GenCon 2015

GenCon 2015 has come and gone, and I have a few observations or comments.

First of all, Marc Tassin did a truly amazing job organizing and running the Writers Symposium. It gets better every year, and I'm proud to call him my friend and fellow writing group member. Terry Brooks was the Big Kahuna Guest of Honor this year, but there were so many other talented and pleasant guests.

I didn't attend many panels this time (more on that below), but I do want to mention how much I enjoyed Geoffery Girard's presentation on "Query Letters, Pitches and Synopses." This was aimed at writers who have a novel ready or nearly ready to start pushing on an unsuspecting world of agents and editors. As Geoffery himself admits, the information and advice in his talk isn't new, and you can find it in many places. His presentation, however, was energetic, well-organized, joyful, and most importantly useful! The best part for me was the exercise of writing the infamous "elevator pitch", and then practicing it with all the other people in the room. We did this many, many times, including repetitions during which the listener purposefully interrupted your pitch with questions. Speaking for myself (and prolly most of the other students), it got easier every time. By the end of the pitch session I was very comfortable, and happy to field the interrupting questions. Great job, Geoffery! If he repeats this talk at GenCon or anywhere else, I highly recommend it.

I also attended the "What Editors Want" panel with Jim Minz of Baen Books, and Marco Palmieri of Tor, among others. I won't delve into the details, but I must repeat a quote that Jim read out loud near the end of the session. It's from Calvin Coolidge:

"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."

This is so flippin' true that it should always be included when printing The Law of Conservation of Matter and Energy. My life is a testimonial to this. Take it to heart!

One more little note about the Symposium. I got to meet Kameron Hurley again, and deliver my apology in person! (See my previous blog entry with her name in the title.)

Okay, the reason I didn't attend many panels was because I wanted to spend more time with Alex, and simply have fun together playing games and gawking. On that account, the trip was a complete success! I look forward to next year, but we gotta get a room closer to the con.

God's War by Kameron Hurley

I owe Kameron Hurley an apology. She doesn't know me, doesn't know about this debt, and likely wouldn't recall if I told her. Still, I do.

I met her, briefly, at WorldCon in Chicago almost three years ago. She was a panelist on something—a promo for Nightshade Books if I recall—and at the end she had a copy of her debut novel God's War to give away. I turned out to be the lucky recipient, but before she handed it to me she asked, "Are you really going to read this?" To which I replied something quick and positive like, "Absolutely!"

I read the first page or two that evening in my hotel room, but then I put the book aside. It hadn't grabbed me by the throat immediately.

About three weeks ago I finally picked her novel up again. I gave it a second chance, and I'm happy to report that it was well worth it.

This isn't really a review, and I don't want to spoil anything for the odd person who might actually be reading this, so I won't give much detail. I will say that Kameron paints a truly fascinating world on a planet inhabited by the spiritual descendants of Muslims, who use bug-based biotech for much of their needs, and who are engaged in a very long war.

Having just written that, I realize that it would be easy to think the book was primarily a milieu-type novel.* This is when the special world of the story is dominant.

What I read, however, is an action-y book about characters and relationships, with some complexity and mystery to the plot. In fact, I would have to say a bit too complex, or at least too mysterious. A fault I find with the story is that some characters and events are shaded too much, with insufficient explanation. I found myself wondering on a few occasions, "Why did that just happen? Who the heck is she?"

I get what Kameron was doing. The technique of showing events as they happen, without explaining everything at the time, makes for a more realistic story. She used this very effectively with significant portions of the back story of the main character named Nyx, and at least one other. Yet she over did it in several other places. (Whether or not she meant to is another question.) This didn’t stop me from reading once I got momentum, but the road could have been just a bit smoother.

What more than makes up for the road bumps, however, is the depth of characterization of Nyx, and some of her team. She is a tough, driven, sometimes-bounty hunter, yet very far from a stereotype. She's drawn gradually and completely, with multiple blended aspects of her personality. Just like a real person. She's admirable and detestable. She's intimidating and pitiable. She's the best friend to have at your back, and the worst. She's strong, and vulnerable, and wise, and stupid.

There's one scene in which the ruthless killer Nyx is comforting her friend and teammate while he goes through a particularly humiliating full body search. That may not sound like much, but for his situation and culture, the process is agony, and Nyx knows it. She can't truly help him, but she stays by his side, softly doing what she can.

I read that scene three times when I hit it, and thought to myself, "Wow. I wish I had written that."

Then I finished the book. As I already said, it has some flaws that didn't need to be there. But it is powerful, and compelling, and it makes me wish that I had written the character of Nyx.

So, I apologize to you Kameron Hurley, for taking almost three years before reading the novel that you gave to me. And I thank you, sincerely, for providing an experience that I expect will stay with me for a very long time.


*See Orson Scott Card's M.I.C.E. quotient. http://triton.towson.edu/~schmitt/311/pages/tsld004.htm And if you're a writer, I highly recommend his books Characters and Viewpoint, and How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy.