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DUST JACKETS: Conquerors' Pride
This entry begins a second “sub-blog” series within “The Wildcat’s Lair.” Within “Dust Jackets,” you can find reviews of books that I’ve previously read. Some might ask why I should bother with a distinction. After all, the primary focus of my blog is book reviews, but I do think it’s important to distinguish between a book I’ve just read and one I read a long time ago. I started writing back in high school, but until 2001, I never really read books with a writer’s eye. Some of you might think a book I praise within “Dust Jackets” is the most poorly written piece of trash ever to grace a bookshelf, and you might be right! Likewise, a book I bash might be a well-written work. These reviews will be based more on long-term memory which is ever a questionable thing. Point being, I run the risk of looking like a fool (more so than usual), so the “Dust Jackets” label covers my happy, Wildcat arse a little.
In the early 1990’s, Timothy Zahn was already an established author within science fiction, but his Star Wars trilogy (the series that launched Lucasfilm’s long line of Star Wars books) made him a widely recognizedmaster within the genre. Riding on the wave of his success with the Star Wars trilogy, Zahn embarked upon another trilogy in 1994 which started with a book entitled Conquerors' Pride. The book starts with a first contact scenario gone bad. Four alien vessels attack and wipe out an entire Peacekeeper task force. The attack appears unprovoked and threatens to destabilize the entire Commonwealth of planets.
Zahn uses a powerful family within the Commonwealth to provide the many points-of-view within this book. Lord Stewart Cavanagh, a former member of the ruling parliament, and his children launch a secret plan to rescue his son Pheylan, a member of the task force that was wiped out, whose body was not recovered. Their search uncovers secrets surrounding the pending invasion and CIRCE, a weapon of mass destruction that years before brought about a cold war type of peace to the Commonwealth. The Cavanaghs find themselves on the front lines of the invasion as they risk charges of treason to save Pheylan.
The pacing of this book very much resembles Zahn’s work in the Star Wars trilogy. That’s a good thing. Zahn proves once again how well he can handle a well-developed, vast array of alien cultures and characters. I never feel lost or confused. Best of all, Zahn never bores me with needless exposition. With all these unfamiliar elements amid the political intrigue, the opportunity for lots of “info-dumping” exists. He never does it. Readers get all the bits of information they need as they need them. There’s a reason he’s made a name for himself within this genre. I might add that he’s about the only writer for the Star Wars novels I will read. He set the bar high for any writers brave or foolish enough to tackle George Lucas’ creation. Another bit of praise I can give Zahn and Conquerors' Pride is that I’ve read this book twice. I first read it when it came out in 1994 and a second time earlier this year. I rarely read a book more than once. In this case, it was because I’d actually put off reading the sequel Conquerors' Heritage until this year. I’d say more, but that, my friends, belongs to a future edition of “Dust Jackets.”
As for my own writing, I’m focusing more on my fantasy bounty hunter Aden this month. Been doing well with it, too. The word count made it past fifteen thousand words last night. Hopefully, I can keep that momentum. I’ve managed to keep certain characters vague up until this point, but I’m gonna have to nail down their motives soon or the plot will fall flat. One disadvantage to just writing without a map, you run the risk of taking a wrong turn and getting lost. Of course, if I give into the fear of making a wrong choice, I won’t get anything written.
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Jess, you are totally right on this one. Even just 15,000 words into this thing, I've had a few characters take me on some unexpected turns. Always fun when that happens!
And Pat, you ask a very interesting question. I've previously posted the entry with wallpaper for The Last Vandaryn, but I've not yet posted any attempts at a dust jacket for the book. That doesn't mean I haven't tried, though! A glimpse at a possible vision of the future isn't far off, but you'll have to wait a little longer for that.
Bill, the Wildcat -
hmmm, strange thing.. i know i've told you that I wrote a story (trilogy).. the last thing i did was to make a map!! I guess I didn't know where my characters were going... until they got there! lol..
Have you designed a bookcover/dustjacket for the book you and Dragon Queen are writing?..(probably a dumb question.. I'll go dig in your archives for a while) -
I think its good to write without a map because sometimes you end up going places you wouldn't have gone if you had already plotted the trip. If you get lost or make a wrong turn, no worries, because that's what revision is for.
I say let the characters lead you. They usually know where they're going better than you. They know the truths that you don't, and if you spend time with them, more often than not, they will share those truths with you. It's in those places that you find the real story.
Jess
http://journals.aol.com/aurielalata/CIWTheOtherInvisible
11/5/05 8:00 AM