Fantasy fiction is the best fiction there is, and that's a fact.

 

We've all seen that ridiculous take-down of Brandon Sanderson, number one fantasy author, by an attention seeker, right? I've got some thoughts about it. Before we get too serious, though, here's a picture of an idiot. Honest to God, I can't figure out if anything's going on in his little head. (Heads up before we continue, these blogposts are taken from my exclusive newsletter, and thus are a couple of months behind. Sign up for the latest chit-chat, and for a free Pieces Of Eight prequel novel, Krakenvale.) (Heads up number 2 - all Amazon links are affiliate links, I get the tiniest tip from any purchase, they all go towards Tonto's crunchies bowl.) Hello again, crew, it's been awhile. My fault entirely, obvs. To cut a dull story incredibly short, my inspiration briefly fell off a cliff towards the end of last year, but 2023 has so far been a period of explosive creativity. I've got a lot coming, more even than I promised in my last newsletter (oh so long ago). Silus de Senza and his pirate lunatics are coming back for more, and I've got a new paranormal series on the way very, very soon. But this newsletter is about something else (I gave that away at the start, didn't I?) Reading about what happened to Brandon Sanderson at the hands of a Wired journalist provoked me into writing a newsletter for the first time in a heck of a while - and made me realise what the theme of this newsletter will be going forward. SFF, speculative fiction, all that jazz, is the best that fiction can be, and I'm going to shout it as loud as I can from my little platform, and I want to encourage us as a community towards positive action and away from some of the darker corners of fandom. Some of my conclusions will be fairly obvious already, but something I've got to say in response to the affair might not be, and - a quick heads up - I won't apologise for it. I will say this: I'm no Sanderson fanboy. I've only read the first two books of The Stormlight Archive. They're good, but they're also huge books that go into great detail on every single aspect of the world he's created. I can see why he's popular though, and I'll likely continue the series at some point. For the sake of sanity and to avoid making a fool out of yours truly, I read the original article for myself, and... the majority of the complaints against it stand up. It opens with a frankly incredible claim - that no one on Wired - which believes itself to be a nerd magazine - had heard of Brandon Sanderson. Really? Can you call yourself a nerd if you're that far out of touch? There's also a claim that there have been no major interviews or pieces written about Sanderson until they came along. A very swift Google search can prove that wrong. If you can't get this basic level of research done properly... From here it's easy to conclude that this hit piece is solely designed as a self-promotional effort for the writer. It's an easy way of getting attention - and it's worked! Hey, even I've fallen for it! I'm writing about it right now, and it could easily drive more traffic to the very piece I'm calling out. Anyway, we move onto the writer's fairly savage distaste for Mormons. I was initially surprised that this element of the piece got past the editor, until I clocked that Kehe is senior editor at Wired. He simply cannot stop jibing at Mormons at every chance he can. Would he refer to a company of 50-strong-people/Christians or a company of 50-strong-people/atheists or a company of 50-strong-people/heathens? I've got to wonder. Editorially speaking, there's got to be a reason behind such a through-line, but what is the purpose here? One can only infer that this is the stance of Wired as a whole. Are there any other religions on the website's hitlist? I'm not religious myself, but I certainly wouldn't target those of faith with such a sneer of an opening section as this journalist provides. Now, here's the kicker. The journalist spends a lot of the article telling us that Sanderson doesn't have anything interesting to say, and I mean a lot. It's a four thousand word article. Anyone else see the irony in this? Even better, it apparently took two months to put the piece together. The biggest issue I have lies with the journalist's repeated statement (he bitches about Sanderson loving his own voice, but boy can this guy repeat himself) that Brandon's writing is bad. I want to put this here, loud and clear: it's wrong. I'm afraid this statement cannot even be put down to opinion. Perhaps the journalist doesn't like the style of writing, but it isn't bad. It's factually incorrect. It literally cannot be. Sanderson has too many fans who love his characters and his world-building. Where does that stuff come from? The words he strings together. I genuinely cannot find the words to explain how much this (repeated) part of the article pissed me off (probs coz I write bad, eh Kehe?). It shows an fundamental failure to grasp what fiction writing is actually for. It is meant to transport. Coleridge would weep. We, the readers, have one job: suspend our disbelief. Allow the writer to do the rest. For Sanderson's readers, he is doing the job admirably. What can a certain breed of journalist do? Sneer at those who have found something to enjoy. Certain journalists/websites/magazines/Mormons (haha see what I did there) seem to feel like only a select few books and authors are worthy of praise, and if you don't agree, then you're a 'manboy' who doesn't know bad writing when you see it. Anything popular is somehow not good enough. There are certain books that are considered 'good' and they must be liked because that's the way it is. It's an incredible position to take - it's the equivalent of having no personal taste at all. It's basically saying - I want you to know that I'm better than you because my taste is better. Madness. Now, I'm going to go even further with this. A lot of the stuff we're told are classics are... boring. Sorry. Take all your Ernest Hemingways, your James Joyceses, your Jane Austins, your Dickenses, go on as far and as much as you like, I haven't got enough time left in my life to be bored. Any modern literary