good, in my opinion.

The Vote That Matters To Me

2012-01-12T08:51:00.002-05:00

I'm in the middle of this winter's Stonecoast MFA residency at the moment. Busy, busy. Having a great time, but fairly swamped.

I couldn't help taking a moment to mention the extraordinary developments in my home town. I while back I posted about the controversy over funding (or not) our new library. I won't recap it all here, but I'll mention that the revote just happened, with a stunning, hard to believe result.

Take a look: HERE.

Bibliotheka Phantastika

2012-01-10T11:10:00.000-05:00

I was pleased to come across a lovely review of Acacia - Macht und Verrat (The War with the Mein) - at the German website Bibliotheka Phantastika.

Looks like they've been kind enough to make it their book of the month. Very pleased about that, and I love it that they mention the coming of the third volume in Germany too! I'm not sure when it's going to pub, but I'm thrilled it's on the way.

Neth Space Year in Review...

2012-01-05T09:19:00.000-05:00

...is up, and he's got a short list of good books - in my admittedly biased opinion.

Check it out: HERE.

A Few 2011 Year in Review Links

2012-01-02T07:58:00.000-05:00

Strange Horizons has an expansive collection of the year's highlights from lots of different reviewers. It's a bit overwhelming, but there are some interesting titles in there. Check it out: Here.

The OF Blog has just put its list of it's 25 top book picks from last year. The Sacred Band is one of them. Lots of great books there. Check it out: HERE.

SciFiGuy.ca has a long list of titles up, with comments about most of them. This guy must read a lot. Check it out: Here.

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T11:36:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year, folks! I hope it's a great one for you.We had a lovely New Year's Eve here at Upper Park. Had some friends over for a couple of days. Lots of laughs, MarioKart, wine and great food. We set off fireworks, and watched other ones erupt from a few different spots on the surrounding hills. Resolutions were made. Some will be kept. As ever.

These Last Few Days

2011-12-26T06:06:00.000-05:00

Had a lovely few festive days recently. Very Scottish.

It began on Christmas Eve, when the family headed out to see the traditional "panto" at the Pitlochry Festival Theater. This time they did Sleeping Beauty. Very silly version, lots of audience participation and laughs, a disco time travel thing...

The best part, though, was that my daughter, Maya, had a role in it! She's not in the photo above, but she was one of the faeries. Speaking lines and everything! She's doing quite a few performances over the holidays, and she's loving it. I have to admit being really impressed with her performance. Also... well, it's a really Scottish show. By Scots, for Scots, filled with Scottish humor and accents. And my daughter held her own there, one of the locals at the moment. That was fun to watch.

On Christmas day we did the usual present thing, and then took a windy walk in the shifting, dramatic Scottish weather. The sky was filled with drama, high clouds, low sunlight, rain to one side, wind everywhere, a bit of snow on the mountains, and... (I'm not kidding) several rainbows. Really lovely. Later it was great food and some Glenrothes single malt, Settlers of Catan and then the animated film The Illusionist. Good stuff all.

In whatever way you're spending these last few days, I hope you're having a lovely time and are looking toward the new year with enthusiasm and optimism!

Merry Christmas To Me

2011-12-24T07:30:00.000-05:00

....From The Washington Post.

I heard last week that a review of The Sacred Band was coming from The Washington Post. Been wondering ever since who was going to write it and what he/she was going to say. Now I know.

It's a terrific piece from none other than the marvelous Jeff VanderMeer! He says all sorts of lovely things. He writes:

"The Sacred Band... provides a deeply satisfying conclusion to an ethnically diverse series in which Durham has proved just as comfortable exploring the uses of power as conjuring up strange magic."

I'm very pleased.

You could read the whole thing HERE: if you're so inclined.

A Friend in Romania?

2011-12-22T07:30:00.000-05:00

Apparently so. Or, I should say, it appears the Acacia Trilogy has a friend in Romania. I like that...Review HERE.

2011-12-21T06:14:00.000-05:00

Looks like the second volume of Acacia: The War with the Mein is to hit shelves in Portugal in January.

It's called Acácia - Presságios de Inverno.

Cool. That means something like "Omens of Winter". (Not to be confused with "Winter is Coming", of course...) If I'm not mistaken, this isn't The Other Lands, even though they've revamped the German cover of that book for this one. All quite complicated.

Here's an announcement of it at Bela Lugosi is Dead. And here's what it will look like:

Sheeran #4

2011-12-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

And here's my last attempt to convince you this guy's got talent.

"Wayfaring Stranger":

Strange Horizons on TSB

2011-12-19T15:00:00.000-05:00

Niall Harrison has just included a review of The Sacred Band for his weekly blog post at Strange Horizons. He says some terrific things. I'm very grateful he connected so strongly with the book - and the series in general.

Among other things, he wrote: "The Sacred Band is a rich, rewarding novel that is a patient, gracious reminder that we hold the world in trust, and must try to improve on it, generation to generation. I suspect there's only room for one epic fantasy on next year's Hugo ballot for Best Novel -- you know the one -- but I'd love to see this one up there as well."

You can read the full review HERE: Sunday Reading.

Sheeran #3

2011-12-19T09:00:00.000-05:00

A third offering from Mr. Sheeran.

"The A Team":

Sheeran #2

2011-12-18T09:30:00.000-05:00

Here's the second Ed Sheeran video I offer for you consideration - "Lego House":

Sheeran #1

2011-12-18T07:00:00.000-05:00

Heard of Ed Sheeran? He's a singer, a musician, a kid doing - I believe - some really interesting stuff. I dig him enough that I want you to watch a video. Thing is, if you really don't know who this guy is I don't want you to look him up. Just watch this, and chill...

And then I'll soon post another video from him. Four days. Four videos. If you hang with me on this for a few days you'll see why I think he's so cool. Can you do that? I'm hoping so.

To begin, try this - "You Need Me, I Don't Need You":

Not Loving Lovecraft

2011-12-17T06:45:00.000-05:00

Nnedi Okorafor has a very interesting post regarding the statuette of her recent World Fantasy Award for Best Novel for Who Fears Death.

The statuette is a bust of H.P. Lovecraft. Sound okay to you? Well, it's not so cut and dry if you're an African American. (Or if you're sensitive to the legacy of racism.)

Wonder what I'm talking about? Let Nnedi - with some help from China Mieville - explain.

Elbakin.net on L' Alliance sacrée

2011-12-16T09:22:00.000-05:00

The terrific French Fantasy website, Elbakin.net, has just posted it's review of L' Alliance sacrée (The Sacred Band). They were very generous, giving it a rating of 8 out of 10, and suggesting (I think) that it may be the best book of the series!

They gave the same ranking to La Guerre du Mein (The War With the Mein), and that one ended up becoming a finalist for Le Prix Imaginales. It got me a trip to France!I'm already very pleased, but if that could happen again I'd be thrilled...

Here's the review.

Film Patience

2011-12-14T09:00:00.000-05:00

I got some papers in the post today. I had to go down to the bottom of the track (1/2 mile from the house) to get them. Ice. Rain. Snow. Winds up to 60mph. Sleet...

Whatever. Just December at Upper Park. No worries.

