crimes of passion

[adelaidesean]

One quick thing before I go.  Gary of Concept Sci-fi has given me my second review of The Grand Conjunction, and it's as exciting as the first.  Not just for lines like "epic space scenes spanning portions of time that the mind can barely comprehend" and "the words just seem to flow so easily that you're halfway through the book before you even realise it" and "an absolute winner and a joy to read", although they are of course wonderful on every level.  I'm excited for two other reasons.

One: Gary liked the ending.  "All of the loose ends are tied up nicely, and you're left with a nice warm 'cosy' feeling rather than a 'is that it?' feeling."  That concurs with Liviu Suciu's "the ending is pitch perfect", and suggests that I nailed at least one of my objectives (perhaps two, counting the humungous space battles).  After being criticised for leaving readers unsatisfied in previous series, I was determined to do it differently this time. I listen to feedback, and I know there's always room to improve. Looks like I did something right here.

Two: Gary again echoes Liviu, who said about the beginning, "I had to close the book and look at the cover to make sure I am reading the right book and then flip some pages to make sure pages from another book were not inserted inside by mistake - so great was the cognitive dissonance I suffered".  Gary's response was similar: "My initial reaction on pages one and two was 'what the hell has this got to do with Astropolis?' But the truth is that this bit of the book was actually the best bit for me."  He concludes: "Sean really has proved that he's an exceptionally talented writer who doesn't just do sci-fi and fantasy - Sean, if you're listening, you REALLY should write a detective novel!"

I'm listening, and I'm very pleased indeed.

Comments

[snorefish.livejournal.com]

Congrats again, Sean.

Wonderful reviews.

I've just bought vol 1 and 3, so I plan to push them to the top of the stack next to the bed and get reading this week.

Looking forward to them.

Steve
(who still owes you a book for vol 2)

[seanwilliams.livejournal.com]

Thanks again, Steve. I'm pretty pleased by it all. :-) Enjoy!

[aidandoyle.livejournal.com]

Wizard detectives, werewolf detectives, they're all popular.
Why not space opera detectives? :-)

[seanwilliams.livejournal.com]

Together at last. :-)

I was about to say that all we need is zombie detectives, but that's been done, hasn't it?

[aidandoyle.livejournal.com]

I think zombie everything has been done.

[seanwilliams.livejournal.com]

I just wrote a story featuring a zombie heart transplant. Everything goes!

[eclecticon.livejournal.com]

Just finished the book myself, and I agree wholeheartedly with both reviews.

Can I just say that I loved Render from the first line he had, and by the end of 'Conjunction' I'd stopped noticing that his dialogue was cribbed? I think it's a major credit to you as a writer that you're able to put someone elses' words into your character's mouth and have it seem completely natural.

[seanwilliams.livejournal.com]

Hey, thanks. That's high praise. Getting Render's voice just right was a real challenge. I'm glad it worked for you.

You know, I'm really sad that aspect of this series is over. If it didn't cost so much in licensing fees, I'd think about a spin-off...