Happy New Year, from Xavier Xanthum, Space Explorer

In honor of the arrival of 2016, we turn to a guy who has no idea what year it is, not that it matters anyway. In 604 words, I give you:

Xavier Xanthum's New Year

Xavier Xanthum, Space Explorer, gazed morosely at the fuel-level indicator of the starship Wanderlust. A voice interrupted his gloomy musings.

"Captain, we're going to have to put in at Haven for fuel," Larry announced.

"I can see that." Xavier let his irritation show. Larry wouldn't take offense. It was hard to offend even a self-willed AI. "I told you, I hate going there," Xavier continued. "Why didn't you remind me about fuel back in the D-36 System where we had some choices?"

"I did. But then there was that sweet little planet..."

Xavier sighed. It had been a lovely planet, with gleaming seas and perfect land-masses. It would have been worth just about anything to claim that one. Too bad about the Krrg who held it.

He'd been in such a hurry to get away from the Krrg--they didn't take kindly to interlopers--that he'd forgotten all about the fuel. Bad, but understandable. "Hey, wait a minute--yeah, I forgot, but you could have reminded me once we were away from those brutes."

"I forgot."

That silenced Xavier. After a long minute, he carefully pointed out, "You're an AI. You don't forget."

Another silence followed, despite the effectively instantaneous nature of Larry's thought processors.

"That is correct."

The two friends, man and AI, considered this. Larry appeared in his usual guise, as a pair of eyeballs, sans body. On this occasion, the eyes were green. An odd, pea-soup kind of green. "I am dismayed to learn this," Larry said, his computer voice drained of expression by his shock.

After a minute, Xavier decided he'd rather not think about it.

"Larry, set course for Haven. We need to refuel." The subject was closed.
###
Haven was wide open.  Xavier studied his viewer with distaste. Like most free-lance space explorers, Xavier Xanthum was an introvert, quite content with the company of Larry and their cat, Comet. It was a necessary condition of the employment; an extrovert would go mad or die, forced to spend month and even years alone between planets.

For Xavier, an entire planet engaged in a massive drunken party was a blast for about fifteen minutes. By now, he knew better than to even start. But there it was, clear on every channel he could open to Haven. Always a party planet at the best of times (the name referred to the planet being a haven from a repressive regime that didn't approve of festivities), every spaceport dirtside appeared to be enjoying some kind of wild celebration.

"What are they partying about, Larry?" It would be good to know. A party this huge might indicate the overthrow of a regime or survival of a plague.

"It appears to be an annual celebration of the recalibration of their local calendar."

Xavier thought about that. "Translate, please."

"Something they call 'New Year's Eve,'" Larry elucidated.

Xavier groaned. He now had a choice. He could try to get his fuel and leave without other contact, giving him nothing to distract him from Larry's surprising revelation. Or he could join in the party and drown the memory of Larry's forgetting in Carpintinarian rum, in hopes that by the time he sobered up he would have no recollection of Larry's descent into humanity.
###
About to drain his first tankard of rum, Xavier hesitated.

Always before, when he'd chosen to get sloshed dirtside, Larry had kept track--of him, of the ship of their Credits, and anything else that needed remembering.

What if Larry forgot?

Xavier slowly lowered the tankard, and slid off the barstool.

This was one New Year he'd skip celebrating.

###

Copyright Rebecca M. Douglass, 2016

Ready for Release!

 Death By Trombone is ready for release! Enter the Giveaway below!

Official release day is Jan. 8...but if you want to get the early-bird copy, check here. As always, direct orders for signed copies are accepted by email to Rebecca.douglass@ninjalibrarian.com.

Amazon pre-orders for the Kindle!
Smashwords pre-orders for all ebook formats.

And in case you haven't read the first book, get Death By Ice Cream at Amazon, Smashwords, or Barnes & Noble.

We are very excited about this release! Huge thanks to everyone who made it possible, and who made the book the best it could be.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Death By Trombone

by Rebecca Douglass

Giveaway ends January 31, 2016.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Happy Holidays!

...from all of us here at the Ninja Librarian...

Merry Christmas from Ninja Tom, Big Al, Tess, and the school kids!











Happy Holidays (with or without a seasonal fundraiser) from JJ and the Pismawallops PTA.

And a Joyous Midwinter from Halitor and Melly!

 

And Gorg the Troll wishes you happy holiday meals of all the most delicious rocks.

