Thoughts On DRM
First off, a quick explanation. DRM stands for digital rights management, which is encoding placed on a digital file that locks it for use on certain platforms or a certain number of accesses. So for a more specific industry example, a Nook book I buy could probably not be loaded to my Kindle. I can only read it on registered Nook apps and devices. In some cases, I might only be able to access the item on a certain number of devices.
The frustrations and impracticalities of this should be apparent from the start. When you purchase a DRMed ebook, you're not really buying the book in the traditional sense - you're buying the license to use the book. This means you don't actually own that book - the company you purchased it from does. This means you can't take a book you legally purchased and read it on another device. I recently moved from using a Kindle to a Nook, and I was faced with the choice of either breaking the law by stripping the DRM from the Kindle books I'd bought or abandoning my bought-and-paid-for Kindle library. It also means that if your Amazon account gets banned, your Kindle becomes an expensive paperweight. And what about that one time Amazon actually removed books customers had legitimately purchased from their libraries (fortunately, that move was for legitimate reasons and Amazon claims to have learned their lesson, but it doesn't stop the possibility of something similar happening again)? Here's another consideration: what if the company from which you've purchased the ebook goes under, like when Sony closed their (sizable) ebook store? Fortunately, companies realize this and have so far made deals to migrate user libraries to other retailers.
So you're probably thinking, "But I don't want people to pirate my books!" And that's a good point. No author doesn't want to receive payment for his or her work. But here's the problem: DRM only punishes customers. For so long the media industry has counted every illegal download as a lost sale, when in reality many of those downloads were by people who were never going to buy it in the first place. And there are more legitimate ways to combat the try-before-they-buy people, such as offering the first book of a series for free or generous sampling. Indie authors especially have more to worry about from lack of exposure than from digital piracy. Even big publishers, like TOR, have gone DRM-free - and the move has been hailed as a step forward.
But does DRM fight piracy? I'm pretty sure it doesn't. Hackers strip DRM from files with relative ease and sometimes just because they can. Unfortunately I can't find a link to it anymore, but I distinctly remember reading about an indie developer who released two versions of their game as an experiment: one with DRM and the other without. Apparently, it was the one locked with DRM that appeared on torrent sites.
As an historian, I also feel for future historians, who might not be able to access certain files because the devices that can read them are long gone. Another reason I think DRM is losing its worth is the continued globalization of our society - it no longer makes much sense to restrict media to one region alone.
So I encourage all of you to think twice before selecting the "Enable DRM" option when publishing your next book on Amazon. Do what you think is best, but I can assure you, all of my works have been and will continue to be published sans DRM.
Book Review - The Taken
Author: Inbali Iserles
Publisher: Scholastic
Publication Date: September 29, 2015
Version I Read: Ebook
Rating: 3.5/5
So, I, uh, guess I have a thing for animal fantasy stories and am really happy they're selling right now? Even if they're children's and middle grade books?
Anyway, here's the next one I found. It's called the Foxcraft series, of which only the first book, The Taken, is out. Like the Wings of Fire series, it's written by one of the Erin Hunter team.
Foxcraft stars a young fox named Isla, who lives in the city with her parents, grandmother, and brother. One day, Isla returns to find strange foxes around their den and her family nowhere in sight. Frightened, she runs away, finding herself alone and trying to survive in the city while searching for her family. After running into a strange fox from the Wildlands named Siffrin, learning about the magical powers of Foxcraft, and staying on the run from a malicious fox that might kill Isla if she gets in her way, Isla's life is sure to never be the same.
Spoilers!
Overall, I found the book quite good. The foxcraft itself is probably what the book does best - it's a really clever magic system grounded in reality and the various mythologies about foxes. The mythology of this world is also shaping up to be interesting, with one of the most different takes I've ever seen on wolves in particular. Though I do have to wonder, since there are obviously more canids than just wolves, dogs, and foxes, about what the place of other species, such as African wild dogs or even the mythologically somewhat-similar tanuki of Japan, would be in this world's mythology. The author is British, so I assume she's just going with European species, though us Americans would probably be interested to see where our coyote would fit in among Canista's children.
