Self-published Australian fiction you should be reading

With the past decade and advent of Amazon, self-published books have become more widely available. There is some stigma attached to them, and not without reason. Self-published books don't have the same checks as those that go through publishing firms, and so tend to have more mistakes and problems.

However there are some pretty decent ones out there, available for fairly reasonable prices. Here are the some of those I've found deep-diving through the depths of Amazon and Booktopia: 

1. The Silence of Medair (High Fantasy)

This is a goodie. The titular character was sent to retrieve an artifact that could save her kingdom from invaders. However, in retrieving the artifact, she goes to sleep and awakens hundreds of years later to find the invaders succeeded and her world irretrievably altered. It's an interesting premise and unfolds in a way that offers no easy answers. Be warned though; it ends on something of a cliff-hanger and has a sequel. 

For a story on why the author chose to self-publish, see here; it's pretty daunting for anyone looking to break into the industry. 

2. Contest (Science Fiction)

This book is proof that self-publishers can break into the market; it's actually how Matthew Reilly was discovered. It's more science-fiction-y than what I usually recommend, but makes for a great action-adventure thriller. 

The premise is that the main character has been chosen to represent Earth in a fight to the death competition against representatives from seven other worlds. It's a little rough in place, but still an exciting, fast-paced read. 

3. Through the Whirlpool  (High Fantasy)

This one is a cross-dimensional adventure with two characters from very different worlds. It's a relatively recent arrival in self-publishing that needs some more love. It's up on Amazon.com and I can't seem to find it anywhere else. 

Be warned that the sequel is a lot more expensive than the first book, so be wary of starting this one unless you don't mind paying more to see how it ends. 

4. Wisdom Beyond Her Years (Science Fiction, Romance)

This one isn't high literature (not that any on this list are!) but is a very fun lesbian love story set 200 years in the future in a world of efficiency and rigid class structure. Has lots of action and is a little bit kinky, so probably avoid if bondage isn't your thing. 

The setting is futuristic Sydney and has fascinating world-building. 

Out of interest the author has a Youtube tutorial on self-publishing. 

5. Dark Shadows (Paranormal Romance)

This is a vampire paranormal romance, so if you're into that sort of genre this is definitely your book. Not for children, and has been compared favorably to Twilight (as I hated Twilight myself, this doesn't say much). 

Personally I prefer urban fantasy to paranormal romance (the difference being that the romance is a sideline rather than the focus) but people that do like it have loved this book. 

As with any book, it all depends on what you're into. 

So there you have it. Five self-published books by Australian authors that are worth reading. But don't take my word for it, go investigate companies like Vivid and Indimosh. There's plenty of talent out there; it's just a question of finding it. 

Black Spring by Alison Croggon

So I'm psychic apparently.

Not long ago I said that Picnic at Hanging Rock was the Australian Wuthering Heights. (I still stand by that statement, FYI). Then last week I picked up a book Black Spring by Alison Croggon, a book that I knew nothing about, other than it was by an Aussie author and had a vaguely interesting premise about a girl born with 'witch eyes' and all the tragic shenanigans that ensue. 

Not my usual thing, but the cover was creepy and cool-looking (check it out - it looks like something out of a Japanese horror movie!)

I started reading and was struck by an incredible sense of familiarity, as if I'd read this before. Then about two chapters in, it struck me - this was the beginning of Wuthering Heights! Sure the world itself was different, with fantasy elements like magic and wizards, but it had exactly the same introduction of a high born twit wandering into a dark gothic tale and being both repulsed and intrigued by everything going on. 

What I didn't find out until later was that the book was a homage to Wuthering Heights. The author outright says so in interviews. Which, I guess is not a bad thing in and of itself. It's out of copyright so it's public property and for better or worse there are a lot of sequels to classics out there, some actually very good.

The problem is that Black Spring isn't one of them.  

Don't get me wrong; there are good points. Like better sequels or re-tellings, Black Spring at least attempts to explore a fresh angle on the original material. Lina is a surprisingly sympathetic reinterpretation of Catherine, suggesting that her self-destructiveness is caused by the smothering oppression of her society rather than an inherently infantile nature. It's even daring enough to hint that her love for the Heathcliffe stand-in was more familial than romantic. 

However, the book is dragged down by being chained to the Wuthering Heights plot, wearily re-treading the same events even when they contradict established character traits or at the expense of potentially far more interesting developments. Take for example the idea of the Vendetta. Croggan goes to a lot of trouble to set this up and hints that it's going to be hugely important but in the end it just sort of... peters out. That Chekhov's gun was loaded and left in the open, and no one picked it up. 

I think if the author had allowed herself a little more freedom, paring down on what she used from the original novel and expanding on the new material she introduced, it could have been quite good. As it is, I can't recommend it. 