 

Winter Wonders

A day past the solstice, and I'll toss out a few winter photos. This is a vacation week for me; limited posting and less work. Three winter close-ups and a scene. These are from various times and places over the years. I don't have a lot of winter photos, as it turns out (at least, not digital ones)!

Okay, Lie #1: this isn't a winter photo at all. It was taken in June. At 11,000' in the Sierra. Close enough.

Frosty Seattle morning--cedar

More frosty Seattle. Not sure what plant is hiding under the frost.

Tahoe, possibly the last time there was a good winter.

And one more picture just to remind you--Death By Trombone is available for preorder!

YA Review: Ink and Bone

Title: Ink and Bone (The Great Libary #1)
Author: Rachel Caine
Publisher: New American Library
Source: Library

Publisher's Summary:
In an exhilarating new series, New York Times bestselling author Rachel Caine rewrites history, creating a dangerous world where the Great Library of Alexandria has survived the test of time.…

Ruthless and supremely powerful, the Great Library is now a presence in every major city, governing the flow of knowledge to the masses. Alchemy allows the Library to deliver the content of the greatest works of history instantly—but the personal ownership of books is expressly forbidden.

Jess Brightwell believes in the value of the Library, but the majority of his knowledge comes from illegal books obtained by his family, who are involved in the thriving black market. Jess has been sent to be his family’s spy, but his loyalties are tested in the final months of his training to enter the Library’s service.

When his friend inadvertently commits heresy by creating a device that could change the world, Jess discovers that those who control the Great Library believe that knowledge is more valuable than any human life—and soon both heretics and books will burn…
 
My Review: 
I grabbed this book because hey, anytime a library is a main character, I need to take a closer look, right? I found the story well-written, powerful, dystopian, dark, and grim. I couldn't put it down, even while I felt horrified by much of what happened. Maybe I felt with Jess the horror that the Library has become the evil, the enemy!

I did find some of the steampunk/magical elements a little hard to swallow, especially the mystical instant-message tablets everyone carries. The logistics of that as a magical device kind of boggle the mind, though we are of course used to it as a technological one. It felt a bit to me as though the plot needed it, so the author created the magic to do it. Maybe it jars me because the rest of the world isn't magical--there are amazing things, for example automata that are pretty much alive. But those are mechanical, however beyond imagining.

This book has a lot of depth and resonance, and maybe is an answer to those in our society who are anti-science? In any case, I will certainly snag the next volume when it comes out. It's a world that's due for a shaking-up, and Jess is a character with enough depth to be worth following.

Recommended for: 
This is a pretty grim and dark story, so I would not recommend it for anyone younger than probably about 14. There is a great deal of death and destruction, though no sex. It is also very much for those who like dystopian tales, and for those who love books and libraries (but aren't afraid of a story where the library just might be the bad guy).

Full Disclosure: I checked Ink and Bone out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher in exchange for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." 

Middle Grade Review: Gingersnap, by Patricia Reilly Giff

Title: Gingersnap
Author: Patricia Reilly Giff; read by Olivia Campbell
Publisher: Listening Library, 2013. Originally by Wendy Lamb Books, 2013, 160 pages
Source: Library (digital download)

Summary: 
In 1944, 10-year-old Jayna is living with her 18-year-old brother at last, after years of the orphans being separated in foster homes. But when Rob is called up for military service, Jayna is left uncomfortably with a landlady who doesn't really want a child. When Rob is reported missing in action, he shows her a book and a picture, and tells her they may have a grandmother in Brooklyn. When things get bad, Jayna sets off with her pet turtle and a mysterious ghostly voice to find that grandmother.

Review:
I'm a big fan of children's historical fiction, and Patricia Reilly Giff does a good job with the genre. The story is moving, and doesn't drag. I could do without the ghost (which might be dismissed as a psychological aberration, but it's not easy); mystical stuff doesn't do much for me. But aside from that, the book is a quickly-moving, sweet story, with an ending probably too good to be true, but presented well enough to satisfy.

The reader does a very good job, and there are no technical issues to get between the listener and the story.

Recommendation:
This one might be better for the kids than the adults. There is plenty of suspense, but nothing very terrible happens in the book, and it can introduce the time and place to younger readers. I'd recommend from age 8 up.
 