The book does a very good job of showing readers the human world through the eyes of animals, which is not always easy to do but extremely effective when executed correctly. It made me think and try and figure out what Isla was talking about, seeing, and experiencing, which is great for kids.
While the side characters are just fine, I found some issues with the major ones. Isla herself works well as the protagonist of a middle grade novel, but there's not really anything different about her. Siffrin doesn't appear to have much of a reason for keeping the fact that Isla's family is already dead from her - in fact, it probably would have been to his advantage to tell her, because then she would have trusted him and been really serious about helping him find Pirie. Him being such a jerk for no apparent reason also put me off - I'm kind of getting sick of seeing characters like that. Perhaps he has good reasons for not being forthright with her about a lot of things, but for the reader it just gets annoying after a while and any reasons are never presented, in this book anyway. And Karka isn't given the chance to be a good villain because she has minimal interaction with the main characters before being killed off.
For being the namesake of the book, the Taken don't play much of a major role and we don't know anything more about them other than their eyes glow red and they've had their will taken away by someone called the Mage. How the Taken are made is left a mystery, as well as exactly how it affects foxes. The concept of the Taken is also a little strange, as all the other magic in the book has some basis in reality or folklore, with the magic ability to remove a fox's free will kind of sticking out. This was probably intentional, however, because it adds a wrong, unnatural power, and thematically it works against a mythology that claims foxes chose and will always choose freedom.
The book does a very good job of showing readers the human world through the eyes of animals, which is not always easy to do but extremely effective when executed correctly. It made me think and try and figure out what Isla was talking about, seeing, and experiencing, which is great for kids.
While the side characters are just fine, I found some issues with the major ones. Isla herself works well as the protagonist of a middle grade novel, but there's not really anything different about her. Siffrin doesn't appear to have much of a reason for keeping the fact that Isla's family is already dead from her - in fact, it probably would have been to his advantage to tell her, because then she would have trusted him and been really serious about helping him find Pirie. Him being such a jerk for no apparent reason also put me off - I'm kind of getting sick of seeing characters like that. Perhaps he has good reasons for not being forthright with her about a lot of things, but for the reader it just gets annoying after a while and any reasons are never presented, in this book anyway. And Karka isn't given the chance to be a good villain because she has minimal interaction with the main characters before being killed off.
For being the namesake of the book, the Taken don't play much of a major role and we don't know anything more about them other than their eyes glow red and they've had their will taken away by someone called the Mage. How the Taken are made is left a mystery, as well as exactly how it affects foxes. The concept of the Taken is also a little strange, as all the other magic in the book has some basis in reality or folklore, with the magic ability to remove a fox's free will kind of sticking out. This was probably intentional, however, because it adds a wrong, unnatural power, and thematically it works against a mythology that claims foxes chose and will always choose freedom.
I also had a hard time in numerous places throughout the book being clear on what was going on. Something about the manner in which it's written, which makes it hard for readers to visualize the action some of the time.
While the scene with the snatchers (animal control) is pretty nerve-wracking and well-told from the perspective of a fox, as a human, I'm still trying to puzzle it out. I can tell the author did lots of research, so I'd be a little surprised if it was incorrect, but if they are really killing the foxes, several things don't make sense. First off, I did a little poking myself, and it turns out pretty much all pest control organizations recommend nothing be done with foxes, because they pose a negligible threat to people, pets, and property. If they are killing the foxes, why do they only take them behind the door one at a time (I can't imagine they'd be able to give them a lethal shot, so perhaps they're using gas, but I wouldn't think they'd do that one at a time)? Also, if the humans are killing the foxes, why are they going through the trouble of rounding them up (you'd think they'd just use poison or traps), feeding them (water I get, they don't want to be inhumane, but that's a waste of food if you're going to kill the animal right away). If they aren't killing the foxes, then we're sure to see some of the captured characters again. But if that's it and it's not brought up again, it seems a little weird to me.