The papers (which were a bit damp - I had to dry them out on the radiator) were contracts for renewing the film rights option on Gabriel's Story. Yah! This is the eight or so year that Gabriel's Story has been in the capable hands of Redwave Films. They're an independent production company based in the UK, with Uberto Pasolini in charge. He's the guy behind The Full Monty. Since that rather huge hit they've specialized mostly in smaller films. He's got what could be a bigger one coming out next year, Bel Ami, starring Robert Patinson, Christina Ricci, Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Colm Meaney. Quite a cast.

What about my novel? They've been working on it for years. There is a director attached. There is a screenplay. They've been pitching talent - especially for the role of Marshall - slowly and steadily. Last year they had to put things on hold a bit because the director, Alan Taylor, was busy with another little project... being one of the main directors of a little HBO series called A Game of Thrones... Oh, the irony. GRRM knicked my director! Hopefully, I can have him back for awhile, and he'll have some time in the coming year to give Gabriel some attention.

Don't recall what Gabriel's Story is? Well, it's my first novel, an historical set in the American West. Here's how Publishers Weekly described it in a starred review (I've cut a few spoilery bits out):

"The old West, both beautiful and brutal, is the setting of Durham's magnificently realized debut novel, a classic coming-of-age story of an African-American boy. Shortly after the Civil War, 15-year-old Gabriel Lynch, his mother and younger brother head out from Baltimore to meet Gabriel's new stepfather in Kansas, where the family hopes to make a fresh start as farmers. But Gabriel finds homesteading to be backbreaking and depressing and is soon lured away by cruel, charismatic Marshall Hogg, who's leading a group of cowboys down into Texas. It seems a dream come true for Gabriel, but then the nightmare begins... Durham is a born storyteller: each step of Gabriel's descent into hell proceeds from the natural logic of the narrative itself, which manages to be inevitable even as it's totally surprising. Equally impressive is Durham's gift for describing the awful beauty of the American West: "The April sky was not a thing of air and gas," writes Durham. "Rather it lay like a solid ceiling of slate, pressing the living down into the prairie." The tale's racial dimension is subtly and intelligently developed, and though some readers may be turned off by the violence Gabriel witnesses, all will be impressed by Durham's maturity, skill and lovingly crafted prose."

Sound like the makings of a film? I hope so. Patience, though. Patience...

Colors, Colours...

2011-12-11T13:00:00.000-05:00

My daughter, Maya, every now and then gives us little glimpses of her life outside of our house. Tonight she mentioned that the kids in her school - the Breadalbane Academy in Aberfeldy, Scotland - don't know much about America. (Weird that, considering... um, what's on tv over here.)

Apparently, she mentioned that she lived in California for a while. True enough. It got her a barrage of questions.

Question: "Were you in a gang?"

Answer: "A gang? No."

Question: "Did you have a gun?"

Answer: "What? No!"

Question: "Did your dad have a gun?..."

It went on like that for a while. By the end of it, I doubt any of them believed she actually lived in Cali at all...

2011-12-09T09:26:00.001-05:00

Now here's a nice review of The Sacred Band. Short, clear, spoiler free, and insightful. At least, to my ear the reviewer very much read the book I believe myself to have written.

Strangely, that's not always the case...

It's HERE, at Objectionable Material.

Time Out

2011-12-07T12:47:00.001-05:00

Time Out Chicago has a rather short Best Of list of Science Fiction and Fantasy titles for 2011. Just three. Quality, though. Quality is what counts. At least I'd like to think so.

I'm there, along with Catherynne Valente and China Mieville.

Take a look if you need convincing.

Wintery Upper Park

2011-12-06T04:45:00.001-05:00

After a mild and very wet autumn, we've just had the weather turn wintery here at Upper Park...

Sure, it's pretty, but we live up a 1/2 mile track - mostly uphill (or downhill, as the case may be). We've had to park the car at the bottom of the track and hike it in and out. Here are the kids heading off to school.

Apparently, Maya's not loving it...

Aliette de Bodard

2011-12-05T11:28:00.001-05:00

Just a link today...

There's a nice interview with Aliette de Bodard, author of the Obsidian and Blood series, over at the blog, Drying Ink.

You could read it HERE.

The Real Cover

2011-12-02T08:05:00.000-05:00

So the other day I showed you the mock-up of the cover for the mass market paperback of The Sacred Band. Today I can present the real thing. This is what it'll look like come February!

A Person of Influence

2011-12-01T09:00:00.000-05:00

I've just received something very nice. Words. Just words. But they are ones that mean quite a bit to me - for lots of reasons. I'm pleased to say that one of the Time Magazine's Most Influential People in the World has been kind enough to pen a few kind sentences about me.

No, it wasn't Mark Zuckerberg. Not Michelle Obama either. Michele Bachman... ah, no. And, alas, it wasn't Oprah.

It was his awesomeness himself: click HERE.

Stay with me...

Okay, so my publisher heard that he might be offering a blurb. They got excited and like instantly produced a new version of forthcoming massmarket cover. It looks like this: (Click on it and read George's "quote".)

Pretty nice, huh? If only I knew what the heck he was saying...

Fast forward to today, and I can offer you the actual endorsement George has very kindly offered me. The cool thing is that he starts it with the first thing he read of mine - that little novel about Carthage...

David Anthony Durham knocked me out with Pride of Carthage. He brought Hannibal, his brothers, and the Second Punic War to vivid, bloody life, and established himself as one of the bright new lights of historical fiction. He's doing great work in science fiction as well, as the Campbell Award voters attested when they elected him the best new writer in the field. His epic fantasies make him a triple threat. No matter the genre, David Anthony Durham has serious chops. I can't wait to read whatever he writes next...

I am pleased and very grateful. My publisher has been jolted into a fury of activity. I can't really talk much about that, but judging from their reaction... George is a very influential person indeed.

The Shutesbury Library

2011-11-30T05:43:00.001-05:00

Democracy in action? On the town/community level? It's a good thing, but it can get ugly...

While I'm nestled in on the hillside in Scotland, lots of things have been going on in my hometown back in Massachusetts. The latest one is a very big, community-dividing debate about whether or not to approve funding for a new library.

We're a small town amidst other small towns, population under 3,000. Not big, and we have a tiny library to serve us. Thing is, the library gets used a lot by the community. It's packed full of books and cds and dvds, making use of every bit of space. It's an old building, with no running water, and no place to sit inside. They made the improvement of a composting toilet a few years back, but that hardly makes the building a comfortable space to hang out in.

So there's been a lot of support for building a new library. The town applied for - and got - a grant worth something like 2.1 million. The folks in the town need to come up with another 1.4 million, that would be paid for through... taxes. Oh my. For that, we'd get a much bigger, modern facility that would include all sorts of space inside for events, meetings, classes, as well as just tables to actually sit at and read! It would be great. I'd be in there everyday.

It had seemed like things were going forward smoothly, but in a late round of voting (there have been a number of votes throughout the grant process) a majority of NO voters emerged. They mobilized at the last minute, and caught the YES voters off guard. The YES folks argued that there should be a revote because the NO folks had campaigned with a lot of misinformation - and there hadn't been time to respond to that before the last vote. After a very fractious meeting, the council that decides such things voted to allow the revote. Since then, both sides have been on a full-out campaign to win the Jan 10th vote.