Full Disclosure: I checked Gingersnap out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher in exchange for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Nonfiction Audio Review: Lusitania: Triumph, Tragedy, and the End of the Edwardian Age

Title:  Lusitania: Triumph Tragedy, and the End of the Edwardian Age
Author: Greg King and Penny Wilson. Read by Johnny Heller
Publisher: Tantor Audio, 2015. Original hardcover by St. Martins, 2015, 400 pages.
Source: Library digital collection

Publisher's Summary: 
On the 100th Anniversary of its sinking, King and Wilson tell the story of the Lusitania's glamorous passengers and the torpedo that ended an era and prompted the US entry into World War I.
Lusitania: She was a ship of dreams, carrying millionaires and aristocrats, actresses and impresarios, writers and suffragettes – a microcosm of the last years of the waning Edwardian Era and the coming influences of the Twentieth Century. When she left New York on her final voyage, she sailed from the New World to the Old; yet an encounter with the machinery of the New World, in the form of a primitive German U-Boat, sent her – and her gilded passengers – to their tragic deaths and opened up a new era of indiscriminate warfare.

A hundred years after her sinking, Lusitania remains an evocative ship of mystery. Was she carrying munitions that exploded? Did Winston Churchill engineer a conspiracy that doomed the liner? Lost amid these tangled skeins is the romantic, vibrant, and finally heartrending tale of the passengers who sailed aboard her. Lives, relationships, and marriages ended in the icy waters off the Irish Sea; those who survived were left haunted and plagued with guilt. Now, authors Greg King and Penny Wilson resurrect this lost, glittering world to show the golden age of travel and illuminate the most prominent of Lusitania's passengers. Rarely was an era so glamorous; rarely was a ship so magnificent; and rarely was the human element of tragedy so quickly lost to diplomatic maneuvers and militaristic threats. 

My Review:
I used the publisher's summary above to illustrate a point. Despite the blurb's opening lines (italicized by me), King and Wilson make a point in the opening chapter of the book of debunking the idea that the sinking of the Lusitania brought the US into the war. A quick look at the timeline (sunk in 1915; US entered the war in 1917) should make that point, and that's about all they gave it.

In any case:  this book isn't as much concerned with the war and the political significance of things as it is with the culture and society. It's not what the sinking started that concerns King and Wilson, but what it ended: the Edwardian Age. Of course, that era of mannered society, strict class lines, and opulent elegance (for the rich) wasn't just ended by the sinking of one ship. It was ended by the war, but the ship makes a lovely metaphor.

It isn't a metaphor that King and Wilson explore very deeply, in my opinion. To me, this book was largely a joyous dive into the elegance of the ship and the era, and an exploration into a selection of lives (largely of survivors, no doubt in part because of a greater access to information). That the authors chose to focus on first class passengers, and a few from second class whom they found interesting, sent me a clear message. The book is not a very deep look at the age or the event, but it *is* a fascinating look at a number of lives and a nice illustration of the times (including, perhaps, the way in which the war was not taken quite seriously by the US at that point). That said, the look is never deep enough and the switches from one to another were far too rapid for my taste.

The audiobook: 
My last comment above brings me to the main problem of the audio book, which is not entirely the fault of the narrator. With the story switching rapidly from one story-line to another, the listener (this listener, anyway) is always a step behind, without any of the visual cues a printed book gives for such changes of direction. The narrator might have done more to create hesitations, but the book switches so often and so rapidly that I think that would have created its own listening problems. In general, the narrator did a good job, but it was still sometimes hard to follow.

Summary:
This book was interesting to listen to, and I learned a fair amount about the event and the era, but I found it in many ways shallow and, as mentioned, very hard to follow as an audio book. I think there may be better books out there about the sinking of the Lusitania, and I may well hunt them down.

Full Disclosure: I checked  Lusitania: Triumph, Tragedy, and the End of the Edwardian Age out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher in exchange for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Middle Grade Monday! The Headmaster's Cave

 

Title: The Headmaster's Cave
Author: D. S. Allen
Published: 2014; 170 pages
Source:  I am participating in a book-review blast and was given a free review copy in exchange for my honest review.

