O' Shannara! Where Art Thou?

Please sir, may I have another magic sword?

Right after I read Tolkien’s seminal work, The Lord of the Rings, I immediately ran down to my local B. Dalton bookstore to try to find something, anything, that was even remotely similar.  My hands stumbled upon Terry Brooks’ The Sword of Shannara.  The book had me at the cover, with an elf, a dwarf and a human all staring at a magical sword.

The fact that two of them were archers was sauce for the goose!

What I hadn’t realized was that The Sword of Shannara was actually a Tolkien-clone.  I saw the parallels with Lord of the Rings immediately, with Shady Vale standing in for the Shire and unsuspecting, pure-of-heart main characters driven from their quiet lives to play major roles in important events.  There was even a “fellowship” consisting of nine additional characters—new and improved with more elven archers!  But I assumed this was how fantasy books were written.  Having only been exposed to two series, I figured this was a winning formula—swords, magic, dark lords, elves and a bit with a dwarf!

I loved it!

When The Elfstones of Shannara and The Wishsong of Shannara were released, I snatched them up as well, devouring them as only an impassioned reader can.

Quick!  Look dramatic and yet . . . fantastical!

Thus, despite some mockery and scornful word-of-mouth reviews, I wanted desperately to like MTV’s adaptation The Shannara Chronicles.  I set out to watch the first two episodes (available for free on YouTube) with as much hope and trepidation as Shea Ohmsford leaving the Vale for the first time.  The story kicks off with Elfstones, which Brooks has said is a better place to begin.  Being an author myself, and sometimes cringing when I have to re-read my first novel for reference, I can understand this.  The riff on LOTR was decent enough to earn Brooks a place at the table, but Elfstones is where he proved he could pass the mustard without spilling it on the nice table cloth.

Alas, Shanarra is not the next Game of Thrones.  It is good enough for what it is—MTV’s attempt at getting in the game of gritty fantasy—but Shanarra misses the point of everything that is great about HBO’s hit series.  It immediately tries to cover too much ground, exchanging character development for “exciting action”.  Maybe this will pay off in the next few episodes (the season is 10 episodes total) but don’t hold your breath.  I certainly don’t mind all the pretty elf and half-elf faces—that’s how elves should be.  But the willing suspension of disbelief is brought crashing down several times as the dialogue uses anachronistic language to try to create some of the humor that underlies much of Game of Thrones.

Is this dark and brooding enough for you?

Most of the characters are fairly well adapted, although Austin Butler’s Wil Ohmsford, seems perpetually lost and confused.  Poppy Drayton is lovely as Amberle Elessedil, a nicely updated character from the original text who can now hold her own in the Four Lands world—but for some reason still needs to have a shower scene in a waterfall.  John Rhys-Davies is wonderful as Eventine Elessedil, pulling off the aged Elven king with surprising grace.

The real treat here, though is, Manu Bennett’s Allanon.  He’s always been a fan favorite-character—a combination Gandalf and Aragorn. Bennett, stellar as Crixus in Starz Spartacus, pulls off  the mysterious druid so very well.  His presence alone immediately conveys the capable lone wanderer, a man who passes through dangerous lands on a mission to keep them safe.  Allanon is not a guy you want to meet in a dark alley, but if you have to go down that alley, he's the guy you want leading.  Bennett makes the character his own and almost (almost) wholly new.

Some of this makes up for the stumbles in the first two episodes, although it’s hard to forgive characters who live in a fantasy world, but scoff at belief in the fantastical.  This is meant to lend drama to the character drama, but in truth it makes me cringe in disbelief and wish I could fast-forward.  I'm very willing to give this series at least another two episodes, and that alone might carry me through the entire set of ten.  Granted, it’s been years since I last read Brooks’ Shannara series, so nostalgia might be carrying me along some distance.  But viewers looking for the next big thing in fantasy television may only find what critics complained of with Brooks’ first book—a Lord of the Rings clone.

Danish, and the Danes Who Speak It

Peering deeply doesn't help me understand.

So there’s this scene in this book, Hell Becomes Her, and the writer wanted to create a sense of confusion in the point-of-view (POV) character, Del.  Two other characters are speaking Danish while Del, who doesn’t speak Danish, is listening.  Important information is being conveyed through Del picking up a word here or there, but mostly not understanding.

And it worked.

Readers were confused.

So confused, they actually went on Google Translate to figure out what was being said.