Here's an article about it.

It's been tense. I'm an ocean away, but I feel the tension. I'm also, of course, a huge supporter. I want this library, and believe it will be a great addition to our community - a progressive one that looks to the future and creates prosperity for us. Many people have rallied with donations to the new library fund and by making pledges of donations over the long term. But the vote is going to be close.

If you have any interest in donating a few dollars to this effort at community library building you could do so here. Every dollar helps. You could consider it an investment in helping me write my future books - since the new library will be a big part of writing them!

I recently wrote a letter of support that's posted on the YES for Library! website. Here's what I wrote:

A Perspective From the Scottish Highlands

I’m an ocean away from Shutesburyright now. My family and I are living in Scotland this year, spending timereconnecting with Gudrun’s homeland. It’s great, but we miss our home on OldEgypt Road. We watched with concern as you guys faced the hurricane, and alsowhen that crazy Halloween storm came through. Now we find ourselves worryingabout the debate over the new library. We support it with all our hearts, andit troubles us deeply to learn that it’s in jeopardy.

Over here, we get asked a lotabout the place we call home - especially as people know that for a while we’dbeen intending to make our move to Scotland permanent. Considering all theplaces that we could (and have) lived, what makes us so sure Shutesbury is theplace for us? We provide them lots of reasons. There are many things to loveabout life in Shutesbury, but one that comes up every time is… You guessed it -the library! Whether it’s here in Scotland, or in California or in Colorado orany of the many places we’ve spent time in during the last few years, nothingreminds me more acutely of how special our home is than stepping into whatpasses for libraries in other places. I find direct parallels between a region’squality of life and the quality of their libraries.

If I’m honest, though, when Ipraise “our” library I’m really praising the area’s libraries collectively. I’mcombining what Spear offers with what’s offered by Leverett and Wendell,Amherst and even Sunderland. I use all of those libraries often, but onlybecause they offer the space and facilities that the Spear Library doesn’t. I’dmuch rather be spending my library time in a similar facility in Shutesbury.(I’d do a lot less driving, too!)

We are rather heavy libraryusers, I’ll admit. I’m a novelist. Gudrun’s a knitwear designer. We both workfrom home, and for a number of years our kids were homeschooled. For us, thelibrary is an integral part of our lives. I’ve been thinking a lot about whatit would be like to be someone that wasn’t a big library user, or even justsomeone that’s satisfied with the way things are now. Should they be asked tochip in for something they’re not going to use, or don’t feel is necessary?

Perhaps not, but I don’t thinkthat question really gets at the heart of this situation. The new library wouldoffer so many things for all of us. Many people that don’t currently frequentSpear would do so in the new one. People that like Spear well enough would findmyriad things to love about the new library. New things. More people than evercould use the facility, and they could use it on their own terms, for thethings that are important to them.

How would you use the newpublic spaces? What things will the library offer that will save youmoney? What programs would you want to see created? What clubs or groupsinterest you - and need an awesome facility to come to life? Whatcourses do you want to take close to home, or which ones would youteach? The new library provides an incredible opportunity to offer whatever itis that you want it to. You can demand that it provides servicesthat make it relevant for your life. By doing so you’ll help make it a placefor all of us.

Personally, I would love to beable to offer writing courses, especially ones for teens. I’ve published sixnovels and taught at various universities and writing seminars, but somethingabout teaching within my own community has a special allure to it. I can alsoimagine hosting visiting writers in the new library. The Odyssey is a greatbookshop, but wouldn’t it be wonderful to have some authors come to us everynow and then? They would if we asked, and if we provided the space to make itpossible. Gudrun - knitwear designer extraordinaire that she is - can envisionteaching knitting-related courses. She gets invited to teach everywhere fromMaine to New York, Iceland to Scotland to Italy; why not gather with people andtalk knitting right on home turf?

Variations on all of these thingsare possible without the new library, but there’s something about the rightspace that makes things happen, that serves to concentrate energy and shapenotions into realities. There’s something about the space being ours thatbrings it to life in a more vibrant way. That’s what I think this library coulddo for us. The gains we can all get from it can far outweigh any costs.

Think of the possibilities! Getexcited about them! Though we’re an ocean away, that’s exactly what we’ve beendoing as we dream of returning to Shutesbury and as we envision the futureprosperity of the town.

-David Anthony Durham

Neil Gaiman's Record Label

2011-11-28T08:03:00.001-05:00

I just noticed a piece at Salon.com that I found quite interesting: Neil Gaiman's Audiobook Record Label.

And then I got an email asking me about pronunciation for the upcoming audiobook of Pride of Carthage. The two things together prompted me to blog!

So, read up on Gaiman's audiobook publishing venture. It's cool, and certainly good news for audiobook fans. I don't have any connection to Neil on this, but the audiobook of Pride of Carthage that's going into production is related, in a way.

Audible.com and the ACX program are trying to make it easier for writers to connect directly with narrators to get audiobooks made that might not otherwise. That's exactly what's happened with Pride of Carthage. It's the only one of my books without an audio version. That had always bothered me. I mentioned this to Dick Hill - the narrator of my Acacia Trilogy - a while back, and he proposed that we partner on the audio version and publish it ourselves on Audible. So that's what we're doing.

If all goes well, an audio version of the book will be available sometime in the spring! It'll sound just as professional as any other version. It's produced in the same way, really. It's just that the "risk" of production is shared between us. As are the eventual sales. (Hoping that there will be some...)

A Few Wild Cards Things

2011-11-17T06:22:00.001-05:00

First, I'm very pleased to have just completed my first draft of the three part story I'm contributing to the next Wild Cards book, currently being called Lowball. It went off to George RR Martin and Melinda Snodgrass yesterday. Here's hoping they like it...

Second, did you know Wild Cards has finally gone audio? Yep, they have. There's a new audio version of the first book, Wild Cards 1.

Here's a review of it at The Guilded Earlobe.

And here's the forthcoming Wild Cards II: Aces High!

Third, Tor Books is offering a special on ebook versions of several Wild Cards titles. Here's what Tor says:

Tor Books is pleased to announce a special Wild Cards promotion in anticipation of the impending release of Wild Cards: Aces High (Dec. 20th) and the exciting news that Wild Cards is in development to become a movie. From November 16th until December 14th the following four Wild Cards titles will be available in the U.S. for $2.99 each wherever eBooks are sold!

Wild Cards I
Inside Straight
Busted Flush

Suicide Kings

Basically, that offers two good starting points. Wild Cards 1 is the first book, where it all begins. Inside Straight begins one of the newer sequences of books, followed by Busted Flush and Suicide Kings. So many ways enter the Wild Cards world! What are you waiting for? Give us a try. Before the movie comes out...

Did You Know? Pizza Counts As A Vegetable!

2011-11-16T04:25:00.001-05:00

Okay, true enough, not many thinking adults would accept that as reasonable, but the House of Representatives does. I wonder what convinced them?...

Here's a short NPR piece on it.

Stomping

2011-11-14T08:41:00.001-05:00

I came across a fun post over at Stomping on Yeti. It's the site's fiction picks for October.

