Moonlake's Fiction Space

Excursions from the Citadel- out to wander the world

The first issue of the Citadel commercial epub, Excursions from the Citadel, will be out on Amazon Kindle on March 1^st! We are taking advantage of the 5 days of promotion on Amazon in which our ebook will be free to targeted readers. So if fantasy or just good writing is your thing, tune in to this blog for announcements about when it will be going for free! It holds the collection of work by three authors including myself or “the circle of three” as we’ve dubbed ourselves. The theme is shape-shifters as I’ve already mentioned in a previous post. Before I delve into anything, I would first like to put up the following two links that provide good summaries of the different types of shape-shifter stories there are and the functions a shape-shifter serves in a story:

Themes in shape-shifter stories: http://www.writing-world.com/sf/shape.shtml

Role of Shape-shifter in stories http://www.betternovelproject.com/blog/shapeshifter/

Now, shape shifter is a very popular theme lately I was told and Keyword Analytics tell me the same thing. But I have to say that personally I think of it as a lame theme in the sense that I feel like the majority of stories starring shape-shifters fall into a couple of moulds that just don’t interest me or I’ve grown tired of. So if you are someone like me, I want to say that you can rest assured that the Excursions from the Citadel doesn’t have a single story in it that really falls into any of the conventional moulds as I think of them or if it does, then it tips around on its head.

We have 5 and ½ stories included in the first issue- the half a story is the first part of a two-part running serial story written by me, what I called Thread in my first post of this month. In this post, I want to focus on discussing how each of the stories relate to the designated theme of shape-shifter and takes it beyond the conventional moulds that I personally find hard to relate to.

Firstly, most of stories have applied the concept of shape-shifters as a story element in a broad way. By this, I mean specifically that it has taken the two concepts of transformation and transcendence under the umbrella of shape shifters or rather shifting in shapes as we prefer to call it.

Transformation is easy. A shape-shifter is technically a sentient being able to shift into another form, usually a bestial form when we think about shape shifters. But three of the stories here are really about shifting in shapes which is subtly different from such a conventional image of a shape shifter. In particular, who says that one of the form has to be a sentient form? That is how two of the stories have incorporated the transformation element of the shape shifters theme. The other story doesn’t go this route but is still subtly different from the conventional sentient being to bestial shape-shifter image that everyone has grown used to.

Transcendence can be seen as Mental or Character Transformation. It can also be about a final moment that leads characters to euphoria and a higher state to where they were. These are essentially character growth or self discovery stories and the element of a shape-shifter or shape shifting plays a somewhat minor or peripheral role in the story. In this issue, we have one story each with the theme on character growth and self discovery. We also have one story that I already alluded to briefly in the above paragraph that I think belongs to this category in the sense that the ending is imminently satisfying for the main character involved.

Now, we do have one story that includes the conventional shape-shifter and is essentially a story of a protagonist being on the run from shape-shifters. And there the novelty mainly comes from the type of the protagonist that the author has chosen. There’s an additional novelty in the setup for this particular story but I’m not giving all the elements away so I won’t get into it here.

Overall, I think this particular volume that I’m personally involved has something to offer for both those who really like to read anything involved shape-shifters or some like me whose taste run the other way. But don’t just take my words for it. There will be excerpt releases on this blog over the next week starting from Monday Australian time. On each day I will release a single page or scene’s worth of except for a particular story. So stay tuned if you are an avid reader of fantasy, the shape-shifter theme or just appreciate solid good writing.

Also, next to follow is my own personal review of each story in this epub which will provide more of an outline of what each story’s plot is. It’s a biased review but I’m in the mood for it.

Chinese lore- Legendary Horses

Pictures of all the horses can be seen here . Listing over there is in reverse order to this post here.

No. 10: The Yellow-hoofed Flying Thunder (Zhao Huang Fei Dian)

As its name indicates, it has four yellow hoofs but its body is white throughout. It is a very tall, powerful, dignified, elegant and yet arrogant mount. It is the preferred mount of the villainous warlord Cao Cao (the closest pronunciation is Chow Chow) whenever he returned in triumph after a battle.

