2022 Eligibility Post

Hi friends,

I’ll keep this brief, as I don’t post much over here these days, though I’d like to. A lot has happened and is happening, all of us caught up in the hours and days. That in those hours and days, you may have chosen to spend some time with me, in the worlds I’ve made? Thank you. Beyond anything, I’m always grateful for readers choosing to spend time with my words and my worlds.

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For your consideration for nomination this year, I have four fiction stories that were published in 2022 that I would be honored to be considered. Those stories are as follows:

The Book of the Blacksmiths, Fireside Magazine, February 2022 – 1567 words

A team of clones work to reignite a dying star. Why they do the work they do, they don’t know. And so, their newest self works to chronicle their lives and understand what it all means.

An Urge To Create Honey, Clarkesworld, April 2022 – 4680 words

A hivemind of aliens sends one of their newest drones home to his old space station, to act as ambassador and consultant between warring nations. They saved him, turning a human on the edge of death into them. Can he now save them, when given the chance?

√i, Nightmare Magazine, April 2022 – 1224 words

It is fundamentally irrational to know how frequent school shootings are, to do nothing of substance to change it, with the only solution being for our children to weather it. You cannot make sense of the horrific. This flash fiction piece explores that to its logical conclusion.

Her Five Farewells, Lightspeed Magazine, September 2022 – 2941 words

On the planet of Exechar, there is no death, merely rejuvenation. But when a despot gains access to that process, a leader will undergo death to defy him. And Mr. Chrym, a craftsman, is tasked with building his planet’s first coffin. There is meaning in mourning. Death is not something to be feared.

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For your consideration for nomination this year, I have two pieces of creative non-fiction that were published in 2022 that I would be honored to be considered. Those essays are as follows:

“My Mental Health Is Like Playing a Metroidvania Game—I Take It One Step at a Time,” – July 2022, Catapult

Through the interrogation of the Metroidvania style of video games, I explore my relationship with mental health, anxiety, storytelling, and more.

“Playing ‘Tunic’ Reminds Me How to Approach Sickness and Recovery,” – December 2022, Catapult

I caught COVID right as I was playing Tunic, a game of exploration and tenacity, where you are a stranger to this world and this world is fighting you at every turn. I explore sickness, my relationship with my body and health, COVID, trauma, and more.

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It was a really lovely year with some really incredible milestones, personally and professionally. I’ll talk more about those soon, in some form or another.

But in the meantime, if you read my work and enjoyed it, I’d be honored to be considered for your nominations this year.

Sincerely,

Marty

2021 Eligibility Post

Hi there! Please find below the fiction work I published in this past year that’s eligible for award nomination in 2022.

“Those Virtues, Those Poisons,” is a short story I wrote that came out in September 2021 with Beneath Ceaseless Skies.

“The Fifth Horseman,” is a short story that came out in October 2021 with Fireside Magazine, guest edited by Yanni Kuznia.

Batman: The Blind Cut came out from August 2021 through October 2021 with Realm; I was part of a writing team with K. Arsenault Rivera and Catherynne Valente.

I would be absolutely honored if you considered any of the above for award nominations in 2022, or included them on the SFWA Nebula Reading list and other Recommended Reading Lists for 2021. As always, I’m nothing but grateful to the editors who have published me this year, and to my readers, who gave me the gift of their time and trust.

For my non-fiction, I primarily wrote reviews for Tor.com and loved doing so. I’ve also done personal essays on occasion that I feel strongly about and would be happy to have them considered for criticism or fan writing.

My book reviews and criticism can be found here.

My personal essay on the video game Hades, survival, and 2020 can be found here: Surviving a Hell of a Year With Hades

Thanks so much for reading and for your consideration! I feel very lucky to have work scheduled for 2022 and promise to get back to blogging/essays when I can.

Cheers!

Your Pal,

Marty

image used for Batman The Blind Cut

2018 Eligibility Post

Happy New Year, friends. I hope this missive finds you well.

