Travel to The Other Lands, David Anthony Durham

First, I must say David Anthony Durham is DA MAN! His first SF Fantasy novel Acacia: The War With The Mein was impressive. Hugely impressive. He took the standard rules of fantasy stories and lifted them above his head like a pro wrestler and brought them down across his knee in a super back breaker! His world building is on par with the best, ie. Tolkien and GRRM. (Now it is well known that the standard rules for fantasy were set by Tolkien. Not deliberately, I think, but simply because he broke the rules of writing himself and it worked. Ever since just about every writer of fantasy has used his work as a template. Well, not David. And I must say I couldn't be happier. That's not to say Mr. Durham just broke all rules and wrote with reckless abandon but he didn't adhere to what was laid before like a robot.) He took the time to flesh out each character and the rules of the society and cultures within the world he built. Certain story arcs zigged when the normal rules say they should have zagged and I loved the spontaneity and surprise of it all.

Well, Mr. Durham has done it again in The Other Lands, the second book in the Acacia trilogy. He continues the story not far from where the first one ends. A few things have changed and characters and places hinted at and only talked about are visited in this book as well as the continuing story arcs of the Akarans from the first book. And boy talk about a story zigging where it normally would have zagged. I was surprised several times on the journey of this book. David is all for breaking the old rules and tropes of fantasy writing. And I know it's not consciously done. He's writing from a place that cannot believe in the 'fantasy' of fantasy stories. He innately strives for a sense and level of realism within his fantastical tale that I've not seen done by most writers of Speculative Fiction. (I'll delve deeper into what I mean by this in another post.) There are very few relatively new writers in the field of SF that have generated this much excitement for me and David Anthony Durham is one of them. I cannot wait for the third book!

Having a good week

Well, within one week I've met a few people I admire greatly. One I might even go so far to say I'm a huge fan of one of them. That one would be Steven Barnes, my favorite SF writer, period. That was yesterday. I also met two other excellent writer's, Tananarive Due, who happens to be married to Steven, and Nnedi Okorafor. We were all attending a symposium celebrating the life and works of the brilliant Octavia E. Butler. It was nice to receive a little more insight into the person that Octavia was from those she knew and considered friends. It's really eye-opening to hear that Octavia is considered a master storyteller above master storytellers. She didn't just tell stories she WAS the stories. I love her work and am sad that I never had the opportunity to meet her. However, this is a happy moment for me. It was so cool to hear Steven speak and realize that what I read on his blog, which I read ALL the time, is exactly how he is in real life. Not that I ever doubted that fact but to know in person is always a good thing. He was gracious enough to allow me to meet his son, Jason. I can't express in words how much of an honor that was! Anyways, I actually had the opportunity to converse with Steven and Tananarive and they are two of the most beautiful people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. I look forward to the next time I can meet them. I brought my copy of Street Lethal, still one of my favorite books of all time, and Great Sky Woman, a brilliant tale, for Steven to sign. I would have brought more but I figured I wouldn't be the only one there so decided to keep it short. Those are my two favorites. Oh, and Tananarive is sharp! We just recently added each other as friends on facebook and when she asked my name, for her to sign my copy of My Soul To Keep, she said, "Why is that name so familiar?" To which I responded, "Probably from facebook," and she was pretty much like, "Oh yeah! I love facebook. Isn't it great?" That was so cool. (Yeah, I'm still geeking out over all of this!) I did not get a chance to converse with Nnedi but she did sign my copy of The Shadow Speaker. She's absolutely gorgeous!! WOW! I can't wait to cross paths with her again one day. So,yeah, yesterday was an absolutely wonderful day for me.

Yes, I know I mentioned I met four people and only spoke of three. The fourth is Savion Glover. I actually went to a performance of his a week ago. I briefly blogged about it. Well, he's just a brilliant dancer. You can tell when he's dancing that's all that exists for him. I guess, maybe, not unlike Octavia in her writings. They simply embody what they do. Once engaged there is no separation between the executor and the executed art. Amazing to witness live. I got to meet him after the performance. Actually took a photo with him. Another genuinely beautiful person.

My Bornday is coming up this Wednesday, April 1, so I'm rather happy right now!

Oh yeah, and my best friend, David, and his wife, have returned from a wonderful trip to Paris! They had a grand time and David tells me it's a wonderful city. Seems I'm going to have to save up and make the trip myself soon! You can check out how his trip was here.


Tananarive, Me, and Steven. (If you can't tell I was STOKED!!!!)


Me and Savion (I'm kind of upset that the pic is a bit blurry. Some people just can't take pictures. Glad I have it though!)

Bayou: an online comic

If you like comic stories, check out Bayou. This has to be the first fantasy comic I've ever read that is told from a strictly Afican american point of view. It is slightly reminiscent of Pan's Labyrinth but it obviously touches me on a much more personal level. I'm mesmerized reading this. It's almost a shame it's free online, 'cause this I'd pay for. I've been wondering about the level of literature written by folks of African descent in america for a while now. Octavia Butler has left us with a master's worth of Master Works. I've loved Steven Barnes' writings since I was a teenager, I've recently been introduced to his wife, Tananarive Due's excellent works, Chris chambers, Nalo Hopkinson, Nnede MBachu Okorafor, and I've long been a fan of Walter Mosley (especially since he delved into sci-fi speculative fiction). Mosley's Future Land is still the best Speculative Fiction story that I have ever read. I've been introduced to and impressed with a host of other Black authors and this latest, especially in the form of a comic, is, to me, simply wonderful. I implore you to please check it out and actually take the time to read the comic, Bayou. I am very optimistic of the future my children will be a part of as far as literature is concerned. Having Black authors of Sci-fi and fantasy won't be a novelty or a "special" circumstance like it was for me. You have know idea and cannot imagine the level of personal pride and enjoyment I had when I first read, Steven Barnes' excellent story, Street Lethal. It was literally the first modern Specualtive Fiction novel I'd read that had a Protagonist that looked like me. To this day Aubry Knight is still my favorite literary character of all time. And to top it off Steven continued Aubry's story through two more books. A trilogy! Damn near unheard of. The last couple of years I've seen and read many Speculative Fiction stories by many Black authors. Octavia and Steve and Samuel Delaney have been blazing a trail by themselves for a long time but I think their damn near herculean efforts are slowly paying off. Soon I will join the pantheon of Speculative fiction story writers and novelists. I'd just like to say thanks to those who blazed the path. And R.I.P. to Octavia Butler. I hope to see you on the other side darlin'.

Now go check out Bayou.