No. 9: Stolen Pure Black (Dao Li)

One of the eight legendary horses used to pull the carriage of Zhou Mu Wang (a warlord of ancient times), it was said to light black all throughout and with a slender neck. It was said to be a very strong and fast horse with a great temper that makes it hard to tame.

No. 8: De Le Biao

Its fur is a yellowish colour with white showing through with its mouth being of a light black colour. It was ridden by Li Shi Ming, second emperor of the Tang dynasty when he recovered a part of the land in the modern Shan Xi province. It is put in the first place of honour among one of the burial places of the Emperors of the Tang dynasty.

No. 7: The Jade Lion that Shines in the Night (Zhao Ye Yu Shi Zi)

It is white throughout, with nary a hair of a different colour. It was said that this horse was of a foreign breed and could travel a thousand Chinese miles in a day (about 300 km- 550 km depending on the dynasty of reference). It originally appeared in the Water Margin (one of the 4 classics in Chinese literature about a bunch of righteous outlaws/grass-root rebel heroes) driving a section of the plot and has since been said to be the mount of a number of people such as Zhao Yu of the Three Kingdom era (his signature image is a rider on a white horse wielding a silver spear).

No. 6: The Yellow Horse Speckled with White (Huang Biao Ma)

As its name indicates, this horse has white spots on its yellow hide which are concentrated around its belly and its ribs. Its mane contains tufts of white hair that are shaped like a full moon. Consequently, it also has the nickname of “the Jade-headed Dry-straw Yellow of Xi Liang” (Xi Liang is a place). In addition, this horse’s ribcage will always be visible no matter how much it is fed, earning it the nickname of “the Dragon with Protruding Bones”. It is reputedly the mount of a famous general in the early days of the Tang dynasty who is called Qin Chong.

No. 5: Shadowless (Jue Ying)

The mount of Cao Cao of the Period of the Three Kingdoms in ancient China (starting from the ending days of the Han Dynasty). From its name, it is clear that it runs so fast that its shadow won’t be able to keep up. It was recorded in The Book of Wei (a historical record) that Shadowless was hit by a volley of arrows on its cheek and legs (presumably to its death) and in the same battle Cao Cao was injured on his right arm.

No. 4: Melancholy Dew Purple (Sa Lu Zi)

The mount of Li Shi Ming (2^nd Emperor of the Tang Dynasty) when he vanquished Wang Shi Chong of the Luo Yang province on his Eastern campaign. It was killed by an arrow in its chest and is in the first place of honour on the place dedicated to mounts within the Emperor’s tomb.

No. 3: Black Piebald (Wu Zhui)

The mount of Conqueror Xiang (major competitor to founder of the Han dynasty, also his sworn brother). It is a horse whose body is purely black and shiny (like a bolt of black silk) and has four hooves as white as snow. For this reason, it is called the Black Piebald who Trod on Snow (Ta Xue Wu Zhui). It has a long and smooth back and short hips and strong limbs. In the legends, after Conqueror Xiang slayed himself with a sword alongside the Black River (Wu Jiang), this horse followed on the footsteps of his owner by jumping into the river.

No. 2: Di Lu

The mount of Liu Bei of the Period of the Three Kingdoms, it was famous of having borne its owner across a mountain stream spanning several Chinese miles called Tan Xi and thus helping him to chase the opposing army chasing him. It was the most famous horse of its ear but was still one of the more renowned ones. In particular, its popularity was greatly heightened as it appeared in the work of Xin Qi Ji, a famous poet of the Southern Song dynasty.

No. 1: The Red Rabbit (Chi Tu)

Its original name has the same sound (and the second character is almost identical except for having an additional part to it) but actually means “a ferocious red horse like a tiger”. It was reputedly of the breed of “Han Xue Bao Ma” or Blood-coloured Sweat Horses which is a breed of horses imported by the Chinese whose sweats is blood-coloured. It has become a term used to describe a really good horse as in the saying “Chi Tu among horses, Lu Bu among men” (Lu Bu happened to be one of its owners who was reputedly the greatest warrior of his time). It lived in the same era of Di Lu and was the most famous horse of its era and possibly ever afterwards till now. It was reputedly first the mount of Dong Zhuo and was given to Lu Bu as a bribe to win him over. After Lu Bu’s death, it was given to Guan Yu by Cao Cao (who killed Lu Bu) to try to win him over from Liu Bei (who was Guan Yu’s elder sworn brother). After Guan Yu was slayed, it was said that Chi Tu missed him so much that it refused to eat anymore and died.