2018 was longer than the eyeblink of an uncaring god, and I hope 2019 doesn’t share it’s same time-bending features. But we’ll get a new year’s post from me soon enough.

Today’s order of business is to talk about the work I put out in 2018 that would make me eligible for nomination for any number of things. So let’s get to it!

For the most part, my fiction work of 2018 was the publication of my short story, “Godmeat,” with Lightspeed Magazine.

Illustrated by the talented and brilliant Galen Dara, and edited by the wonderful Wendy Wagner and the illustrious John Joseph Adams, “Godmeat,” was the only piece of fiction I had published this year. It is a story I’m very happy with and very proud of, and I’m so thrilled so many people have had a chance to read it, and enjoyed it as much as they did.

Some of those people even had some very nice things to say about it, including, but not limited it:

“. . . if the idea of murdering ancient godlike beasts and then cutting them up into steaks appeals to your fantasy brain, then Godmeat is the creepy, weird, wildly imaginative story for you (just maybe don’t read it while eating).” – Charlotte Ahlin, Bustle

“This story is a stunningly delicious sensory feast of fucked-up gods and broken mortals and it is amazing. Such layered, savory detail, blended with a cup of anger and garnished with hope at the end. Rich and exciting, with a dash of horror and a thick aroma of dread; fantastical and frightening; luxurious and lush; a story that will kindle hunger in your bones. Cahill has cooked up a masterpiece of gorgeous language and breathtaking imagery, of too-real people and the choices they make, of gods and monsters and mortals all adding to the narrative’s distinct, perfectly weighted flavors.” – A. Merc Rustad

“A rich, layered story about a looming apocalypse, ancient beings trying to take over our world, and…cooking. It’s about Hark, who cooks the meat of the world’s ancient, divine Great Beasts, and Spear, who hunts and kills them. It is full of vivid imagery and conflicted emotions. What bargains are we willing to make in order to save our own skins? What are we prepared to sacrifice to escape pain and annihilation? Cahill masterfully braids together cosmic horror and violence and tragedy (the butchering of the Great Beasts) with the most outlandish, exquisite recipes. The end of the world was never so tasty.” – Maria Haskins, B&N SFF Short Fiction Round-Up May 2018

“A chef cooks the meat of the divine beasts who maintain his world’s reality. An imaginative, must-read story of ambition conflicting with the greater good, and the choices we all make.” – Jason Sanford, Best SF/F short fiction, January through June 2018

“I love me some good SFF cooking stories, and this one (about cooking literal gods) does a great job of examining Hark as a chef. And not just as a chef, but as a failed chef . . . It’s a story of food and hope and it’s a great read!” – Charles Payseur, Quick Sip Reviews

It makes me so happy that people have enjoyed this story, and that you all gave Hark, Spear, and the Wild World a chance. It’s so nice to see it popping up on some Best Of lists at the end of the year, as well as knowing it’s on the SFWA Recommended Reading List. Thank you to everyone who read it, and thanks once more to the Lightspeed team for showing it off to the world. (And Galen Dara! Her artwork, man, I couldn’t have gotten any luckier with the vision Galen had for this story).

I don’t have any contracts for fiction work in 2019 at the moment, but the year is young, and I’ve been working on a bunch of different things in the meantime. While the goal this year is make some traction for novel pursuits, I also hope to sell some short fiction for you all to enjoy at some point this year. Fingers crossed!

Thank you so much for reading and for considering “Godmeat,” for nomination!

 

2017 Eligibility Post

It’s that time again, folks! If you will, please indulge me in talking about the work I had published this year, and if you enjoyed them, please consider them for nomination and share this post with others.