I'd advise saving your money and reading Wuthering Heights again.

Event - Matthew Reilly signing in WA

And just because I feel bad because the last post wasn't strictly within my guidelines about this site, here is another bit of news:

Matthew Reilley's going to be in Perth on the 13-14th of November, presenting his new book that looks a lot like a cross between Jurassic Park and Dragonriders of Pern. (Note I could be totally wrong; this is just my guess from the cover and description).

Won't lie; this sounds pretty awesome.

Details are here.

Event - Robin Hobb signing in NSW

What the frick? How the hell does NSW keep getting the good stuff?!

Robin Hobb is apparently going to be in several places in Sydney and Canberra on the 25th and 26th of November. She's not an Australian writer, but she's just that good I'm putting this up here anyway.

At least one of these events needs a ticket to attend, so if you're a fan, check the details on the relevant link below:

NSW Dymocks Events

ACT Dymocks Events

Gah, I need to move down south. Seriously.

Royal Exile by Fiona McIntosh

In my (utterly unimportant) opinion, what makes good fantasy or science fiction is the willingness to take risks. Across the Nightingale Floor was interesting because it occurred in such a radically different culture than expected from Western high fantasy. The Axis Trilogy was intriguing because it had blood and gore that wasn't normally seen in this genre at the time.

My point is, you can't write high fantasy by coloring inside the lines. Or you can, but it'll be boring.

Like Royal Exile.

In case you think I'm being too hard on it, I went into this book wanting to like it. I figured Fiona McIntosh would be like Glenda Larke or Karen Miller, in that it would take me a little while to warm up to the characters but by the end I'd be salivating for the next installment.

Royal Exile started out with the usual opening about an invading army and an heir hidden away to oneday rise up and lead the people to freedom. The invader's leader, not being an idiot, insists on the kid being found before this can happen. A pretty standard premise; a little derivative but not a major sin. You could argue that the plot of every fantasy book in existence is equally derivative.

The problem became clear a few chapters in and only got worse from there. The fact is, there's nothing to make this book stand out from the crowd. The plot isn't so entertaining that you're dying to see what happens next, and the world building is nothing that hasn't been done a thousand times before; just more medieval European-style fantasy. All this could have been salvaged with compelling, interesting characters, but with exactly two exceptions, everyone is flat and one-dimensional.

To be fair, the two characters I did like - Freath and Genrie - were great. They each had to submit to masters or regimes they found distasteful, and make compromises of dignity or principle for utterly thankless roles. They were insight into an aspect of the 'hidden rightful king' type story that its not normally shown and were actually interesting enough that I was annoyed every time we had to go back to that whiny prince kid. If we could have had an entire novel with Freath and Genrie as the focus, it would have been a pretty decent read.

Unfortunately a good chunk of it is dedicated to the useless Prince Leo and his forgettable bodyguard.  I suspect their ineffectiveness was deliberate, based on a certain plot development at the end, but I didn't need to spend a third of the novel watching them being useless. At least the background characters Clovis and Kirrin managed to be helpful to the main plot.

All up, Royal Exile wasn't particularly good or bad. It's main sin is that it takes no risks that would make it worth reading. It spends too much time on characters it doesn't need to, and not enough on the ones it should. It wasn't terrible enough to put me off the author entirely, but it's not one I'd recommend. I'm going to put this in the re-gifting pile and try another of her series next time.

Royal Exile is available on Amazon.com (but not the Australian Amazon for some reason), Booktopia, Book Depository, or most local book stores.

Five Kick-Ass Heroines from Australian Fantasy

Not long ago, during my Threshold review, I had a small bitch-fest about Sara Douglas' tendency to create sub-par female characters. Of late I realized that I'm probably giving the wrong impression of Australian fantasy as a whole. There are plenty of great heroines being written, it's just a matter of looking in the right places.

So without further ado, here is my list of top five kick-ass heroines in Australian fantasy. (Note that there will be, obviously, SPOILERS).

1. Azhure from the Axis Trilogy

To prove that I'm not completely dissing Sara Douglas, Azhure gets a place on this list, but it's a well deserved one. She started out as the much-abused daughter of a villager, who rescues a Forbidden girl from being burned alive. One of her first acts is to trick a soldier into opening the door and hit him over the head with a rock. From thereon, she only gets more awesome, escaping to the Forbidden people and becoming a warrior of renown. 

She's dirty fighter, not afraid to fool her enemies with decidedly gruesome tricks, and if you get on her bad side, she will set her hounds on you. Yes, she's wrapped up in a love triangle with the male lead, but she doesn't angst or whine about it. She even ends up as friends with the other woman without any resentment or jealousy, which is nice to see. 