You walk past a thousand stories in one day. What will you do with them?

Just like to say that this is so true.

What Inspires Your Writing?

This week the spotlight shines on Devon McLaughlin, a fantasy author from Delaware and our latest winner in the ChapterBuzz writing contest!

I asked Devon about what inspires her writing. The answer she gave is fantastic, and she even offers some great advice to budding writers in the process.

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Would you like to be profiled here? Learn more about the contest and get writing!
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So, Devon, where do you get your writing inspiration?

It is a bit like trying to explain to a scientist what “love” is. A writer’s inspiration can be smoke and mirrors…or quite tangible. You walk past a myriad of different stories every day. What you do with those ideas is up to you as the writer.
I write fantasy and gothic paranormal because I enjoy those subjects. I write (and read) to escape. And I am not the only one.
For many of…

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The Concept of Meta Fiction

I mentioned something called Meta Fiction in my last post and since it’s not a well-known term I think I better explain what it is in a follow-up post.

Basically, I have come up with the following definition for it: it is a piece of prose written in the voice of a fictional character but rather than telling a story, it presents world meta or trivia. One can write and probably can only a meta fiction in one of the 3 following ways:

As a single or a series of diary entries
As excerpts from a fictional book
As verbal conversation between two fictional characters

Now, as an example, I would provide the following excerpt of a fictional book that I wrote up on the Citadel, my Virtual Writer’s Home:

When a life is snuffed out through a cause other than old age and natural ailments, the spirit lingers in the Mortal Realm rather than immediately entering the Spiritual World, as is its due. The incorporeal form attached to such a being is what is commonly referred to as a Ghost. A ghost is bound to the Mortal Realm for as long as the time it takes for his physical remains to return to dusts or ashes. During this period, although a ghost can no longer influence the material world in any way, it is generally free to wander the world and enjoy new sights. In fact, a ghost is at a greater advantage when doing so compared to average humans as it can travel at a faster speed.

From individuals done to death by violence, however, a different type of ghost forms. These are spirits confined to the site of their deaths until their time to enter the Spiritual World. In addition, they differ from average ghosts in that their memories can manifest in a way that are physically seen by humans, although these memories do not actually take on a corporeal form that allows human to interact with these memories. Furthermore, such manifestations occur quite rarely, as the memories of these ghosts have to be drawn out through a medium that acts as a focus for memory recall. In general, the only activity that these ghosts engage in is to wander aimlessly among the sites of their demise. As a result, they are generally known as the Restless Horde.

Furthermore, there are some among the Restless Horde that are bound to the Mortal Realm even after their remains are no more. These are called the Bound Ones. They are the individuals who died with an overwhelming sense that there is still something left unfulfilled in their lives. Thus, their spirits are barred from the Spiritual World until such times when they are reconciled with their fates, either through being satisfied that they have finally fulfilled that which is on their minds at the time of death, or losing all hopes in ever attaining whatever it was they desired in life. There is also a third possibility. As time goes on, a particular one among them might be driven mad by the failure to attain their goals and be doomed to forever being barred from the ultimate haven for spirits. Mortals should be very careful of items strewn around potential scenes of carnage, for these can house a Bound One who might be able to usurp the place of the spirit natural to a particular physical body. This is what is commonly known as possession.

~ an excerpt from Primer on the Spiritual World

Write-as-you-go plus Write-what-you-know

In between my commitments to my Writer’s home and the epub, I have most of my time occupied for time, not to mention that I’m back to FT work for a year. So I figured I better sneak in time whenever possible to actually write a post rather than doing lyrics posts or other alternative forms of what I call ‘slack/rush posts’.