Illustration for Bear Language, by Galen Dara

My short story “Bear Language,” was published at Fireside Fiction in May, and can be found here to read: https://firesidefiction.com/bear-language

It is a story about family and abuse, about language and power, about failing as a parent and growing up enough to realize that love can’t always save everything. It is a hard story to read, but I’ve been thrilled that it has resonated with so many, and so grateful for the love it has received from readers. It’s appeared on multiple recommended reading lists of 2017, and is currently listed in the SFWA Nebula Recommended Reading List. Thank you again to Brian White, Daniel Jose Older, Pablo Defendini, and Galen Dara, for helping to make this story what it became.

Here are some nice things folks have said about it:

“This is a beautiful but wrenching story about family and about truth and about beasts and monsters . . . It’s a beautiful and magical piece about safety and about protection and you should definitely give it a read!” – Charles Payseur, Quick Sip Reviews

“The voice is perfect in this bittersweet and fierce story about family and strength and survival. Plus, Susan is such a good bear—and one should never get between a bear and her cubs.” – Merc Rustad

“I love this story so much. LOVE. IT. Heartbreaking and dark, this story of two children stuck in a house with an addicted and abusive father who is not capable of being the parent they need, still manages to be oddly uplifting, thanks to the presence of a Very Good Bear. I really love how Cahill manages to infuse a desperate and nightmarish situation with a fairytale vibe, and gleams of resilience and hope. This story will stick with me for a long time.” – Maria Haskins

“Such a stunning, completely absorbing story. A bear has broken into a house and trapped two children and their father on the upper floor. But who is the real threat to the children? This story is so perfectly done. It’s full of hurt and truth and love that exists but which cannot save.” – Vanessa Fogg

And here are some of the 2017 reading lists it can be found on:

Quick Sip Reviews 2017 Recommended Reading List – Charles Payseur

Some Favorite Stories of 2017 from Sam J. Miller

My 2017 Recommended Reading List from Maria Haskins

Some Awesome Stories from 2017 from Merc Rustad

My Favorite Short Fiction of 2017 from A. C. Wise

Awards Recommendation Post 2017 from Jordan Kurella

Shimmer Issue #38 Cover by Sandro Castelli

My other short story published this year was “Salamander Six-Guns,” at Shimmer Magazine in July.

It can be found here to read: https://www.shimmerzine.com/salamander-six-guns/

It is a story of pain and loss, of scaled creatures from another world looking to dominate this one, and the two broken men who have to last long enough to stop them, let alone figure out their feelings for each other. It’s a queer Weird Western with magic six-guns, were-alligators, and dragons from another dimension looking to burn it all down. Thank you to all those who have read it and enjoyed it, and thank you especially to gunslinger elite, Elise Catherine Tobler, without whom it wouldn’t be what it is.

Here are some of the nice things folks have said about it:

“Tragic, heroic, and built around aliens bent on twisting the human landscape, be prepared to jump into an exotic yet satisfying ride.” – Tangent Online

“I’ve been quite impressed with some of Martin Cahill’s recent stories and ‘Salamander Six-Guns’ is pretty great. Not one to miss . . . This is an action-packed and nicely weird western story featuring mutants, guns, loneliness, and hurt . . . It’s a story that centers this idea that trying, even against a seemingly-insurmountable foe, is the only real option. Because without trying, everything is already lost. And it’s a dark and moving story with a fast pace and a fun aesthetic, which makes for a great read!” – Quick Sip Reviews, Charles Payseur

“This is such an extraordinarily weird and wonderful western. A gripping story of love and vengeance plays out in a world that has been fundamentally altered by the arrival of… something new… that has changed both the landscape and the people in it. Action, emotion, and glorious prose.” – Maria Haskins

“The greatest part of the story is some of the beauty of the lines. Cahill is clearly a writer who is as much in love with the sound of language as the story it tells.” – SFF Reviews

Thank you once again to all of the editors who published me this year, and to all of the readers who read, supported, and shared my work with others. Your continued support and enthusiasm for my work means the world to me, and I can’t wait to show you what I have coming out in 2018.

Thank you for reading and for considering these two stories for nomination.

