That end-of-year thing

It's been a crazy 2018 and yet we've gotten through it (relatively) unscathed. I'm not going to lie. 2018 was tough, especially financially. Cape Town's water crisis coupled with the uncertainties related to South Africa's ongoing shifting political landscape resulted in the fact that things were on the quiet side until June/July. Mercifully the film industry picked up again, but I did have to dip into my savings (goodbye overseas holiday). So, yeah, I'm hoping things will be less dubious during 2019.

In terms of my work as a graphic designer, 2018 is the year that I've truly fallen in love with design again. My work in the film industry has kindled an excitement and interest in visual communication that I'm carrying over to my day-to-day tasks that involve design and marketing communication for a luxury petfood brand. The month that I was working at the Cape Town Film Studios on a major television series was one of the highlights of my year, and also an incredibly enriching experience.

Things happened for me on the music front this year in a big way, seeing the neofolk band I'm in with Terminatryx vocalist Sonja Ruppersberg, Isobel, performing at the ALTfest this year, as well as us producing and filming not one but two music videos. We also finished recording our album Dark Water, which will release early next year.

'Take Me Away' was filmed at St Paul's in Rondebosch, edited by the incredibly talented Leon Visser. 'Those Who Return' was filmed on location here in the far south peninsula, scripted and directed by my husband Thomas Dorman and assisted by Leon Visser. A huge thank you to everyone involved – Paul Blom, Matthijs van Dijk, Bounceboard Productions, and others.

While I haven't had any major sales, 2018 has also been good to me. I've seen stories released through Immanion Press in anthologies edited by Storm Constantine, who remains a guiding light in my literary career. After a long-form hiatus of a few years, I've also released a novella, The Firebird, which has been well received by readers and even made it to the semi-finals of the Self Publishing Fantasy Blog Off awards. You can make me incredibly happy by clicking through to the link and buying it. Or, if you've read it, do consider leaving a review on Amazon. I finished and submitted a novel to the Sanlam Youth Literature Prize again, so I'm still waiting for news on that. (The mere fact that I finished a project is already a win, in my books.) I'm currently still revising The Company of Birds, which is turning into a ginormous undertaking. I wish I could give you an ETA but this is a project that's taking the time it needs to be a good novel.

In terms of short fiction, I've had a short story of mine make the shortlist for a Nommo award. "On the other Side of the Sea" was first published in Omenana, and you can read it here. I have other short stories on sub and in production, so I try not to peer too myopically at my inbox.

I'm still editing fiction, but am only taking on select clients. Feel free to check out my editing rates above. Ditto also for book reviews, however my backlog is something awful, so I'm being incredibly picky in terms of which books I'll review. Do check out my review policy above.

Lastly, I'm excited to be taking my illustration more seriously. I majored in illustration at university, only I never got off my arse to take things further. This year I bought an iPad Pro and it's been an absolute game changer in terms of my creative endeavours. If you're on Instagram, do follow me there for my creative shenanigans. Otherwise, stalk me on Twitter, where I often provide largely irreverent unintentionally hilarious entertainment.

The Witcher: House of Glass by Paul Tobin

I wanted to give The Witcher: House of Glass by Paul Tobin a solid 5 stars but I felt that the story fell a little flat for me. We could have had a better idea of what was on Geralt's mind, but it seemed as if he was just floundering around, especially with some situations – if the dead wife was trapped by the cursed house, then how was it that she appeared on the hill every evening where her husband stayed at the edge of the forest? Some of the elements also didn't feel as if they held together smoothly – like the hag and the corpses.

The art, on the other hand is lovely, loose and atmospheric, and made the comic book a great read that remains true to the essence of the Witcher universe. Also, you don't need to have read any of the books or played the games to know what's going on. It's a straight-up monster hunt, but with a slight twist at the end.

Last Flight (Dragon Age #5) by Liane Merciel

I've been somewhat lukewarm about most of the Dragon Age spin-off fiction I've read so far, but Liane Merciel redeemed the franchise's fiction offerings for me in Last Flight. Also, I admit fully that I absolutely adore griffins, or griffons, as they are called in this novel.