The writer, I’m told, had intended to include a translation of the conversation at the end of the book, but . . . forgot.  No other excuse.  He simply didn’t remember to do it.

He then decided to spare readers the continued confusion and effort and provide the conversation from the book.  Here it is in two columns with translations.

“Er du fra Danmark?”	“Are you from Denmark?”
“Oprindeligt ja, men det var længe siden, hvordan kunne du vide det?”	“I am originally, but that was a long time ago.  How could you tell?”
“Du har lidt af en accent, det har jeg sikkert også”	“There’s still a hint of the accent.  I’m sure I have it too.”
“Jeg kan desværre ikke høre det. Ikke med mindre man taler sådan her. Er du også fra Danmark?”	“I’m afraid I can’t hear home anymore, not unless it’s spoken like this.  You’re from there?”
“Der omkring. Navnene har allesammen forandret sig.”	“There abouts.  The names have all changed.”
“Det har de tendenser til. Det betyder ikke at vi er venner, det ved du vel?”	“They tend to do that.  This doesn’t make us friends, you know?”
“Hvad med at være venlig?”	“How about friendly?”
“Måske, hvis du kan holde din tiger i snor.”	“Perhaps, if you can put a leash on that tiger of yours.”
“Hun tilhører ikke nogen. Det er en del af problemet.”	“She’s no one’s.  That’s part of the problem.”
“Det siger mænd altid om stærke kvinder. Ja vel, jeg skal nok være . . . sød, hvis hun er.”	“Men always say that about strong women.  Alright, I’ll play . . . nicer.  But only if she will.”

There you have it.  The conversation, as provided to me . . . I mean the author by my wonderful expert Jan Christensen.

Be Aggressive, B-E Aggressive

. . . and then everyone dies!

Write what you know.

That’s the old saw young, aspiring writers are given when they’re first starting out.  But writing about washing dishes, or folding laundry, or driving a car only gets you so far.  Eventually, you want your character to put down the TV remote, strap on a pair of SIG .45s and go toe-to-toe with a Big Bad Badass straight from the deepest pits of Hell.

Or maybe that’s just me.

The problem is, of course, that very few of us have real world experience with hand guns in combat situations, tactical training scenarios, or well, even demons—unless you met my last girlfriend.

Research can smooth over some of those rough edges in your writing knowledge, but even that will only get you so far.  This is where an expert comes into play.

You can trust me.  I'm an Expert!

I love experts.  Sword experts.  Knife experts.  Experts who climb on rocks!  Tell them you’re a writer working on a particular scene, and they get all warm and squishy inside, ready to share not just the knowledge you need, but paragraphs of information on how Hollywood and TV get it wrong, how writers fail 99.44% of the time, and how in the really-real world it would never happen that way.

Don’t get mad at an expert.  They’re like a cocker spaniel puppy—so happy and eager to help, but complete devoid of the tools to show it.  Here are six tips for working with an expert to really polish that scene or shine up that bit of dialogue to give a realistic feel to your writing.

Talk in Person

The interwebs and the Facebooks and the Tweeters are all great tools for communication . . . until they’re not.  Talking on the phone or better yet face-to-face is still the best way to get and receive information.  First, your expert will be flattered, especially if you lubricate the situation with a drink or three, or a nice steak dinner.  It’s a few bucks out of your pocket that goes some distance to showing how much you respect your expert’s time and information.  Also, the expert is less likely to start a whole rant if they can see “that look” on your face when the conversation starts to go off the rails.

Full Disclosure

There’s nothing worse than giving a bare bones description of scene, your particular writing problem and then hoping your expert understands.  There’s a reason your character is where she is, why she’s doing what she’s doing, and why the scene needs to play out the way it’s playing out.  That’s not what the expert is there for.  You’ll figuratively shoot yourself in the foot if you allow your expert to make assumptions which you’ll later need to correct.  It’s much, much better to pre-load your question with a little too much information, than leave your soon-to-be-former-friend guessing at aspects of plot and scene which will lead to frustration for both of you.