 

February Dispatch

Here we are, folks! February has come and gone, the shortest month following its trend of being the fastest, and I’m writing this to you from March, which has already come in like the lion it is and dragging the cold back with it.

February was a pretty packed month, and while many events happened that were a blast, I am a little disappointed in myself that I missed out on the gym so much. It was not a conscious decision, but then again, what I’m learning is the going to the gym HAS to be a conscious decision. It can’t just be something I do when I have time; it has to be something I MAKE time for. So I’ve started doing that; already have gone three times this week, and am implementing small changes to make sure I can get there a good amount of the days to come. I’m going to start throwing some weight lifting into the mix, so that will be fun.

But here are some fun things from this month:

• My dear friend Lara Elena Donnelly had her debut novel come out, “Amberlough,” and we celebrated by launching it at the Astoria Bookstore, my local hub for all things literature. I’m so proud of her, and this novel is a thing of wonder, pain, and beauty. Go pick it up if you haven’t!
• Saw Neil Gaiman for his new book, Norse Mythology, was a lot of fun. He was a huge influence on me in my youth, and seeing him was a lot of fun, and a reminder of how much his work helped me when I was a teenager.
• Valentine’s Day was a strange day, for obvious reasons. But, I gave myself the night to watch a good show, drink a good beer, and try to be good with myself.
• Played DnD with a bunch of old college friends, where we played chaotic neutral, and were more interested in running a bar than saving the world.
• Went to Victoria Schwab’s book tour for her novel, A Conjuring of Light, which was a blast, and it was so wonderful to see her again. Also read that book because it will destroy you and your emotions.

News wise, the biggest thing to come out of February was that I made a new story sale to John Joseph Adams and the great team at Lightspeed Magazine! I sold my short story, “Godmeat,” and I’m so thrilled to be in such a great magazine with one of my favorite stories. Thanks again to my writing group and other friends who helped whip this story into shape. It’s about gods and monster and cooking one for the other, and much, much more. It makes my sixth sale overall, and the third story due out this year, which is all sorts of wobbly-wobbly excitement! More details as they come.

I’d write about what I read this month, but I think I literally am writing about/reviewing them in different venues over the next week or two. So keep an eye out on my social media, friends! That’s where I live essentially.

Any who! I’m happy to know you’re all out there, and I’m here with you, and maybe together, we can do some good work.

Here’s to a productive March, and more posts to come!

January Dispatch

I’m trying to be better about writing here, so you can look forward to these dispatches, at least one a month. A little recap, a little book recommendation, a little teasing for the future, all rolled up tight, right here. Like a piece of sushi. But I’m the sushi?

Let’s move on.

I came into 2017 with a few goals, as detailed in my last post, but above all, this: to treat myself better, and in doing so, pick up behavior and patterns that make my life better as a whole. This meant: more gym, less sugar, more veggies, less beer, more self-reflective kindness, less self-inflicted deprecation. Some of these things are easier than the others.

But I joined the gym, and though some weeks are tougher to make it than others, I’ve been going as often as I can. There was a dip in willpower after the Inauguration of the The Beast, (which is what I’ll be referring to our current puppet-in-chief on this blog), but I’d like to think I wasn’t the only one that happened to. But I’m back at, I’m tracking what I eat, and I’m going to the gym consistently. I’m not too obsessed with weight numbers at the moment, more just trying to get the habit of the gym to stick, but I’m currently at 228 or so; not my best, but not my worst. Hoping to drop down towards the 220 end by February-early March. I’ll keep you updated!

It does feel good to be back at the gym, working out. So much of my day is being plugged in, being online, being aware of data and trends and the like, that there’s a euphoria to simply putting headphones in, hiding my phone, and just . . . running. Watching my breath, feeling my pulse throb in my neck, feeling my face heat and track the sweat falling down my eyebrow. It helps keep me in the moment, something else I’m still learning to do. So I’m going to keep at it.