Nice selection of books. I'm particularly pleased to have made the cut as one of the two "Picks of the Month".

And I'm even more pleased to see the Aliette de Bodard is the other pick, for the conclusion to her trilogy, Master of the House of Darts: Obsidian and Blood Book 3.

I met Aliette a few years back when we were both up for the John W Campbell Award for Best New Writer. I'm very pleased that she's concluded her trilogy. I haven't read it yet, but it sounds great. Looking for an Aztec mystery/fantasy? If so, you're in luck. If not, consider it and check her out. I will.

N. K. Thoughts

2011-11-11T16:31:00.001-05:00

N.K. Jemisin has some further thoughts on the interview she and I did with Salon.com.
The original article is HERE.

Nora's blog post is HERE.

The League Platforms?

2011-11-11T06:05:00.001-05:00

A kind reader, Mark, just wrote alerting me to an article he said reminded him of the league platforms from the The War with the Mein. It's about a Silicon Valley billionaire - a Paypal creator and early Facebook backer - that is working to "create floating libertarian countries in international waters... The idea is for these countries to start from scratch--free from the laws, regulations, and moral codes of any existing place".

She's quotes a longer profile in Details magazine, saying the experiment would be "a kind of floating petri dish for implementing policies that libertarians, stymied by indifference at the voting booths, have been unable to advance: no welfare, looser building codes, no minimum wage, and few restrictions on weapons."

Oh my. That does sound like a place the Sires might think up...

The brief article is HERE.

The longer Details article is HERE.

Should I laugh? Or be afraid...

L'alliance Sacrée

2011-11-10T09:57:00.004-05:00

L'alliance sacrée pubs today in France!

(That's The Sacred Band in American.)

I'm so very pleased - and thankful - to Le Pré aux Clercs for the wonderful way they've published and supported the books. It makes me hope the series is a long-term hit for them. (Not to mention for me.)

They've created a new website dedicated to the book. If you'd like to practice your French go take a look!

In The Salon

2011-11-10T03:18:00.000-05:00

I'm very pleased to have been included in a Salon.com article by Laura Miller. She features N.K. Jemisin and myself in a discussion of our books, fantasy, and cultural identity. It was great talking with her, and terrific to be included with Nora!

Take a look HERE.

Assassin Of What?

2011-11-09T12:01:00.000-05:00

A while back I had a strange experience with a student. While reading her paper on some literary topic or another, I got the feeling that the words weren't hers. I took a few samples and googled them, and sure enough I found that she had copied them - probably from the same source it took me a minute to find. Not only that, she had taken whole paragraphs from lots of different sources. I kept finding them. An hour later... I was amazed at how much stuff she had cut and pasted - and from how many different sources she had stolen from. It must have taken hours to put it all together. She wasn't lazy! Why didn't she just write the thing herself?

When I confronted her on it, I got a different sort of surprise. I came away believing she was genuinely shocked to learn that cutting and pasting other people's ideas wasn't the same as writing similar ideas in her own words. She had spent all that time seeking out things she agreed with. When she found them she just kinda said, "Yeah, that's what I think!" and inserted them - without any attribution whatsoever. It was weird. It's like nobody had ever explained to her what writing an essay entailed.

I doubt that Q. R. Markham could even try to make the same claim in regards to his debut novel, Assassin of Secrets. Have you heard about this? The book was just published by Little Brown - a publisher I respect a lot - as part of a two-book deal. It entered the world with starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly, and was set to hit foreign markets too. Heralded as some awesome reboot of the spy/espionage genre, a "dazzling, deftly controlled debut that moves through familiar territory with wry sophistication."- (Kirkus)

Sounds good, yes? Only problem is that it appears to be a cut and paste job of massive proportions. Here's the Guardian's version of how it's unraveled. And here's a blog post that has side by side examples of texts from Markham's book and from the various originals. Take a look.

I don't take any pleasure in posting about this. I just find it so strange, so hard to understand, so inevitably headed for exposure and life-changing failure. Weird. Very weird. People seem to be rushing to buy his book on Amazon right now, even as the publisher pulls it and tries to get copies back. Was Markham caught making an awful mistake? Or is this the revelation of a hoax perpetrated on the publishing industry? I would say "on readers" as well, accept that it seems like in this case it's readers that caught the fraud.

What do you make of it?

2011-11-07T07:52:00.000-05:00

Some pics from a trip we did up to Rattray Head on the Northeast coast of Scotland a little while back. It's supposed to be the sunniest spot in Scotland, and during our stay there it lived up to that. We stayed in a hostel made from converted buildings from the lighthouse. Had the place to ourselves and exploded throughout it!

Saba was welcomed with a dog bed, biscuits and food dishes. He was much pleased. He was even more thrilled when he got a view of the sand dunes. Here he is positively hovering with joy...

Stretching his legs...

Us acting silly...

An old shipwreck...

And a bridge we crossed over on the way home...

Saba Portrait

2011-11-06T12:00:00.000-05:00

Maya (age 12) has taken to doing realistic drawings in the evenings. She came up with this one the other day, a portrait of a sleeping Saba:

Pretty cool, huh?

Pedacinho Literário

2011-11-04T07:41:00.000-04:00

I've been watching with interest the reaction to the first volume of Acacia (Ventos do Norte) in Portuguese. From what I can gather, it's looking pretty good.

Here's a lovely review at Pedacinho Literário. The author says lots of nice things about the book, and then concludes with a complaint I've heard a few other times. Apparently, folks aren't that happy that the book (The War With The Mein) was divided into two parts. They don't blame me, but they rightly point out that things are just starting to take off at the point at which the book ends! Hopefully, they'll stick with it when the second part comes out.

Does make me wonder... Will my trilogy become six books in Portuguese?...

I've Joined Him Again

2011-11-02T03:20:00.000-04:00

Jon Armstrong has kindly posted a podcast interview he did with with me for his ongoing series If You're Just Joining Us. He gets me talking about Acacia, YA, writing rituals and Scotland.

If you'd like to have a listen you can do so HERE.

Jon's a great guy, and a wonderful writer himself. We first met when we were both in competition for the John W Campbell Award. We've kept in touch since.

Arms of Nemesis

2011-11-01T07:14:00.000-04:00

I have a short piece up at Campaign for the American Reader. They asked me what I was reading at the moment, and I told them: Steven Saylor's Arms of Nemesis.

If you want to know why, the answer is a click away: HERE.

Who Fears Nnedi?

2011-10-31T04:16:00.002-04:00

I was thrilled to learn that Nnedi Okorafor's novel, Who Fears Death, has just won this years World Fantasy Award. Yay, Nnedi! I'm not surprised. To quote the blurb I offered her a couple years back...

"WHO FEARS DEATH is urgently topical, at times brutal, and always wholly original. It’s no surprise she’s been racking up awards. There are more to come, surely."

Also, I'm just as thrilled that my friend and Stonecoast MFA Program colleague, Elizabeth Hand, won in the novella category for "The Maiden Flight of McCauley's Bellerophon".

Congrats to you both!