Perhaps the biggest problem with this book is the sheer lack of any kind of resolution. Sure, there need to be things hanging for the next book, but basically the only resolution in book one is that we know for sure Isla's parents and grandmother are dead. Karka gets killed off without having barely any interaction with Isla through which to reveal anything about herself and her motivations, and Siffrin constantly refuses to tell Isla much of anything. Siffrin and Isla get separated before the climax and he doesn't make a reappearance to give any closure either. The one thread that does come full circle is the wolf Isla encounters in the zoo early in the book (another hole: I don't know of ANY reputable zoo that would keep a wolf alone except under extreme circumstances).
The Verdict: A promising beginning, with some misfires, to another animal fantasy series.
Neither Karen Lofgren nor Loyalty Press has any affiliation with the author or publisher. This review constitutes Fair Use.
While the scene with the snatchers (animal control) is pretty nerve-wracking and well-told from the perspective of a fox, as a human, I'm still trying to puzzle it out. I can tell the author did lots of research, so I'd be a little surprised if it was incorrect, but if they are really killing the foxes, several things don't make sense. First off, I did a little poking myself, and it turns out pretty much all pest control organizations recommend nothing be done with foxes, because they pose a negligible threat to people, pets, and property. If they are killing the foxes, why do they only take them behind the door one at a time (I can't imagine they'd be able to give them a lethal shot, so perhaps they're using gas, but I wouldn't think they'd do that one at a time)? Also, if the humans are killing the foxes, why are they going through the trouble of rounding them up (you'd think they'd just use poison or traps), feeding them (water I get, they don't want to be inhumane, but that's a waste of food if you're going to kill the animal right away). If they aren't killing the foxes, then we're sure to see some of the captured characters again. But if that's it and it's not brought up again, it seems a little weird to me.
Perhaps the biggest problem with this book is the sheer lack of any kind of resolution. Sure, there need to be things hanging for the next book, but basically the only resolution in book one is that we know for sure Isla's parents and grandmother are dead. Karka gets killed off without having barely any interaction with Isla through which to reveal anything about herself and her motivations, and Siffrin constantly refuses to tell Isla much of anything. Siffrin and Isla get separated before the climax and he doesn't make a reappearance to give any closure either. The one thread that does come full circle is the wolf Isla encounters in the zoo early in the book (another hole: I don't know of ANY reputable zoo that would keep a wolf alone except under extreme circumstances).
The Verdict: A promising beginning, with some misfires, to another animal fantasy series.
Neither Karen Lofgren nor Loyalty Press has any affiliation with the author or publisher. This review constitutes Fair Use.
Book Review - Soldier
Labels:
book review,
dragons,
julie kagawa,
paranormal romance,
Soldier,
talon,
talon saga,
young adult
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| Cover image courtesy of Barnes and Noble |
Author: Julie Kagawa
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: April 26, 2016
Version I Read: Hardcover
Rating: 4.5/5
I previously reviewed the first book in this series, and since I just finished the newest one, I wanted to talk about it.
Soldier continues the story from Talon and Rogue, following the group as they split up. Garret learns an earthshaking secret about the Order of St. George while in London and Ember and Riley continue to remain on the run from Talon while trying to protect their underground network from all sides.
MAJOR spoilers this time.
Soldier was a great read for a number of reasons. The series continues to feel more like a thriller than a young adult romance, especially considering who the publisher is. And boy is it a thriller - multiple, multiple scenes throughout this book are complete nail-biters, especially the climax and final duel between Garret and the Patriarch. The cliffhanger is not entirely welcome, (they never are) but drops some big ones on us for the next book - Garret is told his parents were operatives of Talon and then shot (though I'd be very surprised if Kagawa kills him off) and Dante meets the Elder Wyrm, who tells him she is his mother. That means she's Ember's mother too, and goes a long way towards explaining why Dante and Ember are supposedly so special. (I was starting to wonder if they were somehow half human or something).
Jade was a more than welcome addition. It's about time Eastern dragons appeared on the scene - I was starting to wonder if other cultures' concepts of dragons would make an appearance in this series. I hope we get to see more of her and her kind in later installments.