Work has been going well; learning more and more each day in the weird and wild world of SEO, and Search. Definitely still enjoying the new gig, and it’s a pleasure getting to know my colleagues more, now that I have more a chance to work with them.

Writing continues apace! I’ve got some short stories making the rounds, so collective fingers crossed for them, please. Meanwhile, work on the new novel goes on; a few more chapters done, and getting a better pace and rhythm with it, which is always exciting. I wrote a piece for Tor.com about the amazing show, Critical Role, which you can read here. Also, my new review for Barnes and Noble SFF Blog has gone up, talking about the new collection from Serial Box, Bookburners!

Reading wise, this was a very fantastic month for books. I have a review or two for the ones below, so consider this a quick snippet of thoughts:

The Art of Starving by Sam J. Miller – YA debut novel by a good buddy of mine, about a young, gay teen in upstate NY who thinks that by starving himself, he gains access to supernatural powers, which he’ll use to discover the truth about his sister’s disappearance, even if it means confronting the school superstar, Tariq. I already wrote about this amazing novel a bit here, but I’ll just say again: this is a breathtaking debut, and Sam, already known for his stellar short fiction, is going to blow up in a big way with this novel. I loved the ever-living hell out of it.

Crossroads of Canopy by Thoraiya Dyer – Epic fantasy debut involving giant, magical rainforests, reborn gods, and a stubborn as hell protagonist. Review to come on BNSFF. Definitely enjoyable, though I had my nitpicks.

Bookburners by Max Gladstone et al.; review above. An awesome, campy, pulpy, fun and horror infused romp through the worlds of magic, mysticism, and myth, written by a group of very strong writers. A great Warehouse 13 or The Librarians feel to it, if that’s your jam. Definitely recommended.

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders – His debut novel, Saunders does to novel narratives what he has done to short story narratives: turns them on their head, disassembles them, reassembles them into something totally new, while wringing out your heart from end to end. Not a novel to be missed.

Skullsworn by Brian Stavely – An epic fantasy stand alone returning to the world of his previous trilogy, Staveley doesn’t miss a damn beat, as we follow Pyrre, a potential priestess of the god of death, Ananshael, as she goes back to the city she was born in, to finish her pilgrimage and deliver seven people to her patron. Including someone she loves. One problem: Pyrre’s never been in love. When I told my Dad this premise he went, “Oh, so love on a deadline!” which is just fantastic. I really love Staveley’s work, and this is no different. Philosophical, gut-wrenching, lovely, funny, and violent, while further deepening the mythos of the world. I’ll never get tired of his work.

City of Miracles by Robert Jackson Bennett – The final book in his Divine Cities trilogy, Bennett knocks it out of the park, as Sigurd Je Harkvaaldson dedicates himself to hunting down the people responsible for assassinating his best friend and former Prime Minister of Saypur, Shara Komayd. Everything is firing on all cylinders, and I was in tears by the end. This is a beautiful, hopeful, tragic, but joyful novel, and you definitely need it when it’s out in May.

And that’s January!

Keep fighting. Keep resisting. Keep being amazing.

I’ll be back on here soon.

I promise.

 

 

 

So You Need To Rewrite Your Novel

(Is the title a little dramatic? Maybe? Eh, I’m going to roll with it.)

So! You need to rewrite your novel. Bummer, right? All those hours of work only to be told that this draft just isn’t strong enough, isn’t good enough, some things are working but some things are not, why is there a tortoise in a tank you need to answer that if your readers are going to trust you, and so on.

From here, there are two options:

1: Tell your first and beta-readers to go screw themselves, and shove your work into the world, critics be damned.

2: Take a month off, think about your reader’s comments, and when you’re ready, get back to work.