Azhure is proof that all you need to escape a bad situation is to keep your head and take the opportunity for escape when you see it. Though an affinity for violence and a well-sharpened knife helps.

2. Princess Rhian from the Godspeaker Trilogy

This is one I haven't reviewed yet, but it is a great series. Rhian is the sole daughter of a dying king and since only men can inherit the throne, Rhian is under a bit of pressure to marry and provide Ethrea with a king. 

Rhian, however, is no wilting flower. She tells her dukes where they can stick their ideas and runs away to marry a man of her choosing: ie. someone who will be happy with the title 'Prince Consort' and keep his grubby mitts off her throne. Along the way she meets a bad-ass warrior who teaches her the dance of the knives, which is exactly as violent as it sounds, and ends up leading her people against a savage invading army. 

Rhian is smart, practical and politically savvy. She might not have wanted the throne, but dammit, it's hers and she's going to fight for it. She's like Queen Elizabeth, if Elizabeth was a ninja with a sword and challenged rebellious dukes to single combat.

3. Ligea Gayed from The Mirage Makers trilogy

This is another trilogy I haven't reviewed yet. Ligea is the adopted daughter of an aristocrat, who is sent to infiltrate rebellion in the land of her birth. She is underhanded, sneaky and not afraid to bribe or blackmail people into doing her bidding. 

Unlike the others in this list, she's not a warrior, but she doesn't need to be. She can get on just fine without it, and when push comes to shove, she's not afraid to punch you in the throat and stop your heart. She also has some cool psyhic powers and a sword that answers only to her. 

While Rhian and Azhure make some pretty amazing spectacle, I'd probably be more wary of Ligea because she's the one you'd never see coming. You'd wake up on the other side of death, wondering what the hell just happened. Appropriate for the heroine of a trilogy with 'Mirage' in the title.

4. Kassa Daggersharp from the Splashdance Silver 

I've already mentioned before how much I love Kassa. She lives in the lovably ridiculous world of Mocklore where only the genre savvy survive. She's the daughter of a Pirate King, who has magic singing voice, a ghost-ship and a very niche sense of style. 

Technically you could say Kassa isn't really a hero. Most of her time is spent finding treasure, dodging death, and fighting with her crew about who's going to do the washing up. She's also caused at least two large scale magical disasters and attempted to kill the Empress, so you can kind of understand why there are so many warrants for her arrest. 

But the hell with it. Kassa might be selfish, manipulative and throw epic tantrums, but she does try to fix her mistakes. And the Empress was elected through some really dodgy government practices, so you could argue she didn't legally hold the office anyway.

5. Sabriel from the Old Kingdom series

Yes, these are teen fiction. No, I'm not going to apologise. Because Sabriel is awesome. She doesn't have the bad-ass skills of Katniss Everdeen, but she fights zombies and can cross over into the afterlife, literally bringing you back from the dead. 

She's smart, driven, and honorable about her duties. If you're in trouble - even if it's not part of her given quest at the moment - she will take the time to help you. And if you are centuries old undead looking to bend all magic to your will, watch out. She will lure you into a magic-less realm and stuff you into the body of a cat, where you can spend the rest of your days dreaming of tuna. 

Put it like this; if I was part of an oppressed people where my only hope was a hidden magical aristocracy, I'd want Ligea or Azhure on my side. If I was looking at invasion by a brutal army running on human sacrifice, I'd want Rhian. If I wanted to avoid a large scale magical disaster I'd probably... not want Kassa anywhere near the thing. 

But if I lived in a world where the vicious undead roamed and wanted to chew my face off, I'd pray really hard that there was a Sabriel there to come save me. And you know what? She'd probably show up and do it. 

Signed books by John Flanagan

If you're looking for a Christmas present for child reader, Booktopia is selling signed copies of the fifth book of John Flanagan's Brotherband series.

(No, not that guy, this guy)

I haven't read his series, but they're fairly popular and seem a bit like Deltora Quest, which I enjoyed even as a young adult. So long as you order it before December 10th, you can get them in before Christmas.

I do not remember this many cool books being available for kids when I was young. I was stuck with stuff like Enid Blyton. Ever wish you could time travel, but have the things that kids nowadays have?

Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay

Funny story - a lot of people think Picnic at Hanging Rock is based on a true story.

I had a horrible moment when I recounted this little fact to a workmate, who was all 'wtf are you on about, of course it is, I'm going to go to Macedon oneday and research it'. Me, being me, was insulted that she would doubt my awesome powers of being right and tried to explain that no, it wasn't. Then she got upset and it occurred to me that I was destroying her power of belief, which all the Christmas specials say never to do, and did some really hasty back-peddling. No, of course it's real. You're absolutely right. Just kidding.