The primary story is about the mage Valya, an elven mage who joins the Grey Wardens in their Weisshaupt fastness in the Anderfels more or less the time during the Dragon Age when Grey Wardens start going missing thanks to the evil machinations of the arch-villain Corypheus. (By my estimation, I may stand to be corrected.) She is tasked with researching the historical records of past Blights but in doing so, discovers the four-hundred-year-old journal of the elven Grey Warden mage Isseya, who with her twin brother Garahel were responsible for ending the fourth Blight. 

While the primary storyline isn't all that filled with drama – it's basically day-to-day life in Weisshaupt as Valya befriends a former Templar and kindles a friendship with another elf Warden Caronel, we do discover the story of Isseya's care of the last griffons that served as the winged mounts favoured by the Grey Wardens. And all that before they set off for a brief spell of adventuring near the end. Stock standard RPG stuff but fun nonetheless.

If you love Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern you'll get why I adored this bit of Thedosian history. By now if you've played through Dragon Age: Inquisition, you'll know that there's mention of Grey Wardens who discover griffon eggs... And this is the story of how this happens. It's straight-up questing and combat, featuring companions fighting against odds and making sacrifices. Which is what being a Grey Warden is all about.

Now I want to go write all the fanfiction about griffon riders... 

I digress...

Just a last note: Merciel's writing is lovely, and her characters spring to life off the pages. And if you're big on Dragon Age lore, especially when it comes to griffons, then don't miss out on Last Flight. I admit that I was a little choked up near the end.

Thomas by Michael G Manning

I'm always keen to give self-published authors a spin, and at a glance Thomas by Michael G Manning seemed like the kind of book I could get behind, but it became increasingly clear as I progressed that this novel was desperately in need of serious structural edits, not to mention a fair amount of copy editing to clear up issues such as chronic head-hopping and far too many other gremlins.

Look, this is not a bad little story. I never quite did feel as if I wanted to throw my iPad across the room, but it could have been so much stronger. I gained the impression, while I read, that this was based on someone's RPG campaign, which in itself wouldn't be awful if it weren't for the fact that two of secondary characters could easily have been excised from the novel without harming the story at all.

A big killer for me was the characterisation, especially of the female characters, who couldn't seem to have a conversation about anything else other than men. And one individual in particular. [sigh] Pacing was a big problem as well, and important narrative milestones were missing or muddled, not to forget the the typecasting of human = good, orcs = bad. I suppose this wouldn't bother younger readers, but as a seasoned reader of fantasy I wanted more.

At its heart this is a sweet story; perhaps a little too sentimental for my tastes, so I suppose the fault lies with the reader, not the author. If you're interested in a messiah-style tale where an orphan-turned-cleric is charged with saving the world, then this one may blow your hair back. This was a not-quite-hitting-the-mark for me, unfortunately.

Eidolon (Wraith Kings #2) by Grace Draven

I'll start by saying that Grace Draven is one of the authors who's on my auto-buy list. Eidolon is the second book in her Wraith Kings series and continues the tale of the unlikely couple of Brishen and Ildiko. Now, more than ever, their mismatched marriage between Kai and humankind will be tested as a horde of demonic galla ravage the lands, Brishen is the only one who holds the power to stop them. After all, it was his scheming mother Secmis who inadvertently released the awful things.

As always, Draven conjures up a rich world with a detailed heritage. We get the impression of much history that has passed, that still affects the characters to this day. There is ancient magic and intrigue aplenty, and while romance is a strong element in all Draven's writing, it never feels out of place or overemphasised to the detriment of the plot.

Her realisation of a functioning magical system is plausible, which is a big deal for me in any fantasy novel, and she manages more than one narrative arc expertly. Granted, I'd have liked to have seen a bit more development in terms of try/fail cycles for individual characters, but that's a minor niggle from my side, because at its heart this is gothic fantasy that hits all the right buttons for me.

What I like best about Draven's writing is the effortlessness of her style, and especially the relationships between the characters – there's an authenticity to their interactions which I appreciate, in addition to the often lively dialogue. It's not so much the manic, plot-driving scenes but also the quieter bits in between where you glimpse characters imply *being* with each other.

Eidolon is an enthralling fantasy read, that ticks the boxes in terms of quests, mystery, magic, and enduring love.