The Whole System is Out of Order

Don’t—I repeat DO NOT—argue with your expert.  Just say no.  It’s hot to not!  Arguing is

Yelling always makes an argument more compelling.

whack!  This should go without saying, and yet sweet and innocent authors will make the mistake of thinking that the world is one way, when actually it’s another.  Physics is physics, and science if science.  You can’t beat it no matter how good your rationale or how many times you try.  The MythBusters have made an entire career out of showing us that the rules are the rules, and what seems like “common sense” is often not.  If your story finds itself at odds with an expert’s advice, there’s no point in getting in a heated argument with them.  First, it’s disrespectful of the expert who has given you their time and effort.  But second, and most importantly, you’ll lose that expert outright, and, if it’s a forum discussion, you might turn off others from helping you in the future.  You’re not just a writer.  You’re THE writer.  If the real world doesn’t suit you, you change it.  Nod, smile and thank your expert for their opinion—then ignore it.  But it ignore it privately, within the confines of your writing.

Don’t I Know You From Roanoke Island?

About a year ago, Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk launched a crowdfunding campaign for their web series Con Man.  Watch one of these episodes and at the end you’ll see a stream of names, in alphabetical order, of the hundreds of folk who contributed to make the series happen.  Slow it down in the “McCandless” section and you’ll even see my name.  It’s that simple.  So simple, a cave man could do it.  Recognition is so easy.  Anyone who contributes

We're happy because of happiness.

to your writing, even in a small way, should get a quick mention.  Author acknowledgements are almost universally overlooked by readers—unless their name appears.  I actually read the acknowledgements, which are generally rife with inside jokes, and undecipherable personal asides.  The author has taken the time to give a shout out to show their gratitude and respect for those who provided assistance, and I like to honor that.  That’s just me though.  There’s no need to put yourself through the torture.  The thing to remember is to start an “Acknowledgements” file alongside your manuscript, and add to it when someone provides content.

Buy Their Love

For those experts who went the extra mile, be sure you do as well.  A signed copy of the book when it releases with a personal note is simple and classy.  If you’re not aiming for class though, feel free to include some alcohol in the package (especially if you’re sending it to me).  Beta team members should include, or at least be considered, experts.  They went above and beyond, so you should as well.

If you put it altogether, with your expert inputs woven into your story, those spiffy, shiny

All for me!/

details may get you a compliment like the one I received yesterday:

I enjoy the way McCandless . . . actually knows how guns work and how they should be used, and has characters who understand small group tactics. There's reason police use SWAT teams of 4 to 6 people to clear a house. We got a good lesson one tactical weekend when 36 of us, including several SWAT team members, used simulation and tried to clear a house with one shooter in it with one of us going in at a time. End of the day, shooter 36, the rest of us zero. Del was right to be nervous about trying to clear a place with a team of 3.

If a guy who knows what he’s talking about says that you do to, then you win!

Welcome to 2016—Four More Reviews

If reviews were cupcakes they'd taste this good!

There are many nice things about the holidays—warm fires, good Scotch, children playing quietly on the 3DS they spent days and weeks begging and pleading for.  The best for a writer, especially an indie/small press author, is reviews.

Lots of reviews.

The more reviews the better.

Around 25 reviews, Amazon’s algorithm starts to include a book in the “Also Bought” and “You Might Like” categories.  These are helpful if you happen to be interested in a specific genre, say urban fantasy, and would like to read similar titles.  Starting around 50 reviews, Amazon begins to really get aroused.  The system will start to look more seriously at the book and may push it to spotlight positions.

I went on my short (too short) vacation with ten reviews and came back to four more.  Some very kind people had a lot of nice things to say about Hell Becomes Her, which always makes my heart go pitter-pat.

The internet really needs the ability to send a drink of choice as needed.

Here are some choice highlights:

[W]hen things get down to business, McCandless is very good at creating tension.—WR--Reckless Traveler

WOW! Seriously, WOW! Action, depth of characters, pacing, fascinating plot, realistic and vivid descriptions, this book HAS IT ALL!!!—MagicSkip

The blending of reality and mythology is excellent, making everything that happens as believable as possible in a fantasy novel.—Robert Clark

This could easily be a terrific film or long form TV series.—Christopher Taylor

Thank you all.  Thank you so much for your kind words.  Your enjoyment and your support is really what puts me back at the keyboard, banging away on the next installment.

Buy Hell Becomes Her today!

The Clock Man: and Other Stories - A Review

The Clock Man: and Other Stories by Eric Lahti is an excellent collection which both stands on its own for new readers, but also fleshes out the world of Henchmen for those who have been keeping up with the author.  Eight stories make up this collection, which takes Lahti’s imagination and share it out with readers.