What I’m referring to in the title of this post is actually what I experienced while working on a short story for the epub. To anyone who has read my About Page, they would know that I dream of writing a fantasy series based on ancient China, not now but one day. Now, for the epub, we had somehow decided that we will impose a theme on each issue and the theme for the first one yet to be released will be shape-shifter. Now I’m the type of writer who can’t really write with any type of pre-imposed constraints and a theme unfortunately often works as one on me. But somehow amidst my “turning the theme on its head” attempts due to personal dislike of the shape-shifter theme (actually the irony is that I’m the one who suggested it but that’s a long story for another day).one single scene of a teacher teaching children to write, two pieces of information from a HK TV drama and the Internet respectively and one of these ‘turning the shape-shifter theme on its head’ ideas of mine just came together and suddenly I’ve got a short story set in ancient China.

Now, I won’t delve overlong into my planning stage except to say that I cheated by chomping the story into two so that I can concentrate on the part where I know everything in a broad sketch way. In actual writing, I still encounter ‘blocks’ caused by details that I haven’t thought out completely as wont to crop up unless one actually works out all the meta-world stuff first. I’ll admit that while I cannot completely ‘wing it’ and just write, I also don’t have that kind of patience to delve down into that kind of level of details before I write. So going back to that particular story I was writing, I fully experienced the joy of ‘write-as-you-go’ as I call it as I was writing it and I think it’s a showcase of the power of ‘write-what-you-know’. To be honest, I didn’t really have belief in either before. I can handle a bit of ‘write-as-you-go’ but prior attempts show that I often write myself into a dead corner beyond an article type of creative writing which is what I do at my Writer’s home. Not real fiction in the way of novels and short stories but what I call meta-world fiction in which I write up particular aspects of a world in pretty much an article format but with prose. It’s been dubbed ‘meta fiction’ by the current leader of this Citadel epub that I’m participating in now. And I never really had respect for the idea of ‘write-what-you-know’ by which I mean that I know it’s technically correct but I have no personal use for the limitation it imposes on one’s writing (again, no limitations/constraints please!).

But everything has an exception as my Chinese short story (it’s called A Thread of Chance or Thread for short) shows me. I guess the take-home message from this experience is this: turn whatever you normally think of as constraints/limitations on its head and apply it differently and just see how it works out. You might get pleasantly surprised.

May everyone find some pleasant surprises of their own!

Moonlake’s Lyrics (20)

Almost couldn’t make it today as I was rushing to finish off my solo story for issue 1 of the epub. We are rushing to the finishing line now, 90-95% there on all stories except this one I’m wrapping up today. So today’s post will have to be another lyric post.

The following song is a Cantonese pop duet sung by Anita Mui who had already passed away, I really liked her husky voice for one who often appreciates the lyrics more than the tune. The title of the song is called “The heart is still cold”. As you can tell from the title, it’s a bit of a morose song but has a somewhat positive ending. By the way, if you feel a sense of déjà vu about the lyrics, that’s because I used it as a writing prompt earlier for my Random Writing series. It goes as follows:

(F) Seen through all the cold stares          My heart is used to them and do not sigh for them

Cold laughter seemingly dissipate            suppressing the brilliance within my dreams

Love is like cold rain that intermittently comes back and forth

Making me experiencing enough of coming together and drifting apart so I frequently walk alone now

(M) Having loved and hurt also                  because depression loves to lean on me exclusively

Cold arrows pounce on me                          even though I’ve fallen down on my behinds all by myself

A love that will accompany one to old age is ultimately rare

Love often plays tricks on me                     I am passing through amidst stumbles and falls

(F&M) Still caring about you a lot              but my heart hurts

Cannot help passing off love to another in the final end

The cold night is long and deep                  dream is deeper

One is gradually used to continuing drifting along the path of love

(Tomorrow I continue to drift along the path of love)

(F&M) The star dust in the sky is like eyes that secretly weep

As if weeping for the lost youth that hasn’t returned

Now alone (I) silently sigh

Endless indifference and coldness are already left on the roads.