A few things still bother me that I've talked about before. I don't feel certain aspects of the story and world have been explained well enough, especially concerning why so many humans work for Talon and why there aren't any other rogue dragons (either in his network or from outside it) who have teamed up with or want to help Riley.
As for newer developments in this book: I liked the inclusion of the concept of Sallith'tahn, and especially its repression by Talon. Great concept and idea. I do, however, think having Cobalt, the only eligible male dragon Ember's had any contact with in her entire life, be her Sallith'tahn was more than a little contrived. I mean, what are the odds?
I feel the issues surrounding the Patriarch were not always given the moral questioning by the characters that they should. For example, several times during the book Ember gets very stressed and suffers guilt over killing, even though pretty much all of it is in justifiable self-defense. Garret laments once about whether or not fallen soldiers of St. George could have come around to the truth. But when they know deliberately exposing the Patriarch of St. George is likely to get him executed, no one bats an eye. And he's not a complete villain to boot - him falling in with Talon was far from entirely his fault, and the way the Order views the situation makes some semblance of sense. Talon and their operatives ARE horrible people, and very few dragons have escaped. How is St. George supposed to know that not all dragons are trying to take over the world and enslave humans or that they have human feelings, when Talon is deliberately trying to bury that information themselves? I'm not saying they were wrong to take the actions they did, but the choice wasn't given the debate it needed to have.
Another thing nobody seemed to take into account was how dangerous destabilizing and possibly destroying St. George could be. Because without them, Talon's powers will now be unchecked, and they can devote all their resources to hunting down the rogues. This will likely be addressed in the next book, given the closing line.
The Verdict: Another pulse-pounding addition to this series with great twists and turns and only some holes. The series continues to deliver more than your standard YA paranormal romance.
Neither Karen Lofgren nor Loyalty Press has any affiliation with the author or publisher. This review constitutes Fair Use.
Book Review - Evensong
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| Cover image courtesy of Barnes and Noble. |
Title: Evensong
Author: Krista Walsh
Publisher: Raven's Quill Press
Publication Date: January 30, 2014
Version I Read: Ebook
Rating: 3.75/5
The premise of this one intrigued me a lot, and not just because I'm a writer myself. I've always been a big fan of portal fantasy, and this one had a different take on it, so I checked it out.
Evensong is about a snarky, awkward author named Jeff Powell whose characters kidnap him and pull him into his own book - one he's frantically working on to meet his deadline - in order to enlist his help to save their world.
There will be spoilers.
There will be spoilers.
The world building, even though it could have been better, was still satisfactory - the author certainly did not bite off more than she could chew. I liked how she consistently showed that there was a lot more to Jeff's novel than he knew or realized - like the true temperament of the dragon, Raul's presence (whom Jeff just had a vague idea of existing) and history with the main characters, and the true feelings and memories of his characters. There was a particularly sweet moment near the end where Jasmine thinks a memory she has is something Jeff forced upon her, and he just smiles and says he didn't write that one.
There are also interesting ethical dilemmas posed that will make authors really think about why they do terrible things to their characters. We do it to make a plot, because without conflict, there is no story. But at the same time, as the book seems to suggest, we must have meaningful conflict, and not just throw in things because you have no better ideas. We really do make our characters suffer when, if we were to know them in real life, intentionally hurting or killing them would be out of the question.
Having Jeff sacrifice his creativity for a shot at helping everyone was a good idea, but I don't think the consequences were consistently shown all that well. What does it mean to give up your "creativity?" That could go so far as to take away your basic human reasoning (i.e. use a different tool to get a better result) and I don't feel that was adequately addressed.
The plot is winding and moves along at a pace that keeps you invested (with one significant example near the end that we'll get to later), and several well-timed deaths are effective in showing both Jeff and the reader that, in this world, people play for keeps.
There are also interesting ethical dilemmas posed that will make authors really think about why they do terrible things to their characters. We do it to make a plot, because without conflict, there is no story. But at the same time, as the book seems to suggest, we must have meaningful conflict, and not just throw in things because you have no better ideas. We really do make our characters suffer when, if we were to know them in real life, intentionally hurting or killing them would be out of the question.
