| "Black Blade Blue" by J.A. Pitts (Reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo) |
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| Books & Stories - Books | |||
| Written by Ares | |||
| Tuesday, 04 May 2010 08:11 | |||
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AUTHOR INFORMATION: John A. Pitts is a BA in English and a Masters of Library Science from University of Kentucky. He is also a graduate of the Oregon Coast Writers Workshops with Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith. He also loves practicing martial arts. He has previously published short stories in magazines such as Fortean Bureau, Talebones magazine and a couple of DAW anthologies as well. PLOT SUMMARY: Sarah Beauhall has more on her plate than most adults in their twenties: day job as a blacksmith, night job as a props manager for a low-budget movie, and her free time is spent fighting in a medieval re-enactment group. When the lead actor breaks Sarah’s favorite one-of-a-kind sword, it sends the director into fits. Sarah agrees to repair the blade to avoid reshooting previously filmed scenes. One of the extras claims to be a dwarf and offers to help her at the forge. That’s when things start to get weird. Could the sword really be magic, as he claims? Why does he want her to kill a Portland investment banker? And what is it about that homeless guy that has her on edge? As if things weren’t surreal enough at that point, Sarah’s girlfriend Katie breaks out the dreaded phrase… “I love you.” Black Blade Blues is about forging an existence in a world that is much different than one expects. Oh, and there are dragons too! FORMAT/INFO: Black Blade Blues is 397 pages long divided into Seventy-five chapters. It marries Norse mythology with the contemporary settings. Narration is in the first person for Sarah Beauhall. This book has a self-contained plot line, but is the first book in a new series which has been contracted for a total of three books. April 27, 2010 marks the North American Hardcover publication of Black Blade Blues via Tor. OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Black Blade Blues is the debut novel of John Pitts, it features a world where Norse mythology has come alive in the Seattle area. Sarah Beauhall is the main protagonist of the story and is an amateur blacksmith who’s trying to earn extra money by serving as a prop manager for various movies. As prop manager her creations get a chance to be featured in the movies. Sarah has an interesting life; she’s from a small town and is into medieval warfare role play and heavy metal. She's also in love with Katie but appears to be in a bit of denial over it. The story begins when J.J. the main actor breaks an ebony blade and Sarah has to re-forge it for the shooting requirements. This small act begins a new chapter in her life and also kicks off this story. She meets Rolph an extra on the set who share more than a passing interest in Sarah’s smithy skills and the ebony blade which she re-forges. He informs her about its Nordic origins and how the re-forging heralds her as a warrior. Katie begins to hint that maybe he is really a dwarf from legends. The tale then kicks off as various elements of Norse mythology start appearing in Sarah’s world. Sarah also gets upheavals in her personal life when Katie tells her she loves her. Also at the same time others start taking interest in the blade (which has been named Gram by Sarah) these others include Dragons in mortal forms that see the re-forging as threat to themselves. The story then veers off as Sarah’s façade begins to crumble and she faces choices about herbad worduality, her life as a simple blacksmith and destiny as the wielder of Gram. Sarah manages to upset everyone with her behavior but still manages to hold on to her blade which then leads to a climatic showdown with the perceived antagonists. The showdown leads to various events of which most are Pyrrhic and further set into motion events which I’m sure will be explored in further books John Pitts has created a fascinating character in Sarah. The use of the first person point of view gives readers a more intimate look into Sarah's thoughts which help gain a clearer understanding of the story and settings. However this form of writing also served as a double edged sword because it didn't really endure me to the character of Sarah. The reason being is while I could understand Sarah's struggles and find them admirable, as a person I found her to be a bit immature. The writing is clear and gives us a fair view of the world and characters that inhabit it. The story is not something entirely new and has been done before, the twist here being that the main character is a woman blacksmith and a lesbian with identity issues.The pacing slows down when Pitt shows us Sarah's troubles and the ending is a bit drawn out. Although the ending is drawn out it does contain a slight twist that might spruce up the reading for veteran readers. There is complete plot resolution by the end of this book and the stage is set for the further (mis)adventures of Sarah. This book was a highly anticipated book for myself and it could be that this played with my experience of this book. My expectations might have been a bit to high for what was essentially delivered. Black Blade Blues is a good debut but does have some plotting issues, which I hope the author can overcome. I'd recommend this book to those urban fantasy fans that are looking for a different kind of protagonist. Overall a good debut which promises to bring a nice read involving questions of life, identity and love with a bit of off kilter sense of humor. 
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Fantasy Art Is A Genre Of Art That Depicts Magical Or Other Supernatural Themes, Ideas, Creatures Or Settings
In literature, fantasy is a form of fiction, usually novels or short stories
Perhaps the most common sub-genres of fantasy--or at least most commonly associated with the term \"Fantasy\"--are sword and sorcery and high fantasy Further blurring the definition, some suggest there is a distinction between \"Fantasy\" proper as a genre, and \"the fantastic,\" the latter being a fantasy-like element in other fiction.
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Business jokesKowalski, fresh out of accounting school, went to a interview for a good paying job. The company boss asked various questions about him and his education, but then asked him, "What is three times seven?" "Twenty-two," Kowalski replied. After he left, he double-checked it on his calculator (he knew he should have taken it to the interview!) and realized he wouldn't get the job. About two weeks later, he got a letter that said he was hired for the job! He was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but was still very curious. The next day, Kowalski went in and asked why he got the job, even though he got such a simple question wrong. The boss shrugged and said, "Well, you were the closest."
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