Moonlake’s Lyrics (19)

If you are one of my followers, you probably can tell that I’m getting slack again. Whenever I do, I post up a set of lyrics or dig up some old pieces of random writing that I did. Sadly, I’ve run down most of my stock save for a very few.

Now, the man reason I like the following set of lyrics is probably because it goes so well with the TV drama for which it is the theme song. The protagonist is an ‘ugly’ woman: well she’s a beauty faking to be an ugly maiden and then a magician (not Gandalf magician, modern magician but story is set in ancient China) comes along and swaps her head with her childhood friend who really is ugly so she becomes ugly. It’s a love story of course as you will see from the lyrics below.

Anyway, the title of the song is “The Price of Love” and the lyrics goes as follows:

If eyes can separate right from wrong

Right at this moment                      have you seen through me clearly?

The honesty hidden in the bottom of my heart

How do I harnest it to compose a love song with you that will last a thousand year?

Judging me from my social position

A female like me              would you love her deeply?

If appearances make people fall for the wrong person

How do I make you look closer at me      so that you will see me true

Let’s Cry

I don’t know how to lie and cheat            don’t you know my goodness?

I still believe that honesty is me and my deep love still hasn’t changed

Come                    See for yourself

It’s not scary to use up a whole life

Even using up this life    no begrudging   no regrets           no hatred

This is the price of love

Moonlake’ Lyrics (18)

Today is the last day of my ‘chilling out’ from the epub venture so I lost myself in chat for the most of today. So here’s another set of lyrics. It is a song sung together by a male and a female. The title of the song is called “Effective medicine that tastes bitter”. Consistent with the song title, there are many metaphorical references to Chinese medicine terminologies and it basically tells the story of a couple that didn’t make it.

Here goes:

(F) No lights        still people around          it is considered good luck if we hugged before

Even if we are patients we’ve hung on for so long that the tea have become bitter and then the bitter tea have turned back into sweetness in aftertaste

(M) So glad         a fortunate one                                learnt to be content with one’s lot after losing love

The attraction you left behind in the past have all risen above themselves and become the key ingredient of a medicine

*(F) Never mind that your kiss yesterday                             have made scars out of me

Happiness become cruelty                                          it still left a lasting impact on me

(M) Having shared the flaw of falling in love        don’t wait for pity anymore

(F&M) That pain in the past is like the Ten Commandments         prompting you and me to strive for rebirth

#(M) After driving a bitter concoction a sweet candy will be given to me                (F) the cure for the past works

(M) To dry away tears                    (F) Even if what had once been possessed is lost

(F&M) No matter how trying it is in the end it will end up plain as water

(M) When you and me have got to a certain age                              (F) we get tired of whatever we loved best

(F&M) Yesterday             no matter how perfect it will be snowfall eventually turning into water

(F) The tears shed will recede with the tides one day      (M) will be a fit match for happiness one day

(F&M) Looking back on the beautiful snowfall it will still stay within your heart

(F) If still remember        the past love      breaking up shouldn’t be considered bad luck yet

If loves hang on till the heart have suffered then the love will be deeper

(M) In this world              thousands of people      love can be passed over as gifts of course

The imprint of your hand left on the cheek to let another kiss

Repeat *##

Triumph of the Short Stories (2)

Okay, I promised a made-up post for forgetting my weekly post a while back. Here it is while I have some news to share.

I have completed a second short story, this time a sole effort, for the epub venture. Okay, technically, it’s only half the completed story but I’m running it as a two-part series so it’s completion by that definition. It is a fantasy story based on an ancient Chinese setting that I’ve always wanted to write a series on one day. I’m quite happy with it at the moment even though I haven’t yet received any feedback on it. But I personally think that I’ve captured the vibe quite well (of course, I’m Chinese myself) and I think I’ve finally fully taste why a lot of writing advices say “write what you know”. Everything just comes so naturally on the page even for scenes that I have difficulty envisioning at first. Without counting the time to plan (which only took one day really), I wrote up part 1 (just under 3000 words) within a week which is quite fast for me with my tendency to dawdle over wording if I’m feeling uninspired.

