Discussion: Short Stories

I recently read Until Midnight by Melissa Landers, which got me thinking about short stories—you know the stories that are set between, before, or after the novels and are generally a cheaper way for readers to get introduced to a writer’s work.

Given the chance to read a short story before you read the novel, would you?

Some short stories—especially the ones that are set after a novel—can contain spoilers. That’s a given. But I don’t particularly mind them as long as they’re not too big of a spoiler. As you can see from my review of Until Midnight by Melissa Landers I read it before the novel, which I don’t even have. Yet, there was one good thing about doing so, it gave me a chance to get introduced to the writer’s style and the story to see if I would even be interested in picking up Alienated. Since the short story got my interest, I’m now curious to see where it all began. Sure, there were a few things that could have been spoilers, but I don’t particularly feel like I know the entire story leading up to Until Midnight.

So, I guess my answer would be yes. I would buy/read the short story before I bought a novel by an author I’m unfamiliar with. That method might not be for everyone, but I find that it generally works for me.

Question: What are your thoughts on short stories?

Review: Video Game Storytelling by Evan Skolnick

Title:Video Game Storytelling: What Every Developer Needs to Know about Narrative Techniques

Author: Evan Skolnick
Source/Format: Blogging for Books, Review Copy

Age Range: anyone

Publisher/Publication Date: Watson-Guptill, December 2, 2014

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Summary from Goodreads...

With increasingly sophisticated video games being consumed by an enthusiastic and expanding audience, the pressure is on game developers like never before to deliver exciting stories and engaging characters. WithVideo Game Storytelling, game writer and producer Evan Skolnick provides a comprehensive yet easy-to-follow guide to storytelling basics and how they can be applied at every stage of the development process—by all members of the team. Full Summary Here

So for my first nonfiction read of 2015 I got Video Game Storytelling by Evan Skolnick and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. This book was all about the art of putting together a good video game story, narrative, and how all of the parts should go along with one another for a better, coherent game experience for players.

“Conflict powers your story. Conflict is the burning energy that propels it forward. And if your tale runs out of fuel before it reaches its destination, you’ve got a problem” (p.7).

The very beginning of Video Game Storytelling dishes out some important advice on story conflicts and the importance of them before jumping right into the three-Act Structure. Across the various chapters, the information delves more into it as the different areas of game storytelling, breaking it down into sections. These individual sections expertly presented explanations and used well-known movies and video games as examples.

“The Monomyth is composed of two main elements: archetypes and story structure” (p.28).

This book also covered typical characters in games and their respective arcs. I found those chapters particularly interesting. Skolnick broke down the basic structure of video game storytelling into various parts that highlighted the importance of each and how they could be applied to video games. There’s a lot of information that’s covered, but presented straight-forwardly with plenty of examples of how it was all used previously. Overall, I enjoyed this book and I recommend it to anyone who wants to read it.

I received this book from Blogging For Books for this review, thank you! 

Review: Doctor Who: Silhouette by Justin Richards

 Title: Doctor Who: Silhouette 
Author: Justin Richards
Publisher/Publication Date: Broadway Books, September 9, 2014
Genre: Science Fiction; Action & Adventure
Format/Source: Paperback, Blogging for Books (Review Copy)

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Summary

"Vastra and Strax and Jenny? Oh no, we don't need to bother them. Trust me."

Marlowe Hapworth is found dead in his locked study, killed by an unknown assailant. This is a case for the Great Detective, Madame Vastra.

Rick Bellamy, bare-knuckle boxer, has the life drawn out of him by a figure dressed as an undertaker. This angers Strax the Sontaran.

The Carnival of Curiosities, a collection of bizarre and fascinating sideshows and performers. This is where Jenny Flint looks for answers.

How are these things connected? And what does Orestes Milton, rich industrialist, have to do with it all? This is where the Doctor and Clara come in. The Doctor and his friends find themselves thrust into a world where nothing and no one are what they seem. Can they unravel the truth before the most dangerous weapon ever developed is unleashed on London?

I hate to admit that prior to Silhouette I’d never read a Doctor Who book or watched the series. I had heard great things about the series and was curious to find out what all the excitement was about. Now that I’ve read it, I think that I’m a die-hard Doctor Who fan in training.

Silhouette takes place in London during the Victorian era. It’s the adventures of the 12th Doctor Who. During this installment of Doctor Who, he travels through time to investigate a mysterious spike in energy in Victorian London. He soon found himself caught up in the investigation of Marlowe Hapworth’s mysterious death.

Although the story started out slow, the pace soon picked up with a shocking turn of events around every corner. I loved the interesting take on emotions and paper. And the conclusion—well, it was just epic.

I am looking forward to reading additional books featuring the 12th Doctor Who and would definitely recommend Silhouette to readers who love suspenseful science fiction stories.

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

About the Author

JUSTIN RICHARDS has written for stage and screen as well as writing novels and graphic novels. He has also co-written several action thrillers for older children with the acknowledged master of the genre Jack Higgins. Justin acts as Creative Consultant to BBC Books' range of Doctor Who titles, as well as writing quite a few himself. Married with two children (both boys), Justin lives and works in Warwick, within sight of one of Britain's best-preserved castles.

Alice Book Tag

I thought I would do something different today and making a book tag seemed like fun. So here is my Alice Book Tag inspired by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. 

“Down the Rabbit-Hole” What are the first books you've read by three of your favorite authors?

I first read the Rithmatist when I won a hardcover copy, and since then I’m a total Brandon Sanderson fan. Jennifer Estep is my second pick, and I started with Touch of Frost.  And for my last pick, I'm going to go with F.T. Bradley's Double Vision.

“Pool of Tears” What book did you think you would love, but ended up not liking?

I’m sorry, I really am, but I thought I would like Towering by Alex Flinn. It was a retelling—I thought I would like it—but nope, nope, nope. Now that I think about it there was a review for it, but it never got posted.

“A Mad Tea-Party” What is one of your favorite series that has more than three books?

I’m going to go with the Mythos Academy series by Jennifer Estep—plus I have all of the print books.

“The Queen’s Croquet Ground” What's your favorite book that has a prince or princess somewhere in the story?

For this one I’m going to say the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer.

And finally “It’s a Cheshire-Cat” What favorite book has a thief as a main or secondary character?

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson—I don’t think this one needs much of an explanation.  If you want to know what I mean, just read the book.

I'm not going to tag anyone since this was just for fun. Feel free to use my questions if you would like to make your own post, but all I ask is that you link back to the original (and/or let me know because I'd love to see your answers). Thanks for stopping by and happy reading!

Musing Mondays (17)

     Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading, that asks you to muse about something book related each week.

My Musings for the week...

Random weekly question: Has any author ever had a huge influence on your reading? Who, and why?

I don't think any one author had a huge influence on my reading. However, recently I have to say that Brandon Sanderson got me interested in fantasy again. His writing style has a way of drawing me into the story.

On another note...
 

So, I started to think about all of the books I’m waiting for this year, and I realized there weren't that many. I thought there were more at first…but I guess not. There are a few older books I want to read, but for the most part my list of new releases is relatively small—like REALLY small.

• Cold Burn of Magic by Jennifer Estep
• Salt & Stone by Victoria Scott
• Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray

That’s it, I’m not kidding. There might be some other fictional books that catch my interest later this year, but for now those are the only ones I’m really waiting for. Of course I'll be searching for more nonfiction books to read.

Question: What books are you waiting for in 2015? Are there any books that you recommend? I'd love to hear your suggestions.