All of the stories feel like they can live and breathe within the same universe of interconnected worlds, which is no mean feat.  Lahti opens by providing us with a glimpse into the broader universe that he’s been working in and some background as to how it truly functions.  He then moves right into the story an old “friend”, Wilford Saxton, the government foil who somehow survived the end of Arise, setting the stage and providing an exciting glimpse into Lahti’s next book.

Pretty girl.  Pretty deadly.

Of course, the real gem of this collect is “The Clock Man”.  Here, readers are introduced to a new character. Felix Crow, and a new world that is somehow connected to our own.  Felix is a classic noir character, but placed in a neo-wuxia setting that mixes Eastern and Western themes with great success.  My only criticism is that “The Clock Man” while a complete tale, felt like it had the potential to be its own novel, and spin out more of the universe that Lahti is operating from.

Lahti is an excellent storyteller and he weaves together his characters and his worlds into a convincing tapestry.  Each story stands well on its own, but also adds to an ever-expanding universe that will make readers eager for more.

 

In Which A Fan and Friend Totally Makes My Day

Happy Level—Doing the Carlton!

I’ve been anxious recently.  Not chew-the-fingernails-down-to-nubs freaked out, but certainly some edge-sitting distress.  Tears of Heaven always had the potential for a sequel, but it could easily have stood alone as a complete story.  I would have been very satisfied that it had seen the publishing light of day and told the tale of Del.

The fans started asking for more stories.

So I wrote another story.

Yes, of course.  As simple as that—plus or minus nine months of blood, sweat and tears.

I felt that Hell Becomes Her was a better product.  Through no fault of my own, but no little effort on the part of my editor, Shawn, I’m an older, wiser and better writer.  Yes, Shawn can control space and time.

But was it?  Was it really?  Would it resonate with the fans who had enjoyed and supported Del in Tears of Heaven?  Would they accept a “kinder, gentler” Del who would literally (yes, literally) shake the pillars of heaven in defense of her family?

Apparently, they would:

Fantastic follow up to Tears of Heaven, our compelling protagonist, Del is used as a pawn in a deadly game played by immortals. Flawed, deadly, and hopeful, Del tries to do everything she can to keep those she loves safe, and those she hates destroyed. The sequel adds deeper layers of mythology, in a unique and captivating way. Highly recommended.

Thanks Mike!  Your review (and all those like it) totally made my day.  If you don’t think you can impact an author that you enjoy, write them a review.  Less than 1% of readers actually write reviews, and unlike fan mail, these can have an impact on the author and on other readers.  It’s so great to have that kind of input!

I still need more (many, many more) reviews.  I'm still happy to provide review copies to anyone who would be willing.  Love it or hate it—the only obligation you should feel is to write the review.

Of course, I'd prefer you love it . . . ya know, if I have a say at all!

Star Wars at 3.5

Are you implying I'm old?

I was 3.5, living in Bountiful, Utah and my parents took me to see Star Wars on opening weekend. There was no “A New Hope” at that point.  It was simply Star Wars and all the literature and media coverage at the time will confirm that for you.  That’s not really important, unless you’re on a tearing rant about George Lucas.

I’m not.

Today.

Because of the social structure of the Salt Lake City valley, my parents took me to the theater on Sunday and walked right in, only pausing to buy tickets. Lines that had been out the door and around the block the previous night had evaporated Sunday morning.

Huzzah for cultural Mormonism!

I do not remember watching the movie, as I do later films.  I remember the sense of wonder and fantasy that the movie created.  I remember, quite simply, loving it.  My parents, clever folks that they are, picked up on this and in short order Star Wars themed merchandise began to appear.  Sheets, action figures, ships, etc.  My mother (if I recall correctly) cut out the Time article about the movie, which came with tons of movie images, and taped them to my bedroom wall.

I’m sure I drove them nuts with Star Wars this and Star Wars that—as only an imagination-driven three year old can.

I am not, currently, a Star Wars nut.  I enjoy the films, the books, the culture.  But I found Star Trek much more to my liking, and—sin of sins—fantasy far superior.

But you can’t really forget your first, the one that instilled in you a passion and desire you didn’t even know existed.  At 3.5, being shown what is easily the seminal science fiction film, it certainly has an impact.  And like Lucas or love him or hate him or tolerate him, you have to give it up to Star Wars.

Many of us would not be who we are today.