Anyway, so now we have 5 stories and my recently finished story that’s going to published in a serial format, which is ‘one more’ than our stated aspiration of having at least 5 stories for the first issue of our epub. We are rushing towards the finishing line now on this enterprise and I just want to share this happy news with all of my followers and any other casual gazers. We are hoping to build this epub into a quarterly ezine in the long term but we’re mainly just testing the waters this time. But if I might say so myself, except for one story that still needs some substantial work, I think most are pretty close

Moonlake’s Book Discoveries- December 2015

I think this post is actually due last Sunday but because I was so excited to share the news about short story writing, it gets pushed back. But I’m sure we’re all used to my whims now if you’ve been following me and isn’t a casual passer-by. If you are, this is a series I run recurring every 3 months which isn’t book reviews, just quick and dirty summaries on what I think about the books that I’ve read recently.

So let’s get down to the substance by recapping all the books that will be reviewed. Books will be grouped by category since I picked up few short story collections and gaming books. They include:

Standalone novels and series

Moby Dick
Shadows Trilogy by Jon Sprunk
A Dead man’s Ransom by Ellis Peters
Hope to Die by James Patterson
Days of the Deer by Lilliana Bodoc
Shadows and Stronghold by Elizabeth Chadwick

Short story collections

A Dreadful Murder & other criminally compulsive tales by Minette Walters
Harvest Moon by Mercedes Lackey, Michelle Sagara and Cameron Haley
Tortall and other lands: a collection of tales by Tamora Pierce

Gaming/plot-your-own books

Destiny quest: The Legion of Shadow by Micahel Ward
A Million Little Mistakes by Heather McElhatton
Being Elizabeth Benett: create your own Jane Austen Adventure by Emma Campbell Webster
Cavern of the Snow Witch by Ian Livingstone

Here’s what I thought about each of them:

Standalones:

Moby Dick: I only got to the second chapter and I did not get motivation to pick it up again. I knew it was a classic but didn’t realise it was so classic as to remind me a little of Charles Dickens. I felt like it doesn’t chime with me in vocab or in the ‘worldview’ that underlies the story.
Shadow’s Trilogy: I thought it was a two-book series when I picked up (Shadow’s son and Shadow’s Lure). But later I found out it’s actually a trilogy. Anyway, I decided to stop reading a little into book 2. How shall I describe it? Well, I was okay with it enough that I continued into book 2 but I think the main issue I have with this series is that I don’t like the writing style of the author nor the basic setup of the story. Essentially, the main character is an assassin with morals and he ends up helping the daughter of his would-be victim that he didn’t kill. While reading book 1, in the back of my mind I keep getting the feel that I’m reading a trope from video games (Assassin’s Creed, never played but see ads on buses a few times). In fact, the book feels a bit like a video game transposed into a book- having fast-paceish action, a worn plot and no prose or maybe no prose that I like.
A Dead man’s Ransom: Pretty good as I remembered it. And then it’s hard not to compare it against the Sister Fidelma series by Peter Tremayne. All I want to say is that I like both. I can personally empathise with Sister Fidelma more but Brother Cadfael is like a fatherly figure and I like a fair bit too. And some of Ellis Peters’ prose regarding what Brother Cadfael’s ‘psychological profile’ of other characters are just sublime
Hope to Die: JP’s certainly got a unique style of his own, what with the switching between first person perspective for his protagonist and third person for all other characters in different chapters. The other thing of him that’s different to most other novels that I’m used to is that he writes really short snappy chapters. In a thriller/mystery, I think that’s an overall plus since it ensures a fast pace. I think I will add him to my list of comfort writers from now on.
Days of the Deer: it’s a translated work from Spanish. I might be biased against translated works in general (ever since I read Pride of Prejudice in high/secondary school in Australia and finally has a basis of comparison against the kid’s version of a translated-into-Chinese version of P&P) or it might be that I read this directly after James Patterson above. The first chapter didn’t really draw me and since I’ve got a long queue of books from my local library during this time, I’ve decided to skip this.
Shadows and Strongholds: It’s a bit of historical fiction/romance but it’s not whimpering/head-over-heals romance that I have an abhorrence against. In fact, when I first picked up, I didn’t realise it was a romance since the backcover blurb advertised it as a coming-of-age story. Well, it wasn’t far off since foremost it is about the protagonist, a boy with a self-confidence issue coming to age and growing into a man. The plot of him finding the ‘perfect match’ for him, a childhood play-mate who’s a spirited lass and sometimes too prone to jumping to conclusions, is secondary to his own growing up plot but at the same time, it’s really the two of them together I think that really draws one into the story. Another author added to my comfort reading list- I think she does good work with characters that I’m trying to improve on for my own work.