Whew. That was a close one. Now as long as she never goes to Macedon...

This misconception can be squarely blamed on the diabolical genius of Joan Lindsay, who played up the mystery of the novel, refusing to admit one way or another whether it was true. She even wrote a final chapter that resolved the mystery but arranged for it only to be published after her death. That magnificent bitch,

In all seriousness though, Picnic at Hanging Rock's ambiguity is what makes it brilliant. There's a sense of the unfinished about it, of answers frustratingly out of reach. The lack of resolution is haunting, both for the readers and the characters. I'd argue that inability to deal with this was the villain's fatal flaw; they were so used to being absolutely in control, that the sudden lack of control was what sent them sliding down the slippery slope.

Even reality itself is on uncertain footing in this novel. As with Wuthering Heights, the supernatural keeps intruding, the border between life and death uncertain. There's a constant sense of unease, the characters suspecting on some level that the rules and logic they adhere to are an illusion. The final chapter - which can be found on Amazon but also lurks around dark corners of the internet - would elevate it to Lovecraft-style horror if weren't for the sense of wonder. In this book, chaos is beautiful and wondrous, and it's loss is crushing.

Picnic at Hanging Rock is a classic for a reason. In my mind it's the Australian Wuthering Heights, ditching the romance and raising the permeability of its reality to an art form. Its writing is gorgeous and unsettling, and everyone ever should read it. No doubt somewhere in the afterlife Joan Lindsay is smirking at having the best marketing campaign prior the Blair Witch Project.

The Last Stormlord by Glenda Larke

I've been asked before why I read speculative fiction. It's not set in the real world, so it's not making a statement about real situations.

I'd argue that. Speculative fiction, I think, tells you a lot. It tells you what issues were important to the author and audience at the time. Even the most escapist of high fantasy can give you an idea of a culture's core values and sometimes in a less politically charged way than other forms of fiction.

It's why I like looking at Australian high fantasy, for insight on my own particular culture. Admittedly, that gives some books pretty messed up implications (we'll get to Sara Douglas' Axis trilogy in good time) but Glenda Larke's The Last Stormlord is a good example of world-building reflecting real-world issues.

In this world, the people live in desert cities and are utterly reliant on their aristocracy's power to provide water. Some of the aristocracy called Reeves are sensitive to where water is while others called Rainlords can actively manipulate it. The most powerful is the Stormlord, who can summon storms to provide rain to the whole desert. So you can see why they'd be so revered, and why revolution is nearly unheard of. This aristocracy is not just important to this culture, they're essential to its survival.

Unfortunately the current Stormlord is old and dying, and no successor has been born strong enough to take his place. To make matters worse there's been a number of accidental deaths among the next generation of Rainlords, so there's not nearly as many as there should be. Desperate, the Rainlords begin searching the lower classes for potentials they might have missed or overlooked.

What I love about this book is that it makes fantastical leaps in the right places, but also falls back on cold hard reality. The ability to manipulate water is fantastic and doesn't need justifying. It's magic; just accept that it works. However, the implications are worked out in precise, ruthless detail. The Stormlord might have saved their society, but it also allowed them to grow far beyond the numbers that could be sustained without him. To go back to the time of 'random rain' as the characters put it would mean only being able to support one in twenty people. Everyone else would either die or  have to go elsewhere.

It's also a fairly on-the-nose analogy for technology and links in to what I was saying about cultural values. Australia in its natural state simply cannot support the numbers it now holds. As a very dry continent, technology is what allows us to prosper, and while not so precariously dependent on a single person as in The Last Stormlord, if we did lose that technology we'd be facing the exact same problem of water shortage. You only need to look at the drought problems with farmers right now to know how serious it can get.

The characters themselves start off unimpressive, but quickly grow on you. There's several points of view, each one representing a different position. So we not only see the pressure on the upper classes to produce new Rainlords and to bring in water, we also see the effect of the shortages on the lower classes and the harsh decisions of the people who choose to live outside the cities. This widespread narrative viewpoint gives the novel more urgency than Dune, a work it's faintly reminiscent of. While Dune was also the story of a desert society and a boy's rise to greatness, The Last Stormlord is less about justice and more about survival.

Altogether this is a great novel with a gorgeously complex culture built on a relatively simple premise. The characters are well-rounded, their motives clear and realistic (or as realistic as they get in high fantasy). Relevant questions are introduced about class division and distribution of resources, and never offers platitudes as answers. I'd give it a four out of five stars and strongly recommend it.

It can be found electronically on Amazon.com (see the link above) and also on Booktopia in paperback. It's first of a trilogy, so I will be reviewing the second book soon.