Now getting back to work could mean a few different things, which is why I advocate taking time off from finishing a novel to working on it right away. For several reasons:

• You’re far too emotionally attached to it to be critical: this is your baby, man! You’re sweat and blood child, crawling in the world, screaming to be loved as you love it, and those guys over there just said your baby sucks eggs! Which isn’t true.
• The fixes you think you need to make today are not the fixes that will last tomorrow. As much as your beta-readers are smart and insightful, not everything they say is going to be right for your next draft; likewise, you’re not going to be thinking critically after people have critiqued your novel. You’re going to need time to back away, and then return to their thoughts, and your novel, fresh.
• Time is the creative’s best tool. There are chance moments when insight strikes from the sky, but many times, a creative person’s ability to mull things over, and work away at it in their mind, until they can come to a synthesis of the best way forward is usually these sorts of edits and fixes will happen.

Take the time you need to absorb the critiques, but don’t take forever: you’re going to want to keep those fires going, and not let them burn down. It’s much harder to jump back into a cold project than a warm one. I myself took a few months off from my critique for Magnetic, but I spent that time asking myself questions about my writing groups thoughts, talking it over with friends, and finding out the best way to preserve the heart of the story, but change the form of it. Now, several months later, the re-outline has started.

Now, I know the title of this post is cheeky, but I want to make a point here: you don’t have to do any of the above. You don’t have to listen to your beta-readers (though you should). You don’t have to re-outline your novel, (but it’s not a bad idea). and you certainly don’t have to rewrite your novel (though it could possibly make it stronger). It’s your project, and it’s up to you how you want to move forward with it. This is what works for me, and I think it’s going to make it stronger in the end.

Do I want to rewrite it? Not particularly. But the art doesn’t ask us to do what’s comfortable. It asks us to do what’s right by it.

So I’m rewriting my novel, Magnetic, as soon as this re-outline is done. And I’m actually really excited about it.

I’ll go through the re-outlining process in a later post, but with the help of my beta-readers and writing group, I have a very cool, clear vision of what this novel could be. I’m changing the tense. I’m adding several new POVs. I’m fleshing out more of the world and side characters. I’m asking for a deeper, more emotional pull from this story, and I think I can get it there. Like I said, hoping to maintain the heart of the novel, but change a lot of the outer layers to get to where I need to go.

It’s going to take work. But I think it’s going to be worth it.

Let’s call this the first post in Novelhead Revisited, and I’ll post more on the outline process as we go. Cool?

Cool.

2016 Eligibility Post

For those wondering, this is my eligibility post for the work I had published in 2016. It is only one story, but it is one I’m very proud of, and am glad to see out in the world. For a guy who hadn’t sold a story in almost three years, having this be the one to usher me back into the world of publishing is a great honor.

“A Glass Kiss for the Little Prince of Pain,” was published at Beneath Ceaseless Skies in October, 2016. It is a novelette at approximately 11,000 words, and is of the epic fantasy variety. Set in a world of memory magic, it follows Glass Kiss, a Thoughtblade of the Cold Empire, who has been tasked by an outside force to betray her leadership, break into the Imperial Pillar on a holiday night, and kill a certain memory within the mind of the Prince of Pain.

“A Glass Kiss for the Little Prince of Pain,” invites you to the Cold Empire to witness a story of betrayal, morality, and the things a person will do win their freedom. It is the opening gambit in a potential triptych of stories set in this world, in this time, and I look forward to introducing more of the Cold Empire in the future.

A big thank you to Kat Howard for helping me with her expert thoughts on the first draft, Shelley Streeby at UCSD San Diego who took time during Clarion to give me her advice, Haralambi Markov, Serena Ulibarri, Nino Cipri, Manish Melwani, and Tamara Vardomskaya for their critiques, and finally Scott Andrews for believing in this story and helping to edit it into the tale it is today.

SFWA Nebula nominations are open, and while this novelette hasn’t been nominated yet, if you feel inclined to do so, I certainly would not complain.

 

2016: A Year In Review

Man, what a fucking year, right?

Now, with that out of the way, here are some highlights.