Knucklebone by NR Brodie

With a dearth of traditionally published speculative fiction in South Africa, I'm tickled pink to get hold of NR Brodie's Knucklebone*. I've been reading her non-fiction for a while, and I love her style, so I was dead keen to see what her fiction would be like, and I was not disappointed.

Set in Joburg, Knucklebone is a fast-paced occult-noir primarily from the point of retired cop Ian, and his unintended partner Reshma, as they are plunged into a shadowy world of witches, sangomas and poaching/animal parts smuggling rings.

Brodie brings her setting to life with a large, varied cast of memorable characters, many of whom have in-your-face attitudes that I enjoyed immensely. Her writing is precise without losing the ability to evoke, and she keeps her chapters short, so the story moves along at a breath-taking pace. So if you're like me and don't have extended periods to read, this novel is perfect. Of course, if you're anything like me, you'll be tempted to read just one more chapter before bed.

The brevity and fast pace does have its down side, however. While the story picks up pace as it winds to its conclusion I feel that it loses some of its impact near the end with the introduction of a whole passel of new characters who all play small roles before exiting stage left. I understand that they each contribute to the resolution, but gained the sense that it diluted some of the punch that the climax would have had, especially for Ian as a central character. I'd have liked to have seen a bit more development or, failing that, a paring down of the number of characters.

This being said, it was not a dealbreaker for me, since I was already on board for the ride. Brodie dips into South Africa's melting pot of cultures to produce a story that dances with many traditions, both African, Eastern and Western, and the end result is a delicious melange. Knucklebone is the kind of novel that will appeal to lovers of both fantasy and thrillers, in my opinion, and if you like your fiction with a more than healthy dollop of magic, then dip into this one.

* This is a hint to South African publishers that there are oodles of talented SFF authors in the country worth investing in, so do open your doors to queries in these genres.

Daughters of Forgotten Light by Sean Grigsby

The first thing that sold me on Daughters of Forgotten Light by Sean Grigsby was the cover – good goddess that's some amazing design right there. The second thing was the title. Then I read the back cover blurb, and I was all over the idea of the story. In a nutshell, it seems as if the earth is rapidly headed towards another ice age; nearly all the men are at the front fighting a war neither side can win; and to combat overpopulation, mothers are given the authority to ship their daughters to a prison known as Oubliette.

As the name suggests, this is a one-way trip. Once they arrive at this space station that initially began life as an estate for the fabulously wealthy, they're left to fend for themselves a la Lord of the Flies. The only responsibility earth takes is to send shipments of "manna" with the next batch of "shippees". Carnage ensues.

What the government didn't bargain for as these women on Oubliette forming a complex social hierarchy and functioning society (after a fashion), using what available technology exists to craft their own tools, weapons and vehicles.

The story is told primarily from the point of view of Lena "Horror" – the leader of the gang the Daughters of Forgotten Light gang on Oubliette, and Dolfuse, a senator back on earth who suffers incredible remorse for having shipped her baby daughter. Both women are leaders, railing against an unjust system, but from opposite ends.

What I loved: The world building. I'm not a huge one for SF – as in I'm incredibly picky about what I'll read – but I really loved the setting. I admit I wasn't hundred percent on board with the way earth's social structure had shifted, but it was a refreshing change from my usual fare. Grigsby piles on the action with a vivid cast of characters. Sarah Pao with her genetically modified blue hair and attitude was one of my favourite characters. This story moves along at a cracking pace, and readers are never allowed to get too comfortable.

On the downside, I feel as if the assorted narrative threads could have been developed a bit more – I finished with the wish that there could have been further depth, that each character didn't quite get the full sense of being pushed to their limits. Perhaps there was too much emphasis placed on the fulfilment of the outer journey rather than the inner. So this was me hovering between giving four or five stars, so I'm going to settle on five, because this was still, in my opinion, a cracking read that I enjoyed thoroughly. And it's a book I'm not going to forget in a hurry. Grigsby's dystopian vision is an adrenaline-fuelled romp with more than enough speed and ultra-violence to satisfy those of you who enjoy their Tarantino with a side order of Sons of Anarchy but on fancier motorcycles.