AI Library Poster Experiment

As is known, I try to avoid discussing real-world issues here on my not always entirely humble blog. However, just as I performed a deep-dive experiment regarding AI's potential in world in Fantasy literature and art, I wanted to see was use it could be in allowing librarians to truly customize their workspace. So I tried using AI to see if it can make good library posters using my favorites quotes... and the results have been amazing. Here are two of the best. 

Again, I am very well aware of, and share, the concerns regarding Artificial Intelligence. Yet I also believe that, like anything, its potential for good can be incredible if used with integrity – and I will use any tool available to me that benefits my students.

"It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power." - Alan Cohen 

My father and I just finished rereading The Dark Is Rising

My father and I just finished rereading The Dark Is Rising, book #2 of the Sequence of the same name written by Susan Cooper.

As Louisa May Alcott said, "Some books are so familiar that reading them is like being home again." Such is the case here, The Dark Is Rising (both the book and series) being for is one of our highest and holiest pinnacles of Fantasy, an Arthurian Epic that helped forge our love of the genre and, for me, crafted my view of the world almost as much as The Lord of the Rings. Thus reading it again, walking and questing ones more with Old Ones of the Light Will Stanton and Merriman Lyon was and remains the among highest of literary joys.

"When the Dark comes rising, six shall turn it back;
Three from the circle, three from the track;
Wood, bronze, iron; water, fire, stone;
Five will return, and one go alone.

Iron for the birthday, bronze carried long;
Wood from the burning, stone out of song;
Fire in the candle-ring, water from the thaw;
Six Signs the circle, and the grail gone before.

Fire on the mountain shall find the harp of gold
Played to wake the Sleepers, oldest of the old;
Power from the greenwitch, lost beneath the sea;
All shall find the light at last, silver on the tree."

I have started Dragon Called, Book One of Ava Richardson's Deadweed Dragons

Arguably the most prolific Epic Fantasy author of the age, with over two dozen series to her name, Ava Richardson's calling card is the roar of mighty Dragons and their Riders. She has also been on my to-read list for far to long, so I end that by beginning her book that first drew my eye.

I have started Dragon Called, Book One of Ava Richardson's Deadweed Dragons.

From castaway to sold away, to Dragon Thief and now, for the moment, runaway, Dayie has certainly lived a full if not exactly enviable life for a fifteen-year-old girl. So now the question is – since permanently hiding a soon-to-be hatched fledgling Dragon is impossible – can she take up the mantle of trainee Dragon Rider in a place where the 'bond' between Dragon and Rider is characterized more by acrimony than affection? That the Training Hall seals eggs for the purpose of combating Deadweed may have something to do which that of course, which adds another question. Since Deadweed comes by its name honestly, can Dayie kill the weed before it kills her and countless others?

Tis good to finally be starting Ava Richardson and, hopefully, this is but the first of many posts marking my journeys into her worlds, getting to know her Dragons.

Official Book Review: The Equinox Tor, Book Three of David Doersch's Chronicles of the Raven

I have finished The Equinox Tor, Book Three of David Doersch's Chronicles of the Raven and, as the author requested, now give it an Official Book Review.

Book One was called The Gathering Storm, and The Equinox Tor could just as easily have been called "The Storm Breaks," for not since Robert Jordan's A Memory of Light have I read a book that was one long heart-stopping climax. Heart-wrenching at times too, for the sadistic Angor blood-shamans and their Barbár puppets shied from no depravity in their efforts to claim Tor and Green Mount for the Shadow Lord. As Latrans the so-called Fool told them though, "We're back", so the Raven Corvus Corax and his friends were not without without their own supernatural supporters as a war as old as time continued. All while the Church of the Five and the infamous Blades of Sebastian fall closer to Fel, and Queen Darienne enjoys a brief respite before blossoming between sword and sorcery into the deadly Moonflower destiny has proclaimed her to be.

In short, David Doersch delivered exactly what I anticipated: another thrilling chapter in the world of Hortus, as full of deadly intrigue and breathtaking battle as warm moments of family and personal reckoning. Among other things, for while the Tor upon Green Mount is safe...the other Tors are not. So three minstrels march north, the Moonflower prepares for invasion while a different Queen readies her wedding, and, as the next book is titled The High King, Corvus' life is doubtlessly about to change again.

The battle cry goes out as swords are drawn… "Protect the Tor!"

IndiesToday's Editorial Review of The Dragonkin Legacy

The latest 5 Star Editorial Review of my book, courtesy of IndiesToday:

"The Archipelago of Cynnahu is a scattered realm that was born of history and shaped by war. Once a unified continent, Cynnahu is no longer an unbroken land populated by the peaceable Dragonkin. Human mages made sure of that. Now, an aggressive threat known as the Naga is making dangerous inroads. Prophecy points to a decisive conflict, the Last War, and with the Naga mounting a massive invasion, Cynnahu folk put their hope in a mismatched group of reluctant heroes. The group, which includes a curmudgeonly Fire Mage, an astute boy hiding in his father’s long shadow, a visionary leader, a bereft girl with insatiable curiosity, and a traveling mage known for his connections, is tasked with solving a riddle and finding a long-hidden key to victory. They haven’t trained together as warriors, but defend their home they must, for the Naga will show no mercy. There will be challenges, tortures, and losses, along with small wins, deep connections, and new friendships. Even if the five can triumph over the dangers, unravel pieces of veiled history, and defeat the Naga, will deeper mysteries reveal even greater foes?

