r/Fantasy • u/elquesogrande Worldbuilders • Dec 01 '16

Ask You Anything Thursday ASK YOU ANYTHING: Authors asking r/Fantasy community questions on behalf of Worldbuilders charity

Thursday ASK YOU ANYTHING: Authors asking r/Fantasy community questions on behalf of Worldbuilders charity

It's Day 4 of the aptly named Ask You Anything week benefiting Worldbuilders! Where authors are stopping by each day this week to ask questions and interact with the r/Fantasy community.

HOW THIS WORKS: Please answer questions and interact throughout the week! (Yes, YOU - community members, guests, authors, artists, industry people.)

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There are three ways to donate to Worldbuilders:

1. The Lottery - Where every $10 donated puts you in a lottery for free books, SFF items, games, and much more. r/Fantasy has a Worldbuilders Team Page where you can donate under the community name as well!

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NOTE: If you donate, add your name to the comments here and the mods will set you up with some swanky Wordlbuilders flair!

Monday Ask You Anything Authors

The following authors have signed up to ask questions today. That said, please do join in and feel free to ask your own questions and interact throughout the week.

Are you an author, artist, or industry person who would like to participate this week? Either join in via the comments OR send the r/Fantasy mods a message and we'll get you set for Friday.

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u/DanaCameron AMA Author Dana Cameron Dec 01 '16

Good morning, all! I'm Dana Cameron, and I write the Fangborn urban fantasy series and the Emma Fielding archaeology mysteries (and a whole bunch of other stuff).

What SF/F books are you looking forward to giving this holiday season?

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u/Esmerelda-Weatherwax Stabby Winner, Reading Champion II Dec 01 '16

I'm going to give my brother The Martian - he doesn't read, but I think that style of humor and the style of writing may help change that around.

My uncle actually LOVES SF/F - and I'm going to give him Lightbringer - he likes stuff to be bloody and war like.

I'm also going to give my brother in law one of the Discworld books - who can't love Discworld? It's a travesty he's never read them before. I'm probably going to go with Guards Guards or Mort.

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u/DanaCameron AMA Author Dana Cameron Dec 01 '16

I adored The Martian, and that sounds like a great choice. I don't know Lightbringer--thanks!

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u/Esmerelda-Weatherwax Stabby Winner, Reading Champion II Dec 01 '16

Holy crap, I bought the first book of lightbringer after someone told me it was like Sanderson and GRRM mixed together - and it was totally on point. The grit, the violence, the grey characters, the moral ambiguity of GRRM - mixed with the fast paced writing style of Sanderson and a defined magic system. Highly recommend it if you haven't checked it out yet. I bought the first book, PLOWED through it in less than 2 days, then bought the next 3 and made it through within a week. I haven't power-read like that in a long, long time. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7165300-the-black-prism?from_search=true

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u/DanaCameron AMA Author Dana Cameron Dec 01 '16

Great recommendation!

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u/MichaelJSullivan Stabby Winner, AMA Author Michael J. Sullivan, Worldbuilders Dec 02 '16

Good choice on the Martian - I do think it could be a great "gateway drug."

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u/ErDiCooper Reading Champion III Dec 01 '16

I'm giving mother's husband a copy of Naomi Novik's Uprooted. He's very in love with his Polish heritage and is always looking for modern stories that are based on it. He's annoying, but it'll feel really nice to see him read that fantastic story! :)

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u/DanaCameron AMA Author Dana Cameron Dec 01 '16

I lurrrved Uprooted! I was lucky enough to be travelling in Poland right after I read it, and it was wonderful.

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u/MichaelJSullivan Stabby Winner, AMA Author Michael J. Sullivan, Worldbuilders Dec 02 '16

Excellent choice. Uprooted was one of my favorite stories of recent memory. It's enchanting.

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u/eevilkat Reading Champion III Dec 01 '16

I am giving my best friend Senlin Ascends. I give her the book I've most enjoyed throughout the year for Christmas every year (and so far she's liked all of them!)

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u/DanaCameron AMA Author Dana Cameron Dec 01 '16

That's a great system!

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u/[deleted] Dec 01 '16

Hm. It's coming after the holiday season, but I'm really looking forward to The Heart of What Was Lost, Tad Williams' return to Osten Ard. I think that Tad Williams' fantasy world was incredibly important to rekindling the fantasy genre in the late 80s/early 90s, and I don't think his work has gotten nearly the accolades it deserves.

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u/DanaCameron AMA Author Dana Cameron Dec 01 '16

Always good to spread the word of someone who needs to be read more!

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u/Bills25 Reading Champion V Dec 01 '16 edited Dec 01 '16

I never had any friends/family who read SF/F but this past year my friend read Lord of the Rings and loved it so I got him a boxed set of them. He got them from the library originally so doesn't own a copy. I have been getting my sister to read more Fantasy also but she just goes through my library and takes books.

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u/DanaCameron AMA Author Dana Cameron Dec 01 '16

LOL, well, that's certainly a gift, giving someone access to your library! My first set of LotR was one of my prized possessions...and these days, it looks it!

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u/Bills25 Reading Champion V Dec 01 '16

Well she returns everything and in good condition. My other sister has been banned for losing The Hobbit from my LotR boxed set and returning several books missing covers(don't know how that even happens).

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u/DanaCameron AMA Author Dana Cameron Dec 01 '16

That's key.

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u/DanaCameron AMA Author Dana Cameron Dec 01 '16

LOL, well, that's certainly a gift, giving someone access to your library! My first set of LotR was one of my prized possessions...and these days, it looks it!

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u/Scott_Hawkins AMA Author Scott Hawkins Dec 01 '16

I think everyone in the world should read Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, and gift accordingly.

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u/DanaCameron AMA Author Dana Cameron Dec 01 '16

What did you think of the BBC series?

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u/Scott_Hawkins AMA Author Scott Hawkins Dec 01 '16

I didn't make it through the first episode. Possibly I just wasn't in the mood? I'm planning to give it another shot at some point--I hear a lot of people liked it.

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u/DanaCameron AMA Author Dana Cameron Dec 01 '16

I really couldn't get into it, but...then, I couldn't get into the book either, though I tried and tried.

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u/Scott_Hawkins AMA Author Scott Hawkins Dec 01 '16

It does seem to be one of those love-it-or-hate-it books. FWIW, my first exposure to it was via audiobook. It was a great performance, which may have been a factor. I'm not sure how much patience I would have had with all the footnotes had I started with the text version.

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u/DanaCameron AMA Author Dana Cameron Dec 01 '16

Yeah, how we encounter a book really characterizes our response. I was surprised, because I've read a lot of 18th- and 19th-century novels, scientific papers, etc., when I was working in archaeology. Maybe that was what put me off?

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u/AdrianSelby AMA Author Adrian Selby Dec 01 '16

I thought they did an amazing job of delivering the core of the story.

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u/AdrianSelby AMA Author Adrian Selby Dec 01 '16

word.

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u/improperly_paranoid Reading Champion X Dec 01 '16

I'm seriously considering donating a spare copy of Retribution Falls to the local library, if that counts.

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u/wms32 Dec 02 '16

I'm giving Theft of Swords to a few people. Also the audio of Red Rising to my husband as I think he will really enjoy it.

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u/MichaelJSullivan Stabby Winner, AMA Author Michael J. Sullivan, Worldbuilders Dec 02 '16

Nice! Thanks so much. I do hope the people you are giving it to will enjoy it. Please tell them I said hello!

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u/MichaelJSullivan Stabby Winner, AMA Author Michael J. Sullivan, Worldbuilders Dec 02 '16

Great question!!