The Good:

I sold my epic fantasy novelette, “A Glass Kiss for the Little Prince of Pain,” to the excellent magazine, Beneath Ceaseless Skies. This is a piece I’m incredibly proud of, and so thrilled to have out in the world. The opening gambit in a planned Cold Empire Triptych, BCS was the perfect place to introduce everyone to this world of memory magic, elemental golems, and giant, stone serpents. I’m currently working on a novel set in this world a century or so after the events of the above story, so the enthusiasm I’ve seen in the world has made me quite ecstatic at providing more of the world to readers.

My twin brother got married to an amazing woman, and the day could not have gone more perfectly. I didn’t stumble during my Best Man’s Speech, and even made some people weepy, which I take pride in.

I sold my magical realism short story, “Bear Language,” to Fireside Fiction, with special guest editor, Daniel Jose Older, who is one of my favorite authors and people in this industry of ours, as well as Fireside editor, Brian White, whose dedication to providing amazing, timely fiction is unparalleled. Another story I’m very proud of, “Bear Language,” should be out sometime this winter, and I look forward to introducing you all to Joanna, and her propensity for other languages.

I finished the second draft of my novel Magnetic, which was critiqued by my writing group, Altered Fluid. AF is a collection of incredibly talented writers, in whose company I feel honored, and still a bit nervous, if I’m being honest. But they propel me to great heights, and inspire me to become an even stronger writer, to try new things, to give my heart fully to a story, and encourage me when I’m down. It is a privilege to work with them, and an even greater one to give them my first finished novel, and ask them for their help. The critique, while stressful, has proven successful, and with their thoughts and help, I am now re-outlining the story for a third draft of the novel. It will be a different sort of beast, but of a similar caliber. I’m hoping for a finished draft by autumn.

I sold my short story “Salamander Six-Guns,” to the ever wonderful Elise Catherine Tobler at Shimmer Magazine, a market I’ve been hoping to break into for some time. The last story I finished writing at Clarion, I finally found the time to edit, revise, and re-tool this scaled tale, and am very happy it has found a home at Shimmer. A story of two men, magical guns, and dragons from another world, it is also about love, grief, and endurance in a world that wants to kill you.

I have been recently promoted at work to a position that is at once scary and new, as well as fascinating and fun. I won’t go too much into it, but it is an opportunity I am thrilled to have with the fine people at Underscore Marketing, and I look forward to pushing myself further.

The Bad:

::gestures to the world around him, especially the current state of United States politics::

What else need be said? In the words of Hamilton, “the world’s turned upside down,” and it is now a time to fight with more grit and determination and volume than ever before. The fight has always been fought, of course, but now we must all fight: I will do my part in 2017, and I hope you do, too.

Without getting too deep into it, this autumn I made a very difficult decision, and it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. I could disarm a bomb today, wrestle a shark tomorrow, and it would still prove the more difficult of the three. I am working through it, and something inside of me is resetting like a broken bone, but it is a fragile, tentative thing. We’ll continue on, as we must, and hope the healing continues for all.

Goals for 2017:

Survival.

But on a smaller scale:

Selling more stories. Writing more stories. Losing weight. Taking more time for mental health. Taking more risks, stressing about little stuff less. Saving money where I can. Finishing Magnetic’s third draft. Finishing Empire’s Arrow’s first draft. Possibly submitting to an agent? Time will tell, as it always does.

Let’s see what this year brings us, yes?

Yours,

Martin Cahill

 

 

Review: A Gathering of Shadows by V. E. Schwab

Do you enjoy alternate realities, epic fantasy, ships on the sea and ships of the heart, magic, more magic, holy shit magic, and characterization strong enough to bend a steel bar?

Welcome to A Gathering of Shadows by V. E. Schwab.

The second in a trilogy, Schwab once again brings readers to her world(s) of magic, mayhem, intrigue, and more, as Kell, the rather dour world traveler from Red London, and Lila Bard, the cunning and charming thief from Grey London he brought back with him, reap what they’ve sown from the first book, and hard.