Wild Cards Movie

2011-10-29T04:59:00.000-04:00

It gives me great pleasure to be able to talk publicly about some news that's been secret for a few months now. Wild Cards - George RR Martin's collaborative novel series of mutants and superheroes - has a movie deal.

To quote The Hollywood Reporter: "Syfy Films, the theatrical division created in December 2010 as a joint venture between Syfy and Universal Pictures, has acquired the screen rights to Wild Cards, a superhero anthology edited, co-created and co-written by Martin."

There will be many details to come. Right now I'd just mention a couple things. Just to be clear, Syfy Films is not the arm of the channel that's been making rather dodgy tv movies. It's a new project, with Universal, that's out to develop a major superhero franchise - and they've chosen Wild Cards.

There are going to be tons of decisions to make about what stories they're going to tell, considering the large cast of characters that have twenty-some volumes of adventures behind them. It's quite possible, though, that they'll choose to start with characters from some of the more recent books. Since I've been writing for those, I'm more than a little excited. Maybe, just maybe, one of my mutant creations will get on the big screen! If so, I've negotiated a fee of $40 with my son, Sage. That's his bonus for being instrumental in the creation of my main character, Infamous Black Tongue. (No, he didn't have an agent representing him...)

HERE's the full article at The Hollywood Reporter.

HERE's one at Cinema Blend.

Aces High

2011-10-28T07:40:00.001-04:00

George RR Martin just sent his Wild Cards authors the official cover for the reissue of the second Wild Cards book, Aces High. He wanted us to pass it on to folks, so that's what I'm doing. The artist is Michael Komarck, continuing to do stellar work.

I'm not in this one, of course. (It originally came out in 1987 - the year I graduated high school. I wasn't quite up to writing speed at that point.) The book features stories by Roger Zelazny, Melinda M. Snodgrass, Victor Milan, Lewis Shiner, Walton Simons, John J. Miller, Pat Cadigan, Walter Jon Williams, and GRRM himself. It follows the reissue of the original, Wild Cards I, which Tor published last year. Keep your eye on these books. Good things are happening with them...

Page 69 Test

2011-10-27T09:27:00.001-04:00

For my last few books I've had the pleasure of writing a short piece for The Page 69 Test, a website that asks authors to discuss their novels in light of whatever appears on page 69 of it. I've never found that my page 69 really captured the entirety of the book, but I've accepted the challenge every time anyway.

And I've done it again for The Sacred Band.

You can read it HERE.

Portugal

2011-10-25T07:59:00.000-04:00

Hey, remember a while back when I posted a photo of the t-shirt that my Portuguese publisher made?

I went ahead and had my agent ask them if I could buy one. They did me two better than that! One, they said they would send me a few for free, which is very nice. Even more nice, though, is that they invited me to come to Portugal next spring when the second book pubs. Hurray!

I've never been to Portugal. I'd love to go. Here's hoping it really happens...

The D-O-G

2011-10-24T04:33:00.000-04:00

Had a scare with the dog yesterday. What started out as a nice longish walk became a bush-wacking melodrama after Saba disappeared.

He likes to lope off the path away from us, and he can cover surprising distances when he runs, but he's never gone for long. He always comes rushing back. This time he didn't. We spent several hours running up and down the path, and cutting off from it to crash through the trees, over stone walls. We were well up away from any roads, but we also got in the car and drove up and down the nearest road. We'd just returned to the parking area, with a thermos of tea, sandwiches and a load of rain gear. Plan was to go up again, dive off the track and crash through the nearest fields that had sheep in them, and then to look up and down the fence, fearing that we'd find Saba tangled up in barbed wire.

It was starting to get dark. A very bad time for us all.

And then Saba appeared behind the car. Just sort of popped up, looking unfazed, and a little confused as to why everyone started crying. We've no idea what he was up to, whether or not it was just circumstance (like getting on the wrong side of a stone wall and not knowing how to get back to us). Or whether it's a sign he's going to have the wandering inclination.

Either way, it was a terrible few hours. And then, suddenly, it was over. I guess that makes us lucky. And grateful.

Blanvalet To Finish The Acacia Trilogy!

2011-10-21T09:31:00.004-04:00

Have I mentioned this yet? I don't think I have, so let me shout about it now.

My German publisher, Blanvalet, has signed on to publish The Sacred Band! I've no idea when it'll come out, but it's happening.

I'm pleased. One of these days there will be another cover to go with these two, and they're will be completion!

Goes With The Territory

2011-10-19T05:20:00.006-04:00

One of the great pleasures of writing novels is that, if you're lucky, people read and talk about them, and even post their thoughts on the internet. Of course, one of the really frustrating things about writing novels is that... people read and talk about them, and even post their thoughts on the internet.

I noticed a report from a book club that had just read Gabriel's Story. Rather cool that the old Western is still getting read, so no complaints there. Nor will I complain about the gripes they had with the book. That's fine. I had a hard time stopping myself from posting a comment in response to two things they said, though.

One was that I hadn't done my research, as evidenced by the fact that I referred to double barrels on a rifle. They wrote simply that rifles have one barrel, and admonished me to "do your research"! That's pretty damning. If a historical novelist doesn't even know that double rifles don't exist he's got to be pretty crap...

Thing is, there are double rifles, and there have been double rifles for a long time. They were especially used to hunt big game during the colonial period, but that included usage in America. They're not as common a single barrel rifles, but they do exist. This website - Mick's Guns - has wonderfully detailed photos of vintage double rifles. Like this one:

Now, the blogger could have argued that I have too many double rifles in the novel, but that's not what he said. He could have argued about the time period prevalence of them in my particular setting. But he didn't do that either. He just said that something I have in the novel doesn't exist, and that I obviously hadn't done my research. Someone reading that will think I'm pretty crap, but they'll think it largely because the reviewer hasn't done his research.

He also refers to skipping through the "more disturbing rape scenes". That line will leave a reader thinking not only that there were multiple rape scenes, but also that they were disturbing, presumably graphic. But this isn't true either. Yes, there is rape in the book, but it all happens off screen. It's disturbing, but not because you're forced to watch it as a reader. It's disturbing because you know that it's going on just out of view. The book did win an Alex Award from the American Library Association - which is given to adult books that they recommend for teen readers.

This sort of thing happens all the time, and usually I don't even think about responding. Not sure why I almost did this time. It was probably that personal direction - "Do your research!" - which I could consider to be directed at me. Although, to be honest, it's not just directed at me. My editor, copy-editor, agent and all the other production people have a hand in checking facts as well.

Of course, I didn't respond. It's just one of those things. Goes with the territory. Glad to be getting read. That's what matters...

Spread The Positive!

2011-10-16T06:08:00.001-04:00

Almost two weeks since publication and, I'm pleased to say that The Sacred Band reviews have been really solid. The pre-pubs were fantastic. The blog-love has been terrific. I've even picked up a few print reviews. Fancy that in this day and age!

Not least, the reader reviews on Amazon have been good. I've got five at the moment. All very positive. I know that before long someone will write a stinker, but for now I want to bask in the kind words those most important of people - readers! - have penned for me. They include...

Reviewer #1: "I found it to be a very solid book. It was addictive to read, and often quite emotional. I strongly recommend it for readers of the earlier books in the trilogy, and the trilogy itself for readers looking for an excellent fantasy series."