Having Jeff sacrifice his creativity for a shot at helping everyone was a good idea, but I don't think the consequences were consistently shown all that well. What does it mean to give up your "creativity?" That could go so far as to take away your basic human reasoning (i.e. use a different tool to get a better result) and I don't feel that was adequately addressed.
The plot is winding and moves along at a pace that keeps you invested (with one significant example near the end that we'll get to later), and several well-timed deaths are effective in showing both Jeff and the reader that, in this world, people play for keeps.
I think the biggest problem are the characters - with the exception of Jeff, none of them had a lot of depth. This was quite the missed opportunity and perhaps this will get better in later books - we'll see. Jeff's insistence that none of it was real upon finding himself in his own book went on for far too long and really dragged the story down.
The plotting also starts to suffer and drag towards the end - I'm not quite sure why Walsh decided to have Jeff imprisoned and then try and squeeze a new character in towards the end (who quickly dies). I suppose this character does give the readers a little insight into why Raul's people follow him, but her and Raul's guards' interactions with Jeff just started to get repetitive and boring. The writing and plotting suffered from after Cassie's escape to the final climax, which was an interesting ending and I'm pretty sure will lead to the issues of the next book.
The final significant issue is the lack of clarity regarding how exactly Jeff influences the world. This one isn't as glaring as the former two, but I think it's still worth mentioning. While I do like the unanswered question of whether Jeff's just observing this world and writing down what he sees vs. actually being akin to a god, towards the end of the story greater clarity was critical to make the plot make sense (why COULDN'T he just write Cassie out of the book, or kill off Raul in a twist, for example?).
The final significant issue is the lack of clarity regarding how exactly Jeff influences the world. This one isn't as glaring as the former two, but I think it's still worth mentioning. While I do like the unanswered question of whether Jeff's just observing this world and writing down what he sees vs. actually being akin to a god, towards the end of the story greater clarity was critical to make the plot make sense (why COULDN'T he just write Cassie out of the book, or kill off Raul in a twist, for example?).
Unfortunately, I can't bring myself to give the book 4 stars due to its flaws, but it is certainly not deserving of the mediocre 3 or even 3.5, so I'm going with 3.75 for this one. I am interested enough to read the next book, once my pile thins a little.
The Verdict: Evensong is a well-written, fast-paced book that poses some interesting questions to authors. The characters are weaker than they should have been, there are some plotting issues near the end, and some obscurity in how certain things worked.
Neither Karen Lofgren nor Loyalty Press has any affiliation with the author or publisher. This review constitutes Fair Use.
Why Creators Shouldn't Insist On A Specific Interpretation Of Their Work
Labels:
creative writing,
creative writing interpretation
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Most creators of media have a vision in mind when they set off to make their masterpiece, and so when audiences don't "get it," they can understandably get frustrated. Some creators even seem to get resentful of the audience they've attracted, if they feel the audience has been attracted for the wrong reasons.
The thing is, as creators of artistic work, we have to accept the fact that each person is going to experience it differently than we do and take away something a little different, whether or not we intended it to be that way.
The reality of the matter is, if someone sees or doesn't see something in your work, that is a valid interpretation, no matter how disagreeable it might be. When you turn your work loose on the world, it's no longer truly yours. Other people are going to see and have opinions on it. And this is a good thing. It means you have created something that has touched other people, that has made them want to stay in your world a bit longer, even if they see it a different way.
Book Review - Huntress
Labels:
book review,
huntress,
novella,
renee carter hall
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| Cover art courtesy of Barnes and Noble. |
Author: Renee Carter Hall
Publisher: Smashwords
Publication Date: September 20, 2015
Version I Read: Ebook
Rating: 5/5
I've always loved anthropomorphic animal fantasy, so when I found this book I was instantly drawn in (the cover floored me, especially for an indie). I don't regret it - Huntress was amazing.
Note: this review is only regarding Huntress, not the short stories that are included in the ebook. I haven't read those yet, but I most certainly will when I get a minute.