Exactly the force their world needs, a team of unlikely allies will have to rely on the past to protect the future in Ian E.S. Adler’s magical adventure omnibus, The Dragonkin Legacy. The author dignifies readers with elegant prose, sophisticated language, and nuanced characters, no small feat for a book geared toward younger audiences but attractive to all. Among the well-developed characters, readers will be hard pressed to choose a favorite. Though attention is focused on the five, even secondary characters are given weight, personality, and significant space in the advancing story. At times, the intensity of the action and the unexpected maturity of the younger protagonists allow readers to momentarily forget just how young they truly are. However, moments like a dramatic rescue sequence expose their vulnerability, making their age unmistakable. Fantasy lovers will revel in the frenetic set-pieces, while the unraveling mystery and shrouded history will keep readers utterly engrossed, eager to uncover what lies beneath. Immersive and impressive, the novel’s lore is so complete, so intrinsic, that the old sayings and well-loved adages of the region feel less contrived than remembered from a world that seems to have existed long before the first page. The plot has many movements that culminate in a dramatic twist, seamlessly locking earlier events into place while delivering a deeply satisfying revelation. A sprawling tale of transformation, The Dragonkin Legacy reminds us that even in a world forged by fire, we can still choose to be led by what we love rather than the things we hate."

Quote of the month

"The hope is always here, always alive, but only your fierce caring can fan it into a fire to warm the world." - Merriman Lyon

LGBTQIA+ Pride Month

An inveterate Magic: the Gathering player, I pay close 
attention to the lore and THIS STORY,  Not for a Stranger, 
is the one for this month. A toast to Huatli and Saheeli.

"Hail royal June, sun-bright with poppies crowned" said John Cowper Powys, the English philosopher, lecturer, novelist, critic and poet. But I echo that hail today for another reason in addition to joyous Summer. It is LGBTQIA+ Pride Month, and with it let me continue to offer my undying support for the LGBTQIA+ community and reiterate the role Fantasy literature plays in supporting them by, to start, inviting people to read my LGBTQIA+ in Fantasy page, and listen to what happened to me today. As I state on the just mentioned page, I personally am not LGBTQIA+. However, I have students who are and one year I told them – quite truthfully, by the way – that I was writing a Fantasy book in which one of the key characters is lesbian. Their eyes lit and they were on their feet in less time than it takes to say it. But it is the moment when I told them that the character is a Queen that I shall forever remember, for the glow on their faces out-shown the lights on the ceiling by a leap and a bound. They began questioning me about the character, wanting to know her name, what she looked like, all about the land she ruled and, most importantly, when the book was coming out. To this last I gave them a disappointing answer, for an unfinished rough draft of a 500+ page book is naturally years away from publication, and they asked me how they were supposed to wait that long for a book with a gay Queen. They want to see the rough draft as it stands and one who has some artistic skill began drawing this Queen based on my description. The moral of the story? Representation matters, people. Seeing yourself in literature matters in a huge way. Indeed, when I found these students they were eagerly pursuing the school library's LGBTQIA+ Pride Month book display.

On that note, let me also reiterate that I utterly condemn such book banners, and they feel the full force of my contempt so hard it ought to frost their windows. So if you are anti-LGBTQIA+ and are reading this, do not even THINK of commenting on this or any other Stars Uncounted page or post spouting your intolerant drivel, because I will take one look and delete it. It will never appear, and I will lose no sleep over it. Rather, I will be laughing at how you are so insecure that you feel the need to rant on a Fantasy blog while reflecting on the truth of another Mercedes Lackey quote: "Make someone a devout, fanatical anything, and his brain turns to mulch." Then I will stop laughing and forget all about you, because I categorically deem anti-LGBTQIA+ people as a class of idiot so utterly unworthy of respect that I will not waste any more minutes thinking about you. You are a mosquito whose comment was a bite on this blog, and I will flick your comment away with as little thought or care as I would an actual mosquito misguided enough to try to get at my blood. Less care, actually, since, unlike true mosquito bites, deleted comments do not itch after the fact.

"The young must grow old,
Whilst old ones grow older,
And cowards will shrink,
As the bold grow bolder.
Courage may blossom in quiet hearts,
For who can tell where bravery starts?
Truth is a song, oft lying unsung,
Some mother bird, protecting her young,
Those who lay down their lives for friends,
The echo rolls onward, it seldom ends.
Who never turned and ran, but stayed?
This is a warrior born, not made!
Living in peace, aye many a season,
Calm in life and sound in reason,
'Til evil arrives, a wicked horde,
Driving a warrior to pick up his sword,
The challenger rings then, straight and fair,
Justice is with us, beware. Beware!"

-  Brian Jacques