Reviewer #2: "In revealing the reasons, some of which are recent, others ancient, of why the characters act as they do, the author shows empathy to all of them. He shows us what binds people to their fate and what could possibly free them. It's this sensitivity that pushes the trilogy beyond it's exciting story, solid worldbuilding and characterization."

Reviewer #3:"I for one, believe this series should be on your shelf right next to Tolkien and Martin. I could not put this book down and finished it in 3 days... Buy this now."

Reviewer #4: "Now that was an amazing read! I kinda wish now that I hadn't finished it so quickly!. The Sacred Band wraps up a fantastic trilogy that began with Acacia. I didn't know what to expect from this final installment, but I have to admit, I was blown away. Blown away by the characters, the plot, and especially the creativity."

Reviewer #5: "What a great series! I loved the last book. I thought the first and second were great...but sort of dragged a bit in parts. The third volume moved at a whip-crack pace."

It means a lot to get reviews like this. A lot of people seem to take some bitter pleasure out of writing negative reviews. Those can take a lot out of a writer - regardless of how wrong you might find them to be. Good ones, though, are each a reminder of why I do this writing stuff in the first place. That matters.

So... with that in mind, don't be shy! If you've enjoyed my books - or any author's books, really - say so! Spread some positivity!

They Like Me In Frederickburg

2011-10-15T06:40:00.000-04:00

And I consider that to be a very good thing. Among other things, their reviewer said:

"There were moments during "The Sacred Band" when I felt such enjoyment in the reading that I was transported back to summer days in the non-air conditioned house of my youth with no diversion beyond the book in my hands. In that regard, the book and the trilogy proved transcendent to me."

That pleases me greatly.

TSB Review HERE.

Underwords Interview

2011-10-14T06:43:00.004-04:00

Erin Underwood has just put up an interview she did with me on her website, Underwords.

I know I'm biased, but I think it's one of my better interviews. Erin asked really interesting questions - a mixture of serious ones and random ones. Want to know about the cows peering in my window or what my super power is? Want more on the Spartacus Bunny Wars?

Erin tried to get the answers out of me. Admittedly, I sometimes dodged.

But... you will find in the interview my most candid admission yet that I've been working on a fantasy series for kids! Oh my.

Go take a look. It's HERE.

Clarion 2012

2011-10-13T07:03:00.000-04:00

I really enjoyed teaching at Clarion last summer. It was awesome, and I was very, very impressed with the hard work the students put in. They performed like professionals, and you'll be seeing them in print soon.

Of course, Clarion goes on without me. I just got a gander at next year's Faculty line-up. It's way awesome: Jeffrey Ford, Marjorie Liu, Ted Chiang, Walter Jon Williams, Holly Black and Cassandra Clare. Are you kidding me? That's an absolutely terrific roster. I know most of these folks personally, and the rest through their work. They're people you want to know and learn from.

Aspiring sff authors? Start on those application stories!

Check out the website HERE.

Acacia Trilogy Week!

2011-10-12T06:06:00.001-04:00

The insightful and intelligent Fantasy Matters blog has done something I'm very pleased about. They are featuring not just The Sacred Band, but the entire series on their website. Apparently, it's Acacia Trilogy Week!

What a fine thing.

They have posted a piece by yours truly which you can go directly to HERE.

They also have a recap review The War With The Mein and The Other Lands.

They've weighed in on The Sacred Band too. You can read that review HERE.

And the Fantasy Matters website address in general is HERE. It's a worthy one to have bookmarked!

An Autumn Morning

2011-10-11T05:27:00.003-04:00

Alone at Upper Park this week. Gudrun and the kids are up in Shetland for the first week of the school holidays. I stayed on the farm to get some work done. I have a little set of stories to write for George RR Martin. The deadline is looming! So it's work for me.

I don't much like being without my family, but this was a lovely morning. It began with a little bit of fun with the dog and cat. When we feed Saba (the dog) we always make him sit on his mat until the food is measured out and ready for him, and then we put it down and release him to Hoover it up.

This morning, I put him in stay and had just about finished preparing his bowl when the phone rang. I set the bowl down on the counter and answered it. As I walked around the house speaking with the lady that lives down the hill about construction that was going to block access to the house that morning, Saba began to whine and jitter and sound terribly distressed. I chalked it up to impatience and finished the phone call in the other room.

When I walked back into the kitchen Saba was on his mat, looking desperately at me. Eighty-five pounds of shivering distress. On the counter... the cat was casually feasting from his massive bowl of food. Oops. My bad. Good dog, though. Good dog.

I made it up to him with a great walk up the hill. It was clear and bright, with a nip of autumn in the air. Beautiful views before my eyes, lots of stories rolling through my head. A good morning.

This photo is my wife's, from a few days ago when one of the hills across from us was snow covered. So, not actually, today, but a similar view to what I had this morning...

Now, to work!

Why He Left Fantasy...

2011-10-10T07:11:00.001-04:00

...And Why He Came Back!

Blogger Justin Landon recently did a guest post at yet another blog, A Dribble of Ink.

It's a frank, honest description of one person's relationship with fantasy. He is kind enough to mention my work as being a force that helped pull him more fully back to being a fantasy reader. I like that, of course. It's fitting, too, since in many ways I had the same journey away from fantasy and then back toward it later - just from the writer's perspective.

Anyway, the post is HERE.

Radio Scotland Weather

2011-10-07T03:00:00.003-04:00

And I quote, from today's forecast:

"The showers will die out before the bands of rain move in."

And Then Back To The Sacred Band...

2011-10-06T07:41:00.002-04:00

Erin Underwood has posted a lovely essay on being a beta reader for... me! Yes, she was one of the few folks I asked to read the novel in its early forms. Her feedback made the book much stronger, and I'm grateful for it.

Read the piece here, at Underwords.

On A Non-Sacred Band Note...

2011-10-06T06:47:00.000-04:00

There's a nice review of Fort Freak, the Wild Cards novel that I'm included in, at Val's Random Comments.

Read the review HERE.

The OF Blog on The Sacred Band

2011-10-05T06:41:00.000-04:00

There's a terrific review of the new book up at the OF Blog. Larry makes lots of insightful points and - as far as I'm concerned - is really sharp in his analysis. But, that may be because he clearly liked the book a lot!

His piece does include some significant plot details, so be warned. I can happily quote his conclusion, though:

The final pages bring full circle the promise of the earlier volumes, making The Sacred Band one of the most satisfying and fulfilling epic fantasy conclusions that I have read in recent years. The Sacred Band is easily one of the best 2011 epic fantasy releases and it is one that I highly recommend to readers here.

The full review is available HERE.

Release Day

2011-10-04T08:39:00.003-04:00

That's what today is. The Sacred Band slides into stores today. It's exists. It's alive! (At least, I hope it is.)

So what's that mean in the life of David Anthony Durham? What grand things do I have planned for today? Well, I'll tell you what I've done so far...

I've made omelets for the kids' breakfast.

I've walked the dog.

I've tried (and failed) to replace the fan belt on the car we're borrowing.

I've eaten leftover curry for lunch.