Publisher's Summary: 
No one goes into The Headmaster’s Cave.
The 120th anniversary of the disappearance of seven children and their Headmaster in a local cave known as The Headmaster’s Cave is approaching. When George and Dougie receive an unexpected email stating that the mystery has finally been solved, not even Dougie and Katie can persuade George to journey with them to the dangerous and ‘haunted’ cave. Only when Dougie goes missing, will George and Katie, accompanied with his dog, Flanagan, journey to rescue their friend. On their way, they must not only battle their fears, but must also overcome nature’s obstacles, Old Maggie and her dog pack, and the local bullies. But that’s nothing compared to the terror that awaits them in The Headmaster’s Cave, when the mystery is finally revealed.

My Review:
This is a fast-paced adventure for middle-grade readers, with enough peril and tension to keep the kids on the older end of that age range engrossed. It is also a mystery, of a sort, and though I could see through the wild and mystical ideas that the children have about the titular cave, most children will probably go along with the characters' ideas.

I do have a few quibbles with this book. I was bothered by some editing issues--in particular, a number of misplaced apostrophes (a particular pet peeve). But more to the point I found myself having trouble being fully engaged with the main character. He's a bit of a sad-sack, and while the effects of the bullying he endures are probably realistic, they made me not like him all that much. That bullying brings me to another issue: the 120-year-old mystery of the cave and the 7 children who disappeared seems to have too much importance in the village for me to believe it. Really? Other kids bully Dougie and George because they have ancestors who were part of that group? (there may be some more reason for George to be a victim, though he doesn't know it--which to me argues that no one else does, either because those bullies would never keep quiet about it).

So I did have some problems with the story and the way it was developed, though as it went on, I think it got stronger. Once the "quest" is set in motion, the motivations no longer really matter. The kids will go one because they are going on. And the adventure they have is  definitely exciting.

Recommendation:
For kids maybe 10-13 (because there are some kind of grim bits) who like adventure, mystery, and don't mind a bit of maybe mystical stuff too. Oh, and the story is written in British English, just enough to be noticeable, eg. they use a torch, and for that matter have a headmaster, not a principal.

Full Disclosure: I was given an electronic copy of The Headmaster's Cave by the publisher in exchange for my honest review and received nothing further from the writer or publisher.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Insecure Writers' Support Group

Purpose of the IWSG: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
 
The Insecure Writer's Support Group posts the first Wednesday of each month to talk about whatever is making us insecure. Or writers. Or whatever requires support.

When Planning Fails

So I did my first IWSG post as we were swinging into NaNoWriMo, and I was worried about pulling it off. Now, 60,000 words later, I have a new worry. Obviously, I can spew an adequate supply of words. And I'm not even too worried by the fact that they are, many of them, superfluous or merely badly chosen, since that can and will be fixed. No, what worries me is that I need about 20,000 more words to finish up, and my rather hastily-constructed and unfinished outline has gone the way of the scythe and the plowhorse--left behind by progress. As a result, I am left, watching each person through the door hoping they'll drop some clue to tell me who the heck committed the murder (the novel's a mystery, the 3rd in my Pismwallops PTA series).

In other words...my efforts at outlining failed. Two years ago, I put together a great plan for Death By Trombone, and sailed through to the end with some surprises but nothing too disruptive. This time, I started with only about 2/3 of an outline (more on my outline technique here) and a lot of unanswered questions. Then I killed my prime suspect halfway through. That was a bit disconcerting, and maybe if I were taking my time about things I'd have gone back and changed it, or spent the day or three needed to re-work the outline (and finish it). Instead, the corpse remained a corpse, and on I went. Now that NaNo is over and no one is looking to see if I've written 1667 words each day, I may want to take a day or two and go back to working out some of the questions.

Meanwhile, I'm facing a few other writerly challenges. As I was sending the final draft of Death By Trombone to the proof-reader, I got some comments from a rather intelligent reader of Death By Ice Cream that led me to re-write the ending (thanks, Rodney!), so I added that to my burden of tasks during NaNo. The result is, I believe, a decided improvement and awareness of a mistake I won't make a third time. The publication date has been pushed back to January 8 (okay, I never dared set a date until now. That should keep me in a panic).

Then there is the really big writer's challenge: the annual family Xmas letter. This one really is tough this year, because, well, this author who publishes at least one book a year...hasn't managed to finish a holiday letter in 4 years. Distilling those 4 years into a modest bit of readable text and a bunch of photos is a daunting task by any standard! On the other hand: if I master that one, move over Hemingway!

****

Coming January 8!

If you haven't already, grab your copy of Death By Ice Cream today--because it's only 99 cents until I log in and change the price back up!