Frank’s Sporadic Blog, With Fries

I have some pretty specific tastes when it comes to books. And I’m a brutal reader, too — the instant I get bored or lose that all-important suspension of disbelief, I close the covers. Forever.

Writers as a whole probably make poor readers. We’re either insanely hypercritical or secretly jealous. I just finished ‘Turn Coat,’ by Jim Butcher, and I lost count of the number of times I stopped to re-read a passage so I could dissect it and figure out how he achieved such an impact. Butcher is brilliant, and he makes me feel very inadequate every time I read him. But read him I do, because I think if I read him enough some of his talent might sort of ooze into my skull by some form of obscure literary osmosis.

It’s not always easy to spot an author of rare talent, especially when you get away from the Ten Big Names and dive into the somewhat perilous ranks of — well, of authors like me.

So I look at covers and read online excerpts and take my chances.

But sometimes you can spot that flash of genius in just a few words.

Case in point: Julia Knight. I knew I’d be a fan of hers the instant I read the following book blurb. Read it yourself and see if you don’t agree –

This book contains a jaded hero, sarcasm, violence, and magic spells involving aggressive turnips.

Julia, you had me at aggressive turnips.

The blurb is by Julia Knight, and the book is called ‘Ilfayne’s Bane’ and you can (and should) get it here from Samhain Publishing.

‘Ilfayne’s Bane’ is what a lot of people are pointing to when they say ’swords n’ sorcery.’ And that’s partly true, though I’d humbly suggest the story runs a little deeper than most S&S epics tend to. And you’ve got romance, something Conan and Company never stopped fighting long enough to enjoy.

Julia’s a fantastic author. I like the way her heroine thinks, the way she sees her world. In fact, I think Julia’s Hilde and my Markhat would probably get along famously, were they ever to meet. And I like books populated by people I like. It’s one of the things that keeps you wishing for a sequel, so you can see how they’re doing, see what they’re doing.

So, Julia, I’m ready for the next book in your Oathcursed series! I hope it’s in the works.

Don’t make us fans beg!