novel sent in the here and now, the present day, this world of ours, I don't want to read it, I don't want it near me. A younger version of me went through a couple of attempts at 'improving' my reading behaviour by labouring through books we're apparently all supposed to enjoy and appreciate. I will not do that again. Speculative fiction is where it's at, folks. Only SFF can entertain me, dazzle me, excite me, and leave me wanting more. Really good fantasy is driven by powerful imagination, by minds that can conjure up a reality very different to the one we live day-to-day and yet adheres coherently to its own rules. Even more incredible, these writers can convey their wild inventions with strings of words that transport the reader from here to there. This is powerful magic. How amazing that these authors can take you by the hand and show you entire worlds you never knew existed, worlds that you never want to leave. All the other stuff out there? The works that aren't SFF, that aren't speculative? That's just the everyday. That's just minor variations of what we already know. That don't impress me much. **** Click this banner image, catch up on the wild pirate series Pieces Of Eight!! **** In the spirit of cheerleading the world of speculative fiction, here's a half dozen books from new authors that I'd love you to check out. Give the images a click, see if anything tickles your fancy, and let's support the new wave of fantasy fiction. Rebaa’s adopted tribe lies slaughtered behind her. Rebaa’s lover, Juran, lays down his life for hers and now she must use all of her cunning and extraordinary powers to survive the inhospitable wilderness alone, ensuring that Juran’s sacrifice was not in vain. But Rebaa’s battle for survival has only just begun... Hunted by savage predators and more terrifying still, the nightmarish Eldrax, a murderous chieftain who will stop at nothing to possess Rebaa’s mysterious powers for his own, her very existence becomes a life or death chase in the pursuit and quest to reach the one place that surely offers salvation and a safe haven she can call home. But what haven could possibly exist for one who bears... The Forbidden? Enchanted by lies, abducted for truth. In Mandar, humans and mythics have learnt to work together, but sometimes a magical creature goes rogue. As a Tracker for the government, Seraphina’s job is to locate rogues, gather intel and report back to the Hunters. Everything changes when she’s captured… by a dragon. Imprisoned in his cave, Sera discovers the unique ability to share minds with the dragon. Together they explore the limits of her newly discovered power, and he reveals the lies fed to her by the Mandar Government. But can she trust the word of a dragon? While she fights for her freedom, her magic thrusts her into the midst of a hidden conflict. The threat of a new war between humans and mythics looms and Sera must decide where her loyalties lie. Twin brothers, Jaromir and Talmage have been imprisoned, but for different convictions. Jaromir wakes up chained to a table filled with dread, while Talmage is thrown into an underground labyrinth. Jaromir has devoted his life to mastering weapons as the Empress’ Guard and forming a secret order to rid the world of magick. His lifetime devotion is useless when his limbs are chained. Unless he divulges the order’s plans. Jaromir is tortured and his body pushed to breaking but he refuses to betray the order––until his wife is dragged into the room. Jaromir is forced to make a choice between his honor and his beloved wife. Which will he choose? Meanwhile, Talmage is thrown into an underground labyrinth. Since his parent’s death, he had practiced the art of magick in secret from his brother’s order. Magick had been his savior and his security through his troubled life. No matter what Talmage tried, the ghosts of his past haunt him––especially in the dark passages. At first, he thought he was alone, for one last trial, until familiar voices echo from the shadows. Both brothers must escape from their wicked fate, identify their outgrown relationship, and swallow their pride, before it’s too late. At ten years old, Kalindra Therin, throne-princess of Lundell, is forced to make a decision that would change not only her life, but also the Kingdom’s future. Despite her father’s protests, she chooses to travel to Iclindir Academy, to become a Dracomancer. Now that she’s far away from all she has ever known, is she going to survive the path she chose? A sense of duty… With her dragon companion, Rina, by her side, Kali learns the arts of combat and spellcasting. But after 5 years of training as a keeper of balance, is she still willing to obey her father, the King, and secure a political alliance with a nearby kingdom out of duty? What would become of her if she dares to take a stand for herself and her dragon? Now she wonders if she still made the right choice. When fate and duty collide, where will Kali’s loyalty lie? Ellie is a young virgin girl sacrificed to a wyvern in order to keep the village safe, but little does she know what her sacrifice will mean for herself, dragonkind, or the fate of two entirely separate worlds. Ancient pacts have been broken and powers greater than anything is about to be released and threatens to swallow the world. Life wants vengeance and the Wind freedom. The Spirits will fight for their justice and only the thunderous Storm can lead them to victory. But the war her ancestors have started is too much for her to handle alone. To break the Lord of Life's dynasty and set the Spirits free she needs help from her uncle; a long-lost war hero now wasting the remnants of his broken life in ale. Once he was the Lord of Winds, but the Wind, people whisper, cannot be killed. *************************************** Thanks for spending a bit of time with me, I hope you got something out of it. You and I are going to shout from the highest rooftops that not only is fantasy fiction awesome, it's the most awesome thing there is, full stop. It pushes imagination to the absolute limits, and it's within imagination that our greatest power lies. See you in a couple of weeks, until then stay safe and happy. Laters, me hearties.