I've answered emails and mucked about with some interviews and essays.

It's now about time to walk the dog again...

Not very impressive, really. But what do I have in mind for later?

More of the same. That's how we roll around here. I'm in Scotland, an ocean away from where the book is pubbing. That's fine, though. My triplets are all grown up. They have to make their own way in the world.

That said, I hope that you include The Sacred Band in your plans for the day. If you're at all considering buying it... ah, please do. Go for it! What's the harm? What's the worst that could happen? And don't delay! Sales made this first week count a lot in terms of how/if my publisher invests in promoting the books in the weeks to come. So, if you're going to get the book eventually, considering making that eventually today!

I will be forever grateful if you do.

Oh, and I should mention that Suvudu.com has my Release Day Interview up HERE.

Map Anyone?

2011-10-03T09:20:00.000-04:00

The map for the new book just went up at my website. If want to take a gander at it you can do so HERE!

Excerpt Anyone?

2011-10-03T05:54:00.003-04:00

There's an excerpt from The Sacred Band over at Suvudu.com. If you're interested in getting a glimpse of how the book begins, click over HERE and have a quick read!

Oh, and let me add that the excerpt is also up at Underwords. It just one of many books that Erin has posted excerpts of. So, if you want to browse other authors as well, take a look HERE.

The Last Pre-Pub Review

2011-10-01T05:11:00.000-04:00

There was only one of the big four pre-publication reviews that I hadn't seen. I couldn't really track it down, though I knew it existed. Then, to my surprise, Bill Schafer from Subterranean Press dropped me an email that included it. Thanks, Bill!

With it, I think it's safe to say that the early reception of the book has been very good. Here's hoping the actual readers feel the same!

And herewith, what Booklist had to say about The Sacred Band:

Durham’s sprawling epic fantasy trilogy comes to an end with this final volume, which follows The Other Lands (2009). The Acacians are preparing for war with their enemies, the fierce Auldek, and Queen Corinn Akaran has mastered a powerful weapon: The Song of Elenet. Not only does the Song allow her to lay waste to her enemies on the battlefield, but it also gives her the ability to resurrect her older brother, Aliver—and control him. Her sister, Mena, is scouting ahead in preparation for the coming war, while their younger brother, Dariel, remains separated from his siblings and his lover. As she prepares for Aliver’s coronation so that he can rule with her, Corinn is blindsided by the return of the exiled Santoth, a band of sorcerers who put a deadly curse upon her in order to harness the power of the Song. Readers who began the Acacia trilogy with the first book, when the Akaran siblings’ father was overthrown by a warlord, will find themselves immersed in this absorbing, far-reaching conclusion and the many story lines it wraps up.

FantasyCon

2011-09-30T02:20:00.002-04:00

I'm up early on strangely warm Scottish autumn afternoon. Seeing the kids off to school, and then I'll be heading south to Brighton for British FantasyCon. Never been to a British Con before, so it'll be a new experience for me. Not sure if I'll just lurk, or if I'll actually rub shoulders and knock back drinks with folks. We shall see...

I'll let you know how it goes.

Carola Strang at ActuSF

2011-09-29T05:35:00.002-04:00

As a follow up to my earlier post showing the lively cover for the French version of The Sacred Band (Acacia L'alliance sacrée), here's a link to an interview with my French editor, Carola Strang.

She's terrific. In a business that doesn't always promote bravery in editorial decisions, she's also quite courageous. As she describes in the interview, she wants to publish titles that aren't interchangeable with lots of other titles. She looks for things she finds more unique, more substantial. And then she sticks by them, even though that's a lot harder than following the popular flow instead...

Risky way to do business, but I love her for it.

HERE's the interview.

In Case You Missed It...

2011-09-28T05:10:00.000-04:00

...there's been a bit of a firestorm recently revolving around the subject of lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and trans-gender characters in YA fiction. What started this particular, um... discussion... off was that two authors, Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith wrote a piece for the Genreville blog of Publishers Weekly, claiming that they had been told by a perspective agent that they should straighten a character's sexual orientation - or at least not disclose it. (Here's that post.)

This took off pretty fast on the internet, and shot into mainstream media quickly, as in this article in the UK's Guardian newspaper.

The two authors hadn't mentioned the agent by name, but she came out herself - Joanna Volpe - with a strongly worded denial of the claims, posted here at The Swivet.

Opinions and counter opinions have been flying ever since.

Occupation: Girl has a terrific summation of the whole situation, with lots of quotes from lots of voices. YA Highway also tackles it with a summation.

Just mentioning it...

What Do You Think Of This?

2011-09-27T06:24:00.004-04:00

It's Le Pre aux Clercs cover for the French edition of The Sacred Band. I don't mind admitting, I'm loving the full-on aerial dragon battle feel of it.

Ah, Mena, my princess...

The artwork is by Didier Graffet, who also did the art for the first two books.

Amazon.es

2011-09-26T07:44:00.000-04:00

I just noticed that there's now an Amazon site for Spain. I guess it was only a matter of time.

I promptly went over and tried to find my books there. Success!

HERE they are.

Of course, I wish I had more books there. For the time being, the Spanish continuation of the Acacia series in on hold, but I have hopes we'll reboot it eventually.

They're Giving Away My Books? What Madness!

2011-09-22T09:30:00.002-04:00

Yes, but it's a good kind of madness.

Want a copy of The Sacred Band for free? Go check out the giveaway at Pat's Fantasy Hotlist: Click HERE.

Hey, if you win it you don't have to buy a copy for yourself. You could buy a copy for a friend instead!

Kirkus on The Sacred Band

2011-09-21T04:41:00.001-04:00

Well, I might as well get this out of the way.

The self-proclaimed "World's Toughest Critics" (says so on their website) have reviewed my latest effort. My heart and soul. My blood and guts poured out onto the page. They're notorious for tearing unwary authors to bits. They often hit the mark, even against the popular tide. (I'm pretty sure they were the only pre-pub review source to trash Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, though the record of that may have been expunged completely. The critic wiped from all records, though there are rumors he was garroted by an albino priest...) Once before they tore me a new one, and now they've set me firmly in their sights and come at with their blades of fury and righteous literary...

Wait. Actually...

No, that's not what happened. Not this time, at least. They didn't slice and dice Corinn and the gang at all. Instead they pinned a star on us! Don't read the review if you don't want to know what's happened in earlier books.

If that doesn't matter, read on...

Durham (Gabriel’s Story, 2002, etc.) brings his sci-fi Acacia Trilogy to a satisfying close.