Short story collections

A Dreadful Murder…: 3 short stories, 2 of which are based on true murders. The author said in the foreword that each of the three are written in different styles and that’s the ‘selling point’ of this book. I like the first the best, followed by the last, but I don’t like the second one at all.
Harvest Moon: again, a collection of 3 stories. The first unpacks a lot of character within the length of a short story because it’s mainly based on Greek mythology. There are some bits that I like about it and some bits that I don’t. Overall, it’s an okay story. Second I like the best, a story about how a thief(?) from the poor quarter gets recruited into the fantasy equivalent of a police force and grows into her new role in the midst of a serial children murder case. Third is really an urban fantasy about a gangster evading a death curse with the Angel of Death to implement the curse and I like it the least. Probable reason being that I don’t really like urban fantasy all that much in general.
Tortall…: Since I’m pretty read up on Tamora Pierce, this is the favourite of the three short story collections that I read in this period for the pure reason that I’m fairly familiar with her Tortall setting. I also like how she’s included two related stories within this single volume (starring same two characters and adventures one after the other).

Gaming books

In case anyone’s wondering, these are books where you play as a given character like a RPG. You can’t read them in a linear way. Passages are numbered with random length ranging from a couple lines to a few pages. You start from whichever passage denoted by a number Foreword or Intro tells you to flip to and go from there. At the end of each passage, there are a few alternative instructions telling you where to flip to next. And, you usually need a dice to roll which can affect what ending you can get.

Shadow of the Legions: the way it proceeds with a quest system feels quite PC gamish, especially calling to mind the Diablo series, but it provides a fairly good fantasy adventure
A Million Little Mistakes: The basic setup is that you’ve just won a million dollars worth of lottery and what would happen to your life from that point on. I don’t really like the way that sometimes the character are forced into doing things that just aren’t me and in this book, you can a very short plot arc most of the time. But the author did tell you at the start to mark the page you were on last so that you can always return to it and make an alternative choice. But what really makes this book unique is that the author tells me that in this book “If you aim to do good it might not always give you a good ending and the same is true vice versa, just like real life.” Something to that effect. At first, I was thrown by the very short plot arcs and this thing of the character doing things just not me. But there’s something about this book that keeps on compelling me to continue searching for an alternative ending that I like. And I did eventually. It’s an ending where the character is well contended and I’m well contended. Most importantly, I think this book is trying to send a message that “go with your heart, that’s the sure thing to give you a good ending.”
Lizzy Bennett: I don’t like this book at all. The setup tells to keep track of all these stuff (which a normal gaming book does- equipment listing and character sheet are the 2 musts) but they don’t really come in play in terms of affecting your ending. Okay, the only thing that affects your ending is Lizzy’s intelligence score but even the author says you can fib it since the ending just goes two ways based on a threshold. But what really gets me is that the author’s asking us to play as Lizzy and she doesn’t like Lizzy herself, it seems. She’s downright patronizing towards Lizzy, therefore towards the reader.
Cavern of the Snow Witch: The author is one of the two who wrote a whole bunch of these books and I think his name (along with another guy he usually co-authors with) is a brand name in this genre. It’s an okay storyline but probably is, I think there’s only one positive ending out of this and there’s only the single path to get to that positive ending. So that makes the whole book a little linear. It’s a long time since I’ve read him and his co-authors though and I can’t remember whether that has always been their trademark.

Okay, that’s it for December’s Book Discoveries. Stay tuned for the April re-run of this series.