Huntress tells the story of Leya, a young lioness who wants nothing more than to join the karanja, proud huntresses who bring meat to their villages. But to do that, she must forego life with a mate and cubs. At first, she can't wait to get out from village life and under her mother, but when her childhood friend confesses his love for her, her choice becomes more complicated than she could have imagined.
Huntress, is, quite simply, a magnificent piece. If anything, it could have easily been expanded into a novel.
Spoiler warning.
The world building and sheer details of the culture stand out most of all. These are truly anthropomorphized animals, as they act human but still very much live in animal ways (the males are the leaders of their villages while the karanja are groups of all female hunters - that's basically how lions work.) A lot is crammed into this novella in regards to their culture and mythology, which grabbed and fascinated me from page one. But none of it manages to get convoluted or confusing. The only thing I would have liked more of was more information on the other anthropomorphized animals out there, since Hall chose to include them (the painted dogs and the jackals). Perhaps they'll feature more in the short stories.
Even in such a small space, every character is given significance and views the world and situations in very different ways, which only serves to make the story more interesting. Leya is, of course, a spunky, likable heroine who grows tremendously over the course of the story and I'm never going to say no to that, Bahati was the very kind, stable pillar she needed, Thembe was a cool substitute mom and guiding force for her, and Nuru had lots of interesting things about him. Even Masika, Naimah, Shani, and Ndiri, relatively minor characters, all had dimension and came to life. I think I liked pretty much everyone.
Leya's choice becomes more complicated the more she learns, and it's effectively communicated to the reader how hard this choice is. At first I wanted her to get together with Bahati, but the karanja are so cool too and I wanted her to follow her dream as well. The things she had to do to become a karanja were also creative (such as the initiation test with the ants; even her thought process was well thought out and believable) and horrifying (having their breasts cut off. Eeek.). I also really appreciated the spiritualism and Hall's choice to make it maybe magic, maybe mundane - it's up to you. (Maybe the elephant is her spirit guide or Thembe's spirit, maybe it's both, or maybe it's just her own inner voice given shape.) Her final decision to take a third option and forge a path for herself, scary as that must have been, left me feeling very satisfied for these characters and the world they are going to build together.
The Verdict: Huntress is an engaging novella with fantastic world building, likable characters, and a good story.
Neither Karen Lofgren nor Loyalty Press has any affiliation with the author or publisher. This review constitutes Fair Use.
New Story - Past, Present, and Future
Labels:
creative writing,
fiction,
free book,
karen lofgren,
science fiction
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"Modern soon-to-be college freshmen Melanie Geyer discovers she has the rare and amazing ability to Jump - time travel - between two times other than her own. One is Victorian England, the other a space station orbiting a devastated Earth far in the future. As more and more complications come to light, Melanie finds herself faced with an agonizing choice.
An 11,000 word digital exclusive from Loyalty Press and Karen Lofgren, author of the urban fantasy Imagine Someday and the epic space opera saga The Souls of the Stars."
An 11,000 word digital exclusive from Loyalty Press and Karen Lofgren, author of the urban fantasy Imagine Someday and the epic space opera saga The Souls of the Stars."
Here are the links to download:
Kindle*
Nook
Kobo
iBookstore
Smashwords
*I am still working with Amazon to get the title free on their site, but until then, if you have a Kindle and you want to read the book and not pay the $0.99, please visit Smashwords and simply download the .mobi link from them and load it onto your Kindle.
Thank you, as always, for checking out my work. If you enjoy the book, please consider leaving a review and taking a look at my other work. Look for more to come from me and Loyalty Press in 2016!
Kindle*
Nook
Kobo
iBookstore
Smashwords
*I am still working with Amazon to get the title free on their site, but until then, if you have a Kindle and you want to read the book and not pay the $0.99, please visit Smashwords and simply download the .mobi link from them and load it onto your Kindle.
Thank you, as always, for checking out my work. If you enjoy the book, please consider leaving a review and taking a look at my other work. Look for more to come from me and Loyalty Press in 2016!
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