A Family Affair

Posted in Musings by Bookgirl

Familial traits are things that we’ve inherited beyond our control. No nature v’s nurture debate here; just an observation. Looking at my own family tree, there are writers along my paternal line,but there are also scale- makers, gardeners, jesters and of all things, accountants. I’m curious to see further back, to see if there was a writer in a French garret or an ancestor who hung around with the Jonathon Swift pack. Tracing ones family tree is so interesting you never know what you’ll find – imagine discovering your ancestor was William Shakespeare. It was these ponderings which put this week post in motion. My mission ,if I chose to accept it, (sorry for the pop culture adage, I couldn’t help myself) was to find which well-known writers inherited or passed on their talent.

Stephen King – King’s son, Joe King, has been writing under the pen name of Joe Hill (abbreviated form his middle name Hillstrom) successfully for several years’ years. Not wanting to ride on his fathers coat tails he establish a writing career independently. He announced his true identity in 2007.
Martin Amis – This much-lauded writer of London Fields had very big shoes to fill, being the son of Kingsley Amis. Kingsley Amis was a prolific writer who was ranked ninth on The Times list of the 50^th greatest British writers.
Mary Shelley (nee Wollstonecraft) – The writer of Frankenstein was the daughter of the feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft.
Bronte’s – Mostly known for the three sisters, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne and their works of Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, but the Bronte family came from a long lineage of scribes. The girls father, Patrick Bronte was also a poet and writer.
Alexandre Dumas – Writer of the great Count of Monte Christo and The Three Musketeers he wrote some of France’s best known novels, but his son, also named Alexandre Dumas, wrote some of France’s best known plays, including Camille.

Here is a list of current authors, see if you can guess whom their famous parents are.

Kerry Reichs
Jesse Kellerman
Dirk Cussler
Felix Francis
Christopher Rice
Carol Higgins Clark

Answers

10Sep2014

Cassandra Clare and Holly Black -A Good Idea?

Posted in Musings by Bookgirl

When two authors team up to write a novel it can sometimes read as disjointed and discombobulating. With this in mind it was with some trepidation that I approached the novel The Iron Trial –Book 1 in the Magisterium series by the dynamic duo, Cassandra Clare and Holly Black.

Let me first state that this is a preview as I have only read the prologue and first chapter. Why write this? I was excited that Clare was taking on the middle school genre, but I was a little nervous as EVERYONE points out the synopsis reads a little like a Harry Potter rip-off. So while waiting for my review copy (come on Random House pull your finger out, ha-ha no honestly love you guys, but I may drop over to Netgalley if it takes any longer)

Here are my thoughts so far.

The Prologue was interesting, yet jumpy.

The first chapter was engaging, well written and had me wanting more.

This brings me back to the point of this post. Can two authors successfully write as one voice? What I’ve read of The Iron Trial has me assuming Black wrote the prologue and Clare wrote the first chapter. If the rest of the novel is written in tag team fashion then cohesion will be its first victim. I have read other novels with duel authors and the result is a loss in continuity and flow. Sometimes the changeover in author is as obvious as a line in the sand.

What do my readers think of duel (Yes, duel not dual, as it can be a battle) writers?

2Sep2014

I Am Pilgrim -Terry Hayes

Posted in Book Reviews by Bookgirl

My life has shifted on its axis. I finally delved into Terry Hayes tome, I am Pilgrim and now everything must change. I have to clear out my bookshelf and put this fantastic novel on a shelf all by its self while I ponder everything I just read. So move over Ludlum, shove over Lehane, there’s a new boy on the block and he’s bad (I mean “bad” in the colloquial sense, as in “Damn Good”).

It’s a hefty novel, but that’s no deterrent, as I wish it were even longer. The novel centres on the protagonist Scott Murdoch? (The question mark becomes relevant once you’ve read the novel) who is an American spy, agent, deep, deep undercover operative etc. He is on a race to save the world from a biological attack and time is ticking, and in his spare time he solves a New York murder case –Ha, I love it!

Terry Hayes is a man who knows his craft. This may be his debut novel,but Google his biography and you’ll see he has serious cred. His plotting is very tight and complex; the writing is intelligent and suspenseful. I sat in the waiting room at Toyota while I had new tyres fitted, and my hands were tightly gripping the book as I read the final chapters.

Here’s a puzzle:

How long does it take Toyota to fit two new tyres?

Two hours.

At the end of the two hours I was at a pivotal point in the story, the Toyota man called my name. I put my hand up to silence the annoying man and resumed biting my nails and my eyes continued to rapidly scan the pages. I came to a suitable place to stop, raced home and finished the book.

Like any great book it is still lingering in my thoughts. Hayes has created a hero that we haven’t seen since Jason Bourne, and I hope to see a lot more of him.

This is a suspense novel that deals with sensitive and serious subjects and it is handle with respect, skilled observation and the critique of a good journalist. Hayes doesn’t dictate to the reader he is a masterful storyteller and the reader is taken on a thrilling journey.

NB: This is an adult novel, if considering for a teen reader note that it does contain some torture scenes, although it is not an overly graphic novel.

Catch a Q&A with Terry Hayes here: http://www.randomhouse.com.au/blog/top-writing-tips-from-debut-thriller-writer-terry-hayes-2167.aspx