Following the events of A Darker Shade of Magic, A Gathering of Shadows picks up several months later, as our intrepid and broken heroes do their best to adjust to their new lives: Kell, his life bound to his brother to keep him alive, and not trusted by the crown, skulks through Red London, burning with the need to escape and to live for himself. Rhy, the crown prince, drinks through the pain of a life hobbled by his connection to Kell, in a deeper fashion than either would want, and must come to terms with his new life, with perhaps an old flame coming back into his world. Lila sails the high seas, pursuing wealth in the only form that matters to her: power. She’s training in magic with her captain Alucard, even though a Grey London girl shouldn’t have any potential for magic. Meanwhile, across realities, worlds thought dying or dead find themselves suddenly coming back from the brink, but at what cost?

Victoria Schwab can write, man. Of this, there is no doubt. Zilch. Nada. Her work on Vicious proved that to me, and every book of hers I’ve read since has either ascertained this fact, OR, has in fact proven that she’s even better than I thought before. Every project is evidence of leveling-up, and AGoS is no exception. ADSoM was a very good book, and I enjoyed the hell out of it. As much as I loved it, ADSoM seemed to me a very Plot book: A to B to C, a lot of movement and a lot of set-up that was ultimately rewarding, but tended to slow the book down as a whole. There was a wealth of character, and I loved it very dearly, but the narrative focus seemed to be honed in on the plot.

Not so for AGoS; this book simply SINGS with characterization. While ADSoM introduced our characters and their flaws, AGoS really pushes down on them, and forces them to fight for what they want. It backs them into a corner, and offers no escape. It brings the readers right into their heads, and watches as they choose for themselves, or for those they love, or neither. In AGoS, our characters are able to further burst from their initial sketchings, and truly step into their own. Kell and Lila and Rhy always interested me in ADSoM, but watching them fight against the injustice of the worlds, craving escape, demanding happiness? That‘s when things get really interesting. ADSoM did an amazing job of introducing these characters to me, and AGoS has helped me to know them on the deepest level possible, and it’s fan-freaking-tastic. Schwab knows exactly what she’s doing, and she moves her players across the board with a confidence and poise I honestly want to steal, (but I will not, for I know she only uses her powers for good).

Schwab’s worldbuilding is on full display in this book as well. While many would be happy to simply have four different worlds to showcase, Schwab doesn’t stop there. She dives deep and showcases individual conflicts and peoples inside those worlds, bringing an already vibrant world into brighter hues and tones, highlighting cultures, magic, and more that we didn’t even know were there. She really takes the opportunity to show the reader that these aren’t just alternate versions of London; it’s alternate versions of our whole damn world.

And dear god, the action! The central plot of this book involves the Element Games, a series of competitions with players from all over the world and country of Arnes, where Red London is, and once this particular ball gets rolling, Schwab doesn’t take her foot off the pedal. Ever. Like, she has a lead foot when it comes to hardcore action, y’all. Every face to face battle sequence is  thrumming with adrenaline and fancy footwork, as magic, characterization, and plot all roll together into scene after scene of heart-pounding fights that had me grinning from ear to ear.

I mean, look, what else is there to say aside from: kissing, magic, knives, fire, duplicity, tension of the sexual kind and the secular kind, shadows, bargains, ghosts, and a cliffhanger so goddamn muthatrucking audacious, it had me shouting at the book while on public transit. I’m not kidding. Ask the NJT.

If you enjoy deep characterization, alternate realities, people kissing each other on their faces, deals in the dark, turmoil, friendship, humor, and tragedy, then this book is for you. If you haven’t read A Darker Shade of Magic, well, get to stepping. If you have, then order A Gathering of Shadows now!

It’s most absolutely worth your time.

BONUS!

I was sent an extra copy of the book by the publisher, and would happily see it go to a good home. If you’d like to WIN a copy of A GATHERING OF SHADOWS, simply comment on this review to enter. I will draw a week from Tuesday, March 1st!

(US and Canada only).