Samuel R. Delany meets Cormac McCarthy meets J.R.R. Tolkien as the striking and subtly powerful Corinn Akaran settles into queenship over the Known World just in time to take up arms with the Other Lands. “We’re at war,” she says, matter-of-factly. And war it is, with supposed allies turning tail and threats of invasion putting a decided downward cast on the scene. Corinn is a tough cookie, but she nurtures an abiding hope that her son, Aaden, will prove himself as “the greatest Akaran monarch yet.” Naturally, opportunities abound for him to show his stuff. Meanwhile, Corinn’s brother Aliver is on hand to help, having miraculously come back to life after having been killed in the second installment. (“You were dead before,” says Aaden. “Exactly,” replies Aliver. “I like you better alive,” responds Aaden, having thought the matter over.) Durham is a master of the swords-and-sorcery genre, with the bonus that this is swords-and-sorcery with spaceships that give the Millennium Falcon a run for the money; the trilogy, this volume included, tends to be talky, but it’s the right kind of talky, without wasted words. He also takes time to paint scenes in words that other writers might brush away, as with this description of a book-filled library: “Tall windows cast elongated rectangles of red-gold sunrise light, but the room’s candles still burned, thick ones that jutted through the tables like tree trunks and burned with flames the size of spearheads.” That’s a world worth fighting for, and Durham’s pages are full of thrilling action that would do Tolkien proud.

A close, yes—but with wiggle room for more Acacian adventures. At any rate, on the strength of this installment, Durham’s many fans will be clamoring for more.

That's awful nice. Admittedly, I'm not sure what the Millennium Falcon stuff is about, but still, I'll take it.

Thank you, Kirkus, for the gold star. I will wear it proudly. You chastened me once, and I've never forgotten it. Nor have I forgotten the three - count em, 3! - times you've given me your pointy accolade. I'm very pleased.

For anyone that wants to see my Kirkus score, it's HERE.

Fantasy Book Critic On TSB

2011-09-19T10:24:00.005-04:00

Fantasy Book Critic has weighed in on The Sacred Band. I wouldn't be mentioning it if I wasn't pleased with what they thought!

Among other things, Robert wrote:

Considering everything that occurred in the first two volumes of The Acacia Trilogy, The Sacred Band had a lot riding on its shoulders. Thankfully, David Anthony Durham was more than up to the task, delivering a rewarding conclusion in The Sacred Band that successfully wraps up The Acacia Trilogy...

You can read the whole review HERE.

Spartacus Bunny, The First Sketch

2011-09-18T15:02:00.002-04:00

So, I dunno. The Durhams were out walking in the hills the other day, and we got to talking about my Spartacus novel. Somehow, out of that, came the idea for a graphic novel: The Spartacus Bunny Wars.

Why bunnies? Ah... Why not?

I asked my daughter, Maya, to come up with an early sketch of the gladiator. She choose to focus in on a closeup. This is what she produced:

We think it my be a little too catlike at the moment. Obviously, we wouldn't want to write The Spartacus Cat Wars.

That would just be... ridiculous.

Just for the record, this is not the direction I'm going in for my novel. Perhaps it should be, though...

Call Me A Silly Boy, but...

2011-09-17T14:04:00.003-04:00

...I have to confess to being inordinately chuffed at seeing this...
I didn't make it myself or anything. My Portuguese publisher did! They're having a giveaway wherein the first 50 people that by Acacia: Ventos do Norte via their website will receive a free tee-shirt. I want one!

Which brings up the question... should I covertly buy one of my own books, in Portuguese?

The info is HERE, at Saida de Emergência's site.

Library Journal

2011-09-16T04:31:00.006-04:00

Library Journal have weighed in on The Sacred Band. Rather nicely, in fact. I'll include the full review below, but if you don't want any plot details you could just read this part:

Strong writing, intriguing characters, and a richly detailed background—along with the possibility for future development of Durham's scenario—make this fantasy epic a winner for those who enjoy large-scale fantasy along the lines of George R.R. Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" series.

HERE's the place to go to see this month's batch of SFF reviews, including some really interesting ones, like Alex Bledsoe's The Hum and the Shiver and Kate Elliott's Cold Fire.

Here's the full review of The Sacred Band:

Having discovered the magic contained in the long-lost Book of Elenet, Corinn, now Queen of the Known World, unwisely demonstrates her godlike powers. Her brother Dariel, sent on a dangerous mission to the Other Lands, contends with a number of exotic tribes who could either pose a threat or become an asset to the Known World. Corinn's sister Mena and her sentient flying companion, Elya, travel to the northern lands to confront the dangerous Auldek, whose alliance with slavers provides them with the source of their apparent immortality. The conclusion of Durham's trilogy (The War with the Mein; The Other Lands) ties the threads of these separate stories unto a satisfying climactic world-changing battle. VERDICT Strong writing, intriguing characters, and a richly detailed background—along with the possibility for future development of Durham's scenario—make this fantasy epic a winner for those who enjoy large-scale fantasy along the lines of George R.R. Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" series.

Andy Whitfield

2011-09-14T05:03:00.003-04:00

I find myself rather shocked by the death of Andy Whitfield. He's the actor that played Spartacus in the Starz series. Only 39, he died of non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Part of the shock is that he's younger than me, fitter than me, richer than me, and that it seems so unfair that just as his career takes off he has to start fighting for his life.

I guess the other thing is that I liked the guy. Spartacus: Blood and Sand is a very different approach to the rebellion than I'll be taking with my novel. It's highly sexed up, peopled by chiseled men with no body hair and lingerie models, with gallons of blood splatters and some really over the top gore. I was almost embarrassed to watch it. But I did. It was strangely addictive, and the writers were pretty sharp in terms of turning the screws on the plot in surprising ways.

Few of the characters look like they would have historically. Far from being chiseled, gladiators were well-fed so as to be covered with a nice layer of protective body fat. They'd have been carrying extra weight intentionally, since any added inches of fat have to be passed through before a blade can do damage to important organs.

There were quite a few moments that the series manifested itself more as fantasy than history, but I'm okay with that. If I wasn't I wouldn't have reason to write my own Spartacus book. My point is that despite my differences with the series, I enjoyed it. And part of why I enjoyed it was Andy Whitfield.

I'm sorry to see him go.

The Neth Space Review

2011-09-13T02:24:00.002-04:00

I think this may be the first full-length blogger review The Sacred Band has received. I'm very pleased to say it's a terrific one. I met Neth early on in my entry into fantasy, so it feels great to have had his readership throughout the series. And, of course, it's wonderful to see that he appreciates what I attempting with the series - and that he thinks it worked!

He writes: "Durham’s ambitious trilogy takes the largely conservative genre of epic fantasy in a new direction of rather progressive thought and action and builds things up to a very fitting and satisfying conclusion."

He says other stuff too, which you can read HERE. By the way, he doesn't go into plot details at all, which is a nice plus.

Fantasy Literature Sunday Updates

2011-09-12T12:48:00.000-04:00

Here are signs of a little attention coming toward The Sacred Band. Over at Fantasy Literature several bloggers/reviewers have mentioned the series.

Robert Thompson of The Fantasy Book Critic has finished it. He calls it a "rewarding conclusion to THE ACACIA TRILOGY".

And right after that Stefan Raets mentions beginning the series. He was into the first book as of the post, and is planning on continuing with The Other Lands as he anticipates the release of the final book! I love that. I hope there are a few more folks out there that will start the series now that the end if confirmed.

The post is HERE.

Amazon Eyes E-Books for Prime Subscribers

2011-09-12T05:45:00.000-04:00

Just a development of interest. Thought I'd mention it.

Article is HERE.

The Sky Above Upper Park...

2011-09-08T20:47:00.000-04:00

...changes all the time. In one instant, though, it looked like this:

The next instant it didn't.